Early Days

 

The Celtics scrape by the Washington Wizards and avoid falling into an 0 and 3 start to the season.

But Its not panic stations yet people.

The Celtics are more than a work in progress.

They are constructing a multiplex city.

Give them time.

You can see it building.

You can see doc is like a mad scientist experimenting with different line ups and players.

Do you really think Courtney Lee, Jeff Green and Jason Terry will keep struggling much longer?

Doc could just leave his starters in for longer periods to win games.

But Doc isn't coaching to win games. He's coaching to win championships.

This was a team built in the off season with the sole purpose of preparing for the playoffs.

This team has depth and flexibility to help keep the starters fresh. When the bench develops chemistry the team wont rely on the starters.

Give it time people. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Click the link to have a listen peeps! Jomo is on his rant!

Marketing Madness and Commercial Crap

Marketing madness and commercial crap

Forgive me if I am not all that excited for the NBA season to begin.

I am just not that invested in at the moment.

Don't mind the pun but the problem is that the whole thing feels like a big investment.

Not that it wasn't before with ads left, right and center but also smack bang in the middle of games as timeouts are taken specifically to stop the game and run even more ads.

Add to that, the near-disaster of the NBA lockout last season.

But now, just in case you somehow did not notice, the NBA and Commissioner Glutton Stern will shove the NBA and all its commerical and marketing glory down our throats in leaving a sour taste in everyone's mouths like an incurable hangover.

The final frontier for the NBA to create its Commercial version of Voltron has been overcome- there will be sponsors on jerseys.

I can't even fathom what is next. Athletes are covered in head-to-toe of sponsor apparel, players are contracted to tweet in endorsing companies, teams are required to drink and eat only certain products the NBA's marketing machine is Out. Of. Control.

Despite the bitching and moaning of owners and players, the NBA is blatantly not struggling for finances. They are like the billionaire who looks at all the multi-billionaires and cries about how poor he is. 

The greediness is spiraling.

Even matters that players discuss are influenced by marketing. The NBA PR machine is in full effect to support the marketing madness and commercial crap in creating the "family-friendly" image of the NBA.

The NBA is in desperate need to allow the pure innocence and the ideals of human nature of sport back into the game- not encourage effort based on monetary returns.

The one time I felt removed from all the craziness was when I was watching the game on the court inbetween all the commercialisation. Now that has been taken from us and I don't know if I can get over it.

Ray It Ain't So

And just like that, it’s over.

Although you knew it was coming, it still came out of nowhere.

Nothing could prepare the most protective Celtics fan for it.

The Big Three Version 2.0 is officially over.

Ray Allen is taking his talents to South Beach in joining the reigning NBA champions.

But nothing about it makes sense.

I would understand if there were financial reasons but the Celtics were offering twice as much.

It’s not as if the Celtics are in a rebuilding phase or just playoff contention. The Celtics were reloading for another run with the same aging team that everyone discredited during the season.

Do not tell me that Allen fell out of favour in Boston and had no other choice but to leave for somewhere he felt more appreciated.

You mean to say that Pierce and Garnett, two of the most hard headed players in the NBA could find a middle ground with the stubborn Rondo but Allen, labelled as the most diplomatic of people, could not?

Moreover, Danny Ainge who shops the NBA like he’s a real housewife of Beverly Hills offered Allen a no trade clause in his contract negotiations.

Does Allen really not expect to enter a Miami locker room full of even larger egos that form part of the self-proclaimed “Heatles”?

In the end what makes it difficult is in how it feels like Ray “Jesus” Allen made it a point to get back at the Celtics - the same organisation that traded half of its roster to gamble on brining the Big 3 together and win the NBA title that Allen had yearned for.

The same organisation that retained the Big 3 past its so-called “use-by date” despite all the criticism of being too old.

Maybe it’s all just a Boston bias on my part.

Perhaps what cuts deepest isn’t that Allen left but rather a symbolic concession of the end of the Celtics championship run.

Llama yes. Scapegoat no.

"Pau has got to be more aggressive."

Whaaaaaaat?

You can't be serious.

A victory in game four against Oklahoma City would have tied the series at 2 all.

With Kobe Bryant on the bench, the Lakers were up 91-78 with 8 minutes left.

But Kobe wasn't satisfied and decided to go into "Kobe-Ball".

If Kobe says "Pau has got to be more aggressive", than he certainly demonstrated how to.

Kobe returned to the court and shot 2-of-10, consequently surrendering an unassailable 13-point lead.

He missed five consecutive shots before finally passing to Bynum in the post. But by that time, Bynum who had scored 18 points, was already out-of-rhythm and missed the shot. 

Kobe's repertoire of forced shots involved double teams, turnaround jumpers, baseline traps, rushed 3-pointers- the whole works.

For Kobe to target Gasol is unexplainable.

You can call Gasol a llama but don't use him as your scapegoat.

Easy Life

I have a close friend who has the best motto, quote, whatever you want to call it.

It's simple but it says a lot.

"Easy Life".

Whenever things seem to get hard I just envision him telling me "no worries brother. Easy Life."

It puts everything back into perspective for me every time.

And believe me, I had to say it to myself about 1000 times today while I was watching the Celtics or what I like to call my-girl-next-door. (Re: previous post).

I don't even want to think about the fourth quarter again. Why must the Celtics make everything hard for themselves?

The cards are seemingly falling in favour of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are eliminated, the Heat are microseconds away from self implosion and the 76ers gift wrapped game four for the Celtics.

Of course, instead of winning the game to a series commanding 3-1 lead and attempt to advance to the conference finals in game five at Boston, the Celtics capitulated and somehow blew an impossible game to lose.

"Easy life."

No rest for the Celtics MASH and its aging Big 3. No recovery for Paul's sprained MCL, Ray's ankles, Bradley's multiple-dislocated shoulder, Steimsma's injured knees or Pietrus' I-don't-even-know-what-injury. 

"Easy Life."

I know these Celtics love adversity. They strive with their backs against the wall. I'm sure they will win game five by 24 points, then lose game six and probably win in overtime in game seven.

"Easy life."

Come on Doc, tell them they have every right to have things easy on themselves now. Exactly the same way the Spurs are making it look easy in the West. That's what five years of playing together and becoming familiar with the system will do- particularly when you have the best point guard playing for your team. 

"Easy life."

When they make the conference finals and then advance to the finals, they will regret not making it as easy as they could have. Believe me, there will be nothing easy about playing the Thunder or Spurs. Not to mention without home court and that's assuming they get past the Pacers or Heat firstly.

"Easy Life."

At least make it easy for myself and fellow Celtic fans.

I'm in love with the girl next door

 Wow. I mean....just wow.

Firstly, I can't believe it's been a year.

I haven't touched this blog for a year.

I feel like I have neglected one of my children-call Child Services immediately!

Looking back at my last post, I can't believe how things have changed.

The Spurs and Mavs have seemingly traded places. After the Spurs crashed out of the first round last year, they are now on cruise control. This year, it was the Mavs who were swept out of the first round after re-Dirk-ulous carried the Mavs to championship glory.  

But looking closely, have things really changed that much?

I mean, the Heat, as Dennis Green says, are who we thought they are- a duet sensation with a mediocre supporting cast. I mean, seriously, the game plan is "Lebron-have-a-turn-now-Wade-you-try".

And the Celtics.....well, what do I say?

The Celtics are still a terrible tease like the girl next door. Sometimes you get a quick glimpse at all its beauty leaving you to daydream about what could be. And at other times, you are left trying to pick up the pieces, wondering where they could have disappeared.

Except this time, KG is rejuvenating the romance with his MVP-type post season. 

This is the Celtics and I love it. I seriously do. The thrills and all the spills that come along with the experience of being in love with the girl next door.

And I can't ever leave that. Cue DMX: "We Right Here"

Mr. Ten Questions (with NBAmate)

Hey Peeps, I hope you have all enjoyed reading The Messenger this season. In addition to writing for myself, I have also been writing for the good folks over at NBAmate, the Australian NBA blog. 

www.nbamate.com

Led by The Chief, RobD, they go by the modest tag of "probably Australia's best NBA blog". They are really awesome and offer some great analysis and insight in their summaries. They're also hell funny! 


Everyone should definitely check it out. Check out the coveted Wall of Fame that features Danillo Gallinari (Gallinari makes the Wall of Fame)


We just finished our roundtable discussion in previewing the NBA Finals. Here are my responses. Would be great to hear what you all think of the Finals. Please leave some comments.

1. Which team was more impressive in finishing off their opposition 4-1 in the Conf Finals - the Mavs or the Heat?

The Mavs have been more impressive in playing inspired team ball with Dirk leading the way. In contrast, the Heat are riding their 2 superstars of Wade and LeBron who take turns when the other is struggling along with a bunch of role players.

2. Does the result of the 2006 Finals have any bearing on this series? Do the Mavs use it as fuel or is it ancient history?

I think the Mavs will use it as inspiration in getting it done for Dirk and Jet who have lead their team this season. Jet’s championship tattoo made some waves within the team. However, the Mavs couldn’t stop Wade then, albeit it was with a little bit (alright, a lot) of help from the officials. What’s to say they can stop Wade, and this other guy named LeBron this time around?

3. The Mavs have a lot of depth while the Heat are heavily reliant on their starters. How important are the benches in this series?

The bench is more important for the Mavs as they are the older team of veterans. Dirk, Kidd, Marion, Jet, Chandler, Haywood, Peja and Stevenson have all played at least of 10 seasons without winning a title. The Mavs were built to be deep and versatile. As the Finals go on with an expected amount of physicality and speed of the Heat, the Mavs bench could be decisive in winning games.

4. Does the outcome of this Finals mean more to Dirk or Lebron? Who's legacy is greater impacted?

So far they’ve both lost in the Finals. I’m assuming that LeBron will win at least one before he retires. If he somehow can’t manage to win one then LeBron’s legacy is eternally tarnished along with all his indecencies. For mine, Dirk will always be known as the 7-foot-jumpshooting-German with or without a ring.

5. Who is the X-Factor player in this series? Who will be the unsung hero?

Mark Cuban is the X-Factor.  He will be on the officials like a hawk for any dubious calls (who doesn’t believe that Miami has already been the recipient of some shady officiating these playoffs?). Don’t forget Cube’s tirade on Stern after Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals where he was fined $250 000.

Chandler is already the unsung hero for the season. He has received minimal recognition for his defensive effort. Miami will certainly struggle with Chandler’s strong interior defense, shot-blocking ability and around-the-rim athleticism that they have yet to face these playoffs.

6. Who wins Finals MVP?

Dirk

7. What will Puerto Rican guy do?

Hopefully, his aggressive play will drive Chalmers and Bibby mad. 

8. Slightly off topic, Scottie Pippen recently said Lebron James can be greater than Michael Jordan. Is there any truth in that statement? Has Scottie lost his mind?

Not even going to justify this with a response. Pippen’s statue should be torn down like the Berlin wall.

9. Who wins the championship? (and your series score prediction)

Mavs in 6

10. Who will you be rooting for?

Lets Go Mavs!

TRUE DAT! - Finals Edition 2011

This is it. 14 down. 2 teams left standing to compete.

A dramatic rematch between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat in this year’s 2011 NBA Finals.

Here is today’s dose of TRUE DAT!, the Finals Edition.

#1 Misleading leads

This writer previously wrote during the playoffs that Miami is a team where a 10-point, even a 20-point deficit, is misleading and can vanish very quickly when turnovers start to amass. The Heat are an impending threat of runs.

Facing a 6-point deficit with four minutes remaining against the Celtics in game 5, the Heat went on a furious 16-6 run to close out the series. Game four against the Bulls featured a 29-9 run by the Heat after the Bulls made a 19-4 run.

This was demonstrated once again yesterday when the Heat trailed the Bulls by 12 with 3 minutes remaining yesterday. You could sense the Bulls fall into a false sense of security and LeBron and Wade made them pay for it with their trademark arcade-like turbo boost of offense. The Heat didn’t just clinch, they slammed shut the series in Chicago with an 18-3 run. 

True Dat!

#2 The Young ImpressionaBULLS

Despite offensive capitulations at the end of games 4 and 5, this Bulls team should be applauded for their season. This is a young team that is still growing. They will learn from the experience, particularly on offense, where you need to do a lot more than watch one man try to take over (cough cough LeBron, Cavs). In his first year as head coach, Thibodeau has established a defense-first mentality on the team. It was not their defensive effort that faltered them this post-season.  

Derrick Rose was this year’s MVP at the young age of 22! He is already a fantastic leader and has unnecessarily blamed himself for the series loss. Perhaps he said it as added self-motivation for the offseason. What’s scary is despite a stellar season, he still has a hell of a lot of potential remaining.   

True Dat!

#3 RiDIRKulous  

Let me start by saying that this guy has just been playing “stoopid”. It’s really crazy.

At the beginning of the playoffs, this writer said Dirk had to raise his game substantially for Dallas to make a serious push. He certainly has not disappointed.

No one is playing better basketball than Dirk in the playoffs. At 7 feet, when Dirk is in his zone, he is unguardable. One wouldn't know how (and certainly hope they don’t) Miami will find an effective way to defend Dirk.

This writer has certainly jumped on the Mavs bandwagon. 

True Dat!

TRUE DAT! - 2nd May 2011

So here we are. The second round of the playoffs upon us.

8 down. Spurs, Blazers, Nuggets, Hornets, Pacers, Magic, Knicks and 76ers are goooooorn!

4 of the remaining bunch to be eliminated with the four series between Thunder/Grizzlies, Lakers/Mavs, Heat/Celtics and Bulls/Hawks.

Here is today's dose of TRUE DAT!

#1 Shaking the rust

There were three keys for the Celtics going into this series against the Heat. If the Celtics are successful they will need to limit turnovers, receive significant production from the bench and Rondo has to remain aggressive.

Well, yesterday, in Game 1, Rondo was unable to establish himself due to early foul trouble in which he was forced to the bench and ultimately played a minimal 32 minutes. The Celtics committed numerous turnovers in allowing the Heat easy points in transition. As for the bench, James Jones who came off the Miami bench outplayed them. The indiscernible Jones proved decisive as he hit 5 of 7 threes.

However, for as poorly as the Celtics played and as well as the Heat played (with a little help from the officials), the Celtics lost Game 1 by only 9 points. Boston made several runs in the second half after facing a 15-point deficit. The Celtics definitely looked a little rusty after a week off. But make no doubt about it; the Celtics will lift for Game 2.

True Dat!

#2 Gundy and Otis 

After a sudden exit from the playoffs, Dwight Howard posted the following comment on Facebook-

“I did my best out there. It’s hard to see us go. I love it here in Orlando but…”

After losing Game 6 against the Hawks, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy explained, choking up a bit, “A team that fights as hard as our guys did, and I couldn’t get them over the hump to win this series, that really is disappointing to me and the job that I did as a coach. I’m just disappointed not to be able to get my team over the hump”.

However, don’t pin this on Stan.

Orlando GM, Otis Smith is responsible for dealing half of the team who had made a deep push into last year’s playoffs. Trading Vince Carter and Marcin Gortat for Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu was absurd. Gortat had shown that he was capable of starting along Dwight. However, Smith preferred to start the inferior Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson who both struggled with consistency this season. Meanwhile Gortat has flourished in Phoenix. Furthermore, Turkapoo has certainly lived to his name by continuing to stink out the joint ever since he originally left Orlando.

Furthermore, Smith traded Rashard Lewis, who is currently a free agent, for Gilbert Arenas and his $111 million contract with 3 years remaining. Arenas averaged 16 minutes per game in the playoffs and did play due to a coach’s decision in Game 3.

If history repeats itself and the Magic lose another franchise big man, than either Gundy or Smith will be held responsible. For mine, a coach is only as good as the roster he is dealt.

True Dat!

#3 Lakers/Mavs

Who knows what to expect in this series? Surprisingly, for two teams that regularly feature in the postseason, this is the first time that Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant will face each other in the playoffs.

The Lakers easily accounted for the Mavs in their last matchup in April at the Staples Centre as they won 110-82. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol along with Lamar Odom created havoc in the interior. Jason Kidd also had difficulty defending Kobe.

It’s hard to see Dallas winning a best-of-seven series as the Lakers hold a significant size advantage. Chandler and Haywood are not big enough on their own to compete with the Lakers’ size and length.

Dirk will need to raise his game for the Mavs to have a chance at winning the series. He showed encouraging signs in leading the Mavs during the last series against the Blazers. It is imperative that Dirk uses his speed and agility against Gasol in order to create offense or drive to the rim and draw fouls.

That’s the key for the Mavs to win. Anytime a team possesses size, the best way to counter against the bigs, is to put them in foul trouble.

True Dat!