Category: Celtics

Paul Pierce is NOT Going to Be Happy With What Ray Allen Had to Say About Him

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The Boston Globe – In an upcoming book, titled “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love,” the retired guard opens up about his relationships not only with the sport, but also with past teammates and coaches…“Allen also appreciated Garnett’s everlasting tenacity — an intangible trait that he felt didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet. “He never took a game off. A possession off,” he wrote. “I can’t say that of anyone else I played with, and I played with some of the best.”…”Paul Pierce, on the other hand, would explicitly announce he was “taking the night off” when matched up against a player who wasn’t considered to be elite. Pierce’s attitude ticked Allen off. He was sure to express his disapproval to Pierce, who eventually no longer joked about taking it easy.

I just don’t get you Ray Allen. I feel like I’m dealing with Rocket Raccoon here.

Here I thought Ray and KG and Pierce and Rondo (not really) were all trying to smooth things over so they could reunite for the 10 year reunion of the 2008 championship. But instead Ray is in open rebellion against the crown. He’s currently promoting a new book, which takes plenty of shots at Rondo, who clapped back with a haymaker, and now he’s accusing Paul Pierce (the guy who was literally just inducted into the Celtics HOF) of dogging it.

“No player should ever have a night off,” Allen wrote. “The worst player in the NBA would not be in the NBA if he weren’t good, which means he has the potential to beat you on any given night. And if you think you have to put forth a greater effort against the top players, you clearly aren’t giving enough of an effort against everyone else.”

How I imagine Paul Pierce responding to Ray’s completely random shot?

What’s the matter with you Ray? If you want to get into pissing matches with Rondo thats one thing. You guys always hated each other and everyone knew it. He even refers to his teammate and starting point guard as a “role player” that was wrecking the chemistry of the Celtics.

“Rondo, eager to adopt an even bigger role, was “altering the dynamic that had worked so well for [the team] in 2008.” “I didn’t have quite the same feeling about the direction we were heading in as I had the year before,” Allen wrote. “No Ubuntu in this group.”

Jesus dude. But to start talking shit about the captain? The guy whose number 34 now hangs in the rafters? The one guy who could bring you back into the Celtics family? Welp ya done fucked that up now.

Its a shame, but it doesn’t look like Ray Allen and his old Celtics teammates will ever be buddies again. And I gotta say I have to believe that has more to do with Ray than it does the other three guys. This isn’t Mean Girls. Rondo, KG, and Pierce aren’t ganging up on Ray because he didn’t wear pink on Wednesday.

This is a microcosm of all the little things we always heard. Like how Ray never showed up to his teammates’ charity events when they all showed up to his? Stuff like that on top of how he skipped town to join his team’s blood rival and help the other guys win a title? I wanna let bygones be bygones, but it seems like Ray Allen does not.

PS – I legitimately may have to buy Ray’s book for the Kevin Garnett stories alone. The Boston Globe mentions yet another story of KG trying to get Joakim Noah to kill himself.

“When Joakim Noah once congratulated Garnett on a step-back jumper and asked if he could teach him the shot — an exchange Allen said was common between players in the NBA — Garnett responded, “Get off my dick.”

Celtics Grab a Huge Win Last Night, But I’m Still Panicking Over Kyrie’s Knee

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The Celtics pulled out a huge improbable win over the Thunder last night on the backs of guys like Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier, and Jayson Tatum. The Thunder were running at full speed too with Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony all suiting up. All of which was a huge boost for a suddenly ailing Celtics team, but sitting at my desk this morning I can’t help but still be massively concerned with Kyrie Irving’s knee.

Yesterday afternoon Tony Massarotti broke the news that Kyrie was seeking a second opinion on his sore knee and that he could potentially have to get the screws removed from his surgically repaired knee, which would end his season.

Absolute worst case scenario. I assumed Kyrie was just resting up for the playoffs as the Celtics are basically locked into the No. 2 seed. Nope, apparently the doomsday scenario has been brewing all along. At least he’s not going hungry though.

Then later in the day Adrian Wojnarowski came out and did his best to alleviate all our fears.

That makes me feel a little better and at least gets me away from the ledge. I’m still debating smashing that panic button though.

Either way this isn’t a great situation to be in for the Celtics, short term or long term. Say he needs to get the screws out and his season’s over. Welp, I’ll see you and Gordon Hayward in the fall. No reason to even finish the season boys. But if Kyrie just needs rest then who’s to say the knee is going to really get any better? Kyrie playing on stilted legs is still better than half the league, but isn’t exactly going to fill me with confidence.

If you remember, Kyrie had knee surgery in 2015 after fracturing his knee cap, but he was still being quoted as recently as last year dropping F bombs in post game pressers about his knee flaring up. So this has been going on for quite a while now.

Now all of this begs the question of how does this affect the C’s long term? I still love the trade and would do it 100 times out of 100 to get a player of Kyrie’s caliber in Boston. You don’t just pick those guys up off the streets. The best free agent signing the Celtics have EVER landed was Al Horford, who the media around here have fetishized calling Average. My point being, even though Danny knew Kyrie’s knee would be a problem before making the trade, if you’re the Celtics you have to take the risk.

However, if we start looking at his contract, Kyrie has one year left on his deal after this season and then a player option after that. Usually players tend to opt out of those options and look for a big money long term contract. If Kyrie does in fact opt out and you’re the Celtics how comfortable do you feel giving a max deal to a guy with a bum knee?

In my opinion I don’t think it really matters all that much how you *feel* because unless Kyrie’s knee gets significantly worse or requires an additional surgery then you don’t have a choice. Pay. The. Man. The Celtics are in a win now mode so if Kyrie walks then that 2020 squad would theoretically be built around Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, and a 33-year-old Al Horford. Not good enough. The Celtics need Kyrie and to be honest he might need them.

Kyrie has never played a full 82 game season and has only played in 70+ games 3 times in 7 seasons. So while he is an elite talent in the NBA, he comes with his baggage, which again I am fully willing to sign off on. However after a broken foot at Duke, a broken knee cap in 2015, and then still not being totally healthy 3 years later, Kyrie may be more willing to sign an extension earlier (and possibly cheaper) than he originally intended. I know the Celtics didn’t offer him a giant extension, but just look at Isaiah Thomas as a cautionary tale. The guy played out of his mind, got hurt, then got traded into a couple of bad situations and now he’s staring down free agency much more likely to make 6th man money than the max extension he expected less than 12 months ago.

So I guess I’ll just sit here and twiddle my thumbs until Woj or Mazz or someone breaks some news that I can actually do something with. Until then I’ll just sit here doomsday prepping for what the Celtics will look like in 2020 without Kyrie Irving.

Paul Pierce Says the Celtics Would Have Won 70 Games With a Healthy KG in 2009

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CelticsWire – One of the great questions about the KG-Paul Pierce-Ray Allen Big Three era is what would’ve happened if they weren’t beset by injuries. They were the league’s hottest team in 2009 after winning the title, before Kevin Garnett went down with a leg injury. In 2010, they made it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers, but lost without Kendrick Perkins who suffered a torn ACL in Game 6. They were hot again the next season before Shaq’s career came to an early end due to lingering calf injuries, falling to the Heat in five games in the conference semis.

I mean, he’s not wrong. The Celtics were absolutely dominant right out of the gate in 2007 on the way to a 66-16 record and the Larry O’Brien trophy. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen had played a grand total of 0 games together before rolling to a 20-2 start. That is insane. KG was Defensive Player of the Year, Paul Pierce was NBA Finals MVP, and Danny Ainge was Executive of the Year.

All of that was in Year 1. Imagine how good they would have been in Year 2 with a fully healthy team?

“I say it all the time, I thought we could have three-peated,” Pierce said. “Because if you look, we won I think 62 games the second year after we won it. Kevin got hurt after 30 games, so we played 40 games and the playoffs without Kevin and still won 60 games. I believe we were somewhere around 29-2. Everybody was talking about us winning 70.

“If Kevin was healthy, we probably would have won 70 games. 2010 we coasted. We only won 50 games and when the playoffs come, we turned it up and got to the Finals.”

One of the most dominant teams of the century was rounding into form in Year 2 with 3 hungry Hall of Famers before a KG injury shot that all to hell. In more recent interviews you hear about how Garnett was never really the same again after that injury. Sure they made the Finals the following year when he came back, but after 2010 they became the old, wily veterans just getting by on grit and balls. That narrative produced my favorite Celtics commercial of all-time by the way.

But the days of winning 70 games and NBA titles had passed.

Something I say all the time when people chirp Boston fans is that you will never care about your teams more than we do. Even after all the winning. Boston has had an incredible run of success going back to 2001 with all 4 major teams, BUT we also have experienced some of the most heartbreaking losses, which only helps to fuel that fire. I won’t list them all here because I don’t want to smash my laptop at work, but the 2010 NBA Finals Game  7 will forever have a spot on that list. Going for their second title in three years against the Lakers in LA. Perk had blown out his knee the game before and the Celtics were relying on bum ass Rasheed Wallace who was sucking air from the tip. It was a slow bleed too. You could feel the game slipping away and the Celtics just couldn’t put it away.

The Big Three Celtics will be forever remembered as the ones that raised Banner 17 and how they completely changed the culture of the Celtics. We’ll always say what if though. What if KG was healthy, what if Danny didn’t trade Perk for Jeff Fucking Green, what if LeBron didn’t go Super Saiyan and drop 45 and 15 on us in Game 6.

Now I need to cheer myself up, so enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Rondo and Isaiah Thomas Get Into It, Both Get Ejected. I Miss These Guys

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Yahoo – Isaiah Thomas and Rajon Rondo got into a scuffle and were both ejected from Wednesday night’s game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers. And it stems from Boston Celtics beef. The two were each handed double technical fouls and given the boot. While it wasn’t immediately clear from game action why the two were so chippy, the announcers and Twitter speculated that the altercation stemmed from drama over Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement with the Celtics. It started when Thomas, who was due a brief honor from the Celtics after being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, asked to have his Boston moment moved to the same night of Pierce’s jersey retirement. The request didn’t have anything to do with Pierce, but Thomas’ desire to have his honor on a night that he would be healthy and playing.

I feel for Isaiah Thomas, I really do. Its like when you break up with a girl and move onto bigger and better things while your ex just spirals downward. He got hurt, got traded to Cleveland and surprise surprise didn’t get along with LeBron, got blamed for a shit Cavs team, and got traded again to the basement dwelling Lakers. And now he’s got Rondo giving him the business.

We had a great time together, watching IT was some of the most fun I’ve had watching the Celtics since KG and Pierce roamed the parquet. So I’ll always have a place in my heart for Isaiah.

BUT, Rondo, man. Rajon Rondo is a ride or die. The guy hasn’t played for the Celtics since 2014 and he still reps Boston just as hard.

Nobody crosses Paul Pierce on Rondo’s watch.

When Rondo was the precocious young point guard, KG took him under his wing and turned Rajon into a bulldog.

Something about Rondo just being a dickhead always endured him to Celtics fans. Like he was his own version of a Masshole. He was at one point compared to Chris Paul as the best PG in the league and Danny Ainge once even tried to trade him for Russell Westbrook straight up, which is laughable now. People forget how good Rondo once was though. But Rondo always showed up to ball and he was always ready to start a fist fight if need be.

I’ll never forget when Dwyane Wade basically broke Rondo’s arm on a dirty play under the hoop and Rondo came back into the game playing with one fucking arm.

 

I respect a good grudge and you just know Rondo, Pierce, and KG still have a deep hatred in their hearts for LeBron, Wade, and probably Ray Allen too. Those guys are a family and you never go against family. In Rondo’s mind, IT disrespected Pierce by asking for his tribute on the same night that No. 34 was going up into the rafters. You disrespect the family and Rondo’s coming for your head.

Ubuntu. Omerta. Whatever you wanna call it, nobody is disrespecting the Celtics legends. Not while Rajon Rondo still walks this earth.

I hate to see my two exes fighting in public, but goddamnit if it doesn’t remind me why I once loved them both.

Kind Of A Slow Day/Week, So Let’s Talk About a Semi Crashing Into Evan Turner’s Backyard

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ESPN – A semi-truck hauling a large trash bin crashed and plunged into the swimming pool of the home owned by Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner….Authorities say the truck’s driver lost control on a hairpin curve and wound up down a hill and submerged in the pool.

There really is not a whole lot going on, especially if you’re Dave Dombrowski (got em’) so let’s just gloss over this really quickly while trying not to think about how one of your fellow bloggers said something positive about Harry whatshisface from that boy band.

You all remember Evan Turner right? The former Ohio State star and lottery pick who just plain doesn’t have the athleticism or ball-handling skills to be an elite player but has had a tough time coming to grips with that? Who more specifically is completely oblivious to the fact that he really isn’t on the Melo/Paul George/Kawhi level? Well apparently his house, and more specifically his backyard and the pool that lies therein, is nestled just below a fucking deadman’s curve kind of road. Anddd that’s where things get interesting.

The story goes that and as you can see from above there aren’t a lot of details out there so I could be a little off, a trucker lost control of his rig on this treacherous strip above Evan Turner’s abode and careened down the hill right into his pool. CANON BALL! AMIRITE?!

Anyway, really the only intriguing thing about this other than, you know, that fact that Evan Turner bought a house below a stretch of road the Toretto gang would have a hard time navigating, is picturing Evan Tuner’s reaction. He’s just such a fucking weirdo. I like to picture Evan Turner at home, having just woken up. He’s in a robe and putting on a pot of coffee when he hears quite the chaotic, motorized hullabaloo coming from his backyard. I like to think Evan Turner glided over to the glass sliding door that leads to said backyard to find a 16 wheeler jutting out of his pool, the driver nowhere to be seen. His face expressionless, he sips his coffee and stares for another moment. And then he turns back to his kitchen and continues on with his day.

Jaylen Brown is a Damn Renaissance Man

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Jaylen Brown is a No. 3 overall pick, an NBA Players Union rep, in the midst of a breakout season out on an elite team, and he can play Dr. Dre jams on piano.

Not to mention he just turned 21. This kid is a damn renaissance man and I love it. Not to mention he’s a fashion icon with his pre-game fits.

I’d be pretty bummed I didn’t go to his meet and greet at the Cambridgeside Galleria last year if everyone hadn’t gotten maced by the cops. Now its time for the weekend, so hit that Dre and just ride to it.

Cleveland Cavaliers Blame Having to Travel for Why They’re Not Playing Well

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ESPN –  The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-107 to finish their four-game road trip at 3-1, and an adjustment to their travel itinerary may have aided in their success. While in years past it was customary for the Cavs to fly out to the next city on their schedule immediately following a road game, this season they are changing how they approach trips, choosing to stay over in the city where they played and flying out the next day after each leg. “The biggest thing for recovery is sleep,” Cavs head athletic trainer Steve Spiro told ESPN. “There isn’t anything better, and for these guys that are taxing their bodies through travel and through their workload on the court, and practice, and extra work or whatever, we can have all the technology in the world, but obviously a great night’s sleep plays a role into performance. There’s no doubt about it. So you have to have your finger on the pulse of it.”

Oh my god, what a bunch of fucking babies. Now the Cavs are blaming the fact that they have to travel, ya know like every other team in the NBA, on why they’re struggling?

“We’re old, man,” said James, who turns 33 next month. “Whenever we get a chance to stay over for the night this season, we have to do that.”

And then look at this line about Kevin Love.

“There are still some kinks to the system, however. Love, for instance, would have preferred if the Cavs had left Dallas a few hours earlier Sunday since they were losing an hour with the time-zone change from Central to Eastern on their flight to New York City. By the time they got to their hotel in New York, it was already past 7 p.m., and he felt as if the day was lost.“

Cream cheese soft. I actually can’t wait for this plan to backfire when the first player misses the team flight the next day because he went out and got bombed the night before instead of flying out like a normal team.

If there was ever one thing that signified the end of the Cavs reign in the East, its this. Not the fact they have the oldest roster in the league, not the fact that LeBron is subtweeting Arthur memes like a high school chick, nope none of that. They’re complaining if they don’t get a full 9-10 hours of sleep every night like a goddamn cat. Cavs are done. Make them slightly uncomfortable and they’ll crumble. Celtics will be in the NBA Finals this year, book it.

Danny Ainge Continues to Look Aces as Jayson Tatum Shines and Markelle Fultz is Now Shooting Lefty?

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Yahoo – It’s been a week since the Philadelphia 76ers announced they were shutting down rookie point guard Markelle Fultz indefinitely due to the right shoulder soreness and “scapular muscle imbalance” that had rendered the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft virtually unable (or perhaps unwilling) to shoot jumpers or free throws. Exactly what caused the issue and why Fultz and the Sixers (mis)handled it the way they did very much remain open questions, but while the situation sure doesn’t seem any more normal than it did a week ago, it had, at least, quieted down some. And then came Monday, when reporters at the Sixers’ practice laid eyes on Fultz back on the floor to get some work in … and doing it with a southpaw stance.

So Jayson Tatum scored 21 points against the Haws last night and is now averaging 14 pts and 6 rebounds a game and hit another ballsy 3 pointer last night.

Each night he looks more and more like a key cog for the Celtics…at 19 years old. All while No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz, who Danny Ainge passed on, continues to have issues that are seemingly being exacerbated by the 76ers. Remember when everyone freaked out that Danny traded the No. 1 overall pick? Then freaked out again when Danny said he would’ve picked Tatum at No. 1 either way?

Danny must just be laughing his balls off at the recent turn of events. First it was Fultz having a wonky free throw shot out of nowhere. How did no scouts bring this up during the last 12 months of the Fultz hype train? Well then his agent said it was because of a shoulder issue that he developed while altering his shot in the Summer League. Umm why the fuck is the No. 1 overall pick messing with his game before even stepping on an NBA court? Well the injury had gotten so bad that Fultz couldn’t get his arms over his head. Fultz’s agent blamed the team and the team fired back and the two sides couldn’t seem to agree on what treatment Fultz was actually getting. Putting fluid in? Taking fluid out? All of this resulted in a free throw shot that Hey, Arnold would belly laugh at.

Not to mention the guy who was jacking up five 3-pointers a game in college had taken ZERO 3-pointers in the NBA. So the team recently shut down Fultz to give him some time to rest his seemingly out of nowhere bum shoulder and get his head on straight.

Now news comes out that Fultz is taking shots in practice left handed. Huh? Of course players mess around with weird shots and practice different things because you never know, but reporters at the Sixers practice said Fultz was shooting almost exclusively with his off-hand. Ruh roh.

Sure maybe he’s just shooting lefty so he can practice with the team while his right shoulder heals. Or maybe its another situation of the Sixers bungling an injury diagnosis. Seriously this team has been stacking Top 5 picks for years and they are all littered with injuries. They had the No. 1 overall pick this year (Fultz) and last year (Ben Simmons), and the No. 3 overall pick both in 2015 (Jahlil Okafor) and 2014 (Joel Embiid). Embiid has clocked 39 career games, Ben Simmons has 9 under his belt, and now Fultz is missing time after just 4 games played. All while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum continue to light it up for the C’s, not to mention that other lottery pick they used to snag Kyrie Irving. Maybe Danny does know what he’s doing after all. #TrustTheProcess indeed.

Kyrie Irving Just Triggered the Shit Out of LeBron James

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SUBTWEETING LEBRON IS BACK! Kyrie just went off for 35 points and carried the Celtics down the stretch for a tight win. He was hitting off balance shots, draining huge 3 pointers with no space, and iso-ing guys to kill the clock and ice the game. In other words he was doing what a franchise player does. I loved it. But you know who didn’t? LeBron James.

Bron Bron grammed that at 10:07 pm, which was about six minutes after the Celtics game ended. LeBron was straight up triggered watching “the kid” go off as Kyrie carries a franchise to a 9-game winning streak. All while LeBron’s Cavs are stumbling without Kyrie, sporting a 4-6 record and currently sitting at 12th place in the East. Haven’t seen LeBron this shook since the Celtics broke him in 2010 and forced him to run to Miami.

CUE THE KYRIE HIGHLIGHTS!

New Look Boston Celtics Make Their Season Debut Tonight

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A lot of the Brooklyn Nets’ blood, sweat, and tears have gone into the making of this team and tonight we get our first look at the new look Celtics. For the first time since the days of Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen the Celtics have 3 legitimate elite NBA players on their roster. No longer are they the plucky underdogs. Not to say they’ll be able to top the Cavs or the Warriors, but this team is much closer than last year’s team was. And while Isaiah Thomas will always be one of my favorite C’s players ever, Kyrie Irving is objectively speaking just a better all around player. Kyrie’s been one of the most entertaining players to watch since his (limited) days at Duke so I’m excited to see him lace up his sexy shamrock sneakers for the first time.

Not to mention unwrapping the first starting 5 of the year. Brad Stevens has a shit ton of new toys to play with this season.

I love it. Its that positional flexibility that the NBA thrives on these days as each player in this lineup can score from various levels. Its also the same starting 5 I use in NBA2K, no biggie. I’m excited to see Tatum go up against the big boys too after looking silky smooth in the summer league.

And most of all, its great to have a team that can legitimately compete with LeBron once again. Its been a long road back from The Big 3 days, but this team should push the Cavs for a spot in the NBA Finals. Especially with LeBron still dismissively referring to Kyrie as “the kid” every opportunity he gets, Kyrie may legitimately murder LeBron before we even get to the playoffs.