I'm Out

This is most likely my last post on Celtics Bandwagon. Don’t worry I’m not pulling a Ron Artest. As a side note when you read, “pulling a Ron Artest” what went through your mind? There are any number of possibilities, but back to my future. I have joined SportsBlogs Nation as the Celtics blogger. The hope is that I will be able to raise my readership from 10 or so people to maybe 15, or 20 if I’m lucky. And I get to join a great group of bloggers. For example the San Antonio Spurs blogger – Pounding the Rock – recently passed along the following gem,

“Four times! Watching the game at home no less, and four times I heard Rasheed Wallace say ‘Ball don't lie’ after a missed free throw. In case you are unfamiliar, Old Grey-Spot unleashes his catchphrase after an opponent misses a free throw garnered via a dubious foul call on the Pistons.”

I don’t want to know these things. I need to know these things. And for the record Sheed has given us CTC (Cut the check), Serbian gangsta (Darko), and now “Ball don’t lie”. He’s such a giver.

Now I know what you are thinking. What does the move mean? Well I will still write for Celtics Blog from time to time. Check out my latest post here. I spent an inordinate amount of time on that piece and ended up with a barely coherent post that is all over the place. Although I think it’s safe to say I won the award for most reactionary post following the Bobcats debacle last week. So I’ve got that going for me…which is nice. However, most of my time and effort will be focused on the new site – greenbandwagon.com. As a bonus it gives you the reader a great opportunity to participate. I'm hoping you can help me attract a passionate Celtics community.

So thank you for following Celtics Bandwagon, please keep reading, write a diary (you'll understand when you check out Green Bandwagon), and tell your friends. In closing, I will leave you with the image I used in my very first post back in September. Why? Why not? Touché. Actually the real answer is I never get tired of McHale close lining Kurt Rambis. I know you agree.

Sometimes they get it right

Will Ferrell will take part in the Sunday conversation with Kenny Mayne. That will be good.

Scolded

Gilbert Arenas got a talking to from the league for making bets with fans. The funny thing is that his blog did him in on this one. On the bright side at least people are reading. Meanwhile, I wonder if that is part of someone's job in the league office?

Update - The announcers over on ESPN for the Cavs/Nuggets game just said that Allen Iverson won $500 from George Karl due to Georgetown's victory over UNC. I wonder if they will be hearing from the league soon.

The 2000 LA Clippers

The other day I was wondering if the 2007 Celtics were the most exciting bad team ever. Whoops. I immediately sent each of these guys a handwritten apology.

C's/Mavericks - 3/23/07

- Tough one tonight as the Mavs inflicted a beating on the C's. I don't know what to say. On the bright side the blog Mavs Moneyball reminded me of this gem of a commercial. One question: What the hell is Michael Jordan wearing?

- In other news Kobe Bryant's scoring explosion is seriously threatening to derail my quest for a fantasy basketball championship. As if I could dislike him any more...

- Next week's schedule looks (Raptors, Magic, 76ers) looks a little more inviting than tonight's game. It would be nice to break this 3 game skid.

Heading into the 4th...

The C's trot out Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Leon Powe, Allay Ray, and Delonte West. The C's are down 19. This one is over.

I wish I documented Tommy Heinsohn tonight. He's bitter, angry, annoyed, and using the word "askance" a lot.

Al Jefferson just checked in.

56-51 at the half

Give the C's credit for battling back to make this a ball game. We could learn a lot about this team in the next 24 minutes. By that I mean the second half because in real time we won't see a lot of basketball in the next 24 minutes.

Thoughts?

Scalabrine Out

He's got some hamstring problems that might keep him out for a while. Let the tanking talk begin.

In other news Greg Dickerson just reported what Celtics fans should probably already know - Kendrick Perkins is feeling better. It has definitely shown in his play recently.

Friday - YouTube Clip of the Week

I haven't done one of these since my ill-fated 24 hours of YouTube. That said this clip fascinates me for several reasons:

1. You'd think Boston was the home team.

2. The C's blatantly fouled and went out of their way to pass to Bird. It’s a terrible display of sportsmanship. If Ricky Davis did this there would be a riot.

3. Really the game is not in Boston.

4. As numerous people have pointed out before, some of the Hawks were fined for their behavior on the bench.

5. Whatever your opinion on the performance is you have to admit some of those shots were outrageous.

Great Minds...

Yesterday in my C's/Bobcats recap I referenced Lil Penny and his classic Secret Service line. Today Gilbert Arenas went a step further and included the clip.

- Some good insight into the mind of Arenas from the man himself.

- Thanks to Deadspin for reminding everyone to check in on the always-entertaining Arenas.

Building for the Future?

- It's not easy being Doc Rivers. All season fans have been calling for more time for Leon Powe, Gerald Green, and even Sebastian Telfair. Careful what you wish for I guess. Shira Springer reports that Rivers consciously decided to leave Al Jefferson and Paul Pierce on the bench while the outcome of the game was determined. Looks like the post game press conference was pretty interesting:

"I was not throwing the game or anything like that because I've heard all those questions [before]. Honestly, I got to the point early in the fourth quarter and I turned to my coaches and I said, 'We're going to win or lose with this group.'" - Doc Rivers

Doc went on to make an interesting Phil Jackson/Lakers analogy:

"At some point, those other guys have to be able to play a little bit. You look at the Phil Jacksons. They're able to [put the game in the hands of the bench] all year because they know they're playing for a title and they can teach lessons to their bench."

This seems to be a total reversal from Doc's usual approach. I'm intrigued. However, Herm Edwards is confused by Doc's tactics.

Confusion

"Wait how did Boston lose to the Bobcats tonight?" - Larry Bird

C's/Bobcats - 3/21/07

Wrap Up

I'd like to say that Al Jefferson (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Paul Pierce (23 points) were the lone bright spots in a disappointing loss. But that's only partially true. The Truth sat out the 4th with an eye injury and the Bobcats' double teams neutralized Big Al in the final minutes. Meanwhile the 4th quarter conjured up images of that woeful second quarter from Oklahoma. Ultimately Boston fell apart and could not rally while Charlotte played care free and seemed to genuinely enjoy earning a W. This was not a game that Boston should have lost. Ugh.

A Few Random Points

- Tommy Heinsohn described Perk as a “point guard on the inside.” He does have a point as Perkins has thrown some nice passes. That said, no one is having visions of Bill Walton.

- I’m hoping Big Al looked at Jake Voskhul and dusted off the classic Lil Penny line, “You can’t guard me. The secret service can’t guard me.”

- I giggled the first time Tommy Heinsohn referred to Matt Carroll as Carroll. Of course giggling is probably worse than being called Carroll.

- Raymond Felton and Matt Carroll took turns guarding Paul Pierce tonight. Keep in mind that Gerald Wallace was on the floor. In other news Bernie Bickerstaff will not be coaching the Bobcats next year.

- It’s getting to the point where we might need to give Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson coordinated nicknames. Something like Starsky and Hutch, Thunder and Lightning, or Fire and Ice. Although they would have to make sense. And be cool.

- Brian Scalabrine and Ryan Gomes returned tonight. At this point I’m not able to wrap my mind around Veal starting.

- I’m pretty sure Leon Powe is not opposed setting a moving pick.

- Doc went with 11 guys tonight, 10 of them (everyone but Bassy) got 15 minutes or more. Not sure how I feel about this.

I hate myself for this...

...but turn on ESPN. LeBron is doing LeBron things against the Mavericks. He's attacking the rim and has all of Cleveland's 11 4th quarter plays.

Quick points.

- Nice job by the announcing team pointing out that The Truth and Delonte West will be hanging out on Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight tomorrow night at 6:30, on FSN of course. I can't wait.

- The C's should really win this game.

Die Culture Die

It's nice to see that in some small way I am contributing to the destruction of culture.

C's/Hornets - 3/19/07

- Well the C's came right back down to earth. It seemed like Boston went out drinking to celebrate the Spurs victory. Paul Pierce played the crafty veteran role as the guy who either drank a little less or just knew how to handle it. I have absolutely nothing to base this upon.

- A hurt Chris Paul is still awesome.

- 30 seconds into the 2nd quarter someone screamed "Holy Shit!" and the mic picked it up. Little did I know that it would be my highlight of the 2nd quarter. If that were a fight they would have stopped it.

- Hey losses happen. This season they happen a lot. It would have been nice to at least keep it close. But on the bright side Donny Marshall divided his time between talking about UConn guys and how long Tyson Chandler is.

- I don't believe in moral victories and I'm not convinced that what happens over these final weeks really effects next season. Still it would be nice for Jefferson and the gang to continue to improve.

- Allan Ray gets Bassy's minutes? Really?

- Gerald, Gerald, Gerald. Going for a garbage time dunk when the Hornets had clearly kicked into run out the clock mode. On the one hand it was nice to see some fight. On the other hand it was misplaced. And the Hornets seemed legitimately annoyed. Oh well.

- Al Jefferson needs the ball.