Old Celtics

Kobe Bryant: Ah, sweet Mamba...how I've missed thee. He struck for 24 points on 26 shots while shooting only 34 percent from the field. He had 6 assists -- most of which came in the first half -- but also committed a game-high (tied with Ray Allen) 4 turnovers. For what it's worth, he also had by far the worst +/- score on the team (-13). Unless I'm very much mistaken, Kobe tried to use his patented "Defer to my teammates in the first half, then turn it on in the second half" strategy. Only he never really turned it on. And, as pointed out on TrueHoop today, he was clearly getting frustrated and gave at least one teammate the stink eye.

I'm sure he was upset because the Celtics did exactly what they wanted to do (and what most of the series previews said they had to do): They kept him out of the paint, didn't foul, and turned him into a jump shooter. Scratch that. An unsuccessful jump shooter. However, Kobe -- being Kobe -- will not be dismayed by one sub-par performance. Said Mamba: "I had some good looks, they just didn't go down for me. I just missed some bunnies. I'll be thinking about those a little bit." Here's a Kobe-to-English translation for you: "Yes, I shot poorly, and yeah, maybe I took some bad shots. But I'm Kobe motherfucking Bryant, so I'm going to shoot, shoot, and keep on shooting whenever and wherever I think best."

So this is where Kobe's newfound maturity and MVPism will be put to the test. Will he shake it off and remain the unselfish, team-first Kobe many people have come to love (or at least appreciate) this season, or will he revert back into the Mamba? My guess: The former. And I have this nauseous feeling that the Lakers are going to win Game 2.

Update! I should have noted that Kobe's bad performance, like Garnett's, was limited to the second half, as DeMeco Shall Inherit The Earth pointed out today in my NBA Closer column: "No mention of the two different Kobe's that showed up? First half Kobe was dishing the ball, getting his teammates (especially Gasol) open looks, and getting his team up by 5 at the half. Second half Kobe--especially fourth quarter Kobe--was taking awkward 18-footers into double-teams and dribbling around for 15 seconds without passing. What the fuck caused the change?"

Mike Breen and Mark Jackson: These girls got a little too excited about the nine shots that Kobe did make last night. I mean, it was like they had an vagina-gasm each and every time Mamba made a bucket. Mind you, Kobe converted some tough hoops to get them all frothing at the mouth, but let's face it...some of those were not good shots. Or, rather, they were "good" only in that they went in. It may be impressive -- no, damn impressive -- when Mamba is hitting what should be impossible shots. But while Breen and Jackson were humping the broadcasting table, Doc Rivers was nodding his head and saying, "Yup, yup, that's what we want: Kobe fading, falling away, and shooting while off-balance."

Update! Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy: Basketbawful reader David reminded me of a continuing problem involving these two platonic lovers. "This isn't something that happened just last night (it's an ongoing thing) but am I the only one annoyed by Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy constantly talking about themselves and each other? I'm not saying they can't be pals, but I wish they'd tone down the self-referencing and talk about the game." Wild Yams added: "Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy really need to just shut up. I can understand doing a little vamping and having those silly discussions if the game is an inconsequential regular season game that happens to be a blowout and they're just looking to kill time; but quit all that crap when it's Game 1 of the Finals between the Celtics and Lakers and it's a hotly contested game the whole way through!"

Sasha Voojychick: Sasha is one of those classic "Love him if he's on your team, hate him if he's not" guys, joining the ranks of M.L. Carr, Dennis Rodman and whoever else you wanna name. And being that he's not on my team, I get to hate the big faker. Last night, Douchacic shot 2-for-7, had no luck on defense, and was the unhappy recipient of the Kobe Bryant stink eye. Good times, good times...

Luke Walton: Last night's "performance" by Luke will not go down in the annals of Lakers-Celtics lore, and it should serve as Exhibit G in the case against Mitch Kupchak suddenly being the bestest GM ever [coughSixyearextensioncough!]. The line: Zero points, 0-for-2, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 fouls in 13 unlucky minutes. I can only imagine the lengthy diatribe his father must have launched into after the game. (Example: "Luke Walton used to be much better in every aspect of the game.")

Kevin Garnett in the second half: What happened, KG? The Defensive Player of the Year looked more like the Offensive Player of the Year in the first two quarters, scoring 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting. He was so good that Magic Johnson was screaming at halftime for KG to get more shots. Well, he got more shots in the second half, all right: 13 to be exact. And he hit only three of them. During one particularly brutal stretch, Garnett missed nine shots in a row.

And do you know why? In the first half, he was posting hard and making a concerted effort to work his defenders over in the paint. In the second half, after a few aggressive double-teams by the Lakers, he started hovering around the perimeter, bailing out and shooting long jumpers. Didn't KG notice this? Didn't Doc Rivers? Holy hell, why would you go away from what was working for you?! And, once again, this is why Garnett may never shake his anti-clutch reputation.

But you know, I almost forgave him for all those crappy jumpers when he did this:


Kendrick Perkins: He's one of the "wild cards" in this series, and in Game 1, that card was the Joker. The Celtics' starting center scored 1 point (0-for-1) and had as many fouls as rebounds (4). Oh, and that one shot attempt? It was blocked from behind by Pau Gasol. But worst of all, it was his blundering collision with Paul Pierce that caused Truth's knee sprain. Which, of course, turned out okay for Boston in Game 1...but how's that knee going to feel in Game 2 when all the adrenaline has worn off? Plus, let's not forget that he hurt his ankle doing nothing.

Sam Cassell: For a few glorious minutes last night, Sam-I-Am was every bit the spark plug that Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers prayed he'd be. But here's the problem with Sam: When he hits his first couple shots -- as he did last night -- he starts gunnin'. And that's not a good thing. Not by a long shot. After starting out 2-for-2, Sam went 2-for-7 the rest of the way...and some of those shots were of the ugliest possible variety. And it caused Basketbawful reader Justin to email me the following one-sentence observation: "Sam Cassell is a big, smelly turd."

James Posey: It wasn't just the crappy stats -- 3 points, 1-for-6 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls -- it was the fact that he never really had much of an impact on the game, offensively or (worst) defensively. When Pierce went down with the knee injury, I was thinking: "Okay. The Celtics need Posey to step up." And part of me really believed he'd go gangbusters.

Paul Pierce, Hero or Faker: I got a handful of comments and emails after last night's game suggesting that Pierce faked his knee injury. (And there's one journalist who's at least suggesting it.) And even I have to admit, I had a few moments of doubt after he came back and splashed home back-to-back threes. I mean, we all know that Paul wants to win a title. And he probably wants to be the inspiration for his team and carve a permanent spot for himself on The Big Rock of Celtics Lore. So if he was going to orchestrate a Wills Reed impersonation, I would hope he'd have the good sense to do it the way Larry did and wait until an elimination game.

But here's the thing: I don't think Paul was faking. I think he felt some pain and heard something scary and freaked out a little. I would have done the same thing. Hell, I have done the same thing (although I didn't have Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen there to carry me off to safety). Here's how Pierce described that terrifying moment: "I thought I tore something; tht's the way I felt at the time. Usually when I go down, I'm getting right back up, but it was an instance where I turned my knee and it popped, and I was just in pain where I couldn't move."

Yup. If you've ever played basketball on any level, pickup to pro, you've probably experienced something like that. It happened to Wilt Chamberlain in Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals. Fortunately for Pierce and the rest of the Celtics, Doc Rivers didn't pull a Butch van Breda Kolff and refuse to put Paul back into the game.

Paul Pierce, quote machine: To what does Pierce credit his miraculous recover and return? Why the Lord, our God, of course! Said Pierce: "I think God sent an angel down and said, 'Hey, you're going to be all right. You need to get back out there." First off, I hate it when professional athletes forward the notion that God cares about them or their team personally. Besides, I've read Stephen Colbert's book. I know God never gets involved in games he has money on. Hopefully, Paul was just kidding about all that "God sent and angel" stuff.

Update! Ray Allen: This is a comment left by Basketbawful reader Navid: "Did anyone see that timeout toward the end of the 1st quarter right after Ray Allen hit a layup and followed it up with a three? Did anyone besides me notice Ray Allen give that kid a stern forearm to the head, pushing the kid away, on his way to the bench? Pretty funny stuff." Anybody else catch that?

The Magic and Larry "There can be only one" commercial: I never thought I could get cold chills and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach at the same time, but this new promo starring Magic Johnson and Larry Legend did the trick. I mean, first off, freaking cool! I love it! And it made me wish Wilt Chamberlain was still alive so he could do the split screen with Bill Russell (although maybe Russ will do it with Jerry West instead). But Larry, Larry, Larry...he looked bad, didn't he. I mean, bad even for Larry Bird.

Also, this one had the worst possible "acting" of any of the "There can be only one" commercials the NBA has produced so far. Not only did it have a right-off-the-cue-card feel to it, you could tell both men were concentrating with all their will power to stay on time.

Aw, the hell with it. It's still awesome. Here's the video, courtesy of Odenized.


Note: Did anybody else notice how they leaned Larry forward so his double-chin wouldn't show? Total fat girl angle shot move. Also, loved the synchronized blink at the end.

Update! Basketbawful reader anne thinks Larry should be featured on Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians. Which is, like, so wrong...but also kinda right. Bonus reading: Here's Cracked.com's brilliant Top 25 Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians. (Here's a preview: Chuck Klosterman is number 25 and is described as "Someone who has penned 14 books on the spiritual nature of the vulva.")

Update! The Larry O'Brien trophy decoration thingie: I forgot this on the first go around and was going to save it for Game 2. But damn, it was bad. And Basketbawful reader Jaz didn't let me off the hook. "How about the aesthetic abomination that is the big painted trophy on the floor? Ugh. And little trophies on all the uniforms and gear. And the 'artsy' shot of Kobe making love to the trophy. The NBA has made that ugly trophy into a golden calf. I guess David Stern should know that story, and how it ended. BTW, trial in Seattle, June 16! And Mike Breen forgot to shave." There's also a reader on TrueHoop who thinks the trophy caused one backcourt violation and one non-violation.

Oops! And so did Evil Ted. "Early in the game, officials called a backcourt violation on Gasol that wasn't a backcourt violation, why? Because Gasol's location in relation to the centerline was obscured by the fact that the Celtics have plastered an O'Brien trophy logo across the full width of the court. If a bad call relating to the midcourt line is made at a critical point in a critical game, expect to hear more about this unecessary logo. Later in the game, KG saved a ball from going into the back court and the Celtics scored. It was a critical play and it looked like KG's foot stayed on the correct side of the center line, but there's no precise way to tell. Why? Cause there's no centerline, that's why. In a related story, the Patriots will be spraypainting both Gillette stadium goallines with giant Lombardi trophies. There won't be any way to tell if a player breaks the plane, but at least the field will look cool."

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28 Comments:
Blogger David said...
This isn't something that happened just last night (it's an ongoing thing) but am I the only one annoyed by Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy constantly talking about themselves and each other? I'm not saying they can't be pals, but I wish they'd tone down the self-referencing and talk about the game.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
This comment is in relation to a comment left in “The Worst of the Celtics-Lakers Part 7” post.

As a long-time Pistons fan, the (untrue) speculation that the Bad Boy Pistons started the "Age of the Flop" is getting pretty old. Yes, Bill Laimbeer is the father of the flop, but outside of him, the Pistons didn't do a lot of flopping back then. They played extremely physical (sometimes overly so) but the flopping was Laimbeer's trademark, not the entire team’s. The Bad Boy Pistons did open the gates for the overly physical play of the 90's and I’ll never deny that point.

If you want to lay fault on someone for all of the flopping that’s going on right now, blame the refs and/or the league. It is the refs’ responsibility to recognize what is a foul and what isn’t. That’s why they collect a paycheck. Flopping is happening because the refs and the league are letting it happen, not because Laimbeer did it.

Anyone who was a Celtics fan (or Lakers, or Bulls, etc.) of the late 80’s and early 90’s hated the Pistons of that era and it was mainly because of Laimbeer. And it’s funny how some people still hate those Pistons today without ever admitting that, maybe, just maybe, they were a great basketball team. It’s not easy to win back-to-back championships; just ask the Spurs.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I have got to say that Larry Bird REALLY needs to put down the fork!

Blogger Charlie said...
P.J. Brown?

Blogger anne said...
Larry Bird really should be featured on Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians. Also, my doctor looks like a better looking Larry, only he looks more like Larry from the 80's (minus the blonde mini fro). Thing is, they are about the same age.

Also I agree about the God stuff. My co-workers go on about how God will help them make big decisions or whatever. Thing is, God doesn't give a shit, he's probably all like, "Do what you want!"

Blogger Wild Yams said...
What, no mention of the horribly biased officiating?! Just kidding :)

That is three straight eggs that Kobe has laid against the Celtics this season, although this was the first game that was actually closely contested in spite of it. Kobe can say he had good looks that just didn't go down all he wants, but the majority of his missed shots were because the Celtics were absolutely hounding him on defense. Phil Jackson better figure out a way to get him open or else we should just expect more of the same. Really poor recognition by Kobe in the 4th quarter especially. You could clearly see he just figured "it's the 4th quarter, here's where I go off" and tried to shoot it no matter how many Celtics were surrounding him.

Paul Pierce wasn't faking. Who are the people that were really suggesting that? It's the guy's first Finals game ever and you think he's gonna say "OK, I'm gonna pretend I've got an injury and go to the locker room and then return like Daniel Larusso at the end of the Karate Kid just to get the crowd excited!" That's nonsense. Guys like Pierce better have a lot more on their mind at this time of year than dreaming up lame theatrics like that. After all, this is Paul Pierce we're talking about, not Dwyane Wade.

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy really need to just shut up. I can understand doing a little vamping and having those silly discussions if the game is an inconsequential regular season game that happens to be a blowout and they're just looking to kill time; but quit all that crap when it's Game 1 of the Finals between the Celtics and Lakers and it's a hotly contested game the whole way through!

@ charlie - PJ Brown? He played great last night. He didn't have a Wilt-esque stat line, but the guy had a really major impact on the game. He even got a really solid hand from the Boston crowd when he left the game.

@ cw - We're getting off-topic here, but you're severely underestimating things if you think that people only hated the Pistons back then because of Laimbeer. At least half the team was utterly despicable (with a few exceptions, like Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, Mark Aguirre, John Salley, James Edwards and Adrian Dantley). But other than Laimbeer, you had Rodman, Mahorn, and Isiah, most notably. No one is denying that they were an incredibly skilled basketball team, but they had a huge asshole quotient on those teams. Trust me, those teams were the kind of teams that only Detroit fans could love. Everyone else hated them.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Yeah I saw Ray-Ray elbow Eddie House's kid out of the way. I imagine he's not the only one tired of the 12th man's John Leguizamo-looking son getting in the way.

He's like the little kid who heaves his rubber Wal-Mart ball at the rim while you're trying to run fulls. You ask him to get out of the way, tell him if he's not careful he's going to get hurt, and what happens? He gets hurt. Uncle Ray was teaching him a lesson last night.

Blogger Evil Ted said...
Observations from last night:

Early in the game, officials called a backcourt violation on Gasol that wasn't a backcourt violation, why? Because Gasol's location in relation to the centerline was obscured by the fact that the Celtics have plastered an O'Brien trophy logo across the full width of the court. If a bad call relating to the midcourt line is made at a critical point in a critical game, expect to hear more about this unecessary logo. Later in the game, KG saved a ball from going into the back court and the Celtics scored. It was a critical play and it looked like KG's foot stayed on the correct side of the center line, but there's no precise way to tell. Why? Cause there's no centerline, that's why.

In a related story, the Patriots will be spraypainting both Gillette stadium goallines with giant Lombardi trophies. There won't be any way to tell if a player breaks the plane, but at least the field will look cool.

At some point in the night, Van Gundy said something like "I'll take great offense over great defense any day." Not quite sure the choice is as cut and dry as he's making out - he's talking about a Micheal / Kobe level of offense, which can be devistating in the face of anything...but I'd take a second look at swarming team defence, Jeff. The Celtics have done pretty good with it, as have the Pistons a few years back. Fantastic defense can make great players look mortal, speaking of which...

...Allen's one-on-one defense on Bryant seemed pretty effective. Allen's veteran wiliness combined with the fact that he's still a fit athlete served him well in game one. Maybe the mutual animosity did as well - you tend to be more focused on defense against someone you dislike. Kobe will still command plenty of double-teams, and should have one or two breakout games in the series, but for Celtics fans, the game one D on Kobe was encouraging.

Larry Bird, O Captain my Captain, what hath time done to thee? I'm going to have to watch my Larry Bird: A Basketball Legend DVD to wipe the Beverly Hillbillies Grandma image of you out of my head. Yes, even when they splice film and only show us half your head, we can still tell you're a mess. Jesus, if Harrison Ford can be a convincing Indiana Jones at age 90, can't we summon the technology necessary to make Larry Legend look good for a 30-second spot?

Finally, I'm starting to really appreciate Magic Johnson again. He seems genuinely pleased for the league that the Lakers and Celtics are back, and he doesn't have a nasty thing to say about anyone or anything (aside from joking about how much he "hates the Celtics," which he says with a big goofy smile). Side note: In the Jimmy Kimmel pre-game show, he mentioned that he and Larry are jointly working on a new book to coincide with the 30th anniversary of their NCAA clash. Can't wait for that.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Speaking of Larry Bird, how about Danny Ainge? The man's chin has completely disappeared. It's not that he has a double chin--he doesn't look fat at all--but it's as though the original chin just withdrew from sight.

I'd like to think it's because some Celtic-hater punched him, because he certainly needed it.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Evil Ted, the whole "offense/defense" exchange was actually started by Mark Jackson when Vujacic went under a screen and Ray Allen got an open look at a shot, then Jackson said that good offense beats good defense. Van Gundy said he'd go one better and say good offense beats awful defense, cause that's what Vujacic had played. Generally the "good offense beats good defense" statement is meant for one on one play, and you hear Barkley say that a lot. It's supposed to show how basketball is unlike baseball (where good pitching beats good hitting), in that a good offensive player can still score on a good defender. It's not about defensive teams not being able to beat offensive teams.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Athletes who credit their success to a higher power in mock humility are a laugh.

The very premise of their statement is,"God chose me- I'm special." How arrogant and self-important can one possibly be? Do they really think that they have been hand-picked by god because they are somehow special/more important/better/whatever than other people? The answer is: YES, they do. And whenever an athlete "thanks god", he is really just saying,"I think I'm hot shit," and nothing more.

Fortunately we don't see as much of this as we used to back in the late 90's and earlly 00's (what do you call 00's anyway? Zeros?).

On a slightly differnt note, I thought Ray Allen was solid for the C's when Pierce was temporarily out- hitting a huge 3 and getting to the line when the offense stalled. My man-crush on Jesus continues- even if he puts the Karl Malone elbow to the face of teammate's children!

I hope this goes 7 games-

Blogger Wild Yams said...
AK Dave, you definitely hear a lot of the thanking the lord stuff when you watch a Dwight Howard interview. I do like the idea that a guy is essentially saying "I am the vessel through which God makes jump shots" though. And I believe this decade is called "the Aughts" although I could be mistaken.

Two things I'd like the resident Celtic fans to explain, one of which was already brought up in this thread:

1. Eddie House's kid. What is the deal with that? Surely there are numerous other players in the NBA with kids (some with quite a few), but I have never before seen one take up permanent residence on the bench the way Eddie House's kid has. That Eddie House is a scrub who rarely plays only adds to the confusion on my end. Why now have Spawn of Scalabrine or Pollard's Progeny there too? If Shawn Kemp was on the team could he invite his couple dozen kids to roam around the bench as well? Does the kid have some kind of official nanny or something to make sure he steers clear of trouble? He appears to be pretty unsupervised over there. Maybe Eddie House thinks every day is take your child to work day? I need answers.

2. The massive thing on Kevin Garnett's finger. What is with the gigantic black wrap around that one finger? I've seen players wrap their knuckles if they're sprained or dislocated or something, and I've seen players tie fingers together for the same reasons, but I have never seen a wrapping that extends about two inches off the finger the way KG's does. I can't help but fixate on it and wonder what the backstory is with it and whether it interferes with his shooting at all (doesn't seem like it). If he punches someone in the face with that on, does it act as padding and soften the blow, or does it focus all the force of the shot into one concentrated area? Is it keeping that section of his finger warm till he can put a championship ring on it? What's up with that?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I think the difference between Dwight Howard and Paul Pierce is that Howard is publicly a Christian and Pierce has made no such profession of his faith to any god(s). Although, I agree that thanking God for helping their team win is silly...I don't think God is rooting for any one team, otherwise they'd go undefeated, right?

Blogger Joel said...
The Celtics won pretty convincingly, which is impressive, considering that Kendrick Perkins and Sam Cassell played like an NCAA player and coach, respectively.

If there was a +/- stat that included injuring teammates, Perkins was a -200 for the game. I like Perk, but that was an awful performance.

Blogger Nathan said...
"After all, this is Paul Pierce we're talking about, not Dwyane Wade."

Pierce is like Wade, an instinctual flopper and prima donna. And last night was a transcendent performance by Pierce, in more ways than one.

Blogger Hersey said...
Entertaining game. I'm in Europe and woke up early (3 am) to watch the game. I found it on a Portuguese satellite feed. I didn't get the luxury of Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, I got two guys that sounded like my brother-in-law just chatting. No emotion, no response to big plays. I couldn't even tell if they were actually at the game.

From the post game report on PP it sounds like he's hurt and will be bothered in Game 2. I don't see how you plan to fake an injury to get your team fired up. PP had a crappy first half and got rolling early in the third before the injury. Then comes back and hits those huge shots. I think his third quarter might be the strangest quarter ever.

Blogger Wild Yams said...
Nathan, I really am not aware of Pierce having that reputation, but surely nobody is even close to Wade when it comes to this kind of stuff. Who else could insist on having a wheelchair brought on the court for a shoulder injury? At least Pierce's wheelchair ride was due to something affecting the lower half of his body.

Blogger Hersey said...
Yams- the reason Wade was wheeled off was to eliminate any additional strain on the shoulder and prevent further painful ligament tearing. That's the Heat's trainer doing his job. The way PP was in agony last night, he should have been on a stretcher.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Wade's shoulder tear last year was intense, in the replays it looked like he almost got his arm ripped off. The pain was too much for him to walk.

@hersey - did the commentators sound like Kent Brockman? http://kentbergkamp.ytmnd.com/

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@Wild Yams:

God (whatever that means to you, the reader) has a buttery-smooth, high-and-quick-releasing, explosive, 100% accurate jumper that takes him .000001 seconds to get off.

Paul Pierce is definitely NOT the vessel through which he takes his jumpshots! :P

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@ Anne:

"the douchetastic trio" (Shana Vujacheck, Vladie Roddie Piper, and Loooooook Walton) a combined 4-14 from the floor in 58 minutes of PT.

The NBA- where bad hair and worse tattoos happen :)

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Seriously, the God thing is pretty ridiculous. Do you really think he gives a rat's ass about your inconsequential little game? Doesn't he have better more important things (like ruling the universe or designing the next platypus) to do?

Players always attribute their success to God, but never seem to call him out when they fail. Wouldn't that be great?

Craig Sager: "Kobe, it looks like you were struggling to get your jump shot to fall tonight."

Kobe: "Well, Craig I felt pretty confident at first and we got into a rhythm but then Jesus made me start missing shots."

Anonymous Anonymous said...
LMAO! Greenroom, that was the funniest comment I've ever read on here. 'designing the next platypus' hahaha

Pierce might have hurt his knee a little bit, but come on... to have to be carried off the court, put in a wheelchair, and then like 5 minutes later come back running, jumping and playing better than he was before he was 'injured' doesn't make much sense. Oh right, it was because of 'God.' Or else he just completely overexaggerated the seriousness of the 'injury' when it happened and then back in the locker room realized that it was fine.

Blogger pop said...
- Everyone is focusing on how fast Pierce came back. I've haven't heard anyone (especially L.A. Times' Bill Douchkie) refer to the game film. Just looking at the reply, there's no doubt Pierce came down awkwardly.

- There's no such thing as a sprained meniscus. It's torn or it's not.

- As soon as I saw Mike Breen, I went off on a loud obscenity laced tirade - and I was alone.

- I pray Van Gundy or Jackson or both get coaching jobs in the offseason. I thought I'd only have to listen to these jackasses, albeit knowledgeable jackasses, through the Eastern Conference Finals. As a Celtic fan I've felt cursed as they've called every Celtic game except one.

- The one Celtic game Preen and Jackundy didn't call was against Atlanta when the game was done by Dan Shulman and Doris Burke. Shulman and Burke seem to understand that people don't watch basketball to hear them talk about themselves.

- When I first saw Doris Burke I thought it said something about how un-important ESPN thought the Celtic - Hawks series was.

- I sincerely apologize to Doris Burke.

- If I wasn't recording the games on a DVR, I'd be listening to the call on ESPN Radio. I can't figure out how to sync them up.

- I really thought Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown were ABC's A-team.

- I'll stop but I really, really, really hate listening to . . .

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@Joel:
The Celtics won pretty convincingly, which is impressive...

Are you kidding? The Celtics pulled out a gritty win, but convincingly? You must have missed all but the last 60 seconds of the game after it was decided. The Lakers led at the half and it took a huge momentum change for the Celtics to get it done. Kudos to them, they did not trip up in game 1. But convincingly? That's a joke, they squeaked it out.

The pressure is on the Celtics for game 2.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
hey you idiot!kobe is not a selfish player at all!when he has quality helpers on the court, he dishes excellent passes to them.but yesterdy whenever he tried to take it to the rim, he got mugged but fouls were called seldom.this caused some frustration on him and he finished poorly.but on sunday, i'm 100% sure that Kobe will fuck them in the ass and show every fucking person on our crappy planet that he's the best of all!

Blogger Dave Fromm said...
I woulda put more Ray in here. Ray played like a knucklehead, dribbling the ball off his foot, throwing ill-advised, meaningless passes, etc. I feel like Ray was scarred back during that Kobe-Ray feud time, and he hasn't shook it. (And yeah, I know, he hasn't had a great playoffs before this, but still.) Point: turnover in the second half, just after Kobe picks up his third, and Rondo leaks out with Ray. Ray's ahead, Rondo hits him, but Kobe is closing. Ray shoulda gone for the dunk, daring Kobe to foul him. But Ray behind the back passes .. to Jordan Farmar and his extra "a". Flash back to the feud, when Ray took off on a breakaway and Kobe came back and swatted his shot, then stared at him. Ray has PKSD.

Either that, or he's just an over-30 off-guard.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
bbawful is just another guy... why do the refs don't appear in the WotN?
because the C's are been caried all over game 1 and game 2 was even worse, so... i guess this doesnt matter, cause when the lakers are robbed it means the refs did a pretty good job...

sorry about my english im a vet...