No Bullshit

Yes, it's true the Bulls played Thursday night and then had to fly into the Bean for Friday's affair. But it still looked like they quit in this game. There are few teams as infuriating as these Bulls, who simply don't seem to get it, even though they say otherwise. It was men against boys last night, and the two most memorable moments had more to do with the people in the stands than the players on the court. P.J. Brown's introduction brought a completely ridiculous standing ovation from the crowd; and with the game already in hand Big Baby went careening over the scorer's table for a loose ball, further endearing himself to everybody he did not land on.

So after Wednesday's minor masterpiece, this game was crap, but nobody complained. Really what was uplifting last night was just seeing Sam here, and we might actually get to see him play against Memphis. The Celtics quietly have now won seven in a row, notching up the "easy" victories this month before the schedule gets brutal. When you analyze where the C's are compared to the good WC teams, the road seems paved with gold. The pressure is seemingly off; and from now to the end of the regular season can be utilized as one long tune up for the playoffs. Or so we hope.

In Praise Of Kenny G

Let's briefly talk about Kenny George. If you don't know who that is watch this or this and if you're still interested read this. I'm a little perplexed why there is not more draft buzz surrounding Kenny. The most respected draft sites have him going no higher than the middle of the second round, if he is to be picked at all. There is no justification in my eyes for such a low ranking. Yes, George is a serious injury risk, and he has problems with his conditioning. But he is also 7'7", 360 pounds, and can actually play basketball. There is one college player in the country who has a PER as high as Michael Beasley, and it's Kenny George. That means he is no stiff, and honestly even stiffs at this height usually get a ton of draft buzz. So what gives?

I can understand the hesitation of picking a player who is very tall and less than coordinated. But George has a skill set that can actually be utilized by NBA teams -he's not just some clumsy bricklayer. George's injury history is troublesome; but what pick is not dicey once you get past 20? I'm not saying he will ever play 30 minutes a night (although he could), but it seems plainly naive to have Hasheem Thabeet, DeVon Hardin and JaVale McGee all ranked well ahead of a potential matchup nightmare who blocks shots without getting into foul trouble.

The good news is that Kenny will certainly get a shake in the league. The question is why he is not getting more hype. Given the right opportunity, and barring bad injuries, do not be surprised to see him become a legitimately good NBA player.

Can't Get It Out Of My Head

Sorry to carve it into the ground excessively, but that was a great fucking game last night. I recommend not over-analyzing the final score, but goodness gracious - what a show. As Jack has already clarified, there has been no Celtics' game this season that even came close to matching the ferment of these 48 minutes. "Playoff level intensity" is a cliche we all fall back on, partly out of laziness and partly because we wish the playoffs would get here sooner, but last night easily lived up to such a billing. Actually the level of play often seemed superior to many playoff games. And I'm not just talking about first round yawners, I mean Conference Final nailbiters. This showdown was nothing like the first two between the C's and the Pistons; it took us to a whole other level, and in a way it horrified me with it's bristling immediacy.

So you won't presently hear me talk about how Ray only scored three points or how Leon only played 93 seconds (though these guys will.) The contest was just too intense for me to give a shit about that stuff right now. I see a Celtics-Pistons series as being brutal in the manner Pacers-Pistons was prior to the brawl. Suspenseful, grind-out terror that is extremely well-executed. If KG leads by example as well as he did last night (maybe his finest moment with Boston so far) I have to give the C's an edge. We'll see if the expected rematch even comes to fruition in May, but in the very least these squads gave us this masterpiece...

What The Hell Is This

We've been going pretty easy on Peter May 'round these parts recently... part of this is because the Celtics' ever-increasing relevance appears to have shamed him into doing a moderately more competent job of covering the team, and part of it's just because there's been a lot more fun stuff to talk about recently than the still-woefully-inadequate state of local basketball journalism.

But this morning... well, this morning I just can't resist. Mr. May's column this morning is adorned with the borderline-nonsensical title "One Regular Season Loss Won't Defeat Them" (granted, sportswriters often aren't responsible for their own headlines, but seriously--huh?), and it would be downright comical if it didn't come on the heels of the best game of the season, which makes it feel more like a slap in the face. In inimitable May style, this column shows little indication that he even watched the game--I mean, you could churn this shit out simply by checking the final score on your cell phone--and essentially reads like one long, tortuous string of cliches.

The basic thrust of the piece, as you might imagine, is that last night's win has not single-handedly vanquished the Pistons from the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It absolutely amazes me that sportswriters continue to write these columns, because they seem to operate on the presumption that somebody out there thinks otherwise and is in need of correction: Peter May is the voice of reason among the throngs of insane Celtics fans like yours truly who were previously under the impression that last night's game was in fact Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, that we've magically skipped March, April, and most of May, that Barack Obama has won the Pennsylvania primary in a landslide and secured the Democratic nomination, that Jacoby Ellsbury is batting .800 with 90 home runs through the first forty games, that the new Indiana Jones movie has come out and is soooooooooooo awesome. Thank you for bringing me back to reality.

Furthermore, the "Detroit only views the regular season as a long exhibition before the playoffs" angle has been taken so many times that it's not even an angle anymore, overused to the literal point of parody. Anyone who thinks the Pistons didn't give a shit about last night's game clearly didn't watch it (and again, there's no indication from this column that Mr. May did), and contrary to Flip Saunders' banal pronouncement about not really caring about home-court advantage, I'm pretty certain it's crossed his mind a few times, and if it hasn't then he's a worse coach than previously thought. In short, this column basically contains negative insight, and is most notable for a bizarre reference to the movie "Hook," which actually made me check to see if that was on television at the same time as last night's game, therefore explaining both the esoteric reference and the mind-numbing vapidity of May's column (it wasn't, from what I could tell). The fact that this is what we get from the Globe's lead basketball writer in the aftermath of both the best and most momentous game of the season thus far is depressing and disgraceful.

As a final point, considering that the Pistons have only won one title since the early 1990s and haven't made the Finals the past two seasons despite widespread expectations to the contrary, when is someone going to step up and write the column suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the Pistons' famously laissez-faire approach to the regular season hasn't been working out as well as some hope? The media always construes this as some sort of sign of maturity, but that'd be a lot easier to swallow if they had more to show for it at the end of the year... I mean, the same argument gets used for the Spurs, but the Spurs actually win titles; why do I feel like no one brings this up? Consider it on the table.

Bestest Game of The Year (So Far)

In one of the best basketball games you'll see all year (and probably the best you've seen all year if all you've watched is Celtics games), the C's beat the Pistons, 90-78. Kevin Garnett resoundingly announced his re-entry into the MVP discussion with 31 points, and Kendrick Perkins had a rather astonishing 10 points and 20 rebounds in the winning effort.

What a game, what a game. The stars seem aligned for a Celtics-Pistons matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals, and my God, it will probably destroy us all. Make no mistake: the Cavs loom large, as one should never count out the ever-unfolding miracle that is LeBron James. And the Magic, when the mood strikes them, are better than we often think. Still though, Boston and Detroit seem destined for a hell of a dance come May; anything else would be thoroughly unexpected and, we'll be honest, thoroughly disappointing. Over the past ten years or so, the trend has been towards epic, sturm und drang Western Conference playoff contests, and maybe this year we bring that back to the East. Obviously, the Cavs-Pistons series last year had some drama, but come on, no one expected either of those teams to have a chance in the Finals. This year, well, it's anyone's game. I CANNOT WAIT. See you next ime.

A Hawkish Revival

The Celtics beat the Hawks 98-88 tonight, and the most intriguing storyline was KG's performance. Garnett finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds, both highs since his return eight games ago, but the stats are scant evidence as to KG's profound effect on this game. Simply put, KG finally looked to be his old self. This is probably more of a relief than we care to admit.

Garnett has constantly talked about working off his rust since he came back two weeks ago, but the murmurs of KG's injury being more serious than he let on seemed to get more validated with each adequate game Garnett submitted. Even in good games like against Cleveland last week, KG seemed too content settling into things, on both sides of the ball. A sense of forcefulness was lacking. But tonight it was all there.

The Hawks are long and extremely athletic up front with Josh Smith, Horford, Childress and Marvin Williams. This has surprisingly made Atlanta a good defensive club. They close lanes quickly and block shots that you usually don't think twice about putting up. Tonight the Hawks negated guards driving to the hoop; totally silencing Rondo from scoring in the paint. And in this hostile setting KG went to work. Instead of only taking fall aways or sixteen footers, KG aggressively worked the inside by consistently heading towards the rim. He fought hard to control position on the block. It was the KG we all wanted to see - initiating offense instead of just submitting to the flow; and it perfectly set the tone for the game.

Defensively KG also seemed to play at a more perturbed level than recent showings; he limited Smith to just 8 of 22 shooting, and the Hawks as a team shot only 39.5%. It was the kind of performance we are accustomed to from the Celtics, and the main reason was Garnett's incomparable intensity was back in full form.

That is not to say KG did it alone. Pierce quietly poured in thirty, and took the offense on his shoulders in the third quarter when such an authority was called for. Also helping the C's escape from the rash of turnovers in the first half was Perk, who had a less showy game than Friday's, but no less effective. His final line of 11 points, 12 boards, 6 assists and 4 blocks was well deserved. His timing was good as well, for the C's got very little out of their bench tonight, which can work out just fine when all your starters play well.

As for analyzing the Hawks' big picture - well, it's the usual muddle. If this team does make the playoffs, and they should based on their talent, they will scare nobody. There is a reason their coach is on the hot seat. Atlanta lacks substance, and bringing in Bibby is not going to solve the problem. With the makeup of this team and a transition-minded coach you could be looking at one of the more entertaining teams on Earth. Unfortunately there is little reason to think we will ever get to see such things happen.

Sometimes You Play Charlotte On Leap Year

Between all the Cassell banter and the overreaction to P.J. Brown's arrival, the game last night against the lowly Cats seemed rather insignificant. But they managed to play it anyway. The Celtics basically got whatever they wanted the first three quarters offensively. Rondo riotously bounced around the court on his way to 16 dimes, Perkins didn't always bring the ball down prior to dunking, and Ray-Ray shot well. It was all leading to Gino Time when the fourth quarter arrived. Glenn decided to go small, with Powe and then KG at center. Posey was playing the 4. And the Bobcats crept back into the thing, seemingly when it should have already been in the bag.

These type of mini-comebacks always happen; it's the NBA, and fourth quarter leads evaporate like that. The Celtics have been among the best at protecting them. But what was slightly disarming about last night was Glenn sticking with a small lineup when Perk, Powe and Baby all had been playing well. The small lineup meanwhile was languid all of the final period, thereby negating any positive affects a small lineup can bring. It was one and done over and over again, with no vibrant flow. The lead whittled down to five, Glenn finally reinserted Perkins, and the C's managed to hang on.

Again, I can't be too hard on Glenn for how he played it down the stretch. Yet I would be lying if it wasn't tough to watch a small lineup being exploited with no counter-reaction taken by the C's. Shades of last season. And hopefully not shades of the upcoming playoffs.