That’s what we’ve been waiting for with the return of the LF/LF. What an excellent night of basketball. It seems like the TNT Doubleheaders are much better this year than they were the previous two seasons. The last two years, you were almost guaranteed one of the games to be horrendous on TNT. Now, we’re getting a legit and entertaining double dip each week.

One of the highlights was clearly the showdown between Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. Here to reenact the duel before I start getting into the night’s action are Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Matt will be playing the role of D-Wade and Kobe will be played by Mr. Gigli himself. Enjoy:

Lion Face: Derrick Rose
Derrick, if you don’t mind I’d like you to kick off this LF/LF with a little something special. Have any ideas?

Yep, that’ll do it.

Lemon Face: Bulls 17-point Lead
How did the Bulls build a 47-30 lead against the Grizzlies? They did it by driving to the basket and getting easy points in the paint. In fact, at one point in the second quarter the Bulls had four straight layups with a free throw to build the lead from 10 to 17. After that the Grizzlies started to make shots and the Bulls started to waste possessions. Over the last 4:30 of the second quarter the Bulls possessions went turnover, turnover, missed three, blocked jumper, missed jumper, missed jumper, missed jumper (sensing a theme?), turnover, made shot inside and turnover. That’s how you turn a 17-point lead into a momentum for the other team.

Lion Face: Zach Randolph
The Bulls miss two people a lot when they face a bull like Z-Bo: Tyrus Thomas and more importantly, Joakim Noah. Taj Gibson is a nice player and will be a fine role player on many good playoff teams throughout his career. But when he has Brad Miller as his low post help, it’s nearly impossible for him to contain someone like Randolph. Randolph was able to bully his way down low and get plenty of space for jumpers. He dominated the paint scoring the majority of his 31 points inside. And just to make sure you didn’t think his All-Star first half of the season effort was a fluke, he grabbed 18 rebounds, made 12/18 from the field and 7/8 from the free throw line. You can definitely contain Zach Randolph on any given night as long as you have strong post defense and plenty of weak side help with good defenders. The Bulls just didn’t have that at Taj Gibson’s disposal Thursday night.

Lemon Face: Bulls Bench
Here’s what you can’t do if you’re in danger of missing the playoffs and every game could be the difference between that sweet, sweet postseason revenue and trying to convince big-time free agents that you’re a franchise committed to winning and they should join forces with you. You can’t get a poop sandwich as the contribution from your bench. You just can’t. And Thursday against the Grizzlies, the Bulls bench did exactly that. Not one player on the bench made more than one shot. Not a single one! They were a combined 5/16 from the field and NOBODY made a second shot. You would think they’d make one by accident. Or one of those alley-oops where you throw it into the rim instead of around the rim might happen. Or even one of those mishandled rebounds where a Grizzlies defender accidentally hits it into the basket and the nearest Bulls player gets credit for the score. You’d think SOMETHING would happen in order to get a second made field goal for any of these Bulls bench players. But no, it didn’t happen. Instead, the Bulls lost to the Grizzlies at home. Now they’re just two games ahead of Charlotte.

Lion Face: Kobe Bryant versus Dwyane Wade
Maybe I should just give this to Dwyane Wade because it seems like whenever he goes against one of the top stars in the league, we see some stretch of special showdown between him and his antagonist for the night. Thursday, he had to battle Kobe Bryant while being hounded by Ron Artest all night. And Kobe flat out brought it like Kirsten Dunst in Bring It On. He was in complete control the entire night. Yes, he finished with 39 points on 15/28 from the field but it was the way he accumulated that line that was most impressive. He was in complete control the entire night. Everything was a rhythm. Rock and fire. Rock and fire. Rock, hesitate then fire. He scored 12 straight points spanning over the last few moments of regulation and into the first couple minutes of overtime.

However, Dwyane Wade kept answering. He had a nice line of his own – 27 points and 14 assists. And that was all while either being suffocated by Ron Artest or dueling with Kobe Bryant on him. The Lakers threw double teams at him whenever he started to drive. He would either split the double team and get to the basket or he’d suck the defense in and kick it out for an assist. He did it when Kobe sagged off of Quentin Richardson at the end of regulation and Q knocked down the three to put them up two. He did it when Gasol or Odom left Haslem alone on the baseline. Wade just continued to make the correct play and will his team to a home victory over one of the best in the league. Hell of a duel.

Lemon Face: Pau Gasol
What happened to Pau Gasol? Last year he was the missing piece that toughened up, shed the soft label he had been branded with throughout his career and helped take the Lakers to the NBA Finals and win it. Now? He was completely swallowed up in this game on Thursday. Haslem and Jermaine O’Neal were too tough for him inside, which should tell you something. He anticipated and shied away from contact in the post. He made bad decisions with passing the ball and he couldn’t knock down jumpers. This is the Pau some people worried about against the Celtics in the 2008 Finals. This is not the Pau the Lakers need in the playoffs this year.

Lion Face: Quentin Richardson
I’m not sure what has motivated Quentin Richardson into becoming an extremely valuable role player once again but I definitely like it. You know who didn’t like it last night? The Lakers. Richardson rained threes upon the Lake show by finding the holes in the defense and waiting for the swing pass. And he made them pay for leaving him open. He made seven threes in all, including the huge make at the end of regulation to put the Heat up two. He was torched a little by Kobe Bryant throughout the game but he made up for it by making the most of his opportunities.

Lemon Face: Udonis Haslem
He didn’t do anything wrong in terms of his play. He was actually quite good and quite clutch. I just could have done without the snarl after every basket he made late in the game. Seriously, Udi? What’s with the Chris Webber grimace?

Lion Face: Amare Stoudemire’s Scoring
30 points on 11/17 from the field is nicely efficient. Amare was able to kill the Jazz for much of this game off of the same old stuff the Phoenix has been running the past few seasons – pick and rolls with Steve Nash in which the same pass comes off the same role in the same area of the basket every time. Nothing has changed here. And yet, teams still can’t do anything about it. When he gets the ball with about 10 feet of daylight, he gathers the feet, extends the arm and makes a poster out of various bystanders.

Lemon Face: Amare Stoudemire’s Rebounding
At the same time, we’re still getting the same porous effort from Amare on the boards. Seven boards tonight? Carlos Boozer had a tough night scoring but he worked his tail off on the glass and made up for it with 15 rebounds. But Amare who is more athletic, taller and longer can’t even surpass half of that? This is why Amare Stoudemire isn’t going to get a max contract when he’s entering free agency in the middle of his prime. The effort is just rarely there in all facets of the game.

Lion Face: Mehmet Okur
I know Memo skipped last year and the first half of this season but the big guy is back for the Jazz. When given the chance to bury the Suns tonight, he knocked down a huge three as the Suns triple-teamed Deron Williams tonight in the waning seconds of the game. It was the type of big shot Okur used to make and Jazz fans were pining for over the past 18 months. Perhaps he’s returned. 18 points in the second half of this game is a good way to start.

Lemon Face: Steve Nash
Seven turnovers. Yes, he had 14 points and 15 assists but he nearly wiped all of that away with seven costly turnovers. Deron Williams proved that there is a difference between the Chris Paul-Deron Williams echelon of point guard and the level just below that where Steve Nash resides. Williams torched him on offense in the key moments and he forced him into mistakes on defense. Nash needed to take care of the ball, run the team and protect the double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

Lion Face: Deron Williams
Hey speaking of Deron Williams, way to have a fourth quarter, sir. He distributed the ball early and got his teammates going. Then with time running out on the Jazz chances of winning this game, Deron took over. He scored 13 points and made three big three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone. He finished with 27 points, nine assists and five threes overall.

Lemon Face: Suns Holding a Lead
I really feel bad for Suns fans. While doing the ESPN Daily Dime Chat, they all seemed to know this collapse in the fourth quarter was going to happen. Basketball is not a lot of fun when your team is up double digits in the fourth quarter at home and you just know they’re going to blow it.

Lion Face: Jason Richardson, Send Us Home
So in an attempt to cheer them up, here is Jason Richardson’s tip dunk in the fourth quarter. The man can still get up when he needs to (assuming we’re not talking about a game against the Spurs):

The objective of any defense is to prevent the team from scoring.  To this end, a defense can discourage high-percentage shots (shots at the basket), high-value shots (3-pointers and fouls), and create turnovers.  Quantifying defensive efforts, especially on an individual level, has long been an intriguing frontier of the basketball analytical world.

Preventing quality shots at the basket is important.  It’s why Hasheem Thabeet was drafted second overall.  It’s why teams use the 2-3 zone.  It’s why the 3-second rule exists.

So how do we grade this part of the game? Let’s start with blocks.  Blocks have traditionally stood as the measuring stick for paint defense but there are inherent problems with this using blocks as a proxy.  Not all blocks are recovered by the defensive team and thus, they offer opportunities for the offense to restart their offense and work a better shot.  The ego-fueled swat that sends the ball flying into the stands has in fact caused coaches to spew steam out of their ears.  And for good reason.  It’s probably best to just do this.

Another negative externality of the blocked shot is the fouling side effect.  The typical shooting foul will put about 1.5 points on the board.  This is the one of the many reasons why Thabeet was recently demoted to the D-League.  Among players who play 10 minutes a game, only two players fouled more than the UConn product.  After running a cost-benefit analysis, the Grizzlies decided he was better off playing for their JV team.  Sometimes, a block just isn’t worth it.

In the end, blocks do not correlate with good post defenses nearly as much as one would expect.  A superior way to measure basket defense is how well opponents shoot at the rim, or as we at Hoopdata.com have termed at rim field goal percentage.  This statistic captures not only a team’s shot-blocking ability but also their ability to alter shots by calculating how teams shoot on layups, dunks, and tip-ins.

The Boston Celtics, who rank fourth in at rim FG%, do not feature the shot-blocking prowess as some other teams but are much more effective at provoking missed shots around the basket.  Conversely, the Clippers have the second highest block rate in the NBA, thanks to the defected Marcus Camby, and yet find themselves 22nd in at rim field goal percentage.  The Celtics protect the basket far better than the Clips but you wouldn’t have guessed by only looking at their shot-blocking ability.

So let’s move away from blocked shots as a proxy for basket protection and focus more on at rim percentage.  I could offer a straight up leaderboard of opponent at rim percentage but I want to take this a step further.  Even at rim percentage can be misleading.  Why?  It still misses the foul component of basket defense as fouled shots are not included in field goal percentages.

Imagine if a coach told his players to foul every time the offense got an easy look at the basket.  It would probably work for a while but then the team’s best defenders would start fouling out by halftime and non-shooting fouls would earn a trip to the foul line sooner.   No coach would honestly advocate that strategy, but it appears that the Pacers have employed a version of it.  The Pacers have the third best at rim defense in the NBA as measured by at rim FG%.  However, they also foul their opponents a ton.  As a result, they have just an average defense when their at rim defense suggests they should be a defensive powerhouse.  Consider that the other leaders in opponent at rim FG% are Orlando, Chicago, Boston, and Cleveland– all excellent defenses.

To illustrate this dynamic, I plotted each team’s  opponent free throw rate (FTA/FGA) and their opponent at rim FG% below.  The text size and color gradient represents the portion of at rim attempts the team allows. The more you allow, the louder the data point.

Teams should strive to be in the lower left region, where opponents miss shots and don’t get to the line.  The Warriors, however, feature just about the worst combination of fouling and easy buckets, and likewise find themselves in the upper right region.

Orlando has an incredible post presence in Dwight Howard and at 4.1 fouls per 40 minutes, he fouls less often than the average center.  Perhaps the reason Dwight Howard isn’t getting the MVP recognition many believe he deserves is because he impacts the game in ways that the media can’t articulate.  Well here’s the evidence they’re missing.  The Magic protect the basket better than any other team in the NBA and they own the third best defense in the land.  He’s why.

It’s interesting that many analysts believe Brendan Haywood is the post presence that the Mavericks desperately needed when one considers that the Wizards allowed by far the highest at rim FG% in the NBA.   While they don’t give up a high percentage of shots from that area, they add to their post defense woes by fouling at a moderate rate.

The Bulls probably don’t garner the attention they deserve. They don’t foul, nor do they let opponents get any shots off at the rim.  They lost their best post defender in Tyrus Thomas but let’s not forget that he’s only played about a quarter of the teams minutes this season.  Joakim Noah has been superb on the defensive end this year but unfortunately for the Bulls, he’ll be out for the next three weeks with plantar fasciitis.   The Bulls hope they can hang onto a playoff spot without Thomas and Noah protecting the rim going forward.

As demonstrated here, teams like Indiana and Milwaukee have deflated opponent at rim percentages as a result of their fouling rates.  Others genuinely own the rim and create nightmares for their opponents without sending them to the charity stripe.  Keep this in mind as you watch the different defenses get prepped for their playoff run.

A full slate of games. 12 games of NBA scheduled and yet, we were mostly left disappointed. There were only three games that were decided by single digits and only two of those were good ones.

So while the schedule makers get a Lion Face for effort, the execution of the actual games definitely gets a Lemon Face.

Let’s turn to our judges to see if they concur:

Yep, the ruling is official. Now let’s get faced!

Lion Face: LeBron James
Check out this video of some highlights from the Cavs game against the Nets:

By the way, those were only highlights from the first half of this game. When it gets to these games between the Cavs and the dredges of the NBA like the Nets and Knicks, LeBron just seems to be messing around. And when he’s messing around, he’s giving us some of the most fun and insane highlights to go with what’s scarily becoming insanely normal stat lines for him. 26 points and 14 assists in 41 minutes for LeBron tonight. Wait, why did he play 41 minutes in a game in which the Cavs were manhandling the Nets from the get-go?

Lemon Face: Mike Brown
Act like a coach, MB, and sit your superstar when the game is in hand. Why risk the injury or put miles on the odometer with LeBron when it’s completely unnecessary? Don’t forget that you’re the coach and you get to say who is coming in and out of the game… in theory.

Lion Face: Orlando Magic Rebounding Domination
58 to 29 rebounding advantage over the Warriors? 16 offensive rebounds to the Warriors 29 TOTAL rebounds?

HULK SMASH!!!

Lemon Face: Top Rookie Point Guards
If you’re in the Top Three running for the 2010 Rookie of the Year award, you did not have a good Wednesday night. Brandon Jennings had just five points (on 2/12 shooting, 1/6 from three), six rebounds, five assists and six turnovers. But the Bucks won so that’s excusable. Stephen Curry scored nine points (on 3/12 shooting) and had seven assists to go with his five turnovers. He was also a -25 for the night in the Dubs’ blowout loss to the Magic. But worst of all definitely had to be Tyreke Evans. ‘Reke had nine points, eight rebounds and five assists to go with his one, single turnover. Doesn’t sound too bad especially considering they won, right? Wrong. He was dominated by Shane Battier all night and simply couldn’t get a shot to fall. He was 4/22 from the field, 0/4 from three and 1/3 from the free throw line. He nearly cost the Kings their sixth road victory of the year.

Lion Face: Shane Battier
Not only did Shane Battier manage to completely shut down what was thought to be a nearly unstoppable force in rookie Tyreke Evans but he also blocked seven shots in this game. His defense against Evans was flawless. He anticipated every single move that Tyreke made. Tyreke went to the spin move and Battier had already slid over. Evans tried to side step him to free up for a little runner in the key and Battier had his hands completely in the path of the ball. Wherever Tyreke went, Battier had already called ahead for reserved seating.

Lemon Face: The Kings-Rockets Game in General
On a night in which only three of the 12 games ended in a single-digit margin of victory, the Kings three-point win was clearly the worst of them all. The Kings refused to make shots and the Rockets refused to rebound and make shots. The Kings shot 32% from the field. The Rockets shot just 39% from the field while making only 22.7% from three and 61% from the charity stripe. They also allowed the Kings to grab 24 offensive rebounds, which factored into the Kings taking 23 more shots in this game than the Rockets did. In fact, the Kings attempted 100 shots total in this game, which is kind of insane. Plus there were only 31 combined points scored in the fourth quarter of this game. Ugh.

Lion Face: Rodrique Beaubois
Rodrique Beaubois is not only a ton of fun to say but it’s always the name of an invincible human being. This little French guy was the backup point guard to Jose Barea who was stepping in for Jason Kidd. And he dominated his 29 minutes on the floor with 17 points on nine shots, including 3/5 from three-point range. He also had four assists and a blocked shot. It’s hard to explain his style of play. The best I can come up with is he’s like watching one of those guys who can beat Super Mario Bros in like five minutes. Everything is too fast to keep up with and you’re just amazed at some of the jumps and speed this guy uses.

Lemon Face: James Posey Decision-Making
Ummm… Yeah… this happened on the Hornets last possession of the game when they were down two.

Lion Face: Kevin Garnett
Everyone is so quick to knock him down now that he’s a Boston Celtics, more visible than most players and a fiery guy that likes to try to get in the heads of his opponents. People seem to take joy in the fact that he’s battled injuries over the past two years, which is simply a white trash way to be a basketball fan. But if we’re going to bash him for being slow and incapable of doing the historically sick stat lines that he used to produce in ‘Sota we should at least make note of the rare nights from here on out in which KG looks extremely active and positively affects the game in being so. 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals isn’t changing the game but it was an encouraging effort from a seemingly-getting-healthier Kevin Garnett.

Lemon Face: Bobcats Starting Lineup
A way to fight for the a playoff spot is not getting just 40 points from your entire starting lineup. That’s not going to get an expansion franchise their very first playoff berth.

Lion Face: SSOM
Gian Casimiro, who currently runs Knick Blog, used to run Seven Seconds Or Mess. It was also a Knicks blog that celebrated/analyzed the Seven Seconds or Less era that Mike D’Antoni was bringing into Madison Square Garden. Well, on nights in which SSOM is clicking at the ole MSG it can be quite a beautiful thing. 128 points with four starters scoring at least 21 points is pretty damn fun. They shot 55% from the field, made 12 threes, turned the ball over just eight times and had 31 team assists. David Lee led the way with 21 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. That’s just a fun night of basketball as long as you’re not the Detroit Pistons.

Lemon Face: OKC Thunder
You had a showdown date in Denver with a team you needed to measure yourself against. You also had a Kevin Durant versus Carmelo Anthony aspect to this game that was supposed to be fun, exhilarating and hopefully something that would end up on Hardwood Classics. Instead, you got a game in which the Nuggets completely dominated and peaked by obtaining a 40-point lead at one point. Carmelo slapped Durant around with a 30-19 scoring advantage. Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen wrecked whatever excuse for a frontline the Thunder tried to throw at them. HELL! Even Anthony Carter had 12 assists off the bench. If I had to put my finger on what was the most telling stat of this game, it had to be the 26 team turnovers that resulted in 31 points for the Nuggets. That definitely didn’t help the Thunder stake a claim to the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

Lion Face: Mike Conley… wait, THAT Mike Conley? Yep, Mike Conley Had a Day
I probably shouldn’t talk about this because I’m sure Matt won’t want me to jinx it but did you see the game that Mike Conley had against a formidable backcourt combination of Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton? 21 points on 11/18 shooting, seven assists and five steals. That’s not too shabby. Especially considering that Darren Collison lit up MC Crappy Point Guard a few weeks ago, this was a nice showing by someone that owes the Grizzlies fans a few good showings in a row.

Lemon Face: Indiana Pacers sans Danny Granger
Danny Granger: 30 points, 12/22 shooting, 1 turnover
Rest of his team: 49 points, 21/54 shooting, 17 turnovers.

Guess if the Pacers pulled out an incredibly improbable win at Portland or if they were destroyed by 23 points? Go ahead; guess for me.

Lion Face: Grant Hill Will Have None of That
Travis Outlaw, you should’ve known that Grant Hill drinks Sprite.

Lion Face: Bill Walker Is Becoming Self-Aware
Via Posting and Toasting, Bill Walker is getting it done. Good to see:

One is an unselfish, accommodating power forward who is a revelation on the glass and is gradually increasing his range. The other is a more established post threat that can milk his face-up game as well as his back-down game, and should, in theory, be one of the most dominant scoring bigs for the better part of the next decade.

In theory, they should be one of the most fearsome pairs of bigs in the league. But they’re not. They’re nice and fluffy. They’re a cute distraction, but hardly a team. They don’t reinforce each other’s strengths, but counter them while magnifying each other’s weaknesses. They are Kevin Love and Al Jefferson, and despite the fact that they’re both immensely talented and incredibly productive, they will never, ever work as a pairing.

Okay, they might. In fact, they probably will at some point, provided they’re kept together. But at this point in their careers, it seems like they’re both forces that while unstoppable, are slowing and hindering one another, despite their best efforts not to.

It’s one of those cases that has oh so little to do with personality, and everything to do with style and system. Despite the particular strengths and versatility of Love and Jefferson’s games, the overlap is such that they haven’t quite figured out how to best play alongside one another. Or rather, Kurt Rambis hasn’t best figured out how his two best players can be effective on the court at the same time, which is not a good thing. The triangle is an effective system if given the right personnel with the right mindset. But when the squad has such strength in its low post game, is the triple post really necessary? Especially when you just drafted Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio? Is that the type of core that you construct the triangle offense around? Really? Really, Kahn?

The plan of attack is seriously flawed, and while that may not quite account for how poor the tandem of Jefferson and Love is defensively at times, it’s enough of a starting point to get worked up about it. Those two are such terrific players that they deserve more creative coaching, or a combination of system and players that can enhance their production rather than simply relying on it.

If you look to the numbers, not all that much appears to be wrong. Jefferson is only a slight tick down in production, despite whispers of a more significant drop-off. Kevin Love is averaging a freaking double-double in less than 30 minutes a game as a sophomore and a reserve. But this? Everything they’re doing right now? It’s in spite of the system. It’s in spite of a coach who, while I admire his want to see the installation of a complex system through to the end, is probably engaging in a futile practice that doesn’t for a second fit the roster he’s been given. Rambis is relying on the fact that his team is more malleable than his own philosophy. That’s hardly reason enough for him to be fired, but considering the pieces he has in Minny and the offense he’s still desperately trying to install, it certainly seems misguided.

Maybe all Love and Jefferson really need to thrive is a little space from each other. Then again, maybe all they really need is a little space from the triangle offense and the roster-assembling talents of David Kahn.

Is this unbelievably late today? Absolutely. It’s not even morning in some parts of the world. Unless you’re in one of those weird areas where it’s already tomorrow and in that case, I’m going to assume you drive a Dolorean, know Christopher Lloyd and have an almanac that already told you who was going to be the Lion Face/Lemon Face for last night’s action.

Did you’re almanac tell you that there would be new guys doing the intro?

Okay, I lied. It’s the same guys. It was a test. And you passed. Barely. But I had to know that you were yourself and not some future or past version that had snuck into your cool car and gunned it to a time-traveling speed of 88 miles per hour.
(The LF/LF is late today because of connection problems. My apologies)

Lion Face: Celtics Bench Starring Nate Robinson
The weak Boston Celtics bench that is going to combine with the old starters to supposedly let every C’s fan down this spring was really good last night. Yes, it was the Pistons and everybody is pretty good against the Pistons. But the Celtics bench was extremely productive and efficient in doing so. Nate Robinson led the Celtics’ 39-point contribution with 14 of his own. He did the good Nate Robinson act of knocking down threes and spreading the floor to open things up for everybody. He made four of his five threes and seemed so in control of everything going on. This is the Nate they’re hoping for and the bench they never knew they had.

Lemon Face: Pistons Shooting Threes
Detroit, have you looked at your roster? Why are you shooting three-pointers so much? Did you watch Nate Robinson and get jealous? So you thought, “hey if that short guy can make them, us tall guys can make them too!” Tayshaun Prince made three of his six attempts, which I’m told is very good (Math is hard). However, the rest of the Pistons didn’t make a single three. That didn’t stop them from taking them. The non-royalty sporting last name’d Pistons were 0/14 from three, which is just like giving away possessions. In a game at home in which you lost by five, I think it’s safe to point to that stat then look at your talent and see that you shouldn’t be taking so many.

Lion Face: Reggie Williams, Stand Up!
First of all, there were moments in the Warriors-Heat game in which the Dubs were sporting an entire lineup of guys who weren’t drafted. Chris Hunter, Anthony Tolliver, Anthony Morrow, CJ Watson and Reggie Williams were all on the court together and it was the winningest win the D-League has ever won before. The most recent call up from the D-League was Reggie Williams who had been lighting up the “lesser competition.” In the 20 minutes he played Tuesday night, he scored 10 points (4/7 from the field, 2/2 from downtown), grabbed five boards and dished out five assists. That’s such a win for a guy like him and a growing – in popularity and respect – type of league like the NBDL. It’s still great to see guys work their tails off, pay their dues and get to the show. And when they get to the show and perform like this, it just legitimizes everything. Well done, Reggie.

Lemon Face: Kings Rebounding
Every time the Kings got a key stop and were possibly making a run to pull the game into their momentum wheelhouse, they would give up a key offensive rebound. This is why they lost to the Thunder when the Thunder tried to gift wrap the game, give it to them on a special occasion and let them know that there was a gift receipt in case they wanted to exchange it. Overall, the Kings gave up 17 offensive rebounds in a game in which they lost the rebounding battle by 11. This reeked of last season when the Kings couldn’t box out anybody and won 17 games.

Lion Face: Dwyane Wade
I know it was against the Warriors and the triumvirate of Steph Curry, CJ Watson and Anthony Morrow isn’t exactly going to deny shots and create turnovers but the line Dwyane Wade had in Miami last night was sort of 2K10-ish. 35 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, four steals. He made 15/23 shots. Overall, adding the points he scored to the points he assisted, he accounted for 63 of the Heat’s 110 points. That’s just damn impressive. We forget just how good he is because his team is so terrible and under-talented. Imagine if they bring in another big name player next season or if he goes somewhere like Chicago. There is going to be a revolution and he’s going to be the architect of it all.

Lemon Face: James Harden
He did make a big three in the second half of this game to end one of the Kings numerous runs that came up short. But when he had to guard Tyreke Evans, it was clear who was the better player. Evans seemed to be breathing fresh air after being smothered by Thabo Sefolosha early on. This allowed him to drive to the basket, get fouled and shoot free throws (17 of them). Harden was too slow and not strong enough. At least he has an eventual playoff appearance this season to hold over Evans.

Lion Face: Ron Artest
Did you see the way he man-handled Danny Granger after man-handling Carmelo Anthony a few days ago?

Lemon Face: Danny Granger
Did you see the way he was man-handled by Ron Artest? Artest got suspended for that kind of cruel performance when he was doing it to the patrons of the Palace at Auburn Hills. Against Danny Granger though, it’s just the kind of scary defense the Lakers fans have been hoping for and the sports writers have been saying he can’t do anymore. Uh oh.

Lion Face: Tyreke Evans
27 points, six rebounds and five assists. Against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. In a game in which the Thunder dictated the slower pace of the game early on before Tyreke Evans was fed up and decided to push the ball whenever he could. And the speed of the game was turned up to 11, which allowed the Kings to have some breathing room on offense and get back into making this a game for 48 minutes. There are few players in the NBA who can do this. There are few players who can be on the short end of a one-on-three fastbreak and still have the numbers to get a quality scoring opportunity. Tyreke Evans is one. Steph Curry and Darren Collison are not. Let’s not keep pretending there is a Rookie of the Year race.

Lemon Face: Kings Defense
My god! Put a hand in someone’s face! Grab a rebound! Move your feet to pretend like Russell Westbrook can’t get wherever he wants whenever he feels like it. There are five of you to match up with five of them. Don’t make it look like it’s a power play for your opponents. They don’t have that in basketball.

Lion Face: Kevin Durant + Russell Westbrook = Giggles
They combined for 69 points with Durant’s 39 and Westbrooks 30. They were so good against the Kings that all you could do was laugh. They were a combined 23/45 from the field. Durant grabbed 10 rebounds; Westbrook had 13 assists. They each shot double-digit free throws. Russ made 9/11 and Durant made all 12 of his. If these guys can find a way to harness this effort and efficiency nearly every time out, we’re just going to have to hand this trophy for the next few years to the heartland of America. Of course, it helps when Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia are the ones trying to check you.

Lemon Face: Pacers Aggressiveness
Kobe Bryant shot 15 free throws in this game. The Lakers shot 15 free throws in the first half alone. The Pacers shot free throws total in the entire 48 minutes of play. Part of this was because Danny Granger was tied up, thrown in the basement and held for ransom by Ron Artest. The other part was this is a terrible team and they have no shot competing in a full game against a team like the Lakers. You’d still like a little more fight in them in this game.

Lion Face: Quentin Richardson
Quentin Richardson used to be the chubby NBA player who was dating a TV show on UPN and cashing inordinately large checks thanks to playing with Steve Nash and for Mike D’Antoni before everyone realized what was actually happening in the SSOL era of basketball. He went to the Knicks and everyone was fine with him being mediocre and a bit of a joke. This summer when he was passed around like the flu, he decided to drop around 30 pounds and now he’s dunking three times in a game against the Warriors. Three times! Look at this man. Q, looks great and is moving like he’s in his mid-20s again. Don’t believe me? He’s the one catching the oop below!

When the Celtics lost to the Magic last year in the second round of the Playoffs, it was no big deal. The fact that it took seven games — an epic seven, no less — to oust the lowly Bulls wasn’t even that troubling for the reigning NBA champs. Their emotional and defensive leader was on the sideline in a suit, so it was almost commendable that Boston could defend it’s title so admirably even without Kevin Garnett.

That title defense was a nice feel-good story, but minus KG, the team was probably already thinking about next year. Over the Summer, KG would heal, Paul Pierce would get some needed rest, Rajon Rondo would further evolve and Kendrick Perkins would practice his tough guy face in the mirror. All would be back to normal in Boston. The Celtics would enter the 2009-10 season as a team driven to avenge a disappointing season lost to bad luck. And when they signed both Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to fill out the rotation, it looked like we would were just a meaningless regular season away from the Celtics/Lakers Finals rematch we all wanted to see.

The season started out well enough. There were still three major contenders for the Eastern Conference crown and the Celtics looked as good as anyone. But after a terrible first two months of 2010 — capped by a woeful yet convincing loss to their Atlantic Division “rivals,” the New Jersey Nets, on Sunday — the Celtics no longer look like a contender.

Really, they barely look like a team that can win a playoff series.

They are a lowly 9-11 in their last 20 games, which include losses to the Nets, Pistons and Clippers and only three wins over teams that were .500 when they squared off. Moreover, they are a highly mediocre 26-19 so far this year against opponents who don’t play in the worst division in the NBA (the Atlantic, which has the same number of teams, 3, playing below .400 ball that the entire Western Conference has).

While watching the scrappy, KG-less Celtics struggle to beat the likes of the Bulls last Spring, I imagine many of you had the same thoughts as me: “They’re sh*tty.”

Well, 57 games into this season: “They’re still sh*tty.”

You might recognize those (admittedly exaggerated to fit this post) characterizations of this team as quotes from Major League, a seminal film about counted-out underdogs overcoming staggering odds to succeed. Unlike the Celtics, which were famously constructed by Danny Ainge’s Voltron-esque assembly of The Big Three Part II in combination with the savvy drafting of Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, the Cleveland Indians team in Major League was a ragtag bunch put together for one sole purpose: losing. And losing bad enough so that their owner could break her lease with the city and move the team to sunny Florida. It was only once the players learned of her sinister plot that they were able to put it all together and start winning.

They needed an external wake-up call to motivate them to win.

Now, I personally don’t have much faith in this Celtics team. But if ever there was a wake-up call in this year’s NBA, it’s losing to the Nets. At home. Convincingly.

Will that be enough to help Boston hold off Father Time and magically rebuild the ligaments in KG’s knee? Probably not. I think the Celtics are a clear step behind the three legitimate contenders in the East (Cleveland, Atlanta and Orlando).

But this Celtics team, which I think at least within our little NBA internet world is now being counted out as a title contender, does bare a striking resemblance to my favorite fake baseball team.

Let me count the ways…

Kevin Garnett & Jake Taylor

Former greats cut down by failing knees, KG and Jake are both the inspirational leaders of their teams. Jake calls the shots from behind the plate. Kevin calls the shots from the back of the defense. Jake talks to the umps, lobbying for balls to become strikes. Kevin swears at the refs, lobbying for fouls to become no-calls. Jake gets into the opponents’ head, asking players why their wives let dudes wear their panties as a hat. Kevin gets into the opponents’ head, barking on all fours or clapping inches from their faces.

Jake, although once an “All-Star in Boston,” was never as good at baseball as KG was at basketball. But as we see in the final game when “Jake Taylor calls his shot,” he has a veteran savvy that allows him to still get his job done despite the fact that he can barely run down the line to first anymore. With KG looking like he can barely defend the pick-and-roll anymore half the time, will we see him be able to overcome his physical limitations to still succeed in this year’s playoffs?

Paul Pierce & Ricky Vaughn

Feared, dominant closers, The Truth and The Wild Thing are among the best to ever do it at the end of the game. Hand the ball to Veghead for three outs and everyone in the building expects the team to win, unless perhaps he is facing Clue Haywood, the most feared hitter in the league. Hand the ball to Paul for a mid-range dagger in crunch time and everyone in the building expects the team to win, unless perhaps he is facing LeBron James, the most feared player in the league.

No matter what else the rest of the team did, the whole game rested with Ricky Vaughn. If he couldn’t get the outs, all the other stuff didn’t matter. Boston’s reality is the same, and while it will be great if KG can start looking more mobile and help the defense once again become ferocious, we all know at least one or two key games in the playoffs will come down to Paul Pierce getting a bucket. Does Pierce still have his end-of-game fastball?

Rajon Rondo & Willie Mays Hayes

Unstoppable speed demons, Rajon and Willie remain less heralded than their superstar teammates — but are probably the most important players on their teams. Willie gets on base with ease, using his speed to score, set up his teammates for RBIs and embrace OBP over the glory of the longball. Rajon gets into the paint with ease, using his speed to score, set up his teammates for lay-ups and embrace FG% over the glory of the three-pointer. Willie did thousands of push-ups. Rondo’s shoulders lead me to believe he has, too.

Willie walked around the locker room with a confidence that rubbed some veterans the wrong way given his proclivity to pop out, but he did all the meat-and-potatoes things that the Indians needed to win and his teammates were willing to give him the keys on the basepaths. Rondo’s personality may similarly irk some veterans tired of seeing the young buck clang jumpers off the iron, but if the Celtics are going to make any noise in the playoffs, they need to let the quick kid with swagger drive the car.

Ray Allen & Pedro Cerrano

Veteran specialists, Ray and Cerrano were both raised under one philosophy: “Chicks dig the long ball.” Pedro does not worship Jesus, and his superstitious nature leads him to believe that he “needs hat for bat” and that sacrificing a chicken can break a slump. Ray once played a movie character named Jesus, and his superstitious nature leads him to believe that his jumper could be affected by Paul Pierce doing 360 dunks in pregame or him not eating a meal of chicken and rice. Pedro shaves his head with a knife. Ray shaves his head everyday at 4:00 pm.

Like Cerrano learning how to hit a curveball, much of this Celtics playoff success will depend on Allen’s ability to re-find his dead-eye accuracy from behind the three-point line. If Cerrano never told Jobu off and hit that clutch home run against the Yankees, the Indians never come back and win that final game. If Ray can’t hit some big threes in the playoffs, the Celtics might not win a series. Bartender, Mr. Shuttlesworth needs a refill.

Rasheed Wallace & Roger Dorn

Lazy, past-their-prime vets who do what they want, when they want, Sheed and Dorn don’t really give a damn what you think. Roger rocks extravagant sweaters, seems to enjoy golf more than baseball and is only playing for the Indians because they pay him top dollar. Sheed rocks extravagant Championship belts, seems to enjoy shooting trick shots more than basketball and will play for anybody “as long ast they CTC.” Dorn still hits the ball well when he tries but can’t field it. Sheed still plays defense well when he tries but can’t shoot it.

When it mattered, Dorn ultimately realized that “we’re all professionals here … this aint the California Penal League” and found some unlikely motivation to buy into the team concept, sacrifice his body and come through for his teammates. If the Celtics can’t get something similar from Sheed, their front court depth will be practically nonexistent.

Kendrick Perkins & Eddie Harris

Experienced performers who offer dependability over the spectacular, Perkins and Harris both get their job done — by any means necessary. Whether you’re talking about putting snot on the ball or elbowing opponents in the throat, these guys won’t think twice about doing whatever it takes … and then explaining their rule-bending with “I haven’t got an arm like you, kid” or “I really closed my eyes, so I don’t even know what part of the body I hit.” And given their ornery natures and permanent scowls, I’m guessing neither guy has many friends.

But both Cleveland and Boston know one thing: these guys will show up to play and give you all they have every time out.

Doc Rivers & Lou Brown

The Webster’s definition of a player coach, both Doc and Lou have great three-letter names fit for inspiring legions of men. Lou is a hard-nosed baseball lifer who gained some invaluable experience in how to overcome long odds at Tire World. Doc is a hard-nosed NBA lifer who gained some invaluable experience in how to overcome long odds at Disney World. Lou used a nudie-girl cutout of the team’s owner as a gimmick to rally his team. Doc used the African proverb of Ubuntu as a gimmick to rally his team.

Far from a tactician, Lou relied on a mixture of unorthodox charm and tough-love to bring the Indians to the top, but in the end, the game-winning strategy came from Jake Taylor’s savvy decision to lay down a bunt. Doc needs to do much of the same — and let KG, Pierce and assistant coach Tom Thibodeau figure out how to get things done when the game is on the line.

Tommy Heinsohn & Harry Doyle

I don’t really think you need me to spell this one out for you.

It was suppose to be the glorious return of the Lion Face/Lemon Face.

It really was. I was going to try to come up with a clever introduction that was befitting of a great night of basketball. It was going to warm your heart, open your minds and get you craving several hundred words recapping individual and team performances from the night before.

Instead? We got an excrement filled gyro of NBA games with only two of them ending up with a sub-10-point margin of victory. So it’s going to be a bit of a stretch to make this a great return for what started out as the equivalent of your morning bag of donut holes but we’re going to try to persevere.

To help make up for this, I’ve hired half of a barbershop quartet called “The Gigli Identity.” Here is there hit song:

Lion Face: Nicolas Batum
The last two games for Nicolas Batum have been pretty spectacular and eye opening. He had 31 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, five threes and three steals against the T’Wolves on Saturday. He followed that up with a 21-point performance against the Grizzlies last night that went much deeper than what the box score says. Batum was a big part of a 41-point third quarter for the Blazers by knocking down two threes and scoring 12 points total in the period.

Then he followed that up at the end of the game with a key block against O.J. Mayo. Mayo stole the ball on an atrocious pass by Andre Miller at halfcourt. He dribbled down the right side of the court with Batum doing everything he could to cut off his path to the basket. He stayed with him the entire time, waited for OJ to go for the layup and used his go-go gadget arms to block the layup attempt. If he doesn’t play defense like that, Mayo makes the bucket and the Blazers lead is cut to three with 30 seconds left. Instead, they get the defensive stop and close the game out with two free throws and a three-pointer to win by 10. By the way, Batum made that three.

Lemon Face: The New York Knicks
Mike D’Antoni said he would have to wait until next year before he could answer whether this “wait for the summer of 2010 strategy” is worth all of the losses and heartache. And with the way the Knicks played Monday night against the Cavs, it seems unlikely it’s going to be worth it unless someone from that game switches to their uniform next season (and no, I’m not talking about Jawad Williams). The Cavs looked like they were at practice, not a regular season game. The Cavs nearly doubled the Knicks rebounding totals (60-31). The only placed the defended the Cavs decently was the free throw line where Cleveland made 16 of 27.

When a team is down 24 points going into halftime, you want them to respond in the third quarter and try to put up a fight. Even if they can’t pull out a win or even chip away at the lead, you still want them to put up a fight. The Knicks responded by scoring 11 points in the entire third period. They were down 42 headed into the fourth quarter. That’s not fighting. That’s thanking the Cavs and asking them if they may have another.

Lion Face: Delonte West
Delonte West is a key to the Cavs’ winning the title this year and possibly keeping LeBron James in Cleveland for the duration of his next contract. You know how you accomplish this if you’re Delonte West? You dunk on Tracy McGrady and make the Cavs bench lose their minds.

Two things I love about this video: 1) LeBron goes back to the bench and immediately looks for the replay on the jumbotron and 2) the bench nearly can’t contain themselves, which could have resulted into a technical foul against the Cavs. They lost it and reacted like a streetball crowd. Oh hell, let me add a third thing after watching it one more time. Delonte flexing was hilarious too.

Lemon Face: Tracy McGrady
You don’t see it in the video but Tracy McGrady was laughing and smiling about being dunked on. I know after all he’s been through the last two years he’s in the “just happy to be there” mode. He’s just happy to be playing. But at the same time, it’s that exact kind of attitude that has Mike D’Antoni a 45-point blowout away from jumping off the Empire State Building.

Lion Face: Bill Walker
There is one good thing emerging from this whole Knicks debacle and it’s the rebirth of Bill Walker. Bill Walker had two decent games since joining the Knicks as a contract throw-in to the Nate Robinson deal. But Monday night, he exploded for 21 points on 14 shots. He scored 14 in the first half when it seemed like only he, David Lee and Al Harrington were the only ones taking this season seriously. Then he scored seven more points in the one quarter that the Knicks actually won in this game (fourth quarter). Walker had all of the tools to be a star in the basketball world. It was him and OJ Mayo. Then his knee exploded in college and he became an ordinary player. Now he’s getting a shot in the NBA and getting a feel for where he fits in on an NBA court.

Lemon Face: LeBron’s 22 points
There is nothing wrong with LeBron dropping 22 points in 31 minutes of a blowout. Over the last 14 games, LeBron is putting up unreal numbers. Well okay, over his past five years he’s been putting up unreal numbers. But especially in the past 14 games, he’s either had five games in the low 20s (three games of 22 and one game of 20) or he’s had nine games in which he averaged 36.3 points, 10.0 assists, and 7.1 rebounds. In those nine games, he never scored under 32 points. So by the standards he’s set over the past month or so, a 22-point, 7-rebound, and 7-assist performance is worthy of a Lemon Face. That’s how scary good this guy has become. Wow.

Lion Face: Atlanta Hawks 4^th Quarter
The Hawks were up 85-79 and looking a little worried with the Chicago Bulls looking a confident in closing out this home game. Then the Hawks went on a 15-2 run to push the lead to 19. Then they threw in a 10-2 run just for good measure to turn the final score into what looks like an absolute laugher. All in all, they scored 41 points in the fourth quarter with 31 of them coming in the final 7:35 of the ball game. They ended the game on a 14/16 shooting binge with eight straight baskets at one point and a 15-3 fourth quarter rebounding advantage. That’s a really impressive way to close out a road game against a potential playoff foe.

Lemon Face: Morris Peterson Starting
Just stop it, Jeff Bower. Quit doing this. Marcus Thornton is a much better player. There isn’t one thing Mo-Pete is better than Buckets at on a basketball court other than being a worse basketball player. Buckets is better in all aspects of the game. You need scoring from your shooting guard position and Buckets gives that. Morris Peterson doesn’t give that and he hasn’t given that for years. This isn’t a new development. Just stop starting Morris Peterson. Give the kid a chance.

Lion Face: Marcus Thornton
Buckets (care of Hornets Hype) had another spectacular scoring barrage. He poured in 30 points against the Spurs with 15 of them coming in the fourth quarter. He made 12 of his 19 shot attempts. He made six threes. He can just flat out score. He’s like Jannero Pargo, only if Jannero Pargo was a MUCH BETTER basketball player. I don’t know if Thornton can keep this up or repeat these types of games on a consistent basis. I just know that when he’s on, it’s hard to want to watch a game other than his.

Lemon Face: LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus, you played 40 minutes. You grabbed two rebounds. TWO!!!! You did something similar a week ago against the Raptors and I was willing to look past it. In that game, you played 39 minutes and grabbed only two rebounds. But that’s twice in one week that you’ve played so atrociously apathetic on the boards. You’re 6’11” with a wingspan as long as the Appalachian Mountains. You’re also in the top one percentile in terms of athletic ability in the world. Maybe next time you throw out a little effort and grab at least three rebounds.

Lion Face: Josh Smith
The 17 points and 18 rebounds were very impressive. And the four assists, two steals and two blocks are astoundingly average for him. Most of all, I’m giving him the Lion Face tonight because of this block on Brad Miller (Trey, don’t watch).

That was so angry. In some states, that kind of act of violence would get charges pressed against you.

Lemon Face: OJ Mayo
I love OJAM. He’s one of my favorite players in the league to watch. He’s just so fluid and composed at such a young age. But I worry about what he’s doing to our fearless leader, Matt Moore. He’s been abysmal in the closing minutes of three of their last five games. Against the Lakers, he missed some key free throws, which eventually allowed Kobe Bryant to rip their hearts out. Against the Bobcats, he didn’t score at all in the fourth quarter. And last night in their loss to the Blazers, he made just one of three shot attempts (including that key block by Batum) and he missed three of six free throws. Please OJ, for our sake and most of all for Matt’s sake, play better at the end of games. It’s the only way you guys will sneak into the playoffs.

Lion Face: Brooks & Martin
Sounds like a type of bourbon, doesn’t it? Well, it’s almost better than that. It’s a high-scoring backcourt. Over the last three games, this backcourt has scored a total of 171 points. Kevin Martin has averaged 31 points and Aaron Brooks has averaged 26 points per game during this time. Against the Raptors Monday night, they each scored 28 points on 16 shots a piece. They’re both so good at knocking down jumpers and getting to the basket. Imagine them with Yao Ming. That’s going to be a nice trio if he can come back and be healthy.

Lemon Face: The Raptors Without Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh, please have a little heart for our neighbo(u)rs up north. Watch the game against the Rockets from Monday. This was a pathetic display of defense and basketball by the Raps. This is what it’s going to look like if you leave this summer. That’s a horrible thing to do to a group of people. I hear Toronto is a lovely city so that can’t be the problem. And the money looks funny so you probably always feel like you’re playing Monopoly. That doesn’t sound too bad either. Don’t do this to Canada. Don’t do this to the Raptors fan. Just suck it up, sign another three-year deal and tough it out. Thank you.

Lion Face: Goran Dragic
Have you ever played basketball at a local gym and there’s a goofy looking kid who everyone assumes can’t play? He looks too young. He doesn’t quite light it up while everyone is shooting around, trying to get warm. Even when you shoot for teams, he probably fumbles the ball a little and misses badly. He’s almost like a consolation prize. As the game begins, nobody thinks he can play still and they avoid passing him the ball. Then a random carom brings the ball to him. He pulls off an incredible move against a defender, whips a pass through the lane and he sets up a teammate perfectly for a score. The next time down, he gets the ball and knocks down a jumper. He probably steals the ball the next time down the floor and takes it the other way for a score. All of a sudden, there is this realization with how good this kid is. Nobody expected. And yet here he is making a name for himself.

That’s Goran Dragic right now. Last year, nobody wanted him on their team other than the Suns. Everyone assumed he couldn’t play. Now? He’s perfectly playing the backup point guard role. He came in against the Nuggets on Monday and just ran the team. 12 points and four assists in 17 minutes later, people are starting to realize that he belongs. The Suns were +20 when he was on the court. That’s very lionous of him.

Lemon Face: Deron Williams’ Free Throwing
You can’t help lead your team furiously back in the fourth quarter, get a chance to tie the game with two free throws and then miss them both. His eight fourth quarter points ended up being for naught. The 9-0 run near the end of the game was just a waste of energy.

Lion Face: Chuck Hayes Defies Logic

This is Chuck Hayes! He has no discernable basketball skill other than his ability to stay in front of a player with the basketball. He is also one of two players in the NBA who pump fakes on his free throws for no reason (you too, Andris Biedrins). Is he trying to create more space on a free shot that nobody is allowed to defend? I don’t know. So you can imagine the mind explosion that happened when I was watching the Raptors-Rockets game and he pulled this pass out of an orifice.

When your team begins a blowout, it generally starts with some poor decision-making by the other team. NBA players are generally speaking the highest quality basketball players in the world. Given that fact, there is a natural parity, and losing by more than 10 points is a pretty rare occurrence. However, after a certain point, when a team has a flaw exposed, the team that exposes it will begin to abuse it. San Antonio can’t crash the boards, Kobe's ego will cause him to take too many shots, Juwan Howard came off the bench for George Mikan, or whatever. The flawed team will begin to make poor decisions under pressure. The truly great teams do not always win a game, but they do always try to get back into the game, and they know that panicking and taking bad jump shots is not the way to do it unless you’re Roger Mason Jr. Showing calm under pressure may seem like at best saving face or at worst cool indifference, but if the team starts to freak out during a blowout, well, that’s where the Meatloaf song meets the analogy.

via BALL..

Read these words while seeing the Cavs ring up the Knicks like a pinball machine, and they struck me. The Knicks more than any other team in the league have the highest potential for blowout. Even the Nets will put together a good quarter from time to time when facing a monster game by the opponent. But D’Antoni’s system combined with their roster makeup and the fact that those guys have to wonder what the point is, given their situation, leads to abject disaster.

It doesn’t mean that the Knicks are the worst team in the league. It’s a league of professionals.  And as such, it’s hard to be truly putrid. Casting the Nets as such is to ignore a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Real failure in the NBA is consistent mediocrity. The Pacers are a failure. The Bobcats, prior to this year, are very close to failure. But a rebuilding effort in total is going to lead to some blowouts.

Still, it’s interesting that the Knicks fall prey to it so often. If you say “New York” and “blowout” I always think of “that time I cried blood.” Which is, by the way, the single greatest game recap in the history of the internet. Different coach, different players (somewhat), and yet they’re still having meltdowns like this. D’Antoni also had this problem in Phoenix, though. He’d have nights where the shots wouldn’t fall, and the pace would maintain, and the missed shots lead to long rebounds, and the rebounds lead to easier breaks, and it just compounds. Slowing the game down can mask some of those problems. A fast-paced system on a bad night is like shoving the failure under a microscope. It’s a time-lapse video of blown assignments and failed offensive sets.

Getting blown out isn’t the worst thing in the world, but you still feel like the Knicks that have lived through the last three years are going to carry these with them throughout their careers.

The Bobcats’ woefully orange unis had to go. From the moment the concept was drawn up, they absolutely, positively had to go. Their particular hue of fluorescent orange may be useful for a crossing guard, a night cyclist, or someone working on a tarmac, but barring the obvious safety benefits of wearing bright, reflective clothing, they were among the worst uniforms any NBA team has trotted out this decade.

So it’s more than appropriate that this season’s uniforms are the first of a new era in Bobcats basketball. Maybe pinstripes aren’t the first thing that come to mind when you think of Stephen Jackson’s wild card career or Nazr Mohammed’s tendency to play below expectation. But both of those players have looked more at home in Bobcat blue than any, and though Charlotte will have to fight and claw to hold on to a playoff seed, the evolution of the Bobcats franchise from last season to this more than warranted a substantial aesthetic change.

Out with the old — the bad seasons, the bad memories, any remembrance of Jeff McInnis — and in with the new — the playoff hopes, the defensive excellence, new ownership, and a new direction.

Maybe all that’s needed to really complete the metamorphosis from struggling, small market upstart caterpillar into playoff-bound butterfly is not only a new man at every post save point guard and small forward, but a moniker change to accompany the face lift. ‘Bobcats,’ like the miserable threads that once bore the name, has to go. It’s not even a D-League-esque team name, like Moore mentioned. It’s the name of a seven-year-old’s soccer team, and one that probably couldn’t even make the playoffs at that. Bobcats aren’t just about as unferocious and unintimidating as ferocious cats get, but naming a team after an animal just isn’t NBA practice. It’s amateur. If you’re going to name an entire franchise after an animal, at least disguise it; not the Milwaukee Deer, but the Milwaukee Bucks. Not the Detroit Flaming Horses, but the Detroit Pistons. There are enough teams named after animals, I admit, but most have enough tradition that they no longer seem out of place. The two obvious exceptions are the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies, but dinosaurs are awesome and hilarious and Memphis Grizzlies still reads and sounds infinitely better than the Memphis Bears.

For the most part in professional basketball, we go inanimate (Nets, Nuggets, Spurs), confounding (Celtics, Lakers), or nonsensical (Pacers). It’s time that Charlotte buys into the tradition, and there is no better time than now. Regardless of what happens in the rest of this season, the Bobcats have been reborn. They’ve constructed hope without much potential, and they’ve created a culture and a family where there was nothing but confusion. I’m not saying anyone should buy into MJ and Larry Brown’s world like they buy into Pop and Buford’s, or Phil Jackson and Jerry Buss’, or Sam Presti and Scotty Brooks’. But there’s something going on in Charlotte that’s worthy of your attention, and it’s worthy of a far better name than the Bobcats.

…Wait, you mean you have to pay to have your name changed these days? With that roster and those ticket sales and in that market?

I think ‘Bobcats’ is starting to grow on me.

“No matter if we’re bored or not, shoot, you still gotta go out and play the game the right way and get wins,” Rasheed Wallace said.

Given that everything has been a struggle this season, Perkins was asked before Saturday’s game if the team lacked the focus and determination that propelled it to banner No. 17.

“It’s different [the 2007-08 season], guys are really anxious to get to the playoffs,” Perkins said. “You’ve got veteran guys — Rasheed, [Kevin Garnett] — you can tell the regular season, it really don’t excite them. Even with Paul [Pierce] and Ray [Allen], but you still gotta go out there and compete, it’s not an excuse for losing. Guys just really want to get to crunch time.”

via ‘Bored’ Boston Celtics lacked urgency against New Jersey Nets – ESPN Boston.

Look. I get it. The regular season “doesn’t matter.” Nothing matters bu “crunch time.” Cliche after cliche after cliche.

There have been tons of teams who have coasted through the regular season and then ‘turned it on’ when April came around, and had massive success. But there have also been tons of teams who coasted through the regular season and found themselves at home in late May because they didn’t think they needed to exert themselves to get into playoff shape.

There an awful lot of denial going on in Boston right now about what’s wrong, and none of it is “We really need to run faster, jump higher, and work for a better shot.” It’s a lot of sloughing off of concerns and avoiding the crux of the issues.

Being bored? You’re competing for a championship. Which only comes along with the right combination of talent, skill, performance, determination, and luck. And you’re playing patty cake with the fates? Are you nuts?

I get that Perkins is trying to say “No, for reals, we should start trying now” but it’s just that the whole thing is like “Well, yeah, we’re bored, but we should totally start trying here in a minute” versus “Wake up, fools!” There’s got to be some level of taking responsibility in play.

I do have a question. If the regular season doesn’t matter, then why is it played? Should we just take the teams we think are the best and slot them into the games? Wait, why even pay attention to the playoffs? Why don’t we just take the two teams we arbitrarily think are the best, despite significant evidence to the contrary, and put them in the Finals?

A: Because that’s the BCS.

It’s high time the Celtics realize that the only way to get where you want to go is by giving a damn night in and night out. Because if they think their tired bodies won’t get worn out from a seven game series against tougher opponents before starting the big 3 gauntlet, they’re mistaken. They need the rest. And to rest they need the work.

(HT: CelticsBlog)