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Email|Link|Comments (2) Posted by Ian Rider November 26, 2007 02:07 PM

Just a quick hit about the last two games of the season. Due to a family gathering out of state, and a power outage that shut off my DVR, I wasn’t able to watch the Celtics matchups against the Lakers and the Bobcats.

This obviously upset me quite a bit considering the outcome of this past weekend’s contests.

First, the Celtics obliterated Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, which just doesn’t happen, like ever. Usually, if the Celtics Beat LA it is on a last second shot by Pierce, or Antoine. Blowouts by Boston have become a thing of the past in this series.

Actually, it’s been almost five years since the Celtics put a whooping on the Lakers at home. The last time was April 5th, 2002. Shaq didn’t play and Kobe went 5-for-25. Friday night Kobe went 9-for-21, and the Diesel is in Miami, so the two games were pretty similar, even if the Celtics teams are very different.

I would have loved to have watched Kobe jacking up shots in crunch time to keep his scoring average up while the PGA Tour took a break on the bench.

Saturday’s game wouldn’t have been anything sentimental were it not for the Bird-like steal-and-dish heroics from Paul Pierce and another mafia-style assassination by the real Ray Allen. At least I got to catch this particular highlight on constant replay.

I read that Allen had gone 0-5 before hitting the buzzer beater. That would have been particularly nice to see in person. After the miraculous steal I probably would have done the patented “NoooooooYESSSSSS” yell that Celtics fans haven’t dusted off since the days of Antoine and Walter McCarty.

I have to note that I feel like Pierce’s contribution to “the shot” have been underrated by the media. The presence of mind to grab a deflected pass and lead Ray Allen for a wide-open game winner, all before coming to the ground is beyond remarkable to me. The captain has been playing out of his mind this season, carrying the team offensively, and he should get his due notoriety for it.

I still can’t believe I missed these games. I’m officially boycotting Thanksgiving forever. Sorry, mom.

Three things I dreamt about during my tryptophan coma…

Here's the NBA.com video of the "the shot", just in case youtube.com is blocked at your work.

ESPN’s Kiki Vandeweghe’s puts Kevin Garnett on top of his MVP list. Paul Pierce is 10th.

The Celtics are in front in two of the three ( Hollinger's ESPN rankings, and NBA.com) NBA Power Rankings. They are fourth in Mar Stein's ESPN rankings behind the Magic, Spurs, and Suns. It's good to be back on top.