C's Kick Heat In Nuts With Buzzer Beater, Extend Win Streak To 3

 

Are you freakin' serious!?!? Did the "rebuilding" Boston Celtics just stick it to the defending champion Miami Heat? With a game winning 3?! In their own building?!?!?!

 

Yes!! Yes, sportsfans...this really happened! After continuous (and mostly negative) comparisons to Paul Pierce as in "Jesus, Jeff...you're the new Paul Pierce, for Christ's sake!! You have to start being our go-to guy!!", Mean Jeff Green threw up the middle finger to haters everywhere and sank the game winner right in LeBron's face!

With the Celtics down two following a classic tank job at the free-throw line by Dwyane Wade who missed two freebies that would have iced the game for the Heat, Jeff Green raised up, up, up over LeBron's outstretched arms and calmly made like M.C. Hammer, not only saying "You Can't Touch This" to South Beach's Number 6, but proving that he was "2 Legit To Quit." Okay, even I know how bad that last sentence was, but what can I say? I'm still delirious from passing out after "The Shot" happened.

But, as much as I would love to continue talking about that incredible and unexpected win, I wanted to do something a little bit different. Sure, other blogs and sports sites will show you photos like the ones above that display in full glory the afterglow of the win, but I'd like to bring fans the stories behind the story.

 

And, what I am about to reveal could change the way we look at the National Basketball Association forever.

 

Without further ado...the win in pictures.

  

While others looked at the series of photos above and reveled at the sight of Jeff Green floating as his shot found its way across the arena and through the basket, I took a closer look at the photos to reveal the truth (No, not THAT Truth...though Jay Gee certainly seemed to be channeling his inner Captain).

 

God favors the Boston Celtics. I know, I know...but read on...if you dare.

 

As the shot went up, this Miami-based Celtics fan put in a special request with the man upstairs...

 

And, as we all know very well, the Miami Heat represent the Devil...I mean, come on...as if the red uniforms, flame at the tip of the "T" in "Heat" (which, by the way, resembles a pitchfork with missing prongs), and the reference to the more-than-balmy temperatures down under the down under didn't already give it away, you have LeBron, Wade, Bosh AND Battier on the same team? And, Chalmers...don't EVEN get me started with Chalmers!

Anyway, in this battle of good vs. evil, clearly, God won this round. Just look at how the Devil's minions reacted to the sight of pure goodness as it flooded the arena...

Many of them appeared to feel the light of righteousness entering through their heads.

 

It was apparently too much for this guy, as he began to head for the exit even as the ball soared to its glorious destiny...

 

 

Say what you will about Miami fans, though (and there IS plenty to say!) they sure do know their famous paintings. Several of them chose to deal with their pain by emulating a well-known Edvard Munch work of art...

 

Scream 1

Scream 2

Clearly, though...this one really put a hurt on Heat fans right where it counts...

 

...and, ultimately, good didst triumph over evil.

The End.

Box Score

Tale of THE SHOT

Celtics Contemplate Life Without Rondo After Icing The Heat: 100-98

At long last...

{A series of unfortunate events have conspired to prevent me from getting this story posted, but as such, I've had the benefit of letting the dust settle a bit since Sunday's "Bag Of Dead Cats" announcement concerning the Celtics most mercurial leader.}

GIF by @jose3030

Lets get the obvious out of the way early (well, early in this post, anyway), okay? The Celtics are going to miss Rajon Rondo in a big way...no two ways about it. He is a superstar hitting his prime on a team with two game-but-aging veterans and a collection of talent that have undoubtedly benefitted from his abilities, leadership and drive.

What the Celtics do from here to try and mitigate his absence and my layman's opinion/prediction about their success? Well...lets deal with that a little bit later in the post. First, I want to start by celebrating the C's resilience in bouncing back against the Champion Miami Heat.

The recap, as old as it may now seem:
In what was truly an entertaining matchup of Eastern Conference Contenders (yes, I'm among the other Greenheadz who are not taking the easy "C's are dead without Rondo" bailout), the Celtics not only held their own, they up and snatched Miami's as well. Despite the circus atmosphere attributable to "The Return Of Ray Allen" and the loss of Rondo (originally scratched from the lineup due, it was believed, to a balky hamstring), the Celtics were able to chuckle in adversity's grill with a display of such defensive fortitude and offensive firepower that one can only call it by its proper name: Celtic Pride.


Paul Pierce assumed his default position in all cases of Rondolessness -- the Point Forward -- and responded with his first triple-double in three years (though he HAS achieved 8 of 'em throughout a storied career), Kevin Garnett took another dip in the Cocoon tide-pool (to be fair, his entire season has been Cocoon-esque), and the C's got strong offensive contributions from Jeff Green (who also defended the Hell out of LeBron James -- 34-point outburst not withstanding), Jason Terry, Leandro Barbosa, Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger. Courtney Lee provided needed ballhandling and defense and the Celtics battled through two overtimes before wresting the game from the defending champs.

Pierce's contribution of 17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal and 1 block was especially sweet as some of his damage was inflicted against a spry Ray Allen; and Garnett's 24 points, 11 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks was straight out of his 2008 "Playbook of Dominance."


Oh, and that Allen guy? he scored 21 points on 7-17 shooting. Chris Bosh (the only member of Miami's "large four" to shoot 50% or above with a line of 7-12) was a problem with 16 points, 16 rebounds and a block; and Dwyane Wade scored 17 points on 6-20 shooting to go with 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block; while LeBron got his final score by throwing up 31 shots (making 14), and added 16 rebounds 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.

But, for all their scoring and rebounding, the Heat as a team were still out-assisted (even in Rondo's absence!), outsmarted (21 turnovers to the C's 17), and -- in the end -- outscored.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape

Now...about the Celtics and the first day of the rest of their collective L.W.R. (Life Without Rondo)...

Many, many and by many I mean MANY sportswriters, pundits, bloggers, coaches and players have offered their myriad opinions about what the loss of Rondo means and what the Celtics should do moving forward.

Two of the better articles that have been written to date about the subject come by way of Chad Finn of the Boston Globe's "Touching All The Bases" column, who had one of the most cogent if not sentimental articles that deal with the realities of the team trying to make its way without Rondo and the plea not to trade Pierce, and the other was written by Zach Lowe of Grantland.com who presents a staggering array of trade scenarios that the Celtics are either rumored to be considering or are considered to be rumors they should be considering.


There have been reports of rumors of gossipped hearsay that has Kyle Lowrey coming in and Lee going out...Delonte West coming back, looking for Agent Zero to be a hero, a countdown to Keyon Dooling (no fooling!), a Jose Calderon to call our own and Pierce going everywhere from Memphis to LA to Moscow for Rudy Gay, Marcia Gay Harden and the greatest hits of Marvin Gaye.

As for what I think...well, if you've been to this blog before, you know that I come from that familiar but rapidly dwindling species: the Loyal and Eternal Optimist. I think the C's should do nothing more than keep what they have and add to the crew with free agency to fill the open slots that were created with the cuts of Kris Joseph and Jarvis Varnado and possibly utilize an injury exception -- if the C's apply and the League grants it.

But, I'll save the speculation for another day...for me, it's too soon in the wake of the Rondoldroms setting in. Maybe a little time and a Kings game in between will suffice. Maybe...

Still, without even waiting to see what the Celtics elect to do...some of you Chicken Little types have already sounded the death knell on Season 2012-2013. That's fine...you can do that if you want...whatever gets you through the night...

But, me? I'm standing with Doc...I refuse to pronounce this team deceased at 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, January 27th, 2013 -- cause of death: L.O.R. (Loss of Rondo).

 

No. Instead, I'm going to watch this team and see how they respond, whether they struggle and achieve in the face if adversity or they use the loss as an excuse and fold tents for the rest of the year and effectively end the "New Big Three Era" as we've come to know it.

I'm betting on the achievement in the face of adversity thing. But, then again, what do I know? I'm just one in a handful of Loyal Eternal Optimist Greenheadz.

 

 

Rondo, Garnett To Start All-Star Game. Pierce To Join The Party?

 

Well, it doesn't exactly qualify as the proverbial "worst kept secret," but it IS just a teensy bit anticlimactic.

Still, the fact that Kevin Garnett at age 36 (37 in May!) was voted in as a starter for the 15th time is pretty incredible. With all of the young frontcourt players out there, this is a pretty special selection. And, it shows just what a dominant player he continues to be -- at least in the voting public's eyes.

Rajon Rondo getting the starters' vote is something of a different kind of special. He's been in The Big Showcase three times already, but never as a starter. With the glut of starring guards in the NBA and the East in particular, this selection will most assuredly announce to the basketball world outside of Boston that Rajon Rondo has truly arrived.

In the new format for the All-Star starter selection process, voters were allowed to choose three Frontcourt players and two Backcourt players to start. Garnett came in as the third-highest vote-getting Eastern
Frontcourt player:

LeBron James (Mia) 1,583,646
Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 1,460,950
Kevin Garnett (Bos) 553,222

Rondo was voted in behind only Heat Guard Dwyane Wade in the East:

Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,052,310
Rajon Rondo (Bos) 924,180

The question now is, will Paul Pierce make his 11th NBA All-Star Game with the coaches' selection of reserve players?

According to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports' Pro Basketball Talk, he should.

For the rest of the list rounding out the All-Star Game starters, you can visit NBA.com or click here.

The Jet Flies Higher Than Jesus In New Poll

It's true.

In a new ESPN poll that asked thirty-five "experts" which NBA player will be the 2012-13 Sixth Man of the Year, Jason "The Jet" Terry landed at #1 with 11 first-place votes.

The Los Angeles Clippers' Jamal Crawford took second place with 8 votes and Judas Jesus Shuttlesworth himself came in third with four votes.

So...advantage: Terry.

Okay, seriously, check out the poll to see which "experts" made what prediction about which other players, then stick around on the site for some of the other C's articles by Chris Forsberg like Rondo calling Dwyane Wade out for being the real punk in this relationship, training camp cut Micah Downs heading up to Maine to join the Red Claws, and Jeff Green's acknowledgement of his own less-than-stellar play against the Heat. 

And, Don't forget...game tonight at 7:30 p.m. against the Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Ersan Ilyasova and old friend 'Quis.

Heat, Allen Scorch Celtics In "Ring Night" Opener

Well, that didn’t go so well.

After the ring ceremony for the (prepare to hold nose in 3...2...1) Wurdd Chabbiod Biabi Heed (release nose...), the Boston Celtics proceeded to drop their season starter in Miami by an unlucky thirteen points.

In a game marked by the debut in a Heat uni of newly hired gun, Benedict Ray Allen, who put up 19 ultra-nonchalant, "in your green mugs" points on 5-7 shooting – 2-3 on threes (hey, at least he missed one of his eight free throws!), the Celtics seemed more interested in reintroducing themselves to each other than defending "The Other Three" of Dwyane Wade (29 aggressive points), LeBron James (26pts and 10 rebounds in just 29 minutes!), and Chris Bosh – 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 rejections.

When they weren’t busy avoiding the amorous advances of Brutus Allen (Garnett’s refusal to acknowledge him was both hilarious and somewhat sad), the C’s started out energetically enough with Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo setting the pace. Pierce ended with a very Truth-like line, scoring 23 points on 6-15 shooting with two threes – one of which he hailed a cab and rode out onto Miami Beach to launch - 9-9 at the charity stripe, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals). Rondo was typically spectacular, if not completely focused, with 20 points on 9-14 shooting, 13 assists (there’s that unlucky number again), and seven rebounds. They even clawed back out of a 19-point hole to get within three (offensive catalyst Leandro "The Brazilian Blur" Barbosa had a very productive night essentially scoring a point for every minute he played – 16 – on 6-8 shooting with 3 threes), but it was the disjointed plays in between, showcasing lackluster defensive cohesion and turnovers (16) that ultimately did the C’s in.

Bright spots – not including the Captain, Rondo and Barbosa – was a workmanlike Brandon Bass who shrugged off all of the "will he start or come off the bench?" blather by scoring 15 points on 6-11 shooting and snagging 11 caroms – second most on the team. Despite a team-high 12 boards, Kevin Garnett looked a bit off his game scoring only 9 points on a still-efficient 4-8 shooting night, however he did have two blocks – one of which was a LeBron shot attempt that found its way to the same spot on Miami Beach that Double-P hit from. Courtney Lee also valiantly battled Wade all night, racking up five fouls to go along with 11 points on marksman-like shooting – going 5-6 from the floor and 1-1 on threes.

Jeff Green nearly managed to undo a pre-season’s worth of praise with a Halloween-esque performance in which he seemed to portray a headless horseman frantically searching about for a pumpkin to rest on his neck-stump. He finished with 3 points – all on free throws – missing all of his four attempts from the floor and he pulled in just 3 rebounds.

But, fear not True Believers...though the media, fans and the Celtics themselves took on extreme pressure by labeling Miami Public Enemy #1 throughout the entirety of the pre-season, the general lack of cohesion should be expected from a team featuring ten out of fifteen players who didn’t play a single game for the Boston Celtics last year. Okay, Chris Wilcox DID manage to play 28 games for the C’s before leaving the team for open heart surgery, which he isn’t completely recovered from, but...

The silver lining: A) The C’s showed flashes of a potentially devastating and lethal offensive dominance, partly based on; B) the running game. Soak that in, C’s fans. The Celtics have a running game. After 6 years quarterbacking a team full of mostly St. Bernards, Greyhound Rondo now has a quick and athletic pack to run the NBA countryside with. In fact, this season, the C’s running game is going to be even more impressive than the New England Patriots’ newfound ground attack. Mark. My. Words.; C) Rajon Rondo carried over his aggressive play from the 2012 Playoffs and didn’t shy away from taking the jumper when it presented itself, and Pierce looks to have his old reliable Truthness back after the sprained knee that drained him of his effectiveness throughout last year’s playoffs. Oh yeah, and Rondo tried to clothesline Wade, so THAT’S nice.

As I told a couple of friends who were texting me their concerns throughout the game, this team’s gonna be alllllrriiiigghhht. Don’t you worry. It’s going to take some games for the new guys to figure out where they’re supposed to be in the defensive schemes and where to be in the offense, but when they do...remember that scene in Space Jam when the little aliens touched the magic basketball?

One game down. Eighty-one left to go. This is gonna be one hell of a ride...