Deja Vu

The Bulls season ended just at the Celtics did, with the Heat and the referees sending them home for the summer.  That’s not to take anything away from the Heat and their performance to close out games 4 and 5 of each series.  They made the shots when they had to.  The way both teams lost though was eerily similar.  They both had the ball with time running down in Game 4 and a chance to win, but ended up with terrible shots and overtime losses.  Then in Game 5 they both had leads late in the 4^th quarter that they weren’t able to hang on to (Celtics by 6 and Bulls by 12 with 4 minutes left).  Strange considering the two head coaches were on the same bench last year.  It was like the Celtics series wasn’t painful enough so they decided to replay it with different uniforms.  The reason I’m bringing this up is because the NBA has a problem on its hands.  It’s a problem that everyone except the fraud fans in Miami needs to worry about.  David Stern has decided that the Heat will be winning titles for as long as he sees fit.  The referees last night were incredibly bad.  The lead official was none other than Scott Foster, the crooked and completely in the bag accomplice of Tim Donaghy.  Really, what the hell is Stern thinking?  Is he that brazen to put this hack out there and think that he’s not going to get called out?  Apparently his is.  The game took a turn for the worse last night when at the 2:24 mark in the 3^rd quarter Carlos Boozer was hit for a flagrant foul on LeBron.  After watching the replay 30 times (TNT hates doing that) it was obvious to me that it was simply a hard foul.  It was a playoff foul.  Of course the officials overreacted and this lead to the Heat taking NINE foul shots in 75 seconds and turning an 11-point Bulls lead into 5 at the end of the quarter.  I know, they were still winning and they blew it down the stretch, but I would argue that it never should’ve been that close.  The Heat had no offensive flow to their game and it was the free throws at the end of the quarter that saved them.  The Bulls defense was fantastic and the referees (with Stern’s blessing) took that aggressiveness away from them.  LeBron looked like a European soccer player last night, flopping and diving all over the floor and he was rewarded (or bailed out) for it.  It was disgusting.  I understand that the stars will get the calls, but you didn’t see Rose get a single call on the other end as he was bumped all over the court.  Lastly, you had Steve Kerr simply embarrassing himself by DEFENDING the officials on each and every call.  I have no idea how the Finals will play out, but it’s becoming obvious that the shots are being called at the top and Mark Cuban might want to send the Commish a little “care package” if the Mavericks want any chance of winning. 

Side Note:  When and where did the "Let's Go (fill in the team)!" chant start?  I was listing to a Bruins montage on my way to work this morning and they had fans going crazy with that chant and even though it's pretty basic and generic and it was pretty damn awesome. 

NBA Jam

Josh Beckett is on fire right now and looking like the ACE we saw in 2007 and 2009. His stat line for May is off the charts:

4 GS, 1-0, 23.1 IP, 1 ER, 20 K,.39 ERA

It's staggering to look at. This is a run that only Pedro match and of course top. Check out Pedro's September from '99:

5 GS, 4-0, 41 IP, 5 ER, 70 K, .88 ERA

That's insanity. 70 strikeouts in FIVE starts! Safe to assume we'll never see someone like Pedro again, but Josh Beckett is doing a good job to be in the discussion (even if it's only for a month). With the back end of the rotation injured at the moment, this has certainly been a pleasant (and needed) surprise. Beckett's got the fire in his belly right now (see: his tirade on the bench in the 8th inning tonight) and his confidence is growing by the day and that's a huge plus for the Sox going forward.

One last thing: Congrats to the Captain who hit his first HR In 360 days.

MIrror Image

2011 Statistics:

Player A:  19.2 IP, 5 ER, 27 K, 3 BB

Player B:  24.2IP, 10 ER, 24 K, 7 BB

One of the more shocking revelations this season is that Player A has been the more productive reliever for your Boston Red Sox.   It's a reversal of fortune that NO Red Sox fan saw coming.  We didn't think it was possible.  When the season ended last year there was a segment of the fan base that was bitter Theo didn't ship this declining reliever out of town at the trade deadline.  His goal of hitting free agency, as opposed to working on his pitching repertoire was enough to anger any fan.  His talk of being the highest paid reliever was laughable.

Player A is obviously Jonathan Papelbon and not Daniel Bard, who most Sox fans this offseason were hoping would be ushered into the closer's role.  He has been outstanding so far and when you compare the numbers from the month of May this year and the month of May last year there are significant differences.  The first being his strikeout to walk ratio is much better this year and he’s been much more dependable this year.  I’m not a pitching coach, but he seems to have better command of his pitches and he’s actually using more than just his fastball this year.  He had turned into a one trick pony last year with a low 90’s fastball and it’s tough to be successful with one average pitch.   Last year Papelbon was the one walking batters, giving up home runs and looking shaky in crucial situations.  Here’s the comparison:

2010: 0-2 and 5 saves, 10 IP, 4 ER, 8 K, 3 BB, 2 HR, 3.60 ERA

2011: 2-0 and 3 saves, 10.1, 3ER, 15 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 2.61 ERA

Then there’s Daniel Bard who has shown his mortality this year.  He just doesn’t seem the same.  His fastball doesn’t seem to have the same pop as last year and his off-speed stuff has been a little…off.  He’s obviously extremely talented, but it seems like he’s having some trouble between the ears.  He doesn’t have that same confidence.  Here’s his month of May comparison:

2010:  1-0 and 1 save, 11.1 IP, 1 ER, 11 K, 6 BB, 0 HR, .79 ERA

2011:  1-1 and no saves, 12.1 IP, 5 ER, 12 K, 4 BB, 3 HR, 3.65 ERA

Could it be the change behind the plate?  Is he simply in a slump?  Has the league started to figure him out?  I think he’s simply in a slump and his stuff is too good to struggle like he has.  I will say that last night was an eye opener though.  That’s not what you’re accustomed to seeing and it blew a chance to vault the Sox into first place with the Yankees and Rays losing last night.  The good thing is they have 4 months of baseball left, but blowing games in May is just as damaging as blowing games in September.  Hopefully now that the Rapture has passed, Bard will be able to clear his head and get back to his 2010 self. 

Sox - Indians: Part Deux

I know that the Bruins are still playing playoff hockey, but it feels like we’ve finally hit baseball season.  I know that a lot of you have been following since the truck left Fenway for Spring Training back in February, but I’m, not in that group.  I’ve been watching when I can and I plan to make a more concerted effort to stay on top of things.  That’s why I’m excited for this series with Cleveland.  This should be a good test for the Sox after getting swept by them the first week of the season.  They are facing an Indians team that has come storming out of the gate (unexpectedly) and boasts a blistering 18-4 home record (tops in the majors).  The Sox have won 8 out of their last 9 and 14 out of 20 since May 1^st and seem to be rolling (excluding that ridiculous 8^th inning on Saturday night).  To make things even better we’ll get to see the Sox top three starters with Buchholz, Beckett, and Lester and the guy who should be the Sox 4^th starter pitching for the Indians, Justin Masterson.  I don’t know about you, but I was always a big fan of Masterson and I think they made a mistake letting him go.  He’s a guy that could eat up innings and he’s almost unhittable for right-handed batters (.141 avg. against this year).  Sounds like a better option to me than Lackey or the Dice man.  Baseball 2011 starts in earnest for me this week, and let’s hope the Sox can continue Boston’s winning ways into the summer (if it ever gets here).  Oh yeah, and Go Bruins!

Bad Company

One more thing on Drew:  his career passer rating is 77.1.  That’s 81^st all-time.  That’s equal to Jay Fiedler and worse than Jeff Blake, Jon Kitna, Charlie Batch, Aaron Brooks, Elvis Grbac, Neil O’Donnell, and Neil Lomax.  That’s not Hall of Fame company.  Sorry folks, he’s not headed for Canton. 

Honorable Mention

This week it was announced that Drew Bledose will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame this summer and it led to me receiving a few emails suggesting that it won't be the last Hall of Fame that he gets inducted into. Obviously they were talking about Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. My initial reaction was that there was no way. He was undeserving of such an honor. Then an email with stats and all-time rankings was passed along and I had to think a little harder. Was Drew Bledsoe really an all-time great?

Drew does have some impressive statistics, but the longevity certainly helps. It's not the only reason he's ranked as high as he is in passing yards (6th) and passing touchdowns (14), but you have to admit, you wouldn't put Drew in your Top 10, or 15, or even 25. He was one of the most important draft picks in Patriots history and when you think about the success of the past 10 years, Drew Bledsoe should come to mind. Not because he was injured and made it possible for Tom Brady to take the field, but for the success he had in getting the Patriots on the map. This was a team that was an NFL laughingstock when Drew was drafted and within two years they were in the playoffs and two years later they were in the Super Bowl. He was larger than life at that point. The Dreeeewwwwwww chants could be heard every Sunday at Foxboro Stadium. Drew went to the Pro Bowl in 3 of his first 5 seasons. Impressive stuff. The only thing is, he was never the top quarterback in the league. He was good, but not great. I feel you have to be GREAT at some point in your career to get to Canton. I think he was a Top 10 quarterback for his first 8 seasons, but that's not enough for me. Another thing that bothers me about Drew is that he didn't necessarily make the players around him better. I know it's not fair to compare him to Tom Brady, but since we get to see him each week it's hard not to. Tom Brady is excellent at making the players around him better. It doesn't matter if it's David Patten, or David Givens, or Randy Moss catching passes, he's going to get the best out of these guys and move the chains. I think it's safe to say that Drew Bledsoe was not able to do that in his career. He also didn't help his offensive line as he took way too many sacks as he tentatively tapped the ball with his left hand. To be fair, most quarterbacks can't raise the level of play for all the players around them. It's not a knock on Drew, it just makes me hesitate when people talk about him being Hall of Fame bound.

The thing I'll always remember about Drew was his professionalism. When he was injured in 2001 it would have been very easy for him to rehab, collect his paycheck, and worry about HIMSElF. Drew didn't do that though. By all accounts, Drew took young Tom Brady under his wing and helped him in any way that he could. Drew could even be seen on the sidelines during the games with a headset on to keep himself involved. He wasn't up in the press box with the Kraft's like Wes Welker a couple years ago (hey, it happened). He was on the field and he wanted to win. Of course he wanted to play as well, but he was able to put the team's goals first and that's a very refreshing thing. It was just last year that we saw Jay Cutler get hurt in a playoff game and at no point did he talk to his backup or his backup's backup (yup, he had to play too). Can you imagine Drew doing that? No way. To me, that's more important than passing yards or touchdowns. He was a TEAM guy and a fierce competitor. I think that's why when he's inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame that will be enough for him. He was one of the most important and valuable Patriots of all-time and I say he belongs in Foxboro as opposed to Canton.

Amateur Hour

This is what you get from an inexperienced blogger, an incomplete post. I need to read my notes more carefully as I completely missed the section on Perk's value to this team mentally. My apologies. This is where the eye test comes in. Am I wrong to say that it just didn't look right? They gave up too many layups and putbacks on the defensive end. They consistently had players out of position and they couldnt buy a second chance bucket on the offensive end. They became timid to an extent. Their swagger was gone. The fact that players around the league applauded the trade should tell you something. They feared the Celtics when they rolled out their starIting five. This was a group with championship experience that couldn't be rattled in crunch time. At the time of the trade they were the favorite to win the NBA championship. The flipping favorite! Danny is now ruining my breakfast. His trail of ruin continues. One more point and I'll put this trade to rest. The trade killed the team chemistry. I'm not sure if any of you watched The Association on ESPN, but it did a great job showing the reaction to the trade. There was genuine shock. Doc said it was like losing a family member. Rondo was obviously disturbed by the trade (for way too long). It was a bad scene. Messing with the team's chemistry was a mistake and unnecessary. I know that Danny would do it again, but Doc said yesterday that he would NOT have done the trade during the season. It caused too much turmoil and in the end doomed the Celtics. I know there are people out there that thought this team was on borrowed time already, but they could have had a ruin them. This team was in a better place than last season and we all know how that ended. They coulda been a contender!

In _____ We Trust

First, a little background: I liked Danny Ainge as a player. I like Danny Ainge as a General Manager. He has done what most Celtic fans thought was impossible after losing the Draft Lottery and missing out on Kevin Durant. He has made basketball relevant again in Boston. He's put together a team that in the last four years has gone to the NBA Finals twice (winning once) and lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals twice. That's an impressive feat considering how far this organization had fallen since the original Big Three. This transformation wasn't easy and took some shrewd moves and a willing partner (a Minnesota GM who shall remain nameless) to make it happen. Really, he was about to hit Bill Belichick status when it came to team building. It was going to be "In Danny We Trust". He was so close. They were about to get the t-shirts made. That's when it happened.

I still remember the shock. I was sitting at my desk monitoring the NBA trade deadline coverage and not expecting very much. The Celtics were on top of the Eastern Conference standings at the time and they really didn't have any pressing needs besides a backup swingman to give Paul and Ray a breather. The general consensus was that they would pick someone up when players started to get bought out. Not a major move. Well, Danny obviously saw a bigger need. He decided that he was going to get a budding star for the future. That's when he made the outrageous decision to trade Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to OKC for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic and a future 1st round pick from the Clippers. Even with the season now over I had to read that sentence three times to make sure I had it right. Danny Ainge traded his starting center for a backup swingman that would play about 20 minutes per game (if he was lucky). It was Insanity. Danny always gave the impression that there was a script he was following. This was not part of the script. The Celtics have three aging stars and it always was about "now". That's the reason Danny has signed veterans to complement his core group over the last fur years. PJ Brown, Sheed, Shaquille, Jermaine, Michael Finley and Delonte were the perfect guys to bring in. Danny wasn't building for the future. He was trying to win now. Isn't it obvious? Well, he changed course with the Perk trade. He looked ahead. He thought getting Jeff Green was more important than winning THIS YEAR. I think he made a huge mistake and cost this team a chance to go further than the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

When the trade was made Danny went on the record (no, not with Greta) and gave his reasoning for the move. Reasoning that he's still defending (and sounding foolish doing it). First, there was Perk's health. At the time he had just injured his other knee and would be out for a couple weeks. Danny also had concerns about his long term health due to the fact that his scowling would put a ridiculous amount of pressure on his facial muscles. Second, the Celtics had offered a four year contract extension that Perk declined because of the dollar figure. This is the first contradiction from Danny. You have concerns about his health, but you offer him a fou year extension? Hmmm, seems strange to me. Moving on. Third, Danny was sure that Shaq would be back soon and Jermaine would be back before the playoffs, adding some big man depth. Also, Danny felt that due to Shaq's age and performance thus far he would be better suited as a starter. Fourth, due to the injury to Marquis Daniels, Danny felt that he needed someone to play meaningful minutes against the likes of Carmelo, LeBron, and hopefully Kobe in the playoffs. As we all know, this was a bunch of crap. The fans may have bought it for a couple games after the trade, but as the season went on and the Celtics lost the top spot in standings it became clear that Danny was the one getting swindled. He was the sucker at the table.

OK, let's look at what happened. Perk went to OKC, missed a handful of games due to the sprained MCL, became a leader in their locker room, and right now is STILL playing in the Western Conference Finals. He seems like the exact same player in OKC that he was here. He's a solid defender that understands his role and is doing the little things that are needed to win, such as getting whistled for moving screens. Sorry, I loved Perk, but the guy had some issues with that. The only thing that matters is winning games and Perk is helping them win games.

Now let's look at how the Celtics faired after the trade. They struggled down the stretch, finished 3rd in the East, and got bounced by the Heat in 5 games. Shaq, who was supposed to be the answer at the center position played 17 minutes, scored 8 points, grabbed 1 rebound, and committed 4 fouls. That's not per game averages. Thats's Shaq contribution after the trade on February 24th. Danny seriously thought that the oldest player in the league was going to be healthy enough to not only start, but play a significant role heading into the playoffs? It's delusional. Jermaine did make it back, but a fractured left wrist rendered him useless versus the Heat. I can give Danny a pass for that one. I've already said my piece on Jeff Green last week I think he was completely overmatched in his matchup with LeBron and he looked extremely timid and uncomfortable in the Celtics offense.

In my humble opinion, Danny's reasoning doesn't cut it. He broke his own rules and tried to justify his move with a bunch of BS. Losing Perk in the middle of the season was a disaster for this team. They relied on him defensively and he was the perfect TEAM guy. He understood his role, unlike Big Baby, who lost his mind over the last 20 games. He also knew all of the offensive and defensive sets (thanks Doc) which none of the new guys knew. He brought a toughness that didn't show up on the stat sheet and Ray Allen will forever be grateful for all of the open looks he got because of Perk. He was the perfect piece for THIS team. Danny took that away.

My crystal ball says that if Perk was here the Celtics would still be playing right now. Had Perk been here the Celtics would have been the 1st or 2nd seed in the East, meaning they would have played the Hawks or had home court against the Heat. Looking at that scenario, the Celtics would have advanced to play the Bulls and who knows what would have happened. I would have liked their chances. Danny just needed to stay the course. He didn't and now we'll never know if this team could've made another deep playoff run like last year. I think KG-Paul-Ray deserved that chance.

One last thing that I forgot to mention. All we heard about after last season's Game 7 loss was they needed more length. So what does Danny do? He brought in Shaq, Jermaine, Semih, and still had Perk and Baby to play the center position. Danny knew that size was needed. He addressed that need to excess. So why do you abandon that idea when the trade deadline approaches? It will never make sense to me. After the trade, the only healthy big man on the team was Krstic. Just an awful decision from a GM that has made so many good ones.

Mount Snow

Yes, I paid money for the chance to be electrocuted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObcX5ZopSZE&feature=youtu.be

 Story coming soon.

Last Stand

Game Five ended exactly as it should have:  the Celtics simply running out of gas as Wade and LeBron put their feet to the floor.  It was sobering to watch the Celtics come unraveled to an extent with turnovers, missed shots, a little luck for the Heat and a little help from the Commish.  I’m sorry, but if Dwyane Wade is going to get bailed out EVERY time he goes to the hoop then the fix is in.  For example, our goofy-ass center Nenad Krstic is standing outside the lane with his hands up and not moving at all and Mr. Wade comes rumbling through the lane, initiates the contact, throws up a prayer, and gets a whistle.  In slow motion it was even more appalling.  Not to channel my inner Tommy Heinsohn, but it was a joke.  Sorry, just had to get that out.  The Celtics did still have a shot though.  They held a 5 point lead with 3:48 left and just couldn’t hang on.  Not having Rondo (injury) or Baby (mental midget) on the floor at the end was a killer.  They just had too many moving pieces that hadn’t spent a lot of time together out there on the floor.  Not the way you want to end your season. 

As the game ended and the nation was forced to watch the Heat celebrate as if they had just won the championship, I was planning my post today and it was to be a eulogy.  The new ‘Big 3’ era was ending (even though they are under contract) and with Doc riding off into the sunset, it was going to be a very different feel next year.  The good times were behind us. The championship aspirations were gone.  We were headed for the middle of the pack.  BUT…then I turned on Doc’s press conference.  He praised the Heat (a savvy thing to do publicly, even though Red would rather choke on his cigar before he pulled that kind of move) and then was asked about his future.  WARNING: if you have any sort of heart problems, you may want to sit down before you read this.  Doc explained that he’s leaning towards coming back.  He wants to win it again with these guys.  He loves coaching them (really?).  He’s a Celtic.  I was speechless.  Now this doesn’t mean pencil the Celtics in for the NBA Finals next year, but it certainly was a silver lining after the disappointment of an early exit. 

The problems that plagued this team all year came back to bite them once again.  The turnovers prevented them from extending the lead in the first half and seemed to pop up right at the most inopportune time (a Pierce to Green pass ends up out of bounds with a minute left and down 3).  The defensive lapses led to a huge advantage at the free throw line for the Heat (they were +18 in attempts).  The lack of rebounding again was a problem.  The Heat were a +8 in that category, but it felt like even more.  The Celtics were forced to go small without the services of Jermaine or Shaq, and they just got pummeled underneath.  Lastly, the 2^nd chance points were a joke (13-7).  All of the hustle plays went to the Heat in the 2^nd half.   Here’s a look at these categories for the series:

                REB            Pts/Paint        TO           FT’s Attempt     2^nd Chance         

Gm 1      Even               Even            BOS -3          MIA +14          7-7

Gm 2      MIA +6          EVEN           MIA -1           MIA +14       MIA 10-8

Gm 3      BOS +3         BOS +2       BOS -2           MIA +2         BOS 16-14

Gm 4      MIA +17       MIA +16        BOS -1            BOS +1        MIA 10-0

Gm 5      MIA +8         MIA +6          MIA -8            MIA +18        MIA 13-7

As you can see, being physical, aggressive, and giving that extra effort was what made the difference for the Heat.  They deserved to win (that PAINS me to say).  In the end, the injuries to Rondo, Jermaine, Shaq, Paul and Ray were too much to overcome.  Oh yeah, and that trade on February 24^th may have changed things a little too….

I plan on dealing with Danny (the trade) and the future of this team soon…

All I know is, 41-14 seems a LOOOONG time ago... 

Any Given Wednesday (?)

Doc's speech after morning shoot-around (compliments of Tony D'Amato):

I don't know what to say really.  Eight hours to the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to tonight.  Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble.  Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished.  We are in hell right now gentlemen, and we can stay here and get the s*** kicked out of us, or we fight our way back into the light.  We can climb out of hell one inch at a time.  Now I can't do it for you.  I'm too old.  You know when you get old in life, things get taken from you.  That's, that's part of life.  But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff.  You find out that life is just a game of inches.  So is basketball.  Beacuse in the game of life or basketball, the margin for error is so small.  I mean, one half step too late or too early and you don't quite make it.  One half second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it.  The inches we need are everywhere around us.  They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second.  On this team, we fight for that inch.  On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone around us to pieces for that inch.  We CLAW with our fingernails for that inch.  Cause we know when we add up all those inches that's going to make the f****** difference between WINNING and LOSING, between LIVING and DYING.  I'll tell you this:  in any fight, it is the guy who is willing to die who will win that inch. And I know, if I am going to have any life anymore, it is because I am still willing to fight and die for that inch because that is what LIVING is.  Now, I can't make you do it.  You gotta look at the guy next to you.  Look into his eyes.  Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.  You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.  That's a team gentlemen, and either we heal now, as a TEAM, or we will die as individuals.  That's basketball guys.  That's all it is.  Now what are you gonna do?





  

It's Miracle Time

86-86.  19.5 seconds.  Celtics ball.

19.5 looong seconds.

The situation you want to be in with Doc Rivers as your coach.  The Celtics were one play away from putting the Heat back on their heels and evening the series at 2-2.  I can’t emphasize enough how confident I was when the timeout was called.  I think I’m speaking for most Celtics fans here.  It was the classic mismatch; the championship proven Celtics with the ball versus the jittery Heat.  Hell, the Heat had just squandered their chance to take the lead only seconds earlier when the King turned the ball over while driving in the lane. 

One perfectly executed play was needed.  So who does Doc call on to make it happen?  Surprise, surprise:  KG-Paul-Ray.

The result: THE END OF AN ERA.

It was as if that last play of regulation was in slow motion.  After two quick passes the ball is in Paul’s hands at the top of the key (still plenty of time).  Across the court you have KG and Ray looking like a couple awkward teenagers at a YMCA dance.  Neither knowing what exactly they should be doing.  First, they both step towards Paul. Then they both step back (come on, do something!).  The goal is a slip screen to get Ray open, but neither can seem to decide who’s going to go where to set it up.  It was an absolute disaster.  Paul is left completely out to dry as the clock ticks down and he finally has to make his move, which ends up being a heave from about 18 feet with LeBron right in his face (what the expletive was that!!).  The ball clangs of the backboard, the buzzer sounds, and the Celtics head for an early playoff exit.  You may be wondering about overtime, but if you were watching the game you knew that overtime was just a formality.  The Celtics had their shot and the three guys that have made the last four years so exciting for the fans of Boston DID NOT COME THROUGH.  They were gassed and had left it all out there for 48 minutes.

It would be easy to blame it all on Rondo’s injury, but that was just part of it.  He gave everything he had last night and it wasn’t any less than he’s given all series.  It would be equally easy to blame the “Big 3” for not being able to run a play they’ve run hundreds of times over the years, but that’s not quite it either.  Granted, it was awful, but they were out of gas.  Game 3 took a lot out of them physically and emotionally.  You can’t complain about the effort.  The problem in the end was the bench’s inability to play quality minutes.  Big Baby and Jeff Green murdered this team.  I will forever hold them responsible.  (Don’t worry, there will an article on Danny at some point in the future.  There is no way that he gets a pass.)  The two of them were embarrassingly bad.  It was like watching my golf swing on video every time they came on the floor.  Pure torture.  How Big Baby can completely disappear is beyond me.  Right now he brings zero to the table.  His jumper is gone.  He’s not defending and drawing charges.  He’s completely invisible when it comes to rebounding.  Oh yeah, and he’s crying on the bench again.  Talk about a complete meltdown.  It’s safe to assume that he didn’t improve his free agency price with this postseason. 

This leads me to Jeff Green.  I hate to criticize the guy, but he’s a big boy, he can take it.  He’s been here since February 24^th.  At what point does he feel “comfortable”?  Based on what we’ve seen so far, my answer would be never.  How can he look lost at all times on the offensive end?  This is a guy that was averaging 15 points a game while with OKC and for whatever reason he can’t do anything for the Celtics.  I could count on my left hand the number of times he didn’t look out of position in the last couple months.  Think about that…months.  It appears that he hasn’t learned a single offensive set.  The only time he looks remotely comfortable is in the open court.  I would go into his defensive issues, but I’d like to be able to keep my lunch down.  All I’ll say is that he’s useless on the defensive end.  Utterly (expletive) useless.  If Danny really thought JEFF GREEN could back up Paul and defend Carmelo, LeBron, and Luol Deng, he’s sadly mistaken.  That’s all I have to say about that.

My guess is that the season will end tomorrow night in Miami, but it certainly won’t end like it did for the Lakers.  This team won’t quit on their coach.  They’ll go down swinging (the right way).  One can only hope that KG-Paul-Ray can get another chance to run that final play.  I’m pretty sure we’ll see a different outcome. 

Game 2 Breakdown

POSITIVES:

At the 7 minute mark in the 4th it was tied  80-80 (2:30 later they were down 10)

Baby finally contributed in the 4th quarter (before he got too aggressive)

Rajon had a solid double-double and showed some burst to the hoop

KG's jump shot reappeared in the 2nd half

Jeff Green's offense kept the C's in the game with Paul in the locker room

Jermaine was steady in the middle and the only Celtic to get his hands dirty in the paint

Delonte continued with his Tony Allen impression and gave the 2nd unit a boost (10 pts.)

NEGATIVES:

Ray only took TWO shots in the 2nd half

Rondo struggled to keep the offense in rhythm; too much standing around

Von Wafer played

Free Throw Attempts:  Celtics - 22    Heat - 36

EVERY loose ball went to the Heat

Joey Crawford was able to collect his cash from the Commish

2-0 is a HUGE hole to climb out of

Another Celtic Meltdown

I woke up this morning and couldn't wait to get to the computer to start reading the Celtics tidbits for tonight's pivotal Game 2 Miami.  I was feeling confident.  Well, not as confident on Sunday morning, but there was still some swagger there.  I wasn't yet sold on this Heat team.  So I sat down, opened the laptop, and started scrolling through my twitter feed and noticed a Boston Globe headline: "Garnett vows to be more aggressive."  Maybe I didn't take it the right way, but that bothered me.  I was pissed.  Was he saying that he didn't give everything he had in Game 1?  I'm sick of hearing about how they are going to play harder, play smarter, etc...  As a fan, I want them to play well NOW.  I want this team to dominate the arrogant, front-running Heat.  I'm sick of LeBron complaining after every foul, after every almost foul, and after every time he thinks someone was debating fouling him.  He's an absolute punk and I can honestly say that if he were in Celtic green I'd be looking for a new team to root for.  Thankfully I don't have to worry about that.  He's in Miami  for a while celebrating titles he hasn't won yet.  He's just a clown.  Moving on.

The game tonight was supposed to be Boston's chance to get back in it.  Their chance to steal one on the road and put some pressure on the punk Heat.  Well, that didn't even come close to happening.  They were blown out again and this time they looked OLD in the process.  They couldn't get to a single loose ball all night.  All of the extra effort was coming from the Heat.  To make it even more maddening, it wasn't the Heat bench that came up big, it was their version of the Big Three.  LeBron absolutely took over the game in the second half and the Celtics had no answers.  Even when they did have a stop or two in them, joey Crawfod made sure that the Heat got to the line.  The Heat were flopping and getting calls all night.  Wade looks like he's been shot every time he goes up for an awkward jump shot and he's continually bailed out.  That's not why the Heat won this game tonight though.  The Heat won because the Celtics refuse to rebound, refuse to give the extra effort, and refuse to close out quarters.  It seems like the announcers start every quarter by talking about the run the Heat had to end the quarter.  It's always a 6 or 8 point swing,  They should make it a new segment for the broadcast.  "So Doris, what was the Heat run to end that quarter?"  This has been an issue all season and drives me absolutely crazy.  If I had to guess how many times I've screamed at my TV for the Celtics to KEEP PLAYING, I would say at least 332 times.  That's probably on the conservative side. This lack of concentration is why the Celtics are coming home down 2-0 and most likely won't get out of the second round.  This team is in deep, deep trouble.  This will be more pressure than they've felt in a while.  These are two must-win games for a team that struggled at home in the second half of the season and has certainly lost it's swagger.  I'll be rooting for them.  I'll be screaming at my TV as always, but I'm starting to doubt that they can survive.  I don't doubt that they have guile to pull it out, but they just look so lost on both ends of the court.  The Heat again had a bunch of open shots and the Celtics haven't been able to close down the driving lanes.  It's been ridiculous.  How many 'and one's' can you give up in one series?  The offense has been the exact opposite of what Doc preaches: patience and ball movement.  Way too many poor shots and the ball has been sticking.  They never seem to reverse the ball and make the defense work.  All I know is Doc has a lot of work to do before Saturday.  All week we're going to hear about how Shaq is coming back, the Green are coming home, and how the practice will get them back on the track.  But the reality is, they just need to play with passion.  That's all I want to see.  If they do that, they survive.  If they don't, they'll find themselves watching the Finals and screaming at their TV's just like me.

Quick Note

I know I said there would be a Red Sox analysis after their West Coast trip, but due to the NBA playoffs and the NFL Draft last week I ran out of time.  I've pushed it back to this week and I'll look at the first 30 games and if this shocking start is their reality.

Hopefully none of you put money on my NFL draft selections as I hit on a whopping 3 of 32 in the first round.  I do take some pride in the fact that BB and I were on the same page when it came to Nate Solder.

Gutless Green

The Celtics opened their second round series with Miami by playing their worst game since Sunday, April 10th.  On that day the Celtics were demolished by this same Miami team by 23 points.  It wasn't even that close. Just as yesterday's game wasn't as close as the 99-90 defeat.  They were blown out...again.  The Heat did whatever they wanted, and when the Celtics decided that they were going to make their own run, they lost their composure.  The Captain got himself tossed with seven minutes remaining because he insisted on running his mouth.  It was obvious to everyone watching that the officials were NOT going to allow this game to get out of hand.  The Jermaine O'Neal flagrant foul should have sent that message to everyone on the court.  It was a terrible call and an overreaction by an overzealous referee who just had to inject himself in the game.  We all saw it.  Well, all of us except Paul Pierce.  Not long after the Jermaine foul, Paul takes a hard foul from James Jones and attempts to head butt him.  Luckily he was playing so soft that it appeared more like he was snuggling with Jones than trying to injure him so the referee only gave him a technical.  This is when Paul jumped in the hot tub time machine and brought himself back to 2005 when he was an immature, young star.  He sets a solid screen on Wade, draws the foul, shoots his mouth off, and gets himself tossed for a second technical.  Was it a good call?  Absolutely not.  The call was made by the same referee who called the flagrant foul on Jermaine.  Ed Malloy did not have his best day, to put it kindly.  The point is that Paul Pierce has to know better.  He's a veteran.  The Captain of this team.  He needs to understand the situation.  He needs to walk away and continue to cut into the Miami lead.  You probably think that I'm unfairly ripping Paul because it was a bad call and he did score 19 points in 34 minutes.  I'm ripping him because he needs to be a leader.  I'm ripping him because he mailed in the first half.  He was brutal; 2 points and 4 turnovers at the half. Thats unacceptable.  He was lazy, sloppy, and lacking intensity.  I think part of the reason they got off to such a bad start in the first quarter was because of the Captain.  Don't worry, each member of the squad is going to be mentioned in this rant.  I thought they all were gutless.  It reminded me of Game 3 in the Cleveland series last year when the Cavs took it to the Celtics in the Garden. How could they possibly be so flat?  Rondo decided early that he was going to attack the rim, but one important thing changed from the New York series, the Heat are going to defend the rim.  I can't tell you how many times Rondo got himself trapped under the basket and either tossed up a prayer or threw the ball away.  To top things off, Rondo he got himself into foul trouble and Delonte was forced to play way too many minutes.  As we've seen so far in the playoffs, Delonte has no feel for his role yet.  He never seems to know when to pass or shoot and he's prone to the poor decisions that ended his time in Cleveland (no, not that decision).  He got a technical for throwing the ball at Chalmers, missed TWO dunks (instead of trying to lay the ball in), and couldn't seem to find Jones defensively.  A pathetic performance.  OK, so who's next?  This is someone you might not expect a complaint about, but I'm not letting his atrocious defensive effort get glossed over because he was unconscious offensively.  Ray Allen got torched all day long.  If it wasn't Wade hitting a jumper, then it was Jones drilling 3's.  He couldn't stay with either of them.  He MUST play better defensively if the Celtics are going to compete in this series.  The last guys two were complete no-shows: KG and Baby.  The key to both of their games is effort and the 18 foot jumper.  Neither were on hand yesterday.  I have no idea why, but every time KG set a screen at the top of the key he floated outside the three point line and waited for the reversal.  It was as if he was playing the part of Perk and only being a passer.  He can't do that.  He needs to stand his ground and get ready to be a scorer.  When KG gets it going, the Celtics are very tough to defend, especially for one of the most passive "power" forwards in the game, Chris Bosh.  The other player that Bosh needs to defend is Baby who should be able to push him around under the basket.  We didn't see that yesterday.  In fact, we didn't see Baby at all.  I can only remember him being mentioned twice.  The first time was when he attempted to draw a charge from Wade (unsuccessfully) and then when he missed a layup in the 4th quarter.  That's it.  Twenty-two minutes of nothing.  I could go on and on about the poor play, but it's just going to aggravate me even more.  I'm not giving up on this team, but I would say that tomorrow night is a must win.  They need to treat it as such.  Before the series started, Doc said to win they needed to limit their turnovers, get back in transition, and not allow a parade to the free throw line.  The Celtics were 0 for 3 in Game 1.  Let's hope they listen to the Coach in Game 2.