I know there’s a pretty big game tonight, between the Celtics and the Southeast Division’s third-best team. I wanted to have a Heat-Celtics Highlight Reel of the Day, desperately. There’s just no way I could deny J.J. Hickson his due. He seized the Highlight of the Day.

And yeah, Hickson only played 9.3 minutes per game in the Celtics-Cavs series last spring. At least it’s not like the Celtics struggle against athletic power forwards or anything! Ahh, right. They do. Well at least Antawn Jamison held his own against Kevin Garnett! No, no, no he didn’t. Then Hickson must have played badly when he did get minutes? Not exactly. He had 11 points in 12 minutes in Game 1, and 13 points in 19 minutes in Game 2.

Perplexing that he couldn’t find his way onto the court, no?

The season is approaching (but not quickly enough), so that means it’s NBA preview time. Starting with the league’s worst team and working our way to the top, we’ll preview one team per day.

Mo Williams has Mo' problems this year.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Last year’s record: 61-21
Head Coach: Byron Scott
Projected Starters: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao

Outlook:

My cousin played basketball at Boston University a few years ago, and opposing fan bases had a great chant whenever they played his team. “Sucks to B.U.! Sucks to B.U.!” Get it? Well, that chant applies to all Cleveland fans. It really, beyond belief, sucks to B.U.

Suckers.

X-Factor:

I’ve got a real “Decision” to make here. I could choose Leon Powe, who averaged a whopping 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds last year but should be better after a season of recovery; Mo Williams, who barely decided not to retire (how admirable of him!) after Lebron James bolted, but should now be the team’s star; Daniel Gibson, who stands to see more playing time in the post-Lebron stage; Jamario Moon, who could be the starting small forward by default; Antawn Jamison, who loves compiling impressive stats on bad teams; or Anderson Varejao, who should have started last year but had to wait for Shaq to depart. Whoever I pick, I doubt it will bring comfort to Cavs fans. Lebron James is not walking through that door.

Biggest Question Mark:

It sounds almost cruel to say it, but who will be the Cavs’ starting small forward: Joey Graham or Jamario Moon? Either way, they’re in great hands.

Just kidding.

Most important newcomer:

Ramon Sessions. I’ll be honest, though: he didn’t have very much competition, and I don’t know how he’ll fit in with Mo Williams. The other most important newcomer? Joey Graham. Let’s just say Joey probably won’t completely fill the shoes of his predecessor.

Key loss:

Duh. Lebron. Who did you think I was going to say, Sebastian Telfair?

Most compelling storyline:

Dan Gilbert’s comical guarantee. “I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE.” Clock’s ticking, Dan. I’ve got a feeling you’ll be proven a liar.

Player to watch:

J.J. Hickson. The one Cavalier to truly get excited about, Hickson’s the player the Cavs refused to part with in a potential trade for Amare Stoudemire. Hickson’s also the player who has never averaged more than 8.5 points or 4.9 rebounds per game and posted only 3.5 ppg and 0.8 ppg in last year’s playoffs. Is he ready to take the keys to the franchise? Nope. But, at least for now, Byron Scott doesn’t really have a choice. God knows Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison can’t lead a team to the promised land.

Descriptive movie quote:

“You know, in the ten years that I coached, I never met anybody who wanted to win as badly as I did. I’d do anything I had to do to increase my advantage. Anybody who tried to block the pursuit of that advantage, I’d just push ‘em out of the way. Didn’t matter who they were, or what they were doing. But that was then. You have special talent, a gift. Not the school’s, not the townspeople, not the team’s, not Myra Fleener’s, not mine. It’s yours, to do with what you choose. Because that’s what I believe, I can tell you this: I don’t care if you play on the team or not.” – Norman Dale, Hoosiers

I’m pretty sure that Norman Dale line isn’t what Byron Scott said to Lebron James. But you can imagine what it would have been like if it was.

Projected record: 27-55. In his letter to fans after The Decision, Dan Gilbert wrote, “Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day.” Too bad tomorrow, tomorrow, is always a day away.

Games 1-5, explained in one photo.

Some notes about Game Six:

For Boston

• Do what you’re doing – It sounds simple, but it isn’t.  The Celtics need to keep moving the ball, being aggressive off the bounce, and giving Lebron tranquilizers before each game.  Stay committed to the glass, defensive rotations and making the extra pass.  Feed KG in the post, run with Rondo in transition.  If the Celtics keep playing the way they are, they’ll be tough to beat.

For Cleveland

• Lebron might play point guard – Mike Brown says the Cavs are pondering lineup changes, and Lebron at point guard could be the answer.  I’m not sure how the Celtics should feel about that.  If Lebron’s in a backcourt with Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, who the hell is Rondo going to defend?  I guess it would be Parker, but that’s a big disadvantage for Rondo.  Then again, if the Cavs start to run their offense through Parker in the post that’s probably not a bad thing for Boston.  So my “expert’s” verdict?  I have no fucking idea how that switch would work out.
• Jamison at small forward? – The other switch Brown might make is to play Antawn Jamison at small forward. The Celtics should be fine with this: if Brown puts Hickson in at power forward, KG still has a mismatch.  If Brown goes with Varejao, the Cavs put their weakest offensive lineup on the floor. 
• What I would do if I were Brown – Put Lebron at power forward.  Go small. If Lebron’s at power forward, who the hell is Garnett going to defend?  The Cavs are the best team in the NBA — the Celtics should have to adjust to them, not the other way around. 

Prediction: Lebron destroys the C’s from the start, but Boston weathers the storm.  Cleveland’s supporting task just doesn’t seem to be enough to handle Boston, suddenly clicking on all cylinders.

Davis: "Even I know my actions were worse than Danny's." Danny: "I'd do it again, too. But next time it's going to be during Lebron's free throw." (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

I cannot believe where Ron Borges decided to go when talking about Danny Ainge’s towel throw. (Boston Herald)

The Ainge who tossed the towel was the same one who once tossed an in-bounds pass off the face of Houston’s Mario Elie. He’s the same guy who kept calling Tree Rollins a sissy until he provoked a fight in which Ainge got bit.

To his credit, after he was caught on videotape Ainge did say the obvious and not much more. No towel addiction excuses for Danny.

“There’s just no excuse,” he said. “It was unprofessional.”

What made this ironic was this is the same Ainge who was tsk-tsking in the direction of Glen “Big Baby” Davis in October after Davis broke his thumb getting into a fight with his best friend.

When the two appeared at a press conference several days later, Ainge interjected the word “stupid” when Davis was struggling to find one to describe his actions.

Can everyone please stop acting like this was a huge deal?  A competitive guy threw a towel as a distraction in a 23-point game.  Big whoop.  The free throw even went in. Who cares?

Is it REALLY better to pay for fans to distract, rather than distracting by yourself?

Look, those big sticks that are often waved behind baskets aren’t brought by fans to the game.  Teams pay for those.  Teams pay for entire sections behind the free throw line to receive big sticks to annoy and distract their opponents, in hopes that opponents miss their free throws.  Why is it that much worse for one person, albeit a GM, to throw a towel to distract the opponent?  If teams are allowed to pay for props designed to do nothing else but distract opponents, can’t someone a team pays try to distract an opponent all by his lonesome?

If Danny Ferry had thrown the towel, I would have laughed and said, “Good for him.”  I then would have thought about how big a bust Ferry had been in the NBA, but I would have at least admired his towel throw.  Especially if he did it with the height and timing with which Ainge executed his own towel toss.  I mean, a towel toss doesn’t get any better than Ainge’s.  Perfect height, perfect timing.  Bad results, of course, but you can’t win ‘em all.

And as for Borges comparing Ainge’s towel throw to Glen Davis getting into a fight with his best friend?  Davis punched his best friend, while his best friend was driving a car, and even better while his best friend was driving drunk.  Davis wasn’t just stupid, he endangered his life and the lives of all three people in the car that night.  And we’re going to compare that to tossing a towel?  C’mon Borges, even you are better than that.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

The Celtics could probably use Eddie House right about now. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Henry Abbott, ESPN – “Boston Celtics guard Nate Robinson was benched for two games near the end of the regular season, and it cost him $1 million, while saving the team twice that amount. A clause in Robinson’s contract calls for him to make a $1 million bonus if he both played in at least 58 games and made the playoffs this season. Robinson’s Celtics are in the postseason but he played in 56 games. As a result, the Celtics saved the $1 million they would have paid Robinson — equivalent to a quarter of his reported annual salary — and an additional $1 million they would have owed in luxury tax to the NBA (most of which would have been distributed to teams with payrolls below the luxury tax threshold).”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Rivers was asked if Wallace was mentally into it during the season. ‘I don’t know,’ Rivers said. ‘I guess. With his play, you can say not. To me, I’m not going to go there. How does that benefit me? I’m into (tomorrow night’s) Game 3. So you can answer it any way you want to. Did he play as well as we wanted him to? No. But can he do anything about that? No. All he can do is what the next game gives him.’”

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “The news on the Cavs Wednesday was positive. Varejao’s back spasms improved after two days rest and there is a good chance he’ll be able to take part in practice Thursday. Also, despite the initial plans for James to have another MRI on his sore right elbow, he hasn’t needed the test yet. Despite contrary reports, James has only had one MRI on his elbow to this point, though team doctors may perform another one to check on the healing process.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Said his coach, Doc Rivers: ‘He deserves it. He’s worked at it and it’s a great honor for him. He took it in stride. I love the way he took it, because you could tell he’s far more focused on the playoffs. Listen, when you’re in the first team in our league on anything, it’s a hell of an honor. He’s doing better than scratching (the surface). He’s so much better. It’s so rare when a point guard can affect a game, and Rondo has the ability defensively to do that.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Garnett reported to practice yesterday and wanted to partici pate, telling Rivers he felt better, but that did not convince the coach. Perkins suited up but did not participate in drills and eventually left for treatment. He returned to the court following the team’s workout and said he will be ready for Game 3 tomorrow. ‘After the game Monday it was hurting, and even more when I woke up the next morning,’ Perkins said. ‘It’s still a little sore in my hamstring area. I am glad we had a few days to rest and hopefully I’ll practice tomorrow. I’ll be ready for Friday. I am glad we have a few days to rest.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘(Garnett) said he felt way better today than he did yesterday,’ Rivers added. ‘I think time’s on our side. I think he’ll be OK.’ At this stage, though, a little gallows humor is in order. ‘As a coaching staff, we (joked) when (trainer Eddie Lacerte) walked in that he’s the Grim Reaper,’ Rivers said. ‘That’s what we call him whenever he walks in because he doesn’t come to my office to tell me any good news. Right when he walked in, we were like, ‘Oh, gosh.’ He told us and I said this is just like a normal practice, not enough guys. That’s the way it’s been all year for us.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Especially now that Perkins has a sore knee. But after some momentary brooding in the first round over an inability to finish, the Celtics center once again has come around to who he is, and who he isn’t. ‘If I’m not scoring one bucket I’m going to be effective in the game, whether it’s rebounding, having a presence in the defensive end, whatever it may be I’m going to have an impact,’ he said. ‘There’s different ways to affect a game than just scoring.’ How long did Perkins allow his first-round offensive struggles to affect his spirit? ‘For a minute,’ Perkins said. ‘But after that, you know, it happens.’”

Tony Massarotti, Boston Globe – “Add it all up and you’ll determine that Rondo has had a direct hand in 112 of the 197 points the Celtics have scored in this series. And that is a safe, conservative estimate. Undoubtedly, there have been occasions in this series where Rondo’s wizardry has produced free throws or additional passes that produced hoops. Somewhere in the middle of this, Danny Ainge is undoubtedly smiling, and not solely because Rondo was selected after such luminaries as Patrick O’Bryant, Mouhamed Sene, Thabo Sefolosha and, for that matter, Shelden Williams in the 2006 NBA Draft. Even in the last year, Rondo’s stock has continued to soar, making that five-year, $55 million contract signed by Rondo last summer look like the biggest steal the Celtics have executed since Bird suckered Isiah in May 1987. The best part? Rondo has yet to even start that deal, which begins next season. Meanwhile, during a season in which he has displaced Bob Cousy from the Celtics record book, he continues to develop as a dynamic and dominating force that will guide the Celtics for years to come.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Wednesday that he regretted tossing a towel into the air to try to distract Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson’s free throw attempt in Boston’s victory in Monday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. ‘I regret that. That was very unprofessional,’ Ainge said during an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. ‘I was having fun with the hecklers and the crowd that was sitting around me. … There’s just no excuse. It was unprofessional. I regret doing it. The biggest reason I regret it is you guys should be talking about the great play of the Celtics and not talking about a towel incident. I’m shocked that it’s become this big a deal.’ [...] Celtics coach Doc Rivers and his players simply laughed off the attention being given to the situation. ‘Comical,’ said Rivers. ‘I didn’t know about it, honestly. I was up in my bedroom doing my work and my cell phone kept ringing, over and over again… When I saw it, I got a good laugh and giggle out of it. Danny’s going back to his playing days. It’s pretty comical.’”

Marla Ridenour, Akron Beacon Journal – “And while there seem to be woes aplenty on the Cavs’ side, including James’ sore right elbow and Anderson Varejao’s back spasms, [Shaquille] O’Neal cannot escape scrutiny. The 15-time All-Star has played nearly 39 minutes against the Celtics and has 20 points, eight rebounds and no blocked shots to show for it. Those combined totals would be barely above his single-game playoff averages as recently as three years ago, when O’Neal scored 18.8 points and pulled in 8.5 rebounds in four games for the Miami Heat. ‘We know, he knows he can shoot better,’ Cavs coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. ‘He hasn’t had a ton of opportunity. But we’re going to keep going to the big fella, because he’s going to have to be able to score some points down there to loosen it up for the rest of our guys. We need to establish a post game against Boston, and he’s one of the guys who can do it for us.’”

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com – “Telfair agrees that the ultimate goal is playing for a ring, at which the Cavaliers have a tremendous shot. Thing is, he’d like to play for that ring. ‘This is the first time in my career I’m being inactive. So there’s an adjustment to that,’ he said. ‘But y’know, I’m in the playoffs. I could have been home. So I’m excited about that.’ Telfair did get healthy in time to participate in four games for Cleveland near the end of the regular season. He scored 21 points against Indiana in the final week as the regulars mostly rested. In practice, he has been able to push Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson, and even has tried to play the Derrick Rose-Rajon Rondo role in the team’s prep work. Cavs big man Leon Powe, Telfair’s teammate in Boston, said: ‘Bassy’s looked real good in practice. Great floor general. He reads the defense well. Knows where everybody’s supposed to be at, like a good point guard should. Makes real good passes, right on target, and can get in the paint and cause trouble. And his shot got a lot better. I knew him from way back in the day and now he’s hitting the three, hitting the mid-range jumper. Y’know, he’s just been working. I was really impressed when I played with him in practice.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

Once in a while, someone else’s article catches my eye. Sometimes, it’s because the article is so spot-on I wish I’d written it myself. Other times, it’s because the article enlightens me with something I never knew. Still other times, it’s because I disagree with whatever’s written. No matter what the reason, I dish it off to another writer to make his/her point. You know, throwing some dimes.

Garnett: "You've been a bum, Sheed." Sheed: "Yeah, I know."

1. Red’s Army: Kevin calls out Sheed… in the shower – Here’s a transcript of an interview Kevin Garnett gave for WEEI last night.

After the first game, I went to him in the shower… Sheed doesn’t listen to a lot of people, Sheed sorta goes by his own tune and he only respects a few. I’m one of the very few he listens too. I said, ‘If you give us 10 and 10, we are not only gonna beat these cats, we are gonna blow them out. I don’t care what you’ve been going through, you can make it all up right here. It rubbed him the wrong way a little bit, but he said ‘you’re right.’

Is anybody else 1) not surprised at all that Sheed doesn’t listen to a lot of people or 2) completely skeptical that Garnett’s talk made any difference in the way Sheed played?

What did Sheed do last night that was different from what he normally does? One thing, and one thing only: He made shots. Something tells me he’s known all season long that he needs to make shots to help the Celtics become a better team, and that a pep talk from Kevin Garnett in the shower — no matter how motivating it was — didn’t enlighten Sheed that he needs to make some more. He’s known that all season long, and it gets reinforced any time he looks on NBA.com and sees his stats or flips on the television and hears yet another person discussing how brutal he’s been.

So Kevin Garnett’s pep talk was a good thing, a nice gesture of leadership by one of the few people the boneheaded Sheed actually listens to. I just don’t expect that it turned Sheed’s season around. I fully expect another round of blanks to be fired on Friday.

2. ESPN: Throwing in the towel - Danny Ainge threw a towel in the air to distract J.J. Hickson at the free throw line.

With 1:53 remaining in the third quarter of Boston’s lopsided Game 2 triumph, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is shown on TNT’s television replays tossing a white towel in the air from the baseline beyond one hoop attempting to distract Cleveland’s J.J. Hickson as he shoots the second of two free throws with Boston on top 80-57.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed that the league is aware of the actions and was reviewing the situation Tuesday night.

“That was interesting to see that happen during the flow of the game, from Danny Ainge,” Mike Brown told the Associated Press in Cleveland Tuesday. “If it’s within the rules, hey, at this time, you do whatever you can to win. As long as it’s within the rules.”

You can take this story one of two ways: Either 1) you’re a competitive-less loser who thinks everyone should play fair, everybody should win, and the score shouldn’t be kept or 2) you actually want to win, and thus absolutely love a GM — or anyone else affiliated with the team — trying to do whatever he can do to help his team win a game, even if that means acting like a 15-year old fan and throwing a towel during a player’s free throw while the Celtics are winning by 23 points. Me? I’m certainly in group #2.

3. Celtics.com: Bobby Vines Tribute – Pay your respect to a man who worked behind the scenes for the C’s for 15 years. Here are some quotes about him:

Bill Simmons via Twitter: RIP, Bobby Vines. Died suddenly today, leaves great family + 2 kids. No happier/friendlier guy in sports. Can’t imagine the Celtics w/o him.

Marc Spears via Twitter: RIP Robert Vines, great guy worked behind the scenes for Celtics. another example of how short life can be. appreciate each day.

Drjefflo: Always stopped to say hello. Always a smile! Class individual.

Ya know, it’s incredibly sad that we don’t start speaking nice things about people until their death. Bobby Vines went through life, from all accounts I’ve heard, being a genuinely nice guy… but never lived to hear people tell him that.

Can’t we start praising people while they’re still on earth? Can’t I hear about how nice Bobby Vines is while he’s still stopping to say hello and smiling at everyone in sight?

It shouldn’t take death for us to celebrate someone’s life.

Wanna throw your own dime, and get someone’s article recognized? Email me at jayking@celticstown.com or follow me on Twitter.