By Craig Kwasniewski
By Craig Kwasniewski
By Craig Kwasniewski
By Craig Kwasniewski
Posted at 07:56 AM in Bulls, Celtics, DVD | Permalink | Comments (0)
By Craig Kwasniewski
Posted at 10:17 PM in Bulls, Celtics, Jazz, Lakers, Monday Morning Point Guard, Rockets | Permalink | Comments (3)
By Craig Kwasniewski
Here are a few takes from the past weekend of hoops:
Does Steve Nash realize he's a defensive sieve?: How does it go... if you can't pick out the defensive liability in the room, then YOU are the defensive liability...or something like that. Rajon Rondo and later Paul Pierce took turns playing H-O-R-S-E (or is it G-E-I-C-O?) on Steve Nash all Sunday afternoon. Finger rolls, 5-foot runners, 10-foot jump shots... they literally took uncontested shots anywhere on the floor as soon as they noticed Nash was matched up on them. I really would love to see exactly how many points were scored specifically on Nash alone because I saw something like 65 maybe 70. Does it bother the two-time MVP winner that everyone he defends drops a career-high on him? He's a modest, intelligent and introspective guy, does he understand that he's the worst defensive player on his team? I actually like what he brings to Phoenix and hope he sticks around for a few more seasons, but the Suns need a young defensive-oriented two to help out on defense. Somewhere at the Glendale, AZ Applebee's is a solemn Terry Porter screaming, "EXACTLY!!!!"
Question for Pistons Fans: Do you like A.I.? This isn't a rip on Allen Iverson because quite frankly he's one of my favorite ballers of all time. But do Pistons fans blame A.I. for Detroit's sudden collapse? Since the Billups-Iverson trade, the Nuggets are clearly the 3rd best team out West whereas the Pistons long run as a title contender has come to a crashing halt. Are there very audible groans when A.I. puts up the occasional 4-16 night? Or is there a reverence for one of the best players in the past 25 years? Seriously, I'm curious how Detroit feels about watching A.I. on a nightly basis.
In my opinion, and this is why I do this site, A.I. is just a pawn in the NBA money game. Dumars traded for A.I. to clear up cap space next year and the Pistons are stuck with a terrible coach and a poorly assembled team. This summer makes or breaks Joe D's legacy as a GM. Does he clear even more salary for 2010 or does he make a move (via free agency or trade) that saves the franchise? To me, Pistons fans have to look at the recent track record: drafting Darko, hiring Flip Saunders, hiring Michael Curry, and trading Chauncey... any questions?
Kobe and the MJ fade-away: Boston Sports Guy pointed it out during one of his 1,312 anti-Kobe rants... Kobe Bryant is developing the same post-up fade-away that MJ lived off from 1996 to 1998. What better time to work on a low-post game than during Bynum's (hopefully not) annual knee injury. The Triangle Offense sets up nicely for it and MJ carried the Bulls to three titles with the virtually unstoppable move. You can see Kobe hasn't completely mastered it but there were a few nice spurts, especially during Friday's OT win against the Hornets. This is the one MJ signature move that Kobe NEEDS in his arsenal if he wishes to play until his late 30's. It conserves energy and is hard to defend, as Jordan showed during the 2 years in D.C. that never existed.
Posted at 12:31 AM in Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Jazz, Lakers, Monday Morning Point Guard, Pistons, Suns | Permalink | Comments (1)
By Craig Kwasniewski
So word is out that people are calling Andrew Bynum's knee injury was some sort of karmic convergence because of the Gerald Wallace incident. Let me be VERY clear on that... if you really think karma had any play in it then you sir are a douchebag!
I was at the game and believe me it didn't look like Bynum was trying to take Wallace out. He was late to rotate over defensively and gave him a hard (and very sloppy) foul to prevent a layup. It was a reckless play but there was no intent to harm Wallace and the league agreed by not suspending or fining Bynum.
HOWEVER... if we're talking about karma and injuries, then Kendrick Perkins is officially on my 2009 dead pool for all of his thuggish cheap shots in the past 1 1/2 seasons (BTW - that he NEVER did before KG, again typifying the front running KG-Celtics Era).
The latest example is against Detroit's Jason Maxiell last Friday. Maxiell grabs an offensive board on the rim and is positioned for a put-back shot. Perkins reaches over Maxiell and slams him to the ground. CLEARLY there was no play on the ball and and it appeared there was intent to harm (see below):
I'm not wishing death on Perkins (trust me, like I need any more bad karma my way), all I'm saying is that if media people and fans alike can call Andrew Bynum's knee injury karma when he CLEARLY didn't mean to hurt Gerald Wallace, then what is due for players like Perkins, who are EXTREMELY limited in talent and exist on intimidation and thuggery? Basically, unlike Bynum, Perkins is out to harm... so what's due for him?
Posted at 02:04 PM in Celtics, Lakers | Permalink | Comments (6)
by Craig Kwasniewski
"They come in and intimidate you and try to punk you. But if you don’t back down from them, they kind of fold."
Strong words from.... D.J. Augustin???? A rookie point guard from one of the worst franchises in the NBA is running it on THE GREATEST TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA-A-A-A-A (echo, echo, echo)? Well if the Kendrick Perkins and Tony Allens of the world can constantly run their mouths despite DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTING then rookie point guards from the Charlotte Bobcats can do the same.
You brought this on yourself Boston!
BTW - Can we stop talking about how great the 08-09 Celtics really are? Can we finally agree that they're good but not historically good? And can we pull-ease stop with the 70-wins talk and get back to reality? The Celtics are basically an average team and a sub-par head coach that are heroically being carried by three hall-of-famers and that's it.
Posted at 09:42 AM in Celtics | Permalink | Comments (2)
by Craig Kwasniewski
All right all you Celtics bandwagoners, if your beloved Rajon Rondo is such an All-Star (which he's not), then why are you willing to bring in the league's biggest cancer since J.R. Rider in Stephon Marbury? I'll get back to that in a second...
Let's look at the top point guards in the NBA: Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, Derrick Rose, Devin Harris, Jason Kidd (listed here for career achievements)... I think I got all of them, right? Are there any rumors of the Hornets, Jazz, Spurs, Nuggets, Suns, Bulls, Nets or Mavs willing to bring in Marbury? Of course not! Why? Because they're not willing to sacrifice team chemistry for the most self-centered me-first (redundant for a reason) player in the L and also because THEY HAVE GOOD POINT GUARDS!!!! Are there any other All-Stars being replaced backed up by a player who's currently being paid $20 million to NOT play basketball?
So that brings me back to the Boston Celtics... if Rajon Rondo is such an All-Star, why are they willing to put up with a half-season of Stephon Marbury? Is there something behind-the-scenes that I'm missing? Could it be that the coaching staff lacks confidence in Rondo (after all they did bring in Sam Cassell last season)? A team that won the NBA title with excellent team chemistry and an excellent assistant coach is willing to go all in with Starbury? Clearly the Celtics weakness is the lack of front-court depth so why bring in a scoring point guard? What am I missing here?
I say go for it Boston! We all know Starbury will bring the best-est effort in his freakin' life, will con the Boston media into loving him (expect a ton of "Marbury's finally gettin it" articles, after all these are the same people who actually thought the 08-09 Celtics were the second best team in franchise history... pull-ease!) anyway... Starbury will also help Boston to the top record in the Eastern Conference, but fare thee be warned... you're still getting a true bad guy and eventually his true colors will shine. And I will love watching the slow collapse.
So again, if Rajon Rondo is such an All-Star, why are they willing to put up with a half-season of Stephon Marbury?
Posted at 02:31 AM in Celtics | Permalink | Comments (12)
by Craig Kwasniewski
Lost in the Pau Gasol finally grew a pair talk was just how thoroughly unimpressive Rajon Rondo was in Boston's 92-83 loss to the Lakers on Christmas Day. For weeks I keep hearing how Rondo is the secret behind THE GREATEST WINNING STREAK EVER and that he's definitely All-Star material. Are you kidding me???? Here's what I saw in person yesterday: several bad passes, several missed WIDE OPEN shots, several blown layups and a heated moment with Ray Allen that got so out of hand that Paul Pierce had to intervene... any signs of an All-Star there? Okay so maybe he had an off night. Everyone's allowed that.
But here's a little secret to Rondo's "success" in 2008: NOBODY'S GUARDING HIM!!!!
Everyone guarding Rondo cheats off him to help out against the big three. So yeah, let's give Rondo an All-Star appearance, after all he's hitting W-I-D-E O-P-E-N jump shots. (Kobe cheated off him all night and he still couldn't produce. And those 12 assists... he had two sweet behind-the-back passes but otherwise they came from feeding the big three... whatever!)
So will he be the worst player to ever make an NBA All-Star team? Close but that title goes to David Stern's reverse affirmative-action effort with Wally Szczerbiak back in 2002. Devin Harris deserves that spot!
Anyway, here are a few other very very brief thoughts on the game from my seat in Section 316:
The Upside to Farmar's Injury - This forces Phil Jackson to play Kobe, Vujacic and Ariza on the floor at the same time, giving the Lakers their best hustle/athletic/defensive lineup available. Add in Odom and Bynum and you have serious length and athleticism across the board. As great of a coach Jackson is he still tends to frustratingly stick to the same rotation throughout the year. Losing Farmar will force the Lakers to go big at all five positions... which worked well with Jackson's Bulls and 99-00 Lakers.
The REAL reason Pierce scorches the Lakers. Paul Pierce is from LA... we get it. But that has nothing to do with why he continues to dominate the Lakers over the years. It has more to do with Rick Fox, Devean George, Luke Walton and all the other slower small forwards that Phil Jackson continues to match up on Pierce. Clearly, Pierce is quicker and stronger than Walton and when all else fails he finds a way to get to the freethrow line. Now if Pierce dominates a Kobe-Ariza tandem, then I'll be impressed. Instead, Jackson feels the Lakers can withstand a Pierce barrage and still win.... and it worked yesterday.
The refs were not the deciding factor!!!! Despite whatever Boston homers write, the refs were not a factor yesterday. Just because the Celtics were not allow to clutch, grab, hold, push and pull on defense does not mean the refs were helping LA. The Celtics play with the mantra "you can't call every single foul" and bring a very physical style that pushes the defensive rules to the limit. As a result they tend to get away with A LOT! So when a crew actually takes hold of a game and calls it fairly... well Boston media whines.
The Lakers offense bogged down in the 3rd quarter. Boston almost took control of the game halfway through the third quarter as their defense forced the Lakers into too many one-on-one possessions on offense. Ball movement, ball movement, ball movement... that's the key to beating the Celtics' defensive schemes. I haven't seen the C's enough to truly break them down but simply their defensive premise is to force the opposition into one-on-one basketball and collapse on all penetration. The Lakers lost their offensive rhythm halfway through the 3rd quarter and held on the ball instead of swinging it around the perimeter for an open J. Instead they got a lot of ugly heaves with the shot clock winding down.
It really wasn't until Lamar Odom's back-to-back threes that the Lakers finally regained their rhythm. Make or miss, I initially thought they were awful shots but Odom took them early in the shot clock and changed the pace.... which helped the Lakers confidence. And his sweet runner from the left side down the stretch was pure confidence overflowing.
KG for MVP? The prospect of Pierce getting MVP run really pisses me off. Yes he's their best scorer down the stretch and yes he's had some monster offensive games but Kevin Garnett is the heart and soul of that franchise. Pierce has been with the C's through the lean years and he wasn't carrying them to 50-plus wins. It wasn't until KG arrived that the C's became the proud and intimidating franchise it is today and for that along KG deserves some MVP run. Hell, even the scrubs (and trust me, there are a lot of them on Boston!) were on their feet cheering down the stretch. You could totally see KG getting in their faces ordering them to participate in any way they can. Give Pierce the Finals MVP but give KG the franchise MVP!
Celtics scrubs were just that... scrubs. Nothing much to say except that Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins and Eddie House all run their mouths like they actually brought #17 to Boston by themselves. Know your role and shut your mouth! You guys benefit and live off the Big Three and nothing else! Haven't you noticed that defenses double off you giving you W-I-D-E O-P-E-N looks? Yet one lay-up equals a stare-down, primal scream and a chest thump. Just be thankful that Boston is so far over the cap that they NEED your cheap contract. The scrubs did nothing today except for exposing the Celtics lack of depth. But as long as KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce can continue to bring heir Hall of Fame games, the Celtics will be there every single night.... despite having Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins and Eddie House on their roster.
Love/Hate for Christmas Day games. I love the NBA on Christmas Day... on TV. In person, well that's a different story. This is my 10th season as a Lakers season ticket holder and this was the first time I attended a Christmas Day game. Being married and having a Catholic upbringing (meaning I fall prey to the powers of guilt) I never have a chance to see the annual Lakers Christmas Day game in person. There are just too many family members to offend. "You're missing Christmas for a basketball game?" is always the response. They just don't understand...
Well with the renewal of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry I had no choice but to let Santa down. So props to the wife for understanding this year and providing a unified front to all the family members who gave me a hard time for going. The game was worth all the hype, the crowd was more electric than the Finals (there were a ton of serious hoops fans who represented with several "Boston Sucks!" chants) and I got to see it in person. I love it!
Posted at 03:23 PM in 316 Report, Celtics, Lakers | Permalink | Comments (4)
by Craig Kwasniewski
So what did we learn from the two headline games last night?
1 - Boston and Los Angeles are CLEARLY 1 and 1A in the NBA. It's like it's 1985 all over again with both teams keeping a distant eye on each other as they roll over and through everyone in their way. You know Boston's pissed at all the attention the undefeated Lakers are getting and after thrashing Detroit and beating Atlanta last night they're sending a message to the rest of the league, "The Road to the Finals still goes through Boston!" I just hope neither team catches the injury bug... we need to see how the full 82 plays out with these two gunning for each other!
2 - Atlanta and New Orleans were impressive despite losing last night. Both teams were looking to deliver a message last night and both teams came up short.... barely. Atlanta went into Boston with an undefeated record intent on telling the defending champs that the seven game series last spring was no fluke. And outside of a clutch/miracle jumper from The Truth, they almost pulled of a W.
Atlanta can take away a few things from the loss. One, the C's respect ATL. They looked scary-motivated playing like it was June... nobody's played the Hawks that hard since 1994! Two, the Hawks hung in there against the defending champs without Josh Smith and with KG looking like he drank 760 Red Bulls at before the tip. Again, it says a lot about the respect for the Hawks after the C's virtually celebrated the W with parade and banner ceremony... IN NOVEMBER!!!!
New Orleans, a team that most of the media picked to topple LA simply because EVERYONE loves Chris Paul, withstood 3 quarters of the Lakers dominating them and almost stole a W at the end. What impressed me was their patience throughout the game. The Lakers were killing them on the boards, were getting well-timed steals and defended NOLA's dangerous perimeter game for three quarters leading by 19. Instead of rolling over and clearing the bench, NOLA took the Lakers punch... paused... and went right back with CP3 doing his thang, opening lanes and hitting guys for wide open threes, which finally started falling.
As I texted Brett last night, "NOLA's three point game always gives them a chance no matter what deficit." And NOLA showed me that despite the Lakers strong start, they'll be right there at all season.
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