For most of my basketball life my pure hatred has been reserved for three teams; The Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, and Chicago Bulls. But as of last night I now officially have a 4th team to add to that list. The stinkin Boston Celtics. I know the Knicks and Celtics have a storied history but for the most part the Celtics have always stunk during my lifetime. All that changed 2 years ago. The Celts landed Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and won the NBA title. Being a Knick fan I obviously didn’t want the Celtics to win but for the most part I didn’t mind it. I was more upset when the Heat won the title in 2006. There’s a good chance I was the only person in America who wasn’t pulling for Alonzo Mourning after he battled through cancer. But after what the Celtics have done since they won a Championship has made them public enemy number one in my book.
It started last season. Every time you watched a Celtic game you were overwhelmed with the sheer douchebaggery displayed by almost every member of the team. It’s bad enough that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are walking around as if they’ve won 6 championships but when you have to watch players like Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Eddie House, and Kendrick Perkins walking with a sense of entitlement it just reaches a point where you have no choice but to despise this team. After every made shot, or defensive play you’d have to see a Celtic Player mean-muggin for the crowd. And god forbid if a Celtic player dunked a basketball. You might as well stop the game for 5 minutes so we all can see him pound his chest and fire expletives into the air. This behavior reached an all time low during the post season last year. Kevin Garnett was injured for the entire playoffs but while wearing his smart button down and sweater combos he was repeatedly shown on TV pounding his chest and cursing up a storm. Dude your not even playing but and your still mean-muggin.
Here’s a newsflash to the Boston Celtics… You aren’t the old Celtics. You’ve won one championship in a watered down NBA. Follow the lead of Ray Allen and act as if you’ve accomplished something before in your life. But then again Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have never accomplished anything before. Also there’s one more important newsflash to the Celtics and there fans. Kevin Garnett isn’t the most important player on your team. The most important and most irreplaceable player on your team is Rajon Rondo. You made it to game 7 of the second round last year without Garnett but if you were to lose Rondo I have my doubts you could even win a first round series.
Game Notes: Knicks 108-103
* David Lee continues to impress. He scored 19 and grabbed 16 rebounds in just under 30 minutes played. He’s not a 10 million dollar a year player but the guy really has a knack for rebounding the ball.
* Al Harrington was back from an injury and the led the team in scoring with 20 points. I’m impressed with Al’s new role as a team leader. Late in the game when he took a bad shot early in the shot clock you could see him apologizing to teammates for what could have been a turning point of the game. I love the fact that players at least seem to be holding themselves accountable for their actions.
* Danilo Galinari stepped up and had his best performance of the preseason. His shot still isn’t falling the way it will but when Paul Pierce challenged him with an elbow he really started to get going. This is a guy who loves the spotlight and you can tell he doesn’t mind a physical game.
* Nate Robinson scored 21 points but that’s nothing new. The most important stat was his 5 steals. Nate has all the makings of being a pest on defense and averaging close to 3 steals a game. If he can commit to defense like he commits to running his mouth on the court we may have something.
* The defense continues to be good. We let up 103 points but considering the up and down style we play we’re going to let up points. There would be stretches last season where the opposition would have uncontested shot after uncontested shot and to this point in the preseason I haven’t seen that.
I started Monday by previewing the Northwest division and today I’ll take a stab at the Pacific.
In predicted order of finish
Lakers: Unlike most people I don’t think adding Ron Artest makes them a better team. This isn’t Ron Artest of 4 years ago. He’s no longer the best perimeter defender in the league and the Lakers probably would have been better off sticking with Trevor Ariza. Despite the possible problems Artest could cause the Lakers are still the class of the Western Conference.
Player to Watch: To quote Steven A. Smith “He’s the best player in the game, it’s just that simple. There’s nothing that Kobe Bryant can’t do. He will defend your best player. He will shoot from the perimeter. He will get all up in your mug, he will do whatever it takes. He is the most complete basketball player in the game today bar none. He has an assassin’s mentality”. That about sums up Kobe Bryant.
Suns: After trying to play slow it down basketball the Suns are back to their run-n-gun ways and should be much improved from last year. Steve Nash is still more then capable of being a great player but I just don’t see the great supporting cast he used to have. Gone are Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell and in are Jason Richardson and Channing Frye.
Player to Watch: We all remember Channing Fyre. He’s about as soft as charmin toilet paper but he fits what the Suns do. Channing Fyre can shoot and Steve Nash will get him plenty of uncontested looks.
Clippers: The Clips have a chance to be good. Marcus Camby, Blake Griffin, Al Thorton, Eric Gordon, and Baron Davis have the potential of being one of the better starting units in basketball. If they weren’t the Clippers I would be on board calling this team a major sleeper but they are the Clippers and they’ll have to prove it first.
Player to Watch: Blake Griffin dominated the summer league and has had a nice preseason averaging 15 and 8. In a draft that was far from deep the Clippers fell into a great player.
Warriors: If only the Warriors would have just followed convention and drafted Jordan Hill. The Knicks would have gotten the point guard they needed in Stephen Curry and Don Nelson wouldn’t have angered Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson to the point they’ve both asked for trades. Even 15 years since being fired, Don Nelson is still messing with the Knicks.
Player to Watch: Not only does Anthony Randolph have all the talent in the world he also is completely nuts. The guy cried on the bench last season after being pulled out of games.
Kings: The Kings stink. That all I have to say.
Player to Watch: Jason Thompson is a Rider graduate so you got to give him a look.
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