You thought I would be impressed, right? Wrong. Austin Rivers stole that crossover straight from me. I was roasting 35-year old dudes with the same move in my summer league game Wednesday night. I even almost scored a couple times. I didn’t see Rivers in the crowd at my game, but he must have been there taking notes. There’s no other explanation.

If the NBA lockout lifts, the Celtics will reportedly visit the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. (Barbara Barker, Twitter)

Knicks to host the Celtics on Xmas day, league source tells me. Provided, of course, there is a season.

Last year, the Celtics played the Miami Heat on opening night and the Magic on Christmas Day (an Eastern Conference Finals rematch). The year before that, the C’s played Lebron’s Cavs on opening night and the Orlando Magic on Christmas (when Orlando was the defending Eastern Conference champion). Am I crazy to think scheduling Boston to play the Knicks on Christmas — in New York, no less — means the league expects the Celtics to fade into mediocrity?

Maybe I am. Perhaps the NBA just wants to capitalize on the two biggest East Coast markets and some of the league’s most intriguing matchups (Amare Stoudemire vs. Kevin Garnett, Carmelo Anthony vs. Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups vs. Rajon Rondo). The game would surely draw a good rating if it’s played, which I guess is the point. And playing it at Madison Square Garden can’t hurt the buzz.

But facts are facts: the Knicks were the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference last season and got swept in the first round of the playoffs (by the Celtics, no less). After a few seasons of playing the league’s marquee games against the league’s most competitive opponents, the Celtics are scheduled to play the mediocre Knicks on Christmas Day . . .  and the C’s don’t even get to host the game. Maybe that’s not a slap in the face from the NBA schedule makers. Maybe it just makes the most sense for the TV guys. But it sure feels like a slap in the face.

Am I crazy for thinking that?

P.S. – If the league thinks Boston is no longer a contender, the league might be right.

Damn it, I have to go. I need to grab a box of tissues, eat twelve gallons of ice cream and listen to “Song Cry” on repeat.

Lawrence Frank, who is still a finalist for the Detroit Pistons head coaching gig, has added another potential destination for next season: depending on whether Frank gets the Pistons job, Newsday reports that the Knicks and Frank have mutual interest in making Frank an assistant coach.

Whatever happens in Detroit could trigger Mike D’Antoni’s activity in searching for a defensive assistant coach.

All eyes will be on what happens with the Pistons head coaching position, as the finalists appear to be Mike Woodson and Lawrence Frank.

From what we’ve been hearing, D’Antoni personally likes Frank and there is a strong mutual interest there for many reasons.

First of all, whomever the Knicks hire would have to accept a one-year deal because D’Antoni is going into the final year of his contract and there is some uncertainty about his future. Frank, unlike most, would likely be amenable to accepting a one-year contract because it gives him the freedom to continue to look for head coaching jobs.

Frank might also prefer New York over returning to Boston for proximity reasons, as well, because he could be home full-time in New Jersey, where his wife and two daughters remained last season when he worked for the Celtics.

A move to New York would seem like a lateral move for Frank, at best. But it actually makes a lot of sense from a reputation standpoint. Hear me out.

If Frank stays in Boston, a large portion of his success will undoubtedly be attributed to Tom Thibodeau. Yeah, Frank’s the de facto defensive coordinator now — but he’s still running Thibodeau’s defensive schemes with several of the players Thibodeau molded. Stepping out of Thibodea’s shadow will prove almost impossible as long as Frank stays in Boston.

But in New York, Frank would move into a win-win situation. If the Knicks defense improves, Frank would be viewed as a miracle maker. Anyone who can forge a solid defense out of a starting lineup that includes Chauncey Billups, Carmel0 Anthony and Amare Stoudemire can obviously turn dirt into gold. On the other hand, if the Knicks defense still acts like swiss cheese, nobody would blame Frank — it’s impossible to turn Carmelo Anthony into a decent defender, isn’t it? In the worst-case scenario in New York, Frank’s defense would fail and New York would fall short of preseason expectations. But do you know what could very well be the end result of the “worst-case scenario”? D’Antoni gets fired and Frank probably jumps straight to the top of New York’s head coaching choices.

Of course, trying to coax a championship defense out of New York’s roster is like trying to ride the Tour de France with a tricycle. But if Frank could do it, he’d enhance his reputation in a way he never will in Boston. Even if he doesn’t do it, Frank’s reputation could reap the benefits of moving to the Big Apple.

P.S. – Mike Woodson will interview for the Minnesota Timberwolves lead gig today. If he gets that job, the Pistons would likely hire Frank, their only other finalist.

Avery Bradley could have starred for the Boston Celtics this summer. Granted, his fellow starters would have included JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore rather than Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce; and his opponents would have been rookies and vagabonds rather than All-Stars. But still, were it not for the NBA lockout, Bradley would have been a go-to guy this summer. And he could have used the experience.

Bradley missed summer league last season due to an ankle injury, then missed training camp, then understandably spent the entire season playing with brain freeze. For a normal rookie, missing training camp is a crucial setback. For Bradley, whose game is more raw than Monday night WWE wrestling, time lost was devastating. The Texas product came into the NBA needing to A) impress a coach notorious for benching rookies, B) fit in with a Hall of Famer-laden lineup, C) learn Boston’s complex schemes, both offensive and defensive, and D) do all that while switching to a position he had never played before (point guard). As Doc Rivers said, Bradley “had no chance.”

The season became an extended learning experience, though most of the learning came during practice. Bradley saw few game minutes; during the ones he did play, he often looked like a boy among men. Despite possessing the on-ball defense of a young Lindsey Hunter, Bradley’s offensive game reminds me of the car gifted to Will Hunting on his 21st birthday in “Good Will Hunting” — it is raggedy, pieced together from spare pieces in the junk pile, and the first thing I said when the Celtics received it was, “It’s a real piece of shit.” That sounds harsh, but Bradley’s offensive game has more holes than a Connect Four board. He is not comfortable dribbling. He is not comfortable shooting. He is not comfortable running an offense. And he damn sure wasn’t ready to play meaningful minutes on a title contender, lockdown defense be damned.

Unfortunately, Bradley has already missed summer league again. Training camp, if it ever happens, will be shorter than normal. Team workouts over the summer are in disarray, if not wiped out. And so Bradley, for the second straight year, will miss a crucial aspect of a young player’s development.

Knowing that, he and his agent are looking into options for Bradley to play overseas (as reported by ESPN). If Bradley does take his talents elsewhere, he would not miss any NBA games — he and his agent are only looking for a deal that includes an opt-out clause to return to Boston when the lockout finishes.

An overseas move would make sense for Bradley. He’s in a Catch-22 in Boston — he needs experience to blossom, but he won’t receive playing time until he improves. Playing in a foreign country (at least in the right league, since I imagine Bradley would play very few minutes in certain leagues) would presumably allow Bradley the opportunity to garner much-needed court time, similar to the way Brandon Jennings used Italy. Jennings played 17 minutes per game and struggled pretty desperately at times. He did not shoot well. He did not score much. He did not pass very many assists. But he learned during his time in Italy, and he returned to the United States a better, more complete player.

When a player like Deron Williams signs overseas, I imagine his NBA team cringes. What if he gets injured?

But when the Celtics front office learns about Bradley’s overseas plot, they should be pleased. Bradley needs this.

The Celtics, we know, like Gilbert Brown. Brown, we know, likes the Celtics. So it makes sense that Brown, who signed in Germany but has an opt-out clause for when the lockout ends, expects to be a Boston Celtic once the lockout ends. (Hoopsworld)

“I think there’s a good chance I’ll be back in Boston,” Brown said. “They liked me a lot. I had good conversations with Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge. They showed a high level of interest in me and believe that I can be a contributor for them this year as well as in the future. It looks like there’s a strong possibility that I’ll be back with the Celtics as soon as the lockout is over.”

Brown said he envisions making a Tony Allen-like impact. Normally, I would make an Allen joke right now, something like, “… which means he will threaten to commit charging fouls and induce heart attacks every time he touches the ball.” I love making Allen jokes—a good one satisfies me more than the taste of ice cream Snickers bars. But after this year, when Allen helped change Memphis’s entire philosophy (and meanwhile, the Celtics lacked any bench consistency and had exactly zero defensive-minded wings), I can’t even make Allen jokes anymore. The Celtics needed him, and he wasn’t there. I didn’t know how much I would miss him until he was gone.

(*Sheds surprising tear, pours out water into the ground.*)

What I’m trying to say is: If an undrafted free agent can become the next Tony Allen, sign me up.

Boston draft pick E’Twaun Moore cannot sign with the Celtics until the NBA lockout is lifted. Considering that the wait could be a long time, Moore is seriously considering an overseas move. (Boston Globe)

While some of the league’s marquee players are pondering whether to pursue chances to play overseas during the NBA lockout, Celtics second-round pick E’Twaun Moore (right, holding up #55) could also be seeking opportunities overseas.

His agent, Mark Bartelstein, said that he is talking to “a lot of teams” in hopes of landing Moore a deal this summer. Moore, the 55th overall draft pick out of Purdue, has a chance to make the Celtics’ roster when the lockout ends, but there appears to be little hope that the work stoppage won’t pour into training camp.

Depending on whether Moore could secure a contract clause to let him leave his overseas team whenever the lockout ends (similar to the one in Gilbert Brown’s German contract), this news might have very little affect on the Celtics. Or, if his contract does not contain an opt-out clause (and I have read that very few will), the Celtics will lose their second-round draft pick to a European team.

Imagine this: You dream all your life about making the NBA. You play four years at Purdue, become the school’s winningest basketball player ever, score more points than all but three players in Purdue basketball history. NBA teams underrate you, but you finally get drafted into a perfect situation—the Celtics need plenty of bench help and they’re a defensive-minded, veteran team that perfectly suits your winning edge.

You meet Doc Rivers, your new coach, and Danny Ainge, your new general manager. They explain how the organization does things, give you an introduction to the team’s schemes, and then… and then you’re on your own. You cannot make any contact with the organization and vice versa. Because you are a second-round pick, you have no guaranteed contract even once the lockout gets lifted. Your dream is stuck in between your car seat and your door, and you can see it. But it’s just out of your reach.

So you look into European options. Because, hell, delaying your dream beats being unemployed.