Here is an post I wrote tackling the question of Doc's and Ainge's culpability in the Cs woes and Stern's mortal meddling in the defacto NBA finals - the Suns/Spurs series. Originally posted 5/16/07
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I think the 'some people blame everything on Doc' straw man has been about beat to death. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Doc (as a coach), but no way no how is he the source of all the Celts failings. For a full accounting of that we'd have to go back a decade at least.
But by the same token, I've think anyone who believes that Danny is the source of all Celtic evil is either pretending to be a strawman for attention's sake. Not that anyone seriously subscribes to that theory, but with some of the noise and confusion it sometimes seems that way (no doubt in the same manner it seems to others that Doc is the chosen scapegoat).
So while we can debate the relative merits of both coach and GM (or whatever Danny's de jure title is), let's remember that they are both relative newcomers to the ongoing debacle and that a full assessment of either of them needs to take into account the context of their arrivals (cough cough - Gin Baker - cough cough - 0 for 3 in 2001 draft).
What I find even more alarming today is the farce that the NBA has made of one of the most interesting series in a long time - the Suns vs the Spurs. If you haven't read it the Sports Guy has a blistering article on it here.
Really, is there any greater crisis facing basketball than the quality of the refereeing and the related ineptitude of the league office in rewarding bad behavior if committed by the 'good guys'? I really am wondering where WWF leaves off and NBA picks up? Maybe I am just not cynical enough: so much money, so much 'entertainment,' so much at stake: maybe it is inevitable that the league playoffs would end up as rigged more or less. The bias is obvious in the teams selected for TV during the regular season... is it that much of a stretch to assume such biases persist during the 'second season?' The only excuse I can see right now is incompetence... (nothing to sneeze at whenever Stu Jackson is involved) but isn't that just as bad?!?
"Good news, you are not dieing from cancer, rather from you are instead dieing from antibiotic resistant TB"
different voices
10 years ago