Rashard Lewis Suspended 10 Games

Rashard Lewis has been suspended without pay for 10 games by the NBA because he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels.

Unfortunately, the Magic do not play the Celtics during the first ten games of the season. However, this is going to be a tight race in the East, and I'll gladly accept any turn of events that puts Orlando or Cleveland at a disadvantage.

Lewis says that he was taking an over the counter supplement that contained substances banned by the league, and his statement said that he hopes "every athlete can learn from my mistake that supplements, no matter how innocent they seem, should only be taken after consulting an expert in the field,".

Ordinarily, since Lewis plays for a rival team, I'd be screaming steroids here. However, Lewis has already told the press exactly what caused the positive test (DHEA). I'm much more inclined to accept the "taking a legal supplement not knowing it contained a banned substance" story when the athlete specifically states what it was that they took. It's only when they are vague in their explanation that I get suspicious.

Blood In The Water

This man (who admitted he's been very grouchy lately) is a cold blooded killer, and it was clear last night that he will not be denied this championship. I realize that you can't change your prediction once it's been made, so I'll stick with 6 games. But, if I could go back in time, and make a new prediction after what I saw last night, I'd say get the brooms out. This thing will be over soon.



JA Adande from this morning's Daily Dime:

"He's so ornery that his daughters have renamed him "Grumpy" from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." A Lakers staffer encountered him in the workout room before the game, normally a chance to exchange a few pleasantries, but took one read of Bryant's mood and didn't say a word. Those who spend a lot of time with him say they haven't seen him this focused for such a long stretch. The only time he's cracked a smile in front of the media the past few days came Thursday night when, ironically, he was discussing how solemn he's been.

Weep not for the isolated family members or fearful work colleagues. Feel for the Orlando Magic instead, who paid the price for Bryant's battle against the giant names of the past in a 100-75 Lakers victory in the opening game."

NBA Finals Prediction: The Unavoidable Teabag

This long layover between the conference finals and the finals has really brought me back down to Earth. If I had written this preview on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or even Wednesday, I'd be picking the Magic. Playoff excitement will do that to you sometimes. You get swept up in one team's momentum, and it causes you to lose sight of reality, and you find yourself clinging to shreds of hope that symbolize what would make this postseason the most memorable. For me, last year, this phenomenon led to me trying to convince everyone that the New Orleans Hornets were going to make a run all the way to the NBA finals. It's fun to root for these new and exciting teams. It's like rooting for Santa Clause. This year, it seems to have manifested itself in my misplaced "belief" that the Magic had all the right kind of mojo going on right now to beat the Lakers, therefore making the Celtics look great for having taken them to 7 games in round 2. Luckily, this waiting period has calmed me, and I am now bringing you a very grounded and realistic perspective. My emotions have settled and I am thinking more clearly. That 5-day handgun waiting period law really does make a lot of sense.


Before I begin to make my prediction, I'd like to state that unlike the people at Nike and those fucks at the league office, I am thrilled that we didn't end up with a Kobe LeBron finals, because I believe the Lakers are superior to the Cavs in every way, and it would have been one of the most anti-climactic moments in sports history.


Now, you can certainly make a compelling case for the Magic:



I ripped into Dwight Howard earlier in this postseason for still needing to develop effective post moves. However, as I have watched him more and more during these playoffs (I basically never watch the Magic during the regular season if they are not playing the Celtics), I have finally arrived at an appreciation for what a dominant force he actually is. That I always thought him overrated was just a product of me not realizing exactly how athletic he was. His ability to run the court is tremendous for a big man, and he is a very dangerous player when he moves his defender out of the paint and they run pick and rolls with him. In transition, his ability to get down the court quickly and establish position leads to a lot of easy buckets and trips to the free throw line.

Rashard Lewis is a matchup nightmare for anybody. It's hard to imagine Pau Gasol defending him out on the perimeter. He and Hedo turkoglu, with their size and shooting range, give any defenders nightmares. Rafer Alston's quickness could give Derek Fisher trouble. Mikael Pietrus and Courtney Lee have been playing at an incredibly high level throughout the postseason. Marcin Gortat has done a great job of spelling Dwight.

The play of the Magic has improved steadily throughout these playoffs, and it's hard to imagine them playing at a higher level than they are right now. Were it not for two incredibly heroic LeBron James performances, they would have swept the Cavs. They've played the Lakers twice this season, and won both games.

It all seemed to make sense around this time yesterday. You can't argue with that type of momentum.




However, as I slept last night I started envisioning how this thing will actually go, and I woke up this morning feeling very centered and having no doubt in my mind that the Lakers will win this series. Here's why:

- Yes, the Magic are 2-0 against the Lakers this season. However, Jameer Nelson dominated in both of those games, and they were still very very close. Plus, I would imagine that these matchups carried much more urgency for the Magic than they did for LA.

- LeBron James absolutely tore the Magic apart. But, nobody was there to help him. I expect Kobe to do the same thing as LeBron, but there will be some key differences: A) Kobe's coach will be sure to get him the ball in favorable scoring positions B) Kobe has a more polished game, and can score down low with his back to the hoop C) Unlike LeBron, Kobe has good teammates and getting them involved makes the team play better. The statistical impact may not be as great as what we saw from LeBron, but the overall impact (I expect) will have a much more profound effect on the series.

- Do you feel like the Lakers were ever really tested in this postseason? They certainly let their guard down against a Yaoless, Tmacless, pesky Houston team. But, there was no sense of panic, no real sense of worry. That was the most un-game-7-like game 7 I've ever seen. There was never any doubt, and they really don't even seem labored at this point. Just taking care of business.

- We've all spent so much time this season talking about how difficult it is to defend Rashard Lewis (well, at least I know Celtics fans have ever since KG went down). However, in this case, it is also very fair to ask how Rashard Lewis will defend Pau Gasol, who (kill me please) is an increbly saavy and versatile scorer inside (I hate him so much). He will give Lewis fits, and he will also most likely draw some key fouls against both Lewis and Dwight.

- You can't lose sight of Lamar Odom in the Rashard Lewis discussion. The best way to defend a 6'10 tweener with range is with another 6'10 tweener with range. With the exception of KG, who could be better suited to defend Rashard Lewis than Lamar Odom?

- DJ Mbenga is 7 feet tall and can eat up fouls against Dwight.

- Trevor Ariza is a very athletic ballhawk, and I think he will do a good job defending Hedo Turkoglu (to whom he only gives up 2 inches).

- Dwight and Kobe will both spend a great deal of time at the free throw line in this series. Big advantage: Lakers. The Cavs shot free throws horribly last round. Dwight, obviously, is shaky at the line (yes, I know he shot 70% last round....call me when he does it over the course of a season).


The Prediction: Lakers in 6. I've been preparing for this since KG went down in February.

The Shield Is Down

Wow. Raise your hand if you turned away from this at halftime (as it seemed pretty predictable at that point) and ended up going to bed early. My hand is raised. Good thing we have DVR. I can't wait to check out how it went down at the end.

Worth mentioning (and I know you've heard this 1 million times already) that this is the third time the Magic have defeated the Cavs in their four total meetings. I know people say it's irrelevant, but I don't really see how they can feel that way. Cleveland didn't take many nights off, and they certainly didn't lose many games. Obviously there's something to it.

In this era of Shaq-proofed backboards, this counts as a serious feat of strength:

Flatline Blue and the Taste of Loss: The Roomofzen Tries To Live Up To Its Name

The only disappointing thing about this team is the way that they went out. It would have been much more appropriate, and much more telling of the season they had, for them to go out fighting and clawing for victory. That didn't happen. But, we can't complain. This Celtics team defended their title valiantly all season, and they never let any setbacks turn into excuses for them to mail it in. They gave us everything they had. Unfortunately, last night, they had nothing left. And I'll thank them for that, because it's not often you see a team completely empty themselves.

I still feel upset about last night, not upset at the Cs, but just because it was upsetting to watch. We started to see signs that this team was done in the second half of game 6 when they uncharacteristically pissed away a lead (sorry for not being more eloquent). But, it was clear last night that the Celtics' tank was empty. Orlando hasn't been able to hold a lead in the fourth quarter throughout this entire series (let it dwindle down in game 1, lost it in games 4 and 5). But heading into the fourth last night, with the Celtics barely breathing, the Magic sharpened their focus and squeezed the life out of the Cs. The Celtics let a lot of shots go uncontested, they were sloppy, and they couldn't finish. Paul Pierce's two missed free throws and Kendrick Perkins' three consecutive missed layups on one possession were tell tale signs that this team was exhausted.

I should say something like "Tip of the hat to the Magic. They were able to weather some tough setbacks in this series. They have some great shooters, and they create a lot of tough matchups." But, I'm still bitter, especially because with both teams at full strength the Celtics win. So, what I have to say would probably come out filled with backhanded compliments like "Dwight Howard impacts the game in so many ways that no other player can. Once he actually learns how to play basketball, he'll have a real shot at becoming one of the best big men this game has ever seen". And, I certainly don't want to do that.

We'll have a lot of issues to tackle this offseason, the biggest being the futures of Leon Powe and Glen Davis. I wouldn't be surprised if Big Baby played his way right into a big contract during this postseason. Don't expect the Celtics to overpay. Remember, they wouldn't overpay to bring James Posey back. All the reports I read last offseason indicate that the biggest priority is making sure there will be enough room to retain Rondo and Perk (in 2010 and 2011, respectively), as the organization views the two of them as the bridge out of the big three era and into the future. Will Glen Davis be the third part of that bridge? Tough to say right now, but I expect that we'll know where the organization stands soon enough.

We're going to spend a day or two reflecting on everything that has happened, and then we'll be counting down the top ten moments of this season. PLEASE send us an e-mail at oracle@roomofzen.com with your votes on both the top moment, and how you think the top ten will shake out. We'll hopefully have a reader quote for each moment. Be sure to include moments that you think would be in the bottom half of the list (as some of those are more memorable).

After a brief staff meeting, here are some of the nominees to be on our Official Roomofzen Top Ten Moments of the 2009 Season:

Opening Night, Paul Pierce in tears as the trophy is brought to him by the Celtic greats

November, Celtics come from behind to knock off the Raptors, KG wags his finger in Calderon's face

Two days later, Paul Pierce hits a buzzer beater to sink the Hawks

Election night, the Cs grind out a tough victory in Houston, I get yelled at by my fiancee for refusing to change the channel (in the final minute of the game) to the announcement of the new president, causing us to miss the official announcement.

Ray Allen hits a big three to seal a victory in Philadelphia

The KGless, TAless Celtics defeat the Cavaliers in Boston on a Friday night in March. Big Baby is ejected, LeBron clangs a dunk right off the rim.

KG's (temporary) return inspires the Cs to victory on a Friday night in San Antonio

A Sunday afternoon in March, the Celtics lose to Orlando, but Paul Pierce passes Robert Parish to become number three on the all-time Celtics scoring list (behind Bird and Havlicek)

Round 1, Game 2, Ray Allen wins it for the Celtics with a last second three pointer. About an hour later, we see Tommy Heinsohn at the Fours. He exclaims "It's time to wet the whistle" and orders a bloody mary and a shrimp cocktail

Round 1, Game 5, with KG in street clothes and Ray Allen fouled out, Paul Pierce leads the Celtics to a 2 point overtime victory.

Round 1, Game 7, Celtics seal up a victory in one of the greatest first round series in NBA playoff history.

Round 2, Game 4, Glen "the raging animal" Davis hits a last second jumper to give the Cs the victory and even up the series.

Round 2, Game 5, Despite being down double digits with just over 5 minutes to go, the Celtics find a way to win at home and take a lead in the series. The highlight was Stephon Marbury scoring 12 points in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. Ray Allen hit a big three to seal it for the Cs.

Again, please email oracle@roomofzen.com with your picks for top moment, your top ten moments, and please let us know if we've left some out.

For now, I will refuse to go quietly in to baseball season. Let's all hope that Carmelo, KMart, and Chauncey can be 2009's version of Pierce, KG, and Ray.

This game is beautiful.

The Frustration Boils Over.

It's hard for me to even articulate why last night was so upsetting, and left me proclaiming loudly that "there is no god!" If Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe were healthy, I'd feel great. It would just be another typical series for this group. At full strength, I don't think anybody could beat the Cs in a game 7 in Boston. But, they're not, and that's why last night was unacceptable. After Sunday and Tuesday night, the Magic were on the ropes, and the Cs should have finished them off. Instead, they choked away a lead, let their foot of the Magic's throat, and let them back up. Now, it has become a one game series, and the Celtics are undermanned.

Yes, they'll have the crowd. Yes, they have the history (have never lost a series when leading 3-2), and they have all the intangibles and cliches that any fan would hope for. Those things make me optimistic. But, the fact still remains that without KG and Leon, they are taking a depleted front line in to bang with Dwight Howard. The fact still remains that without KG, Rashard Lewis is a huge mismatch for the Celtics. The fact still remains that, despite all the intangibles, they WILL NOT WIN if Ray Allen and Paul Pierce don't have better shooting nights. Glen Davis has had an incredible postseason, but wasn't he due for the trouble he had last night? He's a young player and we can't expect him to put up 20 and 10 every game. It's just not realistic. What happened in games 4 and 5 was memorable, but we can't expect it to be the norm. That's why they needed to put this one away. Instead, they wasted great performances from Rondo (save one horrendous inbounds pass) and Perk by playing spotty defense (minus one SICK scal block on Lewis down the stretch), missing free throws, and turning the ball over. It's hard to remember them ever playing a worse half in the postseason than the second half last night.

I am still confident in a Celtics win on Sunday. But, the longer this series goes, the more nervous I get. The Magic are incredibly talented, and I'm always worried about the Celtics finding themselves in early foul trouble. I will say this, I felt a lot better when I woke up to see that the Lakers had lost. Not because I hate them, but just because we're not the only ones.

Game 6: Yes, Please Give Dwight More Touches

Physically, there are few athletes who can match Dwight Howard. What the guy has been able to accomplish thus far in his young career is incredible. However, this point is where the rubber finally meets the road. It's probably hard for Dwight to hear people questioning his game, because it may be the first time it's ever happened. Sure, people have questioned his mean streak and his killer instinct, but this has to be the first time people are actually criticizing his game. Kendrick Perkins has shut him down this series. Once he gets about a foot outside the charge circle, he cannot score. He has no post game whatsoever. He's airballing baby hooks!

I'm sure it's frustrating for him to hear people say that he doesn't deserve more touches. I predict Dwight will take a huge leap next season as a player, because this is the kind of thing that will force him to develop his game more this summer. It really seems like he hasn't developed at all. While LBJ comes back every season with a new facet of his game tightened up, Dwight is still having the same issues (swatting the ball out of bounds on every block, unable to score on any player that keeps him more than an arms length away from the rim, incompetent at the free throw line) that he has always had. I'm not bashing him. It seems like life on planet Dwight has been pretty sweet thus far. But, he SHOULD be a better player than Kendrick Perkins, and he has not been in this series. He needs these types of failures if he is ever going to become one of the all-time great big men that this league has ever seen.

So yes, please, give Dwight the ball tonight. As long as Rashard Lewis doesn't have it, I won't be worried.

KG: Footprints

As someone who finds their spiritual center in the world of sports, the imagery of KG as a Christ figure to a Celtics franchise that had suffered for a long stretch is not lost on me. I have felt his impact on what this team has done throughout the post season, and it has been most evident in the play of Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins. In particular, Davis seems to be channeling Garnett's offensive game in a way that I never thought possible. At this point, I really think the sky is the limit for this team. They could find themselves back in the finals. And, if they do, I'd like to begin a new series of scripture that shall begin with the following reading.

(note: i don't know where this footprints thing originated, but everyone seemed to know it when outside providence came out).



One night Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House, Brian Scalabrine, Stephon Marbury, Mikki Moore, and Glen Davis all had a dream. They dreamed they were walking along the beach with Kevin Garnett. Across the sky flashed scenes from their lives. For each scene, they noticed nine sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to each of them and the ninth to KG.

When the last scene of their lives flashed before them, they looked back at the footprints in the sand. They noticed that one time along the path of their lives there were only eight sets of footprints. They also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and scariest time of their lives, the 2009 NBA playoffs.

This really bothered them and they questioned KG about it. They said "you said that once we decided to follow you, you'd walk with us all the way. But we have noticed that during the most troublesome time in our lives there are only eight sets of footprints. We don't understand why when we needed you most you would leave us."

KG replied, "my motherfucking precious, precious children, I Love you motherfuckers and I would never leave you! During your motherfucking times of trial and suffering when you see only eight motherfucking sets of footprints, it was then that I carried you motherfuckers on my back."


Amen.

Fucking God, man.

Tuesday Afternoon: Where The Butterflies Are Starting

--It was May 19, 1985, and the Philadelphia 76ers had just defeated Boston 115-104 in Philly to cut the Celtics' lead in the best-of-7 series to 3-1. The next game would be in Boston and a sixth game, if necessary, would be played in Philadelphia.
As the Celtics left the Spectrum floor in defeat, a Sixers' fan yelled at him: "Hey Larry, we'll see you back here for Game 6." Bird, not missing a step or an opportunity, shot back: "You've got a better chance of seeing God."--

From Larry Bird: An Indiana Legend


I know I said on Sunday night that I felt content, but forget all about that. These are the goddamned Boston Celtics we're talking about and I'll be damned if I'm going to let them go quietly against this bunch of pansies from a fake mickey mouse city where fans buy their spoiled kids (I will now always think of that kid as Spaulding from Caddyshack)front row seats, dress them up in "Beat Boston" shirts, and then complain about being too close to the players.

Bill Simmons said it best: if you want to know why people hate America so much, look no further than Orlando.


GET IT UP!

Where Big Baby Happens

Courtesy of Andygrey



Read below for my incredibly cheesy and nonanalytical analysis from last night......

Stop And Take A Breath

We're here, man. This thing is all tied up, and two of the remaining three games are being played in the Garden. It's incredible. I don't mean to say that this is going to be easy. In fact, the Celtics may not advance. But, right now, they are going home and they are knocking on the doors of the EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS. If you can't appreciate what this team is doing, then there's no way you've been a sports fan for very long. You haven't seen countless talented and healthy teams underperform when it finally mattered, and you obviously haven't had to make injury excuses for your team very much. What this team has put together during this postseason has been special, even if they don't make it as far as we hoped when the year began.

Let's think about this situation:

First and foremost, I will not accept any comparisons of the injury situations between these teams. I know Jameer Nelson was an all-star this year, and I know that point guard is "a key spot" (although I hate hearing that, because I think it applies more to football. Aren't all spots key in a 5 man game?). But, the Magic traded for a guy who had been a very productive starting point guard for a contender in the West. So, the loss is minimal. Even if they hadn't made the move, the impact of Nelson comes nowhere near the impact of KG.

Before the game tonight, Ian Thomsen said that the Boston defense was impacted by KG's absence in the same way that the Lakers would be impacted all around if they were without Kobe. I really believe that. We're talking about the best player on the team, the 2008 defensive player of the year, one of the league's top rebounders, the best pick and roll defender in the league, and a guy who would have matched up particularly well with Rashard Lewis. You simply should not be able to lose a guy like that and win a playoff series. But, we're here.

After Leon Powe went down, the Celtics really should have been in trouble. There is no way they should be able to match up with Orlando. They don't have enough front line depth to handle Dwight Howard. There aren't enough bodies to take the fouls. But, we're here.

The Celtics had 2 points from the bench tonight. 2. It's virtually nothing. It's pathetic. But, it's about par for the course during this postseason. Eddie House had a bit of a hot streak going over the past 3 games or so, but over the course of these playoffs, the bench production has been virtually nonexistent. The problem, of course, being that the bench guys we were looking to are either hurt or playing a starter's role. You should not be able to win a series against a good team when you're this thin, and you certainly shouldn't make the conference finals. But, we're here, and we could be there soon.

In order to win in these circumstances, your superstars have to turn in great performances every night. That hasn't really happened. In fact, both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have turned in some pretty heinous performances throughout these playoffs. Both guys had to play more minutes at a higher level throughout the last quarter of the season to lift their team to the 2 seed in the East, and the adverse effects of that have been particularly evident in Pierce's game. When your bench gives you nothing and your starters are inconsistent, you shouldn't win a single playoff series, but we're here.

Look, these things just don't happen. It takes something more than talent to overcome the kind of breaks that this team has caught. Young guys like Glen Davis don't just step up some day and start hitting huge shots. The effect that Kevin Garnett has had on him has been evident throughout this entire series. It takes something special, something you don't see in every team, from both the coaching staff and the players. I have felt privileged to watch this team ever since they tipped off last season. My appreciation for them has continued to grow ever since that moment, and this postseason has not changed that in any way. In fact, it's hard to imagine me appreciating them more than I do now.

I have no idea what will happen over the next three games. But, I do know that there are only eight teams still playing, and the Celtics are one of them. Soon, there will only be four teams playing. With two of the three remaining games being played in Boston, there is a great chance that the Celtics will be one of those four. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, when I consider everything that has happened, there is no way that I will exit this season feeling like this team let me down.


Good night everyone, and remember, let a stranger drive you home:

Game 3: The New Way

The Orlando Magic have made it clear to everybody that they are fairly content to have simply advanced to round 2 of the playoffs. Going further would be nice, but they're not going to beat themselves up over a secound round exit. They didn't seem overly determined to hold off a late game 1 Celtics charge, and they certainly could not have cared less about salvaging any of their dignity as the Celtics wiped the floor with them in game 2. I can't accept losing to a team like this. A loss to the Bulls, who played balls to the wall every minute of the postseason, I would have been able to accept given the absence of KG and Leon. But a loss to this Magic team who, like their city, seem to lack any substance or grit would just be crushing.

Despite their lack of a killer instinct (see Rajon Rondo throwing down on Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis below), they are very talented, and that's why tonight is a must-win game for the Celtics. With Rafer Alston out, the Magic will be extremely vulnerable tonight. In a way, I think this is a bigger blow than when they had to play game 6 of last series without Dwight Howard. Without Howard, they were faster and forced Philly to totally rethink their entire strategy (I'm certainly not suggesting that they'd be better without him long term, but it seemed to actually help in a one game situation). Without Alston, the game plan doesn't change, it just gets more difficult to execute. The Celtics SHOULD be able to win this one easily. And, if they do, the Magic will roll over and die in this series. At least, everything I've seen about them tells me they would. They don't have what it takes to come back from two straight losses.

It sounds simple, and it may seem foolish for me to suggest that a game 3 against a team missing a key player is a must win. But, for as great as the Celtics have been over the past two seasons, there has been one constant frustration. They let teams hang around in the postseason. They don't put series away quickly when they have the chance. This trend, more than anything, makes me worried about tonight. If they're going to have any shot of beating Cleveland, they're going to need to end this thing quick and get as much rest as possible.

So, to be clear, tonight is not a must-win in the sense that a loss would inevitably lead to a series loss. Tonight is a must win in the sense that a win would prevent this from becoming the 7 game barn burner that many expect. Keeping this series short and clean is the only way we can hope to not be Cleveland's sacrificial lamb in round 3.




Simmons on Manny. Frickin amazing article.

When will I watch baseball again? Difficult to say. Not any time soon.