Running Out Of Magic

Wining just one of two in Orlando wasn't enough for the Boston Celtics.



While most teams would be happy splitting two games on the road in a series, the Celtics smelled blood. And let's face it, Boston is peaking at the perfect time. Other than maybe the Lakers , Boston has the best starting five in the NBA. Now healthy, the Celtics have proven they are one of the best teams in the playoffs.

So far in two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics have come out and controlled both games. In both contests, Boston has tanked in the fourth quarter only to show their resilience by holding on win both games on the road.

In game two, Orlando came back from a double digit deficit and actually took a one point lead late in the fourth quarter. Vince Carter showed his inexperience in big time playoff games, as he missed two crucial free throws which could have cut the Boston lead to one point with just over 30 seconds to play.


The Magic hunkered down and played defense one last time and J.J. Redick rebounded a Kevin Garnett miss with about seven seconds remaining. Redick took the rebound and dribbled the ball up court, wasting a few seconds before calling timeout. What was Redick thinking? You really wouldnt' expect that type of play from someone who went to Duke. But maybe Redick thought he was still playing college ball. So instead of the Magic down three and inbounding the ball at halfcourt with seven seconds left, Orlando had to inbound the ball behind halfcourt with just over three left to play.


Redick inbounded the ball about 10 feet behind half court! Why throw the ball so far away from the basketball with barely any time left? Jameer Nelson wasn't able to get a decent shot off and the Celtics won Game Two 95-92.


I don't mean to be hating so hard on Redick , because in his defense, he shouldn't have to be the second leading scorer for the Magic.

Orlando needs to wake up! In the first two games they haven't played with a sense of urgency until the fourth quarter when it's been basically too late.

The reason the Magic find themselves down 0-2 falls all on Rashard Lewis. Lewis is a guy making over $100 million! He was so key to Orlando's run to the finals last year.


Through two games, Lewis is 4-16 from the field, 1-9 from downtown for a total of 11 points! Through two games! This coming from a guy who in his career, averages nearly 17 points a game and shoots almost 40 percent from downtown !


That's the reason why the Magic are down 0-2.

Yes, Jameer Nelson being a no show in game two doesn't help. But what's even worse, the Celtics were able to win on the road with Ray Allen only scoring only six points and Garnett with only 10!


Rajon Rondo again is proving he just might be the best player in the NBA. No one has been able to stop him. What makes Rondo so great is how well the Celtics move without the ball. We know Boston can play defense, but on the offensive side, the team moves so well without the ball.

Paul Pierce told the Orlando crowd, "See you next year," as he was leaving the court. Pierce also tweeted something about getting the brooms out. Not only is Boston healthy, they're experienced and confident.


Rajon Rondo is the key to not only the Boston Celtics, but the entire playoffs. You can't stop the guy. If you try to stop him, the Big Three are gonna kill you. The guy can score now, too. If he drives to the basket, he's gonna draw attention which is gonna leave to wide open shots for other players. What ever happened to LeBron going to step up and defend Rondo? What happened there?


I can't wait to see until Derek Fisher and the Lakers try to contain Rondo! Better yet, what will Phil Jackson say to attempt to get into Rondo's head? And you know any day now Phil is already plotting about the inevitable NBA Finals of Celtics/Lakers that he'll make a premature comment.


One person who feels a lot better about himself is LeBron James. Boston has been the best team in the playoffs, and hey, Cleveland beat them twice.

Another Celtics/Lakers series is pretty much a for sure thing and the one thing that will not only save these lackluster playoffs, but maybe draw some attention from the "Summer of LeBron ."

Jekyll and Hyde:Cavs Show True Colors By Destroying Celtics

After Boston had outplayed Cleveland for the better part of Games One and Two, it looked like the Cavaliers and LeBron's elbow were in serious trouble. A game later, the Cavaliers are back in the driver's seat and are once again a force to be reckon with.

In last night's Game Three, Cleveland gave Boston it's worst home playoff defeat, crushing the Celtics 124-95. After Boston's near-perfect Game Two in Cleveland, the Cavaliers brought out their maroon and gold uniforms and made a statement on the Celtics home court.

Cleveland jumped all over Boston and led 36-17 after the first quarter, and never looked back. LeBron showed his elbow would not be a factor as he single-handily outscored the Celtics 21-17. The Cavs led 65-43 at halftime and continued their dominance in the second half, outscoring Boston in every quarter.
After Game Two, Cleveland coach Mike Brown said his team would have to go out after it, nothing would be given to them. His team responded by doing just that and making the game look like Boston gave it to them.

LeBron was unstoppable, hitting from all areas as he shot nearly 64 percent from the field, including 2-for-3 from downtown. When James is hitting his jumpshot, he becomes even more lethal as the inside game opens up allowing LeBron to take the ball to the hoop.

LeBron finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. If his elbow was in pain, it didn't show from the free throw line where James was 8-for-9.

But of course James is only good as his supporting cast. In Game Three, they were excellent. Along with James, Cleveland had a total of six players in double figures. Antwan Jamison was huge with 20 points and 12 boards. Shaquille O'Neal put in 12 points and nine rebounds. Anthony Parker finally showed up with 11 points, hitting 3-of-3 from downtown. Mo Williams was himself again, scoring 12 and handing out seven dimes. And Delonte West contributed 14 off the bench.

As a team, Cleveland shot nearly 60 percent for the game, 41.7 percent from downtown, and 91.2 percent from the line.

The Cavs were finally able to contain Boston's Rajon Rondo. Rondo had been so effective in Cleveland creating easy shots for his team, but finished with only eight assists in Game Three.
Paul Pierce has been struggling in all three games so far, and last night was his most dismal performance. The truth is, Pierce shot just 4-15 from the field with 11 points.

Ray Allen also struggled, shooting 2-7 for seven points.

Cleveland has regained home court advantage and control of the series. If they can keep up this play in Game Four, the Cavs may not have to go return to Boston for a Game Six.

Celtics Show Their Championship Form In Rout

And so that happened.

Coming into Game 3 at the United Center, everyone and their baby's momma were picking the Bulls to win. But it was the Celtics and their experience dominating the Bulls and exploiting their youth.

The Game was just too big for the Bulls. Going into the game, there was far more pressure on Chicago.

Boston was up double digits right away, taking the home crowd out of the game. They were up 59-37 at half. The game was over.

The Celtics' defense showed up tonight also. They forced 22 Chicago turnovers, winning easily, 107-86 and taking a 2-1 series advantage.

I've said before, even with Garnett out, you can give great consideration to Boston as the second best team in the East. Really, the Celtics should be leading this series 3-0.

And you knew it was finally time for Paul Pierce to show up this series. Pierce scored early and often scoring 24 on 9-15 while playing only 24 minutes.

Rajon Rondo? This guy is the glue for the Celtics. He actually might be the MVP for the Garnettless Celtics. Rondo had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. But he was last seen be carried off through the tunnel, possible aggravating his ankle.

You know everything was going Boston's way when even Stephon Marbury is able to come off the bench and put in 13 points and 5 assists.

As for the Bulls. Coming off his playoff high of 42, Ben Gordon only scored 15 tonight. And Derrick Rose was held in check with 9 points and two assists as Chicago was abruptly brought back to earth.

Rose, Bulls Take Game 1 In Boston

With Kevin Garnett possibly out for the entire Playoffs, we already figured the Celtics wouldn't repeat as Champions. But now, it looks as though Boston will have a hard time getting out of the first round.

Last year, Boston struggled with the Atlanta Hawks in the first round and Ray Allen was nonexistent.

Even without KG, the Celtics came into their series with the Bulls as heavy favorites. Many even see the Celtics getting to the Conference Finals.

With Derrick Rose leading the charge, the Bulls stole Game 1 and home court advantage of the first round series.

Rose looked anything like a rookie, as finished with a game high 36 points to go along with 11 assists. In fact, the 36 points tied the record for most points by a rookie in a playoff debut.

Rose now shares that record with one Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Chicago was up 9 points at half, but the defending champs came back. The two teams seesawed the lead back and forth in the 4th quarter. The Celtics had a 96-95 lead when Rajon Rondo fouled Rose away from the ball with 9.4 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

Rose hit both free throws to give the Bulls a one point lead. On Boston's ensuing possession, Joakim fouled Paul Pierce with 2.6 left. "The Truth" had a chance to seal the game for the Celtics as he hit the first foul shot. The truth be told, Pierce uncharacteristically missed the second shot and we went to overtime.

You thought for sure now the less experienced Bulls team would fold on the road. But Chicago held it together and and was up 105-103 with the Celtics having one last shot. Ray Allen got an open look on the baseline to tie the game again, but missed. Allen finished the game 1-12 from the field, mirroring his early playoff performance from a year ago.

Boy, how far has Derrick Rose come? He's easily the rookie of the year. But remember just over a year ago as a freshmen at Memphis, it was Rose who struggled at the foul line and missed a free throw at the end of the game that would have put the game away and given Memphis a National Championship.

In first ever playoff game, on the road, Rose was 12-12 from the free throw line.

Kobe And Lakers Bow Down, Hard! Lebron The Best On The Planet

No more Kobe/Michael comparisons!

No more Kobe/greatest player on the planet comparisons.

If anything, this roll over and drop dead choke job by the LA Lakers signified is this:

Phil Jackson is probably not the great coach everyone suspected, and,

Kobe Bryant is not the best player in the game, and,

Lebron James is the best player on the planet.

This was a totally uncharacteristic Phil Jackson coached team. No real surprise that a Kobe team would play this way.

Now it's obvious. Phil Jackson only benefited from having the greatest player ever in Michael Jordan, winning 6 of his titles. Jackson won three more by having a dominant 1-2 punch of Shaq and Kobe, notice how Shaq comes first. And now maybe Jax won those titles with the help of the NBA and the referees.

I've said all along that I thought Chris Paul should have been the MVP. Being repetitive, but Paul did not have the supporting cast and coach Kobe did. Paul always made his team better.

Enough of CP3. Lets go to another forgotten best player on the planet, Lebron James.

Going into the Finals, it was all Lakers in 5 or 6. Kobe's the MVP, best player on the Planet. The West is more dominant, Kobe has the better supporting cast.

But how can you forget Lebron James? 90% of the nation could not name one other player on Lebron's team. Yet this was the same Lebron led Cavaliers team that came within one game of knocking off the now 2008 World Champion Celtics.




Back to Lebron. No one will ever argue the fact that Kobe had a far greater supporting cast than James did this year. The Cavaliers were horrible. You talk about 4 players standing around waiting and watching one guy run the show. Similar like the Lakers, except Lebron had far much greater success.

Lebron (I will only refer to Lebron, not the Cleveland Cavaliers) could have stolen Game 1 in Boston, if he had not missed so many "bunnies" and the best cheerleader and taunter in the NBA, Sam Cassell would have played his usual role and not showed up on the court. Cassell scored 13 points in Game 1 of the second round series, arguably the difference.

Lebron had no problem and showed no fear driving the ball through Boston's tough defense and getting to the rim. Maybe it was Lebron's youth that caught up to him, because he missed a lot of easy layups throughout the series.




Lebron has always had his outside jump shot questioned, but we all know Kobe is the most dangerous shooter in the game, able to turn around from either shoulder. In the Finals, Kobe failed to be lethal and lacked the determination to drive the ball to the basket and create more open shots for his teammates.

And don't forget, Lebron lost his best scoring threat, "Boobie" Gibson (yeah, what a threat) in Game 5. The same Game 5 Lebron had a 14 point lead at Boston with under 4 to play in the second quarter. Had Lebron not lost Gibson, Lebron wins the series in 6 games.

Lebron was even competitive in Game 7 at Boston, a 3 point miss away from winning the series, with absolutely no supporting cast, continually getting beat down and ruffed up every game.

So now, no way can you compare Kobe to Jordan. A Michael Jordan team would have never folded like Kobe's Lakers team. We all know a Jordan team never would have let a 24 point lead slip away.

And no way! does a Jordan team do whatever the hell Kobe's team did last...you know what? Forget about the Jordan/Kobe comparisons. Forever!



With 6 titles, look at Jordan's supporting cast, basically consisted of only role players. Scottie Pippen, ended up being an average player without Jordan; Dennis Rodman was there for 3 of the titles, but the Worm was never a scoring threat, only a solid defender and rebounding machine, sometimes more of a distraction than anything else. That's pretty much the only All Star's Jordan played with.

Boston Celtics, 2008 World Champions. That still hurts to say, and I wonder how the fair weather Celtics' fans feel about Doc Rivers now. They all wanted this guy's head on a pole last year. I wonder what the Beantown fans response will be now when they hear, "You bought this team and the star players." "They all came from the outside."

I'm already sick of hearing Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen proclaim how much this means to them and the history and legacy of the Boston Celtics. Come on, Allen and Garnett haven't even been in town for a year!

Originally, none of the "Big 3" could carry their own team to a championship. Pierce with his whole career in Boston, could not carry "his" team to the Finals in a post Jordan, weak Eastern Conference era. And yet now, according to Bob Ryan, we're suppose to consider Paul Pierce one of the greatest scoring threats in NBA history!

Jordan kept titles away from Hall of Fame players like Barkely, Ewing, Drexler Miller, Stockton and Malone.

KG failed to ever take "his" Minnesota Timberwolves to the Finals, and of course Ray Allen with "his" team, never made it to the Conference Finals.

KG, Pierce and Allen may now have their rings. But one thing's for sure, they failed to establish their "own" dominant legacy. They showed each could not win with their "own" team. They proved they could only win by joining forces.

And Paul Pierce thanking the "faithful" Celtics fans for sticking with him? Yeah right. Hey Paul, where were these "faithful" fans your whole Boston career? Where were they when you were stabbed 9 or 11 times in a Boston club. Doesn't really sound like you were such a fan favorite then. Heck, weren't they willing to trade you last year for the possibility of having Kevin Durant?




Give Boston and their team executives credit, they learned from their conqueror's. They're franchises have basically become everything they so passionately hated. Can you say New York Yankees?

Who's the happiest guy in the world? Paul Pierce? KG? Ray Allen? Curt Schilling?
No. No. No. And No!
Shaquille O'Neal.
He still has you Kobe, 4-3.
Can you dig it!!!!!!!

And can somebody please give Lebron just one other All Star caliber player!



Since the post Jordan era, I've failed to see anyone dominate the court like MJ. I've failed to see anyone bring as much excitement, passion and consistency to the game. I've failed to witness an NBA Finals that's lived up to its potential.
God I miss watching Michael Jordan. I seemed to take it for granted at the time, not realizing he'd have to hang it up sooner or later and we'd never see another like him.
One thing's for certain. As time goes by, more and more we'll begin to realize just how great Michael Jordan was.

Boston Fans Are Lethal

Everyone outside of Boston joked about the credibility of Paul Pierce's Game 1 injury. Pierce was escorted off the court by teammates and then on a wheelchair to the training room. Of course Pierce came back within minutes and saved Game 1 for the Celtics.
leathal
No one received more criticism from Boston fan more than LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke. Plaschke wrote an article questioning Pierce's injury and refering it to "fake and shake."



His email box was soon flooded with more hate mail than Jay Mariotti's. Boston fans wrote death threats to Plaschke's family and said "I hope you get cancer and die."

Whoa! Easy now Boston fan.

Pierce didn't overreact, his team and coaches did. Carting him off in a wheelchair and then putting a hand in the camera's face. Now of course everyone in Boston will forever compare this to Willis Reed, Kirk Gibson and Rocky Balboa.

Jerry Stackhouse was on "The Jim Rome Show" yesterday and Rome asked Stackhouse about Pierce's injury. Stackhouse replied with, "Well he's from Hollywood."

Read Plaschke's hate mail article. It's pretty good and it shows you how lethal and passionated Boston fans are when it comes to their home team.

NBA Finals Game 3: Lakers Survive

If ever Boston was going to steal a game on the road, this was definitely the night. Except for only one of the Big 3 showed up, this time it was Ryan Allen.

with how bad the rest of the Celtics performed, Boston actually had the lead in the fourth quarter.

Game 3 might have been an ugly "Eastern Conference" game, but it was definitely the most exciting and competitive game thus far of the 2008 Finals.

Kobe Bryant looked like the "Black Mamba" and "The Closer" leading the Lakers with 36 points. However the rest of the Lakers' starters combined for 22 points! Vladimir Radmanovic had 3 points and 1 board, Derek Fisher put in 6 points and 1 dime and Lamar Odom contributed another ghost like performance with only 4 points and again got into foul trouble early and often. And other than a couple of tip ins late, Pau Gasol wasn't what made the Lakers so dominant in the first three rounds.


The savior for the Lakers? Sasha "The Machine" Vujacic with 20 points (7-10) off the bench and a huge 3 with under two to play. If you didn't know how to pronounce his name before, you do now.

Paul Pierce, coming home where he's supposed to be just as deadly, was just that, dead. Pierce finished with a Ray Allen like 6 points on 2-14 shooting. Kevin Garnett wasn't much better with 13 points. Pierce and KG combined for 8-35 from the field.

Rajon Rondo was also roughed up leaving the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle. How come he didn't require 3 teammates and a wheelchair? His status for Game 4 is questionable. This could be a huge blow to Boston considering how horrible Sam Cassell has played. Eddie House did look good (and so did Doc Rivers) getting the call off the bench instead of Cassell. House had 6 points, 2 assists and 3 boards.



LA really missed a golden opportunity to close this one out early. Just as everyone predicted, the Lakers would get to the line. LA had more ft in the first four minutes than they did in the entire first half of Game 2. In fact the Lakers matched their Game 2 total of 10 free throw attempts with 4:59 to go in the first quarter!



All this with the new allegations by Tim Donaghy. (That's a whole nother story).

If you're gonna complain about free throws, you better make em. Neither team did. Boston shot 68.2%, while LA shot 61.8%.

Kobe's postgame press conference was great. (Yeah, I'm a junkie. I even stay up late for stuff like that).

Asked about his poor free throw shooting, Byrant responded,

"It felt like I was in a foreign territory because I haven't been there in so long," Bryant said. "It's like somebody took me and just dropped me off in the middle of Shanghai with no translator . . . and no dictionary."

If that wasn't good enough, Mamba cussed on live national ESPN/ABC/Disney TV. It was awesome!

Funny how ESPN failed to re air any of this during its mammoth on going coverage of the Finals. I never saw again, even with shit being beeped out.

Game 3 Box Score

Game 4, Thursday night.

NBA Finals Game 2

This was supposed to be must see TV. This was the most hyped NBA Finals since the Jordan era. But come on! The first half of Game 2 was very hard to swallow. The officiating was flat out horrendous! Like most of the country, you probably missed the second half and the near historic collapse by the Celtics because, well um, it was almost midnight on a Sunday night!

I know officiating is always a question in the NBA. You can't always cry about the refs. Usually when the refs make a horrible call, they make up for it later on the other end.

I am neither a Lakers or Celtics fan. But how the hell does Leon Powe have 9 free throw attempts to the entire Lakers' team total of 1 with 6:11 left in the first half!

At halftime, Boston had a 19-2 free throw advantage! This never happens in the NBA. You could argue that Boston attacked the rim more than the Lakers, but don't tell me that Bryant, Odom and Gasol weren't aggressive.

Boston had 38 free throws to the Lakers's 10! That doesn't happen in any basketball game no matter what level. Sure it was going to be a route.

Props to the Celtics' defense? The Lakers still shot over 50% from the field and almost came back from 24 down with under 8 minutes left in the game. All that while Boston shooting 38-10 from the line!

Of course Phil Jackson played his usual mind tricks and didn't shy away from the one sided officiating.

"I'm more struck at the fact that Leon Powe gets more foul shots than our whole team does in 14 minutes of play. That's ridiculous."
He added: "I've never seen a game like that in all these years I've coached in the Finals. Unbelievable."

Every game is officiated differently and players and coaches feel out how the refs are calling the game and adjust their play accordingly.

"It was a foul every single time down. We never were able to get into that flow, at that pace that we like to play at."-Luke Walton.



How does Kobe get called for 3 fouls in the first half! I mean he's the best player in the game and the MVP! Two of the three fouls were complete touch fouls with very little contact. So Mamba's PT was limited in the first half.

You would have never of seen Jordan treated this way. Could you imagine how Jordan would have reacted with such treatment?

What happened to the notion of "letting them play the game?"

I love how during some timeouts ABC tries to pull a "Lakers celebrities in the crowd" stunt. Last night in Boston we saw Antoine Walker (yeah, you probably don't even know who he is), Jon Lester, Curt Schilling, Magic Johnson and David Stern.



Speaking of Schilling, enough of the Paul Pierce drama. The guy is not hurt! Quit comparing Pierce to Willis Reed, Kirk Gibson or "ketchup packet in the sock" Schilling.

The second time around was a bunch of Patriots' players and Leonardo Dicaprio.

This series will more than likely go seven games. Let's hope the better team wins.
If not, dome shots all around for the Celtics courtesy of Rachel Nichols.