I was present when Eddy Curry’s career began to fall apart.

In the summer of 2008, the Knicks held training camp at my school, Skidmore College. As a player on Skidmore’s basketball team, I was one of a handful of people allowed to watch the training camp. Mike D’Antoni had just been hired in New York, Allan Houston was attempting an ill-fated comeback, Stephon Marbury’s head bore the mark of his sneaker company, Nate Robinson half-assed a number of drills, David Lee saw the Skidmore volleyball team and remarked that spandex were what he missed most about college, Jerome James asked my buddy to fetch him a sandwich during the middle of practice, Zach Randolph grabbed rebounds like a vacuum and consistently exhibited the excitement of a pre-schooler meeting his favorite television character, Quentin Richardson told me the Knicks would be lucky to make the playoffs, and Eddy Curry never practiced once.

There were rumors that Curry was going to practice every day. He was sick, I heard once. He just needed to lose a few pounds, I heard another time. My buddy saw him working out in the Skidmore weight room. “But he just kind of chilled. And he looked even fatter than before,” my buddy said. Now, those reports would elicit a duh. But then, Curry was coming off a 13-point, five-rebound 2007-’08 season. He had slowed severely since the ’06-’07 year and clearly gained a bra size or two, but he was still a productive player.

He was productive, that is, until D’Antoni’s first training camp arrived and Curry became a ghost, a rumor, a no-show and ultimately, one of the worst insults a player can be labeled, an expiring contract. There would be similar rumors for the remainder of Curry’s remaining three years with the Knicks — he’s almost ready, he’s working out hard, he’ll play soon — but he would play only ten games during the next three seasons, earning $31 million for all his hard work. His fully guaranteed six year, $60 million contract finally ran out at the end of last season. But it could still be one of the reasons the NBA lockout continues.

Guaranteed contracts have reportedly become a sticking point in the NBA’s labor negotiations. Before Game 4 of this year’s NBA Finals, according to the Washington Post’s Mike Wise, a number of owners met with approximately a dozen players and the topic of guaranteed contracts was broached.

As usual, Mark Cuban offered his two cents.

“When we had Tariq Abdul-Wahad, he didn’t seem to want to train, didn’t really want to practice — he really was interested in a lot of things besides basketball,” Cuban said. Cuban then complained about Abdul-Wahad’s guaranteed six year, $40 million contract. “And I’m stuck with that,” Cuban said. Even if Abdul Wahad spent all of his time eating cannolis and drinking mimosas.

A lawyer for the players union then mentioned that J.J. Barea made only $1 million per season. “How about that?” he said. “You’re getting a bargain in a guy like J.J. Barea.”

That was when David Stern spoke.

“All right, you want to go tit for tat, I’ll go tit for tat,” Stern said. “I’ll see you J.J. Barea and raise you Eddy Curry.”

The owners, Wise writes, “are sick of paying premiums for damaged goods.”

And the players union, of course, does not want guaranteed contracts to die. Sure, Eddy Curry didn’t deserve $60 million to buy all the Krispy Kremes he desired. But the Knicks signed him to that contract in the first place, and the players contend they should honor the contract.  For players who have a ten-year career span — if they’re both good and lucky — guaranteed money would be a major concession in the negotiations.

Players Association Vice President Maurice Evans briefly mentioned guaranteed contracts in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick.

“The deal we’ve been offered would so drastically alter the game as we know it today,” Evans said. “The offers have been so pathetic that it’s hard to even talk about it when we’re informing the guys. We’re $7.6 billion apart [over the life of the proposed deal].

“Again, when you realize all the components that they’re trying to take away, and trying to take out of the [collective bargaining agreement] that’s already in effect — the guaranteed contracts, grandfathering in [contracts], the [salary-cap] exceptions, Larry Bird [rights]. You and I have already talked about this many times, but [players] are really starting to get it and they’re willing to sit out for as long as necessary to get us a fair deal.”

Evans is not thrilled, to say the least, about the owners’ last proposal.

“It’s not my job to critique [David Stern's] salary,” said Evans. “I want him to make money. That’s the whole point is we want everyone to make money.

“But he’s the one who wants everyone to suffer losses. … The guy tells us it’s the recession and all these different things, yet they want to experience all the growth over the next 10 years while we experience none. When you look at it that way, it’s extremely disappointing.”

The players are ready to negotiate, Evans said. They will make more concessions. But they are willing to miss this whole year or more if the owner’s do not meet them halfway.

Meanwhile, for the first time since before he arrived at Skidmore College, Eddy Curry has become more than a rumor, more than an expiring contract, more than a gigantic waste of soft hands and nimble feet and impressive touch. He’s now ammunition for the owners. Ammunition for Stern. A $60 million warning that guaranteed contracts can go frighteningly wrong.

Quentin Richardson tweeted this picture earlier today of part of his Jordan collection that he keeps at his house.

I'ma show y'all one of the spots that I keep some of my Jordans at the crib.

Can you believe this is only PART of Q-Rich’s Jordan sneaker collection? How many Jordan’s does this guy have? He must have every Jordan ever made in almost every color. I mean, damn, I’ve got about four pairs of fresh Jordans and I thought I was big pimpin’.

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The fuel.

I got to thinking on Tuesday, just following the huge victory against the Magic — how did the Celtics get here?  How did the team that played .500 ball for more than half the season morph into the team that we see today?  Obviously they are now healthy (thanks to Doc resting them) and they have had some good contributions off the bench, but I think it was something else.  Obviously all those things have spearheaded this run, but KG and his actions have changed the mindset of this team… and changed their play… and changed their effort level.

In game 1 of the Miami series, the Celts started this playoff run on their home floor.  I was at attending a wedding so I missed much of the first half, but by the time I had made it to a bar to catch the rest of the game, I was not surprised.  The Celts were down by 14 in the 3rd quarter, and it was all too familiar that they would play down to their competition and be looking at an uphill battle with an inferior opponent (something they are used to over the last couple playoff runs).  We obviously know what happened next — the Celts went on a run, got the lead back and got a tough win to start the series.  Before that game finished, though, a funny thing happened — with about 2 minutes left in the game Paul Pierce knocked down hard in front of the Miami bench, there was a bit of a skirmish.  Quentin Richardson started yapping at Pierce right in front of the bench, and things escalated.  In something we haven’t seen for most of the season, KG came to the defense of his captain, elbowing Richardson in the jaw.  The elbow costed KG a game’s suspension, but was also the season’s turning point.

Following that elbow jab by KG, the Green ran off a blowout win versus the heat.  From there they dominated the series against Miami, and ultimately against the top seeded Cavs as well.  I know it sounds stupid that a quick elbow in defense of a teammate can turn around a season, but it has for the Celtics.  Since then they have looked like the Celts of 2008 –  suffocating defense, timely offense and execution, and an us against the world mentality.  You saw none of that fierce attitude from the Cavs (could’ve been because Delonte may or may not have been porking his teammate’s mom), and to this point we haven’t seen it from Orlando either.

If you notice now, whenever the a member of the green hits the floor hard, four green jerseys sprint over the pick them up off the floor.  That is high school and college basketball shit, but you have to love it; it’s teamwork and camaraderie at its finest.  For example, when Pierce was smashed to the face from Howard, not only was he helped up by four teamates, but he glared right at the crowd in Orlando and you could read his lips: “Keep booing.”  How do you not get goosebumps on that shit?  I literally jumped out of my seat and started screaming at my television.

If you notice, KG has had a more calm demeanor on the bench.  You don’t see the same KG of a few years back that is screaming and losing his mind on the sidelines the entire game, but I don’t neccesarily think its a bad thing.  He is quiet, focussed and just straight wants to take it to whomever he faces.  You even caught a glimpse of the old school last night with a couple goaltends on Orlando shots, just so that they remember he is there.  This team is feeding off his example and completely focussed on making this run.  If they stay focussed and keep executing the way they have been, the Celtics will be on their way to banner number 18. And while he is no longer the MVP candidate he used to be, KG is still leading this team in other ways.

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.

Does the newly-crowned Big Four have enough to take down Lebron James?

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe – “It’s not going to be 2008 all over again. The old guys are even older, and the basic dynamics have changed. “Ubuntu’’ was then. What’s now is a nice, solid, veteran-oriented team quarterbacked by an unpredictable, mercurial point guard who is difficult to prepare for because there really is no way of knowing what he’s going to do — ever. Last night, Rajon Rondoed his way to a 16-point, 8-rebound, 12-assist stat line. He announced himself to the Heat on the game’s first possession when he took Dwyane Wade to the hoop for a running hook, and he really never stopped creating problems for the visitors. ‘He plays in another gear,’ sighed Spoelstra. ‘He’s much quicker than most point guards, and when he gets to the postseason, he has yet another gear. He’s got toughness and big-time confidence, which some people think borders on cockiness. People call them the Big Three. I don’t know why they don’t call them the Big Four.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics wanted the third seed. They wanted to delay the possibility of playing Cleveland for as long as possible, even if it meant facing Dwight Howard and the Magic. Since then, the Celtics have been injected with a surge of confidence and good health. They spent the past week beating up on the Miami Heat, making shorter work of Dwyane Wade and the Disappointments than expected. Boston is playing as well as it has all season and is a far more efficient team than the one that barely held on to beat the Cavaliers at TD Garden April 4. Facing Miami may have greatly helped the Celtics prepare for the Cavaliers more than playing the Bucks. The Celtics spent five games trying to contain Wade, who averaged 33.2 points per game. They chased him. Doubled him. And stood helpless at times when he twisted to the basket. The Celtics faced a megastar for 240 minutes and that would at least serve as an appetizer for LeBron James, who averaged 36.5 points in four games against the Celtics this season, his most against any Eastern Conference team. So there is no better time — especially with three days off — to take on Iron Man and his sidekicks. [...] ‘If you want to win it you got to play them all anyway at some point,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘So, you know, why not now? We’re there, we’ll be waiting; we’ll be ready. And I’m sure they will be.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “The road through the next series will be more treacherous in every single way. It will be more dangerous and taxing than anything they’ve experienced all season. But at no point all year have the Celtics appeared more ready for the ride. Just how they always said it would be.”

Mike Petraglia, WEEI – “Glen Davis was speaking for the Celtics when he characterized the match-up with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers starting this Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. ‘It’s going to be tougher, we know that,’ Davis said. ‘We’ve got to go there and grind it out. We go to them first. We just have to make sure we go there with the mentality of attack first. It’s just like in every kingdom, sometimes you’ve got to go to the fight, you’ve got to bring it to them, attack their fortress and bust down their wall with a wooden tree and go attack it. That’s how it is.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘I don’t know what this feels like,’ admitted Rivers. ‘I’m not used to this. I just know it’s nice to get a day off tomorrow, because we need one… But it is nice to take care of business and that was great. Only I was a little disappointed in us [letting a 21-point lead slip to three at] the end of the third and fourth [quarters], because I thought it was our focus. We can’t do that. It’s very dangerous. We got away with it tonight.’ [...] ‘The last two years we’ve gone to Game 7 in the first round and it can wear on you,” said Allen. “This first round we were tested defensively. Offensively, I thought we were solid and consistent throughout, for the most part. Throughout the series, of course, we hit adversity, but I’m glad that we did take care of business in five. Yeah, we would have loved to do it in four down in their building, but just to have the resiliency bouncing back tonight from the Game 4 loss down there. It will only be a struggle from here on in.’ [...] ‘It feels good that we were finally able to close out a team earlier,’ said Pierce. ‘We wish we could have done it in four, but maybe we needed a little bump in the road to kind of wake us up. [Now the Celtics] get a couple days of rest before we move on to the next round, so I am glad with the way we played throughout the series. I thought we really saw the sense of urgency throughout the whole series and I am happy with the win.’ Added Garnett: ‘Rest is always good. Any time you get a chance to rest knick-knack injuries, it’s always a good thing.’”

Chris Sheridan, ESPN – “Well, they’re good. This series against Miami showed it. But Cleveland is better than good, and Boston will need to be great — something the Celtics haven’t been on a long-term consistent basis since their championship season two years ago. One thing’s for sure: It’ll be great to see them try. The Celtics know they are the underdogs, and rightfully so, and the challenge will be to raise their collective level to a height good enough to beat the NBA’s best team. Two and a half weeks from now, we’ll know whether they were up to the task.”

Peter May, ESPN – “And, finally, what reason can either of you give us to think that, based upon what we’ve all seen, the Celtics will make it out of the first round, let alone make any kind of respectable run? Well, we got the answer — and it sure wasn’t based on anything we’ve seen in months. The Celtics were a .500 team over the final 54 games of the exhibition, er, regular season and it was fair to wonder what team was going to show up when the playoffs started. Would we get the one that lost to the Nets, Wizards, Grizzlies and Sixers at home? Or would we get the one that the players promised was certain to arrive, a committed, driven, experienced group understanding what was at stake and playing with the appropriate sense of urgency? Ainge and Rivers let the players do the talking. They talked the talk, for sure. Just ask Quentin Richardson. But they also walked the walk.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘Veteran team, well-coached, and they make you pay,’ said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. ‘There are so many guys that can make plays, and more importantly that are unselfish. They did a terrific job of just executing. It just seemed that we were chasing them one step too late. They understand what the moment is. They’ve had injuries. Everybody discounts that, and that’s a big part of the NBA season.’”

Michael Wallace, Miami Herald – “‘Our effort was there,’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘It just seemed like we were chasing them one step too late. This game was kind of a microcosm of our season. Unfortunately, there are no moral victories when you get sent home.’ Allen had 24 points, Pierce got 21, Rondo added 16 points and 12 assists and Garnett scored 14 as Boston overwhelmed Miami with offensive balance and a swarming defense. ‘There’s only so much you can do against a great defense like that,’ said Wade, who averaged 33.2 points and shot 56.3 percent in the series. ‘I understand what this team is giving me and what it isn’t giving me.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘You got to know a player like Wade is not going to just completely give up,’ said Pierce. ‘He is going to try to take the game over. When we went up 18, I thought that was a perfect chance to really put this game away. I said at halftime, ‘Come on guys, one more step,’ a little more sense of urgency, and then we pushed the lead and then we just didn’t step on them like we wanted to, but that is something that we can learn from.’ Allen’s 20 second-half points came despite spending much of his energy trying to make Wade miserable. He spent the series guarding the star, and when the Celtics face the Cavaliers, Pierce will be the one who draws the short stick in the form of LeBron James. ‘In the playoffs, it’s all about matchups,’ Allen said. Then he joked, ‘I was in the hot seat. I think Paul will get it now in the second round.’”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “But on Tuesday, Richardson shared a different opinion after the Heat’s elimination in Game 5. ‘Paul’s a great NBA player,’ he told WEEI.com. ‘That’s the only opinion that really matters, his NBA game. He’s a good NBA player.’ Even though Richardson referred to Pierce as “an actress” in Game 1, he said he never knocked his talent. That’s something that, in spite of their differences on the court, Richardson cannot deny. ‘I’ve always respected his game, never not,’ he said. ‘I mean, he’s an All-Star, he’s a Finals MVP, he has his accolades, and he well deserves them. I take my hat off to him as a basketball player. Nothing will change that.’”

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

High fives all around.

This one was getting ugly.  Boston was dominant.  Doc Rivers was pondering how to defend Lebron James. Dwyane Wade was — for him, at least — dormant.  The Celtic lead became twenty.

And then it was gone.  But not all of it.  The Celtics would hold on to the victory, playing just well enough down the stretch to escape with a 96-86 victory and advance to the second round.

A third-quarter Celtics lapse, occurring mostly as a Heat zone disrupted the rhythm of Boston’s second unit, briefly helped Miami make this one interesting, but Boston’s lead was too much for Wade and his overachieving troop of scrubs to overcome. A barrage of jumpers from the Big Three, including an especially hot display from Ray Allen, ended Miami’s quest to extend its season one more game.

Allen finished with 24 points on 5-6 three-point shooting, Paul Pierce scored 21 points, and Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 8 rebounds, hitting two big shots midway through the fourth quarter to help drive a dagger through Miami’s heart.  While the Big Three provided most of the scoring, it was Rajon Rondo who was again the best Celtic.  He was dominant on both ends in the first half with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, and ended the game only two rebounds short of a triple-double (16 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals).

For Miami, only Mario Chalmers — who broke out in a big way with 20 points and some three-pointers that helped key Miami’s third-quarter run — joined Wade in double figures.  As expected, Wade (31 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds) led the way but — for the first time all series — Boston kept Wade’s field goal percentage down, making him work for his shots.  Constant double-teams, good rotations, and a perennial hand in Wade’s face helped contain him.  He wasn’t stopped, not by any means, but the Celtics can live with a 10-24 shooting performance from the superstar.

For two and a half quarters, the Celtics really looked like they were going to run away with this one.  Only another warm batch of Celtics turnovers and questionable officiating (I really thought tonight was going to be the night Tommy finally got a mid-game heart attack) kept the game from being a blowout at halftime, and the crowd threatened to blow the roof off the Garden as the lead ballooned to 20 in the third.

But it wasn’t meant to be that easy, not that the amount of ease matters.  All that matters is that the Celtics are now in the second round.

Hey Lebron, you’re next.

*****

Game Notes:

• If the Cavs finish off the Bulls tonight, Game One will be on Saturday.  If not, it won’t be until Monday.
• Jermaine O’Neal had a couple nice dunks, and that’s about all you can say about the positives he brought to the table this series.  Well, I guess you could say he blocked Glen Davis a few times, but even my dog could block Glen Davis.  For O’Neal, the offseason couldn’t have come at a better time.
• Quentin Richardson played like an actress.  Actually, I think even Julia Roberts could have outplayed Richardson on this night: He played 38 minutes and tallied 4 points, 3 rebounds and 0 assists.  Enjoy watching the second round from home, Q.
• Michael Beasley was benched for a large portion of the second half (the whole second half?).  Erik Spoelstra had clearly seen enough of his new haircut… well, that and his half-hearted play.
• Rasheed Wallace only played 9 minutes and notched 2 points and 3 rebounds, but looked more alive than he has in a long time.
• Glen Davis, and his dance.  I cannot attempt to describe it.  I will try to find a video of it for tomorrow.

Anyone else remember this flop?

The Boston Celtics don’t want warm weather, and they don’t want nice beaches.  They don’t want to be anywhere near the sinful strip of clubs as notorious as any east of Vegas.  Eff all the palm trees, too.

The Celtics don’t want any part of Miami.  If they step foot in that beautiful, warm city again, they’ll be furious.

“There’s a lot of urgency,” Paul Pierce told ESPNBoston regarding tonight’s Game Five. “We don’t want to go back to Miami. The next time I go to Miami, I hope I’m on vacation. Right now, we’re just trying to get it done at home.”

A sweep is no longer possible, but an easy series is still more than manageable.  Nobody in Boston would mind a five-game victory against the Miami Heat to lead the Celtics to the second round.  That would afford the old geezers more than enough rest for the second round, where they would likely meet the King on a Mission, Lebron James.

But enough about what could possibly await Boston in round two.  The here and now is round one.  The Celtics came within a hair of eliminating the Miami Heat in a rare sweep, but Dwyane Wade’s magical shooting hand kept the Heat from the ignominious fate.  The Celtics will again have to deal with Wade in Game Five as they try to close out the Heat once and for all.

“Wade scored 46, but he’s Dwyane Wade,” said Doc Rivers. “Shooting 66 percent, that’s the bigger number for us. The 46 we can live with, if [he shoots] 34 percent. … He’s dominating the series and we have to do a better job on him.”

Rivers told the Boston Herald there is no such thing as a Wade stopper.

“If it was that easy, he wouldn’t be Dwyane Wade,” Rivers said. “If I can find a guy in the league that can just keep Dwyane Wade in front of him whenever he wants to, we’re signing him. Hopefully (owner Wyc Grousbeck) has some more money to give and we’re going to go get him. It’s going to be a team effort. It’s not going to be one guy.”

While Wade has done the most damage, Paul Pierce cautions that it’s the contributions of other players that break the Celtics’ backs.  Wade is going to get his, but the other guy’s can’t.

“We can’t let the other guys have big games,” said Pierce. “We can’t let [Quentin] Richardson go out here and have a big game, 20 points in the playoffs. Other guys like [Carlos] Arroyo and [Michael] Beasley can’t have big games. Wade’s going to have the ball most of the time, we gotta expect him to have big games because of that. But it’s the other guys. And I’m a big part of that as the guy guarding Quentin Richardson.”

In case you forgot, Q was the warmup act for Wade’s fourth-quarter heroics, scoring 13 points in the first quarter on his way to 20 big ones. “I’m done talking to those guys and going back and forth,” said Richardson, who will shake off a bruised left hand to play in Game Five. “I was here to win the game. He wanted to have a conversation -talk to (your) teammates.”

But Pierce, and the Celtics, don’t want talk to be the story anymore either. Actually, scratch that.

They don’t care what the story is, so long as it ends with anything but a return to Miami.

*****
Required Reading:

• NBA.com’s Jon Schuhmann examines the Celtics by the numbers.  My breakdown of his article?  Offensive rebounds, bad –  Defensive rebounds, good.  Games Three and Four, bad –  Games One and Two, good.  And the turnovers, as always, need to be limited.
• Celtics Hub’s Zach Lowe breaks down an x-factor: Dwayne Wade defending Rajon Rondo. Though Wade guarding Rondo ended poorly for the Celtics, they got good shots.
• Red’s Army has video of the lost fourth quarter from Game Two.  If you live outside the New England area, you haven’t seen it yet.
• Red Auerbach as Leonardo Da Vinci.