Thursday Morning Quick Hitters

The Thunder, really, the Thunder…in a state as rich with identifiable places, names, attractions and you come up with Thunder (the views and opinions are not necessarily those of the other staff and contributors to the Central Maine Sports Blog). The Boston Celtics allowed the OKC Thunder to stick around in the 1st half, but turned on the gas and played solid D down the stretch to top the Thunder 96 – 83.

The San Antonio Spurs avoided going 0 – 4 Wednesday night by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Double Overtime 129 – 125. Tony Parker led the NBA last night in a wild night for scorers with 55 points.

Amare Stoudemire is good, really good. Armare scored 49 points 10 rebounds 5 Blocks and 5 Assists, putting him in an exclusive list to have those numbers in 1 game (Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde the Glide Drexler). The Suns beat the Indiana Pacers 113 – 103.

LeBron James scores 41 points in a Cleveland Cavaliers 107 – 93 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Miami Heat rookie Mario Chalmers misses setting a rookie record for most steals in a game with 9 (Ron Harper holds the record with 10) helping the Heat to a big win over the Philadelphia 76ers 106 – 83.

In a battle of 2 teams going in completely different directions in the same city, the Los Angeles Lakers (4 – 0) beat the listless Los Angeles Clippers (0 – 5) 106 – 88. Kobe Bryant had 27 points in the win.

EDITORIAL NOTE – Keep a close eye on the Central Maine Sports Blog as we will be unveiling or own hot stove rumor central “The Steamer” Make sure you stay close because we will have our own Central Maine Sports Blog Sources at the Winter Meetings, so who knows, the CMSB might be breaking news.

The LA Dodgers have apparently made a HUGE offer to Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers also declined the option on Brad Penny.

The National League handed out their Gold Glove Awards yesterday, some notables, Greg Maddox won his record 18th Gold Glove. Here is the list of Winners

Pos.	Winner
P	Greg Maddux, Dodgers
C	Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B	Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
2B	Brandon Phillips, Reds
3B	David Wright, Mets
SS	Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
OF	Nate McLouth, Pirates; Carlos Beltran, Mets; Shane Victorino, Phillies

Former Portland Pirate Ryan Getzlaf nets 2 to help the Aneheim Ducks to an 8 – 0 – 1 record. The Ducks beat the St Louis Blues 5 – 2.

The NHLPA files suit about players release.

#17 Ball State pounds Northern Illinois 45 – 14

Sasha Vujacic Now Complaining To Press

Encountered this interesting tidbit today on Sportingnews.com (which was gleaned from the LA Times) from the mouth of Sasha Vujacic (or as my Sports Vortex co-host Jeff calls him ,Vooya-Bitch), and it looks like Jeff may be right on.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic let the Boston Celtics get to him in Game 5, and he says that’s because they play too rough, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Phil (Jackson) told me after the game that he thought I was a big emotional. And I think he was right,” Vujacic told the newspaper. “It all started from that poke in the eye (by Celtics guard Sam Cassell). I got a little bit mad because the ref was right there and he didn’t call it.”
Vujacic also thought Cassell should have had a foul called on him when he appeared to slam Vujacic down onto the court while they wrestled for a loose ball. Vujacic said later he thought it was on purpose, though television analysts said they believed Vujacic was acting a bit and made the fall look worse than it was.
Vujacic thinks the Celtics are getting away with too much in the series.
“They foul a lot. They get away with a lot of fouls,” Vujacic said. “When we go back to Boston, we know that they are going to do a lot of moving picks like they do, and they’re probably going to get away with it. But we got to stay smart, stay focused and play with poise.”
Vujacic doesn’t place all the blame on the officials, though. “It’s hard to see,” he told the Times. “They’re doing it so quick that not everybody can see it. You can’t blame anyone.”
In the first five games, the Celtics have been called for 123 fouls and the Lakers for 131. But in Game 5, both teams were called for 28 personal fouls, and both teams had 31 free throw attempts, the Celtics making 24 of them and the Lakers making 23. Derek Fisher, Ray Allen and Vladimir Radmanovic each received a technical foul in Game 5.

I don’t do this much, if ever, but this is called for.

You petty little soft-ass. Andy Dufresne didn’t scream this much when he dealt with the Sistas, and you and your brown suede headband want to piss and moan about NBA Defense? You suck, your attitude sucks, and I hope you go back to Europe where you belong you sorry-ass excuse for a basketball player. Drazen Petrovic is spinning in his grave right now, and even Dirk Nowitzki thinks you’re weak.

Generation X’s Signature Celtics Game

Historic franchises all have moments that everyone remembers, whether it is a home run from Carlton Fisk, Kirk Gibson, or Rick Monday; a dramatic save from Patrick Roy; a touchdown pass from Joe Montana; or Havlicek stealing the ball. As a Celtics fan since 1986 (I was 8 yrs old), I had always felt a little shafted on my Celtics moments. I don’t remember them winning game 6 against Houston, but I remember them losing to the Lakers in 1987. I remember Larry Bird’s steal against Detroit, his comeback against the Pacers in Game 5 in 1991, and his last hurrah on a Sunday afternoon at home against the Blazers when he scored 49 points in a double OT Celtic win.but no titles, no victory cigars, no “World Champions” t-shirts, just deaths (Len Bias and Reggie Lewis) horrid draft picks (Eric Montross, Joe Forte, Michael Smith, Ron Mercer) and bad trades (Vin Baker, Rodney Rogers). When Red Auerbach passed away, there were so many tributes and talk of the old days, I felt like a fan of those teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have a storied history that is just that, a storied history and nothing recent to show for it (sadly Sid Bream isn’t recent anymore). Although the 2002 Celtics had a memorable comeback against New Jersey, it wasn’t the same because they still lost the series. Thursday night, June 12, 2008 was my generation’s signature Celtics Game.

At the end of the first quarter I was doing my podcast that I do along with the Celtics games because I hate the announcers, the half times and such, and in basketball many times you can talk about other things throughout the first half. When the Celtics were down 35-14 at the end of the 1st quarter, visions of Game 3 against Cleveland were fresh in my mind. They were about to prove the “pundits” right, this series was going to be tied, Phil Jackson was going to break Red’s record (against the Celtics no less), and the polar ice caps might as well have been melting before my eyes. I figured it was over, and I went back to watching the Phillies to relax a little. Jeff, who I do the Vortex with, would keep me updated because he was still watching, and all I needed to hear from him was the groan or sigh to know I had made the right decision. I did not see Jordan Farmar’s half ending three pointer, and if I had I would be in the market for a brand new HDTV today. It was 58-40 at the half, the Celtics looked lost, the Lakers looked dominant, and I just felt like a moron for thinking that the Celtics would actually win number 17 in my lifetime. In fact, halfway through the third, the Lakers still had a big lead at times, in fact they were up by 24 at one point. It was going to be a short night, but it turned out to be one of the longer ones in recent memory.

I was following the game through Jeff and online updates. I couldn’t bring myself to watch for fear I would be the human jinx, and sure enough when I finally gave in at the beginning of the 4th quarter, Kobe Bryant scored right away and I figured I had soiled the whole thing just by changing the channel. I am glad I didn’t turn the dial. It was the single greatest quarter of basketball I have ever seen a Celtics team play. Eddie House, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and James Posey just put on a show for the ages (sorry Jeff) that I will remember until I am on my deathbed. When that final gun sounded, I couldn’t help but think of Johnny Most “fiddling and diddling” and his other famous calls, and realized that finally, I had seen something I would be telling my grandkids about. The Boston Celtics had come back from 24 points down, on the road, in front of the biggest group of fair weather fans ever,against the Lakers, good had triumphed over evil, and Kobe Bryant needed a drink or two. You know what Kobe? I needed a drink too, to celebrate, to toast Celtics memories from the past, and the moments yet to come. Generation X finally got their Celtics moment.

Jerry Sichting Interview

Jerry Sichting, former member of the Boston Celtics and current assistant coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, was on the Sports Vortex this morning talking NBA Finals, Celtics/Lakers history, and Minnesota Timberwolves draft. Check it out, it is in the widget at the top of the page that says “Sports Vortex” (just click play) or you can check out the link here if the widget doesn’t load for you. Regardless, enjoy!

Beat LA!

I am one of the few people in the New England area who watched basketball while the Celtics were down. I like to consider myself a pretty big fan, and I also feel like I know what’s going on throughout the league. I don’t call myself an expert or an “insider”. After watching the NBA Playoffs so far, one thing sticks out to me. The Western Conference Playoffs, which was supposed to be the greatest playoff ever, kind of fell flat. TNT, who made sure in their last round of negotiatiations to secure the Western Conference Finals, may have been better off with Boston/Detroit. For all of the supposed parity in the West and the articles and columns I read stating that, before the playoffs, any 1 of the 8 Western Conference teams could go to the Finals and that whoever they played from the East would be a sacrificial lamb, I do not find that to be the case. In fact Let’s look at the…

Western Conference Playoff Round One

Lakers beat Denver 4-0

New Orleans beat Dallas 4-1

Utah beat Houston in 4-2

San Antonio beat Phoenix 4-1

In analyzing these 4 series, San Antonio had a 3-0 lead in the series, Dallas got beaten, and Rockets and Jazz went back and forth losing games on their home floor. Not real dramatic for one, but also, if “any of these 8 teams could get to the Finals”, why wasn’t there at least ONE 7 GAME SERIES?

The Eastern Conference First Round

Boston beats Atlanta 4-3

Orlando beats Toronto 4-1

Cleveland beats Washington 4-2

Detroit beats Philadelphia 4-2

One could correctly argue here that the Celtics should not have taken 7 games to beat the Hawks, but you have two 6 game series here as well. I do believe that this a was a Celtics team that obviously hadn’t been to the playoffs together before and was finding their way a bit, from the head coach on down.

Round 2

West

Lakers beat Utah 4-2

San Antonio beat New Orleans 4-3

Lakers were never in any real danger against the Jazz, and they managed to draw a Spurs team who they matched up better with.

East

Boston beat Cleveland 4-3

Detroit beat Orlando 4-1

Boston, for all of their difficulties winning on the road the first two rounds, managed to really shut down Lebron James for most of the series (except Game 7 obviously). Lebron and Kobe are supposed to be the two best players in the league, is it completely out of the realm of possibility that the Celtics, who have the best defensive coach in the league in Tom Thibodeau, won’t be able to figure out a way to make Kobe’s job difficult?

Conference Finals

West

Lakers beat Spurs 4-1

The Lakers won a poorly officiated game 4 and also managed to come from over 20 down in game one. They matched up with the Spurs extremely well, and it showed.

East

Celtics beat Pistons 4-2

The Celtics win 2 out of 3 in Detroit and seem to find their playoff legs. Ray Allen emerges from a horriffic shooting slump, and Doc Rivers figures out how to use his bench.

So after analyzing all of that, let’s look at ESPN’s Experts picks on the NBA Finals

Henry Abbott and Marc Stein- Lakers in 5

Marc Stein knows one team well, and that’s the Mavericks, who are not involved in this series. I was surprised to see Abbott make the pick, though.

JA Adande, Chris Sheridan, David Thorpe, Chad Ford, John Hollinger- Lakers in 6

Adande used to work for the LA Times, so that’s out. Sheridan wrote a fascinating article the other day about how the Celtics couldn’t be champions after blowing a big lead at home in game 5 (they still won and did not fall behind the Pistons). However, he remained eerily silent after the Celtics shook off a horrific offensive foul call on Paul Pierce and a 10 point Pistons lead to win Game 6 on the road. I am sure champions don’t do that either. Hollinger’s prediction scares me a little, because he was the only person I saw who picked the Lakers to beat the Spurs in 5 games. Thorpe is a trainer, so how he is an expert I don’t know, and Ford is your typical NBA Insider who will jump on the bandwagon for fear of being wrong and losing credibility.

Chris Broussard and Jalen “Bowtie” Rose- Lakers in 7

How in the name of god will the Lakers win a game 7 in Boston? Anyone? The only way this happens is if Kobe goes for 81 and 50 points come from the free throw line.

One man dared to go against them

Tim Legler- Celtics in 7

I have no idea what Legler’s scenario is, but I appreciate him going out on a limb here.

My prediction

Matt Boutwell, CMSPLOG Editor, Co-Host of the “Sports Vortex”

Celtics win games 1 ,2 at home, game 4 on the road. Lakers win games 3 and 5 in LA. Game 6 will be a classic but Boston will prevail.

Celtics in 6.

Why am I saying this? No, not because I am a Celtic Fan. No, not because I hate the Lakers, ESPN or what-not. It all goes back to a wonderful little saying you may have heard before.

“Defense Wins Championships”.

In the regular season the Celtics were 2nd in the league in Points allowed, behind Detroit. The Lakers by contrast were 19th in the league in Points allowed.

When I look, position by position, the Celtics have an advantage in 4 out of the 5 positions, the lone Laker advantage being Kobe v Allen. Rondo is going to break out in this series playing against an aging Fisher and a defense lacking Farmar. The Celtics frontcourt matches up very favorable with the Lakers, as Perkins is going to be a pain in Gasol’s backside (hopefully Gasol doesn’t play like a “weenie”, thanks for the quote Phil), Garnett and Pierce against Radmanovic and Odom? Really? Again, outside of Kobe v Allen, I do not see a single matchup that favors the Lakers in this series. Yet here we are, wondering how the poor overmatched Celtics are going to compete with the dominating Lakers, even after the Celtics beat the team most figured would give them the most difficult time in 6 games. We have been here before in sports, Super Bowl XXLII, the USC-Texas Rose Bowl, Memphis-Kansas, and each time, the “experts” were proven wrong. So before you go to Vegas, your local bookie, or your offshore gaming account (those are illegal by the way), think long and hard before annointing the Lakers champions, because it is not going to happen.

Remember, you heard it here first, the Boston Celtics are going to win the Finals in 6 games, and all will be right with the univers again. This one’s for you Red, Reggie, and DJ, this one’s for you!