they don't shoot 'em like they used to

paul pierce's nickname isn't "the truth", it's "the f*cking truth"

Boston Celtics shooting guard and NBA Finals MVP (yup, I really just wrote that) Paul Pierce appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien this past Thursday night. One of the first things Conan asked him about was where he got the nickname "The Truth." Pierce revealed that about 7 years ago he played a game in L.A. against the Lakers in which he scored over 40 points, and after the game when Shaq was quoted as saying "that guy Pierce, he's the f*cking truth." Pierce made a point of explaining that the original nickname was not just "the truth", but "the bleeping truth." What I want to know is who made Shaq the official nickname giver or the NBA? First this, then he decides Dwyane Wade should be called "Flash." Could there be a more unoriginal and generic nickname for an athlete? Last time I checked Dwyane Wade wasn't a 1950's comic book hero. Shaq, if you're going to hold this responsibility, then you've got to do better. And that's the bleeping truth.

it's almost too easy

Some custom art for you to enjoy. I would stop making fun of him, but when this face pops up on my TV screen last night, well...

that sounds familiar

Celtics fans, who does this clip remind you of? Wait for it...

did i mention sam cassell is ugly?

This is one of the championship Boston Celtics T-Shirts available online. Is there a better one than this? I'd like to see it. Although, I think the faces could have been arranged a little better. Why is Pollard down in the first row with the starting five? And why is Posey all the way in the back row with Pruitt, Powe and the alien Cassell (speaking of which, when your caricature looks more like a normal human being than your actual face, something is not right.) Eddie House directly in the middle appears to be Paul Peirce's face just flipped around in the other direction. C'mon. It's still a sweet shirt anyway. T-Shirts are sweet.

smithers, why is that man in pink?

For once a completely ridiculous and worthless item didn't sell for way too much money on eBay. It sold for way too much money the old-fashioned way, on the radio! The dress shirt worn by Doc Rivers when Paul Pierce gave him the historic Gatorade bath was auctioned off this past week for charity. Bidders called into the Dennis and Callahan show to try and win the pink-stained shirt. The winner paid $35,000 for the shirt (autographed by Rivers and Pierce) and the actual Gatorade bucket. The winning bid beat out many other people including...Bill Parcells? According to the WEEI producer's blog, the Tuna called in with a bid of $20,000. Was he just joking around or did he seriously want the shirt?

"Well another crazy day at the Dennis and Callahan Show. When Bill Parcells called in at 8:15a to bid 20 grand on the Doc Rivers Gatorade shirt the bidding really took off. One funny note, when I answered the hotline and it was Bill Parcells, I was so excited to hear from him I said, “Hey coach.“ His answer was great -- “That coach title is obsolete.“ So I said, “Well then good morning Mr. Vice President of Football Operations.“ He laughed and I was beeming. Call me a loser but making The Big Tuna laugh is pretty cool in my book."-Iggy/WEEI.com

celtics draft bobby budnick and gerald green 2.0

The Celtics drafted shooting guard J.R. Giddens out of New Mexico with the 30th pick and center Semih Erden (photo) out of the Turkey with the 60th pick this Thursday night. Doc Rivers said in an NBA TV interview tonight that he thinks Giddens "can be a defender in this leauge right now." Semih Erden is said to be a few years away from being NBA ready. ESPN said his area of improvement needs to be "motivation"...really? You need to be motivated to make millions of dollars? Here are the DraftExpress.com and NBA.com profiles for each guy along with some video footage.

J.R. Giddens DraftExpress
J.R. Giddens NBA.com

Semih Erden DraftExpress
Semih Erden NBA.com

J.R. Giddens dunk montage


a crazy flying airwalk in-game dunk (turn down the volume)


Semih Erden furious lanky white guy dunk


He's kind of a big deal in Gaziosmanpasa

shaq, please don't compare yourself to biggie

goodbye zaza

The Kevin Garnett screen on Zaza Patchouli Oil...I mean Pachulia. One of the top 10 moments from the 2008 Playoffs. Another thing that makes this clip so awesome is how Breen, Van Gundy, and Jackson (can we just call them Breen Van Jackson from now on?) spend a minute and a half breaking down the hit and completely defending it. And yes Pachulia looks like Marilyn Manson.

kg's favorite tv show

You might not be surprised to learn that Kevin Garnett barely watches TV. But you probably would be surprised to learn to the one show he does watch is...Family Guy? After being asked if he had seen the "I Remember" Celtics commercial, Garnett responded "Absolutely, it's one of my favorites, and I don't even watch that much TV. Only Family Guy...and I think that's it." Also this clip is from the NBA TV feed of the press conference, so it includes KG's "Go Celtics...shit" comment at the end that was cut off by all the other broadcasts.

sega genesis game correctly predicts nba finals

It's amazing what technology can do. Who would have thought that back in 1990 a Sega Genesis game could predict what would happen in the 2008 NBA Finals? Yet that is what appears to have happened if you read the hilarious videogamecritic.net review for Lakers Vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs on the Sega Genesis. Some examples from the review are included below:

How the games looked-
"the wood surface looks realistic, the lanky players perform their famous "signature" moves, and coaches pace the sidelines."

Mark Jackson playing third wheel to the Breen/Van Gundy combo-
"...anchors at a desk who comment on the game via scrolling text. Actually, the black guy never says anything, but he does crack a smile periodically and it looks hilarious."

The Celtics dominating in defensive style games-
"compared to modern basketball games, Lakers Vs. Celtics is slow and choppy, and it takes a while to run the length of the court."

The Celtics defense limiting Kobe and the Lakers offsense-
"there's no turbo or crossover move, so it's nearly impossible to penetrate to the hoop."

The questionable officiating-
"sometimes a player will score even when the ball clearly didn't pass through the hoop."

The Staples Center atmosphere-
"and for goodness sake, turn OFF that blaring music that plays nonstop during the game."

The Staples Center crowd-
"...a crowd that's dead silent until you score."

And finally it sums up the entire series-
"Lakers Vs. Celtics definitely shows its age, but if you accept its limitations it's still worthwhile."

the 617 conspiracy?

The Celtics won title number 17 in 6 games, won on 6/17, and won in 617 (Boston area code). This was pointed out by ESPN's Bill Simmons in his post-finals column and it just struck me as something strange, although he does stretch it a little bit. How many websites will be started based on this conspiracy in the next few weeks? Maybe 617?

"If you're a numerology buff, then you'll enjoy this one: Game 6 was played on June 17 -- in other words, "6" (the number for June, as well as the number of games in the Finals) and "17" (the number of Boston championships if you include one for 2008). Two of the four greatest Celtics of all-time -- Bill Russell and John Havlicek -- wore "6" and "17," respectively. And if you add 6+1+7, you'd get "14," the number worn by Bob Cousy, another one of the four greatest Celtics ever. (If you want to really stretch it, 3 + 3 = 6, and "33" was worn by Larry Bird, the fourth in the "greatest Celtics ever" group.) If that's not enough, the area code for Boston is "617." And on a somber note, the 1986 draft happened June 17 -- really, the last day the Celtics felt like they were invincible. I don't know what all of this means, but it means something, right?" - Bill Simmons

top of the world

"what can you say now?"

nba finals game 6: boston 131 - l.a. 92

the next great sports video game

through the eyes of a lakers fan

Check out this Game 4 video taken from the nosebleed seats in the Staples Center (the only section where there might actually be some real fans...on second thought, probably not). The sound of dejection in their voices as the clock winds down and Ray Allen eventually seals the deal with a layup is glorious.

kobe breaks down his thirsty thursday

nba finals game 4: the rondo factor

So if the injured Rajon Rondo is able to play 35-40 minutes tonight, what does that mean for the Celts? Obviously if Rondo can't go we will probably be stuck with the brick-laying Sam Cassell who's shooting a whopping 33 percent from the field to go along with 0-4 from three point range in the Finals. However, having Rondo in the game isn't always a good thing. Yes, his 27 assists and 9.0 assists per game crush the next best passer in the finals (Kobe with 15 total assists/5.0 per game), but unless he's passing to a wide open Ray behind the arc, or to Powe directly under the basket, what good is it doing? Rondo can't finish consistently enough around the basket yet and he's essentially useless from beyond 15 feet. Don't get me wrong, it's easy to forget he's just a second year player, and I'm excited about his long term potential. I think he plays good defense and he's got great speed, but lately the offense just isn't flowing when he's in the game. The Celtics' two main offensive choices are either a Paul Pierce 360 fade-away hero shot, or the streaky KG 20-foot jump shot. Speaking of which, KG takes way too many jumpers, he needs to just dunk the ball more. Every time KG slams one down, it energizes the team and the entire crowd gets back into the game. A great dunk doesn't just score points, it sends a message. It seems like the Lakers figured out pretty early that all they had to do was take a defensive man off Rondo and stick a double team on Garnett, since Rondo pretty much craps his pants every time he's left open for a jumper. This is where Eddie House could be deadly. There's no way the Lakers can leave House open outside for shots, he's too quick and can catch fire. I won't even get my hopes up that Doc will finally figure this out. Here we go again, Game 4 tonight at 9pm ET.

-photo aol.nba.com