Celtics hold off pesky Heat to move to 13-4

(13-4) vs. (9-7)

Score: 92-85, Celtics win

For the Boston Celtics, tonight's game against the Miami Heat was a game of three good quarters. The Celtics played three good offensive quarters and three good defensive quarters. I don't know where the C's "D" was during the first quarter (Maybe it got lost with Rasheed Wallace's jumper?), but it was back to stay in the second quarter, and I don't know where the C's "O" was during the third quarter (Maybe it got lost with Ray Allen's jumper?), but it was there the rest of the game.

For the first half, the Celtics offense was impeccable. It's amazing what the Celtics can do when they realize they aren't strictly a jump-shooting team. I asked for them to continue what they started against Toronto, going inside for easy buckets, and, boy, did the C's oblige -- for a half.

Doc Rivers must have told his big men, "Guys, you are bigger, badder, and more talented than any frontcourt you've played so far. Instead of tossing up jumpers and pretending that you are the size of Earl Boykins, you might as well go down low and get whatever shots you want." And voila, they began heeding his advice, getting easy buckets, displaying exhilarating ball movement, and reminding people that the Celtics are bigger, badder, and more talented than any other team they've played so far.

Offensively, the execution was exquisite. The ball movement was precise. The shots were closer to the basket than normal, and they were falling. The three-pointers still didn't go down, but it didn't matter because the C's were getting every open shot they wanted. Even the Celtics' 2 for 8 downtown shooting was excusable; every three they took was open and every three they took was in rhythm after nice ball movement. The Celtics offense, in the first half at least, was beautiful to watch.

During the second half, or at least the third quarter, the C's looked like a different team. Granted, the Heat picked up their focus and energy quite a bit, but the Celts weren't nearly the same team as they were in the first quarter. They were 0 for 6 from the arc to begin the third, and while the first-half misses were excusable, the third-quarter misses weren't. Instead of being open looks off crisp ball movement, the third quarter threes were contested shots off the dribble. The Celtics stopped looking inside, stopped attacking, and ceased looking like such a cohesive unit.

In the fourth, there was a difference, a pep in Boston's step, and his name was Rajon Rondo. After a quick run by Michael Beasley put the Heat up 74-69, Rondo subbed in and his presence was instantly felt. (Quick rant: What in the hell was Doc thinking with his lineup to start the fourth quarter? Earth to Doc: Neither Rasheed Wallace nor Brian Scalabrine is quick enough to guard Beasley, even if Beasley had been high as a kite, which he evidently wasn't.)

His first possession, Rondo drove the middle and kicked out to Scal for a three. Second possession: Rondo's patented right-hand scoop from the left side for a bucket. Third possession: After knocking the ball off Beasley's leg and out of bounds, Rondo drove the lane and fed Ray Allen for an open three. (Which Ray missed.) Fourth possession: Rondo finishes a fast break with a circus reverse layup in between two Heat defenders while crashing into the basket support. After all that, the Celtics were back in control of the game and well on their way to the win. Rondo's biggest problem on the night, actually, was getting the ball thrown to him. The C's threw away three (that's right, three) outlet passes, looking like a high school girl's team trying to outlet it to Rondo.

Despite the trouble's outletting the basketball, the Celtics had a few other great performances. Kevin Garnett was 11 for 12 from the floor, finishing with 24 points and 8 assists. He started off 7 for 7, running his consecutive field goals made streak to 13, before picking up his lone miss on a turnaround jumper with tough defense from Beasley. Garnett hit some huge shots, especially two jumpers from the top of the key to put the game of the way, and was very aggressive attacking the hoop and getting easy shots.

But my favorite play by Garnett, the one play I was happiest about, probably had the smallest affect on the game. It was when KG picked Dwyane Wade up fullcourt and pressured him while he dribbled the ball up the court. Why did that make me so happy? Garnett used to do that all the time. Whenever he wanted the Celtics to go on a run, whenever he sensed the C's needed some energy, Garnett used to do that. He'd slap the ground, clap in a guard's face, and harass him all the way upcourt. This year, though, until today, he hadn't done it once, and I suspect it's because he felt he didn't have the mobility to defend a guard in the fullcourt. Today, though, he was back into it, and it was against D-Wade, one of the league's fastest and most explosive guards. I hope and believe it's a sign that Garnett himself feels better, and damn, did it get me hyped to see Garnett pulling out one of his old tricks we haven't seen in awhile. (On a maybe-related side note, Garnett did a very good job on Beasley. While Beasley made 'Sheed and Scal look like they were walking in quicksand, he did almost nothing when being guarded by Garnett.)

The other half of the C's twin towers inside, Kendrick Perkins, was also very good. He didn't shoot a lot, but he drew a bunch of fouls, was strong going to the hoop, and had a few good passes, too. My favorite play by Perk wasn't one of his buckets, wasn't one of his 13 rebounds, wasn't one of his three blocked shots, and didn't even count for his lone assist... but boy was it pretty. Perk, after setting a ball screen for Pierce and rolling to the short corner, took a bounce pass from Pierce, turned patiently toward the lane, then scooped a pass past his defender to a cutting KG. KG didn't convert the bucket (he was fouled on the play), but it was an example of just how good the Celtics can be when they move the basketball quickly and intelligently.

Ray-Ray was solid and, despite an off shooting night, played great defense on Wade down the stretch and contributed to the C's win. Still, I think it's about time Ray snapped out of his three-point malaise. After all, he's one of the NBA's best three-point shooters ever, right? This season, he's looked more like Tony Allen than Ray Allen from behind the arc. It's only a matter of time before Ray starts shooting the ball well, but damn it, Ray Allen, hurry up and shoot like you're Ray Allen.

Still, Ray was one of the staples of a Celtics defense that finally looked like the Celtics defense. Ray contested Dwyane Wade's jumpers and kept him from scoring too easily. The Celtics knew he'd score -- after all, he's Dwyane Wade! -- but wanted him to have to work for his points, and made him -- and the rest of his teammates -- do that. After a first quarter in which the C's defense looked downright Raptors-ish, they picked it up the rest of the game and really buckled down. The C's had seven blocked shots, and contested the three-point line very well -- which they haven't done recently -- forcing the Heat into 2 for 15 shooting from the arc.

While the story in this game was the C's experience and knack for making big plays when they needed them, the surprise of the game goes to Michael Beasley. I knew Beasley could score, and I knew he's a very talented offensive player, but I had never before seen Beasley be such a presence on the defensive end of the floor. Beasley had an early-fourth quarter stretch where he was absolutely unstoppable, but I thought it was the third quarter when he really made his mark.

During that quarter, the Heat held the Celtics to only 12 points on 26% shooting, and it was Beasley (yes, the same Michael Beasley you -- and I -- thought had never played a good possession of defense in his life) who was the driving force behind the stifling defense. He was everywhere, deflecting passes, stealing passes, and skying for rebounds. I'd never seen Beasley play so hard, and I was very surprised to see him be such a disruptive defender. Even offensively, Beasley looked to be much improved. He didn't fall in love with his jumper, and was very content to earn his points with putback buckets, good cuts to the hoop, and drives by slower defenders. Beasley still took a few jumpers, but they were all in the offense and none of them were forced. He was, certainly, the biggest surprise of the night. He was so good I don't even want to make a weed joke, because it would take away from his great play. (Fighting the urge, fighting the urge... DOH!) Oh well, here goes: He played as if Erik Spoelstra told him he could only smoke a joint after the game if he gave his all on every play.

As far as the other players go, Wade did what Wade does, scoring 27 points to go along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Rasheed did what Rasheed does, picking up a technical foul. (For saying "And-one" after a made bucket. Yes, he said it loudly, and yes, he said it animatedly, but a professional basketball player should never receive a technical foul just for saying "And-one." Under any circumstances.) Rasheed also played more in the post, especially in the first half, showcasing his low-post talent that still does exist somewhere behind all those bricked threes. Jermaine O'Neal, despite getting his shot blocked by Kendrick Perkins on a few occasions, looked like a borderline All-Star. Paul Pierce had a great first quarter (ten points), but more or less disappeared afterwards and turned it over too often. Udonis Haslem hit some open jumpers, Marquis Daniels didn't do much but had a very nice dump-down to KG for a dunk, and Joel Anthony should not be in the NBA.

Am I missing anything? Probably. But it's late, I'm getting tired, and Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball is calling my name. (Jay, Jay, Jay...)

Running Diary: Not much defense as Celtics down Raptors

Before you read this, please promise me one thing: Promise me you won't ever, ever let me go to another NBDL game.

I live right next to Springfield, where there is a new NBDL team, and tonight was opening night. It seemed like fun, plus my friend bought me tickets for free, so I decided to go. After all, it was professional basketball. How bad could it be?

The answer? Pretty. F---ing. Bad. By the time we left, with eight minutes still left in the game, the Springfield Armor were losing 92-58, and I still wasn't sure how they'd even scored 58 points. It was so bad that my brother and I had conversations during the game like this one:

Tommy (my brother): How many points do you think you could score if you played in this game?
Me: Probably 15-20. I'm a better shooter than any of these guys, and they don't exactly contest shots. If I played the full 48 minutes, I'd have at least 15 or 20.
Tommy: Yeah, that sounds about right. I was thinking the same thing.

And we were dead serious! Meanwhile, I'm the same guy who quit my division three basketball team after not getting any minutes whatsoever. And my team was one of division three's worst programs. I'm not exactly what you would call a super-talented player. But I was convinced -- and, frankly, still am -- that I could have score 15 or 20 points if I played the full game. Even though the Armor had only scored 58 through 40 or so minutes.

Honestly, the most talented player in the gym wasn't even a player. (And, surprisingly, it wasn't Armor coach Dee Brown either.) Nope. It was the guy who participated in one of the shooting contests during a timeout. In the contest, he had to sink three foul-line jumpers and three three-pointers in a minute in order to get the prize, whatever the prize was. He made his first five shots, leaving him with half a minute to make the final shot.

Since I'm telling you the story, you know he ended up making the last shot, but listen to how he did it: Instead of shooting with half a minute left and getting a few chances to win the prize, he waited until the clock ran all the way down, leaving himself with one pressure-filled NBA three-pointer to collect his bounty. Needless to say, he canned it. And, with that sixth made shot, he had made more field goals during a one-minute contest than the Armor did in the entire second half. The NBDL: Where a random fan picked out of the crowd being better than the home team's players happens.

Now that you know just how bad the level of play was, you can imagine how excited I was to get back to the Celtics game. (Which I had DVR'ed.) Think about how hyped I must have been to get back when I kept getting tweets like "The Celtics are shooting 83%. Not in the first four minutes of the game. Nope, it's almost halftime.", "Paul Pierce just crammed on Chris Bosh's head.", and "The Celtics are threatening to break their record for highest single-game field goal percentage." I couldn't wait to get back and get the horrible taste of the NBDL out of my mouth.

I knew the Celtics had won by the time I got back, but I had to see for myself and decide what I thought about this one. Here is what I came up with, a running diary of my thoughts as I watched the game:

First Quarter

First good news of the telecast: Tony Allen is still out tonight. Thank you, Tony, and please, take your time coming back.

The first Celtics bucket: A Ray Allen 15-foot jumper. Not only did no Raptor contest it, but no Raptor even seemed to know that Ray was shooting.

Tommy Heinsohn on Andrea Bargnani's defense: "I tell ya. That Bargnani, he's got his feet stuck in spaghetti." Comcast Sports New England telecasts: Where racial slurs happen.

Of the Celtics first 12 points, ten of them are on easy layups or dunks. Make that 12 of the first 14. Nope, make it 14 of their first 16. Actually, 16 of their first 18.

Mike Gorman just said, "First one to 140 [wins]", and it doesn't even seem like he's exaggerating. The Celtics are having layup lines, and the Raptors aren't having much more difficulty scoring than the C's. The game has been tied seven different times, and it's mostly because neither team can buy a stop.

The Celtics are shooting 9 for 10 from the field, but are down two, 20-18. If you've ever imagined what it would be like to watch NBA players play H.O.R.S.E., here's your chance.

As good as the Celtics look offensively, getting layups and dunks whenever they want, they weren't taking care of the ball at all in the first quarter. Their 6th turnover of the game came with three minutes still remaining in the first. They could play a lineup of five Tony Allen's and probably not have that many turnovers. On second thought, nahhhhhh.

The Celtics hit 12 of their first 13 shots, and the one miss was a Ray Allen missed lefty runner on the C's first shot. For those of you who still haven't gathered this, that means they hit 12 shots in a row. Not too shabby. Here's one of the shots they hit:

Watching Hedo Turkoglu play defense makes me realize 1) how good Dwight Howard is defensively, to be able to hide Hedo's deficiencies, and 2) how good a coach Stan Van Gundy is, to be able to hide Hedo's deficiencies. The duo of Chris Bosh and Jay Triano hasn't quite had the same success in making Hedo's defense somewhat permissible.

This Toronto team is historically bad defensively. Any time you put two of the NBA's softer big men on the same team, then surround them with a whole bunch of soft, slow-ish players, it's a recipe for defensive disaster. The Raps just give up layup after layup, and when they aren't giving up layups they're giving up wide open jumpers. It's unbelievable how bad they are on "D".

The C's shot 83% for the ENTIRE FIRST QUARTER, and are up 33-27 at the end of one. Really, it should be far worse, but the C's defense is still suiting up in the locker room and their offense is throwing turnovers left and right.

Second Quarter

Early in the second quarter, 'Sheed got a steal, bulldozed an official, then missed an awkward pullup five footer on the break. Less than a minute later, Sheed picked up a technical foul, and the refs had gotten their revenge. Meanwhile, Tommy Heinsohn acted like Rasheed is an absolute class act, saying "I'm getting tired with these officials. I'm getting tired with that type of nonsense, that call. I mean, the guy is upset because he goes to one end of the floor, goes to the basket, doesn't get a foul"... and then Tommy just kind of trailed off without finishing his sentence. Either way, he apparently thinks Rasheed doesn't deserve his technicals, despite Rasheed being the league's technical leader for, oh, about the last fifty some-odd years, and the fact that he argues just about every single call made against him.

The C's defense is non-existent. Somehow, they are only up two points despite scoring just about every time they've taken a shot.

Why, oh why, does Rasheed Wallace not go into the post more often? Especially when he's mired into a seemingly oh-fer-the-season slump, wouldn't you think he would at least try his post game out a little? Well, he did in this game. First post touch: Drop step towards the baseline around Bargnani for an easy bucket. Second post touch (on the very next play), an unblockable fadeaway turning towards his left shoulder for another bucket. Please, Rasheed, don't be allergic to the paint. You are far too talented on the blocks.

I'm not sure exactly what he said, but Rasheed just started woofing at Turkoglu while the two were walking to their respective huddles to begin a timeout. After the game, I received a tweet from thew Globe's Gary Washburn that said: "Rasheed wallace on hedo turkoglu: 'flop. Thats what turkadodo do. Flop.'" It's too bad for the Raptors that "Turkadodo" is too busy flopping to play any semblance of real defense. Also too bad for the Raptors: Nobody else on their team plays any semblance of real defense, either.

Paul Pierce just scored on Marco Belinelli, and Mike Gorman said something to the affect of, "It's like Pierce looked up, saw he had Belinelli on him, and decided he would go ahead and score." Gorman might as well have said, "It's like Pierce looked up, saw he was playing the Raptors, and decided he would go ahead and score."

'Sheed is doing it all in the first half. He's hitting from inside, hitting from outside, rebounding, and blocking shots. When he plays like this, he helps the Celtics SO much. Unfortunately, most of the time he's too busy living in a tent at the three-point arc to play so well.

Comcast just had the following "Roundball debate of perfection": Who is the perfect Celtics shooter? A) Ray Allen, or B) Jo-Jo White. There is no C) option. Now, I know Ray Allen is a great shooter, and so was Jo-Jo White, but don't you have to include a certain white shooter on the list? And, for those of you out there wondering, I don't mean Brian Scalabrine. Larry Bird, people. Doesn't he deserve to at least be an option on the Goddamn list? They called Ray Allen "Jesus" in He Got Game, but they called Larry Bird "Jesus", or at least "Basketball Jesus", in real life. Let's just say the "Roundball debate of perfection" could use a little tweaking.

Kendrick Perkins is really an underrated passer. He usually makes one or two passes a game that make me scratch my head and wonder how Perk saw the pass when a lot of point guards wouldn't. (Okay, maybe just a lot of power forwards wouldn't make.) This time, it was a wraparound pass to a wide open Garnett underneath the bucket. Perk can do a lot of surprisingly good things with the basketball in his hands.

The Celtics shot 67.6% in the first half. The problem? The Raps shot 66.7%, and actually lead the C's by one point at halftime. The first half was simply a clinic on how NOT to play defense, for both teams. Layup, after layup, after layup, on both ends. Somehow, despite negative defense on both sides, the two teams have combined for 24 turnovers. Go figure.

Third Quarter

The second half started out much the same as the first, with the Raptors getting unmolested shots at the hoop. A layup, a dunk, and another dunk were results from Toronto's first three possessions. Since I am DVR'ing this, I know the Raptors only scored 17 points the whole third quarter, but it looks right now like they are ready to have another 30-or-so point quarter.

The C's were down 61-57, then rattled off a 13-0 run that only ended when Amir Johnson hit a free throw to make it 70-62. During the run, the C's "flipped the switch", finally putting together a stretch of good defense and maintaining their prolific offensive output.

It might just be playing a team softer than a baby's bottom, but the Celtics are pounding the ball down low and scoring easy buckets all day. It bothers me when KG and Wallace spend too much time on the perimeter, because the trio of those two and Perk should be absolutely dominant down low on both ends.

By the time the third quarter was over, the game was over, and I'm getting kind of restless. I just want to see Pierce's dunk...

Fourth Quarter

Well, I saw Pierce's dunk and, of course, I want to say a couple things about it. First, there's no way Pierce intentionally kicked Bosh. To kick him, while simultaneously skying through the air and dunking a basketball, would have been almost impossible. Still, he certainly kicked him. On another note, somebody needs to tell Jay Triano to shut the f--- up. For some reason, he started yapping at the Celtics about something being bullshit. I don't know whether he was talking about Pierce's kick, Pierce's taunt afterward, or what, but I DO know that instead of getting into a shouting match with Rasheed after a Pierce dunk, Triano should have been more focused on coaching his defense.

Dunks happen, offensive fouls happen, and trash talk happens, Triano, but you don't have to make it worse by getting into a shouting match with Rasheed after it. Just shut up and coach your team. It's your defense, not Pierce's dunk, that was bullshit. If you want to argue Pierce should have toned it down a little, I agree, but it's not the coach's place to do something about it. The referees called a technical foul, and the coach should just let bygones be bygones. There is no need for a coach to ever get into a shouting match with an opposing player. Not over a little taunting, at least.

Somehow, Doc Rivers ended up with a technical foul after Triano was up in Rasheed's mug screaming his head off. You wonder what in the hell goes on in NBA officials heads, sometimes.

Instead of watching the end of this game, I'm just going to put that dunk on repeat:

Before I go, I'll leave you with some stats:

Eddie House was the only Celtic to take a shot and not shoot at least 50% from the field. He was 1 for 3.

Rondo had more assists (11) than the entire Raptors starting five (8).

KG and Perk were both perfect from the field, combining for 14 for 14 shooting and 30 points. That would have been a lot more impressive had their degree of difficulty not been higher in layup lines than it was in the game.

The C's shot 62.3%.

Despite playing a frontcourt that would have been overpowered by Mikki Moore, the C's were outrebounded 31-26.

I'm sure there are some other wild statistics from this one, but I have yet to unearth them. Just know it was an unorthodox game with some blistering shooting, and that the Celtics had no problems putting Toronto away once they put it into first gear in the third quarter.

A Boston Celtics Thanksgiving: Reasons to be thankful you're a Celtics fan

If you are like any other Celtic fan I know, you've been worried to death over the Celtics' recent play. You've been wondering when (if?) the team is finally going to gel, and whether Boston is really as bad as it's looked recently. (Can they possibly be that bad?) If you're like me, you've likely needed to ingest (at least) a few beers to ease your mind after each game over the past couple weeks.

Everywhere I look, a new blogger or columnist is writing about the Celtics' struggles. Chris Sheridan examined the C's problems in depth. (And I replied). Jeff Clark from over at Celticsblog felt compelled to address trading Ray Allen, as if some people have already given up on this young season. (And I didn't reply, though for some reason it actually makes sense that some people have given up on a 10-4 team. That's how poorly the C's have looked recently, even in their wins.)

People are down on the Celtics, but there are still some things to be thankful for. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, and dread and worry spreading like the Swine Flu through Celtics nation, I think it's time to take a look on the bright side, and discuss everything that should still bring a smile to your face. So sit back, dream of turkey, gravy and stuffing, and be prepared to have your spirits lifted...

The C's couldn't possibly shoot any worse
The Celtics have hit rock bottom from the three-point arc, ladies and gentlemen. In case you think Rasheed Wallace can stay mired in his slump forever, check out Rasheed's percentages from downtown over the past four seasons: 35.7%, 35.1%, 35.6%, 35.4%. If those percentages don't scream consistency, then I don't know what does -- 'Sheed will right the ship; it's just a matter of time.

And all those other Celtics shooting like blind geese from behind the arc? Well, they're pretty good shooters, too. Ray Allen (30.4% this season) has never hit less than 37.2% in a full season. And Eddie House? It may seem like he's been cold, but House is actually shooting over 40% from threes. Which, in case you're basketball illiterate, is pretty damn good.

Tony Allen has yet to play a single game this season
Should I say any more? Do I even need to go into why everyone should be ecstatic that this statement is true? In other news...

The Tony Allen era is likely over following this season
Allen's contract is mercifully done at the end of this season. As soon as Allen plays his final game as a Celtic -- assuming he hasn't already -- you will probably see a strange-looking man outside your window, drinking champagne and doing cartwheels for hours on end. No need to be alarmed -- That man will be me, celebrating not Tony's career, but the end of Tony's career.

The maturation of the young guys
I'm looking at you, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins. Rondo still doesn't have a jumpshot (or a free throw, for that matter), but he can change games and win games with his speed, court vision, and tenacity. Perk, meanwhile, has slowly but surely proved himself to be one of the more reliable, defensive-minded centers in the NBA, and isn't so much of a slouch anymore when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. Even when the Big Three are done with their careers, the Celtics will be in good hands with these two.

Marquis Daniels fits right in
When the season started, I wasn't sure what the Celtics had in Daniels. I knew he put up decent stats for Indiana last year, but I also knew Tony Allen had at one point in his career posted decent stats. WIth that said, Daniels has been a pleasant surprise to me; his stats are back down (as is only natural for a player with a far more limited role), but he does all the little things to help a team win games. Daniels attacks the hoop, finishes very well, defends the other team's best wing, and has a very high basketball I.Q. Simply put, the guy's a winner.

Glen Davis will be back soon
Remember him? The player who spent all offseason doing MMA-style training, claiming it was to get him in shape when really it was so he could beat the hell out of his visiting friend. Okay, maybe it really was to get himself in shape, and maybe Davis did more damage to himself than to his friend, but his broken thumb is just about healed. According to today's Herald, Davis will be ready for action in the early part of December, and he will bring a much-needed spark and some scoring punch to the Celtics lineup.

The Celtics are one game away from the East's top seed
That doesn't seem right to you? Maybe it's because you, like the rest of us Boston fans, have been too busy fretting about the C's close wins and bad losses. Anyway, the Hawks and Magic are the only two teams in the East with a better record than Boston, and both teams are only ahead of Boston by a single game. Start smiling!

The Celtics are #1 in scoring differential
Not just in the Atlantic Division, or the Eastern Conference, or even in the group of teams struggling mightily over their last two weeks. Nope, the C's have the best scoring differential in the entire NBA. And in case you didn't know, scoring differential is normally the most indicative stat of how a team fares in the playoffs. Smiling yet?

Boston still has the Big Three
Last year, the Big Three was down to the Big Two. Two years before that, it was the Lone Ranger, Paul Pierce, and his bumbling, inexperienced teammates. This year? The Celtics still. Have. The. Big. Three. And, beyond anything else, that's why you should be happy. Kevin Garnett may still hobble around on occasion, and he might look bad at times (like the first 52 minutes and 52 seconds of the Knicks game), but he's still Kevin Garnett, and he's still wearing green. Paul Pierce looks spry this season and prepared to have a nice year, and Ray-Ray will turn things around and become the fire-thrower we're used to.

See, there's still a lot to be happy with when it comes to the Celtics. At times this season, they have looked bad, they've looked unengaged, they've looked old, and they've looked, well, bad. But they still have a hell of a nucleus, and they still have surrounding players who know their role and perform their job well. When the C's finally weather the storm of this early-season slump, they will still have all the pieces to make a great playoff run.

Smile, damn it!

Maine Red Claws Preseason Postgame

The Maine Red Claws played their first game tonight, a preseason game against the Springfield Armor in the Augusta Civic Center. For those From Away, Augusta is the state capital, about an hour north of Portland (the normal home of the Red Claws) up I-95. In front of a large, boisterous crowd that included Maine Governor John Baldacci and Celtics GM Danny Ainge, NBDL basketball was played in New England for the first time. Although the Red Claws fell to the Springfield Armor, it was an excellent chance for the state to begin to fall in love with the team. Maine's basketball fanaticism was very much on display.

The Red Claws looked rough, as is to be expected of any newly-established team. It's important to note that while the Springfield Armor are new to the region, they are a relocated team, unlike the expansion Red Claws. So the Armor have played together, whereas the Red Claws are a recently thrown-together group. Still, they played well, and Austin Ainge acquitted himself in his first performance as Head Coach.

The Claws were behind at halftime and looked lackluster for much of the first half, but whatever Austin said to them at halftime worked. They came out in the third looking strong, and it was an exciting, back-and-forth game for most of the second half. Unfortunately a few key missed shots for the Claws knocked them out with about a minute left, and they lost by eight points.

This team played unevenly, but with a lot of energy, including from recently-assigned Celtic Bill Walker. Walker looked good; in 25 minutes he scored 13 points, had 3 boards and no assists, tying with Tony Bobbit in both categories. Bobbit did better with 5 boards and an assist, though. The Claws' statistical leader was Darnell Lazare, with 19 points, 8 boards, and no assists in about 34 minutes. FULL BOX.

I've no doubt that with Austin at the helm they will improve tremendously over the course of the season. It was a great idea to do a preseason elsewhere in the state and build up excitement for the team outside their home base of Portland. Principle owner Bill Ryan, Jr., President Jon Jennings, and the entire Red Claws ownership group and staff have run an impressive, professional organization from the get-go. They've clearly learned from other teams how to do things right. Long before the home opener at the Portland Expo next Friday vs. Springfield (again) they've fully embedded themselves into the community.

They've sponsored a number of charity events, and the team's dancers have shown up at various events. They've held very effective open houses, letting folks visit the revamped Portland Expo facility, seeing how it will look on gameday. Their staff is friendly, helpful, and accessible - something I especially appreciate as a season-ticket holder. It's good to know, as a customer, that I'll be dealing with true professionals.

I recently received my season-ticket holder packet, and realized that I don't get a bundle of tickets - I get a card as a pass instead that functions as a ticket for every game. I don't know if every NBDL team does this or not, but I have not seen it done before, and I'm already thrilled by it. It makes my life immensely easier. I really hope that if it works, the Celtics consider doing the same for their season ticket holders in the future. This is one area where the Celtics could learn from the Red Claws.

All this explains why, in the middle of a recession, the Red Claws managed to sell a huge number of season tickets. Regardless of their record this year (and I think they will be competitive), they are a welcome addition to Maine. Indeed, not only Mainers but all Celtics fans should be thrilled with this new arrangement, as in the long term, it will work out very well for all involved.

Celtics-Magic preview: Orlando's different, but are they better?

On the day of March 17, 2009, I was as confident as can be.

The C's were set to battle the Magic for the right to head to the Eastern Conference Finals, but I wasn't worried at all. Even without Kevin Garnett, I figured Boston had enough in the tank to overwhelm the inexperienced Magic. After all, their historical record in game 7's was obscene: 20-5 in game 7's overall, 17-3 in game 7's in Boston. And the current team? Why, they were just 3-0. I saw Hedo Turkoglu eating a slice of pizza before the game, and every doubt I still had about the game evaporated. Who eats a f---ing slice of pizza before the biggest game of the season?

Well, now I know the answer: A player who was calm, unworried, and ready to lead his Orlando Magic into the Eastern Conference Finals. A player who is 6'10", but possesses the playmaking skills of a guard. A player who spreads the floor with his jumpshot, but uses the screen-and-roll, or the pick-and-pop, as well as just about anyone in the NBA.

A player who no longer plays in Orlando.

Losing Turkoglu hurts Orlando, badly. The Magic added Vince Carter, and threw in Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, Jason Williams, and Ryan Anderson to boot, but the jury is still out on whether they're as good as they were last season. The thing that made them so good last season was their versatility; Vince is mega-talented, but he doesn't pose the matchup threats Hedo did. He just doesn't.

When the Magic played Hedo, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard in the frontcourt, man-oh-man were they tough to match up with. Not only are all three of those guys 6'10" or taller, but they're all athletic, and Lewis and Hedo both play on the perimeter, where opposing players find it very difficult to guard them. And when they threw Mickael Pietrus out there at the two (don't forget, he had an absolutely killer postseason), the Magic were long, strong, and skilled. (They could also play the athletic Courtney Lee out at the two. Another player they miss.)

The Magic put Howard down low and four other guys outside, and Hedo and Rashard invariably caused matchup problems for just about any team in the league. The only team that could match up with that frontcourt was the team that ended up smoking the Magic in the Finals; the Lakers were the one team with the length and athleticism to match up, and when they did the Magic weren't so tough to beat anymore.

Now, a lot of teams can match up with the Magic. As talented as Carter is, he just doesn't bring everything that Hedo brought to the table. The Magic are much more conventional this season, and I don't think that's a good thing for them. Their versatility, their ability to create mismatches, was the reason Orlando was so good and, with Hedo leaving, a lot of that is now gone.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you the Magic aren't still a very good team. They are. They are absurdly deep, have shooters everywhere you look, and if I'm not mistaken Dwight Howard is still pretty strong and athletic. Lewis proved himself last season, Jason Williams looks four years younger than the last time we saw him, and Dwight Howard now has more than one move in the post. (Okay, I lied about that last part.)

I just think they took a step back from last season. I'm not positive they have, and I guess only time will tell. But if you had me at gunpoint and demanded that I tell you whether the Magic were better or worse this year than last, I would say they're worse.

They'll miss the pizza man.

Here are some points to look for in tonight's game.

Kendrick Perkins vs. Dwight Howard

After Perk did such a great job on Howard in the playoffs, (corny joke alert!!) we might have to start calling Perk Kryptonite. All jokes aside, Perk is one of the few human beings strong enough and mobile enough to take away Howard's two biggest advantages: his strength and freakish athleticism. Howard will get his blocks, and he'll get his rebounds, but if Perk can harass him into taking a bunch of his weak, sweeping hook shots, Howard could have a subpar shooting percentage in this one.

Kevin Garnett's mobility

I know, I know, I'm the same guy who once said "Garnett is back! He's 100%!" But, he's not. He still hasn't regained all his lateral movement, and he still can't jump without fully gathering himself first. Garnett still makes an enormous difference on the Celtics, but he's not back to what he used to be. He's just not.

So far on the young season, Garnett hasn't really had to defend a perimeter threat. The only opposing power forward who played mostly on the perimeter was Oleksiy Pecherov, and while I wouldn't exactly call him "a threat", Pecherov lit up Garnett and the Celts. It will be interesting to see Garnett guard Lewis; I'm hoping he'll show enough mobility to be able to stick in front of him. At any rate, he'll do a better job on Lewis than Big Baby and Scal did in the playoffs.

Ray Allen's play

I don't want to call Ray out but, well, I'm going to call Ray out. Ray was flat-out awful through most of the Orlando series. He was hounded into a horrendous shooting performance, into completely disappearing, by J.J. Redick. J.J. F---ing Redick. Now, I know Redick's improved his defense quite a bit, but there is no way he should be able to defend Ray-Ray.

Today, he'll probably be guarded by Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, and Redick. Let's hope Ray plays a little better than he did last time he faced the Magic.

Boston's energy

Over the last five or so games, Boston has played with, oh, just about zero energy. They haven't shown their trademark intensity in quite some time, at least for a full game. Their defense, to be frank, has been terrible, and their offense has lacked crisp ball movement and movement with a sense of purpose.

It's one thing not to get excited about a game with the Warriors, or the Pacers. But if the Celtics don't open up a bottle of passion for tonight's game, something's wrong. This is a playoff rematch, a chance to get revenge against the Magic with the whole country watching to see who will emerge victorious. This is a big game, and big games --even though they're only one game -- explain a lot about a team.

This one should be fun, and it should let us know a lot more about where the Celtics are as a team.

Let's just hope the Magic miss their pizza man more than they think.

Running Diary: Vince Carter shoots just enough for Magic to down Celtics

This game reminded me of everything I already knew.

The C's are not the team they need to be, and the Magic are not as good as they were last season.

We'll start off with the Celtics. I was actually pretty happy with their effort level. While the C's have looked unengaged (to say the least) at times this season, they played a large portion of this game with playoff-like intensity. They were fighting for loose balls, scratching and clawing for rebounds, and acting like they really wanted to win this thing.

Unfortunately, their offense was very close to atrocious. Far too often, the Celtics resorted to one-on-one play. When Boston is at its best (really, when any team is at its best), the ball is moving from side to side, players are moving without the ball, and everyone is unselfish. Tonight, it was throw it to Paul Pierce and get out of his way, or get it to Ray and let him create something, or wait until the shot clock is down and fire up an ill-advised stepback jumper. The C's showed no cohesiveness, and no willingness to let the offense find them open shots. They were forcing tough drives to the hoop and playing far too much isolation basketball.

Still, they played far less isolation basketball than Orlando. Remember Orlando last season? They played beautiful basketball, spacing the floor and using Hedo Turkoglu as the facilitator getting the ball to all their perimeter options. Now, Vince Carter is the new facilitator, and we'll just say he didn't do a lot of "facilitating." Throughout the whole game, Carter was content to fire bad shots, fadeaways with a man in his face, and ended up taking 29 shots to score 26 points. The Magic's spacing is still there, but the ball movement is no longer anywhere near the level it was last year.

In the fourth quarter, the offense was "Get the ball to Vince and get the hell out of his way." They still call him "Vinsanity", but now it's for his insane shot selection, rather than his athleticism. He hit some tough shots, but missed a whole lot more. If the Celtics weren't ice-cold, they would have come away with the win, and most of the blame would have fallen squarely on the shoulders of Vince Carter. Shoulders that are likely sore from chucking so many shots.

Vince had a great stat line, at first glance at least, with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, but it's clear his affect on the rest of the team is negative. You could almost see Rashard Lewis frowning as he watched Vince fling up 27-foot jumpers while Lewis stood on the other side of the court with no hopes of ever touching the basketball. The Magic came away with the win, but they have a long ways to go to becoming a title contender.

And so do the Celtics. Their offensive execution needs to get a lot better, and selfless team basketball needs to make a quick return to Beantown. I liked the fight and tenacity Boston showed, but I didn't like their execution.

Not one bit.

Here's a running diary of my thoughts during the game, while it was happening.

First Quarter

The game hasn't started yet, and already we have some great news: According to ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg, Tony Allen -- despite practicing recently -- will not be playing in games any time soon. Amen.

The first shot for the Magic: A fadeaway twenty-foot jumper by Vince Carter. It went in, but the Celtics will certainly live with that one all game long.

Tweet of the night award goes to Ric Bucher:

"JWilliams tells me he played last year on a rec team w/ Tim + Penny Hardaway + Shaun Livingston. Imagine that coming at you, rec leaguers."

Now, I've played in some rec leagues in my life, and most of them are with old, balding guys with beer bellies and huge knee braces. I know Williams, Penny, and Livingston all have the knee braces, but they don't exactly fit the mold of rec leaguers that I'm used to.

Is it just me, or should Jason Williams have a whole heap of trouble guarding Rajon Rondo tonight? Please be aggressive, Rondo. Please. Make him remember he's not in the rec leagues anymore.

Orlando looks (at least) a step quicker than Boston in the early going. A 12-0 run puts it at 17-6, Magic. Doc Rivers, meanwhile, watched as the wheels fell off and waited until the car broke down before mercifully calling a timeout. I'm a fan of letting your team play through adversity, but that timeout could have come a lot, lot sooner.

Perk shoves a Magic player with two hands, yet still has the audacity to scowl after the call. You know how Perk should know he was wrong to argue the call? Even Tommy Heinsohn agreed with it.

Vince Carter has looked good in the early going, but he's dribbling around a lot without going anywhere. The Magic last year never had that stoppage in ball movement that they've had with Carter so far tonight. Hedo Turkoglu spent a lot of time handling the ball, but it was always with a purpose; he was always making plays when he dribbled. Carter just seems to hold the ball a second or two too long without doing anything with it.

Dwight Howard, according to CSNNE, has yet to score a single point outside the paint. Not just tonight, but for the ENTIRE SEASON. That's beyond incredible.

The Celtics are getting smacked around right now, 24-13, but I don't feel at all like this game is done. Boston is actually getting very good shots; they're just missing them. Garnett has missed a lot of easy ones, Pierce and Ray have missed open jump shots, and I just get the feeling this one will be very close before it's all said and done.

Kendrick Perkins is in early foul trouble (it's kind of tough to deal with Dwight Howard, even if he has yet to develop a real post move), and that would have spelled huge trouble for the C's last season. We would have seen either the undersized Big Baby or Powe coming into the game, and it would have spelled trouble against a team like the Magic with a legitimate big man. This year? Not such a problem, because Rasheed Wallace is there to back Perk up.

Mickael Pietrus is looking like playoff Mickael Pietrus, rather than regular season Mickael Pietrus. He's been ice-cold so far this season, shooting only 38.4% from the field, but drained his first three three-balls to remind everyone of his lethal shooting in last year's postseason. Tommy Heinsohn on Pietrus: "Man, if I were him I'd go to Mohegan Sun, or Foxwoods, or something."

It's 29-13, Magic. They are moving the ball beautifully (when Carter isn't holding it a dash too long) and are getting wide open threes. The Celtics, meanwhile, are shooting 5-24 from the field, and have missed at least their last six shots. You remember back when I said the C's would start to hit open shots? Well, they've shot even worse since then.

Second Quarter

I need Rondo to step his game up. He's being guarded by old, ragged White Chocolate, and still has yet to do anything.

The Celts finally have some energy, and it's because their point guard is running the ball down the floor and finding the open man. That point guard, though, is Marquis Daniels, not Rondo. 29-20, Magic.

Shelden Williams continues to surprise me and prove me wrong. This time, he's doing his normal rebounding and tough, gritty play, but none of that was what surprised me. I was shocked and stunned when Williams was matched up with Rashard Lewis and was able to move his feet well enough to cut him off and force him into a very tough, contested fadeaway. Last season, with KG down, nobody on the Celtics could come close to matching up with Lewis, but Shelden comes right in and has done a great job on him so far. Keep doing your thing, Shelden.

Ray Allen remembers the great job J.J. Redick did on him in the playoffs. The first play Ray was defended by Redick, he put him right on the low post, big-boy'ed him and drew the foul. Ray continues to show an improved post game this season.

Vince Carter just dribbled around for five or so seconds, got the ball poked away from him to about three feet behind the three-point line, went and retrieved it, then turned and fired the shot with plenty of time still remaining on the shot clock. Don't get me wrong, I recognize Vince has had a very good game so far. It's just always been evident he could be so much better if he just improved the little aspects of the game. Like not dribbling so much, and not firing up ill-advised shots, and not getting his pocket picked by Marquis Daniels twice in the same quarter.

Tommy Heinsohn on Vince Carter's defense: "I'd go at him all night long. You KNOW he doesn't want to play defense."

The C's are staging a big comeback in this second quarter, and have the Magic back on their heels. After the 19-9 Celtics run, the score is 38-32, Magic.

Remember when I said Carter was playing well? I was lying. It seemed like he was shooting well, and it seemed like he was doing some good things to go along with his sometimes bone-headed play, but he's actually 4-12 from the field for 8 points. If you're counting at home, that's 12 shots to score 8 points. He's also the only Magic starter right now to have a negative +/-. So my merciless Carter bashing has some merit.

Carter just picked up his third foul, so maybe I can stop bashing him. Heinsohn, though, can't. "That guy doesn't want to play defense, he can't move his feet on defense." Well said, Tommy. Well said.

Ray Allen is a man. An honest-to-goodness, two-balled man. And did I mention that those balls were very big? You'd never see me standing in front of a streaking Dwight Howard to take a charge dead in the chest. Not in a million years. But Ray did it and, surprisingly, he lived to tell the story.

The most impressive play of the first half happened after the half ended. Pietrus fired up a three-quarter shot and damn near made it. It wasn't so impressive that he almost made it, but that he was able to reach the basket from the opposite foul line WITH HIS LEFT HAND. That's right, he shot it lefty. Wow, it's his night. Tommy was right, he needs to head to a casino. Or buy a lottery ticket.

43-40 Magic at the half. The Celtics played a great second quarter to get back into this thing. The second unit continues to be the C's saving grace, especially after they continually get off to bad starts.

Shocking stat of the first half: The C's shot merely 32.6%. Look for that number to improve in the second half. I hope. Please. I'm begging now.

Third Quarter

Does Pietrus ever miss against the Celtics? It's unbelievable. He is NOT a deadeye shooter, yet every time he plays the Celtics he looks like the second coming of Jimmy Chitwood. It's unbelievable.

Uh-oh. Garnett gets kneed by the second coming of Jimmy Chitwood, then immediately started limping. He waved Rasheed back to the bench when Doc tried to sub 'Sheed in, so that's a good sign. But you don't want to see the big fella limping.

The C's just don't have the same energy this quarter as they did in the second. Orlando's getting open shots and Boston isn't working hard enough to get themselves some clean looks on offense.

Right as I wrote about the Celtics not having any energy, Garnett really got into it with Howard. They were mixing it up, and Garnett is fired up. I hope this lights a fire under Garnett and, in turn, the Celts.

Vince Carter is now 4-16 with 11 points. Something tells me Hedo's a better fit.

Perk has five fouls, and this would be a HUGE development... if it weren't for the presence of Rasheed on the bench. I don't care how many threes he chucks up, or how many technical fouls he'll accumulate; 'Sheed is an enormous addition to this team.

Vince just hit two shots in a row. I never said he wasn't talented, and I never said he wasn't a good player. Just that he's frustrating, even to me and I don't even like his team.

Scal's in the game! 'Nuff said. I don't know why Shelden isn't, but I guess Doc thinks he needs Scal spreading the floor.

Or maybe he needs Scal's defensive presence. Scal's first play, he took a charge. Scal is overpaid, and he's overweight, but he knows how to play basketball and is capable of giving the Celtics good minutes. And no, I'm not even kidding.

Bad stat of the night: Kevin Garnett passed the 40,000 minutes mark tonight. Only four other Celtics in history have ever played 40,000 career minutes. That is not a good sign for Garnett; he's getting old, and he's getting run down.

The Celtics are down seven to end the third, 66-59, but are lucky to be even that close. The offense has not been good so far; shots are contested, the balls not moving, and the C's have spent far too many possessions playing one-on-one basketball. Move that rock, fellas. Get it swinging, then attack when the defense is on its heels.

Fourth Quarter

Greg Dickerson reports that Kevin Garnett just ripped into his team for too many offensive isolations. Thank you, Kevin. You see the exact same thing I do.

Dwight Howard has taken only four shots so far. Part of that is getting fouled on a lot of his attempts (so they don't count), but another part of that is sound Celtics defense on Howard. He hasn't had any easy alley-oops or open dunks tonight.

A quick Celtics run puts the C's down three, and the Garden is bumping.

With all the lauded depth on Orlando's side (I know, I know, they're missing Jameer Nelson and Brandon Bass), their bench has scored a combined eight points, and every bench member except Matt Barnes has a negative +/-. For the C's, they've only scored 9 points off the bench, but 'Sheed has 9 rebounds and every single bench member has a positive +/-.

Vince Carter just took a horrendous shot with Marquis Daniels draped all over him. Alas, it went in. At this point, the Magic have taken 58 shots and Carter has taken 21 of them. I don't think that's exactly what Stan Van Gundy wants.

Carter again, with another bad shot, but he hits a fadeaway three. Does he ever take good shots? Is he even capable?

Next Magic possession: Carter misses a 29-foot three. It's unbelievable. His shot selection is like Tony Allen's, only if Tony Allen had just blown four lines of coke and downed six shots of Jack Daniels.

Every time it seems like the Celtics are finally ready to get back into this thing, the Magic make a big play. The C's are threatening to come back, but have yet to make the play to put them over the top.

My heart is racing, my chest is thumping, and the Celtics are down only one. 'Sheed has played unbelievable defense on Howard, stealing the last two entry passes, and Vince Carter's shot selection has, if anything, gotten even worse. He isn't just the Magic's go-to guy right now, he's their only guy. Mostly because he's taking a horrible shot before anyone else gets a chance to touch the ball.

Sheed, Dwight and Vince were all packed together coming out of a timeout, and if you can read lips you could see what Wallace told the Magic's stars. (Or even if you can't read lips. It was pretty easily noticeable.) What did he say? "Y'all bitches."

Sheed is only 3-14 from the field, but he's playing his best basketball of the season. He's doing a great job on Howard, he has grabbed two huge offensive rebounds, and he's more active than he's been all season.

Update: Sheed is now 4-15, and he just tied the game with a little 6-foot jumper off a beautiful Paul Pierce wraparound pass. 78-78. My heart is damn near out of my chest. I'm at severe risk of a heart attack right now, and I don't think I'm even exaggerating.

This game has been so exciting I haven't even noticed Rondo's been out for this whole fourth quarter. Eddie's been playing his minutes. And as I'm talking about this, Rondo gets put back in.

The Magic offense in the fourth quarter has been: Pass the ball to Vince Carter, everyone else run away, and watch as Vince Carter flings up whatever bad shot he can think of. Unfortunately, Vince just hit his last one to put the Magic up two, but you get the feeling Rashard Lewis and co. cannot at all enjoy playing with Vince.

Ray Allen overdribbles, then bounces one off his foot and loses it for a turnover. That was a microcosm of the Celtics' night. Overdribbling, one-on-one play, and bad results.

Doc is still furious with the ref two plays after Pierce was called for a ticky-tack foul on Rashard Lewis with only 3 seconds left on the shot clock. There was contact there, and it was a borderline call that could have gone either way, but not a call you normally see in the last couple minutes of a close game.

The Magic win, 83-78, and the Celtics have another disappointing home loss. I guess that's what happens when you run up against one of the NBA's better teams and shoot 34.5%. A bad loss for the Celtics, one they certainly could have won had they played unselfish basketball the whole way through.

NBA parity: Wasn't the NBA supposed to be top-heavy this season?

The top tier of NBA teams was supposed to be vastly superior to all other teams this season.
Right?

I would run down the offseason moves made to improve the NBA's elite, but you know them all. Shaq to the Cavs, Vince Carter to the Magic, Ron Artest to the Lakers, yada yada yada. You know what happened. You know the rich got richer and the poor, well, they stayed just as poor.

But did they really stay so poor? Suddenly, it seems as if the NBA has parity. Out of nowhere, the poor somehow got themselves a little money. It's very early still, but what in the hell is going on in the National Basketball Association?

With most teams only about ten games into the season, all the teams thought to be championship contenders have at least three losses. The Lakers, Cavs, Magic, Celtics, Nuggets and Spurs all have at least three L's. Not only are they losing, but each team has looked surprisingly vulnerable at times. The Celtics look old, the Lakers look soft, the Cavs look unable to adjust to Shaq's presence, the Magic miss their PED-abuser and Hedo Turkoglu, the Spurs defense is swiss cheese; the list goes on and on. The cream of the crop has not been rising as quickly or as often as most NBA observers thought it would.

At this point in the season, the only teams with two losses are Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. Huh??? If you told me today that you would have predicted those four teams as the teams that would have the least losses at this point, you'd be either a) a liar, b) a genius, or c) a dumbass. And there is no other option.

The Hawks and Heat were expected to be in the playoffs, but just as mediocre four or five seeds and maybe even worse. The Suns and Bucks, meanwhile, weren't supposed to earn a sniff of postseason play. To be honest, maybe neither team will. Maybe their hot starts are just that, hot starts, and not in any way indicative of how the teams will perform the rest of the season.

But does it really seem like that? The Hawks have had the best start of any team, and I'm not just talking about their record. They smacked Denver, took it to Boston (in Boston), and have the third-best point differential in the entire NBA (behind Boston and Portland). They not only look young, athletic and skilled, but they look like a hungry team ready to take the next step into the NBA's upper-echelon. Before the season, I would have disagreed vehemently (aka tell you that you were on crack) if you told me the Hawks would be the best team at this point in the season, but they have been. It's true.

And if Atlanta hasn't been the best team, it's been the Suns. They also beat Boston in Boston, have scored at least 100 points in every game so far this season, and their two losses are to Orlando and L.A. (The Lakers, not the Clippers.) The Suns seemed poised to enter another year of lottery ping-pong balls, but instead have regained the look of an offensive juggernaut that can compete with any team in the league.

The Heat and Bucks have surprised, too, but it doesn't just end there. Houston's a bunch of ragtag role players and bargain-basement bums, but they look like a playoff team. Dallas is looking better than expected, is suddenly a defensive-minded ballclub, and has done most of it with Josh Howard down to injury. Indiana looks at least formidable, the Kings have somehow, someway won four straight games, Oklahoma City looks like it might be a year ahead of schedule, and New Jersey looks like a viable playoff contender. (Just kidding about the last one. New Jersey is bad. Historically bad, perhaps.)

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is this: The top teams aren't as good as everyone thought they were. We thought there would be five or six teams battling to win 60-70 games, we thought those five or six teams would be far better than any other team, and we thought parity in the NBA was dead. From what's happened so far in this NBA season, we were all wrong. Almost dead wrong. Parity is back, and it's coming from unexpected places.

Of course, tomorrow the Lakers could go on a string of 30 straight wins, or Rashard Lewis' comeback could spur the Magic to greatness, or the Celtics could drink from the Phoenix Suns' fountain of youth and become the team they looked like during the season's first five games. Hell, maybe they'll all start to look like the teams we expected before the season.

But for now, at least, parity is back. And it's actually been pretty fun.