Late To Their Own Funeral: Celtics Never Say Die Attitude Kills Knicks

 

Attention K-Mart shoppers...we are all out of funeral black clothing. Shoppers are advised to put on their regular clothes, shut the f**k up and play ball.

 

Holy Apples!!! I can't even put into words how fantasmic this win by the Green was.

From Kenyon Martin and Co. wearing black to what turned out to be their own funeral; to J.R. (no-shot's-too-far) Smith talking his way into an excremental shooting night to the doomsday pundits all having to give respect to the never-say-die Celtics after doing everything in their journalistic (I say this tongue-in-cheek) powers to help shovel the dirt on Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and the C's WAY prematurely. And even with all of THAT, the Knicks had the nerve to try and smacktalk the C's at the end of the game after getting served by them and thus providing their opponents with even more fuel to want to serve them even harder back in Boston (yeah, I know they say Jordan Crawford started it, but I watched the tape)! As the dearly departed 2-Pacalyptic one would say (even though he was born in the NYC) "Throw up the middle finger."

From Smith's punk-@$$ elbow to Jason Terry's face to his subsequent bullsh*t "I don't even know who I elbowed," to his laughably idiotic "If I played it would have been over" lead-in to a 3 for 14 crapfest of a game and then Martin's chalkboard choke telling his boys to "dress for a funeral" before not only eating his words and his feet, but eating his teammates as well who all followed dimwittedly along and dressed in black.

And...while I'm not buying the idea that's floating around out there that the Knicks "funeral" blunder was a calculated attempt to disrespect the City of Boston and its recent tragedies, I think the Knicks (K-Mart in particular) are a bunch of typically egotistical, self-centered and spoiled athletes who don't think past the tip of their own noses when they say anything not filtered by a publicist. They may not be malicious, but they sure are DUMB. It's almost as if they wanted the Celtics to come out with fire in their eyes. Well, mission accomplished.

The Snickerbockers unintended self-immolation may have been just what the Celtics needed to push them over the edge to play together against a common enemy, but it also speaks to a larger problem for New York moving forward, both in this series and later, if they escape the wrath of the C's.

It is exactly this kind of empty "Big City" hubris that reveals just how not-ready-for-primetime this squad is. I'm not saying that they're going to fold up and hide faster than a New York street vendor during a cop convention and lose to our beloved Celtics (which they very well might, though he odds are with them...for now), but it's clear that all of this self-distraction proves that they've got some serious growing up to do and, under the John Starks stark and unforgiving spotlight of the Playoffs, that learning curve can be VERY steep. Just ask LeBron and his Heat.

I'm sure I don't even have to mention the pyrotechnics and confetti and the "not one championship, not two, not three..." embarrassment that preceded the first season of LeBrash and Friends and we all know how that season ended up. This year? They came into the Playoffs and quickly, quietly and efficiently finished off the Milwaukee Bucks. You have heard nothing from them as they wait for the winner of the Chicago Bulls/Brooklyn Nets series. Not a peep. That's called maturity, something that these Knicks are still searching for. Hopefully they'll have plenty of time to search for it after Sunday.

As for the Celtics? Well...I think I'll just say it in pictures...

Brandon Bass has been a force on both the offensive end...

 

...and the defensive end guarding Carmelo.

 

Kevin Garnett has been nothing short of a revelation,

posting 4 consecutive double-doubles.

Captain Paul Pierce had started this series slowly, but he has come on of late to lead the team as the "point forward" filling in for the injured Rajon Rondo and still providing ample points (and just about everything else).

He does, however, have to begin respecting

the defense of Houseparty 2 Iman Shumpert.

 

Jeff Green has begun to fulfill some of the promise he came to Boston with in the Kendrick Perkins trade with OKC. His heart and recent aggression have been key to the C's attack.

 

 

Bench players like Terrence Williams have proven to

be valuable playoff assets, both on offense...

 

 

...and defense.

 

And there are a whooooole lot of other factors contributing to this team's resurgence, but with any luck...we'll get to those.

 

Box Score

 

Tale Of The Tape

 

THE BUZZ:

 

NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs --

Round 1, Game 6:

Celtics vs. Knicks

Friday, May 3rd, 2013

@ The Boston Garden

Boston, MA

 

Celtics Put League On Notice With Wins Against Indiana, Philadelphia

 

Man, are these Celtics fun to watch or WHAT?

Team Green completed their recent back-to-back road challenge with wins against the Philadelphia 76'ers and the Indiana Pacers, but may have come away with more than just the W's.

 

At this point in the season, it's becoming trendy among NBA talking heads and blogsites galore to refer to the Boston Celtics as "The Team Nobody Wants To Face In The Playoffs."

 

Beginning on that fateful day back in late January against the Miami Heat when the Celtics learned that All-Star point guard and team engine Rajon Rondo would be down for the season, and extending through the season-ending injuries to rookie phenom Jared Sullinger and bench sparkplug Leandro Barbosa, the Celtics put down the potential excuses and picked up their play. Contrary to almost every basketball brain and hoops herald, the Celtics refused to roll over and wallow in the unfairness of it all, instead adapting, excelling and announcing to the league that they would be anything but an easy out come playoff time.
 

These Celtics have not only survived the kinds of losses that would have crushed even the strongest resolve of most teams (hey, Lakers...at least your underachieving center can actually play...you think Philly doesn't want that trading day back?), they've thrived, playing 17 games and losing only 4 of them. I think 17 games is a decent short-term indicator that these Boston Celtics are not laying down; not for the Miami's, Golden States and Indiana's of the world and they're giving no freebies to the rest of the league, either. Even more amazingly, they haven't so much as missed a beat while adding and incorporating quality replacements (maybe even improvements) for some of their fallen.

Speaking of those replacements... as well as the C's have been playing, as much as I absolutely love the free-wheeling, passing game, speed basketball that the team is now playing...what gives me the biggest batch of butterflies in the belly is the exuberant spirit of this team. These guys are really pulling for each other...I mean REALLY pulling for each other. If you watch the Celtics vs. Pacers Tale Of The Tape to about the 2:09 mark, you'll see what I mean about the bench and how they've been rooting for the team for this entire run.

 

Even the guys who aren't seeing a lot of playing time seem to be as ecstatic for their teammates as they would be for themselves had they been the ones making the winning plays. In fact, Terrence Williams -- whose signing I happen to believe was an absolute hijacking by the Celtics over the rest of the League -- who has seen less playing time than Jordan Crawford (another steal, I promise you), has been among the most vocal and supportive from the bench, often out of his seat cheering with the joy of a fan in front of his television. Watching how he and the other recent bench additions have been marveling at the exploits of the Hall-bound Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce up close makes me believe that whatever problems some of them were alleged to have had on past teams will be kept to the shadows, at least in the short-term.

 

In the meantime, inspired and greatly improved play from Avery Bradley and Jeff Green along with Jason Terry, Courtney Lee and Chris Wilcox has allowed Coach Doc Rivers to rest Pierce and Garnett for larger stretches of time, thus increasing the odds that they can dominate down the stretch during crunch time, if needed.

 

If the Shamrockers can keep-on keeping-on the way that they have been, the C's can move past just making the playoffs and start thinking about home court advantage (hey, don't laugh...the Celtics are just a GAME AND A HALF out of 4th place in the Eastern Conference!), and Doc can pull out the the 'ol whiteboard once again.

Don't get me wrong...I'm neither giddy enough to be oblivious to the possible pitfalls awaiting the C's as they race to the end of the regular season and I'm not so much of a homer that I don't believe that there may be great trials that lie ahead in the Playoffs for a team without a true playmaker (and the League's best one at that!).

 

But, just as there are people who believe that the most important things these Celtics are missing are Rondo, Sully, the Brazillian Blur and a true center, I believe that the most important things they lack are fear and the desire to quit, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Once again...

Celtics Future Shines Bright Against Suns As KG-Free Boston Blasts Phoenix: 113-88

Call Springfield and tell 'em to add another spot next to the markers for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett...Jeff Green's comin', Baby!!

Okay, I really am just kidding, so stop typing and calm down.

Still, Green -- stepping up and starting in the absence of a resting KG -- had the breakout game we've all been waiting for, scoring a season high 31 points and swatting a career-high 5 shots to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

This game against the Phoenix Suns -- who still happen to be an NBA team despite what their record (18 wins, 38 losses) and casual fans would have you believe -- was a blowout for the Celtics thanks to continued emphasis on running the ball in the passing game.

As a byproduct of the pace of this game, a newly aggressive and hard-running Chris Wilcox -- perhaps still feeling the heat from his brush with the trade deadline and his near-exile to Washington in the Jordan Crawford trade (more on him later!) -- scored a season-high 14 points (including this SWEET reverse jam to go with an even SWEETER put-back layup), grabbed 8 boards and registered 1 block.

And, speaking of the trade that sent the ACL-challenged Leandro Barbosa and his expiring contract along with Jason Collins to Washington for guard Jordan Crawford, J-Crawf and the equally green man-in-green Terrence Williams served each and every negative know-it-all a tall, bubbly glass of STFU -- at least for one game, anyway. T-Will looked steady as he showcased his versatility, dropping 9 points on 4-8 shooting with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes while J-Crawf scored 10 on 4-9 shooting in addition to his 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes.

I won't get into it too deeply in this post, but the nattering nabobs of negativism who have criticized Danny Ainge for "only" trading for Crawford at the much overhyped trade dudline deadline instead of running Pierce and KG out of town and are speaking ill of the two new additions are most likely either fly-by-night fans or very casual observers of the sport. Any issue with Williams and Crawford was NEVER connected to a lack of talent. Each has had maturity issues in the past, but both are extremely gifted athletes who possess the kind of skill that the Celtics have been yearning for. And the fact that they're both on the young side of their 20's speaks to the tremendous upside each has if Doc Rivers and the Celtics' veterans can help to guide them. Many of the "fans" who are doubting T-Will and J-Crawf were cheering for the equally immature and impetuous Nate Robinson by the time he left town.

Time will tell with these two, but lets give them the time to be able to tell, 'kay guys?

In fact, the newbies were so effective in their abbreviated court time that Captain Pierce was treated to a relatively short night of 23 minutes, and was able to keep his shoulders light scoring 8 points on 3-5 shooting snaring 5 rebounds, passing out 3 assists and grabbing 1 steal. Instead, other Celtics like Jason Terry (13 points), Avery Bradley (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals), Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee carried the burden for the team.

The future is indeed bright for the immediate stretch-run and, potentially, years to come. Time will tell, but it's great to know that the clock is still running.

Speaking of running clock, it's only a matter of time before the Celtics fill in the rest of the open slots on the team with a couple of large bodies, and the most recent report floating around from League sources has the C's signing D.J. White to a 10-day contract. White is a 26-year-old 6' 9" forward who was drafted in 2009 by the Detroit Pistons. With career averages of 6.3 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game, White has spread his ultra-limited 124 NBA games over 3 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and 2 with the Charlotte Bobcats, but most recently, he played with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball League where he averaged 21.6 points and 9.7 rebounds. At this point, he may just be a placeholder for one of the bigs expected to be available in the coming weeks as teams look to perfect their rosters heading into the playoffs. There have also been rumors of the Celtics' interest in hair band member 6' 9" forward Louis Amundson, among others.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape

Celtics Begin To Fill Out Depleted Roster With T-Will Signing

As first reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, the Celtics have signed 6' 6" swingman Terrence Deshon Williams to a 10-day contract.

Drafted in 2009 by the New Jersey Nets, T-Will has had a somewhat checkered playing career in a fairly short time marking stints with the Houston Rockets (where he clashed with Rockets Coach Kevin McHale), Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons and most recently as a Guangdong Southern Tiger in the Chinese Basketball League.

Though his phenomenal athleticism and undeniable basketball talent has been recognized by many since his early college days (T-Will scored two triple-doubles as a co-captain for Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals team, a feat only accomplished twice before in team history), he has yet to convince any team that he is worthy of long-term status.

Let me just say now, I think this is a great signing for the Celtics. I've followed T-Will's career in college and got to know his penchant for filling an NBA stat sheet while he (unbeknownst to him) worked for me as a member of a couple of fantasy basketball teams I was running at the time. Against the sentiments of several of my fellow Celtics basketball cognoscenti, I have wanted the Celtics to sign him every time he became available during his young career.

Back in the day, T-Will soared and glided his way to the 2005 Kentucky Derby Basketball Classic slam dunk championship trophy, and Pitino once described him as "A freakish athlete" -- something that the Celtics can use a few more of since our players began resembling a line of human dominoes.

His best season in the League was with Sacramento in the 2011-12 season in which he scored 8.8 PPG, pulled down 4.1 RPG, and passed for 3.1 APG while shooting .461 from the field over 20.5 minutes per game.

With career averages of 7.6 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game and career percentages of 40% FG and .358.% 3-PT FG, the potential is there, should Coach Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Co. be able to get into his head to correct some of the immaturity issues he's displayed in the past. And, with the easy-out of two 10-day contracts providing insurance in case things go south, this one is the quintessential low-risk/potentially-sky-high reward scenario.

And now, some numbers to get you salivating...

As a Net, Williams scored his first career trip-dub in 49 double-overtime minutes against the Chicago Bulls, with 27 points, 13 boards and 10 assists. His career high for assists is 14 and he has snagged 13 boards on three separate occasions.

And, while this should almost NEVER be a credible measuring stick in gauging NBA-level competition, it is interesting to note that T-Will was a key player for the 1st-place Guangdong Tigers (whom he left this past month to attend to a death in the family) -- a team that also features former NBA'ers Yi Jianlian and Ike Diogu -- where he averaged 17.9 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists while playing just under 27 minutes a game.

Check out these video posts from Celticslife.com that shed some light on the person behind the name and some of these highlight videos if you want to get excited.