Why have the once NBA champion Boston Celtics, who used to be the epitome of team play and cohesiveness, lost their ability to work together to get through the good and the bad?

They have lost unity, playing solely for themselves. They have lost their clutch plays and untouchable swagger that used to spark their team.

All that is missing, is what this team needs.

While they are getting older, the Celtics are not only losing their talent so much as they are losing the intangibles that lead teams to success. When Kevin McHale had a broken foot and still played through it, did it dismantle a once flawless team? No, he pushed through with an outrageous will to win. The Celtics made the Finals that year, and lost in a grueling six games series against the Lakers. That toughness, and sheer desire to win, provoked toughness in every player on the team. Not only did McHale push through and play just a few minutes, but he rarely came out, playing nearly 40 minutes each game.

But does this Celtics team have that immense will to win as the Celtics of the 80s had? No, absolutely not. They rely on pure athletic ability and skill to win games. The Celtics are likely the most talented team in the league, and perhaps the deepest. But they refuse to exemplify any desire to retain the championship, a goal that was once their only agenda.

Now, the Celtics just want their own individual goals accomplished. Rajon Rondo’s mom was packed to go to the All-Star game a week ago. What does that show you? They just don’t care whether they win or lose anymore. A ring isn’t what they desire most, it is the MVP award. You don’t hear Kevin Garnett saying that Paul Pierce or Rajon Rondo should win the MVP rather than him anymore. You see a team that  once was the most passionate, unselfish team to walk the planet go one-on-one more and more frequently.

Kevin Garnett hardly gets any post feeds any more, even when he has a big mismatch. Rajon Rondo or Paul Pierce would rather take it to the bucket to get either their points or assists. This team is disgruntled and someone needs to fix it. Maybe Kevin Garnett needs to make another player cry. Or maybe Pierce needs to put the team on his back to single-handedly come back from a huge fourth-quarter deficit.

The Celtics don’t have the right attitude, and they don’t tough bench players. They don’t have James Posey to guard the opposition’s best player, or Leon Powe to rack up many rebounds and take a charge. Big Baby — or is it Uno Uno? — isn’t putting up big numbers and rising to the occasion.

The Celtics, somehow and someway, must get in sync.

I haven’t lost my religion. Actually, I never had a religion until about a week ago. Being a Celtics fanatic and having a great passion for the team and the game of basketball, my new religion is based on my god Kevin Garnett.

While changing my religion to follow a basketball player seems quite unfathomable (and it is certainly a stretch of the truth), every Celtics fan should believe that Kevin is the savior of a team decimated just a few years ago with a record of 24-58. In the past 2 years, when Kevin was injured, the Celtics have been 23-13. This is a fine record, and would be still one of the best teams in the league. But, with Garnett in the lineup they are 75-27, which is absolutely incredible. With Garnett in the lineup they have about three times as many wins than when he’s not in the lineup, and only two times as many losses.

Garnett makes every player on the floor better, leading with his heart. He is the most passionate, energetic player I’ve ever seen. His love for the game can only be matched by the likes of Pistol Pete, a man who played for ten hours every day and lived to show the fans how fun and creative basketball could be.

Garnett’s rare love for his teammates allows the team to have cohesiveness rarely seen at the professional level. Even his talent — and he is one of the most talented players in the NBA — is hidden beneath the shadows of his excitment and love. He is the absolute epitome of a teammate.

Kevin is a floor general, a coach on the floor. He has brought much joy to the Celtics community, due to his kind heart and rather frightening skills.

So please bow down on your knees, praise the lord for bringing your team such a talent, and join the Church of Garnett.

What Gilbert Arenas did was undeniably stupid, and deserved a year-long suspension. Yes, a whole year.

So far he has been suspended indefinitely without pay. That is a pretty big punishment depending on the length of the suspension. It could be very serious, a whole year even, or it could just be a month, in which case, that would be a horrible decision by David Stern. Michael Vick was suspended for two years for killing dogs, yet a threat to killing a Person (yes a real human-being) might just be a month. But quite honestly, even if the league suspends Gilbert for a month, I think that his punishment would be completely an injustice.

Even though I believe Arenas should normally deserve a year-long suspension, suspending him would be an injustice because David Stern is being unfair. Arenas’ teammate, Javaris Crittenton, also pulled a gun on him. Just because no one really knows Crittenton and he’s not joking about the incident, he is not getting suspended. But he wielded a gun in team facilities as well. He was involved in the incident as much as Gilbert and hasn’t gotten any punishment. That is absolutely a disgrace. How can someone pull a gun on a teammate and not even get in trouble with the NBA? Before anyone knew that Gilbert had pointed a gun at Javaris, they said he should be suspended just for bringing it into team premises. Now, Javaris has not been punished, even though he pulled a gun on his teammate. That is just unlawful.

Javaris is not the only one in the NBA getting away with weapons involved. Earlier this year, Delonte West was caught driving his motorcycle, holding multiple, loaded guns, probably with the intent to kill or harm somebody. How can someone get caught driving with loaded guns and not be in trouble with the NBA?

Look at Stephen Jackson he pulled out a gun and fired at a nightclub and was given just 7 games. The only reason why Gilbert is getting this much attention is because he is a very well-known player and he’s joking about the incident. Give me a break, Stern.

In a recent article nba.com ranked Dwayne “Flash” Wade was ranked the eighth best player in the NBA. He was behind the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and even Dwight Howard. This completely blew my mind, D-Wade is unselfish, a great scorer, and the clutchest player in the NBA. Dwayne is a freak athlete with the potential to score on you on any given play. D Wade this season has had four games of less than 20 points, each one of his games in double digits. He’s averaging about 26 points, 6 assists, and five rebounds.

Dirk on the other hand, has five games of less than 20 points, not a big difference compared to D Wade, but when you’re that good a scorer you are not supposed to have 5 games of under 20 points. Dirk also has had a game below ten points. Dwayne is one of the clutchest players in the game, while Dirk is known to choke under pressure. Nowitzki has outrebounded D Wade with 8 rebounds a game, but Nowitzki is seven feet and Dwayne is about 6 feet 4 inches. But, Dirk only has 2.5 assists per game, and when you have the ball as often as him that’s absolutely unacceptable.

I, a young unathletic youth, have a much better skill set than Dwight Howard. I always say that if I had his unbelievable strength, height, and athletic ability I would be averaging 35 points and 15 rebounds a game. I would be by far the best player in the NBA. So how is it that a 24 year old kid with those gifts is not even a top five player in the NBA? Dwight is a physical specamen, taking in 13 rebounds a game, yet he has no post moves and can’t take over a game. When the Heat needs Wade he will score 20 points in the fourth quarter, putting away the opposition. Without a doubt Dwight Howard is a very good player, averaging 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks a game. But he is not a great player, and does not have that kller instinct that Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and (I hate to say this) Kobe Bryant.

In one of my favorite songs, Mr. Carter, Lil Wayne says, ” Next time you mention Pac, Biggie, and Jay-Z don’t forget Weezy baby!”

Next time you mention ‘Bron, ‘Melo, and Kobe don’t forget D-Wade baby!