What is up with New York? They have won 3 in a row over quality teams. First, they annihilated Detroit and then they beat the Wizards, who had just beat the Celtics twice, and finally they beat New Jersey. The Knicks won 3 in a row and the Celtics lost 3 of 4. Talk about Bizarro world.
It's a Baby Boom! First Perk had little Perk and now Leon has a little Leon and Pierce has announced that he is expecting a little Truth. I think Perk and Leon are both going to be great dads since both didn't have dads in their lives growing up. Perk said when he had the infamous bed incident that he was trying to be a good role model for little Perk when he tried to fix the bed himself. Leon has been fathering his younger siblings and loves kids and he is going to be a wonderful father. I am thrilled for both of them and very happy for these little ones who are going to have wonderful daddies. Inside the Bay Area reports that Powe, the tough enforcer on the court, was weak in the knees when it came to the birth of his son, Leon III. You just have to love this kid.
"I was doing good for the whole delivery until the end," said Powe, a former Oakland Tech High and Cal star now in his second season with the NBA's Boston Celtics. "Then they showed me the baby coming out, and I almost passed out. That was just too much. My legs were weak. I had to go sit down." Powe said the delivery by his girlfriend of 21/2 years, Llorren Cook, went smoothly. Leon Powe III arrived at 21 inches and 7 pounds, 14 ounces. "He's got big hands. They cover his whole face," Powe said. Powe, who grew up without a father, said he embraces the opportunity to raise a son. "Oh man, it feels great," he said. "It's great having a kid and being able to try to lead him in the right way, show him all the right things.
Delonte West is out of action again with plantar fasciitis. Poor guy can't catch a break. I really like Delonte. I miss his personality, but he just can't seem to stay healthy. I really like Delonte and wish him well. Get well soon Delonte!
The Oregonian had an amazing piece about KG's trash talking during the game. It seems they are blaming their loss on KG's trash talking. Here is a little excerpt from it.
The padded basket standard at one end of the court inside the TD BankNorth Garden got an earful from Kevin Garnett on Wednesday. He stood three inches from the thing just before tipoff, mumbling and shouting and slapping at the padding on it while he tied his basketball shorts, and loosened up. And I'm thinking if the thing had arms and fists, it might have decked the All-Star forward and saved the Blazers some trouble in the Celtics' 100-90 victory. Because after Garnett finished berating the basket standard, he stomped around during the game, staring, glaring, dunking and slinging an annoying barrage of trash talk at the league's youngest team. Guess what? It worked. First, LaMarcus Aldridge got an earful, then Channing Frye, then Travis Outlaw, and Jarrett Jack, and Brandon Roy. And when Garnett saw Trail Blazers' center Joel Przybilla foul Celtics' teammate Paul Pierce, oh man, here was Garnett, hurrying over, lips flapping, staring down Przybilla. Shouted Garnett: "I'll chop his head off on the other end!" Portland's problem against Boston wasn't youth, or officiating, or coaching, or being on the road vs. home. The Blazers' obstacle was one of the soul. What Portland lacked most on Wednesday was courage. "I think his talking did get to our big guys, a little," Roy said. A little? Przybilla scored three points to go with four fouls and two turnovers. Aldridge had four turnovers, and fouled out, but scored 16 points. Frye went 0 for 4 from the floor, and had four fouls. Outlaw had five fouls, and also, on a missed Boston free-throw attempt in the second quarter, Outlaw got caught listening to Garnett and let him slip past for an easy offensive rebound and dunk.
After the game there was a lot of animosity toward KG on the Blazers boards and he was called a punk and obnoxious and assorted other names. Gary Payton has always been known for his trash talk and let's not forget Larry Bird, who was also known to talk a lot of trash as well. I remember one game where Larry went up to a young player in the time out before the final play of the game and told him that he was going to hit the game winner right in his face and there was nothing he could do about it. And then, Larry proceeded to do just that. If trash talking gives a team an edge, then players are going to do it. It wasn't KG's trash talking that lost the game for the Blazers. It was his defense, and Perk's defense and solid team defense. KG could have talked trash all night long and if he didn't back it up with solid defense, it wouldn't have changed a thing.
The Globe had this little tidbit tucked away at the end of an article:
The NBA and Turner Entertainment are expected to announce today that NBATV and NBA.com will be moving to Atlanta and be managed and operated by Turner under a multiyear deal
Does this mean that we get to watch Havlicek steal the ball in a colorized version now?
I loved the press conferences after the Blazers game. First, KG and Pierce did a comedy routine. After one of KG's replies, Pierce leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Apparently they had a class on public speaking and Pierce was pointing out KG's use of "ya know" in his comments. Although Pierce used "Ya know" a few times himeself, he pointed it out to KG. Good stuff. Here is the audio of the exchange. And then, Doc brought Rondo out to do his press conference and the Globe has the transcript of it here.
Gerald Green will be defending his title in the Slam Dunk contest. I remember back to last season when Gerald's win was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season. I eve went out and bought a Geral Green Dunk Champion tee shirt. I can't wait to see what he comes up with this year. I hope Dwight Howard gives it another try because I think he was robbed last season. His sticker dunk was one of the most creative dunks I have seen in awhile.
It just gets worse for the Bulls this season. Talk about mouths. Joakim Noah just doesn't know when to be quiet. His antics are way more interesting than the Bulls' play this season so far. And now, their other rookie, JamesOn Curry has been arrested for a rather strange offense. At the beginning of the season, I thought that the Bulls were going to be at the top of the East. This is an example of what poor chemistry can do to a team.
We play the Sixers tonight. This is a district game and we need to win this one and send a message. Rondo will be out again but House and Pruitt handled the point guard duties very well last game. Hopefully they can build off of that last game. Also hope Ray is past his slump and will build on his performance as well. The key to the last game and to this game as well is aggressiveness. They settled for jumpers and didn't take the ball inside and weren't aggressive on defense in the 3 losses and they got back to being aggressive on both ends against the Blazers. They can let up against some teams, but not teams in our division.
Finally, I leave you with a video of the high point of the Blazers game for me. It is no secret that I love Perk and this play by him was just great. A steal and a behind the back dribble before the pass to Pierce that finished with a dunk by KG. Maybe Perk is making his pitch to play point guard! Love it!!!!
