I took a little weekend up north this past weekend. I caught bits and pieces of the Celtics game but not the whole thing. So I checked my phone when we stopped for dinner and saw the Celtics beat the Heat in double overtime, but more importantly Rajon Rondo has a tore ACL and is out for the season.
This is what we’ve been waiting for, no?
I mean, he’s the nucleus of the team going into the future. Well, you were a maybe playoff team with him here, now I think you’re a lottery team with him not here.
So like the Colts did a “Suck for Luck” two seasons ago, I say the C’s do the same. Trade what you can. Dump contracts that people want, and try to get rid of ones you don’t (Jeff Green).
I doubt we’ll see it. For all that Danny told Red once upon a time he would have broken up the original Big Three, he’s done the same thing in not breaking up this incarnation. Sure Allen left but your tried everything to keep him.
Pierce to LA (either one), KG to Dallas, do whatever. Blow it up, suck into the lottery and we’ll see where they’re at next year. You’re not winning the East, admit it. Now blow it up and start tanking.
One interesting thing going on with the C’s this season was Rajon Rondo’s double digit assist streak. Heading into last night Rondo was in second place, tied with John Stockton on the All Time list, nine behind Magic Johnson’s record of 46.
There he stays.
See Rondo decided it would be a good idea to get in a fight last night after Kevin Garnett was fouled late in the second quarter. He started swinging at the Nets Kris Humphries and in non-NBA style actually connected. He kept connecting as Humphries started falling backwards into the stands.
This is what a punk team does while losing to a superior opponent. Hockey logic of “if you can’t win the game, win the fight” has no room in the NBA.
Rondo will likely be suspended for his actions and deserves to be. He wasn’t even the player Humphries fouled. He’s a punk that just picked a fight. Given his track record I wouldn’t be surprised by the length. Maybe he’ll learn his lesson…not likely.
Speaking of Humphries, lets watch his Divorce Special over on NBC.
I posted it on Facebook last night but seriously, enough already. Much like Battleship that’s taking a dump in theaters right now, this movie is being crammed down our throats. I didn’t want to see your stupid fucking movie the first time I saw the trailer. Adding Coors Light into your commercials isn’t going to change it. Enough. The people that want to see it will, they decided that as soon as they saw Ridley Scott’s name attached. The rest of us are just annoyed.
Anyways, there was a basketball game in-between all the Promethues commercials.
When I got home the Celtics were up eleven and really looking good. It was somewhere near the beginning of the second quarter and I was happy to see that the team had found offense. Then I heard the announcers saying how Rondo was the big scorer and had 14 points in 12 minutes or something.
Interesting.
Then they went on to say how Rondo had played every minute of the game so far and that Doc’s gamble seemed to be paying off. The Celtics stretched the lead to 15 but that was shrunk to nine at the half.
Halftime had Magic Johnson saying that Dwayne Wade would wake up and when he did, the Celtics would need to watch out since their lead had already shrunk to nine. Ah, Magic the prognosticator.
You guys know me pretty well by now. I’m a fan of the Boston teams. If they’re doing something that’s pissing me off, I’ll call them out. That’s what fans do. Right?
Well, I can tell you that I don’t make dime one writing this thing. I do it for the simple fact of I like getting my opinions out there. So if you ever run into me in a bar and ask something that’s going on, I’ll ask you if you read the blog.
The fact that I don’t get paid to do this means obviously I have a real job. And come playoff time I need to make that decision – as the games start later and later – am I going to stick it out (like the Bruins last season) or am I going to bed? A lot of factors go into that decision like can I make up sleep tomorrow? How much is on my plate at work tomorrow? Stuff like that.
I tell you all this because as I watched the Celtics lead shrink to one and then turn into a two point deficit, I made the call. Fuck you Celtics. You’re going to lose. You abandoned whatever was working in the first half and the other team made adjustments you weren’t ready for. You’re going to lose and I need sleep.
I rolled over, flipped on the sleep timer and was out by 10:30. Only to wake up this morning and find out Rondo had a career game….in a loss. Had I stayed up, this column would have been SO MUCH more angry but because I got my sleep, I’m good. Glad I made my decision to roll over and fall asleep.
Miami is going to win this series. They may sweep, they may win in five. Six and seven seem so very far fetched at this point. Bottom line is that they will be sacrificed to the Spurs in the Finals. Print up your Texas beats Lebron shirts. This is what’s going to happen. This is how the big three is going to end. But if this is the Rondo we can see every night going forward, I feel so much more confident about the C’s future.
When we had Causeway Day this year and spent the time we’d be at the Celtics game over at the Hong Kong doing karaoke, I really didn’t miss basketball. In fact when camp was supposed to open over a month ago and games were canceled, I didn’t miss basketball.
The thing is, we’ve been so spoiled in the area with winners, that if going into the season you know you’re team isn’t going to win it all, you tend to not have an interest. Now we’re of the advantage that we have owners that want their teams to succeed unlike some places where the team is just an income stream for the owner (think pre-lockout Bruins).
So coming into this season, I really feel this is it for the Celtics. The Big Three were on their last legs two years ago and I feel that now, it’s just a farewell tour.
Danny tried to get the team in a better position. He tried to dump Rondo and Green and get himself CP3. Which in a dream scenario would entice Dwight Howard to come to Boston next year. That would solidify your team for the next decade. Alas, it didn’t happen. CP3 was shipped to the Lakers, then vetoed by the league (where part of me still saw a Boston trade alive) now the rumor is the Clippers. Howard on the other hand was on his way to the Lakers, and now maybe doesn’t want to be traded.
They have Jeff Green (“queue the duckboats” he says sarcastically) and Rondo. Both young but only one of them can score. So the future after the big three in my head is #7 or #8 seed teams that struggle to 40 or so wins, squeak into the playoffs, maybe make some noise, but ultimately are ousted in the first or second round.
The Big Three’s farewell tour isn’t going to end in a banner raising. There are way too many back to back games on their shortened schedule. Sure KG may be OK till March, but then his mileage will start to show. Had you nabbed David West, maybe you look a little better, but you lost him to the Pacers because you tried to package Gentle Jermaine’s corpse in a sign and trade with New Orleans.
So the Celts missed out on CP3, essentially Howard because of it, and lost out on West. They don’t have a legit center on the roster and their stars are aging.
So why am I happy basketball is back? I’m not. But at least it will give me something to watch when football season is over, the Bruins have a night off, and the race to fourth place hasn’t started for the Red Sox.
Basketball, you’re winter time filler. And nothing more.
As I was driving home from work last night I’m listening to sports radio and they say that the Celtics are in Indiana to play the Pacers who have lost five straight. My immediate thought was what I had referenced yesterday about the C’s sucking on the second night of back-to-backs and how Indiana was probably going to win this game. My thought being that if they’ve lost five straight, they’ll come out and be more hungry than the Celtics.
I watched a few unimpressive minutes of basketball and by the half the Celtics were down by eight. I turned it off.
I saw the highlights that showed an incredible third quarter that had the Celtics outscoring the Pacers 36-24. But they didn’t keep that momentum into the fourth quarter and managed to only put 15 on the board as the Pacers put up 26. Celtics lose their second night of a back-to-back as predicted.
I guess the good news was the return of Rajon Rondo. After sitting out Sunday night with an injured finger, he was back in the lineup last night and had 22 points with eight assists and four rebounds. Another good sign was Big Baby finding his shooting touch that seemed to allude him the last few games. Baby went 7-11 from the field and ended the night with 20 points and five boards.
I still don’t think that the fans should panic. After all we still haven’t seen the “revamped”, completed Celtics lineup. Shaq still isn’t back (the rumor is April 5th), Gentle Jermaine isn’t back (knee), and coveted post trade deadline free agent Troy Murphy (ankle) was out.
If/when the team has all their healthy bodies, I think they’re a force to be reckoned with. But if they’re not healthy, I think the Bruins go further in the playoffs than the Celtics. That’s saying something.
So like the headline says, maybe I should start betting on basketball. You’re next “sure thing” bet, the Hawks on Friday night. Let’s see if I’m right.
