Rajon Rondo

Rondo is one of the most unique players in the league.  His shooting is generally terrible, which allows defenses to back up off him.  This gives him a much better chance at getting good looks and contributes to his extremely high assist count.  However, he is notorious for being inconsistent, some days he just doesn't have it and that is a completely fair and true criticism.  Last night, he had it.  The Celtics needed a win, and they played their hearts out against the mighty Miami Heat to try and capture one.  Unfortunately, this was not successful.  Rondo put up 44 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds, a bunch of steals and only 3 turnovers.  He played every single minute of this 53 minute overtime game, and he scored all 12 of the Celtics OT points.  Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce fouled out of the game, and Ray Allen, although he hit a big 3, was much more of a role player than he has been in his career.  Rondo was even clearly fouled going for a layup towards the end, which ended up resulting in him not getting back on defense and then an easy dunk by Haslem.  If this call had gone the other way, and in my opinion this is a foul 75% of the time, the result may have been different.  In my opinion, the Celtics lost this game in the 3rd quarter when they allowed Miami to get a lead after being up by 15 in the first half.  C'est la Vie.

Doc Rivers

As I was watching the Celtics eke out a win in Game 1 of the 2nd round of the NBA finals, I caught myself admiring coach Doc River's black and blue paisley tie.  I wondered what maker it came from, and as I was perusing the various Celtics blogs today, I was able to figure it out.  Looks like Doc favors fine Italian tie-maker Ermenegildo Zegna.  Good taste sir.

Celtics Defeat Atlanta, Move on to Round 2

The Celtics managed to hold off the Atlanta Hawks, rejuvenated by the return of Al Horford, who really put his team on his back.  The Celtics, however, collectively climbed on the back of The Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett who was the absolute star of the game.  His stat line was absurd: 28 points on 53% shooting FG, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 5 blocks, and a single foul.  He was dominant in the game, and played 39 minutes.  Rondo, Pierce, Bradley and Allen all contributed, but I was extremely impressed by Ryan Hollins 18 minute contributions. This guy was not on the team 6 weeks ago!

Although I am not confident that the Celtics would have won in 6 had Horford been 100% for all 3 games, they move on to face the Philadelphia 76ers.  They were greater than +1000 to knock off the number 1 seed Chicago Bulls, but they accomplished it, with some help from a Derrick Rose injury.  This is a favorable matchup for the Celtics, who really dominated the Sixers in the second half of the season.  I think it will be important for Rondo and the rest of the team to be involved, as Kevin Garnett can not will the team to the Finals.  Celtics need to continue attacking the basket, instead of settling for jump shots. Need to stop Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala from scoring, and keep up the strong defense.

Game 1: Saturday @ 8PM  in Boston
Classic Kevin Garnett post game interview below:

5/9/12 Link Dump

I haven't done this segment in awhile, but I have been gathering up a bunch of great links to share.  With the Celtics not able to put away the Hawks last night, bringing the series back to Boston, I am feeling a bit blue to be creative today. 

Ray Allen's Pregame Routine - I am a big fan of Jesus Shuttlesworth.  His timely 3's just make you cheer, and his calm and cool demeanor, as well as sick Jordan shoes are all admirable.  This is a short film of his pre-game workout routine.  He must be doing something right to be the all-time 3 point shot leader in the NBA.

AContinuousLean on Outlier - I have been debating picking up a pair of Outlier trousers.  I think this will be one of my expenses when I get back down to my ideal weight, and waist size!

Sherry - The Trad's "Tin Tin" is one of my favorite bloggers, especially when he discusses booze.  This is a great one, and I think I will pick up a bottle of sherry on my next stop through the New Hampshire liquor outlets.

How to Live Well - Minimalism from Zen Habits

The Gentry Man - Giuseppe reccomends picking up this compendium of Gentry magazine.  Great for those of you who fantisize about "a time when men wore suits during the day."

Occupy Galt's Gulch - I reccomend everyone read this.  Many of the entitled in this society do not neccessarily comprehend or choose to acknowledge that their success is a result of the pain of others, rather than their tremendous skills.  Clearly TED understands, and it is an important reminder, although my station in life is certainly the latter.

Killa...

yes honey, got money, yea my money is right
but my wrist so bright, look like sunny delight
twenty k times twenty, times twenty da price
you dont do math? 8 million in ice

Bing Rewards

I have been using the Bing website recently, instead of Google.  I find it to be equally helpful, and some of the additional features are better than Googles.  I still much prefer GMail and Google Reader, and of course Blogger, all of which are amazing Google products, and their compatibility may bring me back to using Google as a search engine.

The real reason I have converted to Bing is the new Bing Rewards Program.  You get credits for every search and often for other easy to complete tasks.  These credits can be redeemed for cool prizes, such as Xbox Live Subscriptions, donations to charity, or my most recent reward a $5 Starbucks gift card (see picture below!).  I love drinking coffee, and the office coffee is not up to par with the brown stuff Starbucks vends.  I may only get enough points to redeem 1 gift card per month, but I will take that benefit in exchange for using Bing.  Check out the other available prizes above!

I recommend you check it out, sign up through my link.  (Full disclosure, I receive 5 credits for every one who signs up through this link)

Celtics Manage a Win in Game 2 without Rajon Rondo

The Celtics were without Rajon Rondo for Tuesday night's Game 2 of the first round of the NBA playoffs.  Boston fans were tense, with the early exit from Lord Stanley's Playoffs by the defending champ Bruins, and a tense situation in Boston with Bobby Valentine.  Everyone had written off the Celtics from having a chance at victory without their mercurial point guard, and this would have been the case had PAUL PIERCE not gone absolutely bananas.  The Celtics' 4th quarter was insane, with them going on a strong run offensively, and playing lock down defense.  Avery Bradley made all kinds of athletic plays, and KG was doing KG things.  Great for the Celtics to get a win down in Atlanta and even the series up 1-1 heading back to Boston.