This is supposed to happen today or tomorrow. So, the Celtics will have Allen, Pierce, and Garnett! Does this immediately make them the favorites in the pansy East?
I would assume so.
I mean, who is there? Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Miami...Toronto?
Does Orlando crack in there with Lewis?
Seems like this spells big trouble if you aren't a Celtics fan and your team lives in the east.
On another note, what is this craziness about Arenas making 100,000 shots in 73 days?
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If this goes down, Celtics are not only the favorite for the East, but are the favorite for the title. First of all, the Cavs won the east last year with Bronnie and a bunch of chumps.
I think Pierce and Allen combined are better than Bron alone. You add KG into it and you are talking ridiculous talk. Bananas with a capital Banana. I'm freaking out about this. This is huge!!!!
I mean, come on. You put 3 legit all-stars on the same team then you should be immediately menitoned with the upper echelon of teams.
You add 3 players like this, and you blow me away. These are 3 of the most proven and team orientated players in the league. We could wax all day about KG and the style he plays. RayRay is considered one of the clasiest acts in the league as well. And as far as NBA guys go, I think Pierce is not that bad of cat either. These guys can mesh. They can differ. I put Beantown as 5-1 odds for the championship.
I mean, I never hesitate to tip my hat to the Spurs, but man, think about it. You combare the Spurs big 3 to the C's big three. You gotta be all "well, you got sumthin there fellas."
yadyayadayadadya.....Arenas is crazy. or he's an alien. Actually I'm pretty sure he is an alien.
5-1 ?! i'll take it.
my predictions for next season:
C's run away with the east, SA/PHX wins the rings, Simmons and his dad cry and drink to KG approx 4 million times this season, richard moves home to austin but still can't escape the cloud of shame that follows him around because he called the Cs a 5-1 favorite when he forgot about SA PHX.
and the rockets gotta start mike. steve's a punk.
I think i'll take those 5-1 odds too.
The rockets have a better chance to win it all than the Cs.
Phx will implode. The ego's on that squad are going to get the best of them. Marion has proven he's a chump. Amare is on the cusp of doing the same.
The Dick line puts them at 10-1
Yes, SA is good. but they are old. Parker has gone Hollywood. He's going to have Eva whispering in his hears full-time and is going to forget his place in the pecking order.
Dick line for SA is 6-1.
HOU get's a Dick line of 10-1.
Mavs get Dicked at 15-1
Maximus Brontasaurus is Dicked at 12-1
i will wager any reasonable amount of money/beer/etc that phx will end up with a better record (than Cs) and dominate the season series (with Cs).
i disagree about marion. he fills up a stat sheet better than anyone in the nba (except maybe KG. ha). he has that kobe trait about him where even though he's a childish a$$hole, he's still gonna get picked just cause he's too dang good..his skills are undeniable.
and why hasn't anyone mentioned danny ainge and doc rivers? they are two of the biggest reasons that im talking all this crap.
i love KG as much as the next guy, but rallen is old and p pierce (easily renamed PP if i wanted to take cheap shots) is lucky they got a real super star cause when the d clamps down on him he crumbles.
you're right though tony is hollywood. did you see that rap video?! sheesh. teardrop indeed
I still check in every week or so. hasn't been much to post on lately.
This is exciting news, I'm very happy for KG. I thought he was doomed to suffer in Minn forever.
Yeah this aquisition is -huge-, but i think ya'll are over estimating them. I doubt Celts will make the Conference Finals even.
Last year, b4 the final home game of season, PP promised Beantown that Boston was going to make it to the playoffs and make some noise this year. I basically laughed at him at the time. But, not so much anymore:)
So they got KG, Mr. Jumpshot, and PP. And, they have a pretty decent young batch of players, whom have plenty of potential (not sure how many of them were sent away though). But, i don't think that is enough for this year. It takes a hell of a lot more than a few all-stars wearing the same Jersey.
I don't think Celts will have anything on SA, nor Pheonix (whom i do -not- expect to implode) Sure Parker has a jackass Video, but, he has always been a a bit cheesy when not on the court.
If Tony was gonna be distracted by Eva, it would have happened already. Focusing on your game can be trickerer when you are courting. But once you're married, your foot is permantly in the door, and you can chill a bit. I'm sure his game will be fine. I'd say he is peaking if he wasn't only 25. He will probably be even beter next year.
BtW, i didn't realize Ray Allen had 26 ppg last season! A part of me was thinking he was a bit over the hill. But, looks like he is as sharp as ever too:)
Oh yeah, i had a question i forgot to ask. Has Ray allen normally Played 1 guard or 2 guard in his career? Will Allen be the point/main distributor?
Allen is usually the shooting guard.
Wonder if he'll take point now. If not, wonder who.
I was just thinking of another NBA player that went Hollywood--made corny movies, and rap albums, (and sweetastic Kung Fu fighting games!). Shaq.
I'm with Jake & Tom all the way. No f'ing way the Celtics win it all this year (I personally wouldn't take a 3-1 line that they'd get to their conf. finals), unless a few very key things happen to turn the course of what's otherwise going to happen this coming season.
Let's start by agreeing that all 3 players are a great fit together. That in itself, though, won't win a 4 of 7 from many of the NBA's best. Here are the immediate problems as I see with them:
Problem Number 3- Perimeter Defense
KG is an increadible defender. He's always going to be mentioned along w/ the best ever in this league. Problem is, Ray Allen has never been very good at all, and Paul Pierce, though he has the physical capability, has never shown his full potential (whether slow lateral movement or a lack of defensive coach is yet unknown). The only other guy on the entire team that showed any proclivity to defense is Tony Allen. He is a solid guard but [stop reading patrick] he tore two ligaments in his knee in Jan. and had season ending surgery. We'll have to see if he can make a successful enough return to guard the likes of Billups, Hamilton, LeBron, Nash, Parker, DWade, etc. All it takes is one major chink the armor to deliver a fatal blow.
Problem Number 2- Vet. Leadership
Unless they sign a couple of veteran players (who ideally play at least a solid contributing 10 minutes per game) who've had success in the playoffs, they're dependent on 3 stars who rarely have a successful transition to 'mentor' until after their skill have started to diminish (one of the true exceptions was Mike which is why he was such a special player). Of the 3, I'd think they'll have the best luck w/ Ray Allen, but you'd love to see them pick up one or two guys who have old man grit when they need it (see Ron Harper, Mario Elie, Bob Horry, and even a few younger guys, like Billups, can possess this quality). You'll find at least one on every championship team. They may not always seem to play a big role in the regular season but they deliver when counted upon in the post season. Their contributions are varied; rarely high numbers, though the ones they have seem to be at big times. Those plays show an entire team how a 'man' is to conduct himself when it's most crucial. If you don't have a player like this, you must have a truly special coach. One who can convey the same confident swagger without ever stepping foot on the floor. I'll speak more of this below but let's just say that they ain't got that.
If Ainge has some leprechaun magic left in his pot, he may be able to get both of the above in one player though unlikely. Most of them have to fit the Billups mold (youth with the air of Vet. Leadership). All of the guys I know of are too big of names to actually get (but... he did manage KG somehow so...) so he'll likely have to find a diamond in the rough (ala Raja Bell in the 2001 Finals). Here are the few that I could think of off the bat, I'm sure there is a better fit somewhere though (in order of ideal, in my mind): Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen, Kirk Hinrich, Battier, Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Trenton Hassell. I did hear a few months ago that RJ was being shopped... anyhow, even Chauncy Billups can't fix their biggest problem (... see problem#1 below).
One could even look at the two issues above as one larger issue... they gave away a significant number of assets in order to get KG & Allen. I believe it was well worth it but they still have some significant work to do this summer if they want to have a team that can win it all. Their point guard position is one that seemed to concern one analyst but I'd be more concerned with center. All it's going to take is one big that can shoot from the outside (see Ilgauskas & Rasheed) to pull KG off the basket which opens up slashers for layups. Duncan/Parker/Ginobili will put on a clinic.
Problem Numero Uno, Coach
Simmons hates him but he's such a Boston Homer that I'm pretty sure he hates anyone that can't get them to the Conf. Finals. Aside from that prejudice though, he has some very valid points. Doc Rivers has never proven himself as a head coach. He's got a career winning pct of only 46.7% (273-312). Lop off his worst & his best and it gets only slightly better at 49.5%. He coached a couple of pretty talented Orlando teams (see TMac's prime) and still never won more that 43 games in a season. Many of the best coaches can be traced back to their own coaches in their heyday (pedigree). He played many years for the Hawks in the 80s under Mike Fratello. Fratello himself has only a career winning percentage of 55%. He coached the Dominique Hawks to a few pretty successful regular seasons only to get smoked by the Celtics & the Pistons every playoffs. His career playoff record is 22-42... which means that other really good coaches ate his lunch. Doc's other tenure came for 3 years in NY under Riley in the 90's. Now Riley can legitimately be argued as one of the greatest head coaches of all time. He's managed to take 3 teams w/ 3 different styles to the Finals and won championships w/ 2 of the 3. Problem is, in NY at least, Riley seemed to be dabbling in Van Gundy's suffocating 'D' approach rather than his success w/ Magic & the 'Showtime' Lakers. I haven't seen an inkling of pulpit-preaching-'D'from any of Doc's teams. I don't mind Doc Rivers as an analyst but as a head coach... if I'm the GM, he's gotta go. No way is a Doc Rivers coached team winning a championship - never.
So the problem that arises here is that you've got a very talented team that, even with poor coaching, should be able to put up a stellar regular season record (paced to win between 50 & 60 games). Everything will seem on track until they face Miami or Detroit (maybe Cleveland) in the playoffs. Even if they show signs of weakness during the regular season, how long does it take to recognize the need to replace the coach & how long does a new coach need to prep a championship caliber team? Usually longer than 1 full season, let alone a fraction of one season. The question becomes: Is Ainge going to have the foresight to get rid of Doc before the regular season?
The following are all candidates without jobs currently (all w/ decent career win %):
Jeff Van Gundy
Rick Carlisle
Mike Fratello
Larry Brown
Paul Silas
Bob Hill
Lenny Wilkens
I'd personally, love to see Boston get a championship this season. If I was GM, I'd go w/ Carlisle or Brown & maybe Silas depending on who their assistant coaches would be. Carlisle has had a very average couple of years but they've all been fallout (better?) from the Artest melee. One of those years he was without his 3 best players for most of the season. With the luck of the irish obviously on Ainge's side (and w/ some help from past Celtic McHale) maybe he can get Larry Legend's assistance convincing Carlisle & Brown to both take on the job? Hell, while we're imagining, the Legend himself could come back as Head Coach (got the Pacers to the Finals in 2000) and could try to get a third to fill in the football org of Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, & Defensive Coordinator? Oooo... Bird, Carlisle, & Brown?
They're going to need more than a four-leaf clover & KG to win this thing...
Dick line for SA is 6-1.
HOU get's a Dick line of 10-1.
Mavs get Dicked at 15-1
Maximus Brontasaurus is Dicked at 12-1
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i just thought this deserved another round. that's some high quality material.
Dang Jeremy!
I started reading your comment and had to take a break to post a question to Jake.
Jake, you work with Jeremy right? Does he actually do anything when he's at work? Maybe he's just not busy today.
(back to reading Jeremy's post)
yeah... got a little carried away... sorry.
as for work, well, they should really call it something else for me. some days it's intolerably busy but lately, more often than not, it's been a lot like today
in this case though, I actually started it late last night and got pretty tired by the time I got to point 3 so I had to finish it this morning
Dude, Jeremy that post was really perfect. Much better than anything i ever see on espn.com (though i don't have Insider). Key highlights included the list of capable coaches available.
What do you guys think about larry brown in boston? He's has expressed a willingness to work with building teams these days; I don't follow the news enough to know if thats true, or if htat was true in New York.
I often think he should of stayed in Detroit. I mean Detroit should ahve made more of an effort to work with him. I could be wrong. But it seems like detroit is so emotional(or something). They tend to have a series or two where they just make too many careles mistakes and play well below their capability. Basically, don't really show up.
The last 2 seasons, which were foreseen--and even at their time seen--as an improvement upon their previous season, ended with them floundering. Both times, once they hit the playoffs they couldn't keep it straight long enough to get anywhere.
Under Larry Brown, they may not have all liked him; but, they sure played hard for him. Nearly won back-to-back championships. And that was when the key players were just blossoming. Now they are supposed to be in their prime. I don't know, but I think that says a lot about Larry Brown. Or else, Flip Saunders.
I know the consensus seems to be that Doc Rivers is a bad coach. I can't really say one way or the other that he is since I really haven't watched many games he's coached.
I know Larry Brown is a really good coach, but man I hate him. He absolutely screwed over Detroit. Pulled that crap that he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to coach or not because of his health. So Detroit had to buy him out so they could go get a coach they could rely on.
So Larry pockets his money, and then signs with NY. Then he bad mouths all the players which basically forces Isiah to buy him out of that big contract.
Larry Brown is great coach, but I think he is a bad human being. I don't want him coaching my beloved KG to a championship.
I think your right in that he'd be a good fit for Boston, but man, it'd leave a bad taste in my mouth. In fact, I'm all ready to start cheering on the C's, but if Brown is there I don't think I could.
It would be similar if the Rockets traded for Kobe. I hate Kobe soooooo much, that I might just turn on my Rockets.
I'm with both of you (Tom & Richard). I really liked Larry when he was with the 76ers & the Pistons but I guess I don't really remember him from the 20 years previous. I'd heard that he's always been quite the 'journeyman'...
I thought the whole AI / Larry bouts were all AI but I now tend to think that Brown's a control freak beyond anything I've personally experienced. That kind of personality only works well w/ college kids, very young teams, or vets that have managed to cultivate a healthy enough respect for themselves that they don't take it personally when they're denegrated. That's the only logical explanation as to why he can't stay with a team very long. He starts fights. Usually, it's with players so he sticks with it long enough start causing him health issues from the stress & then quits. In the Pistons case, I think he actually started some sort of tug-o-war w/ Dumars (rather than the players).
As a basketball fan, I think it's a real shame. I hated them for beating the Lakers that year but it didn't take long for me to place more blame on the Lakers themselves for not being more competitive at least. There was no denying that I respected the hell out of their style of play. Team ball w/ defense at the core of their philosophy. They had the chance to be one of the greats. The following Finals that they played against the Spurs is one of my favorites of all time. I wish Larry & Joe would have stuck it out longer. They would have never wandered away from the defensive killer attitude, I wouldn't have the awful memory of the refs handing Miami the championship, they probably wouldn't have lost BWallace (who is still one of my favorite players ever), and I might have even seen another title match against the Spurs this year. As it is, even if they'd made it past Cleveland this year, I doubt Flip could have orchestrated them past 6 games.
Seems like a few of the great teams recently have been broken down by ego. The Bulls in '98, the Lakers in '04, & the Piston's in '05. All could have probably won at least one more and probably a couple more. It's just too bad.
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