Scottie’s Recap: Celtics Survive Wizards Again

The Washington Wizards took the Celtics to overtime on the Celtics home floor.  That should never happen. The Celtics won 100-
94. The Wizards have given the Celtics all they could handle in two meetings and that is without Nene and John Wall.  The Celtics played like they were waiting for the Wizards to say “oh you’re the Boston Celtics, we don’t belong on the same floor as you, so we will just quit now.”  Every time the Celtics hit a big shot, the Wizards ran right down the court and answered within seconds.  Give the Wizards credit.  They are a scrappy bunch of no names.  Thankfully, the Celtics don’t see them again until April 7, 2013.

What more can I say about Kevin Garnett?  He is quickly approaching a point in my mind where I will be forced to go out and buy his jersey.  For one grown man to go out and buy another grown man’s jersey, that’s the highest praise I can give.  Garnett was the only reason to watch the game tonight.  His defense remains the best in league.  Without Garnett, the Celtics play zero defense.  The difference between when he is on the floor and on the bench is night and day.  His intensity is paramount to the Celtics success.

All that praise, being given, I am concerned about his minutes.  The Celtics are going into a stretch where they will play 3 games in four days.  Garnett played 35 minutes tonight.  I expect him to play no more than 25 in each of the three games coming up.  Doc has the depth to give Garnett a rest.  The problem is the Celtics are so damn flat when he is sitting down.

Chris Wilcox was awesome in just 4 minutes tonight.  His 4 minutes breathed some life into the Celts.  He had 6 points, 2 rebounds, and a block.  I love the way he runs the floor with Rondo.  He was great last year in his role as “energy guy” before going down with his heart ailment.  I would obviously like to see him get more than 4 minutes but Doc has to tread lightly with Wilcox’s health issues.

Ok, I am going to say this.  Call me a homer, call me a Green Teamer, call me whatever you please.  Rajon Rondo is the best point guard in the NBA.  I have gone back and forth on this one for the last 3 years but I can now say it with total certainty.  He is turning a 10 assist night into an average night.  He has developed a jump shot, which was always his only weakness.  He is also hitting his free throws.  Rondo is the best floor general in the game.  I know it is only 4 games into the season, but if Rondo isn’t starting the All Star Game, I am going to be angry.

I am willing to ignore the first 3 games of the season and say Jason Terry’s career as a Celtic started tonight.  Terry lived up to his off-season words, and was the offensive spark off the bench the Celtics have been missing for the last few years.  I could do without the Jet run after every three he hits however.  I wish he would save that for the big plays.  A couple of times tonight, he had the opportunity to blow the roof off of the Garden with a big 3, but wasn’t able to hit.  I am sure we will see plenty of big shots out of him over the course of the season.  Jet had 16 points in 32 minutes.

Brandon Bass is a rock solid basketball player.  He rebounds, he hits open shots, and is a good free throw shooter.  I was glad to see Doc give him minutes at the end of the game.  Usually he is on the bench in crunch time.  He is another guy that would be able to alleviate Garnett’s minutes.  I will always remember the minutes Bass gave the Celtics against the Heat in last year’s playoffs.  I am huge Brandon Bass fan, the man can play.  Off the bench tonight, Bass played 33 minutes had 11 points and 7 rebounds.

The 76ers come to Boston on Friday night without Andrew Bynum.  They beat the Hornets rather handily tonight 77-62.

 

I can be followed on Twitter @ScottieNTCF

 

 

 

The Not-So Rapid Reaction- Celtics Lose 120-107

Last night, after Miami put on the finishing touches of a 120-107 opening night win against my beloved Boston Celtics, I really wanted to sit down and hammer away all my thoughts on to this blog.  Truth be told, I am getting old and I fell asleep after the game.  It is likely better that way, as I have had time to organize my thoughts and not publish my patented knee jerk reaction that I am famous for.  I would like to continue this type of post but any faithful reader of NTCF knows our promises usually ring hollow.  I will simply take it game by game.  So without further adieu, here is my thoughts following last night’s game.

I will spare everyone the tired “Ray Allen is my ex-girlfriend from high school” analogy.  Whatever the case may be, he didn’t want to play in Boston anymore.  He wanted to live tax-free in Miami, play golf on his off days, and ride the coat tails of LeBron James and get another ring before he called it a career.  Boston fans have been “betrayed” before.  No doubt it stings a little bit more when a fan favorite decides to go play for your most bitter rival.  See Damon, Johnny. I admit, I had a sense of rage seeing him don a Miami Heat uniform.  I was happy that KG ignored him when he thought during the game was the perfect time to try to clear the air and get some “daps.”  Yes, it did hurt to see Ray pour in 19 points on 5-7 shooting and 2-3 from long range.What hurt more than his stats, however, were the times when the Celtics needed a bucket and couldn’t get one.  Because it was those times over the last 5 years that Doc could draw up a play to free up Ray Ray and he would bury a jump shot.   That is what I will miss most about Ray Allen.

Maybe the emotion was too much for the Celtics last night.  Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry were awful for the most apart.  Garnett has been known to get himself so psyched up that he can’t produce.  Last night was one of those nights.  Maybe it was the ring ceremony prior to the game, maybe it was the national spotlight, maybe it was playing against a former brother, maybe it was everything combined but KG was largely ineffective last night.  I also believe that Jason Terry was caught up in the moment of trying to hard to be better than Ray Allen.  He was all over the floor and not in a good way.  His shots were out of rhythm and his defense was sorely lacking.  I found myself very concerned about Terry.  He is not a true point guard and  I am not sure how his game is going to translate when being asked to bring the ball up the floor, something he is not accustomed to doing.

Jeff Green was a no-show last night as well.  I am willing to give him a free pass at the start of this season though.  He is coming back from open-heart surgery.  At this point last year, he was probably thinking that he would never play again.  Believe it or not, life is more important than sports.  I think Jeff was a bit emotional last night and wasn’t able to get into the game.  I am excited to have him back this season and I look forward to having him play with a full training camp under his belt with the Celtics.  Once the chemistry is established he will be essential to the team’s success.

What I took away most from last night’s game was how much I now loathe Dwayne Wade.  Every time he takes the ball to the basket and loses it he stops and stares down the ref.  He has become the biggest (insert derogatory slang term for the female reproductive organ here) in the NBA.  He has the audacity to call Rajon Rondo a punk after the game last night.  This is the same guy who dislocated Rondo’s elbow with a cheap shot 2 years ago in the playoffs.  This is the same guy that bridged Darren Collison last season.  This is no longer the guy that had the awesome commercial, “I fall down 7 times and stand up 8.”   It also drives me crazy that refs allow him to use his off-hand to stiff arm his defender when he drives to the basket.  It was probably the most pivotal play in the playoffs last year and it happened again last night.  At this time last year, I despised LeBron James.  After what LeBron did in Game 6 last year, I…I… (gulp) respect him.  Now, my hatred, my disdain, my insurmountable intense dislike is toward Dwayne Wade.

I am really hoping Doc lets Jared Sullinger play.  My one qualm with Doc Rivers is his knack for not letting rookies play.  Sullinger will be needed this season.  He will be needed to give Garnett rest.  He will be needed in the front court.  He is a large part of the future of the Boston Celtics.  Doc played him 8 minutes last night.  I understand there may have been matchup problems for him but I sincerely hope that Doc sets aside his policy about giving rookies minutes, and he lets the kid play.

I came away from last night’s game realizing the Boston Celtics-Miami Heat rivalry has surpassed the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in my eyes.  The reason for that is two-fold.  1) The Red Sox are largely irrelevant right now and will be until they straighten out their operation. 2) LeBron has been public enemy #1 for the Celtics since the Big 3 arrived in Boston.  Now one of the members of the original Big 3 have joined forces with the enemy.  The Celtics are the only team in the NBA that have, can, and will take the Heat to 7 games in a playoff series.

Next up for the Celtics: Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis bring the Milwaukee Bucks into Boston on Friday November 2.

I can be followed on Twitter @ScottieNTCF

Eulogizing the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics

Writing a eulogy is never an easy experience.  No one likes to write about death, particularly about the death of someone or something they love. In the sports world, it happens once a year per team that you follow.  Am I being overdramatic? No.  This season (and every season for that matter) the Boston Celtics were frequently invited into my living room, I frequently checked up on them via various information devices, to the tune of 91 games this year.  The season ended last week as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and the rest of the Miami Heat ousted the Celtics in 5 games in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.  This piece has taken me a long time to write because, as with any type of mourning, time heals.

I remember the early months of the season when Rajon Rondo averaged about 15 assists a game.  I remember the first half of the season when I advocated Glen Davis for the Sixth Man of the Year award.  I remember enjoying Shaq’s time in Boston, going to Harvard Square posing as a statue and composing the Boston Pops.  I remember thoroughly enjoying Nate Robinson’s videos from the preseason where he would play various pranks on Shaq.  I enjoyed watching the development of Semih Erden.  I was remember laughing at the reports of Delonte West and Von Wafer getting into a fist fight in a 2-2 pickup game.  I especially remember Ray Allen burying his record-breaking three pointer against the Lakers at home.

The Celtics had to deal with the injury bug as they never had their preseason roster fully intact.  Delonte West, Shaq, Jermaine O’Neal, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Kevin Garnett all missed time with injuries.  As a matter of fact none of the aforementioned group of players ever played in the same game.  But even with those injury troubles the Celtics still held onto the top seed in the East and were always close to San Antonio for the best record in all the NBA.  The Celtics dismantled the Heat in each of their matchups (until the regular season when the Celtics were trying to get healthy for the playoffs).

What will forever define the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics can simply be referred to as “The Trade.”  At the trade deadline Danny Ainge broke up a majority of the roster and effectively broke down the chemistry that made the Celtics one of the toughest teams in the NBA. He traded away big man Kendrick Perkins and spark providing Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic.  He sold Marquis Daniels to the Sacramento Kings.  He moved Luke Harangody and Semih Erden to the Cleveland Cavs for draft picks.  He brought in Troy Murphy, Carlos Arroyo, and Sasha Pavlovic.

Ainge defended himself saying that the Celtics would not have been able to resign Perkins.  He defended himself by saying they needed a wing that would give Paul Pierce and Ray Allen much-needed rest down the stretch.  He defended the deal by saying the Celtics would need some offense from a big man to spread the floor.  He defended himself by saying he wanted to rebuild for the future while trying to make the team better in the present as well.  He defended himself by saying the Celtics were 19-3 in games that Shaq played in over 20 minutes.

As it turned out, Shaq was unable to get healthy the second half of the season.  The Celtics sorely missed Perkins, an inside presence that would have teamed nicely with Jermaine O’Neal in the playoffs.  Doc Rivers never really trusted Jeff Green with substantial minutes, thus never giving Pierce and Allen the rest they needed.  The Celtics were never able to garner any semblance of chemistry with their brand new roster. Going into the playoffs, it is fair to say everyone knew they were in deep trouble.

They quickly dispatched the Knicks, who were going through injury and chemistry issues themselves.  They then faced the Heat in the most anticipated playoff series in recent memory.  In that series the Celtics failed to execute their offense.  Rajon Rondo went down with one of the grossest injuries I have seen since the Willis McGahee injury when he was at Miami.  Yet, Rondo mustered the courage to play through his dislocated elbow and lead the Celtics to a Game 3 victory.  Kevin Garnett laid one of the biggest eggs in playoff history in Game 4 and was only “ok” in Game 5.  Ray Allen would never see the ball the rest of the series. The next two games the Celtics would fail to show up in the final two minutes of each game as the Heat outplayed them.

Some will complain about the referee’s and the preferential treatment to Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.  Some will point to how dirty of a player Dwayne Wade became in this series.  Others will point to the injuries of the Celtics and how thin their roster actually was.  The bottom line? The Celtics did not finish ball games.  Whether it was fatigue that comes with age, miscommunication, or lack of chemistry the Celtics couldn’t withstand the Heat. And that was all she wrote.

Looking ahead to the rebirth of the Celtics, also known as the 2011-2012 season, there are a lot of question marks.  One thing must be certain in my eyes: Glen Davis has worn a Celtics uniform for the last time.  Everyone fell in love with the hustle and energy Davis provided.  Once upon a time Glen Davis took charges, dove for loose balls, and hit an occasional jump shot.  Then somewhere around the midpoint of the season, he fell in love with himself, forgot how to pass, forgot how to box out, and forgot that he was surrounded by Hall of Fame talent.  The first positive going into the 2011-2012 season: Glen Davis is “Gone Baby Gone.”The other positive going into the 2011-2012 season.  Head Coach Doc Rivers signed on for a five-year extension.  This will keep stability in the organization.

The Celtics need to add a big man and a name that has been popping up that I am intrigued by is DeAndre Jordan.  The kid is 23 years old, averaged 7 points and 7 rebounds, and is 6’11 250.  He can fill the role that was left behind when Perk went to Oklahoma City.  I would also like to see the Celtics expand Jeff Green’s role and get him 30 minutes a game.  Watching him and Rondo on a fast break will be must see TV.  I would also like to see the Celtics bring back Delonte West.

The Boston Celtics 2010-2011 season is in the books.  They were the third best team in the Eastern Conference.  They were a trade that should not have happened away from potentially being better. I refuse to believe the proverbial window that was opened by Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett is closed.  This team will be back and in contention next season. They are too competitive, too talented, and have too much pride for this to be the end of an era. Until next season let the Celtics rest, and let’s move onto rooting the Bruins on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Red Sox in their season as well.

I can be followed on Twitter at ScottieNTCF

How Sweep It Is!

Believe it or not I actually do have a social life to attend to once in a great while.  Because of the social life, I was unable to post about the games over the weekend.  In case you missed it (and I doubt you did) here is a mini recap of the weekend.  And what a great weekend it was for Boston sports.

Celtics Bust Out Brooms in NY

In Game Three of the first round series between the Celtics and Knicks, the only competition on the court was between Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in who could hit the most three pointers and have the most points.  Pierce had 38 points hitting 6 of his 8 threes and Ray-Ray had 32 points hitting 8 of his eleven threes.  Rajon Rondo was able to run around the court at will and posted a triple double with 15 points 11 rebounds and 20 assists.

Game Four saw the Celtics lead throughout the game before putting on the finishing touches on a 101-89 victory being the only team in the NBA to sweep the first round this year.  Garnett led the way in Game 4 with 26 points and 10 rebounds.  If you missed either of these two games, you didn’t miss much as the Celtics dominated right from the opening tap to the final buzzer.

In hindsight this series ended when Chauncey Billups went down with a knee injury at the end of Game 1.  Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudimire never looked to be on the same page.  Toney Douglas was no match for Rajon Rondo.  Landry Fields laid perhaps the biggest egg in the history of postseason sports.  This was a guy that was a first team all rookie and he stunk the place up in all 4 games.  The Celtics will wait for the Heat to polish off the 76ers before starting round two.  The extra time off will provide the aging roster with some rest and also buy time for Shaq to get healthy.

Horton Hears a Who: Bruins Lead Series 3-2

Nathan Horton scored 11 minutes into the second overtime of Game 5 to put the Bruins one win away from advancing to the second round.  At this time last week, the idea of the Bruins making it out of the opening round was a joke.  But over the last three games they have played with heart and that is all you need to win in playoff hockey.  Michael Ryder continued his great play with the save of his career bailing out an out of position Tim Thomas in the first period of the game.

Speaking of Thomas, the man stood on his head in Game 5 with 44 saves.  Chief among those saves was a vintage Thomas move of sliding across the crease saving a one timer on a 2 on 1 break in overtime.  How he saved that puck, I have no idea.  All I know is the my heart was in my throat.  Radio personality Michael Felger has been asking when Tim Thomas was going to steal a game in the playoffs.  He got his answer with Thomas’ legendary effort in Game 5.

Lastly, how stupid is Max Pacioretty?  The man loves his Twitter account like no other.  This time he took to tweeting a derogatory remark about Brad Marchand’s nose.  Marchand responded by being the third star of the game and playing with as much energy and hustle as anyone could ask for.  Pacioretty has already promoted enough bulletin board material for the Bruins, and he just doesn’t seem to get the message.  There will be nothing better than the Bruins winning the series Tuesday night in Montreal in front of 28,000 screaming Canadien fans.

Sox Shut Down Angels

Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey both shut out the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend combing on 16 innings without giving up a run. The Sox now have a five game winning streak going and are showing everyone they are in fact who everyone thought they were going into the season.  In the last nine games, the starting rotation has an ERA of 0.88.

Carl Crawford also hit his first home run as a member of the Red Sox and has shown signs of coming out of his season opening funk.  Once Crawford gets going, and he will, watch out.  The Red Sox will be unbeatable.  Mark my words. The Red Sox can keep their winning ways going as they will travel to Baltimore and open up a three game set on Tuesday.

All in all it was a great weekend in Boston sports.  Let’s hope the run extends into late June!

I can be followed on Twitter @ ScottieNTCF

Celtics Win Despite Melo’s Heroics

After Game One, I bashed Carmelo Anthony for essentially losing the game for the Knicks.  He apparently read my post and took the Knicks on his shoulders in Game Two.  Melo put up video game stats tonight. 42 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists.  But it wasn’t enough to beat the Celtics, as Boston will head to New York Friday with a 2-0 series lead after beating the Knicks 96-93.  Rajon Rondo had 30 points and 7 assists for the Celtics.

The Knicks were already undermanned going into the game with Chauncey Billups in a suit on the bench after getting hurt in Game One.  Amare Stoudimire played just 18 minutes and didn’t return in the second half because of back spasms.  Apparently, putting the Knicks on his back in Game One was detrimental to his health.

The Celtics started out with Rondo driving to the basket over and over again making the game look like a personal lay up line.  At one point in the game Celtics announcer Mike Gorman said, “The Celtics could win this game by 25 if they wanted to.”  Carmelo Anthony wouldn’t let that happen as he put on a playoff performance that will remembered for years to come.  But just like when Jordan dropped 63 on the Celtics, it wasn’t enough.

Kevin Garnett was awful for the first 47 minutes of the game.  But in the last-minute he bullied Jared Jeffries in the post with 13 seconds left to put the Celtics up by one.  Then the 2nd place vote getter for Defensive Player of the Year stole the ball from Jeffries with 4 seconds left sealing the win for the Celtics.

The Celtics head to New York on Friday with a 2-0 lead.  But there are concerns with this team in a big picture view.  The bench was lousy tonight.  They were fortunate to not have to deal with Amare Stoudimire.  They were also fortunate that Landry Fields and Bill Walker are way in over their heads in this playoff series.  If the Celtics are to close out the Knicks, they will need to focus on playing a complete 48 minutes.  Here is the plus minus stats for the bench players of the Celtics: Delonte -4, Krstic -5, Green -7, and Davis -11.  The Heat and Bulls will take advantage of that.

. Until Friday, when the Madison Square Garden is sure to be raucous, the Celtics have a 2-0 series lead.  The y took care of business at home.  Now let’s see what they will do on the road.  A win is a win and they are now 14 away from Banner 18.

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

February Mumbles

I have not written anything over the past few days, mainly because I have had a serious battle with writer’s block.  I had many topics floating around in my head but nothing that I could really sit down and write a substantial post about. So I have decided to combine those rants into one post.  Loyal readers of this blog know what that means when I actually sit down to the laptop.  You’ve got it, it is Mumbles time.  A mini tour of what my brain has been processing over the last week or so!

*Ever since the Celtics-Suns game where Kevin Garnett infamously delivered a sack tap to Channing Frye, I have been trying to convince myself that Garnett isn’t a dirty player.  Then I imagined if Ron Artest did that to Paul Pierce and how irate I would be. My problem is that I am loyal to all my teams that I root for and my loyalty can sometimes blind objectivity.  It pains me to say it but I am starting to believe that KG is a bit of a dirty player.   While I struggled to come to this reality, I then thought again and wondered what’s the problem with that? Lakers fans love Artest.  Pistons fans loved McFilthy and McNasty.  Celtics fans loved McHale clothes lining Rambis. What does it matter if KG has some dirty moments?

*Last year the marquee name at the NHL trading deadline was Ilya Kovalchuk.  Last year the Bruins had some nice trade pieces with their draft picks (Thank you Kessel).  The Bruins declined to get involved in the Kovalchuk sweepstakes and were able to draft Tyler Seguin with the second pick in the draft. The Devils traded for Kovalchuk and they were ousted early in the playoffs last year and are currently the worst team in the NHL. This year the marquee name is Jarome Iginla. This year the Bruins have similar trade bait with their draft picks (Thank you Kessel).  If the season were to end today they’d have the fifth and somewhere in the mid twenties for picks in the draft.  Marc Savard is likely out for the season and they will need to acquire a center.  If you are the Bruins do you deal one of your first round picks away for a potential rental in Iginla, someone who may be the missing piece to getting Lord Stanley’s Cup? If it would bring Boston a Cup, I would do it in a heartbeat.

*The best thing about an off-season is the rumors that come with who your squad will acquire for the next season’s roster.  This is certainly the case for Patriot fans after yet another early exit in the playoffs.  The Patriots have an abundance of picks in the upcoming April draft.  I am not going to pretend to know much about who they will be targeting in the draft.  I will leave that to Matty.  What I do know is they need a pass rusher like Antonio Cromartie needs to learn about birth control paraphernalia.  Aside from the need for a pass rusher, the Patriots need a wide-out to complement Branch and Welker.  Two names to chew on: Larry Fitzgerald and Chad Ochocinco.  I would love to see the Pats move a couple of their picks to Arizona for Fitz.  That trade would be more exciting than the one that landed Randy Moss a few seasons ago.  Ochocinco could probably be had for a lot less.  He and Belichick have always publicly admired each other.  But boy would I love to see Larry Fitz in New England.

*Yankee GM Brian Cashman has recently come under fire in New York for saying “right now the Red Sox are a better team than the Yankees.”  Why would anyone criticize the man when he is speaking the truth? The Red Sox now have a lineup that goes toe to toe with the Bronx Bombers, the Boston rotation is a lot better than the Pinstripes, and the Sox bullpen is of higher quality as well.  The Yankees have brought in Mark Prior, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia to help out their rotation.  There is no truth to the rumor that they are also working out John Burkett, Hideo Nomo, and Mark Portugal as well.

*Q and I recently discussed some college basketball and I feel our discussion is worthy of posting here.  I am sure he would like to hear some feedback as much as I would.  Q is a Big East enthusiast.  He believes that when it comes to the Big East conference schedule, there is no such thing as an upset because so many of the teams are among the best in the country.  While I agree with that concept, I added a bit of a wrinkle to his argument.  My take is that while the Big East is without a doubt the premier conference in the country, it does not have a sure-fire, powerhouse team that I can point to and say they are going to the Final Four with any kind of certainty.  I look at Kansas, Duke, Texas, and Ohio State as powerhouses.  Yes, I am aware that they have lost to teams in the Big East (St. John’s beat Duke, and UCONN beat Texas) but I just don’t see the Big East getting a team into the Final Four this season.

*Come Sunday I will be rooting like hell for the Green Bay Packers to take down the Pittsburgh Steelers in this year’s Super Bowl. Two weeks ago I found myself rooting for the Jets to beat the Steelers and not because I like the Jets.  I despise the Pittsburgh Steeler organization more than I do the Lakers or the Yankees.  I despise that hideous rag the fans wave incessantly, I don’t want to hear the Roethlisberger belongs in the “Brady-Manning class” argument, and I sure as hell don’t want to hear “Pittsburgh is the new dynasty” discussion.  I want Green Bay to destroy Pittsburgh more than I want to win a Powerball jackpot.

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.

Take it Easy KG

Now that all of Celtics Nation has regained their breath after holding for the past 18 hours, with news that Kevin Garnett’s leg injury is nothing more than a calf strain, it is time to put things in perspective.  I detest the idea of putting a time frame on KG’s return to the lineup.  The initial reports from the Boston media outlet has Garnett coming back in two weeks.  While this is reassuring news for the Celtics fan base, ultimately I don’t like putting an actual timeframe on his return.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am absolutely relieved that the injury is minor.  But we all know how competitive KG is.  He is going to push himself as hard as he can to get back on the court as fast as he can.  In reality, what does KG accomplish by getting back on the court sooner rather than later? If the season were to end today, they would be the number one seed in the East come playoff time.  They could theoretically play without KG and Rondo the rest of the season, and still walk into the playoffs.

Ever the optimist, I see where KG’s injury could be a positive for the Celtics as opposed to a negative.  Rewind to 2 seasons ago when Garnett went down for the rest of the season.  Glen Davis emerged as a top role player, and we are seeing the results of him getting extra minutes and extra experience as he is the sixth man of the year.  With Garnett out, this will give Jermaine O’ Neal a chance to get that WD-40 out to get that abundance of rust off.  This will also give Semih Erden more minutes and the Celtics will be able to ease Perk back into the rotation soon enough.

The bottom line is let’s not rush KG’s return.  He did that 2 seasons ago and came back to soon.  It then took him a full season to recover.  Why the news is great that the injury is minor, let’s keep what is important in perspective.  Last season the Celtics proved the regular season means nothing.  The real goal for the rest of the season is to be healthy for the playoffs.

I can be followed on Twitter at ScottieNtcf

First Look at the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics

The baseball playoffs aren’t the same to me without having my dog in the fight.  The Patriots rank fourth on my New England sports team list and I don’t really care that they traded Randy Moss.  Personally I think they are a better team without him, but that is another argument for another time.  With all this being said, I have not been more excited about a season than I am with the Boston Celtics upcoming campaign.  To be honest I am questioning whether I am more excited about opening night against Miami than I was about Game 7 against the Lakers in the NBA Finals last June.  The Celtics have the best all around roster in basketball and you must be dead if you aren’t excited about that.  If the talent alone doesn’t get you going, check out Nate Robinson’s twitter page.  The antics of the Celtics preseason from Nate taking pictures of everyone sleeping on the bus, to Nate putting salt in Shaq’s water, to Nate dunking on Shaq, and finally Nate running suicides in Shaq’s size 23 shoes have been hilarious.

The future is now in Boston.  Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers made no bones about recognizing the team’s age and deciding to go for it in 2010-2011.  They could have decided to let Ray Allen and Paul Pierce go and explored some options in free agency to get younger and rebuild.  They went out and signed Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq.  They resigned Nate Robinson and Marquis Daniels and brought back Delonte West. There is no tomorrow in Celtic Nation.  This season is all about bringing home Banner 18 and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

Here is a look at the Celtics:

The Front Line

After getting pounded on the glass in last year’s NBA Finals by the Lakers, Danny Ainge vowed that wouldn’t happen again.  After the summer, the Celtics boast the biggest and best front court in the NBA.  Jermaine O’ Neal is expected to start alongside a healthy Kevin Garnett.  Off the bench, Rivers can call upon Shaq, Big Baby Davis, Turkish project Semih Erden, and Luke Harangody.  It will really take an effort for the Celtics to get out rebounded this year.

Everyone is marveling at how great KG looks.  It is widely known that it take a year or a year and a half to fully recover from a knee injury (unless you are named Wes Welker).  Needless to say this is exciting news in Boston.  Jermaine O’Neal has always been a solid NBA player and theres no reason to expect him to do anything less.  Even more beneficial to the Celtics, he is a big man that can hit free throws as he is a 70% free throw shooter.  Big Baby may have no idea what his role is on this team but he has proven over the last 2 years that whatever he is asked to do, he does.  He has improved each year and will provide depth to the Celts front court and is basically the 6th man on this team.

There are many that have criticized the Shaq signing, but I am a huge advocate of bringing Diesel to town.  No one is expecting him to play like he did earlier in his career, that is unrealistic.  However he is still a presence and will provide Rondo with another option when he drives to the basket.  Shaq will open up the floor for Ray and KG when they are on the floor at the same time.  Semih Erden is a 7 foot project but gives the Celtics some height that they have lacked the past few seasons.

THE BENCH

Shaq has already coined the bench as the BBM, Boston Bench Mob.  This bench is better than some of the starting lineups around the league.  With the energetic Nate Robinson at point, Delonte at the 2, Quis at the 3, Baby at power forward and Shaq in the middle there should be little to no let down that the bench has been known for since the Big Three came to be.  In past seasons, the starting five would leave the floor with an eight to ten point lead only to be tied at the half.  If anything this bench can expand upon any lead the starting five runs out to.

I haven’t even brought up first round pick Avery Bradley.  He was a high school stud that had an ok freshman year at Texas.  Word around the league is that he is the best defensive rookie in this year’s class.  As a diehard Longhorn fan, I can tell you first hand that Bradley wasn’t used where he could maximize his talents at UT.  He has the ability to penetrate and dish with a solid mid range jumper.  At first glance, there aren’t many minutes for Bradley on this roster, but he his learning experiences will be invaluable for the rest of his career.  Do you think Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis would be as good as they today without the tutelage of KG? I think Bradley will learn a lot from Pierce and Ray.  When it comes time for him to contribute he will be ready.

Dogging the Regular Season

After last year’s run in the playoffs it would appear there is no reason to put forth any effort in the regular season.  The Celtics had the 4 seed after a lackluster finish during the season.  In fact the Celtics were mediocre at best from Christmas on.  Yet they made quick work of the Heat in round one, embarrassed LeBron and the Cavs in the second round, handled the Magic with ease in the Eastern Conference Finals and took the Lakers down to the wire in Game 7 of the Finals.  There really is no reason for the Celtics to compete during the regular season other than playing for home court advantage or for favorable matchups.  It is important to be healthy for the playoffs as well.  That is my biggest concern.  Yes, in the playoffs they proved they could “turn it on” when need be. But very much would like to see the Celts have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.  I want to hear how loud the Garden can get when they play the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

PREDICTION:

I think the Celtics will finish 2nd in the East behind the Miami Heat with a record of 60-22.  The toughest part about being a die hard fan is being objective rather than emotionally speaking about your team.  With that preface, I will say that the Celtics will win the NBA Championship capturing Banner 18 taking down the Lakers in six.