Boston Bruins: The Downward Spiral

The Boston Bruins lost to the Maple Leafs 5-2 on Saturday night.  At least, that’s what I read.

I, like most of the Bruins faithful, turned the game off after 2 periods.  My beloved Bruins are in panic mode, folks.

Health is no longer a factor, Andrew Ference and Steve Kampfer has returned.  Learning the system should no longer be a factor, it’s been weeks since Kaberle, Kelly and Peverley joined the fold.  But the Bruins continue to struggle mightily.

Their Power Play is absolutely dreadful.  How Doug Jarvis still has his job, I am not sure.  Their 5 on 5 play leaves a lot to be desired as well.  Claude Julien is still struggling to find the right line combinations with the new guys and for some reason, he considers Chris Kelly to be Patrice Bergeron-Lite, when in actuality he’s more like Diet Dan Paille.

Speaking of Bergy, his play has dropped off considerably, but then again, so has everyone’s.

I’m not sure what a quick answer for this team is.  Score a Power Play goal?  Get a regulation win?  Pitch a shut out?

The B’s have 11 games before the playoffs.  They need to trend up as they enter the gauntlet.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Puck Moving Pariah

I’m a positive person, generally, but when it comes to the sports teams I love I’m borderline fatalistic.

As a Boston fan, how can you not be?  Sure we became the City of Champions from 2001-2008, but in the years before that, my formative years, we were fairly torturous.

The past few years have been tough as well, especially for my beloved Bruins who have decided to bow out of the playoffs in the most painful ways possible.

2008: Plucky underdogs pick up the #8 seed and shockingly take their most hated rivals, the Canadiens, to 7 games.

Pain factor: Stinging, but inspiring.  They were not supposed to be there.

2009: #1 seed Bruins draw the over-matched Carolina Hurricanes in the 2nd round.  After refusing to adjust their breakout, they are taken to a 7th game by the ‘Canes where Scott Walker, a villain for sucker-punching Aaron Ward and not being suspended, scores the game winner on a fluke rebound in OT.

Pain factor: Brutal

2010: The Bruins upset the Sabres for a seemingly favorable match up with the goaltender-less Philadelphia Flyers.  After going up in the series 3-0, they lose David Krejci to a wrist injury and lose 3 straight.  To compound that, they blow a 3-0 lead in Game 7 to officially choke away the series.

Pain factor: Devastating

So, in 2011, I’m wondering how my beloved B’s will destroy their Stanley Cup dreams.  This season has already been a rollercoaster (currently they’re in the midst of  a 3 Loss – 7 Win – 4 Loss streak sandwich.)

I’m thinking that they’ll somehow get matched up with the Washington Capitals, go to a Game 7 (obviously), where Puck Moving Pariah Dennis Wideman (traded from the B’s to the Panthers in the offseason and then again to the Capitals at the trade deadline) will score the game winner in OT.

God, I hope I’m wrong.

Call the Cops, We’re back

While Josh is off at Agannis Arena, hoping his BU Terriers crack double-digits in their quest for the the NCAA Tourney, I am here relaunching our quaint little blog.

Between the controversial Zdeno Chara hit, the Celtics’ deadline deals and the NFL lockout, there is a lot to talk about.  Since I have social anxiety, I’ll blog about it instead.  I’m sure Josh will, too.

Will there be more Man Crushes?  Will podcasts resume?  We shall see.

Stay tuned.

Josh upset with me after I quit the BSN

Big Baby Davis Keys Celtics Win…Remember this from 2008?

Real men drool...

Yes, the Celtics tied the 2010 NBA Finals at 2-2 thanks to the effort from Shrek and Donkey i.e. Glen “The Ticket Stub” Davis and Nate Robinson. While last night’s performance was beastly I think we all need to remember the joy Davis brought us in 2008 in the locker room after winning the title (thanks to myfoxboston.com for this and click here).

Celtics-Lakers: Anything is Possibleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Lakers Home to Worst Fans in NBA?

Picture says it all...

Check out this disgraceful rap video and see if you can last longer than a minute. Thanks to Brian Gleason for passing it along.

Celtics in 6…if Rondo is Healthy

I think this series comes down to the health of Rajon Rondo. Derek Fisher and the Lakers have struggled all season (and post-season) defending the point guard position. First it was Russel Westbrook, then Deron Williams and most recently Steve Nash and Goran Dragic.

Orlando seemed to figure out how to neutralize Rondo by forcing the Celtics into a half court set filled with Paul Pierce isolations, but barring Rondo’s hip and back seriously being injured I think Rondo is primed to win this series by himself. Against Oklahoma Kobe decided to guard Westbrook, but think about Kobe doing that vs the C’s…that would leave Ray Allen running circles around Fisher. Remember how badly Allen torched Sasha Vujacic in ’08?

Lakers fans and the “experts” keep pointing to the improvement and new-found toughness in Pau Gasol’s game as what could be the deciding factor for the Lakers this time around. I don’t see that happening though, mainly because of Andrew Bynum’s poor play since injuring his knee. During the regular season Bynum allowed Gasol to showcase his skill set, but that won’t happen vs a physical Celtics front line. That means Gasol is going to have to play more at the center position alongside Lamar Odom at power forward (who will be worried about how the Boston fans are treating Khloe Kardashian)…In that situation I would take Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett and Big Baby’s toughness and physical play in a 7-game series.

Magic Decide to Join Eastern Conference Finals

While the Boston Celtics have flat-out dominated the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals they were caught off guard last night when the Magic decided to show up. Sitting in the stands I got to listen to a man say, “he’s pretty good” while watching Jameer Nelson put up 23 points including two clutch 3′s in overtime (no, he didn’t call glass). I guess it was easy for everyone to forget that the defending Eastern Conference champs posted 59 wins this season and take the series for granted with a 3-0 lead.

The Magic had a great gameplan although I’m sure three points from Vince Carter was not part of it. The Celtics struggled to push the tempo and the Magic did a great job defensively in transition. This forced the C’s into a lot of isolation sets and limited the ball movement that is such a huge part of the offense. On top of that the Magic effectively set high screens for Nelson confusing Rondo and creating mismatches for Dwight Howard who finally lived up to his image. Howard controlled the glass on both ends and made you forget his eight missed FT’s.

It will be impressive for the C’s to end the series in Orlando, but I think the Magic force a Game 6 back in Boston. With that said the C’s have never gone to six games or more when holding a 3-0 series lead.

Boston Celtics Poetry

This may or may not be a picture of my father

I know I know…it’s been oh so long since any of us last posted something on here. I apologize to our loyal readers.

Anyways, I thought it was time for the world to hear my father’s latest Celtics poem, which should get you fired up as the C’s return to the Garden up 2-0 looking to close out the series. Also, none of this poem has been altered including the all caps and green coloring. Always fun watching people learn how to use a computer (earlier this week he watched his first TV show online)!

GAME 7 LAST YEAR IN BOSTON THE CELTICS GET MUGGED
AND MAGIC AT GAMES END ARE FULL OF HUGS

WELL, TODAY STARTS THE NBA FINAL FOUR
AND THE CELTICS WILL BE ON THE FLOOR

THREE TEAMS WILL FALL
LEAVING ONE TO WIN IT ALL

NOW THE CELTICS HAVE TURNED ON THE SWITCH
AND THE MAGIC WILL LEARN THAT PAYBACK IS A BITCH

Let the Debate Begin: Boston Globe Mentioning Celtics in Same Breath as ’95-’96 Bulls

 

Celtics PG Rajon Rondo looking to earn every penny of his new 5 year $55 million contract

The Boston Celtics are off to a 5-0 start looking to surpass last season’s 27-2 record, but more importantly finish the way they finished in 2008…with another title. The Boston Globe is already starting the 72-10 talk, and if healthy it might be hard to argue.

On the first night of a road back-to-back to the Celtics faced one of the hottest offenses in the NBA and absolutely shut down the Sixers. Even the greatest 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA (statistically at least…just ahead of Steve Kerr and Hubert Davis), Jason Kapono, couldn’t help the Sixers shoot above 40% or break 80 points. Point guard Rajon Rondo took his new contract and closed out the first quarter by putting the C’s up 19-17 with this sick out-of-bounds shot. The reserves came in and that was the end of that game.

The Celtics were able to rest their big men Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, which should bode well tonight in Minnesota going up against former Celtic Al Jefferson. Rasheed Wallace continued to shoot nothing but 3′s draining 6-8 and finishing with 20 points in his hometown. Marquis Daniels continues to play smart basketball and penetrate while Shelden Williams has to be the biggest surprise of the young season. The former lottery and husband of Candace Parker is showing flashes as to why he was given the nickname the Landlord.

The three things Celtics fans have to really enjoy outside of the wins, which of course are most important, are how the Celtics lock down defensively, move the ball on offense and are so deep that Doc can limit the starters minutes and hopefully keep them as fresh as possible as the season goes on. The Celtics racked up 27 assists on 41 fg’s last night and limited yet another team to under 40% shooting for the 4th time in 5 games.

Next up…Minnesota.