It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Running Diary of Game 1?

Miami. Boston. Eastern Conference Finals. Possible last playoff series for the Big 3. Am I going to try and do running diaries of every game? Yes. Will it be excruciating when Miami wins this series in 5 and I've decided to chronicle every moment? Yes. The things I do during summer vacation. Anyways, to the game! Let's get this show on the road.

8:30 It's game time! But not really, because God forbid anything starts on time.

8:35 I leave the room for two minutes and in that time my dad has come in, changed the channel, and fallen asleep forcing me to extract the remote from his grasp Mission Impossible style. Fortunately the game hasn't started yet and I haven't missed anything.

8:41 LeBron scores the first basket. Not a great start, but it's too early for me to begin hitting the alcohol.

8:43 Ray Allen airballs a leaner then doesn't get back on defense leading to a layup on the other end for Wade. Looking crippled as ever I see.

8:48 Nice dime by Rondo to KG for a bucket to tie the score at 5. With Bosh out Garnett is going to have a huge size advantage in this series over Miami's big men, and if he doesn't take advantage it will be a clean sweep for the Heat.

8:51 10-5 Miami at the midway point of the first quarter. The Celtics are shooting 18% from the field so far. Something tells me that's not going to cut it.

8:55 Allen bricks a wide open three. If I had a dollar for every time I've seen that this postseason, I wouldn't be eating worms at baseball practice for $30. But that's another story for another time.

9:01 I know the Celtics' game is slowing it down and grinding it out and Miami is the team that likes to play up tempo and get out in transition, but part of me wonders if it would be better if the C's made a concerted effort to get on the break and get some easier buckets instead of trying to win every game 78-75.

9:02 Mike Breen just brought up how Tommy Heinsohn compared Greg Steimsma during a broadcast early in the season. I thought all tapes of that had comment had been destroyed by the ghost of Red Auerbach.

9:06 Miami leads 21-11 after one quarter of play. Boston looking a little (understatement alert!) sluggish to start, shooting only 25% for the quarter. Meanwhile LeBron has 13 points on 6/9 shooting. So far the Heat are getting to the rim at will and getting a lot of easy looks at the rim.

9:11 The Heat have gone EXTREMELY small here to start the 2nd quarter, with Chalmers, Wade, Miller, James, and Haslem. Garnett has to cover Mike Miller, and he promptly drains a three over the Big Ticket to make the score 24-14. Yikes.

9:14 Another three for Miller. Time out Celtics. This game is going to a dark, dark place.

9:18 ESPN just cut to a highlight package of last night's Spurs-Thunder game which consisted of a layup by Parker, a layup by Ginobili, and a wide open three pointer by Stephen Jackson. Honestly, it's not going to matter who wins the Eastern Conference this year, nobody is beating the Spurs right now. They are locked in.

9:21 DOOLING WITH A THREE! EVERYBODY FLEX! GET EXCITED!

9:27 Rondo flies in for an offensive rebound and putback and then KG gets called for a bogus technical because David Stern has apparently decided the fix is in.

9:29 After Rondo hits an elbow jumper Lebron hits a little hook over Pierce. This could be a huge postseason legacy-wise for James assuming he can lead the Heat to a title. More on that later.

9:33: Both teams are trading buckets right now. Give the Celtics credit, they're hanging in there, even though the Heat have managed to keep them at arms length.

9:34 Mike Miller fouls Ray Allen on a three pointer, followed by Allen promptly missing 2 of 3 from the line. He's 3/7 shooting free throws tonight. I didn't even know that was possible.

9:35 Another bogus technical, this time on Doc. I guess the referees thought the game was getting a little too close. Fortunately Mario Chalmers missed the foul shot and and Mike Miller reverted back to form with a traveling so no harm was done. 2:58 left in the half, Heat by 5.

9:43 Lucasfilm totally used a mold of Joel Anthony's head for the crystal skulls in the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

9:45 Rondo picks his way through the defense and flicks a pass out to Pierce for an easy three pointer. Boston only trailing by 2 now.

9:47 Miami up 48-46 at the half. Impressions so far: Boston stepped it up big time after an exceptionally shitty first half. They could very well steal this game. Hopefully they go to KG more. He's had his way down low and in the mid-range so far. Also, LeBron James is very good at basketball (He has 17/4/3) which brings me to my LeBron rant that I promised you earlier.

From a legacy standpoint, this has the chance to be an absolutely massive postseason for the 3 time MVP. If the dominoes fall his way, LeBron will have beaten his biggest rival from his draft class and his foil since high school (Carmelo Anthony)in Round 1, led the Heat (banged up without Chris Bosh) out of a 2-1 hole against a very game Pacers team (including a ridiculous 40/18/9 in a vital Game 4) in Round 2, beaten Boston (the team that has been a seemingly constant obstacle for James the last 4 seasons) and their future Hall of Fame small forward Paul Pierce, who also happens to be the 2nd best player at that position over the last decade in the Eastern Conference Finals, AND then in the Finals he and his team will have either beaten Oklahoma City and defeated his greatest challenger to his MVP trophy (Durant) or beaten the most consistently great team of the last 15 years during what may be their best season ever in the Spurs. As of right now if the Heat win the Finals that would be the scenario. It also would mean we'd be tortured by ESPN's typical LeBron overkill for the next 12 months but that's besides the point.

10:03 The officials reviewed a made basket by Joel Anthony and rightly decided that it was still on his finger tips as the shot clock expired, so we'll begin the second half tied at 46.

10:06 At halftime I said the Celtics should go to Garnett more in the second half. He promptly missed his first two shots of the half and missed them badly. The lesson, as always, is that I am an idiot.

10:10 Rondo misses another layup and Battier nails a three. I love Rondo and everything he does for the Celtics, but he can be so frustrating sometimes.

10:13 Timeout Celtics after back to back easy layups by James and Wade. 9-2 run by Miami, they lead by 7. Celtics can't win with consecutive defensive lapses like that.

10:20 A third ridiculous technical (Rondo this time). I'm speechless.

10:22 Rondo does his patented ball fake layup move which shakes Shane "Past His Prime" Battier but then gets annihilated by a killer weak side block from LeBron "Very Much In His Prime" James. I think I might cry.

10:28 Pierce gets destroyed on his way to the hoop. No call. Somebody get Donaghy on the phone, see if he knows anything about this.

10:32 Miami ends the quarter on a 10-3 run to take control of this one 72-61. LeBron has 27 points and 8 boards. I am feeling physically ill.

10:38 Dooling takes a three and misses it horribly. The Avery Bradley injury is looming larger and larger with each passing minute that A. Ray Allen is hobbling around being a defensive liability and shooting line drives at the rim and B. Keyon Dooling is getting anything resembling significant playing time.

10:44 The Celtics are back down to about 35% shooting. That might have been passable against Philadelphia, but the Sixers, unlike the Heat, suck a bag of dicks.

10:49 Finally the Celtics switch to a zone, or as it's better known, the defense that gives Miami fits every time it's utilized. Of course right as I type that Wade crosses over, splits the zone, steps back and kisses an incredible 15 footer off the glass. 82-67 Miami.

10:55 Bad news for the Celtics: LeBron and Wade have decided to take over on both sides of the ball. This comeback is looking less and less likely.

10:58 Jeff Van Gundy hit the nail on the head. Far too many offensive boards for the Heat, who are a small team to begin with. Nobody on the Celtics boxes out, and I hate to sound like a dude who belongs on Social Security, but if you don't box out and get bodies on bodies and protect the defensive glass, it puts a ton of strain on your defense.

11:05 Marquis Daniels is in the game in the fourth quarter. Doc has given up on this one.

11:07 Final horn sounds, Miami takes Game 1 93-79. LeBron with 31/13, KG with 23/10, and Ray Allen went 1-7 from the field.

Final thoughts:
I saw a lot of tweets and Facebook statuses complaining about the referees. While the three technical fouls were, for lack of a better term, straight up retarded, it wasn't the refs who shot 39.5% from the field, 52.4% from the line and got outrebounded by 15. Chalk it up to tired legs from the quick turnaround between Game 7 of the Philly series and Game 1 of this series if you want, but the fact of the matter is the Celtics need to play better if they want to even think about winning a game in this Conference Finals, let alone the entire series. Miami looked efficient, aggressive, and just overall better. Hopefully the Celtics can flip the script and grab Game 2, otherwise this series could be over in a hurry.

One For the Ages

When I last wrote a column, it was September after the Red Sox had more or less been eliminated from contention (although they somehow managed to string me along for the rest of the month, not getting officially knocked out until the last week of the season). For whatever reason, I stopped writing here. Maybe it was because I was busy (the number one reason, actually). Maybe it was because I didn't know what to write. Maybe it was because I couldn't take my eyes off Tom Brady's ridiculus Euro-flo. Maybe it was because I tried to start an ill-fated podcast (which is a work in progess. I'm not giving up on that dream just yet). And really, it's a shame I couldn't focus on this more. I missed the chance to write about a 14-2 Patriots season that ended in a first round flameout, a great Celtics run (as well as one of the best NBA seasons in history), the Red Sox landing Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, John Lackey, Big Baby and Bobby Jenks fat jokes, etc. Not exactly a good time to stop writing about this stuff.

About a month ago I promised myself I would come back if the Miami Heat made it to the Finals. That would be the only thing that could bring me out of retirement. But even as the Heat and Mavs prepared to duke it out, I wasn't certain that I would even bother to post anything about it.

Then this series happened. Everything changed.

I've had a full day to process what I just witness happen in Game 6, with the Mavericks defeating the Heat to clinch their first title in franchise history. Trust me, I needed all the time I could get. This series was trancendant, an insta-classic that will be replayed over and over again for years to come. And the drama was off the charts. All I know is this: this series will be remembered for the impact it had on not just the history of the league, but possibly the future as well.

Let's start with the big winner here. Dirk Nowitzki has done it. Finally, the odessy has come to a close. After hoisting a championship trophy for the first time in his career, Dirk's managed to make a case for his inclusion in any list of top 20 players ever. Not only that, but a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders. That's a fact. Anyone who saw him go into the locker room immediately after the final buzzer sounded, moments away from tears could tell you that. Just the expression on his face as he got his chance to lay those massive German hands on the Larry O'Brien trophy told everything anyone needed to know.

That's not to mention that Dirk has officially gone from "soft European player who can't win the big one" to "best European player ever and cold blooded killer with unguardable crunch time offense" in the span of one postseason. Dirk vanquished his demons by unleashing on of the most incredible playoff performances in recent memory, with a dizzying array of post up fade-aways and high post, one legged, off-balance step back jumpers that nobody (not LaMarcus Aldridge, not Pau Gasol, not Serge Ibaka, and not Chris Bosh) could stop. Even though he only eclipsed 30 points once in the Finals, he hit a game winner in Game 2, and played with a fever of 101 in Game 4 (Good God...is that Michael Jordan's music?). He averaged 10.3 points in the fourth quarter. Even in Game 6 when he struggled, getting off to a 1-12 start from the field, he rallied for 10 points in the final period to close out his nemisises on their home court. Dirk's Finals performance was the stuff of legend, and his championship ring is both well desereved and well earned.

Now in July (my second to last column) I wrote about The Decision and what it meant not only to the 2011 season but the next 5-7 years and how it had irrevocably changed the direction that the NBA was headed. NBA titles, MVP awards, and the like were all about to change. We've already seen the MVP award change hands, with Derrick Rose winning it this year. And the future of NBA championships (and who wins them) has been changed as well. No, the Heat didn't win this year. But next year, it's unlikely that Dallas will be there. The Lakers are on the decline, as are the Celtics and Spurs. Orlando is a shadow of the team that went to the NBA Finals in 2009, and with Dwight Howard halfway out the door look like they will be eliminated from being considered contenders. This season was, in many ways, a changing of the guard. The Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, and Magic have had their runs, but they're being overtaken by the teams of the future: the Thunder, Heat, and Bulls. The Heat didn't win it this year, but they are looming as a potential juggernaut and both they and the Bulls will be battling it out for the next half-decade in the East.

Finally, it's time. I've defended LeBron James to a fault his entire career. I've said he was the best player in the NBA. I've blamed his postseason failures on the fact that he's spent his career playing with guys like Mo Williams, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, and Antawn Jamison being the second banana. No, I'm not joking, look it up. I said that the reason LeBron quit on the Cavs in Game 5 against the Celtics last year was because Delonte West was tapping his mom, a perfectly acceptable reason to not want to play basketball. Hold on, I have to go throw up. I even defended LeBron's decison (not The Decision, which was almost disgusting as the pre-season championship party that the Heatles held afterwords) to go to Miami to win a championship.

But this...this one is tough to explain. LeBron collapsed in this NBA Finals, and nobody can explain why. Maybe he was tired. It could have been that the Mavericks' zone took him out of the game. It might have been that his massive shoulders finally collapsed under the pressure that has been on the Heat since he decided to take his talents to South Beach. It was probably a combination of all those things. Ultimately, LeBron has left us asking more questions than is necessary for a player who is supposed to be the best in the game. Someone this talented should relish the spotlight, not shrink from it. Yet, shrank LeBron did, to the point where Dwyane Wade got so fed up with him in Game 3 that he started screaming at him. I knew The Decision would change so much about the NBA, but I never thought that it would fundamentally change the former best player in the league to the point where I now put him at number three behind Kobe and Wade. To borrow from Steven A. Smith, quite frankly I'm shocked.

In the end, this was one for the ages. The most publicized and villianized team in NBA history met the team they had beaten in the Finals five years earlier. Dirk and the Mavs were finally able to erase the pain from 2006 and the playoff flops that followed, and the Heat both wore down from playing 82 playoff games in the regular season and finally collapsed under the intense scrutiny they had been under since July. That alone would have made this series great, but throw in Games 2, 3, 4, and 5 (an incredible four games which will be played on ESPN Classic forever) and this might be the greatest NBA Finals I have ever witnessed (even more than 2008, even though the Celtics winning their first title in my lifetime was roughly 2,973 times sweeter). It's a shame it's all going to be taken away with the impending lockout. Excuse me while I go cry in a corner.

P.S. I promise to write more this summer.

What Are We Witnessing?

"This fall I'm taking my talents to South Beach, and join the Miami Heat."

Just one sentence. That's all it took to send the NBA world into a frenzy. Just one sentence may have decided the championships and MVP awards for the next five seasons at least. LeBron James, the best player in the world entering his prime, is joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat to form the lastest incarnation of a "Big 3". And as good as that sounds, I'm not alone in saying that I have a bunch of questions. For LeBron, was it the right decision? And will this attempt at creating a superteam actually work? And how many titles (if any) can this team win? Let's start with the first question.

First off, LeBron was in a no win situation. Let's face it. If he went to New York or New Jersey people would have said "He only cares about money, winning isn't that important." If he went to Chicago, people would have said "He's trying too hard to be like Jordan. What an ego." If he stayed with the Cavs, people would have brought up the whole "Yeah, he stayed in Cleveland, but they aren't going anywhere. He must have stayed for the money." And now that he's gone to Miami, people are calling him a "coward" because he's "looking for the easy way out by playing with another superstar in Wade and an elite power forward in Chris Bosh." No matter what choice LeBron made, he was bound to tick someone off. Even Bill Simmons, once a great James supporter who has been soured on him by this whole ordeal said in his column before the decision was made: "In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York). I never thought he would pick 'HELP!'"

Personally, I think that's selling LeBron short. I don't understand why everyone is hating on a choice where a star player is considering taking less money in order to win not one, not two, but three or more championships. This is an attempt at creating a dynasty. That being said, I'm not sure that it was the greatest choice. I think that Chicago would have been a better fit for LeBron, a team with a bona-fide second banana (Derrick Rose), an excellent rebounder/post scorer (Carlos Boozer), a high energy post defender/great rebounder (Joakim Noah) and a good perimeter scorer (Luol Deng). Everything was set up perfectly for multiple championship runs. And, there was a supporting cast with defined roles, which is the biggest hole in the "Superteam" approach. So do I think LeBron made the right choice? I can't really say. But I don't think that he made the best choice. I would have gone with the Bulls if it was me.

Now as for whether this plan works, that is much tougher. Miami now has the best top 3 in the NBA. However, they don't have any real role players. The question you have to ask yourself is, does that really matter? I mean, you have two of the three best players in the NBA. Plus, you have one of the top 5 power forwards in the NBA. That's a lot of talent, regardless of the supporting cast. Also, keep in mind that LeBron's Cavaliers won 66 and then 61 games the last two seasons with much less than Bosh and Wade. Also, assuming the Big Three does as they say they will and take less money in order to play together, then maybe the can go out and get a quality role player (like Mike Miller, who has reportedly agreed to a 5 year $30 million contract). Then maybe they can get some other pieces to add size up front, like a Juwan Howard or a Zydrunas Ilgauskas, or, just maybe Shaquille O'Neal. If they can fill out the roster that way, then Miami will be in buisness.

The next question has to be can LeBron and Wade (two alpha dogs in their own right) coexist on the same team? Most people are saying yes, but I have to disagree. I think that Wade will end up being the crunch time scorer and ultimately the team's alpha dog, while LeBron will be a super athletic mix of Magic Johnson and Scottie Pippen: Makes amazing plays on the offensive and defensive end, controls the pace of the game, takes over at times, and will get his 25 points, 8 rebounds, and around 9 or 10 assists in the flow of the game. But the only way that will work is if the egos of both players cooperate, and I believe that they will.

And now for the final, and most important question of all: How many championships will this team win? And will they win this year? The answer to that, as I said earlier, depends on how Miami fills out the roster and how the egos of the three stars cooperate. While most NBA fans don't think that this will work, I disagree. I think this is a choice based around winning, and Wade, LeBron, and Bosh are all willing to make the sacrifices necessaryto win multiple titles. I think that in the next five years, I think that Miami wins 4 titles. Will they win this year? I say...yes. Again, they need to bring in more role players, but the Heat are just as good as any other team that they have to play. The Celtics are getting old, the Lakers are getting old too (and, as the Thunder proved last year, aren't exactly invinceable), the Bulls will be improved, but I'm not sure if they'll be better than the Heat, and Orlando has Vince Carter so they won't be winning anything. I predict 63 wins for Miami in 2011, the top seed in the East, and a Finals victory over the Lakers in 6 games.

This decision by not only LeBron but Wade and Bosh as well has changed the future of the NBA. For better or for worse, we are headed in a far different direction than if King James had just stayed with Cleveland. Not only titles could be swung, but MVP awards as well (you think LeBron can keep winning MVP awards with Wade and Bosh in his spotlight? Not likely. Congratulations Kevin Durant on winning the next five MVP awards). And whether you liked the move or not, you have to admit that next season is going to be exciting. I know I'm excited.


And besides, as long as the Lakers don't win and Kobe doesn't get another ring, I'm happy.
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You can follow the Boston Sports Fan on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/gregis111

Celtics-Cavs: Its on!

When the Celtics closed out the Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat last Sunday, there was only one thought that crossed my mind: Bring on LeBron. And I got my wish when a few hours later the Cavaliers took care of business and finished their series with the Bulls (and that ridiculous and annoying Joakim Noah. God I hate that guy). That gave us the second round matchup that many Celtics fans feared getting when the C's were shuffling down the stretch. Cleveland, the NBA's best team in the regular season, versus the 2008 champion Boston Celtics, an aging contender looking to make a last run at the title. The Big Three (featuring Rajon Rondo) taking on all-world talent and two time MVP LeBron James. So in preparation to what should be a great series, I've decided to break it down blow by blow, position by position. Here we go:


POINT GUARD: RAJON RONDO VS. MO WILLIAMS
Okay, anyone who knows me knows that I am going to be extremely biased here. Rondo is my favorite player on the Celtics and my second favorite player in the league (trailing only the incomparable Tim Duncan). Don't get me wrong, I think Mo Williams is a good player and is the perfect match for the drive and dish game of LeBron. Williams is a very good three point shooter and had a great series against the Bulls. Both Rondo and Williams are All-Star caliber players. But I can't emphasize enough how much Rajon Rondo has done for the 2010 Boston Celtics. He's been the one constant in a season filled with inconsistencies. He's run the show night in and night out, and might just have been the most valuable player for Boston this year (for the record, Rasheed was the least valuable player. But you probably knew that anyway). I'm taking Rondo in this matchup, and you can't convince me otherwise.

EDGE: Celtics

SHOOTING GUARD: RAY ALLEN VS. ANTHONY PARKER
Okay, I understand on paper this looks like a mismatch, and honestly, it is. Ray Allen had an excellent second half, and should be hot coming off a series against Miami where he couldn't miss. Plus he's a Hall of Famer. Anthony Parker is a role player. He's a good perimeter defender, he hits open threes, he's tailor-made to play on Cleveland. However, he's no Ray Allen. If Shuttlesworth shoots like he did against the Heat, then the Celtics have a VERY good shot at stealing this series and the ring right off of LeBron's finger.

EDGE: Celtics

SMALL FORWARD: PAUL PIERCE VS. LEBRON JAMES
It was nice to see Pierce got to drink from the fountain of youth. For the first time in a while, he looked healthy and was taking the ball to the hole with the enthusiasm that we've grown used to seeing. If this was any other matchup, I'd think long and hard about giving the Celtics the edge here. Unfortunately, LeBron is the best player in the NBA. I know, he's got issues with his elbow, and I know, Pierce out dueled LeBron before, but things are different this year. James is on a mission. He's been putting up arcade stats all year, plus he's coming off a series where he averaged 39-10-9 in games 2, 3, and 4. He's been so good this year that my buddy Pat Davis (who is also known as the Panda), a known Kobe lover, has finally agreed with me that James has surpassed Bryant. Regardless, this is a great matchup and hopefully its at the level of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semis. But I gotta go with LeBron here, simply because he's the best in the league.

EDGE: Cavs

POWER FORWARD: KEVIN GARNETT VS. ANTAWN JAMISON
I'm going to sound crazy here, but I'm taking Jamison. I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. No, I haven't lost my mind. Listen. KG hasn't really been KG since his knee injury last season. Sure, he's shown flashes, and that's all fine and good, but don't be fooled. He can't do it for an entire game. Not anymore. I'm hoping that he can turn back the clock and give us some vintage Garnett performances, but I just don't know. Meanwhile Jamison has been the best deadline acquisition this year. He's a perfect fit for the Cavs as he can stretch the floor with shooting and is also a talented post player. He gives Cleveland the versatility that they lacked last year. And I still can't figure out how he gets the ball in the basket with that crazy scoop/floater/layup thing that he lofts over defenders with ease. Any time you have a player who does things you never seen before you have to take him, right? Right? I'm really trying to talk myself into this one.

SLIGHT EDGE: Cavs

CENTER: KENDRICK PERKINS VS. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL
Perk's going to have his hands full in this series. No more picking on Jermaine O'Neal's corpse. Although, it's not like he's facing Shaq circa 1999-2002. This version of O'Neal isn't going to crush anyone for 35 minutes a game. Current Shaq goes in the game for 20-22 minutes, tries to get the opposing team's big men in foul trouble, and hopes to pick up about 12 points and 7 or so rebounds in the process. Not to mention that Perkins is probably one a handful of players strong enough to muscle up with the likes of Shaq and Dwight Howard. And O'Neal was thoroughly outplayed by Joakim Noah (I feel sick just mentioning his name) for the last four games of the Cavs-Bulls series...

EDGE: Even

CELTICS BENCH VS. CAVALIERS BENCH
Fortunately for the Celtics, Glen Davis has decided to show up for the playoffs. Which is good, because it's saved me and countless other Celtic fans from having to watch that lazy thief Rasheed Wallace lumber up and down the court. Unfortunately for the Celtics, because Sheed has packed it in and Marquis Daniels and Nate Robinson are useless (what a shocker), they're pretty much stuck with a bench rotation that consists of Davis, Tony Allen (my least favorite Celtic pre-Sheed) whatever minutes Wallace gives them, and 37 year old Michael Finley. Oh boy. On the other side, the Cavs have a diverse unit that has hustlers like Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson, and Jamario Moon (if Moon hits his threes like he did against the Bulls then the Cavs become very dangerous); a good perimeter scorer in "Craziest NBA Player" Finalist Delonte West, and the one of the better shooting centers of all time in Zydrunas Ilgauskas. This is a mismatch.

EDGE: Cavs (and it's not even close)

COACHING: DOC RIVERS VS. MIKE BROWN
I'll keep it short and sweet. Doc has a ring. Brown does not. Doc, while he may not be a great coach, certainly hasn't destroyed a good team. Brown is lucky he has LeBron bailing him out. Doc is a good coach. Brown is not.

EDGE: Celtics.

BOTTOM LINE
I was impressed with the Celtics in round one. They finally started playing championship defense, and showed some heart for the first time all year. If they can keep it up, they have a real shot at this thing. However, I can't help but think that this is finally LeBron's year. I hope I'm wrong, but the Cavs are just too deep, too motivated, and the Celtics will have to play an almost perfect series to beat Cleveland. And from what I've seen this year, I'm not so sure that's going to happen. Boston will need some big performances from its stars if they want to win this series.

VERDICT: Cavs in 7, but I really hope I'm wrong on this one.

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The Sports Fan Strikes Back

I'm baaaaack!

After nearly a four month hiatus, during which the Patriots exploded (so much for that prediction), the Red Sox entered a "transitional" phase, and the Celtics continue to confuse everyone in the New England area with their inconsistant play, I have returned. And why? Well I'm not sure. But I did have to write a paper for my English class recently, and since I twisted the topic to be sports related, I figured now was the right time. So without further ado, I give you my take on what it takes to make a championship caliber basketball team.

Basketball is a magnificent sport. When played at its highest level, it is beautiful to watch. From elegant passing to high flying slam dunks to graceful post play to swarming defense, basketball can be a spectacular sight to see. Very rarely does a team reach this level of play, but when they do, it spells trouble for the rest of the league (an example of this would be the 1986 Boston Celtics, a team that had superior passing, defense, and scoring ability to everyone else that year). But how does a team reach that basketball nirvana? What pieces must be in place for a team to gel and reach the pinnacle of their abilities as a team? First, you need a star player. Second, you need at least one capable second fiddle. Thirdly, you have to surround those two or three players with role players. If those three criteria are met, you will have yourself a championship-caliber basketball team.

First off, in order to have a championship team, you have to have at least one star player, but no more than two. This is not debatable. Every great team has had at least one go to guy (Michael Jordan of the Bulls of the 90’s and Tim Duncan from the Spurs of the 00’s are two examples) and in some cases, two (Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant of the 2000-04). You need to have a star player because every team needs a player who can lead them on the court by carrying the team on his back when things get rough. Star players change the way the game is played, because they force the opponent to adapt to them and focus on them because if they don’t, he will beat them. A star player on a championship team also must be well rounded. He not only has to be able to score, but be able to stop his opponent from scoring as well. He must also be able to know when to defer to his teammates and make them better. If a superstar is too selfish, the team will go nowhere and will never win it all (*cough* Kobe pre 2009 *cough*).

Secondly, every superhero needs a sidekick. Even Batman had Robin to back him up. In basketball, the superstar of the team can’t do it all by himself (unless the star is LeBron James, who led a team that would have won about twenty games without him to the NBA Finals in 2007). Michael Jordan never would have won without Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O’Neal never would have been able to win three titles with the Lakers without a young Kobe Bryant. Therefore, it is logical to have a talented sidekick or two (preferably two) to help carry the load. This type of player often could be the leading man on his own team, but is the second banana to the star on this team. It’s important that this player knows his role and doesn’t try and undermine the hierarchy of the team, or else there will be an ugly end result both on and off the court. The sidekick (or sidekicks in the ideal case) has to be able to step up if the superstar has an off night. While he or they may not be able to carry a team at a championship level, the team definitely can’t win it all without them.

The third thing you need to do in order to have a transcendent basketball team is to surround the star and his sidekick(s) with solid role players that complement their skills. For example, if your star is an all-world power forward or center (like, say...Tim Duncan), and your sidekick is a gifted perimeter scorer, then it makes sense for you to fill out your starting five with a veteran point guard who can manage the game and make plays when called upon, a good perimeter defender who can give the opposing team’s best outside scorer headaches, and another big man who can rebound and play low post defense. As for the bench role players, it’s important that the team has a deep group with varying talents. The ideal bench usually features a sixth man (a fringe starter who contributes the most minutes of the bench players and can effectively fill in for a short stretch if someone is injured), a good perimeter defender, a lights out shooter, a well-rounded forward or center who can come in and score, rebound, and defend (Leon Powe of the 2008 Celtics was an excellent example of this) and a couple high energy guys who can give your team a spark. When a team has a supporting cast like that, they are very tough to beat.

That is the recipe to building a winning team. You need a superstar player to lead the way, a sidekick or two that will help lighten the load on the star, and role players that fill out the team and complement the more talented players’ abilities. But none of these factors will form a winning team unless they have one specific ingredient: selflessness. No team, no matter how talented they are, can win a championship without sacrificing for the good of the team. Many a team have never lived up to their potential (such as those same Lakers from the beginning of the 2000s; had Kobe and Shaq been able to coexist, they could have won three more titles) because the players couldn’t put the team first. However, if a team follows this guideline, it is guaranteed that they will reach the highest level that they can possibly reach, and at the end of the season they will be crowned a champion.

(Funny, I think I just described the San Antonio Spurs of the 2000's)