Welp, the good guys lost. As promised, some bitter tears:
"..."
As Dwight Howard walked into the locker room for tonight's game, he likely said only one thing to his teammates:
"Hey guys, let's play like shit!"
Stan Van Gundy may as well hand in his resignation tonight after that abysmal effort by the Orlando Magic, who should look into being renamed the LOLrando Tragic.
Here's how you really know a game was a wash; when a guy named Big Baby outscores your entire bench 16-10. Don't let the national media fool you, this was all about Orlando and not about Boston's "spectacular defense".
Gee, thanks Jameer for showing up 5 minutes before the game ended. Looks like somebody forgot to tell you the game started at 8 and not 10, we're not on the fucking west coast anymore. Dwight Howard fouling out against a goon like Kendrick Perkins is shameful. Hedo Turkoglu's legendary matador defense allowed Paul Pierce to set him ablaze with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. The biggest non-factor tonight was Keith Bogans who would've been more helpful if he sat on the sidelines dressed in a yellow sportcoat working on a coloring book. Great effort missing those two layups KeBo, and those two bricked three pointers almost killed somebody. The only person who showed a little grit tonight was Rashard Lewis, maybe it's because he's wearing boxers made of money thanks to that ridiculous 120 million dollar contract courtesy of our wheelin' and deelin' Otis Smith. You really know how to bring 'em in cheap, eh?
Christ, that was agonizing to watch. Someone should've reminded these farces that vacation time was over. And a special shout-out to the anemic crowd at the Amway Arena. It was quieter than a fucking morgue in that place, you'd think we were the Los Angeles Clippers or something. As a caveat though, the players on the court didn't give them anything to cheer about.
SC
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LOLrando Tragic indeed, Sammy. First off, I'd like to thank the whole TNT crew for its outstanding integrity and impartiality. Honestly, way to go guys. Have a bottle of Cristal on Mr. DeVos.
As for the game itself, what the hell happened? Dwight fouled out, CL went scoreless, Hedo was aching and breaking. Nelson's too-little-too-late fourth quarter showing wouldn't have angered me so much if he'd brought something–anything–to our offense during the first three periods. Really, 'Meer, 6 points and 3 assists is completely unacceptable for an All-Star caliber player. You can rock the backcourt better than most in the entire league.
Bottom line, if we're seriously in this for the rings we're gonna have to play a lock-down game on defense and really open up our shooting on the attack. The Magic have to make their threes to win. Oddly enough, when we don't make them, we tend to lose. We're not talking about running and gunning here, and I know players can't be expected to be on their shots every night of an 80-game season, but we absolutely need to pin down a more balanced, aggressive style of play. Right now it's "the whores hustle and the hustlers whore."
And the whores are supposed to be the Celtics and the Cavaliers.
In the words of Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum, "I'm so pissed I could spit." And his multimillion-dollar deep sea research facility had just been broken into.
ST
Where was this tonight?
May I respectfully interject? This WAS about defense. Great defense. Let's break it down:
ReplyDeleteDwight Howard can carve space out in the post and:
A. Wait for the double team, then kick it out for an open 3
B. Make a quick move on his man, and go in for a dunk/foul
C. Force a set shot/hook shot
The difficulty with Howard is that it's near impossible to defend him one-on-one. Last night, however, the Celtics did not commit a full double team to him. Instead, Perkins would man him up while Garnett would give partial help. This, along with the C's disciplined approach to running guys off of the 3-point line, severely limited option A.
I'm not sure why Howard didn't school Perkins for option B over and over. My theory is that Perk is actually a good low-post defender (see: Celtics-Lakers regular season 2008, pancing of Andrew Bynum). And Garnett's presence affected him as well.
This leaves option C, and I don't think I have to tell you guys how primitive Howard's ability to create shots is, despite his work with "Big Dick" Ewing.
Jameer Nelson can:
A. Get into the paint and kick it out for a 3
B. Get into the paint and find Howard for an alley-oop
C. Get into the paint, wait for the defense to collapse, and create his own shot
And uh, if a certain long-armed gnome keeps him out of the paint all night...
D. Disappear until the final minutes, whilst refusing to create for his teammates all night
Courtney Lee can:
A. Do something
B. Do nothing
And so on.
Point is, the Celtics have played on basketball's biggest stage and have the ability to get up for big games. This allows guys like Big Baby to come off the bench and be confident. The Magic have not yet succeeded in the spotlight, and while they were definitely rusty, tough defense combined with the lack of a track record in big games did them in early.
Also, as far as the TNT crew goes, does this sound familiar?
ReplyDelete"Sure Orlando is down by 11, but that's just 4 possessions for this bunch of dead-eyes!"
"Sure the Magic are down by 9 with 3 minutes to go, but Jameer Nelson just made a shot! And with that three-point shooting prowess, you never know!"
"Sure the Magic are down by 10 with 20 seconds to go, BUT I'M PENCILING IN A WIN GIVEN THEIR 3-POINT SHOOTERS!!!"
What did you expect them to say? "Yeah the Magic have sucked hard and haven't been close all night, but they're...they're still...good..."
Actually, that's what I expected them to say.
As much as the blowhards at TNT suck, there's not much wrong with those comments. The Magic won that game against the Blazers back in December by exploding from behind the arc in the last 90 seconds. It probably wasn't going to happen against the Celtics, but you can't throw away the possibility.
ReplyDeletePoints well taken, RoboMoses.
ReplyDeleteStill, I'm inclined to think that the major networks will continue to refuse us anything resembling real respect as long as the NBA, ABC/ESPN, and TNT continue in their shameless nostalgia for eras past. There is a reason why the NBA is the only major league sport with no regular season games on local network television. It's because the big wigs are content to sit back and talk ad nauseum about Chamberlain and Russell, about Magic and Bird–about "Who's the next Michael?"
When these people finally realize that basketball can be great–amazing, even–in the present, only then will I be ready to admit that we've moved beyond the excessive rah-rahing of well-established dynasties and the unending irrelevant comparisons of new stars to old hall-of-famers.
Why can't CP3 just be the next CP3? Why does LeBron have to be the next MJ? Why is Kobe so universally worshipped when he's already in his mid 30s and still hasn't proven he can win a championship without the aid of Shaquille O'Neal? I'm willing to bet the Lakers uniform is something to do with it. Basically, I'm just frustrated with the league for being so in love with itself. 24 hours of LeBron? Come on now. I love the guy too, but really?
As for the Magic losing it's last two, all I can say is I'll take a little trough now if it means we bounce back with a peak when it counts (i.e. the post-season).
It's all about opportunity. When the Celtics lost 19 in a row in 2006, no one was talking about Russell and Wilt. Now that the Celtics and Lakers are both elite, can you blame the networks for digging up some archival footage? In this environment, where the Celtics are defending champs and the Celtic and Laker franchises have proven track records, the Magic will have to earn their respect. And we all know respect is earned in the playoffs. So I would advise, be patient. I agree, it is a tougher path to glory for a perennial also-ran than for a team with a rich history, but won't that make ultimate recognition that much more satisfying?
ReplyDeleteAs for the next MJ thing, ask Harold Miner, Penny Hardaway, Jerry Stackhouse, etc, etc, about that one. These comparisons have been going on since before MJ even won his championships, while he was still in the league himself! I shouldn't have to tell you that the NBA is profit-driven, and that a superstar drives profits upwards. The fans may not be looking for the next MJ, but the league always is. Why is Lebron allowed to take 4 steps? If a rookie takes a charge from Kobe, McGrady, Pierce, or (gasp) Dwight Howard, why is the rookie given the foul? Such is the nature of the league, and you'd be fooling yourself if you think that the Magic star players don't get some level of preferential treatment.
Incidentally, the Cavs are a joke franchise, but Lebron gets as much if not more respect than Kobe does, uniform notwithstanding.
It's also about flash. Dwight Howard can go nuts at the dunk contest, but when's the last time he put in a circus layup and got the and 1? Howard gets a lot of respect as the league's best center, but that is dwarfed by the skill sets of Lebron and Kobe. It's simply what most casual fans prefer to see.
To wrap it up, wait until May, and if the Magic are still tearing it up and the sportscasters are still sucking off Kobe, you may have a complaint. Then again, since when did the opinion of sportscasters matter anyway? They suck dicks!
PS: Celtics are going back-to-back, so it's all a moot point anyway. Rashard Lewis = worst All-Star reserve.