Friday, May 30, 2008

LA Lakers lie in wait for Eastern Conf winner


Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to say it but the Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll. They advanced to the NBA Finals after finishing-off the San Antonio Spurs last night and now can rest up for the winner of the Pistons vs. Celtics series. The Lakers outplayed the defending NBA champs (beating them 4-1) and have been playing the best of any team so far in the playoffs.

If they had their choice, Lakers' fans would like to face the Celtics in the Finals. Many think a Boston vs. LA match-up would be a return to the NBA glory days, but I just don't feel the series would be all that good for the league. The Lakers are just playing too good right now and the Celts are still struggling to find their playoff mojo.

Plus the Celts don't match up well with the Lakers. Who could guard Kobe? Who can keep up with Odom along the baseline? Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are already exhausted from guarding the likes of Joe Johnson, LeBron James, and Rip Hamilton this post season. Also, Doc Rivers hasn't managed his bench well in the playoffs, so the team isn't playing the same stellar team defense as it did during the regular season and the Lakers' have the best offense in the league! In contrast, Phil Jackson has gone to the same rotation he did during the regular season and as a result everyone knows their role and the Lakers have been humming like a well-oiled machine.

Believe it or not, the Detroit Pistons probably match-up better with the Lakers than the Celts. They have cagey veterans who have played together for years, they play more a more intense, pressing defense, and their offensive movement could cause a lot of problems for the Lakers.

Don't get me wrong. I would love to see the Celts in the Finals again, but not if they're going to get rolled! It's one thing if a young, Cinderella team like the Cleveland Cavs makes it to NBA Finals and then gets swept by a dominant team like Spurs last year. But an uncompetitive series between the two top historical franchises only dilutes the entertainment value of the league. If a top rival doesn't even stand a chance against the best team in a league, then why bother to watch the sport? Then again, that's why they play the games...because anything can happen in sports.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Game 5: Let's not repeat history

In 1991 the Celts faced the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semis. It was Larry Bird's second-to-last year as a pro and the year Dee Brown pumped up his Reeboks to win the slam-dunk title. Just like in 2008, the Celts held a 2-1 series lead after winning the all-important Game 3, but then the wheels came-off and Detroit won the next 3 games to take the series 4-2.

1991 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Detroit Pistons over Boston Celtics; 4-2)

  • Game 1: Pistons 86 Celtics 75
  • Game 2: Celtics 109 Pistons 103
  • Game 3: Celtics 115 Pistons 83
  • Game 4: Pistons 104 Celtics 97
  • Game 5: Pistons 116 Celtics 111
  • Game 6: Pistons 117 Celtics 113

2008 Eastern Conference Finals (2-2)

  • Game 1: Celtics 88 Pistons 79
  • Game 2: Pistons 103 Celtics 97
  • Game 3: Celtics 94 Pistons 80
  • Game 4: Pistons 94 Celtics 75
  • Game 5: @ Boston
  • Game 6: @ Detroit
  • Game 7: @ Boston

Sunday, May 25, 2008

The Grim-Ripper

He's a great player and seems like a solid citizen, but how does Richard 'Rip' Hamilton get away with all the hand checking and holding game after game? He plays well over 40 minutes and barely gets 4 fouls, yet he's aggressively slashing to basket and picking up his guy at half court all game long.

Pierce picked-up 2 questionable blocking calls when Hamilton drove the lane in Game 2 and Ray got called for a foul when Rip jumped into Allen while taking a shot from the baseline, yet Hamilton gets the benefit of the doubt. Plus he's even more aggressive on the defensive end. Hamilton constantly hand checks, hip checks, and swipes at the ballhandler but doesn't get called for a foul when on D. In Game 1, he gave KG a forearm to the head while fighting through a pick yet didn't get called but the best was when he held onto KG's arm with two hands and it was Garnett who picked up his second foul in the first quarter of Game 3!

I'm not sure what's worse, Chauncey Billups' leg kick to draw a foul when he shoots or Hamilton's hand checking?
Maybe it's because he's so skinny and non-threatening looking or maybe it's the fragile protective mask he wears that makes the Refs think he's really not that aggressive? Either way, the Refs have to stop protecting the Pistons and letting them get away with this crap or the Celts won't have a chance this series!

Game 3 Shockah!

Who knew the Celtics could win again on the road, in the playoffs, and in Detroit? More importantly, who knew they could do it with House, Powe, and TA logging DNP's and Ray and Pierce only combining for 25 points?

After losing for the first time in the playoffs at the Garden Thursday night to the Pistons, the Celts lost their home court advantage. But they turned right around and took it back Saturday with a dominating 94-80 victory at the Palace in Auburn Hills, MI.

Led by KG's 22 pts/13 rebs and a double-double from Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics won their first road game since April 14th! James Posey, Rajon Rondo, and Perkins each had 12 points and PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, and Big Baby all played crucial minutes. However, when KG and Ray both picked up their 2nd fouls in the first quarter, it was the energy and stellar play by two 23 yr olds, Rondo and Perkins, that lifted the team and kept Detroit at bay.

Now the percentages are in he Celtics' favor as 76% of the time the winner of Game 3 goes on to win the series. There was no particular formula for the road victory last night, but it does seem that as Rondo and Perk play, so do the Celtics. Who knew?

Monday, May 19, 2008

No-No for Lester!

24 year-old John Lester became the first Boston lefthander to throw a no-hitter since Mel Parnell in 1956 as the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 7-0 tonight! Lester joins fellow 23 year-old Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz who threw a no-hitter last year and now the Sox have had 18 no-no's in team history, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers! An amazing feat considering Fenway is a hitters' park and neither Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, or Pedro Martinez threw a no-hitter while in a Red Sox uniform.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Your 2008-09 Boston Celtics:

Whatever happens in Game 7 tomorrow at the Garden, the window of opportunity for the new 'Big 3' is obviously getting smaller by the minute and since the Celts will be losing a lot of their draft choices after this year, Boston GM Danny Ainge will definitely need to make some key moves to fortify the team this off-season...

  • KG - Just tell him to relax and enjoy his vacation

  • Pierce - Tell him to keep working on his passing, rebounding, and playing team ball

  • Ray - An off-season strength program and another to year to heal after his surgery couldn't hurt

  • Rondo - He will only get better. Keep him unless you can package in a trade for better, more established PG

  • Perk - He should be made to earn even a reduced role next year. I have to think the Celtics can find a rebound 'hoover' who isn't afraid to shoot somewhere in FA or the Draft to better compliment KG.

  • Posey - Keep him for many obvious reasons (defense, shooting, energy, clubhouse, etc)

  • Powe - Keep as a key bench player in the paint

  • House - Great energy with Posey. Beg him to stay and tell him his reduced play time in the playoffs was only due to head injury that Doc had suffered

  • TA - He showed he could drive the lane again towards end of year. Re-sign him to spell to Ray and Paul.

  • Big Baby - His lack of height really hurt him in the playoffs but maybe he can replace Scal in a deeper role on the bench

  • Scal - Great guy but needs to go. He's just making too much money to be a token bench player.

  • PJ - Let him go back to retirement and the Bayou

  • Cassell - Adios "Sam, I am (going to shoot)"

  • Doc - He should have to explain his strategies (or lack there of) and admit his culpability for the teams' poor performance in the playoffs or he should be let go. Again, the window is just too small with these valuable resources to have an inexperienced person managing them.

  • Thibodeau - Keep him for his defensive coaching abilities. Plus, I don't think any team will be calling after the team's playoff performance this year.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Great minds think alike: Part 2

No more rants about Doc Rivers' play-off philosophy, substitution patterns, or lack there of. I just can't take it anymore, so I'll let people ike ESPN's Bill Simmons do the venting for me. In his recent article 'Pre-Game Speech', Simmons outlines his disgust for the team's play-off performance in a pretty funny way.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Patriots Exonerated! May sue Herald

After Commissioner Roger Goodell met with former disgruntled Pats' employee and turncoat Matt Walsh, it was announced that there is no more evidence against the Patriots and they will not be charged with anymore wrong doing. As a result, the Patriots may now sue The Boston Herald and writer John Tomase for slander.

Unlike other media outlets who chose not to run the story because of the lack of evidence, Tomase and the Herald printed that the Patriots taped a walk through before the 2001 SuperBowl with the St. Louis Rams and ran it the day before the recent SuperBowl loss to the NY Giants.

The Patriots released the following statement today:
"We want to address the allegation that the Patriots taped the Rams’ walk through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. For the past three-and-a-half months, we have been defending ourselves against assumptions made based on an unsubstantiated report rather than on facts or evidence. Despite our adamant denials, the report ran on February 2, 2008, the day before Super Bowl XLII. That game was the second-most watched program in television history and it is unfortunate that today’s news will not also reach an audience of that size. We hope that with Matt Walsh's disclosures, everyone will finally believe what we have been saying all along and emphatically stated on the day of the initial report: 'The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walk through on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue."

Road Killed!

So now the team with the best road record in the NBA this year; the team that swept the Texas triangle (San Antonio, Dallas, Houston); the team that broke the Rockets 22 game winning streak on the road; has lost 5 games in a row on the road in the playoffs. So what gives?!

Some say that since he's not on the floor, how can you blame the coach? It's got to be the players' fault. Then if that’s the case and the Celts don’t advance, maybe GM Danny Ainge just go out and change the team again? Better yet, he should just go out and get 3 new All-stars for Doc to coach next year?

The talent is definitely there but it's obvious that the players are either just too tired and/or too tight and as a result, they are playing like crap. It probably has nothing to do with Paul Pierce having to defend LeBron all game or Ray Allen having to chase Joe Johnson and Wally Szerbiak through screens while their best defender, Tony Allen, is buried on the bench with 6 fouls to give. It has nothing to do with the coach breaking up a second unit that would beat the starters in practice and lift the team in games during the year. It probably has nothing to do with the coaches' offensive scheme and play selection. It has nothing to do with a completely different substitution pattern in the playoffs.

Personally, I thought Doc Rivers rested the Pierce, Ray, and KG the final 2 weeks of the season so they would be refreshed for the playoffs and so he could determine his rotation going into the postseason. In those 2 weeks it was evident that Sam Cassell couldn't learn any plays, James Posey and Eddie House still provided the best energy and offense when playing together off the bench, and Tony Allen finally got the message and was driving the lane again.
Then the playoffs start and Doc has Cassell playing all of the minutes usually set aside for TA and House and except for Posey, there is no help from the bench to guard the likes of Joe Johnson and Lebron James. As a result, Pierce and Ray appear exhausted, lost their legs, can't shoot well, and now the offense and spacing are in shambles.

Doc is obviously feeling the pressure of finally getting to drive a Porche in the playoffs and somehow this tension is being transferred to the players. But it has nothing to do with the coaching...it's just all 12 Celtic players that are at fault.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Great minds think alike

Celebrated basketball writer Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, ESPN, and NESN echoes my concerns regarding Doc Rivers play-off substitution patterns in his article 'Point System' from today's Boston Globe.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

The Truth Will Be Known in Game 7


The Celtics lost a 12 point lead, their composure, and eventually Game 6 to Atlanta 103-100 Friday night. The series is now tied 3-3 and shifts back to Boston for a decisive Game 7.

The sports casts, news articles, message boards, and blogs are littered with questions and criticisms. How can the play-off team with the worst record challenge a team with 30 more wins? How can a team with the best road record lose 3 straight road games in of all places Atlanta? Why did Eddie House and Tony Allen only play a combined :22 seconds in the last game? Why was Rajon Rondo taking the last shot of the game?

In their history the Celtics have never lost a Game 7 after leading a series 3-2, but Coach Doc Rivers has never won a first round play-off series and is 0-2 in Game 7. Will the Celts continue their Game 7 dominance or will the Atlanta Hawks pull-off the biggest upset in NBA history? All these questions and more will have to wait until after Sunday's game.