When Joakim Noah said, “I don’t know about Cleveland, man, there is nothing going on. It’s bad, man,” Noah set a trend.  He was not the first person to criticize Cleveland — nor was he one of the first billion people to criticize Cleveland — but it was the first time, at least to my knowledge, that a playoff opponent of the Cavaliers had criticized the city.  But Noah wouldn’t be the last.

The latest NBA players to continue Noah’s trend are Rajon Rondo and Nate Robinson.  Via Twitter, Robinson discussed his and Rondo’s disdain for the shoddily-dressed people of Cleveland, adding his own Wordaapp signature to the end.

“Rondo said Cleveland is the worst dressed city in the nation! People can’t dress in Cleveland I agree!!! #wordaapp”

Robinson later tried to back off his original statement… kind of.

“Dnt be mad if a city can’t dress a city can’t dress ? It’s all love rondo was just play n it was a inside joke! He was thinking it I said it”

So what do the people of Cleveland look like?  Here’s a little gallery.

Judging by this getup, clearly a Clevelander. Also, Dwyane Wade made this outfit "popular."

There are actually three stores in Cleveland that exclusively sell these pants.

The Anderson Varejao look gone wrong.

I couldn't confirm this was a Clevelander, but we can certainly assume.

Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins discuss the heated rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. (Boston Globe)

Peter May brings up a very good point; if the Boston Celtics don’t beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, this series could be the last time the Big Three plays together: (ESPN)

Which begs the following: Will this also be the last time we see the new Big Three together?

Regardless of what happens in the series, the times they are indeed a-changin’ in Celtic Nation. Ray Allen will become a free agent. Doc Rivers may decide he’s had enough. Paul Pierce could become a free agent if he opts out of his current deal. Tony Allen, Nate Robinson and Marquis Daniels also will be free agents along with Brian Scalabrine, Michael Finley and Shelden Williams. Daniels and Robinson were supposed to be key reserves, but Rivers clearly has lost faith in both of them and their futures in Boston look dim.

There’s no guarantee Celtics fans will be cheering next season for Paul Pierce, who has an opt-out clause in his current contract.

The only players with firm commitments for 2010-11 are Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis and, ahem, Rasheed Wallace.

It’s weird to think about. It’s hard to imagine. But the Celtics are likely to start a rebuilding, or reloading, process after this season. As old as the Celtics have looked at times this season, they’d be even older next year if the current roster returns largely intact. Danny Ainge is going to face some seriously tough decisions going into next season and beyond.

If I were Ainge, to be honest, I’d have no idea how to improve this team. You can’t continue to ride the Big Three — they’re too old. You can’t sign any big-time free agents — you’ve got no cap space. You can’t ride the young guys into the future — Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis aren’t enough of a nucleus to win anything but a few meaningless regular season games.

So what to do? Pray that John Wall falls to #19 in the draft, obviously.

Kevin Garnett knows how good the Celtics-Cavs series could be. (Boston Herald)

“The competition should be great,” KG said in a low monotone. “The matchups are somewhat legendary. Both teams are very solid teams. Cleveland leads the league. They’re the No. 1 team. We respect that. Both teams have a lot of different weapons. It’ll come down to execution and making shots, obviously. A lot of components which make a basketball game what it is are going to come into this series. The bench is going to come into this series, the matchups are going to come into the series. It should be a really, really good competitive series.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Garnett deadpanned. “I’m just happy to be healthy and in a situation to help my team out.”

Somewhere Bill Belichick wiped a tear from his eye.

Paul Pierce was told about KG’s waltz around the issue.

“He’s definitely one of the ultimate competitors of all time,” Pierce said. “It’s something he’s never going to talk about, but you’ll see it come out once we get started.”

Pierce is right, Garnett is one of the ultimate competitors of all time.  That’s why I hate when Garnett throws an ill-conceived elbow and everyone on earth chimes in about what an asshole Garnett is. When that happens, all it does is overshadow what should be the real story — that Garnett is one of the few players ever created by the basketball gods who refuses to take a play off, no matter what.  He plays as hard as any player who has ever held a Spalding in his hands.  He gives 100% effort from the time the ball is tipped until the buzzer sounds.  He cries about losing seasons.  He cries after championship seasons.  He beats his chest and he spews vulgarities, but he does it because he can’t contain the competitiveness inside of him.

And when Garnett does something stupid and everyone disparages him, all it does is stop people from talking about the reason everyone should love Garnett rather than loathe him.

In a league where a lot of players don’t seem to give a damn, Kevin Garnett does.  He really, really does.

One MVP, two MVPs. One ring, zero rings.

A year ago the Boston Celtics lost a seven-game series to the Orlando Magic, and — even though he didn’t play a second — it was all Kevin Garnett’s fault.  It was his injury — his presence, on the bench, in a suit — that kept Boston from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.  Only Garnett’s absence derailed Boston from an otherwise inevitable ECF meeting with the King of Cleveland.

As Garnett helplessly watched Game Seven from the sideline, screaming obscenities from his spot on the bench as his teammates struggled in an attempt to handle Orlando’s versatility, a game Celtics team fell.  It wasn’t their time.  Not with their heart and soul cruelly confined to the bench.

Now Garnett is back, and the Celtics finally get what they desperately wanted last year: A chance to battle Cleveland at full strength.  Only they aren’t at full strength.  Not Kevin Garnett, anyway.

All season long, Garnett has been hobbled.  He’s not the same.  He gets beat defensively, like he never used to.  By bums, sometimes.  He misses dunks, and comes up short on alley-oops.  He still has the sweet stroke from midrange, but can no longer find his way down low.  Once a mismatch on the block and everywhere else, Kevin Garnett is now a glorified role player.  And it’s sad.

But as disappointing as his season has been to some and as far away he has become from the player he once was, Kevin Garnett — and not anybody else — is the Celtics’ key to beating Cleveland.  He is their x-factor, their wild-card and — should they win — could very well be their savior.

Because Garnett is one guy Cleveland shouldn’t be able to handle.  He will likely be defended by Antawn Jamison, the type of hybrid four that has become so valuable in the NBA.  A big man who can step out and hit the three or put his ass down low and make a little sweet low-post music.  Think Rashard Lewis, except Jamison tends to make shots from very odd angles and flanks none other than Lebron James.  Scary, I know.

But Jamison, at only 6’9″, doesn’t possess nearly the length, athleticism or defensive aptitude to defend Garnett.  Not an aggressive, healthy Garnett at least.  If he wants, and if he’s capable — two “iffy” ifs, in a so-so season — Garnett should get the better of Jamison.  With his lethal fadeaway to either side, KG could have Jamison in his back pocket should KG decide to be aggressive. With Lebron on Paul Pierce and the Cavs sure to focus a lot of attention on containing Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen, Garnett could hold the C’s greatest offensive mismatch.

Of course, there’s always the other end of the floor.  Once upon a time, Garnett would have gobbled up Jamison for dessert.  Alas, that was back when the term “lateral movement” was still in Garnett’s vocabulary.  This is a new Garnett, a Garnett that now struggles to contain the league’s more agile fours.  It used to be that KG could defend point guards in the full court, or switch with ease onto ball handlers on screen-and-rolls.  Not anymore, and neither can he easily defend players the likes of Antawn Jamison.  It’s the quick, shifty players who can put the ball on the floor or shoot the long ball that now give Garnett trouble.  Unfortunately, Jamison is just that.

He’s also the Cavs’ second-best player, meaning that if Garnett can somehow summons his defensive mastery of former years the Cavaliers will be down a second-fiddle.  Not that the Cavs have no other options behind Jamison and Lebron James, but Jamison right now is their only consistent second scorer.  Mo Williams is always liable to cough up a brick-fest (see: 2-13 Game Five against Chicago), Shaq (almost literally) can’t carry his weight anymore, and Anderson Varejao is a monster but not a scoring threat.

So if Garnett can slow Jamison down to a trot and Cleveland is again torn down to Lebron and a bunch of misfits, it could open up the door to a Boston upset.  And if Garnett can somehow attack Jamison on both ends while making the Cavs pay for losing some length this season, he could turn this series in the Celtics’ favor.  A tall task, but possible nonetheless.  Especially when given Garnett’s height and length advantage, and his shutdown defense on one Michael Beasley in round one. To be fair, Beasley shut himself down as much as Garnett did, but he was the kind of agile four Garnett had struggled against all year and Garnett limited him to absolutely nothing.

It’s a sign of the times that Boston no longer expects, or even hopes, Garnett will be the go-to guy.  But if the Celtics are to somehow defeat the mighty Cavs, that regular season juggernaut that has yet to come through when it matters most, the not-quite-deteriorating seven-footer could be the biggest reason why.

This series, the Celtics will be playing against the two-time NBA MVP.

Lebron James will be named the NBA’s MVP on Sunday for the second straight season, according to Brian Windhorst. He will accept the award before Monday night’s Game Two against the Boston Celtics. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

LeBron James will become the 10th player in NBA history to will back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards when results of the nationwide voting are announced on Sunday, sources have told The Plain Dealer.

James is expected to have a press conference at The University of Akron and accept the Maurice Podoloff Trophy and the Kia car that comes with the honor. Last season when James won for the first time, he accepted at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is expected for formally give him the trophy before Monday’s Game 2 against the Boston Celtics at The Q.

Of course, though the award won’t be official until Sunday, he actually won it before the season even started. If you listen to Stan Van Gundy, he’s already won it every year until he retires.

If this award comes as a surprise to you, you have been living under Michael Sweetney’s rump for at least two years.