Thoughts from a week that brought us one of the greatest games in Boston sports history—and a game that will be the sole focus of this column

“Defining Moment” of the Week

Ray Allen’s “give me the ball and get out of the way, there is no effing chance a guy named Sasha is stopping me” move on Sasha Vujacic at the end of Game 4 was the definition of what we’ve been looking for from the PGA Tour these entire playoffs.

The game was on the line, and Ray assumed total responsibility. He put the team on his back and said, “this is my game, and I’m finishing it right now.” If the Celtics end up winning the championship, this shot will not only be looked back on as the defining moment of the series, but potentially the defining moment of Ray Allen’s Hall of Fame (maybe) career.

There was nothing getting in the way of his will to score that hoop—not the fatigue, not the refs and certainly not Vujacic. And the way in which he finished it off was vintage Ray. It was everything I’ve grown to love about his game since last November, when I realized that he was far more than just a glorified spot up shooter.

Note: In Pierce’s interview with Michelle Tafoya after the game, he was talking about Ray’s basket and alluded to KG setting a big screen. Maybe Paul forgot which play he was talking about…

Note 2: I was talking to my buddy Jay after the game and he brought up an interesting debate:

Jordan’s down-the-lane-mid-air-hand-switching-lay-up

vs.

Ray’s baseline-double-pump-reverse-but-there’s-one-catch-I’m-not-even-going-to-look-at-the-hoop-
when-I-shoot-lay-up

Should Ray’s move be considered in the same category as Jordan’s?

At first I blew it off as crazy. Jordan’s was in a class of it’s own. But I take it back now.

As I see it, the Jordan move has three things going for it:

1. It’s Jordan—it’s probably the most memorable moment (or second to the last shot in Utah) of the most memorable career in NBA history.

2. The camera angle is absolutely perfect.

3. It signified a huge moment for the league, with Michael officially taking the torch from Magic and the Bulls officially ending the Lakers Dynasty (although HIV would have a pretty strong effect on that too.)

But if we’re being real—and take out the Jordan factor for a second—I think Allen’s reverse gets the nod.

First and foremost, because of its place within the context of the greatest comeback in Finals history, and second, because it was probably the most athletic, creative and down right filthy move of the entire season. I not only watched it in ABC’s super slo-mo, but I actually slo moed the slo mo and watched it frame by frame five times. I’m still not sure how he pulled it off.

So I’m going to say that Ray’s is better and should probably garner as much attention, but sadly, it won’t.

“Random Stat” of the Week: During this post season, the Celtics are 1-4 when Ray Allen scores 20 or more points, 4-1 and when he drops fewer than 10 points and 7-0 when he finishes anywhere between 16 and 19.

I’ve got to confess that I have absolutely no idea what to make of these numbers, and if the Celtics can win one more game I’ll never think about them again. I just found it slightly strange and interesting, and wanted to share the wealth.

Your Weekly Reminder of the Irrelevance of Traditional Media: Rondo’s Blog

This photo cracks me up. You’ve got all your beat guys, all your columnists and all your TV reporters crowding Rondo like a pack of bugs at a light bulb. They’re all passive-aggressively leaning in—maybe shoving each other a little—in an attempt to get closer and find the perfect time to ask an unoriginal, robotic question (How’s your ankle? How would you say your ankle is? If you were to describe to me the status of your ankle, how would you describe it?).

They have their recorders extended out with their off hands, while the dominant hand scribbles down every thing Rondo has to say. All so they can go back to their laptops and write the same story as everyone else, using the exact same bland, clichéd quotes that Rondo gave because there’s nothing in the world he wants to be do less than speak with the media about his ankle.

So now the interview’s over, and everyone runs off to be the one who posts the same story first (“Rondo says, ‘It’s not that bad!!!! I will play!!!!’”), but there’s one problem: While all these guys are editing their words and videos, Rondo heads up to his hotel room and posts this:

If you were watching the game you know that I injured my ankle in the third quarter. It happened on a fast break and I rolled it. I think I may have stepped on someone’s foot, but I still haven’t seen the play. It’s a different feeling than I’ve ever had. I’ve injured my ankle before but this one is unlike the others. The pain is on the inside of my foot. All the other ankle sprains have been on the outside. I will be getting a lot of treatment tonight, tomorrow, Thursday to try to get it ready to go for game 4. I did try to go again in the fourth quarter, but I really couldn’t make any hard cuts. No one is 100% at this point, but I was probably 50%. Coach made the right decision taking me out because I didn’t have my quickness. E House did a great job filling in. When his name was called he was ready to play and that’s big for us.

There’s no question this one is disappointing. We feel like we had a chance to really put them away and go up 3-0. Paul never had a chance to get in a rhythm because of foul trouble and we just struggled on offense. Even though we played very bad we still had a chance in the end. We just didn’t get the stops down the stretch when we needed it. They were very aggressive tonight similar to the way we were in game 2. But in the end we still had a chance but let it get away.

Heading back to the hotel and will keep working on my ankle. Lots of ice and I’ll keep it elevated. I’ll have more later. Until then I’ll holla.

There it is. All you’d ever want or need to know about Rondo’s ankle and status for Game 4, and it’s even in Rondo’s words. Rondo’s real human words!

It’s a sad fact of the Internet age—well, not for us, but for fossils like Buzz Bissinger and Dan Shaugnessy—but that 200-word blog post is more interesting (from a fan perspective) than anything any journalist could come up with, given the access they have to players in this day and age. And it’s only going to move farther in that direction.

Note: Given what we saw with Rondo last night, are we at the point where we can stop assuming that coaches and players will ever be forthright about the severity of an injury?

In between Games 1 and 2, there was endless speculation—and for good reason—over Paul Pierce’s knee.

People saw him limping around everywhere like Leapin’ Larry from Seinfeld; we heard that he would "try and play" but the general consensus was that even if he did, it wouldn’t be the same Paul Pierce. This turned out to be ridiculous, because—and I’m not saying that Pierce isn’t playing through a bunch a pain—despite the injury, the Truth has hardly been slowed by his knee.

Then there’s Rondo between Games 3 and 4. Everyone thought he would play, and play a lot—actually, respect to Marc Spears, who’s the only guy I saw who speculate that the injury was more serious. Even Rondo was on camera before the game saying that he felt like 88% and would be ready to go.

He clearly wasn’t.

For the most part, Rondo did a decent job of disguising the injury, but there were two plays where it was painfully (for us and I’m sure for him) obvious that he shouldn’t be on the court.

1. In the first quarter, when he had the ball on the break but was going so slow, I think Sam Cassell would have outran him—that is if Sam wasn’t on the sideline devising a plan to sabotage the game from the bench.

2. Late in the third (or early in the fourth) when he was streaking with the ball again and had only a standing-under-the-basket Lamar Odom in between him and a hoop. A healthy Rondo goes at Odom and tries to bring the rim down, but on this night No. 9 slowed down, took two frightened dribble towards the goal and then looped around to reset the offense.

So yeah, maybe we shouldn’t believe everything these guys say. It only makes it more confusing and we never get the whole story.

Déjà vu of the Week: Super XLII vs. the first half of Game 4

Before the first half of last’s night game, the last time I’d felt so awful watching a sporting event was in Arizona at Super Bowl XLI (the fact that I even mentioned that game in print is a huge step for me in the road to recovery).

From KG’s foul trouble and Rondo’s stiffness to Perk assuming the role of point guard and Odom assuming the role of God, it hurt all over. It was one of those horrible moments in sports fandom where everything spins wildly out of control and you know your team is absolutely screwed. Farmar’s bank three at the end of the second was the poison icing on the cake. When guy’s start pulling shots like that out of their asses, your team never wins; you chalk it up as “one of those games”… that is, until last night.

That comeback defied the rules and logic of just about every NBA game I’ve ever seen. We’re all better sports fans for having been a part of it.

“Most Uncomfortable Quote” of the Week: "Ah yes, momentum is a strange girl. We’re hoping she’ll come back towards our side of the ship…"

– Phil Jackson to Michelle Tafoya at the end of the third quarter

Everyone talks about the effects that this championship series will have on the legacies of the different players involved—mainly Kobe and the PGA Tour. But how about Phil Jackson? Could this guy be mailing in the Finals any harder?

Not only has his team seemed completely unprepared and unfocused during this series, but there’s no way that even he can believe the crap that comes out of his mouth anymore!

Momentum is a strange girl? Really, Phil?

The Zen Master sounds more and more like a porn director than a basketball coach with every passing year. Is he really the greatest coaches of our lifetime? The rings say yes, but anyone who’s watched this series has to question that title a little.

“One More Reason to Love James Posey” of the Week

There were about 15 different times during this game where I felt the need to declare to no one in particular that I loved James Posey, but the number one moment came on a Lakers’ possession down the stretch.

Odom had the ball in the post and was trying to bang it down low against Big Game James. He took two hard dribbles toward the hoop, but as he went for a third and looked to initiate contact with Posey, No. 41 wasn’t there. He’d pulled the oldest trick in the book—the old Charles Barkley step away. Odom was caught completely off guard (and off balance) and frantically fired the ball off the backboard. The C’s grabbed the rebound and headed down to ram the stake a little farther into Kobe and the Zen Master’s collective ass (which Kobe then proceeded to rape).

Plays like that are the reason everyone speculated back in October that the James Posey signing might be the one that eventually put the Celtics over the top.

“Most Ridiculous, Unforgivable, Makes-Me-Want-To-Tear-My-Eyes-Out-TV-Trend” of the Week: Lotto Time!!

Now that TNT doesn’t have any broadcast rights and can’t murder us with House of Payne and Bill Engvall commercials—I’ve never rooted harder against two shows in my life, by the way—ABC is doing their best to keep America pissed off.

Where do they get off flashing the winning lottery numbers over the score overlay during crunch time for every single game? Can’t they wait 15 minutes? Are the kind of people who by lottery tickets every night even up at 11:30 on a weeknight?

“Prediction for Next Week” of the Week: Celtics in 6! Ray Allen MVP!

OK, that’s it for now. The Celtics are one win away from an NBA championship and I’m headed to LA tomorrow morning. I’m sitting in the front row of the balcony, so if you see a guy in a James Posey jersey get thrown to his death at some point during Game 5, please wave to me on the way down.

See You Next Week and Ubuntu!

Rich Levine is a contributor to Wicked Good Sports with his “Wicked Weekly” column and podcast, “The Dino Radja Experience”. Rich is also a columnist for The Improper Bostonian.