Playoff Props - What's up Doc?

J.D. Mo — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:19:00 GMT

After another surpisingly out-of-synch playoff performance on the road by the Boston Celtics, Celtics coach Doc Rivers finds his team in a difficult situation with its starting point guard, 21-year-old Rajon Rondo. Rondo finished with zero assists in Game 3 against the Cavaliers on Sunday and was thoroughly outplayed by the Cavs' Delonte West.

Rondo's not ready to help the Celtics win it all; that was all too clear Saturday night. On Doc's bench is the answer: the clown prince of NBA guards, Sam "I Am" Cassell, offensive genius. Yet Rivers has been slow to pull Rondo when things are going badly.

At one point in the 3rd Quarter of Saturday night's game, the ABC cameras found West on defense, playing one of the saggiest one-man zones I've seen in the NBA. He wasn't even guarding Rondo, clogging the paint instead to make life difficult for KG and Paul Pierce. As the minutes passed, the Celtics struggled to cut the lead to 15, then watched it fall back to 20. No team in the NBA would dare to not guard Sam Cassell. Yet Sam sat. Rivers finally went to Cassell at the start of the fourth quarter and the Celtics pulled to within 12, but could get no closer.

With Rondo in the game, Paul Pierce fought for shots and Ray Allen scarcely shot at all, turning playmaker when he did get the ball. Unselfish play by Ray, but that's what Rondo should have been doing, instead of driving the ball at Big Ben Wallace, Z-Ilgauskus and Lebron James. Is Rivers worried about deflating Rondo's confidence in the playoffs? Or is it a team chemistry thing because Sam is the new guy? Whatever the case, Rivers has been far too much of a players' coach where Rondo is concerned, and it's part of the reason the Atlanta series went to seven games.

It doesn't seem to matter when the Celtics are playing in the Garden, but on the road, Rivers has to be quicker to go to Sam when the offense is struggling. If Sam, at 38, wears down, go back to Rondo, but don't give Rondo the reins in the 3rd Quarter on the road -- unless Doc is willing to sacrifice a championship for an "experience" playoffs for Rondo. If the Celtics fall short of the NBA Finals (they're by no means a shoe-in for conference finals) Rivers failure to make game adjustments will be the first thing called into question.

Trust in Sam, Doc. You won't be sorry.

Steady rollin' Joe The Celtics-Cavs series is THE one for Bucks fans. There are future Bucks to watch in Cleveland's Danny Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak ( I finally spelled it right - I think) -- How you doing on that Michael Redd, trade, Lebron? And there are ex-Bucks to watch in Ray and Sam "I Am", and, coming off the Cleveland bench, Joe Smith (Damon Jones is on that bench too, but rarely leaves it).

Joe had a steady-rollin' game Saturday - 24 minutes, 17 points on 7/8 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 fouls. Smith made a couple of more shots than he normally would, but as Bucks fans know, his game was not that different than it ever was. Smith doesn't force anything, takes good shots, rebounds, plays D and gives his team a chance to win, though he won't be "the guy" winning it.

Smith, 32, came to the Bucks from the T-Wolves in the 2003 trade for Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson. It was Ernie Grunfeld's last trade as GM, which coincided with the drafting of point guard T.J. Ford. Two weeks later, the woeful era of GM Larry Harris began. Smith started at power forward for two years, averaging 11 pts., 8 boards per game (which makes him one of the more productive power forwards in Bucks history). The following year, Smith came off the bench behind Jamal Magliore and Andrew Bogut, but was hobbled with injuries for much of the year - no doubt the effects of the Bob Boozer Jinx at work again at the Bucks PF position.

"Slickless" Larry eventually traded Smith to Denver for forward Ruben Patterson in Aug., 2006, trade #5 in a series of six dubious Larry trades that left Charlie Villanueva as the only player resource standing. Apparently Harris, never known for his patience, didn't feel like waiting for Smith to fully rehab his knee. The Bucks let Patterson go to the LA Clippers as a free agent in 1997.

In other words, in true Slickless style, the Bucks got nothing for Joe Smith. By the transitive property of the tradelines, this also means the Bucks got nothing for Sam Cassell, who, when he was traded for Smith in 2003 was under contract with the Bucks for another three seasons (at about $6 million per year) -- and should not have been traded at all.

What if the Bucks kept Sam? Instead of drafting T.J., the Bucks draft a forward in 2003 (say, David West). Terry Porter, in his first year as coach, has a leader on the floor in Sam (who was 2nd Team All-NBA 2003-04), and a developing big forward instead of injury prone Smith. Michael Redd's development as a scorer is more natural and team-oriented, and Redd never becomes the black hole or the $51 million, three-year contract problem that he is now. Sam controls the offense; Redd's contract extension doesn't get insane. Tim Thomas is happier (for a while anyway), the Bucks win more and there's less for Slickless Larry to foul up in 2005. Terry Porter keeps his job. Let's stop there, as it's beginning to look like this topic would be better as a post of its own.

In the meantime, Sam "I Am" fans have the Celtics-Cavs series, and Joe Smith and Ray Allen too.

And there's this, which I found whilst surfing around today. It's samcassellonline.org, the unofficial Sam Cassell website, created by a few of the LA Clippers faithful. Now that's good stuff.

SupersonicSoul.com

J.D. Mo — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:25:00 GMT

It's during the worst of times, rarely the best of times, that big league sports franchises truly learn how great their fan base is. The patience of Brewers fans, for example, is now ingrained into what Southeastern Wisconsin is as a place - it was there for years, waiting, growing and waiting some more for the team to win until it became part of the culture. Now that the Brewers are contenders, Brewermania has arrived.

Bucks fans are a different breed, weened on the team's remarkably consistent success in its first two decades, but we've stuck it out through some tough years, too, none tougher than this past season. Owner Herb Kohl, whatever mistakes he's made, understands that the Bucks have great fans.

Sen. Kohl would never move our Bucks, we're sure of that. And it's almost unimaginable that he would sell to an ownership group like the one in Seattle, all set to move the Supersonics to Oklahoma. I write "almost" because the Seattle ownership group lied repeatedly to the people of Washington state on their way in, with callous disrespect to Supersonics fans, some of greatest, savviest NBA fans in the world.

With that, I'd like to introduce one of the more creatively funky, outrageous and fun fanblogs out there:

SUPERSONICSOUL!!!

What's happening in Seattle makes me sick. It's a dirty shame for the NBA, yes, and also because Bucks fans have always had a lot in common with Supersonics fans. In many ways we grew up together as NBA fans.

The Sonics joined the league as an expansion team in 1967, one year before our Bucks did the same. In those early years, on our way to the NBA championship, we even snookered Lucius Allen and yes, Bob Boozer himself, from the Sonics in exchange for a big man named Zaid (that was in 1970). The Sonics returned the favor in 2003 by accepting George Karl's maniacal Ray Allen trade, and Seattle fans fell in love with Ray and his jumpshot, like we knew they would.

Seattle and Milwaukee boasted champions in the 1970's, the Bucks in 1971 and the Sonics in 1979. The hardcore fan bases in our smaller cities defined the league's character -- it's what made the NBA different from the other big leagues. Red Auerbach's Celtics couldn't play the Knicks and Lakers every night, and fans in Milwaukee and Seattle (and Phoenix, Portland and San Antonio) were only too happy to supply the league an audience and stage.

So Bucks fans, in the brotherhood of pro basketball fans, can share in Seattle's pain just a little bit more than fans in many NBA cities, and tip a bottle of Milwaukee's finest to the great Sonics fans of the Great Northwest. Whatever happens, don't let those callous, Oklahoma-bound, crooks and Comish David Stern take the Supersonics name out of Seattle!

#####################

The Bob Boozer Jinx is new to readers, and if you're reading this, you're probably here for one of the first times. But I do hope you also find some time to check out SupersonicSoul, not just to commiserate with what Seattle fans are going through, but because it's cool - everything pro basketball should be about. You'll be able to find it here anytime in the blogroll I'm building over there to your right.

Also, if you've got any suggestions on how to make The Bob Boozer Jinx as great as SupersonicsSoul, send 'em my way. The Jinx is set to go live on Sportsbubbler's Bucks page Monday.

Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : The Bob Boozer Jinx

Playoff Props - What's up Doc?

SupersonicSoul.com