I’m scanning the experts’ picks. And I don’t see them.
I don’t pretend to be an NBA guru. Frankly, I can’t watch the game unless the schedule says “May.” The season is painfully long, player efforts are spotty at best, daily refereeing so bad it’s hilarious. Games in December mean less than nothing: Frankly, it’s probably best not to play your stars every night, keep them ready and rested, and get everyone fresh for the playoffs.
Yes, I don’t know anything, but I do know one thing. The Boston Celtics will have the worst record in the NBA.
And still scanning the experts at Sports Illustrated, Yahoo! pundits, ESPN pundits… nobody has Boston in the background. Portland is the consensus pick. Toronto gets some votes. Atlanta and Charlotte are mentioned. But where are my Celtics?
People are probably blinded by Paul Pierce. And of course, he has incredible talent. But where has that taken the team in recent seasons? As the Antoine Walker era recedes further and further into the past, Boston gets worse and worse. And now the saviors are… Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and Wally Szczerbiak? uh no. This is a team with no point guard (Telfair and rookie Rajon Rondo don’t count), no legitimate center (Kedrick Perkins definitely doesn’t count, and Ratliff is 107 and injured), no weight control (hello, Al Jefferson!), and no defense (Coach Doc Rivers has given up coaching the team every season he’s been in Beantown). Do I think the Celts can score 100 a night? Sure. Do I think they will prevent their opponents from scoring 120? That would be no.
Pierce just signed a long-term deal to remain the centerpiece of the franchise, and I guess that’s a good story. He’s always seemed like a pretty good guy to me, though he apparently pissed off more than one Team USA official at the World Championships a few years ago. But despite all the draft picks that Boston has boasted of in the last two seasons, Gerald Green, Rondo, Jefferson, Tony Allen, Delonte West… none of them can really play, so this team is just Pierce and the Piercettes. And when things get bad in Boston, it can be a brutal place to play.
Red Auerbach lived a great and full life before he passed away last week. In a way, it might be a good thing he didn’t live to see this.
We still have two undefeated teams in the NFL: Indianapolis and Chicago. They each have a tough matchup coming up. The Colts go to New England this week and the Bears go to the Giants in two weeks. Any chance any of these teams are 16-0?
BoDog Bookmakers, BoDog.ws: Obviously these two teams are firing on all cylinders, but expecting one team to go undefeated would probably be too much. The rigors of a full season take their toll on body and mind. But as we’ve seen in Chicago (vs. Arizona and Minnesota) and Indianapolis (vs. Tennessee and NY Giants), sometimes it doesn’t matter who you face each week, because no team is willing to just lay down. Every NFL team now has added motivation to beat these two clubs. Should it happen, though, Chicago has by far the easiest schedule for the rest of the season. His combination of stingy defense and explosive offense could do it.
What did you think of Tony Romo’s performance in Carolina last week? Will the Cowboys make the playoffs now?
BDB, BoDog.ws: We have to remember that Tony Romo has only started one game in his NFL career. While he’s taking a fresh look at defenses across the league, he’ll face tougher competition than the lackluster Carolina Panthers (who were awful on Sunday). Don’t forget that Romo threw three interceptions against the Giants, and it’s hard for a first-year starter not to force passes to receivers that require the touch of Dan Marino or John Elway. Everything comes with experience, and Romo will have to learn on the job from now on. The date Cowboys fans should have on their calendars is Dec. 25 vs. Philadelphia at home. That game is likely to have huge playoff ramifications for both clubs.
USC’s loss to Oregon State has put college football on edge. Do you expect the winner of the West Virginia/Louisville game to play the winner of the Ohio State/Michigan game in the BCS title game? Is there any way, other than big surprises, can we avoid this scenario?
BDB, BoDog.ws: That would be the likely scenario as it stands now. How the programmers decided to put Ohio State vs. Michigan in the final game of the season is something that should get a lot of press and opinion when the time comes. Keep an eye out for Rutgers, who could play spoiler next week if Louisville beats West Virginia on Thursday. Now wouldn’t that be something?
Should we stop the NHL season right now and hand the Stanley Cup over to the Buffalo Sabers?
BDB, BoDog.ws: I’ve been impressed with the Sabers since the start of last season, and while they’ve certainly jumped out the door quickly, let’s try not to jump to conclusions. They have a strong, fast, young core that plays very well as a unit, but as we know, the NHL season is long and grueling, where injuries to key players can ruin any team’s hopes. We should have a better idea when the All-Star Break rolls around in late January, but I’d say they’re clearly a force to be reckoned with.