NBA East Playoff Update

BY EVAN SPORER

EDITORIAL. PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

Beasts of the East

With the All Star game and the trade deadline behind us, the playoffs are just around the corner. With 11 teams within 4.5 games of a playoff spot, we size up not only who will make it to the playoffs, but ultimately come out on top.

The Big Three

Boston: Currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference by mere percentage points, this veteran Celtics squad has been winning games with its defense. Allowing only 91.7 points per game, the Celts boast the stingiest defense in the league and have all of Boston excited for another title run.

However, a trade deadline shakeup has many fans scratching their heads. Shipping Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Celtics lost a premiere post defender, and an excellent candidate to match up against the likes of Dwight Howard and Amar’e Stoudemire in the playoffs, or even a guy like Andrew Bogut.

However, the player they acquired in return, Jeff Green, certainly adds a different dynamic to these Celtics. At times, this team can at times get wrapped up in a half court offense, and Green will surely make the Celts push the pace. Guarding the Celtics with Green at the four and Garnett at center could prove to be difficult for any team trying to match that versatility.

Last Call On-Air: John Havlicek

November 19, 2010
Tasso, Barker, Liebman, Souza 
   Special Guest: Celtics all-time leading scorer, 8-time NBA Champ and 13-time All Star
      John Havlicek

Last Call On-Air: Tanguay Strikes Again

November 12, 2010
Tasso, Barker, Liebman, Souza 
   Special Guest: Comcast Sports Net
      Gary Tanguay

Last Call On-Air: Gary Washburn

October 29, 2010
Tasso, Barker, Liebman, Souza 
   Special Guest: Boston Globe National NBA Writer
      Gary Washburn 

From Inside the Locker Room: Celtics' Chemistry Key

Editor's Note: This article and accompanying photos were originally featured in Emerson College's The Berkeley Beacon: http://www.berkeleybeacon.com/

BY GABE SOUZA

EDITORIAL. PHOTOS BY JESSE LIEBMAN

Nate Robinson slinked into the Celtics locker room Tuesday night, his 5-foot-9 frame sliding along the mahogany walls, his diminutive size dwarfed by human skyscrapers like Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal, each in the seven-foot range.

Robinson had just come from the parquet floor in Boston's TD Garden where the Celtics held an open practice for their fans.

Hundreds of green-clad die-hards gathered under the Garden's historical rafters, an NBA record 17 championship banners waving above them, as they cheered on their gladiators in a friendly scrimmage.

Robinson did his best to appease the excited crowd, displaying deft moves all afternoon, splitting defenders in the lane, his ball-handling skills so slick the basketball seemed like a yo-yo in his control. 

But Robinson did more than just steal the show on the floor - he also stole teammate Ray Allen's sneakers and promptly threw them into the crowd, much to the delight of fans.

Those who follow the team closely may be aware of Nate's series of Twitter videos that display his prankster antics, everything from high-flying dunks over the 7-foot-2 Shaquille O'Neal to dumping salt in the big man's water during lunch break.

As we assembled to enter the locker room toting microphones, video cameras, and tape recorders, it hit me.

It may have been the new Garden, but the old aura was still there.

Something About That Green...

BY GABE SOUZA
EDITORIAL. PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

It gets me. It gets me Every single time I'm there.

When I look up to the rafters of the TD Garden, it sends a chill down my spine.

I hear the voice of Johnny Most, the famous Celtics announcer. I recall countless conversations with seasoned basketball fans, all of whom remember the guys in green dominating the hardwood.

It seems to grab any player or fan who enters the hallowed parquet floor. It’s not the regulation side hardwood, the leprechaun at midcourt, or the 20,000 raucous Beantown fans. It’s the 17 NBA Championship banners.

That’s right, count them. Seventeen. 

That’s the third most of any team in any professional sport, just behind the Yankees’ 27 in baseball and the Montreal Canadiens’ 24 in hockey.

First, 1965-1966 catches your eye. That year the Celtics breezed by the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. But getting to the Finals was the hardest part and produced perhaps one of the most famous radio calls in sports history.

Up by one point in the final five seconds of Game 7 of the ’65 Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, forward John Havlicek would go down in basketball lore for one play.

“Five seconds left, Boston only has a one point lead,” Most crackled into the radio. “Greer putting the ball into play. He gets it out deep and…Havlicek steals it! He stole the ball, Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over! It’s all over and Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed on the floor.”

Most was the voice of the Celtics from 1953-1990. If you listen closely, you can still here his voice, cracking with excitement, swooping throughout the rafters of the Garden.

Last Call NBA Playoff Predictions: Final Standings

All Together Now

BY IAN TASSO

EDITORIAL - PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

"We not me. Trust each other - make the extra pass. Mbutu."

These are the phrases you hear echo throughout the Garden during any given Celtics game on any given night.

But they’re more than just words – they’re the foundation this team has been built on.

Because while we might sit here, watching the Finals and say “I can’t believe the Celtics made it here…” the thought is only our own.


Because those same Celtics are standing on the NBA Finals logo on the Parquet floor, the national anthem echoing off the countless rafters and even more numerous championship banners saying, “I knew we’d make it here.”


But they’re far from done.

The goal wasn’t just to make it here.

One night it’s Ray Allen breaking a record. The next it’s Kevin Garnett dominating the paint like its 2008. Then it’s Big Baby and Nate. Then the captain.

You tell me - who’s next?

Therein lies the beauty of the Celtics. You just don’t know.

You can’t know. There are thirteen guys on the roster, and every one of them – and yes, that includes Scal, especially in light of Perkins' injury - could dictate the outcome of the game at any moment.

Maybe it’s Tony Allen with a mind-numbing block from behind on Pau Gasol. Maybe it’s Rajon Rondo with the lightning-quick lay-in under a leaping Lamar Odom. Maybe it’s little Nate getting big. Or maybe it’s big Glen Davis getting even bigger.

You just don’t know. But I can tell you one thing – the Celtics just don’t care.

Whether it’s number 9, number 4, number 34, 20, 5 or 30 – yes, even 30 – any given Celtic can make a difference at any given time. And they’re fine with that. Garnett, Pierce and Allen are more than fine with that, believe me.

First to Two

BY IAN TASSO

EDITORIAL - PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

And here we are.

What was once a best-of-seven series has now been whittled down to a best-of-three. What was once a marathon collision between two of the NBA’s most historic titans has now been choked into a sprint.

And what was once a race to four wins is now a race to two.

Two wins. In three games. Sounds so simple. So easy.

But yet, in reality, it will be anything but.

And that’s because much to the chagrin of Celtics fans everywhere, this is not simply a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals.

And while it’s not for a lack of semblance on the Celtics part (the entire starting five from 2008 remains), it has been the drastic changes on the Lakers’ side of the court that have made all the difference.

Gone are the days where Kevin Garnett would push Pau Gasol around like a bully on the playground, dominating the paint on either end of the court.

Instead, a plethora of injuries, a little old age and an immeasurable improvement in Gasol’s low-post game have created a mismatch that has begun to sway in favor of Los Angeles – as much as it pains me to admit it.

Gone are the days where Paul Pierce would cross-over Vladamir Radmonivic at will, tickling the twine with his patented elbow fade-away time and time again.

Now, Pierce's jab-steps and up-fakes are mirrored and shadowed almost to a science by the NBA’s most fierce defender in Ron Artest.

And gone are the days where Ray Allen would run circles around Sasha Vujacic, blowing by him to drain the go-ahead basket in a historic 24-point comeback.

This time, those deft drives to the hoop are greeted by the outstretched arms of seven-foot Andrew Bynum, who’s pterodactyl-like wingspan has made the simple task of laying a basketball into a hoop more like shoving a beach-ball through a key-hole.

Last Call On Air - Reese Waters

June 3, 2010
Tasso, Liebman, Tam
Special Guest: Versus; The Daily Line; Comedian
Reese Waters

Last Call NBA Playoff Predictions: Championship

Give Me the Green Light

by Gabe Souza
Editorial. Photos by AP News

Before the start of Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, Stan Van Gundy tried to prep his Orlando Magic by injecting some confidence into his young team.

“We have to win the hustle game,” Van Gundy said in front of ESPN’s locker room camera. “We have to play harder then they do.”

Quite simply Stan, there was no way in hell that was going to happen – and you knew it.

And the Magic players knew it too. The fans huddled in Amway Arena in Orlando watching the game knew it, as did the near 20,000 strong dressed in green at the Garden.

The Celtics players knew it, but above all, Doc Rivers knew it – and believed in it.

“This starting five has never lost a [playoff] series before,” Rivers said on the parquet floor amidst tears, confetti and jubilation after Boston’s 96-84 victory Friday night.

There was no denying this one. There was no way the young superstars from the Sunshine State were going to take away this victory from Boston’s defenders of the hardwood.

Like so many Celtics before them, when it mattered most, these Celtics showed up to play. They knew what they needed to do and that was play like a team.

Last Call's Hub Hot Spots

Last Call's Ian Tasso broke down and ranked Boston's Top Sports Bars…check it out:

"Hub Hot Spots"

Last Call NBA Playoff Predictions: Conference Finals

Last Call on Air - Tanguay Returns

April 29, 2010
Tasso, Barker, Souza, Tam, Nieradka
Special Guest: Comcast Sports Net New England
Gary Tanguay

Last Call NBA Playoff Predictions: 2nd Round

NBA Suspends KG

by Ian Tasso
Editorial. Photos by AP News

I'll admit, I was a little upset at first - but the more you watch the video of the incident, the more it makes sense why the NBA suspended him.

Check it out for yourself, here's an interesting angle of the situation from Saturday night:

NBA Playoff Preview

by Phil Shore

Editorial. Photos by AP News

With the NBA Playoffs finally upon us, it’s time to break down each first round series and give you the who’s who and what’s what of LBJ vs Chitown, the Green against the Heat, KB vs KD, the Jazz versus the Nugs and everything in between.

Here are Last Call’s 'Top Questions' for each NBA playoff series.

Cleveland vs. Chicago:

Will LeBron finally win it all?

Four trips to the playoffs, two to the Eastern Conference finals, and one to the NBA Championship. Yet “The King” has zero rings. Last year so many people thought that it was the Cavs’ best chance to win it all, and with the best record in the NBA, the midseason acquisition of power forward Antawn Jamison, and a thirteen-game winning streak, people feel the same way about them this postseason.

However, will Cleveland be able to handle the pressure? They have the pressure of being number one and meeting high expectations. There is the pressure of the entire city of Cleveland not winning a championship in any professional sport since 1964, the longest drought of any city with three pro teams. They also have the pressure of potentially losing James, a free agent, in the offseason if they can’t make him happy by winning a championship.

Being in the postseason isn’t enough for the Cavaliers anymore. Making the finals isn’t enough, either. Cleveland needs to win the championship. However, they won’t be able to do that if they don’t put aside those issues and just play basketball.

PREDICTION: LeBron and co. roll. Cleveland in 4

Last Call NBA Playoff Predictions: 1st Round

Not-So Happy Endings

by Ian Tasso

Editorial. Photos by AP News

Endings are supposed to be climactic.

Raised with movies like Scarface and books like the Lord of the Rings, we were taught that an ending is supposed to be glorious. Guns blazing, horns blaring - a finale is supposed to be epic.

Same thing goes for the closing of a sports career. By right, it should be a culmination of a years of work, complete with standing ovations, confetti, horns - the works. 

But the truth is, it rarely works out like that. 

Just ask Allen Iverson, who was recently released by the 76ers, a move that has been figured by most to be a long time coming. Iverson was in the midst of attempting to revitalize his 13 year career, 10 of which were spent annihilating defenses in Philadelphia. 


But after a failed stint in Denver, a mishap in Detroit and a misstep with the Grizzlies, Iverson appears to be done - finally.

Even Michael Jordan, Mr. Basketball himself, ended one of the greatest careers in NBA history with a finale that was far from epic. Jordan left Chicago with every intention of leaving the game, only to return with the Washington Wizards, a sequel that proved to be just as fruitful as The Sandlot 2. 

The same goes for the great Emmit Smith, who after years of punishing defenses with the Cowboys left for Arizona for a year and fizzled to nothing. The list goes on and on - athletes who suffered ends that never came close to doing their careers justice. Cam Neely, Joe Montana, and now Iverson.

As for the city of Boston? We're no stranger to the art of smothered endings. From Drew Bledsoe to Mo Vaughn, Beantown has been the home of many a fizzled career. Here's a look at some standouts.