The Herald got it right from Rondo’s agent. According to his agent, Bill Duffy, the Celtics point guard has been named to the Eastern Conference All-star roster, presumably to replace Joe Johnson, the injured Atlanta Hawks guard. This would be Rondo’s third all-star appearance. Nice birthday present for RR, who probably should have been selected [...]
We apologize if your comments are being deleted (provided that they are not offensive). We are looking into why this is happening. We also want to apologize for the lack of a game thread for last night’s game. We had a premonition that the Celtics would play that poorly and thought if we pretended the [...]
I talked with Detroit star forward Greg Monroe prior to the Celtics-Pistons game on Wednesday night. Here is what the 2nd year big man out of Georgetown, who is averaging 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game had to say. 1. Just your 2nd year in the league, but playing so well, were you disappointed [...]
Readers! Last week’s responses to the 5-on-5 questions were really, really great. We had way more qualified answers than we were able to use. So we’re going to keep doing it! FOREVER. Here are this week’s questions: 1. Are you concerned about Rondo’s media boycott this week? 2. The trade deadline is less than a [...]
I talked with Chicago starting guard Ronnie Brewer prior to the Celtics-Bulls game on Sunday. Here is what the 6th year man out of Arkansas who is averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists had to say. 1. You guys have a lot of the same players back from last year’s team which was [...]
I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden. Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, had to say. 1. How have you guys been able to deal [...]
I’m going to go out on a limb and say most fans were happy to see the Dallas Mavericks win this year’s NBA Finals. The Mavs are old school: one bona fide superstar (Dirk Nowitzki), a couple of guys past their prime (Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion), guys that have accepted their roles (DeShawn Stevenson, Tyson Chandler), and two exciting spark plugs (Jason Terry, J.J. Barea). They are the quintessential team.
Unlike the Miami Heat. The three headed superstar monster that have agreed to reject the notion of “team” for as long as they are together. Assuming the collective bargaining agreement somewhat resembles what it is now (or makes it even harder for teams to sign free agents) the Heat will be over the salary cap each of the next five seasons. In 2015-16, 65 million clams will be tied up in the three man “team” known as the Heatles.
Just because Miami’s front office decided to allocate their money in a certain way does not on its own explain the Heat hate. There’s the over-the-top celebrations of dunks and three point shots. Then there are the on-the-court moments that show a blatant disregard of a sound offensive strategy (hesitation/fake crossover dribble pullups for three don’t exactly whet a basketball fan’s whistle).
But for me, it’s been the constant theme of this team always counting their chickens before they hatch. Whether it’s LeBron James counting future championships before the season or Dwyane Wade and James engaging in a Championship-caliber embrace after they beat the Boston Celtics in five games. This type of attitude seemed to permeate everything about the Heat. It even got to their coach- the supposed level-headed, even-keeled, salt-of-the-earth-type guy. Here’s Erik Spoelstra giving advice to Craig Sager trailing the Celtics in the fourth quarter of Game 5:
To paraphrase The Big Lebowski, “You’re not wrong [Spoelstra], you’re just an asshole.”
I originally cut this in preparation for a “gotcha” post. And then the Heat won and I questioned the existence of “the basketball gods”. Instead of posting the video anyway, I tried to think of ways to emphasize the likeness to “-olestra” in Erik Spoelstra’s name.
It hurt.
One of the only redeeming qualities about this Heat team had finally bought into all their hype.
I’m not sure how long this feeling will last but I think it’s best if we use this time productively by dissecting the things we as Celtics fans hardly had a vested interest in.
Anyone notice the highlight of Erik Spoelstra’s postgame presser? “Dallas wasn’t known as a defensive team.” Whatttt? This could have been the single most revealing thing I have ever heard a losing coach say. Dallas not a defensive team? Tyson Chandler? Shawn Marion? Jason Kidd? DeShawn Stevenson? Were any of these names mentioned in a Miami Heat locker room these past two weeks? That’s a lot of question marks.
Is it weird that one of the first things I thought about following the game were the psyches of Udonis Haslem and Erick Dampier. Dampier, longtime Maverick, was not welcomed back to Dallas after the Mavs signed Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood. And then there was Haslem, who turned down a pretty lucrative offer from the Mavericks during free agency and took less money to stay with the Heat. Both of these guys could theoretically have a Championship ring right now. Haslem may never have injured his foot and he and Stevenson could have called people “studio gangsters” together instead of turning on each other.
And then there’s Mike Bibby. The 6 million dollar man. As in, the 6+ million dollars he gave up next season to sign with the Heat and not get a Championship. Ouch.
Chris Bosh’s reputation can not catch a break, huh? Maybe he knew the cameras were there and he’s just as much a showman as James and Wade, but to get caught going fetal in the tunnel after the game and balling his eyes out? That’s not going to play out well.
Aside from Dirk, so many awesome/deserving players won rings last night: Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Caron Butler, Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic….and those are just the players that either should have already won one or have been good enough to win one for a long time.
Lots of people are immediately saying “trade Bosh! Trade Bosh!” To which I say, “to whom and for what?” Rather than trade Bosh, I say trade James. Wade and Bosh make a much more natural match than Wade and James despite the collective talent begging to say otherwise. And then there’s the fact that Bosh has little to no value right now in terms of the Heat getting something in return. He has a maximum contract and he does not play like a maximum player. James, on the other hand, is the best player of bunch and could net a superstar and multiple first round picks in return. If Miami are going to blow it up, I say sell high. Get a superstar center or point guard, draft picks, and another piece. I welcome your trade machine attempts in the comment section…
The Ticker