For so long, much too long, he had not been The Jet. He had been The Dreamliner, batteries not working, grounded, under repair, embarrassed, a symbol of excess spending and not enough due diligence.
Jason Terry’s first season in Boston had been his worst, statistically, since his rookie year of 2000-01. Little had gone right.
This was not what Terry or the Celtics had envisioned. He was the guy who was going to replace Ray Allen. He was a scorer off the bench, a 3-point threat, a great presence in the locker room.
Well, one out of three ain’t bad.
Actually, one of out of three was bad. Terry’s tough season hit rock bottom in Game 1 against the New York Knicks. He was signed for just these occasions. And for the first time in his career, he went scoreless in a playoff game.
That bagel aside, Terry’s season has been known primarily for two plays; he was on the receiving end of both of them.
There was a thunderous LeBron James dunk that Terry gamely but (needless to say) unsuccessfully tried to block. James glared over the prone Jet, receiving a technical foul for apparently menacing eye contact. The dunk came a few days after Terry said he wasn’t impressed by Miami’s winning streak.
The other incident came in Game 3, when the Knicks’ J.R. Smith elbowed Terry in the kisser. Terry was incensed by the play, which came with the Knicks well in command of the game. Smith was ejected, then suspended for Game 4. Terry refused to comment publicly on the play, but let it be known to his teammates that he was royally upset.
“Maybe that elbow – who knows?” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It changed the events for all of us. Definitely Jason Terry was angry that it happened. He let his teammates know (Saturday) and (Sunday).”