2011 NBA Playoffs Boston Celtics Sweep New York Knicks Round 1

The Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics fans in the crowd needed their sweeping brooms for the fourth game of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They could take it by the handle and brush injury riddled New York Knickerbockers right off the Madison Square Garden sacred floor.

Madison Square Garden

The first two games were close, but the last two proved they were the better team.

Game 1: 87-85 Celtics, Knicks

Game 2: 96-93 Celtics, Knicks

Game 3: 113-96 Celtics, Knicks

Game 4: 101 - 89 Celtics, Knicks

The team is finally putting it together like the Vintage Boston Celtics of the past there is a team that has the tools to win it all.

The masterful play of the floor general Rajon Rondo as he seemed to orchestrate a masterpiece in front of the fans leaving the Knicks fans to point of rage. From every angle he would hit the rim or pass to the other all-stars on the team. He had been here before, and the playoff fire burned in the first round. In all four games he displayed the skills that should be playoff MVP bound! Celtics game plan of letting him penetrate and dish was the perfect plan that the knicks had no defensive plan to stop, and they didn't. His versatility showed in the four games in game 2 he scored 30 points, in game 3 he pulled down 11 rebounds and in game 3 he also had 20 assists to finish off a triple double in the break out game 3.

Rajon Rondo Four Stat Line: 76 points - 29 rebounds - 48 assists

The scoring was put to the test as the fast break was the offensive plays drawn on the chalk board by coach Doc Rivers. Every play seemed to be up the court in seconds with alley-oops, layups, short jumpers and dunks slamming the rim it was a field day for Paul Pierce. The love of the ball has always been Paul's passion. Give him the rock and let him us his skills to find the rim. Chauncey Billups hurt allowed a little freedom and a little freedom was all it took and in game 3 it was really apparent with a 38 point night.

Paul Pierce Four Game Stat Line: 89 points - 17 rebounds - 10 assists

Wait a minute! Not all the scoring came from the classic layup or the thunder dunk. Ray Allen had to get his points.  Ray does what he has done in the past and that's find the 3 point line and bombs away. Carmelo Anthony having to literally play all defensive positions he could not find the time to get out to the perimeter where Ray feeds his passion for the 3 point shot. Let the ball come to him and he will light up the scoreboard. In game game 3 (seems like a trend) he shot 8-11 from three point range and scored 32 for the game. He ended the series with 88 points one point from the Celtics leader Pierce with 89 points.

Ray Allen Four Game Stat Line: 88 points - 18 rebounds - 9 assists

Kevin Garnett, the man in the middle with the wingspan of a condor had his days in the paint. The paint was green in the eyes of Kevin Garnett, because he owed it averaging over 10 rebounds a game. The Knicks offense had to find a different route to the basket because the green in the paint wanted to swat a block on every possession! With all the attention on the guards Garnett was able to use his defensive skills to get the ball to the outlet man Rajon Rondo to let the magic happen. Great teams in the past, even the Bulls with Dennis Rodman, had great rebounders. In there last championship run we saw some hobbling from an injury to the big man in this series it was the Knicks that were hobbled Amare' Stoudemire had an ailing back due to spasms and Garnett took advantage of the situation and helps his team by banging the boards.

Kevin Garnett Four Game Stat Line: 62 points - 45 rebounds - 14 assists

The center position was supposed to be the "Big Aristotle" Shaquille O'Neal's spot but injuries bled over the the other bench and bit Shaq. So, Doc Rivers had to go to the center by committee approach. Jermaine O'Neal and Glen "Baby" Davis filled in for him "Nicely". There roles were limited due to the skill sets of each player and the all-stars they were playing with on each given night. They held their own and contributed to the overall sweep of the Knicks by adding to the stat line and giving a spark when needed. When Jermaine sprained his wrist in game 2 Davis filled in the gaps and with his size we always knew he could.

Jermaine O'Neal Four Game Stat Line: 22 points - 16 rebounds - 4 assists

Glen Davis Four Game Stat Line: 26 points - 20 rebounds - 4 assists

The bench had little to do since the starters were mostly healthy. I guess rest for the next round is what they needed because there is a next round. Most of the minutes went to Jeff Green and Delonte West allowing the fowards and guards to save their legs. Well game 3 had its down time to let the bench get some playoff minutes to pad their lifetime stats. Both players did average over 13 minutes a game and saw some brilliance form both of them.

Jeff Green Four Game Stat Line: 24 points - 14 rebounds - 0 assists

Delonte West Four Game Stat Line: 8 points - 8 rebounds - 5 assists

The team has its eye on the ball on top of that trophy that back from the Los Angeles Lakers. Is there a more rivaled NBA storyline than the Celtics vs Lakers and who is the best franchise in NBA history? The green and the luck of the Irish is flowing this year.

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Saturday Morning Chatter: Brandon Marshall Jimmie Johnson Real Madrid

Brandon Marshall - Miami Dolphins star receiver is in intensive care after getting a stab wound by a knifing from a woman. He was taken to the hospital and was in intensive care as of Saturday morning. The often in the news for off the field incidents All-pro receiver Marshall hopefully will fully recover and "when" the lock out lifts he will help the Miami Dolphins again next season.

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Los Angeles Dodgers - The Major League Baseball and Bud Selig have taken over the day to day operations from the storied franchise Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the most prestigious teams in all of sports are owned by Frank McCourt and filed for divorcee Jamie McCourt who are believed to be in a bitter war over the team and its operations. Selig will appoint Stan Kasten or Corey Busch as a possible candidates to run the team as "Replacement Players" in this unfortunate dealings for an outstanding organization. The team with all of the pressure from the MLB and its fans the turmoil of the team may result in a selling of the team.

True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told by the Men Who Lived It

Rajon Rondo - The 2011 NBA Playoffs are for the stars to shine and Rajon Rondo on Friday night did just that with a triple double. The line read: 15 points, 11 rebounds and playoff record 20 assists. The floor general used his talents to help the Boston Celtics to a 3-0 lead over the New York Knicks with a 113 - 96 win. The 20 assists help to contribute to the outstanding scoring of Ray Allen's 32 points and Paul Pierce and his 38 points.


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Kevin Love - The 2011 Most Improved Award winner. The key to reaching the award was confidence. The Minnesota Timberwolves the worst team in the league had a spark of who they need to build around. His rebound stats alone turned heads all over the NBA with a league leading 15.2 rebounds per game. At 22 years old he is just going to get better.

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Real Madrid - Opps! Sergio Ramos should have been holding the Copa del Rey Trophy with his feet because the hands didn't cut it. Just hours after defeating FC Barcalona in the finals in Valencia. The 33 pound cup won by an oustanding header by Christiano Ronaldo in extra time fell off the bus the team was using for the celebration and before the driver could stop ran over the trophy with his front tires.

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Jimmie Johnson - #48 Jimmie Johnson with the help of a push from #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Talladega. The photo finish left all the fans in the seats and on television watching the leader board just to see who won. The margin of win was .002 seconds the closest in the history of Talladega and tied with Rickey Craven's win at Darlington in 2003 as the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

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Cartoon Time  - Retro Car Racing

2010-11 NBA PLAYOFF BASKETBALL Eastern Conference Preview Chatter

Looking for excitement look no further than the 2011 NBA Playoffs! The field is ready for real basketball and the intensity will be at full tilt! The stars will shine and unsung heroes will arise. Will we see the an eighth seed pull off an upset? Will everyone stay healthy? Make sure the DVR is empty and ready for the electrifying action that will get you jumping out of your seat and for joy or shrugging the shoulders in defeat! Lets take a quick look into each team!

The Eastern Conference

Chicago Bulls - MVP! MVP! MVP! Chanting from the rafters will be the theme for the star Derrick Rose that has taken his game to the next level. If taking it to the hoop or pulling up for a three the defenses are all loopy leg trying to defend this offensive juggernaut. With all the attention to Derrick that leaves option 2 Luol Deng to work his magic on the other side to make it very difficult to defend. The Bulls are the leaders in the east can they prove it to win it all? Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah will need to get and stay healthy to help out and prove the regular season was not a fluke they are the best in the east and the rest of the league!

Miami Heat - The trifecta has all the talent in the big three Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Lebron James! They pulled each other together for this moment. Built to win many championships for the Heat, could this be this year be the first of many? The year has had its roller coaster season will the playoffs stay on the climb up or are we going to have a few alley oops in it? Defense and the bench will need to be the factors to watch. Will 3rd year coach Erik Spoelstra have the experience to get the big three their title this year? 

Boston Celtics - Coach Doc Rivers knows this team has the talent to make it happen, will it? Rajon Rondo's ability to use his skills to create offense for himself and for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen has been phenomenal. The way he allows Allen to set that 3 pointer, Pierce to penetrate for the alley oop and for the catch and dunk by Garnett is artistically mechanical. They have been there and done that in 2008 and hoping to do it again!

Orlando Magic - It all starts and ends with the big man Dwight Howard. His size and force around the basket can only be measured in technical fouls for aggression that the league deems to excessive. Is it really the weakness of the defense on the block? His presence is menacing to the defense and double and triple teams are always going to be there so Hedo Turkoglu will need to hear swish in his sleep and Jason Richardson will need to get out the retro Reebok Pumps out and go sky to divert that pressure to score the points needed to win! Kind of forgotten with all the hype of Bulls, Heat and Celtics. All the talent is there to make a difference in the playoffs this year could be the year the balls fall in their side of the courts basket!

Atlanta Hawks - Unsuspecting talent all over the court. Is this the Butler of the NBA? Limping into the playoffs as losing late has the fans worried can they pull it back together? Al Horford community assist award winner, Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson needs to make sure to put the team first and glue themselves to their opposition to limit the scoring by the opposition to hope to score just enough to win. Joe Smith is back and healthy so we may see them with a little more talent on the court!

New York Knicks - Trade alert was the news mid year well now we see why. The Knicks are in the playoffs and Carmelo Anthony could have been the piece they needed. The main player happy to see the skills of Anthony with the Knicks is Amar'e Stoudamire having the ability to take the pressure of of him and seeing less double and triple teams allows more movement for the big man. His in and out type play will hope to excel in the playoffs along with his ability to get the block shot and rebound on the other end. Let's not forget about the ability of Chauncey Billups, Jared Jefferies and Landry Fields all could have a night that will light up the scorboard!

Philadelphia 76ers - What a year for Elton Brand carrying the team all the way to the playoffs. His scoring and shot blocking has been very valuable to the 76er's and the success. Let's hope the help keeps coming from the youth of Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks. The ability to get up and down the court will rely on the speed and effectiveness in getting the ball to Brand to see the dunk! What about Andre Iguodala is he going to be fully reasted and healthy for the push through the playoffs?

Indiana Pacers - Youth is all over the young Pacers. Will the youth movement be able to take down the strength of experience in the rest of the conference. Danny Granger is looking to find the bottom of the bucket enough, Roy Hibbert will be all over the boards to vacuuming up the rebounds and Darren Collison will be firing out the assists to Granger and Tyler Hansbrough. Making the playoffs was the first task and getting through the first round due to their first playoff opponent is going to be a tough task as most likely it will be the eastern conference regular season winners Chicago Bulls. Every game counts so don't underestimate youth and the power of it. Anything can happen! These kids will grind it out, so the Pacemates will get their work in and dance all the way to the title. You in?
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SI Vintage Boston Celtics 8.27.1990 John Havlichek, Arnold Palmer, Secretariat

With the Celtics once again playing like the want it all. I am going vintage to give a look back at the Celtics of old. 
Cover:

Boston's Brutal Week: None other than the Hall of Famer, John Havlicek working the boards graces the cover wearing his famous retired number 17 jersey. John was the NBA finals MVP in the 1973-1974 Series.

Lineup:

1. The Sledding Was Tough: Jumping right into it is the Boston Celtics and how well they were positioning themselves for another playoff run. The article has nice photography with a picture of Dave Cowens skyhooking the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The season ended on a high that year with a NBA championship trophy to show for it.

2. Jose Was Attacked By The Zoo:  Boxing was a huge sport in the 1970's and Carlos Monzon middleweight that put it to you like an animal. The ring was to small for him and the challenger Jose Napoles and Carlos ate him up!

3. Along Came The Little People: St. Mortiz and the great skiing of Liechtenstein. The pride of the slope was Hanny Wenzel by winning the World Championships.

4. And They Used to Call Me Sexy: The unsuccessful breeding of the great Secretariat. The great Triple Crown winning horse was back on the farm and retired and was ready to board and make the next great winning offspring but problems abound. Was the stud sterile?

5. Generating Eclectic Powers: Here is the story of Lee Evans one of the world's best at the time in the 440m and how he trained mind and body. From the SI article he tried vegetables, antiques, yoga, versifying, astrology and religion and still not lose the thrill of running for love and money.

6. Down to the Sea Again - By Shiplet  Mainly the story is about a yachtsman and his story while cruising in his yacht.

7. Where it still 1960 and Hope Springs Eternal: The golfing great turns 44. Who is he Arnold Palmer. He is playing in Palm Springs and the world loves him.

As you can already tell the SI of the 1970's were filled with more diverse sporting events unlike the SI of today that really showcase the high profile sports.