Tag: Celtics

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.

76ers Now Using Virtual Reality to Try and Fix Markelle Fultz

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Bleacher Report – The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly begun using virtual reality technology with guard Markelle Fultz as part of his rehabilitation, hoping he can rebuild confidence in his ailing jumper. Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice profiled Fultz’s search for his lost jumper and included the tidbit of information Monday. The Sixers are reportedly using the technology to help Fultz “visualize the mechanics he’ll use in a game, to remember how easy it once was for him to rise up with the ball and shoot from anywhere on the court and to be able to do so without the glare of the cameras or other people around him.”

Markelle Fultz has legitimately become one of the strangest stories in recent NBA history. The No. 1 overall pick that was dynamite in his lone year playing college ball, plays 4 horrendous games in the NBA, the team cites a shoulder injury, and then months later it comes out that he has some kind of hitch in his shot.

This is a guy who shot over 40% from 3-point land in college. All of a sudden he can’t hit a jump shot? What? I suppose it could just be a case of the yips, but that doesn’t explain why he can’t play at all. Rajon Rondo couldn’t shoot for shit, but he was (is) still a successful point guard in the NBA. Now the 76ers are busting out the Virtual Reality goggles to try and fix Fultz? This story just gets weirder and weirder.

You wanna know how to fix his jump shot? Have him recite the profiles of all the girls in Playboy. Boom. Problem solved.

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!

If Salt Bae Can Make It Into a Ciroc Commercial Then Theres Hope for Us All

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I feel like the internet drove right past this the other night and I need to make sure it gets the proper attention. The meme of the year, Salt Bae himself, was in a goddamn Ciroc commercial that aired during the Celtics Cavs game the other night. Ya know, the Turkish chef who became pseudo-famous for how he sprinkled salt on his goddamn meat? Yea that guy was living it up next to P. Diddy and all the other beautiful celebrities in a banging vodka commercial.

So if you’re stuck in a cube job like me, let this be a lesson to you. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do. If Salt Bae can bootstrap himself from a no name chef to kicking it with P. Diddy then theres hope for us all.

Here’s to a Speedy Recovery for Gordon Hayward After That Horrific Leg Injury

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That was tough to watch last night. Six minutes into his Celtics career Gordon Hayward suffered probably the worst injury I’ve ever seen on a basketball court. I’m talking worse than Paul George and worse than Kevin Ware.

Just the way it happened and Hayward’s reaction to seeing his own leg explode. Nightmare stuff. Feel terrible for the guy. I’m not gonna post the video and honestly if you haven’t seen it yet do yourself a favor and don’t seek it out. Horrific injury.

While it sucks to have arguably the best free agent signing in Celtics history go down in the first few minutes of the season, the C’s rebounded incredibly well in the second half. They were an inch away from tying that game with a last second Kyrie 3 so thats encouraging at the very least.

Charles Barkley is probably right in the sense of competing for a title, but I don’t think they’re suddenly going to struggle to be the No. 5 seed in the dogshit East like he’s suggesting. That injury is a goddamn downer though as we were all getting gassed up to see a special Celtics team. Welp, here’s to a speedy recovery for Gordon Hayward. Hopefully we see ya sooner than later bud.