Game 1: Where Carmelo Lost the Game

The Boston Celtics stole Game One from the New York Knicks tonight at the TD Garden, 87-85.  The Celtics trailed the Knicks for most of the game but Ray Allen drilled a three with five seconds remaining to give the Celtics the series lead.  I have long preached death, taxes, and Ray Allen are the only certainties in life but the Celtics won this game because of Carmelo Anthony.

In the final five minutes of the game, Amare Stoudimire was unstoppable.  He was hitting jump shots, driving to the basket with authority, and the Celtics had no answers for him.  As the game wound down, Carmelo Anthony took it upon himself to try to win the game and ignore the hot hand of Amare.  The Celtics gladly let Melo try to win the game and he failed miserably culminating on an offensive foul where he shoved Paul Pierce in efforts of creating space.  From 2:15 on the Celtics took control of the game.  Melo hoisted a two threes in the final two minutes and was called for the offensive foul.  Amare didn’t touch the ball not because of the Celtics defense, but because of Melo’s selfishness.

Jermaine O’Neal was phenomenal tonight.  There really is not other word for it.  He was the energy the Celtics needed blocking shots and hitting his own shots.  Celtics fans were worried about not having Shaq, but Jermaine isn’t so bad himself.  He has the wingspan to block and change shots.  He is also willing to take charges.  Tonight Jermaine O’Neal reminded Boston that he was once a pretty good player himself.  It is a good thing because the Celtics will need him this post season.

It wasn’t until the middle of the third quarter that Rajon Rondo showed up.  For most of the game he looked slow and didn’t have the usual bounce in his step that we have been accustomed to seeing.  I was honestly concerned thinking the plantar fascia or his hamstrings were acting up.  But then he turned it on and started rebounding and creating opportunities.  With Billups now looking like he is hurt, the Knicks won’t have a true point guard.  Rondo should be able to take advantage going forward.

How about Ray Allen? Yes, he hit the game winning shot that sent all of New England into a frenzy.  But watching the game I was more pleased with him getting down low and mixing it up in the paint.  Every time I looked up Ray Allen was the one rebounding and starting the break.  The Celtics have struggled with rebounding all season long and can use all the help they can get.  Ray is an unlikely source of rebound production but he did have 6 tonight.  He was also very efficient with his offense, 9-15 from the field, 3-5 from downtown, and 24 points.

Game Two is Tuesday night.  Hopefully someone finds a muzzle for Glen Davis in the mean time.

The State of the Celtics 2011 Version

Last year at this time, I had pretty much written off the Celtics on the eve of their first playoff game.  Going into the playoffs they were slow, aging, and overall not interested in basketball.  Then they flipped the switch and had a magnificent run to the Finals where they were two and half minutes and a Kendrick Perkins injury away from winning the NBA Championship.

This year going into the playoffs, many people in Boston aren’t high on them again.  Some still say they aren’t getting any younger (again).  Some say the late season Kendrick Perkins trade messed with their chemistry and depleted their front line.  Others say they don’t have that tough interior defense that Perk provided.  With Shaq’s health a major question many don’t believe the Celtics can go far with Jermaine O’ Neal and Nenad Krstic playing the center position.  Most troubling to me, is Rajon Rondo has looked ordinary the last 2 months of the season.

The Celtics will open their 2011 second season against Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks.  There is no doubt that this is the most exciting first round playoff matchup in the East.  unfortunately, I am not interested in the Celtics having a tough first round opponent.  I have major concerns about how physical the matchup will be.  The March 21st matchup between these two teams was literally a bloodbath.  While I think the Celtics will handle the Knicks in six games, I am not as confident in what will happen after the Knicks series.  In all likelihood the Celtics will play the Heat in round two.

The Celtics will be forced to put Kevin Garnett on Amare Stoudimire.  Fortunately for the Celtics, the Knicks don’t have any other big man who could hurt them on the offensive end.   Jermaine O’ Neal, Kristic, and even Glen Davis should be able to handle Ronny Turiaf.

Chauncey Billups is a mixed bag these days.  While Rondo should be able to blow by him without any problems time and time again, Billups is a proven winner and has the ability to hit the big shots in crunch time.  I will be interested to see if “Playoff Rondo” shows up early and inserts his will upon the game.  Remember it wasn’t all that long ago when Celtic fans claimed they would NOT trade Rondo for Derrick Rose straight up.

The X-Factor in this series in my opinion is  Toney Douglas.  Douglas comes off the bench for the Knicks and has the ability to put up 12 points before you can say what college he went to (Florida State).  I would have to believe he would be Delonte West’s assignment and Delonte has been and is banged up right now. Landry Fields also concerns me.  I expect Carmelo and Amare to get their buckets.  But if the Celtics aren’t able to contain their supporting cast, they will be in trouble.

To quote the great Jim Ross, this will no doubt be a slobberknocker.  The Celtics have the playoff experience.  The Big Three have never lost an Eastern Conference playoff series.  For that trend to continue, they will have to be even better than they have in years past.  The road to the NBA Finals starts Sunday and it is filled with land mines.  The Celtics will have to be better than they have in years past to get there.  If they are, they will get to the Finals.  If not, they could be out as early as the second round.

I can be followed on Twitter @ScottieNTCF

2010-2011 NBA Midseason Awards

For basketball purists, this has to be one of the best seasons since… well since Michael Jordan was still in the league. You have transcendent superstars (see Kobe Bryant) dominant players (see Dwight Howard), grizzled veterans (see Kevin Garnett) and up-and-coming youngsters (see Blake Griffin). Now all those examples are just one of many choices you could make from an extremely deep list.

This is possibly the toughest year in recent memory to actually pick winners for awards because of the exorbitant talent level across the NBA.

Because there are so many potential choices for each of these awards, I thought it best to have two options/opinions on our awards so the spectrum of deserving players can be diversified.

Last night while Gambo was channeling his inner Tom Gugliotta and I was doing my best to honor the great Tom Chambers in some pick up basketball, we realized it was midseason in the NBA and we started discussing who is deserving of some NBA hardware.  We learned we had different view points and figured it would be nice to share them with our faithful readers.

All NBA Third Team

Gambo:

Dwight Howard

Blake Griffin

Paul Pierce

Dwayne Wade

Derrick Rose

Scottie:

Pau Gasol

Kevin Love

Paul Pierce

Manu Ginobli

Russell Westbrook

All NBA Second Team

Gambo:

Amare Stoudemire

Dirk Nowitzki

Kevin Garnett

Manu Ginobili

Deron Williams

Scottie:

Dwight Howard

Dirk Nowitizki

Kevin Durant

Monta Ellis

Rajon Rondo

All NBA First Team

Gambo:

Pau Gasol

Kevin Durant

LeBron James

Kobe Bryant

Chris Paul

Scottie:

Amar’e Stoudimire

Blake Griffin

LeBron James

Kobe Bryant

Derek Rose

All-Defensive Team

Gambo:

Dwight Howard

Kevin Garnett

Rudy Gay

Kobe Bryant

Russell Westbrook

Scottie:

Dwight Howard

Kevin Garnett

Corey Brewer

Tyreke Evans

Chris Paul

All Rookie Team

Gambo:

DeMarcus Cousins

Blake Griffin

Greg Monroe

Landry Fields

John Wall

Scottie

DeMarcus Cousins

Blake Griffin

Gary Neal

Landry Fields

John Wall

Executive of the Year

Gambo: Pat Riley

As much as you might hate the Heat, the “architect” himself was responsible for putting together a big-three that will contend for years to come. It took some time but the studs in South Beach seem to have it all figured out now. Runner-up: Danny Ainge, for keeping the Celtics together for another year.

Scottie: Pat Riley

I hate Pat Riley.  I hate the Heat. But there is no getting around the roster moves he made in the off season making the Heat a sure fire force for years to come.  Just saying that last sentence leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Sixth Man of the Year

Gambo: Serge Ibaka

Now he probably should be starting for the “Zombie Sonics,” but Serge does the majority of his damage off the bench. If the Thunder want to challenge the Lakers, Spurs and Mavs in the West, they will need his size and shot-blocking down the stretch. Other deserving candidates: Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford and Glen Davis.

Scottie: Glen Davis

I am picking Glen Davis and it has zero to do with him being on the hometown team.  No one brings more energy or is more valuable to his team off the bench than Davis is for the Celtics.  He is averaging 12.5 ppg and grabbing 6 boards a game.  As of January 19, he has taken 34 charges! With that absurd number he has basically created a new stat! He has developed a nice outside jumper that forces defenses to respect him and he is not getting blocked nearly as many times as he did last year.  He is finishing around the rim and is punishing his opposition with a sweet little spin move reminiscent of Antoine Walker.  Give Big Baby the 6th man of the year award right now.

Most Improved Player of the Year

Gambo: Raymond Felton

There are a lot of good choices out there with players such as Kevin Love, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon, but Felton is player I almost completely wrote off last season. Now, he is the quarterback of D’Antoni’s offense and a borderline All-Star. Not bad for a guy who was more-or-less run out of town by Larry Brown.

Scottie: Eric Gordon

I was debating between Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, and Eric Gordon here.  Gordon has improved his stats from last year (16 points a game to 23 a night) and has been able to handle different tasks assigned to him.  When Baron Davis was out with an injury, he stepped right into that role and played well.  It is clear his summer with Team USA has made him a better player. Beasley and Love were also picked higher than Gordon and they should be playing as well as they are. I don’t think anyone ever expected consistent production out of Gordon.

Coach of the Year

Gambo: Greg Popovich

Coming into the season the Spurs had a ton of question marks with age, declining play and young players in bigger roles. “Pop” has done a great job of tailoring everyone’s new role while pushing Ginobili into starting lineup and monitoring Tim Duncan’s minutes.

Scottie: Tom Thibodeau

The Bulls are in line for the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference at the mid point of the season. Their front court has been decimated by the injury bug with Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer playing in about half the team’s games. Sure, Derek Rose is an MVP candidate but this is largely the same team Vinny Del Negro had one year ago. Other than Derek Rose and Luol Deng this team doesn’t really have any key contributors that have gotten them to their 29 wins.  The reason for their success is because of Coach T.

Defensive Player of the Year

Gambo: Dwight Howard

No one changes opponents’ game plans on both ends of the floor as much as Howard. A force in the middle that clogs the lane and deters players from driving the lane; he also possesses amazing quickness for someone his size.

Scottie: Kevin Garnett

Call me a homer but is there anyone more valuable to his team on the defensive side of the ball than KG? He is the most intense player in the NBA hands down and he brings out that intensity on the defensive side of the ball.  He missed nine games and in those nine games it was apparent how much the Celtics missed him.  He may not stuff the stat sheet on the defensive end but teams that play the Celtics don’t generally put up a high field goal percentage.  That can be attributed to KG.

Rookie of the Year

Gambo: Blake Griffin

Entering the season, there was a question if John Wall or someone like DeMarcus Cousins could challenge Blake for the top rookie honor, but it quickly became clear that Mr. Griffin is head and shoulders above the rest.

Scottie: Blake Griffin

Not only is Blake Griffin hands down the Rookie of the Year, if the MVP vote was made on stats alone, he would be getting some votes. At the time of this writing the Clippers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and there isn’t a player in the NBA that’s on more of a hot streak than Griffin.  He routinely has 3 posters a night as he takes out all his aggression on the rim when he drives to the basket.  More importantly he has improved outrageously over the course of the last 3 months.  Here’s some stats to take in: October:  16.7ppg and 11.0  rpg. November:20.9  ppg and 11.7 rpg. December:23.0 ppg and 13.5 rpg. January:27.8 ppg and 13.6 rpg. Sick and wrong.

MVP

Gambo: Dirk Nowitzki,

Prior to his injury he was a shoe-in for the award. Dirk is the only guy out there right now that is doing it without at least another boarderline superstar. I know Scottie will say Kevin Durant, which you can easily make an argument for, but Westbrook definitely helps more than a quickly-aging Jason Kidd. Boston, Miami, Los Angeles and San Antonio all split votes, so Dirk it is. Runner-up: Kevin Durant

Second Runner-up; Derrick Rose

Scottie: Amar’e Stoudimire

Last year I argued (and will continue to do so) that Kevin Durant was the MVP of the 2010 season.  When I think valuable, I think of how good the respective team of the MVP candidate would be if they weren’t on the team.  With that being said Amar’e is far and away the MVP of the first half of the NBA season.  Last season the Knicks were a joke.  This season they are nearly a lock to make the playoffs because of Amar’e.  He is second in the league averaging 26.4 points a night, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.  More importantly he has put people back in the seats of Madison Square Garden. He had one stretch of ten games with over 30 points.  There is no one playing better ball than this man right now.