Aging and beat up, this Boston dynasty looks one and done

The Celtics' Big Three has been reeling of late due to injuries and on-court play.

You know those other Celtics dynasties, the ones that stretched about a half-decade or longer? They had legs. By comparison, this one has toes.

Really, now: Doesn't it appear the KG-Pierce-Allen "run," if that's how it can be described, is done? After one championship?

The proud franchise experienced a resurgence two years ago when Kevin Garnett was rescued from the wintry depths of Minnesota (thanks again, Kevin McHale) and Ray Allen was brought in to help the suffering Paul Pierce, and the new Big Three quickly won the Big One. It was an intoxicating blend of Russell-like intimidation (KG), buttery outside shooting (Allen) and old-fashioned Celtic pride (Pierce) that carried the Celtics in 2008 and threatened to keep a choke hold on the East, if not the league, until LeBron James and/or Kobe Bryant got help.

But now the Celtics are reeling and vulnerable and swagger-less. They just completed a three-game stretch against the Hawks, Magic and Lakers, a triplet of contenders, and came away with nothing except hurt feelings. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are clearly winning the Eastern Conference championship smell test at the moment. These are indeed alarming times for the Celtics as they attempt to battle the effects of age, the encroachment of frisky challengers and the potential for a breakup this summer.

There's no panicking, even if everyone around the Celtics seems to be. Pierce was quick to stress how the team is still "together" following the Lakers game Sunday, moments after Kobe applied the dagger. But the aura of the Celtics as a serious title contender seems to be falling apart.

The issues with the Celtics begin squarely with Garnett and his body; he is an old 34, having spent almost half his life in the NBA. Rudy Tomjanovich once famously warned the naysayers about underestimating "the heart of a champion." But what about the knees?

Garnett had knee issues last spring during the postseason, which effectively ended any repeat championship hopes, and missed 10 games with a hyperextended right knee this season. You'd like to think a healthy Garnett wouldn't allow himself to be posterized, by Andrew Bynum, no less, in that loss to the Lakers on Sunday.

His season averages of 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds a game represent near-career lows, and if they kept stats on number of games impacted, that probably would be a valley, too. Obviously, the playoffs matter most, and if KG's game is elevated come April, then who cares what he did in winter?

But that's just the point: Can he simply turn the faucet on so easily with so much wear and tear following him around?

It would help if Rasheed Wallace was picking up the slack, but as we've seen so far, Wallace is busy picking up technical fouls and loading up on 3-point shots (he's taken more than Allen!). As offseason additions go, this one appears to be a wash for the Celtics. And they have him for two more seasons.

Pierce, 32, is still generating offense, although you wonder how much this load-carrying could cost him come spring. As for the 33-year-old Allen -- here in the fourth quarter of a superb career -- is his scoring production (15.7 ppg) what you'd expect from a starting shooting guard on a contender?

Allen could be headed elsewhere, anyway, come summer when his contract is up. The Celtics are too far beyond the cap to sign an impact replacement, and any major restructuring must wait until the contracts of Pierce and Garnett are finished.

But that's a story for tomorrow. Right now, the Celtics are trying to figure out how to salvage their season, their reputation and the dynasty that wasn't.

"Our spirits are high," Garnett insisted, even if their flow is low.

When the Celtics assembled the Big Three, it was done with the understanding that this would be mainly a short-term process. All three were well into their primes then and perhaps their best days were behind them. If it is indeed one-and-done, then it was still worth sacrificing Al Jefferson and extending KG ... simply because you do whatever it takes to win a title.

And on the subject of dynasties, the Celtics may forever be remembered for the two dynasties that didn't happen, due to bad luck: the death of Len Bias and missing out on drafting Tim Duncan. No telling how many championship banners would be hanging in Boston if not for those misfortunes.

It is fashionable right now to erase the Celtics from the championship picture, if only because a bad January, injuries and cold, hard results are working against them. They will eventually stop stumbling. They'll take the division easily (which says plenty about the Atlantic). And they have the pride of a veteran team.

But dynasty? To paraphrase a former Celtic coach: A 2010 championship is not walking through that door.