Sixers down Suns

For those of you rooting for the Suns to rise and ultimately put the wood to the Fakers, you may want to temporize those feelings. Something's not right down there in Goldwater country.

link

Can a Die-Hard Celtics' Fan Openly Root for Shaq and the Suns?

I've posted several pieces calling into question whether Shaquille O'Neal deserves mention as a top-five player of all-time.

I haven't seen anything to make me reconsider my critique. However, I will admit that my sour opinion may have been influenced by the three titles Shaq won with the Lakers. The title he won with Miami actually gave me satisfaction, proving that the Ls had made a poor decision in trading Shaq (a poor decision from a business standpoint, but one I celebrated nonetheless).

Now word is that Shaq is much healthier than he appeared to be in Miami. Of course, that raises questions about his integrity, which, in part, was the reason I called him out in the first place.

All-time greats don't spend good portions of each year loafin' it.

But I don't much care about Shaq's integrity at the moment.

I am intrigued, though, by what he brings to the Suns.

A healthy and motivated Shaq spells trouble for the rest of the West. The Miami championship certainly represented a nose-thumbing event directed at Shaq's former team, the purple. I also have no doubt that Shaq uses nose-thumbing opportunities to motivate himself.

Is he ready to thumb his nose at the Heat and Miami?

Nope.

It says here he still has unfinished business with the Lake-show.

The Lakers have been struggling, flailing if you will, to fill the pivot since the Big Fella departed. Anyone think Shaq isn't fully aware of this fact? Anyone think Shaq will do everything in his power to show Mitch and Kobe that Pao Gasol still isn't the answer?

So let me be clear: I want the Suns to come out of the West. I will be openly rooting for them.

As for being a die-hard Celtics fan, most of us have always accepted the following equation:

1. Celtics victories are always celebrated first.

2. Lakers defeats are celebrated second.

3. Teams gearing up to beat the purple become our second favorite team.

Nash deserves a chance at a title, and Shaq deserves another opportunity to dis his former team.

Here's to the Suns getting out of the West, but not having enough to get past the Cs in the Finals.

1986 Cs Lose to Suns, Fall to 41-10

Celtics Lose Focus After Completing Regular Season Sweep of Lakers

The storm was brewing all night. Referee Mike Lauerman and stripe-mate Mike Mathis created an atmosphere that had all the calm and control of the final hours of the Baby Doc Duvalier regime.

And then it happened. Larry Bird was ejected for giving Lauerman too much lip, and the Celtics were on their way to a 108-101 beating last night at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.

Bird scored 18 in the first period, but was taking an early shower when the Celtics fell behind by 17 (92-75) with 9:49 left in the fourth.

Nine seconds earlier, Bird had picked up a technical from Lauerman for grumbling while Mike Sanders tossed some free throws. On the ensuing play, Lauerman ruled that Bird had been fouled (by Ed Pinckney). Bird made a remark that apparently was too strong for Lauerman.

It is an unwritten NBA rule that a superstar must not be ejected unless he breaks somebody else's bones, but Lauerman ignored the secret code and tossed a stunned Bird.

As the final seconds ticked off, Celtic assistant coach Chris Ford hollered toward Lauerman, "MVP Mike. They all (14,519) paid to see you tonight."

"We're not allowed to say what was said," said Mathis, who spoke for Lauerman. "Two technicals for unsportsmanlike conduct calls for ejection. You can assume something was said."

Bird also chose not to comment after the game. He's been tagged with nine technicals this season, but last night marked his first ejection of the 1985-86 campaign.

Bird wasn't the only victim of the Mike Twins. Seconds after Bird was tossed, Celtic coach K.C. Jones was on the floor earning his ejection. Assistant coach Jimmy Rodgers came out to get Jones away from Lauerman, and before you could say "Bob Rakel," Dennis Johnson picked up a tech for good measure. A hail of free throws by Sanders gave Phoenix its 17-point lead.

"You really can't print what I said," said Jones. "But Larry said he never cursed."

The Celts fought back gamely in the final nine minutes, but the heart and soul of the Boston ballclub was putting his flannel shirt and corduroys back on.

"That (Bird's ejection) turned it around and they took it and ran with it," said Jones.

It was an otherwise uneventful evening. By the time they got to Phoenix, the Celtics had convinced NBA America that they were the best team in basketball, and it was predictable that Sunday's nationally televised victory in Los Angeles would be a tough act to follow. It was.

They can complain all they want about the officials, but the Celtics did not play very well. They shot 46 percent, committed 19 turnovers and compiled a season-low 13 assists.

Bird was on fire in the first period, scoring 18 of his 24 points. His starting cornermate was Scott Wedman.

No one wants to make any decisions about Kevin McHale, but apparently Judge Wapner handed down another "don't play" decision. McHale was on the shelf for the 11th time in Boston's last 12 games.

Bird got things going with two lefty shots and a three-pointer, but Sun guards Jay Humphries and Walter Davis (20) rallied the home team, and Phoenix led by three late in the period. The Celts trailed, 28-27, after one.

After a nice effort by Boston's second unit, Phoenix applied some defensive pressure, James Edwards scored seven straight, and the Suns led, 44-40. The Celts roared back with six straight, but Davis and Humphries ran the Suns to a 56-55 halftime lead.

Davis levitated the Suns to a five-point lead (72-67) in the seventh minute of the third period, and the Celts started to look frustrated. They were unhappy with the work of Mathis and Lauerman and vented their wrath as a series of shots clanged off the rim. Baskets by Larry Nance (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Davis made it 76-67 and forced Jones to call time.

Rick Carlisle, Jerry Sichting and Wedman continued to have problems with Phoenix' pressure defense. The Suns exploited a flurry of Boston turnovers and took an 83-71 lead when Rod Foster canned a three-pointer at the end of the third. The Celts committed seven turnovers and shot 32 percent (6 for 19) in the sorry third period.

1986 Cs (5-1) win 5th in a Row

Bird Returning to Form as Cs Pummel Suns


Representatives from the Grateful Dead, the E Street Band and the Naked Eye invaded practice; Larry Bird finally closed the book on the famed Chelsea's incident; and the entire team lived through a chapter of "The Crucible" after a mysterious bust in Brookline.

Last night Bird and the Celts found shelter in the comfortable old Garden, beating the sloppy (36 turnovers), winless (0-6) Phoenix Suns, 125-101.

The best news for Celtic fans is that Bird was his 1984-85 self - shooting without hesitation from the outer limits, diving on the parquet and setting up his mates for a series of layups and dunks. Bird finished with 24 points (20 in the first half, when the game was won) and 10 assists, and served notice that his MVP trophy is not yet up for grabs.

"He's playing great basketball right now," said teammate Danny Ainge.

Robert Parish (25 points, 10 rebounds in a mere 24 minutes) was the other dominant force. He destroyed Phoenix's pivotmen at both ends, brought Red Auerbach out of his seat with a fourth-effort follow and put the game away with 12 points and six rebounds in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, folks in Phoenix should take a long look at the talent that'll be available in next spring's draft lottery. There is no doubt about it: The Suns have set in the West.

"We're not using good judgment," said veteran coach John MacLeod. "We're trying to push the ball into cracks where it won't go. Right now we're struggling, but we're a better team than we've shown."

It took a while for the Green to hit its stride. The Garden legions were treated to the James Edwards show in the opening minutes as Phoenix rolled to a 16-9 lead. One wondered if perhaps the Celts had needed more than five days to prepare for the mighty Suns.

Then the bomb dropped. Over the next seven minutes, Boston outscored Phoenix, 26-4. Bird (15 in the period) started the torching with a one-handed lean-in, then kept it going with a three-pointer from the left corner, a mortar from out top and two eye-of-the-needle fastbreak feeds to Kevin McHale. When Jerry Sichting converted a dazzling three-point play off the break, Boston led, 35-20, with less than a minute to go in the first.

It was 38-25 at the end of one. MacLeod gave the crowd a thrill by inserting rookie forward Georgi Glouchkov at the start of the second. The Bulgarian beef brother immediately impressed the masses with a couple of Maxwellian inside hoops, a defensive rebound and an assist (he was also the last member of the the Suns to commit a turnover). While Glouchkov was hot, the Suns closed the gap to six and prompted a K.C. Jones timeout.

After the pause, Glouchkov cut it to four with a stuff off a drive down the lane (Air Georgi?).

The Celts responded with 10 straight. McHale started the run with with a pair of hoops. Dennis Johnson got the lead back up to 10 (49-39), then Bird dived across the baseline to keep a ball alive, and made a no-look feed to Parish for a stuff. Boston led, 63-51, at intermission.

Parish put it away with some inside work in the third period. The Chief rattled train tracks all the way to Dudley Station with a show-stopping slam to make it 76-58.

Ainge shot the Celts to a 20-point lead. Bird started show time with a behind-the-back-feed to McHale, and it was 86-64 with 5:22 left in the third. The Celts led by 22 when Parish came out. The only memorable moment in the closing minutes of the third quarter came when Rick Robey careened out of bounds and collapsed a press table behind the Suns' basket. It was 94-70 at the three-quarter pole.

Fans were chanting for Sam Vincent at the start of the fourth. Jones elected to open with Sichting and Rick Carlisle, and Boston led by 25 when Vincent finally got the call.

Vincent's long-awaited first NBA point was a free throw with 5:11 left. The Celts led by 25. Vincent missed the second free throw, and by the time Sam stuck a transition jumper in the closing seconds, most of the crowd had filed out of the Garden.

Exactly what kind of Mormon is Danny?

The 1985-1986 Celtics were renown for trash talk. One time late in the game on a West Coast trip with the score tied, KC Jones called a time-out to diagram the next play. As the time-out expired, Bird strolled past the Phoenix Suns bench to "his" spot in the corner beyond the arc, and told anyone who would listen, "DJ's gonna pass me the ball right here. In one motion, I'm gonna catch it and shoot it, and the next sound you'll hear will be the ball snapping through the net. The good news for your team is you have front row seats." After the time out, the play went down as Bird said and the Celtics walked home winners. As KC later said, "now that's arrogance."

But the trash talk wasn't always directed at opponents. Bill Walton was often the focal point. Bird liked to ride Walton about his radical political views, long-haired days from Portland, and, of course, his injuries. One of the 50 greatest players of all time, Walton could have been even greater had his body not failed him. Over the course of his career, Walton missed the equivalent of nine full seasons of basketball, and Bird never let him forget it. One night after Rick Carlisle played a crucial role in about 10 minutes off the bench against the Lakers, Bird told Carlisle in front of everyone else, "now, Rick, if you can do that in 10 more games, you will have contributed more in one season than Walton has during his entire career."

Ainge was thankful that the Celtics signed Walton during the summer of 1985. Prior to his arrival, Ainge bore the brunt of Bird and McHale's wit. Despite proclaiming to be a devout Mormon, all Ainge ever talked about was money and his golf scores. He bragged about both. Ainge tithed all his money to the Church, and every time he reported his golf score, it seemed to improve over the last time. McHale tired of this, and always had an antidote ready: He'd pull out a copy of the Mormon Holy Book, ask Ainge to place his hand on top, and repeat his score to the entire locker room. Ainge never played along.