Thursday, February 22, 2007

DJ Dead at 52

On of the clutchest Celtics ever, Dennis "DJ" Johnson, died Thursday while coaching in the NBA Developmental league.

DJ came to the C's already a champion, as the 1979 Finals MVP with Seattle. He won 2 more with the Celtics (1984, 1986) as part of, arguably, the best starting five ever (along with Bird, McHale, Ainge, and Parish).

How can we ever forget his laying in Bird's stolen in-bounds pass from Isiah to improbably beat Detroit in the playoffs?

Rest in peace, DJ.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

FINALLY!

The Hoop Gods just didn't want the tag of "biggest loser ever" slapped on the franchise that is, in fact, the biggest winner ever. And so, the Celtics ended their 18-game losing skid by pummelling the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 117-97.

Captain Paul Pierce (he who isn't completely convinced the C's need a lottery pick infusion) scored a fairly typical 32 points, while The Future (Gerald Green) popped in 21 points in only 20 minutes.

The win took a major burden off the young team and the harried coach as they head into the All-Star break. The ensuing West Coast trek would almost certainly have given our beloved Green the all-time consecutive loss record—not something you want hanging from the rafters right next to "Loscy".

So, we can sleep soundly now as the Oden/Durant sweepstakes plays itself out over the next months. Somewhere, ML is waving a towel, hoping to coax those ping-pong balls to drop the right way this time.