Celtics Beat The Hawks In Crazy Game. Paul Pierce Hits Game Winner.

Paul Pierce has certainly looked great the last couple of games.

It became pretty apparent last night that the Atlanta Hawks are definitely for real this season. They were playing defense, finding the open man and hitting shots. The only things they could have done better in that game were 1) rebounding (they need some help here) and 2) getting in the paint. Granted the lack of penetration certainly didn’t stop them from putting up points, but I’m sure if they forced the issue a little more they would have gotten to the line and that might have made the difference last night.

But what the hell is with the slow starts?

The Celtics have been outscored in the first quarter 7 of their 9 games this season.

It just seems like they don’t get committed to playing defense until they’re losing by 10…And even though they’ve been successful so far, it has taken two incredible nights by Pierce to get them out of the hole.

They can’t keep doing it.

Also, Leon Powe is clearly one of the most valuable bench players in the NBA this season so far. The guy is averaging 8 points per game, he rebounds and he draws fouls like you wouldn’t believe.

One of my favorite things about Leon is that he also always knows his place. He doesn’t force shitty mid-range jumpers. He knows it is his job to get in the paint, knock people around and fight like hell for rebounds.

Who doesn’t love Leon?

By the way, this schedule is absolutely brutal. 6 back to backs in November. 5 games this week. Only 13 off days in 30 days. At this pace, the Playoffs will seem like a vacation.

Phillies Win The World Series. Greg Oden Needs A Hug. Halloween (Part II). How To Make a Kid Feel Like They Have Been Punched In The Stomach Without Actually Hitting Them.

This is not at all what I predicted (even though I was remarkably close in my predictions of final records for many teams midway through the season).

But I was rooting for the Phillies, inasmuchas when I watched the SportsCenter highlights before work, I was happy that they had won the games I didn’t bother to watch.

Nice job Phillies. Way to beat the fanless, cowbell swinging, Devil Rays.

But you know, the Rays success that happened immediately after they removed part of their team name has to give some other teams something to think about…

If I owned the Pirates, next year they would play as the “Irates”. I gaurantee this would AT LEAST get them a World Series birth.

Maybe the Detroit Lions should just take “Detroit” out of their name…

Nice job Phillies. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the Sixers are going to be a giant pile of suck this year (OK, myabe not a giant pile of suck, but disappointing) and the Eagles? I just never know what to make of them…They’re sort of like Godspeed You Black Emperor!, sometimes you think they’re awesome but sometimes you just think they’re a bunch of losers with a lot of talent too preoccupied with trying to be cool to actually do anything worthwhile.

As hard as it is to believe that Philly won any type of sports Championship, it is far more difficult to believe how fragile Greg Oden appears to be so far.

The guy misses his rookie season with micro-fracture surgery. In his debut, he sprains his ankle/foot. Out for a month. Fucking Amazing.

This is what happens when you bring in Abraham Lincoln’s grandfather to play for your team. Sure, he’s tall and has a killer beard…but the guy is made of twigs and tacky glue.

I am probably as disappointed about Greg Oden’s injury as I am about the fact that the ending of the movie version the “The Watchmen” supposedly will not contain a giant squid like demon. Nor will it contain as much animated nudity.

Thinking about how good the Blazers should probably end up being makes me consider a question:

If you could completely restart your NBA team and you got to select 2 players knowing you could afford the two alone but the deal was that one had to be not currently in the NBA, one had to be a rookie or sophomore  and the rest of your team would be role players and scrubs who would be selected at random, who would you add for your two guys?

I’d take Ricky Rubio at PG. The kid just turned 18 and even though (obviously) he hasn’t played int he NBA, he certainly seemed to have no problem holding his own against a team of NBA All Stars at the Olympics…

Plus he’s soooo cute!

I’d probably take Kevin Durant at the other guard. He sometimes misses a lot of shots and is still learning but I don’t know how I could take Greg Oden’s 214 year old body over a young and electrifying Durant.

Can you even imagine Durant and Rubio playing together? It would be like that album Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis were supposed to make together. Which never happened. Which is why i feel like Durant is destined to play on shitty teams for most of his career.

And speaking of insane Halloween is tomorrow.

As I said last week, I kind of hate Halloween. It just always seems like a bad idea. And you know what’s crazy about it? Is how many grown adults take their kids to haunted hayrides and haunted houses and things like that.

I remember when I was eight or nine my parents took me on a haunted hayride and I had nightmares for weeks. Like I literally couldn’t sleep until after Thanksgiving.

If you aren’t familiar with what a haunted hayride entails here it is:

Don’t have a house to build a haunted house in you say? But you have 20 acres of farm land you’re doing nothing with? You want to employ college and high school kids for minimum wage and KNOW that they’ll work hard because their job will be to scare the shit out of middle aged couples and little kids? Have a few flatbed trucks you can cover with wooden planks and throw hay on top of?

Well you’re in luck! You’ve got a haunted hayride!

I don’t know where these things started, but basically they are just a series of scary exhibits that you drive to and stop and watch and then drive away. Sometimes they involve serial killers from movies. Sometimes they are funny (if you’re an adult) and sometimes they are just confusing.

Example:

(the set is a barber’s shop. A guy walks in and sits down in the barber’s chair)

Barber: Hello friend.

Guy: Hey. Just take a little off the top.

Barber: Oh a little off the top huh?

Guy: Yeah a little off the top!

Barber: I’ll take a little off the top! HAHAHAHA!

(barber stabs guy through the back of the head with giant scissors)

Barber: YOU ALL LOOK LIKE YOU NEED HAIRCUTS!

(Runs towards Haycart swinging the scissors wildly, getting fake blood on everyone, the truck drives away).

(SCENE)

Now, 23 year old York is fine with this display of gruesome hilarity.

But 8 year old York never wanted to go to a barber again.

There were also scenes of people being tortured and screaming. There was a scene of kids being murdered by their parents. One of a guy having his legs broken ala “Misery”. When all was said and done, it was maybe the most traumatic night of my life to that point (thankfully I would experience much worse REAL things {not involving physical torture} as I got older).

But my point is, don’t take your nine year old kid to that shit.

Sure, I guess I’m not scared by horror movies anymore. That’s great. But I’m pretty sure I would have had a far better childhood (or at least November 1994) if none of that ever happened (among other things not related to Halloween).

Anyway:

Top 5 Greatest Unintentional Halloween Movies Of All Time (in no real order):

1.  ”As Good As It Gets”- Helen Hunt won an Oscar for this piece of shit? Now that is SCARY. Helen Hunt is probably the worst actress of all time. She can’t act. Why do you think her average ass hasn’t been in ANYTHING since “Twister” (which by the way, features the most underrated Goo Goo Dolls song of all time “Long Way Down” which my first band covered when I was in 9th grade. What a great song to cover if you are in 9th grade and only one person in your band is halfway decent at playing an instrument and that instrument is bass).
2. “Dan In Real Life” – What scares me about that movie is the fact that anyone could possibly consider anythingabout this festering pile of dog shit even quasi-realistic. It is seriously one terrible cliche after another. I have never actually walked out of a movie in the theater in my life. This might be partly due to the fact that movies are so goddamn expensive these days and the fact that I would never have anything important enough to do that could warrant leaving a movie at night. What would I do if I walked out? Go to a Wendy’s? Listen to NPR? Watch PBS? Yeah. Exactly. Anyway, this would have been the first. Because it was so cringe inducing that I felt uncomfortable watching it. Like i felt embarrassed to be in the theater and I felt embarrassed for Steve Carrell (who is a great guy by all accounts). But because my girlfriend picked it, I couldn’t just walk out and be like ’see you at home lady!’. So I tried to enjoy hating it. And even that wasn’t fun. Fucking Dane Cook. At least his daughter’s were slammin’.
3. “9 1/2 Weeks”- You know what will give you nightmares? Seeing Mickey Rourke in softcore porn. Stay far away.
4. “Daredevil” – I have never seen any other superhero movie that made me actively root againstthe superhero. “Oh man I hope Michael Clark Duncan breaks his neck int his scene!” and “I really hope Colin Farrel throws an ultimate Frisbee so hard it rips Ben Affelck’s head off!” Also, why does Colin Farrell get work? He may be a fine actor in reality, but being that I can only remember him being in “Daredevil”, “Miami Vice” and that movie about him beign stuck in a phone booth (absolutely fucking riveting!…except not…at all) he seems like a giant pile of shit to me.
5. “Howard The Duck”- Does a young and foxy Leah Thompson walking around in her underwear attempting to seduce a 3 foot tall human-like duck scare you? George Lucas’ crowning achievement. You know how some movies forever become associated with the city they take place in? Like for example, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is as Chicago as deep dish pizza and Ozzie Guillen?  Well, “Howard The Duck” will always make me think of Cleveland. And Cleveland, will always remind me of “Howard The Duck”.

Top 5 Events That Will Make Your 5-10 year old Son or Daughter Feel Like They Have Been Punched In The Stomach:

1. Finding out Santa Claus/The Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy don’t actually exist- Yesterday I was talking to one of my colleagues about how much I don’t care for Halloween and he responded by saying “I also hate any occasion on which you lie to your children for your own amusement”. I assumed he was talking about Easter and Christmas, so I responded by saying “I’m pretty sure the only reason why you now have to make your kids believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny is so that they don’t spoil it for everyone they go to school with. Because even if you were honest with a seven year old and told them that Santa was a lie but not to tell anyone, the first fucking thing they would do in school the next day is say ‘my Dad TOLD ME SANTA IS A LIE! HE TOLD ME SO!’. Bastard kids I don’t have yet…” and I honestly think this is true. As much as I would rather say to my kids “On Christmas, mom and dad spend way too much money on buying you all the thing syou want because we love you and because the economy DEMANDS we do” instead of lying to them, I know I cannot. Remember when you found out that Santa Claus was fake? I remember because I was probably 6 or 7 and my bastard sister told me. And it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. She was all “Think about it stupid. How could Santa Claus be real?” and I was like “Well…the Easter Bunny is real though, right?” and she was like “YOU’RE SO DUMB! HAHAHAHA!”. The knife was twisted. But you know what the worst part about it was? I believed her (because frankly, she was my older sister and she could get me to wear dresses if she wanted to) and I felt guilty about knowing and like I would be letting my parents down if they knew I knew they were faking it. Think about how absurd thatis. So I pretended up until like 5th or 6th grade that I thought Santa was real. Every holiday it felt like I was living a lie. Fucking terrible.
2. Watching “The Good Son”- Remember “The Good Son” with Macaulay Culkin? I remember being so excited when it came out. I was obsessed with kids being important or something at that time in my life (I’m not sure where this idea of ‘nobody respects kids’ came from…maybe it was because I watched too much Nick News W-5 with Linda Ellerbee and somehow that gave me the impression that a)everyone thought kids were stupid and should be dead and/or b)made me depressed at an early age) and I remember Macaulay Culkin was finally taking a serious role to prove that kids COULD in fact be important to society. That movie dealt with real issues, issues all kids face. Like smoking and how to drown your baby brother. I remember watching that and not only feeling like the world was a terrible place, but also feeling like kids all were stupid and probably should be dead. Thanks for ruining my life Macaulay! But in all seriousness, every kid has a movie they see at an early age that makes them regret ever enjoying cinema. For some kids it was “Bambi”. For some it was “My Girl”. I can’t wait until some 10 year olds see “Hounddog” and wonder why the World would be so cruel to Dakota Fanning. Major punch in the stomach.
3. Watching An A & E Documentary About Inner City Life- I recall watching something about young kids and gangs and drug dealing in Baltimore and Detroit. I was probably 8 at the time. The kids int he documentary all had their faces blurred out, but they were like 9-14 and all carried guns and talked about all the people they killed and drugs they sold. That was pretty much when I decided that the world was a horrible place for sure. I tried to rationalize that “The Good Son” was just a bad movie and incredibly unrealistic (who raises kids at a house near a giant cliff???). But this documentary made me long for the days where I was worried someone in my 3rd grade class might be a closet serial killer.
4. Moving From one State To Another- This one is something that isn’t always controllable, but really makes your kid wonder if you are just being as difficult as possible because you hate them or because you are a self-centered jerk.
5. Getting a Divorce – The easy but still effective punch in the stomach for any kid. Next time use birth control! ZING! (I joke…all though, I’m sure fewer divorces would result in fewer Psychology majors…)

It seems shitty that the season already started and I didn’t get to do my big NBA preview. So now that I’ve seen most teams play a game (or 2) I have an unprecedented edge in all of my predictions. Here we go:

The New York Knicks will NOT be the worst team in the NBA. In fact, because Mike D’Antoni will do everything in his power to NOT be horrible, I predict they win 33 games this season. Yes. 33 wins. They will be sneaky some nights. They won’t use Marbury all that much. It will be a fun group. Sort of. They might even be fiesty enough to try to slide into the Playoffs (they are probably 1-3 years away from being a playoff team). The New York Knicks will be 33-49.

The Cleveland Cavs will be pretty damn good with Mo Williams (lack of a bench notwithstanding). I expect they will have a 54-28 season.

The Toronto Raptors will be sort of like the Detroit Tigers were this season. Except, they didn’t ALSO get a young all star along with a washed up Dontrelle Willis. Jermaine O’Neal will be OK, but he won’t be the savior. 45-37.

The Detroit Pistons will finish 54-28.

The Celtics will finish 60-22.

The Wizards will finish 41-41.

The 76ers will finish 47-35.

The Magic will finish 52-30.

The Miami Heat will be a lot better this season. I love the Dwayne Wade ad campaign already. He should be incredible this season. Like that time he was essentially the ghost of Michael Jordan against the Mavericks in the NBA Finals for a couple of games. Michael Beasley won’t hurt either. I know the supporting cast is grim and Shawn Marion might have been the most overrated player of the last half decade…but maybe not. 44-38

The Lakers will win 69 games this season. Yes, that is absurd. I agree. But they are going to angry, big, and bitter. Expect blood on the court.

I like the Grizzlies to win 33 games in the West. They will sort of be like the Knicks of the West, but with more upside (youth and not as much wasted cash on the books).

The Trailblazers should (could) have won 50 games this season. With Old Man Oden out a month I will drop them down to 44 wins.

The worst teams by far will be the New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks. I don’t think there will be as many pitiful teams this seaosn as there were last year…

The Chicago Bulls could be a surprise playoff team. They were everyone’s sleeper pick for 2007-08 for some reason…But it would make sense for them to be good this year in the same way it sort of made sense for the Devil Rays to be good overnight. When you get one of the highest draft picks year after year after year it only makes sense that you should eventually have a stockpile of good young players and/or trade bait galore. Even if their success does happen seemingly overnight.

The Spurs will finish 51-31.

The Hornets will finish 58-24.

The Clippers will finish a fun 39-43.

The Mavericks will finish 53-29.

The Suns will finish 46-36. I know this might seem low. But they are old. And not the same team anymore. At all.

The Nuggets will finish 31-51 and without either Allen Iverson or  Carmello Anthony or both.

Playoff predictions later in the season.

And now, a segment we call “Bet On it” where York Robrts gives readers 13 things to bet on this week because all of the readers of Chair are compulsive gamblers, simply arrived here looking for porn or both.

• The Chicago Bears will win the NFC North. For no good reason. Bet $1000 on it.
• Mickey Rourke will win the Oscar for Best Actor for “The Wrestler”. Bet $100 on it.
• Zac Efron will be this generation’s Michael J. Fox, somehow. Bet $13 on it.
• Marques Colston will finish the NFL regular season with 38 catches. On the dot. Bet $25 on it.
• Braylon Edwards doesn’t actually drink 5 Hour Energy. Bet $17 on it.
• Rickey Henderson will be a first ballot Hall Of Famer. Bet $50,000 on it.
• John Rocker will one day visit Cooperstown. Bet $9 on it.
• “Life On Mars” will last 39 episodes or less. Bet $270 on it.
• Pogs will be cool again by 2039. Bet $7 on it.
• Penn State will win the BCS National Championship. Bet $312 on it.
• Leon Powe will make the NBA All Star Team. Bet $1.73 on it.
• Derrick Rose will win rookie of the year. Bet $42 on it.

Celtics Win, NBA Season Ends, York Misses Basketball Already, KG Goes Crazy, Big Baby Shirtless, Scalabrine Talks Some Trash, I love 2008.

 

It’s over.

 

The Boston Celtics have done what a lot of experts said they couldn’t or wouldn’t, what I thought they probably would and what they haven’t done in 22 years. Win an NBA Championship.

I feel like they all must have read my game 6 preview…otherwise how do you explain Big Baby getting some minutes, Rondo playing like he has superhuman speed and agility, Paul Pierce staying focused and STILL getting 20 points even though his shots weren’t falling for an entire half, Kevin Garnett hitting seemingly every shot he took, Ray Allen setting a record for 3’s in a Finals game and the Celtics absolutely dismantling the LA Lakers?

Oh…right…This is EXACTLY the team they were ALL SEASON LONG.

Let it also be known that we saw exactly 0 series upsets in these NBA Finals. The team with the better record won every single series. The Finals were no different.

Let is ALSO be known that if you had to rank the top 5 teams in the NBA for 2007-08, they would HAVE to be:

1) Boston Celtics

2) Detroit Pistons

3) LA Lakers

4) San Antonio Spurs

5) New Orleans Hornets

I suspect we might start hearing a whole lot less about the (L)Eastern Conference being shitty come 08-09. Particularly if The Heat stay healthy, Beasley is as good as advertised, the Magic make improvements, the Bulls get stronger, the Cavs get SOMEONE else, The Hawks play defense and the Raptors get better. Granted these are a lot of “ifs”.

But this isn’t about the Eastern Conference. This is about the Celtics.

One team that won it all because of team unity and chemistry and amazing defense.

 

 

 

 

Paul Pierce has cemented his place in Celtics history. Pierce essentially carried the Celtics through the playoffs when Ray Allen and KG were struggling. He was The Captain and The Truth. I think in Boston we have felt for years that Pierce has never really received the respect that he has deserved. He is a complete player. He is a leader. He can take over a game when they need him to.

 

Paul Pierce will finally get some of the love that goes along with not only being a champion, but being one of the best.

Before the 2008 Finals most people would never have considered Pierce to be one of the top 25 players in the NBA. Right now? I don’t know how you could NOT put him in the top 25.

In the Playoffs this season (the best 16 teams) there were only a few guys who showed signs of being able to carry their team through tough times. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Manu, Joe Johnson (who LOOKED like one of the best guys in the NBA in the Atlanta/Boston series). I’m having trouble thinking of anyone else who single handedly carried their team through any portion of the Finals or who just completely took over multiple games. Please let me know if I missed anyone.

Anyway, if you argue that the absolute best players in the NBA make it to the Playoffs (a slippery slope that is essentially what GOT Pierce ignored or forgotten about for so long), Pierce would HAVE TO be the alpha dog of that list this season (Chris Paul would be 2nd only because he didn’t end up winning it all).

I’m not trying to argue that Paul Pierce is the best player in the league. However, if you want to talk about the top 25 in the league based on their performances, Pierce now HAS TO be in that discussion.

Let’s just remember that Mr. T Mobile himself, Dwayne Wade, got that respect from corporations and the NBA how? Oh yeah, by CARRYING the Heat to a championship. It’s been disappointing how injured he has been lately too, because he is one guy I really respect and enjoy watching.

Maybe next season Charles Barkley can be harassing Paul Pierce is all I’m saying…

“GET ME THEM SOCKS!”

 

 

 

 

You know who I never want to hear “he’s not good enough in the clutch” about again?

 

Yeah, he’s holding the trophy above with young Greg Oden.

(Oh…that’s Bill Russell? Could have fooled me.)

Kevin Garnett was INSANE in the post-game interview. The guy was clearly still in 30,000th gear and honestly had the look of someone who was exhausted in every way possible, who had not slept in weeks and who was emotionally overjoyed. He even told Michelle she looked good! (everyone knows that’s Doc’s job. Also, on a Michele Tafoya related rant, ever notice how Paul Pierce calls her “baby” after every interview? It is hilarious. It sort of makes me wonder if they all talk about her in the locker room after games. I can just imagine them being like “Did you see Michele tonight? She looked fine. Yeah, I’d totally hit that.” etc. )

Kevin Garnett was breathing fire and spitting venom in game 6 (just as I predicted and hoped he would). He was making hard fall aways look easy, he was making jumpers over Pau Gasol’s ugly head look like he was wide open. That shot he took in the second quarter after he got fouled, the line drive off the glass? Amazing).

 

 

 

Doc Rivers proved EVERYONE wrong.

 

He might have made some mistakes; he might have made some strange instinctive decisions. But there is no doubt in my mind at all that Doc Rivers wanted nothing more than to win it all and the fact that he is so loved by his team just shows that there is definitely a lot more to him than meets the eye in some situations.

You can play the “well, the Celtics have 3 probable Hall of Famers, Doc didn’t need to do all that much to get them to perform” card. Fine. If you want to play it that way, that’s fine.

But what Doc DID do was:

1) Stick with a Sophomore Point Guard who EVERYBODY had questions about last season that sometimes looks like he IS the future of the Celtics.

2) Keep the respect of ALL his players even while not keeping a consistent rotation or guaranteeing any set amount of playing time for anyone. Try to imagine Stephon Marbury or Vince Carter or Shawn Marion playing on a team like that. What’s that? You can’t? Simply due to the horrific egos? Really? Oh. Ok. Cool.

3) Doc sold EVERYONE on the ubuntu concept. And it was beautiful to watch. This was a team that did EVERYTHING right even when they were doing things horribly wrong.

4) Develop the younger players by playing them when they were hot. Big Baby carried the Celtics through a regular season win in Detroit. Leon Powe carried the Celtics through a series of wins while KG was injured. There were ALWAYS young guys stepping up (even Gabe Pruitt got a little playing time at the end of the season).

Doc Rivers seems like a brilliant player manager (similar to Terry Francona) because he protects his young players and lets them develop and he lets his proven veterans be who they are. I really think that this type of balance, regardless of everything else, can result in great things.

And Paul Pierce with the Gatorade? Priceless. Even though The Truth has a sponsorship deal with POWERade. And speaking of POWERade, there has NEVER been a situation where one of your spokesmen getting a DUI (and generally being an asshole) has resulted in GOOD FORTUNE for a company. Before the playoffs began there were ads for POWERade all over Boston with Shawn Merriman, Ryan Howard and Carmello Anthony. After CMel got arrested? He was dropped from the ads, they changed the POWERade liquid color from blue to yellow and photo shopped Paul Pierce in CMel’s place. Bang, PERFECT! Also, why would you choose Carmello Anthony to begin with? The guy just seems like a giant asshole. I’ve never spent any time conversing with him, but I get a really bad impression based on what I’ve seen. He seems like he’s striving to be this generation’s Stephon Marbury, a guy who has a shitload of talent but cares more about himself than his team or doing what it takes to win or maybe he cares about both of those things but his ego and personality get in the way. That is why I say he should go to the Knicks. He can put up a double double every night, never have to worry about going to the playoffs and he won’t have to be a cancer to any team that is actually trying to improve.

End tangent.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were on Letterman together. I think this was kind of a great idea (having two members of the Celtics as opposed to any single member) and they both did a really nice job. Ray Allen just comes off as the nicest guy in the world. I don’t know how you could possibly NOT like him as a person.

 

Me? I’ve always loved Ray Allen. Even when Bill Simmons was shitting on Danny Ainge last Summer when the Celts acquired him in exchange for their first rounder and some parts (Delonte, Wally – that ended up playing AGAINST the Celtics on Cleveland in the playoffs…it was a strange season…) because he (and not JUST him, but almost EVERYONE in the sports media) thought that Ray Ray was all done before the season even started.

They were wrong.

Ray Allen is just amazing. He’s a natural shooter. He can drive to the basket (just ask Sasha RayAllen’sBitch) and he has excellent ball handling skills.

Additionally, by all accounts, Ray Allen IS a great guy. he always conducts himself professionally. He is a sharp dresser. He is a surprisingly good actor and he can ball.

I loved Ray Allen when he was in Milwaukee, I loved him in Seattle (especially when he said that Kobe was a selfish bastard) and I was very excited when I heard he was coming to Boston. I think even without KG, the Celtics would have definitely been a playoff team with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson. They probably would not have gotten past the second round with that lineup, but who knows (and while we’re talking about Al Jefferson, there is a guy who might be destined to play amazingly for years and be on a bad team. Maybe McHale can trade him back to the Celtics for Sam Cassell straight up…?) 

 

 

 

 

The parade was…Well, look at the pictures.

 

Leon Powe got a great reaction. Big Baby had his shirt off. Everybody had a cigar. It was incredible.

When Ray Allen came by, everybody was chanting “Shut-tles-worth!”.

Doc looked as happy as a father on the day of his son’s wedding.

It’s amazing how things can change so quickly. And yes, this was a trade-era championship. Yes, the Celtics did bring in all stars and yes, them winning a championship had A LOT to do with re-building in the off season.

But so what?

The Celtics had to move a lot of young guys with a lot of potential to get to this point. Danny Ainge still  had to make some swift free agent acquisitions even after the new three had come together. And furthermore, you can have all the stars in the world on your roster (look at the Karl Malone Lakers) but if they don’t click, if it doesn’t come together and if they aren’t all on the same page, you still aren’t going to win a championship (ahem, 2000’s Yankees).

Furthermore, the reason why these trades were so risky is that this team is clearly a time-sensitive team.

Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will almost definitely all be retired by 2015 (if not 2014, 13, 12 or 11) and in addition, its not like guys in the NBA are age-proof. You get older. Your body cannot do a lot of the things it used to. They all have a couple years of prime basketball left (maybe 4 for Pierce, 2 for Ray and 3 for KG). If they didn’t win soon, they probably never would.

And another great side effect of having three legitimate All Stars on one team is that it makes EVERYONE around them not only play better as a player but also act better as a teammate.

Rajon Rondo was a big question mark coming into this season. After game 6 of the Finals? He looked like he could be quickly becoming one of the top 10 point guards in the NBA (qualifier: he still needs to improve his jumper and get some more range shooting, drive to the basket more fearlessly to get easy buckets and/or to draw fouls [imagine if Rondo got to the line 10 times a game? Paul Pierce needs to teach him how to tactfully take a soft hit and make it look like he got shanked] and improve his awareness [sometimes he throws it away or misses an open man]. But with all of that said, Rondo steals like Rickey Henderson, Rebounds like he’s 6′10″ and runs like he’s Chad Johnson. He’s got a lot of potential and I don’t think hanging out with three future Hall of Famers is going to make him any worse.

Big Baby was rookie. And even though he would make some mistakes, its clear that he has a lot of intensity, the determination to become a better player (the guy has lost like 60 lbs. since college) and the fearlessness of a proven veteran (even if he doesn’t always have the skill  of one).

Leon Powe is the same age as me. He looks like he’s in his 30’s. He’s fearless. He works hard. And he has a presence that let’s you know there ARE nights when he can carry the team (OFF THE BENCH MIND YOU!).

Tony Allen is kind of a fifty-fifty guy. He’s sometimes a great defender. Sometimes a liability on offense. Sometimes amazing. Sometimes not so good. If he can develop some consistency, he could be a solid bench option.

Kendrick Perkins…He is a legit big man. He pushes and shoves, rebounds like a beast and even hits the occasional spot up shot that seems  surprising even though it shouldn’t be. The guy can play Center.

And outside of the young guys, the veterans they brought in, Posey, House, PJ Brown, even Scott Pollard at the beginning of the season, all played quality basketball.

Posey MUST BE RE-SIGNED. The Celtics need that toughness. There is no better sub for Paul Pierce in the NBA. James Posey just imposes his will on guys defensively AND can shoot and aside from those two great elements, he’s just a bastard on the court. The guy will shove anyone after a whistle or play for that extra second. He’d the type of guy I would HATE if he were playing against my team, but on my team, he’s one of my favorites.

Eddie House should also be re-signed. He is a lights out shooter who stepped up big in certain crunch-time situations for the Celtics all year long. Remember that game in Charlotte the day after Thanksgiving where he somehow tipped and stole an inbound pass, got it to Ray Allen and Ray Ray hit the game winner with nothing left on the clock? Yeah. That’s what Eddie can do. He might not be the best ball handler, but he is a solid defender and always an offensive threat on the court.

Sam Cassell should probably not be resigned. He’s well past the wrong side of 30 and even though he hit a few nice shots for the Celtics, nothing was life-altering enough to make me think that they couldn’t live without him. However, I will give Sam credit for a few things, first, the guy is a three time champion, he always plays hard (even if it isn’t always great play) and he is never afraid to take big shots (even when he misses). The greatest thing about having Sam on the Celtics this season was definitely that he was on the bench with the guys to keep them intense and tell them how to play championship basketball. The guy is a natural coach. He seems to be someone who, even if he didn’t contribute so much on the court this post-season, he can definitely (and DID definitely) help any team on the bench. For these reasons, I think that the Celtics should shrewdly offer him an assistant coaching job for next season. Don’t let him go on bad terms. Give him a chance to continue to help the team in a great capacity. He clearly gets people pumped up and he LOVES to talk. I wouldn’t want to lose that element. Maybe Sam will decide that going out with a ring would be the perfect book-end to coming in with a ring (which he did in Houston in 1964…I mean…).

I don’t expect PJ Brown to play another season. Even though he did save the Celtics from the Cavs. He was more than they could have asked for in the playoffs. I think that PJ should probably ride off into the sunset with his championship ring (but if he wants to come back, shit, I’d take him!).

Scott Pollard is probably gone.

Brian Scalabrine doesn’t seem to be part of the long-term plan. But I will say that Scal had the funniest post-game interview following game 6. He really does seem like a good guy. If he goes I will certainly miss chanting “SCAL-A-BRIN-E” at the end of games to convince Doc to let him play a couple of minutes (which he did. Doc always gives the fans what they want when the Celtics are up by double digits and it is late in the fourth in the regular season).

 

 

 

After the parade I was a little let down. 

 

Another season of NBA basketball has ended.

And even though I have never in my life been able to watch and comprehend a Celtics team playing as well as this one did and I wanted them to win it all, part of me hope this season would never end.

Don’t get me wrong, a major part of me wanted to be able to go to sleep before 1:00 a.m. every night during the Playoffs (David Stern is a giant piece of garbage. By the way, during the Larry O’Brien trophy presentation when everyone was booing him [rightfully so] he said ‘oh, you’re saying Truth’, I would have tried to start a “No-One-Likes-You” chant, the only thing I fault the Game 6 crowd for NOT doing).

THIS is an exciting league again…and I’m not just saying that because the team I root for won it all.

Next year:

The Portland Trailblazers SHOULD be a force. That is a team of young, big, talented, hungry guys. Brandon Roy is just plain exciting. Greg Oden could be amazing. They should be something really special.

The New Orleans Hornets WILL BE even better. If that team makes any type of off season pick ups, they can improve. Chris Paul is just a phenom.

The Suns and Mavs will adjust somewhat and we’ll get to see if they start to get old or if start to grow. The Suns are the single team this season that absolutely embarrassed the Celtics (February 22nd). Both teams still have some really talented guys.

The Golden State drama will play out and we’ll see what happens. I love Baron Davis and I hope he sticks with them.

The Heat and Bulls could both be exponentially better next season. Both teams were NOT expected to be complete non-factors in 2007-08. I think both will rebound and would not be surprised to see both of them in the playoffs next year.

The Wizards were the only team that consistently flustered the Celtics and we will wait and see what happens with Gilbert Arenas, but they have some really good players.

The 76ers will continue to grow. Andre Igudola looks like someone who could be something special.

The Hawks made a nice run at the Celtics. If they get their act together, they could be a solid team all year. They have a lot of talent.

The Pistons are probably going to make some kind of deal. But if they retain the core of players they have (most of it) they’ll be in really good shape again. Did I ever mention that Rodney Stuckey is going to be HUGE?

The Magic have Dwight Howard. That guy is a monster. And they have Ron Jeremy coaching. What could go wrong?

The Lakers will probably win 60 games next season if Kobe returns and stays healthy along with a healthy Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the Finals again next season.

The Spurs are still the Spurs. Until Tim Duncan retires, they will be the Spurs. Even when Tim Duncan retires, they’ll still have a great point guard and Manu (who is somehow amazing almost all of the time).

The Raptors will attempt to sign every foreign-born free agent on the market.

The Sonics will hopefully stay in Seattle where they belong. And Kevin Durant will hopefully continue to improve and be one of the most exciting young players in the league.

Next season, I predict that the Celtics have the best record in the East, The Lakers have the best record in the west, the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Kings, Bucks, Sonics and Knicks finish near the bottom and viewership improves substantially (but not because of ANYTHING David Stern does).

It is an exciting time for the NBA.

The best TEAM won this year.

And now I have to watch baseball for four months.

 

 

 

 

 

The NBA Finals Are Making Me Want To Puke (Game 6 Preview)

According to awesome sources Ray and Perk will both be playing tonight.

Here is my best case scenario for Kendrick Perkins:

Perkins plays 40 minutes of hard basketball, picks up 4 to 5 hard fouls, scores between 10 and 16 points and notches 15 rebounds. His toughness and general beastliness puts Pau Gasol in a terrible position as Perk is more physical, tougher, stronger and bigger. Having Perkins on the court also frees up KG to pick up only  a few fouls and play the low post to perfection.

Here is my worst case scenario for Kendrick Perkins:

Perkins plays 6 minutes of hard basketball and grabs a couple of rebounds before realizing he really isn’t strong enough to play the rest of the game. On his way out of the game he punches Kobe Bryant in the face, elbows Pau Gasol in the jaw and throws Sasha Vujacic into the upper deck (preferably section 308 where the fans will seek redemption on behalf of that guy who got beat up at the Staples Center last week). Because Perk is ejected after the melee, Doc Decides to go physical and stay BIG so he uses Glen Big Baby Davis to spell Leon Powe and PJ Brown down low.

Either way, it will be interesting.

But I’m getting all pumped up and ready to go. I’m ready to start jumping up and down like Eddie House before a tip off.

I’ve had an upset stomach all day. Anxious. Nervous. And now my adrenaline is going apeshit just from thinking about the game.

I don’t think I was ready for game 5 in this way. Tonight I am ready.

And I hope KG is ready too.

The Celtics just need to constantly play hard tonight. Nobody standing around. Nobody not going for a rebound. Nobody taking a single possession off. Nobody missing an open lay up. Nobody passing up an easy shot. Nobody being afraid to drive to the basket (ESPECIALLY YOU RONDO!!! JUST TAKE THAT SHIT IN! SLAM DUNK IT ON PAU GASOL’S UGLY FUCKING HEAD!!!!). Nobody slow getting into position. Nobody missing free throws. Nobody making unnecessary fouls. Nobody falling asleep in the event the Celtics take the lead.

Tonight needs to be the same way the Celtics played all season. Tonight they need to play like they did against Phoenix on March 26th. Never let up. In the fourth quarter, spread the ball and drain the shots. Make the Lakers lose their desire to win. Make them lose their desire to play. Make them lose their desire to live.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO COME UP BIG TONIGHT.

I expect nothing less than a superb game from Pierce, KG, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, James Posey, Eddie House, Sam Cassell, PJ Brown, Tony Allen, Leon Powe and Glen Big Baby Davis. I don’t care if they have a superb game getting guys fired up on the sidelines or getting the fans fired up in the stands or knocking down Lakers and shots on the court.

Tonight they need to breathe fire and spit venom.

Tonight they need to mean it.

Tonight they need to play like its the last game of their lives.

 

NBA Finals Game 4 Earth Shattering Jesus Shuttlesworth Kobe Bryant Is Turd International Lakers Fail Cry Jack Cry!

I’m sorry that my title is a long nonsensical run-on sentence but I woke up this morning in a glass cage of emotion.

Last night was the type of game that comes along only a few times in a lifetime for your team…maybe a few times in a lifetime period.

The Celtics looked pathetic in the first quarter. A bunch of my Friends came over to watch the game and my friend Bombs was so enraged that some of them took up a count of how many times he said “give me a f-ing break!!!”. He was over 30 before halftime.

To top it all off, Rondo looked even less confident than usual (probably due to his ankle issue) and Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett weren’t at my apartment but they also weren’t really at the Staples Center, so I was a little upset.

Also, Mike Breen pulled out the “This one will be a good old fashioned blow out!” card around 7 minutes into the first quarter. I feel like there should be some laws to sports broadcasting on national television:

1) Don’t ever say anything that will both enrage the fans of one team and make you look completely moronic at the same time (I know, the Celtics were down 20 in the first. Fine. But it is the NBA FINALS! Its not like the Lakers got a 20 point lead on The Miami Heat in the first quarter. Then it might be all right to say ‘this might be a blowout’. Butseriously? I mean, I didn’t think the Celtics were wining that game, but I KNEW they would NEVER allow ANY TEAM to beat them by more than 15. Not the way they’ve been playing the last couple of rounds anyway).

2) NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER compare someone to Dr. J, MJ, Kareem, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson…etc. during a game (OR AFTER A GAME FOR THAT MATTER) while they are still young and playing. Its easy to judge Kareem’s place in history because he is retired and has completed a full body of work. Ditto for everyone else I named. But come on! I love Leon Powe just as much (if not a lot more) than the next guy. But he doesn’t look like Dr. J. Ever.

3) Do not be afraid to show some emotion every once in a while. That Ray Allen lay up….that could have been a call for the ages. He broke free and nailed a game winning layup. And they had nothing to say about it.

4) Don’t keep saying “THE CELTICS ARE ON THE VERGE OF THE GREATEST COMEBACK IN NBA FINALS HISTORY!”. That would be like saying “JON LESTER IS ON THE VERGE OF A NO HITTER”. EVERYONE CAN TELL WITHOUT YOU SAYING IT! If you want to show a little flash along the bottom of the screen, fine. But its just annoying otherwise. And Terribly bad luck. I blame the 2003 Red Sox collapse entirely on Joe Buck.

Anyway, the game looked horrible. Things were uncomfortable, I didn’t even have a seat on the couch (in my own apartment!) and the Celtics got outscored 35-14 in the first 12 minutes.

And then things started to come together.

In the second half the Lakers only scored 33 points (how you hold a team to less points AT HOME in the final 24 minutes of a game than you gave up in the first 12 minutes is beyond me). The Celtics went wild. Doc Rivers seemed to know exactly what to do the whole way (7 minute Sam Cassell stint in the first half notwithstanding).

Leon Powe played 7 minutes and notched 5 rebounds and 3 points.

The Celtics were an incredible 7-7 from the paint in the third quarter. Shot selection got them back into the game.

And then somehow defensive execution went way up.

Do you ever feel like Kendrick Perkins is either incredibly good (10% of the time) or incredibly unproductive (as in, commits too many fouls and doesn’t move well enough in the post to put up points like he should)?

When the Celtics went small, I knew they had a small chance.

Eddie House is an emotional player. James Posey is an emotional player. Those two guys have been playing side by side all season long. You can’t tell me that the Lakers have a “deeper bench” as I read from so many ESPN columnists last week. The Celtics easily have the deepest bench int he NBA. They get quality performances out of almost everybody on a consistent basis (Sam Cassell’s dead body aside).

And the way Ray Allen played at the end of the game?

First of all, that lay up where he switched hands and shot it on the way down? Absurd. And when he took Sasha Vujacic one on one to effectively end the game? Ray Allen and the Arm Sock have become Jesus Shuttlesworth. That arm sock is like a fountain of youth or something. He hasn’t played like this most of the season  the way he’s taking it to the hole and makingguys look bad. Unbelievable. The way Ray Allen carried the Celtics at the end of the game…it erases any negative things you’ve ever thought about Ray Allen int he clutch. He threw a spear through Kobe Bryant’s heart.

This Celtics team is unstoppable. They truly want it. They love and respect one another and they play like they have been together far longer than a mere 106 games (shit, 47 and 44 games for PJ Brown and Sam Cassell, whom I think does a great job cheering on the guys and getting them pumped up on the bench).

Kobe Bryant WILL LOSE either game 5 or 6 for his team because he is the antithesis of the Boston Celtics. In the words of the Get Up Kids “one star player doesn’t save the team”. Kobe WILL take somewhere between 30 and 50 shots in one of the next two games as soon as he gets pissed at his teammates and decides that they suck. And when he does that, the Celtics will see right through him and shut him down hard. Even if he scores 70 points, the Celtics will win the game 95-85.  Mark my words. He’s too selfish not to be the Achilles heel of this Lakers team.

During the last six minutes of the game, I kept reminding everyone to knock on the floor whenever Mike Breen tried to jinx the Celtics. We didn’t get up and celebrate or say ANYTHING until after the final buzzer. And when it went off we all stood up and hugged just like the Celtics.

This is a team that I feel absolutely privileged to root for. I have never felt so close to any of the Boston sports teams I’ve followed my entire life. They get it. They aren’t assholes. They aren’t me-first-crybabies (even when it might be understandable for them to be, ahem, the Cassell instead of Eddie House situation). They aren’t soft guys who are afraid of doing things the hard way. They aren’t guys who mentally check out when they go down big. They aren’t arrogant pricks who think they’ve already won.

This whole season has been about one thing. This Celtics team plays and conducts itself exactly the way that you are taught to act when you’re growing up. They share, they don’t hold grudges, they care for one another, they help each other out, they want what’s best for everyone not just themselves, they can take constructive criticism, they stand up for one another and they don’t give up when things aren’t going their way.

And they’re closer now than a lot of people thought they would ever be.

NBA Finals Game 4 Preview

Will Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce come to my apartment for the game tonight? Probably not. But if they don’t I hope they AT LEAST make an appearance on the court at the Staples Center.

Game 3 was brutal. It was ugly, ugly basketball. The Lakers looked just slightly less disoriented than the Celtics and that’s why they won. Rajon Rondo sprained his ankle, KG and Paul Pierce were barely alive, Kendrick Perkins was a complete non-factor and still it came down to the wire.

Pau Gasol was whiter than usual on Tuesday.

Was it the contrast of his skin and the yellow jerseys? Maybe. But I prefer to think that he was strung out on heroin.

Hopefully Pau will look strung out again, Lamar Odom will continue to choke (URI SHOULD HAVE WON IT ALL THAT YEAR LAMAR! I STILL BLAME YOU!!!!) and Kobe Bryant will get elbowed in the neck by Sam Cassell (killing two birds with one stone).

I know it will be physical. I know it will be hard. I’m pretty sure that the Celtics will come out with momentum.

But the pieces need to fall into place.

I expect big things from Rondo, House, Leon Powe and I have a feeling Glen Big Baby Davis will even show up tonight (for no good reason…but sometimes Doc just gets lucky).

Paul Pierce should probably drop about 60 tonight to make up for Tuesday.

I TOLD YOU LEON! DIDN’T I SAY LEON? WHAT!!!!

Leon Powe says “Yeah, York was right about me all along. The Lakers don’t play defense. I can push them around and muscle my way to the hoop. You know I’m from Oakland, right? This Lakers team is like the International Passport at IHOP, you don’t know whats coming out or where it came from.”

Game 2 of the NBA Finals was big in a few ways for the Celtics. They got the win. They played really hard for 3 and 1/3 quarters. Paul Pierce is either made of adrenaline or the knee thing really isn’t that big of a deal. Ray Allen and the arm sock of unquestionable glory were present again. Rajon Rondo had some insane assists and rebounds. They had an above average shot selection all night. I could go on…

But by far, the best thing that happened to the Celtics on Sunday night was the fact that they managed to surrender 41 points in the final 12 minutes.

These Lakers are not stupid, they’re not slow and they aren’t going to roll over and die.

An almost-choke should be enough to make the entire team think twice before they get stars in their eyes. It was a win, but the Celtics still have a lot to work on. And almost choking should give them the momentum they need to come out with in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Allow me to also point out that the Celtics won on Sunday without heavy offensive assistance fro KG.

Garnett was relatively quiet on the offensive end. True, Pierce was golden and Ray Allen and KG were effective, but there is going to come a game where the Celtics need KG to get 30 or more points. It will happen. Especially if Paul Pierce does become hampered by the knee strain.

Now, I’m not saying KG didn’t play a good game last night, a double double with a handful of assists is nothing to sneeze at.

But he missed some shots that he usually hits.

And the Celtics will need him to step up big in LA.

One more note about Leon Powe, that guy needs to play 10 minutes a game. He just HAS TO. I’ve said in the past he and Posey are the only two guys I have absolute confidence in coming off the bench. PJ Brown is great once in a while. But he fouls a lot and he doesn’t always bring the same type of energy Leon does.

Maybe Eddie House will make a surprise appearance in Game 3. After all, ET did not really show up last night. And when Eddie gets some big shots, it just makes the whole Celtics team incredibly happy. He’s definitely a big emotional leader off the bench.

The Lakers can complain about the lack of free throws they had. Sure. But it wasn’t like the Celtics weren’t committing fouls. They just didn’t commit a lot of shooting fouls. And I can’t really think of more than a couple of instances that a shooting foul could have been called against them when it wasn’t.

Game 3 will be good. Another night I’ll go to sleep around 1:00 a.m. and roll into work the next morning.

 

 

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!