Friday, June 13, 2008

Twenty four point lead ain't no thang!

My dad always says that NBA games aren't worth watching until the fourth quarter. While that may be true for most games, (and strictly regarding results, last night counts too) I think Game Four could be appreciated that much more by watching that awful first half. Sure the Celtics looked fairly despondent after the first quarter but then they just started chipping away. You could sense it going into the fourth, and then, LEON POWE ties the game for the first time at 73 all.

He had another relatively quiet game stat-wise but with Perk and Rondo but hurt big time, the bench played quality ball while The Big Three took their play into the stratosphere. Powe was strong on the glass, Posey nailed some dagger three pointers, and House cooly ran the offense. I still can't believe that the Lakers put zero pressure on Eddie bringing the ball up the floor. Zen Master indeed.

By how does a team come back from two dozen on the road? Simple.

The Lakers didn't have home court advantage in their own arena.

It's a well known fact that LA crowds aren't the most boisterous in the league, but last night was embarrassing. Simmons talked about it after Game Three but Game Four was much, much worse. You can talk all you want about how these guys are grown men and should be focused on what's happening on the court. But if 19,000 of your "fans" are lifeless when the opposing team is mounting a ginormous comeback, it'll get to you. This Laker team is pretty soft as it is, but getting outscored 57-33 in the second half of a Finals game? Incredible. The crowd was like the bizarro Golden State crowd from last year when they beat Dallas. By the time Leon hit the tying shot, I think rigor mortis had set in.

I still remember watching the press conference introducing Kevin Garnett as a Boston Celtic. He, along with Pierce and Allen sat at the table with huge smiles on their faces. I thought how nothing short of getting to the Eastern Conference Finals would be a huuuuuge disappointment. After they put Detroit away in 6 games, it was sort of like playing with house money. Sure it would be great for those three to finally win a championship, but the West was just so dominant. Right? So here we are now. One game away from the greatest franchise in NBA history adding yet another banner to their already impressive collection. It's been a long road for Leon and I'm pretty stoked he's gotten to where he is. It's also been a long road for Pierce, Allen and Garnett. It would make quite the statement if they all came out and dominated Game Five. But I don't think anyone would be complaining if the Celtics won their 17th championship back on Causeway St. on Tuesday...

Leon's line from Game four:
9 minutes
3 points
5 rebounds
1-4 FG
1-2 FT
1 turnover



P.S. Ray Allen played the entire game. Holy crap!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Props from an old friend.

EDIT - How many should I order?




I had to pass this along.

Rod Benson writes a column for yahoosports.com. He also happens to be a former teammate of Leon when they were at Cal. He has played in the D league for the past two years and is currently working out in Miami in the hopes of making an NBA team next year. (He also did a piece with Bill Simmons on E:60 a while back.)

He's also pretty hilarious.

I've read his stuff before but his article about Leon after Game Two is just awesome. I love first person accounts like this. And it makes it that much better that he's a good writer. Enjoy.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Too-much-Rod-Benson-Leon-Powe-gets-buckets?urn=nba,86906


P.S. We need to make an, "I GET BUCKETS" T-shirt with Leon's face on it. Let's make this happen!




Wednesday, June 11, 2008

How did they only lose by six?

The Lakers needed to win. Kobe did what he always does and put the team on his back. Besides uncharacteristically missing more than a couple of free throws, Bryant was dominant and made sure LA would now have a fighting chance to get back into the series.

But 87-81? Really?

The Corpse formally known as Paul Pierce played his worst game of the playoffs (and maybe even the whole year) and KG couldn't hit a shot if he was playing Scalabrine in a pickup game. When did he forget that he's 6-11? He had Turiaf in the post but refused to take him to the basket multiple times. He would kick the ball back out to one of the guards and settle for clanging 18 footers all night. Granted, his defense was as sharp as ever, but Ray Allen was the only Celtic who could get anything going on offense. (Sad thing is, Garnett was the only other Boston player in double figures. Yeesh.) Of course, Rondo's ankle injury didn't exactly help matters.

Our man Leon saw his minutes cut by more than half from Game 2 and never really got in any kind of rhythm. Of course, the first time he touched the ball down low (end of the first quarter), three Lakers collapsed on him with Jordan Farmer winding up and hacking Leon's arm like he was collecting a Barkley debt.

No call.

Leon did draw another charge on Lamar Odom early in the second quarter, which was his third foul of the game. Lamar has been atrocious so far in the Finals and was limited to 28 minutes last night because of foul trouble. Leon ended up grabbing a couple of boards but that was pretty much it.

Boston had more total rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. They actually had a 62-60 lead after three quarters but only managed 19 points in the fourth. I guess Celtic fans can feel okay about losing a close game that LA had to win, but a loss is still a loss. Even with that third quarter lead, it just didn't look like the C's had what it took to go up 3-0.

But the Lakers didn't exactly show any kind of drive to win either. So we move on to Game 4. I think Leon definitely deserved more minutes than he got last night but with Doc at the helm, who knows if he'll even play Thursday...

Leon's line from Game Three:
6 minutes
1 point
2 rebounds
0-3 FG
1-2 FT
1 turnover

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Game 3 looms...

I'm a bit anxious to see what happens tonight regarding both Leon, and the team as a whole. It's extremely unlikely that he'll get more PT than on Sunday but I won't be complaining if he does. Either way, it's awesome to see all the press he's getting.

As long as Boston takes one of the three games at the Staples Center, they'll be in fantastic shape to hoist banner #17. How much more impact The Show will have remains up to our old friend Glenn. Be back tomorrow with thoughts on the game. I'll leave you with this quote from Perk:

“I see him do it every day in practice,” Perkins said. “He score on KG. He score on myself. He just leashed up right now. When he be unleashed, he be a’ight. Leon got game. Leon really got game.”

You get the drift...

Monday, June 9, 2008

The Whole F'n SHOW!

Game Two of the 2008 NBA Finals will be known as "The Leon Powe Game."

But as late as 22 seconds left in the contest, it was threatening to be known as the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. The Celtics somehow managed to blow a 22 point lead in THE FOURTH QUARTER but held on to win by six.

Now all of us here at SPLP are just thrilled that Leon finally got the chance to shine on a national stage. But he played the same way last night that he played all of this year. Entering the game with 44 seconds left in the first quarter, he drew a charge and a shooting foul on Lamar Odom.

Powe ended up getting to the line more times than the entire Lakers team (13 to 10). And while LA fans will surely be squawking about the officiating when the finally get out of bed in another two hours, no one wearing a purple jersey played under the basket like Leon. In 15 minutes, he finished with 21 points. You'll be hearing all about it today and into tomorrow night when the two teams meet in Los Angeles. While I loved being at the Garden for Game One, I think I would have gone crazier than Teddy Duchamp's dad by the third ridiculously thunderous dunk Leon threw down.

Now does all of this mean Leon is gonna get paid? One would hope so considering the thought of a Rondo/Powe tandem to take over once the big three hit the ol' dusty trail is enticing. But if Danny doesn't pony up the cash, someone else surely will. In the end though, this game cemented Leon's status in the Celtics' storied history. The question is, can Boston somehow finish the job at the Staples Center? Or will Causeway St. be treated to more heroics from the men in green? One thing is for sure though, as long as Leon Powe is in the game, good things will continue to happen. And watching the piece ABC did on him during halftime (not even getting into his career threatening knee injury in college) basketball fans everywhere will now appreciate the continued success of the 24 year old man who came from humble beginnings that went on to play 15 minutes of fantastic and exciting ball.

Leon's line from Game Two:
15 minutes
21 points
2 rebounds
6-7 FG
9-13 FT
0 turnovers
Bonus: 9 fouls drawn!

Post Scriptage:
Normally, I am an extremely sarcastic and negative person so writing something sorta sappy about something as simple as a basketball game is a bit of a switch for me. And normally, I appreciate a good underhanded jab as much as the next dude. But Phil Jackson's blatant exhibit of douchebaggery at the post game press conference was a little much, even for me. I bet you really didn't know how the pronounce Leon's last name Phil. How about instead of trying to be clever and bury a guy who kicked your team's ass, you concentrate on winning a championship without Michael Jordon or Shaq? Whaddya say Phillip?

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Injuries

The Celtics won Game 1 of the NBA Finals. This is good.
Perkins and Pierce are both hurt. This is not good.

Granted, the name of the blog is Start Playing Leon Powe, but I don't want his playing time to stem from one, if not two, of the starting five going down with an injury.

While everyone is talking about Pierce's knee, it is Kendrick's ankle that appears to be the more serious of the two for right now. While number 34 might get limited minutes, there's a chance that Perk might not be able to go at all. The concensus appears that PJ Brown will get the start but Leon's minutes would go up drastically. With all of the time off, I think Doc should still stick with Posey, Powe and House off the bench with Big Baby maybe getting some playing time if there's foul trouble involved. The three days rest was crucial. I would write more leading into tonight's game but it's currently 400 degrees Celsius in Boston right now. I will however, leave you with Leon's stat line from Thursday night:

9 minutes
4 points
4 rebounds (2 offensive)
1-1 FG
2-2 FT
0 turnovers