NBA Western Conference Playoff Preview

BY EVAN SPORER

EDITORIAL. PHOTOS BY AP IMAGES

The NBA season has finally concluded. And while much has been made of the Eastern conference and the likes of the Miami Heat, probable MVP winner Derrick Rose, and the ageless Celtics, the Western Conference is certainly formidable in its own right. Check out how the West might play out.

#1 San Antonio Spurs vs.  #8 Memphis Grizzlies

The Spurs have heard the criticisms before.

They’re too old. Their time has passed. They’re boring to watch, and haven’t adjusted to the new NBA.

Well, I’ll take boring and effective over flashy and on the outside any day (a’hem, Golden State Warriors).

The Spurs finished first in the Western Conference this year, amassing 61 wins, giving them home court throughout the West’s playoffs. They did so with the many of the same faces -- Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili -- but also an infusion new producers: DeJuan Blair, George Hill, and Gary Neal.

Even Richard Jefferson, whose acquisition was supposed to be a bust, came up big for the Spurs this year.

So, as always, this team was a defensive juggernaut. Although their 98 points allowed per game is deceptively high, the Spurs will wear you down on D. They’ll make you work on every possession just to get a decent look, and on many possessions, teams won’t. Defense wins championships; plain and simple, just ask Spurs head coach Greg Popovich (the guys has won four NBA titles).

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.

Top 10 Storylines: 2011

BY EVAN SPORER

EDITORIAL. PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

According to the Chinese calendar, 2010 was the year of the tiger. Boy did someone mess that up. Anyway, without dwelling too much on the past year of sports, here are 10 major storylines as we hop into 2011, or, the year of the rabbit.

     1.     NBA and NFL Labor Agreements

Before any 2011 NFL or NBA storylines can be addressed, what first needs to be tabled are the statuses of collective futures of those leagues.

As of now, there is no labor agreement in place between the player’s association and the owners of both leagues.

What could that mean potentially? A lockout… or lockouts.

Right now, neither the NFL nor NBA are even remotely close to signing a labor agreement, with both sides very far apart. I don’t think that average sports fan has really processed what this could mean, or the huge effect this could potentially have.

These are billion dollar corporations that employ mass amounts of people. So forget about the athletes. They’ll survive without their salaries for a year. But think about all the unemployment that would accompany a lockout. Those who work for the league would be left jobless, and that could be catastrophic.

Also, imagine those months in-between the baseball season without football or basketball.

Major factors in getting these deals done? For the NFL, if the owners want to move to an 18-game schedule, the league will have to remain un-capped as players’ will expect some higher numbers on their paychecks.

The NBA wants to cut contract length, and decrease both salary length and guaranteed money. The players… not too happy. There has to be a middle ground, right?

As of now, things are not looking good for David Stern or Roger Goodell.

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.

Turn Up the Heat, Baby

BY IAN TASSO
EDITORIAL - PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

Let me preface this article by stating I am an entirely neutral party here.


I am not from Cleveland, nor do I ever find myself wishing I was. I don’t know anyone that lives there, have never passed through it, and quite honestly, don’t care to accomplish either of those tasks under my own will or consciousness.

On a similar note, I am not from Miami either. And aside from my few opinions on South Beach, which oddly enough mostly stem from Will Smith, I have no attachment to the city of Miami.


Although, I’m not going to lie, I do feel some weird sort of connection with it ever since I beat GTA: Vice City. It’s strange, but I feel like I own it. Ask anyone who ever beat that game, and I’m sure they’ll say the same thing. Somehow I feel like I'm destined to move there, spend copious amounts of coke money on sunglasses, chains and new boats, and flip Ferrari's over the bridge.


But I digress.

Facts are, I’m attached to one basketball team, and one basketball team only – the Boston Celtics, who were not in any way, shape or form involved in the transplant of LeBron’s courtship.

On that same level, I have only enough hate in my body for one basketball team, and one basketball team only – the Los Angeles Lakers, who, just as the Celtics, were not involved here.

To put it simply, I have no dog in this fight. I have no stake here. I have no steak here either; I’m actually eating chicken as I write this instead. Why you ask? Chicken over steak? Because I bought this chicken pre-cooked from Shaw’s. Go ahead; buy a pre-cooked steak from Shaw’s. I dare you. I, on the other hand, plan to live past the age of 25.

Even so, despite not having any dogs or stakes (or steaks), I, just like any self respecting sports fan, do have an opinion on the matter. And as usual, it happens to be an opinion that, I promise, many of you won’t like. In fact, a large majority of you might detest me for it.

Ask me if I care.

Go ahead, ask me. Shoot me an email, subjected “do you care, Ian?”

And in the time that it takes me to respond to that email by pressing the “delete” button, you can read this: my compilation of 6 reasons why LeBron made the most correct decision since Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence in permanent ink, and told King George and the rest of those big-wigged Frenchmen to shove it.

Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

BY PHIL SHORE
EDITORIAL - PHOTOS BY AP NEWS

Another season in the NBA, another year LeBron James won’t win the NBA Championship.

After the Cleveland Cavaliers were put away in six games in the Conference semi-finals by the Boston Celtics, James was sent home for the summer and watched the NBA Finals on his most likely enormous television set.

What’s different this offseason is that instead of priority number one for Cleveland being to build a competent team around James, they will have to worry about keeping James in Cleveland in the most anticipated offseason in NBA history.

There will be a lot of rumors, a lot of speculation, a lot of media attention, and, most likely, a lot of silence from James himself. The question: what should James do?

The answer should be fairly simple. James should stay in Cleveland. It really is the best situation for him.

Firstly, the Cavaliers are James’ hometown team. He is from Akron, Ohio. He has his family and his friends all in place. They can come to all of his home games. Having a great support system in place is very advantageous.

New York Knicks fans would argue that sure, it’s nice to be playing in front of your hometown fans, but you can always go home during the offseason and after you retire.

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 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

Do You Believe in Magic?

by Phil Shore

Editorial. Photos by AP News

The Orlando Magic were the first team in the NBA Playoffs to advance to the second round and the only team to sweep.

However, if Dwight Howard continues to go down the same path he has been the Orlando Magic may be eliminated sooner than the team expected to be.

It isn’t his skills that could let the team down. He recently won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for a second consecutive season. He led the league in both blocks and rebounds, the only player in the history of the NBA to lead in both categories in two different years.

His offensive game is also improving as Dwight works on his post moves, footwork, and shooting touch to complement his thunderous dunks.

What needs to change is his fouling problems and his attitude and maturity. The two go hand-in-hand really.

This season Howard set a career-high in personal fouls, amassing 287 over the 82-game season as well as a career-high in fouls per game with 3.5. In a much related stat, Howard also registered the lowest minutes per game average, 34.7, since his rookie year.

In the playoff series against Charlotte Howard was whistled for five fouls the first two games and fouled out the final two. He failed to play 30 minutes in any of the four games and his scoring average was, for him, an awful 9.8 points per game, well below his season average (18.3).