By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 08/16/2010

Kendrick Perkins has been the center of choice for the Celtics for a while now.  Last year's knee injury and his subsequent regular season performance have put a damper on his future.  Perkins made significant strides, but the preseason injury...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 08/08/2010

We have seen this before in Los Angeles, when the Lakers added an older Karl Malone and Gary Payton to their roster.  Kobe Bryant wanted to put Shaquille O'Neal on notice about his grown man game.  Shaq wasn't having it and both Malone and...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 08/05/2010

Going Green has been the popular thing to do, recycling old parts to preserve the environment and ensure our future.  The Boston Celtics have applied the Green-effect in the only way an NBA team can, they have added experienced veteran players ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/30/2010

Celtic Nation didn't see this one coming. The talk of the town was whether or not Matt Barnes would come to the Celtics and if Eddie House would come back to the Celtic dynasty he helped revive with a championship in 2008.    Barnes chose...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/23/2010

The Boston Celtics accomplished something they have been unable to do since the return of their championship ways. They were able to retain what they had considered major acquisitions to their bench in Marquis Daniels and Nate Robinson.  Last season's...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/21/2010

  The Boston Celtics are publicly stating that they are the ones to beat in the East, and they should.  As the defending Eastern Conference champs it will remain so until the end of the 2010-11 Conference Finals. The only thing that could jeopardize...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/19/2010

The NBA is littered with stars and wannabe stars who just don't have the mental fortitude to be the one to carry a team.   Some are hampered by injury others by the people surrounding them and their unwillingness to push themselves beyond their...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/17/2010

All professional athletes have one goal in mine, to win a championship.  Some of them are known by their first name or a nickname that has worldwide recognition. Others stay on the fringe but are equally important to those ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/14/2010

There are those who think that Boston’s core players are too old, and that Danny Ainge should have traded them and started the rebuilding process. It is very hard to argue with the results that they have produced.   Aside from the injury...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/11/2010

The Orlando Summer League may have opened the eyes of many NBA executives around the league to the skills of Luke Harangody.   Harangody backed out of last year's draft because he was projected to be a second rounder.  This year the same doubts...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/09/2010

Now that the LeBron egomania ri de is over, other free agents can collectively dust themselves off and continue their quest for an NBA home.  It will be interesting to see which one of them will be clamoring to ride the shoestrings...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 07/04/2010

The Boston Celtics have managed to keep two of their major free agents in Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers.  Danny Ainge had maintained all along that Pierce and Rivers would be back in the fold and they were right. Doc did his customary end of season...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/30/2010

This is the time of year that max-deal and near max-deal players dream off.  Some will need wheel-barrows to take their money home; others, like Glen Davis did last year, will be wondering where the love is. There are talks about the free-agent...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/26/2010

The Boston Celtics made a bold statement on draft night; they went against conventional wisdom and chose a point guard with the 19th pick. This may turn out to be Danny Ainge's way of telling Paul Pierce that this is Rondo's team now.   Media ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/23/2010

The Boston Celtics are going to look drastically different next season and this has fans nervous. They are wondering if the Celtics are going to have enough to make a deep playoff run.  The team’s chemistry issues affected the way they played...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/18/2010

  Phil Jacksons' Game five statements were prophetic as his Lakers won their 16th championship against the Boston Celtics. Once again Celtics regular season habit of not paying attention in the fourth quarter came back to haunt them. ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/17/2010

This 2010 season was supposed to be the year of LeBron; fortunately for the rest of us, we have a match-up that only the basketball Gods could make possible. You can feel the tremor of excitement permeating the air, the rear ambrosia of a Game ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/16/2010

  The Boston Celtics to a man all thought that Tuesday was supposed to be good for them.  After all they had a 3-2 lead after winning two in a row.   Now, it’s on to Thursday and there is no guarantee that the moment will...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/15/2010

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to accomplish something only the Boston Celtics have done in this series so far, win two games in a row. This would be a tall order for any other team but the Lakers have 'The Mamba,' Kobe Bryant, and home court advantage...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/14/2010

Who would have thought that a single utterance in a movie by the most recognized Laker super-fan Jack Nicholson, "You can't handle the truth!" manifest itself in an NBA game.   Nicholson insisted in the movie "A Few Good Men" that...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/12/2010

 has become apparent that there isn't that much difference in the talent level in the Finals this year.  Both teams have sustained losses on their home-court that would have made cowards of lesser teams. The way that both benches...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/09/2010

Game Three is over and the Los Angeles Lakers look like they are about to make Paul Pierce's words come true.  Boston find themselves in a 2-1 hole with the Lakers threatening to end their season in Boston.   Once again, the referee's whistle...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/08/2010

The issue of too much referee interference was all but guaranteed before the Finals even began. Phil Jackson made it his duty to point out that his team does not have a "smackdown" mentality. He used the video of Kevin Garnett smacking Dwight Howard's hand...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/07/2010

  L.A. was a perfect 9-0 in the playoffs at home prior to Game two.  They were rather confident and were looking to take a 2-0 lead back to Boston. The Los Angeles Lakers big men once again dominated the Celtics offensively and defensively....
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/05/2010

Game One saw Kevin Garnett witness a stellar performance by the 'charmin-man' Pau Gasol. The Laker forward came into the game knowing that he had to use his varied offensive skills to offset Garnett’s intensity. He did whatever he pleased as Pau...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/04/2010

The NBA Finals have started and only one team showed up, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Boston Celtics looked like this was their first time to the big dance. All of a sudden they looked like the team that sleepwalked through the regular...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/03/2010

The NBA Finals are here and it couldn't be soon enough. Fans have been debating who has the better team and the popular pick is the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, the spectrum of Kobe Bryant does give the Lakers the edge, as well ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 06/02/2010

here is little similarity between Richard Wright’s character "Bigger" in Native Son and Paul Pierce.   The only similarity is that they both came from impoverished environments to rub elbows with the rich.  Bigger ends up on the wrong...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/31/2010

This NBA Finals will let a new generation of fans experience a rivalry that has forever been the staple of the NBA.  The Celtics return to glory saw them run roughshod over the Lakers leaving no doubt who was the better team in 2008. ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/29/2010

Celtic mystique is steeped in the grainy black and white footage of Bill Russell, the tape delay broadcasts of the Larry Bird era and the raspy voice of Johnny Most. Today's fans were either to young when tradition was strong or weren't even born yet....
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/28/2010

Tom Thibodeau is known for having a brilliant defensive mind and the Boston Celtics have rested their hats on his schemes. The first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals saw the Celtics looking like defensive Juggernauts. Their help and...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/27/2010

  It was evident from the start of the game that the officials were calling this game to extend the series. The Celtics weren't able to get into any kind of rhythm because of foul trouble.   Two minutes left in the first...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/25/2010

  Maybe it’s appropriate that the Celtics didn't sweep the Magic in Boston Monday night.  After all, the Garden has not felt like home for them even in the regular season. They seem to enjoy life on the road like nomads who constantly...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/23/2010

  The Boston Celtics put up a sign saying "men at work, boys need not apply.' It takes grown men to accomplish what the Celtics want to do and they feel they have the men to bring home banner 18.   The complete demoralizing of an Orlando...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/21/2010

It seems like Paul Pierce has given the Orlando Magic the bulletin material it needed to inject life into this band of misfits.  If that is what the Magic need to boost their confidence so be it. The Celtics desire is borne from the whispers...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/20/2010

Flashes of Nick Anderson's inability to hit game winning free throws to stave off an aging Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets for the 1995 NBA Championship shook the timbers of Amway Arena.  Anderson had not one but two opportunities...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/19/2010

The Celtics limped into the playoffs with little or no kind of love from fans and NBA analysts. The story line in the first round was that LeBron James would extend his kingdom on the parquet.  He did for one brief moment in game three. The Orlando...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/17/2010

The Boston Celtics knew they were up against a team that has been like a buzz saw through the NBA playoffs.  The Magic had disposed of both the Charlotte Bobcats and the hapless Atlanta Hawks four games to none. As always, the media simply jumped...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/15/2010

The evolution of the green has the rest of the NBA taking notice, after all they were all but written off by the supposed expert NBA analysts.  The lone voice of dissent was Skip Bayless of ESPN, has been shouting their praises all season long and...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/13/2010

LeBron James has done a lot to remove the negative monikers that had been associated with his team and city:  The Cleveland Cadavers and The Mistake by the Lake to name a few; yet the whole city have turned against him because...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/11/2010

he Cleveland Cavaliers are finally admitting that they underestimated Rajon Rondo after watching him carve up their defense in the first four games of their second round playoff series.   The Celtics have a player that the rest of the NBA free-agents...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/09/2010

The Celtics got sucker-punched by LeBron and his elbow in Game Three.  He struck early and often leaving the Celtics staggering before the first quarter even finished.   A usually efficient Rajon Rondo was forced to carry most of the offensive...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/08/2010

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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 05/02/2010

The Boston Celtics continue their maddening ways of not adjusting to Rajon Rondo's game. The second half of game one saw the Cleveland Cavaliers gear their defense toward stopping Rondo's penetration. The Cavaliers were quick to help and recover, forcing...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 04/30/2010

  The Boston Celtics have proven what everyone had been saying about their regular season jaunt___ they coasted.  The Celtic team that almost swept the Miami Heat looked like the livelier version we saw at the beginning of the season. ...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 04/27/2010

Game Four was the Dwyane Wade show. It went a little bit like this: See Dwyane dribble, dribble Dwyane, dribble! See Dwyane run, dunk, Dwyane, dunk! See Dwyane shoot, make those threes, Dwyane, shoot!   The Miami Heat coach, Eric Spoelstra,...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 04/24/2010

Game three is supposed to be the hardest game to win because it is the first game on an opponent’s home court. The home team is determined to protect what is theirs and the opponent better beware.  All this would be true if Dwyane...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 04/21/2010

They say that you should always keep your ticket-stub, it may prove to be invaluable some day.  That time was last night for the Boston Celtics. They had lost their 'Big Ticket,' Kevin Garnett due to his league mandated one game suspension and...
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 04/20/2010

There is an old adage with a twist of my own that goes like this: Let sleeping dogs lie or they just may bite.
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By Francesw @ Cause Way Street Hoops 04/18/2010

The playoffs officially began yesterday, and the much-maligned Eastern Conference was surprisingly competitive.
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