I got a bunch of readers that a bigtime Celtic fans, so I am not going to act like I am some sort of expert on the city or the franchise. All I know is that this is a city that booed the likes of Ted Williams and Bill Russell, arguably the towns' two greatest athletes ever to play there. They can be ruthless. In addition, Boston is also a place that is notoriously consumed with its own teams and often oblivious to the rest of the nation (not that anyone there will admit this). The fact remains though that when you look at television ratings, Boston consistently has much lower ratings than the most of the rest of the nation when two neutral teams are playing in a league final.
Why does this matter? Well, last night Kobe Bryant and the Lakers played in Boston. The Lakers, who were public enemy #1 in Boston 20 years ago. The Lakers came in and beat the Celtics easily, handing them their 13th straight loss. This is not what stuck out in my mind though. The fans were cheering Kobe and chanting such things as "Kobe" and "MVP." You rarely ever see a visiting player get treated like this, and the last place I thought that this would ever happen would be in Boston. Say what you want about holding out for Durant and Oden, but this franchise is a mess from top to bottom. They have reached such levels of irrelevancy, that the fans are chanting "MVP" towards opposing players.
Look, I don't know what they are going to do to fix this. It seems like every day there is a new rumor out there. They have enough intriguing, young players to complete a blockbuster trade. I think that the first thing they need to do is fire Doc Rivers. He is the most overrated coach in the league. The guy won Coach of the Year in his first season, so he has this label of being a solid coach. The fact remains though that in his first year his team went 42-42, and in his entire coaching career he has never won a playoff series. He was fired in Orlando after losing 10 straight game (the Magic ended up losing 19 straight), and not he has lost 13 straight in Boston.
Beyond that, I don't know. Is Danny Ainge worth keeping? He has drafted some solid players, but nothing else worth mentioning. Are the Al Jeffersons and Gerald Greens going to pan out? Is Paul Pierce worth keeping through this horrific season? The Celtics once owned this town, and now they are not only well behind the Sox, but also behind the Patriots. I know a lucky bounce in the lottery can change all this, but Celtic fans know better than anyone that you can't count on that. Obviously, I would love to hear the thoughts of Celtic fans concerning all of this...
- Part of me envies the Celtics. My Knicks are playing well enough that Isiah just may avoid the axe. I just love hearing that he is going to vote for all Pistons in the all-star voting because he is "biased" towards them. Can you please get this loser out of the Garden??
- The Yankees have handled this whole Bernie Williams deal poorly. Either sign the guy to a major league contract, or tell him you have no use for him. All they are doing now is setting themselves up for the media and fans to rally behind Bernie in Spring Training. Once that happens, the pressure will be on them, and they will have found one more way to turn their clubhouse into a circus. If I was them, I would just let him go, but I understand if you are a Yankee fan that you are emotionally attached to him.
- Urlacher came out and said in the New York Times that the grass at Dolphin Stadium looks like it is going to play fast. Not a good omen for the Bears...
- With that being said I have an increasingly strong feeling that the Bears are going to pull it out...Don't ask me why.
STKAFI
18 comments:
before i get into the celtics part did anyone see durants line last night? GOOD GRACIOUS ALMIGHTY
when did Wally Scsdlkiak become the worst player in nba history?
knick fans in glass houses, should not throw stones...
i'll have more shortly.
well honestly if we took a poll to see which franchise is in a better state right now (considering future outlook, cap space and management I bet the majority of people would say the Celtics. While nobody expected them to do anything this year, I did expect them to be competitive with the young talent and the Truth.
yes I am pissed off to no end that they were chearing for the lakers. I mean i like kobe as a player but in no way would i ever chear for him in the garden.
The C's season ended when pierce went down . Pierce is one of the games top 20, I would even say closer to top 15. That became even more obvious since they have only won 2 games w/o him and have lost a miserable 13 in a row.
plus they are playing a lineup most nights that has an average age of under 23. losing allen for the season, perkins on again and off again, big al for near 10 games and delonte every other day doesnt help.
Yes Doc is not the answer but they know they are tanking and do not want to fire him and pay 2 coaches this year. (we arent the knicks we do not throw $ around unneccessarily...unless u look at my boy Scal...come on he is a locker room guy)
has ainge been good? at times yes. but trading for telfair was simply terrible. i mean the guy got beat out by steve blake in portland. i think the jurys still out on him.
i'll concede the 50 bucks this year but i bet we win 50 games before you do.
Last night I attended the Kobe Bryant show, very good seats... here's my impressions:
1) Green got off to a great start, hitting a number of shots on Kobe...
2) Then Kobe flipped the switch on Green, it was sureal, after Green hit a shot really right in Kobe's face, Kobe just went off. Like could not be stopped. 18 at the half, finished with 43
3) It was weird hearing MVP chants in Boston for a Laker (came right after Kobe's nasty dunk)
4) Rivers actually went to this matchup in parts of the first half and once or twice in the second half... I kid you not, check the game tape... Scalafreezy on Kobe
5) Lakers are a ridiculous passing team, really share the ball well
6) People were hating on Doc all night in the stands, I'll be shocked if he is back next year
7) The stadium was not loud at all even from the beginning, i know its hard to cheer for a team that has lost 12 straight but the loudest it was all night was the ooos and ahhhs when kobe would score
8) Did I mention Kobe yet?
Unrelated notes...
After the game I went to a bar and we caught the second half of Durant v. Texas Tech... are you kidding me? The Celtics need to tank this season no joke, bring back Luke Jackson, sit down Gomes and Green, they give you too good a chance
One more thing...
I'll give a Celtic fan $100 if they can find a clip of either Jefferson or Perkins shooting the ball with their left hand.... bump, bump, righty jump hook EVERYTIME... can we get these guys a move the other way??? Hey Doc... it's called practice, I'm talking about practice
Steve Blake is a solid young point guard out of a great school and even has a national championship to his name. He is even solid enough that someone (I won't mention fat skinny's name) actually picked him up in our fantasy league...hehehe, what an IDIOT! I'm sorry, even a Terrapin fan such as myself can't keep a straight face while saying all that. Steve Blake was a solid COLLEGE point guard but does not belong in the NBA, let alone on someones fantasy roster, christ! What were you thinking?
At least your not the worst team in the league though. No, that goes squarely on the shoulders of a certain sports blogger. 39 games out of first? Gimme a break.
No one said anything about the Knicks Rambone. The fact is tho that they have $60 million coming off of their cap number at the end of this season. After next season Stevie Franchise and his $15 million come off the books. I am not saying they are in good cap shape, but it is not as bad as it is hyped to be. If they bring in a Kiki Vandewaue to run the team, they will be on the right track.
With this being said, I would rather be in line to get a top 2 pick this season, like the Celtics are. Would I change the Knick roster for the Celtic roster though? Only if you could guarentee me Durant or Oden in the draft..
Melo's first game back Blake had 12 assists... I took a chance, then dropped him... look at your team name... it's the name of a 7'3 center, from a NIT bound team at best
Nice comeback...
...it's actually funny you should say that because I was going to change it yesterday at work to something good but I got sidetracked and now I can't remember what is was.
When you get into playoff contention though, then you can make fun of my team, until then, keep adding and dropping players like youre a day trader whos had way too much coffee and try and get out of the cellar.
Here's an interesting fact -- Brian Scalabrine possesses the top brain type for basketball according to brain researcher Dr. Jon Niednagel. That's a reason Danny Ainge got him -- Jerry West, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan are similar brain types as Scalabrine.
I am feeling so bad about the C's that I had to bring up the Knicks...hey im already out 50. can stern deliver oden to boston like he delivered ewing to ny?
by day trader drinking to much coffee were you talking about cloonan?
Yes. Jordan = Cloonan
I just wrote a whole thing on the celtics, and google timed out. I have no more energy left.
There were some "col-or-ado" chants to battle the mvp chants in the balcony last night(where the MVP chants were not that overwhelming)
I hate watching the young guys lose, but its tough not to get excited watching Oden or that beast from texas.
go celtics beat those clippers tomorrow night
I agree with some of the things you point out icecold, but I think your way off in saying the Celts franchise is a mess and reaching irrevelancy status. Rambone pointed out all the injuries this year. If Pierce and Szcerbiak are healthy, I don't see why they wouldn't be battling for a playoff spot, especially in the Atlantic Division. However, we're not talking about just this season, we're looking at the franchise's overall outlook. First off, we look at the draft next year in which they say could be one of the deeper ones in recent memory. You have a top 2 that rival anyone drafted in the past 5-10 years. If the Celts are able grab one of them, they have an impact player right away, possibly even an All-Star in the 2nd or 3rd year. Now let's say they get a pick in the 3-6 range. While I'd be bummed, Ainge would have to make his last stand as GM. Offer that Top 5 pick, and something like next year's first rounder, Al Jefferson/Gerald Green, and Theo. It would make the Celts an contender in the East.
I can't believe no one has mentioned Jordan's video on facebook yet. Or Slater's recent fascination with him as her facebook picture. hmmmmmm
also first poll question for the blog:
which sibling would you choose to play 7 minutes in heaven with?
a.jocelyn schur
b.meredith katz
c.curtin's brother
Merdith Katz, hands down.
D. Curtin's sister
e. The game Murph plays with his girlfriend every time he sees her "7 minutes in Hell, please don't kill me: The Chris Murphy Story"
i believe cjeasy had a typo...
Meredith Katz, Pants down.
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