Drunken Driving With Antoine Walker

Quotable:"Walker is one of the very best multi-faceted, versatile players in this game...He is able to handle the ball, pass it, make plays, shoot threes and rebound the ball. There isn’t anyone in this league better at doing that." Pat Riley, former Miami Heat coach.


My how the “mighty” have fallen. Former NBA player, Antoine Walker was recently charged with suspicion of drunk driving early Monday morning after get this, getting caught driving around with his headlights off at 5:39 in the morning. This is of course special interest to me due to the fact that the whole reason I indirectly started a brawl at the Palace (yes the infamous Pistons-Pacers brawl took a page out of my handbook) was because of this pseudo savior to Bean-town professional basketball pre-Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen era. An obnoxious Celtics’ fan insisting on being heard cheering for his favorite player over hundreds of Pistons fans is not fight inducing in itself but when you insist on cheering for your favorite player on enemy lines and you LIVE IN the opponent’s city THEN proceed to taunt the opponents’ fans about their weakest link (in our case, the Detroit Lions), “thems fighting words, buddy!”

So how did I put the Walker’s long lost lover in his place? I hit him in the head with chicken sandwich wrapper. Like Walker’s career, it went downhill fast. The whole crowd in section 201 including *gasp my mother began chanting asshole; the bleachers rained popcorn, beer and pennies on the guy and his friend and about seven guys young and old manned up ready to fight the “fake thugs.” By the end of the night, the Walkerettes were lead away by Palace security for failure to keep the peace and fights erupted elsewhere in the venue after the Pistons embarrassingly lost in a down to the wire, last ditch effort by the Celtics’.

Of course, in recent years, nobody with half a brain has been that up in arms to get his or her ass kicked by a crowd full of opposing fans over Antoine Walker. After acquiring him in a three player trade that included Jason Williams, and James Posey, former Heat coach Pat Riley commented that, “Walker is one of the very best multi-faceted, versatile players in this game. I think his numbers have shown throughout his career that he has been consistent year-in and year-out, providing points and rebounds. He is able to handle the ball, pass it, make plays, shoot threes and rebound the ball. There isn’t anyone in this league better at doing that. I believe that he will bring a tremendous, versatile, play-making, scoring, rebounding dimension to our team. He is in his prime and I think he will pair up brilliantly with Shaquille, Dwyane and the rest of the team.” Since winning a championship with Miami in 2006, Walker has been exiled to Minnesota where he struggled in 46 games with the Timberwolves during the 2007-08 season only to have his contract bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies in December, making him a free agent.

The police reported Walker stank of alcohol and looked even more like a sleepy eyed basset hound than usual. Given that this latest charge is added to the fact that Walker hasn't played this season, maybe Walker realizes that his chances to get picked up by a team are about as slim as Lebron singing a rendition of "Hello New York" as an official New York Knick when the Free Agent season rolls around in 2010.

A fat chance in hell!

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Quotable:"We just wet the bed. A nice big one, too. One of the ones you can't put a towel over. It was terrible." Kobe Bryant (sans Game 4 Lakers loss)


The Boston Celtics got banged around, outscored, and outrebounded but in the course of one quarter, the third quarter, they managed to bring an 18 point deficit within two points heading into the fourth quarter. This series the Celtics have dominated the third quarter making it a pivotal time in which to secure a win for 3 out of 4 games. Strategy? Not hardly.

The Lakers took an early lead, steadily keeping the Celtics at bay by as much as 24 points. With Lamar Odom and Paul Gasol playing off each other in a sequence of touch passes and pick and rolls combined with key plays by Kobe, Sasha Vuyacic, Vladimir Radmanovic and Derek Fisher, Lakers’ offense seemed unstoppable. That is until Paul Pierce launched a three with 6:56 left to go in the 3rd quarter. Watching what transpired from this point on was far from watching paint dry and more like a descent into every Lakers’ fan own personal brand of hell when talking about the rivalry between LA and Boston. Cringe! Another consecutive Boston win and on Lakers’ turf that is.

So where did the Lakers’ go wrong and when did the Celtics’ go right? Point blank when Boston’s status as number one defensive team in the league came rushing back to them. In a chain of events made up of drives to the hole by Ray Allen and off the bench 20 foot plus jumpers by Eddie House of all players, Boston put LA’s legendary triangular offense on LOCK, forcing turnovers and taking advantage of LA’s lack of interior defense. Some questionable calls by Phil Jackson such as benching Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom just when they got the hot hand only fueled the Lakers’ scoring drought. The buckets that previously rained in Southern California dried up as Kobe’s 8 assists for crucial shots by Derek Fisher during the first half just weren’t enough to keep the Celtics from gaining the momentum that the Lakers’ possessed throughout most of the game. Ray Allen was enigmatic and tireless, Paul Pierce caught a second wind that proved crucial to the Lakers’ demise.

The honorary Lakers’ fan in me is as stunned as any other Laker enthusiast. Not only did Boston manage to raise the stakes in the series and gain the competitive advantage but the son of guns overcame the largest half-time deficit in the NBA Finals history in the shot clock area at 18 points. Previous records had been set at 14 points by get this, Lakers’ opponents! If anyone should be calling foul on game rigging should be Jerry West. Take notes Tim Donaghy, no team down 3-1 in the Finals has ever come back to win the championship. With a 5 out of 6 win-loss record against the Lakers’ during the regular season, is it any wonder really that history was made Thursday night? Things don’t look pretty in the City of Angels as Game 5 takes place in the Garden in Boston Sunday. With the Celtics being one game away from their first championship in 21 years, the 0-6 road record epidemic, inconsistent scoring by Big Three members, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in addition to the perils of having a young bench seem almost irrelevant.

Well the bench and Big Three certainly showed up in Game 4. As part of a 21-3 run, Eddie House hit two shots from three point land followed by a 10-1 run highlighted by a dunk by P.J.Brown to close the third quarter. A jumper by Leon Powe tied the game for the first time since the first quarter at 73. Saying it was all downhill from there would be a firm grasp on the obvious.

“We sucked it up. We said we weren't going to back down. At the end of the third quarter I looked up at the scoreboard and told the fellas. We just have to go out there and compete and let the chips fall where they may.'' Paul Pierce said.
While the odds are certainly stacked against them, the Finals’ favorites find themselves in a precarious position to have their asses handed to them yet again. Though the same analysts and fair weather fans are already jumping ship calling for a Lakers’ concession … “It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings!”

Game 5 Sunday – Lakers at Boston @ 8:30PM EST

Related Links:

Lakers Have A Collapse For The Ages
Phil Jackson Master of Disaster?
Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals Coverage
Top 10 Best Moments in Celtics-Lakers Post Season History

BEANTOWN VS MOTOWN: CELTICS AND PISTONS FACE-OFF

Quotable: "A lot of the teams they played in the postseason and the regular season were scared of them, as far as KG and Ray and Paul. They are good players, but we have good players, also." Rasheed Wallace, Pistons forward.


Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons.

Sound familiar? It should. It's the most predictable yet still widely anticipated Eastern Conference match up in the playoffs. Both teams have so much in common. For one, they both soar above other contenders in the East and even though I hate to say it, my Pistons also share the Celtics' lack of intensity and focus at times. There are some major differences though. Starting with the fact that Boston is hungry, having never won a ring and never playing together collectively in the playoffs let alone the Eastern Conference Finals, they have a lot to prove. Then again so do the Pistons after being dethroned by the Spurs in the 2005 Finals, the Heat in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals and the Cavs in 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.

Home Court Advantage

Detroit handed Boston their first home loss, 87-85 during the regular season. Add that to the can of whoop ass they unleashed on Boston at the Garden Thursday and the once invincible Celtics are now 10-1 at home against the Pistons in the post-season. Pistons have won three road games in the playoffs whereas the Celtics are flat out zero away from "Beantown", going 0-6 on the road. Detroit shutdown their series against Philadelphia in six games and against Orlando in five games while Boston allowed teams hang on for 7 games in both series (Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers).

Winner: Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons

Big Man Matchup

The matchup to watch of course lies between Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. KG and company have outrebounded the Pistons each time they've met in the regular season.

Winner: Boston Celtics

Shooting

The argument can swing either way on this one. If Ray Allen doesn't show up, the Pistons have the perimeter on lock! In the Cavs series, Allen was 32.8% from the field, averaging a measly 9.3 ppg, an 8.1 difference between his normal stats. The usually 3 point threat's noticeable decline falls from beyond the arch, dropping to 16.2% from the field or 6 for 37.

If Tayshaun Prince can't get open shots, Boston can edge the Pistons out the paint. The Pistons third leading scorer outside Rip and Chauncey only brought in 16pts during the team's previous games. Now that Chauncey close to 100% scoring, however after suffering a hamstring strain that had him sitting out for two games.

Winner: Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons

Bench

While the Celtics have the "Big Three" consisting of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Pistons have the "Big Six", Rip, Chauncey, Sheed, Tayshaun, McDyess and now X factor, rookie Rodney Stuckey -- a key role player doing damage against the Celtics' defense in critical, scene stealing moments. You do the math!

Winner: Detroit Pistons

Coaching

Detroit is tried and true championship winning team with veteran coach,Flip Saunders at its helm.

Winner: Detroit Pistons

Best of 7 Series Winner: Pistons in 7

Game 1 - Celtics 88 Pistons 79
Game 2 - Celtics 103 Pistons 97

Related Articles:

Pistons pull even, Win Game 2

ATLANTA HAWKS DOWN

Quotable: “From day one, I told this team that anything is possible when you get into the playoffs – and this team believes that,” -- Atlanta Hawks’ coach, Michael Woodson.

The decibel level in the Philips Arena reached the highest level it had been since the Hawks faced the Bulls in Round 1 of the 1998 NBA playoffs. Whether it was the record breaking 20,425 fans that packed into Philips Arena, chanting and hollering ‘Seven’ after a passionate speech by Zaza Pachulia proclaiming Atlanta’s game seven inducing performance or a byproduct of Hawks’ coach, Michael Woodson’s own brand of tough love locker room pep talk before the game – the Atlanta Hawks are on the brink of creating NBA history. As Hawks fans will tell you, Atlanta is down BUT their NOT out! With 1:07 left to play, a three pointer by Hawks shooting guard, Joe Johnson clinched a 103-100 victory for Atlanta and forced the series to Game 7 today. You have to give the Hawks credit.

Said Garnett: "Joe Johnson is the most underrated player in our league besides [Detroit's] Rasheed Wallace. He's underrated ... I'll give it to him. He played his [butt] off."

The Celtics are not the only ones stunned into silence at the prospect of a seven game series in the first round. They seem to have bought into ESPN analysts’ theories that they will simply steamroll through the Eastern Conference for a picture-perfect finish where they will lounge lazily awaiting their Western Conference opponent in the Finals.

From the beginning of the season to after the Celtics' acquired underestimated veteran Sam Cassell, I held fast to my no bandwagon jumping policy. Sure the Celtics held the NBA record for the best 1 season turnaround, showcasing a 42 win improvement (also an NBA record) which brings us to their 66-16 record, they have the best win-loss record in the league. Impressive to some, to me they’re lack of intensity on the road is an indication that all that glitters is not gold. The more experienced Celtics’ still have some lessons in championship contenders to get under their belt. The Hawks' have fought tooth and nail to force a potential sweep into a jaw dropping seven game series, shell-shocking Boston Celtics and basketball enthusiasts everywhere. Should they pull of a win today, A 37-45 Atlanta would be the worst team to advance since the 1976 Pistons, and the first losing team to beat a No. 1 overall seed in a best-of-seven series.

While a win at the Garden to advance to round 2 seems highly unlikely, the unexpected fight from secondary players like a usually underperforming Zaza Puchilia and a recently injured, Marvin Williams gave Atlanta an edge to counter the 3 consecutive 23, 19 and 25 point losses to Boston on the road. Saying that Atlanta has found a way to get under Boston's heavily guarded armor is an understatement -- the Hawks' have managed to crawl under the Celtics' skin! Despite pressure cooking defense by the Celtics’ to force the Hawks to beat them with secondary players and to put up tough shots, the Hawks’ rallied from behind an 8pt deficit with 16 straight possessions in the second half of Game 6. The inability to maintain their notorious intensity on the court has analysts focusing on what they deem as two key weaknesses in Boston’s killer arsenal. Namely Kevin Garnett’s tendency to disappear in close games away from the Garden and Boston Celtics’ coach, Doc Rivers musical chair tactics in maintaining a consistent lineup.

These two key weaknesses will of course be swept under the rug now that Kevin Garnett and company have dominated the Atlanta Hawks 99-65 and advanced to the second round to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. All and all this has been a surprisingly must watch series up to the bittersweet end as the physicality of the first six games boiled over into a flagrant 2 foul called on Marvin Williams for virtually clotheslining Rajon Rondo to the floor, a move that ignited a 28 pt Celtics lead and Williams’ ejection from the game. It’s clear that the Celtics were out to make a statement.

"Play hard, play defense, win at home."

Round 2 Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Monday, May 6th @ 8:00pm - The Garden, Boston MA