Hope No Longer Springs Eternal

That's the message from Shank, after Avery Bradley injures his hamstring and is deemed out for this round of the NBA playoffs.

ATLANTA — The Celtics have only one player who played with Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. They have only one player who has ever participated in a winning playoff game for Boston.

And now they do not have that player: Avery Bradley.

That is not to say that Bradley is a Celtic great on par with Pierce, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, (where's Larry Bird? - ed) or any of the innumerable hoop statesmen who led the Green into playoff battles on an almost annual basis. Bradley is not that guy. But without him, the Celtics have no player with any connection to their recent past glory. As they prepare to play the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs Tuesday night, the immortal/immobile Jared Sullinger stands as the senior Celtic in continuous service.

The rest of the column has a distinct mailed-in flavor; the half-assed half game recap, an old Pistons - Lakers playoff story and an analysis of how this will impact the Celtics that he probably ripped off from Chris Gasper.

Shank ends his column with a low blow:

But they still have a chance in this series. The Hawks are not the Warriors. The young, leaderless Celtics lost Game 1 by a single point, on the road, on a night in which they shot 36 percent.

At least they are still playing. They are not the Bruins.

Stay classy, Shank!