And so the season plays on without them. The NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat commence Thursday night. Some around here might even pretend to care.
Meanwhile, the Celtics — whose Game 7 throttling by Jimmy Butler and the Miami Undrafted Machine was crushing but not entirely surprising — begin an offseason that could bring decisions subtle or seismic, depending on how ruthless Brad Stevens chooses to be in repairing his talented team’s recurring flaws.
Nothing serious is going to be solved now. Those most difficult decisions — most notably Whatever Do We Do With Jaylen?