I’ve spent a long time on Twitter debating the great Dan Shaughnessy’s latest article for Sports Illustrated.  Shaughnessy writes that the Boston Celtics will beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, backing up his opinion with a few reasons. (Down below, Sports Illustrated emails the controversial piece to at least one Cleveland sports blog.)

Shaughnessy’s Reasons

"Mom, can you believe this Shaughnessy dude?"

The Celtics have the same starting five as the championship team of 2008.

Very true, Dan.  Also valid is that Rajon Rondo is better, to make up for the declining Big Three. Unfortunately, Cleveland DOESN’T have the same starting five.  The Cavs no longer have Wally Szczerbiak or Ben Wallace in their starting lineup; in the NBA, subbing those two guys for Anthony Parker and Antawn Jamison is known as “a very good thing.” On top of that Shaq, as old as he is, gives them the added dimension of a go-to low-post player and still commands a double-team. And Anderson Varejao is approximately 2,742 times better than he was in 2008.

“No back-to-back games and plenty of down time — helps the old bones of Boston.”

Again, true. Boston is peaking at the right time, and part of that is the downtime of the playoff schedule. Of course, Cleveland doesn’t mind the rest, either. Shaq-tis’ old bones will be just as revitalized by rest as the Big Three’s. Still, the downtime helps the Celtics more than Cleveland because their stars are aging, while Cleveland’s star is a 25-year old combination of an airplane and a Mack Truck.

“But the Celtics know they can beat LeBron. And they know they can win in Cleveland (see Oct. 27, 2009).”

This was my favorite point of Shaughnessy’s.  The Celtics have done it before, and they’ve done it as a unit.  As accomplished as Lebron James is and as dominant in the regular season as the Cavs have been, they’ve never won when the lights shine brightest.  “Deep down,” Shaughnessy wrote, “the Cavaliers know the Celtics can beat them.” I’m not sure how true that is, but I DO KNOW that the Cavs have never won a championship. King James has already been crowned, but never earned his throne. That’s not to say he won’t this year, but the Celtics have come through when it counts and the Cavs haven’t.  That much is true.

“The Celtics have added veteran snipers Michael Finley and Rasheed Wallace. As much as it hurts to say this, the mercurial ‘Sheed might be the difference against the Cavs.”

First off, I’m not sure how Rasheed Wallace qualifies as a “sniper.”  That’s like saying Shaq is “a pure shooter.”  Secondly, Sheed won’t be the difference against the Cavs any more than he has been against the Heat.  Third of all, the best Shaughnessy does to back up his prediction of Sheed being the difference is, “We haven’t seen much of ‘Sheed during the Miami series, but the Heat have been so bad, it’s hard to notice any Celtics’ shortcomings. Maybe ‘Sheed will finally shine at the Q.” Look, I’m fine with him saying Sheed will make a difference against Cleveland, so long as he backs it up.

Shaughnessy did nothing to back it up.  Literally nothing.  John from Red’s Army agrees that Sheed will play a bigger role in the potential Cleveland series, and backs it up by saying Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are immobile enough to overshadow Sheed’s own immobility.  I can see his point; it’s weird, but Sheed will actually be more athletic than the Cleveland frontcourt.  I disagree that Sheed will make a difference, but at least John has a reason.That’s more than Shaughnessy gave us.

I don’t think Sheed will give the Celtics anything against Cleveland.  Doc Rivers has lost all faith in him.  Sheed can’t hit the broad side of a barn, and can’t slide his feet for the life of him.  If Doc Rivers doesn’t have the confidence to play Sheed against Jermaine O’Neal and Joel Anthony, do you think he’ll have the confidence to play him against the Cavs?  No chance.  Not unless Sheed gets hot one game.   Unfortunately for Sheed and the Celtics, he has about as much chance of getting hot as I do winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.  (Okay, maybe that’s a bad example… even though I can’t dunk, I could have won this year’s slam dunk contest.)

Sports Illustrated emails piece to Cleveland blog

Not only did Shaughnessy write an attention-seeking piece probably designed to piss off some people and infuriate others, but Sports Illustrated actually wrote at least one Cleveland sports blog an email to notify them of the article. I’m not even kidding.  Here’s the email from Time Inc., as received by Waiting For Next Year, a very good Cleveland sports blog:

I wanted to let you know of an article that appears on SI.com today that takes a close look at the likely matchup between the Celtics and Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. SI.com contributing columnist Dan Shaughnessy believes that the Celtics can exploit Cleveland’s weaknesses despite the NBA’s reigning MVP and the Cavaliers astounding record at Quicken Loans Arena during the regular season.

Shaughnessy writes: “The Celtics have the same starting five that won the championship two years ago. OK — Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen are not better than they were two years ago, but Rajon Rando is a much better player than he was in 2008, and Kendrick Perkins is two years stronger. Glen “Big Baby” Davis contributes much more than he did two years ago and the Celtics have added veteran snipers Michael Finley and Rasheed Wallace.”

If you have any questions or would like any other information, please feel free to contact me. The article is on SI.com now. Thank you.

Really, Sports Illustrated, you are THAT interested in stirring the pot?  THAT interested in driving a little extra traffic to your website?  You’re Effing Sports Illustrated, aren’t you a little beyond that?  You shouldn’t have to stoop to that level.  You’re better than that, SI, come on. I think we can all agree that Sports Illustrated should be A LITTLE past the point where it has to stir up the pot by personally emailing articles to sports blogs that might be offended by them.

Alas, this Shaughnessy piece wasn’t that bad.  As far as predictions go, it’s a bold one, but most of his points make sense (clearly excluding the Sheed one). I’ve certainly written worse articles, I’m sure.

Shaughnessy is now the clear-cut leader of the Celtics bandwagon, and Sports Illustrated the clear-cut leader of hyping controversial articles via email.  But I’ve got a plea for Shaughnessy and everyone else talking about Cleveland…

Let’s just get by the Heat first, eh?

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.

Its the playoffs.

After reading Scoop Jackson’s article on Kevin Garnett earlier today, I am fully entrenched in Scoop mode. That is something for which I will never apologize.

Scoop Jackson has always been one of the best. His words. Have soul. Periods, no lack. Confused? Read this. Artistry. Beauty. In writing. Picture says. One thousand words. No picture. His words. At his best.

Scoop Jackson. Misunderstood. Changed. ESPN. Love. Hate. Respect. Admire. Inspire. Basketball. Poetry. Words. Bleed meaning. Bleed love. Hope. Drama. Crash. Burn. Rise up. Phoenix. Not the city. Describe Garnett. Enlightened. Joyful. Wish it didn’t end.

Kevin Garnett hasn’t been himself. Old man. Old soul. Grinding season. Peaks. Valleys. Injury. Psychology. Fewer minutes. Lesser stats. Ray Allen, Garnett’s the same. “Ain’t nothing changed.” Garnett explains. “Playing on one leg.” Still productive. Not the same. Big numbers. No more. Big effort. Still there. Dragging a leg. Profanities. All the time. Rashard Lewis. Kris Humphries. Matt Bonner. Lateral movement, not so much. Decline of a legend. Build on a dream. Leg getting better.

Meet the rest of the Celtics. Starters. On them, nobody else. Paul Pierce. Up. Down. “Best shooter in the world.” “Best player in the world.” Self-proclaimed. Slump. Star. Needed. Nightly. Rondo. Seize the reigns. Go-to guy. Ready. Not sure. Free throw line. Three-point arc. Drive. Dish. Command. Lead. Ray Allen. Jesus Shuttlesworth. 51. Chicago Bulls. Houdini. Orlando Magic. J.J. Redick. Shut down. Playoff time. Crunch time. Sharp-shooter. Ice in veins. Perkins. All-star? Decline. Decent. Not great. Defensive stopper. Dwight Howard, you too. Layups. Keep ball up. Not down. Block shots. Frown. Scowl, more like. Always, scowl.

Bench. To support, not let down. Tony Allen. Improved. Defense. Turnovers. Calmed down. Foul, three-point shooter. Charge, fast break. Trust. No. Maybe never. Marquis Daniels. Sixth man. Point guard. Versatile. Necessary. Disappear. Disappoint. Underachieve. Splinters. Michael Finley. 37. Grandfather. AARP. Surprise. Splash. Swish. Buckets. Defense, maybe not. Nate Robinson. Immature. Gunner. Gun-shy. Rotation, no. Eddie House, miss you. Bill Walker, you too. Rasheed Wallace. Disaster. Bad influence. Weakside rotations, not Sheed. Ball don’t lie. Gut don’t either. Three-year contract. Head. Shoot. Gun, not basketball. Glen Davis. Big Baby, think not. Friend’s face, Glen’s fist. Broken bones, broken season. Salvaged, with hustle. Midrange jumper, not this year. Get blocked, too often. Shelden Williams looming. Scal, not so much. Gaffney, Lafayette. Unknown.

Doc Rivers. Retirement. Family. Extension. Season. Up. down. Frustration. Regret. Glory days, not now. Gary Washburn. Cliques in locker room, Doc says no. Danny Ainge. Rebuild. Stay intact. Big contracts. Tough to move. One trade. Three stars. One championship. So far. Probably ever. Maybe later. Not now. Maybe.

A city lacks hope. Boston. Worried. City, not team. Playoffs, they’re here. The switch. Maybe. Age. Old. Desire. Not there. First-round exit. Banner 18. Anywhere. Anytime. Road wins. Home losses. Beat Cavs. Lose to Nets. Blowouts. Both ways. Cavs. Magic. Hawks. Too fast. Too quick. Too good. Celtics. Washed up. Something to prove. Opportunity knocks. Rebounding drops. Turnovers rise. Losses. Bad losses. Embarrassment. Again. Again. Again.

But the playoffs have finally come. Dwyane Wade. Up first. 40 points. Per game. Nightmares. Double teams. No supporting cast. No chance. Beasley. Don’t scare me. Arroyo. Please. O’Neal. Corpse. Spoelstra. Yes. Wright. No. Haslem. Maybe.

Whispers. Shouts. Truth, not Pierce. Celtics. Too old. Washed up. Not enough. Transition necessary. Road warriors. Home bums. Inconsistent. Unable. Clinging to, thin hopes. ’95 Rockets. ’69 Celtics. Playoffs start. Second season. Win? Compete? Will find out. First-round exit, possible. Beat anyone. Or lose.

The dream. Still there. Flip the switch. Win the crown. Championship. Banner 18.  Parade. Floats. Confetti. T-Shirts. Hats. Rings. Champions. 2010. Euphoria

Pinch self. Wake up. Cold sweat. Reality. Nightmares. Not happening. I don’t think.

Still, maybe.

Has camaraderie escaped the Boston Celtics?

In today’s Boston Globe, reporter Gary Washburn bashed the Celtics from all angles.

He wrote about the starters not living up to expectations, and the newcomers to the bench failing to live up to their end of the bargain. He claimed that Nate Robinson’s immaturity has been privately questioned by the organization, and that Rasheed Wallace’s stubborness “has stunned some of his teammates, and it has become apparent why the Pistons wanted him to leave.” Washburn continued to assert that change, necessary after a tumultuous season, “is the only thing that will secure [Doc] Rivers’s involvement long term.”

But within all the bashing, perhaps the most damning accusation Washburn makes is the charge that Boston has a “fractured” locker room.

The Celtics’ locker room is fractured. There are the old schoolers (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Michael Finley), the Sheed crew (Wallace, Robinson, and Daniels), and the future stars (Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins), while the rest bounce from group to group.

Doc Rivers later made an appearance on WEEI, and denied Washurn’s claims of a fractured locker room.

“It’s not [accurate]. There clearly are groups that hang out with each other more than other groups, but that’s no different. Why does that have to be negative? It’s ridiculous. … Come on, guys, that’s just silly talk, and a [reporter] looking for something. Usually you hang out with your age group, there’s no difference in that. Usually, you hang out with guys personality-wise that you match. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale didn’t go out together. So I guess they didn’t like each other. That’s just silly. That’s just looking for stuff and stirring the pot.”

Is this just Washburn stirring the pot, or true? The Celtics haven’t looked like a content team all season, and haven’t played like a cohesive unit.  Gone are the days of the Boston Celtics killing themselves to make a defensive rotation, or zipping the ball around like a hot potato to the open teammate.

So while Doc says it ain’t so, Washburn’s article and the Celtics’ play are signs that point to dissension in the Celtics locker room.

"Hey, fans, we appreciate you but... ummm.. I'm not playing tonight."

( Editor’s Note: Doc Rivers could play all his starters tonight and make this column moot. But does anyone expect that, especially after his quote in the next paragraph?)

So how does a team that has already clinched the fourth seed — win, lose, or draw tonight — celebrate “Fan Appreciation Night?”  By resting its starters, in all likelihood.  Doc Rivers says he’s pretty sure “I know a couple guys who will definitely be sitting [tonight].”  That sounds like a perfect way to throw a Fan Appreciation Night bash, eh?

“Let’s show those fans how much we care about them by sitting everyone they’d like to see!”

“Yeah, let’s!”

“We’ll just have Paul Pierce address the crowd before the game, then show the crowd a few fan highlights, and they might not even notice the stars aren’t playing on Fan Appreciation Night!”

“Wait, fan highlights?  What, exactly, are those?”

“You know, people dancing in the crowd, or wearing bizarre outfits, or even pretending to give their friends sexual favors during a timeout!”

“Oh, sweet.  Yeah, nobody will care that the stars aren’t playing on Fan Appreciation Night if they show those clips.  People won’t even realize there is a game going on!”

Okay, let’s take a step back.  I’m fine with Doc Rivers resting his starters on the final night of the season.  After the Celtics clinched the fourth seed, they have nothing to gain by winning tonight.  Absolutely nothing.  Tonight’s game, therefore, amounts to the equivalent of an exhibition.  (Well, that is, unless Miami tanks against New Jersey and loses, then Boston gets beat by Milwaukee and ends up playing Milwaukee rather than Miami.  But, if not for that scenario, tonight’s game has as much affect on the NBA standings as me picking my nose.)

So whose fault is it, then, that at least a few starters probably won’t play on Fan Appreciation Night?  Is it the fans’ fault, for buying a ticket to Fan Appreciation Night on the final night of the season, knowing full well the starters would likely sit at least a long portion of the game?  Or the owners, or whoever made up the stupid promotion in the first place, for scheduling Fan Appreciation Night on the last night of the regular season, when the Eastern Conference seeding would almost inevitably be set in stone?

I blame the owners, or the advertising people, or the marketing crew, or whatever imbecile decided to put Fan Appreciation Night on the season’s final night.  Hell, even if none of the starters play, the fans might not even be able to see Brian Scalabrine suit up one last time; Mr. Spray Tan has a shoulder injury.

So sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn, and get ready to watch a whole lot of Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, Michael Finley, Tony Allen and Glen Davis.  Fan Appreciation Night sure is great!

From teammates to opponents and back. But always friends.

Michael Finley was signed by the Boston Celtics, and took Marquis Daniels’ minutes.  In a normal situation, that would strain a relationship.  Jealousy, competition, and playing time have been the cause of many spats between teammates throughout the years.

But Finley and Daniels don’t have a normal situation.  As Jessica Camerato highlights in an excellent piece for WEEI, the two have been friends since Daniels was “Finley’s rookie” during their Dallas Maverick days.

“We have a good relationship,” Finley said. “He came in as a rookie not knowing much about the NBA and I just pretty much took him under my wing just to show him the ins-and-outs of being an NBA professional. What made it easy was he was a good kid and he was willing to learn and he always just wanted the best for him. It was just an easy transition, our friendship.”

Finley continued, “[Off the court, we were] just playing video games, going out to eat, going out to clubs, just hanging out. More like a brotherly type relationship that we had early on. Again, because I liked him. A lot of guys you come in contact with and they have a big ego and it’s hard to get along with them. But he was a real humble kid, a good basketball player, and it all just worked out for us.”

Now, the roles have been reversed, and Daniels has become Finley’s mentor. Doc Rivers says it was easy for the two “high character” players to switch roles, because they are both trustworthy and have a very good relationship. And, in case you thought Daniels’ lack of playing time would strain the relationship at all, think again.

“Yeah he’s always going to be my rookie,” Finley said, laughing. “As long as he’s alive and well, he’ll be my rookie. But that’s the bond that we have. I only have a couple guys who I consider my rooks in my lifetime and he’s definitely one of my favorites.”

“He thinks [I’m still his rookie],” Daniels said, smiling again. “He’s a great guy.”

Read the rest of the piece. It’s a really good one.