Touching bases

So I'm in the midst of a week in which I'll be away from the computer for most of my time. Posts will come sparingly.

When I return, I'd imagine that the Royals will not still be riding a winning streak (seven and counting), the Chiefs will more than likely still be winless and well on their way to my revised prediction of 0 - 16. I'll also have entries about "Dreams from My Father", Burn After Reading, a Nick Cave concert in Portland, and other mishmash.

Be prepared.

2008 NBA Finals

These Celtics are very good. Anyone who watched them demolish the Lakers in Game Six can attest to that.

They were resilient, as is evident in their having come back from 24 down to win Game Four and 19 down to take a late lead in Game Five.

Their role players showed up to play almost every day. Rondo was great in Games Two and Six. Posey gave them great minutes throughout the series. Powe was unreal in Game Two. Kendrick Perkins made himself a nice chunk of change with his play. Eddie House helped the Celtics spread the floor when Rondo periodically disappeared offensively, and along with Posey was integral to their unimaginable comeback in Game Four.

But really, the trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce were the story. They each had their great games. They each had their sub-par games, at least by the lofty standards they have set for themselves.

KG has his ring now. There is not a player who I wanted to have one more. He is my favorite post-Jordan player, period. He had moments in the series--Game Five comes to mind--where he wasn't as aggressive as he probably should have been, but he capped off the series in emphatic fashion, taking shots in the low post early and often, which opened up shots for his teammates on the perimeter. He was the driving force behind this team's success, at least from a leadership standpoint. Seeing him post-game made me happier than I've been from watching sports in a long, long time.

After having largely disappeared in the earlier rounds of the playoffs, Ray Allen made it known that he was not done. He came up big in this series, keeping the Celtics in Game Three when Pierce came up a little short. His left-handed lay-up after blowing by Vujacic and splitting the defenders in the post which capped their magnificent comeback was possibly the signature play of the series. His three-point shooting, especially in Game Six when he tied Kenny Smith and Scottie Pippen for most threes in a game, was stunning. He was often the stabilizing force for the Celtics and really stepped up his defense when called for.

And Paul Pierce... Where to begin? I spent the last ten years doubting Paul Pierce as an all-around player. His early years with Antoine Walker where they would combine for 60 shots a game really painted him into a corner in my mind. Maybe I was wrong before, but I think it's much more that he simply became an entirely different player. He took over. Not just intermittently. With the exception of Game Three, where he went missing for most of the game, Paul Pierce dominated. He single-handedly kept them in Game Five after the Celtics got down early. He drove to the hole. He drew fouls. He defended Kobe in the second half of Game Four and shut him down when they needed him to. He came back from an injury in Game One and took over in the third quarter, and there was no looking back. He truly established himself as one of the game's best players, which I honestly never would have imagined would have happened. Paul Pierce is simply great.

As for Kobe and the Lakers, well, he's not Michael Jordan, and they're not as good as the Celtics. Kobe has a seemingly capable supporting staff (certainly more competent than, say, everyone in a Cavs uniform not named LeBron), and he disappeared for long stretches of this series. There were entire second halves of games where his presence was not felt at all. He was not particularly impressive, and it would seem that maybe he's not the heir to the Jordan throne. That status, for the time being, would seem to be reserved for LeBron, who can carry his team in the second half of games.

But enough of the criticism of the defenseless Lakers--this space should be used to laud the Celtics. Driven by their dedication to defense and put over the top by the ability of two of the three of their studs to show up on any given night, the Celtics proved what I thought to be true from the beginning of the preseason: They were the best team in the league.

I am actually happy for this team, and I don't get to say that often about professional sports teams.

Congratulations, Boston Celtics.

Still Shitting?

Yes!

I am still shitting.

A lot.

It is not nearly as awesome as I'd hoped it would be. I've lost count, but Elias Sports Bureau called and said my last one was #2 #67 since Friday morning, so I'll defer to them...

So I'll take this quick second to enter my quick thoughts on Game 2 before the start of Game 3.

• The Celtics looked great for three and a half quarters.
• When they kind of let up, it probably still should have been enough to win, but the Lakers went off on a retarded three-point binge, which I hate. Basically, the Lakers are down 20 and start chucking up threes, which just happen to fall. All of them. That mindset pisses me off so much because it turns most somewhat close games into blowouts because the threes actually fall in about 1 of 20 games.
  
• Let's not forget the four-step Radmanovic dunk that was also a gifted two points that cut into the deficit in the fourth.
  
• The free throw disparity was a bit shocking, but the Lakers were not aggressive at all, so I don't really feel like the Lakers were short shrifted. Maybe it's a biased viewpoint--in fact, it is--but you need to do something to get a foul called, not just shoot fadeaways, Kobe.
• Powe was a pimp (and no, he will not commit suicide). What a game.
  

Here's to hoping for a great Game 3.

Reflections on Game 1

It was great to see the Celtics win Game 1. The big three all had their moments and role players did what they had to when it was needed.

KG punctuated the game with his put-back dunk on the missed three inside three minutes to go in the fourth. He was the motor that started the Celtic machine going, and when the engine started sputtering late in the fourth, he kick-started it again.

Paul Pierce had his mini-Willis Reed moment upon his return from the locker room after dramatically going down in the third quarter. When he went down, I was sure the game was over. In the second quarter--when Paul Pierce was sitting with three fouls--the Celtics faltered. It really seemed like that would resume, but contrary to my intuition, Boston came strong and went on a 6 - 0 run when Pierce went to the locker room. Then Pierce came back and hit two dramatic threes, and you really got the sense that when the second one dropped the Celtics were going to win.

Ray Allen had six rebounds to go with his 19 points, which must have been the first time he'd had that many boards since he played for Connecticut.

Aside from a quiet performance by Kendrick Perkins--who left the game about 20 seconds after Pierce with an injury--the Celtics' role players stepped up also. While Posey and P.J. Brown didn't blow up the stat sheet, they both contributed some solid minutes, with P.J. Brown looking like a damn hungry 38-year old, scrapping for loose balls, grabbing rebounds, and drawing fouls down low. Rondo played under control for the most part and contributed 15 points to go along with his seven assists and five boards. Cassell hit some important shots in the second quarter, when no one else seemed to be able to hit anything.

All in all, this had to be a very encouraging ten point win over the Lakers, who despite lacking home court advantage in the series, seem to have been crowned the champ before they played a game.

If only I had been able to watch the game live...