I wrote this before the Celtics dropped two straight to the Hawks and Pacers respectively:

The Celtics look good. You know how big a lakers vs. celtics finals would be this year? Huge. But do you know how huge? You think it will be like 2008 because 2008 was huge. Wrong. A 2010 Lakers/Celtics finals would be twice or three times as big as 2008 because of the raised stakes. The Celtics didn’t have everyone healthy last year. With KG out, Paul Pierce had to carry the team to the end of the season and was spent by the time the they got to the playoffs. If they get to the finals this year with KG, don’t you have to wonder if they could have gotten there last year and won back to back? Tell me you won’t once consider the scenario in which the Celtics are going for a 3-peat and Kobe hasn’t won a title yet, having lost to the same team twice in a row. The Lakers would have to make a move to toughen up (it still might have been getting Artest, oddly enough). That hypothetical aside, we still have the last two championship teams facing off where the absence of one allowed the other to mature into champions. Needless to say, Lakers vs. Celtics would be amazing. In 2008 it was just about the nostalgia as we looked back on the great rivalry and did our best to connect this to it (Celtics still have reputation for being a tougher team while the Lakers are more finesse. The triangle offense is nothing like showtime though). Now it’s not just about rekindling an old rivalry, because the rivalry has a chapter in this era. We have our own Lakers/Celtics stories to tell. Right now those stories suck for Laker fans, but this would be a chance for redemption…and justice.

Thoughts after attending a Jazz vs. Knicks game at MSG:

1. Knicks rookie Toney Douglas is good. 23 points and a lot of poise. I was happy when the Lakers drafted him out of FSU, and pissed when they traded him a month or so later. At least he’s on a team where he can crack the rotation. Jazz rookie Eric Maynor didn’t have the same numbers but showed the same gusto and flashes of talent when he got on the floor. “Wish Eric Maynor went to a place where he could play more minutes.” – Chris

2. Deron Williams is always in the middle of doing something cool with the basketball. He makes so many plays that are subtly amazing. I have a new respect for him after watching him play in person.

3. The Knicks were down 5 with 3 minutes left in the game and the guys next to me left because, as one of them said to the other, “dude, it’s the Knicks.” They were right. I thought they’d regret it. The Jazz were giving the Knicks a lot of chances. D’antoni is supposedly an offensive mastermind, but the last shot of the game was basically Toney Douglas catching the ball at the top of the key and trying to create his own shot. He’s definitely good, but he’s also a rookie, and that play was for an all-star.

The Knicks probably should have drafted this guy:

And now it’s time for me to give some California Love (remix) for a fellow Los Angelite:

I’m so excited about Brandon Jennings and it has nothing to do with hypotheses about his future or trying to extrapolate what kind of career he’ll have based on one amazing game. That game really was amazing though and that’s what’s important. Brandon Jennings had one of the best rookie games of all-time. I think one reason I’m so impressed by it is because I was kind of unimpressed by rookies in recent years. I think they’ve been very good and shown flashes of greatness, but I don’t think LeBron, Wade, Melo, Bosh, Dwight, or CP3 have had all-time great rookie seasons. Brandon Jennings is off to a legitimately great start. We forget sometimes how amazing some rookies have been. Here are a few examples:

Tim Duncan: 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.5 blocks

Shaquile O’Neal: 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 3.5 blocks

David Robinson: 24.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 3.9 blocks, 1.7 steals

Larry Bird: 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 40% 3PT

Michael Jordan: 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.39 steals

Magic Johnson: 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.87 steals. AND, in his rookie season, in game 6 of the 1980 NBA finals with their star player (Kareem) on the bench, Magic started the game at Center, and proceeded to play every position over the course of the game. His stats in that game? 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block. He was 20 years old.

If guys did this stuff today we would go insane. If LeBron were to do what Magic did in game 6 of the 1980 finals there would probably be people calling him the greatest player of all-time. Jennings had 55 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. You can’t do that by accident. You can’t do that with just luck. Even against the warriors, 55 points by a rookie is absurd. There are a lot of random guys in the 50-point club (Jerry Stackhouse, Jermaine O’neal, Damon Stoudemire, etc.), but Brandon Jennings is 1 of only a few rookies. The others are Earl Monroe, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. You’ve probably heard of them. Nice going, rook. You’re in great company.

If you found this post to be kind of all over the place, here’s why: NBA as S.O.C.