Now that's more like it.  The Celtics have put the Hawks on the ropes with a resounding and convincing victory in game 5 last night.  Everything that was going wrong for Boston in games 3 and 4 seems to have been solved by playing in front of their home crowd, and similarly, everything that was going right for the Hawks evaporated into thin air as the road team.  I suppose that it just goes to show how huge an advantage a raucous home crowd can be in a playoff series.  That being said, I think that the Celtics are poised to break the cycle in this series and finish the Hawks off in game 6 in Atlanta.

I say that for several reasons, chief among them is my thought that the Hawks have already peaked and given the Celtics their best shots already.  Though the Hawks have proven to be better and more competitive than anyone initially thought, they've still been wildly inconsistent even in their wins and have relied too heavily on the heroics of Josh Smith and Joe Johnson to do

Continue reading "Return to Form"

Only three hours and ten minutes until the Hawks and Celtics tip off game 6 in Atlanta, so until then I figure I'll spend the beautiful afternoon rambling on and on about other news in the basketball world.  So I apologize, but this post will have little or nothing to do with my beloved hometown Celtics, but does concern another one of my favorite teams in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns.

Over the past three years, I (like so many others) have loved watching the Phoenix Suns run up and down the court and score with reckless abandon and total disregard for defense.  I have always been a fan of Steve Nash, and watching him run the Phoenix offense routinely made my jaw drop from amazement and sheer awe of Nash's talent and skills.  I also enjoyed watching him knife through the lane and find his teammates through heavy traffic, and then set them up perfectly with soft touch passes using either hand that remined me of Pete Maravich and John Stockton (truly amazing to watch, Nash singlehandedly raised the bar for point guard play in the NBA).  

Continue reading "Musings From the Hammock"

Come on... really?  What a nightmare.  There's not too much to say, other than the officials hosed Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics yet again.  Paul Pierce fouled out on the ticky-tackiest of calls (on a foul that hadn't been called all series), and the Hawks had more than forty attempts at the free throw line, while the Celtics had only 25 attempts from the stripe Regardless, the Celtics still had a chance to win it at the buzzer, and they failed to execute anything resembling an offensive set or a game plan.  And they had two chances. 

Down by two with 20 seconds left and with possession, Ray Allen jacked up a semi open 3 pointer that clanked off the rim and forced the Celtics to foul.  While the look was halfway decent, the Celtics could have used more clock and come up with a better shot to tie or take the lead.  Compounding the problem was the fact that the Celtics got beat on the glass and had to foul with ten seconds left on the clock.

Continue reading "You Can't be Serious"

To all of my Portland based Boston haters who love to throw salt in my game (I'm looking at you, Wizard Whitebread/Raymond), this one is for you.  Everybody knows that my homerism is undying and pretty much limitless, but that didn't taint my view of game 6 last night.  Even if you were drunk on your hater-ade last night, you must have seen what I saw.  The Celtics got robbed, plain and simple.  And if you don't believe my account, check out basketbawful, who seems to share my opinion and perspective on this series.

Game seven is tomorrow afternoon, whatever.  Tonight, I'd be watching Spurs/Hornets if I were you, it should be one of the best second round series out there (it's Saturday night dad, stay up a little late, you'll thank me).  Game 6 left a foul taste in my mouth that not even a Terminal Gravity could cleanse, yuck! 

Continue reading "At Least Somebody's Got My Back on This One"

I'm upset that I didn't get to watch game 7 of the Celtics/Hawks Beatdown in Beantown on Sunday, but this gig doesn't exactly pay the bills, so alas I was working for the man instead of cheering loudly and laughing my ass off as the Hawks got served in brutal fashion in Boston.  The game speaks for itself (likely won't stop me from speaking for it), and it provided a thunderous and definitive answer to all the doubters and haters (Zaza Pachulia got a personal notice of defeat, the back court pick from KG that leveled the untalented center).

Credit the Hawks, they put up a good fight, but it's hard to fool the referees into giving you calls when the crowd is against you and the Celtics are giving their best effort on defense.  That's not to say that the Hawks only won some games because the refs bailed them out (it didn't hurt, though), but they just didn't have a deep enough roster or enough experience to execute on the road and challenge the Celtics in Boston.  Give it a year or two, let them add a few pieces (though given Atlanta's record of passing on guys like Chris Paul andchoosing guys like Shelden Williams, I'd be skeptical), and the Hawks could easily be a contender in the perpetually watered down Eastern Conference.

Continue reading "Dirrty South"

Well, I suppose that I am getting what I wanted.  The Cleveland Cavaliers are in Boston for tonight's opening game of the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Celtics.  A month or two ago, I boldly stated that I wanted the Celtics to play Cleveland in the second round because they are so inconsistent and flawed (LeBron James aside) and I thought that the Celtics had a good chance of beating them.  Judging by the way LeBron performed against the Wizards and the way the Wizards performed against LeBron, perhaps I should have been pulling for the upset all along (I was, secretly.  Nobody in their right mind really wants to play LeBron James, right Gil?).

Am I a complete donkey for taking that stance (perhaps the same kind of donkey who'd bet Asian Dave on a ridiculous pool shot that was an obvious hustle?), I still don't think so, and for the record, Dave, you got seriously lucky, the check is in the mail.  

Continue reading "Cross Your Fingers"

This past weekend was incredibly hectic and I haven't had the time to watch my basketball or even sit down with a moment to myself at the computer to write.  I promise that I'll have more coming soon, hopefully tonight or tomorrow.  I would write more right now, but I only saw the first two games of Cleveland v. Boston, so my perspective on the series is very incomplete.

I will say this, however, the Celtics defense on LeBron in the first two games of this series was off the freaking hook.  Paul Pierce locked down LeBron for stretches and made an incredible defensive effort that sparked the Celtics to two victories.  Although the Celtics didn't look particularly good offensively at home, they really exposed the Cavs and trounced them thoroughly.

Additionally, it seems that while Mike Brown is incapable of making adjustments from his incredibly complex game plan of "give the ball to LeBron and watch him work," James is finding ways to score and win.  Though he still isn't playing particularly well, his teammates have been hitting more shots and he's keeping them involved which has lead to success for the Cavs at home.  My only hope is that we aren't seeing the same LeBron sequence as last year, when he took several games to feel out his opponents (the Detroit Pistons), and then exploded once he had worked things out.  We haven't seen that thus far, and for the sake of Celtics fans everywhere, I hope that we won't.

Continue reading "Coming Soon to a Sports Blog Near You"

Just an interesting tidbit that defies the conventional dialogue of the mainstream sports media these days.  Everybody with an opinion and a metaphorical megaphone (be it a sports blog or a tv show on ESPN) has been critical of the Boston Celtics this postseason for their inability to win on the road. 

After dropping all three road games in their first round series against Atlanta (never mind that the Celtics' four home wins totaled a victory margin of over 100 points), the Celtics have most recently lost twice to LeBron James in Cleveland.  This perceived weakness is an area for the media to yap about the Celtics woes and inject some additional drama into the postseason (and who really needs that when LeBron is barking at his mom on mother's day on national TV?), but upon further review, the media's talk appears to be meaningless (indicative of a larger trend within the media, perhaps?).

Continue reading "No Place Like Home"

Going into tonight's game 6 match up of Jeckel & Hyde the Boston Celtics vs. LeBron James & his handicap the Cleveland Cavaliers, I have some thoughts on how the Celtics might finally win a game on the road in this year's postseason.  The problems on the road have been numerous for the Celtics (and everyone else) this postseason, however I believe that the key to victory for the Celtics tonight will be their aggression on offense and communication on defense. 

An overriding theme in all of the Celtics road playoff games thus far has been their tendency to settle for jumpshots and a general lack of easy basket opportunities while on offense.  What made the Celtics so successful in game five against Cleveland was the Celtics' constant attacking in the paint and at the rim.  This kind of aggression got the Celtics some easy baskets that had huge impacts (Paul Pierce'sloud dunk late in the game and KG's thunderous stuffs set the tone for the rest of the team) and forced the Cavalier defense to collapse and leave shooters open from the perimeter.  The combination of penetration and the extra pass really established a rhythm for Boston and carried them to victory.  Lastly, Paul Pierce's aggression in particular sealed the game as he was able to get to the line and ice the Cavs with eight free-throws in the final minutes that kept Cleveland at arm's length.

Continue reading "B E Aggressive!!!"

I could officially care less about the Celtics road record this postseason.  After seeing the way the Celtics have played at home against some tough competition, I don't think that anybody, not even the mighty Detroit Pistons can beat the Celtics in Boston this year.  The players are hungry and the city is too, and we can all smell a championship now. 

Although today's game was dominated by the individual heroics of LeBron James (who played phenomenal basketball and would not quit giving me heart attacks) and Paul Pierce, the Celtics won because of key contributions from everybody on the floor.  Particularly noteworthy were PJ Brown and Eddie House, who both played with exceptional energy and made key plays that provided huge momentum boosts for the Celtics this afternoon.  Brown was very active on the glass and stepped up offensively by hitting big baskets (open shots that a veteran NBA player knows they have to make) and converting second chance buckets, while House's attitude and energy were contagious and fired up the whole team (he also played some nice defense down the stretch). 

Continue reading "The Truth Hurts!!!"

Today's tangent is inspired by Raymond (shockingly, with me on this one) and Matt Stauffer, who has posed a challenge to me by asserting that the Celtics will lose to either Detroit or the winner of the Western Conference for a few key reasons.  Following the game one victory for Boston, I thought I'd address a few of his concerns (convenient that I waited until a resounding Celtics victory to start talking smack, isn't it?).  Hey, hey, easy now, I'm not fixin' to start a war or anything, in fact I respect the feedback and the fact that somebody is actually reading my posts (anyone else? ...Beuller?).  I'm only out to address the argument and provide as complete a rebuttal as I can, so without further delay, let's get started.

Basically, Matt chimed in to tell me that he thinks that the Celtics are weak sauce and won't hack it against an elite team in thePlayoffs, be they Detroit, the Lakers , or the Spurs.  To bolster his argument, he first reminded me that the top nine teams in the West would have made the Playoffs in the East and could have easily won 66+ games if they were in the same position as the Celtics.  While I cannot deny that the Eastern Conference is as weak as... as weak as... Matt's logic (couldn't resist, zing!), I can say that the Celtics are indeed for real and do have a great chance to win a championship this year.

Continue reading "Hungry Like the (Former) Wolf"

Ugh, last night's loss left a bitter taste in my mouth to say the least.  I'm trying to fin the proper words to describe it, but it's proving more difficult than I had anticipated.  I could say that this loss was deflating and/or disheartening, but I'm not sure that it was all bad and completely demoralizing.  In fact, despite the loss, there were a few things that went well for the Celtics that I could see them using to recapture the edge in this series.

First off, there was the reemergence of Ray Allen on the offensive end of the floor, snapping perhaps the worst and most untimely slump of his career.  Last night, Ray scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting (2-4 from behind the arc) and looked confident and aggressive on the floor.  Gone was the hesitation in his game that had plagued him throughout the Cleveland series as Allen found the range from deep and took the ball aggressively to the basket throughout the game.  Allen wasn't afraid to take, and make, big shots down the stretch, and at least twice he had me jumping out of my seat and banging on the table down at the Tortoise (my apologies, by the way, to anybody that was in my immediate vicinity that I disturbed).  It was great to see Ray playing like we know he should, although the loss makes this performance particularly hard to swallow.

Continue reading "Silver Lining?"

I know, I know, that's a really convoluded headline for a basketball blog post, but there's a good reason for it that I'll hopefully be able to articulate somewhere in this rambling tangent of drivel (and besides, I know that if Ray is reading this that I got at least one good laugh out of the title).  Want an explanation?  Ok here it goes:

Watching the first four games of the Detroit v. Boston Conference Finals, I've noticed that everything that's happened in the series thus far is governed by Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (stop scratching your heads, I'm getting there).  Basically, I believe that because the Pistons and Celtics are so evenly matched that the winner of each game is not dictated by talent, but by whomever's pride was hurt in the previous game.  Yes, it's an oversimplification of the many intricacies of basketball and what it takes to win at such a high level, but think about it for just one minute (fear not, I'll do the thinking for you) it actually starts to make more sense.

Continue reading "Bastardizing Physics Without Resorting to Economics"

So I realize that I was a bit slow in my posts this past weekend and that I missed a few days, but I just didn't have it in me to do so over the weekend.  Anyhow, I'm feeling more energetic today and I've been trying to come up with a way for my other home team, the Portland Trail Blazers, to improve through some trades and in the draft.  I'm not going totally Simmons here, but I do have some thoughts about a few moves that the Blazers could make to improve themselves at the point and at small forward this summer ( I've already written about this some, but now that the draft order is cemented, it's worth revisiting).

The good news for the Blazers is that they are well stocked with young talent and have one of the league's best trading chips (Raef LaFrentz's $12 million expiring contract), however the bad news is that the Blazers need to make roster space for their young players and (as I've said before), I'm not convinced that their young players are really the puzzle pieces necessary for building a championship team.  Another piece of mildly bad news is that the Blazers haven't had the opportunity to play as a unit with Greg Oden, who will be central to the Blazers' game plan for years to come, meaning that they have no way of knowing what their team needs are at this point.

Continue reading "Bonus post: NBA Draft Musings"

Yeesh, that's about all I can say for the Celtics and their miserable close out of game five in Boston last night.  I suppose the bottom line is that they got it done, but that win scared me last night.  Full disclousure: I didn't even see the game live (Sox tickets), I watched the condensed second half on the late night replay, but I was able to see more than enough of it.  Because of the delay, I knew that the Celtics won before I watched, but I still panicked down the stretch.  I legitimately thought that they would blow it, even though I knew they wouldn't (does that say more about the Celtics' performance, or the pessimist attitude of Boston sports fans?).

Believe me, there were good aspects of last night's game other than the W next to Boston in the box score (though that's the most important part, no doubt), but the Celtics must close games better than they have if they really want to win a championship this year.  This is the second time this series that the Celtics have blown a double-digit fourth quarter lead and been bamboozled by Detroit's aggressive double teaming and trapping defense.  It should be easy for the Celtics to beat this simple zone trap, but they've crumpled under pressure and have killed themselves with mental errors down the home stretch of these crucial ball games (fortunately, Detroit has been equally bad with mental errors). 

Continue reading "I Suppose I'll Take It..."

Ready to kick it old school?  David Stern is (kudos to anyone who sends me a photo of Stern wearing a track suit and break-dancing on a piece of cardboard), and so am I.  The Eastern Conference Finals gave us all a taste of the old school NBA rivalry between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics, and now we're fixed for a main course of only the choicest and most intense NBA rivalry in the history of the league.  That's right, we are headed towards a Lakers v. Celtics NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years, and I've got to admit (even though it's damaging to my masculinity) that I am giddy about the prospects of this match up.

Actually, let me rephrase that.  I am giddy about the Celtics' impressive victory over Detroit in the Conference Finals and about their opportunity to compete for an NBA title.  This Celtics team has met and exceeded every expectation for the season short of clearing this one arduous final hurdle. The bar was set at an incredibly high level this season when the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and I feel confident in saying here and now that these Celtics are better than advertised and will be remembered as a success even if they fail to bring home the championship.  Don't get me wrong, a loss in the Finals would be a huge disappointment for this team, but I think this team has been more successful than anyone could have anticipated and will eventually be remembered as a success even if they don't accomplish their ultimate goal.

Continue reading "Throwback"