Most of these thoughts assume the reader follows the NBA. If you don’t, sorry for the confusion. I went back to work today after having a week off and I’m too tired to be detail oriented.
- Aaron Brooks looked SO cute in that red blazer and bow tie.
- Am I the only one that thought Lisa Salters’ “Shane you sweat on me more than any other NBA player” comment sounded a little dirty? Maybe my mind was already in the gutter because it was Shane. I love me some ex-Dukies.
- The Dad of that kid that Big Baby plowed over is a dink. Raging animal? Dude, STFU. (I haven’t called anyone a “dink” since junior high, but it’s totally appropriate in this case.)
- Raise your hand if you’d like to see a Mark Cuban-Kenyon Martin cage match. Yeah, me too. Seriously though, you stepped up to dude’s mom? Really? That’s balls. Gotta leave the mom out of it.
- My mom cracks me up. She butchers names. On Yao Ming this weekend, she said: “That Ying Mung is always hurt. He’s just too tall.” Yes, she was serious.
- I don’t watch hockey, but that Canes guy that cheap-shotted the Bruins guy and didn’t get penalized a game… dead man. Watch your back, fella.
- Dwight Howard clearly doesn’t watch Celtics basketball if he was surprised that Big Baby hit that shot. He hits that shot all the time. He hit a similar game-winning shot already this season. The Magic did nothing wrong. It was just one of those things. Sometimes the last second shot goes in and sometimes it doesn’t. Luckily for the Cs, this time it did.
- I’m going to design a Birdman wallpaper tonight because I think he’s a majestic beauty. Don’t judge me. :p
- Lebron James is really pissing me off. He’s disgustingly good. I can’t even enjoy it. When you’re rooting for the other team, it’s just awful. He’s awful! Sigh. (Yeah, I know. That sounds ridiculous.)
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Playoffs Game 3
Celtics @ Magic 96-117
Thank the good lord allmighty and all things holy that I bought a new computer just hours before this game. I was totally distracted setting up my new baby and getting all my programs set up on it to even focus completely on this joke of a game. Holy inconsistency Batman. Like seriously, wtf? Honestly, I don’t care if they win this series as long as they play Celtics basketball. If they’re moving the ball and playing great D and still can’t get past D-Ho and the Magic men, then so be it. But, I’m so not having this crappy D and lackluster effort bs. I remember not so long ago when Celtics fans were lamenting Rondo getting snubbed for the All-star game and I remember saying at the time that Rondo wasn’t ready yet to be called an all-star. Last night’s game was a perfect example of why. He’s not consistent. He has brilliant triple dub games and then he has games where he just doesn’t show up. I’m not trying to jump on him specifically. I know he isn’t any more responsible than any of the other players on the team. Ray and Paul need to “show up” more consistently too if they’re going to advance. I just think it’s insane that they went from winning in a blowout in Boston to losing in a blowout in Orlando. Is it tougher on the road? Sure, of course it is. But, great teams make the adjustment. I’m not throwing in the towel, fan-wise. I know this team well enough to know that they still have a great chance to pull off their own magic and win this series. I’m just starting to wonder whether they’re headed anywhere even if they do. You can’t take on Cleveland dropping game 1 and then half-assing it the rest of the way only to “turn it up a notch” at the eleventh hour.
Related news:
Playoff Game 7
Celtics v. Bulls 109-99
Goodbye.
Hello.
I’m not gonna lie. I think we dodged a bullet and now I like our chances. No disrespect intended towards Orlando, but I think we match up with them a lot better. Orlando is one of my favorite teams after the Celtics, but I imagine by this time next week I’m going to hate them and the majority of their fans. Lol. Actually it isn’t even Orlando fans that I will hate, it’s Celtics-hating NBA fans that will be rooting for Orlando simply because they’re playing Boston. I know it’s ironic to hate haters, but I can’t help it. I love my team, so I take it personally when people trash them and will always feel compelled to defend their honor. It’s just the way I roll.
Ladies and germs, we finally have an Eastern conference rivalry worth talking about. Shocking really. I thought the Celtics biggest Eastern conference rival was going to be the Pistons. Au contraire, mofraire! Lebron and his merry band of jesters have stepped to the plate and not a moment too soon. Lots of bad blood in the atmosphere between the Celtics and the Cavs and their fans. I love it. I was never comfortable with those warm fuzzy feelings I had for the Cavs only days ago. Now, I have permission to hate them a little and it’s fantastic. It really agrees with me.
I either spoke, thought or wrote each of the following things today:
- Lebron James can suck it!
- Al Jefferson shall henceforth be regarded as my favorite ex-Celtic. Delonte West is dead to me. Dead to me, I say!
- Why does every technical foul between the Cavs and Cs involve Anderson Ver-ay-jee-ow (more annoying last name to spell than Sasha Vujacic)? If he can’t take a love tap to the nuts, screw him!
- Rick (pause) BLEEPING (pause) Astley? Really?
- Good luck not getting swept by the Lakers in the finals, bitches.
Ah, that felt good.
Disclaimer:
- I don’t mind Lebron. Or his crab dribbleness.
- I still love Delonte.
- I’d go apeshit too if someone nailed me in the nuts too. Well, if I had nuts.
- Gino > Astley. Some things I just can’t back down on.
- If KG is 100%, we’ll be playing the Lakers in the finals. So, I totally didn’t mean #5 and I take it back.
Like Ray Allen, I’m not going to forget this one any time soon. I’d like to remind the Cavs & their fans of a little game played in April in Orlando (116-87). So before you think you’re invincible, remember that the Lakers & their fans thought the same thing last year going into the playoffs. How’d that work out? I’m not saying the Celtics are going to win the championship. I’m just saying that blowing a team out in the regular season is really not indicative of how things are going to go in the playoffs. If it were, I guess that would mean the Cavs will be losing to the Magic, right? Speaking of which, let’s forget all this nonsense and start the freakin playoffs! It’s put up or shut up time…
Celtics @ Magic 82-84
When I afterthought these games, I do so with the assumption that anyone reading this has already either seen or heard about the game. Heck, I’m lucky if they even remember the game by the time I get around to discussing it. So, I won’t bother breaking down plays and get right into what I think this game means.
Nothing.
Flip the results, the Celtics win by 2, it means even less. Ok, why not? Why doesn’t anyone respect the Magic? Why doesn’t anyone give them the credit they so richly deserve? I’ll tell you why. They’re a good team. They were supposed to win at home. That’s not impressive. They have a better record now than the Celtics, doesn’t that mean something? No.
Why not?
Because I still don’t think they play consistently enough on defense or demonstrate enough mental toughness in crunch time situations. I don’t think there’s any team out there that says, “Oh $h*t, we have to play the Magic tonight. We have no chance.” They think, “$h*t, we have to play Dwight Howard tonight. Let’s work on shutting him down and make sure we cover the 3-pt shooters like a blanket.”
I like the Magic. I would be happy for them if they became an elite team. They’re very close, but I just don’t think they’re there yet. I also think they better pray to Mickey Mouse, Goofy and all that are holy that they don’t draw the Detroit Pistons in the first round. These aren’t your daddy’s Pistons, but I still think they could hurt (and possibly sweep) Orlando. That being said, I do think the Magic are closer than they’ve ever been. I do respect their talent and do think they can become a scary Eastern conference team. Hopefully, that’s enough respect for Stan… who’s turning into Rodney Dangerfield.
Celtics v. Magic 79-86
I was cooking up a stir-fry during the pre-game live show on Comcast and when I heard that Rondo was out, I almost chopped my finger off with the Ginsu. Actually, I was ok until they said Marbury was starting. Wha wha what? Marbury is starting? Why? The guy has only played a handful of minutes here and there (with mixed results) and now he’s going to start? Then I watched the game and it was pretty awful. It reminded me of what happens when guys who don’t play together much, suddenly have to play together. No rhythm whatsoever. The fact that they came back from a bazillion point deficit to make it a 3-point game at the end of the fourth, was amazing. It highlights the problem the Magic have actually and why they won’t make it to the Eastern conference finals. They don’t finish teams off when they have the chance. Not good teams anyway.
Celtics v. Cavs 105-94
Awesome game. Paul Pierce put the team on his back, but everyone played an important part in the win. It was great to see such a fantastic all-around game from Leon Powe. Reminded me of how well he played last year against the Lakers in the finals. It was also a nice win because I had some Cavs fan talking trash to me about how Lebron was going to come all up in my house and wipe the floor with my boys. Not this time, my friend.
I couldn’t believe the officiating in that game though. I was proud of the C’s for gritting it out and not letting the horrible calls rattle them. I swear that I’m not one to get upset about every single call (like Tommy Heinsohn). If it’s a good call and goes against my team, I’m fine with it and realize some calls are objective, but… there is such a thing as replay and the replay bore out that a bunch of those calls sucked pondwater. The game had a playoff game feel to it. I watched it on my local homer channel insted of ESPN because I somehow really need to hear Tommy wax philosophically about Leon’s knack for taking charges. It’s a sacrifice actually because I have ESPN-HD, but not ComcastNE-HD, so the picture quality isn’t as good.
I know post-game that a lot of Cavs fans were pissed about the Big Baby foul on Raggedy Andy and I’m sure I’d feel the same way if the situation were reversed. I think it’s a bit of a knee jerk reaction though to call him a dirty player. He hasn’t been in the league long enough for that. Dirty players build their reps, like the love of my life, James Posey and my arch nemesis, Bruce Bowen.
Celtics @ Nets 115-111
I can’t really remember one single interesting thing about this game other than that I was annoyed that it was so close.
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. 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!
This bullshrimp (yes, I’m trying to curb the profanity, lol) really annoys the bejesus out of me:
“I still like the kid and still think he can play for us,” Smith said of Redick. “As I’ve said before he’s not the first guy in the history of basketball whose career has gotten off to a slow start. And he’s not the first guy who has played four years of college basketball and struggled to get on the floor. Please write this: ‘I like J.J. Redick.’ “
Oh yeah, you like him all right. You like him enough to not play him for 2 years. I’m so sick of hearing that he’s not good enough to play. Believe me, if he wasn’t good enough to play, he wouldn’t be in the NBA. He wouldn’t have been drafted. Certainly not in the lottery. At the very least, if he was so inept, he would’ve been sent to the DL or overseas for improvement. NBA teams don’t just draft a guy at the 11th spot and then happily pay them millions to sit and watch games. Oh wait, I guess maybe they do. But, it isn’t because he can’t play. It’s because they threw a fat contract at a 5’2″ point guard. In which case, fine, TRADE HIM.
For the love of Coach K, Dick Vitale, Christian Laettner and all that are holy and wise, trade him! Stop the insanity!
I apparently missed an epic Red Sox game today. Thank goodness NESN is re-airing it tonight. It is a little weird though, watching a game that you know the outcome of already. I’m suffering from a serious lack of suspense here. I’m happy to suffer though, since it means I already know they score 18 fracking runs! 
I don’t know if I addressed it in my About page ramblings, but I like to wink a lot. Like an annoying amount. Practically everything I write online, I feel the need to accompany with a wink. Nothing to be alarmed about. Feel free to ignore them.
In NBA free agency news, Elton Brand is heading to Philly, Corey Maggette to Golden State and apparently Michael Peitrus is heading to Orlando. Wait. What? Wha wha what? This means the Orlando fracking Tragic Magic have SIX shooting guards. They already had four (Maurice Evans – starter, Keith Bogans, Keyon Dooling, and J.J. Redick – backups). Then they drafted Courtney Lee in the first round. Now, they’re spending almost their entire mid-level exception on Michael Pietrus from GSW. They must have a trade or two up their sleeves because they’re desperate for a starting backup point guard and also really need a solid power forward. Still though. SIX shooting guards. Sweet mother of god.
