I started this blog as an outlet for my thoughts on basketball both as a coach and as a life long Celtics fan but I am receiving demand to give more of myself. To really open up and grab the readers (well right now my friends) and share who I am besides a coach and a fan of the best game on earth. Maybe I have held back because I am afraid to committ (been guilty of that before) or maybe I am spread quite thin as it is as far as time goes that I do not want to disappoint people (guilty of that in the past as well) Well to those who want all of it here we go. (WHO ARE YOU by the WHO just came on in my office, I am in no way kidding, wow!)

In a two week span where my job has never felt more thankless, my ex-girlfriend made a strange appearance and my basketball team has become a possession by possession potential heart attack, it is those Boston Celtics that have lost now 18 straight games that are past testing my patience. That is 18 straight basketball games. 18, yes, 2 more games in a row than their 16 championship banners that hang from the rafters in Boston. It is surreal.

Yes, Paul Pierce did miss 24 games, Tony Allen did sustain a season ending knee injury and Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Kendrick Perkins and Brian Scalabrine have been in out of the lineup, but 18 games in a row as an eastern conference team?!?! (Drum and guitar solo! Unreal) Come on green where is the Celtic Pride? I wear two wrist bands every day on my right wrist. One is for my company, Fastbreak Kids. The other is GREEN and it says CELTIC PRIDE in white bold letters. The only time they come off is if I am getting dressed up to go out which is rare. (Besides coaching, 2 weddings and temple I have worn a button down shirt 5 times since I brought Jack Bauer back from China in August) But that is neither here nor there. I don't wear the Celtic Pride one for show or because I am just a fan. I wear it because it is something I really really believe in. It is something that I learned about when I was a kid growing up amongst tasteless Knick fans that I was proud of despite the Green's fall from glory following the retirement of the big three and the tragic death of Reggie Lewis. I never thought it would be gone forever, even when things got real bad both before and during Pitino. And from 2001-2003 it looked like it was in the process of returning when Pierce, Walker and a bunch of role players were within two wins of the NBA Finals. A few years ago it was part of the routine to throw on the Larry Legend DVD or a disc from the Celtic Dynasty set but now it is just flat out depresing. The last title came in 1986, I was 8, 8 years old!!! Bird's game against the Pacers after he hit his face on the floor and then made the all-time return to the court to a roaring Garden was when I was in the 7th grade. We have been thru the horrible drafts, aging free agents, ML Carr and then Pitino. Now we are currently in year 4 of the Danny Ainge project. Does the team have more talent on it then when Ainge took over? The answer is clearly yes, but where are the results and how much longer can we wait for the tradition to be restored? Or did Celtic Pride pass on along with Red Auerbach on the night of October 28, 2006?

There are many questions. I am trying to create some answers.

The Draft Lottery.
Right now the Celtics are in a dead heat with the Memphis Grizzlies for sole possession of the worst record in the league. Either way the Celtics, if the ping pong balls cooperate will have a shot at Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. Now there are many angles you can take here. The comparisons between Oden and Durrant have been going on for weeks and as a pretty good judge of talent I think they will both be terrific in the league. The question looming for the Green is who fits better, and by better you also have to heavily count IMMEDIATELY. As talented and special as Durrant will be, Greg Oden is exactly the type of player the Celtics need. A defensive force that will rebound, block shots and change the game by just his presence alone. As we know these players are few and far in between. Oden will give the Celtics that, but is another "young" talent what the C's need? I have been repeatedly asking myself the past few days if they would indeed consider trading the pick and trying to get a veteran star to team with Pierce and Co. and steer this ship back to immediate respectability. Could the pick, an expiring Theo Ratlif contract and a young player land Kevin Garnett? I asked myself that exact question this morning while showering, last week while driving to practice drinking a large mocha (Duke Carolina took a lot out of me Wednesday night) thursday night eating dinner while watching The Office and of course falling asleep last night after loosing to Garnett and the Wolves yesterday at the buzzer in Minnesota. When I mention Garnett instead of Oden or Durrant people look at me and say "Garnett is great but he is on the downside of his career." If you want to call last night's triple double on the decline then I am not sure we are watching the same thing. Garnett needs a new look, the Celtics need a veteran star to team with Pierce, who better then Garnett who brings it every single night. He talks the talk, he walks the walk and all he wants like Pierce is to win. I am not about to start breaking down trade scenarios right now but this is something the Celtics need to at least consider when this season finally ends. (Just so everyone knows the draft lottery is on May 22, two days before my birthday, if the Celtics win it there will be another Super Bowl like event in my apartment)

Back to the streak. The Celtics have lost 18 straight, 18 is as far as it will go as the Celtics will beat the Bucks on Wednesday at home. Mark it down right now. Pay the bill, hit the card, however you'd like me to spell it out there is no way they do not win that game. As I am single this will make for a very special Valentines Day evening. Last evening however in Minnesota one thing was made clear about the Celtics besides Pierce still being a clutch 4th quarter player, (13 of his 29 in the 4th) the Green are still soft. After Ricky Davis hit that shot and stood there rubbing it in the Celtics face directly infront of their bench with .2 seconds left someone needed to do something. Yeah, you still think you have a shot to tie it with .2 left on the clock but not with Garnett looming to break up any lob pass attempt. Even the Celtics of 2002 would have done something, whether it be Walker, Eric Williams or E Strickland. We know what the 80's and early 90's Celtics would have done. At worst Ricky Davis would have had someone in his face and in the world formly known as the glory days of the NBA he would have been on his back. But I guess when you loose 18 staight and a former teammate just tears your heart out with a jumper infront of your bench you may be stunned or numb at that point. But the Green need to get tougher and quick.

The streak will end soon, Wednesday is the target, but more importantly when will Celtic Pride return? I still bring it with me everyday, so does Pierce, so does Red wherever he is. When will we start to see it from all of the guys in Green? It needs to start soon because this season has turned from painful to unthinkable.

Maybe I have become to much of an optimist, perhaps I am taking my "Keep It Positive 07" montra a little to far or maybe I am just flat out derranged but I really think the Boston Celtics at 12-27 entering tonights game against the San Antonio Spurs who they have not beaten since Tim Duncan was playing for Wake Forest, are in a wonderful position for the future. Between Paul Pierce, Wally Szcerbiak, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine and Delonte West who returned this past weekend missing extended time with injuries the team has fallen fast in the standings. But with the increased playing time and production from Ryan Gomes, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green and Al Jefferson the Celtics youth is getting plenty of game experience.

Then there is this years draft which promises to be one of the best we have seen in sometime headlined by big men Greg Oden from Ohio State and Kevin Durant from Texas. Now there is a long way to go in this season and Captain Pierce will be back at some point but if the Celtics can continue to develop their youth and get one of these bigs they are going to be a team on the rise in 07-08. Many speculated that unless Danny AInge A) Makes a deal to bring in a veteran BIG and B) Fires Doc Rivers that his days in Boston may be numbered. I strongly disagree. I am very hot and cold on Coach Rivers. I have called for his head in the past and I have given him the benefit of the doubt in the past. He does have a very challenging job in terms of developing all of the young talent as he has 4 players who did not go to college on his roster, a roster that has undergone a major overhaul over the last couple of seasons. Ainge has publicly said Rivers will not be dismissed this season and I think that is the right move on Danny's part. Doc really does like the team and while his in game management has been questioned appropriately I feel he is doing a solid job of developing the younger players. I also must give him a lot of credit for the emmergence of Tony Allen before Tony went down for the season. He believed in Tony after his slow start and placed him in the starting lineup next to Pierce before Paul went down. Allen flourished and his injury clearly shook up Doc and the rest of the green. That shows how close these guys have become. This is a close knit team that is growing and developing together.

We are not positive what the future will hold for the Green but these young Celtics are battling each and every night. If Red can assist us with some luck with the ping pong balls this spring, Tony Allen can recover and our youth can continue at its current pase then the Green, the Garden and Celtic Pride will be in good shape for years to come. Stayin Positive in 07.

Entering the new year I told myself to stay upbeat despite the struggles of the teams I both coach and pull for. Lets be honest winning as a fan and as a coach makes you very happy but you can not let that dictate your everyday mood and outlook but this was a strange week in the life of the coach, much of it good, but one event sad and bad.

Between my team returning from vacation in poor shape, somehow restraining myself from getting double T'd in last Thursdays game and watching Tony Allen possibly sustain a career ending injury it has been a bit of a heavy week on the basketball front. OK, real heavy, like the porterhouse for 3 and the rib eye for you and your buddy at Wolfgangs. But you gotta fight thru the crap, no matter how challenging things get. Over the last few years I have been knocked to the mat many times in a variety of ways and there is only one response for me, you and Tony Allen, get back up.

Tony's injury last week was downright horrible. The guy has been playing unbelievable basketball. Many say it started when Pierce went out of the lineup but those people were just not paying attention. Allen was actually starting next to Pierce and his play was improving on a nightly basis. Then Pierce went down with the foot injury. Many thought Allen's recent surge had to do with feeding off of Pierce (including myself) but then Tony stepped it up to another level without the Captain. Allen had scored double digits in his last 14 games, including over 20 in 7 of those outings. He had 3 or more steals 6 times and was playing with the pride and passion that every fan wants to see out of one of their own.

Then came January 10th at home against the Pacers. I was planning on watching the game on the DVR delay before I went to sleep. I was on the phone with my boy PR and asked him not to tell me the score if it came across his screen. A minute later he said "Yo, you do not want to see the game." Never did I think something like Allen's injury occurred, I thought the Green were just getting whipped at home again. When he told me what happened I just froze, I could not respond or even comprehend how this could happen to a guy like Allen. He just plays so hard and has a Superman mentality that makes him seems both fearless and indestructible. It was the 3rd quarter and Allen already had 19 points and 5 steals. He was simply just taking it to Steven Jackson and the Pacers. Then Allen was fouled on the perimeter on the right side. After the whistle blew he took another dribble and soared to the hoop to hammer in a dunk that would clearly not count but I guess he was sending another message to his opponent that his effort and hunger were far from fading. Next thing you know he comes down awkwardly his knee buckles and that was that. Tony Allen lost for the season with a torn ACL and two torn meniscus.

His teammates and coaches were stunned as Allen lay there grabbing his knee on the Garden floor. As they helped Allen to he locker room Tony, did not go quietly. As Allen was passing the Indiana bench he had a message to pass along to Steven Jackson who had attempted to match up with Allen that evening. "Tell Jack, I own him." Allen said. When I heard that it made me smile. Smile because I know that this will not be the last we hear out of Tony. Smile because this guy now knows how good he can be and he is going to rehab the hell out of that knee so he can get back onto the court.

In my coaching world the holiday break as expected took the wind and any momentum we had away from us. It was clear the first day back that many did not do anything over break to maintain the level we left off at which was discouraging. As a coach I am learning more and more that I can only do so much. That first Monday was very difficult on them which they handled pretty well. But between having no intensity on Tuesday and 3 sophomores showing up 15 minutes late on Wednesday made for a lot of unnecessary running and some not so nice verbal displays by yours truly last week. Wednesdays practice did end on a high note however and I felt confident going into Thursday's game that at least we would compete, which we did. We could never just get into a flow offensively as my 5 man struggled with foul trouble as did my point guard. Worse than that though my 2 guard went down with a knee injury (not quite as bad as Tony Allen's) and we may be without him for the remainder of the season.

Now I rarely put anything on the officials at this level but one of the guys working was one of the worst I have ever had. At one point we had a stare down and he was baiting me to cross that fine line, I thought about biting but I have grown up a bit on the sideline and chose to make him look like the idiot for getting into it with me instead of officiating the game. At one point I asked him if he was trying to be my father as he kept giving me these empty threats and staring at me. I told him to watch the game before he did something stupid, still no technical. The more I think about it the more evident this guy is a total pussy. Before the game the opposing coach whom I am friendly with told me this guy was bad news and he was right. The funny thing though was he did not have the balls to T me, not even one time.

Though we lost an ugly game we played hard and actually got a lot of good looks, many just did not go down. I was very happy I kept my cool and tried to communicate that to my kids in the post game. Some were listening, some were worried about the studying they had to go home and do. I hope some of them at the least understood my message.

Whether I am coaching, teaching, dealing with my fastbreak kids program or just dealing with everyday headaches and obstacles I have to stay upbeat. I am on the path I always wanted to be on, doing the things I have been wanting to do for the last few years. Well now they are finally here, it is all very exciting and I must keep moving forward.

Special shout outs: Todd (was Denver gorgous?) 15J deluxe, Team Fastbreak, Ross and Jared, Ithaca Crew, Eisenberg and Bell, Ninja, PR, Garbs and his Bears, and of course Jack Bauer.

Next Blog: MLK Day hoops and the return of Bauer and 24.