Thursday, November 14, 2002

So my Celtics are 6-2  - they've won their last six, and have looked better and better as the streak has gone on. Pierce was *horrible* last night, and Walker was only average, yet they still walked away with an easy victory over a decent Philly team. Vin Baker continues to make baby steps towards being good, but Eric Williams cleaned up with 10 boards in under half an hour. And Tony Delk and Shammond Williams continue to give us bizarrely good numbers from the point. Are my boys really this good? We'll find out tomorrow night: Celtics, Mavericks at the Fleet. The best team in the NBA right now against the second-hottest team in the NBA right now. This is most likely where the Celtics lose - yeah, Cleveland nearly beat Dallas, but that was almost all Ilgauskas whacking them upside the head with a career game (34 points, 14 rebounds). But it's possible - Pierce won't be facing the smothering defense he got from the Sixers, so if his shooting touch is there, he should be able to clean up. Same with our other shooters - this is going to be a fun little piece of run-and-gun. Shame I'll miss it live - I'll be busy. =)

10:28:10 PM p e r m a l i n k say something []

Tuesday, November 12, 2002

Mutombo and Rogers Have Room to Improve. If Dikembe Mutombo and Rodney Rogers could not solve the inexperienced Bulls, what chance do the Nets have when they play host to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday? By Steve Popper. [New York Times: Sports] Not much? Mutombo isn't the force he used to be, and Rogers is absolutely useless if he can't shoot from outside. Duncan is so much better than either one of them that it's not even funny. Things like this (and discussion with Bruce of a blog doesn't need a clever name, and people talking about the future of the Celtics on various mailing lists) makes me think about where basketball in the US is going. Big men in the traditional mold are pretty rare - I don't think they're any more rare than they've ever been. The difference is that there are a lot more teams than there used to be, and the biggest source of additional players (Europe) doesn't have big men that play with their backs to the hoop. A couple teams are adapting to this more international style already. The team that's had the most success doing this is pretty obvious: the Mavs are built around a nasty shooting European big man, after all. They're a long distance shooting team, using their ability to force defenses to open up under the hoop to cover the outside shooters as a way to get to the hoop as well. They're an unbelievable offensive force, but not so hot on defense. The Celtics are the other team that seems to have taken that model and run with it, with a generous helping of defense added. There's been a lot of talk about their ability to completely mess with transition defenses by launching three pointers or other long range jumpers when they (Walker, Delk, Williams, Pierce) see they can't penetrate the defense. Carpet bombing, people have been calling it. Could be the wave of the future...

6:42:11 AM p e r m a l i n k say something []

Monday, November 11, 2002

I've bad-mouthed Paul Pierce plenty so far this season - he's just not a great shooter. He's a *good* shooter, but he's had a nasty tendency to really, really suck for the first half of a game. However, he's been amazing for the last few games - tonight, 35 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 50% shooting from the field, 3 steals, 3 blocks. Against Minnesota on Saturday - 20 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks. He's averaging 25.2 points, over five assists a game, six and a half rebounds...he's passing with style. It's great to watch. Hey - look! Garbage time! Celtics have a 21 point lead with less than two minutes to go. In come the scrubs for both teams. Ah, a beautiful thing to see your team WINNING in garbage time. =) That's five in a row for my boys. I was getting a little worried after the Washington game (shuddup, Bruce! We'll see you again in January!) but DAMN have they come together since then. Quality defense, and a near-dominant offense. This is basketball the way I like it.

9:29:27 PM p e r m a l i n k say something []

Sunday, November 10, 2002

This Time, It's the Bulls Who Make the Big Shots. The point guard took over the game in the fourth quarter. But this time, it was not Jason Kidd rescuing the Nets. By Liz Robbins. [New York Times: Sports] This was actually an amazing game - I wish I'd been able to watch it. I almost bought the NBA Season Pass - $160 for nearly every game, all season long, on digital cable - but, what with the possiblity of getting a life, I decided that it'd be a good investment if I continued to not have a life, but a poor investment if I WERE to get a life. I'm betting on getting a life. =) But back to the game - Jason Kidd dropped a triple-double - 25 points, 11 boards, 12 assists, his 47th triple-double of his career. He shot poorly, 5 for 15, but 13 for 15 from the line. Basically, a typically great Kidd night. He's the best point guard in the league right now. I don't think he's as great a player as he was made out to be last playoff season - he's nowhere near as good as Magic, Cousy, Thomas, or Stockton - but he's a very, very good player. But his team lost last night, to another point guard. Jay Williams is the future - there's no question of this. He also can't shoot that well, but is otherwise amazing, especially for a rookie. In this, his 7th game as a professional, he threw down his own triple double - 26 points on 10 for 22 from the field, 2 for 2 from the line, 4 for 10 from 3 point range, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists. That's a great line, no matter how many games you've played. I'm curious - I have a feeling this is the soonest in a player's professional career that they've made a triple-double. I'd have to check Magic and Oscar Robertson to be sure, but I wouldn't be surprised...

9:01:09 AM p e r m a l i n k say something []

Thursday, November 07, 2002

This has been an ugly game in many ways - lousy shooting by both teams most notably, Kobe in particular, but DAMN. Nothing like a game that goes to overtime and isn't decided until the last shot of that overtime. Oh, and we beat the goddamn Lakers. It's nights like this that make me remember just how much I love basketball. But Mike Fratello needs to be slapped. He just referred to Kobe Bryant's "brilliant" game...uh, the guy threw up *47* shots, and only made 17 of them. That's pretty bad. Oh, and 9 rebounds - in 46 minutes on the floor - and 4 assists. What, did he not think anyone else on his team could shoot?

10:18:35 PM p e r m a l i n k say something []