Although the Celtics’ short-term ambitions include winning the Atlantic Division, every realistic fan realizes that this is only because of the low quality of the other teams in the division. Fact is, the Celtics are rebuilding and don’t expect to compete for a title for at least a few years. In order to get to that point, the Celtics must first rebuild the bodies of their young talent to enable them to thrive in the tough and physical NBA.
The Ron Artest show just keeps on going and going and going.
Right now it seems like he’s hit a new low. Artest is no stranger to suspensions, brushes with the law, NBA officials, coaches, framed pictures and television monitors. Just a couple of weeks ago, Indiana Pacer Head Coach Rick Carlisle suspended the mercurial forward for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the team, but did not specify exactly what this conduct was. When the press first reached Artest, he initially declared that he did not understand the meaning of the word integrity, something that should surprise no one who has followed the career of the reigning defensive player of the year. After he was (mildly) pressed, he admitted that he had asked Carlisle for some time off, as he was too tired from producing a Hip-Hop album to properly compete in the NBA.
Well, in one of the most bizarre and awful ways, Artest will now get his wish.
Less than one week away from training camp, the Celtics are the NBA’s unofficial mystery men. This is a team that has far more questions than it does answers. They might as well change their team symbol from the shamrock to the question mark, because absolutely nobody has any idea what to expect of them.
Chances are that even if you’re relatively wet behind the ears you’ll have at least some recognition when I mention the game of chicken that James Dean and Corey Allen played in Rebel Without a Cause. In the film’s defining scene, Dean’s character Jim races Allen’s character Buzz off a cliff in the ultimate contest testing the machismo of the adolescents. In the end, Buzz goes down in a blaze of glory, while Jim, bruised ego and all, goes on to learn the error of his ways and along the way bags Natalie Wood and boosts the sale of under shirts by, like a billion percent. Good stuff.
Not Everyone Understands Why the Celtics Traded for Gary Payton
Does anyone remember the obscure Saturday Night Live sketch that showed the New York Times pressroom the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor? The Times’ editors were trying to determine what the next day’s front page story should be, while an increasingly crazed newsman (played by the late Phil Hartman) attempts in vain to convince his colleagues that the attack is the only story that should be considered. Although I can’t recall the exact wording in the sketch, the other editors do their best to calm Phil down, telling him something like “we’re just trying to cover all our bases.” In the end, the headline the following morning turns out to be “Local Reporter Commits Suicide,” whereas the report about Pearl Harbor was a tiny blurb on one of the back pages. I’m starting to understand what he was going through.