Just to start, because This Blog heard this on its electric television set last night, arguing that the NBA has a competitive balance problem because "only" eight different teams have won the championship since 1980 is just silly, and using that metric to prove that Carmelo Anthony's move to the Knicks means the "problem" is getting worse is just stupid. Do you want to know which major sport has had the most different world champions in that same period? That would be major-league baseball with 18, and nobody I know -- except This Blog and its pal, Allen Barra -- is making the argument that baseball has acceptable competitive balance.

With that out of the way, This Blog thinks what the Celtics did today smacks of absolute and utterly unnecessary panic. Unless they've decided that Kendrick Perkins is hopelessly brittle and, as such, not worth whatever his price was going to be on the open market this summer, what is the point of this deal? (OK, Jeff Green prevents them from running Paul Pierce into the ground. Point taken there.) How is the team better now than it was 24 hours ago -- and no answer that depends on Shaquille O'Neal's being healthy the rest of the season counts. Perkins was the team's anti-Dwight Howard vaccine, and Nenad me no Nenads. This team is now worse where it counts against the teams it has to beat.

Meanwhile, in Memphis, old pal Chris Wallace made the Griz into a potentially dangerous playoff out for someone, managing to bring back Shane Battier in exchange for the ectoplasm that once was Hasheem Thabeet. That's biggest swindle in Memphis since Sam Phillips sold Elvis's contract to the Colonel.

UPDATE -- Commenter DRMarvelSr points out that Sam (with the Colonel) sold Elvis's contract to RCA Victor. This Blog believes its point is still valid despite This Blog's being such an obvious idiot.