A couple of months ago, I wrote a column about how NBA commissioner David Stern’s voiding of the original Chris Paul trade had made a mockery of the New Orleans Hornets, who following the approved Chris Paul trade were making no effort to compete. There was predictable backlash, mostly from Hornets fans who disagreed with my premise that making the playoffs – no matter how short your stay – is always better than intentionally stinking up the joint for several years
Wednesday was my 16th wedding anniversary. It also was the 30th anniversary of one of the most anticipated playoff games in NBA history – Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. The rivals met in the conference finals in three consecutive years from 1980-82. In 1981, the Sixers opened a 3-1 lead before the Celtics won the next three games by a combined five points. The following year, the Sixers again opened a 3-1
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance! ‘’— Jim Carrey, Dumb and Dumber PHILADELPHIA — Actually, the resilient Philadelphia 76ers have a much better chance beating the Boston Celtics in a decisive seventh game Saturday at the new Garden than the one-in-a-million shot Jim Carrey’s character did of getting the girl. You might not normally think that. You might think Doug Collins’ team, which staved off the executioner by grinding out an 82-75 Game 6 victory before a packed house that included
In the biggest game of the season for the Boston Celtics, the Big Four took a back seat to the Other One. All of the attention in Boston rightfully goes to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. They are the only four players remaining from the team’s last championship in 2008 and comprise perhaps the best quartet in the NBA. They are the reason the Celtics are still in the title hunt when most felt their window of
Did the Boston Celtics take the bait? After the Celtics easily handled the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3, reclaiming home-court advantage and the upper hand in their series with a convincing win, Sixers coach Doug Collins tried to plant a seed of overconfidence in Gang Green. “I think they are looking at that other series a little bit,” Collins said. “I think they see Chris Bosh being out (for Miami). They see a tremendous opportunity for themselves.” Whether Boston did or didn’t, it
PHILADELPHIA — This was like spotting Tom Brady and the Patriots two quick touchdowns in the opening minutes, then spending the rest of the half doing everything else wrong. You just don’t recover from something like that. Unless, apparently, you’re the Philadelphia 76ers and the game is basketball rather than football. And your opponent isn’t Bill Belichick’s team, but Massachusetts’ other fabled team, the Celtics; a franchise that used to define winning. My, how times have changed. Yes, the Celtics are still proud,
PHILADELPHIA– Honestly, who saw this coming? Those two storied rivals, the Sixers and Celtics, had waged playoff war for two games up in Boston, with literally nothing foreshadowing what happened here Wednesday night. The Celts had rallied from 10 points down in the 4th quarter of Game 1 to pull out a one-point victory. Philadelphia had countered in Game 2 by hitting their last five shots from the field and going 6-for-6 at the line in the last 12 seconds to also win
Last week, we had a book review of Don’t Put Me In Coach, in which Ohio State benchwarmer and author Mark Titus repeatedly refers to teammate Evan Turner as “The Villain.” On Monday night in Boston, The Villian was The Hero. Turner shook off a tough shooting night to make a difficult driving, twisting layup that gave the Philadelphia 76ers the lead for good, then added two clutch free throws to help them hold on for an 82-81 victory over the Celtics