The Three A-me-goes.

When the Three A-me-goes got together in Miami, it was widely assumed they’d be surrounded by a bunch of dog meat. With those three signed to max contracts, only veteran minimum contracts would be available for the Heat to bolster their roster.

Except, well, those three DIDN’T sign for max contracts (Update: Each player took about $2 million less than the max), so Mike Miller has agreed to a five-year, $27 million-ish contract to join them. And Derek Fisher is meeting in Miami today. And word on the NBA street is that the Heat will be able to somehow keep Udonis Haslem. And Matt Barnes is interested. And Zydrunas Ilgausakas is another rumor floating about. And would anyone be too surprised if Shaq joined his old buddies Flash and Lebron for a chance to tie Kobe in rings?

So the supporting cast might not be mincemeat after all. Not that Danny Ainge ever expected it to be. (Boston Herald)

“I think they’ve got a couple of holes to fill, but there are a lot of good NBA players who will end up playing for minimum salaries,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said yesterday. “I’m sure they’ll find guys who would love to come in and play in that situation. I don’t think there’s a problem at all.”

Ainge also thinks Miami will be able to draw from a larger pool of players because it won’t have to go strictly by positional need.

“They have big guys, and they have people like Dwyane Wade and LeBron and Mike Miller who are all ballhandlers and passers,” he said. “So they don’t need a classic type of point guard and all that stuff. The guys they have now are all very talented, but they’re versatile.”

The Three A-me-goes are scary enough. The thought of those three surrounded by meaningful talent makes me sick.

Oh well, I guess it will just be nicer when the Celtics take them down.

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.

He doesn't look so bad, does he?

Chris Gasper, Boston Globe – “Essentially, what the Celtics have been presented is a do-over of the 2009 playoffs, but with Garnett a go and Cleveland standing in for Orlando. The team is virtually identical because the additions of Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, and Nate Robinson have had no impact. Last year, the Celtics were ousted in the second round by Orlando in seven games. If that happens at the hands of Cleveland this year, then their run has run its course, and they’re the 1991 Detroit Pistons, who coincidentally went 50-32, to LeBron’s Michael Jordan. We were hard on the Celtics because we expected so much of them, but now they’re in a position to finally fulfill those expectations. Bring on LeBron.”

Bill Livingston, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “Hopes will have to wait that the Big Shillelagh will immediately break out the whuppin’ stick on the Boston Celtics, who begin their second-round series with the Cavs Saturday night at The Q. It was Celtic reserve Glen “Big Baby” Davis whose perfectly legal play on the ball led to Shaq’s torn thumb ligament — and whose tugging on the thumb afterward was both repulsive and typical of the Celtics. After the Bulls had been sent to their rooms, O’Neal fielded questions about Davis’ play with blandness. The two do share a background of playing for LSU, but old college ties mean nothing now. ‘Nothing bothers me,’ said the Big Serenity. ‘I don’t think [that the play was dirty]. I’m just glad I got my thumbs back. You need your thumbs. Your thumbs are very, very important.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Jamison averaged 19.3 points in Cleveland’s five-game first-round series against the Bulls, and he took nearly a third of his shots from 3-point range (7 of 23). He was spelled by Varejao, the sixth-year power forward who plays as if he’s never heard of inertia, making a living off hustle plays and feasting on the Celtics during the regular season by being quicker to get to open spots on the floor. It’s a matchup problem for the Celtics’ big men, who will have to flip the switch from guarding the post to jumping out to the perimeter, chasing Cleveland’s pseudo-bigs. Glen Davis put it this way: ‘Imagine if you had to bump Shaq [coming off a pick-and-roll] and then close out on Antawn Jamison when he just hit two in a row. Or with Rashard Lewis, you’ve got to bump Dwight [Howard] and get out to Rashard and force him left instead of right. You’re closing out to him and he can make you do anything he wants to, really. You’ve just got to have a feel for the game and just got to have a will to do a lot of things out there on guys like that.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “There is the Davis who made all of the hustle plays Tuesday night, from drawing two huge second-half charges on Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem to grabbing most of the big rebounds down the stretch. And then there’s the young player who is still a little too intoxicated by the memory of his game-winning 20-footer in last May’s Game 4 in Orlando. That’s the player who doesn’t always make the extra pass. But he seems to be coming around. ‘He’s just got to stay there,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We tell all of our players this: ‘You don’t need a parade out there every game. You’ve just got to continue to play. And then your body will work when it’s all said and done. Then you can have the festivities.’ And that’s Baby in a nutshell. He is so talented, and his IQ is ridiculous. It really is. But he lets up at times. He starts thinking about what he’s done well, instead of just keep playing. And he’s a young kid still. That’s the maturity part that is growing. And I think it’s getting better and better. He has proven over the long haul, though, that in big games he tends to play well. He did it in college and he’s done it here.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I’ve maintained that I like this team,’ Rivers said. ‘You know, when we were struggling, no one wanted to hear that. I got that. I understood that, but I knew what I had, and I knew that my goal was to get them healthy. And if that meant . . . you know, I didn’t want to lose games, but you had to take that risk during the regular season. We had to choose health over anything, and I understood that. The first thing Erik (Spoelstra, the Miami coach) said was, ‘Boy, you had a hell of a fight trying to keep these guys healthy.’ And I said, ‘It was brutal.’ But it was the right move. It was. I mean, you had to. That’s our only chance. So now we’re healthy, we’re rested and we’re ready.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “”You definitely had your doubts at times because of the inconsistent play, injuries just seem to be mounting and mounting,” said Pierce, who was sidelined for 11 games this season. But he’s not griping. In fact, he embraces those times as moments that showcased this team’s character and resiliency. ‘The losing teams tend to point the finger, go to the media, says this guy need to do this better or do that better,’ Pierce said. ‘And we never held grudges with one another.’ Kevin Garnett also addressed some of the struggles Boston has endured this season, and it’s impact on the team moving forward. ‘If you want something to happen, you have to gather everybody and it’s a group effort,’ Garnett said. ‘But if you want something to work, you have to actually grab everybody, get everybody on the same page and work towards that goal.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA and the best player in the world on their roster. Of course this was the exact same scenario for the Cavs last season, and they ultimately lost to Orlando conference finals. General manager Danny Ferry bolstered his team with additions big (Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison) and small (Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon) and found improvement from within in young forward J.J. Hickson. Noted Celtic killer Anderson Varejao had the best season of his career, Mo Williams continued to shoot over 40 percent from 3-point range, effectively ending the necessity for Daniel Gibson to get playing time, and Delonte West re-emerged as a key third guard. Then, there is LeBron James, who has shattered the best player in the league argument and seems poised to truly rule the world if he can deliver a championship to his hometown team before engaging in the most frenzied free-agent courtship the league has ever known. Ah, but the Celtics have other ideas.”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “‘My role since I’ve been here really hasn’t changed. I can just be a little bit more vocal now that I’ve been here for a while,’ Finley explained. ‘I just didn’t want to come here right away and be the loud mouth of the locker room. But now the guys feel a little more comfortable with me. I’m able to pull guys to the side, tell them different situations, especially in these playoff series that are important, not only to them, but to our team. And they’re listening and they’re being receptive, and that’s been good.’ The 37-year-old is happy to share the veteran wisdom he has accumulated over the last 15 years, and the C’s are just as happy to receive it. ‘Mike is big,’ said Ray Allen. ‘Most people don’t realize the things that he’s saying, just his advice, just some of the things that he says coming out of timeouts, coming to the bench. You can always tell he wants to win. Even though he came here later on in the season, he’s invested now in what we’re doing. So he’s always making sure, ‘Look for this, this is what’s going to go down,’ or, ‘Ray, you need to do this,’ or ‘Paul you need to make sure …’ So that’s great coming from the bench and you know that he’s fielding us more information so when we go out there, we’re prepared.’”

Charles F. Gardner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – “Keep counting ‘em out, all you National Basketball Association experts. These Milwaukee Bucks will just keep fighting to the end. The Atlanta Hawks found that out the hard way on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the teams’ Eastern Conference series, as the Bucks got off the mat to grab a stunning 91-87 victory at Philips Arena. The Bucks have won three straight games against the third-seeded Hawks while taking a 3-2 lead in the first-round series, and Milwaukee can eliminate Atlanta in Game 6, scheduled for Friday night at the Bradley Center. Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova showed his trademark hustle while grabbing offensive rebounds, and Milwaukee went on a dazzling 14-0 run in the final 4 minutes to erase an 82-73 deficit and end the Hawks’ 14-game home winning streak. ‘This is by far the biggest win of the season,’ said Bucks guard John Salmons. ‘We’ve still got business to take care of, so we’ve got to stay with it.’”

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution – “This was the Falcons blowing the lead against Danny White and Dallas in January 1981. This was Mark Wohlers hanging the slider to Jim Leyritz in October 1996. Only it wasn’t. It was worse. Those opponents were top-class. The Hawks just blew a 13-point lead and probably a playoff series to Milwaukee, which is a No. 6 seed missing its All-Star center. They trail 3-2 in a series they led 2-0. They face elimination on the road, a place they’ve won once in 11 tries over the past three postseasons. Yeah, theoretically they could still pull this out, but how can you win in the Bradley Center when you can’t hold a nine-point lead inside the final four minutes with the series lead on the line? How can you put this colossal choke — I hate that word, but it applies here — behind you? Up nine, and here’s what happened: Josh Smith missed a dunk by hitting the ball on the underside of the backboard; Jamal Crawford short-armed a layup, the first of his five misses down the stretch; the Hawks watched as Ersan Ilyasova grabbed every loose ball and Joe Johnson fouled out on a charge. Nine points up with 3:55 left, the Hawks saw the lead disappear in 116 seconds. I say again: One hundred sixteen seconds. There are no excuses for this game, this series. The team with the better players is the one with one foot out the exit door. The Bucks have two chances to win once. The Hawks are down to their final shot.”

Benjamin Hochman, Denver Post – “Help? Melo got it. Selfish? Not the Nuggets, at least not this night. Game 6? A reality. For one night, all was right with the Nuggets, who played poised and possessed Wednesday during a 116-102 victory over Utah at the Pepsi Center. Overcoming the loss of Nene because of a knee injury, Denver forced Game 6 to be played Friday in Salt Lake City, with the Jazz leading the first-round playoff series 3-2. A source familiar with the situation said the Nuggets are fearful Nene tore the ACL in his left knee. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Thursday.”

J.A. Adande, ESPN – “Not only did Anthony receive the assistance from his teammates he all but Bat-signaled for from the dais last Sunday, he delivered 25 points and 11 rebounds. He managed to involve his teammates without too much dropoff of his own from his 39-point, 11-rebound Game 4. Sure the point total declined, but the number of turnovers also went from nine to one. A team official told Anthony he was as proud of him as he’d ever been after this game. If the Nuggets are going to exit the playoffs, apparently their disappearance won’t be traced back to Anthony. He already double his double-double total from all of last playoffs (anyone else craving In-N-Out Burger after that sentence?). And he’s put up a better resistance to elimination. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers last season, in what turned out to be the finale of his breakthrough playoffs, Anthony scored 25 points but shot only 35 percent and grabbed two rebounds.”

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 glorious taste of heart-wrenching defeat.

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe – “‘In the regular season, if something happened the way it did tonight in the fourth quarter, it would have been, ‘Man, you’ve gotta do this, you’ve gotta do that,’ ‘ said Allen. ‘Now we’re all helping each other.’ Winning Game 3 when you’re up, 2-0, is huge, and it’s something the Celtics haven’t done since defeating Indiana in a best-of-five in 2002. ‘I’ve got to tell you,’ Rivers said. ‘In the first quarter, I said, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to win or lose, but we’re here.’ ‘ Welcome back, boys.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “‘And it’s coming at the right time,’ Perkins said. ‘At the start of the season, we had kind of . . . we were trying to send a message.’ Message sent. ‘Those are great players that have been in a lot of playoff games and pressure games and made those shots before,’ said Heat guard/forward Quentin Richardson. Added Dwyane Wade: “This team is good. They have a lot of veteran guys who step up to the billing and do it. They all do their job. It’s unfortunate and it hurts.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘I was ready for them to come foul and I was going to try to get a shot up, but they didn’t come,” said Pierce. “I just got to my little sweet spot on the right elbow and got a good look at the rim. It was a tight game and I was feeling pretty good about my game, especially in my mid-range. I just wanted to have the ball in my hands and be aggressive.’ Said the 6-foot-9 Wright: ‘I gave him some space to close out on, but he made a tough shot.’ Pierce’s teammates felt good with the game in his hands. ‘We put our faith in his hands that last shot,’ said Allen. ‘He came through for us. It’s great to have somebody that can make shots like that at the buzzer.’ Echoed Kendrick Perkins: ‘That’s the Truth. He lives for games like this. I expected him to do that tonight. He was attacking and his jumper was falling.’ But those winning shots hadn’t fallen in a while for Pierce. Not since 2006 say the statistics. But his coach never lost faith. ‘He is a star,’ said Rivers. ‘He never loses his confidence. The play before that Ray missed, Paul glanced over and you could tell he wanted the ball. You always like when your players do that. … He hasn’t played great in the first two games, but you could feel before this game he was starting to get his rhythm. And when he gets his rhythm. He is really good.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘He was huge – that’s the Truth, he lives for games like this,’ Celts center Kendrick Perkins said. ‘I expected him to do that tonight. He was attacking, and his jumper was falling.’ And there was nothing that Wright could do to stop it. ‘He’s a big-time player, and I definitely knew he was going to take the last shot,’ the Miami swingman said. ‘I just tried to give him the best defense I could. It’s definitely hard, especially when they make shots like that. But give it to Paul. I played him the best I could.’”

Israel Gutierrez, Miami Herald – “Just watching the Celtics run their play, there were terrifying options everywhere. Would Allen shake free of Mario Chalmers and hit yet another jumper? Would Udonis Haslem help too much off Kevin Garnett and leave him to take the final shot? Would Rajon Rondo create havoc off the dribble with Quentin Richardson forced to defend him while Wade was being treated on the bench? Pierce knew he’d have one defender on him. And in the NBA, one-on-one normally means murder for the defender. Pierce got Wright slightly off balance, stepped back and released. It was his comfort shot. Wade didn’t get that privilege. Hence the results. It’s the way it’s supposed to end, really. Because a Heat win Friday would’ve been provided nothing but false confidence.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Obviously my scoring’s been down,’ Pierce said of his production the last three years. ‘I’ve tried to do other things and bring to the game what the game needs that day. Obviously they didn’t need me to score 30 points in Game 1 or Game 2. I had to do the other intangibles to help my team win. Tonight it was just one of those nights. That’s what I try to do night in and night out: just figure out what role I’ll play that night. It’s not going to always be my scoring. Those days are over with for putting the load on my shoulders and having to score 30 every night. I just try to pick my spots and give the game what I feel like it needs. Tonight I felt like it did need my scoring, and I filled it. We were on the road, and I decided to be a little bit more aggressive. And it paid off.’ It’s even more rewarding for Pierce, in that this comes in a season when he’s been drawing down his bodily debit card. He’s had his knee drained, his ankle and foot bruised and his twisted left thumb pulled from its mooring. ‘This has been one of my more trying seasons, man, to tell you the truth,” Pierce said. “I’ve never been injured this much in my career. I had a surgery. It just seemed like it was coming back to back to back. After my knee surgery, I had a sprained ankle then right after that a sprained thumb. It was very trying because I’ve been used to playing through a lot of injuries. And at this point in my career, this age, I don’t heal as quickly as I used to. I learned a lot about myself, a lot about my body this year. I learned to take more rest, because I’m not the 24-25-year-old Paul Pierce who can bounce back as quick. I just have to allow myself to heal. That’s why I struggled and had so many inconsistencies in the middle of the season.’”

Chris Perkins, NBA.com – “‘The Celtics are starting to play well,’ Boston center Kendrick Perkins said. The fact that Celtics forward Paul Pierce hit a 21-foot jumper as time expired to deliver a dramatic 100-98 Game 3 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena Friday only tells part of the story of how Boston has taken a commanding 3-0 lead in this first-round playoff series. ‘We’re a veteran team,’ said Pierce, whose step-back jumper over Miami’s Dorell Wright was good as soon as it left his hand, ‘and we don’t get rattled, especially in crucial situations.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “‘I got on Perk a little bit because I just told him to remember who he is,’ Rivers said. ‘You’re playing great defense and you’re rebounding. So what, you’re missing layups. Just don’t let that take you out of your job. You could see his shoulders slumped. Everybody was like, ‘C’mon man,’ because he’s so important for us when he plays well. And it’s tough to play when your spirit is down. I was glad to see him on the floor and he made some great defensive plays for us.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Wade spilled to the floor clutching his left knee area after the cramps intensified when he missed a 3-point attempt in a tied game with 11 seconds to go. Boston hauled in the rebound and called a timeout to draw up a final play. Wade was attended to by trainers, then carried off the court, putting no weight on the leg. ‘I was just cramping up the last five minutes of the fourth [quarter],’ said Wade, who Spoelstra said sweat through two jerseys during the game and could be seen getting his left leg massaged near the bench during the final frame. ‘I was trying to hold it off as much as possible. When I bent down to shoot the shot, it came. It was a bad cramp. I couldn’t even bend my legs. I didn’t step on [the defender's] foot. It’s nothing serious, just cramping.’”

Michael Wallace, Miami Herald – “No team in NBA history has come back to win a series after losing the first three games. The Heat might not even have the legs to rally in Game 4 on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena. That is because Heat guard Dwyane Wade didn’t have the legs to finish Friday night. Wade had 34 points and eight assists, but left the game with 11 seconds left because of severe cramps in his left leg. Wade fell to the ground after he missed a three-point attempt from the top of the key with 13 seconds left. He was helped off by trainer Jay Sabol and center Jamaal Magloire and didn’t return. ‘I wanted to attack, and I wanted to be aggressive,’ Wade said. ‘I had nothing. I was trying to fight through it. The basketball gods were with [Boston] because I wasn’t able to put pressure on it.’”

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.

A Celtics win tonight all but deletes the Heat.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “For the first time since the start of the season, the Celtics are trying to demoralize an opponent. The Heat are trying to figure out if they were the team they thought they were, having won 18 of 22 coming into the postseason. The Celtics are at a point where they can play a game without their star forward, knowing that his understudy feels no pressure filling his role. Miami is at a point where its star player can feel the load on his shoulders getting heavier and heavier, and even though he says he has faith in his teammates, he’s growing tired of answering for them. Going into Game 3 tonight in Miami, the Celtics are taking a ‘nothing is guaranteed’ attitude even though they’ve won all five meetings this season with the Heat. Miami finds itself in a “must-win’’ position against a team it hasn’t been able to beat. Both teams have their finger on the button. Boston’s says ‘delete.’ Miami’s says ‘panic.’”

Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog – “Despite being up 2-0, I think this game is very important to the Celtics. Not a “must win” (perhaps the most overused phrase in sports around playoff time) but an important game for momentum purposes. Give the Heat a win with their home crowd behind them and they might just gain enough confidence to take another win. Then they’re the ones with the momentum headed back to Boston and the script is flipped. Does anyone have enough confidence in this team’s mental fortitude after watching them limp home with a .500 record since Christmas?”

Michael Wallace, Miami Herald – Home hasn’t necessarily been comfortable for either team this season. Boston and Miami both finished 24-17, which was tied for the worst home record among 16 playoff teams. But the Heat has won 10 of its past 13 at home and hopes to ride its ‘Black is Back’ theme to victories Friday and Sunday to even the series. Still, it’s going to take more than friendlier confines to help rally against the Celtics, who have won 13 of the past 14 matchups between the teams. ‘Being at home helps a lot,’ Heat center Jermaine O’Neal said. ‘It helps to have that energy in the building that’s for you and not against you. But for this team right now, it doesn’t matter if we played in the sand in South Beach or wherever. We have to bring a different focus.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The frustrated Wade has taken to scoring binges because he has lost faith in his teammates. And although he won’t publicly admonish O’Neal, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and Dorell Wright, they know they have let him down. Those customary Haslem baseline jumpers have rimmed off, and he has not been the defensive or rebounding menace of years past. ‘We’ve got to play a whole game,’ he said. ‘We haven’t played a complete game against these guys yet and that’s the most disappointing thing about it. Looking at the film and seeing some of the mistakes that we made that are so uncharacteristic of how we play, you know it’s disappointing. I’m not going to sit here and say all the mistakes are our mistakes and [the Celtics] have nothing to do with it. Just because we miss shots doesn’t mean we have to go from down 2 to down 20.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘We’re not spring chickens,’ [Doc Rivers] said. Therefore, if they go weary into a series with Cleveland, they will be dead ducks. But therein lies the neatly placed mousetrap. The Celtics must heed the need to prepare for an impending series with the Cavaliers, but they have to concentrate totally on the Heat to accomplish the goal. ‘Yeah, I’m not even going there, though,’ said Rivers, whose team holds a 2-0 lead in this first-round matchup. ‘I’m not even talking about another series. I just won’t. We’ve just got to focus on Miami, and whatever happens after that . . . Getting a series over with quick is good for everyone, honestly. But yeah, it would be helpful for us.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Udonis Haslem remembers a playoff series not that long ago in which the Heat were down 2-0 and, by all accounts, presumed dead on arrival when they returned home. It was the 2006 NBA Finals when they rallied from a 2-0 series hole to win the best-of-seven series in six games over the Dallas Mavericks. ‘I’ve been here before,’ Haslem said. ‘I’m not rattled or anything like that. A little disappointed. I felt we had an opportunity to get one game. But we’re still confident. We understand it’s a long series.’ But it won’t be long if they lose on Friday night, a point that is not lost on Wade. ‘It’s a game we have win. There’s no question about it,’ Wade said. ‘If they win the ball game, that’s the toughest series in the world right there, trying to come back from 3-0. You have to keep the perspective that the series doesn’t start until someone wins on the other team’s court. So we have to come home and take care of our home court.’”

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel – “While he continually stressed vigor and force after Thursday’s practice, Spoelstra said there would be an effort to draw more out of center Jermaine O’Neal and forward Michael Beasley, who have combined for 29 total points over the first two games. ‘We do need to have more involvement,’ Spoelstra said. ‘Guys need to be aggressive within the system, take plays off the ball movement. I think you’ll see Jermaine and Michael much more involved. It’ll be a concerted effort, also, on our part, to get them involved, but then for them to be aggressive and make the appropriate reads.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing game officials in comments made to the media on April 19. The announcement was made Thursday by NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson.”

Scott Howard Cooper, NBA.com – ““I wish I had it to do all over again and, starting 20 years ago, I’d be suspending Phil and Pat Riley for all the games they play in the media,” Stern said in a press conference at the Ford Center moments before Game 3 of the Lakers-Thunder series. “You guys know that our referees go out there and knock themselves out to do the best job they can, but we’ve got coaches who will do whatever takes to work them publicly. And what that does is erode fan confidence and then you get some of the situations that we have. So our coaches should be quiet, because this is a good business that makes them good livings and supports a lot of families. And if they don’t like it, they should go get a job someplace else. I don’t mean to be too subtle. [Laughter] And I think that Phil’s a great coach. He’s a friend of many years. I just came by and said, ‘Hi.’ And he said, ‘I don’t like you today.’ I said, ‘I like you.’ But it’s corrosive. It’s corrosive. Because of the pressure cooker that is the NBA playoffs, over the years I’ve let it go. But when you hear the Chicago coach [Jackson] say, ‘Oh, this game was lost because NBC wants an extra game,’ you hear a New York coach [Riley] say, ‘Well, you know, what are you gonna do? Jordan gets all the calls,’ it sounds like a lot of fun, etcetera. Or you hear a Stan Van Gundy do what he wants to say and then the players join. We know, inside the community, what it’s meant to do. So, OK, it’s playoff time, everyone’s crazy. Back off. But if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t. I would stop it and the price wouldn’t be a modest $35,000 fine. It would be whatever a day’s pay is, and then two days pay, and then a week’s pay. And if someone wants to try me the rest of this playoffs, make my day. The game is too important and I don’t think that the people who trash it are respecting it, and we’ll do what we have to do. Players and coaches alike. They give the impression to our fans that referees somehow have an agenda. Yeah, they have an agenda – to knock themselves out to give the best calls that they can give, and then to send their checks home to their mothers and give the rest to charity.’”

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

As Paul Pierce laid on the ground with a banged-up elbow, Kevin Garnett walked over to pay his respects to an ailing teammate.  Quentin Richardson decided to pay the two gentleman a visit. (CelticsBlog)

“I was trying to get over there to take the ball out of bounds and he started to talk to me so I talked back,” explained Richardson. “I don’t have any business talking to him (Pierce), he was on the ground crying. I don’t know what was going on, two actresses over there that’s what they are.”

So he was just trying to get the ball so he could take it out of bounds, eh?  Then why did he walk to the left of Pierce when the referee, and the ball, were to the right of Pierce?  Why did he hover over Pierce, rather than going after the ball.  I’ll let Q tell you why, in his own words.

“”I don’t like them [Pierce and Garnett], and they know it.” Thanks for enlightening us, Captain Obvious.

"Getcho filthy hands off me, bro."

He had no business talking to Pierce, or even standing over him, yet he decided to do both anyway.

“I said to Jermaine (O’Neal), ‘he’s ok’, because I knew nobody touched him. Is he taking another break like he does so many times? Sometimes he falls like he’s about to be out for the season and then he get’s right up, that’s all I said.”

So Pierce is lying on the ground (and, according to Pierce, really feeling hurt: “My shoulder hit the same spot that I hurt all season. It has happened a couple of times. A pinch nerve in there, kind of numbed my whole arm up.”), Q really doesn’t have any idea what type of pain Pierce is feeling, and Q starts chirping, telling his teammates Pierce is fine? I have a problem with that, a big problem. Garnett didn’t like it either, not one bit, and the two started to share words.  I’m pretty sure they weren’t pleasantries.  After that, Udonis Haslem ran into the skirmish and a Major League Shove-fest started.  As Garnett turned his back to the melee in favor of checking on Pierce one last time, he was hit with a small shove in his back.

It was then that KG glanced over his left shoulder and let loose an elbow that smacked into Richardson’s jaw.  Then Jermaine O’Neal tackled Glen Davis (who still thought he was auditioning for The Blind Side), all hell broke loose, and finally Garnett was ejected.

The first technical was for taunting with Richardson (Richardson also received a technical), and the second was for the elbow that landed smack dab in the middle of Richardson’s jaw.

So will Garnett be suspended? He threw an elbow at an opponent’s face, and it landed. That would seem to make it an almost automatic suspension. But there’s another side to it, a better side for Celtics fans. He was provoked by an instigator, Richardson, looking to do nothing but cause trouble. Not only that, but it looks like Haslem was shoving Garnett in the back as Garnett tried to tend to Pierce. That was when KG threw the elbow. Can you fault a guy for throwing an elbow while hands are being laid on him from behind (pause)?

Still, as biased as I am, my bet is that he’ll be suspended. I don’t think any suspension needs to be handed out (why alter a series for a scrum that wasn’t even that bad?), but the league has been wuss-ified lately to the point that an elbow to the face is almost automatically a suspension.

As for Quentin Richardson? Despite being the instigator and the biggest piece of crap in the entire melee, he’ll be playing in game two. I hope Pierce drops 95 on him.

I'm anxious for tonight. Which Celtics team will show up?

I’ve never been so confused heading into a postseason.  Should I have hope?  Should I have given up a long time ago? Do the Celtics have another gear? Will they lose in the first round?  Win a championship?  Somewhere in between?

Anything could happen tonight. Anything.  And that’s what makes watching sports so fun.

Here’s a breakdown of the first-round matchups.  Enjoy Game One tonight, at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Point Guard: Rajon Rondo vs. Carlos Arroyo

It’s a waste of my time to write why this is a mismatch.  Rondo is one of the most electric players in the NBA, while Arroyo is mediocre at best.  Rondo can lead his teams to victories, while the only thing Arroyo can lead his team in is prayer. Even if Rondo’s puking on the floor because of his illness, he should be able to run circles around Arroyo.

But there is a twist: Doc Rivers said he expects Rondo to be defended by Dwyane Wade.  Either way, no matter who’s defending Rondo — and I feel that way about any player in the league, not just the players Miami can offer — he should have his way so long as he stays aggressive.

Shooting Guard: Ray Allen vs. Dwyane Wade

Wade, simply put, is a monster.  He’s a beast, a creature, an animal, whatever you want to call him.  The Celtics will not be able to stop him, no matter who they throw at him. Ray could play terrific defense and still get torched.  Ray’s job will be to contain Wade, make things difficult, and hopefully limit him to 30 ppg or so.    Against Wade, that’s all you can ask for.

On the other end, if Ray gets hot he has the ability to switch a series on its side.  When Ray drains three-balls left and right, the Celtics are a different team, a better team.  Of course, Ray usually gets hot when the Celtics are playing their best.  It’s like a chicken-or-the-egg type thing. But I don’t care what comes first; I just want to hear the sweet sound of Ray’s jumper splashing through the bucket, time after time.

Small Forward: Paul Pierce vs. Quentin Richardson

This is where the Celtics have their biggest advantage.  Richardson couldn’t hold Pierce’s jock strap if someone laid it in his hand.  Not that he’d want to, anyway, but still.  If Pierce is healthy, and his recent output says that he is, he should murder Richardson.  On the other end, Richardson won’t be much of a threat.

Power Forward: Kevin Garnett vs. Michael Beasley

The single most important matchup in the series. If Garnett was 2008 Garnett, this would be no contest.  Not only would Garnett score at will, but Beasley wouldn’t do anything all series.  Unfortunately, this is 2010, and Garnett’s a shell of his former self.  Beasley is now tough for Garnett to keep up with, because Beasley has speed to take advantage of KG’s ever-dwindling mobility.

Still, Garnett should be able to score over Beasley at will.  If Garnett is aggressive in the post, this is a matchup that should really favor him.  Beasley doesn’t have the height or defensive chops to stick with an aggressive KG.

Center: Kendrick Perkins vs. Jermaine O’Neal

Neither of these guys will get much offense run for them.  Both are there for height, defense, and rebounding.  Perkins, surprisingly, has killed the Heat so far this season, but Doc Rivers and Perk both attribute that to the Heat helping off Perk and not the matchup. This matchup should be a wash.  Neither guy will light the world on fire, but both will be solid.

Bench:

The Celtics are deeper and vastly more talented.  On paper, that is.  On the court, their Heat counterparts might have outplayed them.  Udonis Haslem is a good sixth man, Dorell Wright is starting to come into his own, and Joel Anthony, well, takes up space.   For the Celtics, inconsistency is the name of the game.  And someone needs to tell Sheed, “Playoffs don’t lie.”

The Verdict:

The Heat don’t have enough to take down Boston.  Not in four games out of seven, not in the playoffs.  Dwyane Wade is an unstoppable force, but doesn’t have enough help to take down the Celtics, no matter how old and ragged they have looked.  The Celtics may not have a flip to switch, but won’t need it against Miami.

Celtics in 6