The Association

A Look Back at the Playoff Preseason (First Round) - Eastern Conference

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Three weekends later and the first round is finally over.... finally! 

Remember the times when the first round was 5 games and was over by April 25th? Remember when the second round started as soon as the opponents were set?  Remember the excitement of 2 or 3 games a day no matter what with practically every game having some sort of meaning? Take away the ultra competitive Bulls - Celtics series and we were left with a bunch of yawners in the first round. I know the NBA will never reduce playoff games, but the first round looks more like a playoff preseason, even finishing behind the NHL in excitement. And the NBA should NEVER take a back seat to playoff hockey!!! 

Anyway, let's take a quick look back at all eight series in the newly christened Playoff Preseason: 

Cleveland beats Detroit 4-0: YAWN! (And that was from Piston fans who didn't sell their seats to Cavs fans.) If we're claiming the Bulls-Celtics series one of the greatest ever... ever...ever (echo-echo-echo) and making lists proclaiming it as such then let's to a list of the worst ever call this what it was: an abortion! Basically this was the worst playoff series since the Celtics-Pacers in 2004.  

The Pistons gave up on the season way back in November when Joe Dumars hired Michael "I'm afraid to stand up to my veterans" Curry and shipped their leader, their heart and their soul in Chauncey Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson's expiring contract. You gotta hand it to Joe Dumars, he not only killed one of the most successful teams in professional sports but he also ripped the heart out of Iverson and offered it to Kali Ma like that dude in Temple of Doom. The end result is collision of a team on a mission against a team mailing it in. I'm guessing Stern didn't consider this when expanding the Playoff Preseason to 7 games.  

Orlando beats Philadelphia 4-2: If these teams actually had fans this might have been a little more exciting. Instead the only entertainment factor was watching the TNT crew rip the Magic apart for their offense, their coach, their star players, their role players, their fans, their city... everything. When did the Orlando Magic become the Terrell Owens of the NBA? I get that their offense is bland and uninspiring and that Dwight Howard is not yet at the level of playoff superhero but take it easy fellas. The Magic CLEARLY aren't in the same category of the Lakers, Cavs or Celtics but just a level below with Denver (thanks to their GM Joe Dumars).  I feel they're headed in the right direction. I just think Orlando like NOLA last year benefited playing the role of upstart team and stole a few W's here and there (hello Lakers!). We'll see what happens next year when they play all season with a HUGE target on their back. 

Atlanta beats Miami 4-3: Again since we're now all about absolutes, is this the worst 7-game series ever? The closest game was 10 points! Even worse, those loud 4-letter bombs you hear are coming from the ABC and TNT offices after missing out on the ratings winfall of LeBron vs. Wade. How did David Stern let this pass? The 2006 Stern would give Wade 30 to 40 freethows, the 2006 Stern would have fouled out Mike Bibby AND Joe Johnson, the 2006 Stern would have had Joe Crawford give the Hawks three tech's... oh he did?... well it least he got that right.  The 2006 Stern would have found a way to make LeBron vs. Wade happen.    

Anyway, the only other thing I got from this series is Mike Woodson's "who just farted?" face. Call me crazy but if your coach looks confused, panicked and annoyed AT THE SAME TIME... well I'm not feeling too confident unless I have a ghost writer coach like Tom Thibodeau.

Boston beats Chicago 4-3:  The greatest series ever!  The greatest clutch-ness ever!  The greatest fans ever!  The greatest coaching ever!  (SCREEECH-CRASH!!!)

Okay stop right there!  This definitely was one of the most competitive series ever.  Five of the seven games went down to the last possession with each team showing extreme cantaloupe-sized balls.  But let's take a pause before rating this as the greatest ever.  As the TNT crew said, this series was close because of parity.  If Boston had KG this goes maybe 5 and we're all talking about how boring the 2009 Playoff Preseason was.   If Chicago had a head coach they win in 5 (seriously, how many times will Ray Allen be single-guarded with the C's down three?  And how many games did Del Negro lose because he ran out of TO's?).  If Derrick Rose actually knew how to play defense the Bulls win in 6.  If Paul Pierce wasn't so run down from carrying the Celtics to 60 wins, the Celtics win in 5.  But none of that happened and instead we witnessed easily the most competitive in the Playoff Preseason since the league expanded to 7 games.  But to call it the best playoff series ever is absolutely insane. 

The best ever are filled with drama, with stars, with destiny and a feeling of importance.  Take the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals between Celtics-76ers, you have the drama (five games decided by 2 or less), the stars (Dr. J near the end of his prime and Bird coming into his own) and you have the importance (playing for a Finals appearance).  Remember last year's Suns-Spurs Game 1?  At the time people were calling it the greatest playoff game ever, basically erasing 60 plus years of NBA history along the way.  But in the end the series fizzled in 5 with neither team having any relevance in the NBA title hunt last year.  Now Game 1 is just a 30 second commercial and nothing else. 

Let's see how Boston does for the rest of the playoffs before we rank this series in history.  If they somehow find a way to compete with Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals then we're talking a heroic effort along the likes of the 1987 Celtics, who fought tooth, nail and broken ankles through to the NBA Finals.  BTW - one of my favorite teams in NBA history and a true lesson on how to properly defend a title (2006 Miami Heat I'm talking to you!).  However, if they get bounced easily by Orlando, then the Bull-Celtics series will be easily replaced by whatever close 7-game series happens next year.  

One final note about this series:  Rondo was great, but not THAT great.  What I'm sayin' is that he's put together some very impressive numbers against ZERO defense.  The Bulls focused on shutting down Paul Pierce and sagged far away from Rondo, giving him a slew of WIDE OPEN jumpers.  Also, early in the series Derrick Rose played matador defense and leaked out for fastbreak opportunities.  We heard Doc Rivers pointing that out during a timeout and Rondo took advantage to the tune of a near triple-double average.  Before we start comparing Rondo to Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson or even Chris Paul let's see what he does with defenses actually focused on him.  But WIDE OPEN is still WIDE OPEN and Rondo made the Bulls pay for not defending him one iota... so I guess he's got that going for him. 

One more final note:  Will Boston drop a banner and throw a parade for eliminating a 7-seed at home?

Monday Morning Point Guard

By Craig Kwasniewski 

March Madness eat your heart out! One weekend down and there were several upsets, a few stinkers and a couple expected results. As much as I love the whole one and done March Madness thing, you don't get the physical play, the adjustments and strategy that a 7-game series offers. Here are a few thoughts with one game down in each series: 

Boston vs. Chicago - Is there room on the Derrick Rose bandwagon? The Bulls were the one team I regret not seeing in person this year. Anyone with an eye for hoops can appreciate the full range this rookie brings to the Bulls but what I didn't notice until Saturday is Rose's quick and explosive LAST step. Most players have that quick first step to blow by defenders but Rose explodes right at the rim at his last step. Also, his extremely calm nature works well with the youthful Bulls. Game 1 against the defending champs and he has the heart rate of a librarian and it's contagious as the Bulls weren't phased at all. I still think Boston wins, but the Bulls should make Rose the GM, coach and owner and build around him for the next 12 years. 

Cleveland vs. Detroit - Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet? SWEEP! 

San Antonio vs. Dallas - One quarter in, Duncan had springy legs and looked very 2007, I was on the brink of writing a "Mavs should have kept Maquis Daniels instead of Josh Howard" piece and Nowitzki was in foul trouble... basically it didn't look good for Dallas. I left home, went out thinking the Spurs would win easily and I caught the last few seconds at a bar as Dallas... PULLED AWAY FOR A W??? What the hell happened? Suddenly Dallas looks like a very legit Western Conference finalist and San Antonio looks old.    

Portland vs. Houston - This really looks like a match-up problem for Portland more than anything else. Maybe their inexperience cost them a W as they didn't have that fifth gear or maybe they're just happy to be there.  All I know is Yao played the best playoff game of his life and showed EVERYONE that the problem was always T-MAC. 

Los Angeles vs. Utah - No Okur, no chance for Utah... it's just that simple. But the real story is the referees killing the entire second half of the game. It's no surprise that Joey Crawford was the lead ref in the worst called game of the weekend. Does the NBA pay him by the fouls? Does he really think the fans pay to see him ref? Is he out to single-handedly ruin professional hoops?  There were SIXTEEN fouls in the 3rd quarter alone and a free-flowing game became a possession-by-possession freethrow festival. Terrible! 

Orlando vs. Philadelphia - I've said this all year, Orlando doesn't have the go to guy necessary to make a deep run in the playoffs. C-Webb pretty much blew a gasket ripping on the Magic not riding Dwight Howard all game. But does Superman really want to be "that guy" with the Magic or is he content with monster numbers, monster dunks and showmanship? NBA Champions all have the definitive alpha dog and an understood chain of command. The Celtics heart lies with KG but crunchtime went Pierce first and Sugar Ray second. The early 00's Lakers had Shaq for 3 1/2 quarters with Kobe as the closer... what about Orlando? 

Atlanta vs. Miami - The Hawks put together a Special Edition Double-DVD set of highlights on the Heat on Sunday. Instead of 2006 Kobe and the Lakers with their near upset of the #2 seeded Phoenix Suns, the Heat resembled the 2007 edition and the very one-sided 4-1 loss to Phoenix. But we'll see what kind of road playoff team Atlanta is in games 3 & 4. 

Denver vs. New Orleans - Denver put together a sick 21-0 run late in the 3rd early in the 4th to put away what was a close and very physical game. Chauncey Billups went retro looking like a 2005 version going 8 of 9 from three on his way to 36 points. NOLA basically gave up at the end of the 3rd quarter so this blowout doesn't really mean the Nuggets will sweep. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if NOLA steals game 2. This really feels like a very bitter and very physical seven game series.

Stan Albeck's Amazing Perm and Other Thoughts While Watching the 1st Half of Jordan's 63

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Killing time on a slow news day, I thought I'd pop in a dvd of Michael Jordans famous 63 against the 1986 Celtics. We're talking video gold! Not simply because Jordan broke the playoff scoring record against arguably the greatest team ever (which was VERY impressive when you see the roster disparity between the teams), but because of all the OTHER things like Stan Albeck's perm, George Gervin snorting Gatoraide, John Paxon's porn stache... like I said, video gold. 

Here are a few observations after catching the first half: 

-BOTH teams ran the 7 seconds or less offense. It's funny how times have changed. Literally both teams were going back-and-forth jacking up shots early in the shot clock HOWEVER the announcers were NOT making anything out of it. No "woah, these guys play fast!" remarks. 

-George Gervin was on the Bulls. This is HIGH-larious because Sam Smith references Jordan's early years in the NBA and how half of the team was hopped up on cocaine (including the iceman, possibly DURING the game). NBA TV should have a "Cocaine or Not Cocaine" game using NBA clips from the 80's. 

(White Lines) Vision dreams of passion... (Blowin’ through my mind) and all the while I think of you...

-John Paxson's OG porn stache... nuff said! Heinsohn talked about how the Bulls consider him being a better Kyle Macy.... I think EVERYONE'S better than Kyle Macy! 

-A rookie Charles Oakley bringing the ball up... and the predictable terrible shot! Stan Albeck's perm couldn't distract us from his terrible coaching. 

-And by the way, can someone please explain the whole white coach with a perm trend that ran rampant in the 80's? Stan Albeck, Doug Collins, Jimmy Rodgers (actually had a fro), Mike Fratello, Hubie Brown and Kevin Loughery all sported them FOR THE ENTIRE DECADE. Were they trying to relate to the players, was this all unfinished leftovers from the 70's, did they not have mirrors??? The best/worst part of it all was watching these guys "de-perm" their hair in the 90's. They just didn't come off as confident once they lost the perm. Admit it, today Fratello still looks a little off without the perm. 

-Tommy Heinsohn during the pregame talk with Dick Stockton with a "MY Celtics are fucking good!!!!" smugness. I loved the guy during the 80's but I forgot just how much of a Celtics homer he was. 

-The Bulls were an absolutely terrible team! They won 30 games and made the playoffs!!!! They played Gene Banks and Orlando Woolridge heavy minutes... these guy's shot selection rivals Ronald Flip Murray's during the Rookie Game in 2004. 

-The Boston Garden was 70% full by the opening tip. Obviously the late arriving crown weren't up for a first round game against a 30-win 8 seed... yet LA always gets crap for arriving late... just sayin'. 

-The Celtics went early to a whitewash with Ainge, Sichting, Bird, McHale and Walton with Scott Wedman as a whitewash 6th man. Damn that was an ugly team! 

I only caught the first half, but Jordan had something like 23 and the Bulls led most of the way DESPITE their horrific shot selection.  Video gold!

Monday Morning Point Guard

By Craig Kwasniewski

Just a few thoughts from the past weekend in the NBA... 

Losses by the Celtics and Lakers just add to the 1996 Bulls mystique: 

Brace yourself for this "brilliant" remark... winnin' 70 ain't easy. Seriously, can we finally stop with the 70-win predictions? Every single year by Christmas the media piles on some talented team that flies out of the gate, throwing out 70-win predictions as often as Nadia Sulaman squirts out a kid and every year that team du jour loses game number 13 by March. The NBA season is too long and players are simply not motivated enough (Lamar Odom I'm speaking to you!) to drive through a six month regular season to get to 70 wins. Back in 1996 I remember the media undercutting the Bulls achievements all season long: the league was watered down, the players are not as fundamentally sound, Jordan isn't facing a Bird or Magic. All may be true, but the Bulls were driven enough to avoid too many upset losses by clearly inferior teams (unlike the Celtics against the Clippers and as the Lakers in Sunday's loss to Phoenix). 

Anyway, here is my formula to winning 70: 

1 - You need a visionary coach. Someone like Gregg Popovich or Phil Jackson who coaches with the entire season in mind and not game-to-game. Basically you want to avoid the 1999 Minnesota Vikings and 2006 New England Patriots syndrome of having a record-setting regular season but no title. After all, as Shaq said, it's all about the globes. 

2 - You need SEVERAL driven players. This is why the Lakers aren't winning 70, because Kobe's competitive drive alone isn't enough to pull the Lakers through the entire season. Michael Jordan comes to mind as the only person capable, but it also helped that he had an almost equally driven teammate in Scottie Pippen. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom (fresh off turtle-ing against KG and Kendrick Perkins in the Finals) aren't these type of guys. In fact, right after winning NBA Player of the Week, Gasol was talking about being fatigued and resting during games... which was obvious in the past two Lakers losses. You never heard that from Jordan or Pippen. 

3 - You need some luck. Injuries are a part of the game and KG and Andrew Bynum going down all but ended any chance at 70. Outside of Dennis Rodman's suspension for head-butting a referee, much of the Bulls key players were healthy the entire season. 

4 - The team needs a sense of history. This excludes the 1986 Celtics, who quite possibly could have gone for 70 wins except that it wasn't considered an achievement back then. The NBA in the 1980's was all about getting 50-wins and preparing for the playoffs. The 1986 Celtics were, in my mind, were the only team in the past 35-years with the best shot at 70, but it didn't matter.  

5 - Talent. OBVIOUSLY!!!  You can't even smell 70 without at least 2 or 3 All-Stars on your team (legit ones that command defensive double-teams and not political All-Star selections like David West because the NBA is keen on promoting Chris Paul). 

With all that in mind, people really need to truly understand and appreciate the 1996 Bulls achievement of 72-10 (and 69-13 the following season for that matter).  

BTW - Let me add that I too underestimated the challenge of 70-wins.  I took a look at this Lakers team and emailed anyone who would listen (which wasn't really anyone, but alas) that they are 70-win capable.  As always, I am an idiot!

Back to the rest of MMPG: 

Lamar Odom... buyer beware: Remember Lamar Odom plowing through Boston and Cleveland with dominant double-doubles? Remember Lamar Odom with 74 rebounds in 4 games? Well you also need to know 6, 5 and 4... those were his rebounds, assists and points before he fouled out in the Lakers loss to Phoenix on Sunday. Odom is a free agent this summer and will command interest from several teams. So fare thee be warned, this is his 10th season in the NBA, so one of my favorite phrases applies here: you are what you are. And with Odom, he's always been "that guy" with tremendous potential, yet VERY inconsistent. 

Starbury to the Celtics: God I hate this deal! As a Lakers fan, this does not bode well. Instead of matching the Celtics and grabbing up a much-needed big until Bynum returns, the Lakers traded to dump salary. Meanwhile, the Celtics improved a non-existent bench by grabbing Steph and Mikki Moore. Neither guy is going to lock down LeBron and at first I was like "big deal, they still won't pass Cleveland." But the more I think about it, Steph and Mikki are more about getting the top seed in the east and avoiding BOTH Cleveland and Orlando in the post-season. I see them both injecting confidence and pushing the C's to the top record in the NBA. 

Here's my question to Celtics fans: does having the league's biggest cancer on your team take anything away from the title or is it "just win baby?" 

Utah... For Real: Racked by injuries all season and barely holding on to the 8th spot, the Jazz are finally healthy and have run off 8-straight wins (including two impressive W's against Boston and LA). The Jazz have the talent, the depth and the coaching to put a real scare come playoff time. Plus they have that extra emotional motivation with the recent passing of owner Larry Miller. This team has the potential to put together the same type of run as in 2007 when they lost to San Antonio in Western Conference Finals. They sit 1.5 games out of 4th place in the west with 23 games left. Only 9 of those 23 are home, so the Jazz need to fix their road woes to make a move... and I think they will. 

Houston... NOT for Real: The Rockets are putting together a similar run as Utah but I really don't see them as a threat out West (despite Jeff Van Gundy's continued beliefs). First off, aren't we due for the annual Yao Ming injury? He's one game away from playing the most games since 2004-05. Unlike T-Mac, Yao actually gives a crap about his team and winning... it's just that his body can't keep up. Also, with T-Mac gone, who's going to shoulder the offensive load on the perimeter?  Ron Artest's perimiter game is inconsistent and they depend on a rookie (a very talented rookie, but a rookie none the less) at the point guard spot.  As always, I see Houston not getting past the first round in the playoffs.  

Monday Morning Point Guard

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. 

Larry H. Miller's passing: I never knew the guy, I never attended a Jazz game and I've never been to Salt Lake City, but I feel the NBA lost a HUGE personality when the Jazz's owner Larry Miller died. The league needs to honor a guy that has made a franchise located in Salt Lake City (one of the smallest TV markets in professional sports) one of the most successful in NBA history. I'm not a religious man, but you have to credit a guy for skipping out on a few of the NBA Finals games that *HIS* team was in. Simply reaching the Finals is a rare opportunity and Miller stuck to his religious beliefs and sat out all games on Sunday.  Now THAT is dedication!  I hope for the Jazz fans that the next-in-line (his son?) runs the franchise in the same manner. The NBA needs more owners like Larry Miller. 

I love me some me: Is there anything cooler than seeing your name on the jumbotron? Once a year the Lakers honor their upper deck season ticket holders with a halftime snack (beer, wine, chips and salsa) and a meet and greet with the ticket reps in a private suite. It's a small but very cool gesture and they put your name in lights. Friday's game against New Orleans was my turn and as you can see (and to establish my NBA street cred) I've been a season ticket holder for 10 seasons (BTW - that's not me in the Gasol jersey). 

And finally... 

Rip off Jack Nicholson + Die = Academy Award: Simple math eh? Heath Ledger blatantly rips off Jack Nicholson from The Shining (even down to the tongue thing!) and he's THE GREATEST ACTOR IN THE WORLD! I know this is a hoops blog but does a below average 8 hour long comic book movie really deserve any Academy Awards? Seriously, all this means is that we'll get yet another 321 more comic book movies this summer. YUCK! Heath Ledger was a good actor but TRUST ME, years from now people will react with the same "huh??" as they do now with Marisa Tomei's award from My Cousin Vinny. Oh and Mickey Rourke deserved the Best Actor Oscar!

 

If Bynum's Injury was Karma then Perkins Should be Dead

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?

Augustin Smacks the C's.... And it's About Damn Time!

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.

If Rondo is such an All-Star then why are the C's courting Starbury?

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?

Rondo is *NOT* an All-Star

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!

NOLA and ATL Impressive in Key Losses

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.