Simmons Demands You To Read This

by Jeff Clark on Mar 4, 2008 9:57 AM EST in Boston Celtics News & Links

Back in April '06, I wrote a column about getting billed for Clippers tickets that included an extended section about Sam Cassell's brilliance and all the "little things" he does for a basketball team. I demand that you read it if you're a Celtics fan. Maybe Sam is at the tail end of his career, but his spirit and personality remain as strong as ever, and I don't think people back home fully realize how many unique things Sam does during the course of an NBA game, or how much fun they're going to have watching him play on a game-to-game basis. You can't overstate how big the Cassell and P.J. Brown signings were for the Celtics; in the span of 48 hours, I went from thinking they were destined for a Round 2 exit in Cleveland to believing they can win the championship if everything falls right.

Alrighty. Here's the link Celtics fans. Simmons demands that you read! (note: It is a pretty good read about Cassell)

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If the Celtics were truly destined for a 2nd round exit, like Simmons believed, the acquisitions of Brown and Cassell wouldn’t make them instant contenders. Luckily, I don’t agree with Simmons and I know that the only true East competition in a 7 game series is the Pistons, even w/o Brown and Cassell. We were contenders before and we’re still contenders, now just even better.

by CelticsWhat35 on Mar 4, 2008 11:17 AM EST reply actions

yeah, 2nd round exit sounded kinda off to me

by Jeff Clark on Mar 4, 2008 11:49 AM EST reply actions

Odds are we will be playing the Cavs or the Magic in the second round of the playoffs, maybe the Raptors. I just don’t see a second round exit, not in a 7 game series.

by Fox40Kid on Mar 4, 2008 12:03 PM EST reply actions

Funny that Dave (the season ticket holder) looked over at the T-Wolves in that one game and said, “Three ex-Clippers?! No wonder they suck!” I suppose we can relate to that 2 years later, but I would have to say with the exception of AL Jefferson and Ryan Gomes.

by Jughead on Mar 4, 2008 12:12 PM EST reply actions

That was then and this is now.

I hope all of the wonderful things said about him are true for the months of March thru June. I hope he wears another ring, because that means PP, RA and KG, Perk, Powe, Rondo are all wearing rings too. But I remain unconvinced and empty of that feeling that second coming of somethng wonderful has descended upon us in CelticLand in the form of a 38 year old PG who was supposedly “hurt” twice this season already. Hurt twice during the misfortune of Brand in ClipperLand? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm?

"’It has been said that a man is three things. What he thinks he is, what others think he is, and what he really is.’

by Master Po on Mar 4, 2008 12:18 PM EST reply actions

i’ve really really liked sam for years and years… i just hope his body has not aged too much and he gets to play a bit.

by 00dc2 on Mar 4, 2008 12:18 PM EST reply actions

Sam was a nice player, but at age 38 the tank starts to run dry. Let’s hope he can make a positive contribution.

by Brickowski on Mar 4, 2008 12:36 PM EST reply actions

If KG and Ray have had such glowing things to say about him, I’m convinced. Those guys would know if he would cause any locker room trouble.
As for his health, we’re kind of rolling the dice will all the 30-plus year olds we have.

by MBurke15 on Mar 4, 2008 1:38 PM EST reply actions

I’ve watched Sam for years and he can undo team chemistry. Mercifully, KG will reign that in. Again, we have a three year window to win including this year. That’s it.

by The Real Large James on Mar 4, 2008 1:59 PM EST reply actions

First of all congrats to Simmons for coming up with a new marketing tool…demand readership ! ..who knew it could be so easy…Jeff you should use that for the next Metro..It was a good read..it was also somewhat comforting to hear that KG can control Sam I am…

by Fastbreak on Mar 4, 2008 4:06 PM EST reply actions

I really can’t stand Simmons. When he is writing about anything not related to Boston Sports, he actually can be a decent writer. But if it even remotely relates to any Boston sports team, be it the Patriots, Celtics or worst of all Red Sox, he immediately starts saying stupid things. If the Celtics are not good enough to get past the Cavs, who currently have about 8th or 9th best record in the league, no way does a PG and a Center both in their late 30s are not going to make them a contender. That is one of the dumbest things I have ever read. But sadly it is par for the course for Simmons. As a lifelong Celtics fan, I would like to request that Bill Simmons never be allowed to write anything about the Celtics again or any Boston team for that matter. With the Celtics he tries too hard not to be a homer and is always looking for ways to appear balanced. With the Patriots or the Red Sox he makes an act out of being the most smug arrogant jerk fan imaginable. Either way he winds up saying something stupid and wasting the reader’s time.

by JohnCK on Mar 4, 2008 4:30 PM EST reply actions

Cassell will be a major addition. I still don’t get why a lot of posters here don’t understand that fact but I suppose if you haven’t by now, you may never get it. And I agree with Simmons, as did some commentators. Before these last two moves, the Celts might easily have lost in the second round. Nobody is saying that would have been underdogs, but the two weaknesses were something that teams could exploit in a seven game series. Not have a true back up PG, being the biggest weakness of all. Now with Cassell (and Brown) in the fold, I’d say we are the favorite to win the east. Whereas before now, most commentators have been calling Detroit to the favorite.

by droopdog7 on Mar 4, 2008 4:31 PM EST reply actions

Oh yeah, and did Simmons mention his dad has season tickets for the Celtics in the 70s and 80s? If he didn’t, it would be the first paragraph he has written about the Celtics in the last 10 years were he hasn’t.

by JohnCK on Mar 4, 2008 4:34 PM EST reply actions

who has gotten more print and blog space before he signed? sam or kg? i’m not tired of sam- i’m just tired of reading about him.

by nazzbo on Mar 4, 2008 5:07 PM EST reply actions

What makes these two additions great is the fact that we gave up absolutely nothing to get them. Our team remains unchanged. If they can’t contribute at the level we want, who cares? We’ll just keep doing what we did before they got here.

But I do think they will contribute immensely. And by that I don’t mean that they will play a lot of minutes. I mean that in the very limited minutes that they play, they will make our 2nd unit better than any second unit in the league. Go look at the rest of the rosters of contending teams. This is now the best team in the league 6-12. And in the playoffs that matters a lot.

by migit on Mar 4, 2008 5:12 PM EST reply actions