Ray Allen, the Most Prolific Three-Point Shooter Ever

Last night, the two greatest shooters I've ever had the pleasure of truly watching for their entire careers were in one building, and fittingly, Ray Allen passed Reggie Miller as the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers made.

Seeing them embrace after Allen's 2,561st made three, I couldn't help but think of the contrasts between the two. When you really break it down, the only thing Reggie Miller and Ray Allen had in common was the amazing efficiency they've had watching the ball hit nothing but the bottom of the net. After that, the similarities end.



Reggie Miller had that unconventional, funky shooting motion, slapping his wrists together. It's something you'd never teach a youngster to try and imitate. Ray Allen's shot is the epitome of perfect form — squaring the feet, straightening the elbow, release at the highest point, perfect followthrough. It's almost as if god put him on this earth to show kids the exact form you should aim for. Reggie Miller was a brash trash-talker. Ray Allen has barely made a peep over his career. Reggie did most of his damage running of screens and bombing away. Allen, while being tremendous running of screens himself, had a little more hops and could create his own shot and get the rim in his younger days. Reggie is ringless. Ray finally got his with Boston.

Their personalities couldn't be more different. But they will always, always have that common moniker of great shooter. And now Allen can claim the title as the best, or at least most accomplished, three-point shooter of all time.

I vividly remember his playing days at UConn, first going up against Kerry Kittles, then Allen Iverson.



And as a Philadelphia 76ers fan and Allen Iverson connoisseur, I've closely watched Ray Allen's career ever since. Their personal rivalry began back in the Big East, when Ray Allen and Allen Iverson used to straight go at.





Of course, that rivalry's biggest game was decided by those two, when Ray hit the ridiculous shot that toppled Iverson's Hoyas to win the Big East Championship in 1996.





And I watched Allen and Iverson rekindle their rivalry in Iverson's very first game in the NBA, with Iverson putting up 30 points against Allen's Bucks.



That rivalry would last for years. The Bucks of Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson were among the biggest threats to Iverson's run at an Eastern Conference title along with … you guessed it, Reggie Miller's Pacers. When Iverson and the Sixers finally got past the Pacers in the 2001 playoffs and then outlasted the Toronto Raptors, all that stood between the Sixers and the NBA Finals were Ray Allen's Bucks.

I watched as the Bucks, led by Allen, fought tooth and nail before ultimately falling to the Sixers in seven games. And I remember Ray Allen basically saying there was a conspiracy to get the Sixers into the Finals:

"I think there's no question about that. The league, as a marketing machine, the bottom line is about making money," Allen said. "It behooves everybody for the league to make more money, and the league knows that Philadelphia is going to make more money with L.A. than we would with L.A."

I remember the very next year when Philadelphia was hosting the All-Star game. I went to the three-point shootout and dunk contest with silver fox and Arkansas Fred — specifically recalling Shane Battier, fresh off playing the rookie-sophomore game, coming out the wrong door and looking up all confused at the crowd outside waiting to get in, then walking through the crowd and running right into Arkansas Fred and silver fox, true story — and every time Ray Allen came up, he was getting booed. The out-of-towner next to me, who kept hilariously making fun of Funkmaster Flex — the night's MC — asked me why everyone hated Allen. I told him it was because of his comments in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before, and he couldn't stop laughing. (Jason Richardson won the dunk contest by the way, and that was the year the stupid wheel of a classic dunk was used.)

But even though Ray Allen was a rival of my favorite Sixer ever, even though he made those absurd comments, I could never bring myself to hate the man. His game was just too smooth, too impressive, too good, and the work he put in made me love his game even more.

Ray Allen could always shoot, and he still is as good a shooter as anybody. Everyone knows that. But what some people might not remember is just how incredible an athlete Ray-Ray was in his younger days. He could sky. He could get to the rim. He could beat his man off the dribble, finish in the paint, do just about anything offensively. After being on a contender in Milwaukee, he never complained about his obscurity in Seattle. He just went about his business, the first one to arrive and last one to leave, and became a leader. Even going Hollywood as Jesus Shuttleworth didn't go to his head or take away from his preparation.

Ray Allen has simply put in the work day in and day out since the moment he arrived at UConn, and he hasn't relented ever since. He went a long, long time chasing that ring, and when he finally won it in Boston, I was happy for him. And I'm happy that he's now the all-time leader in three-pointers made. Because watching him for the past 16-plus years has been a real joy, first at UConn and now back in New England some 14 years later.

Ray Allen is easily the greatest shooter I've ever seen. He has the most beautiful jump shot and quickest release my eyes have ever witnessed. If you had to pick one player in the history of the league to use as a teaching tool on how to shoot, you'd go with Ray Allen, his form is that pure. And if the NBA and sports in general had more players, more humans like Ray Allen, we'd all be better off.

Congrats, Ray. You deserve to go down in the history books. And I feel privileged to have watched your career unfold, and lucky that I've gotten to see that sweet shot for all these years.

Does Your Mother Sew?

Tuesday night, the Sixers got stabbed in the face with a soldering iron by the Bulls.



They needed to sew up the wounds and rebound quickly with a date in Boston against the defending Eastern Conference champions last night.

One night after getting completely and utterly embarrassed by the Chicago Bulls, the Sixers rolled into Boston and were the aggressors right from the jump, attacking the Celtics and their 13-game winning streak without fear.

The Celtics did manage to go up by six after the first quarter, but the Sixers never relented, kept going hard to the rim and pounding it inside, and it resulted in foul trouble for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Nate Robinson. That led to the Sixers outscoring the Celtics 27-15 in the second quarter, taking a six-point lead into halftime. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday did a lot of the heavy lifting early, with some nice contributions off the bench by Lou Williams and Tony Battie.

But the third quarter was a completely different story. Boston flipped the script, outscoring the Sixers 26-17, and the game went on the see-saw. The Sixers hung close, played tough and displayed the effort and aggressiveness they lacked the night before, but when it was all said and done, the Celtics had Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, and the Sixers didn't.



Oh, and Andre Iguodala really isn't very good in the clutch —  turning it over, pounding the ball and then forcing up horrible shots, you know, the usual from Iggy at the end of close games.

Despite getting to the line 10 more times than the Celtics and having their bench far outplay Boston's, the Sixers couldn't come away with the victory. In the end, it was Allen, Pierce and Garnett that made the difference, giving Boston a hard-fought 84-80 win. Jesus Shuttlesworth led the way with a game-high 22 points, making up for the struggles of Paul Pierce throughout. In the first half, Pierce was held completely in check, saddled in foul trouble. And his finishing stat line looks horrendous: 11 points on 4-15 from the field with 2 turnovers. But he hit a couple of huge shots in the fourth quarter, including a dagger three, and got to the line, heating up when Boston needed him the most. And Garnett, while also struggling with his shot (4-10 from the field for 12 points), hit a couple of clutch jumpers late, added 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

Oh, and some other guy you may have heard of, Shaquille O'Neal, had a pretty damn good game as well: 13 points on 5-8 shooting with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.

You can't fault the Sixers for their effort. They gave it all they had. But the simple truth is the Celtics have four Hall of Famers on their team, three of whom are better than anyone on the Sixers right now, while Philadelphia doesn't even have a legitimate all-star on the entire roster (though Elton Brand was once upon a time).



Brand did continue his quiet season of good play, leading the Sixers with 16 points and hauling in a game-high 12 rebounds. It begs the question, especially with Garnett in foul trouble, why Brand didn't get more touches and shots. He only attempted 8 field goals (going 5-8) and did get to the line 8 times, but he should have, given his effectiveness, had double-digit shot attempts, which more than likely would have resulted in double-digit free throw attempts. Doesn't make much sense that he didn't get more shots up.

Jrue had a nice game himself, especially in the early going. He finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists without turning the ball over once. But he did seem to disappear at moments in the second half.

The biggest surprise and the most energetic player for the Sixers was veteran Tony Battie. With Spencer Hawes shaken up on a hard fall sustained going up against Shaq and then struggling throughout, Battie played a season-high 25:33, scored 10 points, had 6 boards, blocked 4 shots and made five of his eight shot attempts. It was quite an inspired performance by the elder stateman of the team, showing he still has something left in the tank.

Louis Williams had a nice performance as well, scoring 12 points off the bench, and the Sixers were +9 with Lou Will on the floor. Trouble is Lou turned the ball over 4 times and couldn't guard anyone, allowing Nate Robinson some open looks from three and lacking the size to guard anyone else.

The rest of the Sixers, despite giving the Celtics all they could handle, left plenty to be desired. Jody Meeks was absolutely terrible, scoring just three points in over 31 minutes and not recording a single other stat besides 3 turnovers. It was like he was completely afraid of the situation. Meeks attempted just 2 shots all night, missing them both, and finished with nothing in the way of rebounds, assists, steals or blocks. I'm not sure how that's possible in 31-plus minutes of action.

Spencer Hawes, after putting together a nice stretch of games, has come crashing back down to earth. He struggled against Chicago, and before that in Orlando. And last night, he had just 6 points on 3-8 shooting and turned the ball over 4 times. Not good. Thaddeus Young did pretty much nothing, and Evan Turner, the No. 2 overall pick, literally did nothing, not playing a single minute. Unreal.

But the biggest disappointment of all was Andre Iguodala.



Everyone in Philadelphia knows Iguodala is not a real franchise player, not the guy you want carrying your team. But Iguodala is a very good player, and most definitely the best player on the Philadelphia 76ers. Given that, you expect him to be the one leading the way in a game like this — a tight contest against one of the league's best team a night after a poor effort.

But save for a breakaway dunk here and an assist there, Iguodala was awful last night. He scored just 9 points, shot 2-11 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc. he had just 2 rebounds. All of this despite Paul Pierce's foul trouble and struggles, all while Iguodala himself played nearly 40 minutes. I'm sorry, but that's just pathetic.

The thing that really frustrates you the most is the end-of-game play by Iguodala, which was in stark contrast to Pierce's play. After coming alive a little in the third, Pierce scored six big points — a momentum-shifting dunk that brought the Celtics to within two, two free throws courtesy of an Andre Iguodala foul that tied the game, and a jumper that put the Celtics up 82-78 with 1:36 to play.

Meanwhile, Iguodala didn't score a single point in the third quarter. He missed all four shots he took, including a quickly jacked three-pointer and horrendous fade-away with a hand in his face forced by his own doing — dribbling the ball in one place as the shot clock wound down. Then, to show just how un-clutch he really is, he dribbled the ball off his foot and turned it over with 50 seconds to play with the Sixers down a bucket. The Celtics failed to score and the Sixers got the ball back with the score still sitting at 82-80 Boston. So to top it all off, Iggy got blocked by Garnett with 14.9 left, Pierce grabbed the rebound and the Sixers had to foul Ray Allen, one of the greatest foul shooter in the history of the NBA, with five seconds left. That was that.

I like a lot of things about Andre Iguodala's game, but I'd rather be stabbed in the face with a soldering iron than have to rely on him to carry his team in a big game, especially in crunch time.

My 2009-10 NBA Conundrum

With all the talk and hype about the summer of 2010 taking over the NBA stratosphere the past few seasons, it's understandable that the summer of 2009 was simply considered an afterthought before it actually came to be. But as we're all aware of now, this has been one the most busy, batshit-insane offseasons in recent memory.



The craziest part for me is the fact that two teams I despise, both of which call cities I cannot stand home, each added one of my favorite players to the fold. Yes, I'm talking about the Lakers and the Celtics, Los Angeles and Boston. And now I find myself completely and utterly disgusted that I may actually like the makeup of these two teams.

Of course, I already sorta came to grips with Boston when they added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, two of my favorite players ever. I wanted desperately for both those men, especially KG, to get a ring, so it didn't sting quite as much to have Boston win in 2008, especially since the Sixers were far from contention. But now, I almost want to like the Celtics with the addition of Rasheed Wallace. Almost, but of course I cannot.



I, just like everyone else, can get frustrated with Sheed from time to time. I always imagined him becoming one of the greatest ever. Perhaps that's selfish of me. But, as Joey over at FreeDarko pointed out, there's a lot to love and appreciate in Rasheed Wallace. When his head is right, he's a selfless player with superstar skill, one of the best post defenders in all the land, and a simply unstoppable force on the blocks when he chooses to be. And he has no problem playing second (or third, or fourth) fiddle to his teammates, making the union with Garnett, Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo a seemingly ideal fit.

Plus, the guy is a Philadelphian through and through. A Simon Gratz grad. A UNC Tar Heel. It's hard for me not to love the guy, flaws and all. And now he's a Celtic. If ever there was a guy who didn't fit a city, it's Rasheed Wallace in Boston. Take that for what you will.

But as far as a fit on the team, Rasheed offers so much more than that fatso named Big Baby it's not even funny. Sure, Sheed may be old, and last year he definitely sucked and stopped trying, but with KG around, something tells me Rasheed will bring his A game every damn night. And frankly, that's a scary thought — mixing crazy intense, with crazy accurate shooting, with crazy clutch star with just plain crazy. This Boston team is going to be fun to watch.

And the Celtics aren't the only ones. As much as I detest all LA stands for, I cannot deny the pure beauty in one Kobe Bryant's play. He's Philadelphia's shunned son, brought on by his own doings, but the fact remains, he plays the game as no one else does. Now his evil forces are joined with the NBA's poster child of evil.



I love Ron Artest. Always have. Always will. The guy is certifiably insane, but he's also one of the toughest players I've ever seen take the court. And man, can he D it up with the best of them.

But now he'll be donning the purple and gold. Alongside Kobe Bryant, the man he had a bit of a tiff with in the playoffs.



Seems absurd, right? Well, not if you recall that time Ron-Ron interviewed the Mamba himself.



This union is so crazy that it just might work. In fact, I don't really see how it can't. The Lakers, assuming they can bring Lamar Odom back, just replaced Trevor Ariza with Ron Artest. For those of you with delusions that Ariza is as good as Artest right now, just stop reading. You are stupid. Ron Artest is better than Ariza, making the Lakers better than the team that just won the championship. That's a little scary, no?

While I'm excited to see how Artest handles the limelight of LA and the demanding nature of Kobe, and greatly anticipate the lineup of Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett and Wallace, I'm torn. I don't want to like anything about the Celtics or Lakers. Not a single thing. It's in my hate-filled Philadelphia blood. Boston is a nemesis, a frequent foe. I wish nothing good upon that city. And LA, well, it's the antithesis of Philadelphia — fake, laid-back, glitzy. I can't relate, and I don't want to. Los Angeles is for those who want to be seen, not those that actually care.

Now, there are bits and pieces that I find myself drawn to on each team. To be honest, I hate it. I hope both teams fail, but I'm going to enjoy watching Artest playing with Kobe and the head-exploding frontcourt of Sheed and Garnett.

Maybe the Spurs, with the addition of Richard Jefferson, the Cavs with LeBron and Shaq, or Orlando, with another one of my favorites, Vince Carter, can come out on top. That would be ideal because God knows the last thing either LA or Boston needs is another championship. And I'll feel much better about myself if neither team wins it all, so I don't feel so bad about liking the ideas behind the teams I despise.

Exciting Doesn't Begin to Describe It

As I was attending a horrible game, the Bulls-Celtics were in yet another incredible classic, this time in a game so awesome that Shoals described it as the greatest game ever. Who am I to disagree?



When I walked through the door of my house, Adam EatShit told me I was missing an incredible game, that the Bulls and Celtics were heading to double-overtime and Ray Allen was going bonkers.



Luckily for me, I got to watch the second and third overtimes, and yes, it was was awesome. Especially that ending. Wow. Just wow. First, up by one with 23.7 seconds left in that third overtime, the Bulls ran a gorgeous inbound play, getting Kirk Hinrich wide open for a layup. Only Hinrich somehow inexplicably missed. Ray Allen snatched the rebound and the Celtics called a timeout with 16.7 left.

The Bulls had a foul to give, and on the inbound, Derek Rose immediately fouled Rajon Rondo 30 feet from the basket with only eight-tenths of a second coming off the clock. Doug Collins was raving about how much he hated that foul. Essentially no time came off the clock, and now the Bulls would send the Celtics to the line if they fouled again. He was right; it was an awful foul.

But it didn't take Rose long to make up for it, pulling off quite possibly the most incredible block I've ever seen.



Yes, Rose showed his true Memphis colors by missing both free throws, but it was no matter. Rondo's buzzer-beater heave was way off, and the Bulls won another overtime thriller, this time taking it in three overtimes, 128-127, to force a game 7. I wish this series would never end. And I wish I would have stayed home and watched the whole damn game.

Evidently, John Salmons went off, scoring 35 for Chicago, and Ray Allen was the man, going off for 51 points including 9 threes. Here's the thing, why the hell wasn't Ray-Ray getting the ball in that final OT? Why did Rondo insist on taking Rose one-on-one instead of feeding it to the white hot Allen, a player who's been clutch all series? His youthful exuberance definitely got the best of him. Rondo has been amazing, but in that instance, you have to get Allen the ball.

I'm glad he didn't though, because that was one incredible ending. And of course, I'd rather see the Bulls win than another team from Boston.

The Bulls-Celts game wasn't the only exciting one last night either. Before the second OT began, we flipped to the Canucks-Blackhawks game, and Vancouver was up 3-1. When we came back after that epic Boston-Chicago ending, the game was tied 3-3.

Then, with just over a minute left in regulation, the Canucks broke out on a 3-on-1, which they executed beautifully. Only problem was Nikolai Khabibulin slid across and made an incredible stop. Well, it could have been problem, had Sami Salo not been following up. Luckily for Vancouver, the veteran defenseman did, slamming the puck home to give the Canucks the 4-3 win.





It sucks that the Flyers and Sixers are both done, but as last night's games showed, there are still plenty of reasons to watch both the NBA and NHL playoffs, even for Philadelphia fans.

The NBA, Where 30 is Better than 42 Happens

When is 30 points greater than 42 points? When this shot is the one that gets you points 28, 29 and 30:





If I ever had any doubt in my mind, it's all been washed away: Ray Allen is the greatest shooter I've ever laid eyes on. Better than Reggie Miller. Better than Mark Price, Steve Kerr. Better than anyone. He's a freak, and the man has some ice water in his veins.

Last night my roommates and I were going back and forth between the Celtics-Bulls game and the Capitals-Rangers game, and man, if you missed the second half of the Bulls-Celtics game, you missed quite a show. Minutes after we tuned in after halftime, my one roommate asked why you don't hear much about Ben Gordon overall, seeing as he is real good. I replied, "Well, he isn't THAT good." Then Gordon proceeded to completely GO OFF, shoving my words right down my throat.



Gordon was unconscious last night. I saw him miss exactly one shot in the time I was watching, and the guy finished with a game-high 42 points, including six threes. He was just going bonkers. Every time he touched the ball, it was a given that it was going in.

And the fun part was, in the second half, Ray Allen was doing the exact same thing. The two former UConn stars were going back and forth right at each other, oftentimes matched up against one another. And in the end, the elder Allen showed his younger counterpart how it's really done, scoring 28 of his 30 points in the second half, including the game-winning dagger. It was a truly epic battle between the young and the old of UConn lore, this time on the NBA stage.



It was really cool listening to Ray Allen interviewed by David Aldridge, as Allen talked about how last year he went up against a fellow Connecticut guy in Rip Hamilton and had to chase him all over the place and then last night how he had to do the same thing, chasing fellow Huskie Ben Gordon all over the court. He may be a Celtic, but Ray Allen is good people. And the greatest shooter I've ever seen.

Update: Allen's post-game interview here:

Look at All Those Empty Seats

Last night, I met Joltin' Joe and his roommate at the Wachovia Center to take in the Sixers-Pacers game, and I have to say, I can't remember the last time I've seen the Wachovia Center so depressingly empty.



I mean, it was just sad. Here we are, in the beginning of February, with football finished and baseball still more than a month away, and there was virtually no one there. It certainly wasn't what the Sixers had in mind after a great run at the end of last season and making a big (awful?) splash this summer. But that's what happens when an underachieving team is hosting one of the worst teams in basketball I guess.

As far as the game went, it was an underwhelming performance by the Sixers. Perhaps they were tired coming off the heartbreaking loss to the Celtics, or maybe they were depressed by the news that the $82 $80 million man was gone until next year. Who knows? What I do know is that the Sixers' three-point defense was simply atrocious last night, which Joltin' Joe pointed out has been a perplexing problem for the Sixers the past decade. Different players, different coaches, same horrible three-point defense.

After jumping out to an early lead, Tony DiLeo decided to put in a lineup completely lacking of offensive firepower, pulling 4 of the 5 starters for Reggie Evans, Marreese Speights, Lou Will and Royal Ivey, and keeping in Thad. That's when the Pacers flipped the script and took the lead, led by Mike Dunleavy's mustache and Troy Murphy's whiteness.





The Sixers did come back in the second, but they were letting a terrible team play with them entirely too long. Many of the few fans in attendance were getting restless, especially with DiLeo's coaching. However, as Joltin' Joe pointed out, no one who was actually sitting behind or next to DiLeo yelled anything. At all. It was maddening. Especially considering Tony insisted on keeping Reggie Evans in the game when he was completely ineffective. People were clamoring for Theo, for his defense if nothing else, but the long arm of the law remained seated with his nice view next to Kareem Rush.

Andre Miller did decide to sort of take over in the second half, attacking the rim and getting to the line, which certainly helped the Sixers get the lead back. And Andre Iguodala was once again the best player on the court, continuing to impress since Brand went down the first time.

I also have to give some love to Willie Green and Sammy Dalembert. I've never really been a huge Willie fan, but the guy has played really well this season, and last night, he hit some big shots for the Sixers. In fact, the guy led everyone with 23 points. And somewhere along the way, Willie has developed into a pretty good defensive player. He's the sole reason Kareem Rush has been M.I.A. And Sammy, for all the hits he takes from fans and media alike, has been playing some damn fine basketball over the past month. Last night, the Haitian Sensation was pretty awesome, going for 18 points on 6-13 shooting, 6-6 from the line and pulling down a ridiculous 20 boards.



It was nice to see him have an impact in the 99-94 win. What wasn't nice to see was the number of wide open looks Indiana had from three, which ultimately led to them staying in the game. Thankfully, the Pacers cooled off, and being the bad team they are, continued to jack. They took 34 threes last night. I'm not making this up. Thirty freakin four. The Sixers took 12. That's an astounding number of threes to take in a game, and it kind of lets you know why Indiana is 12 games under .500. The Sixers, meanwhile, got back to that .500 mark yet again, pulling to 24-24 with 34 left to play.

After getting dropped off graciously by Joltin' Joe, I planted myself on the couch to watch the end of the Lakers-Celtics game. If you like basketball, do yourself a favor and watch these two teams any time they're on TV. Sure, they're both hateable jerks, but they are damn good basketball teams.



The ending to last night's battle was pretty awesome. Immediately when I began watching, Kobe and Rajon Rondo were jawing at each other, with Kobe pointing his finger right in Rondo's face. Minutes later, KG and Odom were going at it. The game was intense, and the hatred was very evident between the two teams.

In a back and forth fourth, Kobe, who had been shut down most of the half by Paul Pierce's defense (I still can't believe the guy played zero defense his entire career, then all the sudden tries once he gets two HOFers on his team. Stealin money for years), remembered he was Kobe and hit some absolutely ridiculous contested three-pointers to bring the Lakers back and force overtime. I mean, Pierce was completely blanketing Kobe, and it didn't matter. Mamba was making those shots no matter what.



And, when the Celtics had a chance to win it with one last shot in regulation, Kobe didn't let that happen. Right as Pierce was about to go for a shot, Kobe knocked the ball away to prevent even a shot attempt. Lamar Odom was also a beast for the Lakers in the 4th, and Ray Allen was all sorts of clutch in overtime for the Celtics. But ultimately, with Garnett fouled out in the 4th, the Laker prevailed in OT with Pau Gasol getting the game-winner from the line. It was a crazy game though. Pierce and Allen were hitting big shots, and Paul played incredible D. Kobe was Kobe and Pau came up big in OT.



It gave the Lakers the 2-0 regular season edge against the C's, and it once again could be the finals matchup for the second straight year. Unless, you know, LeBron has something to say about it.

Never Leave the Jesus

Thad, my man, I love you, but come on, you gotta know, YOU NEVER, EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE LEAVE JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH when you're up by 2 with seconds to play! NEVER!



I know you're a youngster there, Thad, but come on, you aren't a rookie anymore. Somebody needs to Salmi-strate all over your ass. That was the worst defensive play I've seen all year. Everyone in the world knows no matter what, you never leave quite possibly the greatest shooter of all time open from three when you're up two. Shit, a retarded monkey knows that.

That game was supremely disappointing. It's not often you're given a chance to face the Celtics without Kevin Garnett, and when you do, you have to take advantage. Last night, the Sixers had the chance to do just that but didn't get it done.

Sure, there were some highlights, like a sick alley-oop dunk from Andre Miller that Iguodala threw down over Tony Allen and the other oop Miller tossed to Speights, and of course, the entire run by Speights.



But at the end of that game, the Sixers became a flat-out dumb basketball team. Paul Pierce—who had an excellent game with a game-high 29 points and set up Ray Allen for the game-winning three—picked up his 5th foul with a couple minutes left. He was guarding Iguodala, the most athletic player on the Sixers and their leading scorer.

Naturally, what any smart basketball team would do is feed the man Pierce was guarding, in this case Andre Iguodala, and have him attack Pierce—either to foul him out or hope he offers little resistance for fear of fouling out. So what do the Sixers do? The next two trips down the court, Iguodala didn't even touch the ball. First, Louis Williams decided to drive to the hoop early in the shot clock and throw one up in traffic. The next trip, Thad decided to drive and came up empty.

Finally, the Sixers gave the ball to Dre on their second to last possession, and with Pierce on him, he hit the go-ahead jumper. Great coaching there DiLeo. What a freakin joke.

Also, seriously, Elton Brand, you suck. If ever there was any question, now it is abundantly clear: Never, ever, ever trust a player from Duke. Nothing like spending $82 million on a player who can only manage 8-plus minutes on the floor against the defending champs—with no Garnett. Great investment. Can we get a mulligan on that one? Josh Smith anyone?

Some Pretty Awesome Basketball Happened Last Night

While the rest of the country was annoying the hell out of me yesterday demanding me to vote (which I didn't do by the way), I was preparing for the marquee matchup of this young NBA season: The new big three in Houston vs. the championship big three of Boston.





Because of this election, there were practically no sports on anywhere, except for some shitty college football game on ESPN2. Luckily for myself, the Boston-Houston game was on NBA TV, which I actually get. So I turned on the pregame and was pleasantly surprised. You see, in recent years, the likes of Billy King and other horrible idiots filled up the screens on NBA TV. But not last night. No. Last night in the studio were Ahmad Rashad, Gary Payton and Chris Webber. And that trio was very entertaining.

All three clearly know basketball and Webber and Payton displayed a pretty nice on-camera demeanor. I enjoyed the broadcast thoroughly, especially when they showed this:



Classic. Anyway, it was nice to hear all three guys gushing over Iverson, talking about how he can play forever. I agree. Another highlight was when they talked to John Thompson on the phone, who had some great quotes:

"There's all these guys with nutritionists and doing all this health food stuff. I'd say, 'I'll give Allen Iverson a bag of potato chips and a Coke and he'll beat you all down the court.'" or something close to that.

He also added, "Michael Vick told me not only could Allen Iverson have played college football, but he could have been in the Heisman race. I told him if I ever saw Allen near a football field, I'd kill him."

Funny stuff.

Well, finally the game started, and I gotta say, I was excited. This game featured quite possibly the most players that I love on the court at the same time. For the Celtics, KG, Ray Allen and Eddie House. On Houston's side, Artest, Brent Barry, Luther Head, T-Mac and yes, Stevie Franchise.

Anyway, the game was pretty damn awesome in case you were too busy watching people talk on CNN. From the get-go, it was incredible to watch the one-on-one battle between Artest and Pierce, who were guarding each other virtually the entire game. Seriously, no matter what your thoughts are on Artest, you would kill to have a guy that can play defense like that on your team. He's just a beast. And it showed, as he held Pierce to just 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.



What was also fun to watch was Pierce continuing his tremendous defensive play that he inexplicably developed late last season. He got up in Artest's face, who for some reason decided to start jacking threes early on and never stop (he attempted 10 threes in the game), as Artest shot just 3 of 16 and scored just 15 points.

This game was an awesome back-and-forth battle. In the first two minutes, Houston came out intense and fired up, but the Celtics took command quickly after that, jumping out to a double-digit lead.

However, Houston kept pace with a great game from Luis Scola, who scored 21 points, and a solid contribution from the bench. When subs Brent Barry, Aaron Brooks, Chucky Hayes and Carl Landry came in, Houston made headway. By the half, the game was close, and in the third quarter, T-Mac started to take over.

With Artest keeping Pierce in check, McGrady started really feeling it, and Houston even took a brief lead. However, Yao was awful. Just flat awful. And when he was in the game, the Celtics dominated. Boston nabbed virtually every rebound the entire game, and Yao was a nonfactor. Meanwhile, Tracy was trying to will Houston to a victory when Rick Adelman inexplicably took him out to start the fourth and kept him on the bench until there were under 6 and half minutes left.

In that time, Ray Allen got hot. Really, really hot. Just hitting daggers, and the Celtics won behind his game-high 29 points. That man can just shoot the shit out of the ball.



It was a really fun game to watch, but the outcome wasn't what I wanted. With the additions of Artest and Brent Barry, I declared the Rockets my favorite team in the West. And I mean that. Artest and Barry are two of my favorite players of all time. I'm now a pseudo Rockets fan.

That's why Rick Adelman made me so mad. Surely, Adelman is a good coach and all, and the Rockets were 3-0 heading into last night's game, but I don't understand the guy. First off, why is Luther Head getting no PT? The guy is a very good shooter and fearless on the court. And he can certainly present a bigger defensive boost than Aaron Brooks, who did play well last night. Head should get some run.

But more directly regarding last night's game, what the hell was Adelman doing? The backups were the ones who really got the Rockets back in the game, and the most effective 5 players on the court for Houston were Artest (defensively), T-Mac, Barry, Scola and Brooks. Rafer provided absolutely nothing, and Yao was horrible.

In the third, Tracy got hot and brought Houston right there, but instead of riding him, Adelman took him out for more than 5 minutes to begin the fourth. During that time, the Celtics took a lead they never relinquished. It was asinine coaching that got even worse when he took out all of the subs to put the entire starting lineup back in late int he fourth. As a result, Yao continued to suck and Rafer did nothing. He should have played Artest, McGrady, Barry, Scola and Brooks the majority of the fourth, with Landry and Hayes coming in in spots.

Instead, Adelman coached like he wasn't watching anything that was actually going on on the court, just blindly handing the game to players that were ineffective in crunch time. Terrible coaching job last night.

But a great game. I'm glad the NBA is back.