Simmons: Can Celts answer the call at closing time?

[Disco Volante]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080617

Can Celts answer the call at closing time?
By Bill Simmons
Updated: June 17, 2008

BOSTON -- Remember in "Halloween" when Laurie thought she "killed" Michael Myers and dropped the knife right next to him, then stood in the doorway with her back turned to him? What an idiot, right? The Celtics did the same thing in Game 5 on Sunday night. With a chance to finish off the Lakers in Los Angeles and clinch their first title in 22 years, the Celtics played a drop-the-knife game. Now we're back in Boston for at least one more game -- possibly two -- and unfortunately for the Celtics, Dr. Loomis isn't sprinting up the stairs with his gun to save them.

The good news for Boston fans: A team that went 48-7 at home (including the playoffs) now has two chances to clinch a 17th banner at home.

The bad news for Boston fans: The Celtics are limping to the finish line. They've played a whopping 107 games this season, not including preseason games or their Italy trip in October. They suffered two significant injuries (Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo); their best player (Paul Pierce) is playing with possible damage in his left knee; their best shooter (Ray Allen) is dealing with a family crisis; and their best big man (Kevin Garnett) played an impossibly bad Game 5 and seems to be either wearing down or shrinking from the moment. When you remember how this series unfolded -- Boston's narrow escape after blowing a 24-point lead in Game 2, followed by its incredible comeback from 24 down in Game 4 -- the line between "leading L.A. 3-2" and "going home for the summer" is narrower than you think.

On the other hand, it's not like the Lakers have been lighting the world on fire. They barely won Game 3 even though the Celtics stunk, they barely held on in Game 5 even though Paul Pierce was the only Celtic who showed up, and it's unclear which of the Lakers has the testicular capacity to come through in a crazed road atmosphere except for Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher. My dad put it best after Game 5: "I don't trust our guys to put this series away, but I don't trust their guys to take it."

[Continued...]

Something to read while getting ready for the game tonight.

 

[SVN]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080617



Something to read while getting ready for the game tonight.

THE GUY-YOU-HATE-PLAYING-CRAPS-WITH AWARD FOR "BEST PERFORMANCE CHEERING ON THE 'DON'T COME' LINE"
To all of my ESPN bosses, as well as everyone working for ABC, who spent the weekend building shrines in their hotel rooms and carrying rabbit's feet around hoping the Lakers would send this series back to Boston for a lucrative Game 6. In fact, ABC will make $340 trillion in ad sales for Game 6. That's a lot of money. So I guess I can't blame them. But it still hurts.

says a lot ..

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

says a lot ..

As long as it was just ESPN and not the league and the refs who wanted it to go extra long...In the back of my mind I wonder if Donaghy's accusations forced them to be on the up and up this series...Look at the last two games, the fouls were 25-24 and 25-25 for each team......The best games are the ones when you don't notice the refs..and by and large we didn't......

 

[Bella*chick]

Well, Simmons got a resounding answer to his question.

I assume he's writing an article that we'll see later today?

 

[Disco Volante]

New Simmons article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080618

Notes from a good ol' fashioned Garden party
By Bill Simmons
Updated: June 18, 2008

BOSTON -- If legendary poet Tyrone Green rewrote "Images" about Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals, it could have gone something like this:

Dark and lonely on a summer night
Kill the Lakers
Kill the Lakers
Kobe barking, do he bite?
Kill the Lakers
Kill the Lakers
Raining 3s and and grabbing their neck
Then their hopes we start to wreck
Got every reason -- what the heck?
Kill the Lakers
Kill the Lakers
C-I-L-L
The La-kers

This was an obliteration. There's no other word. Obliteration. The Celtics did more than just capture their 17th title Tuesday night, playing their finest game of the season and crushing the spirit of a longtime foe in the process. Boston 131, Los Angeles 92. And you know what? It wasn't even that close. For Celtics fans, the only way Game 6 could have been more satisfying was if Kobe flipped out in the fourth quarter and punched Sasha Vujacic during a timeout, then got dragged to the locker room by five teammates screaming, "This isn't over! This isn't over!" while Sasha sobbed into a towel. Maybe that didn't happen, but everything else did.

[Continued....]