Bullied: The 2010-2011 Boston Celtics Eulogy

At least it ended in a good way. LeBron went off, dropped the dagger, beat his chest, and acted like he had gotten further than the Eastern Conference Finals and like Dwayne Wade wasn’t the main reason for it. Wait, this isn’t a particularly good end. But it’s better than what I had envisioned, which was a game 7 loss, perhaps in overtime, as Lebron or Wade drove to the lane possession after possession, consistently drawing fouls while similar play on the other end went unrewarded. Or one of the Heat stars accidentally-on-purpose knocking a Celtic down and injuring him. Or maybe the refs overstepping their bounds and throwing a Celtic out of a crucial game for using bad language, which is technically in the rulebook but if applied fairly would mean nearly every player (except maybe Ray Allen and A.C. Green) would get tossed from every game.

With the way games one through three went, these scenarios weren’t even a fantasy. They actually happened. Now, no one wants to be the one who complains about the refs. “Only losers whine about that.” And yes, that’s true, and it’s unbecoming, but it also assumes a base level of competence from the officials. When the officials are decent and a losing fan complains about a borderline call, that’s whining. But in a series reffed the way this one was, it’s simply being realistic to discuss the effect the officiating had on the series. Consider:

In five games, Miami attempted 47 more free throws than Boston. So nearly ten per game. It’s generally accepted that the Celtics are more of a jump-shooting team, while the Heat like to go hard to the basket, so maybe this disparity isn’t surprising. But adding up the totals by shot type (according to CBS Sports), the Celtics actually attempted 108 layups and 18 dunks, while Miami only attempted 95 layups and 16 dunks. I’m willing to buy that Miami’s drives to the hoop were more likely to draw a foul, given James’ and Wade’s playing styles, but not so much more likely as to warrant such a disparity.

I was also pretty unhappy about Dwayne Wade pulling Rajon Rondo down and injuring his elbow, rendering him pretty ineffective for the next two games. Rondo is of course the Celtics’ biggest offensive weapon, and as we saw in previous playoffs, he has a tendency to turn up his game when the team needs him most. But on a play when the ball was far away, Wade hooked his leg around Rondo and knocked him over awkwardly. While he was ostensibly protecting Rondo from chasing the ball, I thought it was an unnecessary non-basketball play and should have been called a flagrant foul. But it fit right in with the Heat’s pattern of physical, bullying play that bruised Ray Allen’s chest, knocked Rondo down repeatedly, and got the Celtics into foul trouble (along with a couple phantom technicals*) and was generally ignored by the officials.

*Is it weird to anyone else how little was mentioned about the flagrant foul on Jermaine O’Neal and technical on Pierce in game one that caused a five-point swing in the former case and an ejection in the latter, both of which were later rescinded by the league? I know the refs can’t be perfect, but something is wrong when two calls that have such an obvious effect on the outcome of the game are later admitted by the NBA to be wrong.

Some more thoughts on the series:

-I’m unlikely to watch the rest of the playoffs at this point. It’s a shame, because basketball is a great game, but it’s really being ruined for me by poor officiating and boring play from the Heat. I much prefer teams that run offenses, setting screens and making the extra pass, than teams who put it in one of two players’ hands and either jab-step and shoot a jumper or drive and expect a foul at worst.

-Where do the Celtics go from here? There’s lots of talk about “blowing up the core,” but this doesn’t make any sense to me. The Big Four are all signed at least through next year (when Garnett’s contract expires) so it makes sense to me to bring them back, see what Jermaine and Shaq O’Neal can offer, see what an offseason can do for Jeff Green’s teamwork and basketball IQ (and for the Big Three’s legs and other nagging injuries) and see what happens. At the end of the year, Garnett and Allen’s contracts expire, so GM Danny Ainge needs to again take a look at the team at the trading deadline and, if things don’t look promising, deal those expiring contracts for future pieces. I don’t have any delusions about the Celtics’ chances next year, but if enough things go right (Green matures, good health, some good bench additions through free agency or even the draft) they have as much shot as anyone.

Hey, at least they didn’t go down like the Lakers!

Starter: Ray Allen

If you follow my twitter (do it, I’m really interesting), know me personally, or were within earshot of the 02116 area code when I won my ticket, you’ll know that I had the amazing fortune of attending the Celtics/Lakers game last Thursday during which Ray Allen set the all-time record for three pointers made (though he still needs 63 more to match Reggie Miller’s record if the playoffs are included). I spent more money than I should have, but it was a perfect combination of events: Celtics vs. Lakers, Ray needing one three to tie the record, and Reggie Miller himself being in attendance as he was broadcasting the game for TNT. Since Ray is my favorite roundballer of all time, I had to go.

A lot of people are curious when I mention that Ray Allen is my favorite player, so I’ll explain why. First and foremost, he’s a fantastic player. Though he’s lost some ups, in his prime he may have been the best player pound-for-pound besides Allen Iverson, as he was not only a fantastic shooter, but an extremely quick driver and solid finisher at the rim. He has a high “basketball IQ,” plays great defense and really has few weaknesses on the court. I was discussing with a friend before the game how most three-point specialists don’t last very long because they can’t get open or play defense, and that his complete game is what makes Allen special and will likely make his record one that’s tough to top.

While I’m always hesitant to pass judgments on players’ personal lives, it seems like Ray has few weaknesses off the court as well. Every coach he’s had says he works harder than any player they’ve coached, he does plenty of charity work, and he just seems genuinely nice. I admired him on his previous teams at Connecticut, Milwaukee, and Seattle, and when he was acquired by my favorite team I was overjoyed.

After a multi-day quest to obtain a ticket, I got lucky and scored a 1st-row loge seat (Pro tip: I’ve had the best secondhand-ticket luck with ebay over Stubhub or a ticket broker). While it was in the corner, it was roughly 25 feet behind Ray’s Mom, so I was pretty happy with its location. And as you’re aware, Ray set the record in the first quarter, and the Garden erupted. The teams continued play through his tremendous standing ovation, and then when a foul was called Ray walked over and shook hands with Reggie Miller. At the end of the first quarter, he hugged Reggie, then hugged his Mom, and then his wife all while the crowd cheered their lungs out.

While the Celtics ended up losing the game, it was the best loss I’ve ever attended in person, and one of the best events of any sort I’ve been present for. Congrats to Ray. Though in typical Ray fashion, he gave this quote after the game: “It was a magical moment, being in this building. I felt a little embarrassed that there was so much attention surrounding this moment.”

He’s more focused on banner 18 than personal milestones, I’d say.

My 10 Favorites: Part One

This is the first of two posts about my favorite things about sports. Between possible lockouts in football and basketball next year, Roger Clemens committing perjury, the Darrelle Revis holdout, and the backlash from LeBron’s relocation of his talents, it’s easy for sportswriters to be cynical and negative on a lot of fronts. Hell, it’s their job to identify the issues confronting sports and enter their opinion in the public forum for discussion. At times, however, it can be easy to forget what it is exactly that we love about sports and why we follow in the first place. So I’m taking it upon myself to first post ten of my favorite sports-related YouTube clips, and then following it up with the ten “little things” that I love about sports, underrated moments, or details that keep me forever enmeshed in the 24-hour news cycle of the American sports scene.

Without any further ado, in no particular order, my ten favorite sports-related clips, rewatchable throughout time:

1) Joe Namath being fresh with Suzy Kolber—I was actually at this game, so I had no idea this happened until I got home that night, but it doesn’t seem to get any less funny as time goes on, and unfortunately leads to me assuming Namath is in various states of intoxication whenever I see him now, including his recent appearances on Hard Knocks at Jets’ Training Camp with his shorts hiked up to his nipples:


2) Steven Gerrard’s Top 10 Goals—Even if you don’t like soccer, you can enjoy this nicely edited collection of goals by Steven Gerrard. If you’re not familiar with Gerrard, he’s the hometown-bred captain of the Liverpool Reds, one of the top teams in the English Premier League. He’s the ultimate clutch performer, and starting at goal #9, you’ll wonder “how isn’t this #1?” with each goal:


3)Robbie Fowler’s Goal Celebration—Sticking with Liverpool and videos you can enjoy even you don’t enjoy soccer, here’s Robbie Fowler, former Liverpool striker who was nicknamed “God” and was known around town for being a partier. In fact, after allegations surfaced that he was doing tons of coke, Liverpool played a derby match against crosstown rivals Everton, during which fans chanted derogatory things like calling him a “smackhead.” It’d be like if the Yankees came to Fenway immediately after A-Rod admitted to using steroids and fans started giving him the business and he ended up hitting a go-ahead home run in the ninth. But I doubt he’d have the humor/genius to celebrate like this:


4) Sick Wiffle Ball Pitcher—This is just fun to watch, especially when you imagine the time and effort this guy took to setting the camera up in his backyard and putting it online. I imagine he has an entire room in his parents’ house dedicated to wiffle ball. But still, you gotta hand it to him—he’s got some nasty stuff:


5) Bull Gets Revenge—Sticking with a different kind of “Oh Shit!” factor, here’s what happens in Mexico when a bull has ups like Dee Brown. Pajarito! PETA members, look away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWdCRdnmopg

6) Bruins Take the Fight to MSG—But Pajarito is only the second most dangerous event involving sport and fan interactions here. In this 1970s precursor to the Brawl at the Palace at Auburn Hills, check out what happens when dumb New York Ranger fans tempt the Bruins during the roughest era of the NHL. Hopefully Milan Lucic is getting ideas:


7)COME TO PENN STATE—This video is proof of a couple things. 1) Most college football coaches are stilted and humorless 2) Their presence only makes Joe Paterno’s continued exuberance more awesome. If you knew nothing about any school in the Big Ten, who would you want to play for after watching this video?


8) RBI Baseball does 1986 World Series—And the winner for Most Creative Display of a Painful Memory goes to…Still, as much as I can be pained by an event that happened when I was two, this video is awesome. How does it not have more than 110,000 views?


9) Bush Throws First Pitch at Yankee Stadium After 9/11—I wanted something with historical significance as well as sports on this list, and even though I hate the Yankees, I have to say this does a good job of placing the viewer back in the weeks following the tragedy of 9/11. I don’t like the Yanks, and I don’t like Bush, but this video is still capable of giving chills:


10) Celtics Trifecta—Because I couldn’t possibly end this with two pro-New York videos, here is a THREESOME of awesome Celtics clips. I’d like to throw out there that I am very disappointed I couldn’t get the retirement speeches of Bob Cousy, Yaz, or Cam Neely, but these will do. I saved my favorite for last. KG celebrates his first title:


Rajon Rondo Top 10 Plays 2009-10:


annnnnd Scal Dunks!


And because I love Scal, here’s him getting a stupid question from an ignorant European reporter. That’s how you shut him up, Scal!

Son of a Beach!

9:09 PM EST, Thursday, July 8, 2010…doesn’t it feel like all of our sports lives are about to change as we know them? LeBron announced where he will be playing basketball for the next five years or so. As much as I’ve been smearing him for setting up this media carnival and showcase for his ego, I have to admit, I didn’t change the channel. Like it or not, whether LeBron ever wins a ring, the NBA next season is going to look vastly different than it did in ‘09-‘10, and LeBron is the at the center of this universe in flux. It fits in with the idea of LeBron the Global (Universal?) Icon, who over the past couple years seems much more determined perhaps than LeBron the player.

Granted, this is unfair: I’m torn on how to feel about LeBron’s considering fleeing the Cavs to get help to win his rings elsewhere. People are continuously saying “Jordan wouldn’t do that; Kobe wouldn’t do that,” but Jordan a) was unquestionably the best player who has ever lived and b) played in one of the worst eras talent-wise the NBA has seen. When Bird and Magic’s generation faded, teams could get by on one superstar being surrounded by marginal players, but even Jordan had Pippen, often overlooked and yet a member of the NBA’s silver anniversary team in his own right. Kobe almost left the Lakers after missing the playoffs, and the same people who are now chastising LeBron were the ones who were irate when the Lakers stole Pau Gasol from Memphis. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are playing during an extremely competitive time in the NBA. It takes six, seven, eight guys to win a title, not three.

Anyway, here is a key to what we’re learning about LeBron based on his decision:
Cleveland - Is loyal like a dog with a sick owner; admirable, but a poor professional decision.
Miami - He wants to win without the pressure of being “the man.”
Chicago - He wants to win with the pressure of being “the man” (in Jordan’s shadow no less).
New York - He wants to be a global icon.
New Jersey - I don’t know. It’s kind of crazy, but it’s kind of not. The icon level is low in Jersey, but when they move to Brooklyn? I don’t even know what I would make of this, but it’s not going to happen unless he has beer goggles that make Travis Outlaw look like David Thompson.
LA Clippers - He hates winning, money, and his ACLs and wants them to be shattered instantly.

Here is a breakdown of my thoughts as his infomercial unfolded on what it means for him, for the Eastern Conference, for the NBA over the next decade, and for us as human beings.

9:27 - Still waiting. I would like to note that I had the same beard as LeBron my senior year of college, but I don’t hear anyone calling him Abe Lincoln.

9:28 - So it’s Miami…Pat Riley, Bosh, Wade….uh…Beasley (for now)….umm…Chalmers? This is what we suspected for the past 24 hours, but now that it’s final, let’s quickly break down what it means for everyone involved.

First and foremost, the Heat. They now have three all-stars and two superstars to go with a handful of second-round picks and not much money to fill out the squad. The Celtics won a title with three just-past-their-prime guys in Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen, so there is some precedent for this, despite what everyone in the media wants you to think. However, these three are all younger and in their primes; that’s the difference here and why everyone wants to, to quote Denny Green, “crown they ass.” But let’s pump the breaks. The Heat have no money to invest elsewhere. They have no quality point guard and no depth. Let’s imagine that the Heat run into the Lakers in the finals next season. Personally, I take Gasol over Bosh, who has played 11 playoff games in seven years and never won a playoff series, and I think Kobe and Lebron cancel each other out. The Lakers would have no one left to equal Wade on their own, BUT a cast of five or six decent role players, all giving Gasol and Kobe rest while El Tres Grande can’t afford to come out? The Celtics were in a position to win because of the new big three, but they were the best team in 2008 because of guys like James Posey, Eddie House, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and P.J. Brown. I don’t see how Miami could possibly fill out their roster with quality unless their three stars take less money (not likely, isn’t that what a large part of this was about?) One last thought on the Heat: LeBron was asked how he planned on sharing the spotlight in Miami and responded, “For me, it’s about everyone having their own spotlight and doing what’s best for the team.” What?

And then there is the poor Cavs. Jesus. “It’s not about leaving Cleveland…” is the equivalent of “It’s not you, it’s me.” They’re going to go from back-to-back top seeds in the East to out of competition for the next decade. Yes, it will be that drastic. Frankly, I think the Cavs should be shipped to Seattle. Seriously. Seattle should’ve never lost its team in the first place, they have a good fan base, and the city of Cleveland really just needs to be single for awhile and focus on itself. Five years from now, we’ll give them the Hornets or something. By the way, who is their best player now? The ghost of Antawn Jamison? Mo Williams? (Shuddering.)

9:49 - ESPN shows a burning LeBron jersey on a street in Cleveland. His response: “I can’t get involved in that.” No one has burned their home this badly since David Koresh.

Twenty-four hours ago, we thought the Knicks were going to obtain the services of the King, and being a Celtics fan, I said, “pretty please.” With LeBron and Amare, the Knicks become a 50-win team, fourth or fifth seed because there is again, no point guard, and Amare doesn’t play defense or rebound well for his size. Now with just Amare and no LeBron? We also just found out David Lee was signed and traded to Golden State, not for Monta Ellis as had been reported, but high upside risk Anthony Randolph and a couple of role players. I’m saying an eight seed and prompt first round exit. Sadly, the remaining Knick fans in the room are applauding that idea happily. I also predict that by the All-Star Break, Amare will be deeply regret underrating spending his entire career playing with Jason Kidd and Steve Nash and will be putting in calls to Tony Parker, Carmelo, and Chris Paul, pleading with them to join him on his 45-37 team.

The Eastern Conference as a whole has fluctuated a bit. The Cavs are annihilated from contention, and the 2001 All-NBA team…I mean, 2010 Boston Celtics and Orlando should still be among the elite contenders for a title. Whether the Celtics window just closed or has a year to go remains to be seen, but they are one DeJuan Blair away from having the All-Bad Knees team after signing Jermaine O’Neal, who, somehow, I think the Heat will miss. The Heat become a top three team unquestionably and where they fit among those other two teams depends on who else dons a Heat jersey this winter. The Bulls, Bucks, and Hawks are decent, but a definite level below the previous three teams. The biggest loser besides the Cavs (and new coach with an empty cupboard Byron Scott)? The Nets, who actually have a foursome of promising youngsters in Derrick Favors, Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, and Terence Williams, tons of spending cash, a rich new owner, future Brooklyn arena, and currently nothing to show for it. The worst thing they could do, however, is take that money and go hand out bad contracts to the leftover free agents still grubbing for fat deals.

The other big winners? Jarvis Varnardo, Da’Sean Butler, Dexter Pitman, and Latavious Williams. Not only did these second-round picks luck out by getting drafted, but they got drafted by a team that is a legit finals contender, AND has at least eight holes to fill in their lineup on the cheap. Williams spent last winter playing in the freakin’ D league after skipping college. Talk about lucking out.

Out west, I’d urge people not to overlook Lee going to the Warriors, where Randolph never got a legitimate chance to show his mettle. Lee’s a great scorer and rebounder, but his weakness is defense, and he just went to the one team in the NBA that doesn’t care whether you play defense or not. Look around the conference—Phoenix just got a lot weaker without Amare in the post, Dallas kept Dirk but overpayed Brendan Haywood (shades of Erick Dampier—some people never learn) and Utah lost Carlos Boozer. The West should be in flux too after free agency finishes up and may actually be weaker than the East for the first time in over a decade.

Which brings me to my last point: A bold prediction. Jon Barry predicted two NBA titles for the Heat over the next five years. Michael Wilbon went three in four years. Me? I think Kevin Durant wins more rings over the next decade than this current Heat squad. Under the radar this week (the way it should be), the defending NBA scoring champ and 22-year-old wunderkind Durant signed a five-year extension to stay with Oklahoma City, a rising team that has surrounded Durant with young talent and smart management/coaching. As a player, one-on-one, Durant is not better than LeBron, but in regard to intangibles and how he goes about being a part of a team, I’d much prefer Durant over the next five years than LeBron. He pushed a top seeded Laker team to six games despite being outgunned by a superior squad, has the work ethic and developing game to continue growing as an elite player, and contrary to popular belief, he’s not just a scorer: this past season, there were dramatic spikes in his rebound, steal, block, and assist numbers. At only 22, those should continue to trend upwards. So you heard it here first: OKC is where the future of the NBA is at.

Okay, so maybe that wasn’t so brief. But on a night where everything has changed, it’s not so bad to simmer and dwell on the shifting battle lines of the NBA.

Optimism Reigns or Rain on Optimism?

Who is going to prolong Boston’s run of success?
Ahh, summer. If you’re not a baseball fan, it can be the slowest time of the year, the few month period where baseball is the only sport going on until NFL training camps convene and the season begins at the end of August. With the drafts now completed for the NBA and NHL, it is a time where fans who enjoy having three or four of their teams competing at the same time are forced to dwell on what could’ve been this past year and be optimistic about what is to come.

Boston fans still smarting from a Game 7 loss at the hands of the Lakers really have nothing to complain about. From 2001 to 2008, the city underwent an unprecedented run of success not just for Boston, but any sports city. We won six titles in eight finals appearances across three different teams. The Red Sox broke an 86-year string of disappointment only to repeat three years later, the Celtics won their first title since 1986, and the Patriots dynasty won the franchise’s first three Super Bowl titles. In the past decade, Boston teams have 25 combined playoff appearances, dominating other four-sport, four-team cities such as Phoenix/Arizona (13), Atlanta (13), and DC (10). Toronto has 14 and I even gave them the six postseason appearances of the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL.

These things go in cycles, of course. The nineties were a relatively down time in Boston sports with only the Bruins being a consistent playoff contender and never reaching the Stanley Cup. With the Celtics lost title, the Bruins historically embarrassing second round exit to the Flyers after being up three games to none, and the Patriots losing their first home playoff game of the Belichick/Brady era, there are ominous signs of lean years approaching. Both the Celtics and Patriots are led by aging veterans and the Bruins are starting to have the stench of perennial underachievers.

That being said, we still have a lot going for us, including four bonafide playoff teams, and as I said, ‘tis the off-season when optimism can reign supreme. The question is this: Whom am I most optimistic about for when the leaves turn orange and baseball goes into hibernation?

The case for the Patriots
First and foremost, we still have Brady and we still have Belichick. We also still have the veteran offensive line led by Logan Mankins, who may be the best interior lineman in the NFL, and rising tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, and Brandon Meriweather are Pro Bowl caliber defenders. Randy Moss is still “straight cash, homey” and the Patriots have gotten a much needed infusion of youth in the past two drafts that should hopefully start to pay dividends this season. Specifically, I’m excited about cornerback Darius Butler and rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes, who’s got the leadership and instincts reminiscent of former Pats stud Mike Vrabel.

The case against the Patriots
There have been reports that Tom Brady is no longer seeing eye to eye with the coaching staff and other veterans, causing fans to worry if he’s gone too “Hollywood” on us. Mankins has requested a trade (never a good sign), and you have to wonder when that offensive line will go from being “veteran” to “old.” We have no idea what, if anything, we’ll get from Wes Welker, and the options to replace him are the gritty but limited Julian Edelman, second-year man Brandon Tate, rookie deep threat Taylor Price, and Torry Holt, who is entering the “Babe Ruth with the Braves” portion of his career. The scheduling doesn’t do us any favors with non-division games against Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, San Diego, and Baltimore. Perhaps the biggest concern of all isn’t anything to do with the Patriots themselves, but the fact that the Jets and Dolphins have continued to get significantly better; they have better people in their front offices now than in the past, and have been huge players in the free agency market, with the Jets acquiring Antonio Cromartie, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Santonio Holmes, and the Fins picking up Karlos Dansby and Brandon Marshall. The Patriots could possibly go 10-6 again and not make the playoffs.

The case for the Bruins
Seguin! Seguin! Seguin! Thanks to the inept Maple Leafs trading two high first-round picks in successive years to the B’s for Phil Kessel, the Bruins drafted forward Tyler Seguin Friday night, one of two players in the draft to be considered star caliber. The Globe’s pre-draft coverage of Seguin detailed how following a playoff loss to number one overall pick Taylor Hall and a superior Windsor team, Seguin went into seclusion, working out and training with intense competitive fervor for sometimes ten hours a day leading up to the draft. Kid’s got moxie. The Bruins’ off-season will also look to be the most animated of the three teams; they’ve already traded playoff scapegoat Dennis Wideman, resigned hard-nosed young defender Johnny Boychuk, and acquired talented scorer Nathan Horton. Seguin’s arrival gives them a back log at center, but the kid can play some wing and the Bruins have promised more moves are on the horizon.

The case against the Bruins
How do you bounce back after coughing up a 3-0 lead in a Game 7 of a series you once led three games to none? The second round exit was a stain on the franchise and nearly wiped out the memory of the gutsy first round upset over Ryan Miller and the Sabres. In fact, it was probably the worst playoff loss after being up 3-0 since this infamous game. Scoring was the chief concern this year, and despite the talent down the middle, there is no promise that the Bruins will get enough from the wings to change that. Mark Recchi, the veteran leader, is a free agent-to-be, and there is concern about the sizeable contract of now backup goaltender Tim Thomas. At what point do we start calling former top sixteen picks Zach Hamill and Joe Colbourne busts?

The case for the Celtics
Out of the three, they’re coming off the most successful previous season, and the heart and soul of the team, Paul Pierce, should have a few good years left. Despite an erratic and sometimes downright puzzling finals, Rajon Rondo has established himself as one of the top five point guards in the league, and is locked up for the next five years. Rasheed Wallace, we hardly knew ye: the NBA career technical foul leader’s pending retirement, paired with some shrewd contract restructuring with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, could leave the Celtics enough money to pursue a second-tier big man, the likes of a Carlos Boozer, as well as set them up to have Pierce, Allen, and Garnett’s contracts all expire at the same time. Celtics fans will love rookie Avery Bradley—he fits the Celtics mold of an athletic, stud defender who should develop an offensive game and give Rondo (fourth in the NBA in minutes last season) and Allen (if he returns) a breather off the bench. It was only a year ago that Bradley was ranked ahead of top overall pick John Wall by ESPN scouts.

The case against the Celtics
Another year goes by, another hundred games of wear and tear on Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. I’d ask at what point the age starts to take its toll, but I think we already saw it this past season. The Celtics should still be good enough to be a top four team in the East, but their window of being a legitimate title contender may have just ended at the Staples Center last Thursday. Also, what happens with Doc Rivers? I have a feeling he’s going to leave, and it’s not easy to find quality NBA coaches. One thing that the Celtics have no control over is what the rest of the league will look like. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, David Lee, Joe Johnson…all available and possibly on the move. Personally, I think James is out of Cleveland, which will probably immediately drop them out of playoff contention. Orlando will certainly be around, and if talks to acquire Chris Paul go anywhere, they will be downright scary. But what if James joins Wade in Miami? What if he takes someone like Amare with him to Chicago to team with Derrick Rose? If he joins Jay-Z with the Nets, they go from a 12-win team to a suddenly intriguing squad with a scoring point guard in Devin Harris, two young big men with high ceilings in Brook Lopez and rookie Derrick Favors, and potentially solid role players in Terence Williams, Courtney Lee, and Yi Jianlian. Whatever happens, next season’s Eastern Conference should have a completely different look to it, and where the C’s fit in will largely depend on how they replenish themselves with youthful talent and how starting center and resident banger Kendrick Perkins comes back from knee surgery.

Ideally, I’d like to see all three teams at least continue to make the playoffs, and in truth, that’s what I expect of each. But the law of averages tells us that disappointment will eventually rear its ugly head and one or more of these teams will go through another rough stretch. So whom am I most optimistic about?

I promised myself when the Bruins were eliminated that I wouldn’t just go back to them, that they had to earn my trust back, like a friend who had lied to me. Their Game 7 loss made me want to reenact the shower and crying scene from Ace Ventura. However, I trust in Coach Claude Julien and I trust in General Manager Peter Chiarelli. I like the guys they’ve built this team around, and defensive stalwart Zdeno Chara is still in his prime. Injuries and inconsistency hurt the team this year and you got the sense that they never were operating on all cylinders.

I believe in the moves they’ve made so far, and the moves they’re going to make. I believe in Tyler Seguin. I believe in goalie Tuukka Rask. I believe that over the next few years, I will see the Bruins in their first Stanley Cup since 1990. I believe in the B’s.

*Photo of Tom Brady courtesy of Keith Allison via Creative Commons License
**Photo of Tuukka Rask courtesy of 4rilla via Creative Commons License

The NBA Finals: Beat L.A.(?)

In the 12th iteration of one of the best rivalries in sports, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will meet today in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers haven’t had much of a problem getting here, as they cruised through the regular season and while two of their series went to six games, neither really seemed in doubt. They had problems dealing with Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City (while focusing lots of attention on Kevin Durant) and had a few hiccups with the Suns zone defense and their bench, but some incredible shooting by Kobe Bryant* and an unexpected rebound and putback from Ron Artest won that series for them.

On the other coast, the Celtics were the fourth seed in the weak East after coasting for much of the year.** Now, most of the time I don’t think teams can really “coast.” Players are conditioned to go all-out for the whole time they are on the floor and I am incredulous that short of resting more, there is a feasible way to save players for the playoffs. But maybe this year’s Celtics are a counterexample, as it seems possible that once it became apparent they weren’t going to get home-court (perhaps after losing to Atlanta, L.A., and twice to Orlando in the span of ten days in late January/early February) that they mailed it in and looked forward to the playoffs. One needs simply to look at how they’ve played this postseason against the supposed two best teams in the East for evidence of this. It’s easy to say in retrospect, but it should be clear that when healthy this team can run with the best teams in the game. Sure, Pierce, Allen, and Garnett are two years older than they were during their 2008 championship run, and they’ve lost Leon Powe and James Posey, but they have added Glen “Uno Uno” Davis and Rasheed Wallace, and most importantly, Rajon Rondo is two years older as well.

So how will this series play out? It’s shaping up to be a classic for sure. One thing that hurts the underdog Celtics is the switch to the 2-3-2 format for the final (a remnant from the days when flying coast-to-coast was more difficult). Not having a Game 6 at home means the team without home-court advantage will most likely have to win the clinching game on the road, which is quite difficult. In 2008, it was the Lakers’ Game 5 collapse that really ended the series, as the Celtics then took Game 6 at home easily—and if they hadn’t they had another game at home to go. But the Celtics have played quite well on the road this postseason as well as during the regular season, so I think they can take one of the first two and one of the last two on the road. The key will be winning two of three at home. I think it’s likely that Kobe will steal a game or two in the series, but I don’t see the Lakers being able to consistently handle Rajon Rondo, not to mention guarding Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. If Garnett or Davis hit their jump shots, they have even more worries. The fact is that thus far they haven’t played a team with as good a defense or as many offensive weapons as the Celtics, and none of the teams have had a player as dynamic as Rondo.

Celtics in 7.

*One of the reasons the favorites don’t lose series as often in basketball as in other sports, and one of the reasons I find it less interesting, is that the best player on the floor often wins the game nearly single-handedly for his team. If you have a Michael Jordan or a Kobe Bryant, you’re giving him the ball in crunch time, he’s taking your shots, and he’s often going to make them and win the game for you, even when you play picture-perfect defense.

**Another reason I don’t like basketball as much as other sports (maybe this is beginning to be a topic for another post) is the high number of teams that make the playoffs. It’s slightly different in the NHL as the standings from seeds 5-10 tend to be very close, but was there anyone in the country who doubted the Celtics would make the playoffs at any point this season? And with the 2-2-1-1-1 setup until the Final, there frankly isn’t a whole lot of incentive for teams to try hard to get home court advantage, either.

Ray Allen Takes Control

This post is crossposted at Celtics Life.

With all the story lines about Lebron James’s superstar failures, Rajon Rondo’s coming out party (for the third straight year in the NBA playoffs), and Kevin Garnett’s reemergence as a healthy and dominant force, Ray Allen managed to fly under the radar throughout the Celtics/Cavaliers matchup. Somehow people forgot that image of Ray Allen yelling at Lebron James. But for me, that’s the lasting image of the series that exposed the Cavs’ already apparent weaknesses and announced the Celtics as a championship caliber team. I don’t recall ever seeing Ray Allen mad before that moment he jawed at James.

I don’t know what he said. The moment passed quickly and faded, but I’ve been thinking about it since. It showed me every single Celtics player is willing to fight their way back to the NBA Finals. I’m not saying they’ll get there, but the determination is there. I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but I am. After all, the Celtics found new ways to blow regular season games. But Ray Allen was the last person I expected to see yelling at any player. That said more to me than Tony Allen’s defense, Rondo’s control over each game, and KG becoming KG again, mainly because there had been hints of those things all season.

Well, Allen brought that fight to Orlando. Game 1 was Ray Allen’s game. Pierce had better overall numbers (22 points off 6-for-8 shooting, 5 assists, 9 rebounds), and Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace shut down Dwight Howard, but Allen set the tone of the game. He attacked the rim for easy layups and drew fouls. His play turned the first quarter into an ugly back and forth of defensive possessions that played right into the Celtics’ hands.



Last year the Magic held Allen in check for most of the series, and he went 8 for 42 on three-pointers. In his post-game press conference, he said, “If the shot isn’t there, I got to drive it. I got to make a play.” Allen didn’t make a three-pointer until the 6:11 mark in the third quarter. Instead, his first 14 points (of 25 total) came off layups and free throws created by driving to the hoop. At some points in the game, including the first quarter, Allen brought the ball up the court and set the Celtics offense while Rondo deferred. Meanwhile, the Magic were never able to set and control their offense. Most of Game 1 followed the messy pace established by Allen’s first quarter.

When the Magic made their final run, it briefly appeared to anyone who watched this season that it might turn into another blown game by the Celtics. It had all the symptoms: an early lead, stifling defense, and the opposition erasing both of those elements with a quick offensive run. Then Allen’s final two points came on free throws that officially sealed the game for the Celtics, an appropriate ending to a game that belonged to Ray Allen.