Taking on Water?

Just read that Paul Pierce is out two weeks after having fluid drained from his knee.  Obviously this is not good, and it means that Pierce will miss the upcoming road trip, including Boston's Christmas day showdown in Orlando.  What the Celtics will do without him is beyond me, since they're already thin at the wing positions without Marquis Daniels.  I suppose that Tony Allen and the recently recalled Bill Walker and possibly J.R. Giddens will fill in, though my brain can't fathom a universe where those guys are able to effectively replace the stats Pierce provides on a daily basis, much less the intangibles and leadership he brings to the table.  Actually, the thought of Tony Allen getting more minutes just made me throw up in my mouth a little.

In a weird way, this news could be a bit relieving for the Celtics over the long run.  First and foremost, this injury is minor and the Celtics are focused on preventative care, hence the longer than expected absence.  Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge et al are focused on playing in May and June of 2010, so taking risks with players now and turning minor injuries into season ending ones is not something they're prepared to do (hence KG sitting last night because of a bruise).  This way, Pierce will get some rest now and can hopefully heal fully in plenty of time to reestablish a rhythm before the All-Star break.  

And aside from the Christmas Day match-up with Orlando, the road trip doesn't have too many difficult games for the Celtics.  After Orlando, the Celtics head to the west coast to face the Clippers, Warriors and (gulp) the Pheonix Suns.  The Clippers and Warriors are both very beatable without Pierce, and the Suns could always falter against a defensive team that has plenty of size inside (check for the Celtics) and a quick, tough point guard to challenge Steve Nash (double check).  So in theory all four games are winnable, with a 2-2 finish being a bit pessimistic but likely.

If you ask me, the biggest downside to this injury is the fact that I won't get to watch Pierce play this week while I'm home in Massachusetts.  Ultimately, the Celtics will be just fine.  Even if these injuries cost the Celtics a few games, it won't matter much.  This Celtics squad is so talented that home court throughout the Playoffs won't matter (Cleveland hasn't been the same at home this year and the LA crowd always sucks, so who cares?).  The Celtics just need to be healthy by March so they can establish a rhythm for the Playoffs.  

The bottom line is that you will not hear any griping about injuries out of this writer, especially since I live in Portland, where the "Frail" Blazers are down to eight healthy bodies and NO centers after Joel Przybilla went down for the season last night.  Boston can play through their injuries and will still be atop the East at season's end.  Portland, on the other hand, looked like a possible number two in the West behind the Lakers, are now going to have to focus on simply making it to the end of the year.  

UPDATE:

Pierce may not be out a full two weeks according to recent reports.  He'll still miss the road trip, but this is still great news.  Happy Holidays!

 

In Defense of No. 6

First of all, the Celtics lacked all kinds of effort yesterday against the Hawks, hence the ugly loss.  The real reason I'm writing today is in response to LeBron James announcing that he is changing his jersey number in honor of Michael Jordan.  It seems that LeBron will not wear number 23 next year as a sign of respect for His Airness, choosing instead to wear number 6.  Apparently he also wants everyone else in the league that wears 23 to give it up in deference to Michael, because he's done so much for the game and nobody would be playing basketball right now if not for MJ and blah blah blah blah blah...  

That's all well and good, except for one slight flaw in LBJ's logic.  He is giving up Jordan's 23 in favor of number 6, which was worn by none other than Bill Russell, the greatest basketball player ever and a figure who paved the way for the guys who inspired Michael Jordan (whoops!).  Sure, MJ changed the NBA and inspired this entire generation of players, but BIll Russell won more than MJ and changed the game more than Jordan did in his years as a player and a coach.  Without Russell, there couldn't have been Michael Jordan or anyone else for that matter, and pro basketball as we know it might not exist.

I don't want to sound like a nagging senior citizen here, but just look at the things Bill Russell did for the NBA in his career.  Before Bill Russell even played a minute in the NBA, he captained the US Olympic team to a gold medal, barnstorming the tournament and winning each game by an average margin of 53.5 points per game.  Oh yeah, and there were those two consecutive Collegiate titles he won at USF, despite having to play against much bigger and more talented programs.  But really, we're talking about the pro game here, so let's move on.  

Bill Russell was the first defensive center the fledgling NBA had ever seen, and before Wilt Chamberlain laced up his shoes in the NBA, Russell became the sport's first African American superstar.  Oh yeah, and Russell helped to pioneer the fast break, changing the game from a slow grind it out style to the uptempo brand of basketball that you see today, where strong defense and rebounding often create offense in transition.  Nobody did this better than Russell, and prior to him, nobody had done this at all.  Not enough for you?  How about the fact that Bill Russell was the NBA's first African American head coach, and prior to that had been a member of the NBA's first all black starting line-up?  

To recap, Bill Russell helped to integrate the NBA and was a pioneer as the sport's first African American superstar player and coach, all while redefining his position forever and helping to invent two of the most exciting aspects of pro basketball: fast break offense and defense.  Not only did Russell help his teammates get out and score in transition, but he also inventing the soul crushing out-of-nowhere shot block that LeBron James enjoys doing so much nowadays.  And he repeatedly shut down Wilt Chamberlain, once holding him to only 2 shot attempts in the second half of an intense playoff game.  And he won ELEVEN FREAKING CHAMPIONSHIPS in 13 years, not too shabby.

What has MJ done for basketball?  Well, he spearheaded the campaign to lengthen the shorts in the NBA and created a me first, ball hogging style that has dominated games at every level since.  Sure, he was fun to watch and sure, he was a great competitor and all that, but changing the game so you can take an extra step, palm the hell out of the ball and make it ok to jack up just any contested jumper while sticking out your tongue and taunting your opponents does not equal inventing the fast break and being the league's first African American coach in my mind.  And while Jordan has certainly changed the way everybody plays the game and has inspired countless players all over the world to play basketball, he didn't exactly redefine his position in the same way Bill Russell did.  Shooting guards were long and athletic and shot happy well before Jordan came into the league, he just did it better than almost anyone else.  

So LeBron, if you're reading this, perhaps you should consider going with another number besides 6 if you think that not wearing a number is the best way to pay respect to the legends of the game that preceded you.  This kind of respect and perspective is a good thing, just don't forget who was there before Jordan making the Association into what it is today.  Maybe when you win 8 titles in a row, redefine the entire sport and keep Kobe from even shooting more than twice in a Finals game I'll be ok with you donning number 6, but until then I suggest you try again.  Unless, that is, you decide that wearing someone else's number is a great homage to them in which case I say stick with 23, it suits you.

Locking Up the Little Guy

As Professor Hubert Farnsworth would say, "Good news, everyone!"  It seems as though the Celtics made use of the NBA's deadline extension on contract negotiations and have signed Rajon Rondo to a contract extension believed to be worth at least $55 million over the next five years.  This is exciting and surprising news for several reasons, perhaps mostly because as recently as last Monday both sides seemed to be at an impasse over the dollar amount of the deal.  It appears as though Danny Ainge and the Celtics capitulated and increased their offer to an amount that was more pleasing to Rondo and his agent, Bill Duffy.  

Frankly, I am giddy with excitement over this development, as Rondo's contract situation was my biggest concern heading into this season.  Had Boston not compromised, Rondo would have been a restricted free agent after this season, increasing the chances that he'd be playing elsewhere next year.  Fortunately for Boston, that didn't happen and it now seems that Rajon Rondo will be feeding his teammates in green and white for many years to come.

Some question the Celtics' commitment to a mercurial player who can't shoot at all, but that perspective is flawed and tends to marginalize a lot of Rondo's contributions to the Celtics.  To the naysayers, I ask only this: why does Rondo need to shoot jumpers to be valuable to the Celtics?  Rajon Rondo is on the floor to create jump shots for other players, not to knock down his own.  And Rajon Rondo is quickly becoming one of the best in the business at creating shots for his teammates without the ability to reliably knock down his own shot, so why shouldn't he be paid well for doing his job well (this isn't communist Russia, you know...)?  

Simply put Rajon Rondo is the perfect point guard for today's NBA and for the Boston Celtics.  He is incredibly long for such a tiny person and is among the quickest guards in the Association, adding intense speed to a Celtics team that would be slower than molasses without him.  Much like the way Tony Parker is the San Antonio Spurs' fast-break, Rajon Rondo is unstoppable in the open court and has the ability to change gears and control the tempo of the basketball game, a trait that is innate rather than acquired and very rare to boot.  Elite point guards like Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker and Chris Paul don't just play with the pedal to the metal all the time, instead opting to change speed at just the right moment to change the whole complexion of a game.  

Rajon Rondo's length and athleticism also help him on the defensive end, where he has always been committed to pestering his opponents into submission.  Long arms and quick feet make Rondo difficult to get around, and nearly every elite guard in this league has been shut down by Rajon at least once in the past two years.  In the past he gambled too much for steals and lacked the requisite muscle to deal with bigger point guards (Deron Williams and Chauncey Billups in particular), but this season Rondo has added some bulk and is more committed to playing a disciplined brand of team defense that has really shown improvement through the team's first four games.  Rondo's nasty streak is longer than his wingspan and his new attitude has him prepared to play stifling D every night this season (spotty play was my only knock against him in the past, no more!).

Rondo's natural gifts and the hand-checking rules of today's NBA make him the perfect point guard for professional basketball, but it's his ability to find shooters on the perimeter that makes him so valuable (at least $55 million valuable) to the Boston Celtics.  Since the championship season, Rondo has displayed a knack for finding Ray Allen in transition, but he's also improved his ability to find jump shooters in the half court offense as well.  Because of his speed and the rules regarding hand checking in the NBA, it is impossible to keep Rondo out of the paint which can do several things to opponents.  Rondo has great touch and a superb ability to finish tricky lay-ups in traffic in the paint, so if the defense does nothing he can shred an opponent all night long with high percentage looks for himself.  The only answer is to help and collapse the defense on the little guy which then leaves a bevy of Boston shooters (Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) wide open for equally high percentage shots.  There is simply no winning play for the defense, especially this year with the addition of Rasheed Wallace.  

As a result, the Celtics are shooting 44% from downtown this year (5th best in the league) and 50% from the field overall.  Simply put, Rondo creates quality looks for all of his teammates and he's now finding them with better passes and fewer mistakes overall.  In fact, right now Rajon Rondo is second in the NBA only to Steve Nash in assists per game at 11.8, and his assist to turnover ratio is miles beyond anyone else in the top ten at a staggering 5.22:1 (Chauncey Billups is sitting at 4.00 right now, but he is averaging less than 7 assists per game).  Rondo has elite numbers and plays at an elite level, so why wouldn't he be worth that kind of money?  Can you name me a better point guard in the Eastern Conference right now?

(I'll wait)

...

...

Some of you probably want to say that Derrick Rose or Jameer Nelson may be better, but that just isn't the case.  Both of those guys are very, very good, but Rondo has dominated them both before and will continue to do so.  He is the best point guard in the Eastern Conference right now and is truthfully among the top three in the entirety of the Association, behind Chris Paul and Tony Parker/Deron Williams.  And wouldn't you know it, with this new extension he'll be paid slightly less than those guys but more than just about every other point guard out there.  It doesn't seem to me to be a reach at all, I think Rondo has earned every penny of his new deal and has the ability to eclipse every guard in the NBA except for Chris Paul.

Rajon Rondo is a champion point guard who has proven that he can distribute the basketball to a triumvirate of All-Star players and create order from chaos at lightning speed.  He's also got a mean streak that we haven't seen in the NBA and he has absolutely no fear of anyone in this league.  Why wouldn't you want to sign him?  His inability to shoot makes him who he is, and if you changed his ability to shoot you'd change how he plays the game.  The only area where I really want his touch to improve is from the free-throw line, beyond that I say let him off the leash so he can run amok just how he is and sit back and enjoy the ride (get ready for a long haul, because this ride doesn't stop until June).  

Setting Sail in 2009

So we are two games into the 2009-2010 season, and the Boston Celtics have already made plenty of noise out of the gate.  In the season opener, Boston travelled to Cleveland and beat the Cavaliers in their own building for the first time in a long time, and in the process exposing a huge weakness in Cleveland's team defense (forcing Shaq to defend the pick & roll, duh).  One night later in the Celtics' home opener, Boston absolutely drubbed the Charlotte Bobcats, declawing them en route to a 92-59 victory.  

In both victories, the Celtics showed two things.  Thing number 1: this team has a nasty streak unlike any team I've seen in a long time.  Thing number 2: this year's Celtics are versatile on offense to an absurd level.  This year Boston will make every team in the league pick their poison and then kill them with it.  Care to clog the middle and defend the paint hard?  Well that's just fine, the Celtics will gladly trot Pierce, Eddie House, Sheed, KG and Ray Allen out there to drop long range bombs on your head all day and all night.  Feel like playing tight coverage on all those shooters?  That's fine too, because then the Celtics can replace House with Rondo and cut you to ribbons in the paint.  If you want to stop the little man, you'll have to collapse that defense which leaves one of the other four guys open (oops!).  Care to go big?  The Celtics can play that game too with Kendrick Perkins and a taller, tougher line-up.  

The bottom line is that the Celtics are stacked at every position this year, and are equipped to play and beat almost any style of basketball.  This is rare indeed, and it bodes well for the Celtics this year.  When a team is so versatile that they can play and combat every style, they become that much tougher to beat on a nightly basis and within the context of a seven game series.  Simply put, Boston is poised to dominate this season and has the potential to barn-storm their way to an 18th NBA title.

Now, of course, the caveat.  The Celtics need to stay healthy for any of this to happen.  With any NBA team, that's one hell of an if, but with these aging Celtics, it is a dark specter that will loom over this entire year.  Hopefully, the additions of Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels can stem the tide a bit by providing some much needed rest for the Celtic veterans, and hopefully both Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins will be able to step up and carry a bit more of the load this year to disperse the stress from the rest of Boston's starters.  If those things can happen, then the Celtics should be in great shape to make another championship run come May.  If not, then it seems as though I'm going to have to try not to vomit while the Lakers repeat and we're subjected to another tidal wave of "Kobe is the greatest player" stories (yuck).   

Tonight, Boston faces Chicago at home, which should actually be a good test for the Celtics.  Thus far they've beaten two slower paced teams with ease, but this Bulls team is young, athletic and largely the same crew that gave Boston problems last Spring in round one.  If these Celtics, who are not, by the way, the same group that struggled last spring against the youthful Bulls, can handle Chicago tonight, I will feel a lot better about our chances against any and all comers.  If the celtics lose at home, then we have some thinking and soul searching to do.  Just so y'all know, I plan on drinking heavily, which is to say I'm  betting on Boston tonight.

Happy Halloween!

Marquis Signing?

Though I was initially sour on Boston signing Marquis Daniels to fill another roster spot at the swing position, a bit of research has the tides of my opinion changing.  In my mind, the best approach is to wait and see.  The only thing I'm questioning for the Celtics is the number of guaranteed contracts they have on the roster at the moment which could hurt their flexibility as the season goes on.  On the other hand, the price Ainge and the Celtics are paying for him is fair, and my ulcers will hopefully be able to recover because he'll be taking most of Tony Allen's minutes.

So who is Marquis Daniels?  He's a strong 6'6" wing who does all the little things that can help a good basketball team be better.  He can't shoot much better than Tony Allen, but he shoots a lot more jumpers (ugh) anyway.  He's a slasher without a conscience, willing to crash into the lane head-on every time even though the defense knows what he's doing.  He deflects balls on defense, and he can bring the ball up the floor in stints.  He can facilitate for others and makes plays for his team on both ends.  He was very successful in his rookie season playing point guard for Don Nelson in 2004.  He does all the little things that make coaches smile.  And he can give Paul Pierce a rest when the captain needs it.  

In Indiana he had to do so much more and his team struggled, and thus he comes off as a questionable player.  But the Celtics won't ask him to do much.  The floor should be spaced enough for him and he's plenty talented enough to find a cutting Eddie House or kick the ball to 'Sheed in the post.  Call me cautiously optimistic, but it's also true that Doc Rivers was interested in him when he was with the Orlando Magic in 2003 when Daniels was in the draft.  He gets positive reviews from the media (the media that actually knows, not the media that talks the loudest) and Danny Ainge has done a fine job keeping the ship on course thus far, so the least we can all do is reserve judgement until the season begins.

Also, it's great to see that Leon Powe has landed with another contender, signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers and interestingly enough, reuniting him with his former AAU teammate, LeBron James.  Powe will miss more than half of this season because he killed himself playing for the Celtics this past year and is by far the most likable player in the NBA.  If I ever get a Cleveland Jersey, it will be his.      

Does it Matter if a Swingman Creaks?

News is in that Milwaukee has waived Bruce Bowen.  How is this news of a declining role player who once shot a better percentage on threes for a season than he did on free throws worthy of my first post in a couple of weeks?  Can I really be excited about a guy who has clearly lost a step?  Yes, because simply put Bruce Bowen can fit a need for the Celtics and he won't be expensive (also, I don't want to read about or think about baseball right now for obvious reasons, so...).  Boston is short a swingman who can come off the bench, hit a long shot or two and play defense within a system, which is exactly what Bruce Bowen is built to do.  All we have to do now is keep him from going back to San Antonio for one more tour...

But who is this guy, anyhow?  He's a multiple NBA champion (3 rings with the Spurs in 2003, 2005 and 2007), an eight time selection for All NBA Defense (First and Second team) and he's clearly got no problem elbowing Sasha Vujacic in the chops, what's the catch?  He's 38 and clearly lost a step this year, which is a red flag to say the least.  But if you think about what Boston needs him for, he might just be the guy that comes in really handy somewhere down the road next season.

Bowen can still come off the bench for 15 minutes a night and provide quality individual and team defense as well as some three point shooting to a Celtics second unit that has a big, gaping hole at the swing position.  He doesn't have to guard Kobe for 30 minutes any more, nor would he need to shut down any of the NBA's elite players in this capacity with Boston.  But he could be great in practices and in the locker room, and in a team oriented system like Boston's where he'll never be expected to do any more than he can do, I think he can help this team a lot.  

The stars seem aligned to me.  He's a tough guy that a lot of players don't care for (like Sheed, KG, Rondo, Pierce and most of the other Celtics) and that's just fine with him.  He plays killer defense and communicates well with teammates and has a heady feel for that side of the floor (check and check).  And he's thrived for much of his career by feeding off of a speed demon point guard with no outside game who penetrates and kicks to shooters on the perimeter (sound like Rajon Rondo to you?).  And he'd be joining a team with serious title hopes where he could be a contributing member in an easier conference with less Kobe.  Also, number 12 is still available in Boston (though they may still have to wash some of that Ricky Davis funk off of the jersey).  Seems to me like a match made in heaven.

My answer is no.  For this Celtics team, it doesn't matter if Bowen is a little creaky and a little slow.  The Celtics aren't a speed team, they're an execution based team.  Bowen has the skill set and the mental make-up to be a contributor, so I say break out the WD-40 and see if he's got enough in the tank to help Boston get over the top this coming season.  I'm just fantasizing here, we'll see where Bowen lands.  San Antonio is probably the smart money bet, but I wouldn't sleep on Boston bringing Bruce Bowen into the fold.  I'll keep an eye on it, as should you.  Stay cool out there.

A Long Time Coming: Sheed Sets Sail With the Green & White

Admittedly, this is long overdue.  A truly dedicated journalist would have been on these events like flies on you-know-what, but honestly I've had to put a lot more time and energy into work that pays the bills, so basketball writing has unfortunately fallen to the back burner.  Nonetheless, I have been paying attention to current events and am, needless to say, quite pleased with the way this offseason is shaping up.

In case you've had your head buried in the sand since the Lakers won the title and the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted a battalion of point guards, the Celtics have in this humble loud-mouth's opinion been among this offseason's biggest winners.  Yes, Cleveland got Shaq for pennies on the dollar, and yes, the Spurs plucked Richard Jefferson from Purgatory a.k.a Milwaukee (to say nothing of the Lakers' snaring of Ron Artest), but the Celtics made a huge splash not long ago by inking none other than Rasheed Wallace to a three-year deal at the mid-level exception.  The hugeness of this cannot be overstated (though I'll surely try).  

Wallace gives the Celtics everything they were lacking last year and then some.  He adds length and toughness to a front line that is desperately thin in both of those categories as well as a truly unique skill set and feel for the game that is in many ways unparalleled throughout the Association.  He is a player with virtually no holes in his game, one who is battle tested and dedicated to playing the game the right way.  His only hurdles have been those of his own making, and amongst a group of kindred spirits the stars seem poised to align for what could prove to be one of the greatest Celtic teams of all time.

To speculate that the addition of a player as combustible as Wallace could elevate these Celtics to the likes of the Birds, Russells, McHales, Cousys and Havliceks without seeing them play together might seem far fetched to casual observers, Sheed's immensely dynamic skill set is often obscured by his emotional outbursts and fiery, blunt personality.  Though it would probably be prudent to do so, I am prepared to state without qualifiers that by bringing Rasheed Wallace into the fold they have by far the best chance to win the East as well as the NBA Finals next season.  I'm so excited by the possibilities of this that I don't even care if I'm forced to eat a turd sandwich next spring.  Sheed is that good.

... 

(resisting)

...

Fine, How good is he?

Glad you asked.  Sheed represents the complete package on both ends of the floor, and at a long 6'11" he creates mismatches with both his size and his skill set.  On offense, Wallace is multifaceted and deadly in a system that preaches sharing and ball movement and should fit in nicely with players like Kevin Garnett, paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.  He can post up nearly anyone and score with a variety of moves (using either hand, of course)  or hit a surgically accurate turnaround jumper that's nearly impossible to contest.  He can also extend the defense well beyond the three-point line (once again, either hand), which will allow the Celtics to space the floor for stretches of the game and create open looks off of either Rondo/Pierce dribble penetration or a Garnett post up.  Any shot from anywhere on the floor, though as some folks who are wiser than myself pointed out, he doesn't take a lot of long two-pointers, which speaks to his awareness and feel for the court and the game.  Add to that the fact that he's an accomplished passer from the perimeter and the post and a player who sets hard, reliable, well-timed screens and you have a nightmare match up for even the most savvy defensive teams.  

Not enough for you?  He's also a gritty-tough defender who's versatile enough to defend three positions either in the post or on the perimeter.  Once again, his length, skill set and feel for the game make Wallace an excellent defender, and it is here that his toughness and competitive fire combined with the Celtics system can possibly bear their greatest fruit.  Most importantly, Wallace is committed to the defensive end of the floor and understands that championship basketball is built on a foundation of defense.  

By adding Sheed, the Celtics now also have two of a very select group of interior players who have routinely frustrated Dwight Howard, the new Beast of the East (Shaq and a healthy Emeka Okafor are the only others who are on the list).  This will likely prove to be huge against Orlando throughout next year and likely into the playoffs.  Now Kendrick Perkins can be aggressive on defense and contest shots with some zeal knowing that Wallace is there to pick him up if he needs it (not to mention the fact that Sheed presents a match-up problem for Howard on defense and at the very least will force him away from the basket).  Sheed brings the rare ability to bang with the toughest of opponents as well as the quickness and athletic ability to contain even the most skilled post players (and he rebounds the hell out of the ball, too).  

Last but not least, Wallace is a champion who values winning more than his ego and is coming into an environment with like-minded peers who are just as dedicated as he is to playing the game the right way.  Wallace was the glue that pushed Detroit to glory in 2004 and brought his team millimeters from a repeat the next year.  Though his temperament may be a turn-off to some organizations, his swagger fits perfectly with the Celtics and will make a tough team even tougher.  

Rasheed Wallace can make every Celtic better, whether he starts or not.  Though his personality is distinctly different than that of James Posey, Wallace embodies many of the same vital traits that Posey brought to the championship team.  He's a guy you want in your foxhole, and the value of that quality cannot be underestimated.  An occasional lapse aside, Wallace is one of the most dedicated students of the game, able to run every play in the book from all five positions and direct traffic with the best of them.  He is the perfect do-it-all player who can elevate even the most talented teams to new heights.

You can't see, but I'm actually salivating right now at the endless possibilities the Celtics will have next year.  Now the Celtics can go small without actually going small, by playing Wallace, Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Rondo.  Four skilled, knock down shooters and a whirling dervish of a point guard to distribute the ball on offense with the length of two seven-footers (I don't buy that 6'11" crap for either Garnett or Wallace).  Or they can go big and tough, and use Wallace to bolster an already stout starting front-court of Pierce, Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.  With Rasheed Wallace in the locker room, any flaws that precipitated the downfall of the Celtics this season are gone for next season.  I fully expect them to be a force to be reckoned with next season.  If they can stay healthy and possible retain Big Baby Davis (or add another wing reserve), the Celtics could flirt with seventy wins.  I am deadly serious about that.

How Valuable is a Year in College Anyhow?

I've been trying unsuccessfully to write a column about Kendrick Perkins for several days now, but with the news this morning of Congressman Steve Cohen's call to the NBA to lift its age restrictions on incoming players, I feel compelled to throw my two cents in.  In case you didn't know, the NBA placed an age restriction on players entering the NBA draft in 2005, forcing young basketball players to be one year removed from high school before giving them eligibility for the NBA Draft.  I won't bother recounting the Association's excuses or arguments for this limit because frankly, they're all totally bogus.  I'm sorry, I just don't see how one mandatory year of college or some other equivalent is supposed to create better educated, more mature players for the league.

What I do see in this age limit is the league exploiting young men because they are lazy and incompetent.  First of all, this age limit forces players to donate a year of their lives to playing for the NCAA.  Though they usually receive free tuition from the schools that recruit them and a healthy amount of exposure in the process, prospects are sacrificing a year of pro salary and risking serious injury every time they take the floor for their schools.  The schools, the NCAA and CBS all make a killing off of these young men and give them minimal compensation in return.  It isn't quite slavery (after all they DO receive something in exchange for their services), but in many ways this system is very close to indentured servitude.  The schools presumably feed, clothe and "educate" the young men in exchange for their hard work at what appears to me as an appallingly unfair rate.  

Secondly, the NBA's current age limit creates a huge double standard for incoming talent by forcing American teenagers to wait a year before entering the draft while talented youngsters from Europe and elsewhere are allowed into the draft regardless of their age.  For example, Spain's Ricky Rubio will be one of the top prospects in this year's draft (likely going second or third overall) despite the fact that he doesn't turn 19 until the end of October 2009.  By contrast, point guard sensation Brandon Jennings was not allowed to enter into the 2008 Draft directly out of high school (choosing instead to play professionally in Europe instead of going to college) because of this rule even though his age situation is almost exactly the same as Rubio's (Jennings was born in September of 1989, Rubio was born in October of 1990).  Though Jennings got paid for his year in Europe, his stock has fallen from being a potential top three pick last year to being a late lottery pick with some question marks this year.  This will end up costing him millions of dollars immediately and perhaps throughout his entire career in the NBA, while Rubio will essentially be following the path Jennings would have and will be handsomely rewarded for it by the NBA.  

So why does Ricky Rubio get to play before he's 19 and many young stars-to-be like Brandon Jennings have to wait?  Aside form the exploitation and the money tied up in college ball and the interests of the NCAA etc. etc., the dirty truth is that most NBA scouts and GMs are so horrible and inept at judging basketball prospects that they need to send all of these boys to college to have even a slight chance of accurately evaluating them.  The competition that these young men play against in high school is so uneven and unpredictable that it can make it harder to get an accurate picture of their abilities as a player, whereas in the NCAA, the competition is easier to judge and generally holds to a certain standard (games are also more often televised, which cuts down on the need to send scouts out to random gyms across the country).  By pitting these prospects against tougher, more standardized competition, it becomes much easier for scouts and GMs to make informed decisions about a player's strengths, weaknesses and potential.  

Why else would there be an age limit if not for this benefit?  I can't honestly believe that Stern thinks these kids are actually getting any kind of real education in one year at college which has become simply an extended pro tryout, nor do I believe that he sees this program as a way to make players more mature (anyone heard of Michael Beasley?).  No, Stern and the owners and executives did this to make their jobs easier.  Because NBA teams were having trouble telling the difference between Josh Smith and Gerald Green, they came up with a stupid rule (in classic NBA fashion) that solves the problem on their end without addressing the real issues at hand.  Heaven forbid that the scouts and GMs across the NBA develop better methods for evaluating high schoolers or put more time and energy into dissecting the potential flaws of a player from high school, no that simply wouldn't do.  Instead, the league chooses to punish the players by robbing them of salary to solve the problem.  

But other sports have age limits, so why not basketball?  Sure, football has an age limit because if they let 18 year-olds onto an NFL field with Julius Peppers or Ray Lewis they'd get killed, plain and simple.  An age limit makes sense there, but not in the NBA where players as young as 18 and 19 can not only hold their own against veterans but dominate a game.  Even in sports with considerably more contact than basketball, 18 year-olds fresh out of high school are allowed to compete at the highest level as long as they're ready to do so (does the name Sydney Crosby ring a bell?).  Baseball takes players straight out of high school, and although most spend years in the minor leagues developing their skills, those who are ready to play immediately are not prevented from doing so.  The only sane reason to put an age limit on professional sports is to protect the players from the level of competition they face.  The NBA says this is the reason for their ban on high schoolers, but really they're doing it to cover their own asses.

To me, it's as plain as day that the NBA panicked and instated this ludicrous rule because they were either too stupid or too unwilling to take the bull by the horns and work hard on evaluating these high school players.  Instead of using discretion when it came to evaluating high school players, NBA GMs and scouts went crazy and thought that every high school phenom would be the next KG or Kobe.  Discretion, judgement and common sense went out the window and then players like Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown and Darius Miles were taken way too soon and suddenly all hell breaks loose.  I'm not about to say that any of these guys belonged in the NBA right out of high school, but what I will say to the death is that it isn't their fault that NBA teams were too stupid or too blind to see their flaws.  The onus for giving contracts to players has to fall on the teams and the executives who are paid handsomely to do just that, shifting the burden onto the players is simply outrageous.  

And while we're at it, I don't buy for one minute the argument that sending players to college for ONE YEAR makes them more mature human beings or more productive members of society, the evidence simply doesn't support that.  For every head case from high school that could have used a year or two of college (think of the names from the previous paragraph as a good starting point), there are also a slew of NBA players who were very successful in their transition from high school to the NBA.  Want names?  How about LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tyson Chandler, Andrew Bynum, Travis Outlaw, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Al Harrington, Josh Smith, Jermaine O'Neal, Amare Stoudemire and Moses Malone (all off the top of my head) just to name a few.  And beyond that, I could probably come up with a list of players who went to college and still turned out to be busts or head cases or worse (think Ron Artest, J.R. Rider, Zach Randolph, Dennis Rodman etc.).  College does not equal maturity, nor does it always equal an education.  There is no proof that I'm aware of that shows that college players are better humans than high schoolers or that college players do better in the pros than high schoolers do.

I'm not advocating that every prospective pro player declare for the draft right out of high school, because most of them simply aren't ready for the NBA.  Most players could use at least two seasons of college to learn and refine their game before making the difficult leap to the pros, but I don't see that as a good reason to bar ALL high school athletes from making the jump.  Some basketball players are physically and mentally ready for the NBA straight out of high school, and forcing them to sacrifice millions of dollars is a crime.  Sometimes I can't help but wonder if Stern and the NBA did any research at all before making this inane decision, but then I remember that this is the NBA and that stuff like this happens in all arenas of the pro game all the time.  A difficult solution exists (scout better, draft high schoolers with caution) but the league opts for the solution that's easiest for them but skirts the real issue.

So how valuable is a year of college for these basketball players?  I think it has some value but not nearly as much as a contract in the NBA does.  These young men are being unjustly forced to sacrifice their bodies for a system that makes millions off of them and provides them with very little in return.  Though the age limit was implemented to supposedly help players make the tough journey to the NBA and provide them with greater opportunities for success, in truth it does little more than shield the suits running the teams.  If this doesn't seem crazy or wrong to anyone else, let me know and I will check myself into a hospital.  Until then, I'm going to watch game one of the Finals, which will feature two high school superstars in Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard, and drink until my brain can't fathom this egregious and ridiculous hypocrisy.  

Eugoly

First and foremost, I'd like to hold a moment of silence for the 2008-09 Boston Celtics...

This is hard for me to say, but the better team won this series.  That the series went to seven games is remarkable, and that the Celtics played so hard throughout despite being ravaged by injuries makes their intense and gritty playoff run all the more impressive.  News broke today that Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were all playing hurt, and I am not surprised one bit.  As if the season ending injuries to Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe weren't enough, apparently the universe saw fit to afflict three more of Boston's starters with debilitating injuries as well.  In case you weren't counting, that's three out of three of the Celtics New Big Three injured.  And this team took Orlando to seven games.  The accolades will likely never materialize for this feat, but in my mind, the Celtics deserve an equal amount of respect and admiration for playing through tough times and refusing to roll over in the face of superior competition.

Lesser teams would have crumbled months ago, but the Celtics stayed strong and proud and competed with the class of the NBA despite being short one gigantic and vital piece of the puzzle.  Though it has been beaten to death, the significance of Kevin Garnett's injury this season cannot be understated.   He brought so much more than emotion, intensity and leadership to the table for the Celtics (though these attributes are vital, no doubt), and his presence was missed on both ends of the court.  We must all pray that he is capable of healing and isn't at the beginning of the end of his playing career.  

The silver lining is that the Celtics will avoid the inevitable shaming by Cleveland and has another month to rest that they didn't get last year.  With any luck, the Celtics can reload and come back next year healthy and revitalized.  The will to win was there all along, and now they can be motivated by the chase to catch whomever is declared King of the Mountain this year.  The core will still be the same, and although some minor pieces may not return (Baby Davis is a free agent) the Celtics may find themselves in a position to get better next year rather than have to attempt to do the same job with less tools like they had to this season.

So although the Celtics have failed to repeat as champions, and although they lost before the Conference Finals on their home floor, I will remember these Celtics well (even Stephon Marbury).  I will remember them for their 27-2 start to the season, Paul Pierce's early season daggers, Rajon Rondo's near triple double average in the postseason and Ray Allen's 51 against the Bulls and I will smile as I raise a glass for them.  It was one hell of a ride this year and I cherished every occasion that I was fortunate enough to watch my hometown team take the floor.  Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go drink myself stupid and watch my DVD of game six of last year's Finals over and over and over again. 

Running Commentary

Before we get to the looming game seven tomorrow, I am compelled to point out that although Dwight Howard led the Magic to a victory in game six (he got 16 shots), his post play and touches were not what carried the day for Orlando.  If I had to point to one reason, it would probably be the "10" under offensive rebounds in Howard's stat line from game six.  Put simply, Dwight dominated the boards on both ends and generated the vast majority of his offense from second shot opportunities off of missed shots from his fellow Magicians.  It's what he does best, and when he dedicates himself to it the Magic are very tough to beat.  To the man's credit he admitted a mistake and focused his game in the right areas and gave an inspired effort for more than 40 minutes.  Add 19 Celtic turnovers to the mix and a seriously inspired defensive effort that committed to taking the ball away from Paul Pierce nearly every time he touched it, and you get a game seven tomorrow in Boston.  

This is a post under construction, and I'll try to add some more nuggets of pseudo-wisdom throughout the day at the Boathouse tomorrow.  If you can, watch the game.  Game sevens in the NBA are poetry in motion and the height of the sport.

By All Means, Heed Mr. Howard

Dwight Howard is demanding the ball more after a frustrating loss for the Orlando Magic in game five of their series against the Celtics, and I couldn't be happier.  Not only are Howard's comments creating panic and tension for Orlando fans and the Magic as an organization, but his demands are playing right into the Celtics' hands.  While everyone else around the country is debating whether or not the coaches or the players are more to blame for ignoring Howard down the stretch on Tuesday, only a selected few (John Hollinger, Bob Ryan, Basketbawful's Matt McHale and myself) have hit the nail on the head and highlighted the fact that despite Howard's broad shoulders occupying the middle of the floor, most of Orlando's offensive success this year has come from shooting three-pointers, not from isolating Dwight Howard in the low post and allowing him to make a play.

Sure, Dwight Howard is a beast down low and ranks as one of the best centers in the game, but his dominance comes from his physicality, athleticism and rebounding ability, not because of his ability to score in the post.  In basketball, there's a difference between scoring close to the basket and scoring out of the post.  Though both events usually occur in the same general area on the floor, they are not the same.  To score in the low post requires strength, athleticism and physicality to be sure, however it also requires several things that Dwight Howard sorely lacks: soft hands, good footwork and a light touch with both hands around the rim.  

Soft hands are necessary not just for converting baby hooks, floaters, turn around jumpers and bank shots, but for dribbling the basketball in traffic, catching an entry pass and passing out of a double team as well.  Similarly, good footwork is an absolute must for successful low post offense, as the offensive player must efficiently and effectively use their feet to win a position battle and get to their spots on the floor from more than just a few feet away.  Lastly, a light shooting touch with both hands is necessary for elite post play, as the league's best defenders can force an opponent to go to their off hand in the post as an effective means for getting a stop.

Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol and Al Jefferson can do all of these things, Dwight Howard cannot.  First of all, nothing about Dwight Howard can be described as "soft," especially not his shooting touch (watch him try and make a bank shot from more than three feet and you'll see what I mean).  In the same vein, Howard has no left hand, which makes it too easy for the Celtic big men to guard him, since they know in advance which way he's going when he shoots.  Lastly and perhaps most importantly, his footwork is atrocious and as of yet unpolished, making it almost impossible for him to get to his spots on the floor (i.e. the rim) against a disciplined and physical defense.  It's not just that Howard lacks the necessary fundamentals to perform all of the spins, fakes and other scoring moves that post wizards like Kevin McHale routinely pulled out to school defenders, he cannot use his steps efficiently and effectively to force defenders out of position and get him to his spots as fast as possible.

For most of the NBA season (and for his entire life prior to his NBA career), Howard can simply outmuscle his defender and get to the front of the rim for a quick dunk on an entry pass.  Against two very tough and very strong defenders in Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, this is not so easy for Howard to do.  When he is consistently catching the ball outside of the paint or more than five feet from the rim (as has been happening all series long), Howard becomes ineffective on offense because of these holes in his game.  Against lesser opponents who lack the same caliber of personnel to match Howard's strengths, we don't notice and are content to ooh and ahh every time he emphatically slams the ball home on some poor sap's head, but against an elite opponent like the Celtics, his scoring average dips by 25% and he lights the match that will eventually burn the house down by not realizing what he actually needs to do to help his team win. 

What is that, by the way?  Aside from instantly learning flawless fundamental footwork and mastering his left hand in one or two nights, Howard could shut his freaking mouth and do what he does best: defend, rebound and score off of second chance opportunities.  In the games that Orlando has won in this series, Howard has been active on defense and grabbed a ton of rebounds (something that didn't happen in game five, where the Celtics got every loose ball and created key second shots that ultimately won the game).  In the Orlando wins in this series, he's averaging ten shots a game, which is exactly how many he got in game five.  In fact, as John Hollinger astutely pointed out the other day, the Magic play nearly as well or better when Howard gets ten shots or fewer than they do when he shoots a lot more.  Hmmmmm, maybe instead of blaming his coach Dwight should look at a stat sheet and realize that his touches per game have almost no correlation to the Magic's winning percentage.

On second thought, I hope he doesn't do that, because then Howard might realize that Orlando's true key to success lies not with him but with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu behind the three-point line.  As those two players go, so go the Magic.  If they are hitting shots, then Howard suddenly finds himself open a lot more for those easy dunks that he lives on.  If they are being well defended or don't have the ball as often because some giant oaf in the middle is selfishly demanding the ball, then you get results like Tuesday's soul crushing loss.  Perhaps once Dwight learns a few post moves and proves to be a dominant scorer on the block, I'll take what he has to say seriously.  Until then, he's just a better version of Tyson Chandler who dunks with a superman cape.  

Aligning the Stars

Admittedly I'm somewhat distracted right now by the breaking news that Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a banned substance and will be suspended for 50 games starting today.  He tested positive for a female fertility drug, which is apparently used as a mechanism to restart the body's natural testosterone production after the user has finished a steroid cycle.  So much for my vote that he's the greatest right-handed hitter to ever play the game (welcome back, Mr. Aaron!).  Even in the steroid era where nobody can be presumed innocent after so many revelations in recent years, this shocked me.  Manny had no need for steroids, for his gifts of brilliant vision, balance, discipline, reflexes and the sweetest swing I've ever seen made him the great hitter he is, yet the implications from this result is practically a smoking gun.  We should have known better by now, but somehow this is still a devastating shock to the system.  So it goes.  

As for basketball news, the Celtics are looking good once again after pounding the Magic into submission last night to even the series and hearing the news today that Magic point guard Rafer "Skip 2 my Lou" Alston has been suspended for game three after slapping Eddie House upside the head during the second half of game two.  Though Alston hasn't had any luck stopping the Celtic guards or providing effective offense against them, his loss means that the already suspect Orlando point-guard corps is now thinner than Mikki Moore.  This loss would be significant against any NBA opponent, however against the Celtics it is huge because of the out-of-this-world play from Rajon Rondo.

Speaking of Rondo, he continued his downright nasty (and I mean that in the best possible way) play last night, notching another triple double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 18 (!) assists.  The numbers are impressive (especially the assist total) enough, but they don't even capture the extent to which he shredded the Magic from start to finish.  As usual, Rondo was the catalyst and used his speed and energy to wreak havoc on a normally stout Orlando defense and created more scoring opportunities for the Celtics than his 18 assists indicate.  Simmons is right, he's a smaller, faster and nastier version of Isiah Thomas, and I'm totally loving every second of it.

Game three is tomorrow night in Orlando, and while I'd normally pick the home team to win an intense home game after getting humiliated at your opponents house in the last contest, but for a variety of reasons that I will in due time explain, I like the Celtics to win the next game.  The first reason is the absence of Alston and the stellar play of Rajon Rondo.  Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue have little hope of containing Rondo on defense, and neither have proven to be players capable of taking big minutes in big games.  Rondo will slash the Orlando guards to ribbons, and even with Dwight Howard defending the rim Rondo's dribble penetration will help the other Celtics find open shots.  The Magic have no answer for Rondo, and that's the end of the story.

Another factor working for the Celtics going into game three is the poor play of Paul Pierce in game two.  Pierce played only 16 minutes in game two because of foul trouble and finished with just three points for the game.  Because of the foul trouble, Pierce actually got an impromptu rest and should be fresh for the next contest.  Pierce is also the kind of player who is competitive and proud, meaning he isn't likely to have two bad games in a row.  With that in mind, I'm looking for him to exploit his advantages against the Magic and spark the Celtics on the road, much as they did against Chicago in game three of that series.  If he can stay out of foul trouble, Pierce should have plenty of opportunities to remind the Magic why he's called the Truth.

In this same vein, I expect Dwight Howard to play better than he did in game two (he got outplayed by Kendrick Perkins and finished with a pedestrian 12/12), but to me that won't necessarily translate into a win for the Magic.  As I've written about at length before, I believe that Dwight Howard's game is limited and that he can be defended more readily than anyone is willing to admit.  The Celtics have played him well all year long, and Glen Davis has personally gotten the better of him before.  He's incredibly talented to be sure, however his strengths don't really match up that well against a tough and disciplined defense like the Celtics.  

Dwight Howard can simply be pushed away from the rim and double teamed all day long, which if done properly can completely remove him from the game and really stagnate the normally fluid, high octane Orlando offense.  Howard struggles to be an offensive threat when he's more than five feet from the basket, and his poor footwork and passing skills can make him a liability on a night where he isn't allowed to live in the paint.  Because of this, the Celtics have an advantage over Orlando and should win this series, albeit in six or seven games (though who wants to?  As I'm writing this, LeBron and the Cavs are KILLING the Hawks again and James just hit a 40-footer to end the first half with a hand in his face and it wasn't luck.  He measured the shot, rose up for a normal jumper and followed through as the ball went through the net, simply sick.)

The Old Me is Locked in the Basement

In case you were wondering, I'm  still shaking my head at Paul Pierce for his boneheaded foul out during the last game, I can't believe that a player with a basketball IQ as high as his and a solid track record of mental toughness could have such a breakdown and totally forget the larger context of the game in which he's playing.  It was simply unbelievable, and based on that play alone, the Celtics deserve to be under pressure for tonight's game seven against the young and hungry Chicago Bulls.

Speaking of young and hungry, how about the point guard play in this series?  Derrick Rose has already put his name in the same category as the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after scoring 36 and handing out 11 dimes in his playoff debut, and now Boston's Rajon Rondo is poised to climb to new heights and insert his name into an exclusive statistical pantheon of legendary pro-ballers.  Through six games of this series, Rondo is averaging a triple-double (that's achieving double figures in three different statistical categories in a single game, points/assists/rebounds in this and most cases), contributing 21.5 points, 11.7 assists and 10 rebounds a game against the Bulls.  Although he didn't shoot well in game six and had his last good look blocked by Rose in the closing seconds of triple overtime, this statistical achievement is truly bananas.

If Rondo does finish this playoff series averaging a triple-double, he'll be only one of two active players to do so (the other being Jason Kidd, who has done it twice) and become only the sixth player ever to accomplish such a feat.  Even if Rondo gets his rebounds and doesn't record a single assist or a point tonight, he'll join Oscar Robertson, Fat Lever, Jason Kidd, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a playoff series.  To say that this is elite company is an understatement, considering this list contains arguably the two greatest point guards ever (Magic and the Big O) and three of the top ten all time players (the aforementioned guards and Wilt the Stilt)and, as much as it pains me to say this, the best active point guard in the game (and likely one of the ten or fifteen best ever) in Jason Kidd.  Put simply, Rondo has been playing out of his mind for six straight games and has been the Celtics MVP, despite killer crunch time performances from Paul Pierce, vastly improved play from Glen Davis and 51 from Ray Allen in the last game.  

Aside from the sheer jaw-dropping awesomeness of this statistical achievement, it makes me wonder just how good the Celtics can be in the coming seasons with Rondo playing this kind of take-no-prisoners nasty basketball that would make Isiah Thomas blush all the time.  Two weeks ago, I would have told you that the Celtics' championship window was almost shut after the failed rehabilitation of Kevin Garnett's knee and the lack of bench behind Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, however now I believe that the celtics can continue to contend for titles as long as Rajon Rondo is their point guard and as long as the NBA's rules on hand checking don't change too much.  I can see a bright future for the Celtics with Rondo at the center of it all, shouldering more of the load and lessening the responsibilities of Ray Allen, KG and Paul Pierce.  

As Rondo matures and grows as a player and inevitably commands more attention and conformity to his style, I can easily see the Celtics becoming an unstoppable force of dribble drives, tough finishes and open perimeter shots for Boston's aging but still effective Big 3.  Win or lose, this series has been huge for his development as a player and has shown everyone in the basketball world what this kid can do when the burden to succeed is on his small but strong shoulders.  After the game tonight and into the offseason we'll explore this topic more, but for now I just thought I'd share this small nugget of wisdom with y'all.  

By the way, do you think the Phoenix Suns are kicking themselves for shipping Rondo to the Celtics on draft night for Cleveland's 2007 first rounder in what was essentially a salary dump?  I bet they are, though that pick was used to draft Rudy Fernandez, because they sold him to Portland for cash.  Say it with me now, "D'oh!"

Win or lose I'll have more coming in the next couple of days about the Celtics, until then keep cheering for the Green & White!

Raging Rondo and Blazing Trails

A quick word about Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard first, but the lion's share of today's post is about my other team, the Portland Trail Blazers.  Dwight Howard is out for game six against Philadelphia for elbowing Sam Dalembert during the first quarter of last night's game, and rightfully so.  Rajon Rondo has not been suspended for hitting Brad Miller in the face during the closing seconds of their game last night, and there has been much more debate about this (non)call.  

My take on the whole thing is that Rondo should have been assessed a flagrant foul for hitting Brad Miller in the head, the rules of the NBA are clear on that, but not suspended for the next game of the series.  Unfortunately, the NBA's officiating is notoriously horrible, and it seems to me that they were prejudiced against Miller because of the huge difference in size between him and Rondo.  If the roles were reversed, Miller would have been ejected, fined, suspended and shanked by KG on his way off of the floor, but alas Brad Miller is seven feet tall and Rondo is only a hair over six feet and wire thin to boot, so whistles were swallowed and the outcome of the game was potentially altered.  

Except it wasn't.  First of all, the Bulls broke down many times down the stretch, including not doubling Paul Pierce in the closing seconds of overtime.  Ray Allen was not on the floor, at that point the Bulls HAVE to make somebody other than Pierce beat them.  They didn't, and Pierce made them pay.  And even if they had called a flagrant (which would have meant free-throws AND the ball back), there's no guarantee that the Bulls would have a) converted the attempts or b) made the final shot once they had the ball again.  The Rondo foul and the way it was handled impacted the game to be sure, but not forcing the ball away from Pierce is inexcusable.  

As for the question of a suspension, I don't think it is merited in Rondo's case.  Although he hit Miller in the head, he was attempting to make some kind of play on the ball in a game deciding moment, so I don't see this play as the same as Howard's elbow or Trevor Ariza's flagrant on Rudy Fernandez earlier this year.  Howard hit Dalembert after the play in what was clearly frustration and retaliation and Ariza's play came during a blowout loss at Portland when the game had already been decided.  He also hit a player who was farther off the ground and moving much faster than Miller was, and again there's that whole size bias.  The whole thing stinks, and I won't be surprised when Miller decks Rondo on Thursday, but I just didn't see the play as suspension-worthy.

All right, enough about fouling, let's talk Blazers for a little bit.  Earlier today, Henry Abbott wrote that any self-respecting blogger should be talking about the Blazers, and I am inclined to agree.  I was at the game last night (thanks to some tickets scored by the greatest girlfriend ever) and I can tell you that I've never been at a sporting event that comes anywhere close to that.  The level of excitement, anticipation, energy and noise were out of control, and the Blazers did an admirable job of fighting off a veteran team with a chance to close out the series early.  The loudest cheer from the crowd came when Yao Ming was actually whistled for a foul, and from start to finish the crowd was into it and trying to affect every single play.  

As I predicted prior to tip-off, LaMarcus Aldridge had a killer game and couldn't be contained by anyone on Houston's roster.  He was posting up, stepping back and taking it to the hole aggressively against a physical Rocket defense with a kind of aggression that I've yet to see from him.  For me it was a realization of his gifts married to the desire and drive to carry his team to victory.  Aldridge has a huge physical advantage over every one of Houston's players (he's too tall for the likes of Scola, Hayes or Landry, and too quick for Yao) and he finally exerted it, posting up the smaller forwards and getting close to the basket and using his quickness to punish Yao (there was one sequence where he isolated on Yao, crossed over a few times to unsettle the defender and then rose up and splashed the jumper right in his face).  And more than simply hitting his jumpers, Aldridge was aggressive going to the basket and forcing the issue against the Rockets.  If only he could do this more often, or on the road, or for two games in a row, but for a game, Aldridge carried the Blazers when he absolutely had to.  

Complimenting Aldridge's stellar performance (he finished tied with Brandon Roy for the game's high scoring mark at 25) was Portland's MVP, Brandon Roy.  Though he didn't play out of his mind, Brandon hit big baskets when his team needed them and always seemed to come in and stem the tide whenever Houston was poised to make a run and put the game away.  If he isn't already considered to be there, Brandon Roy will be a top ten player one day.  This kid is Paul Pierce with a better left hand and more quickness and the same amount of killer instinct and competitive fire.  Once his supporting cast matures and they learn to play a bit more defense, he will be an unstoppable force and a champion, mark my words.

Speaking of defense, I was appalled at the Blazers' spotty defensive effort last night.  I know it's impossible to keep Aaron Brooks out of the lane with the hand-checking rules the way they are, but still, the Blazers were victim to dribble penetration all night long and gave up a ton of easy shots to Houston (many were wide open looks for Luis Scola, which he hit with ruthless efficiency, finishing 10-13 from the floor).  If Portland is to have any chance at winning game six in Houston, they need to tighten up their defense and really clamp down on Houston.

Speaking of winning game six, at this point I say Portland's chances are slim but not out of reach, which is more credit than I would have given them before last night's game.  It occurs to me that Portland isn't a great road team and that the Rockets are experienced and will come out fired up for game six and that my judgement is probably colored from being at the game last night, but my thinking about this series has changed since yesterday.  

Portland has gotten better with each game in this series, and this young team is learning how to play playoff basketball every minute that they're on the floor.  Knowing that and seeing their progression, I am now thinking that the Blazers have a great chance to shock Houston and the NBA by winning game six tomorrow night.  Portland hasn't been blown out on the road yet, and each road game is hard fought and competitive, a good sign for Blazer fans everywhere.  The Blazers have taken Houston's best punches and hung tough throughout, and I feel like they are poised to topple the Rockets and steal this series back from them.  Before this series started, I would have never given Portland a chance to win a game six on the road, but now I think this is their best chance to win on the road.  As this young team learns, they get exponentially more dangerous.  If you aren't watching game six on Thursday, you're cheating yourself, end of story.  

Taking on Water

Despite the sunny weather in Portland (no, you didn't misread that), the Sea of Green is darker and more tumultuous than ever.  News broke today that Leon Powe will miss the rest of this year's postseason with a torn ACL.  The formerly razor thin Celtics' front line is now approaching Kate Moss territory, which is quite ironic when you remember that Glen "the Ticket Stub" Davis has been starting in place of Kevin Garnett and now represents half of the Celtics' healthy power forwards (considering the other power forward is Mikki Moore, I'd say Davis is closer to 2/3).  In spite of some inspired play from Davis, it seems that what little was left of the Celtics' playoff chances have evaporated into thin air.  

At this point, beating Chicago would be an accomplishment for a team this thin.  At this point Boston is effectively down to eight rotation players (though we will probably see Bill Walker for the remainder of the playoffs) and Paul Pierce is now legitimately the third tallest healthy body on the Celtics roster.  Short of undergoing a transformation into the 2005 Phoenix Suns and playing microscopically small ball, I don't see how the Celtics can contend with this roster.

Low post scoring will be almost nonexistent without Powe, as both Davis and Moore are mid-range shooters and Perkins' post game, underrated as it is, won't carry a top quality team.  Powe's energetic low-post game yielded high percentage shots and often times created foul trouble for opposing defenses.  Add to that his effective defense, particularly his knack for drawing charges and I have a hard time seeing Boston beating Orlando, with a series against Cleveland looking like it could end in five or even four games.  Losing to the Bulls is now a distinct possibility...

...

Sorry, as I'm writing this Brandon Roy is going one on eight (I'm counting Joey Crawford's officiating crew members as Houston Rockets based on the way they've called the game) and schooling Houston.  The game is very tight, and you can see the Blazers are still learning and adjusting to this level of play.  Aldridge has 26 and 11 and Roy has 39 with twenty seconds left to go.  Brandon looks like a young Paul Pierce tonight, hitting impossible shots time and again and makes it look easy in spite of a TON of contact from the Houston defense.  The game just went final and Roy finished with 42 points on an efficient 15-27 shooting and seven rebounds to boot.  Fear the Blazers if they can fully adjust to this level of play.  

I could go on all day about Brandon Roy or how done the Celtics are, but I think I'll wait until Thursday to do.  Once I've had a chance to fully appraise what's left of the Celtics, I'll either finish laying them to rest or devise some unholy scheme to steal the championship from LeBron.  

So It Goes

For those of you who don't already know, it appears as if Kevin Garnett will be out for the entire postseason.  I think I speak for everyone in Celtic land when I say "SHIT!"  Let me preface what I'm about to say by telling you that I am in no way abandoning these Celtics or giving up on their hopes to have success in the postseason, but I cannot in good conscience make the argument that everything will be all right for Boston this spring.  I would be a delusional liar if I believed that, and I've watched far too many Celtic games that haven't had Garnett in them to believe that this team can still win a playoff series on the road against Cleveland (not to mention LA).  Sorry if I'm bursting any bubbles out there, but you had to hear it sometime and in the end it will teach you a lesson about life.

Was that a lesson about life being unfair?  Or about triumphing over adversity?  Or about managing a superstar's minutes early in their career so injuries like this don't happen down the road?  No, the lesson is that all professional sports (and some of the college ones), not just the WWE and the NFL, are scripted.  Take a second to figure out where that truth blind sided you from (left field) and then think about it for a second.  I can go as far back as you like, but let's start in the offseason of 2007 to see this plot line fully develop...

After the end of the 2007 NBA Finals (where the Spurs dismantled LeBron James and the Cavs without even breaking a sweat), the NBA was in a panic about how to make their product relevant, compelling and interesting to the general public.  Stories about San Antonio and their machine like execution of an ingenious coaching system (post, slash, kick, hit the open shot and defend, how novel!) as well as the completely dull greatness of Tim Duncan were getting quite stale and it seemed as though nobody was anywhere close to challenging the Spurs for supremacy in the NBA.  The Spurs were so good, in fact, that they made the regular season into their preseason, and the playoffs into a formality.  Their methodical excellence and precision sucked all of the uncertainty and excitement out of basketball, which for everyone outside of San Antonio made basketball almost unwatchable.  

Counterbalancing the rise of San Antonio to new heights of dominance in 2007 were the Boston Celtics, who lost nineteen freaking games in a row in 2007 and were the league's worst team that year.  The Association's most storied and winningest franchise was on display with their pants around their ankles, making it hard to believe that the likes of Cousy, Russell, BIrd and Hondo ever donned the green and white.  Though they were well stocked with some tantalizing young talent, the Celtics were more than twenty years removed from their last title and still seemed to be years away from raising banner number seventeen to the rafters, despite the best shot at a top pick in an especially loaded draft class.  To make a long story slightly less long, the ping pong balls bounced with a sense of cruelty normally reserved for detainees in Eastern European prisons and Boston ended up with the fifth pick (the worst possible outcome for them) and we as Bostonians seemed to be doomed to only celebrate the three Superbowls and two World Series recently won by the Patriots and Red Sox forever.  Little did we know that David Stern had big plans for the Celtics during the coming summer.

Up until now, everything that I've described could have easily been coincidence and as unscripted as your average episode of "Reno 911."  What happened to the Celtics next makes it clear that the NBA is, in fact, as scripted as your average episode of "Survivor" or "the Hills."  Magically, Ray Allen fell out of the sky and into Danny Ainge's lap on draft night, costing the Celtics only Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak's reanimated corpse and the number five draft pick (which turned into Jeff Green).  That was a lopsided deal to be sure, but there were questions about Allen's health and Seattle was currently acting out the movie "Major League" in real life, only without the Hollywood ending, so I wasn't that surprised by the deal.  Still, the Celtics weren't an over-the-top team with the tandem of Allen and Pierce together.  

And then, as Lloyd Bridges would say, it happened.  In the summer of 2007, a perfect storm appeared from a confluence of separate plot lines that fit together perfectly and created the ideal climate for the NBA's return to glory.  Kevin Garnett finally wanted out of Minnesota and had the nerve to say so.  David Stern needed some way to reconnect the current manifestation of the Association with its golden age.  Boston is a significantly larger media market than St. Paul and Minneapolis.  Minnesota's GM Kevin McHale and Celtics GM Danny Ainge were old friends from that era.  Boston had one legitimate young star left to trade (Al Jefferson), and the right combination of supporting pieces and expiring contracts to make the deal work.  And finally, with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce on board, the Celtics were talented and experienced enough to be a good fit for the Big Ticket.  Eureka!  

This is where, I believe, Stern at least coaxed both teams in the right direction and started scripting the Celtics' return to glory.  Using his influence, Stern pushed McHale to make the trade, lopsided as it was (how Ainge managed to hang on to Rondo in that deal I will never know).  Suddenly, the Celtics had a championship quality core in the weakest division in all of professional basketball and a legit shot to burn a swath through the 2007-08 NBA season.  Seeing the opportunity at their doorstep and with some coaxing from Commissioner Stern, no doubt, the Celtics went over the luxury tax and brought the final two pieces of the puzzle together in Eddie House and James Posey, and the Celtics were poised for an epic return to greatness.

Stern had laid the groundwork for the NBA's return to glory, but still, there was that pesky problem of San Antonio's stranglehold on the Western Conference.  Though it was true at this point that the Celtics would compete with the Spurs in the Finals and thus improve the quality of the postseason play overall, Stern was dreading another rehashing of the 2005 Finals where Detroit and San Antonio slugged it out in a brutally defensive series, that despite being close close throughout was largely unwatchable for most casual basketball fans.  Clearly, the Commissioner would have to take more drastic steps if he was to save his league from itself.  

Enter Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.  Here's where the coincidences go from being plausible to outright ridiculous.  Why?  Because during that offseason, Kobe Bryant was doing everything he possibly could to get out of Los Angeles.  Unsatisfied with the quality of teammates around him and too impatient to wait several years for their young talent to develop further, Bryant made several trade demands in between publicly demeaning his teammates and sulking throughout the course of the summer.  Rumors swirled, but the Lakers stood fast and resisted trading the league's best player for cents on the dollar in spite of threats of a holdout from their star player.  

The rift between Kobe and the Lakers seemed wider than Eddy Curry's fat ass, yet somehow Bryant came into training camp happy and dedicated to sharing the basketball and making the teammates he had around him better, even if it meant sacrificing some of his own personal glory.  How could this have happened?  My theory is that David Stern came to Kobe with his preliminary idea for the upcoming season, which included his Lakers toppling the Spurs and heading to the Finals to face off with the new "Big 3" of the Boston Celtics.  Having already engineered Derek Fisher's release from the Utah Jazz and reunion with the Lakers, Stern assured Kobe that his days of playing with Smush Parker and losing to the Suns in the first round of the playoffs were over.  Stern guaranteed him an easy path there and an even shot at claiming his first title as the center of his team, an offer too rich and tantalizing for Kobe to pass up.  At this point Stern also revealed to Kobe that he'd gone back in time and stolen Kareem's mojo Austin Powers style and injected it directly into Andrew Bynum, transforming the thus far unproven youngster into a beast of a center capable of going toe to toe with the best big men in the Association.

There was just one problem with all of this: the Celtics were too good.  Like way too good.  Playing perhaps the best defense the NBA has ever seen, the Celtics burned a swath through the regular season General Sherman style (yes, a civil war reference.  Finally, my history degree is paying off!) and transformed into an unstoppable force that was poised to make the Finals as boring as they were with the Spurs dominating, only this team was backed by a horde of insufferable Bostonians instead of rowdy Texans (not sure which is worse, and I'm one of the insufferable Bostonians, what does that say?).  The Celtics easily handled the Lakers twice during the regular season, in addition to becoming the first team in a while to sweep the dreaded Texas Triangle of Dallas, Houston (ending their 22 game winning streak in the process) and San Antonio on the road.  In order to make the postseason more than a formality, the Lakers had to get better in a hurry.

Enter Pau Gasol.  After losing Andrew Bynum for the year with an unfortunate knee injury (the jury's still out on whether or not this was scripted or just an unfortunate occurrence), the Lakers pulled off perhaps the most lopsided trade since acquiring Wilt the stilt from Philadelphia back in the 1960s.  I know that the Grizzlies are a cost-conscious team and famously inept, but even so, there is no way that they would have traded their best player to the Lakers for nothing (Kwame Brown????????) unless David Stern somehow had a hand in the deal.  

It's not very subtle, I know, but then again, subtlety has never been Stern's strong suit.  Seeing the giant, gaping hole in the middle of the rotation, Stern had one of those moments where he said to himself, "my god, I'm going to have to go so far beyond the shenanigans 2002 Western Conference Finals or the 2006 Finals to get the match-up I want unless I can fix the Lakers.  I know, give them Gasol!"  And so it was that Pau Gasol came to Los Angeles and the Lakers were back on track to meet the Celtics in the Finals in what would no-doubt make for great television.  This plan worked so well, in fact, that Stern only had to fix one game against San Antonio (no call on Derek Fisher's foul of Brent Barry, horrendously crappy officiating or conspiracy?  You decide) for the Lakers to claim the Western Conference crown.

After months and months of meticulous planning and manipulation, Stern and the NBA had achieved their goal, a reprisal of the league's greatest rivalry, Celtics v. Lakers.  Only Boston was way too good for the Lakers and proved it in the world's first six game sweep.  Despite the predictions to the contrary from nearly everyone with a soapbox to stand on (Timmy Legs and Simmons, my hat's off to you for seeing the light), the Celtics dominated LA, burying them in game six with a barrage of relentless defense and three-pointers.  If these Celtics had so thoroughly exposed Kobe as a flawed player and beaten LA so resoundingly without any experience playing together, the prospects of having a competitive NBA for the next three years were grim.  

On the surface, the Lakers seemed to make a series of it, and the television was outstanding to be sure, however the 39 point loss in the clincher and the 20 point fourth quarter choke by LA were strong warnings to Commissioner Stern that something had to change.  The Celtics were far too good to lose to this Laker squad, and to make matters worse, their fans got even more obnoxious and full of themselves, leaving David Stern scrambling for a solution.  Using all of his cunning, Stern came up with yet another ingenious plan to take his suddenly revitalized league to the next level: let's have our two best players play each other the title! (like I said, subtlety isn't his strongest suit).  And thus, the chain of events that culminated in KG's lingering injury were set in motion to secure a Cavs/Lakers Finals.

Cleveland's acquisition of Mo Williams along with Andrew Bynum's recovery and the Celtics' loss of James Posey (Stern engineered this one too, he made Ainge put the checkbook away) set the stage, but unfortunately it seemed as though the Celtics were determined to play even better than last year despite the improvements made by the rest of the elite teams in the Association.  One mysterious knee injury later, the Celtics are now officially underdogs heading into this year's postseason.  Despite getting the best basketball from Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and everyone else on the Celtics, the Celtics don't appear to have enough to beat the Cavs a seven game series that features four games in Cleveland.  

For now, it appears as though Stern will get his wet-dream of a Finals, Kobe vs. LeBron.  They've been at the center of the MVP debate this year (rightfully so) and it seems like a force stronger than fate is pushing them closer to a match-up in June.  Boston will still compete valiantly and be spared a humiliating defeat in the Conference Finals at the hands of NBA officials, losing instead to a team that is legitimately better than the Celtics are.  The deck has already been stacked, there will be no miracle ace on the river to save Boston's hopes of repeating as champions.  I was skeptical all year long based on the quality of the opposition, but now it seems that I have almost no hope at all.

Am I angry at David Stern for writing us out of the drama so early?  A little, but I understand that we had our shot last year and benefitted greatly from it.  Now it's time for us as Celtic fans to root hard for our team and accept the inevitable defeat with grace and dignity (look those words up sometime before the Conference Finals).  We're playing with house money at this point, expectations for success couldn't be lower.  It's time to make the most of it, and for the Celtics prove that ubuntu is more than a word.  This team has thrived on adversity and the past, and I expect nothing but their best effort for as long as they're in the playoffs.  But it is already written that we are not to taste sweet victory again this June.  So it goes.  

Hexed

These are the days where I hate being out of market for the Celtics.  Curse my West Coast lifestyle!  I don't know if I can provide much on a game I didn't see or recreate the excitement or enthusiasm of the contest (Ronald Reagan I am not), I just don't want you to think that I'm not paying attention.  

As we gear up for the playoffs and match-ups become clearer, I'll be ramping up my coverage and analysis of the Celtics and their quest to repeat as NBA champions.  The road to another title will be much harder than it was last spring, as the Celtics will have to best a superior field with a potentially depleted squad.  Last year's championship Celtics team was miles ahead of everyone else, even if 9 of 10 talking heads with opinions on ESPN picked the Lakers to win the Finals (props to Tim Legler for choosing wisely), however this year's team has fallen back into the pack and is currently drafting behind several other very talented squads.  What the hell happened?  

Sixty three percent of participants in a survey I made up for this column chose "lack of Posey" as the answer to that last question, and frankly I can't say I blame them for saying so.  It's no secret that the Celtics miss Posey's versatility, length, toughness, shooting and so on, but I think the improvement of the Lakers, Magic, and Cavaliers has more to do with Boston's struggles to stay ahead of the pack than any holes in their own roster.  With the exception of Detroit, every other elite NBA team got better after the 2008 Finals.  Houston got Artest, San Antonio got Roger Mason, Dwyane Wade returned, Denver added Billups, Portland added Oden, Orlando added Pietrus, the Hornets added Posey, Los Angeles got Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza back, and pesky Cleveland got Mo Freaking Williams.  Though not all of the names on this list are stars (though some are), every guy I just mentioned fills a key hole and has improved his team from the previous year.  The Celtics added nobody during the offseason, choosing instead to feast off of some table scraps in late February to help them try and get over the hump this June.

The crazy part in all of this is that the Celtics were still (until fairly recently) the top team in the Association for a while.  They're playing better offense this year while still bringing the characteristic (albeit sometimes unsettlingly spotty) defensive intensity and are still right there with everyone else as the regular season goes into its final weeks.  Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins have all gotten better since last year, and with a significantly healthier Ray Allen on board Boston has managed to fill the void left by Posey.  The problem is simply that everyone else has caught up.

This year's championship run will be a different kind of challenge for the Celtics.  As I mentioned before, last year's team was miles ahead of the competition which worked out just fine for their title run.  If I had things my way, they'd be in the same boat again this year.  Unfortunately that isn't the case, but that doesn't mean that the Celtics can't win.  If the Celtics can conserve some energy by letting another team take the lead (in this case Cleveland) and get healthy in time for the grueling home stretch, I like their chances just as much as anyone else's.  I promise that there will be more to come soon, but for now I am tired and need to put some energy into my gig that actually pays the bills...

Celtics v. Orlando Free Association Live Blog!

4:10 PM-  Jeff Van Gundy is prodded for some pre-game analysis and can't remember the name of the division Orlando plays in (what is, the Southeast?).  Something tells me that he stopped somewhere for happy hour (Mark Jackson's dressing room?) before going on camera, a good omen for the night to be sure.  I plan on live-blogging tonight's game, by the way.  It's more of an experiment than anything else, so we'll see where this goes.  Hopefully, I can communicate some nuggets of wisdom as things develop during the game.  Tip off in less than an hour! 

4:43 PM-  Pre-game highlight of Rafer Alston accompanied by the nasal stylings of Avery Johnson.  The streetball legend has been a great patch for Orlando in the absence of Jameer Nelson since coming over from Houston earlier this season.  Alston has been a favorite player of mine over the years, but I don't necessarily fear him down the stretch of a tight game as I would Nelson.  Perhaps it's just the memory of Nelson repeatedly burning the Blazers earlier this year in Portland (capped off by the ridiculous Hedo Turkoglu bank-three at the buzzer) and punishing them for giving him even an inch of space.  He shot 1,000 shots a day during the off-season for crying out loud!  The Magic are still good with Alston, but I don't see them as an over-the-top team. 

5:00(ish)- Tip off.  I missed the first two minutes because I was helping Andee move her stuff into the house.  Celtics hitting the glass hard in the first few possessions, but are ice cold.  Like 0-7 ice cold.  Rondo hits transition J for the first Celtic bucket, but the Magic are hot, jumping out to a 10-3 lead.  From here on out, all times refer to the game clock, got it?

7:34 1st-  KG saves a long pass and finds Ray Allen for a corner 3 in transition, 10-8.  But then Alston gets two the other way because Boston was slow getting back, 12-8.  Atypical for the Celtics, Van Gundy agrees.  After two ticky-tacky offensive fouls in a row (one on Perk and one on Howard), Rafer Alston dishes to Howard for a flush.  Perhaps he read what I wrote a minute ago and is out to prove me wrong.  

5:16 1st-  When it rains, it pours.  Rajon Rondo scores on a transition lay-up and is fouled, but goes down hard and appears to have tweaked an ankle.  Celtics timeout, and after further review, Howard may have landed on his foot.  Rondo looks all right and hits the free-throw to make it 14-13 Magic.

2:49 1st-  Dwight Howard is has set up shop in the paint against Glen Davis.  Davis did get two quick steals upon entering the game, but two defensive breakdowns as a team have allowed Howard to score easy baskets.  21-15 Orlando, timeout Celtics.

1:38 1st-  Orlando's perimeter players are getting dribble penetration too easily, forcing Davis to help off of Howard.  Howard is then getting all of the misses (nobody left to box him out) and finishing with ease.

End 1st quarter-  Paul Pierce gets a kind roll and hits a fade-away leaving 0.5 seconds left on the clock.  The quarter ends with the Magic leading by 4, 25-21.  Energy on defense and the glass has been solid.  Considering how poorly the Celtics have shot and Orlando's early hot streak, the Celtics should feel good about the score.  Must box out Howard and try and contain dribble penetration.

9:34 2nd-  Dribble penetration is still a big problem.  Mercifully, Howard is on the bench for this stretch, so the Celtics shouldn't suffer too much.  Still, it's 31-23 Magic.  Marbury has missed two wide open perimeter shots, but I will still be patient.  Still, the ball is moving and the Celtics are getting decent looks.  Shots just aren't falling.

7:41 2nd-  Eddie "the Microwave" House has come off the bench for a few quick baskets and has pulled the Celtics within three, 31-28.  As I've said before, I think that House could benefit greatly from Marbury's presence, as he gets to spend less time handling the ball and more time moving to get open on the perimeter.  Stan Van Gundy wants to talk it over.  

5:31 2nd-  Celtics are being typically careless with the basketball.  Seven turnovers already, Marbury has two of those (palming and a bad pass in a situation where he should have shot the ball).  If there's a reason that the Celtics don't win this year, this is it.  It didn't matter last year because they played maniac defense and stormed the league with a once in a lifetime type of intensity.  They're a better offensive team this year than they were last year, but they won't win in May or June if they don't take care of the basketball.

2:30 2nd- Celtic shots are still rimming out, but the problem is on the defensive end.  Wide open threes from everywhere.  Dwight Howard is bothered by Bill Walker, who is playing hard in his limited run.  Mark Jackson thinks the Celtics are doing an especially poor job defending the pick & roll, and I agree.  Van Gundy comments that it could be because their rotation is out of whack.  Whatever the cause, it's not good.  Celtics down by 10.

End 2nd-  Going into halftime, the Celtics are down by 9.  Paul Pierce became the first player to box out Dwight Howard with under a minute to go in the half.  He had a double-double in the first quarter and needs to be contained if the Celtics want to win.  Some thoughts at the half, shot selection is fine, but turnovers are killing them right now.  The good news is that KG looked good when he was playing, and the Celtics are clearly energetic and into this game.  Perkins has been aggressive in the early going and has done a satisfactory job against Howard thus far.  As always, avoiding foul trouble will be the key for him.  The bad news is that Marbury has looked not so good out there and the Magic are getting too many easy shots inside and at the three-point line.  I'm interested to see if Boston can make an adjustment at halftime to shore up some of their leaks.

Start of the 3rd-  C's open with a missed three in the corner by Allen, but KG gets the offensive rebound and it leads to a nice baby hook finish from Perkins down low.  He's developed surprisingly good hands since coming into the league as a youngster.  Celtics match an Orlando turnover with one of their own.

8:34 3rd-  Paul Pierce and Hedo go at it, with Turkoglu getting the better of the Truth (2 made baskets to 1).  Perk gets called for an offensive foul (his 3rd).  Orlando stretches the lead back to 12 before Paul Pierce hits two free-throws and makes the score 56-46 Magic. 

7:00 3rd-  Ray Allen hits a ridiculous free-throw line jumper off the dribble.  He arcs it up above the shot clock to get it over Howard, nothing but net.  Van Gundy nicknames him "Pure," Breen and Jackson are along for the ride.  Boston still can't gain any ground, and they trail 61-50 midway through the third.  The Magic defense has been very tight tonight, and the Celtics have lost their offensive rhythm as a result.  They aren't out of it by any means, but it will be an uphill battle to be sure.   

3:54 3rd-  Magic defense is in the passing lanes and has stolen two passes in the last minute.  On the other side, the Magic move the ball inside, outside, around the perimeter unimpeded.  Orlando is working to get every loose ball and rebound.  The stretch culminates with a Dwight Howard 3-point play and a timeout with the score now 66-50.  Orlando seems to be determined to put Boston to bed.

2:51 3rd-  Paul Pierce gets back to back lay-ups followed by a Big Baby score to cut it to 10.  Howard responds, and Davis counters at the 2:00 mark with a jumper off a kick from Rondo.  After a Pietrus miss, Paul Pierce probes the defense and keeps his handle under intense pressure, calmly gets to his spot in the paint, head fakes, fades and scores.  Pure poetry in motion, and the Celtics have cut the deficit to 68-80 and Orlando takes a timeout.

End of the 3rd-  Another finish by Kendrick Perkins cut the Magic lead to 6, but Dwight Howard responds by throwing down a ridiculous alley-oop with seven seconds to go, then blocking Rondo's last second drive to end the quarter with the Magic leading 70-62.  Perkins and Big Baby are playing with energy and enthusiasm, but Howard seems determined to dominate the paint tonight.  Maybe he read what I wrote about him last night...

Start of the 4th-  Paul Pierce hits a jumper after some nice defense at the other end.  Deficit at 6.  Some more nice D forces an Orlando turnover and a technical foul on Stan Van Gundy.  70-65 Orlando.

9:57 4th-  For some reason the Celtic offense is running through Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins.  The result? A turnover, Boston's 15th of the game.  Orlando is leading 73-65.

6:41 4th-  Ray Allen just back into the game hits another tough mid-range jumper.  It's now 75-71 Orlando.  I wonder if Boston will have enough in the tank to weather the storm and contain Howard and finish the comeback.  SVG counters with his starters and Orlando gradually pushes the lead back to five with three free-throws coming after MIkki Moore fouls Rashard Lewis in the act of shooting from downtown.  I shake my head and sigh, thinking about James Posey...

5:26-  Responding to the three makes by Rashard Lewis, Pierce makes it look easy will a pull up 18-footer.  The ball needs to be in his or Ray Allen's hands down the stretch.  As I typed that Pierce threw the ball away for the Celtics' 17th turnover.  As I typed that Glen Davis committed number 18 (assist to Ray Allen).  

3:29 4th-  Ray Allen 3 off of another offensive rebound cuts Orlando's lead to 3.  Howard hasn't touched the ball in a while (credit the Celtics' D) as Van Gundy notes, and it seems like it could be anyone's game.

2:18 4th- Glen Davis forces a miss from Howard and grabs his 8th board of the night.  Hoawrd is catching the ball a lot farther from the basket than he was early on.  Pierce hits another fadeaway and the score is 83-82 Magic.  Van Gundy thinks Boston has "out-physicaled" the magic.  Timeout on the floor.

1:00 4th-  Pierce misses a shot and Howard grabs his 21st rebound.  He is a monster.  On the other end, Boston forces a miss and gets the ball, down by one with the shot clock off and less than 20 seconds to play.  Doc calls timeout, one would think the Celtics would go to Pierce.  Pierce isolates and drives hard to the hoop, draws some contact from Howard and misses.  Celtics foul, Turkoglu misses a free-throw and the Celtics still have a timeout.  Magic lead by two, 84-82.

3.8 seconds 4th-  Celtics will inbound the ball here.  I'd try and get Pierce the ball (obviously), but have good options available for House and Allen.  Celtics have to burn their last timeout after a well defended inbounds play by Orlando.  Orlando hacks Pierce with 1.6 left, and the Celtics will have to inbound the ball again.  Pierce misses a desperation look, game over.

Orlando played better tonight, and fought harder than the Celtics did for the win.  It stings a bit, but in the long run, Boston should focus on getting healthy and in tune once again.  Losing tonight may even have a positive effect on the Celtics, as it can serve as a reality check and as an opportunity to learn.  When these teams play again, and they will, things will be different on Boston's side of the ball.  With a healthy front line, Boston can do a better job on pushing Howard out of the paint and hopefully prevent him from going 20/20 on them again.  With a healthy KG, those passing lanes will close and the pick & roll defense will be tighter.  As for the experiment of the live-blog, I think it was interesting and partially fruitful.  It's probably redundant, dense and scattered in places, but it was a good exercise.  There may even be a few profound thought in there as well, you never know.