I don’t know how I never knew this, its just such a sweet piece of bar trivia. And of course Auerbach is the only guy to ever do it because he’s an innovator. Put this Snapple fact in your memory bank and never let it go.
What a glorious Red Auerbach tidbit I never knew. #Celtics #NBA pic.twitter.com/PA1j4wY5kp
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) January 12, 2017
ESPN – For years, NBA teams have sold 10-game plans for fans that don’t want to commit to buying a whole season worth of games. On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks will announce that they’re offering a 10-win plan. That’s right, guaranteed wins. In a package that will go on sale Tuesday through Jan. 11, the Bucks will sell fans a ticket pass for $149 that will begin on Jan. 13 against the Miami Heat and will be active until the Bucks win 10 home games.
What an absolutely genius move by the Bucks here. This team is on the up, but fans in Milwaukee do not give a shit. A pretty decent team that is developing one of the best young players in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they still rank 27th in attendance.
So the Bucks are guaranteeing every fan who buys this ticket pack for $149 sees 10 wins, not 10 games, 10 wins, which is absurd. I was a partial season ticket holder for the Bruins last year, when they just happened to be awful at home, and I think they lost something like 8 of 12 games I was at. So I totally get the uncertainty of re-upping for another ticket plan. Milwaukee fans would be stupid to not take the Bucks up on this offer. I can’t even go to ONE Celtics game with a buddy for that price. The cheeseheads could get 20 games for the same price.
Sometimes I wish I lived in a flyover state. Tickets are cheaper. Beers are cheaper. Just a simple life really.
Pro Basketball Talk – [Cousins] scoring 55 points on 17-of-28 shooting, leading the Kings to 126-121 win over the team they are chasing for a playoff slot. Near the end of the game, Cousins got ejected after barking at the Trail Blazers bench and his mouthpiece coming out — one referee thought he either spit it or threw it at the Blazers bench and gave him a technical, Cousins’ second. He sprinted to the locker room to avoid doing anything stupid. Then the officials talked, decided the mouthpiece coming out was accidental, and rescinded the technical.
People love CT from the Challenge because he is a Masshole through and through, for better or for worse. Guy is an animal, dominates the game, is a total asshole and disregards what anybody tells him, but is also loyal to his guys and hates losing with a fiery passion. Sound like a certain mercurial someone in the NBA?
Demarcus Cousins would be worshipped here in Boston because of those qualities, not in spite of them. Don’t let the morally righteous sports writers of this city tell you otherwise. Do I agree with Cousins spitting his mouthguard out at an opposing assistant coach? No. But in the midst of a MONSTER 55 point game against a team your fighting for a playoff spot, all while on a winning team in Boston?? Fans around here would be FIRED UP about that and be tripping all over themselves to say how uber competitive he is, like a young KG. And so would I.
Don’t get caught up on a guy being a miserable prick when he’s on a team thats been in the basement of the league every year of his career. You gotta take some chances to win in the NBA if you don’t have a LeBron fall into your lap like Cleveland. So I’ll take a chance that this guy would thrive in Boston and be embraced by this city.
People used to point to the Pacers in the early part of this decade as a team that did it right and built through the draft without any real superstars. They did it on depth, good coaching and some pretty good players in Paul George (who has grown into a star), Roy Hibbert and David West. They were a fun team to watch and root for. But what happened? They never won shit and they got beat every time by bigger, badder teams like the super team the Heat had a few years ago. They slowly got worse and the team hasn’t gotten close since.
Take a chance on a super talent. Or don’t and be the Pacers for the next decade.
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!
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.
Absolutely. Electric.
Just got this email in my inbox and I had to do a double take…
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.
ESPN – NBA owners are scheduled to vote this week on putting ads on jerseys for the 2017-18 season, multiple sources told ESPN. The measure is expected to pass, according to sources. Several teams have begun testing the market to sell the potentially lucrative ads, which would be placed in a 2.5-by-2.5-inch patch on the left shoulder.
*Hate* this move. You knew it was coming, there were whispers in the dark corners of the NBA rumor mill and there was no way the NBA was going to let the profit orange remain unsqueezed. But seriously, RIP to the Jersey Guys like myself. I never thought anything would legitimately make me grow up and stop wearing jerseys in public. Maybe turning 30? Probably not. But slap a Hot Pocket patch on my Isaiah Thomas jersey? See ya later. This is what ruins most soccer jerseys, which all have the potential to be really cool. Starts with one small ad, then you get a Manchester United jersey with a giant goddamn Chevy logo in the middle and you look like a NASCAR driver. I am out on this move. Brace yourselves Jersey Guys.
Courtesy of NESN
Kings’ Rajon Rondo & DeMarcus Cousins get technical fouls for the simultaneous sarcastic clap at referee Marc Davis pic.twitter.com/osfOheS7Qg
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) March 31, 2016
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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.
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.
The 300s 