Tag: NBA

Queen Mallory Edens Just Put Drake in a Bodybag

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While the rest of the internet is blogging about Aaron Rodgers’ absolute embarrassing chugging performance,

I’m more focused on Queen Mallory making power moves and demolishing Grammy winning rappers.

Mallory Edens has really blown up recently, probably due to our humble website blogging about the Queen on a regular basis, but she just jumped into the stratosphere by putting Drake in a bodybag. Sitting court side rocking the Pusha T shirt, she just put Jimmy back in a wheelchair.

For anyone who doesn’t follow internet rap beefs, Drake and Pusha T got reeeeaaaal personal last year. Pusha T legitimately outed Drake on a diss track for secretly fathering a son with a porn star. Pusha rapped about Drake’s boy, 40, probably dying soon because he has Multiple sclerosis. Yikes. KFC actually had a really thorough breakdown of the beef if you’re interested in all the deets.

So for Mallory to wear that shirt right in Drake’s face is a power move. Drizzy seems smitten by the move and to be perfectly honest its hard to blame him.

Bend the knee for the Queen and save your kingdom.

 

An Anthony Davis-less Plan for the Celtics Offseason

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Image result for danny ainge

(Updated June 17, 2019.)

This had to be the single most disappointing Celtics season of my lifetime.

Now, to be clear, I am not saying that this is necessarily the “worst” season I’ve ever seen the team have; 2005-2007 were some dark times, and 2013-14 was pretty brutal, too. (The late 1990s were also an abject nightmare, but fortunately I was young enough not to have been nearly as invested in the team then as I am now.) The team also still finished as the four-seed in the East this year, and they made it to the second round of the playoffs. Fine.

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Rondo was there for the good times and the bad.

But this was supposed to be one where the Celtics would run away with the Eastern Conference – after being mere minutes away from doing so just last year without their supposed best player AND another All-Star, both of whom were back this season. All of that was supposed to be a foregone conclusion before what seemed like a guaranteed trip the Finals. They were supposed to be THE top dog east of the Rockies, and only the juggernauts out on the West Coast could dare hope to challenge them.

Well, ummm, that didn’t happen. At all. And instead we were treated to perhaps the most underperforming, inconsistent, and outright whiniest team in recent Boston sports history. At times, it felt like I was following a shitty MTV reality show about a group of spoiled AAU players as opposed to a professional team of adults. I am truly indignant right now as a die-hard fan of this team. This year was just completely unacceptable. We should all be mad. Truly.

It’s easy to get all over Kyrie Irving and place the lion’s share of the blame on his shoulders. And yes, teams like Milwaukee, Toronto, and Philly were really, really good this season. But to be honest, Brad Stevens deserves almost just as much flak for not being able to manage this group with any sort of consistency or aplomb, regardless of how difficult the guys on the team made it for him to do so.

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You’re not getting away that easily, Brad.

Because in reality, the end result for the Celtics this year had nothing to do with talent; there should be no doubt that this team can still match up with the vast majority of other rosters in the league from top to bottom. Instead, it was out-of-control egos, piss-poor attitudes, and an overall toxic culture that brought the team down.

Also, the whole Anthony Davis idea is now done after Saturday’s trade. Kyrie is about to walk out the door, too. And while there are still a few intriguing big-name free-agent options we could try and throw the bank at, I think this team instead needs an infusion of guys who are committed to winning, playing team ball, and who are willing to put aside all future contract aspirations and personal endeavors. If you really look at who’s been winning in the NBA lately, it’s still all about team ball and players who understand their roles within a well-oiled machine. The Celtics are already loaded with guys who just need to find their place within such a system – without the presence of a selfish superstar who will only suppress them and dominate everything, both on and off the court.

It’s a multi-pronged approach, which will call for a number of different factors to fall into place. But it’s possible. And here’s just how I think they could actually end up pulling it off in a few simple steps:

Trade Gordon Hayward for Mike Conley

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Now, before anyone tries to call me out for plagiarism due to the fact Bleacher Report wrote a feature with this very idea a couple weeks back, I can assure you the idea is not their own. Nor is it mine. Rather, it almost makes too much sense – from both a basketball and financial standpoint – not to happen, and it’s an idea that’s been floated around in some circles for a while now.

Conley is EXACTLY what this team needs: an experienced floor general who can both score and has no problem distributing the ball to talented guys around him. A 12-year veteran who is still only 31 years old, Conley has only been getting better with age. While some of this might have to do with the dearth of talent surrounding him in Memphis over the past few seasons, he’s seen his PPG increase by almost five points over his past two fully healthy campaigns. He’s now a nightly 20-point, six-assist player. He’s also a career 38-percent three-point shooter.

But what about Hayward? Remember how everyone (myself included) was all over his you-know-what during the last month of the season after it looked like he was finally finding his groove once again? Yeah. Then the playoffs rolled around, and it was U-G-L-Y. In all reality, I do believe that Hayward did make great strides toward the end of the season, but on this team he simply blends in with the rest of the wing talent on the roster.

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A change of scenery could honestly be a good thing for G-20.

Conley, on the other hand, can facilitate an actual offense and help propel guys like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to reach their true potential. Also, him and Al Horford would be a pretty lethal combo on the pick-and-roll. Unlike Kyrie, Conley doesn’t need to put up a ton of buckets every night, and his presence and leadership is desperately needed in this locker room. Furthermore, this is a guy who’s probably super hungry for a chance to win after struggling to ever do much of anything down in Memphis, even during the team’s “good” seasons.

Memphis is also trying to tank hard and rebuild from scratch, and the Celtics have a lot of enticing assets they can offer to a team in such a situation to get this deal done. Also, most people expect the Grizz to pick stud guard Ja Morant with the No. 2 overall pick next month, making Conley pretty expendable. And above all, both Conley and Hayward have stupid high annual salaries, so the numbers work out, too. (And while, yes, Hayward does indeed have All-Star-level talent, I don’t believe he alone will inflate the Grizzlies’ win total all that much. Memphis will likely just want to trade one monster contract in Conley for another in Hayward – who is set to come off the books entirely in 2021 – while at the same time picking up a few more solid building blocks.)

Again, this one really just makes too much sense for all parties involved not to happen.

Let Kyrie and Terry Rozier Walk

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BYE, FELICIA.

No, seriously. These two can both take a fat hike. I don’t care how good Kyrie is. He’s not the end-all be-all that everyone is making him out to be. This team absolutely faded when it mattered most under his leadership, and who in their right mind would ever believe that’s going to change just because he gets paid this summer? In fact, couldn’t that potentially make it even worse??!! Don’t buy into the hype that we NEED a superstar like Kyrie to win in this league. The dude simply isn’t worth it. At all.

And “Scary” Terry? Yeah, it was pretty effing scary to watch him on the court this season. He was truly horrible in almost every facet of the game, no matter how you spin it. I’ll always remember how key he was in the playoffs in 2017-18, but he fell off a cliff this year. Then he goes out after the season and airs all the team’s dirty laundry on ESPN just because he’s salty that he didn’t get to play as much as he wanted? Again, BUH-BYE.

Go Hard After Bojan Bogdanovic

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Some of you might be staring blankly at your computer screens right now, but I promise you this dude is actually pretty good. After quietly averaging between 11-15 points per game over the previous three seasons, the 29-year-old Croatian exploded onto the scene with Indiana this past year. Not only did he average 18 PPG overall, but he shot nearly 43 percent from deep and is a 38-percent career three-point shooter. And there, my friends, is where the true value with him lies.

The Celtics were already a top-10 three-point-shooting team this year. They finished sixth in terms of three-pointers made and seventh in terms of three-point percentage. Adding a guy like Bogdanovic will only further enhance the Celts ability to kill opponents from deep. Rather than trying to dominate the ball or run the iso, Bogdanovic can instead focus on finding his spot and getting as many open looks as possible.

Why is that so important? Here are the five teams that finished ahead of the Celtics in terms of three-pointers made this season (in order): Houston, Milwaukee, Golden State, Atlanta, and Brooklyn. Four of those five are playoff teams, and this year’s NBA champion Toronto Raptors finished eighth.

I rest my case.

(Side note: I wouldn’t necessarily mind going for someone like J.J. Redick instead, because he’d actually likely be much cheaper. However, he’s also five years older, and I just like Bogdanovic more overall. But if B.B. is gone, then by all means, Danny!)

And, if there’s enough money left over…

Bring Back Marcus Morris

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This dude was an absolute monster at times for the Celtics this season, and a lot of people think he’s about to get PAID on the open market. If that’s the case, then it’ll be tough to make this one work.

But, if he’s willing to take a slight hit in the pocket in order to keep chasing a ring with a team on which he’s proven he can be a key contributor, it could be a huge win for both sides. From Thanksgiving through the first half of January this season, the man was on fire, averaging over 17 points per game and serving as the team’s best three-point shooter over that stretch. And while his play wasn’t quite as prolific the rest of the way, he still put up numbers and was perhaps one of the only bright spots for the team this postseason.

He’s also one of those guys, much like Marcus Smart, who plays with grit-and-balls every night and can serve as a key enforcer in the toughest moments. I’ve always been a huge fan of Marcus Morris, and I’d love to see him in green again next season.

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Seriously, though, this dude can ill-grill with the best of ’em.

While LeBron duped everyone into believing that placing all your eggs into the basket of one superstar is the way to go, teams like the Warriors, Blazers, Sixers, and Bucks (yes, Giannis is nasty but that team is also loaded around him) are proving that much more team-focused play is making a big comeback.

So here’s to hoping Danny doesn’t fall into the trap of bringing back Kyrie or trading away the farm for another big name. Indeed there was a time when I thought this was the way to go, too, but we’ve spent too much time building up such incredible assets to piss them all away on nothing but a hope and a prayer. Plus, with the way this team went down in flames this season, we need a little bit more of a shakeup. (And let’s also not forget that we STILL have Memphis’ lottery pick in one of the next two offseasons after this year, too!)

What do you think, Celts Nation? Who do you think we should go after? Be sure to let us know in the comments or on Facebook!

God I Love Watching the Lakers Implode Before My Very Eyes

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ESPN – Using the word “betrayal,” Magic Johnson made it clear that general manager Rob Pelinka was the one “backstabbing” him, telling people that he wasn’t working hard and wanting to take his job with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In an appearance on First Take on Monday morning, Johnson did not hold back, identifying Pelinka as the person he was alluding to when he mentioned that he was tired of the “backstabbing” and “the whispering” that was going on behind his back when he suddenly stepped down as Lakers president of basketball operations on April 9.

You know what they say about dirty laundry? Something about not airing it out in public? Yea, Magic doesn’t have time for your anecdotes about dirty clothes because he is here to firebomb the entire Lakers organization and all who have wronged him. And I am here for it.

“I start hearing, ‘Magic, you are not working hard enough. Magic’s not in the office,'” Johnson told First Take. “People around the Lakers office were telling me Rob was saying things, Rob Pelinka, and I didn’t like those things being said behind my back, that I wasn’t in the office enough.”

Johnson later added when asked who betrayed him in the Lakers organization: “If you are going to talk betrayal, it’s only with Rob.”

Is Rob Pelinka probably a snake behind the scenes? It would certainly seem so. Regardless of the situation it says more about you than it does anyone else if you’re going around the organization trying to play office politics and get your own boss fired like your Littlefinger. I guarantee you that Magic did not take his role as President of the Lakers seriously either though so its more of a pot meet kettle situation here. However, for Magic to just go out and dust everyone he worked with shows a laugh out loud lack of either self awareness or he just straight up doesn’t care.

The Lakers are a shit show and if you disagree just look at this quote from Magic about who is running what out in La La Land.

“[Tim Harris] is supposed to run Lakers business but he was trying to come over to our side,” Johnson said. “Have everybody who has a role with the Lakers, stay in that role. OK, Tim Harris, you’re the president of business, stay over there in business. Jesse and Joey [Buss], hey, you’re the general manager assistant to Rob. Joey, you run the G League team. Then do that and do it well. Once you show you can drive excellence, now maybe you can move to another department. But right now, everybody has a voice.”

Johnson said that Jeanie Buss is listening to those closest to her, including longtime friend and Lakers executive director/special projects Linda Rambis and former Lakers head coach and her ex-fiancé, Phil Jackson.

So we’ve got Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, Tim Harris, Jesse Buss, Joey Buss, Linda Rambis, and Phil Jackson all giving their two cents on what the Lakers should be doing.

Fuck. That.

For as dumb as Magic sounds at times…

…I don’t blame him for quitting. He basically had become Peter in Office Space.

“Thats my only real motivation is not to be hassled. That and the fear of losing my job, but you know Bob, that’ll only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.” – Peter Gibbons
-Magic Johnson

Johnson was asked to name his top free agent. He laughed that he doesn’t have to worry about tampering anymore and can say whatever he wants.

Be honest, does this look like a guy who should have ever been put in charge of one of the most valuable franchises in the world in the first place?

Skip to :24

 

PS – Lavar Ball continues to be the Three Eyed Raven of the NBA.

Could Kendrick Perkins Return to the Celtics as a Coach?

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I first heard this rumor the other morning on 98.5 and I believe CelticsLife was the originator of this theory. With the disaster that was this past Celtics season they are obviously in need of some changes, both on and off the court. What was the one thing the Celtics lacked this year, aside from wins? Grit and Balls. This could all be #fakenews but hear me out for a second.

Would the Celtics consider bringing back Kendrick Perkins as an assistant coach?

Perkins has been extremely critical of the Celtics and their issues, yet all while sounding eerily like an assistant coach on the bench.

Perk has also been making the rounds on TV and radio more recently as he breaks down what he sees as the biggest problems on this Boston team. Hint hint: not a fan of Kyrie playing hero ball.

This sounds like a guy who wants to be on a bench somewhere imparting wisdom to younger players. I mean just look at this article from nearly two years ago about how Perk is “destined” to be a coach.

It makes a ton of sense. There was really no one to tell Kyrie Irving to stop acting like a dickhead because he was surrounded by Horford (quiet, lead by example type), Hayward ($30M bench player), a bunch of young guys, and mild mannered Brad Stevens. On one hand I think its a total crock of shit to say you *need* a coach who has played in the NBA to be successful, but on the other hand perception is reality. If players don’t respect the coach then it doesn’t matter how good of a coach he is. So while Brad may be the best X’s and O’s coach in the league, if Kyrie is tuning him out it doesn’t matter. Well, what if Kendrick Perkins is there to provide that street cred? A guy who played FOURTEEN seasons in the league and is a scary sonofabitch to boot. You think Kyrie, or Tatum, or anyone is going to ignore this guy??

Not to mention, there is suddenly an opening on Brad Stevens’ coaching staff.

Lending more credibility to the rumor is the fact that Perk recently pulled out of the BIG3 League, just a couple of weeks after rosters were officially announced, which I blogged about extensively.

Hmmm. The connection to the C’s is still there with Perk; enough that he actually reached out to Danny Ainge last season about returning as a player for the stretch run, before ultimately retiring. Here’s what I wrote back in November:

I LOVE Perk, but we all saw him last year with Cleveland in a suit. The guy would make a phenomenal coach or more likely a corrections officer, but we all understand his playing days are over…If Kendrick Perkins was born 20 years earlier he might be in the Hall of Fame today. I’m not joking. The guy was straight out of the 1980’s NBA. Bill Laimbeer would have been throwing hands with Perk twice a season. He was just an absolute force in the paint; a real old school bully. And that was exactly what the Celtics needed in 2007. A bodyguard for Rondo, a No. 2 to KG’s crazy, a guy willing to do the dirty work while the Big 3 handled all the scoring. He was the perfect fit for that team and both teammates and fans alike adored him.

So while there has been absolutely zero indication from the Celtics, Danny, Wyc, or even Perk himself about this move actually happening, it’s one that I would be completely on board with. The Celtics have lacked a scary strong veteran voice of leadership in the locker room for a long time and I think Perk could bring some Grit and Balls back to this team.

Thursday Morning Good Ol’ Fashion Blog Soup

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There’s a lot going on in the world of #sports and #entertainment that we can discuss here for #content but that I can’t really draw out into a full blog. So let’s fuck around and touch a lot of bases, shall we?

-A few really interesting fights have been announced lately that I never blogged (woooops).

Nate Diaz returns to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 241 in August. Hooo baby. That is going to be something. They’ll duel at 170lbs, where Pettis recently arrived and found success, knocking out Stephen Thompson. I’d prefer to see Diaz stick to 155 as his run wayyyy back in the day at 170 didn’t go so well and  he simply lacks the strength and power to deal with the bigger and stronger fighters of the welterweight division. On top of that, I still think both are contenders at 155 when they have their heads on straight. And when Nate, you know, fights. As for the match up, if Diaz can set an early pace moving forward, Pettis will likely wilt moving backward as he always has. Likewise if “Showtime” can find a rhythm with his kicks and movement early, it could be a long night for Nate. An x-factor could be if Diaz calls on what happened in his first fight with Conor McGregor and gets the fight to the ground. Pettis is no slouch in the submission department but he’s not a 209 black belt.

Secondly, it would appear Khabib and Dustin Poirier are going to unify the 155lb strap at UFC 242 in Dubai. The card would kick off at 2:00pm EST so it is a PRIME day drinking event. Khabib, in my opinion, is going to maul anyone he faces but at this point in his career you can never count Poirier out, so looking forward to this one.

-Let’s leave MMA town now. I posted something to Facespace about this last night but I’ll leave it here as well. “Game Of Thrones” is the best TV of our lifetime. A true spectacle and something that if I was a douchie Hollywood-type I’d refer to as an achievement. So just because this season hasn’t gone according to YOUR plan and just because there are plot holes that YOU don’t like because they need to wrap the show up, it doesn’t change the fact that there won’t be anything like this ever again and it is still fantastic. It also doesn’t make you cool to publicly scream that opinion off a rooftop.

(O and if you’re trying to turn Khaleesi’s rampage into some sort of anti-feminist slight, please seek some fucking help. Where were you when Cersei did the same fuckin thing?)

-Red and I, once accompanied by Papa G, have kicked off the 2019 golf season, thus far with mixed results. Papa G actually hit the longest tee ball these eyes have ever seen. Not in any sort of productive direction but man I’ll tell ya, it was a bomb. I actually could see all of us making a little leap in ability this year if we keep playing consistently. Either way nice to be out there considering it’s usually been 45 and rainy for the past three months.

–Mattes wrote a great blog on the Jamie Collins signing so go there for a full breakdown. My only divergence from what he wrote is that I’m seeing a few #footballguys note that data points to Van Noy being more productive in our defense than Collins was. Collins just had more flashy plays and pure, visual athleticism. Still, I still love the signing and whenever you can sign a Jamie Collins it is going to make your defense better. As a matter of fact I think the Pats’ LB corps is now sneaky-stacked with Collins, Van Noy, Hightower, forgotten stud Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Roberts.

-I posed this to Red yesterday and I don’t think he’s feeling it but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the B’s didn’t sweep tonight because they’ve been the only reason I’ve been leaving my house on Saturdays. Having to regress to going out and then socialize would be miserable at this point. So as much as I’m rooting for a B’s victory, it wouldn’t crush me if they didn’t get it.

-The Celtics find themselves in the lottery despite getting to the second round this year. Shouts to Danny Ainge for being able to get us picks but not banners. Pretty cool bud. Anyway there will be a few guys floating around at 14 we could snag and I’m sure someone here will get into it in depth. Looking at the board KZ Okpala from Stanford has an ever improving shot at 6’8 and, if he falls into our lap, Rui Hachimura (Zags) would bring a great skill-set into our locker room and through the season before we bow out before the ECF again.

-I guess some survey came out and the Boston accent won sexiest in America. I’ve lived here 99.9% of my life (2 short stints in Jersey) and I can honestly tell you that if someone comes at me with a hard Boston accent I assume they can’t read. To be honest I think it’s because a lot of people my age fake it to sound hard and if you fake an accent to sound cool or hard you probably are indeed illiterate. Bad beat.

-Lastly, John Wick 3 comes out soon/came out (I don’t fuckin know bro) and LET’SSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I’m a noted avoider of most pure action, boom boom bang pow movies but I love John Wick. It’s Keanu as Bourne pretty much. What’s not to like?

 

I’ll be introducing a new weekly/bi-weekly feature tomorrow that I’ve had brewing for awhile so we’ll see how that goes. We only have a couple more until the weekend, folks.

-Joey B

NBA Conference Finals Preview and Betting Lines

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Here we go guys, this is where the fun really starts. Two of these teams are just four W’s away from the NBA Finals and thank god we won’t be subjected to Golden State vs Cleveland V. No mas. Just look at Rocky as the best example of this. Rocky 1-4 were all awesome and exciting flicks with Rocky 5 being one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. So I’m psyched for some fresh blood this year. But I digress, lets take a look at the Conference Finals matchups.

Golden State Warriors (1) vs Portland Trail Blazers (3)
(Game 1 – Tuesday at 9 pm)

In what ultimately made little difference for the Rockets, Kevin Durant will be out yet again for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night. Durant is one of the top 3 players in the entire league, but lets not forget just how stacked this Warriors team still is with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Thats a 2x MVP, a 5x All-Star, and a 3x All-Star/Defensive Player of the Year. Soo yea the Warriors are still in good shape.

It doesn’t sound like Durant is particularly close to returning either though and if he misses multiple games in this series then it starts to become a legitimate threat to the Warriors’ NBA Finals streak.

Unless you’re watching a ton of NBA games, I don’t think many casual fans realized just how good the Portland Trail Blazers are. Everyone knows how good Damian Lillard is 25.8/4.6/6.9 with a ridiculous 28.4 in the playoffs, but his shot just was not falling in Game 7 (13 pts).

Enter CJ McCollum, who is a bad, bad man. After averaging “just” 21 points per game in the regular season, McCollum has jacked that up to 25.6 in the playoffs, including 37 points in a ridiculous Game 7 performance against Denver.

Don’t forget about the brother on brother battle we’ll see with Steph Curry vs Seth Curry. Okay so maybe its not that big of a matchup with Seth only averaging 7.9 ppg to Steph’s 27.3 in the regular season but hey it’s still pretty cool to see two brothers playing against each other in the Western Conference Finals. Man, genetics are a trip.

While I can’t pick against the defending champs until I see them stumble, I really really like this Portland team. I just don’t know if they’ll be able to defend all of the Warriors elite shooters. If Durant misses a couple of games and Lillard and McCollum can keep scoring in the 25-30 points range each night, then I think they’ve got a real shot to dethrone the Warriors.

 

Milwaukee Bucks (1) vs Toronto Raptors (2)
(Game 1 – Wednesday at 8:30 pm)

The Kings in the North now turn their gaze towards conquering the East, which won’t be easy if you saw Giannis Antetokounmpo dropping 30 and 40 point games on the Celtics in the second round. There’s a reason the Bucks were the No. 1 seed in the East and why Giannis was my pick for MVP.

Kawhi Leonard is what Kyrie Irving wants to be when he grows up. Kawhi has singlehandedly willed this Toronto team from an annual playoff disappointment into one on the brink of the NBA Finals. He also produced the biggest shot in Raptors history with the immediately iconic Game 7 buzzer beater three over Joel Embiid.

After being acquired by the Raptors in a risky one year rental he’s proving exactly why it was worth the risk for Toronto. He’s averaging 31.8 points per game in the playoffs, up from 26.6 in the regular season, while also leading the team in rebounds per game at 8.5. This guy is getting it done all over the court.

He literally made Joel Embiid cry for christs sake. And I love Embiid so thats not a knock, but do you know how badly you have to rip a guy’s heart out to make him cry on the court?

Giannis showed just how borderline unstoppable he can be though after personally breaking the Celtics’ will to live. Now do I think the Celtics played garbage defense and failed to adjust to Giannis (and his goddamn spin move)? Yes. Does that mean I think any less of Giannis’ dominance? Hell no.

The Bucks destroyed the Celtics in games 2-5 in a gentleman’s sweep, but had huge performances from guys that aren’t exactly household names like George Hill, Pat Connaughton (did you know he’s from Massachusetts?!), and Ersan Ilyasova. Thats not exactly a second unit I would bet my mortgage on, but the Bucks moved like a well oiled machine with everyone playing a specific role, so what do I know? They were the No. 1 seed after all.

We’ll also get more of Mallory Edens on national TV too and thats never a bad thing.

Ultimately, the 2019 Finals could very well be the long-predicted battle between the Warriors and Bucks, who are -550 and -300 favorites to oust the Trail Blazers (+375) and Raptors (+250), respectively. Any bettors out there looking for a great mobile betting experience prior to betting should check out this site. In terms of valued odds, you could definitely do a lot worse than Portland at +275 to win Game 1 vs Golden State. The Blazers have been road warriors in the playoffs and won’t be at a size disadvantage with Kevin Durant out. Golden State is susceptible when opponents beat them on the offensive glass, and Portland is the third-best offensive rebounding team in the league (regular season and playoffs).

While I’m bummed the Celtics bowed out like absolute dogs, we’ve got some awesome storylines to keep an eye on in the Conference Finals regardless. Who ya got? Tweet me @The300sBoston and let me hear it.

Are the Celtics a Disaster? Look at Some of These Quotes and You Tell Me

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After getting blown out in an elimination game and just rolling over I was too pissed off to go to sleep so I watched about an hour of postgame interviews. Granted it was just minutes after their season ended, but there was a lot of stuff bubbling to the surface. And as Felger said on 98.5 yesterday, I cannot wait for the inevitable Jackie MacMullan tell all story that will give us all the juicy details of what went on behind the scenes this year.

Brad Stevens

Brad took a lot of the blame for the way this season went, and rightfully so because at the end of the day the coach’s job is to manage the players. Whether Brad is up for that task remains to be seen, but he seemed to empathize with his young lottery picks having to adapt to a lot.

Jaylen Brown

Jaylen is routinely the most outspoken, or at least up front, Celtics player and he was no different after last night’s game all but calling out Kyrie. While thats not great for building a relationship I don’t blame him at all; Kyrie openly dumped on the young guys all year long so Jaylen would often snipe back through the media.

Terry Rozier

Scary Terry had quite the fall from where he was a year ago going from playoff hero to bench mob. While I don’t know if Rozier is truly the franchise point guard he probably believes he is, it’s hard to blame him for being bitter. Doesn’t sound too optimistic about his future in green though.

Marcus Smart

Smart on the other hand came out and strongly defended Kyrie Irving so its not like everyone was ripping Uncle Drew.

He also seems like he wants to play the role of peacekeeper, which is what a LEADER does. Might be too little too late though in terms of Kyrie.

 

Kyrie Irving

Oh he’s already on vacation so we may never see him in green again.

The Celtics and Kyrie Got EMBARRASSED. My Advice? Do Not Trade Jayson Tatum (i.e. 2014 Klay Thompson)

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The Celtics are at a crossroads after that disastrous end to a confounding season. Going into the year, just about everyone had the C’s pegged to win 60+ games and take Golden State to 6 games if not outright win the title. It all made sense too. Boston went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year without Gordon Hayward and without Kyrie Irving. Plus they match up with Golden State better than any other team in the NBA. It seemed like a virtual lock for the C’s to make the Finals, or at the very least the ECF. Welp, the team came out of the gates slow, publicly bitched and moaned about each other, and never got on track en route to finishing as the No. 4 seed. That was all before sweeping a Victor Oladipo-less Pacers and ultimately getting their skulls caved in by Giannis and the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks.

NOW, this brings me to my main point. Kyrie Irving has been a pain in the ass all year long, from the bizarre flat earth trolling, to saying the Celtics *needed* another veteran player, to openly questioning the coach, to publicly bitching about the young guys, to calling LeBron for advice, and now infamously punting on the regular season while looking ahead to the playoffs. As we all know, Kyrie had an excellent Game 1 (12/21 – 26 pts) before having all-time shit bombs of games the rest of the series. He statistically got worse as the series went on going 4/18 – 9 pts in Game 2, 8/22 – 29 pts in Game 3, 7/22 – 23 pts in Game 4, and 6/21 – 15 PTS in Game 5.

Jesus christ.

That all brings up the question of will Kyrie re-sign with the Celtics this summer? It also brings up the question I never imagined I would ask; do the Celtics even want to re-sign Kyrie Irving?

The Celtics are now the third favorite according to Las Vegas in terms of where Kyrie ends up this summer, behind the Nets and the Knicks. So it would seem like the Celtics have two options if they do indeed want Kyrie back. They can offer him the max and hope he wants to build a legacy in Boston (as his motherfucking Nike commercial would make it seem)

and then trade anyone on the roster not named Hayward (Horford’s probably gone due to matching salaries) for Anthony Davis. Thats not *as* risky as it sounds because at least it would be a plan that only goes into action after Kyrie re-signs. But you’re still trading half your team including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for a one year run at it with Kyrie and Davis and hoping Davis then re-ups. After this year I’m not so sure I want to bank on a guy enjoying his time in Boston enough to sign a max deal.

The other option is to do what the Warriors did in 2014 with Klay Thompson. Play it out. The Warriors were reportedly on the brink of trading Thompson for Kevin love to “put them over the top” before they evolved into the dynasty they are today. The Warriors had gone from a disaster of a team to a pretty good squad with a new coach in Steve Kerr, yet one that still felt a player or two away. Luckily Kerr, and most importantly, Jerry West advised the Golden State GM of nixing the deal and the Warriors promptly turned into an all-time team led by Steph Curry and an even better Klay Thompson.

I bring this scenario up because I see a ton of similarities between 2014 Klay Thompson and 2019 Jayson Tatum. Thompson had just finished up his third season in 2013-14; Tatum just finished his second. Klay was a key piece in a potential trade for an “established all-star big man” as Tatum is now. Not to mention the numbers. Take a look at Klay’s first 2 years compared to Tatum’s.

Uncanny.

People sleep on Klay Thompson because he’s not the star of the show in Golden State, but theres a reason the best basketball team of my generation is going to offer him a max (if not super max) contract at 12:01 am on July 1st.

The Ringer also asked the same question in their Celtics post-mortem last night:

“Irving may stay, Irving may go, but the referendum on Tatum’s career is coming no matter what. A year ago, the then-rookie looked like an MVP candidate-to-be, but a season of floating around on offense, settling for midrange jumpers, and getting IRL subtweeted has sent many a Tatum stan retreating into the bushes. It’s worth noting that Tatum actually improved in his sophomore season—virtually all of his raw totals are up, and while his scoring efficiency is down, expecting Steph Curry–level shooting from 3 again, even on low volume, was a bit ambitious. Punctuating any Tatum commentary, good or bad, with his age has become the internet’s favorite gag for two years running, but here’s the thing: He’s only 21—and was only 20 for most of this season. Only five players 20 or younger averaged 15 points or more this season, and Tatum had the highest effective field goal rating of anyone of them who didn’t always shoot right at the basket. Tatum hasn’t been great, but it’s worth remembering that it took Brandon Ingram only a couple of games this spring to regain traction before a fluke blood clot issue derailed the rest of his season.”

Now Tatum may have not been the 20 ppg guy everyone expected him to be in Year 2, but that may not be fair just because he dominated in the playoffs the year before. Not to mention he had to adjust to playing with guys like Hayward and Kyrie. Would the Celtics be better off letting Kyrie walk and giving Tatum more time and space to grow into the player we all think he could be?

…Maybe.

I am Absolutely DONE with Kyrie Irving

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Image result for kyrie irving

Kyrie can seriously take a hike. No really. Get off my team, you FRAUD.

I couldn’t honestly care less about his poor shooting numbers for the past few games. That’s not what this is about. After all, he still put up 29 and then 23 points over the past two games, so it’s not as though he’s been useless. Sure, his defense has left a lot to be desired, but at least he hasn’t completely disappeared like Gordon Hayward. Even Jayson Tatum hasn’t played up to snuff after a great first round. And Terry Rozier?? YIKES.

But maybe the reason everyone seems to be playing so poorly and looking like they just watched their dog die on the court is because they have a selfish loser with the mentality of a toddler as their supposed “leader.”

A lot of people might think I’m overreacting, and the series technically isn’t over yet. But I don’t care, because after this little comment last night, I am officially done with Kyrie Irving:

Have you ever seen a more arrogant and egomaniacal response in your life? Seriously, that line is something that would probably make ole buddy LeBron blush.

OH, and I’m sorry, but they’re not coming back in this series. You really expect this team to win three straight with this jamoke and his piss-poor attitude leading the way? Please. They’ll be lucky to make it to the weekend.

I’m not trying to be negative, but I just feel so indignant right now as a Celtics fan. This was supposed to be OUR year, and instead we get treated to one of the most under-performing teams in Boston sports history. Is it all Kyrie’s fault? No. It isn’t. There’s a lot of blame to go around. But he barely did anything a true franchise guy is supposed to do to try and at least right the ship at any point this season.

Look, I was even willing to give Kyrie the benefit of the doubt earlier this year. While he was getting eviscerated in the media for being “too critical” of the younger guys on the team, I was one of the ONLY ones who said that guys like Jaylen Brown – who at least had the stones to clap back at him – were being too soft and DID need to step it up more. Sure, maybe Kyrie could have done it with a bit more tact, but with this being just his second year out of the shadow of LeBron, I thought perhaps he was still feeling his way out on how to become a leader.

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But see, the thing is, he’s not a leader. At all. He’s a completely self-absorbed crybaby that would rather get angry at the world when things go wrong then take a step back and look in the mirror. How, HOW can you respond with an answer like that after one of the worst three-game stretches of your career, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals no less? I respect the confidence, Kyrie, but even you can’t really believe the complete word vomit you’re spewing all over the media right now.

Before this week, I was willing to deal with Kyrie being a bit of a pill sometimes because he really is one of the elite talents in this league…when he wants to be. And in the NBA, you have to deal with some divas sometimes in order to win games. I get that.

But this??? Completely giving up and acting like a martyr when your team needs you most. Absolute LOSER move, and it looks like the true colors are finally starting to shine through. (It makes you think a little bit differently about how things really may have ended out in Cleveland, huh?)

Also, have you heard any teammates come out at all this year in support or to back him up? Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

Yeah, exactly.

If this team somehow shocks the world and goes on some epic run after this, I will literally eat a crow pie and post the video here on The 300s for all to see. But right now, I’m about ready to pack Kyrie’s bags and buy a plane ticket to New York for him. Or maybe L.A., so he can go running back to his old flame – who he now LOVES again by the way – because, to be quite frank, the King is the only reason he’s a “champion” to begin with.

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Awwwww. How adorable, huh??? (*BARF*)

Instead of re-signing Kyrie, give me somebody like Kemba Walker, an upcoming free agent this offseason who really isn’t all that much worse and one who cries in the locker room after losses. No, really, Kemba is someone who actually cares and could help to change the toxic culture that is engulfing this locker room right now. (Bleacher Report’s Yaron Weitzman wrote an excellent piece on Walker just last week, and he sounds like exactly the type of guy I want here. Like now.)

Image result for kemba walker

This guy would look real good in green.

This one really hurt to write, Kyrie. It really did. I want to like you. I want you to be successful here, because you’ve got the insane talent and skill to truly be the next Celtics great. But the simple fact is you don’t want to be, and your time here is likely to come to a very bitter end in short order.

The BIG3 Just Announced Its Team Rosters and Boy Oh Boy They Are STACKED

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The BIG 3 is returning for its third season this summer and it seems to only be growing as it released their team rosters today and they are STACKED.

Just in case you forgot, we are quite fond of the BIG3 here. We even had Mattes go cover a game in person last year. And that was before they stacked the deck with some big time names.

Top names playing in the BIG3 this year include Kendrick Perkins and Greg Oden on the same team to create maybe the biggest “What if these guys never got hurt” duo in basketball history. The Celtics win 2 out 3 NBA titles, the Trailblazers are still one of the best teams in the league, going to war with KD and whatever team he’s playing for at the time.

Mario Chalmers!

Brian Scalabrine returns of course and should probably have equity in this league if he doesn’t already because the White Mamba puts asses in the seats.

Agent Zero himself Gilbert Arenas joins the BIG3 this season and I could not be more excited. Arenas, before all his gunplay problems, practically invented the 28 foot pull up jumper that is so common today. Where you think Damian Lillard learned that move?

Lamar Odom is returning from the grave/the clutches of the Kardashians to play some ball and you gotta think that guy is happy to just be alive at this point. Good for him.

Mike Bibby, Ricky Davis, and Carlos Boozer just seem like a pretty solid, well built team. Plus, if they get into any scuffles Mike Bibby 2.0 will just start beating people up as all he’s done since retiring is lift anything and everything.

Stephen Jackson and Metta World Peace are teaming up to become the bad boys of the league. Coached by the goddamn oak tree himself Charles Oakley no less. Nobody is messing with that team.

The Power will be a trip down elite bench player memory lane for anyone my age with guys like Corey Maggette, Chris Birdman Andersen, Ryan Gomes(!) and Glen Big Baby Davis who somehow avoided going to federal pound me in the ass prison after a drug arrest.

Jason Terry is also playing this year, which raises the question is Jason Terry finally retired orrrr

Nearly spit my drink out when I saw Terry pulling up for 3 in a game for Milwaukee last season.

Former Celtics draft picks Joe Johnson and Big Al Jefferson will be joining forces to be the favorite team of any Celtics fan over the age of 30.

To round it all out we have Jermaine O’Neal, Amar’e Stoudemire and Nate Robinson, but I have to say it is an absolute crime that Ice Cube doesn’t have Nate Robinson and Glen Davis on the same team. Does he not remember the days of Shrek and Donkey??

They even got legit AF names coaching as well with Gary Payton, Rick Barry, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley, Kenyon Martin, Lisa Leslie, and Dr. freaking J just to name a few.

How about the BIG3 being the only new sports league to not only avoid going out of business, yet actually thrive? The AAF went out of business before I even needed to refill my car’s tank of gas, the XFL is looking to improve upon its high score of 1 season completed, meanwhile the BIG3 is just adding teams and big time names left and right.

Maybe we’ll send Mattes back out to another BIG3 game this year with a real mic so he can actually get Scal namedropping The 300s Podcast on tape.