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DAN SHAUGHNESSY

Celtics just aren’t that good

The Celtics had to watch the time tick down on their season.JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

Done. Finis. Over. O-va. The end.

The not-so-great Atlanta Hawks put the Celtics out of their playoff misery Thursday night at the Garden, beating the wobbly, wounded, and overwhelmed Green Team, 104-92, in Game 6 of their first-round Rock Fight.

The season bled out on the parquet floor in the same ugly fashion that stamped the entire series: The Celtics couldn’t make a shot (36.2 percent), the more-talented Hawks flexed their muscles and built a 28-point lead, and Brad Stevens was forced to deploy patchwork lineups that had virtually no chance of succeeding.

“We’ve got to get a lot better, that’s pretty evident,’’ said Stevens. “It’s a sour ending to an otherwise really good season.’’

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“It’s a disappointing ending,’’ said Celtics basketball boss Danny Ainge. “It’s not what we hoped for or expected. We did not play as well as we’re capable of playing . . . Obviously, this was not the team we had most of the year. We have some work to do to get better.’’

I ask you, loyal Green Teamers. Did you really want to see these Celtics — as presently constituted — play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round?

Here’s another question: Now that it’s over, are fans satisfied with the third season of the Stevens regime? We’ve seen the Celtics go from 25 to 40 to 48 wins. They went from no playoffs, to a first round 0-4 series, to a first round 2-4 series. Is that enough progress for you?

It’s nice to know that Ainge has a pocket full of primo draft picks and the Celtics have thus far gotten better every year of the Stevens era, but it’s hard for some of us to look at what we saw in the playoffs and feel good about this team. The Celtics simply don’t have enough talent. It’s hard to imagine Boston as a destination for blue-chip free agents. The 2016 playoff experience only reinforced how far the Celtics are from being good. Fortunately for the Celtics, they have a tolerant and sometimes hopelessly optimistic fan base. The Bruins and Red Sox should have it this good.

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The last game of the 2015-16 Celtics season was played on the 50th anniversary of the final game of the 1965-66 season. On April 28, 1966, the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 95-93, in the seventh game of the NBA Finals at the old Garden. It was the eighth consecutive championship for the Celtics. It was the last game in the Hall of Fame coaching career of Arnold “Red” Auerbach. Celtics center Bill Russell had 25 points and 32 rebounds. That was when men were men, the Finals were played in an appropriate month, and the Celtics were annual champions.

Eighty-two-year-old Russell was on campus Thursday night, sitting just a few feet from the Celtics bench, lending every ounce of his dignity and championship pedigree to the proceedings. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Big Bill had to watch and suffer with the rest of us.

It was again ugly from the jump: another 10-3 football game between a couple of rock-ribbed defenses. The Celtics made only 7 of 24 shots (29 percent) in the first quarter and trailed, 20-17. Struggling Jae Crowder pitched a shutout in the first 12 minutes and Atlanta blocked five Boston shots. Al Horford (Tommy Heinsohn was right) was also scoreless in the first quarter. Jonas Jerebko kept the Celtics in the game with 8 early points.

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The Hawks stretched their lead midway through the second and Stevens called a timeout with the Celtics trailing, 32-21. Things felt a little desperate. R.J. Hunter was getting meaningful minutes in a win-or-go-home game.

The Celtics’ best shot to stay in the game was the raucous crowd. The Hawks are clearly not comfortable and not accustomed to playing in a noisy gym, and Causeway Street’s vaunted Sixth Man made its presence felt throughout the night.

But it was hard for the crowd to stay energized with the Celtics shooting 28 percent and scoring only 33 points in the first half. Despite only 2 points from Horford, Atlanta led, 41-33, at intermission. It would take some Hawk-ish choking for the visitors to blow this one.

It didn’t happen. The Hawks went on a 12-3 run at the start of the third. An uncontested three by Horford made it 53-36 with 9:39 left in the quarter. It was 80-59 after three. Twelve minutes left in the season.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to play from behind,’’ said Stevens.

The Hawks stretched it to 89-61 in yet another garbage-time fourth quarter. Russell stayed in his seat until the final buzzer.

Bill Russell beat the (St. Louis) Hawks in 1957 to help win the Celtics’ first championship. Russell went 10-0 in seventh games. For a few fun hours leading up to Game 6 we thought maybe there would be another Game 7 this year. We thought maybe the Celtics could go back down south and steal the series in apathetic Atlanta.

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Then reality visited Causeway Street and it became crystal clear: Much as we may love ’em, these Celtics are just not that good.


Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Dan_Shaughnessy