Nobody really expected a late January match-up against the Sacramento Kings at the Boston Garden to be much of a game, but then again, nobody talked to Eddie House about it. The Celtics handled the Kings 119-100, so there wasn't much competition happening, but there sure was excitement as the Celtics picked up their ninth straight win.

Where did the excitement come from? Somewhere beyond the three point arch as Eddie House continued his absolute domination of the perimeter. House made 8 of 9 three pointers and is making a strong case for himself to participate in the 3-point shooting contest in the all star game.

I have to be honest, when I watched Eddie House on Sunday against the Mavs, I thought he was a bit selfish and all he ever wanted to do was get the ball so he could shoot, but I have since changed my tone. The guy hussles on every play and is always looking to make the right play, which 8 times out of 9 last night he did.

Then there was the small matter of Rajon Rondo who had another GAME and made a bigger case for himself to be included on the East roster of the All Star team (even though he'll probably be left off the list.) As goes Rajon so goes the Celtics and anytime that's the case you know a guy should be at least considered for the all-star roster.

So the Celtics move on to prepare to play in Detroit on Friday. Nobody envy's that. Who wants to spend their Friday night in the Motor City? I know I don't. Looking for their 10th win in a row and to continue their second longest winning streak of the season, keeping hope alive that they will match or beat the season record set by the Bulls who went 72-10. I know the C's are aiming a little higher than that, 73-9, here we come!!

Labels: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Eddie House, Rajon Rondo, Sacramento Kings

So the C's are back on track right...oh wait three wins in a row versus the Atlantic Division do count right? Of course they do. This could be just what the Celts need to get back that championship swagger that the Green had during that 19 game win streak.This could not have come at a better time, with just one more against the Nets. The Celts will only have 6 more games before February and none of the remaining are long flights out west or down to Texas. Thus allowing Doc to do what the majority of Celtic nation want him to, which is rest the big three.

Last nights beat down gave the starting 5 (yes include Scalabrine in that)the fourth quarter off for the first time in memory. I'm not saying the rest of this month is going to be a breeze what with road games versus Orlando, Miami, and Detroit but again neither are far from home and the Florida games are back to back which is not a big deal. The C's should look at this stretch of 7 and should at least go 6-1 or 5-2.

Am I being a little too optimistic right now? I mean it's only three straight vs the Atlantic but if you watched those games you could start to see that swagger and the fun that has been missing from these past few weeks. Plus with a month till the All-Star break this stretch of days off before games and some extra rest could give them a huge advantage getting ready for the final two and half months or to be cliche' the stretch run.

scotty@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: all star break, All Star Game, atlantic division, big three, Boston Celtics, brian scalabrine, Detroit Pistons, Doc Rivers, florida, miami heat, Orlando magic

A source from the NBA is saying that the Nuggets and Pistons have agreed in principle to a 4 player deal. Detroit would receive Allen Iverson in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. The deal has not yet been finalized, though when it is the landscape in the East will be different. Will it benefit Team Green? We shall see.

- timmy@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: allen iverson, antonio mcdyess, chauncey billups, cheikh samb, denver nuggets, Detroit Pistons, NBA, trade

It’s kind of like when the Detroit Pistons couldn’t get past the Boston Celtics back in the 80’s. It was a playoff rivalry that wasn’t much of a rivalry, because it was always so lopsided and the Celtics would always come out on top. That was, until the Pistons finally broke through the big green wall that was the Big Three in 1987 and made it over that hurdle.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been here before. In 2004, they were swept by the Boston Red Sox who eventually went on to win the World Series. In 2007, it was the same story. So what about 2008? Will it be a repeat? Will the Red Sox take three and be done or will the Angels being the best team in baseball slip past the Red Sox to win the ALDS?

Labels: Bill Walton, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Pistons, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim, New York Yankees

Dear Dad,

I can still hear the pounding of the basketball on the pavement and the swish of the basket as my shot hit the bottom of the net at six in the morning before any other kid in the neighborhood was up. I wasn’t alone though as most kids who practiced that early in the morning were, you were there with me. Pushing me to work harder, to run faster, to dribble with my left hand and to always be the best I could be.

My dream was always to be a member of the Boston Celtics. I wanted to be the next Larry Bird and you always encouraged me and challenged me to be that player. You never doubted my abilities and you always taught me to reach for my goal no matter how hard it may seem to achieve. I didn’t make it to the NBA; in fact, I didn’t even play high school basketball. I did, however, learn a very valuable lesson out there during those early morning shoot arounds with you, I learned that no matter what obstacle stands in your way, no matter how hard a challenge may seem, there is always someone, standing by your side, cheering you on and for me dad, you were that someone.

The lessons I learned on the basketball court in my early years with you by my side, have carried over to my life today. I know, that if I work hard to achieve something I truly desire, I can make it happen. I also know that if I fail and fall flat on my face, there’ll always be someone there to pick me up, dust me off and say, go get ‘em next time. I have fallen down and I have gotten right back up, at six in the morning and hit that court again.

Through basketball you also taught me the spirit of competition. I remember sitting on the floor in our living room, watching as The Legend battled Bill Laimbeer and the hated Detroit Pistons. We would watch every game together and cheer on the good guys. I remember the song you used to sing when they would show Bill Laimbeer crying over a bad call, sarcastically you would sing, “Baby face, you got that cutest little baby face.” I still to this day sing that song whenever I see an opponent whining about a call.

I also remember though, the respect you showed “hated” rivals. When Magic Johnson helped beat the Celtics, I remember you saying what a great player he was and what a great series that it was. It was a respect that was shown because he was a real competitor, like Larry Bird was. He didn’t complain, he didn’t argue, as you said, he just played the game.

So, as I sit here on this Father’s Day gearing up to root on the Celtics to their 17th championship banner, I will be thinking about you. You are far away today, but in so many respects you’ll be sitting right next to me on the couch. They have made it back to the promised land Dad and they did it the way you taught me to, they worked hard and just played the game.

Happy Father’s Day Dad. Thanks for the lasting lessons. I love you.

Love,
Adam

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Labels: 17th Championship, Bill Laimbeer, Detroit Pistons, Father's Day, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, NBA Finals

Sorry Phil, a franchise record 64-18 in '05-'06 didn't help. The push to game 6 in the '08 conference finals with a volatile Shady Wallace, less than 100% Chauncey B-B-B-B-Billups will just not do either.

The Detroit Pistons fired Flip Saunders today just six days after the team bowed out of the conference finals to our beloved Celtics. What is next for the Pistons? God willing - an interview with hometown favorite Isaiah Thomas. That would make my day. Sorry Phil, see you at TNT in the fall.

-timmy
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Labels: Boston Celtics, Chauncy Billups, Detroit Pistons, Eastern Conference Finals, Flip Saunders, franchise, Isaiah Thomas, TNT

As I mentioned to some, last night I DVR'd game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to attend a concert. Some have said it was the worst move by a Boston fan in the history of sports and others have said "WHAT THE F--K WERE YOU DOING THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAD TO DVR GAME 6?!??!?!?!?!" I don't have a great excuse, other then the fact that I had tickets to a concert that I had had for weeks and I didn't expect a Game 6. That being said, I woke up this morning to find this e-mail from Red Auerbach from Heaven in my inbox.

Dear Adam,

Really?!?!?? You missed Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the hated Detroit Pistons to go to some concert?? D.J. and I are up here in heaven and we are staring down on Colchester, Vermont in disbelief. You call yourself a fan? We were impressed by your fanaticism over the last few years when the C's sucked a big fat one. You watched a lot of games that most fans couldn't have cared less about. You stuck by the green team when not too many other people did. But now, at a crucial moment in our history, you turned your back on the team. My only hope is that the reason you felt it not important to watch the game live was that you were confident in KG, The Truth and Ray Ray to put the hated Pistons away for good and you didn't feel your presence was needed. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt on this one, but if you miss any game in the finals I will be cutting off your fan status for good. We're counting on you to help us beat Kobe and the Lakers. So blaze some weed up with the Chief and let's get #17 done.

Always,
Red

So, I will heed Red's warnings and not miss a single game of the NBA finals. Thanks for the second chance Red, I appreciate it.

Speaking of the NBA finals, check out the Wicked Pissa Dude Radio NBA finals preview on Tuesday morning. Tell your friends!!!

- Adam

Labels: Boston Celtics, D.J., Detroit Pistons, KG, Ray Ray, Robert Parish, The Chief, The Truth, Wicked Pissa Dude Radio

Rasheed Wallace Fined For Cursing and Criticizing Officials

Rasheed "All I Do Is Argue" Wallace, just shut up and play the game. I saw that to anyone who argues with the refs or criticizes them for that matter. The only time anyone has had a legit beef in this years playoffs are Spurs fans about Game 4. If I hear any player or fan complain about the officials anymore I will just laugh, because no one will ever experience a call like the one in game 4 against the Spurs, it basically lost them the series. (I hope I am wrong.)

Labels: Detroit Pistons, Game 4, Pistons, Rasheed Wallace, Spurs

Not sure how the Celtics were down by 8 at one point in the first half of this game. They have had some very good performances by a couple of unexpected sources, not the least of which was Kendrick Perkins who has a double double already. He had six boards before the end of the first quarter. You need a guy like Perk to step up in games like this. You know the other team is going to zero in on guys like Pierce and KG and Perk will have an opp. to make plays. He has made the plays and more in the first half.

The Celtics reall turned up the intensity towards the end of the second half which is a good sign. Everybody knows that the team that closes out the 2nd quarter strong is the team that gets the leg up in the second half.

On the other side of the ball the C's have been playing well, but Rasheed Wallace has been nasty from downtown with 4-5 from behind the arc.

The story of the first half though was Kendrick Perkins. We have always liked Perk here on WickedPissaDude.com, but tonight he has been NASTY!!! Let's hope he keeps it up in the second half.

1st half:

Perkins: 12 points, 13 boards
Wallace: 12 points 4 boards
Garnett: 15 points 6 boards

Score: Celtics 52 Pistons 46

Labels: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce

Back from vacay in San Diego and we had a layover in Detroit over the weekend and they had a list of the "celebrities" that were from the Motor City. There was Aretha Franklin and Madonna, but nowhere on there was any of the sports figures from Detroit. Why? Because they never had anybody worthy of being listed on a list of "celebrities." I'll tell you right now if there was a list of "celebrities" from Boston at Logan it would start with Larry Bird, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr, Bill Russell, Tom Brady...and at the very end it would be Aerosmith and Matt Damon!!!

Labels: Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, Bill Russell, Bobby Orr, Detroit Pistons, Larry Bird, Madonna, Matt Damon, Motor City, San Diego Padres, Ted William, Tom Brady

Labels: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Kevin Garnett, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce

I don't think it surprises anyone that the Pistons are a good team, but it certainly has surprised me at how good they are. It seems as though everyone that touches the ball for the Pistons is a playmaker. Sure, the Celtics had a better record then the Pistons this year, not by much (Pistons were 59-23 and the Celts were 66-16) and certainly the talent on this Detroit team is even better then their record suggests. So imagine my surprise when we jumped out to a nice early 8 point lead. A cake walk again at home? Well not so fast.

The first quarter of this game was one of ups and downs. The Celts went on a run, the Pistons went on a run and back and forth we went until the buzzer sounded and the end of half score is Celtics 41 Pistons 40.

As a side note, this is why Boston is the City of Champions. As we are watching the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the commentators are also mentioning how they were at Fenway Park last night for Jon Lester's no-hitter. This stuff doesn't happen in New York or LA. THIS is the City of Champions and we prove it night in and night out. I LOVE IT!

Back to the game and for me the headline of the half was Ray Allen. No he hasn't lit it up like everyone had hoped tonight, but he has become more agressive. He has taken the ball to the hole and knocked down a few, including a very pretty finger roll down the middle of the lane and Allen has also driven the lane and kicked it out creating for his teamates. I think the media should lay off Ray Allen and let him shoot his way out of this slump. Tonight, you can feel him clawing out of it and mark my words he is going to have a break out game #2 (maybe even in the second half, more on that to come.)

KG - 14 points, 2 assists, 3 boards
McDyess - 10 points, 7 boards
Pierce - 9 points, 4 assists, 3 boards

Celebrities in attendance: Rob Lowe, Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB fame, Kevin Faulke and Bill Belichick

- Adam

Labels: Bill Belichick, Boston Celtics, City of Champions, Detroit Pistons, Donnie Wahlberg, Eastern Conference Finals, Fenway Park, Kevin Faulke, NKOTB, Ray Allen, Rob Lowe

Let the questions begin. Can the Celtics win banner #17 without winning a road game? Maybe they can, but I am not sure I'd be super excited about it if they had to do it. Today's game 7 against the Cavs sure was exciting, but it wasn't good for my blood pressure. The Celtics finished off the pesky Cavs with a stellar performance from Paul Pierce.

Pierce finished the game with 41 points, but stats alone cannot explain the game he played. He was a monster on the defensive end and his emotion lifted his teamates to another level. You only have to look at the Larry Bird-esque play that Eddie House made diving for a loose ball and flipping it to Posey for a missed lay-up and a foul. This was obviously a game the Celts had to have to live another day and Pierce made sure that happened.

Labels: Detroit Pistons, Kevin Garnett, Lebron James, P.J. Brown, Paul Pierce