In The NBA Finals.

The Celtics did something special tonight. 

Yes, they beat the Pistons in 6 games (twice on the road!), yes, they are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in over 20 years, yes, they are playing against the LA Lakers, yes, they went from being in the basement of the NBA to going to the finals in one season and yes, it will be the first finals appearance for most of the team (including Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Allen). 

All great.

But the best thing they did on May 30th was prove that they can still grow and that there is still time.

The entire playoffs have made journalists and sports fans all over the world wonder “what is wrong with the Celtics” and yes, they technically never trailed in any series, but it took them 7 games to euthanize an athletic but overachieving Atlanta Hawks team, another 7 games to finish off the Cleveland Lebron’s (in a series a lot of Boston assumed would be the end) and now, against their greatest opposition of the playoffs they manage to win not one but two games on the road, clinch the series on the road and come from behind a 10 point deficit? 

If you would have told me the Boston Celtics could have beaten the Pistons in six games, twice on the road and come from behind to clinch on the road anytime after game six of the Atlanta series, I would have told you you were crazy.

Coming into the playoffs I had nothing but the utmost confidence in this Celtics team. They had role players, they had veterans they had guys who could step up on any given night and for he most part Doc Rivers kept it simple and keeping it simple carried them through a 66 win season.

But something happened around game 3 in round 1…

The Celtics got the fear.

The “win or go home” fear that they had not played against all season. The “win or go home” fear that Pierce, Ray and KG had never experienced together before (and Rondo had NEVER experienced). The “win or go home” fear that seemed to make something so perfect in the regular season seem like an aberration or a mirage.

Suddenly guys were turning the ball over for no good reason or looking to constantly make an extra pass rather than taking a shot. The defense looked weak. The bench wasn’t performing to their potential. Doc started making bizarre substitutions, Ray Allen got ice cold, Sam Cassell rolled over and died and every game felt like 9 hours (as opposed to the 4 hours they actually are).

Atlanta was a struggle where the Celtics played horribly on the road for 3 games. in game 2 they gave up big leads and when the crowd got into it Ray Allen got that look of mortification that means a team is going to lose unless someone steps up big time…and there were no takers.

Cleveland continued the pattern of making the Celts look piss poor on the road by forcing mistakes, playing defense and making people afraid. Until game 6 in Cleveland.

I knew game 6 was a turning point as I was watching it. The Celtics got the lead early int he game and they played with intensity and didn’t seem to give up. They didn’t decide to lose, they decided to play until the final buzzer.

In the end,t hey lost, there was a horrible horrible horrible foul called against Paul Pierce that essentially blew the game for them, but I was confident in a game 7 victory in that series because it was the first time all playoffs that a team pushed hard against the Celtics and they fought back.

I even texted my buddy Sean a famous line from “White Men Can’t Jump” after the game; “Sometimes when you win, you actually lose and sometimes when you lose you actually win and sometimes when you win or lose you actually tie and sometimes when you tie you actually win or lose”. 

It was true of that game. The Celtics lost game 6 in Cleveland, but the unity was getting stronger. The team looked ready to fight. Like Lebron’s amazing play had awoken them from the late season doldrums.

Against Detroit, they lost a tough one at home. I was in the fourth row that night miserable as hell and trying to figure out some way that they could pull out the series against the Pistons. All though a lot of the Celtics fans had left early or were clearing out by the time the game ended, I stayed behind and watched them walk off. KG looked like someone had just broken his heart. And I heard someone yell “Its OK Kevin, you’ll kill them in Detroit”. 

As much as I tried to sell myself on that, I had trouble. Saturday night rolled around and I had convinced myself the Celtics could make it a close game if they came out with intensity. And did they ever.

Game 4 of the series was kind of confusing. It was the type of home game most teams usually have in the playoffs where they get up early, discourage the away team, get the crowd into it and destroy them. Except even in game 4, the Celtics had chances to steal it that just didn’t pan out. They got down, the crowd was in it, the Pistons were working hard and Mike Breen was ready to give McNugget the Eastern Conference trophy. Yet, the Celtics still fought back to a degree. They didn’t win…but they didn’t just roll over and die like they did int heir first 5 games on the road in the playoffs.

Game 5 the Celtics held on and won. Sure,t hey could have played better, yes, the Pistons defense disrupted their flow and lead to some awful looks and even worse turnovers. But Ray Allen was back, arm sock and all, and the Celtics stuck it out.

Tonight I had a feeling. I knew they could put the Pistons away. Even when they were down 10, I said to Kyley “they still have one great run left and Paul Pierce will explode”. Hell, I predicted it on the blog earlier in the day.

The Celtics fought back from behind, on the road, with KG in foul trouble. No, it wasn’t perfect (ahem, Rondo…PLEASE JUST TAKE A SHOT ON THE FASTBREAK!!! WHAT WAS SHEED GONNA DO? FOUL YOU AND GET FOULED OUT?!?!?!), but they found a way to win.

They are growing in the Playoffs.

The Lakers may be tough but the Celtics are still growing.

And I don’t think a week off and some time to prepare will do them any harm.

Lakers In The Finals/Game 6 preview

The Lakers are in the NBA Finals.

I guess I’m as happy as I could be about it. Clearly Kobe Bryant is entertaining. Pau Gasol is tall and scores effectively. Lamar Odom went to URI. So…there’s that.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t think the NBA wanted a Celtics vs. Lakers finals (just like most of the rest of the world outside Detroit and San Antonio). I’m no conspiracy theorist…but something tells me that would get ratings like no NBA Finals has in years…

So part 1 has been completed. Tonight the C’s look to wrap it up in Detroit.

I am more optimistic about tonight’s game than I have been about any of the other road games the Celtics have played this season. For two reasons:

1) The Celtics got the W on Wednesday, but found a way to almost blow it. Hopefully their almost blowing it big time is motivation enough for them to go all out tonight and play like they want to win and not get discouraged when things start to go Detroit’s way and they don’t get breaks.

2) The NBA wants a Celtics vs. Lakers finals and I don’t have any doubts that that is the way the game will be called. Even if you take that away, Rasheed Wallace’s profane rant against officiating isn’t going to get him ANY breaks tonight either way. And don’t be surprised if the Pistons get ahead big, that Sheed gets T’d up and misses game 7. I’m calling it right now.

Additionally, motivations and secret motives aside, Paul Pierce is due for a giant game, Rajon Rondo is due to put some points up (if he stops taking half-assed floaters and starts either a) driving to the basket aggressively (he’s so small and fragile-looking he’s BOUND to get calls) or b) Stops passing up open shots because he’s too nervous) and The Celtics bench is dying to be active. maybe tonight Doc will play Leon Powe. I feel like he hasn’t had a substantial chance at playing time in so long, he might explode and go on one of those 7 rebounds 6 points in 4 minutes things he does.

My good frined Bombs is of the belief that the Celtics and Pistons are the two best all around teams in the NBA. Its hard to argue with that if you look at both offensive and defensive totals for the season. However, the Lakers pose an extreme threat for having multiple offensive weapons and being highly athletic. The Celtics don’t always fair well against athletic teams (ahem, Atlanta). But who knows.

The important thing is that they don’t turn it over for no reason, that people stop over-passing and throwing it away, that they continue to play defense, that they take high percentage shots and that they drive to the basket and get Detroit in foul trouble (McNugget looked horrible in foul trouble and even worse on the bench on Wednesday).

I’m predicting a 104-97 Celtics win tonight. Paul Pierce with 35, Ray Allen with 21, Rondo with 13, KG with 19.

This will come back to haunt me….

 

 

 

Game 5

I find it nearly impossible to bring myself to give half a damn about how the Red Sox are doing while the Celtics are in the Playoffs.

This is a dilemma I have only had once in my life before (2002) and at that point, the Red Sox were not really the powerhouse they are now and the Celtics seemed like a major reach that year. The Antoine/Pierce years were fun. I’ll remember them as a fun team. But that’s mostly it.

I expect better from these Celtics. They should have won game 5 114 to 101. Forced shots, terrible ball handling and not spreading the defense.

Rasheed Wallace gets my “Where did that come from?” award. Apparently he decided he was sick of playing n the paint and prefers to jack up shots from downtown. On a typical night he would probably only hit 2 or 3 of them. Insane.

Perkins was a beast to start but it was clear he started running out of gas at the end. If he play like he did in the first half every night, the Celtics should easily go all the way. That’s a major ‘if’.

Ray Allen looks like he’s finally back. Maybe in part due to the AI style arm sock. He should not leave home without it.

Remember when Britney Spears wore an Arm Sock during one of the Superbowls? That was before the kids and substance abuse problems but after the breast implants.

Guys like Justin Timberlake. it makes very little sense but somehow we’ve all accepted it. Everyone should hate him. He was in a shitty boy band, he dated Britney Spears back when people thought she was hot and he’s a millionaire. But he still seems to be generally tolerated among the male community. Amazing.

KG hit some big free throws at the end of the game, and all though he still over-passed, he didn’t completely disappear (as he has a reputation of doing).

Where the shit was Paul Pierce last night? I expect a 62 point game from him on Friday. I can’t think of a good reason why the Pistons defense makes him look so bad. It sickens me. He’s turned the ball over A LOT in this series. It just seems like the double team is kryptonite to him. He never finds the open man. Even more infuriating is how he occasionally takes it to the basket and scores easily, or at least gets an easy look and in spite of this he still settles for bad shots more often than not. Tayshaun “I weigh 100 lbs.” Prince can’t be stifling him like Lebron did. He needs a breakout game.

WHERE IS LEON POWE??????????

I defend Doc Rivers a lot more than most people do. Maybe not defend, but, I guess I give him the benefit of the doubt a lot. Especially this season. If there is one thing the playoffs have taught me, its that he is completely unreliable as a Head Coach. He’s made some insane decisions (Tony Allen in Game 2? REALLY?) and doesn’t stick to a rotation at all and ends up hurting the team by not playing guys who can be a factor. Lately he has been totally smitten with PJ Brown. Fine. PJ has hit some clutch shots for the Celtics. Great. But he’s like the 7th most used player this round (only behind Posey). In the Regular season, Leon Powe was a constant spark plug. he NEEDS playing time. ITS KILLING ME. Big Baby matches up decently against the Stones as well and he has gotten some playing time. But Doc either sticks withguys too long (Big Baby playing too many minutes) or doesn’t stick with them long enough (Leon Powe). I don’t understand why Leon Powe doesn’t get 6 minutes a game. I don’t think he is that muchof a liability (not any more-so than Eddie House, Sam Cassell, Tony Allen or Big Baby…all of which have played more than him the last two rounds).

BRING BACK LEON POWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eastern Conference Finals: Game 1

May 22nd, 2008

There are not a lot of bad things I can say about the Celtics in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They scored and played more aggressive offensively (44 points in the paint!) than they have since game 7 against the Hawks. Sure they had some bad turnovers but most of their problems were self-inflicted.

Aside from the fact that the Pistons of the 00’s just seem to be destined for the playoffs every season, the day i knew that the 2008 ECF would be Detroit vs. Boston was December 19th 2007. It was their first meeting of the season, the Garden had an absolutely stunning playoff-like atmosphere, and the teams matched up better than a lot of Detroit fans thought would.

A lot has been made of the Celts lack of a road win through 2 rounds of the playoffs. I think the Celtics are going to smother the criticism this round.

The Celtics won 2 of 3 against Detroit in convincing fashion this season. They beat them at the Palace and the one game they lost was lost by a bad clutch decision by Paul Pierce (12 seconds left and he takes a contested shot with a tie score? WHY?!?!?) and a bad foul by a bench player (Tony Allen! TONY ALLEN!?!?!)

The NBA is all about match ups. The Hawks were probably one of the most spry and athletic teams in the playoffs. The Cavs are BIG (Zydrunas, Varajao, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and a 6′ 8″ Lebron) and have the most explosive player in the NBA. Neither of these is a particularly favorable match upfor the Celtics because bothteams forced a lot of turnovers, both teams blocked shots and neither team really let them get into an offensive rhythm when it mattered.

How are the Pistons different? Well for starters, they aren’t spry, they only have two guys 6′10″ and up (one of them named Theo Ratliff) and they are a jump shot team.

How does this work in the Celtics favor? Well, they can probably get more penetration (see Paul pierce weaving through Billups, Hamilton, Waxler, Allen, Collins…etc.) and take more high percentage shots because Detroit isn’t overwhelmingly fast, they aren’t overwhelmingly big and they play the type of team defense that works great against mostteams. It is safe to say though, that the Pistons have yet to play a team with the amount of weapons the Celts have at their disposal.

Hamilton was relying almost exclusively on jump shots on Tuesday night. Its like a gift to Ray Allen. He might as well have said “Ray, I’m gonna let you get out of your slump and if that doesn’t work I’ll remain stationary whenever I get a pass and just take jump shots you can contest all night”.

The fact that the Pistons lost by 9 (12 if you take out the uncontested buzzer beating 3 at the end) and not 25 is due only to the fact that they shot really well from mid range. If they do not insist on driving more, they will have a game where they shoot at a lower percentage from mid range and get absolutely toasted (see Boston in game 4 against Cleveland).

Even though the Pistons have been here before, they just don’t seem to scare anyone the way Lebron does.

Its like The Celtics were forced to spend the last 7 games hanging out with Charles Manson. You don’t know what he’s capable of. The guy is insane. He could kill you 100 different ways. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! And now they are hanging out with OJ Simpson. Sure, he’s intimidating. He might lop your head off or rob you at gunpoint, but after surviving two weeks with Manson you have to like your odds of getting away alive. 

That is why the Celtics will take one on the road this series.

The Little Prince

May 19th, 2008

Sometime around November or December Kyley found a “The Little Prince” calendar in Whole Foods. Apparently she is a big fan of the book, I had never heard of it but I figured we would need a calendar so I bought it.

Standard calendars start on Sunday and go to Saturday left to right, that’s just the way it works. But this one, we noticed in January, starts on Monday and goes to Sunday.

Sunday night we take a quick glance at the calendar, see that the game is marked on the second day from the left and acknowledge we have tickets to the game on Monday. I put them in my wallet without looking at them and we make plans to meet before the game.

Monday night we get to Gate D at Fenway Park, bundled, freezing (it was about 55 degrees with constant 15-20 mph winds) and attempt to scan our tickets (I got the pat down and the security guy thought my work ID was a knife but I convinced him otherwise) but when Kyley’s ticket will not scan, the ticket taker looks at it closely and lets us know our tickets are actually for Tuesday, May 20th.

It became clear very quickly that we had made a mistake. Seeing that we were already at Fenway and that I had a ticket for game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, we found a scalper to trade with us. I wonder how he must have felt after the game (not that you can ever predict a no hitter – no wait, I can, on July 29th 2008 Micah Owings will throw a no hitter! – still, those tickets seem much less desirable now by contrast).

When we got in, I was Paul Mezzianti and Kyely was Jane Molloy, my ticket was grandstand and hers was bleachers so we went up to our original Left Field Standing Room spot and had a perfect view of the field.

A few big hits got us excited, there was that bizarre muffed catch by Mark Grudzielanek, a hard triple by Jacoby Ellsbury and a ground rule double by Kevin Youkilis. The Red Sox went up early and it felt like the exact opposite of the Detroit Tigers debacle we witnessed Jon Lester pitch in April.

Through four I started noticing how often Lester was throwing first pitch strikes. It just seemed like he was hitting his spots on every batter. I started noticing he was getting a few strikeouts.

During the fifth and the top of the sixth we went down to the restrooms and I saw the great catch by Ellsbury on one of the TVs. I saw that Lester still had yet to give up a hit through 6 and knew we needed to get back to our “seats” immediately.

During the first inning I said ”There’s nothing like October baseball” because of how cold it was up there. By the top of the seventh it felt like October baseball.

I realized at this point that Kyley couldn’t see the scoreboard and didn’t realize that Lester had surrendered zero hits through 6. I couldn’t tell her though. I knew if I told her the Royals would find a way to pull an outside pitch down the line for a double or knock one over the monster.

I sent a few vague text messages to friends that said something like “I hope you’re watching the game. Red Sox. Not Hornets/Spurs”

My friend Casey sent one back that said “This looks like a ’special’ game.”

Lester threw a first pitch strike to nearly every batter he faced from the 7th on. He got ahead in counts and made a lot of guys swing at tough pitches. When people made contact they would either fly out (a routine fly out to Coco Crisp in center has never made a stadium so nervous) or ground weakly to the infield.

20 of 29 batters faced were first pitch strikes, including the top of the 8th when Lester threw a first pitch strike to each batter and K’d Billy Butler and Miguel Olivo.

Lester threw 130 pitches, 86 of which were strikes.

In the 9th inning, Lester walked the first batter and there was definitely a sense of danger. He made Pena and DeJesus ground out to second and third respectively and when Callaspo was at bat, the only thing way I could see it ending was a strikeout.

People were jumping up and down and screaming. I hugged Kyley and yelled “THAT WAS A NO HITTER” and she said “TONIGHT?!?!” I have never seen anyone make a face of surprise and shock and happiness like that before.

I’ve never been to a World Series, but I cannot imagine any crowd in Fenway Park having as much energy and life as it did last night. With the playoffs, people go in expecting to see something they will never forget. I certainly never thought a random Monday night game in May would be the most memorable Red Sox game I have ever attended.

Lester may never be great. He may continue to struggle with inconsistency or have trouble hitting his spots or throw too many pitches. He will (probably) never become an ace in any rotation on any team. None of that really matters.

In baseball anyone can be king for a day.

Thanks to the calendar I’ll always remember Jon Lester as “The Little Prince”.