5/16/2017 Kelly Olynyk the Unlikely Hero in Boston Celtics Game 7 Win over the Washington WizardsRead NowBy DjackWizards-Celtics game 7 did not disappoint whatsoever, unless you were a Wizards fan of course. What happened last night was awesome, it was magical, and it likely had to be related to an act of God. I'd love to say Isaiah Thomas dropped 45 points in some ruthless, I'm taking over game 7 type shit, but he didn't. He had a good game dropping 29 points shooting just under 50%. The hero for the Celtics in game 7 was Kelly Olynyk, his fourth quarter performance elevated the Celtics leading them to the game 7 victory over the Wizards. Well, I can't give Olynyk's performance total credit because the lack of John Wall's is the reason the Celtics are advancing .
Olynyk didn't even play 30 minutes in this game, yet his impact was tremendous. Just goes to show you it's not how much time you have, it's what you do with the time you have that matters. Olynyk dropped 26 points on 71% shooting from the field. Olynyk's 4th quarter performance was what really made him have a night that Celtics fans will never forget. The big guy hit two huge threes along with three more shots inside the arc, throw in a couple of free throws, and he had 14 points alone in the 4th quarter, pretty spectacular stuff from a role player. Just to prove how efficient he was in the 4th quarter he only missed one shot, last night no one could've stopped Olynyk. Never a better time in his life to get hot in a basketball game, truly amazed with what I saw last night, I'm actually still pinching myself a little. As for John Wall, what a joke of a superstar, matter of fact, he doesn't even deserve that superstar title, so consider it revoked. I don't care what he did in the previous games, John Wall feared the big moment like so many other fake superstars before him and came up short handed in the biggest game of his life. I can't knock a guy for losing if he plays his best, but what John Wall did last night was embarrassing, and should be a wake up call for him. Wall didn't score a single bucket in the last 20 minutes of last night's game. That's almost half the fucking game, what was he taking a break, this is game 7 guy what are you waiting for. Kelly Olynyk showed up John Wall last night, if that doesn't completely embarrass him, then he clearly doesn't care about winning, and the Wizards are just wasting their time. You know who showed up? Bradley Beal, 38 points, was lights out from the field, but the super hero to his sidekick let him down. Looks like Beal is the alpha on this team after all. Anyways, Celtics fans I don't want you getting too excited. You basically just guaranteed a spot to get swept and embarrassed by the Cavs on national TV. Not only that, but they're about to show you how far you really are from a championship caliber team, and I think that's where Celtics fans will reach a slight depression. Although, they'll end up with a top 3 pick in the lottery tonight, hard to imagine the fans of Boston will have a tough time being upset about the state of their basketball franchise right now. The one thing they're missing is the most important, no one wins the East as long as Lebron is running it, which means they may have to wait awhile. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
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5/15/2017 Gregg Popovich is Irate with Zaza Pachulia's Foul on Kawhi Leonard That will Force Him to Miss Game 2Read NowBy DjackIf you haven't already, watch this: Love the savagery by Pop, what do you expect, though, the guy is a straight shooter. He thought the play was dirty and he let his thoughts be known. Pop was dead right too, I mean obviously no one besides Pachulia truly knows if he did it on purpose, although when you got a track record like Pachulia has it's hard to ignore what he's capable of. It did spark the Warriors comeback and completely put a hault to the Spurs momentum. If Mike Brown called for Pachulia to take him out it was a genius move, even though it is very fucked up to hurt the opponent to beat them.
Now, I'm seeing people say Popovich has no right to complain because Bruce Bowen, who played for Pop like 15 years ago used to do the same shit. Except back then it wasn't against the rules to do that and it was more widely accepted. Now there's rules against it and it's viewed dirty regardless. Kawhi is officially ruled out for game 2 and the Warriors officially are going to cake walk to a sweep. It looked like the Spurs were going to make this an interesting series, but now all hope for that is gone with Kawhi being out. If I was Pop I'd be fucking pissed too, you're about to win game 1 on the road against the best team in the league, and they play dirty injuring your best player in order to beat you, that's just busch league. Typical Warriors, bunch of scumbags on that team with 0 class or respect for the game. By DjackShout out to the late Dennis Green for this one, it's only fitting with the type of lead the Spurs lost last night. Up by 20 points at halftime the Spurs were cruising to a game 1 victory at Oracle that would've shocked the world. Instead, everything that could've possibly went wrong, did go wrong. At halftime, if I were a gambling man I would've put my life on the Warriors in the second half. I mean really it's common sense, how many times have we seen them come out cold, and then in the second half go on some crazy run, somehow winding up winning by 20. Well, last night wouldn't go exactly like that, although it would lead to the same result. The Spurs are up 20 at halftime, then with about 8 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter Kawhi Leonard goes down after spraining his ankle by landing on Zaza Pachulia's foot. They were up 23 points when he exited the game. That means they had a 23 point lead with 20 minutes left to play, pretty solid cushion. Obviously, it wasn't enough. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant went on an offensive tirade making shot after shot, seeming like they never really missed. Thompson and Green were kinda non factors offensively which was nice for the Spurs to no have to worry about. Curry and Durant were already too much for them to handle, though, as the Spurs watched their lead diminish quickly. With under 2 minutes to go in regulation it was Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge trading buckets. I'll tip my cap to Aldridge, he finally stepped up, made some big plays when he needed to late, but he clearly needed that other scoring option. Ginobili had a clutch bucket late, but the Warriors were too much offensively, threes are worth more than twos, and eventually that started adding up. Warriors won the game 113-111, Spurs only hope at winning a game on the road is lost, inevitably leading them to get swept, or eliminated after 5 games. Who knows if Kawhi is coming back, I doubt the Spurs can duplicate this performance even if he does, so I won't bother getting my hopes up. The Warriors are who we thought they were, a good team full of softest kids you know. A team that would've gotten bullied in the 80's and 90's. A team that's apparently impossible to beat even when they go down by 20 plus. 'll let Dennis Green finish this rant for me. By DjackCeltics-Wizards the battle of the already beaten, these two continue to go to war with each other, ultimately to end up losers in the Eastern Conference Final at the hands of the Cavs. After 7 games of hard fought battle, they'll have to re-energize for their hardest task yet, and that task will have been waiting for them on a week of rest. Regardless, you play to win the game, so these teams don't care what's ahead, they care about the challenge at hand.
Celtics had a 3-2 lead entering the night, Wizards were playing at home however, and no team has lost at home yet in this series. As a matter of fact, in this series the home team has won by like 20 + plus in every game so far, except one. Game 6 would be a nice change of pace from that. Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley had big night's for the Celtics. Both of them had 27 points at a combined 43% shooting, pretty solid night from the Celtics back court. Too bad the Wizards back court had a much bigger night. John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 59 points on 47% shooting. It wasn't a pretty game by any means, it was a grind it out game, and it was up to the stars on both teams to hit the big shots. Al Hortford hit a big shot to give the Celtics a late lead, the shot that was thought to be the game winner. Then, John Wall made up for missing that shot at the end of game 2, by knocking down a 3 as time was winding down. He drilled the shot right in the face of Avery Bradley and it probably should've been an and 1. There was still time left on the clock, Isaiah Thomas took a 3 for the win, and it bricked out, Wizards win sending the series to game 7. John Wall, had his first real superstar moment last night. Hitting a big 3 to win your team a game facing elimination in the playoffs is how you build a legendary resume in this league, not regular season stats. Glad to see John Wall has matured as a player and has fully developed into the superstar that we thought he'd be coming out of Kentucky. Bradley Beal actually living up to his $120 million contract for once last night was a nice sight, if he does that in game 7 it'll be hard for the Celtics to overcome and win. Home team is yet to lose a game and unfortunately for the Wizards I don't think that'll change. Winning game 7 on the road is tough and the Wizards blew their chance to get a road win in games 1 and 2, now it'll come back to haunt them. By DjackApparently, the star point guard of the Toronto Raptors is interested in heading back to his home town of Philly to play basketball. Bleacher Report reported this, so it's hard to know how much truth is really behind this, although it's still interesting to think about. Would Lowry in Philadelphia be a good fit? I certainly think so.
The Sixers have plenty of big men already, so they definitely don't need to add anymore talent at the 4 or the 5. Ben Simmons is probably going to be a Lebron type player, he'll be positioned at the 3, but he'll be more of a point forward. That just leaves the guard positions to be filled, which have been the biggest void on this team for quite some time. They get Lowry to come to Philly that's a helluva a point guard to come in right away and help this team win ball games. Kyle Lowry is a proven all star, adding him to that young core of players they have stock piled, will help them win now, while developing their superstars of the future. Lowry is 31 years old and as a point guard in the NBA that means you only have a couple more years left at the top of your game. If Lowry wants a ring going to Philly isn't really a smart choice, although if you aren't going to Cleveland or Golden State you aren't really ring chasing. Those are obviously not viable options for him. This is probably the best move other than just staying Toronto. Why not help lead the Sixers back to the playoffs for the first time in what feels like ages. Rep his hometown right and end his career there. Kyle Lowry going back home to Philly makes a ton of sense, so I really wouldn't be surprised if it happened. 5/10/2017 Manu Ginobili Turns Back the Clock in Game 5 to Win it for the Spurs Over the Rockets in OTRead NowBy DjackThis has easily been the worst postseason I've seen in 15 years of watching basketball. Last night, was a rare occurence, a close game that was a nail bitter, something we haven't seen very often this postseason. This game for one night made you forget the NBA postseason has been an absolute atrocity. I bet a lot of you actually didn't even bother to watch due to how bad the NBA playoffs have been. Not this game, though, this game was impressive, it was vintage Spurs vs the explosive Rockets, and it was 53 minutes of great basketball.
The game was neck and neck throughout, at no point did either side have a commanding lead. Trading bucket for buckets all game long, Harden vs Kawhi, who would win the battle of best superstar on the floor. Game essentially looked like it'd come down to whoever had the last shot. Then, Kawhi Leonard goes down with a knee injury with about 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. All Spurs fans lose hope, the Rockets are going to win this game, and then they have home court advantage in game 6 as well. The Spurs looked like they were gonna be dead. All the sudden Manu Ginobili, the last one remaining from the old big 3 Spurs, no Parker, no Duncan, and somehow 40 year old Manu Ginobili carries the Spurs. In the 4th quarter he hit a couple of big shots to keep them alive. At the end of regulation, Patty Mills, put up a three for the win, he hit it, but after a review it showed he released it too late. In OT the Spurs had a 3 point lead, even without Kawhi they were battling tough, willing themselves to a heroic effort. Rockets had one last chance to tie it up, everyone in the building knew who'd be taking the shot. The ball is inbounded to Harden, he sets up, goes to fire off a wide open shot, and then Manu Ginobili comes from behind blocking the shit out of the shot, and the Spurs hold onto win. Manu Ginobili is the hero of the game, after looking so old all season he turned back the clock in this playoff game as he has done so many times before. Ginobili had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and one game winning block. Great game for him, and not to mention he finished with a +/_ of +8 the best of any player on the court. Hopefully, we get more this action in game 6. It was so nice to finally see a good basketball game for once this postseason. If Kawhi comes back healthy, Spurs shouldn't have a problem closing this series out since they get game 7 at home if they are to lose game 6 on the road. Harden played good in game 5, but he didn't play outstanding. Outstanding is what it takes to win the big playoff games and Harden needs to learn that. Rockets can still win this series, they just need their superstar to be a superstar. By DjackThe Utah Jazz should have one priority this offseason, do whatever they possibly can to convince Gordon Hayward to stay in Utah. Hayward's progression in Utah has taken several years, but it finally came to fruition this year when he made the all-star team. Hayward had steadily gotten better each and every year he's been in the league, however this year he took that next step. Hayward is now a star in this league, something that doesn't come around everyday, so the Jazz need to make sure they bring him back. I'm sure they're willing to offer him the max deal and I'm sure he'll be able to get the new super max if he stays with Utah. The financial incentive will be there to stay in Utah, although it may take more than that to keep a star of Hayward's talents in such a small market.
If Gordon Hayward goes somewhere else he won't make nearly as much money, even though once you start getting into the $100 million range I think winning starts becoming a more important factor than a few extra million. Also, if Hayward goes to a bigger market he gets more eyes on him, which means shoes deals, commercials, and a shit ton of cash. Money isn't going to be enough to keep him in Utah, the Jazz need a plan, and a damn good one if they want Gordon Hayward to stay with their franchise. Jazz have some nice pieces and they proved they're a top 4 team in the western conference. The thing is that the difference between #4 in the west and #1 in the west is gigantic. The Warriors are 2 or 3 great players better than the Jazz. Ultimately, the Jazz need to find a way to get two other stars in Utah or there's no hope. I don't expect them to be able to get them right away, but if they can convince Hayward how they're going to get him some star players around him then I believe he'll have no issue staying. One problem, no one is going to want to come to Utah. That's the sad reality of the situation, location matters, and let's be honest Utah isn't the hottest spot on the map. If the Jazz aren't able to develop two superstars, and I don't see two potential superstars other than Hayward on that team, then Hayward isn't staying. Tell you right now, Utah isn't getting a superstar in free agency, never have, never will. There you have it, Gordon Hayward probably isn't staying in Utah. If he cares about the money more than anything else he'll stay because that's how he'll maximize his bankroll. However, if he wants to win big playoff games, create a legacy, and become a true NBA superstar, he'll go somewhere that makes that possible. I hear the Thunder need someone to compliment with Russell Westbrook, so maybe he'd be a fit in OKC. Also, the Clippers might looking to switch things up maybe they bring in Gordon Hayward to add a completely different element to their team. Nothing is final yet, all we can do is speculate, I do believe Gordon Hayward will be somewhere other than Utah this July. By Muk
After KD tucked his tail between his leg's and headed for Golden State like a coward, leaving Russell Westbrook and the Thunder hanging high and dry, it seemed that it would be a far-fetched idea for Russ and KD to get back on speaking terms, as KD apparently never even let Westbrook know about his plans. But now, according to Kendrick Perkins, from last night's amazing "Area 21", after Brodie broke the Triple-Double record, KD had called him, and the two had a nice conversation.
I am team Westbrook until I die, and I was even before the two split, but I would rather see these two guys not hate each other, because I ultimately hope KD returns to OKC and helps bring a title to the Thunder. Most people don't expect Russell Westbrook to ever leave OKC, at least not anytime soon, especially after the very public KD situation, and there's a much better chance KD comes back to OKC after he gets his precious little piggy-back Championship. If one of these two was going to reach out to the other, it absolutely had to be KD calling Westbrook, because KD is the one who did Russ dirty. If this is a step in the right direction for the two, I am happy about it, because I really did love KD until his Golden State move, and I would love to see him and Russell back being the best duo in the NBA in seasons to come. 5/9/2017 Unless The Cavs vs. Warriors Series Is The Greatest Finals Ever, The NBA Lost This SeasonRead NowBy MukThere's one word to describe the 2016-2017 NBA season and especially NBA Playoffs, and that is pathetic. Never in all my years as a sports fan, have I seen a less competitive, and more boring display of games on the professional level. Not only did the season suck, since everyone knew that no matter what, no team in the East could be the Cavs, and no team in the West would be the Warriors, but now that Playoffs have been downright miserable. We have the Cavs and Warriors both sweeping their fist and second-round opponents, which is much less a showing of how good they are, but just how bad the rest of the Conference is.
For the Western Conference, the Thunder vs. Rockets series was pretty fun, only because watching Russell Westbrook and James Harden play at the same time is almost always a decent showing. The Spurs and Grizzlies series was a pretty good one as well, with both teams battling, but in the end, it was only good because no one even expected a banged-up Grizzlies team to even compete. The Clippers and Jazz series was only enjoyable for anyone who loves seeing the Clippers completely collapse time and time again. And finally the Warriors vs. Blazers series was a joke. As for the East, the Cavs and Pacers series was pretty good, except that when push came to shove the Pacers just couldn't hang with the Cavs, so we only got 4 games out of that series regardless. The Raptors and Bucks seemed promising, but that series quickly changed as the Bucks inexperience showed and the Raptors closed it out. The Wizards and Hawks series was only good because of the "drama", with players from both sides jawing at each other over hard fouls and being soft. The Bulls and Celtics series was actually a good one - until Rondo went down with an injury, and then it was brutal to watch. Now in the second round, once again the Cavs and Warriors swept their opponents, and there wasn't a minute of those series worth watching. At first glance the Spurs and Rockets series is a good one, as it's tied at 2 games a piece, but the games have been so lopsided it's not even enjoyable to watch. The only saving grace from the playoffs so far has been the Wizards and Celtics series, but that series has no silver lining, because everyone knows that the winner of the series can't hang with the Cavs, and LeBron truly doesn't even care who he plays against because he knows it's not even going to 7 games, maybe 6 if they're lucky. The NBA is a joke, no way around it. The amount of individual talent in the league may be at it's all-time peak, but the team talent is at the lowest it has ever been in my opinion. There are 7 of the top-20 players in the league on two teams, leaving the other 28 teams to fight for the remaining 13, which is truly pathetic. I want to blame LeBron, for starting this back with the Heat, but KD's snake move to the Warriors is far and away the worst thing to happen to basketball, and the league is just going to continue in a downward spiral if everyone just keep ganging up to play with the best teams in the league. By Muk
So last night, the 2008 Celtics began their "reunion tour", as KG, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Glen "Big Baby" Davis all appeared on KG's TNT "Area 21" segment, and they spoke as a group for the first time about the situation with Ray Allen.
As most of you know, KG, Pierce, and Allen came together in the 2007-2008 season, forming the first of the modern "Big 3's". The Celtics already had Paul Pierce, and traded for Ray Allen & Big Baby from the Sonics, and then soon after traded for KG from the Wolves. The Celtics absolutely killed it in the 2007-2008 season, and went on to win the 2008 Championship over the Lakers in a great Finals, with Pierce earning Finals MVP honors. The Celtics core seemed to be not only unstoppable, but a true family unit. In the following season, they would have a great regular season, but fell in the 2nd-round of the playoffs as KG was hurt shortly after the All-Star break. They weren't done however, as the next season, 2009-2010, with Rondo emerging as a genuine star in his own right, they found themselves back in the NBA Finals, despite being the 4th Seed in the East (largely due to Doc Rivers resting his stars for more minutes and games then they should have been). After jumping out to a 3-2 lead in the Finals over the Lakers, they dropped Game 6 after Kendrick Perkins suffered a devastating knee injury early in the game, and blew a big lead in Game 7, as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers took home the title, giving Bryant his 5th and final ring. Their core players returned for the 2010-2011 season, and they also added veterans Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal, as Perkins injury was likely going to keep him out until February of 2011. The acquisition of Shaq eventually lead to Perkins being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder that season, and the Celtics then struggled down the line as Shaq found himself battling injuries. After sweeping the Knicks in Round-1, they lost to the eventual NBA Champions, the Miami Heat, in 5 games in the second round, and Shaq retired after the season. This is where the story gets good - because although the Celtics had struggled the season before, they felt it was largely due to the injuries they dealt with, and they still believed that they were as good as they needed to be to make a run for the title. Not only that, but with the Heat forming their own "Big 3" in the 2010-2011 off-season, in D-Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh, the Celtics developed a genuine rivalry and hatred for Miami. So after the 2011 season ended, Ray Allen rejected the Celtics offer to resign with them, and headed South to play with the Heat in pursuit of another ring. The Celtics core of Pierce, Garnett, and Rondo took that very personally, because according to them, not only did Ray Allen not even give them a heads up, but he joined their bitter rival, and seemingly turned his back on them. The rest, is history, as Allen went on to win the Heat Game 6 against the Spurs, which led to him adding another ring in 2012, and then was a vital role in the Heats' 2013 Championship as well. Not only did the Celtics feel a continuing resentment towards the Heat as the two teams continued to battle to be the Eastern Conference Champions, they felt their hatred shift towards Ray Allen himself, as according to them, not only did Allen never tell them of his plans, but he still, to this day, has not reached out to make amends. The Celtics 2008 reunion tour will continue on, without Ray Allen, but according to their '08 squad (aside from Rondo who I assume genuinely hates Allen), all Allen has to do is reach out if he wants to move forward. You can see the full interview of what the '08 squad has to say about Allen below, and truthfully, I don't blame them one bit for their resentment.
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AuthorDjack- Chief editor Archives
March 2018
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