Pierce is no prophet in Celtics loss to Lakers in game 3 of NBA Finals posted by nbaball

There is no doubt, Boston Celtics superstar forward Paul "Truth" Pierce is one of the top players in the National Basketball Association today.
Despite his NBA superstar status, there is one thing certain Pierce is just a heck of a professional basketball player and not a prophet.
This developed after Pierce failed in his prediction that the Celtics will sweep the next three games of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles which would be held at the Boston Garden.
In game three of the much talked about NBA Finals, the Lakers beat the Celtics 91-84 at the home-floor of the latter through the heroics of Lakers veteran point-guard Derek Fisher.
The defeat foils Pierce prediction that the Celtics will beat the Lakers three straight in their own home-floor.
Pierce made the bold prediction earlier after Pau Gasol committed a hard foul on Kendrick Perkins with 1:12 remaining in Game 2 and the Celtics leading, 97-90, Pierce, as he
helped his teammate off the floor along the baseline near the hoop, was heard on video replays yelling, "We aren’t coming back to LA!"
The Celtics evened the NBA Finals at a game apiece with a 103-94 victory in game two of the NBA Finals.
It is not the first time that Pierce made a bold prediction regarding the outcome of an NBA playoff series.
Pierce also predicted after a Game 2 victory against the Magic in Orlando, which gave the Celtics a 2-0 series lead, that they will close the series at home.
He even posted a message on his Twitter account saying the Celtics to sweep the Magic.
Continue reading "Pierce is no prophet in Celtics loss ..."

EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS posted by Joe Franciosa, Jr.

I had a feelings this was going to be a special game. The second phase of the Banner 18 Prophecy has been fulfilled. The Celtics have won in 6, just as the Cavs fell in 6. You can guess what I believe the Lakers series will go to.

 So, because I had a feeling this was going to be a special game, I've gone and done something special for my blog. Below is a transcript of my viewing of this game. Play by play, with the minutes listed along the way. It's an idea I've been meaning to steal from Bill Simmons since the '08 season. I begin with Garnett's second foul, which was just ridiculous. Howard is a Dirty player. Note the Capital D. Go back and watch the tape, tell me Howard's not gripping KG's ribs. Anyway... Enjoy.

Garnett's second Foul was HORSESHIT. Howard was Gripping his ribs and the Ref calls the foul on Garnett. HORSESHIT

Pierce steal with 4:07 leads to a quick lay-up 2 from Rondo

Perk calls for the ball and draws the double team to open up Davis who gets fouled going for a lay up. 3:31, Celtics up 17-14 Davis makes both free's 19-14

Rondo steals and ball is deflected out of bounds at 3:12, Paul Pierce pushes the lead to 25-18.

Ray Allen draws a charge on ensuing posession.

Loose ball foul called on Redick (legit) 1:32 Ray Allen misses a Free! Makes 2nd

Great pass from Rondo to Pierce, 28-18 C's under a minute

Howard Hacked 43.1s misses 1st Free. makes 2nd

Rondo goes hard to the basket, fouled by Jason Williams, and Rondo is Down

Landed hard on his hip/hand. Rondo is Hurt badly. Rondo is Up and makes 1st Free. Makes 2nd.

Real men don't need Brooms posted by Joe Franciosa, Jr.

Give the Magic credit, they didn't lay down, roll over, or get swept out of Boston.

 J.J. Redick redeemed himself in game 4. Without his three pointers the Magic never would have had a second chance in OT. Jameer Nelson also found his three-point stroke. Howard played to his strengths. He scores more points by being in position for offensive rebounds, and it seemed as though he was there to dunk with authority immediately after every missed shot. Just once I'd like to see Perkins gather a rebound and throw down with that type of authority.

 Now folks are going to be all over Pierce for losing his dribble in the final seconds of the game. Sadly, this is the problem with the Celtics team. If Pierce had been in the same position at the end of regulation I would have trusted him more to get to the basket or to draw a foul. In OT, I think Pierce's age and past injuries catch up with him, and he simply does not have the stamina to take on a team by himself. Ray Allen should have taken the final shot. Ah well.

 So now the series moves back to Orlando, and I'm willing to bet that Rondo is going to have a bounce-back game, and he will carry the team to the Finals. That is, assuming the SI cover curse doesn't smite him. Damn you SI!!!

 Red Sox! The Red Sox took two out of three from the Phillies (made Doc look like he was a Blue Jay again) and then Buckholz dominated the Rays last night at the Trop. It's a damn shame that the Rays are in 1st place in the most competitive division in the major leagues, and there are still more Sox fans at the field than Rays. For Shame Tampa Bay! For Shame for St. Pete!

Celtics win close. Sox win closer. posted by Joe Franciosa, Jr.

I'll say it again. Since Easter and the very first game of the Sox season...when the Celtics win, the Sox win.

Now the Celtics game went down to the last seconds, so it was only fitting that Papelbon would then wait until 2 outs, a 3-2 count, and runners on Second and Third to finally get his first strike out of the 9th inning.

The Celtics made history by winning the first two games of a series on the road. It was also the first time the Magic had lost back to back games on their home court since the Finals last year. Paul Pierce came out with a purpose. Pierce fouled out in the 4th quarter and he still ended the game with 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists... the 20th time he's ended a game with more than 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his play-off career.

Meanwhile, Stan van Gundy admits in his post-game conference that there's no "magic" for coming back from 0-2. Pun intended? You make the call.

Howard played well in this game, but his elbow to Pierce's face was just wrong. Meanwhile, its becoming obvious that Hack-a-Shaq also works as Hack-a-Howard. Why are free-throws so hard when you're paid to play basketball?  And speaking of free-throws....

Vince Carter... Vince, I actually feel sorry for you. People thought you were a choke artist when you missed a game winning 3 with the Raptors in the play offs a few years ago. Now, you have a chance to bring your team within 1 in the final minute of a must-win game of the conference finals...and you missed BOTH free-throws. That's not exactly going to help your, err... legacy? Ah well.

posted by Micky Deming

Take a deep breath. Focus with me. This whole Lebron/Celtics thing was a crazy mess. I don’t know what to think of it, you don’t know what to think of it, nobody knows what is going on. It’s times like this where I like to recharge the batteries, shut down the engines and get back to neutral. 2:20 of this video

I understand why this is such a circus. I don’t even need to discuss all of the reasons why there is so much talk about Lebron and the Cavs right now. However, the amount we’re all hearing about him is absolutely absurd. Everyone and their brother is giving a guess on where he’ll play next year. My question is, “Who cares?” Nobody has the answer, these are all just guesses, and I’m sick of hearing about it now, when this same conversation is going to be happening all summer.

Meanwhile, the Conference Finals are about to start and there is plenty to look forward to. Reigning two-time MVP Lebron James won’t be joining the fun in the playoffs, but guess who will: the 2004, 05, 06 and 08 MVPs (Garnett, Nash twice, Kobe). Also the 08 and 09 champs and every team that played in the finals those two years.

Can we please put the Lebron shenanigans behind us for a month and enjoy what’s left of these playoffs? These two Conference Finals are great series, and as NBA fans we should be talking about how Boston took the Magic to 7 games last year without KG. And about Dwight Howard and Steve Nash looking for their first titles. Or the Lakers trying to defend their title – I never thought I’d say Kobe wasn’t getting enough attention from the media, but he’s going for his 5th ring and Phil Jackson his 11th.

Celtics in 6 posted by Joe Franciosa, Jr.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points, starting out the game with 5 of 5 shooting. Garnett made poor old Shaq look poor and old every time a shot arced over the Big Aristotle's head. Does anyone else love the fact that the Celtics were supposed to be the aging team? If Paul Pierce is old at 31, what does that make Shaq at 38?

 King James has got to abdicate his throne. He will leave Cleveland and remake his image in New Jersey. There, he might change LeBron to Earl, or maybe Duke. That's about as loyal as fans will see him ever again. Wait, did I say loyal? I meant royal. He'll never be seen as Loyal to any fanbase again. People will see LeBron, and see hype. They will see a version of Sir Charles Barkley doing deodorant commercials. Funny, Sir Charles was presumptious enough to proclaim himself of noble birth, but he doesn't have any rings, either.

 James looked tired in this series. He looked upset that ref's weren't giving him every whistle that he happened to brush up against someone. His elbow might have been hurting. It might not have been. All I know is that in the 4th James was hitting threes and almost seemed to be bringing the Cav's back. Then he lost his dribble, had the ball stripped by Tony Allen, and Rondo finishes at the other end with 20 points.

 I think my favorite part of the night was the taunting cheers of the Garden faithful while James attempted free throws, "New York Knicks... New York Knicks"...I can tell you right now, it's the only time you'll hear Boston fans chanting something besides New York Sucks in the Garden. But Please LeBron, do me the favor of going to the Knicks or the Nets. As if I need any new reason to loathe those teams.

NBA Playoffs Eastern conference posted by john howard

It's the All-Star break and time to asses where the season is at.  There are roughly 30 games left and the trading deadline is looming.  Here is a look at the playoffs if they were today.

1 Cleveland vs.  8 Chicago

2 Orlando vs   7 Miami

3 Atlanta vs 6 Charlotte

4 Boston vs 5 Toronto

Chicago looks like they have regressed overall from last year. But lately, they have started getting into the groove. Derrick Rose is unreal and they might win a game but they won't beat Cleveland.

Miami has one of the top 3 players in the game in Dwayne Wade.  This team could look different by playoff time. No matter how the team looks, it would take an incredible performance for even Wade to beat out Orlando.

Charlotte is a great story of over achieving.  They might be able to push Atlanta to a game 6, but that would be the best they could do.

The quietest success has been Toronto.  They are the 5th seed and no one is talking about them.  They have a shot to beat the Celtics if Boston is plagued with injuries.  But this has been a good year so far for the Raptors.

Boston has fallen from favorite to the 4th seed.  They still have the experience and firepower to go all the way. But, to do that everyone is going to have to get healthy and be at peak level which hasn't happened this year. Time is running out on the Celtics.

3 Atlanta has the best team in years.  They could be the underdog favorite after the first round.  A matchup with Orlando in round 2 is going to be fun.  Should they get past the Magic, they will be convinced they can beat anybody. 

Dwight Howard - Expanding his game posted by Patrick Lo

Not sure if many of you have noticed recently, but Dwight Howard has made an concerted effort to broaden his impact on the game, namely on the offensive end. He noted the other day in his blog about how he developed his left hand which reiniforces the idea that he wants to become an all-around player, not hindered by any glaring weakness.

 I do not live in the Orlando area so I'm not fortunate enough to watch his game on a regular basis, but in the few that I have seen he has taken a few jumpshots in an attempt to incorporate it into his game. He's stated that he can make them easily in practice, but he realizes that he has got to make them reliabily enough at a game's pace. It seems that he's starting off easy with a Duncan-esque bank shot from about 12 feet out. I know some of you might cringe seeing Dwight's awkward stroke, but he's actually made a few(and missed horribly on others). Of course he'll need to make more than a few to convince others, and himself, that his mid-range game is a legitimate threat I'm encouraged by his progress. Although practicing his jumpshot hasn't translated to an improved FT%(59.6% vs. 60% for career), I think it's admirable that he's trying to prove his doubters wrong.

I think this is the mark of a true competitor and a true champion. Even though he has yet to win one I'm certain one is in his future. The drive and desire to never be satisfied and complacent will only lead to good things for Howard. This coupled with his insanely athletic build should prove to be a winning combination.

Jameer Nelson Out 4-6 Weeks posted by Scott Shepherd

Last night, it was one small step forward and one giant leap back for the Orlando Magic.

Rashard Lewis made his season debut after being suspended for the first ten games of the season, but in the fourth quarter of the same game, Jameer Nelson injured his left knee. Reports out of Orlando today are that Nelson needs surgery to repair cartilage in that knee, and will miss 4-6 seeks.

The injury to Nelson is a big blow to the Orlando Magic. This is a team that many, including myself, thought coming into the season were a favorite to win the Eastern Conference. They were very successful last season, and achieved most of their success without Nelson, who was injured shortly after being named to his first all-star game.

In the offseason, they made the biggest splash in the Eastern Conference by adding Vince Carter.

I liked the move at the time, and still do. The way I saw it, it would take this team about two or three months to really acclimate Carter into their system, and they should be peaking right around the all-star break and be poised to make another serious run at the NBA Finals.

Now, with the injury to Nelson, everything gets pushed back 4-6 weeks, and that’s a best case scenario.

Instead of hitting their stride around the all-star break, this team will be lucky if they can put all the pieces together by April.

It takes time to acclimate any new player to a new team, especially one as talented as Vince Carter. The only real way to make it work is by playing together. Not one or two games, but a long time. It takes weeks, maybe even months, before you can see every possible situation that may arise and figure out a way to deal with it.

College Fantasy Football Rewind posted by Chad

There is a first time for everything; people typically say this after something downright amazing happens.  I've also heard of this being used on pick up lines many times while dominating the drinking establishments in Madison, Wisconsin.  Typically; your Average Joe with a nobody name and even less game will launch it out there to a fine East Coast hunny.  "I don't leave the bars without my friends," or "I don't like guys that play World of Warcraft for 12 hours straight."  Person X that just got dissed/rejected gets a smirk and offers, "Well, there's a first time for everything."  Don't lie; you've used it yourself or know somebody that has.  This is one of those cases; something amazing happens.  I'm not getting rejected, but I am posting a rewind from the past week.. yes, ladies and gentlemen.  Much like when communist Russia fell.. The Buccaneers got an NFL win this season.. there is a 1st time for everything!

This week was a typical college week; full of craziness and a few random boneheaded plays.  The first mistake came in a huge EPIC battle that was going to ensue in a rivalry game.  A trophy on the line; hardware of epic proportions.  The trophy hasn't been created yet, but it will be soon for the BAC 2.0 Bowl.  A battle between Chad and Bauman; some say two former friends turned enemies.  I say they've hated each other since day 1.  Bauman has been jealous of Chad as long as he's known him; he's almost like Bird/Magic.  Always looking over his shoulder to see what the other is doing and never happy with what he has; always coveting thy neighbor's beasts of burden.  It's sad really, anyway, a phone call Friday established the trophy was on the line and some smack was talked.  When it came down to it Bauman never left the locker room.  The crowd was amazing; stadium shaking.  People miles away called the police to check on earthquakes in the area because the ground was shaking.  Suddenly; the lights in the stadium went out.  Turns out, after checking security tapes; that Bauman actually snuck down into the electrical area and cut the power to the stadium.  In the confusion that ensued; he, along with his team scattered to the bus.. tails and pride tucked between their legs.  Chad decided to give the team a show and played a scrimmage against the practice squad which his starters, of course, won easily.  Chad collects himself a rivalry trophy and another win.. making 2 on the year.

Foyle retires from NBA after 13 seasons (AP)

Adonal Foyle is ending his NBA playing career after 13 seasons. The 35-year-old center announced his retirement Monday after playing for the Orlando Magic the last three seasons. Foyle spent his first 10 years with the Golden State Warriors, and had a brief midseason stint with Memphis in 2009. Foyle is expected to resign from his position as first vice president of the National Basketball Players... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Magic sign 2nd-round pick Robinson (AP)

The Orlando Magic have signed rookie forward Stanley Robinson. The team made the announcement Monday. Robinson was selected by Orlando with the 59th overall pick in this year's NBA draft. The former Connecticut forward averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game on the Magic's summer league team. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports