I should come in here to say something about the Celtics' rousing championship - it was dpne in fine fashion: they dominated from the beginning of the season, and outside of a few unduly interesting playoff games, never really let up. (And the playoffs - the first series, Atlanta ran them out of the building in Georgia, and the C's seemed pretty wound up throughout the series; then they had to play Cleveland, which may not have the best talent in the game, but they play hard, and they have the best player in the world. Anyone who wants to try to claim it's Kobe Bryant - compare his elimination game - 22 points, 3 rebounds, assist) to LeBron's - 45, 5 and 6... Kobe's got skills, but LeBron elevates his team.)
Anyway - Pierce was immense, and everyone else contributed (like the sox have done in their world series' wins - everybody seems to end up with a moment or two) - though it's hard to deny that it all comes down to Kevin Garnett. He certainly got off the best lines after the game - quoting Jimmy Cagney (not Titanic - he got the "made it ma!" in there too) - then that exchange with Bill Russell: "I hope we made you proud." I'd say they did - at some level, this team should annoy me - I don't like buying championships, I don't like teams built for the short term - but one of the things that marked this team was that they never quite played like that. Maybe in the Atlanta series... but most of the year, they have played like they have been together for years - or just added one part. They played as a unit, they played defense, they were tough, they kept their heads (except for the Atlanta series) - they were admirable all year.
Finally - thanks has to go to Kevin McHale as well - he should get credit for his 4th Celtics championship, because he certainly gifted us. He bailed out Danny Ainge whose track record until he made that trade was perfectly awful. And much as I have hated Danny Ainge (and Doc Rivers) through the years - it's as if getting Garnett made them smarter. Ainge signed the right players - Posey and House; Brown and Cassell later; Rivers kept the whole roster involved, and able to perform on short notice, while keeping the stars focused and active. You can almost forget that Danny Ainge traded Brandon Roy for Sebastian Telfair (more or less) just a year before. Let's hope it lasts: they ought to have another year or two of contention with this group - if they don't want to relive the 90s, they will have to find some kids to replace them. They'll have to take advantage of what time they have - you can see 4 or 5 teams in the east coming fast - Orlando, Atlanta, maybe Toronto - and sooner or later Cleveland's going to get someone worthy of LeBron, and he'll take a couple rings... But for now - it's a fine thing.
Showing posts with label hoops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hoops. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Quick Hits on Friday
Lots going on, on the blogs:
For father's day, the Dads in Media Blogathon is up and running, at Strange Culture. Good stuff to be had.
The second month of the Film of the Month Club is underway. Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film, The Golden Chance is on the menu for June - plenty of good stuff should be forthcoming over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, outside blogs and movies, Tim Russert has died. I don't know what to say, other than extending condolences to his family. He's one of those public figures I read about every day, more or less, but might well not have been able to identify from a photograph. Teevision news is not something I take very seriously.
On happier news - I haven't done much blogging about the Celtics, and - strangely enough, have barely watched them since February (a habit I developed in their lean years that seems to have come back this year; I suspect the real answer is - once the baseball games start, basketball is just a distraction.) But they are one game away from a championship. Defense wins, especially if you can score too, and the Lakers do not seem to have the defense they need.... Though 1 game isn't a given at that level: ask the Indians.
And in the real world:
They were shooting a movie last week, on Mass Ave. Pedro Costa is right - shooting a movie is like an invasion: trucks up and down the road, wires everywhere traffic diverted.... This is the tail end, breaking down - still junk everywhere. I don't know what film they were shooting, but I doubt it will be very good. There's something creepy about shooting on location and turning the location into a sound stage - with all that crap, what else can they do? You move away from the artifice of the studio, but then recreate it on the street? Gah...
And, sort of finally - treated myself to a concert last night - Damon and Naomi at TT The Bears, with Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh opening. A fine time was had! I tested my camera - I'm curious about how it works in bad light: some digital cameras work very well - this one, I'm afraid, does not. At least, I haven't found the right setting. This is about as good as they get:
Though this one, of Espvall, gotten by monkeying around with the settings in the dark, looks very cool:
Anyway - enjoy the weekend, and I hope I make it back here with a father's day post before the weekend is out...
For father's day, the Dads in Media Blogathon is up and running, at Strange Culture. Good stuff to be had.
The second month of the Film of the Month Club is underway. Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film, The Golden Chance is on the menu for June - plenty of good stuff should be forthcoming over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, outside blogs and movies, Tim Russert has died. I don't know what to say, other than extending condolences to his family. He's one of those public figures I read about every day, more or less, but might well not have been able to identify from a photograph. Teevision news is not something I take very seriously.
On happier news - I haven't done much blogging about the Celtics, and - strangely enough, have barely watched them since February (a habit I developed in their lean years that seems to have come back this year; I suspect the real answer is - once the baseball games start, basketball is just a distraction.) But they are one game away from a championship. Defense wins, especially if you can score too, and the Lakers do not seem to have the defense they need.... Though 1 game isn't a given at that level: ask the Indians.
And in the real world:
They were shooting a movie last week, on Mass Ave. Pedro Costa is right - shooting a movie is like an invasion: trucks up and down the road, wires everywhere traffic diverted.... This is the tail end, breaking down - still junk everywhere. I don't know what film they were shooting, but I doubt it will be very good. There's something creepy about shooting on location and turning the location into a sound stage - with all that crap, what else can they do? You move away from the artifice of the studio, but then recreate it on the street? Gah...
And, sort of finally - treated myself to a concert last night - Damon and Naomi at TT The Bears, with Helena Espvall and Masaki Batoh opening. A fine time was had! I tested my camera - I'm curious about how it works in bad light: some digital cameras work very well - this one, I'm afraid, does not. At least, I haven't found the right setting. This is about as good as they get:
Though this one, of Espvall, gotten by monkeying around with the settings in the dark, looks very cool:
Anyway - enjoy the weekend, and I hope I make it back here with a father's day post before the weekend is out...
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Minnesota Celtics and Boston T-Wolves
At last, I get to write about something other than another obituary... I hope.... the very opposite, possibly... though time is the great equalizer, and....
I refer of course to the Celtics, trading their entire roster for Kevin Garnett. It's an interesting deal - I'm not sure what to make of it. On one hand, there is no question that Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen make a dominating front three. And given what the C's had, it's a good use of their assets - they've accumulated decent young players with potential for some years - Ainge did a good job turning that into a proven commodity. But at the same time - that's an old front line; without much behind them (Perkins is a serviceable banger; Rondo looks like a useful player, though young; and Tony Allen, with knees, is a fine player - but the rest...); without much sign that they can stop anyone else; with a coach who's never seemed to make any team better... A couple injuries like Pierce's last year, and they are done. With three aging prima donnas and no draft picks... things could get ugly.
But things could have gotten ugly anyway... so, given Ainge's decision to go for it now - well - this is going for it. It will be interesting to watch them - three superstars whose teams have been falling apart around them, put together and given their chance to do it - they stay on the floor, they will be in the hunt. In the east, I mean: barring something unforeseen (Tony Allen comes back as if he never left; Big Baby plays like Charles Barkley; Allen Ray thinks he's Ray Allen), there are still 5-6 teams in the west that would make short work of them. And frankly, a few in the east - for all Garnett's greatness, wouldn't you rather have Chris Bosh right now? I'm not sure the east is a given, even if they play well... the east might have started the road back, with Garnett in Boston, Randolph in NY, Lewis in Orlando, and Detroit, Cleveland, NJ, Chicago and so on maintaining their levels. Things might even up...
As for the wolves - they now basically have the 05-06 C's, with Randy Foye instead of Paul Pierce. We'll see how that goes. It's true enough that Jefferson is fast becoming the player people hoped - but right now, at best, they got a bunch of role players for Garnett. Granted - I wish the C's could have kept Ryan Gomes - they'll need someone reliable off the bench - they're OLD.... (And Delonte West: they are going to need him...) but he won't do Minnesota any good.
I refer of course to the Celtics, trading their entire roster for Kevin Garnett. It's an interesting deal - I'm not sure what to make of it. On one hand, there is no question that Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen make a dominating front three. And given what the C's had, it's a good use of their assets - they've accumulated decent young players with potential for some years - Ainge did a good job turning that into a proven commodity. But at the same time - that's an old front line; without much behind them (Perkins is a serviceable banger; Rondo looks like a useful player, though young; and Tony Allen, with knees, is a fine player - but the rest...); without much sign that they can stop anyone else; with a coach who's never seemed to make any team better... A couple injuries like Pierce's last year, and they are done. With three aging prima donnas and no draft picks... things could get ugly.
But things could have gotten ugly anyway... so, given Ainge's decision to go for it now - well - this is going for it. It will be interesting to watch them - three superstars whose teams have been falling apart around them, put together and given their chance to do it - they stay on the floor, they will be in the hunt. In the east, I mean: barring something unforeseen (Tony Allen comes back as if he never left; Big Baby plays like Charles Barkley; Allen Ray thinks he's Ray Allen), there are still 5-6 teams in the west that would make short work of them. And frankly, a few in the east - for all Garnett's greatness, wouldn't you rather have Chris Bosh right now? I'm not sure the east is a given, even if they play well... the east might have started the road back, with Garnett in Boston, Randolph in NY, Lewis in Orlando, and Detroit, Cleveland, NJ, Chicago and so on maintaining their levels. Things might even up...
As for the wolves - they now basically have the 05-06 C's, with Randy Foye instead of Paul Pierce. We'll see how that goes. It's true enough that Jefferson is fast becoming the player people hoped - but right now, at best, they got a bunch of role players for Garnett. Granted - I wish the C's could have kept Ryan Gomes - they'll need someone reliable off the bench - they're OLD.... (And Delonte West: they are going to need him...) but he won't do Minnesota any good.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Saturday Stuff
So - Piper at Lazy Eye Theater named me for the 8 Things meme a couple days ago. I find myself, alas, strapped for time. So shall I cheat? 8 reasons why I'm strapped for time? combine, say, our generic round up/random music post with this meme? ha ha ha! sinister laughter!
1. I have Red Sox tickets for tonight. Take that!
2. Given some time to think about it - I really jumped the gun opining on the Celtics' Ray Allen trade. Once I noticed that he had surgery on both ankles - I should never have doubted Danny Ainge. Of course he would find a way to do something Royally Stupid with that pick. (Thinking about it now - what he should have done is trade up to three for Horford - if the Hawks were really hesitating between Horford and Yi, Ainge should have sweetened the Yi side fo the deal to get Horford. Horford would be an immediate asset to the Celtics, I think. Unlike Yi. And without the risk of Complete Disaster that hangs around Ray Allen. Though without the potential entertainment of seeing Ray Allen and Allen Ray on the floor at the same time. How one hopes!) - I notice that this hasn't really been a fact: maybe the relevant fact is, I haven't seen the C's live in more than a decade and don't expect that to change any time soon.
3. Here is a fact - as of Wednesday, I have seen every Ozu film in existence. I would have done this a couple years ago, when Harvard hosted a complete retrospective - but End of Summer was cancelled. Well - thank you, Eclipse!
4. Last night I saw Brand Upon the Brain - it was all one could hope for! The Past! The Past! Secrets! Secrets! Secrets! Too much for Guy!
5. Maybe I should do something in the spirit of the meme - I once saw Roger Ebert shoppping for Love and Rockets comic books! I hid under a desk when Bill Buckner made his famous error in 1986! Iwalked out before Nirvana came on at a club in 1991, because the sound system was terrible, and I'd already seen the band I wanted to see (Smashing Pumpkins!) I've never smoked anything of any kind in my life!
6. I have recurring dreams about finding stashes of pop culture in old stores, libraries, basements and attics - sometimes music (stashes of Bowie records in an old hope chest), usually Hardy Boys books. When I have these dreams I always recognize them as dreams, and start to wake up, disappointed that the stuff doesn't exist - then, on examining it closer, realize, it does exist! I'm not dreaming! The best thing I ever found in one of these dreams was a recording of the Hardy Boys adventure Jack Keruoac wrote and performed for radio in the mid-50s. I just hope Borges was right.
7. The last 10 songs to play on iTunes!
1. Richard & Linda Thompson - For Shame of Doing Wrong *****
2. Dangerdoom - Vats of Urine [good lord.]
3. Johnny Cash (with June Carter Cash) - Give My Love to Rose - from Live at Folsom Prison. More husband and wife singing...
4. Captain Beefheart - Veteran's Day Poppy ***
5. Bob Dylan - Tangled Up in Blue *****
6. Sonic Youth - What a Waste
7. The White Stripes - Conquest - that didn't take long to turn up here...
8. Asian Dub Foundation - Charge
9. Jacques Brel - Marieke
10. G.O.N.G. - Dynamite: I am your Animal
8. A video: you could follow a link, to see some live G.O.N.G. - but here, let's try Asian Dub Foundation - Naxalite, live.
1. I have Red Sox tickets for tonight. Take that!
2. Given some time to think about it - I really jumped the gun opining on the Celtics' Ray Allen trade. Once I noticed that he had surgery on both ankles - I should never have doubted Danny Ainge. Of course he would find a way to do something Royally Stupid with that pick. (Thinking about it now - what he should have done is trade up to three for Horford - if the Hawks were really hesitating between Horford and Yi, Ainge should have sweetened the Yi side fo the deal to get Horford. Horford would be an immediate asset to the Celtics, I think. Unlike Yi. And without the risk of Complete Disaster that hangs around Ray Allen. Though without the potential entertainment of seeing Ray Allen and Allen Ray on the floor at the same time. How one hopes!) - I notice that this hasn't really been a fact: maybe the relevant fact is, I haven't seen the C's live in more than a decade and don't expect that to change any time soon.
3. Here is a fact - as of Wednesday, I have seen every Ozu film in existence. I would have done this a couple years ago, when Harvard hosted a complete retrospective - but End of Summer was cancelled. Well - thank you, Eclipse!
4. Last night I saw Brand Upon the Brain - it was all one could hope for! The Past! The Past! Secrets! Secrets! Secrets! Too much for Guy!
5. Maybe I should do something in the spirit of the meme - I once saw Roger Ebert shoppping for Love and Rockets comic books! I hid under a desk when Bill Buckner made his famous error in 1986! Iwalked out before Nirvana came on at a club in 1991, because the sound system was terrible, and I'd already seen the band I wanted to see (Smashing Pumpkins!) I've never smoked anything of any kind in my life!
6. I have recurring dreams about finding stashes of pop culture in old stores, libraries, basements and attics - sometimes music (stashes of Bowie records in an old hope chest), usually Hardy Boys books. When I have these dreams I always recognize them as dreams, and start to wake up, disappointed that the stuff doesn't exist - then, on examining it closer, realize, it does exist! I'm not dreaming! The best thing I ever found in one of these dreams was a recording of the Hardy Boys adventure Jack Keruoac wrote and performed for radio in the mid-50s. I just hope Borges was right.
7. The last 10 songs to play on iTunes!
1. Richard & Linda Thompson - For Shame of Doing Wrong *****
2. Dangerdoom - Vats of Urine [good lord.]
3. Johnny Cash (with June Carter Cash) - Give My Love to Rose - from Live at Folsom Prison. More husband and wife singing...
4. Captain Beefheart - Veteran's Day Poppy ***
5. Bob Dylan - Tangled Up in Blue *****
6. Sonic Youth - What a Waste
7. The White Stripes - Conquest - that didn't take long to turn up here...
8. Asian Dub Foundation - Charge
9. Jacques Brel - Marieke
10. G.O.N.G. - Dynamite: I am your Animal
8. A video: you could follow a link, to see some live G.O.N.G. - but here, let's try Asian Dub Foundation - Naxalite, live.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Draft Liveblog
This is something to try. The NBA draft! who, oh who will go first? No surprises, I assume - Greg Oden?
Doing this, trying this trick - is a way to procrastinate from Piper's passing on the Eight Facts meme - that's what I should be doing... Here comes Stern - Greg Oden, as expected since last year somewhere... Next - let's go way out on a limb and guess - Kevin Durant!
The real fun, though, are the Celtics rumors. After all, when you get down to it, that's what I care about. What can Danny Ainge to do keep the C's mediocre for another 10 years?
Update: here's Oden talking to Stuart Scott. He's smarter and funnier than Scott. He has everything you could ask, I think - he has it all, even the personality, the drive - he looks to me to be a real deal immediately....
Ah: this will occur - Ray Allen for Wally, Serbiak [sic] and Jeff Green - sweet Jesus! Ainge didn't screw it up! That's almost pure profit! - And there goes Kevin Durant - who could be pretty damned good himself.
Update: So Seattle goes young - Durant replaces Lewis (free agent); trades Allen for the others - that's something. Now - Durant - he's dull and direct, letting his game talk, I guess it is. Now it's Portland - Q: did they ever really think about taking Durant? A: What chance that anyone is going to answer that question? We move on to Atlanta - Horford?
Update: Horford it is. That's a good sign, sort of. Rumors before the draft about the Hawks' divisions - management and ownership, suing each other, fighting, some of them thinking about taking Yi Jianling - Harford is the basketball choice. This is good. This could also be a prelude to a trade for Amare Stoudamire - that rumor was floating around... Let's see if there''s a trade coming up. Right now, though - Memphis - takes Michael Conley. And so -
The C's are on the clock: and what will they do? if they take Green and trade for Allen - that's a good deal. That leaves them with Jefferson, Rondo, Gomes - with Pierce and Allen, who is Wally S with a lot more game. They were a hard team to figure out last year - they were incredibly awful, but they finally developed their young players, and they did show signs. So - what now? All right - enough of this crap - Celtics! Celtics!
Update: Deal! Wally and West - Jeff Green: for Allen. Meanwhile - we go through the NBA comedy, since the trade was not made by 2 PM - so he puts on the Celtics hat, and waits for Stern to make an announcement... So - well, the truth is, this is as far as I need to go with this.
Update: So 6 - Yi Jianlian to Milwaukee. Not bad, I suppose. Controversy! Yi's people don't want to play there - so this could be a trade coming. Del Harris pushing him on his son? does this mean there's a trade coming with the Mavs? Anyway - here comes Minnesota - Kevin Garnett wants out - they suck - so here's their pick.... Corey Brewer - Florida.
But what I care about - the C's. So far - the ESPN people are mocking poor Danny and company - Dick Vitale says, "outfoxed". Well? I have to find out what the locals think - hard to say. What do I think? Good lord, I don't know. The Right Now factor - I suppose, there's no doubt: Allen is another 25 PPG guy - he and Pierce can fill it up - they'd have to wait for Green... long term? It is fun - the national people don't have the prejudices the locals have - the locals are all wringing their hands over Paul Pierce whining about getting a veteran....
Love the comments on the Bobcats - Jordan losing, feeling sorry for himself - here he goes: Brandan Wright - another Tar Heel - that's all they ever seem to pick...) (And Chicago rubbing the Knicks' fans into it - taking Noah - a third Gator (sensible - back to back champs?) - he looks to me like the real deal - he will play hard, play smart, and fit in well on the Bulls - a tough, smart team...
Update: So - finally - the C's, Ray Allen, etc. What I think: 1) that Allen will fill it up, along with Pierce - an immediate improvement... 2) Long term? Allen is getting along in years - so is Pierce - they cost a ton... 3) back to the commentators: the locals are definitely a bit intimidated by the fear of continued development - and Pierce bullying them. The national guys can look at the C's, not care about winning this year, think about what will happen to them in 2-3-4 years. And think Green or Yi or Brewer or Noah or Wright or whoever will help them more in 3 years than Allen. Well? They might be right - Allen is expensive and old... but I also think, the future is going to come from Gerald Green and Al Jefferson - they have stockpiled kids - they have to bring in some vets and move forward. The question, really, is this - can they get 2-3 years out of Pierce and Allen? If they do - and if the kids develop - which is reasonable to hope for - they might actually turn into a reasonable team. Though to really win - they need more: they need Green or Jefferson to utrn into stars - that's a stretch.
And? Sacramento takes Spencer Hawes - a big SOB.... Paxton talks about Noah - "an energetic athletic 7 footer." Stephen A. Smith doesn't like the pick - they have too many high energy guys. Um... They need someone in the low post but - sheesh! No kidding: who doesn't want low post power? If it was that easy... energy works better. Atlanta meanwhile takes AC Law... a point guard! whoo hoo! I don't care.
So that's all! "Live blogging" will end, unless something really exciting comes along... Maybe I'll finish the 8 facts meme - let's hope.
Doing this, trying this trick - is a way to procrastinate from Piper's passing on the Eight Facts meme - that's what I should be doing... Here comes Stern - Greg Oden, as expected since last year somewhere... Next - let's go way out on a limb and guess - Kevin Durant!
The real fun, though, are the Celtics rumors. After all, when you get down to it, that's what I care about. What can Danny Ainge to do keep the C's mediocre for another 10 years?
Update: here's Oden talking to Stuart Scott. He's smarter and funnier than Scott. He has everything you could ask, I think - he has it all, even the personality, the drive - he looks to me to be a real deal immediately....
Ah: this will occur - Ray Allen for Wally, Serbiak [sic] and Jeff Green - sweet Jesus! Ainge didn't screw it up! That's almost pure profit! - And there goes Kevin Durant - who could be pretty damned good himself.
Update: So Seattle goes young - Durant replaces Lewis (free agent); trades Allen for the others - that's something. Now - Durant - he's dull and direct, letting his game talk, I guess it is. Now it's Portland - Q: did they ever really think about taking Durant? A: What chance that anyone is going to answer that question? We move on to Atlanta - Horford?
Update: Horford it is. That's a good sign, sort of. Rumors before the draft about the Hawks' divisions - management and ownership, suing each other, fighting, some of them thinking about taking Yi Jianling - Harford is the basketball choice. This is good. This could also be a prelude to a trade for Amare Stoudamire - that rumor was floating around... Let's see if there''s a trade coming up. Right now, though - Memphis - takes Michael Conley. And so -
The C's are on the clock: and what will they do? if they take Green and trade for Allen - that's a good deal. That leaves them with Jefferson, Rondo, Gomes - with Pierce and Allen, who is Wally S with a lot more game. They were a hard team to figure out last year - they were incredibly awful, but they finally developed their young players, and they did show signs. So - what now? All right - enough of this crap - Celtics! Celtics!
Update: Deal! Wally and West - Jeff Green: for Allen. Meanwhile - we go through the NBA comedy, since the trade was not made by 2 PM - so he puts on the Celtics hat, and waits for Stern to make an announcement... So - well, the truth is, this is as far as I need to go with this.
Update: So 6 - Yi Jianlian to Milwaukee. Not bad, I suppose. Controversy! Yi's people don't want to play there - so this could be a trade coming. Del Harris pushing him on his son? does this mean there's a trade coming with the Mavs? Anyway - here comes Minnesota - Kevin Garnett wants out - they suck - so here's their pick.... Corey Brewer - Florida.
But what I care about - the C's. So far - the ESPN people are mocking poor Danny and company - Dick Vitale says, "outfoxed". Well? I have to find out what the locals think - hard to say. What do I think? Good lord, I don't know. The Right Now factor - I suppose, there's no doubt: Allen is another 25 PPG guy - he and Pierce can fill it up - they'd have to wait for Green... long term? It is fun - the national people don't have the prejudices the locals have - the locals are all wringing their hands over Paul Pierce whining about getting a veteran....
Love the comments on the Bobcats - Jordan losing, feeling sorry for himself - here he goes: Brandan Wright - another Tar Heel - that's all they ever seem to pick...) (And Chicago rubbing the Knicks' fans into it - taking Noah - a third Gator (sensible - back to back champs?) - he looks to me like the real deal - he will play hard, play smart, and fit in well on the Bulls - a tough, smart team...
Update: So - finally - the C's, Ray Allen, etc. What I think: 1) that Allen will fill it up, along with Pierce - an immediate improvement... 2) Long term? Allen is getting along in years - so is Pierce - they cost a ton... 3) back to the commentators: the locals are definitely a bit intimidated by the fear of continued development - and Pierce bullying them. The national guys can look at the C's, not care about winning this year, think about what will happen to them in 2-3-4 years. And think Green or Yi or Brewer or Noah or Wright or whoever will help them more in 3 years than Allen. Well? They might be right - Allen is expensive and old... but I also think, the future is going to come from Gerald Green and Al Jefferson - they have stockpiled kids - they have to bring in some vets and move forward. The question, really, is this - can they get 2-3 years out of Pierce and Allen? If they do - and if the kids develop - which is reasonable to hope for - they might actually turn into a reasonable team. Though to really win - they need more: they need Green or Jefferson to utrn into stars - that's a stretch.
And? Sacramento takes Spencer Hawes - a big SOB.... Paxton talks about Noah - "an energetic athletic 7 footer." Stephen A. Smith doesn't like the pick - they have too many high energy guys. Um... They need someone in the low post but - sheesh! No kidding: who doesn't want low post power? If it was that easy... energy works better. Atlanta meanwhile takes AC Law... a point guard! whoo hoo! I don't care.
So that's all! "Live blogging" will end, unless something really exciting comes along... Maybe I'll finish the 8 facts meme - let's hope.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Sport! Music! Friday!
Here I sit, watching the Celtics Suns game. Suns coming off a double overtime, 161-157 win over New Jersey. 133-133 in regulation? Well. C's should do that - they can score when they try, and few teams are better at letting the other team score. Looking at the Sun's roster though - they may have 4 players I would take over anyone but Paul Pierce, and Diaw's not far off (given his age and his complete game - 14 assists last night, more than Nash) - Nash might be a little old, and needs the scorers to be completely effective, but still... (Marion and Stoudamire are no brainers. Legitimate big guys? No question.) And Bell has game, and the bench - Barbosa, even Kurt Thomas - are not slouches.) This ought to be fun anyway....
Friday Random 10, then - with stars, when I've rated them:
1. Gene Vincent - Race with the Devil
2. Don Byron - C'Est si Bon [From his wonderful Klezmer record]
3. Pere Ubu - Wheelhouse (***)
4. Bad Company - Movin' On
5. Butthole Surfers - Gary Floyd (****) [yeah...]
6. Decembrists - Leslie Ann Levine
7. Killers - Somebody Told Me [not bad, but more derivative sounding than some of the other 80s revival acts of the 00s...]
8. Al Stewart - Merlin's Time
9. Stooges - 1970 ***** [out of my mind on a Saturday night...]
10. Rage Against the Machine - Snake Charmer
Video: as nice as the Buttholes are - let's go to the source - here's Gary Floyd with Black Kali Ma:
Friday Random 10, then - with stars, when I've rated them:
1. Gene Vincent - Race with the Devil
2. Don Byron - C'Est si Bon [From his wonderful Klezmer record]
3. Pere Ubu - Wheelhouse (***)
4. Bad Company - Movin' On
5. Butthole Surfers - Gary Floyd (****) [yeah...]
6. Decembrists - Leslie Ann Levine
7. Killers - Somebody Told Me [not bad, but more derivative sounding than some of the other 80s revival acts of the 00s...]
8. Al Stewart - Merlin's Time
9. Stooges - 1970 ***** [out of my mind on a Saturday night...]
10. Rage Against the Machine - Snake Charmer
Video: as nice as the Buttholes are - let's go to the source - here's Gary Floyd with Black Kali Ma:
Friday, January 27, 2006
Semi-Annual Celtics Post
Well, now, exciting times at the TD Banknorth Garden! C's make a trade - Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed (sort of tossed in, to make the meny work, I guess) - for Wally Serbiak* and Michael Olowokandi.... Had an interesting immediate effect - nice game out of Wally, but more than that - for some reason, the boys decided to play some defense tonight! Plenty of hacking and the usual turnover problems, but they shut down the Kings, dominated the boards - where did that come from? Better question - can they do it again? They've won 4 of 6, I think it is, which is pretty stellar work, by this year's standards - and have occasionally loked competent out there. Obviously, a big part of it is the commitment to play Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson - they need the experience, but even now, both bring energy and some bulk to the game, which they weren't getting from Mark Blount....
Tonight's game looked like the reverse of all the bad things I growled about in my previous Celtics post. They played defense - they are playing the kids - and they tightened it up and played better in the 4th quarter than they had all game. They still turned the ball over a bunch - but not down the stretch (a direct contrast to the Wizards game they lost a couple days ago.) Is Doc Rivers doing something right? I should probably amend some of the ranting I did by noting that the flaws he seems to have - managing the clock, dealing with the end of the game - can be neutralized by putting veteran, savvy players on the floor. Serbiak seems more controlled than Davis - and the kids get better the more they are put in that position. So - they should start dealing with the ends of games better. I hope.
God knows if they play defense like they did tonight, they will start to win a few games here and there. I admit that I didn't like the sound of this trade when they made it - Davis for Serbiak seems to be getting older and less athletic, while trading one gunner for another - but I might be wrong there. They looked good tonight - and Serbiak is a different kind of gunner, more of a shooter than Davis - which (as the whole broadcast crew and Danny Ainge kept repeating all night) spreads the floor, opens up opportunities down low for Al and Perk - so - this might work out....
Meanwhile, in more important sports news, I see the Red Sox managed to pull off their Coco Crisp trade. Adding David Riske, too - a good middle reliever... They've picked up Josh Beckett, Julian Tavarez and Riske, kept Timlin, and should get Foulke healthy again - that adds up to a major upgrade of their pitching staff. They've done it without giving away any of the top 4 pitching prospects (Papelbon, Hanson, Delcarmen and Lester), 2 or 3 of whom should be ready to fit into the mix at Fenway this year. There's been angst about Johnny Damon, but this - upgrading the pitching, across the board - is far more important than what's happened on the offense. Manny and Ortiz will do their thing - they still have a bunch of potent hitters - and now they have Crisp, who looks like a pretty legitimate player, and hsould stay useful for a few years. I think they've had a very nice off season.
* Update: one reason this may be the last Celtics post for a while is that "Serbiak" is spelled in fact, "Szczerbiak". That's too many consonants in close proximity to have any hope of getting right....
Tonight's game looked like the reverse of all the bad things I growled about in my previous Celtics post. They played defense - they are playing the kids - and they tightened it up and played better in the 4th quarter than they had all game. They still turned the ball over a bunch - but not down the stretch (a direct contrast to the Wizards game they lost a couple days ago.) Is Doc Rivers doing something right? I should probably amend some of the ranting I did by noting that the flaws he seems to have - managing the clock, dealing with the end of the game - can be neutralized by putting veteran, savvy players on the floor. Serbiak seems more controlled than Davis - and the kids get better the more they are put in that position. So - they should start dealing with the ends of games better. I hope.
God knows if they play defense like they did tonight, they will start to win a few games here and there. I admit that I didn't like the sound of this trade when they made it - Davis for Serbiak seems to be getting older and less athletic, while trading one gunner for another - but I might be wrong there. They looked good tonight - and Serbiak is a different kind of gunner, more of a shooter than Davis - which (as the whole broadcast crew and Danny Ainge kept repeating all night) spreads the floor, opens up opportunities down low for Al and Perk - so - this might work out....
Meanwhile, in more important sports news, I see the Red Sox managed to pull off their Coco Crisp trade. Adding David Riske, too - a good middle reliever... They've picked up Josh Beckett, Julian Tavarez and Riske, kept Timlin, and should get Foulke healthy again - that adds up to a major upgrade of their pitching staff. They've done it without giving away any of the top 4 pitching prospects (Papelbon, Hanson, Delcarmen and Lester), 2 or 3 of whom should be ready to fit into the mix at Fenway this year. There's been angst about Johnny Damon, but this - upgrading the pitching, across the board - is far more important than what's happened on the offense. Manny and Ortiz will do their thing - they still have a bunch of potent hitters - and now they have Crisp, who looks like a pretty legitimate player, and hsould stay useful for a few years. I think they've had a very nice off season.
* Update: one reason this may be the last Celtics post for a while is that "Serbiak" is spelled in fact, "Szczerbiak". That's too many consonants in close proximity to have any hope of getting right....
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Biannual Celtics Post
Yes, it's time for some sports blogging! The inspiration, this time, is Bill Simmons, over at ESPN. com - taking some shots at Doc Rivers. I quote:
It's the little things that makes the 2005-06 Celtics so frustrating to follow. Like Rip Hamilton getting a wide-open look with 0.8 seconds remaining to sink a buzzer-beater. Like nobody calling a timeout with six seconds to play in Golden State, trailing by two, leading to an out-of-control Pierce turnover to end the game. Like my buddy House calling me after attending the Wiz-Celtics game on Saturday night just to ask me, "Why didn't Doc go offense-defense with Delonte West and Marcus Banks down the stretch when Delonte had five fouls and you needed to foul?" ... followed by me answering, "Um, Doc doesn't understand the concept of offense-defense." Like the fact that the Celtics are so consistently atrocious at defending pick-and-rolls, opposing teams don't even bother running other plays anymore. Like a set offense revolving around uncoordinated big men (Blount, LaFrentz, Kendrick Perkins) perched on the high post and looking to find cutters near the basket. Like all of the botched two-for-one possessions at the end of quarters, or the predictable offense down the stretch that basically consists of "Post Paul up 20 feet from the basket and let him create." Like my Dad calling me just to say, "Yup, that was another Doc Rivers Special."Oh yes. Simmons brings up last week's Atlanta game, the one the C's lost in Boston, switching to a zone in the 4th quarter, against a team that consists, if I'm not mistaken, of Zaza Pachulia, a 4 foot point guard, and 10 2 guards - who happen to lead the NBA in 3-point percentage. I do not know much of anything about basketball strategy, but I do know that the easiest way to beat a zone is to shoot over it - shoot 11-19 from 3-point land, for instance.
The Truth (not Paul Pierce - rather, the fact that Rivers is a dreadful coach) came to me a month or so ago, in the midst of the Celtics' Texas trip. They had managed to beat the Knicks for their first road win, then gotten hammered by Houston, then played a decent game against NO/OKC for a win - but had to finish up against San Antonio and Dallas. Steal one of those - a long shot obviously - and that's a darned good trip. Well - they went to San Antonio - got slapped around a bit early, but then started to get it together - and went into the locker room down 5, 6, something like that. Dare I dream? I thought to myself - this is a test here. We know that the Spurs will adjust in the second half, we know they will find and fix whatever they were doing wrong - this is a test, of whether the C's coaches can come up with anything to do against them. If they cancome out of the locker room strong - ....
Fool! They came out, missed a couple shots, the Spurs made a couple shots - and that was that. The Spurs ran 'em off the court... Game. So the next night - into Dallas - and the same thing happens - Big Al plays well - they hang around, they're down a bucket or two at the half. And you know Avery Johnson is going to figure out what went wrong, make adjustments, get onhis players, not to give this away at home - can Rivers do the same? Anticipate changes? keep them playing hard and smart? Or will the Mavs come out and blow them away?
What do you think? It took Dallas a couple minutes to put them away, unlike the Spurs who did it right from the buzzer - but it was over in short order.
That crap happens all the time, and variations - things that coaching is supposed to directly affect. Coming out of time outs - the C's are worse than on their own. They can't score coming off timeouts - they can't stop anyone - disasters like that Rip Hamilton shot, or the Jerry Stackhouse buzzer beater that beat them this Monday, are an absolute given. Sometimes they deserve better (the Wizards game last week ended on a bad call) - but they can't seem to win those games no matter what happens.
It is time for Rivers to go. It is time for someone to make a decision - either, "we are going to the playoffs - so find the 9 guys who can play and play them" - or "we are going to be a better than mediocre team next year, no matter what happens this year - so Jefferson and Perkins and Orien Green, get out there and figure it out, cause next year, we expect second round." The current little of this, little of that ain't going anywhere.
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