Celtics Win Road Game; Detroit is Screwed.

After taking both Atlanta and Cleveland to 7 games and failing to win a single road game, everyone began to doubt the Celtics as legitimate contenders. As a result, when Detroit stole game 2 in Boston after shooting their brains out, everyone in the world thgought the Celtics were finished. What people failed to consider was that Boston had reached rock bottom while still winning. They are the best team in basketball, and sooner or later they were going to win some road games. People were looking at the Celtics thinking " man, they suck, they can't win a road game". They should have been thinking "man, as soon as Boston wins a road game, everyone else is f#cked." Well consider Detroit f%#cked. The Celtics not only beat Detroit on their home court, but they beat them badly. They now have all the momentum in the world going into game 4, putting Detroit in a must-win situation, because you know they aren't losing two straight in Boston.


While I am happy for the Celtics, most of my joy stems from the fact that I no longer have to here the idiots in the media babble about how great the Pistons are. The Pistons suck and here's why:


Everyone thinks the Pistons are the quintessential veteran ball club. They talk about them like they are the Spurs. Hardly. They are mediocre at best. Just because they have made it to the conference finals in the East 6 straight years, doesn't mean they are good. The East sucks. Since they won in 2004, they have choked almost every time and get worse every single year. The 2004 team had Ben Wallace in his prime, a deep bench consisting of Lindsay Hunter in his prime and the big Nasty Corlless Williamson. Oh, they also had Larry Brown at the helm, only one of the greatest coaches ever. Today's version of the Pistons is hevily watered down. Their bench is shallow. Flip couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag. Sheed is older than he used to be and Chauncy is banged up. The fact the Celtics have been treated as under dogs in this series is a joke. The Celtics Spanked them during the regular season, and they are spanking them in the playoffs. The only reason the Pistons won in game 2 was because they played perfect. The Pistons are washed up.


Now that the Celtics have the road-monkey off their back, I see them seizing control over this series and taking the Pistons out in 5 or 6 games. Tonight, the PIstons should bounce back, but don't count on it being enough to win. The Celtics have hit their stride at exactly the right time. Since the Pistons are the streakiest, most lethargic team in the league, they are more likely that they implode than win. Celtics are winning and I garen-sheed you that.

Happy Easter! Despite Celtics Loss, Jesus Shuttleworth Rises From Dead To Score 25 Points; Pistons Are Screwed in Game 3.

SPEAKING OF THE DEAD; DID I SEE TONY ALLEN IN A PLAYOFF GAME? NOW THAT CELTICS HAVE HOME LOSS OFF THEIR BACK, THEY CAN FOCUS ON WINNING ONE ON THE ROAD. THIS PISTONS ARE STREAKIER THAN SCALS UNDIES. THIS SERIES IS FAR FORM OVER. DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK ITS WEIRD THAT EDDIE HOUSE'S KID IS RUNNING AROUND THE BENCH? EDDIE BETTER HOPE THE GIANTS 3rd BASE COACH ATTENDS CELTICS GAMES.

DISTRAUGHT

CELTS LOSE FIRST HOME GAME OF PLAYOFFS TO EVEN SERIES AT 1-1; NOW ARE FORCED TO WIN IT ON THE ROAD

CELTICS COME CHARGING BACK FROM 11 POINTS DOWN BUT DEFENSIVE AND REBOUNDING LAPSES SEAL THEIR FATE (THAT REVERSE LAYUP OFF OF AN INBOUNDS PLAY WITH THREE SECONDS ON THE SHOT CLOCK WAS THE WORST ONE....) RELENTLESS COMEBACK SHOULD HAVE CARRIED THEM TO VICTORY

BUT, SILVER LINING, RAY ALLEN IS BACK, CELTICS TOOK THE PISTONS' BEST SHOT AND ALMOST PULLED IT OUT, I*HEART*CELTICS STILL FIRMLY BELIEVES THAT THE CELTICS CAN/WILL WIN THIS SERIES

GAME 2

PIERCE'S LIMBS MIGHT GO IN ALL DIRECTIONS AT THE SAME TIME BUT HE'S GOT HIS EYES ON THE PRIZES BITCHES!!!!

GAME ONE FOR THE CELTICS

CELTICS GET BIG NIGHTS FROM PIERCE AND KG; RONDO OUTPLAYS THE CLEARLY HOBBLED BILLUPS; AFTER A CLOSE CALL, CELTICS PLAY SOLID DOWN THE STRETCH; DEFINITELY CAPABLE OF PLAYING A LOT BETTER AS A TEAM BUT STILL WIN BY 9 (IT COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE)

At least Doc Rivers isn’t this Guy!

I am sick and tired of everyone ripping on the Celtics. Writers, commentators and casual fans need to stop making definitively negative statements about this team. They have a clean slate in a new series against an old fartsy pants team that hasn’t won this round of the playoffs since 2005.

Just this morning, I read an article not giving the Celtics a chance in this series. I don’t know how many times the media can bash Ray Allen. Yes, he’s been playing terribly, get over it. Everybody keeps harping on the fact that he hasn’t been the same Ray Allen from the regular season. HE’S JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH, back off! The situation with Allen is a simple one. Let him play, he really can only get better. Worse case scenario, he remains playing like Ben Savage played against Shawn Hunter. If the latter is the case, you still have options. Put Pierce as the two and Posey as the 3 or start working the bench. This leads me to my next point.

Why does everybody hate the Celtics bench? Nathaniel Friedman, from SportingNews.com wrote, “Jason Maxiel can eat Leon Powe or Glen Davis alive, and Rodney Stuckey could start on the Celtics.” This is such a ludicrous statement. Jason Maxiel has averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds in about 26 minutes per game throughout these playoffs. Leon Powe and Glen Davis couldn’t do that if they played 26 minutes? Powe and Davis come in for 10 minutes and perform better than Maxiel. Eddie House, Powe, Davis, Brown and Tony Allen if used properly can outplay any bench in the league and have proven it when given the opportunity. I vote Celtics bench on this one.

The last thing I want to rant about is Tony Allen. In order to win this series, this gun toting, eye socket breaking, bust a cap in yo assing man needs to play. Even if Ray Allen steps it up, he’s not going to be able to keep up with Rip. He couldn’t even contain Wally World and he’s slower than Scal’s bowel movements. Tony Allen can run with RIP all day long and can also shut him down.

In the end, Paul Pierce and KG will do their thing. It’s these three other points that will propel the Celtics past the aging Pistons and into the NBA Finals. I have to believe that Doc Rivers will not screw this up. The Celtics are the underdogs for once this season, they have home court advantage and they have veteran savvy and young gun spaziness. Don’t hate on this team media world or I will come after you.

The draft lottery is tonight!

Sure, we'll be focused on the Celtics playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. But, as a way of cutting through the stress.... how about we look at some posts we did around this time last year?

The day of the draft we were pretty tepid about our chances... even remarking at the end that Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers "would never lead us to the promised land." Hm... the more things change the more they stay the same...... NO!!!!!!! THIS YEAR IS THE YEAR!!!!

THE LOTTERY IS TONIGHT!!
TIME FOR I*HEART*CELTICS TO PLAY THE ODDS

The Celtics have a 38% chance of landing a top-2 pick in the Draft Lottery today. Celtics fans are fired up, but we here at I*Heart*Celtics are both fired up and incredibly nervous. A whole season wasted for odds of nabbing a player are slightly better than winning Powerball but slightly worse than the chances Ben Wallace will hit a free throw.

To put things in perspective...

99.81% - Chance Vin Baker is completely shitfaced right now.

99.8% - Chance Chris Herren has an ounce of heroin within arms' reach as you read this sentence.

99.7% - Chance I*Heart*Celtics superstar Nic is wearing capri pants and watching Triple H highlights from the late 90's right now.

95% - Percentage of Celtics cheerleaders Delonte's tried to seduce with the baby-makin' melodies of R. kelly's "sex planet" and the aphrodisiacal aroma of a Popeye's family bucket.

93.3% - Percentage of Sebastian Telfair's assists-per-game to gun-related-incident ratio.

88.6% - Larry Bird's career free-throw percentage.

88.5% - Brian Scalabrine's career body fat percentage.

82.1% - Percentage of Antoine Walker's shots that are ill-advised.

80.1% - Winning percentage of Harvard Athletic Association championship-winning "Michigan" squad in 1996. Yes, this team did feature Nic, Chap, Sullivan, and even BP.

80.1% - Percentage of "Michigan" games both Nic and Chap suited up that season.


62.2% - Percentage of Sullivan's body covered with floor burns during basketball season.

62.1% - Percentage of Delote's body covered with flesh wounds after a night out on the town with his girlfriend.

58.7% - The Celtic franchise's winning percentage in their glorious 60 years in existence.

46.6% - Rick Pitino's career winning percentage as an NBA head coach.

43% - Percentage of child support paid by former Celtic Greg Minor.

42.2% - Celtics' RPI this season, ranking them 30th out of 30 teams. (RPI - Relative Percent Index; the formula is 25% team winning percentage, 50% opponents's average winning percentage, and 25% opponents's opponents's average winning percentage. -Basketball-Reference.com)

42% - Ben Wallace's career free throw shooting percentage.

41.4% - Doc Rivers' winning percentage as coach of the Boston Celtics.

39.4% - Antoine Walker's shooting percentage from the field in 2001-2002.

38% - Celtics' chances of landing Oden or Durant this year.

36.4% - Doc Rivers' career playoff coaching winning percentage.

35% - BP's score on a Geometry test in 8th grade, setting a class record.

34.4% - The Celtics' three point shooting percentage in their Eastern Conference Finals season of 2001-2002.

33% - Percentage of "N"s in Kevinn Pinkney's first name.

32.7% - Percentage of Celtics team salary used for Theo Ratliff, Luke Jackson, Brian Grant, and Vin Baker.

29.3% - The Celtics' winning percentage in 2006-2007.

29.3% - M.L. Carr's coaching record in two glorious seasons.

28.1% - Percentage of time Michael Jordan wasn't cheating on his wife during their marriage.

28% - Bruce Bowen's shooting percentage for the Celtics in 1998-1999.

18.3% - The Celtics' winning percentage in 1996-1997.

11.9% - Average percentage of the crowd that stays in the club when Tony Allen shows up.

8.8% - Chances that of that Vegas oddsmakers gave that a Celtics player would wear a Scooby-Doo jersey on the sidelines during a playoff game. Then Joe Forte came along.

7.9% - Chance I*Heart*Celtics superstar Chap has showered within the last 72 hours.

3% - Chance Kevin Pittsnogle can read all the way through One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish without asking for a definition.

1.86% - Chance Doc Rivers would have received a contract extension if he was coaching any other team... in the world.

1.3% - Chance that huge Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and frikkin' WILL SMITH fan Greg Oden is 19 years old.

1.1% - Percentage of his life that the Kandi Man isn't baked out of his mind.

0.9% - Chance Dwayne Schintzius' modelling career is going well.

2.21 x 10-3% - Percentage of team minutes contributed by Theo Ratliff, Luke Jackson, Brian Grant, and Vin Baker this season. (If you're wondering, BP actually did that math- 44/19857, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Also, if you're wondering, that's roughly $475,917.05 per minute.)

0% - Chance I*Heart*Celtics believes Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge will lead the Celtics to the promised land, regardless how the lottery goes this evening.

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Then, the realization that we would be getting the fifth pick....

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DAMMITALLTOHELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


TANKING THE ENTIRE SEASON WORKS SLIGHTLY WORSE THIS TIME AS IT DID DURING THE M.L. ERA;
CELTICS ARE SCREWED OVER;
LAND FIFTH PICK IN A TWO-MAN DRAFT;
EVERYONE'S PISSED

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Wow, remember how much that sucked? Then, we looked at the notable #5 picks from years past, and whattaya know, Ray Allen made our "Could Be Hall of Famers-Maybe" list! Also worth noting is that KG was a #5 pick as well. Was it meant to be!?!?
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So, we all know by know that the Celtics got completely hosed with the #5 pick... or did they? I took a look at the #5 picks over the years, and the results may surprise you. For example, Dwayne Wade and Charles Barkley might not put each other in their five, but they were both drafted fifth. Without further ado, here we go.

FIRST TEAM (Hall of Famers/Future Hall of Famers)
Dwayne Wade (2003)
Walt Frazier (1967)
Charles Barkley (1984)
Scottie Pippen (1987)
Kevin Garnett (1995)

SECOND TEAM (Could-Be Hall of Famers, maybe)
Sidney Moncrief (1979)
Mitch Richmond (1988)
Vince Carter (1998)
Ray Allen (1996)


THIRD TEAM (Very Good Players)
Darryl Dawkins (1975)
Steve Smith (1991)
Kendall Gill (1990)
Jason Richardson (2001)
Mike Miller (2000)

FOURTH TEAM (Decent Role Players)
Tony Battie (1997)
Shelden Williams (2006)
Raymond Felton (2005)
Devin Harris (2004)
Purvis Short (1978)
Walter Davis (1977)

The All Funny Name Team
Tom Thacker (1963) (sounds like a term for masterbation, i.e. "He's sort of a loser, he just hangs out with Tom Thacker all day, if you know what I mean.")
Wayne Yates (1961) (probably received 10,012 wedgies for the name alone)
Dick "Skull" Barnett (1959) (cool nickname)
LaPhonso Ellis (1992) (only LaPhonso I've ever heard of)
Mahdi Abdul-Rahman, formerly Walter Hazzard (1964) (sweet name change)

The Um... Ok, Whatever Team
Kenny Walker (1986)
Sidney Green (1983)
LaSalle Thompson (1982)
Danny Vranes (1981)
Wally Walker (1976)
James Ray (1980)

The Infamous Team
Isaiah Rider (1993) (crime)
Juwan Howard (1994) (scandal, being a dick)
Kermit Washington (1973) (fracturing Rudy T's face)
J.R. Reid (1989) (mediocre manwhore of the NBA)

The All BP-Never-Heard-of-Them Team
Freddie Boyd (1975)
Bobby Jones (1974)
George Trapp (1971)
Sam Lacey (1970)
Larry Cannon (1969)
Jack Marin (1966)
Dave Stallworth (1965)
Len Chappell (1962)
Guy Rodgers (1958)


The Dear-God-the-Celtics-Are-Friggin-SCREWED Team
Don Smith (1968) (doesn't even have a page on Basketball-Reference.com!!!)
Nikoloz Tskitishvili (2002) (mutant)
Jonathan Bender (1999) (broken)
Lee Shaffer (1960) (three seasons of crappiness)
Joe Koncak (1985) (guaranteed to suck just from the name alone)

In conclusion and in summary, the Celtics could potentially draft a Hall of Famer. The trend appears to be that the fifth pick is usually used for a well-regarded, solid guard. The number of swing players taken with the fifth pick is staggering. It's rare to nab a quality big, which is what the Celtics are probably looking to do.

The fifth pick is not where the Celtics would like to be, but I would match that first team against pretty much any other group of same-number picks, including #1's. This is supposed to be a very deep draft, so who knows, perhaps the C's will find the next Charles Barkley... or the first age-unknown skinny Chinese dude shrouded in mystery.

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Thank the basketball gods we don't have to go through that again.... GO CELTS.

CELTICS vs. PISTONS: 8:30 TONIGHT

Eastern Conference Finals starts tonight so grab your weird-freaking dancing, Indian, Celtics-loving friend and get ready for the action. Everyone is hating on the Celtics in this one. Especially Wannabee-Celtics-Homer Bill Simmons who has already stated that he thinks the Pistons will win. Newsflash Bill SImmons. To be a homer you have to a) like your team and b) convince yourself they will win at all costs. Since Bill is also an adamant Pierce-hater, who constantly craps on his team he in no way qualifies as a "homer".

Even with my own biases aside, there's no way the Celtics will lose this series. Every loser at ESPN has picked the PIstons to win, because the Pistons are the emphatic Blue-Chip team. No one will look stupid for picking them because their consistently decent. The fact that the Piston's have choked in the playoffs every year since they won it in 04' doesn't even enter their mind. Wake up people. Detroit lost to an arguably worse Cleveland team last year, so why would anyone think they could defeat the Celtics? Still skeptical? Then let's break it down.


POINT GUARD-Billups vs. Rondo

On paper this is a no-brainer. Mr. Big Shot trumps the smaller less experienced Rondo and will surely take control of the series. The problem is that Chauncy pulled a hammy the other week. Sure he's had a week to rest it, but the effects will linger. Plus, one of the main reasons that the Celtics got Cassel in the first place was to take it to Chauncy. Look for him to play some minutes.
ADVANTAGE RONDO

SHOOTING GUARD-Ray Alllen vs. RIP

A month ago Boston fans would have been pretty content countering Rip with Ray Allen. Today, we'd have a better shot of playing BRian Doo at the 2 spot. At least his D-fense is good. The demise of Ray Allen is so weird. So weird that I put all the blame on Doc Rivers. If you can't get a hall of famer in his prime shots, then get the hell out.

ADVANTAGE RIP


CENTER- PERK vs. SHEED
BP Thinks Perk sucks. Well, Im sure Perk thinks BP sucks and I would agree with Perk. Its hard to get a rhythm in 20 scattered minutes. If you want real stats on Perk check out THIS and you'll see that Perk is quietly having a very positive impact in these playoffs. SHEED clearly has the edge in this one, but thats just cause he's SHEED. He's Detroits heart and soul and always live and die with the SHEED. However, don't be surprised if SHEED melts down in the middle of a pivotal game and blows it for Detroit. That dude is CRAZY.


ADVANTAGE SHEED


POWER FOWARD-THE BIG TICKET vs. ANOTONIO MCDYESS

By now KG has proved to Celtics fans that he is not Tim Duncan, he is not Bill Russel. He's intense as hell, a true baller, but in the Cleveland series he had trouble posting up Delonte West for pete's sake. He will however be fired up, be making jumpers, yelling at his teamates, and controlling the paint.

ADVANTAGE KG



SMALL FOWARD- PAUL PIERCE vs. Tayshaun Prince

Tayshaun is no doubt Detroit's X factor. Billups and Rip will always get their 20, but Tayshaun does things at both ends of the floor that can really lift this team to greatness. The problem is that he is no match for the physically superior Paul Pierce. Paul is in his grove and will carry that into the E.C. Finals. Pierce went Larry Legend on the Cavs. Tayshaun Prince isn't going to slow him down. Advantage goes to the Cetics in this one.

ADVANTAGE PIERCE



BENCH

Well the Pistons do have Rodney Stucky..but....the Celtics have easily the deepest team in the NBA hands down. That is when their coach is juggling the line-up like flaming swords. Jason Maxiell has been huge for the Pistons, but the rest of their bench is well.....they basically don't have a "rest of bench". Lindsay Hunter and Stucky will get minutes, as might Juan Dixon, but they are nothing compared to Powe, PJ, House, Cassel, etc. Look for Tony Allen even to get some minutes this series covering RIP. This is a clear advantage for the Celtics and expect it to be the difference in the series.

ADVANTGE CELTICS

COACHING- Tweedle Doc vs. Tweedle Flip


Watching Doc and Flip try to out-coach each other will be like watching the Olson twins in a hot-dog-eating contest. Good luck. This one is a wash.

ADVANTAGE WESTERN CONFERENCE


Detroit is experienced, well-rested, and gets up against big teams, but the bottom-line is that with the exception of a couple games the Celtics have played like Brian Doo Doo. They are due for road wins and with the home-cooking should pull this one out in 6 or 7. With no LeBron they are all breathing easier and will play their best ball.


PREDICTION: Celtics in 6.

What We Learned from Game 7

Thank goodness that game is over. Now it's time to face the Pistons. There is no time in between games, but thankfully the Celtics won't have to travel. This is probably a good thing because the Celtics won't have time to make huge adjustments. Here's what we learned:

1) Eddie House is a huge improvement over Sam Cassell. That hustle play where he outsprinted Wally to slap the ball to James Posey was the most exciting play of the game. I have been trying to explain why Cassell is such a terrible addition to this team but I finally figured out why after Game 7. He's exactly like Rondo, except he's slower, lazier, whiner, shoots worse, is less aggressive, and has a far worse shot selection. Teams don't have to make any kind of adjustment. On the other hand, PJ Brown's big shot at the end was a direct result of the entire Cavs team trying desperately to close out on Eddie House's potential three from the corner. His release is so quick that he must be respected, he hustles his ass off, and his defense is good. And the weird thing is that House only shot 1-5 and didn't even hit a three but he changed the way the Cavs defended the Celtics whenever he was out there. He was +13 for the game. Of course, we here have been extolling the virtues of House for the entire playoffs and Doc finally figured this out. Irritating.

2) PJ Brown is the new go-to steadying hand in the post. As my boy Marty told me two seconds ago, he only takes shots that he knows he can make. He did have some horrific fouls throughout the game, but he put himself in position to help out down the stretch in ways that our other bigs (other than Garnett) haven't been able to do consistently. I love Powe and Big Baby, but they are the "burst of energy" types. They should get minutes down the stretch when they are being effective, of course, because I believe in the "play the hot hand" approach completely, but when the Celtics are in a horrifically officiated game in the playoffs and it's close down the stretch, PJ is the man at the "5" spot the Celtics need. Great pickup by Ainge, gotta give him props.

3) Kendrick Perkins... um... kinda sucks. I know that isn't going to make me popular amongst Celtic diehards, but come on... he had 1 rebound yesterday in 20 minutes. What the hell.

4) Zadrunas Illgalskus is pure evil. He kicked Rondo in the balls when Rondo was on the ground, and for that reason I will never, ever learn to spell Zrgurnauasses' name correctly. Asshole.

5) The announcers for ABC are the worst ever. EVER. I would rather listen to Bill Walton talk for three hours about his dual with Kevin McHale in practice. I am not one to complain about announcers because usually what I do is turn the sound down for the national games and listen to the WEEI broadcast, but I didn't this time and it was a horrible mistake. The fake banter between Mark Jackson and Van Gundy is embarrassing to listen to. They act like they were best friends when it's painfully obvious even to those that are incapable of identifying social cues that they have nothing in common. They act as if the stressed-out tiny white guy and the cool customer black dude are a natural and hilarious match. Well, guess what, this kind of relationship was already explored in the blockbuster smash "The Man" starring Eugene Levy and Samuel L. Jackson and all 9 people that saw it said it sucked. This topic has no need for further exploration.

The other thing that pissed me off was the "Will Pierce have his number retired?" argument that was rehashed word-for-word from earlier in the season. THESE ANNOUNCERS ARE RECYCLING MATERIAL! Mind-boggling.

But, worst of all, the worst thing maybe I have EVER heard was Mike Breen saying that Doc's tactic of coaching by "feel", i.e. jerking the lineup around like a lunatic, was a BRILLIANT TACTIC that should not be criticized. Similarly, Mike Breen has a love advice column, and here is an excerpt:

"When you have found a person you love and want to forge a lasting, meaningful, and successful relationship, I always advise my readers to follow the lead of former NBA Coach of the Year Doc Rivers and send mixed messages whenever possible. One day, tell her you love her madly. Then, the next day, randomly flip out and attack them for things that are outside of their control. Withhold all affection. Then, it's best to call up her best friend or her mother and talk about how your mate is a horrible person and nothing in the 'fight' was your fault, and that your mate knows exactly what she did wrong. Then, when your mate tries to work out with you what went wrong, just shake your head and be uncommunicative. The longer you can do this, the better. If you can completely avoid talking to her, and only talk through her best friend/mother, GREAT. Then, one day, whenever you feel like it (I always advocate to FEEL things instead of thinking logically or compassionately), send her flowers, a nice note, and take them out to a nice dinner. Afterwards, call the best friend back and say, laughing, that you're glad that your mate finally got her sh!t together, and it's about time. This is the best way to do things. After all, it was using this logic that Doc Rivers took the most talented team in the NBA to the Eastern Conference finals by losing every road game and squeaking out Game 7 wins against far inferior teams!"

6) I'm not too worried about Ray Allen. He was making the right passes out of the double teams (which they were sending at him every time he touched the ball) and he's just shooting poorly. Whatever, it happens. Would you rather he force up a bunch of terrible shots? He had 6 good looks all game and he only made one of them. That being said, Doc was right to cut his minutes last night because he wasn't making anything. Play the hot hand, I always say!

7) The Celtics should never, EVER count on the refs to make the right calls in the playoffs, because they don't and won't. Lebron was furious every time he went to the basket and a foul wasn't called. The Celtics weren't fouling him every time, obviously, but the mentality among the Lebrons and DWade's of the league is that they should be rewarded just for trying to make a move to the basket. On the other hand, Lebron could hold Pierce by his jersey and slap the ball away and also send Rondo flying 15 feet with his lowered shoulder in the lane and those won't be called for the Celtics.

THOSE ARE THE FACTS. So, the Celtics should be careful not to let the refs decide their gameplan, like they did especially in the Hawks series. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but the more the Celtics bitch and shoot jumpers the less calls they are going to get on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. When Pierce, especially, feels like he isn't getting the calls, he has the tendency to play wilder and initiate contact more to convince the refs that he's getting hacked, and this argument simply doesn't work. (He didn't do that in Game 7 and, shocking, he played better than he has all season.) They need to continue to attack the basket, go after offensive rebounds, keep their mouths shut, and play tough defense. The Celtics are definitely deep enough to survive foul trouble from pretty much any player. I was impressed with the Celtics' composure in this game because they were getting SCREWED by the refs and any impartial observer would say the same thing. Keep it up.

8) Paul Pierce has always been up to the challenge down the stretch, and he's the go-to guy. However! I was impressed that KG took a jumper with no hesitation (in and out), Rondo was taking it to the rack, and PJ was cleaning up the garbage. I don't know, I think there are several Celtics that are ready to take over when the game is on the line... the trouble may be in finding who it will be each night. But all the talk about the Celtics not having that go-to guy is for stupid people that get into stupid arguments. Everyone on the floor down the stretch pitched in well, in different ways. Also, it bears mentioning that clutch rebounding is vastly underrated and the Celtics are great in that department.

9) While the Pistons are a better team than the Cavs, I like this matchup for the Celtics because they won't get outcoached and their bench is superior. It's just a matter of time until Ray gets his groove back and the other two amigos are ready to roll. I like this series for the Celtics, they'll know they have to pick their game up. I believe they are capable... some teams only play a little tiny bit better than their opponent no matter how good or bad they are. I am thinking of another New England-based sports franchise that won a couple Super Bowls back when. Let's hope the Celtics can follow that example.

SEE YA LEBRON, TIME FOR ROUND 3!!!!!!

MAY 18 NAMED "PJ DAY" IN MASSACHUSETTS FOR EVERMORE; PAUL PIERCE ACTUALLY USES RIVALRY WITH LEBRON JAMES FOR GOOD INSTEAD OF EVIL; DOC RIVERS ACTUALLY MAKES GOOD COACHING DECISIONS DOWN THE STRETCH.... I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO EVER STOP!!!!!!