The old adage that Offense sells tickets but defense wins championships is very true. I have heard it said in another way as well: Offense sells tickets, Defense wins games, Rebounding wins championships. Everyone wants to see the high flying dunks and the fast paced offense because it is exciting. But it takes tough defense if you are going to win a championship. Teams that win in the playoffs are teams that have swarming defenses. I am envious as I watch the Pistons and the Spurs with their tough in your face defense.
I remember the Pistons/Spurs series from a couple of years back where both teams played very tough defense and we were seeing final scores in the 60's and 70's and everyone was saying what a boring series it was. I really enjoyed those games because I love defense and when it is played the right way, is absolutely exciting. I mean, it is the equivalent of a no hitter in baseball.
Last season the league adopted a dramatic shift in how it interpreted the rules of the game. The new rules no longer allow for a defensive player on the perimeter to use his hand, arm, or any sort of physical contact to impede or block the movement of a player who is cutting or handling the ball. Gone are the defensive battles like we used to see in the old days of Dumars guarding Jordan or the battles between DJ and Magic.
While the new rules have changed the way defense is played on the perimeter, defense under the basket is still played the same way. Centers and bigs can still be physical under the basket. At the beginning of this season, Doc made a comment that they were working on a defense to funnel players into the center where they would be met by Perk or Ratliff. That plan didn't work out because Ratliff played only 2 games and Perk was hampered much of the season by plantar fasciitis. Leon Powe was a pleasant surprise in that he played very tough defense in the paint and didn't back down from anyone. Perk's motto of "no layups" is something that needs to spread over the entire team. No easy baskets, no layups, no fast breaks.
The new rules do seem to benefit the Celtics as they are currently built. We have very quick wing players and a point guard who can quickly bring the ball up the court. Doc needs to use these players to their strengths. Rondo's defense is made for this type of play as well. He is so quick and has such quick hands that he easily can strip a ball without touching the opposing player. Hopefully Tony can get back to his pre-injury shape because he can thrive in this type of game as well.
The bottom line is that defense as we once knew it is no more. We will see teams trying to run more as that gives them an advantage. Danny is ahead of the curve as he has been building this type of team for the last 3 years. We will run more and get past defenses on the perimeter and use our shooters on the wings to open up things inside for our bigs. That is, if our coach is smart enough to use these players' strengths.
With the advantage going to the offensive player in the open court, we need to play a team defense and that is where Doc has got to work on it in practice. He can no longer depend on the individual players to play in your face defense on the perimeter. It will almost always lead to free throws for the other team. We need to work on defending the pick and roll as we got burned on that play just about every time last season, yet Doc still hasn't developed a defense for it. How Doc approaches defense this season is going to in a large part determine our success. We need to adopt a tough team defense if we expect to go anywhere in the post season.
In an article in the Herald, Danny said that he will be making defense a priority this off season.
With the Celts already possessing a strong scoring base with Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson, Ainge noted that defense will be a very important component to the club’s offseason maneuvering.
But it won't matter what defensive players he brings in if the coach doesn't take defense seriously. Doc needs to make his offseason priority learning how to coach defense and then work on it next season.
Perk proved last season that he can be a defensive force in the paint when healthy. Big Al improved defensively over the season and is going to be working on his defense this summer. Powe is a tough defensive player in the paint. Hopefully we will be adding Oden in the draft, or if things don't go as we hope, at least we will pick up a big who can come in and help us right away. We have Clifford Ray to work with the bigs and he has proved over and over, on every team he works with, that he can make a big difference in their development. But it won't matter if Doc doesn't play to their strengths and run good team defense.
Danny said that he felt that our lack of defense was personnel oriented. Danny is the one who brings in players like Dickau, Telfair, Raef and Wally who are known for being poor defenders. He has to see that Doc isn't doing his part either. We have some good individual defenders in Rondo, West, Al, Perk, and Tony but our team defense is poor. If we are going to be stuck with Doc for another year, hopefully Danny will see that we need a defensive minded assistant to give our defense some teeth this season. If not, it doesn't matter who we draft, we will have another mediocre season because defense wins games and Doc just doesn't get it.
Jeff over on Celtics Blog is picking the brains of bloggers over on the west coast. Today, he talks with TZ from Sactown Royalty. His thoughts on Rick Adelman vs Doc caught my attention.
I think Adelman would be a good fit in Boston, and actually in most of the current vacancies. The Delonte West-Mike Bibby comparisons have been made before, so I won't belabor that. Adelman knows how to utilitize the strengths of his post players - Cliff Robinson, Buck Williams in Portland; Webber, Divac, and Miller in Sacramento. That kind of form-fitting would be huge for Jefferson and Perkins, who in my eyes just kind of play basketball without a plan on the court. The biggest difference between Doc and RA would be the rotation - you'd actually have one with Adelman. Players would know their roles. As we saw in Sacramento this season, that's important.
One of my biggest complaints about Doc (besides his lack of respect for defense) is that he has no clue how to use bigs in his system. Even though we have Clifford Ray to work with our bigs and help them develop, Doc's system just doesn't play to the strengths of his center and power forward. He keeps them too far from the basket on the offense and that limits their effectiveness and their rebounding. That was one reason he loves players like Scal and Raef, they play out on the 3 point line and have no interest in playing with their backs to the basket.
I know that Doc is more than likely coming back unless Danny is really blowing smoke. But that can't keep me from dreaming about a coach who can utilize the strengths of his bigs, set a rotation, and value defense. I just know that so far, Doc just isn't it.
I knew things were going to slow down but I figured that the blogs would still be putting out material. Today gives new meaning to slow. The lottery can't get here soon enough.
One thing of note is reported in Florida Today. Dwight Howard's agent (who is also Mark Blount's agent, which has no bearing on this but I figured I would mention it since it came to mind) says that Howard is going to sign a 5 year, 80 million dollar contract with the Magic. If Howard gets the max, does this mean that Big Al will be in line for a max contract? Are they even negotiating now? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
The Register Guard reminds us that Luke Jackson is still hanging around with the Raptors. SI.com discusses the draft now that the early entry list has been released. And ESPN has an interview with Nellie after one of his greatest moments as a coach.
That's it. The Lottery is 17 days away and it can't get here soon enough.
I'm no prophet, but I will predict bigger things from Gerald Green next season. Not quite the breakout like Al Jefferson experienced this season, but big enough that we will no longer doubt Gerald's future in Boston.
Gerald's first year in the league was used to get his feet wet. This past season, his second year in the league, was used to gauge where his biggest weaknesses are. He'll head into the summer knowing specifically what to work on. Jefferson has a terrific mentor in Clifford Ray, who knows how to bring the best out of big men, and he helped Jefferson improve his game immensely. Gerald doesn't have a private mentor like Ray to drill him on specifics, and I wish he did. Gerald will be working out again with John Lucas, who has done some good with Gerald last summer. Regardless, I think Gerald will dedicate himself this summer to improve his game, and next season, we will see a more confident and more consistent Gerald Green.
Strengths
Obviously, Gerald's biggest strength is his athleticism--primarily his leaping ability. His ability to get up that high in the air puts him in a company of only a handful of NBA players. As he showed in Las Vegas in this year's All-Star extravaganza, dunking is his specialty. His confidence and creativity in dunking the ball makes him one of the premier young dunkers in the league. And the way he combines grace, power, and excitement separates him from other dunkers who are missing those key elements in showmanship. Gerald's ability to sky in the air is not only an advantage on his dunks, but his ability to quickly get high up in the air allows him to get clean looks at the basket, even when his defenders stay with him step for step because they simply can't elevate quickly enough, or high enough, to get a hand up on his shot.
Not just a one trick pony, Gerald has other strengths aside from his dunking prowess. Green has a terrific shooting stroke from anywhere on the court, and though his FG shooting percentage doesn't reveal it, he has become a more effective shooter this season. He's already shown, as young and undeveloped as he is, the knack of knocking down pull up midrange jumpers and spot up three point jumpers, and even coming off of picks and executing catch and shoots were a part of his repertoire this season. These 3 areas of shooting are what Gerald will need to perfect over his career for him to reach his high potential. He's doing a better job of getting his hands in position to receive the ball so that he can fluidly get into his shot in rhythm, and his release has been more consistent because of this. Most of Gerald's shots are true (meaning they are straight), and when he misses, he's either short (hits the front of the rim), or long (hits the back of the rim). To correct this is just a matter of arcing the ball more or using less wrist. This is very encouraging to see from a young player.
A few years ago, Chris Wallace drafted Kedrick Brown, a player with similar potential to Gerald Green. Like Gerald, Kedrick had nasty hops that allowed him to sky up high in the air and throw down monstrous dunks. And like Gerald, he had the smooth shooting stroke to be a threat on the perimeter. But one key difference between the two, among many other things, is the moxie--the inner confidence. Gerald has it, Kedrick didn't, and that's why fans can be sure that Gerald has more potential to live up to his hype than Kedrick ever came to tasting. Gerald has a mean streak in him that longs to prove to his peers that he's one of the best players on the court. He has the desire to be a big time player and be the star of the show, and even as a rookie straight out of high school, he didn't shy away from competition. It was said that in practice, he would out battle Pierce and Ricky Davis, earning him props from those two star veterans. And throughout the season, Gerald would show glimpses of stardom as he put on moves against premiere NBA players and score on veteran defenders. As his game progresses, he has the chance to be one of the best on the court--if not the best.
Weaknesses
Gerald has a lot of good things going for him, but he's far from being a complete player in the mold of Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and even Paul Pierce. His path to stardom can only be straightened as he turns his weaknesses into strengths.
His primary weakness at this time is his ball handling. For any wing player, ball handling is paramount to their ability to have success in the NBA. As often as Gerald will have the ball in his hands, its vital for him to be able to use his dribbling to get to any spot on the court to execute his game plan. Just take a look back at Tony Allen this season. It was like night and day for Tony--as he pounded the ball into the ground and fumbled his dribbling, he was a wreck and turnover machine. But as soon as he got his grips on his dribbling, he was able to execute what his mind was telling him to do, and he became a star caliber player, just like that. Right now, Gerald loses control of the ball too often, and you could see him thinking about his dribbling, even as he was breaking away on fastbreak opportunities. Rather than focusing on his teammates, and the defense in front of him, Gerald's attention wavers on his dribbling (among other things), and this has led to some of his troubles this season.
Another glaring weakness Gerald deals with currently is his lack of understanding of what to do with the ball in his hands. Though he improved in his off-the-ball game, he's lost when it comes to executing the right play when he has the ball. He's thinking about so many things, and so many thoughts are running through his head the instant he touches the ball, that it almost paralyzes him to the point he can't think clearly. When the game flows through him naturally and he lets his instincts take over, he's a downright lethal offensive player. But when he's thinking too much, he's constricted and incapable of making the right decision. More than anything, experience and repetition will remedy this problem, so we needn't be so concerned about this. We should see vast improvements in this area in Year 4 (next season will be Year 3).
Another weakness to point out is Gerald's footwork. He needs to clean up his footwork so that he can execute plays more efficiently. Specifically, when he's cleanly moving his feet, he can take a couple of power dribbles and pull up into his jumper and knock down shots cleanly. But when his feet aren't under him and he's stumbling to get balance (as he often displays when he's dribbling out of control), he looses his body control and barrels into defenses, picking up silly offensive fouls. As Jefferson has demonstrated this past season, cleaning up his footwork enabled him to dictate what he wanted to do. With crisper footwork, Gerald will be able to do use his athleticism to his advantage a whole lot more than he is now.
Lastly, Gerald needs to focus on defense this offseason. He does have the ability to be a solid defender cause he does have the athleticism, the quickness, and the long arms to disrupt his man. To be a shut down defender, a player needs to shadow his man well, and that comes from shuffling and moving the feet well. Just like how Green needs to work on his footwork on offense, the same applies for his defensive game as well. Balance and footwork are important to be able to stay with his man, as well as staying low and making himself wide. At 6'8", he has the quickness and elusiveness to defend both SG's and SF's and it will be a big time advantage for us if we can utilize Gerald for his defensive play on top of his offensive game.
Areas of improvement
In order for Gerald to take the next step, he must prove himself as an offensive weapon off the bench and a capable defender. Like Jerry Stackhouse for the Dallas Mavericks, having a big perimeter scorer off the bench who can knock down shots from deep and drive to the lane for buckets is a huge asset. He'll have to cut his teeth in this role first before he moves to the starting lineup, and if he can prove to be an impact bench scorer, his transition to the starting 5 will be the next step.
Future Projection
Its not hard to see that young Gerald has the goods to be a stellar player in the NBA He has star caliber talent in him. Improving his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses will land him on the All-Star team in '09, and for years to come. Next season, he will start to emerge as an instant offense off the bench, but he will play behind of Ryan Gomes (whom I predict will be our 6th man). Green will be our 7th man. But he will be our future starting wing player, and a member of future All-Star teams.
In a bid to beef up the chat, I've switch to a provider that is real simple, but has a sleek looking design. I've also added a banner I whipped up in Photoshop for it!
Asian Streetball Since I have been posting youtubes lately, here is one I found that shows the growing Asian Streetball phenomenon. Maybe we should be scouting these guys!? Check out this one dude whose got like a 40" vertical! And then the other guy is like an Asian Larry Bird! Well, maybe not, but...
Not a lot of news out today but that is to be expected in this lull before the lottery. Most players are still taking a breather after the regluar season so not much to report from the training facility. We can't really do a lot with the draft until we know where we draft. I imagine things will pick up as we get closer to the lottery and then afterwards.
Celtics.com has a list of the early entrants into the lottery. The Herald has some comments from Danny on the draft. In addition to what we reported from the Globe piece yesterday, the Herald makes this revelation:
With the Celts already possessing a strong scoring base with Paul Pierce [stats] and Al Jefferson [stats], Ainge noted that defense will be a very important component to the club’s offseason maneuvering.
This is a good thing. I just hope that in his offseason maneuvering he also brings in a defensive minded assistant coach (like Dick Harter) or makes Doc watch the Better Basketball Videos on coaching defense. Without a coach who takes defense seriously and works on it, our individual defenders won't be enough.
TSN.ca has an offseason game plan for the Celtics. This article agrees with many fans who say Oden, Durant or bust and suggests if we pick 3rd or lower that we should trade the pick. They mention that Perk regressed last season but fail to mention that Perk played in a lot of pain with plantar fasciitis and still showed that he can play. Just the fact that he played through the pain for much of the year should be reason enough to keep him as a Celtic. He is what Celtics Pride is all about.
Finally, if you missed Danny on WEEI yesterday, you can listen to it online on WEEI's website. Just click on The Big Show in their Audio Vault to listen to his thoughts on Oden, Durant and the draft along with a few on Telfair and his situation.
18 days until the Lottery. In spite of Danny's assurances that there are more players who could really help us in the draft, I am still nervous about the lottery. I want so much to get Oden or Durant. We deserve it after all the bad luck in the past 21 years.
Part 3 of the series on Homerism is on Tommy Heinsohn, a man who loves the Celtics and has given most of his life to them in one facet or another as player, coach and analyst.
Since 1981, Tommy Heinsohn has been the color analyst on the Celtics' television broadcasts and like Johnny Most, Heinsohn bleeds green and sees everything through green colored glasses. He is part of a team with Mike Gorman that has been broadcasting Celtics games for 25 years and they make up TV's longest running telecast duo.
Tom Heinsohn is a true representative of Boston Celtics' pride. Known for his hard-nosed style of play, yet possessing a superb shooting touch and good body control, Tom Heinsohn was vital in the Boston Celtics' dynasty of the 1950s and 1960s. Chosen as NBA Rookie of the Year in 1957, he helped the Celtics win eight NBA titles during his nine-year tenure, was named to the All-NBA Second Team for four years, and was an All-Star for six. His number 15 was retired by the Celtics in 1966.
But that isn't the end of Tommy's time with the Celtics. In 1969, three years after Red Auerbach retired, Tom Heinsohn was offered the post of head coach of the Boston Celtics. In what he called "guerrilla warfare," his teams kept the pressure on opponents at all times, controlling the tempo of the game and playing with great intensity.
. During Heinsohn's eight full seasons as coach, Boston won five Eastern Division titles in a row, took two NBA Championships and compiled a 416-240 record. Heinsohn was replaced during the 1977-78 season as his veteran team got off to a slow start.
But Tommy still wasn't done with the Celtics. In 1981, the now-retired Heinsohn joined Mike Gorman as color commentator in the Celtics' TV broadcasts; they have since become one of the longest-tenured tandems in sports broadcasting history. Tommy was enshrined in the Hall of Fame on May 6, 1986.
Before Walter McCarty was traded, at least once or twice a game, you would hear Tommy shout out "I love Waltah!!!" And since McCarty's departure, he has been heard shouting "I love Perk!" or "I love Delonte!" And you truly believe that he does love every player on this team.
Every game, you will hear Tommy mention the Redhead in Needham. This is Tommy's wife that he always acknowledges in every broadcast. He is a very loyal man, and not just to the Celtics!
When the referees make a call against the Celtics, you will hear Tommy yell, "Go home to your mother!!" And if they do make a questionable call against the Celtics, Tommy will always feel that his beloved Celtics have been robbed. Even if the replay shows differently. I don't think I have ever heard Tommy agree with a call against the Celtics.
The most common quote heard during games is "Give him a Tommy Point!" Tommy Points have even earned an entry in the Urban Dictionary:
An award given to an NBA player, usually a member of the Celtics, by Celtics color commentator Tommy Heinsohn (NBA Rookie of the Year 1956-57 for the Boston Celtics, NBA Hall of Fame Inductee 1986) for a great play that goes up and beyond the call of duty expected of the player. E.g. A steal, a blocked shot or great defensive play, etc.
Paul Pierce cuts through a few tough defenders to score 2 "That's a Tommy Point!" Ricky Davis goes baseline to make a shot "Tommy Point for Ricky!" Delonte West makes a hustle play that ends up saving the game "GIVE 'IM TEN THOUSAND TOMMY POINTS!!!"
Although I have never heard Tommy give out ten thousand Tommy Points, he does give out several during each game. There is even a site, Tommy Points.com that tracks the Tommy Points and the Tommy Awards given out in each game. The Tommy Award is given to the player who went above and beyond in hustle and effort during each game.
Last season was Tommy's 50th with the Celtics as player, coach and analyst. FSN had a special about his life entitled Forever Green that included the fact that he is an rather accomplished artist on top of everything else. Tommy even has his own My Space page for Celtics fans to link to.
Tommy loves the Celtics. You can hear it in every broadcast and every word he speaks about the team. I am sure the man lives on green koolaid. Like Most before him, he sees little wrong in this team and is enthusiastic about all that he sees from them on the floor. If you check out the other teams' message boards, there is usually at least one thread about how Tommy is one of the biggest homers going. I know when I get the other teams' feeds on League Pass, I miss Tommy. I miss his enthusiasm and his view of the game through green colored glasses. Since I see the team through green colored glasses as well, Tommy's broadcasts are just what I love to hear.
It is no surprise that the team has asked Tommy (along with the Redhead from Needham) to represent the team at the Draft Lottery on May 22. Tommy Heinsohn embodies all that is Celtics Pride and I can't think of a better person to represent us at the lottery.
Not sure if this was posted anywhere else or not, well, besides youtube. It's from the 05-06 C's season, but its got a pretty cool song and the videography is crazy good! Looking back on this as a document, it shows a lot about our future! I highly recommend watching it! This one is for the Koolaid kids! You know who you are...
Now that the Early Entry List has finally been released, Danny Ainge can finally discuss Oden and Durant and the draft. The Green Room has a small article with some of Ainge's early thoughts on the draft. He feels that both Durant and Oden are very talented players but that Oden's body is more NBA ready and that both players have great long term potential.
In spite of the many reports that if we don't get the first or second pick the pick will be traded, Danny doesn't feel that way.
"We think there’s more than two players in the draft. I know that sounds like the company line, but we have it narrowed down to 12 players at this stage that we think would be a great fit for the Celtics, that would make us a better team. We’ll narrow that down more. We like a lot of the guys in this draft and think that they can help us. ... They’re all ice cream, just different flavors. It is important that we make the right decision."
Ainge noted that every player in their top 12 are early entry candidates and all stand 6'7" or taller, so we are definitely going big. The Globe gives this list of possibilities:
So, think North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, Georgetown center Roy Hibbert, Florida forwards Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Al Horford, Kansas forward Julian Wright, Chinese center Yi Jianlian, Georgetown forward Jeff Green, Washington center Spencer Hawes, Colorado center Jason Smith or Georgia Tech forward Thaddeus Young in addition to Oden and Durant.
Danny was also on WEEI this afternoon and stated that he felt that Oden could have an immediate impact on the team. On Durant, he said that he is a terrific offensive player and plays decent defense and he noted that he is closer to 6'11" than the 6'9" that he has been listed at. He also mentioned Durant's 7'6" wing span.
Danny also mentioned that he really likes Yi Jianlian and Jeff Green. He said that he won't say who they would take if they had the #1 pick. With the early entry list released, and the lottery 19 days away, things should start heating up as far as draft talk. Check here for the latest information as it comes out.
There is a lot of reaction today about the study on racial bias of the refs. The Herald reports that the players are discounting the study. Bob Ryan in the Globe feels that the report has no merit. He should have asked the principals.
Some referees stink. Some stink less. Some are white. Some are black. It goes no deeper than that.
The Hartford Courant reports that the NBA is dismissing this study as having no basis in fact. And the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that there is no bias, the refs are just plain bad. They support their claim by recounting 3 calls in the final minutes of the Mavs/Warriors game. I think there was a bias, but it wasn't racial. The league wanted that series to go longer because it brings in better revenue. It is as simple as that.
Hoopsworld has an article with awards as seen by the Celtics themselves. It was interesting that most players saw Pierce as the MVP while Perk felt that Al earned the honor. Perk was considered to be the big brother to most on the team. Good stuff here as we see how the players view each other and the team.
Brandon Roy was named the Rookie of the Year, which should come as no surprise. The Celtics could have had Roy if they had not traded the 7th pick for Telfair. Chances are he wouldn't have gotten the playing time he did in Portland if he was in Boston and Doc has a way of minimizing the effectiveness of rookies. Look what he did with Gomes and Rondo. Truth is the Telfair deal was about money and we needed a PG and not another wing and Danny probably would have taken Rondo at 7 anyway. Speaking of that deal, Jeff has a piece over on Celtics Blog about trading Ratliff.
HOF Blog makes it clear that Dirk is no Larry Bird. I have to agree. I have heard comments over the years that this player or that player is the next Larry Bird. Face it, there will never be another Larry Bird. He was one of a kind and so unique that there will never be another player that combines all his attributes. He ends with this comment:
And, by the way, if I’m picking first … it would be a tough choice between Russell and Bird.
That is kind of the decision that the team picking first in the draft may be facing. Do they take the Russell-like defensive center in Oden or the Bird-like all around player in Durant. Tough choice.
The Berkshire Eagle compares signing Randy Moss to when the Celtics signed DJ. Both had the reputation of being a trouble maker and both had great talent. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. But it is worth it to take a chance and hope that it does.
19 days until the lottery... I'm as nervous about the lottery as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Anyone else feeling this way?
No one could ever mistake Johnny Most as an impartial analyst. He loved the Celtics and with every call, you could hear it. To Johnny, being called a "homer" was a good thing and we all loved him for it.
From 1953 through the present, the Celtics have had a couple of announcers who love the Celtics with no apologies for being one sided with their calls. From 1953 through 1990, Johnny Most was the radio voice of the Celtics. Most never pretended to be objective: his Celtics were near-saints who could do no wrong and anyone not wearing the green was the enemy and the scum of the earth.
He was a legend to Boston Celtics fans during the Celtics' 30 year reign from the 1950s through the 1980s as basketball's most dominant team. Most was as much honored in Boston as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Larry Bird. Boston Celtics fans learned at an early age when watching the team play on television to turn the sound down and listen to Most's radio broadcast of the game instead.
Born to Jewish parents, Most began his career in the 1940s mentored by Marty Glickman. He called road games for the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers baseball teams as well as the New York Giants and Army football team. In 1953, Boston Celtics owner Walter Brown and Red Auerbach hired him to replace Curt Gowdy as the team's radio play-by-play man on WBZ radio. He always referred to his perch at Boston Garden as being "high above courtside."
Most was never shy about criticizing the other team's players. One time Most described the Los Angeles Lakers' Kurt Rambis as "something that had crawled out of a sewer." He also nicknamed Washington Bullets players Rick Mahorn and Jeff Ruland as "McFilthy" and "McNasty." Kareem Abdul Jabbar was "Kareem Puff" and Isaiah Thomas was referred to as "Little Lord Fauntleroy." He called Magic Johnson "Crybaby Johnson" when he challenged a referee's call. Most's pro-Celtic descriptions could turn shoving matches into "bloodbaths" and minor fouls into "vicious muggings" and once during a game in Detroit, he loudly proclaimed, "Oh the yellow, gutless way they do things here." I still hear his voice ringing in my ears when a player fouls one of our guys hard. When a player such as Xavier McDaniel would come to the Celtics after being a favorite target of Most's venom, he would suddenly be rehabilitated into a wonderful guy.
He was famous for coming up with phrases to describe the action on the court as well. I use Fiddlin' and Diddlin' to describe the news and links columns on this blog as a tribute to Johnny Most. Johnny used the term fiddlin' and diddlin' originally to describe how Philly point guard Maurice Cheeks dribbled the ball for 4 or 5 seconds as he waited for the Sixers to set their offense but he ended up using that expression to describe the play of DJ and Ainge. They weren't true fast break style PG's and would dribble the ball up the court when waiting to set up the offense. They'd dribble the ball to one side of the court and then dribble the ball back to the middle. Rather than describe all the ball handling for 5 or 6 seconds at a time, he would use the phrase fiddlin' and diddlin' to describe their dribbling around.
Johnny's most famous call came the closing seconds of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals between the defending champion Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics' lead had shriveled to 110-109, and Philadelphia regained possession with five seconds left after an inbounds pass attempt by Boston's Bill Russell hit one of the wires that ran down from the ceiling of Boston Garden and helped support the baskets in those days. Hall of Fame guard Hal Greer prepared to toss the ball inbounds under his own basket. The logical target seemed to be Wilt Chamberlain in the low post, but Russell fronted Chamberlain and took away that option. K.C. Jones, guarding Greer, leaped along the baseline and frantically waved his arms to distract him as the five seconds ticked away.
To get a better view of the court, Greer jumped up and spotted high-scoring forward Chet Walker, seemingly open beyond the key. But Boston's John Havlicek had taken a position several feet off the direct line between Greer and Walker, making it look like Walker was open when he really wasn't. After counting off a couple of seconds in his head, Havlicek sneaked a peek over his shoulder at Greer just as he prepared to release the ball. He moved into the passing lane . but let Most tell it:
"Greer is putting the ball into play. He gets it out deep," Most intones, before his voices rises into a frenzy. "Havlicek steals it. Over to Sam Jones. Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!"
Havlicek tipped the inbounds pass away from Walker and toward teammate Jones, who dribbled out the clock as fans poured onto the court. The Celtics had the win, and would go on to capture their seventh consecutive championship. As Havlicek tipped the ball, Johnny Most could be heard yelling into the microphone in his raspy voice, "Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! It's all over!"
His second most famous call (and my personal favorite) came in Game 5 of the 1987 playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, the series tied at 2-2. Detroit had a one-point lead late in the game and needed to inbound the ball to secure the victory and take a 3-2 Series lead with Game 6 on their court. Isiah Thomas was inbounding the ball to Bill Laimbeer, who was in the backcourt. But in the words of the immortal Johnny Most:
"Now there's a steal by Bird! Underneath to DJ! He lays it up and in!! ... What a play by Bird! Bird stole the inbounding pass, layed it up to DJ, and DJ layed it up and in, and Boston has a one-point lead with one second left! OH, MY, THIS PLACE IS GOING CRAZY!!!" You can hear it for yourself on the clip below.
But perhaps his most memorable on air moment wasn't the call of a play, but was when he dropped a lit cigarette into his lap, setting his pants on fire while he was on the air.
On October 10, 1990, Johnny Most, who was a lifelong smoker announced his retirement due to health concerns. On December 3 of that year, Most was honored with the permanent installation at Boston Garden of his microphone, silver-plated and encased in a Celtic-green frame. The microphone was attached to the façade of the vantage point that Most always described as "high above courtside." On January 3, 1993, Most died at the age of 69 of a heart attack in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Shortly after his death, Johnny Most was awarded the prestigious Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Trustees of the Basketball Hall of Fame for his contribution to basketball. It was very ironic, considering that Most replaced Gowdy as the Celtics' play-by-play announcer. On October 4, 2002 (almost ten years after his death), Most was inducted into the media category of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame at the University of Rhode Island.
Johnny Most is fondly remembered by any Celtics' fans fortunate enough to have listened to his broadcasts. There was never a doubt that Johnny Most loved the Celtics and was an unashamed and self proclaimed homer. It was evident in his absolute defense of the Celtics and in every call that he made. He was truly one of a kind and is very much missed.
Not intended for use by other teams fans or their family. May cause sudden rise in blood pressure. This is not a bandwagon. Do not use for off topic dicussions. Mind your manners and obey the moral laws of decency.
Introducing!! "The Box" chatroom! For all your C's discussions! Especially cool for Live events, such as games, the lottery & draft, trades and breaking news! But you can also use it just to meet up with fellow Greeniacs any time you want to talk Green!
And since we are talking about boxes! Check this out....
"And it is a....Rajondo Rondo! RR! How cool!"
Rojondo Rondo everybody!
Okay, this is some phenomenon that I was obviously and completely unaware of until now....
"And it is a....
Rajondo Rondo! RR!
How cool!"
Apparently, people open basketball card packs (any card packs actually) and boxes "Live", on you tube, in order for you to share in the excitement as they open rookie cards and such.
Now, at first I was like "OMG, this is the dumbest thing yet", but then I was like, "Man these people are hilarious!...and this is the dumbest thing yet"! Funny in a "they're all gonna laugh at you" sorta way.
The tube I have here was one of the best of many I watched (who's the dummy?). Interestingly, in this vid and another vid I watched, there were Jefferson and Allen cards opened. Does that mean something? A sign maybe? Hmmm.
From a POV shot mounted from this dudes head, I got particularly frustrated waiting to get a good glimpse of the cards. Especially, when it came to the good ones. He opens the best packs and saves them to show for last.
Check out the card he picks towards the end. Take note of how he "only gets an 8" out of 1199 and "too bad it wasn't a 9"! What he actually gets is a Jersey card #8 out of 1199. "Get ready C's fans, it'll be on Ebay!" Too funny!
First, both the Herald and the Globe have articles on a study that has found that there is a racial bias in the officiating in the NBA.
They went on to claim that the different rates at which fouls are called "is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew assigned to the game."
Of course, David Stern says that their own studies show no bias, but what else could he say? I feel that there is more bias than just racial. Some refs have to have personal feeling for or against certain teams or certain players and make their calls accordingly.
This study gives credence to the feelings I have had all along, it's time for a change. In my article here on Loy's Place, I said that I felt it was time to take the absolute authority from the refs and Stern. There needs to be an oversight committee to assure that teams are getting fair treatment. Hopefully this study will open some eyes to the fact that there are biases among the refs and something should be done about it.
Also in the Globe, Jackie M admits to having basketball envy and wants to be a part of the post season party once again. She does a little gloating in reporting on the Spurs 3-1 lead over the Nuggets.
This makes me happy, because as someone who lobbied vociferously against the Celtics' attempts to trade for Allen Iverson, I find it fitting that Iverson's shooting touch has been hovering around 40 percent. Denver's point guard looks like a guy who only knows how to do one thing: dominate the ball. You all thought Iverson and Pierce together would bear major playoff fruit. Tell that to Carmelo Anthony. He and AI are one game away from a first-round exit.
Remember, too, the only way Iverson was ever coming here was if the Celtics parted with Al Jefferson. The more time I spend around Big Al, the more I entrench myself in his camp. He is candid about his previous shortcomings, including his lack of understanding of the work ethic required to excel. He's motivated, wants to be here, and yearns to be a leader. I like this kid, and not just because he's watching old tapes of Hakeem Olajuwon.
The Sun Sentinel reports that the priority for the Heat in the off season will be finding a point guard. Telfair is mentioned as a possibility. Riley has always been a fan of his and we may be able to swing a trade with themm, but please, not another trade for Antoine Walker...
NBADraft.net discusses the Celtics' cap issues. Although we are over the cap and have little wiggle room, there are options for the team because of the assets that Danny has been building including expiring contracts and young trade chips.
Bitterfans.com has a discussion of the merits of choosing Oden or Durant from a Memphis point of view. They want Oden there and any team other than Boston getting Durant since they are sure that the Celtics tanked.
Finally, Ian Thompson on SI.com discusses the merits of teams who are winning big by going small.
Bill Russell has his own blog and it is well worth reading. This is a guy who knows basketball. Here are some quotes from his first Blog on the Warriors/Mavs series.
On Defense
Every year in every major competition we always focus on the offensive players and make them the favorites. When they don’t win, we say it’s an upset, but before the game everyone concludes that the best defensive team will win the series. You can change the whole atmosphere of a situation by certain defensive moves, far more than you can change the atmosphere by offensive moves.
On Passing
A good pass is just as difficult as a good shot. There are two kinds of passes, one pass to get rid of the ball and one pass to make a play. The attitude of passing is to make good passes because if you make good passes, then shots become easier. If you make good passes you distract the defense. The coach should theoretically know his team and know how to help it accomplish what it wants to. In practice, the coach should watch the players passing the ball to certain spots and if they can’t do that, then figure out why they can’t. Likewise, if the target that they are passing to is not in the proper place, then why isn’t he?
On coming back from a 3-1 deficit
My theory was always never to concentrate on what you did wrong, concentrate on what you do right. That is how you want to play, but teams have ebbs and flows. When things weren’t going right, we’d always call time out and figure out that we weren’t playing the way we wanted to play, but the way they wanted to play. Well, that’s when you have to decide, when you’re playing good, what do you usually do? You emphasize going out there and doing what you do when you’re playing your best. What I did was I individually went over what plays to use to our advantage. Sometimes we would play a whole quarter running the same play. What made me do that? Well if they can’t stop it, why would we do the other guys job and stop doing it?
This is a man who knows basketball and knows how to win. I wonder if he would like to coach the Celtics again, or even just give Doc a crash course in basketball 101.
Throughout our offseason, I will be posting my thoughts on our players, listing their strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvements, and their future projections. I will be randomly selecting players to choose from. I'll start off with Ryan Gomes.
Ryan Gomes
Continuing from his career at Providence, Ryan Gomes has been a steady producer in his 1st 2 seasons in Boston And though he doesn't have the athleticism of Gerald Green or Tony Allen, or the future star label of Al Jefferson, Gomes continues to be a constant fixture who makes his presence known behind the scenes. Occasionally, he may be the one who comes through with stats that marquee players put up (such as the 21 pt, 17 rebound game vs. MIN or the triple double he put up against CHA). But for the most part, you can always expect Gomes to put up his customary 12 and 6, while providing solid effort on the boards and coming up with a few key loose balls. More and more, Ryan has been finding ways to add value to the team and provide his personal niche. He has raised his value to the point where he should be included into the list of core players.
Strengths
What has always stood out in Ryan's game is his ability to score near the basket. He's one of the best at converting rebounds into buckets for his size (a tad over 6'7"), even with bigger defenders hovering over him. His knack of coming up with offensive boards is impressive in itself--but his skill at using his left or right hand to get the shot back up off the glass makes him a very effective garbage scorer.
Ryan has been extending his range closer to the three point line this year, but it shouldn't come to anyone's surprise--he had been doing that at Providence 3 years ago. His ability to stay near the line and drain 18 - 20 footers has given his teammates a nice kickout option to look for when defenses collapse on them. Then, as defenses play him to shoot the ball, he uses his veteran savvy to draw trips to the free throw line. He'll do this by bringing the ball low to the ground in front of his man in order to get his man to swipe at it. Then, as his man has his arms in his way, Ryan would quickly bring the ball up in an act of shooting, getting himself purposely tangled up with his defender's arms so that the refs would call the foul. It works every time. Towards the end of the season, he took almost all of his shot attempts from midrange and out, and found success--but I would like to see Ryan mix up his inside/outside game more rather than just being a perimeter player.
Ryan's dribble penetration and post up game are often under-used. He has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive his way to the basket, as well as turn his back to the basket and back his way in. So far, we haven't seen Ryan do much of this, and that's because so far, Ryan hasn't been asked to score on isolation plays. But in the near future, we should begin to see his offense become more of a factor.
Weaknesses
Ryan isn't a high flying athlete, he doesn't have a lot of speed, and his size leaves him a tad shorter than most PF's. For these reasons, his name doesn't often come up as a future starting PF candidate. He's becoming a steady perimeter shooter, but he's not able to execute catch-and-shoots or stop on a dime and hit pull up jumpers. He's a set shooter. Aside from these areas, Ryan doesn't have any glaring weaknesses, thus why he has been a steady contributor.
Areas of improvement
In order for Ryan to have a bigger role on the team, he needs to become a scoring weapon off the bench, and that's exactly what I predict he will become next season. Gomes will be our 6th man next season and he will impact the game with his scoring and rebounding (I predict 16 ppg). As Jefferson and/or Pierce head to the bench for a breather, Ryan will come in and assume the scorer's role and provide the necessary help when they are out. We will see Ryan's value as a scorer rise next season, as he incorporates all his abilities into his role off the bench. This offseason, he needs to refine his post skills, his penetration skills, his ball handling, and sharpen his perimeter shooting.
Future Projection
6th Man; 3rd leading scorer on the team (behind Pierce and Jefferson), league's 6th Man Award Winner
Homer:Someone who shows blind loyalty to a team or organization, typically ignoring any shortcomings or faults they have.
I am very proud to be a Celtics homer. I love the Celtics. I have loved the Celtics for many, many years, through the good times and the bad times. I loved the Celtics through the Russell years as a kid. I loved the Celtics through the up and down years in the seventies. I loved the Celtics in the eighties when they were dominating. I loved the Celtics during the Carr and Pitino years when they were hitting rock bottom. And I love the Celtics now as they struggle to regain relevance.
I see their shortcomings but always see the bright spots along with them. I know that this past season the Celtics lacked defense and were very young and lost way more games than they won. I know that for the past 20 years, the Celtics haven't been close to a championship team. I know that for many of those years, we were closer to the bottom than to the top. But still, going into most years, I always had so much hope. I always felt that we would turn it around and that would be the year in which the Celtics would be a contender again. But never once did I ever think of not rooting for them or fiercely defending them.
I know many people who are fair weather fans. When the Bulls are winning, they are Bulls fans. When Detroit is winning, they are Detroit fans. When Miami is winning, they are Miami fans. For the most part, Boston fans are Boston fans for better or worse. We are always expecting things to turn around. We somehow know that even in the bad times, there is no franchise that even comes close to the Celtics. So much history and legend. So much Celtics Pride.
The best thing about being a homer is that there is always hope. The 60's were wonderful. We were on top of the world. The 70's were up and down but we had 2 titles in that decade to hold up to prove we were still a great team. Then came the 80's with Larry, Kevin, DJ, Ainge and Chief. Even in the off years when we didn't win a championship, we saw some of the best basketball ever played. Then everything seemed to fall apart. We had the second pick in the draft and picked a player who very well could have been even better than Michael Jordan. But 2 days later, he was gone, the victim of a cocaine overdose. Then we hitched our star to Reggie Lewis who was our hope for the future and just like that, once again the future was gone when Reggie collapsed and died. And even in the Pitino years, there was hope. These are the Boston Celtics. We may be down now, but wait until next year! I wish I had a dollar for every time I said "Wait until next year" over the past twenty years. I'd have quite a nest egg saved up.
And this past year I was so excited going into training camp. We had 2 very quick point guards who could lead the team. We had Jefferson and Perk ready to get to the next step. We had West and Gomes who had played so well the season before. We had a shot blocking veteran who could help our young bigs develop. We had Wally who could pull up for the jumper and stretch the defenses. We had Gerald Green who we just knew was going to be an all star. And we had Paul Pierce in the best shape of his career. We would finally show everyone that we had arrived. But then came setback after setback. We should have known how the season would go when we lost Red just 4 days before the season started. With injury after injury, we lost 312 player games to injuries on our way to the second worst record in the league. But again, there is hope. We have a core of very talented young players. We have a star in Pierce who is determined to be in even better shape than last season after a very disappointing year for him. We have a center who is going to be solid for years to come. We have kids who embody the term work ethic and are very exciting to watch. And most of all, we have a 38.7% chance of landing a top 2 pick in a draft with 2 franchise players up for grabs. All I can say is "Wait until this year!!"
Tomorrow Homerism Part 2: Johnny Most Friday Homerism Part 3: Tommy Heinsohn
Although the Herald and Globe seem to be concentrating on the Sox and Patriots, there are still a few things of note out there on the Celtics. Although the newspapers seem to dry up concerning the Celtics around this time of year, the blogs never sleep.
On Celtics Blog, Master Po explores the NBA rule that you often don't get what you pay for. He discusses total payroll and the value of Kandi, Ratliff and Scal for the money. A fun read with some interesting facts.
Perk is a Beast has a very short interview with Perk. He has been doing a little work but mostly chillin'. What caught my attention in this little piece is that he wasn't able to contact Telfair because he changed his number. Crank calls from Wyc maybe?
Full Court Press has a roundtable discussion to close the book on the season. One thing they are unanimous on is the fact that Doc should NOT get an extension. Let him coach as a lame duck if they must have him back but giving him an extension is like throwing throwing good money after bad. If they bring him back and realize that even with a top pick, the players being healthy and better, and possibly another vet, he still isn't a good coach and want to fire him mid season, all the good replacement coaches will already be hired by other teams. This seems to be a lose lose situation if they insist on bringing him back.
Detroit News has a piece on how the small ball era is dawning in the NBA. All the GM's are trying to emulate the Suns running team. Danny has certainly been building the Celtics in that mold. But the drawback with the Celtics is that he is only half building the team that way by hanging on to Pierce who doesn't really want to run. He still lapses into ISO's and the half court set much of the time. Also, he has a coach who doesn't have a clue how to coach a running team so we are stuck somewhere in limbo with most of the pieces for a running team being stifled by their star player and coach. Doc insists on having a big come back to inbound the ball instead of nearest player. He insists on having the bigs stop at the 3 point line and then play hot potato with the ball all around the arc before taking a shot. If we really want a running team, put the ball in Rondo's hands and let him direct the offense instead of running a set play every time down.
Michael McCann has a piece on the Sports Law Blog on The Celtics and the Law. They certainly have given him a lot to write about so far with Bassy's brush with the law, Allen's not guilty verdict, Perk's law suit by his trainer, and Pinkney's DUI.
Finally, tonight's Dallas/Golden State game should be a good one. I am pulling for Golden State because after the Celtics past 20 years, I can't help but cheer for the underdog.
21 day until the Lottery.... Is it me or is time crawling by?
I was reading about Dave Cowens in a couple of books on the Celtics and did some research on him. Maybe it is all the koolaid, but I see some parallels between Perk and Cowens. First, there is size. Perk is 6'10" and Cowens was 6'9", somewhat undersized for a center. Both make up for any lack of size with hustle and hard work. No one has a better work ethic than Perk and Cowens was a very hard worker as well.
Cowens came into the league after 4 years of college. Perk didn't have that background as he came into the league straight from high school. This past year was Perk's 4th season. He got a total of 32 minutes playing time his entire first year. His second season was only slightly better as he played in 60 games and averaged 9 mpg. The first half of his 3rd season, he didn't get much playing time as Blount was being showcased. Then, when he finally started to get more minutes after the trade, he dislocated his shoulder and had to sit out. This season he finally saw some regular playing time but was hampered by the plantar fasciitis that plagued him much of the season. In spite of constant pain in his foot he continued to play hard and play in pain to help his team. His first four years could be considered almost the equivalent of 4 years in college. So, this next season will be the telling one.
2 passages in the article on Cowens caught my attention:
"It was Cowens' consistency, work ethic, unselfishness, versatility and energy that established him as one of the most solid and respected centers in recent NBA history."
and
"An unlikely hero in a sport dominated by men of greater size and natural ability, the red-haired lefthander relied on hustle and heart to achieve NBA greatness. His determination helped to resurrect a Celtics dynasty presumed dead after the departure of legend Bill Russell."
Ok, Perk hasn't shown much consistency so far, but he hasn't had much chance. However, he has a work ethic second to none and he is very unselfish. I am fully convinced that Perk, like Cowens before him, will rely on hustle and heart to achieve NBA greatness.
Many don't see Perk becoming a dominant center and most have him pegged as a career back up. He has had to overcome a lot in his life to get here, both in his personal life and on the court. His first season, even though he didn't play much, he worked extremely hard to remake his body from an overweight high schooler to a very impressive NBA body. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures were taken over two years apart: one from a December 13, 2003 game in his first season, and the second from November 25, 2005. He is striking almost identical poses in the photographs with his hands on his hips and his elbows flared as he prepares to take a free throw. These pictures show the big difference in Perk as he worked very hard to remake his body. And keep in mind that he had already started working out and had come a ways already before the first picture was taken.
This off season, Perk plans on losing 20-30 lbs as he gained some weight while unable to work out because of his foot injury and build more muscle. This kid never stops trying to improve himself.
Many point to Perk's propensity to foul and say that he won't get anywhere because of it. Here is another quote from the Cowens' article
:"One of the things Cowens did too much in his rookie year with the Celtics was foul other players; he committed a league-high 350 infractions. (He would foul out of 90 games by the end of his career, a total that ranks among the top 20 of all time.)"
Perk has done a lot better in trying to limit his fouls this past season, although he still picks up a couple of ticky tack fouls per game. But some of his fouls that come from setting screens is because the help defense is so poor he gets hung out by it and gets called for the foul. Some fouls also come from a strong desire to win and going all out on the court to prevent the other team from scoring.
At 6-9 and 230 pounds, Cowens certainly was neither the biggest nor the most overpowering center in the league, particularly when compared to the likes of Lanier, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. His versatility and energy were his greatest assets, along with a willingness to sacrifice his own scoring total -- and his body -- for the good of the team.
Cowens ran baseline to baseline, set picks, made heady passes, participated in full-court presses, blocked seemingly unblockable shots, dived into the crowd after loose balls, muscled through the paint for tip-ins, and generally made himself a nuisance to Celtics opponents."
I believe that after this season, the above could be used to describe Perk. Perk may not be the biggest or most overpowering center in the league, particularly compared to the likes of Shaq, and Yao Ming. His versatility and energy and hustle are his greatest assets, along with a willingness to sacrifice his own scoring total and his body for the good of the team.
Perk runs the floor well and sets picks and is one of the team's best outlet passers. He blocks seemingly unblockable shots, dives for loose balls, muscles in for tip ins, and generally intimidates the other team. Perkins says he watches himself on tape after every game, looking for ways he can improve. He checks to make sure he saw cutters, set good screens and was in proper position on set plays. He sees improvement in his overall game on a daily basis, and he points to his post moves, an improved jump hook and the way he runs the floor as the biggest strides in his development.
This summer he plans to add a 15 foot jumper to his game and work on his offense. He is staying in Boston to work with Al and Clifford Ray and I am convinced that next season will be his break out season. He is at the point in his career where Dave Cowens was in his rookie year and I believe that Perk's work ethic and his heart and hustle and his loyalty to this franchise are going to show themselves in a big way this season.
"I just try to keep improving and not let them down, because the Celtics drafted me. I feel like I owe them something," said Perkins.
I believe he will be paying them back in spades this season.
There is no better way to get a poster in the NBA then by "slamming one" in someone's face.
The dreaded "facial".
The poster example presented here is the "run right past your defender and then jump over him while slamming it in his grill as you're looking down" play.
So...without further ado, a moving poster of Rashard Lewis courtesy of GG.
The NBA and the Vegas Summer League have released details on the 2007 Summer League. In a very interesting twist, the Chinese National Team will be participating in the league along with 21 NBA teams. This year's Summer League games will be held from July 6-15, 2007 at the Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center on the Campus of UNLV. Here is a complete list of the teams participating.
• Boston Celtics • Cleveland Cavaliers • Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Detroit Pistons • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • Los Angeles Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Milwaukee Bucks • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Hornets • New York Knicks • Philadelphia 76ers • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Seattle Sonics • Washington Wizards • Chinese National Team
First, on CelticsStuff Live last night, I learned something that was interesting. Ryan Gomes' comments after the Bucks game garnered a lot of attention from the media and blogs and David Stern as well, saying he would meet with Gomes concerning them. On last night's show they cleared up that his comments were taken out of context and several reporters send the whole interview with Gomes to Stern and when taken in context, they didn't have the same impact as that quote taken out of context. That is good to know. If you didn't listen to last night's show, it was a good one and you should catch the podcast.
Our players have been explicitly warned this season about the consequences of violating the law, as well as league and team policies regarding hand guns," Celtics CEO Wyc Grousbeck said in a statement released after Telfair's arrest last Friday. "There will be significant consequences for of any violation of these policies. We will closely monitor developments and take the appropriate action once we have all the facts."
Note that last sentence.
Tuesday, while acknowledging all the facts have not been determined, Grousbeck put the word out that Telfair's nameplate has been removed from his locker, and the Celtics aren't planning on keeping an extra jersey stashed away with his name on it. On Friday, they were waiting for the facts. On Tuesday, they admitted all the facts weren't in, yet they wasted no time distancing themselves from him as if he was spreading the Ebola virus.
In fairness to the Celtics, we don't know all the behind the scenes factors either. Maybe there was more to the NY incident than we know. Maybe the Celtics know more about this incident than is being released. Telfair was warned to keep his nose clean and he didn't. I have no doubt that if Tony Allen gets into another scrape it won't take long for the Celtics to dump him either.
Draft Express has the list of early entrants into the NBA Draft now that the deadline has passed. Some may still withdraw before the draft as they have until June 18 to withdraw and if they haven't hired an agent, they can return to school. They also have a good interview with Spencer Hawes.
Basketbloom has all you ever wanted to know about travelling in the NBA and were afraid to ask. All this and the Celtics still had to send a video of Big Al's moves to the league office to lessen the travelling calls on him. This past season travelling calls definitely were increased over years past.
The Herald gives us a glimpse of what the Celtics will be working on this summer. Of course, Eric Weiss's article on Celtics Blog beat them to it and was much more detailed and came complete with interviews.
23 days until the lottery. Is anyone else as anxious about this as I am? The results of these little pingpong balls could change the fortunes of this franchise for the next couple decades.
The article in today's Philly Inquirer got me to thinking about the officiating in the league. David Stern has set up the officials as absolute authority in the league and anyone who dares to question them is fined heavily and even suspended. But is this good for the integrity of the game?
The refs can very easily influence the outcome of a game. I have seen refs very obviously calling games for one team or another. I have also seen star players get calls amd role players never get calls even when the situations are identical. But if anyone dares question the refs or call them on their bias or bad calls, they get fined for it. What would stop refs from betting on games and then subtly affecting the outcome of the game by the calls they make?
In the recent Spurs/Mavs game, Joey Crawford took this behavior to the extreme. He called Duncan for a technical foul and even challenged him to a fight. Then, with Duncan sitting on the bench and laughing with his teammates, Crawford called a second technical foul on Duncan and ejected him. The result of this was a Mavericks win. Crawford was clearly wrong and was suspended for the playoffs, but that didn't stop Stern from fining Duncan for criticizing him. Duncan had every right to call Crawford for his behavior and the suspension proved this.
I have been frustrated at times during Celtics games where it seems that every call goes against us. I have also seen it go the opposite way and almost every call goes for us. In either case, it influences the outcome of the game and some refs appear to have an agenda for or against certain teams. But yet, when there are obvious bad calls, whether they are just blown calls or refs favoring a particular team, no one is allowed to question it. How can that be good for the league?
Already, in the first round of the playoffs, the refs have come under fire from some players and coaches about bias one way or the other. Shaq in particular was very vocal about calls going against him. He complained about the refs falling for flopping by the Bulls and he also was frustrated by the inconsistency of the calls.
"It's just unfortunate that people fall for that," said O'Neal, who scored 10 points in the first quarter before the fouls piled up. "I'm used to just outplaying somebody and just playing hard, but I guess that's what you got to do to stop Shaq." "I thought I was just standing there," O'Neal said. "Even if I did have part of the back of my foot on the line, they couldn't make the call watching two things at once. The inconsistency is just very frustrating."
Inconsistency is another thing that was called into question by the Inquirer article. On one hand, Haslem was thrown out of a game last year for throwing his mouthpiece and Heinrich threw his mouthpiece this season and received just a fine. We constantly see one team called for a certain violation on one end and the other team get away with it on the other end.
I would like to see a governing body being placed over the refs consisting of league officials, owners, players, and coaches. When a team files a protest, the committee would review the film and determine if there is a valid reason for the complaint. If there is, the refs would be penalized, and if there isn't, the team who complained would be fined. But to just fine players and coaches blindly, without ever questioning whether they are correct or not is not right.
David Stern is very concerned about the integrity of the league. He instituted the dress code. He fined Danny for sitting next to Durant's mom. He fined Nellie and Jordan for even mentioning Oden in a press conference. Coaches, owners, and players all have questioned the integrity of the officiating and in many cases, they have a very valid point. Yet, the only thing Stern does is to fine them and nothing is done to insure that the officiating is truly fair. And the refs can feel pretty secure to call games however they want because there is no one to call them into question. In my opinion, the Crawford case illustrates this. He figured he could call those T's without any reprisals. Do you think he would have done it if he knew that he was being scrutinized and would be punished? In this case, it was so blatant that Stern had no choice but to punish him but in other cases, it isn't as obvious and they get away with it. I expect the next scandal to come out will be a ref betting on games he officiates. Some of them obviously have agendas for calling the games and this may very well be it. Or, as in the case of Crawford there may be a player or team that gets under their skin and they refuse to give them the calls.
Stern has been quick to call for changes in the lottery to keep teams from tanking and to protect the integrity of the game, but if he really wants to protect the integrity of the game, he will put a system of checks and balances in place to keep the refs honest and to assure fairness in the officiating for all teams and all players.
Peter May talks about the deadline to declare for underclassmen. Oh yeah, and an unofficial list of players expected to declare.
Here is an excerpt:
...Danny Ainge finally can comment on Kevin Durant...
The official list of names will be released later this week by the NBA, at which time Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge finally can comment on Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant's mother, and Greg Oden without fear of David Stern's wrath (or worse, his henchmen looking for money).
That list always has a few head-scratchers on it, such as Donald Jeffes of Roxbury Community College, who threw his name in last year. To the surprise of no one, including Jeffes himself, he went undrafted.
“Tony’s situation certainly made it more public,” he said. “But not unlike Sebastian, Tony is a product of where he grew up. They have a lot of different things to overcome than a lot of people can understand. Unfortunately our children don’t always listen well, and sometimes they have to learn those lessons through experience.
“When you give some of these young guys money and free time, you’ll find that they don’t always make the right choices. Support from their team, and also from their agents, is one vital thing. That’s why you need seminars, but the fact is that some kids just have to find out for themselves. Sometimes they just can’t hear it.
‘Tony came close. It could have ruined his career, but hopefully parents are clipping out the newspaper articles about these situations and reading them to their children. Like I tell our players, nothing good happens after 10 at night.
“But I really think that Tony has been humbled by all of this. I’ve heard him in conversations with his little brother (Ryan), when he’s trying to get him to make the right choices and help him in things like choosing the right prep school. Tony’s really trying to pass things on in the right way.”
In a MetroWest article, Scott Souza points out the different way that the Celtics dealt with Allen and Telfair's situations. It is obvious that Telfair and Allen's situations were very different. It was Tony's first strike and he wasn't caught with a hand gun and there were only accusations and no real proof that he did anything. This is Telfair's second strike (3rd if you count the necklace incident) and there is no doubt that Bassy was going 32 mph over the speed limit, or that he had a gun in the car, or that he had a suspended Florida driver's license. After the New York incident, I am sure that Telfair was told that one more incident and he would be gone. I am sure Tony was told the same thing. The difference is that Telfair didn't listen and Tony did (at least so far).
On Celtics 24/7 Alex has a nice piece remembering the good times and pointing out that this is a shame and a tragedy for such a young player who had the world on a string at one time. The Sun Sentinel brings up a little tidbit that the Heat very much wanted Telfair in the draft and hoped to get him with the 19th pick. Maybe if Telfair had landed in Miami with a disciplinarian such as Riley his career would have unfolded differently. I don't believe that Telfair has been in a situation where he could use his talents - not in Portland and not in Boston. The systems just didn't fit him. The article also mentions this little tidbit.
Then again, if the Celtics follow through with their guilty-enough-without-allowed-to-prove-innocence approach, Telfair, 21, will be available for little or nothing in the offseason.
And that means Riley, who will lose Gary Payton to retirement, may yet again revisit that 2004 draft, when he left West, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Martin and Anderson Varejao on the board in favor of Wright.
Celtics Blog has a great article by Eric Weiss with interviews by Justin Poulin that details the summer plans of many of our young players. Well worth the read. I think every one of them will come back better than they were this season. Perk may make the biggest jump with a whole summer to work with Jefferson and Clifford Ray. Green may also make a leap after another summer with John Lucas.
The Herald has an article that points out that Sam Mitchell was on the hot seat last season and coached as a lame duck this season. Colangelo brought in a couple of European players including the top draft pick and shuffled a few pieces and suddenly, Sam Mitchell is the Coach of the Year and in great demand throughout the league. Could this happen with Doc? Will the Celtics make such an improvement with a top draft pick and a few other pieces along with the improvement in our young players that he will be considered for Coach of the Year again? Maybe if he, like Mitchell, coaches as a lame duck and proves his worth he will be able to name his price rather than settling for an extension on his poor record. I personally don't think so unless he can get a defensive minded assistant to help him out. Doc just hasn't shown that he values defense enough to make that kind of turn around.
Finally, the Globe has a couple of articles today. The first is a rambling piece by Shira that addresses Carlisle's firing and the fact that Stern plans to change the lottery because of all the tanking talk this season among many other things. There is a tidbit about Tony Brown being considered for the Pacer vacancy and this bit about Telfair's trade value:
Before Sebastian Telfair was arrested early on the morning of April 20 for felony possession of a handgun and speeding, the Celtics knew there were a handful of potential trade outlets for the third-year point guard. The scenarios were one-for-one deals, with the Celtics' 2007 second-round pick (No. 32) usually thrown into the mix. Think about teams like Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Sacramento, and the Clippers that might benefit from backcourt help. But following the arrest and subsequent remarks from Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck that Telfair had played his last game in a Boston uniform, a league source said the one-for-one deals had evaporated, leaving executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge with little bargaining leverage. The best deals always dry up when players and teams reach a point of no return. Just ask the 76ers, who had Allen Iverson then Chris Webber dangling, or the Pacers, who knew Ron Artest needed a new home long before he found one. Ainge basically has two viable options: pursue a multi-player package deal or waive Telfair. The good news for Ainge is that several teams expressed interest in Telfair after Grousbeck's comments sparked false reports that the point guard had been released. See the above list.
1. Reaf LaFrentz for Theo Ratliff - 35 million vs 22 million remaining liability - both get the same production (little or none). Raef won some games for Boston last year, take those wins away and we have a 19% chance at Greg Oden
2. Dan Dickau and Brandon Roy - for Sebastion Telfair 23 million vs 5 million remaining liability - a two for none and an honest to goodness thinning out process for Danny as he and Doc move toward their true core of guards believed to be Rondo, West, and Tony Allen.
3. So far I have identified 31 million dollars in Savings - so where does the other 19 million come from - Insurance on Theo Ratliffe's contract and the future savings off the luxury tax.
So I get it - Grousebeck saved 50 million - Danny gets to keep his job - and the excuse of not supporting Doc with talent is a perfect excuse to retain Doc Rivers (and not having to eat his 5 million salary by replacing him at this time).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Don't count on Grousebeck being a willing luxery tax payer. Also, if we strike out at the lottery, look for another draft day trade where we pick up future No 1s to go along with veteran help. There will be changes and not necessarily for the betterment of the team if things continue to go horribly wrong. Bottom feeding teams need some luck to find their way to break out of their cycle of losing. Since Bird, Parish, and McHale retired, things have gone south for the Celtics. In fact for our fab 5:
Bird - has fired his friend Rick Carlisle and his team is floundering
McHale - his team is stuck with Garnett and overpaid 2nd stringers - the Knicks syndrome
Parish - a quiet consultant for the Celtics
DJ - RIP in peace buddy..... Basketball truly stiffed you
Ainge - Inheriting an impossible situation but might have the best chance to make it as an executive at this point. Once again - LUCK has to return.
