nba musings

Celtics @ Magic 90-80

From ESPN.com: The Orlando Magic had the Eastern Conference’s best record coming in but dropped to third behind Boston and Cleveland with Thursday’s loss.

Yes! I wasn’t drinking the kool-aid on the Magic like many people, so this game didn’t surprise me. I’ve been watching them for a few years now and though they’ve improved immensely this season, I still think they’re too inconsistent. I particularly have doubts about how they’re going to do in the playoffs. They are very talented, so I could live to eat those words, but until they actually at least make it to the conference finals, I’m going to have doubts.

Tonight’s unlikely hero was Big Baby. Some of Eddie House’s joujou from the night before must’ve rubbed off on him. At one point, when the announcer said, “All 8 of this quarter’s points have been scored by Big Baby Glen Davis…” I knew we couldn’t lose. Paul Pierce was the top performer of the night for the C’s overall. Points: 27 – Reb: 10 – Ast: 4 – Stl: 2. In the battle of the Supermans, Pierce was a little bit more capable tonight.

Celtics @ Heat 98-83

Eddie House for threeeeeeeee! Thank you and good night.

Celtics v. Suns 104-87

This game got out of control fast. The Celtics were firing on all cylinders, which was good to see. I wish I could say that I’m a diehard enough fan that I watched every second of this game with unwavering intensity, but that would be a lie. As soon as it became clear that the Suns didn’t even bother to make the trip, I started clicking around. I’m all caught up on Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and The City now, whether I like it or not.

Celtics @ Nets 105-85

Even though the Celtics won handily playing these same Nets a couple days earlier, I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The Nets are one of those teams — like the Sixers, Bobcats, Pacers — that are inconsistent enough that you either get a very close barn burner of a game or a blowout. Thankfully, this was another blowout. Gotta love those. Sure, they’re boring and uncompetitive, but at least the starters get to rest and the younger guys get more playing time. Nothing to complain about there.

Back slowly away from the crack pipe

Note to people who think the Celtics are barely in the conversation this season when it comes to the NBA Championship: Are you high? Seriously, what are you smoking? Yes, the Celtics definitely hit a bump in the road and went into a slump. I get it, I was there. But, what exactly should make anyone think they don’t have a chance? They have as good a chance as anyone else. I know they lost to the Lakers and Cavs recently, but those were both away games. They beat the Cavs at home, so that’s a split right now. They beat the Magic at home and have yet to play them on the road. They lost to the Lakers on the road, but haven’t played them yet at home. If the Celtics lose to the Magic on the road and beat the Lakers at home, then I would say this would put everyone pretty much back on equal turf. We shall see. Meanwhile, don’t forget that the Celtics went on a 19-game winning streak and are more than capable of going on another one. They’re not the underdog and won’t be any time soon. Praise Jesus Shuttlesworth. Amen.

Celtics 118 v. Nets 86

Ah yes, now I remember what it was like watching games during the streak. So much more fun. There were a few notable highlights from the game, not the least of which was a real honest to goodness DUNK from Brian Scalabrine. Yes, you read that right. It was glorious. Another thing was when Vince Carter went down on the ground after knocking knees with another player — someone (probably on Twitter, I can’t remember) commented that Vince hit the deck like he’d been shot in the ass. Haha! So true. Vince was fine, so I can kid. The interesting thing to me though, is if you look at the picture on the left here: Vince is down on the ground and the coach and entire bench are looking down the court. So much concern…

Quote Me

“Well, the only people to have doubts are outside our locker room. We don’t — that doesn’t affect us at all. They had doubts last year, too, and we’re fine with that.”
–Doc Rivers

Around-the-L Musings

Watched last night’s Bulls-Cavs game. Delonte West looked out-of-his-mind good (before he got injured on a play which has left him with a fractured wrist). I’m so happy for him. He was one of my favorite players from the old (pre-Big 3) team. After he left the game, Cleveland started to fall apart to an extent. They were never out of it by any means but they just didn’t look the same. Lebron got called for traveling at least three times, so the term ‘crab dribble’ was mentioned again and again and again (by commentators Reggie Miller and Marv Albert). Just. stop. it. Speaking of Reggie Miller, he was more annoying that usual last night. He kept calling Marv, “Marv-elous” in a really smarmy tone of voice. Blech. Maybe he always does that and I’m just now noticing, but it was beyond annoying. Bring back the Czar!

Celtics v. Wizards 108-83

I finally got League Pass. I called Comcast to get it on the tube and was informed that they don’t offer it in my area. I freaked out at first. I moved about a 1/2 hour outside the city, but didn’t think it was so far away that I wouldn’t get LP. What the hell? So instead, I decided to order LP-Broadband and get an HD monitor. That ended up working like a charm. I had forgotten how spectacular LP really is. I didn’t order it last year, but had it the year before that. I love the archives feature, getting to hear other team’s local announcers and getting to see the pre-game brouhaha in other arenas. So before I watched the Celtics on the tube (Boston & NY games are blackout games on my LP-B), I watched the archived Magic/Bulls game from the day before. It was a blowout, but I still have reservations about putting the Magic in the upper echelons of the East. They beat the Heat last night by 10, but I’m not sure that’s saying that much.

The Celtics beat the Wizards easily, but Tommy Heinsohn said something during the game that got my attention. He said the C’s are lacking the chemistry they used to have. I’ve been thinking that lately myself, but since I’m not actually around the team, it was just a guess. Tommy spends time with the team and if he says it, I believe him. I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope it’s temporary. Win or lose, I always admired the Celtics for their ‘togetherness’ come rain or shine. Maybe they need a sports psychologist to get them holding hands around the campfire singing kumbaya again.

Courtside cameo: Matt Cassel
On the jumbotron: Gino!

Celtics @ Kings 108-63

What a serious ass kicking. It hardly seemed fair. 45 points? Really? I can’t believe I stayed up and watched the whole thing. Leave it to the Celtics. Lose 2 in a row and then come back like an angry bear mauling the first poor bastard with the guts to poke it with a stick. Oh, random… What the hell was Michael Phelps doing making a cameo at yet another NBA game? He following the league now like a deadhead? Lucky sumbitch.

NFL Musings

I had to share that “Brady Come Back” video with all of my coworkers within earshot today. It makes me giggle every time I watch it. We’re out of the playoffs… might as well enjoy ourselves in the off-season. Someone asked me who I thought was going to win the Superbowl now. My reply, “I don’t give a rat’s ass. BRADY COME BACK!” Sigh.

Adios Mangini. We hardly knew ye.

Celtics v. Knicks 124-105

Run ‘n Gun is quasi comical to watch. Run down the court, jack up a 3-point shot. Rinse. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I’m not saying it’s a bad game plan for the Knicks – because it’s certainly helped them win more games – but it’s still amusing to watch sometimes. Q-Rich can play. I don’t like him, but he can play. He seemed to get the better of Paul Pierce last night. Not that it mattered. Nate Robinson is fun to watch. He had an impressive put-back last night. There was a missed shot and then little tiny Nate came flying out of nowhere for the jam (over my boyfriend. tsk tsk.) Rondo had a big game. Again. What a juggernaut. He scored a career high 26 points. Tommy Heinsohn had me ROTFL at one point because he got so pissed off about some physical play from the Knicks, that he actually put out a bounty on Nate Robinson! (First he said someone should lay out one of their “little guys” to send a message and then he said, “One of our guys should really deck Nate Robinson on the next play in retaliation [for shoving Rondo out of bounds to prevent a layup].”) Lol. Tommy’s hardcore, yo. In other news, Big Baby got in a car accident on the way to the Garden yesterday. Poor guy. Get well soon BB!

Celtics v. Bulls 126-108

The Bulls are a hot mess. They have some extremely talented players, but epitomize the mantra that it takes teamwork to win. They still don’t play together. Derrick Rose is impressive, but he’s still a rookie. I think in a year or two, they’re going to be a Hornets-esque team. Which means they’ll be good and a sexy pick, but still missing something that would get them over the hump.

Random musings

People seem surprised that the Pistons are struggling so much. Why is this surprising? I’m not a hater, but has Iverson ever made any team better? Also, if there’s any position that you can’t just “swap out,” it’s point guard, is it not? I’m not an expert on the Pistons, but they were always a team I liked and had a lot of respect for. I hated this trade when it happened and I still hate it.

Reports out today that Manny expects to be offered a 3-year deal from the Yankees. Manny expects? How does that work exactly?

Yesterday’s Patriots game was fun. What the hell was up with letting Leinart get a touchdown though? Come on now. Shutouts are so much more satisfying. The Jets lost (YES!) but the smelly Dolphins won (BOO!) so we still might not make the playoffs. Either way though, I’m happy with this season. It could’ve been better, but it really could’ve been so much worse. When Tom Brady went down in game one, I really thought we were toast. Who knew Matt Cassel was such a stud? I’ve been a USC football fan for years and even I barely had a line on this guy.

I miss Gino. The Celtics have been winning, but there’s been a decided lack of Gino on the jumbotron, at least from the home television vantage point. I want Gino!

Yesterday’s Red Sox game was fun. Bucketloads of homers will do that. Today’s game… not so much. Senor spandex really owes Dustin Pedroia a lobster dinner for catching that ball to save the 2-1 victory. Sigh.

Patrick O’Bryant is now a Celtic. Still waiting for word about senor manhug. I discovered some sad sad news today. Gino is dead. Long live Gino!

I had to wait until 6:30pm to see the Celtics duckboat rolling rally (TV rerun). It was a bummer not getting to see it in person, but I don’t feel like I missed all that much. Unlike the Red Sox rolling rally, there was no band (I guess the Dropkick Murphys are exclusive to the Red Sox celebrations – hehe) and nobody playing air guitar with a broom a la Papelbon. It was nice to see the players waving to fans with cigars hanging out of their mouths (ode to Red Auerbach), but I was expecting something a little zanier. Well, I guess there was one zany thing… Dude, my eyes.

My favorite photo of the day

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Celtics! NBA Champions! I was up until 2:00am watching interviews on the New England sports channel. A few thoughts.

1. KG is nuts. Certifiably insane. I LOVE that about him!
2. Paul Pierce definitely deserved the MVP finals award. He was terrific.
3. What was up with Lamar Odom poking people in the eye? The Three Stooges called, they want their schtick back.

more to come… off to a meeting right now.. damn work!

Update: Ok finally phew. I think it’s incredibly selfish of my employers to expect me to manage their websites all day rather than updating my own blog. Sheesh.  More thoughts…

4. It really bugged me that so many people picked the Lakers and didn’t believe in the Celtics, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. If you didn’t watch every game all season like I did and you were just going by the Hawks and Cavs series, I guess you would have to question whether the C’s could get it done.

5. I’m not surprised that some people are complaining about the Celtics running up the score. Being a Patriots fan, I’m used to hearing that. All I have to say about that is that whining about it is weak. If your team doesn’t want to get embarrassed then they should play better. They didn’t even defend Tony Allen and Glen Davis at the end of the game. It was the Lakers who decided to just stop playing… so they deserve the lopsided score they got.

6. I’m going to miss all the drama of the NBA during the off-season. This has been the best season for me as a fan since I started following the NBA full-time. I’m going to miss reading all my favorite basketball blogs (presuming they take a hiatus), I already miss my Pistons podcasts (don’t ask, I can’t help it that they’re my second favorite team), and most of all, I’m going to miss The Basketball Jones podcast. I got used to checking for those every day around 10-ish EST and usually by the time my first meetings of the day were out, there would be a nice ep. waiting. *sigh*

7. I will keep blogging during the off-season, but now I will have to switch to Red Sox, Patriots and reality TV. Maybe I’ll cover the Tila Tequila finale if I can gather up my energy.

Sweet mother of shamrocks and all that are holy! That will teach me to blog before the game is over. Who could’ve predicted a comeback like that though? I have all the belief in the world in the C’s talent, but there is no way on god’s green earth I ever thought they would be able to overcome a 24-point deficit. Hot damn! Now I’m in a quandry, if I stick with my Celtics in 7 prediction, I’d be essentially saying that the Lakers will win one in Boston and I just flat out do not see that happening. But, I absolutely despise waffling, so I guess I’m just going to have to stick with my original prediction. As long as the Celtics win the championship, I’ll be happy to be wrong.

Kobe looked a little pissed after the game.  During his press conference, all I could think about was Bill Russell’s interview with KG. He told KG that he was going to have to put his arms around his teammates and guide them to a championship… it wouldn’t work to try and drag them there. Something Kobe will never understand. You can have all the fight and desire and be the best player on the planet, but your teammates have to be guided along the way and not yanked, bullied, and chided.

It’s not over. I expect the Lakers to come out swinging for their lives on Sunday. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope Spike shows up again. He’s apparently a good luck charm.