Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Pacer? I hardly know her!
A pleasant surprise. The Celtics took advantage of a lethargic and out-of-synch Pacers squad and came away with one of their better wins of the season. Many things went right - the C's played solid defense, ran on offense (particularly in the first half), and prevailed despite fucking up their own momentum by turning the ball over a number of times when they could have blown shit wide open. That this all happened with Ricky and Pierce having off shooting nights was even more encouraging.
But, before we anoint ourselves the NBA champions and their fans of 05/06, it must be stated that the Pacers were awful. They played the role we usually play - the unprepared, enervated, and woefully outclassed visiting team. I don't know if the Artest situation is screwing that badly with their heads, or this is simply a team still figuring itself out, but they looked like total suck. They even had one of those classic Dumb and Dumber moments when two teammates (I believe Jackson was one of them) grab the rebound with no one else around and still manage to knock it out of bounds.
Anyway, the best news of the night was that Doc actually played the players we all want to see (Perk, Jefferson, and, uhhhhhhhhhh, well Perk and Jefferson) and didn't play Dickau, Reed or Scalaburine. Oh yeah, Gomes got in there too. Was it my birthday or something? Not that I'm aware of, but don't tell Doc. Granted, he still "went small" in the last few minutes of the game and kept Blount out there when we had no other rebounders, but fuck it, we won, and I'm just happy those aforementioned fuckheads were kept on the bench.
Before we go, a quick note on Pacer's reserve center David Harrison and reality television. A few years ago DH appeared on an episode of MTV's Real World (San Diego, I believe) because one of the roommates (the dimwitted, good hearted, drunken snowboard guy) knew him from college. I only mention this because that was the season they also had a girl who was afraid of looking at boats and another who was afraid of mentally retarded people. That was a banner year for reality TV. I challenge David Stern to top that kind of entertainment.
Player of the Game - Kendrick Perkins. I know he's something of a CelticsDoom fave and we probably overvalue his contributions, but tonight showed how important it is to have him on the floor providing the rebounding and interior presence that Blount and Raef simply cannot give us. No way Blount scores 22 points unless Perk is in there doing the dirty work on the boards (8 in 20 minutes) allowing us to sacrifice toughness at the 4 in order to get Blount's pussy jumpshot offense rolling.
Hamcock - Ricky Davis. I love Ricky D, but he sucked tonight. He turned the ball over way too much (5 times) and couldn't hit his shot (3-11). I got this weird idea in my head at one point that this could be Ricky's last game as a Celtic. It would suck if he left clutching the Hamcock because RickyDFan would probably never talk to us again. Don't leave us RickyD!
Quote of the Night - "He looks like that caveman commercial" Tommy on the topic of Scott Pollard. It was a banner broadcast night, probably the best call of the season from Mike and Tommy. The highlight was Tommy working in this reference to the aesthetically polarizing Geico commerical, later followed by a fully valid reference to "The Prince" by Machiavelli. For the record, I like the caveman commercial, although I understand why many people find it unfunny. I also like those LeBron family adverts, although they seem like something we're all going to get sick of very quickly. Kind of like seeing Mark Blount play 32 minutes a game.
But, before we anoint ourselves the NBA champions and their fans of 05/06, it must be stated that the Pacers were awful. They played the role we usually play - the unprepared, enervated, and woefully outclassed visiting team. I don't know if the Artest situation is screwing that badly with their heads, or this is simply a team still figuring itself out, but they looked like total suck. They even had one of those classic Dumb and Dumber moments when two teammates (I believe Jackson was one of them) grab the rebound with no one else around and still manage to knock it out of bounds.
Anyway, the best news of the night was that Doc actually played the players we all want to see (Perk, Jefferson, and, uhhhhhhhhhh, well Perk and Jefferson) and didn't play Dickau, Reed or Scalaburine. Oh yeah, Gomes got in there too. Was it my birthday or something? Not that I'm aware of, but don't tell Doc. Granted, he still "went small" in the last few minutes of the game and kept Blount out there when we had no other rebounders, but fuck it, we won, and I'm just happy those aforementioned fuckheads were kept on the bench.
Before we go, a quick note on Pacer's reserve center David Harrison and reality television. A few years ago DH appeared on an episode of MTV's Real World (San Diego, I believe) because one of the roommates (the dimwitted, good hearted, drunken snowboard guy) knew him from college. I only mention this because that was the season they also had a girl who was afraid of looking at boats and another who was afraid of mentally retarded people. That was a banner year for reality TV. I challenge David Stern to top that kind of entertainment.
Player of the Game - Kendrick Perkins. I know he's something of a CelticsDoom fave and we probably overvalue his contributions, but tonight showed how important it is to have him on the floor providing the rebounding and interior presence that Blount and Raef simply cannot give us. No way Blount scores 22 points unless Perk is in there doing the dirty work on the boards (8 in 20 minutes) allowing us to sacrifice toughness at the 4 in order to get Blount's pussy jumpshot offense rolling.
Hamcock - Ricky Davis. I love Ricky D, but he sucked tonight. He turned the ball over way too much (5 times) and couldn't hit his shot (3-11). I got this weird idea in my head at one point that this could be Ricky's last game as a Celtic. It would suck if he left clutching the Hamcock because RickyDFan would probably never talk to us again. Don't leave us RickyD!
Quote of the Night - "He looks like that caveman commercial" Tommy on the topic of Scott Pollard. It was a banner broadcast night, probably the best call of the season from Mike and Tommy. The highlight was Tommy working in this reference to the aesthetically polarizing Geico commerical, later followed by a fully valid reference to "The Prince" by Machiavelli. For the record, I like the caveman commercial, although I understand why many people find it unfunny. I also like those LeBron family adverts, although they seem like something we're all going to get sick of very quickly. Kind of like seeing Mark Blount play 32 minutes a game.
# posted by Dr. Chestnutt @ 10:51 PM 
