dlpin

they were draft day trades, so it wasnt much different.

Ainge has been really good at the draft whenever Boston kept its picks. Just look at some of his picks: Perkins (27th pick) Al Jefferson (15th) Delonte West (24th pick) Ryan Gomes (50th) Rondo (21st) Davis (35th) He gave away Randy Foye, but still, solid record. Only 1st round picks that didnt pan out were marcus banks and gerald green. Other than that, never picking higher than 15 he got 1 future all star (al jefferson), 2 starters on a championship team and a few serviceable back ups.

the whole "friendship with McHale" angle has been overplayed and was in reality a very small part of why this deal for KG went down. People just look at them and think this was what happened, but forget all the deals that didnt go through. Phoenix was the frontrunner to land KG, but they didnt want to include Amare in the deal. Then it was Dallas, but they didnt want to include Nowitzki, then it was the lakers, but they didnt want to include Bynum and wanted to dump Odom as well, who is signed for multiple years. With Bynum, Amare and Nowitzki out of the picture, there simply wasnt any other team with a young big man, good draft pick (remember, only one of those draft picks was originally boston's, the other one was Min.s' own pick, which is surely a lottery pick) and enough expiring contracts to make the deal work. It was more like Ainge lucked into this, as opposed to pulling strings with his old friend. This whole thing has to be really, really sour for Suns fans: first D'antoni did not want Thibodeau signed as an assistant coach, then they didnt want to part ways with Amare. Had things gone a little different, it could have been them celebrating the title right now.

it depends on what you mean by what the "celtics did". This season was a large part luck with some savvy management on the background. As a celtics fan, I was originally against the Allen trade. One aging Allen was not the missing piece of the puzzle for a very young celtics team that was built in many ways like the hawks are now. It didnt make sense to me at the time, until it became apparent that that was a move to draw KG in. And the KG trade was pure, 100% luck. If it wasn't for dallas and phoenix making the huuuge mistakes of getting picky when dealing with the wolves, the celtics would never get him. So you can't really force that, as there is no comparable superstar on the move now. What the Hawks can and should emulate is the careful creation of a good coaching staff. Tom Thibodeau and the other new assistant coach (whose name escapes me right now) were really, really key. It seems the hawks are going with Woodson for now. Trying to get someone like d*ck harter could really do wonders for this team.

Quote: Regarding Doc Rivers: I think a lot of his problems come from Boston fans. They are a fickle and passionate fanbase. Personally, I can't speak to how well or how poorly he was doing his job. I do know that he used a deep rotation in the regular season this year, and it helped him to get solid contributions from his bench and kept his starters fresh. Glen Davis, PJ Brown, and Eddie House were all more valuable than ANYONE (except Chillz) off of our bench all season, and those guys are the bottom of the Celtics bench. Boston fans clamor and make a ton of noise at the first sign of trouble-they've wanted to fire Terry Francona of the Red Sox a few times, even after 2004 when the Red Sox finally won a championship. Personally, I've always tried to be fair to head coaches. I defended three straight coaching regimes for the Falcons and have tried to talk to the loud-but-empty vessels who want to fire Bobby Cox. But Mike Woodson is perhaps the worst coach/manager of any sport in Atlanta since I've been old enough to follow them. It goes way beyond just boston fans. First of all, he took over a playoff team, lost in the first round (just as he had in Orlando), and then managed to miss the playoffs with basically the same team. It took him 9 years in the NBA as a head coach to win a playoff series. And it wasnt just Celtics fans saying nasty things about him: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-3...hy-Scandal.html " There are a lot of coaches who do a poor job with what I call the mathematics of the game, but to be fair, maybe they are better at other aspects of their job like motivation or player development. However, I have a hard time believing that Doc Rivers could ever make up for his in-game strategy with his ability to motivate or develop players. I would like to have seen how the Celtics would have fared this year if they didn't hire Tom Thibodeau to install a great defensive system. If Popovich is the guy you lean to if you are unsure of what to do, Rivers is certainly the guy you look to if you want to know what NOT to do." And this is exactly what most have thought, not just Cs fans: Doc is a great motivator, "player's coach," who has no idea about the Xs and Os. Some people have tried to say that outcoaching Phil Jackson has been his doing, but Doc himself has said that the strategy for game 4 (going small) was decided by the assistant coaches.

In a month no one will remember this. Because the truth is, the vast majority of champions struggle at times during the playoffs, we just forget about it afterwards, with all the myth building that goes on once someone is crowned. Lakers in 2000 went 3-2 against the eigth seed, and lost 8 games in a time when round 1 was still best of 5. Those houston teams went the max number of games in 2 series also. The 88 lakers had 3 straight 7 game series. I could go on... I understand your personal dislike for the celtics, but the thing is, if they win it all it will not be in any unusual way. Sure, we probably wont be comparing them to the great teams of all times, but its certainly not unusual the way theyve gone about it.

Quote: Yeah, but why was this the first time that a ref has been pushed (by KG) and no suspension followed? What's the league stance? He did it in the heat of the moment? Aren't all refs pushed in the heat of the moment? IF KG is removed for game 5, the Hawks win the series in 6. What? Boston won game 5 by 25 without any of its starters playing more than 40 minutes, in a game where the hawks shot twice as many free throws. Garnett is good, but not that good.

Quote: What was in 2002. According to the Donaldghy(sp?), there was another instance in 2005. There was probably another one in the playoff this year in the Bos vs Hawks series. Oh, c'mon. Its throwing quotes like this in discussions about legit considerations that makes it easier for the league to just throw all who call for more transparency in officiating "conspiracy nuts." Never mind the FT differential, or the fact that Boston's smallest margin of victory at home was 19 points... In some games refs helped the home team a bit, but to call the series fixed? Closest thing to fixed series this year have been the was-cle, la-utah and la-spurs series. I dont think the league cared who, among cleveland, boston and detroit, was going to the finals this year against LA, as all match ups had profitable "sub plots" (lebron- kobe, bad boys-magic/kobe blowing up the team in 04 vs the reason it happened, historic dinasty). The "fix" in the east was in terms of making sure the stars played. When Sheed was a T away from suspension he was going on profanity laden tirades against the refs, throwing towels at camera men, etc, and nothing happened.

well, but the celtics actually gave up something to get something. The Garnett trade was probably the best deal the wolves could get, as Al jefferson will likely go to 5-7 all star games, and minnesota got their draft pick back. Gasol hadnt really been playing well this past year and a half, but remember, he was the best player on a 49 win team in the west, and the lakers gave up absolutely nothing of value to get him, same for a proven PG. Lakers went from a 5th, 6th seed to a 1 in 2 months because of that. I get it that given the physical series that was hawks-celtics, a hawks fan would dislike the celtics. But the two things you have mentioned against the celtics actually apply more to the lakers than the celtics. Celtics were suddenly improved because of trades? Yeah, sure, but they had to give up their future because of that, and settle for a 2-3 year window. Lakers gave up nothing and have a legitimate shot at a dinasty, considering they've been this good without bynum, which would solve lakers rebounding problem. Character? Yeah, PP throwing up signs at Holford was classless, but you have Kobe on the other side. Phil Jackson has stated publicly that he wasnt surprised that Kobe was accused of rape. How much of a bastard does one have to be that your coworkers say something like that about him?

video game team? If this was a finals against the spurs or any other western team, that'd be the case. But against the "gasol and fisher for free" lakers that is not really the case. In any case, its not a matter of heart, its a matter of going away from what works, which is entirely Doc's fault. The celtics have been killing the lakers on the boards and in the paint, so what does doc do in the 4th? Goes small with rondo, allen, posey, pierce and KG. I really have no idea what was going on on Doc's mind. Was he testing that formation, thinking the game was in the bag?

and Doc is no Phil Jackson. How in the world can someone blow a 24 point lead without making any adjustments?

Cancer is such a cruel disease. I lost my father in january after there were complications in his surgery to remove a tumor from his esophagus. That is the thing with the disease: there are no easy treatments. I hope she gets through this. In any case, I thought I should take this opportunity to talk about something that I think is crucial, which is HPV vaccination, as that was part of a research project I was involved with a while back. 1 in 145 women in the US will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in their lifetimes. HPV infection is a necessary condition for the development of cervical cancer, and it is also associated with several other types of cancer (vulvar, oropharyngeal). While existing vaccines do not protect against all types of HPV, they protect against the ones most commonly associated with cancer. So tell the girls and women in your life to get vaccinated. And, more importantly tell your insurance companies and your gov. representatives that they should step up and foot some of the bill, as the vaccine currently costs between 300 and 500 dollars. Mathematical simulations estimate that if we start vaccinating every 12 year old against HPV, cervical cancer mortality rates would decline by around 76% (not to mention other types of cancer, although they are rarer). And, contrary to popular belief, oncogenic HPV (i.e., HPV that can lead to cancer) is not just sexually transmitted. So abstinence is not enough. By the way, your niece's doctor probably knows this, but just to be safe keep in mind that there is a small but real possibility of HPV being transmitted to the child during childbirth.

in no particular order night of the living dead (original) 28 days later silence of the lambs the shining original "freddy" friday the 13th part 6 alien aliens jaws halloween (just 1) birds army of darkness the devils backbone (from the same director of pan's labyrinth and hellboy) and Ive hear great things about a spanish movie called "rec", which I should watch this weekend

I might be just seeing things, but to me the 4th quarter last night it seemed like the lakers of last year and beyond: Kobe trying to do everything himself, not involving his teammates, and his teammates mentally checking out of the game because of that. Every laker player said that "ball movement" was a problem, which is basically code for calling Kobe a ballhog. Now, just going back to the main topic: I cant believe I forgot a more relevant "thrown together team" for this discussion- the Lakers themselves, and the highway robbery that was the Gasol trade. Boston at least gave up Al Jefferson (a guy that will probably go to several all star games) and Minnesota's own draft pick (likely to be in the lottery).

while I am a celtics fan, I am not disagreeing with you. Im just saying that it is not unprecedented, and the NBA hype machine often makes us forget about all that. The western conference in the 80s was atrocious, and no one brings that up when talking about the lakers and magic. The 2 times the lakers failed to make the finals in the 80s was when they lost to a 40 win rockets in 81 and a 51 win rockets in 86. A team with a losing record made the finals and nowadays everyone simply forgets about that. And as far as earning their dues, if the Cs win it its not unprecedented either. 81 Boston won it all in the first season after a blockbuster trade got them Parrish and McHale. And these are examples I can think of as a Celtics fan. I am sure there are others, (im not sure, but didnt the rockets acquire Drexler midseason before winning their titles in the 90s?)

while it is certainly less than impressive, it is not unprecedented for a team to have tough series against teams with much worse records, and often these series end up being forgotten. 84 celtics were taken to 7 games by 5th seed NY. LA won it all in 1988 playing 3 straight 7 game series.

Well, if the assistant in question is Thibodeau, then this is his first season with the C's too, and he has been credited with much of the defensive turn around the Cs have experienced. Most, if not all, the teams he was an assistant coach with (knicks, rockets, now celtics) ranked in the top 5 in defense in the league. He is an awesome Xs and Os kind of guy, but the question remains as to whether he can effectively lead and motivate NBA players as a head coach. After all, he's been an assistant at the NBA level for almost 20 years, and an assistant at the college level before that, and prior to this year he was never really considered for any head coaching jobs at any level (other than for one year in college in his alma mater, before accepting a post as assistant at harvard). When someone is this successfull as an assistant and no organizations he's worked in ever considered him for HC, you have to question his ability to move from tapes and Xs and Os to actual head coaching a team.

Quote: Quote: Fisher is not better than Rando. LA has the better bench though and the better coach. but I bet fisher outsmarts him with his experience, plus he is a lot stronger and should be able to take him to the basket. And don't forget the coaches. The Zen Master has been there as many times as anyone. he could be the difference. Unfortunately, as a celtics fan I have to agree here and say that the key match up, and one that the cs will lose, is phil jackson vs doc. Just look at their capacity of making in game adjustments: the lakers have been down by 15 or even 20 in the second half, only to come back and win it, while the celtics have done the exact opposite- being up 10 or more in the 2nd half only to blow it or almost blow it. When you add that jackson was making those game saving adjustments against Sloan and Pop, while Doc couldnt counter what woody, mike brown and flip saunders threw at him, and the differences between the two become just too much to counter.

Quote: Those Boston fans are spoiled as hell, but they dont have a chance against the black momba Kobe Bean Bryant keep in mind that I only like the celtics, so i cant really say how it "feels" like, but if now boston fans are in a pretty good place, just remember that, other than cleveland fans (who saw the browns relocate and win a superbowl), I dont think any fan base had it worse than boston from about late june 2006 to the first pats SB victory. Let's see: Len Bias's death 86 World Series Reggie Lewis' death ML Carr era (15-67, only to lose out on duncan and end on 3rd on the draft) Pitino era (which basically pushed out Red Auerbach and Bird - which went on to achieve some success in Indiana) Ray Bourque leaving Boston only to immediately win stanley cup. Its one thing to be losers, its another to lose so spectacularly.

Anyone else paying attention to the Sonics/OKC saga? http://sonicscentral.com/blog/ I think this is Stern's most glaring failure as a commish. What Bennett has been trying to pull is shameful, and the fact that he is going along with it is just as bad. And not only the way theyve been trying to get a team to OKC is dishonest, but it doesnt even make business sense. OKC would be the 3rd smallest market in terms of population and the smallest market in terms of population's disposable income. Within a decade they would be begging to relocate again. It is a hail mary at this point, but I really hope the starbucks owner gets the team back and keep it in seattle.

that was a BS no call, but its poetic justice that a team that has flopped as much as the spurs have, has played dirty at times (suns last year, hornets this) loses a game because they didnt "sell" a foul enough.

so much for the conspiracy theory... at least 3 absolutely bogus calls against the celtics so far...

as Bronnt mentioned, 82games.com has that info, but its a bit cumbersome to get to it. Click on team, player name and then player stats. Unfortunately, you cant sort it by that stat.

he refused to play in the copa america, and is still the captain of the USMNT.

Donovan is still captain of the US team...