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.

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.

There's Perk.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics went back down to battle the Hawks in what they thought would be a warm-up of a first-round series. Having waxed the Hawks by a combined 42 points in the first two games of the series, they figured they’d grab two wins, head back north, and rest up for the second round. Two losses later, they were thinking otherwise. ‘That’s all I think about now,’ Ray Allen said. ‘It resonates so big with this team now, because we were flying high, up two. We blew them out both games in our building. We had all played in that building before. We didn’t expect what we saw.’ The Hawks were playing their first home playoff games since 1999, and even though there were actually fewer people in the building than there were in the late-season meeting, there was more emotion. ‘When we went and played them playoff time, it was a totally different atmosphere,’ Garnett said. ‘I can honestly say it was a shell-shock to our team.’ ‘That building carried them to two victories there,’ Allen said. ‘You think about how that building is now. In the last two years, they’ve got great fan support, and I think it started right there in the playoffs two years ago.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “‘Yeah, absolutely,’ Doc Rivers said. ‘I told them that. Guys, at the end of the day all we’ve done is win two home games and Miami has yet to play a home game. That’s how they’re thinking for sure. Whether we won last by one, or whatever we won by, Game 3 is going to tough and we understand that.’ Kevin Garnett noted that when he traveled to Miami for the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 to watch Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace play with the Pistons that the crowd was a factor. ‘Just anticipating it being very hostile,’ Garnett said. ‘Watching Chauncey and Rasheed play them, how hostile and how crazy that town can get when they’re behind their team. It’s what we’re anticipating.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “The C’s are expecting the Heat’s best shot in Game 3. ‘We’re figuring their backs are against the wall and they’re thinking that, if they don’t get Game 3, then this is pretty much over,’ Garnett said. ‘I know that’s what I would be thinking so we’re going to have to be ready for that.’ The Celtics were one of the league’s best road teams in the regular season, but they don’t think that success carries much weight in the playoffs. ‘It’s great to know that you can win on the road, but Miami could care less about our regular season record on the road,’ Rivers said. ‘And we should care less about it. We have to come to play and earn it.’”

Michael Wallace, Miami Herald – “Including this series, Boston has won 13 of the past 14 against Miami. The Celtics beat the Heat by an average of nearly 20 points in Games 1 and 2, held a double-digit margin in rebounding, outscored Miami 44-20 on free throws and limited the Heat to 39 percent shooting. Meanwhile, the best — and perhaps only — thing Miami has going for it through two games is Wade. And Wade alone hasn’t been enough. Even as the Heat trailed by 30 in the fourth quarter Tuesday, Spoelstra left Wade in to send a message — not to Boston, but to his own team. DON’T QUIT. ‘I wasn’t going to throw in the towel,’ Spoelstra said, referring specifically to Game 2 and, perhaps, the series. ‘I understand what the score was. That’s not even a habit I want in our minds right now.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “‘We gotta expect the worst from (in Miami),’ Allen said. ‘We can’t go into there thinking like Game 3 is Game 2.’ But as the Celtics prepare for tomorrow’s flight down to South Beach, there are a few things working in their favor. One is that they’ll be well-rested. The playoffs are void of the hectic scheduling and back-to-back games that dominate the regular season. And for a C’s squad that uses a nine-man rotation with five guys that are 32 or older, the extended time between games is an added bonus. If not a straight up advantage. ‘I love it,’ Doc Rivers said. ‘It’s great for us. Don’t forget that we’re so old. I don’t think it hurts us at all. Especially with the travel day, because this is a long (trip). This is not your typical hour and a half flight to play a game. It’s a three hour-plus flight. So this allows us to have this day of film and then a day off, kind of, and then a hard practice tomorrow and a long flight that gives you time to recover.’”

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel – “The Celtics are not having trouble holding down the rest of the Heat. Astonishingly, beyond Wade’s .611 from the floor, no Heat player is shooting better than Mario Chalmers’ 41.7 percent. By contrast, five Celtics are shooting at least 50 percent. ‘Our focus is always going to be on Wade,’ Celtics forward Paul Pierce said. ‘But, at the same time, we can’t let the other guys have big games and that has to be our focus, too.’ Spoelstra said what is most important now is that his team pulls together. ‘What we can control right now is getting our minds right, and taking care of the most important game, Friday, Friday night,” he said. “So that will be our test, in terms of being able to bounce back by keeping our mental stability. And that’s usually been strength of ours all season.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Everybody shoots 3-pointers and many hit an occasional one, but that doesn’t make them a 3-point shooter. It’s when a player can drain 3-pointers in a hurry, with burly centers charging them like Michael Strahan closing on a quarterback, that strikes fear. That frightened look of an oppoenent when Allen gathered the ball and has a split-second to release. When Allen and his teammates are stretching the floor and making those open shots, the Celtics are an elite team. It is the reason Glen “Big Ticket Uno Stub’’ Davis (or whatever he is referring to himself in Kevin Garnett’s absence) had room in the paint to maneuver for layups. Allen’s presence and effectiveness changed the game and is a good sign for the Celtics in their quest to advance to the second round. ‘When Ray keeps answering with threes, that’s what he’s here for,’ center Kendrick Perkins said. ‘I know he didn’t have a big first half, but I knew he was going to have a big second half. I watched him after [Game 1]. He came in and got his shots up three times a day, so I knew he was going to have a big game in Game 2.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “Rivers again credited Perkins with finding Michael Finley for an open 3-pointer early in the second quarter. Finley’s shot began a critical 21-0 Celtics run that was highlighted by sharp ball movement. ‘Doc kept saying we just had to keep making the extra pass,’ Perkins said. ‘Baby was open a lot on the duck-ins, so I kept hitting him. If he wasn’t open, then the guards from (3-point range) were open. The thing about the Heat is they’re a great help team, but I don’t think they make the second effort to help. They’re going to help on the first pass, but it’s the next pass that the guy is going to be open.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Hearing Doc Rivers talk about Anderson Varejao and Joakim Noah, you’d think he has a little man crush. Then again, all coaches have great affection for large hustlers who enter a game and break some eggs without concerning themselves with points and other starry stats. It’s easy to get the impression that Rivers badly covets such a player. But does he already have one? ‘Sometimes,’ the Celtics coach said. ‘Baby when he does it can be that,’ Rivers said of Glen Davis. ‘But that’s tough. Either that’s in you or not, for the most part. When Baby does it, he has the same ability. He’s not as long as those two guys, but he’s bigger and stronger.’”

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel – “Then there is his team being able to avail itself to three nights of South Beach, including just before Sunday’s 1 p.m. Game 4. ‘Miami always has an advantage,’ Rivers said at his team’s Waltham, Mass., practice facility. ‘New York has an advantage. L.A. has an advantage. That temptation is always there, so we’ll see.’ But, no, Rivers said there would be no curfew. ‘No, they’re grown men,’ Rivers said. ‘Hell, they have kids older than mine.’”

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

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 Ticket Stub is fired up for Game Two. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald - “Davis’ role was reduced this season because of injury and the addition of Rasheed Wallace to the frontcourt. However, he made an impact Saturday, collecting all of his eight points and seven of his eight rebounds in the fourth quarter. ‘When different circumstances are up on the platter, some people rise to the challenge, some people don’t,’ Davis said. ‘It’s playoff time. The three months that I took off with the (thumb) injury, no matter how much games you play, you’re still behind. Playoff time, I feel like I have a lot of games under my belt and hopefully I can get back in that same groove. You just have to go out there and play with confidence.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics likely will start Rasheed Wallace at power forward in Garnett’s absence. Davis, who filled in for Garnett a year ago when a knee injury ended Garnett’s season, also likely will see his role increase. Pierce was confident the rest of the team would respond with Garnett out. ‘We know we can hold down the fort if KG is out a game,’ Pierce said. ‘We’re not one of those teams that when the star player goes down that’s an excuse to not play hard, not try to win the game, and just be happy to come away with a close game. We’re a team that feels like with KG, without KG, we’re supposed to win a game. That’s our job, and that’s our mind-set.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “Instead of criticizing, maybe it’s safer to just adjust our expectations. Take Saturday night, for example: Garnett finished 15 points and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. And a lot of people will look at those numbers and think, ‘Wow, 15 and 9 for KG!? That’s a great game! He’s coming around!’ But do you realize that there were only 10 times during the entire 2007-08 season (91 games, including playoffs) when Garnett was held to 15 points or less AND 9 rebounds or less on the same night? Back then, 15 and 9 was a disappointment. Now it’s inspiring, or better. And, in reality, for 99 percent of NBA players, 15 and nine is solid. Which at this point, is just what Kevin Garnett has become.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Celtics coach Doc Rivers sounded more like a lawyer than a doctor. He had finally seen the evidence from the night before, footage of his all-star forward Kevin Garnett caught in wave of chaos in front of the Miami Heat bench. He defended Garnett, who found himself in the situation after trying to protect a fallen Paul Pierce and wound up in an altercation with Quentin Richardson. But what struck Rivers was Quentin Richardson was there to begin with. ‘He had no business over there,’ Rivers said. ‘We had a guy on the floor injured. There was no reason for him to be there. And then, going by all reports, not only just the crowding, but it was the taunting. You’ve got a guy injured on the floor, I don’t think you should be standing over him [telling him] to get up and I can’t even use the words he used.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘No, not at all,’ Garnett said when asked if he had any regrets. ‘Not at all.’ ‘Not at all,’ he went on. ‘Not at all. And I would hope that if I was hurt or if I was down in the position (that Pierce was in), someone would at least give me some space to sort of recover or to gather myself. That’s the only thing I was asking for – nothing more, nothing less than that.’ But Richardson took a verbal shot at Pierce’s injury history and histrionics, which earned him a face-to–face confrontation with Garnett. ‘You know what? I just thought what he did was classless,’ KG said. ‘And obviously my concern was with Paul. Nothing more, nothing less than that. That’s what it is, man. I really don’t have any beef with nobody on that team. I think it’s being flared up more than what it is. It is what it is, and it’s over. Nothing to go back and forth on. Listen, man, I would do that if it was Doc (Rivers), somebody I cared about. I was taught to help your teammate, and that’s what it is.’ Garnett didn’t let himself entirely off the hook in a conversation with the C’s. ‘I apologized for it, but like Doc said, sometimes even when you’re right you’re wrong,’ Garnett said. ‘And in a situation like that was, totally classless, you keep it moving. It’s nothing to be going back and forth with.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “That hasn’t necessarily been the case between Pierce and Richardson, who have a long history of taunting each other. ‘It’s just been nothing but talk, man, truthfully,’ Pierce said. ‘I don’t even get into that he-say, she-say thing. That stuff is all for y’all to sell papers. I’m just going to continue to play basketball.’ He understands that even petty rivalries will be magnified in these times. ‘This is it,” Pierce said. ‘There’s only 16 teams left and everybody’s fighting for one thing. So you’ve got to expect that tensions are going to rise. But the thing is just keep it in the framework of the game to where it doesn’t get out of hand. But you’ve got to understand it’s going to get edgy at times, because we’re all fighting for one thing and only one team can have it.’ And Pierce may have taken a bit of a shot at Richardson and all but one of his Heat teammates. ‘I don’t know if I learned anything different,’ he said when asked what he had gleaned from the series opener. ‘I mean, they’re pretty much a team built around Dwyane Wade. That’s who they are. You’ve got to slow down Dwyane Wade. You can’t let him have a spectacular night. If you do, you’re in for a long series, a long night. You’ve got to expect them to make adjustments to free him up a little more, get him the ball a lot more in situations where you can’t double-team him. So it’s just going to be up to us when they make the adjustment for us to make that adjustment, because you know as I know that as he goes, they go.’”

Chris Perkins, Miami Herald – “Center Jermaine O’Neal, who was 3 of 14 from the field in Game 1 and scored only eight points, said he watched ‘at least two hours’ of video from the game and was up until 5 a.m. Sunday. ‘My mother, my brother, even some old teammates that I played with in Indiana texted me and said I looked a little quicker than normal, not really being patient on the moves, trying to force the move before the defense cleared out,’ O’Neal said. ‘Those are all the things I looked at and I worked on [Sunday]. I worked on spacing, worked on me reading the defense and making moves, so I feel very positive my rhythm will be better.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Saturday night’s game was eerily similar to the three regular-season meetings, when the Heat executed until the final quarter. Figuring out their issues sounded more important to the Heat than celebrating Garnett’s suspension. ‘It was a free game for us to try to win,’ Dwyane Wade said. ‘They have home-court advantage. We had opportunities and we let it slip, just like we let the other three in the regular season. It’s about finding a way to get over the hump. The game is coming down to the third and fourth quarters. That’s how it’s going to continue to be.’”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “Garnett has apologized to his teammates but said he does not regret his actions in Game 1. He believes emotions can help the Celtics, as long as they don’t spiral out of control. ‘I think we need to play with emotion, to be honest with you,’ Garnett said. ‘I think emotion is a sense of passion. Playing at home, [we] definitely have to defend home court. I think that’s important. I think we need to come out and play with that same energy. We know our schemes, we know what we’re doing, and continue to be aggressive.’ He added, ‘I wouldn’t say [emotions are] good or bad; it’s when you let your emotions get the best of you. I can say that. Situations to where you have to sort of bite down a little bit and understand what the situation is, in that sense. But it’s an emotional game, it’s a very, very high intensity game. Everybody’s playing with those same emotions. Both sides are playing fiery basketball, and it’s aggressive. So at some point you have to be in control of yourself.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “Rivers said there is one reason [Tony] Allen is back in the rotation. ‘Defense,’ the coach said. ‘He’s accepted that role. He’s a stopper. He’s accepted the role of being the backup point guard at times, as well. He tries not to do too much, even though sometimes he can’t help himself. You just have to breathe through those moments. But he’s playing hard, and it’s showing.’ Allen has embraced his role. ‘From Day 1 when I got here, it was said, ‘Paul Pierce is our scorer, we need a defender. Do you want that job, yes or no?’ ‘ Allen said. ‘I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “In the wake of the Celtics-Heat dust-up in Saturday’s Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series, Chicago’s Joakim Noah sounded off on Kevin Garnett Sunday, calling him a ‘dirty player’ and complaining that, ‘he’s always swinging elbows.’ When those comments got back to Boston, Celtics coach Doc Rivers could only laugh. ‘Noah? Noah’s in this series now?’ Rivers jokingly asked. ‘I have no comment. If Noah had said that last year [when the Bulls and Celtics met in the postseason], I would have had a comment, but since he’s in Clevleand and dealing with that, I think I’ll let him focus on [Shaquille O'Neal] and that group right now.’”

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

Joakim Noah, the most beloved player in the NBA, is making friends again, this time with the Boston fans.  Noah doesn’t have much of a soft spot for Kevin Garnett.

“I’m going to say it: He’s a dirty player,” Noah said following Bulls practice Sunday.

Asked if he felt Garnett should be suspended, Noah went even stronger with his criticism.

“I don’t make the decisions,” Noah said. “But he’s always swinging elbows man. I’m hurting right now because of an elbow he threw. It’s unbelievable. He’s a dirty player. It’s one thing to be competitive and compete. But don’t be a dirty player man. He’s a dirty player.

Noah then said he hopes Miami plays Jamal Magloire during the series, apparently meaning that Magloire could be used as an enforcer.

I don’t see Garnett being too dirty.  Sure, he gets aggravated and throws the occasional elbow or two, but it’s not like he’s Bruce Bowen or anything.  The dirtiest thing about Garnett, for the most part, is his mouth.

As for Noah, I used to be a big fan but I’m quickly souring.

Derrick Rose took off running, with only the open floor to beat and a windmill or reverse dunk — or both at the same time — in his immediate future. But as Rose neared the hoop, he lost possession of the ball and was forced to lay it in rather than slam it home. Oh, well. It was just about the only thing he did wrong all night.

Rose finished with 39 points (on 15-22 shooting), seven assists and five rebounds, doing his excessive damage on an assortment of off-balance midrange jumpers and explosions to the rim in the Bulls’ 101-93 victory against the Celtics. Rose was equal parts fury and finesse, dominating Rajon Rondo (four points, six assists, 2-10 shooting) like Rondo was nothing but a high-schooler.

And Kirk Hinrich was Robin to Rose’s Batman. Hinrich had 30 points — I’ll repeat, Kirk. Hinrich. Had. 30. Points. — and drained a number of clutch three-pointers to keep the lead just out of the Boston’s reach. It was the most points Hinrich had scored since dropping 31 points on the Milwaukee Bucks, way back on February 18, 2009.

The superhero performances from Rose and Hinrich overshadowed big nights from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Pierce looked spry, getting to the hoop on many occasions and pulling up for his patented midrange jumper on many others. It used to be expected of Pierce, night in and night out, to carry the scoring load, but his year has been as up-and-down as the team’s. It was unexpected but nice to see him so aggressive, patient and potent all at the same time, and Pierce has now had two vintage games in a row. And Allen did what Allen does; he made shots and smoothly took the ball to the basket. Does any other man who ever lived make a finger roll look so breathtakingly gorgeous?

Beyond those two shining Celtics, there was little to cheer for. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and nine rebounds, but missed a number of chippies and had to leave during the first half to get three stiches above his left eye. Kendrick Perkins snagged 11 rebounds, but only finished with two points and picked up his 15th technical foul of the season. Rasheed Wallace also scored only two points. Well four, I suppose, if you count the bucket he accidentally scored for the Bulls.

*****

Game Notes:

• The loss gave Boston the 4th seed in the playoffs, and moved Chicago one step closer to qualifying. 
• Joakim Noah finished with 16 rebounds.

One bad memory from one of the greatest playoff matchups of all time. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

He screams, he yells, he bangs his chest and he pounds his fists, and Joakim Noah does it all with a head full of hair that would make even Anderson Varejao cringe.  But through his exterior layer of unbridled passion and annoying enthusiasm, all Noah does is desire to win.

Chris Richard, Noah’s fellow Chicago Bull and former teammate when the two were winning national championships in Florida, knows that nothing but ‘Ws’ are driving Noah this year, just as they have ever since the two were still amateur athletes.

“The thing about that (Florida) team was everybody hated to lose,” Richard told the Chicago Tribune. “Every day, we went hard at each other. Even to this day, it’s still personal between me and Jo. Punch, whatever you got to do to win.

“Once we started drilling and going up and down (at Florida), everybody took it personal. Everybody wanted bragging rights. That’s what made us a great and unique team. Nobody wanted to lose.”

If you’re a Celtics fan, the mere sight of Noah might make you puke.  Any non-Bulls NBA fan is likely to dislike Noah; his uncontrolled spasms of celebration and unrivaled ability to get under an opponent’s skin make him an easy target for fans’ hatred.  But, for C’s fans, it’s even easier.  They remember Noah from the grueling, seven-game, seven-overtime series of yore.  They saw him bawk and crow night after night, and it was never worse than his game-altering steal, dunk, and poster sequence with Paul Pierce draped on his back as time ran low in the epic game six. As Celtics fans watched Noah’s reaction to that dunk, all popped veins and bursting voice box, Noah earned a place on the list of Boston’s most hated.

But, hate him or love him, it’s no mistake that Noah’s return from a left foot injury has coincided with the Bulls’ late push for a playoff berth. Since Noah’s March 20 return to the lineup, the Bulls have gone 8-4 and made up three games against Toronto in the race for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. The Bulls are now 1/2 game ahead of Toronto.

“That guy gets more out of what he does . . . he does everything for that team,” Doc Rivers said of Noah told Comcast Sports. “He’s clearly their energy beacon.”

And he’s starting to round back into shape after that injury, with an 18-point, 19-rebound, 7-assist performance in Chicago’s last outing highlighting three straight big games for Noah.

“He’s getting his edge back,” Richard said of Noah. “He knows what that playoff series last year did for him. He wants to make the playoffs bad. He’ll do whatever he can for us to get there.”

To get to the postseason Noah, and the Bulls, will likely have to defeat the Boston Celtics. A loss to Boston would be a sinister blow to Chicago’s postseason hopes, as they hold only their credit card-slim 1/2 game lead and Toronto holds the tiebreaker. Toronto also has only the New York Knicks left on its schedule, while Chicago has both Boston and Charlotte. If the Raptors beat the Knicks, the Bulls will need to win both their remaining games to make the playoffs. To do that, they’ll need to follow their outspoken, frizzy-headed leader.

“I think we always do ,” veteran guard Kirk Hinrich told ESPNChicago. “Any time he’s out there, his energy is there. And that’s a big part of who we are.”

“He’s a guy who’s always energetic,” Derrick Rose agreed. “Always yelling, talking. You see he’s giving all his energy while he’s out there. You want to do the same when you see him do all that stuff.”

The Celtics, who have playoff implications of their own riding on this game (a win will keep hopes alive of stealing the third seed from Atlanta), will try to curtail Noah’s play and limit his Bulls.  But Noah will undoubtedly be energetic, and — at the first hint of good play from his Bulls — he will likely let loose a primal scream. It is no surprise, then, that the Boston Celtics would like for him to remain silent.