Boston Celtics Playoff Push

The Boston Celtics started their post All-Star break in Golden State, a place that had not yielded a win to the C’s for the last six seasons, and through veteran play down the stretch against a younger, quicker team, including some big shots from the Real Big 3, they managed a 22 point victory.  Two days later, with the trade deadline hours away and a game to be played later that night in Denver, Danny Ainge decided to deal Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City.  As news reached the Celtics team that their teammates (as well as Luke Harangody and Semih Erden being dealt to Cleveland) Kevin Garnett summed up the feeling of the team, especially about Kendrick Perkins, “…it feels like we lost a family member today.”  When Garnett came to the team he took Perk under his wing, and although we all thought Perk already had an attitude, Garnett taught him how to hone that attitude into something that was positive for the team and essentially made them the “Bad Boys” of the new century.  I believe what I am trying to say is that I hope the stay Perkins has in OK City is a pleasant one because I would not be opposed to the Celtics giving him the deal he deserves when the summer comes and bring him back to Boston, and they will regret not giving him that deal if Jeff Green does not pan out and we come within one game of winning the title again.

The Celtics, obviously flustered by what had transpired earlier in the day and only dressing 9, were beaten at the end of the game by the Nuggets and out rebounded by 15, continuing the trend of being in the bottom of the league in rebounds per game.  If you read my earlier post about the return of Kendrick Perkins you will see that all the words I used along with the idea of claiming a championship with him healthy and in the lineup is now obsolete, but a very encouraging thing happened on Saturday night when the West Coast trip was continued in Los Angeles against the Clippers.  Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic are the players Boston received from OKC (including a Top 10 protected 2012 First Round pick through the Clippers) and although Green was the big name, Krstic showed us something that we may not have expected and need him to continue to do…he had 6 of the Celtics 14 total offensive rebounds.  Realizing the mistake it could be to over analyze his performance on the offensive boards (he did not record a defensive rebound), Krstic had already been billed as mostly a big man perimeter shooter and not much of a threat down low banging with the big bodies.  Let us hope that he can show games like this against the Magic or Knicks (the Heat are not a problem when it comes to rebounding for Boston).

So here is the short break down for the remaining 25 games of the season.  Great news is that more than half (14) of the remaining games are against teams with losing records.  Sadly, in the “not so great” category, 15 of the games will be on the road, including trips to New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami…who said it was going to be easy to secure the number one spot in the East?  Now, the most important fact of these remaining games is that Boston has 6 more back-to-backs left in the next two months, with potentially (we hope) easy ones on March 13th and 14th (vs. Milwaukee, @New Jersey), March 27th and 28th (@Minnesota, @ Indiana), a bad and good on April 7th and 8th (@ Chicago, vs. Washington) and April 10th and April 11th (@Miami, @Washington), and some real trouble spots on March 18th and March 19th (@ Houston, @ New Orleans) and March 31st and April 1st (@San Antonio, @ Atlanta).  The degree of difficulty appears to be evened out, but here in all likelihood is where the Celtics are going to lose the top spot in the Eastern Conference.  The Celtics record on the 2nd night of back-to-back’s is 6-7 this season…not so promising when you have 6 more left and you are trying the keep your position atop the Eastern Conference…I hope they make me eat my words, but I do not see them holding onto number 1 for the remainder of the season.

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Ray Allen Making History

All week I have heard people say and seen a few write on Facebook or other social networks that they were hoping on either Sunday or Monday that Ray Allen would break Reggie Miller’s all-time 3 pointers made record.  About a month ago I kept thinking to myself about how sweet it would be for this to be done, not in some random game, but on national TV, on TNT, and in front of Reggie Miller.  For the last 2 weeks, knowing that the Lakers were coming to Boston tonight for the TNT game I was hoping above all that he would be close enough to catch and surpass Reggie tonight.  My hopes have come true.  Ray Allen needs 2 more 3′s tonight to catch and move by Reggie Miller forever, and there may not be a person in the world who will be as ecstatic as this guy when this finally happens.  Now let me briefly get into the hate I have for Reggie Miller and then I will move onto Ray Allen.  Reggie…

(If you only want to read about the great Ray Allen then feel free to skip this next paragraph.)

If you were to venture into the archives we have on this blog, and specifically search out my name, you will see that I have a sort of undying love for the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers (probably his own) Michael Jordan.  I grew up watching him play, mesmerized by the sheer ease with which he would perform.  When MJ was on the court it did not matter who you put in front of him because sooner or later he was going to get the best of any defender.  In 1998, what should have been Jordan’s final year going out poetically, the Bulls faced what some look at as their toughest opponent: the Reggie Miller led Indiana Pacers.  The Pacers were only the 2nd team to bring the Bulls to a deciding Game 7, which they eventually lost.  The thing is that this series should have been over in 5 games.  At the end of Game 4 with the Pacers trailing by one everyone knew the ball was going to Miller.  He was their go-to-guy and had hit a few big shots in his career.  The Pacers were in bounding the ball on the near-side of the court (according to camera angle on TV) about parallel to the arc of the 3 point line.  Coming off a screen Miller lowered his arms and knocked Jordan back, obvious foul, RIGHT in front of the “ref”…no call…conspiracy?  Yes, because, as you can see in the replays, it is impossible, I stress IMPOSSIBLE, for the “ref” on the far side of the court to miss what had occurred, so the only way I can justify it is that David Stern placed a discreet phone call to the room of those referees the night before the game with a message somewhere along the lines of, “This series better go 7, because everyone knows Michael (Jordan) is going to win, but I need my damn TV ratings.”  Making matters worse Miller left enough time on the clock (0.7 seconds) for Jordan to have one final shot…I would post the video of all of this and you would be able to see just how close this series was to being over a game later, but it hurts too much, just as much as when I watched it live.  So all of that can be paraphrased to say that I hate Reggie Miller.  I do not care if that is “babyish”…and I cannot wait for Ray Allen to make Reggie and his record fade into oblivion…

Now onto the star of the post…Ray Allen and some of his history leading up to tonight.

After his senior season at the University of Connecticut, a senior season in which he set the school mark for 3 pointers in one season and was named the Big East Player of the Year, Ray Allen was drafted 5th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but was dealt along with another player to the Milwaukee Bucks for Stephon Marbury.  In retrospect during the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest Allen looked a little out of place from the Ray that we have come to know and love, of course he was way too smooth for the judges so they did not advance him to the next round.  In 2001 he may have finally had the revelation that he was a prolific shooter and decided to pass on the dunking for the 3 Point Shootout.  He took down Peja Stojakovic in the finals and brought home that title.  What is not realized is that Milwaukee is where Ray Allen started to make his records.  He holds the Bucks record for most 3 pointers made and before LeBron James went off against the Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, Allen had the record for consecutive points scored in a playoff game with 19, done in 2001 when he lead the Bucks to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Sixers.

Halfway through the 2002-2003 season the Bucks dealt Allen, along with a number of other entities to the Seattle Supersonics for Gary Payton and Desmond Mason.  Although he spent most of the next year on the sidelines due to injury, he bounced back in 2005 helping lead the Sonics to the Western Semifinals and was named to the 2nd Team All-NBA.  In Seattle Ray was not done making history.  In April of 2006 he achieved two amazing feats: he moved into 2nd place on the 3 pointers made list behind that other guy, and about a week and a half later he eclipsed Dennis Scott’s record of 267 three’s made in a single season, resetting the record, which still stands, at 269.  The next season was not as great for Allen, lest we forget that his season was ended prematurely because he had to have surgery on both ankles.  That 2007-2008 off season is where the story continues, but only gets better so I will jog your memory with some, “Ohhh yeeaaahhh,” reactions.

The Celtics and Sonics made a deal in the summer of 2007 that sent Ray Allen, coming off knee surgery, along with the 35th overall pick in that year’s draft to the Celtics for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and the 5th overall pick, who ended up being Jeff Green.  That 35th pick we received from Seattle was…wait for it…..Glen Davis.  Hindsight is always 20/20, and with the way that deal is turning out with a possible 6th Man of the Year Award for Grown Man Davis this year the sight is approaching 20/13.  Yet, we are here tonight for Ray Allen.  While a member of the Celtics Ray Ray has reached the 20,000 point club, broke Michael Jordan’s Finals record with 7 three’s in a half and broke the game record held by Scottie Pippen and Kenny Smith by finishing with 8, and tonight, finally, he will do everything it takes to break the all-time mark set by Reggie Miller by recording the 2,560th and 2,561st 3 point field goals of his career…and it will take him about 50 less attempts than it took Miller.  I guess I could have just posted the simple line, “Ray Allen is and always will be a better shooter than Reggie Miller.”

Celtics – Lakers: Regular Season Revenge (For Now)

The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday afternoon, returning to the Staples Center for the first time since their heartbreaking defeat in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June in the same building, yet for this fan it was really a showing that was bittersweet.  The 1st half of the game stayed rather close, of course that is what should be expected in a game between two of the league’s top 5 teams…of course those expectations were helped by Joey Crawford and company giving every call to Derek “Flops Around Like A” Fisher, and creating a new type of foul in the NBA called, “Kobe bitches, get him to the line*.” 

Going from the 1st to the 2nd half was like reading halfway through a really good book and stopping in favor of reading a much better story.  The C’s outscored their biggest rival 54-42 in the 2nd half leading to their impressive 109-96 victory, and dropping the Lakers to a sad 1-5 against the top teams in the league.  Paul Pierce hit a streak circa 2001-2006 where he just could not miss and ended with a team high 32, Ray Allen added 21 including 3 more 3′s to inch closer to Reggie Miller and his record, Rondo somehow had a quiet 16 assists and 10 points, KG did not tap anyone in the package and finished with 18 and 13, and Grown Man Davis made another push for 6th man of the year with 13 and 8 including drawing yet another offensive foul.  Everyone mentioned above played well, but our best offensive weapon was none other than Kobe Bryant, scoring 41 with 0 assists for the game, taking 7 consecutive shots late in the game, with at least two of those leading to fast breaks ending in a KG lay-up and a Ray Allen 3 pushing the lead back up to 12 and sealing the game.  If you would like you may go into the archive and see the last post I made about a week ago under my original name SAKEOFLOGIC…it was about Kendrick Perkins and the difference he would make on the glass.  That difference resulted in the Celtics, ranked in the bottom of the league in rebounds per game, outrebounding the Lakers 43-30…that is not a typo…and while I’m still on my knees in front the Celtics let us not forget that they shot 60% from the field, which will only keep them alone by far at the top of the league**.

Ok I have finally stood up and will discuss what I wanted to really mention and what I was eluding with the word “bittersweet” at the beginning of this post, and I am going to list them the way I have become accustomed to:

1 )  I just looked at the calendar and was utterly disappointed to see that it is only January 31st.  I just take a lot of joy when the Lakers perform poorly, and since it is such a rare thing I need to take my shots when I get the chance.  Trust me that I FULLY believe when it is all said and done there will be a vicious rematch between the Celtics and Lakers when we enter June, only this time we will start and finish in Boston…and by finish, I mean done in 6, banner 18.

2 ) Kobe Bryant has easily been in a certain category for 5 or 6 years now.  That category has a title that one way or another says “List of athletes whose greatness we do not truly appreciate until we do not get to see them anymore.”  If I was not in love with the Celtics, Kobe may just be one of my favorite players to watch because of what the man can do with a basketball, and many, like myself, will not appreciate it until it is gone***.

3 )  Here is the really painful one.  We lost in Game 7 last year for a few reasons****, but while watching the game the glaring difference became rebounds….rebounds, rebounds, rebounds.  That is why Kendrick Perkins has almost become as indispensable as any other member of our starting team.  Grown Man Davis hustles more than anyone, but at the end of the day he ends up being too undersized to compete for all of those boards.  There are always keys to winning titles, a healthy Perkins cleaning up the glass is the lock.

* I would love to show what should be the appropriate hand gesture for this call, but here at NTCF we think about the kids.

**The Celtics, as a team are shooting .501 from the field!  Next closest is Phoenix at .472…then the Lakers, Spurs, and Heat at .471 … that is ridiculous.

***I’m guessing because I just had a Will Ferrell “Old School” moment when he debates James Carville and then blacks out…

****No way will I get into this…after that game I took a 3 month hiatus from this blog and from thinking about the Celtics because they hurt me so badly…but I will always take them back.

Kendrick Perkins and What This All Means

Last night Kendrick Perkins returned to the Celtics line up for the first time since the devastating knee injury he suffered last year in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.  Unfortunately I was unable to enjoy watching his return because I was preoccupied with trying to be an all-pro rec league volleyball player, but from what I’ve heard, and from the limited time I was able to see him on the court, all signs point to something great.

At first we were told that the earliest Perk would be back was the January 28th game against the Suns in Phoenix.  That was pushed back to the Feruary 4th game against Dallas back in Boston.  So unless you had not been listening to the reports before the game, seeing Perk take the floor in the first quarter to a standing ovation may have come as somewhat of a shock, but it was necessary.  Neither O’Neal, Jermaine or Shaq, was going to be available last night, with visual evidence showing that Shaq may have thought he was supposed to suit up for the Bruins in goal.  That meant that the Turkish Terror (work in progress), Semi Erden, was going to be the only “big guy” in uniform.  Now I believe in Semi, but that is something frightening to hear even if you are playing the lowly Cavs (those same Cavs that beat us in the beginning of the season…you know, the kind of games that you are SUPPOSED to win…the kind of games that make the difference between having and not having homecourt in the playoffs and most importantly the Finals…I will not even get started on the Wizards).

Having Perkins back means only good things for this team:

1) The Celtics fans out there can only be satisified and appreciative of the performance that Shaq has given us so far this season when he has been able to stay on the court…as for Jermaine O’Neal, we wish he would channel his inner 2002-2004 player.  Perkins is going to give Shaq the rest that he needs at his age so that he will be serviceable when we need him most in the playoffs.  He is also going to make it so Jermaine O’Neal can start fouling out in the 4th quarter, not the 3rd…that is if he sees the court.  Ok, correction, he is going to make it so that we can see Jermaine O’Neal help us the only way he probably can; changing the Garden over after a Bruins game…although he will still obviously get hurt and miss some time.

2) As well as Semi “The Turkish Tyrannosaurus*” Erden has been playing, you have to think that he is the future center, possibly starting, more possibly back up.  We are not going to have to rely and ask to much of a rookie when it comes playoff time, that is a major relief.

3) The Lakers, Spurs, Magic, and Heat should all begin to worry.  Along with us, the Lakers know that if Perkins does not go down in that series the Celtics win their 2nd title in 3 years.

4) The Celtics are no longer go to be ranked 30th in the league in rebounds per game.  If there was one thing that Perkins did well it was go after the boards and rip them down with his brute Perk strength…now if Tommy can just teach him to keep the ball high instead of bringing the ball down and trying to dribble…why does bring the ball down and try to dribble…

5) Championship**

*I apologize for this.

**There are probably a few more points than four, feel free to comment and add, I just see these as the most important.

Celtics Christmas Day

Well, I’m finally back from a short hiatus to give a little insight on the Boston Celtics with a short post. As if you did not know, the Celtics have won their last 14 games in a row. Sadly, we have to sit through this Bulls-Knicks in order to get to the Celtics, but the wait should be well worth it.
The Magic have completely revamped their lineup, most notably shipping off perennial underachiever Vince Carter and acquiring Jason Richardson (who ALWAYS plays well against the Celtics for some reason), Gilbert Arenas (who looks to have guns ablazin coming off the bench, pun intended), and choosing to have Hedo Turkoglu come back to possibly be the power/point he was when they went to the finals 2 years ago. The problem for the Magic is they traded defense for offense and became smaller, especially by relinquishing Gortat in the middle, who seemed to step up his game whenever he played the C’s.
So in the end you can look for the Celtics, who are averaging 100 ppg and giving up just over 90 ppg, to be too much for these new look Magic to handle…just like last year. Merry Christmas.

Celtics Recap 10/26-10/30

 Finally, FINALLY, the Celtics are back.  I will be doing a weekly recap of the teams games and how they performed as a new segment to Not the Common Fan.

10/26 Heat @ Celtics

 

The Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics opened their 2010-11 season against the already anointed favorites Miami Heat, although I obviously dispute this.  The game did not start the way anyone expected with a combination of defense and sloppy play the score after the first quarter was 16-9 in favor of the Celtics.  Keep in mind that the Heat scored more than 9 points in every game last season without their “juggernaut” squad.  The Celtics were the team that kept the defense up and finally started clicking on offense taking a 15 point lead into halftime.  The Heat made a run, as every NBA team does, cutting the double digit lead to single digits heading into the fourth quarter.  Behind Rondo and his 17 assists, the C’s fended off the eventual champs (at least from what everyone says) and gained their first big win of the season.  The problem is closing the game became really tough, foreshadowing the week.

 Celtics 88 Heat 80

 Record: Celtics 1-0

 10/27 Celtics @ Cavaliers

 Herein lies the fear of the regular season for the older Boston Celtics; the back-to-back game nights. All you hear is that the Celtics are a team that is made for the playoffs.  While this may be true, you have to expect that this team of veterans and minimal young talent should easily be able to dismantle the young teams in the NBA.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost LeBron James.  I know this is somewhat of a shock to all of you, but yes it happened.  The Cavs came out on their opening night with something to prove.  At 3 specific points (twice in the first half and once late in the second) the Celtics had the opportunity to pull away and put the game out of reach.  It was either the Cavs imposing their opening night, “we lost LeBron but can still win” will to keep scoring or the tired legs of the older Celtics scoring 14 fourth quarter points (hopefully the former) that made Cleveland win that game.

Celtics 87 Cleveland 95

Record: Celtics 1-1

10/29 Knicks @ Celtics

Finally on this opening week the new look Knicks came to Boston with newly acquired Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton.  The Celtics once again started extremely slow.  Six turnovers in the first six minutes along with a quick 9 point deficit seemed to be a bad omen.  The Celtics got back on track, and aside from an exceptional shooting night from a somewhat unknown 3rd year player Wilson Chandler, the Celtics held the Knicks at bay.  Yet, once again, with under 2 minutes to play the lead started to slip away.  On the back of the best point guard in the league, Rajon Rondo and his triple-double (including 24 assists, 4 away from Bob Cousy and his team record for a game) the Celtics held off the late push and won the game.

Celtics 105 Knicks 101

Record: Celtics 2-1

What we have learned:

We have learned exactly what we already knew, with a possibility of surprises without overreacting to it being the opening week.  First, the Celtics are not exactly young.  It has taken them a few minutes to find a rhythym in all 3 games so far this season, but we should expect that to change during the course of the next week or two.  Second, Shaq came prepared to do what Rasheed Wallace was supposed to do, at least as far as he thought.  Shaq looks in shape and determined, once again trying to not overract.  Third, Paul Pierce is in the best shape of his life.  This is going to help his agility, but the problem is going to be that there is the chance for the small forward he guards to really body him and enforce their own will driving the lane and working the post.  Fourth, Rajon Rondo will lead the league in steals and assists and will push for the MVP…ok that was more of an opinion.  Any way about it, as Celtics fans we have to enjoy this year because they will be around to have a say in who wins the title.

Games Week of 10/31-11/6:

Tues. 11/2 – @ Detroit

Wed. 11/3 – Milwaukee

Fri. 11/5 – Chicago

Randy Moss Reaction

What did anyone expect?  Honestly, is this really as shocking as most are making it out to be?  Randy Moss has a new team, that is not as big of a deal as people would like to believe.  Compare it to the Celtics.  Randy Moss was brought to New England with a window of time to get it done (win a championship), and the Patriots came within minutes of reaching that goal.  The next year in 2008 they came in as a favorite to go to the Super Bowl again, then Brady went down in week 1, and although a considerable effort was made by Cassel, 2 years were gone.  Last year the Patriots could not win a game on the road and for that matter could not get it done when they were given a home game in the playoffs, being trampled by Baltimore.  This year was questionable with the contract situations coming into the season.  Everyone expected Brady to get his money, which I still say is well deserved, but based on the numbers Moss has put up this season he must have been looking at Logan Mankins sitting in the midst of his contract dispute knowing that the Patriots were not going to give him the money he wanted.  If I were a betting man I would have to place money on the idea that not only did Randy want this, but unlike his post game interview in week 1, he went quietly to Belichick instead of airing it to the media.  Speaking of the coach, another “Classic Belichick” move done here, trading a 4th round pick to acquire Moss and now dealing him for a 3rd round pick, with rumors, only rumors, of trying to make a move towards Vincent Jackson.  Of course do not be surprised if Bill fields a winning team this year with or without replacing Moss.  From Minnesota, to Oakland, to New England and now back to Minnesota…if Randy Moss is not happy then he is not going to perform.  He may go down as one of, if not the greatest deep threat in the history of the game, but when he is talked about by football historians, his achievements will always be followed with a line somewhere in the realm of, “Buutttt, his attitude was absolutely shitty,” or maybe even, “Those things he did were great, but he started the DIVA phase of wide receivers.”

Terry Francona is the Coach of the Year

Now that the Boston Red Sox have officially been eliminated from the playoff push of 2010 it is time to reflect on the season that was, and the manager that made it…

We all had major expectations from this team. While all the hype was surrounding the defending champion Yankees and the youth in pitching and hitting with the Rays, the Boston Red Sox were just going about their business preparing for the season. All the experts were making their picks, almost every one of them picking the Yankees and Rays to finish 1 and 2 in either order with the Red Sox on the outside looking in. Here is the humorous part of stating this fact: 1) these predictions are always made on the assumption that teams will stay primarily healthy for the 162 game schedule, and 2) out of the 3 teams mentioned here the Boston Red Sox kept stepping on injury land mines throughout the entire course of the season. Now your first thought should be that every single team has to deal with injuries throughout a full season. You’re right about that, but looking at the extent to which the Sox had to deal compared with their two respective rivals it is obvious that they deserve to at least receive some new honorable mention award, which would start with the manager.
Look at it this way…the manager is the key handler in regulating the roster with the most scrutiny placed on how he handled his pitching staff. Coming into 2010 the consensus was the same all the way from the experts to the common fan – the Red Sox pitching was going to save them, they would just have problems scoring runs. Well looks like we should start treating these experts like regular fans because last I checked the Red Sox on this day with 5 games left in the regular season rank in the entire major leagues 6th in batting average and 2nd in RBI’s, homeruns, and runs. Those are remarkable ranks when you spend the summer and end of summer without your all-stars and two best players in Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, and your entire season without your leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury (insert jokes here, but that was felt head on because with him there Marco Scutaro, who has done a nice job filling in, is your 9 hitter…think about that.) The makeshift lineup that Tido put out there on a day-to-day basis had its struggles, which if you watched every game as I did it felt like they struggled at the exact wrong time sometimes, but overall they produced which is shown by the numbers.
Here are some points about the pitching staff:
1) John Lackey is not worth $18 million…he just isn’t. There is nothing you could say that would make me think otherwise. Thinking that alone makes you an idiot.

2) Josh Beckett needs to stop having this “every other year” type of deal. Consistency is what draws the line between great and good. Beckett, aside from his most recent run, has been a great postseason pitcher, but only a good regular season pitcher. They will not be renaming him “Cy” anytime soon if he keeps that up. (Sorry Scottie.)

3) Dice-K was never and will never be worth the money. That’s it…because when you make us think “wow” with an 8 inning, 1 ER performance against a top line team you have no problem throwing a 3.1 inning, 6 ER gem against a Royals or Orioles team. You were supposed to be the pitching version of Ichiro…that’s a funny joke, hope someone translates that for him.

4) Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester will win a Cy Young before Josh Beckett. Those two are just a winners.

5) When you have the supposed ace of your staff (Beckett) miss 2 months, your supposed no. 4 pitcher (Dice-K) miss significant time, either your no. 2 or 3 (Lackey) not live up to the billing, and your SUPPOSED TO BE no. 5 (Buchholz…yea think about it) missing a few key starts in the middle of the playoff stretch, it is a testament to you as a manager that you still had a chance to make the playoffs with a week left.

So the 2010 Boston Red Sox are not going to make the playoffs. As of today they have posted a record of 87-70. Lets us look at that for a minute. 87 wins, 70 losses. Did you know that if they were in the AL West they would be tied with the Rangers, in the NL Central they would be a game behind the Reds, and in the NL West 2 games behind the Giants…and oh yea, the Rangers and Reds have already clinched their divisions. This here is a reason I hated turning my television on the other day to see talk about expanded the playoffs in the MLB because if that were the case this year then my team would have a chance.
As I have heard many around me say, the Red Sox have played with one of their “farm” teams throughout the season. Always having a significant injury being their setback. I guess for the most part I have agreed with this outlook, but here is one point that I just recently have refused to agree. I’ve heard to many people say that they wish these injuries would not have happened so that other fans (mainly Yankee fans) would see how much better we would have been than they are, but I disagree. I agree wholeheartedly with the concept that we would have taken the division, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. If this had not happened to us this year, out of any other year, then we would not have been able to see just how valuable the manager we have is to this team. Even with 2 World Series victories Tido has at times been taken for granted, it took a season like this one, facing all the adversity, and keeping this team in the playoff picture through the last week of the season that makes Terry Francona the Coach of the Year.

Don’t call it a comeback…

As an ode to the Scottie P. mumbles segments that he has produced I am going to make my triumphant return to the NTCF blogosphere by touching upon some happenings that have occurred in the world of sports since the Celtics lost game 7 to the Lakers….which is where my hibernation came from….

1) After time to reflect (almost 3 months), and taking into account the age and injuries that hit the Celtics throughout the season and the playoffs, you cannot help but be satisfied with the final result of the 2009-2010 Boston Celtics.  Obviously this new profound feeling of accomplishment was nowhere to be found after the loss, but when you are given time to reflect, appreciation tends to be unveiled.

2) The Boston Red Sox are currently 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the Wild Card….you’re a liar if you thought they would be there based on the injuries they’ve faced this season.

3) We should all be excited for the future of the Sox.  The young talent (to overuse a phrase) that has been displayed by necessity over the last couple of months has been the one shining spot other than Adrian Beltre this season.  Pending off season moves (or a miraculous run into the playoffs) we should all be excited by what we see…now if only we could feel that way about our entire rotation.

4) John Lackey is not worth the money he received…end of story.

5) I do not hold any truth in the rumor that Vince Young and Ben Roethlisberger plan on releasing their own line of Girls Gone Wild/UFC videos…

6) I have to say that although the greatest basketball player in the history of the game was inducted into the HOF a year ago, it was a lot more fun watching DJ, Pippen, the Mailman and the ’92 Dream Team receive the honor they deserve.

7) Is it a sad thing that the United States still does not have the number one ranked team in the world for basketball?  You bet your ass it is….that should change in the next few years with the domination of the world by future NBA MVP Kevin Durant.

8) Champions 2010-2011:

MLB – Texas Rangers

NCAA Football – Alabama

NFL – Baltimore Ravens

NHL – Team with the most Canadiens

NBA – Celtics (Obviously)

9) This year the most exiting season in all of sports may be that of College Football.  The parity is quickly reaching the level of College Basketball (reason being why I did not try to pick a champion there), and with that in football, excitement is an obligatory outcome.  It would have been nice if Boise State had been able to pencil in at least one more major game aside from Oregon State but you have to take the good with the bad I guess.

10) Providence College Basketball is so far making an attempt this year to at the very least be better than DePaul……so sad….

11) The Patriots need a lot of youth to step up on the defensive side of the ball if they are going to go anywhere, but if anyone can do it, that man is Bill.  Also I hope the Patriots of the Midwest go 0-16.

I now see why Scottie enjoys writing this way so much….I’ll be back

Is Game 6 Really It?

Once the Finals came, every game became the most important of the season, but no game is as important as an elimination game.  After a convincing performance in Game 5 the Celtics are about to play the most important game of the last 2 seasons, with an opportunity to stick it to the rival Lakers and celebrate a championship against the defending champions on their home court.  The Celtics ended the basketball title drought 2 years ago in Boston against their rivals, and this year, what would be sweeter than finishing it in LA….the answer is nothing.

As we have heard since Game 4, the Celtics bench has been the key to them being the first team in the series to win back to back games, an accomplishment that no one believed could be acheived.  For the bench to play as well as they did in Boston is based on two reasons: they did not have to deal a lot with Bynum in the middle and it is much easier for a teams bench to play well in front of the uplifting home crowd.  If the C’s bench can do in LA what they were able to do in Boston then see ya lata, series over.  Yet, you cannot expect that, so the key if that the bench just focuses on playing above the level they played at in games 1 and 2, and if you combine that with a revived Paul Pierce and KG, while assuming Ray Allen is not going to continue to struggle, then all signs point to the Boston Celtics wrapping this series up tonight in LA.

The Lakers have a problem.  Sadly, that problem is the non-Jordan Kobe Bryant.  He broke a cardinal rule with the use of the media to call out his teammates.  I know what you are thinking.  You are thinking that he tried to use it as a tool to motivate his teammates, hoping it would light a fire under them for this game at home.  Well, sorry killa, but you DO NOT cross that bridge in the NBA Finals.  Celtics by 4….see you at the parade in a week.