Just A Reminder

I don't think of myself as an overly-religious person. However, all those years of Catholic schooling have made me fairly convinced that a higher power does exist. So, I think it is fairly amusing when, at a time when confidence in organized religions are reaching very low levels, that God decides to show up and just remind us that he can throw a wrench into the best-laid plans at any moment. "I never gave you wings, but you all invented the airplane instead. Fine, you found your way around that problem... so you can all deal with volcanic ash for a while." I also find it funny that some of the best volcanic scientists in the world have no idea why this volcano has started going off now and also have no idea when it will end. Other than that, though, I'm sure their grant money is going to great use.

-I'm not very surprised that Doc Rivers is thinking about walking away from the Celtics following this year. I feel like all locker rooms start to tune out coaches after a few seasons and, especially in basketball, it is much easier to change the coach than it is to change most of the roster. Clearly adding Rasheed Wallace hasn't worked out and it is unlikely that the run with the current roster will be continuing much longer. Why come back to try to hold this thing together with tape and hope while Danny Ainge tries to rebuild on the fly? Doc has won his ring and has nothing left to prove. Rivers can go to TV and be perfectly content that his resume will get him another job as soon as he feels like going back to the bench. To be honest, I was never that huge of a fan of Doc's coaching style and was surprised that he was able to guide the Celtics to the 2008 Championship. I never would have thought that level of leadership could come from the same man who never changed a line-up, called out a superstar or even got mad enough to get ejected during an 18-game losing streak in 2007. He's exceeded my every expectation. If he wants to walk away and watch his kids play basketball I think Ainge should respect his desire.

-As for those Celtics, I don't like the way they are playing heading into the playoffs. I don't like teams that think they can coast through the regular season and then turn it on at a moment's notice. It sets a very bad precedent when there has been no intensity for the last 3 months. I guess that comes from playing in the worst division in basketball and knowing you have secured a playoff spot 20 games into an 82-game schedule. Still, I'm not overly worried about the Heat. I don't think a team with Dwayne Wade and not much else can beat a team of Pierce, Garnett, Rondo and Allen. The Celtics just have too much fire power. Also, I think the way the NBA playoffs are dragged out is a major benefit to an older team like the C's. I'll say they beat the Heat in 5 games (anything beyond that, however, is up for debate).