Boston Celtics Daily Dish: T-Wolves Blues, and More!
Morning, Celtics nation!
And what a morning it is, where I live. 70 degrees this morning, with a high of 84 forecast and not a cloud in the sky. It’s going to be gorgeous – so what the hell am I doing siting at a computer?
Why, providing you with your daily reading material, of course! Dedication!
Poor Minnesota. First, they lost Kevin Garnett. Second, they lost Kevin Love. Third, they live in . . . Minnesota. never fear, though! Losing a superstar doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all doom and gloom for the T-Wolves:
"There is also the tangible reason for encouragement, the fact the other teams have been pushed down the same dark hole and lived to tell. The Timberwolves can look west to Denver and http://www.si.com/nba/2014/08/26/kobe-bryant-lakers-dwight-howard-tony-allen-retirementsee that starting over doesn’t have to mean a giant step back. They can turn another direction, southeast to Orlando, and be reminded that losing the best player does not have to equal losing hope.While each of the major trades forced by players in recent years is unique, depending on time and place, the first days of life without Love should come with knowing that moving an All-Star power forward against their true wishes does not have to be a major hit. The Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony, heard a lot of talk about needing time for the package of prospects to develop, then made the playoffs the same season. The Magic were pressured to offload Dwight Howard, took criticism for passing on what seemed to be the obvious idea of Andrew Bynum as replacement center, and got a better outcome, times a million, withNikola Vucevic."
Should we ignore the part about the Timberwolves already having gone through this when they lost Garnett? How quickly did the team reverse its fortunes after that trade, hmmm?
He may be one of the hated Los Angeles Lakers . . . but team fanaticism aside, you have to respect what he has accomplished in, and what he means to, the NBA. There’s a great piece over at SI.com by Chris Ballard that you should check out – here’s a sample:
"Earlier this month, I spent six days in China shadowing Kobe Bryant for an SI cover story that you can read online here. The story captures Bryant’s comeback, his competitive mindset and all manner of other subjects, including Steve Nash’s rather salty three-word description of Bryant (hint: it’s not “really nice guy”).As often happens, even with long features like this one, a lot of good stuff gets left on the cutting room floor. And particularly in this case, because Bryant is such a good interview. So last Friday I posted some quotes/notes on Twitter, but you can only say so much in 140 characters. Here, in more detail, are excerpts from my summer conversations with Bryant, which took place in Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as some notes and thoughts, including Tony Allen’s take on KB. Long quotes are edited for clarity."
There will be a lot of interesting storylines to follow this season, not the least of which is, which rookie will turn out to be the biggest surprise?
Finally: I know I still need to sit down and really look at the Celtics’ schedule for 2014-2015. Until I do so, here’s MassLive’s look at which game(s) could be the most intriguing for this year’s Celtics. Enjoy!