You don't mess with the Heinsohn ...

I've been catching up on some online readings over the last couple of weeks, when I came across this entry from Celtics legend JoJo White's blog during the Finals (nbrpa.com), and I knew I had to share:

Back in the 1970s we always had this issue with the Chicago Bulls. They always played us physical and never took it easy on us.

They had guys like Norm Van Lier and Jerry Sloan, who were tough as nails and weren't afraid to scrap. We were playing them back in '73 and I remember driving to the basket, left my feet and then Sloan got under me and flopped.The referee Darrell Garretson called a charge on me and that cost us the game.

After the call, Tommy Heinsohn just lost it. I mean, he was ready to strangle him on the court. After the game my teammate Tom "Satch" Sanders gave me the heads up that Tommy was waiting for Darrell under the bleachers.

We hustled out of the locker room to stop Tommy from doing something foolish and he was fixed on giving Garretson a piece of his mind. Darrell eventually comes out and Tommy is screaming, "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him."

Thank goodness Satch and I were there because there's no telling what would have happened. Before we dragged Tommy away he yelled at Garretson, "I hope your plane goes down in flames tonight."

Later on that night the team gets to the airport and there's Darrell at the gate. Turns out he was on our flight. Back then we all flew together there were no chartered flights.

Did Ainge just "pull a Riley"?

By now, you've all heard the bad news (sports.espn.go.com) ... Someone was willing to offer James Posey a four-year contract, and that someone was not Danny Ainge; rather, it's the Hornets of New Orleans who will take the gamble on having a 36-year-old wingman taking up space on their future payroll.

So, we're only a couple of weeks removed from championship euphoria - and just a mere three days hence from seeing Posey as a member of the team signing Celtics DVDs (boston.com) - but now comes the cold hard reality of the business side of the National Basketball Association ... Ainge and the owners made a business decision that they could not involve themselves in a long-term commitment with Mister Posey, and he in turn made a decision that he felt was in the best interests of his family's financial stability.

I certainly can't fault Posey for taking the bigger payday (he certainly earned it), and perhaps this will - in time - turn out to be the correct move on the Celtics' part: while this certainly hurts the depth of our bench for next season, it's not like the team still can't put forth a pretty good lineup night in and night out (there are these players called KG and the Truth whom - I've heard - ain't too shabby).

Is anyone really ready to say that we're completely out of the running for Banner No. 18, due to the absence of one man (not named Garnett or Pierce or Allen)? No, the championship window isn't shut just yet, and then - over the next four years - we just might find ourselves with the salary cap flexibility needed to land some incredible players in lieu of Posey, for future championship runs; hey, it could happen!

Of course, having said all that, I can't help but look upon the path that the team has chosen and see a glaring example of the dangers such a decision can bring ... namely, the 2007-08 Miami Heat (dallasnews.com) *shudder*

Remember, Pat Riley didn't feel it was necessary to make a financial commitment to James Posey either, and see where that got him ... From NBA champions in '06 to NBA cellar dwellers just two years later.

Now, one can certainly argue that other factors were at work in Miami's downfall (the loss of other key personnel like Eddie Jones, Dwyane Wade getting hurt, Shaq getting old/disinterested, etc.) ... but the fact remains that the Heat's loss of that championship spark coincided with the departure of the league's premiere sixth man.

His defensity intensity, his commitment to the team ideal, his man-tastic pregame hugs ... Once those things were gone, the Miami ballclub (and their title aspirations) withered and died.

Are the Celtics doomed to suffer a similar fate? Must they follow the same path, that of an aging team who went for it all for the chance at a title, only to quickly implode and become mired in mediocrity once that goal was accomplished?

*Gulp* ... I sure hope not.

Cousy: the best PG to come out of NYC?

It's a little early (only 261 votes cast at the time of this posting), but ESPN is running a poll (sports.espn.go.com) to determine which New York City-born point guard was the best to ever lace up the sneakers ...

Of course, my vote went to the Cooz at number one, but I do find it a little surprising that four of the thirteen names chosen have worn a Celtics jersey at one point in their respective careers:

EDIT: Alright, we have a larger sampling to work with now (12,215 total votes), and Cousy is still far and away the leader, with 138,536 points and 5751 first-place votes ... Archibald is still second in first-place votes (3083).

The NEW New Big Three: O'Bryant, Posey ... Marbury?

Okay, we're a week or so into the 2008 Summer of Free Agency ... Thus far, the Celtics have signed the guy whose name sounds really REALLY Irish - even his friggin' middle name is "Fitzgerald" - but isn't Irish at all (boston.com):

The Celtics are hoping a more mature Patrick O'Bryant will reach his potential after failing to do so with Golden State.

The Celtics signed the seldom-used 7-foot, 250-pound center yesterday to a two-year, $3 million contract, according to an NBA source. O'Bryant is expected to back up Kendrick Perkins. O'Bryant, 22, was the ninth pick in the 2006 NBA draft, but rarely played during two seasons with the Warriors.

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity to come in the league and prove myself," said O'Bryant yesterday in a phone interview. "I didn't do a very good job the first two years. I need to prove I belong here and belong for a long time."

O'Bryant averaged 13.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks during his sophomore season at Bradley, then left school for the NBA. The Blaine, Minn., native averaged only 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 16 games as a rookie in the 2006-07 season, although he averaged 12 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in 25 games for Bakersfield in the National Basketball Development League.

Now, it's looking more and more like Danny Ainge's gambit concerning James Posey is going to pay off (boston.com):

Celtics forward James Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstien, said Sunday that there could be "something" contract-wise for his client on Monday. Bartelstien would not divulge the interested teams, but an NBA source said that the Hornets seem to be Boston's main competition. The Celtics seem willing to give Posey the full $5.5 mid-level exception, but it seems doubtful that it will be offered more than two years. The 31-year-old seems interested in getting a four-year deal. Other teams potentially interested in Posey include Detroit, Washington and Cleveland.

And finally, while there were rumblings that mercurial point guard Stephon's Marbury previous relationship with Kevin Garnett might land him in a Celtics uniform, there now is apparently no need for concern (sports.espn.go.com):

Conventional wisdom is that the Sixers and Wizards have fared the best so far this offseason. And sure, signing Elton Brand or re-signing Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison is great. But sometimes the best deal is the one you don't make. Or can't make.

The quite available Stephon Marbury appeared in Las Vegas on Friday with a new tattoo. A tattoo on his face. A tattoo on his face of the No. 3 -- the uniform number he has worn for his entire career and the inspiration for the logo of his Starbury line of shoes.

That means that no matter what happens between now and October, the Celtics and Nets have locked in the best offseason. They are the only two teams who have retired the No. 3 -- for Dennis Johnson and Drazen Petrovic, respectively. So there is no possible way they can ever trade for Stephon Marbury.

Well played, Celtics and Nets. Well played.

Anyone up for some LIVELY (tm) conversations?

With Google's new Lively program (think of it as "Second Life" without all the perverts ... yet) out on the market, I figured I'd give it a whirl and see if I could recreate some of the camaraderie from my old "Mean Green" message boards ... Read up on what exactly Lively is by clicking here (googleblog.blogspot.com), then make sure you have your Google account handy and enter the chat room below (consider this to be in "beta" mode for now):