Just a warning — this is not for the faint of heart.
That guy in the white shirt thought he had the best seat in the house, but it turned out to be the worst.
Author: John Paulsen (Page 236 of 937)
I remember this play when it happened, and I’m glad “BasketballBreakdowns” posted the clip on YouTube.
Fourth quarter, Celtics trailing by two, 72-70, with seven minutes left in the game. Boston had come back from a 17-point deficit, but hadn’t yet been able to tie the game or take the lead. They were on a 9-5 run in the quarter, and had a chance to tie the game with a bucket on this possession.
Rondo missed Pierce on what would have been a pretty easy bucket, and the Lakers scored on Derek Fisher jumpers on the next two possessions to push the lead to six. Had the Celtics scored here and tied the game, the Garden would have gone nuts and it might have changed the outcome.
Paul Pierce is 7-of-23 in the last two games, but he’s not going to credit Ron Artest with better-than-average defense.
“I don’t really see anything he’s doing special that any other teams haven’t done throughout the course of the playoffs,” Pierce said. “That’s it.”
So despite struggling against Artest during the Finals and the regular season, Pierce thinks it’s simply a coincidence some of his worst games have come while Artest is guarding him?
“I think so,” he said.
Those words might make things even tougher for Pierce, since Artest tends to play better when he feels he’s been disrespected.
When Artest was asked about the inevitability of Pierce finding his shooting touch in the series, he stopped the reporter mid-question.
“Who said that?” Artest said. “Who said that it’s inevitable? I don’t know what the game’s going to bring, but I know I’ll be playing better defensively. I don’t like the way I’ve been playing defense, so I’m going to make sure I step up.”
Pierce has missed some open shots, but he doesn’t seem to be getting open looks at his sweet spot, which is about 17-19 feet from the hoop, to the right of the top of the key.
The Celtics need at least two of the “Big 3” to score well to win the series. In Game 3, Allen was a no show and Pierce struggled with his accuracy.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
The New Jersey Nets and ESPN analyst Avery Johnson have reached a verbal agreement to hire Johnson as the Nets’ new coach.
Johnson, who has been working for ESPN since his dismissal from the Dallas Mavericks after the 2007-08 season, was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2005 and took the Mavs to the NBA Finals in 2006. He posted a record of 194-70 in three-plus seasons, good for a winning percentage of .735, and will be reunited in New Jersey with point guard Devin Harris.
This could be a good thing for Harris, who had a nice season in Johnson’s last year in Dallas, averaging 14-2-5 and 48% shooting.
It strikes me as funny that it has taken Johnson this long to get another job. He was 190-74 (.735) in four seasons in Dallas and was the Coach of the Year in 2006.
USA Today spoke with Dick Vitale, who had something to say about the rumor that Tom Izzo might leave Michigan State to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Tom Izzo will not leave the sideline for the Spartans (to take the Cleveland Cavaliers job). Why in the world, if you are an elite coach making millions, would you want three seasons in one, why would you want to go coach a hundred games and go where you could tarnish your resume. Just ask (Rick) Pitino, (John) Calipari…I don’t care if he has LeBron James, he is going to get fired in the NBA. A guy (Cavaliers coach Mike Brown) goes (61-21) and he gets fired.”
Why isn’t Izzo denouncing the rumors?
“Let’s face reality. It is a great way to get more money where you are at. It is a great way to have yourself stroked, we all want to feel love. What does he lose?”
Makes sense to me. I don’t see Izzo leaving unless there’s a guarantee that LeBron re-signs with the Cavs. Even so, it’s still a long shot.
Meanwhile, Waiting For Next Year claims to have a source that says Izzo has already told his players that he’s leaving for Cleveland, while Brian Windhorst (of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer) and Jeff Goodman (of FoxSports) both shot down the rumor.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
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