David Trageser's Boston Celtics fan blog

...  (pause) ... Did that really happen?  Was I dreaming (or possibly too fucked up to really see the TV)?  You mean to tell me that the Celtics rallied from an 18-point halftime deficite to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 and put a hammer lock on this series?  And Kobe only scored 17, in LA?  You can't be serious.

... 

No way, get outta town.

... 

No bullshit?

Holy crap.  So I wasn't hallucinating (this time), and the Celtics just pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Playoffs?  F'ing sweet!  I mean that comeback has got to be about as improbable as Ray's miracle ace of hearts on the river at the end of our last marathon hold 'em game (the morale breaking effect was also similar).  You might even say that the Celtics' comeback (on the small but thick shoulders of Eddie House no less) was similar in absurdity to Dave knocking the seven ball in from the next table on his very first try (I want a rematch, but this time it's gotta be

Continue reading "Hallucinating in Tandem, or Real?"

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.  I’m way too burned out on the Celtics/Lakers nostalgia trip to really engage this, but I think that this is worth pointing out (mostly because it’s an opportunity to poke at the national sports media for their laughably predictable analysis and Finals picks).  I just find it somewhat strange that after so many years of going for the same fools gold, the talking heads of the Association can’t figure anything out. 

The standard was set back in the 1960s, when everybody picked Wilt, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor to destroy the creaky, boring Celtics every year in the NBA Finals, continued when Worthy, Magic and Kareem were supposed to blow the doors off of Bird, McHale and Parrish, and has now been appropriately punctuated by the nearly unanimous picks of the Kobe/Gasol Lakers over the Boston Celtics to win the 2008 NBA Finals.  Across three generations, everyone and their mother have picked against the Celtics and chosen the Lakers to steamroll Boston and cruise to a championship, based either on the flashy talent of LA and their dominant players (Wilt, Kobe and Magic), or on the way in which they destroyed the competition in the Western Conference Playoffs, or on the traits that Boston lacks (youth, athleticism, a superstar etc.)

Continue reading "Cyclical History and Boxing Tips"

Sorry about the delay in the game one post, but it wasn't until very recently that I was able to pick my jaw back up off the floor after Thursday's game one 98-88 Celtics win in game one of this year's NBA Finals.  As giddy as I am about the Celtics' win, I am equally terrified for the health of Paul Pierce's knee and Boston's future in this series.

First off, I have to say (and I don't even care what Phil Jackson thinks) that Paul Pierce is a warrior.  The Truth showed true grit and desire on Thursday after suffering a nasty looking knee injury that had him writhing in pain and rendered him unable to walk off of the floor, only to return minutes later and lead the Celtics to victory.  That was epic, though I must say nowhere close to Willis Reed's miracle ressurection for the New York Knicks in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals.  The effect of Pierce's return was similar, but you just can't compare his miraculous return to Reed's game seven heroics.

Continue reading "Joyful Panic"

I've been racking my brain for the past two days (and then some, here are some of my thoughts on the Lakers from April) trying to think of ways that the Celtics can beat the Lakers in the Finals that are only four days away at this point.  Thus far I haven't been able to come up with anything really juicy, but I've got some beginnings of some ideas that might lead to successful strategies and/or game plans for the Celtics to employ against the mighty and dangerous (they're just mighty dangerous!) Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the biggest keys for the Celtics is staying aggressive on offense.  I know, that's really insightful and descriptive (I was going to say cliché...), but don't worry, baby birds, I'll feed you.  If the Celtics can stay aggressive on offense and continually drive to the basket and get shots in the paint, they'll be attacking the Lakers softest and most exploitable spot, their interior defense and big men.  You are now undoubtedly protesting by saying something along the lines of "Pau Gasol is down there, and he's long, athletic and a Laker now which means no fouls get called on him!"  Right you are, but whom, I ask you, is behind Pau Gasol in the Lakers rotation?  Ronny Turiaf and DJ Mbenga, that's who. 

Continue reading "Middle Men"

Not much substantive thoughts right now, but don't worry, they're coming in due time.  But I'd like to say kudos to Manny Ramirez for hitting his 500th dinger the other day against the Orioles, this landmark is just another reminder that Manny is among the top right handed hitters of this or any other generation of baseball players.  Do what you do, Manny boy!

Also, for those of you with ESPN Classic, I advise you to set aside a few hours (or at least a solid chunk on the Tivo) to catch some classic NBA Finals match ups between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.  The games will be a smattering from the 1980s era of Bird v. Magic, and will be airing starting this Monday and continuing through Wednesday.  These games have something for everyone, short shorts and good shooting for my mom, passing and good defense for dad, and good, competitive basketball that everyone can and should enjoy.

Continue reading "Get Psyched!!!!!!!"

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"

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..."

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"

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"

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?"