nba musings

Celtics 95, Cavs 89

Where to start, where to start… Well, first of all, HELL TO THE YEAH! I’m not gonna lie. I wanted this win bad. Probably more than I should have, in fact. It’s only the first game of the season and I really should pace myself. I think the reason I wanted the Celtics to win this game so badly was because I still had that horrible image in my mind of that game last season with LeBron, Delonte and company clowning around on the bench during a blowout against the Cs in the Q. I was also quite sure if I saw or heard Rick Astley, I was going to throw the remote control so hard through the TV, it was going to land in Timbuktu. I really like my TV, so phew… dodged a bullet on that one.

The game started out rough. The “Celtics look old” and “It’s going to be a long season, Boston” tweets were making me want to cut a bitch. The piss poor defense was giving me Nam flashbacks of the brutal Christmas season stretch last season when they lost all those games out in Cali. And then. And then… and THEN — They crawled back up out of that hole and clawed their way into the game. It started with the bench and then like RIT on a crisp white t-shirt, it seeped its way through the whole team and suddenly the Celtics not only caught up, but had the lead and never looked back.

Make no mistake, LeBron looked phenomenal on the defense end. He was holding a block party and the Celtics were helpless to stop it. Whether it was a speedy gonzalez Rondo layup or a finesse-style (slowish) Ray Allen layup, LeBron was there and having none of it. I’m not a LeBron fan, but it was impossible to watch those plays and not appreciate their beauty. On the offense though, he took too many low percentage shots. When he makes them, he looks great, but he didn’t make enough of them. Yes, I know the box score disagrees with me, but I don’t care. I stand by that statement. I think he takes too many long bombs and doesn’t trust his teammates enough. Bottom line, the Cavs just have a lot of work to do to be a championship-caliber team. Shaq looked like old Shaq in the first quarter, but after that, not so much. I’m not buying the “things would have been different if Delonte had played” excuse either. Maybe, things would have been different if Glen Davis had been there too. So what? Yes, I realize Delonte is their starting 2 guard and BBD is a luxury backup for us, but still… If we can’t blame KG being out for losing Game 7 in the playoffs to Orlando, then Cleveland can’t use this excuse here. It’s weak sauce.

This was a great win and I’m happy about it, but this game left me with plenty of questions about the Celtics and the kind of work they need to do to return to championship form too.

• Paul Pierce was his clutch self as always and I love him for that, but who else is going to step up in crunch time?
• The slow starts, turnovers and mental errors continue from last season. Have to clean that up.
• Rondo needs to play every opposing point guard like he plays Chris Paul. Step it up, kid. Prove you’re worth max money every night and maybe you’ll get it.

ps. Shout out to my boy, Craig Sager. I’ve missed you boo.

Hey Santa – I’d like another one of these for Christmas, ok?

Source: celtsfanjay/YouTube

By the way, if this celtsfanjay guy ever decides to pull this video off of YouTube, I’ll cry. I love it that damn much. I have yet to make it very far past the 2:20 mark without welling up. GO CELTICS!

In other news, Leon sounds bitter. I don’t blame him one single bit, but it still makes me wistful.

And, Adrian Wojnarowski doesn’t think Cs will sign Sweets:

[Update 6:50pm: NESN confirms]

More from A-Woj… an interesting article that provides a little insight into last season’s un-ubuntu-like chemistry.

Hey Mo – He’s the landlord, remember? …and you better have that check!

Source: bigmckredsarmy/YouTube

Post-mortem thoughts:

BOS 96, CLE 82

1. Sheed did a great job of pushing people back and keeping the peace during the Williams dustup. Good to see.
2. I am pretty sure I saw the corner of Jimmy Goldstein’s white cowboy hat after the game. It was epic.
3. Right after the game, I attempted to tweet, blog, listen to the Celtics post-game show on CSN-NE and listen to the Red’s Army Two Man Game all at the same time. I’m not gonna lie, it was a challenge. NBA basketball is back, baby! Bring back The Basketball Jones and Craig Sager’s suits and we’re good. Let’s go, let’s go, l-e-t-s-g-o!
4. Perk looks great to me from what I’ve seen so far. I’ve always been a big fan of his game, but he’s definitely kicked it up a notch this year. Really cool to see.
5. There’s talk that Doc might like Sweetney enough to move someone else off the roster and sign him to a contract. All I have to say about that is, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? No offense to Sweetney, but you don’t have the room or $ for Leon Powe, but you have room for that guy? Did Leon pee on Danny Ainge’s Cheerios? Insult his mother? What? WHAT?

I really wanted to embrace Stephon Marbury. God knows why. Before he came to Boston, I despised him on reputation alone. Once he was on my team, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Then during all this off-season marburython nonsense, I was still rooting for him to get his shit together and show everyone that he’s a misunderstood guy with a big heart. But, I can’t pretend the emperor is walking around fully dressed when the mofo is so obviously buck bollicky naked.

My disenchantment started with the dancing around screaming at the camera (directed at fans) to “throw up your 1s” (funny at first, it soon grew ridiculously repetitive). But, I kept telling myself that he’s just looking for acceptance and some sort of sad proof that someone, anyone, had his back. The disillusionment continued though, with the constant self-promotion on Twitter and the RT-ing of every inane @reply message that supported his message. Finally, I decided enough was enough and stopped following him on Twitter. Big deal, right? Well, it was in a way. Because it takes a lot to make me give up on someone. Particularly someone so obviously desperate for support.

But, I do believe I’ve come full circle. Stephon Marbury is who I thought he was.

This article was the final straw:

Marbury, who played part of last season with the Boston Celtics after his messy divorce from the New York Knicks ended with a buyout, went unsigned as a free agent this offseason after turning down Boston’s $1.3 million veteran minimum offer.

“I’m resting, doing what Michael Jordan did, enjoy life, do things I haven’t done in 16 years, keep building my empire,” Marbury said, according to the Post. “I wasn’t going to Boston for that money. It was a prudent business decision to take off this year.” [ESPN-Boston, Report: Marbury plans 2010-11 return]

The quote is from the Post, so normally I would say take it for what’s it’s worth, but in this case, I know it’s true.

I wasn’t going to Boston for that money.

Holy ego. People kept saying that the Ustream/Justin.tv shows were the reason Steph didn’t go back to the NBA this season. That he ruined his chances by eating Vaseline and the like. I knew that wasn’t true. He turned the NBA down first. Specifically, he turned the Boston Celtics down first and when he realized no big money offers were coming, it was then that he “shut it down.” Why? Because he didn’t get enough playing time last season. How do I know that? Because I was watching. More than once he opined about the “splinters in his ass” and how the whole situation was a test of his sanity and willpower.

According to the article, Steph plans to come back to the NBA for the 2010-11 season. Mmmm, yeah.

Good luck with that.

ps. Update: The straw that really breaks the camels back… He trashes The Truth on Twitter. Bitch, please. Dead to me.

What a weekend
* I had a good sports weekend. My Patriots slaughtered the Titans, my Celtics blew out the Raptors, my Trojans squeaked out the win against Notre Dame and my favorite Nascar driver, Jimmie Johnson, won the race in Charlotte and increased his points lead in the chase. All in all, a very upbeat and pleasant weekend for me. The Jets even got their asses handed to them. The cherry on top. Cheers. *clanking my beer can against yours*

Those damn Yankees
* My mom is a true believer. She thinks the Angels have a ghost’s chance in hell of beating the Yankees and getting to the world series. I think she’s crazy. As much as it makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little, the Yankees are clearly the front-runners to win the world series. Oh sweet bloody hell, I think a bolt of lightning just zapped me dead. I can’t finish this thought. I just hope I jinxed them by saying that. *fingers crossed*

Disclaimer: If you don’t watch The Hills, skip this paragraph
* First of all, I know this show is scripted and stupid and most of the people on it are nitwits. That being said, I just have to post some observations and get them out there so they aren’t rattling around in my head anymore. 1 – Since when have Kristin and Spencer’s bimbo bartender been BFF? Suddenly they’re hanging out all the time and the show never bothers to explain why. WTF? 2 – How awkward are those scenes with Audrina, Lo and Stephanie? There’s no good reason that combo would ever be together. Over the years, Lo was never around anyone unless Lauren was there. Come on, MTV. We know it’s not real-real, but still.

Domination. Hello, my friend. I have missed you SO MUCH! Don’t leave me again for so long next time, ok?

And to those who say the Patriots ran up the score, I just have to say… *yawn* Take that weak sauce outta here.

Dear famous people,

Nobody gives a rat’s ass if you quit Twitter. While we’re on the subject, stop deleting your Twitter and then changing your mind and creating a new one. That’s stupid. Assuming anyone cares about you enough to follow you twice, it’s still an extra step that you shouldn’t force your fans to take. If you say something on Twitter that makes you sound like a nitwit, just realize that you can never get it back. You must live with it being “out there” like all the times you drunk dialed celebrities more famous than you from Paris Hilton’s Sidekick. If you do decide to leave though, just go away quietly. Don’t put out a press release or in any way advertise your departure… and for the motherfreakin love of James Posey and all that is holy, don’t produce a rap video about it.

No, I wasn’t following Miley Cyrus on Twitter because I’m not 12 years old. But, her stupid “Here’s why I quit Twitter” YouTube rap video did inspire this post.

Oh, you think I’m just lecturing celebrities about their Twitter habits to avoid discussing the double tragedy that took place last Sunday? Ok fine, you would be right.

R.I.P. 2009 Red Sox season.

Patriots still have a chance to get their shit together though. Come on, Tom Brady. Chop chop mister!

Twitter is down again. I feel empty.

I’d hate to think that my last tweet to the world will end up being some mindless prattle about playing Cake Mania Main Street tonight. Come on Twitter, get your act together. Chop chop!

Pre-season – BOS 90, HOU 96

Whoo hoo, a new afterthoughts! The off-season was loooong, bro. I was getting all giddy last night about really mundane and silly things. Like a pre-game interview with Perk, where he rudely chewed gum the entire time. But, because it was Perk, I thought it was adorable. He was asked what the worst part of being married was and said it was keeping track of his wedding band. I guess the missus doesn’t appreciate spotting him sans ring. See, probably only I find that even remotely interesting… On to the game itself. I am at the work digs, toiling in my cube, so I will make this quick and snappy. Bullet line ponderings, if you will:

• KG is back. Like back, back.
• Trevor Ariza can’t carry a team. He should fire his agent.
• Perk and Baby are svelte. Cue the new nickname, “Medium Baby,” or some such nonsense.
• Sheed got his 1st tech as a Celtic. Multiple Pistons followers on Twitter advised me to get used to it. Will do.
• Marquis Daniels is a doppleganger for Mikki Moore. Thank James Posey and all that is holy that he doesn’t play like him. I’m not exaggerating when I say that when I spotted Daniels in Moore’s #7 jersey with that lanky body and moppy ponytail — I let out a little scream (in my head).
• The starting 5 looked good, chemistry-wise. It was only a pre-season game, so I won’t get ahead of myself, but so far, so good. *throwing salt over my shoulder and knocking on wood*
• Hidalgo, Texas does not care for Rasheed Wallace. He was booed loudly during free throws. I surmised that Rasheed Wallace must have once killed a main in Hidalgo, TX. I stand by that theory.
• My mom said, “Where’s Yao Ming?” and actually said it correctly. It’s a new era, ladies and germs.

The Truth isn’t even in the top 15?
* Ok, normally I really don’t pay attention to lists. Especially subjective ones where I know I’m not going to agree with much. But, come on SLAM, Paul Pierce is only one notch above Derrick Rose? I can’t accept that. No, I will not accept that. Assuming that either Kobe or LeBron is named #1, you have to ask yourself who plays those two guys as tough as (or tougher than) anyone out there? The answer is clear and finite, Paul mother-effing-truth Pierce. How is Pierce still this underrated? I don’t get it. [SLAM: Top 50: Paul Pierce, no. 17]*

Brett Favre is the Tim Tebow of the NFL
* I am now getting an inkling of what it must have been like for non-Patriots fans in 2007 — having to hear about the godlike qualities of Tom Brady’s offensive prowess ad nausem. The sickening degree to which ESPN lavishes attention on certain storylines has gotten completely out of hand. It was always bad, but I do believe the “Favre joins enemy & faces old team” has taken the cake. Are there really people out there — outside of Minnesota & Wisconsin — who want this much coverage? Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t care. Just SHUT IT ESPN! [ESPN: We heart Favre!]

LeBron thinks everyone is jealous of him
* So, the story apparently goes that one of LeBron’s buddies got into a argument with Browns wide receiver, Braylon Edwards and Edwards ended up punching the guy. LeBron defended his friend by called Edwards “childish” and said punching his petite friend was akin to punching one of his children (Remind me to warn my friends to never defend me this way, will ya?). Note to LeBron: I’m sure everyone is jealous of you. But, it’s just not something you say out loud without sounding like a douchenozzle. [USA Today: LeBron James: Braylon Edwards motivated by jealousy in alleged assault]

*Yes, I realize every homer fan is probably bitching about one of their players being too low on the list. What-ev.