It has been so long since I have been excited for an NBA postseason that I am not really sure how to react. I have managed to see parts, if not all, of every playoff game so far this year and I am legitimately enjoying it. For the sake of full disclosure I need to make a few statements before I continue with this post. First, I admit wholeheartedly that my renewed interest in the NBA is directly tied to the Celtics becoming relevant again. And, I admit that this is something that disappoints me. I was too young to appreciate the last great Celtics team (Because I was three and probably appreciating things like sugar, zoos, and the satisfaction that comes with being able to wipe your own ass) and for the most part, I have had a hard time staying interested in the NBA in general. There is a certain guilt that I did not take a more vested interest in the franchise during these trying times if only for the fact that the level of excitement I feel now would be greater, and perhaps more satisfying. But, there’s nothing I can do about that now. In all fairness I still watched and attended Celtics games fairly consistently, but I really didn’t follow them that closely. Losing to New Jersey and Jason Kidd with the Pierce/Walker show was our high water mark since the death of Reggie Lewis, so that’s depressing on many levels. (Sidenote: at least with Kidd in Dallas now we are guaranteed that we won’t have to see an insane number of crowd shots featuring Kidd’s “interesting” looking son at any Eastern Conference playoff games) Yesterday I watched the Michelle Tafoya interview of Garnett, Allen, and Pierce four times on television and once on Youtube. I’m not even kidding. The respect that these three guys have for the game and the legacy of the Boston Celtics is inspiring; if only more professional athletes took the same interest in the respective histories of their organizations (Obviously any expansion team from the 90s on that features Teal as one of their colors gets an exemption) If you watch the Garnet- LeBron commercial that shows half of each mans face you’ll notice that Garnett says that he “remembers seeing Bird win it”. Interestingly, LeBron refers to Michael Jordan, who single-handedly propelled the Bulls over the Cavaliers en route to a title.
But the success of the Celtics is not the only reason that I am excited for the playoffs. I feel like the NBA product is better this year than it has been in a long time. There are so many exciting players and teams in the league this year, and there has been no shortage of great storylines to go around. This makes it all the better for a Celtics fan. Not only is Boston playing great basketball, but the entire league is playing at an elevated level. I believe that this is true although without any numbers to support my claim I have nothing but my gut to back it up. (God knows that has been wrong before) Does anyone else feel this way? I just seem to recall a lot of god awful isolation offenses and embarrassing defenses over the past several years and there seems to be less of this (Denver’s defense would be an obvious exception; there are 40 year old claims adjusters from my men’s league who could probably drop 20 points on them, seriously…there are always exceptions). There is a great mix of “Stars” right now too, all in various stages of their “primes”, and some great younger guys too who are falling in line to take the torch from the likes of Shaq, Duncan, and Nash. (Read: Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Deron Williams). Throw in LeBron, Kobe, and Garnett and you have a ridiculous number of legit great players in this postseason. Even the commercials are better. The ½ face (where two guys are reading the same lines about the playoffs only their faces are combined… trippy, awesome) and the “where amazing happens” advertising campaigns are great, and infinitely better than the “I love this Game!” stuff we were getting before. All I think of when I think of “I love this game!” is Ahmaad Rashaad, and I don’t like to think about him.
I was legitimately disappointed that I was going to have to wait until Sunday night at 8:30pm to see the first Celtics game. The day dragged by at a painfully slow pace. I usually dread Sunday evening like nobody’s business but yesterday was different. I can only imagine the electricity that was present in the Garden before tip off. It is actually sending chills down my spine thinking about it.
I was going to write my playoff predictions in a post but I’m going to skip that since everyone has played at this point and it would be a little like betting on a game in the third quarter. But for what its worth (and from what I’ve seen so far) I’m predicting and hoping for a Celtics-Lakers match-up in the finals. What could be better for the NBA? It would be the ultimate exclamation point to a great season…two of the leagues most storied franchises renewing a great rivalry that has been virtually non-existent since the glory days of the mid 80s. And then the Celtics win it in a dramatic game seven…I just went from 6 to midnight.
Random notes:
I have decided that while I respect the completeness of Kobe Bryant’s game and I enjoy watching him play, I just do not like the guy. No one will ever be able to convince me that he would rather win and score 7 points than drop 80 in a loss. Does anyone remember that this guy more or less blasted his team prior to the start of this season and demanded a trade? Somewhere I have a “Kobe is a Scumbag” t-shirt, I need to track that down stat.
Please God, somebody make this movie
New Orleans and Chris Paul continue to impress me. Paul for his size, has an uncanny ability to create shots for himself. And he is a great passer who rarely turns the ball over, despite having it in his hands the entire game. Even more impressive is the fact that he is not playing like a guy who has no playoff experience. He made Jason Kidd look like Jason’s kid: god awful. Great guard play is so awesome to watch and there’s no one better in the league right now. I don’t think that the Hornets can get past the Spurs or the Lakers, but if they can add another decent player in the off-season they could contend for a title in a year or two.
Two first names: Sketchy.
Lebron is a beast. I don’t particularly care for any of the Cavaliers, and let’s face it, he’s playing with a bunch of scrubs…and winning playoff games. As Ballgame pointed out, three all-stars from Washington couldn't stop LeBron. He single-handedly won that game (and probably every one of the Cavs wins this year), but I don’t think these guys can get past Boston or Detroit. As far as LeBron goes, if he is going to become the “next MJ” he has to improve his shooting. For now, since no one can stop him when he goes to the basket, he’ll be alright. I just can’t imagine him hitting a clutch shot from 16 feet out.
The Philly-Detroit game goes long so I miss the first 5 minutes or so of the Celtics game…so Disappointing. Detroit will win this series, look for them to win the next game big. (I’ll just say this about Detroit; I once saw an episode of Cribs that featured Rasheed Wallace’s house and he had a huge urinal in his master bathroom, I just think that is awesome.)
I really wanted to see the tip off and get a sense of the pregame buzz at the Garden. Oh well. The crowd sounds loud, very very loud. The first thing I see is Garnett posting up and dropping a little baby hook. The Celts play good defense and Pierce sinks one from way downtown, his third of the night only minutes into the first quarter. There is a bounce in the Celtics step. A swagger that is visible and nearly tangible to me, watching the game on television, in Maryland. I know already that there is no way that they are going to lose to this team. Even when the Hawks claw their way back into the game, I still am not worried. Rondo is playing with a confidence that might not have ever developed without the off season acquisitions. The degree to which Garnett has elevated the abilities of his teammates is one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in all of sports. Casell comes in and scores 7 points (great, GREAT, pickup for the Celts), and all of the bench players get some minutes down the stretch.
Even when the game was in hand I couldn’t look away. These guys are that good.
One note on Isiah Thomas. It is clear to me now that the entire Knicks organization is engaged in some sort of “Eyes Wide Shut”-esque cult. I am certain that there is a dead girl somewhere in Thomas and Dolan’s history. She most likely died while in bed with Thomas, but on Dolan’s heroin. This is the only reasonable explanation for Thomas still serving in any capacity with the organization.
A New York Knicks Corporate Outing
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