Pats Sit Atop AFC East

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Finally, all is right in the football world again. The Dolphins don’t worry me at all and the Bills continue their trend of starting out decent and then realizing that they’re just the Bills so they let up 97 points in two games while scoring only 31. Rex Ryan, Sanchez, and the Jets continue to show what a disgrace to football they are and the Patriots stand alone atop the AFC East.

And things are only looking up for the Pats. Our offense is steamrolling defenses and not because of what we’re used to. Gronk was basically invisible on the field Sunday and Hernandez was out. The duo we relied on last year was absent and we still dominated offensively. The Welker we all know and love is back, in addition to a newfound running game that we’ve longed for since the days of Curtis Martin. It’s just unfair how many options the Pats have offensively. Simply no way to cover it all. On the other side of the ball, despite having the third worst passing defense in the league, we have the Seahawks next week who are second to last in overall passing yards on offense. McCourty may get picked on more than he ought to but it might not be a terrible day for the secondary. Not to mention Hernandez could be back in action. Sprinkle in replacing Monday with a Tuesday and a fantasy win to top it off…I’d say it’s a good start to the week. Happy Monday Tuesday Boston!

Short and Certainly Not Sweet

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Well the Red Sox certainly wasted no time on that. The Bobby V era has come to an abrupt end in Boston. The club’s first move of the offseason came just hours after their last game of the dreaded 2012 season. No press conference or build up. Just a “Breaking News” announcement tweet via through Twitter. And just like that, Bobby V is a memory, one that will hopefully soon be forgotten.

Although I certainly think he played a role in the lack of success this season, I can’t put all the blame on him. This team was plagued when he took the helm. Granted he didn’t do much to fix it, it shouldn’t all be on his shoulders. But I’m not going to get into all that. Bobby V’s time in Boston has been up for a while and frankly I’m sick of hearing about it. Finally it will be put to rest. Regardless, the Red Sox clearly need change, and hopefully this is the first of many changes they make so we can finally enjoy watching baseball again in Boston.

New NBA Rules

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The NBA has implemented a new anti-flopping rule, stating that “Flops have no place in our game”.  Any player who flops due to little to no contact, will be subject to a warning for the first time. After that, each time that they flop they will be fined in increments of $5,000. After a fifth offense, the increments will upgrade to $30,000 per offense. And they may even suspend players after the fifth time.

Many players flop. The biggest violator is probably Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. It’s easy to hate him. But Boston fans, remember, Glen Davis embellished every charge call while leading the league in charges taken while he was on the Celtics. I agree that there is no place for it in basketball- play like a man. My basketball coach used to make us practice taking charges and falling. That coupled with the fact that we were an all-white team, probably was the reason why we were an awful team.

Don’t expect to many calls this season, as it will be tough to prove that they are flopping without seeing evidence over the first few months. No ref will want to cause a player to pay $5,000 unless they are absolutely positive that they flopped.

Celtics Player Preview: Rajon Rondo

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What can you say about Rajon Rondo? He is the best player on our team. He is our young star. He is the leader of a team that has an average age older than he is. He is arguably the best pure point guard in the league (He and Chris Paul). Sure, Rose, Westbrook, and Williams are all great players, but no one sets up their team as well as Rondo in my opinion. And he is fun to watch!

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett | Rajon Rondo

ESPN recently ranked Rondo as the 12th best player in the league. He is the top ranked Celtic.

Last season, Rondo proved he could be consistent by averaging 11.9 PPG and 11.7 RPG in only his 6th year in the league.  Without him consistently getting better, the Celtics wouldn’t be the team that they are today. He can score off the dribble, make unbelievable passes that make you rewind the DVR, and is a triple-double threat day in and day out.

When he keeps his head clear, he can control the tempo of the game more than anyone I have ever seen on the roster. If the team needs to run, he pushes them, if they need to slow it down, he will walk up the floor, looking for any way to expose the defense. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be an all-star, and my guess is a starter this season, and potentially in the top 5 for MVP voting at the end of the season if the Celtics are where I think they will be (knock on wood).

Rondo made everyone on the team fly out to Cali last week in order to get to work right away. He is becoming a true leader. This guy is our future, and you can expect him to do big things again this season. Below are his stats since we drafted him in 2006:

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% 3P% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’06-’07 BOS 78 25 23.5 0.418 0.207 0.647 1 2.8 3.7 3.8 0.1 1.6 6.4
’07-’08 BOS 77 77 29.9 0.492 0.263 0.611 1 3.2 4.2 5.1 0.2 1.7 10.6
’08-’09 BOS 80 80 33 0.505 0.313 0.642 1.3 4 5.3 8.2 0.1 1.9 11.9
’09-’10 BOS 81 81 36.6 0.508 0.213 0.621 1.2 3.2 4.4 9.8 0.1 2.3 13.7
’10-’11 BOS 68 68 37.2 0.475 0.233 0.568 1.3 3.1 4.4 11.2 0.2 2.3 10.6
’11-’12 BOS 53 53 36.9 0.448 0.238 0.597 1.2 3.7 4.9 11.7 0.1 1.8 11.9

Celtics Player Preview: Kevin Garnett

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The next player to take a look at is Kevin Garnett. KG has been a key piece to the Celtics since he came over in 2007. He is now 36 years old but showed in last year’s playoffs that he can still play (19.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG in 20 games).

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett |Although he may have lost a step or two in the past few years, the big ticket can still change the game with his unstoppable mid-range jump shot and defense. I’m aware his defense hasn’t been as great, but he is still one of the smartest guys on the court. The only problem I have had with KG is his lack of rebounding, other than in the playoffs. He averages just over 8 per game, but when he was in his prime in Minnesota, he averaged over 13. Rebounding has been a big reason why we have been losing over the past few years, especially on the offensive glass.  I gotta admit though, it was nice having him start all 60 games during the regular season.
Garnett was recently ranked #21 on ESPN.com for top NBA players. He was 22 last year.

Doc has said that KG will be the starting Center so that Brandon Bass can play the Power Forward position. He said KG will do whatever it takes to win, even though some have said he dislikes that position. I’m sure he won’t mind as long as he can get another ring.

KG’s stats since he joined the Green and White are below:

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’07-’08 BOS 71 71 32.8 0.539 0.801 1.9 7.3 9.2 3.4 1.3 1.4 18.8
’08-’09 BOS 57 57 31.1 0.531 0.841 1.4 7.1 8.5 2.5 1.2 1.1 15.8
’09-’10 BOS 69 69 29.9 0.521 0.837 1.1 6.2 7.3 2.7 0.8 1 14.3
’10-’11 BOS 71 71 31.3 0.528 0.862 1.2 7.7 8.9 2.4 0.8 1.3 14.9
’11-’12 BOS 60 60 31.1 0.503 0.857 1.1 7.1 8.2 2.9 1 0.9 15.8
SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’06-’07 MIN 76 76 39.4 0.476 0.835 2.4 10.4 12.8 4.1 1.7 1.2 22.4
’07-’08 BOS 71 71 32.8 0.539 0.801 1.9 7.3 9.2 3.4 1.3 1.4 18.8
’08-’09 BOS 57 57 31.1 0.531 0.841 1.4 7.1 8.5 2.5 1.2 1.1 15.8
’09-’10 BOS 69 69 29.9 0.521 0.837 1.1 6.2 7.3 2.7 0.8 1 14.3
’10-’11 BOS 71 71 31.3 0.528 0.862 1.2 7.7 8.9 2.4 0.8 1.3 14.9
’11-’12 BOS 60 60 31.1 0.503 0.857 1.1 7.1 8.2 2.9 1 0.9 15.8

Replacements Have Been Replaced

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By now you’re probably well aware that the real NFL officials are back in business starting tonight and the replacement refs are heading back to their couches. Order has been restored to the NFL. I gotta say though, I think I might miss it. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the regular refs over these jabronies any day, especially as it affected the Pats. But what I will miss is the excitement. I mean how could you not? Every play, a chance to hop on the bandwagon and rip the refs a new one. Of course they were a big joke, but that was the fun of it. With the Pats and my fantasy players out of the picture, I’ve never been more entertained watching games that didn’t matter to me in my life. Every night another chance to join the masses in laughing, yelling, and making fun of a bunch of average Joe’s. Now the regular refs are back and for this week everyone will be tuned in to see if they can live up to the hype. After that, it’s back to normal. They’ll still get ripped apart by fans, players, and coaches. So it begs the question, would you rather have seen the replacement refs last a little longer, or are you glad Goodell came to his senses when he did?

PS. Keep in mind the Pats are up against the Bills Sunday. I don’t think I would have minded one more week of the circus.

 

Celtics Player Preview: Paul Pierce

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Next up for our player preview is Paul Pierce.

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee | Paul Pierce

Our captain has been around for 14 years, and stuck with the team even when we sucked. Nicknamed The Truth, Pierce is still one of the most clutch players in the league and one of the best players in Celtics history, and that’s saying a lot. Bleacher Report came out with the all-time best Celtics and made a starting line up. Pierce was chosen for this accolade along with Bill Russell (11 titles), Bob Cousy (6 titles), John Havlicek (8 titles), and Larry Bird (3 titles). Other than the fact that he only has 1 title, Pierce deserves to be up here, and is behind only Havlicek on the scoring list all time. He is still about 4,000 points behind him, though.

Pierce was recently ranked as the 29th best player in the NBA.  Pierce’s assists and points numbers have gone up last season compared to what they were in the past few seasons.

He is still one of the best players on this team and some say this may be his last season in green, but I’m willing to bet that we re-sign him, and he deserves it after all that he has done for the organization. He deserves, more than anyone, to retire as a Celtic, and Danny Ainge will most certainly feel the same way. His number 34 will be retired in no time. His stats are below, but i only put the last few seasons, since the former big 3 was formed and he was forced to take on a smaller role.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% 3P% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’07-’08 BOS 80 80 35.9 0.464 0.392 0.843 0.7 4.5 5.2 4.5 0.5 1.3 19.6
’08-’09 BOS 81 81 37.5 0.457 0.391 0.83 0.7 5 5.7 3.6 0.3 1 20.5
’09-’10 BOS 71 71 34 0.472 0.414 0.852 0.6 3.8 4.3 3.1 0.4 1.2 18.3
’10-’11 BOS 80 80 34.7 0.497 0.374 0.86 0.4 5 5.4 3.3 0.6 1 18.9
’11-’12 BOS 61 61 34 0.443 0.366 0.852 0.6 4.6 5.2 4.5 0.4 1.1 19.4

Celtics Player Preview: Courtney Lee

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Next up on the list of starters is Courtney Lee. Although he is a great player, it is expected that when Avery Bradley comes back in late December-early January (hopefully), he will take back his role that he beat Ray Allen out for last season. But you can still expect a lot of minutes off the bench for Lee.

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee

Courtney was recently ranked as the #117 best player in the league (Bradley was 106). Lee is best known for his tenacious defense which should make the duo of him and Rondo tough to beat. He will be a good match up on Dwayne Wade since we will not have Avery to shut him down like he did last season.

At the bottom I have listed his stats for his 4 years in the NBA since he left Western Kentucky. He averages exactly 10 PPG in his career and can score off the dribble. He needs a little bit of practice distributing the ball, but that should be easy considering he is now on a great looking team, not the Houston Rockets. I think he will score in the double digits again this season and will be a go-to defender in big games. Look for him to be a big factor on this team now that Ray Allen is gone.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN 3P% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’08-’09 ORL 77 42 25.2 0.404 0.83 0.2 2.1 2.3 1.2 0.2 1 8.4
’09-’10 NJ 71 66 33.5 0.338 0.869 0.9 2.7 3.5 1.7 0.3 1.3 12.5
’10-’11 HOU 81 1 21.3 0.408 0.792 0.6 2 2.6 1.2 0.2 0.7 8.3
’11-’12 HOU 58 26 30.3 0.401 0.826 0.5 2.3 2.7 1.5 0.4 1.2 11.4

Celtics Player Preview: Brandon Bass

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Since the Celtics begin camp on Friday, I thought we’d take a look at each of the projected starters that should be suiting up for the Green and White this season. First, we will start with the Power Forward position: Brandon Bass.

Brandon Bass had a breakthrough season for the Celtics in 2011. Danny Ainge went outside the box and traded Glen Davis. Although many people barely heard of Bass prior to the trade with Orlando, he quickly made a name for himself on the Celts. I think it was the most underrated move we made last season.

John Hollinger of ESPN has predicted that he will score 15.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG. He was recently ranked as the 97th best player in the NBA.

Below are Bass’ stats for his 7 seasons in the NBA. Brandon averaged the most points, rebounds, assist, steals, blocks, and minutes played of his career.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’05-’06 NO 29 1 9.2 0.632 0.6 1.7 2.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 2.3
’06-’07 NO 21 3 7.7 0.75 0.6 1.4 2 0.1 0.1 0.1 2
’07-’08 DAL 79 1 19.7 0.822 1.5 2.9 4.4 0.7 0.6 0.3 8.3
’08-’09 DAL 81 0 19.4 0.867 1.6 2.9 4.5 0.5 0.7 0.3 8.5
’09-’10 ORL 50 3 13 0.825 1.1 1.5 2.6 0.4 0.5 0.2 5.8
’10-’11 ORL 76 51 26.1 0.815 1.8 3.8 5.6 0.8 0.7 0.4 11.2
’11-’12 BOS 59 39 31.7 0.81 1.6 4.6 6.2 0.9 0.9 0.6 12.5