Julio, You Are Just Terrible

When I woke up this morning and read Steve Buckley's column in the Boston Herald this morning I instantly laughed. Julio Lugo lashed out at reporters after blowing a game last night in Detroit. A routine ground ball proved to be insurmountable to Lugo as he bobbled it and was unable to make a play on former Red Sox shortstop Edgar Renteria.

This opened the proverbial flood gates as Detroit went on to beat the Sox. And yes this loss can be blamed solely on Julio Lugo. This was Lugo's quote:

“I don’t care, but sometimes it would be nice to say something positive,” he said. “But all the time it’s negative things, you know? Sometimes, you know, people should say something that’s positive. But every time it’s something negative . . . bring it up, bring it up, bring it up. Why? I understand you (the media) are going to write whatever you want . . . but I come here every day and bust my ass . . . if things don’t work out sometimes, that’s the way it’s going to be. You understand? But sometimes you bring up the same things . . . You get tired of that."

Frankly, Julio, I am tired of calling you my shortstop. I think I can speak for all Red Sox fans with that statement. We did not want you last year. And we sure as hell do not want you this year. If you want us to say something positive, do something that warrants us in doing so. My only memory of anything that could resemble a praiseworthy comment is you knocked in the winning run in last year's Mother's Day Miracle against Baltimore. Wait a minute, that actually came via an error. So no, you have not done anything notable, (other than be flat out terrible in Boston) in your time here.

10 errors in 33 games? For God's sake Julio field the damn baseball! I have already accepted the fact that you can't hit worth a damn, is it to much to ask for you to field the baseball? No Julio, we do not want you here in Boston. We bring up the same things because you do the same things time and time again. Cry in Boston? Remember Julio you played in an atmosphere where no one cared in Tampa Bay. But you came here and signed a 4 year 36 million dollar contract and understood the consequences that would result from your play.

The bottom line is you are awful. I would have absolutely no problem with Jed Lowrie being the starting shortstop in Boston.

I have no problem saying, Bye Bye Julio!

-Scottie

Celtics Up 1-0

I have said that we would not learn a lot about the Celtics from Game 1 against the Cavs. There is a large part of me that feels I was very wrong. It is not that the Celtics won Game One, it was the fashion in which they did. If I was to be told that the Celtics would win a game in which Paul Pierce had just 4 points and Ray Allen was held scoreless, I would have laughed until I cried. But that is exactly what happened in the Celtics 76-72 win over Cleveland.

The Celtics outgritted that Cavs and held LeBron to just 2-18 shooting for 12 points. Paul Pierce played excellent defense on LeBron and the help defense forced LeBron to hoist 6 threes, all of which he missed. The Celtics were led by the man whom I have been criticizing all during the playoffs, Kevin Garnett. Garnett had 28 points and 8 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins chipped in with 12 rebounds and 7 points. Rajon Rondo reverted back to playing the way he did early in the Atlanta series with 15 points 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Although I am very happy that the Celtics got off on the right foot in this series, I know that LeBron is going to go off for 50 at some point in this series. What is refreshing is that I only have to worry about LeBron going off. Cavs fans will have to worry about Pierce and Allen exploding at some point in this series. The defense Boston displayed tonight showed that they aren't happy with critics (like myself) trashing them after the Atlanta series. If Boston keeps this up, this could be a rather short series.

Game 2 is Thursday night. Stay tuned.

-Scottie

Celtics-LeBron's

Tonight will be Game One of the second round playoff matchup between the Boston Celtics and LeBron James. While the Celtics did completely blow out the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7, there should have never been a Game 7 in the first place. Boston underachieved and Atlanta overachieved. The only closure I got out of that series was seeing Kevin Garnett floor Zaza Pachullia on a pick in the fourth quarter. Other than that Game 7 showed me nothing about the Celtics and I find myself concerned going into a matchup with LeBron James.

Areas of Concern:

1) LeBron James averaged 32.4 points per game against the Celtics, the most of any player against them. In Round 1 we saw what Joe Johnson did to the Celtics. Joe Johnson is lucky if he is half as talented as LeBron. I would like to see Paul Pierce and James Posey as the only guys to guard James. This should enable Ray Allen to concentrate more on his offense. Something he couldn't do when guarding Joe Johnson.

2) Can the Celtics win on the road? Unless you were living under a rock, you know that Boston did not win one game in Atlanta. The Cleveland atmosphere will be a lot more raucous. How will the Celtics respond? Since the Celtics have home court advantage throughout the playoffs, they will not have to win on the road as long as they go undefeated at home.

3) The Cavs went out and got former Celtics Wally Sczerbiak and Delonte West, and 2 big men in Ben Wallace and Joe Smith. The Cavs got to the finals last year without these role players. They look to be in better shape this year because of these trades. Having Wally and Delonte on the perimiter allows LeBron to drive and kick out for an open jumper. Not to menton the Cavs also have Damon Jones who never misses and my main man Daniel "Boobie" Gibson. If I am the Celtics I do my best to contain LeBron and let the role players beat me.

4) Which Kevin Garnett will show up? Will the Celtics have the intense KG that the Celtics fans saw all season long. Or will they have the KG who laid an egg on the road in the Atlanta series? As Garnett goes, so go the Celtics. His defensive energy is infectious. The Celts need that to stop LeBron.

The series starts tonight. My prediction: Celtics in 6.

-Scottie

Unbelievable...

It is a little over 2 hours from the conclusion of tonight's embarassing Game 6 loss to th Atlanta Hawks. And as a Boston Celtic fan, I am still stewing mad. I am legit pissed off. What better way to vent my anger then typing away on my very own blog. Without further adeiu here is my venting session.

1) Since when does Kevin Garnett play soft? This is by far what annoyed me most from Game 6. KG is the reason that the Celtics were the best team in the NBA regular season this year. Now when the Celtics need him the most he becomes soft and passive? What happened to the intense Kevin Garnett that Boston fans have come to know and love? Why is he not beasting bleeping Zaza Pachullia? Why does he play 15 feet away from the basket and fade away on every jump shot? Get it together KG. Yes, I am calling you out.

2) For the first time this series, Rajon Rondo looked like a second year point guard. He often forced passes that weren't there, took unneccesary shots, and played zero defense. Sam Cassell was of little help as well in Game 6. In order for the Celtics to (gasp) advance to the second round, they need far better play from their point guards.

3) I now hate Zaza Pachullia with a passion. He is in the middle of every scrum and seemingly causing all kinds of problems. How he got Paul Pierce to foul out tonight is beyond me. There was absolutely no way that Pierce should have been called for the foul underneath the basket. I am not one to complain about officiating because I feel it is a variable that is uncontrollable in all of sports. But the officiating tonight was less than lackluster. Maybe they got caught up in the raucous, albeit fairweather Atlanta atmosphere but either way, I am expecting some makeup calls come Game 7.

4) Doc is not to blame for this abyssmal series. The problem is he will be the fall guy if this disaster continues. The man who was second in coach of the year balloting may very well not have a job in Boston next season if this travesty continues. And that is beyond unfair. If you are looking for someone to blame look no further than #5, #20, and #34. After all they are "the Big Three" aren't they?

5) I must credit James Posey. He played incredible defense on Joe Johnson forcing him to hoist a prayer with time running out on the shot clock. To Johnson's credit, he nailed it. In my eyes, James Posey and Leon Powe are the only Celts who realize they are in the playoffs. Posey has hit huge shots time and again and his defense has been tight. Leon has been scrappy, the definition of a blue collar hustler. He takes charges, fights for rebounds, and dives after loose balls. If the rest of the team could follow in their path, we would not be in this mess.

I will say that we may have underestimated the Hawks. Should this series have gone this far? Absolutely not. But I will give credit where credit is due. The young athleticism has given the Celtics fits. This series has done wonders for the careers of Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson. With a good draft and some free agent pickups, the Hawks would be similair to the Washngton Wizards and they will be more competitive in years to come.

The only series in the first round going 7 games is the Celtics-Hawks. Who would have thunk it?

Sunday May 4. TD Banknorth Garden. 1:00.

Game 7.

-Scottie