Boston Sports Then and Now

The Boston Celtics had the perfect storyline to follow.

The heart and soul of Boston, Paul Pierce suffered the first major ailment of his career in 2007, a foot injury that kept him out for 35 games. The captain played the fewest games of his career that season, slightly above his rookie year when the NBA was shortened due to the lockout, and the Celtics had their worst record in eight years. They missed the playoffs for the second-consecutive year, rookie guard Rajon Rondo only started 25 games and Boston was in a downward spiral yet again. Pierce and the Celtics needed help from the outside.

Following the script, veterans Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett made their way to Boston in shocking fashion, celebrating down Causeway Street as the Celtics were surely on their way back to the top. The aging veterans had come to give head coach Doc Rivers the victory cigar he desperately yearned for.

Each individual player had made an appearance in their respective conference finals, but never made it to the finals. Together they realized they could finally get over the hump and into the Finals.

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Add Ray Allen's name to the list of the Celtic's "Walking Wounded"

Okay, I was planning on giving a great breakdown of the Celtics past two wins and how they looked to be turning the corner coming into Thursday’s game against the Orlando Magic, and then the game started. It’s now 9:21 PM, and I’m sitting here with a box of Mac & Cheese and my jaw is wide open.  52-27 Magic leading with 3 minutes remaining in the first half, are you kidding me? Out of sheer amazement, I had to change the article topic. (For the record: Dwight Howard has only played 7 minutes). It was at this moment that I realized that even if the Celtics come back to miraculously win this game, which they would do, one thing is for certain: The Celtics are injured. Their most consistent player since 2007, Ray Allen, isn’t playing tonight.  Most consistent player you ask? Yes, I said it; Ray Allen has been the Celtics most consistent player and arguably its best in the four-plus seasons since the new “Big-3” came together. Simply put, the man who has been dubbed “The Machine” by his teammates because of his ability to play, and stay in amazing shape, in almost every game is out for his second consecutive game. Since joining the Celtics in ’07, not including this season, Allen had played in 312 out of 328 games.  So exactly what is so significant about Allen’s absence from his usual starting slot in the Green’s backcourt? The significance is that Ray isn’t the only Celtic missing games. Rather, he is one of many Celtics currently missing in action.  Over the course of the season so far, injury has taken its toll on almost every member on the roster.  Among the walking wounded are: Jermaine O’neal, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Mickeal Pietrus, Keyon Dooling, and Chris Wilcox. It’s hard to believe that the injuries haven’t played a part of the Celtics slow start this season.

In tonight’s game against the Magic, the C’s trotted out a starting lineup that looked like this: Avery Bradley, Pietrus, Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brandon Bass.  This is a far cry from the Celtics when they are at their healthiest.  This lineup not only contains 2 aging superstars in Garnett and Pierce, but also has no one to initiate the offense (Bradley doing this is laughable), a 3-point shooter and an offensive glass cleaner in Bass.  What I’m suggesting here is that with all the injuries, Doc Rivers just doesn’t have the necessary pieces to put a cohesive unit on the floor in which to execute an offense. This leaves us with one way for a Celtics squad to pull off a victory: heart.

I will listen to anyone’s argument, which says that every team in the NBA has suffered from this 66-game condensed season; however, none of those teams have suffered more than the Celtics.  I don’t mean this just from the injury perspective either, I am referring to the psychological issue.  There is an obvious subliminal issue here is that the Boston Celtics look defeated from their injuries and they haven’t even had a serious schedule yet. With six games in the next nine days, the Celtics will go through the most rigorous part of their schedule so far this season.  This will be a true test of the team’s mental toughness, and as mentioned before ‘heart.’ Even though the Celtics are in the midst of a 3-game winning streak right now, they still don’t look inspired to come out and execute both offensively and defensively every night.  This has been evidenced multiple times with slow Celtics starts over the course of the season.  Often times, they get desperate and make a run in the end only to fall short.  While we have seen flashes of brilliance, right now the Celtics simply lack the determination to go out there every night and get the job done.  Where is the competitive fire that has burned in Garnett and Pierce every single night over the past 4 seasons?  Where is the testiness that Rondo has shown when mixing it up with other guards on defense?  When O’neal got in Dwight Howard’s face the other night Boston fed off that energy and went on to blow out the Magic.  This is something that is lacking on a game-to-game basis, as the Celtics seem content to get bullied in some of their games. Right now as a fan, I’m cautiously hopeful that if the Celtics can sneak into the playoffs and perhaps well see more competitive focus due to tournament implications.

I don’t want to intentionally take shots at this team, and by no means should the Celtics wave the ‘White Flag’ on their season; however, I am a believer that when offensive cohesion breaks down, it is effort that wins championships.  As it stands right now, the effort and the physical bodies aren’t available at Doc’s disposal so I’m wiling to give the Celtics a “get out of jail free” card until they get healthy.  However, once the Celtics do nurse, and return to full health, something must be done about their lackadaisical approach.  If not, then maybe Danny should just blow it up.

Bruins Forward #19 Tyler Seguin has raised his game despite the teams lack of consistency lately

Anyone who has ever watched or played in the NHL will tell you that these are the dog days of the season. The midway part of the season leading to the All-Star break is where it is common to see many NHL teams taking games off. A perfect example of this is the Bruins’ recent loss to the Washington Capitals, a game where the majority of the team looked completely uninterested. This lack of motivation showed in their game as they committed a bevy of miscues and paid for them in an uncharacteristic loss. The game wasn’t a complete loss as the Bergeron line was as good as always, and Steven Kampfer played on solid game in his current fill in role in wake of Andrew Ference’s absence.

Losses in big games to the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and a Carolina Hurricanes team that seems to have the Bruins’ number certainly doesn’t help this team moving forward. This let down as of late was to be expected given the remarkable run the Bruins were on before hand. I suppose any amount of loses in whatever span would stand out as a disappointment given those circumstances but the fact remains the same; this is a team that has not looked to be playing at the level in which they are capable. One Bruin who has looked completely out of place is Joe Corvo. I know offensive defenseman are usually a hot topic for complaints among Bruins’ fans but in this case it is true. Corvo has been struggling mightily lately and it is becoming an issue with this team as to whether an offensive minded defenseman can truly thrive in Boston.

Adding to the struggles of the team is the recent injury to Nathan Horton who himself had recently rediscovered his scoring touch. The Bruins have announced that he has suffered a mild concussion and that they will re-evaluate his recovery and potential return following the All-Star break. Tim Thomas has also looked under his normal standard as he has beaten uncharacteristically a few times in his last couple of starts that ask if his age is catching up to him or more realistically the play in front of him has all but deteriorated as of late. I know there is plenty of publicity surrounding Thomas at this time but it is completely foolish and nonsensical. I have never seen such a backlash of comments about a player who simply exercised his opinion and freedom of choice in not going to the White House for what turned out to be a five minute thing. Anyone who is trying to make it more then that is only embarrassing themselves at this point as it is clearly time to move on.

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Patriots celebrating after Billy Cundiff missed a last minute field goal during the AFC Championship game.

So who’s to blame for this one?

Is it Lee Evans for not hanging onto the ball? Is it Joe Flacco for overthrowing a wide open Torrey Smith a couple of times? How about the kicker? Let’s blame the kicker! All he does is kick field goals so he shouldn’t miss a 32 yarder when the game is on the line, right?

Wrong.

Don’t count out any possibilities if your kicker goes by the name of Billy Cundiff.

With a chance to send the AFC Championship game to overtime, Cundiff shanked – what should have been – an easy field goal which led to the Patriots 23-20 victory over the Ravens.

In his defense, he wasn’t solely the reason Baltimore lost. However, his explanation for choking was pretty interesting. Cundiff and the Ravens claimed that the scoreboard at Gillette Stadium was displaying inaccurate information, therefore “confusing” the players and not letting them focus on what was happening on the field. According to an interview with Deadspin, the Ravens kicker wasn’t fully prepared, as he stated,  ”Instead of taking a deep breath and collecting myself, everything just kept speeding up, speeding up. The mechanics of the operation were just off a little bit.”

Besides the kick, what was also a little bit off was that explanation. I’m aware of the scoreboard malfunction, yet that should be the lesser of a teams’ worries in the final minutes of an AFC Championship game. Not only is that a poor excuse, but Baltimore still had a timeout left to use. If Cundiff or any of the Ravens coaching staff felt like the play was rushed, wouldn’t they have just used their final timeout? Or is that considered icing your own kicker?

If that is the case, don’t blame Billy for your loss, blame Jason Garrett for ruining that whole scenario of calling – or not calling – a timeout before your kicker attempts to put one between the uprights (his only responsibility).

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I am a die hard Boston Bruins fan and what Tim Thomas did on the ice to win the Stanley Cup will never be forgotten. He made me shed man tears uncontrollably and I can finally die in peace as a fan of the Black and Gold. Unfortunately, not showing up to the White House with his team will not be forgotten either.

Below is Thomas’ statement on his Facebook page:

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Paul Pierce has regained his offensive touch and playmaking abilities.

The Boston Celtics do not need to trade Paul Pierce if he continues to play like he did in Sunday’s 100-94 victory over the Washington Wizards and in the blowout win over the Orlando Magic.  Pierce’s performances (even if it was against the lowly 2-15 Wizards) is what Doc Rivers ordered for Pierce and his team. On Sunday, Pierce carried his team with his 34 points and 10 assists. Then Pierce followed that effort in the next game against the Magic with 19 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Who knows if the Celtics will be able to overcome top-tier teams such as the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference.  In this lockout-shortened season, very little can be classified as normal or expected. While the Celtics have struggled, the Heat have been without guard Dwayne Wade with a sprained ankle and the Bulls have lost Derrick Rose for four games to a turf toe injury. Sure, Rajon Rondo has not seen the court in the past three games, but that isn’t necessarily the end of the line. In the words of Kevin Garnett, “Anything is possible.”

During the last interrupted season in 1998-99, the New York Knicks finished in 8^th place and just four games above .500. They played without leading scorer Patrick Ewing for 12 games and Latrell Sprewell was on the floor for 37 of 50 contests. The Knicks averaged scoring 86.4 points while they allowed just 85.4 points. Despite all of this adversity, the Knicks were able to make the NBA Finals before they lost to the San Antonio Spurs with a veteran-laden roster.

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