Clear Statements

When the Celtics went through their 2-7 slump I was the first to say I was concerned. Loses in Los Angeles and Cleveland are not what had the Coach worried to the point where he thought the Celtics may be a tired team this early in the season but it was the back to back road loses in New York and Charlotte coupled with a terrible home loss to the Rockets that had Coach thinking the Celtics had lost some significant steam. I LOVE being wrong.

On Thursday the Celtics were on the second night of a back to back in Orlando riding a new six game winning streak and you could feel the hype around the game. The Magic had been playing great ball and they were amped for the opportunity to take down the champs. The Coach was pumped up as well and after a pregame burger courtesy of Molly's on the east 23 it was time for this statement game. The statement came in the form of defense, the same defense which is the reason why the Celtics are champions. Boston held Orlando under 20 points in three of the four quarters. The Magic are avering 102 points per game this season, the Champs held them to 80 on their home court.

Paul Pierce turned in a gritty 27 point 10 rebound 4 assist performance that is a perfect representation of the type of player he is. Orlando simply has no one on that team that can guard the Captain man to man. But as always it was more than Pierce, as well as more than the big three, it was BIG BABY. Glen Davis, came off the bench to score 16 points in 21 minutes of action. It was his defense however that made the biggest difference as he and Kendrick Perkins took turns on Dwight Howard holding him to 11 points. This is nothing new for Big Baby as he has had this effect on other bigs in the past as his strength and leverage really bothers low post scorers. The Celtics simply controlled the pace of the game and showed Orlando that they have some work to do.

After two days of rest of Green returned home to host Dallas yesterday. Great job as always by the NBA putting together a Sunday doubleheader the off week before the Super Bowl. It was great starting the afternoon with some high definition parquet and a Jimmy T sandwich courtesy of the "Pistol". Thanks to a 74 point first half, yes, 74 points, 20 from the smokin Ray Allen this game was gone as fast as the Coach knocked back his sandwich. It was a slaughter. Allen made four 3's, and Ed House again came off the bench to nail seven from deep and the Champs cruised to a 124-100 victory. While the hot long range shooting is always a huge ingredient for success it was KG and Rondo that set the tone early. Garnett got whatever shots he wanted early as Dirk was over matched against the ticket from the first touch on the left block. Then it was Rondo running Dallas' tired legs ragged as he had 14 assists and 4 steals to go along his 13 points. The Celtics were a +28 with Rajon on the floor, which signals dominance.

The second half of the double header took us out West for Lakers Spurs at Staples. San Antonio coming off three wins last week could not find a groove as the Lakers defense quicky became the story. They held the Spurs to just under 38% from the floor which included 5-23 from deep. The real story for LA continues to be their depth and yesterday was no different. Jordan Farmar returned from a knee injury that has sidelined him for 18 games to give the Lakers 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench and Trevor Ariza, yes the same Trevor Ariza the Knicks used to get Steve Francis lead the second unit with 17 points as the Lakers cruised to a 99-85 victory. When Ariza was with the Knicks and then Orlando you could see there was talent, you could see athleticism and if you paid any attention and knew how to read you could see that he was a very young rookie after only playing one year of college ball at UCLA. The guy just needed some seasoning and a coach to give him a role that fit his skill set. Phil Jackson has done exactly that. With Ariza, Farmar, Sasha, Odom and Radmanovic the Lakers have serious players that can mesh with the starters and bring it each night. These reserves give the purple and gold consistant shooting, ball handling and athleticism that sets them apart of the rest of the second units around the league. The Lakers now lead both the Spurs and the Hornets by eight games in the loss column for best record in the west and they remain ahead of both the Celtics and Cavs by precentage points for best overall record in the league.

Wednesday’s Monster’s

A full slate of games yesterday brought more than a few monster performances in league. Coach loves big performances, last night featured big's, floor general's, specialist's and of course just all around studs.

Let’s first start in New York where the Suns fresh off of a spanking in Boston came in to face Coach D and the Knicks. Now the Knick record is not pretty but when was the last time they mailed it in at home? You can’t remember can you? The Knicks are playing hard on their home court and thanks to the double double machine David Lee’s 25 point and 16 rebound performance and Nate Robinson’s 20 points off the bench the Knicks defeated the Suns 114-109 last night at the Garden. But here are the interesting numbers for the game: The Knicks were a -12 with David Lee on the floor, +24 with Nate Robinson, +21 with Danilo Gallinari and a +12 with Al Harrington. Hard to believe a positive player like David Lee could be a -12 with a 25 and 16 evening. None-the-less he controlled the glass and the Knicks had a 60 point second half.
Down south in Miami the Celtics came out of the gate quickly in the first quarter out scoring the Heat 29-10. Kendrick Perkins returned to the middle which means Scal went back to the bench but the story was Ed House’s six 3 pointers in the second quarter, and Ray Allen’s 27 points including 5 treys of his own.
The Cavs got two huge performances in Portland as the King posted 34 points and 14 assists, while Mo Williams drilled six 3 balls and finished with 33, that is an impressive win following Monday’s loss in LA…Chris Paul and Devin Harris matched up last night and CP3 was dominant with a 29 point, 9 rebound, 8 assist and 3 steal showing while Harris, well, if you really want his numbers you can find them in any local paper, rough night for the former Badger…staying with the PG’s Deron Williams had a big showing in a big game against the Rockets with 32 points and 11 dimes, but it was the scoring balance, three point shooting and rebounding that lead the Rockets to a big win over Utah.

But the MONSTER of the night was Andrew Bynum against the Clippers. 42 points on 17-24 shooting and 15 rebounds, 8 of them on the offensive glass. He simply destroyed the Clippers in the paint. Now he was facing DeAndre Jordan and Brian Skinner but 42and 15 is still 42 and 15.

Huge game tonight in Orlando as the Celtics take on the Magic. It is going to be intense, nasty and very entertaining. The homecourt race in the Eastern Conference makes these games that much more important. The Champs need to make a statement this evening.

Scal = 5 Straight

The 34-9 defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics recently went through a 2-7 slump which had many worried, including the Coach. Then news of an injury to bruising center Kendrick Perkins put Head Coach Doc Rivers in an interesting position. Do I start one of my key big bodies off of the bench (Leon Powe or Glen Davis) or do I roll the dice and start a guy that doesn’t play much but knows our system well and will mesh well with the first unit until Perk returns. Well Doc went with Brian Scalabrine and the Red Head has helped the Celtics rip off five straight wins including a thrashing of the Phoenix Suns last night in Boston. Scal and Garnett matched up with Shaq and Amare in the early stages before Leon and Big Baby got their chances and they never let the Phoenix front line get going. Scal made sure he leaned on Amare each trip down the floor defensively and busted his butt up the court after each Celtics stop to put pressure on the slower retreating Suns. In basketball it is sometimes just as much about the role players as it is the stars and this is a perfect example. Scal will give you what he can every night: good defense on and off the ball, wise decision making and on those special nights he’ll find his groove from behind the arc and knock out a couple of open 3’s. Heck he is even getting to the rim for a few dunks as you can see below. During the five wins he is averaging 8 points per game but again it is the little things and the chemistry that don’t show up in the box score, you need to watch the game with a close eye for things like that.



Coach is on the move like Tony and Jack…

My Ears are still Ringing!!!

It is Tuesday and the Coach still can't get King James' message out his head. It was Friday night!!! It has been 4 days!!! I am still seeing the KING...and his out of this world performance against the Champion Celtics with every thought I have about the game.

The victory for the red hot Cleveland Cavaliers over the suddenly slumping and bewildered Boston Celtics was quite a statement. Before I can even speak about my un-recognizable Celtics I need to say this, Friday's performance by LeBron James was one of the best all around performances I have seen in a very very long time. He did it at both ends all night. As his stat line was off the gage (38 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals) but it was hs will to dominate the Celtics that was most clear on the floor in Cleveland.

HE WANTED THE GAME MORE THAN THE ENTIRE CELTIC TEAM COMBINED. Think about that, that is frightening.

Through my travels and young career I have been very lucky as far as meeting people and who some of my friends are. My man at the Swoosh sent me this on BBM during the 2nd half as Cleveland was burying the Celts; "Bron told his Nike sports rep that tonight I am goin to ice that m*th@r f*ck#r." LeBron was obviously directing that at Paul Pierce as those two have a pretty interesting history which of course is highlighted by last season's epic 7 game Eastern Conference Semi-Final series. Now you may ask why I included the BBM, and may just say it was one game, but here is my concern, Pierce looked shell shocked for most of the game. I have seen Pierce have off nights, I have seen him beaten by the his opponent but this was a thorough ass kicking to say the least. To me this was a big game for both teams, home court must be had, messages must be sent, the Cavs sent a major one with that victory and LeBron flat out told the Celtics that this conference is going to be his again.

Sticking with my Celtics they just haven't looked right since Christmas. Did the 19 game streak take that much out of them? Was is it just a matter of time before a slump came? Maybe the lack of scoring punch off the bench is catching up to them. Danny Ainge has been on the phones for the last two weeks and made at least one attempt to acquire JJ Redick from the Magic to give the Celtics some additional shooting off the bench, but Orlando isn't bitting. The Magic believe they are title contenders right now with the Celtics, Cavs and Lakers and there is no way they ae gonna put themselves in position to help the Celtics.

The Celtics are trying to right the ship by winning a back to back against Toronto but it took overtime at home to get it done last night after Ray Allen's eight 3 balls lead them north of the boarder on Sunday. Brian Scalabrine has been inserted into the starting lineup for an injured Kendrick Perkins (big Perk hurt his shoulder gain, yes the one that was operated on last off-season) Paul Pierce delivered like the Truth knows how last night with 39 points as he is attempting to put the LeBron thrashing behind him. Think about how scary this is, Pierce is a physical player, he is 6'6" 230lbs nothing to sneeze at. The King out weighs him by 30-35 lbs and has 3 inches on him, SCARY.

Around the league...

Brook Lopez is quiety becoming the second young star on the Nets right behind Devin Harris. Lopez last night had 31 points and 13 rebounds in a home victory over Oklahoma City. On the season he is at 10.7ppg 7 rpg and 2 bpg, not bad for a rookie who many thought would be a bench player at best in the league. Another wise decision by Rod Thorn. If the Nets could just figure out how to get people in the building this 19-19 team would be able to build some more excitment...

This just in from New York this morning: Eddy Curry’s former driver hit him with a lawsuit on Monday with a laundry list of allegations, one crazier than the next. According to the suit, Curry solicited gay sex from his driver “in the nude,” allegedly telling him, “Look at me, Dave, look” and “Come and touch it, Dave.” This is flat out creepy, I mean to do that would take some effort on Curry's part and we all know that doesn't happen too often. This sounds like a pissed off employee who Curry has stiffed out of some cash to the Coach. We'll see what develops.

Sticking with the Knicks, New York won in New Orleans last night, that is serious!!! The Knicks scored 32 points in the 4th quarter against a quality western conference opponent in their building. Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler and David Lee combined for 63 points as they are becoming a very interesting front line that is tough to match up with because of their skill sets and verstility. This is a win the Knicks can know refer back to when they are in tough spots down the road.

I am on the run like Bauer and Almeida...

Enough is Enough

Well many of you I am sure were waiting for this, some of you expecting it and some of you just want to read what is running through my mind as the Celtics as far as I am concerned have entered into their first Code Red status since this group came together in the summer of 2007. Road loses, especially out west are part of the process, but losing to the Knicks, then the Bobcats and then at HOME to the Rockets has put the Coach in another place...PANIC. The thing about it is that it is not a mystery as far as what is going on out on the floor.

There is a lack of intensity on both ends of the floor. There are too many wasted possessions on offense either forcing the ball into the post against what looks like the best match-up possible or Rondo dribbling back and forth along the baseline like Steve Nash. Rondo, along with Pierce and Allen must attack on the bounce but some of these decisions and possessions are killing them and the Coach!!!

The depth has clearly become a cause for concern. The second unit has been in question since James Posey left for New Orleans. However, they started the season fairly well, and they were quite good durinig the 19 game winning streak, but not right now. There is a lack of scoring punch and there is a lack of a consistant commitment on the defensive end. This team has been about getting stops. Stop after stop, after stop and then executing offensively in transition. That is no where to be found right now. The kick out 3's on the break, the trailer coming down the middle of the lane attacking the rim, and the ball reversals have become few and far between.

So the Coach is asking himself, how does this get fixed? Do they need a closed door meeting to go at each other? I am sure that has been done already. Does Doc Rivers take the blame as the head coach? He needs to absorb some of it. Maybe it has been better game planning by opponents to slow down the Celtics...has the rest of the league figured something out? The one thing the Celtics were vulnerable to last year were athletic wings who could penetrate and create opportunities for themselves on the dribble as Joe Johnson, Jason Richardson and of course LeBron James proved numerous times last season. But in the finals the Green kept Kobe in check on their way to the title. There is no way that losing James Posey is the reason they are in this slump. Talking heads say they are a tired team. Really? Tired at new year's? I can understand a lull right before or after the all-star break, but this play, this lack of intensity and this lull can not continue, not with the LeBron and the Cavs waiting at home...