Checking in with Leon and the C's

Tonight marks the first time that the Celtics will face the Hawks since their riveting/blood pressure raising first round playoff series last season. Sooooo much trash talk in a series that went down to the wire. Don't think Paul Pierce has forgotten when brash Al Horford got all up in his grill-piece. Dude was a rookie! Flash forward to our current situation. Boston is 7-1 right now coming off huge wins against Detroit and Toronto. And check this: Atlanta has a better record. They are 6-0. They even beat the Hornets at New Orleans. However, they just played a close game in Chicago last night and are without "The Box Score Superstar" Josh Smith. And all of the Celtics' wins in the aforementioned 7 game clash, were at the TD Banknorth Garden. Should be a good one. Look for more of the same where Atlanta's youth and athleticism keeps them in the game until Boston's skill and experience allows them to pull away in the fourth. Plus, the Hawks' bench is pretty slim.

Meanwhile, Leon's last two games haven't been eye popping statistically, but not everyone can score 41 points every night. One quirky thing to note: Monday's game against the Raptors was the first game where Leon didn't have at least 3 personal fouls. He actually had none. Hey, just throwin' it out there... Contractually (not really) we have to look at his PT. In the eight games so far, there have only been two that Leon hasn't played at least 17 minutes. Doc has been sticking with a nine man rotation of the usual starters complimented by Leon(17.5 mpg), Tony Allen(20.9 mpg), Eddie House(16.8 mpg) and Big Baby(16.5 mpg). I can't get too mad at that but I think as the season goes on, Leon's minutes will go up simply due to the wear and tear of an 82 game season on a guy who just played in his 1000th game.

Fun NBA Fact: The Western Conference has more teams under .500 (8) than the Eastern Conference (6).

I'm back! (Sort of...)

Who knew it would take so damn long to get the "internets" out here? Anyway, starting Monday, I'll be back with regular posts. Until then, I thought I'd pass this along.

P.S. It's sunny and 80 everyday...

What A Difference A Ring Makes

Sixteen months ago, seemingly everyone was calling for him to be fired for, among many other things, his team allegedly tanking the season for draft position. Twelve months ago, most people were wondering how he was going to screw up his suddenly loaded roster. Three months ago he was handed the first NBA Championship trophy for the Boston Celtics in 22 years. And two days ago, Doc Rivers was rewarded for not screwing up a stacked roster with a 3-year, $5.5 million per season contract extension (which is almost 5 times as much as he ever made in a season as a player).

Now I won't lie, I was one of the many who believed Doc needed to go at the end of the '06-'07 season. I know they were young, and I know they had major injuries, but I was just never convinced that Doc was as good at bringing young players along as everyone else seemed to be. I watched the games, and I didn't see the improvement in discipline and decision making you'd expect if their coach was actually great at developing youngsters.

But then the now famous moves were pulled, and a team perfect for Doc Rivers' style was suddenly there in front of him. You might argue that a roster with 3 superstars will make any coach look good... but try telling that to George Karl out in Denver. Doc's strengths as a coach... keeping players motivated, united, loose, and prepared to play... played perfectly into a roster of character guys who wanted to win more than anything. Coupled with a great defensive x's and o's coach, Tom Thibodeau, Rivers kept the ship sailing along even through some tough playoff waters (when his elder stars must have been getting worn down) and fulfilled the giant amount of expectations put on him at the start of the year. No wonder the media loves this guy.

So now Doc will be with the team through the 2010-2011 season. That keeps him through Paul Pierce's existing contract (who will be 34 at the end of that season), and one year before Kevin Garnett's contract ends (who will be 35 at the end of '10-'11). Of the other starters, Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo's current deals both expire in '10-'11 as well, with Ray Allen's finishing in '09-'10 (when he will be 35). Doc has shown that he can win with this set of players, and it looks like they're all together for at least a few more years. Will they dominate as much now that they're all a year older and their hands weighed down by a couple pounds of diamonds? Will Doc finally figure out he should play Leon for heavy minutes? We'll find out soon enough.

One things for sure, he should have no problem affording condos in Las Vegas hotels now.