Gino's Jungle

Danny Ainge and the rest of the crew are human. They think (somewhat) in the same way us fans do. When it looks like the team doesn't quite have what it takes to go the distance, things get a little tight and suddenly the decisions that have never even been thought of because they are so absurd, become a reality.

Suddenly the team is looking for a player who can help the bench and they go pick up Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks. With him, they not only get a big question mark as a player because he hasn't played for so long, but they also carry all of his baggage and wonder if he will screw with the cohesiveness in the Celtic locker room.

Fast forward a year later. The thought on everyones mind was, "Will Kevin Garnett's knee hold up, and if it does, how well can he play on it?" Because of that uncertainty, and not wanting what happened a year before to happen again, the Celtics roll out the red carpet for the Tech happy, pack it in when all isn't going your way, Rasheed Wallace.

What about the New England Patriots? Clearly they are falling behind many teams in the league. In their attempt to strike gold, and get what has the potential to be an incredibly outstanding wide receiving crew, they may be looking at picking up as Skip Bayless would call him "Team Obliterator" Terrell Owens. If you follow the NFL at all.. Nothing else need be said about this guys past.

So in this offseason the Celtics, "Have some catching up to do if they want to beat Miami in the East." I think this is a false statement, but many people may find it to be true. Because of that the Celtics have tossed around names like Tracy McGrady and Shaq as they look for something special that may push them over the top. In that attempt they put trust in players with faulty reputations who have the capability of destroying everything the core guys have created.

If it were ever a real possibility of signing either of these guys we would never know until the end of the season what true effect they had on the team.

For now the question remains.. How low can you go?? before your luck runs dry?

In last nights Miami Heat (NBA Finals) celebration it became blatantly obvious what happens when you put together an organization with Zero history, and three players with little to no history (1 Title between the three “Superstars”) :

A completely bizarre opening act that looked like something out of a movie created by the producer of “The Replacements“.. Although I was one of the luckier people on this planet who had the luxury of not having to watch this garbage, I couldn’t avoid the lowlights of this most recent NBA debacle. It is a disgrace that what happened last night occurred, but I will save that topic for another rainy day..

These three players, the Heat organization, and now their fans have an arrogance about them that all this crap equals a championship. Just because ESPN is kissing the rear end of this team and these players, and signing off that they will win “several championships over the next 6 years”, means nothing. It is all a show, it is all for hype, and it is all for ratings. Everyone involved in this mess loves it because they are all benefiting while the game of basketball is being put to shame.

This situation reflects on how similar yet how EXTREMELY different the 2007 Boston Celtics “Big 3″ acquisitions are in comparison to this years Miami Heat max level free agent signings. They are similar in the hype and expectations of 3 key players. They are different in how the two sides went about it.

Never for the Boston Celtics was there ever a “Look at me, Look at us” hoopla. NEVER would you see what happened in Miami happen in Boston. We don’t celebrate division titles, conference titles, “best record” titles.. Nope, just NBA Championships. Well last night the Heat should have raised a friggen Banner for the signing of these 3 players because it sure looked like they won something.

The Celtics go about their business, have fun doing so, but always respect the game. Whatever it is Miami is doing… It isn’t basketball. It is not why I watch the NBA..

(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Bahku spoke.. Ray Allen Listened.. and Ray is back where he belongs!!

Ray inked a 2 year deal worth 10 million a year, with the 2nd year being a player option. I think this is a great deal for the Celtics. Even with my limited knowledge of the salary cap, if they let Ray walk out the door, it doesn't free them up any space to go out and get whoever it is they want. They don't "free up 20 million dollars". While we have his Bird Rights we might as well grab him while he is there to bring the core back for 1 more run.

Ray Allen was quoted as saying:

“I’m excited to be returning as a Celtic,” Allen said. “There’s nowhere else I would rather be.”

Is that normal talk after signing with a team, or is that Ray speaking what he truthfully feels? After watching his postgame talk with the media after losing in the Finals... That is how Ray Allen truthfully feels 100%..

Loyal to the city.. Loyal to the team.. Loyal to all Celtics fans everywhere..

Thank you Ray-- and Thank you Doc and Danny

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

With Paul Pierce agreeing to a fresh 4 year deal with the Celtics, it more than likely means he will be retiring with the same team he entered the league with. The best part is, he won't be doing it the same way other athletes have to do so. He won't meander around the league, shuffling through a bunch of 1 and 2 year deals with a bunch of subpar teams before eventually returning to sign a 1 day contract with the team he played the majority of his career with, so he could retire as a member of that team (Nomar Garciaparra).

What it appears he will be doing is a special occurrence for any professional sport. It shows a players dedication to a city and organization, and a cities and organizations dedication to the player. Although there were some rough spots along the way, including times when Pierce thought he wanted to be traded, and the team thought they wanted to trade Pierce, you have to expect those ups and downs to occur over what could be a 16 year relationship.

Baseball has their Derek Jeter's.. The NFL has their Troy Aikman's... And the NBA needs their Paul Pierce's. All these players are athletes who you can not possibly picture, or it even hurts your brain to imagine them in a different uniform than the pinstripes, "Dallas Lone Star", or Celtics green.

The Truth could have tested the waters. He could have waited for the rest of the Free Agents to start making their moves, and try to get more money in a different situation with a different team. Instead, in the way it should be, the team made a respectful offer (maybe not as much as he could get elsewhere, but enough nonetheless) and Pierce accepted because he WANTS to be on this team.

The NBA, heck all professional sports... heck even college sports need more athletes who have everything invested in one team, and one city. It's always better to know you are cheering for a guy who you always have, and always will cheer for, than it is a guy who may be on your teams rival in a year or two..

If you remember back to the trade deadline, which really doesn't seem all that far back, the Celtics had the possibility of making some team rattling moves. In the end all they could accomplish was a trade that brought Nate Robinson to the Celtics while shipping out JR Giddens, Billy Walker, and Eddie House.

Was it all worth it? First for the parts of the trade that didn't exactly effect the Celtics this year: Giddens and Walker. JR Giddens was only on contract for this past year and he never would have touched the floor anyways so basically all we lost with that was a guy jumping around on the sideline. As for Billy, he still is on contract for this upcoming season. That may be a part of the trade we will be regretting because, heck his contract is only 800k and I really think he is a talent in this league and certainly could be with 1 more year under his belt. He could have been a great player off the bench in 2010-11, but then again we have said that the whole time he was here.

As for the part that would effect the Celtics greatly in 2009-10, the loss of Eddie House. This is tough to say because he ended up getting injured while being a Knick. To go out and say that would have happened even if he was on the Celtics is an extreme stretch, and just based on being in different situations he may have stayed healthy throughout.

If Eddie were to remain healthy which I am sure he would have been, I would say this trade was fairly large bust. Nate came in and had his impact in 1 Orlando game, the Donkey and Shrek game, and a few minutes of a game in LA but outside of that, his worth was limited. The thing with House was that he knew when to shoot while on the Celtics because he had been here for past years. He knew when the team wanted him to shoot, and when it was the appropriate time to shoot. Nate had no idea when it was his time to shoot and he was always tentative.

It wasn't like we were trading for cap space or anything like that because we traded 3 tiny contracts, only 1 of which (Walker's) carried into this year. So obviously hindsight is 20/20, but if I were to have to deem this trade to be a failure or success, I would say...

What Eddie could do this past year + What Billy could do next year >>> What Nate provided this past year (By a long shot)

FAILURE

Via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:

The Boston Celtics have targeted center Brad Miller(notes) to sign in free agency, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Celtics have their mid-level exception available to sign Miller, 34, who has the versatility to play the power forward and center spots for them. Several contenders are expected to pursue him, but sources say that the chance to play for the defending Eastern Conference champions has significant appeal to Miller.

Ehhhhhhhhhhh... Brad Miller is a solid player and I can't really take that away from him. I guess his style of play may fit in with the Celtics in a way that people don't really like him. Fans hate him for the way he very quickly gets into altercations with other players. Example: Rondo. Speaking of Rondo these two would probably have an awkward first meeting after their go arounds in the 2009 NBA Playoffs.

As for now they are only pursuing him, but a better option may become availabile. Everything will start falling into place very soon starting this upcoming Thursday.

Back from the week off and I did exactly what I said I would do. I stayed far away from ESPN, didn't touch the local news paper, hardly used the computer (as searching Celtics material and writing on the C's is the majority of what I do on it), etc. etc. etc. I took all the necessary steps to rid of any NBA poison into my brain and it worked very well.

Well here goes what I think I missed but caught back up to: Doc hasn't made a decision yet / We drafted Bradley and Harangody / Sheed retired / the Pierce and Ray Allen situations are still up in the air / trade rumors blew up in the face of anyone and everyone who even thought for a second they may be true (and they will for the remainder of the summer) / On that same topic people need to look at the "rumor" and make a logical decision on if it even sounds halfway knowledgeable... and thats about it.

Although I am still feeling the loss in the Finals, I am confident the organization can put together a good mixture of young talent and bring back some of the older talent we had from this years squad to make a great run in 2010-2011.

Even with a week off and time to let everything simmer and cool down, I still think the 4th quarter change in officiating lost the Celtics that game and you can't convince me otherwise so don't even try.. (to put it blunt :))

This summers articles will still recall some occurrences during the 2010 season, but the majority of the thought process will be looking toward the future and all that is bright.

Time to get back to business and continue into Stage 3 on the Quest to Banner 18!

(Photo Via AP)

 A very long post.. But maybe something you can relate to?

So the plan is (for me atleast) to take a week away from anything relating to the NBA. I know there are people out there who are leaving the NBA behind for good after watching this years postseason. Thats not me, but I would go so far as to say I completely understand why it is they are doing what they are doing..

The week off for me will simply be to get away from what I have suffocated myself with for the past 9 months. My life has completely revolved around the Celtics. I write about them / watch 97% of their games (without having DVR) / and nearly know their every move.

This season was extremely stressful from a fans perspective. The team would show signs of greatness throughout the season that made me excited, then followed it up with a game that made you wonder if they were any better than any other team out there. Thats difficult.. It is one thing to know your team sucks, or know your team is great - its another to THINK they are great andddddddddd their play just makes you wonder what is really going on..

The C's trip to the Finals was a very interesting and rare path. It's not too often a team plays .500 for over half of the end of the season and finds themselves in the NBA Finals without any extreme struggles in the first 3 rounds (no series went 7 games and the Cavs series was clearly the most difficult).

Even though "interesting" is the word, I can't say it was unexpected from a personal standpoint. My mind was programmed to believe the team would win a championship. Lets just say it wasn't a huge surprise to me they made it to the Finals.

The way the Finals ended is what is such a heartbreaker to me. The better team lost.. The team who wanted it more and deserved it more, Lost..

I am extremely frustrated with the way in which it ended. The average every day fan doesn't notice this, but the way the game was being called changed in the 4th quarter. The teams were allowed to play for 3 quarters. THATS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE IN GAME 7 OF THE NBA FINALS. Anything within reason, that isn't drastic, the refs should let play out. They did that for the first 3 quarters and it was so fun to watch.

Then the officials ruined what was perfect. The officials stole the Celtics championship from them. Suddenly the whistle went "soft" which obviously favors the Lakers. 21-6.... 21-6... That is a statistic that will stick in my head for some time (FT disparity in the 4th quarter). That and 21-17 (the number of free throws the Lakers took in the 4th quarter to the number the Celtics took in the entire game).

There were 2 instances in which Glen Davis did not foul anyone, and (maybe it was Glen Davis again) Pau Gasol did not get fouled when he flailed his arms in the air and got bailed out like the Lakers did the entire damn 4th quarter.

 
The Celtics were up 4 heading into the 4th quarter, I believe (I refuse to visit any website to look at stats). The whistle changed, and suddenly the Lakers were up by 6 or more. Screw it, enough explaining, the Celtics would have won this game if it was called the same way throughout.

The only thing I wished for in Game 7 was that the teams on the floor settled who was the better team.. For 3 quarters that occurred (and the Celtics were abusing the Lakers during that period)..

That is what makes it so frustrating. The Celtics should be having a parade - Banner 18 should be going up in late October, and the C's should be 3 (not 1) titles ahead of the Lakers.

I dont believe in all the, "Well they had their chances" crap.. Or, "They should have done a better job rebounding".. None of that mattered for the first 3 quarters, and suddenly when the tide shifts to 21-6 its about "chances" and "rebounding". The "Well they had their chances" is like saying they have to play perfect ball. They are going to go stagnant.. Hell both teams were stagnant the entire game until suddenly the Lakers put a 30 spot up in the 4th for obvious reasons (none of which are that they over powered or made more shots than the C's).. On the offensive end the Celtics still had to deal with the 1-3 quarter officiating and on the defensive end they had to deal with the 4th quarter officiating.. It's complete garbage.

Call it whining or call it being sour, thats my opinion. To watch the Lakers beat us from the free throw line, and not by drawing up any thing that resembled a well thought out play is a joke for a Game 7 of the championship series.

So now that I have my opinion out there on the Celtics season and how it ended, it's time to take my much needed break from the NBA.. My background is changed from a Celtics background to a desert, my tv is not touching ESPN, CSNNE, or NESN unless it is during a Sox game, the sports section of the news paper will not be read, and my internet browser will not be searching the web for anything pertaining to the NBA.

This is a good time to settle, calm down, and regroup for what will be a vey exciting yet very short (3.5 months)offseason. We have a bunch of big plans at Gino's Jungle that will occur over the summer, and I will be more ready than ever after I re-energize..

• As you well know Los Angeles is where Paul Pierce grew up. With a Game 7 win he could win a championship in Boston and in Los Angeles. By doing this he will have brought the fans to their feet for the team he despised as a young kid, and brought the fans to their knees for the team he grew up rooting for.
• The Celtics won Banner 17 on 6-17-2008. Game 7 will be exactly 2 years later on 6-17-2010. On 6-17-2008 they put a beating on the Lakers.. This could either be a very bad sign, good sign, or none at all (I'm just saying)..
• Sheed is the guy we bashed the entire regular season. More than likely he will get the start tonight. Wouldn't it be ironic if he had a big game that helped lead the Celtics to a championship after all of that complaining?
• The C's struggled at home this year. It would be a great end to show the dominance on the road by winning a game 7 in the NBA Finals..

My eyes are shutting.. Good night-- GO CELTICS!!!

I'd just like to take a quick moment to create a post thanking any fan that stepped foot into the Garden during the NBA Finals. I did not get to attend any of these games, but while watching them on tv I was amazed. From the tip of Game 3 to the final buzzer of Game 5, the Jungle was electric.

Many people like to complain (myself included) about the price of NBA Finals tickets. We like to look at it as, "Oh only the rich people can get in, and they don't really care about the team." Shame on me. Whether it be the rich people, or the people who basically sold their life to get into the game, every fan in the Garden brought their "A" game and gave the Lakers an extremely hostile environment to play in.

Maybe as corny as it may sound, the Garden during the NBA Finals made me proud to be a Celtics fan. It made me proud to know that I am a very small part of a huge group of people who care this much about the team that they will do anything in their power to will the team the victory.

Lets face it, the Celtics were getting hammered on pretty good a few times in these 3 games. Never did I ever hear one "Boo" come through my television during that time. Instead, after every basket the entire arena tried to lift the team to set them on track for a comeback. That's the way fans should react.

As the Celtics team will be able to say at the end of this series regardless to how it ends up, the fans as well can say, "We gave it everything we had."

So thank you Celtics fans, you brought it.. You created the atmosphere in what is, was, and always will be "The Jungle"!