Tag: Basketball

The Kevin Durant Watch is Back On for Boston Celtics Fans

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Kevin-Durant-Celtics

Kevin Durant watch is back on. It definitely would have been better for the Celtics if OKC got trounced in the previous round by San Antonio, which would have made it easier for Durant to say hey it’s not happening here lets try something else. Obviously that didn’t happen. Toppling the all-time regular season wins leader in Golden State with 73 and the back-to-back MVP in Steph Curry en route to another Finals trip would have made it impossible for Durant to leave. So now maybe, just maybe losing a Game 7 heart breaker and letting another series slip away gets Durant to think about making a change. Double edged sword though because do you really want a guy who is saying screw this, it’s too hard I want to play somewhere else and get on an easier path? Not particularly. But I’d take it.

In the end it’s not going to happen. First and foremost he would be leaving a stupid amount of cash on the table. With the salary cap set to go up to from about $70 million this year to approximately $92 million after next season there is so much more money to be had out there. Also being in his 9th season Durant can only receive 30% of a team’s max cap, whereas after 10 seasons he can grab 35%. So 30% of $70 million or 35% from the $92 million cap next year? Not gonna happen. Plus he would get annihilated by the media and the fans for “abandoning” OKC and you know it. I honestly think Durant takes that to heart unlike LeBron James so I think that plays a much larger factor than people give it credit. Most likely scenario is he signs a 2-year deal with OKC with a player opt-out after 1 year and then signs a mega deal with OKC after next season.

But hey a guy can dream right? Durant watch has been reactivated. GET EM ISAIAH!

Screenshot 2016-05-31 at 11.47.37 AM

DeMarcus Cousins Subtweets Draymond Green Because He’s Got the Heart of a Champion

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Screenshot 2016-05-23 at 9.35.07 PM

Yahoo Sports – DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t seem to like Draymond Green. Why? Well, it’s quite possible that Cousins feels his own reputation is unfair and that Green would have a similar reputation if his team wasn’t potentially the greatest of all time.

You say petulant asshole, I say a guy sick who is sick and tired of losing. Sure it might just be the rationalizing stage of Celtics denial, but I think if you get a guy like DeMarcus Cousins with a solid coach like Brad Stevens, stable ownership and a strong squad around him this guy could flourish in Boston.

Not everyone handles losing well, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s like this guy from my college flag football team. A total hero who would lose his shit on people for dropping the ball, but the guy could ball and when we were rolling I was more than happy to have him on my team. Who knows, it’s a bold strategy, but maybe not playing for a garbage lottery team year after year helps Cousins grow up and finally become a dominant force in the NBA.

 

Tyronn Lue Wins My Heart: Tells LeBron to Shut the Fuck Up

By on • ( 1 Comment )

tyronnlue

Yahoo Sports – Tyronn Lue changed that the moment he first told James in a huddle, “Shut the [expletive up]. I got this,” according to a person who heard the exchange — and a few others like it. If Lue was going to get the stars and the role players to buy into the strategic changes he was determined to implement — play faster, space the floor, move the ball, take full advantage of Love’s versatility — he was going to have to restore order first.

Love this move and what makes it even funnier is that it probably cuts LeBron down to his core because it’s some bum ass former player telling him to pipe down. No one’s talked to him like that since he was 12. Just burning through coaches, not even pretending to listen, running his own plays. Then Tyronn Lue struts into town after Blatt gets dusted and promptly tells LeBron to shut the fuck up. Shut that shit down like you’re late on the cable bill. Shocked we haven’t seen a mopey Instagram post from LeBron about doing unto others or something. Team Ty all day.

sadlebron

Steph Curry Wins Back to Back MVPs: LeBron James Not Impressed

By on • ( Leave a comment )

maxresdefault

ESPN – One day after Curry was voted the first unanimous winner in 61 years, James, who finished third behind Curry and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, said the honor can be interpreted in different ways…”I think sometimes the word ‘valuable’ or best player of the year you can have different results,” said James, a four-time MVP. “You know, that’s not taking anything from anyone that’s ever won the award.”

Another quote in a long line of them from LeBron that just come off as salty at best. Do you think LeBron was playing semantics when he won back to back MVPs? Winning the award four times (09,10,12,13) I’m pretty sure LeBron would be bullshit if people tried to say he was merely a valuable player, not actually the best player in the league.

Steph Curry is on a historic run and is just decimating teams, albeit in an unconventional way jacking 3’s from half court. Curry is the best player in the league hands down. May not be the best defender, shot creator, whatever you want to nitpick, but is the best overall player in the NBA? Hands down. Hell, even NBA2k had to apologize for not making his video game character good enough. Just more sour grapes coming out of Believeland.

Celtics Banking on Banners to Bring in Free Agents, Again

By on • ( Leave a comment )

6305148

ESPN – Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens seems flattered when it’s suggested to him that free agents might consider Boston as a destination because of his presence, but he firmly believes that the 17 championship banners that hang above the TD Garden floor are the team’s biggest attraction.

This is what drives me nuts about the Celtics every summer. I’m sure Stevens is just being modest trying to push the focus off himself, but let’s be real. I appreciate the history of the Celtics — Red Auerbach, 17 titles, Russell, Bird etc. Danny Ainge appreciates the history of the Celtics so do Wyc Grousbeck and all the fans. But NBA players don’t give a shit. Nothing better than a little self awareness, guys.

Not to say there aren’t players out there who really do love the history like Pierce and KG, but those guys learned to love it. Garnett initially refused a trade to come to Boston. It was only after playing here that he grew to love the city, the banners and of course Gino. That’s why the Celtics have never landed a big free agent…ever. Guys want to play in LA and schmooze or down in South Beach and duck state taxes. So I just can’t buy into the pipe dream yet again that this free agent class is the one that will be full of history students. The only way to really rebuild this team is through mammoth, monster trades. Make these guys realize what they’re missing.

Sacramento Kings Getting People to Tattoo New Logo On Themselves

By on • ( Leave a comment )
Courtesy of ESPN

Courtesy of ESPN

SB Nation – The team, however, has decided to go even further by inviting fans to get tattoos of the logos for free on Wednesday. So, at five designated tattoo parlors, fans lined up immediately.

As a guy that loves tattoos, but has never had the stones to pull the trigger and get one, this is bananas. Yet I respect the hell out of it. Getting a tattoo as part of a publicity stunt is some bold stuff, especially for a team that has changed its logo yet again. It’s not like the Yankees “NY” or something that hasn’t changed in a hundred years. But tattooed folk are like a guy sitting at a hot blackjack table. If you’ve already got a couple, whats another one? Hit me. ESPECIALLY if that shit is free. All while being branded for a garbage basketball team.

With that being said..the secondary logo of the lion is fire.

 

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

How Disrespectful is it for the Bruins to Try and Sell Me Celtics Playoff Gear?

By on • ( Leave a comment )

celtics_superstar

Just got this email in my inbox and I had to do a double take…

Screenshot 2016-04-15 at 1.06.36 PM

I know the Bruins and the Celtics operate in the same building, but after the embarrassment of choking away another playoff berth, the Bruins should not be in the business of hawking playoff gear for another team. The only time the word “playoffs” should be coming out of their mouths is when talking about what changes will be made to make sure they get there next year. Not being a pop-up shop for the Celtics to sell t-shirts.

PS – Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love the way the Celtics play all out, all-for-one type ball, but that One Superstar t-shirt was asking for it.

Rondo Tossed With 6.7 Seconds Left in the Game

By on • ( Leave a comment )

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Legitimately laugh out loud funny. Rajon Rondo has proven more and more since he left the Celtics that he just does. not. care. – pair that with Boogie Cousins and you have a Bash Brothers duo of basket cases. Rondo getting tossed with 6.7 seconds left, while UP by 14 pts (and Cousins earning a 1 game suspension for receiving his league leading 16th Technical Foul of the season) is outrageous.  Rondo has that Happy Gilmore simmering rage that will inevitably explode on a mini-golf clown.

The sarcastic clap is like something you do in a Rec league when you’re getting run out of the gym at the Y. I will forever love Rondo because he was such an odd cat, super competitive (laying the wood on kids in Connect 4), and always relished the audience of big games — but notice how over the years he went from “mercurial” in Boston to now a guy who routinely gets in fights with coaches and refs and gets ejected at a pretty good clip. Goes to show how easy it is to lose your focus when the Big Ticket isn’t screaming in your face 82 nights a year.

 

Can Trader Danny Finagle Jimmy Butler Out of Chicago?

By on • ( 1 Comment )
via Boston Globe

via Boston Globe

The Bulls and the Mess They’re In – This is pretty much exactly what the Celtics need, a team that for whatever reason is on the brink of blowing it up and willing to move their star centerpiece. Trader Danny, waiting like a snake in the grass for the past 3 years and stockpiling draft picks, is ready to strike. Why the Bulls want to move Jimmy Butler does not concern me, but if Chris Mannix’s report is right and they do indeed want to move on, then fully expect Danny to be first in line. If the C’s can pry Butler out of Chicago then they are in business. Assuming they hold onto Isaiah and team him up with Butler, that is a dynamic 1-2 scoring punch. The Celtics haven’t really had a pure scorer who can take over a game since Pierce was traded. Isaiah has been the best thing since, but still at times can be smothered by bigger defenders. Bring in Butler to take over that role and they would both flourish.

Not to mention, all it takes is one. Get one piece in here and it makes it so much easier to bring in another all-star. Don’t forget as much as Garnett loved Boston and raves about it to this day, he wanted no part of the Celtics until they moved Jeff Green (the No. 5 pick that year) for Ray Allen. Only then did he agree to waive his no-trade and go to the C’s. So my point is, do whatever you can to land a budding superstar and the rest can very easily fall into place, rather than banking on winning the goddamn Draft Lottery again and waiting on an 18 year old to turn into that superstar.