Simmons Article On Sheed

[FallGuy]

Where does the bandwagon talk come in?  I didn't really read anything about bandwagon fans in there.  Just wondering.

Also, I feel like Simmons is writing without really knowing what he is writing about.  I feel like he doesn't really watch this team.  Not because he's calling out sheed because I think sheed is a big part of the problem, but because Simmons only talks about generic examples.  For instance he never gives any specific examples except for the clippers game.  Thats all fine and good but he watches all clippers games.  That doesnt really tell me he watches the Celts consistently.  One other game he mentioned has the OKC game but i have to believe thats because he has a man crush on Durant.

I love Simmons but sometimes he is overly harsh on the Celts (maybe its because he wants to come off as unbiased) and doesnt really give them much credit when its due.  Ehh, just some random thoughts i guess

He watches all the games.

[Hoops]

Maybe it's because I don't bother to read the truly boring banter on Celticsblog about Sheed, but I didn't find Simmons' article to be boring. Don't know if I agree with him or not, but it wasn't boring.

One thing he didn't say in the article that I thought would be worth touching on is this: it seems a lot of Celtic fans - including ones who complain about him, want him benched, gone, etc. - still have this sort of unspoken hope/belief that Sheed really can and will turn on the switch during the playoffs. I know I feel that way. I'm willing to admit that the regular-season Sheed experiment has been mostly a disaster. But there's something about Sheed that makes me think it's possible (regardless of how unlikely it might seem) that he could indeed flip the switch for the playoffs and totally kick a**.

Here's to hoping.

[connerhenry43]

i thought the article was fantastic. i was anti sheed from day one while many others were so excited about this signing (not saying I am always right, i have been wrong more than my fair share). i tried to see the good in him, but unfortunately, like jerry once said about newman, "i've looked into his eyes, he's pure evil."

i do think, like another post said here a while back, he has infected the whole team with a lazy, entitled, apatehtic attitude. i pray danny finds an equally bad contract in the offseason (http://www.realgm.com/src_checktrade.php?tradeid=5498271) and sends him anywhere in the nba. i loathe seeing him waltz into the game and pray we had a coach with enough courage to bench him for good.

[Chris]

But bashing Sheed and making him the scapegoat for the team's poor behaviour and lack of intensity is ridiculous ; you would think Simmons would know better than that.

Agreed, but when has SG really been a balanced, rational basketball fan?  

There really is no defending Sheed here, but to blame him for this teams play this year is ridiculous.

Well I don't think its that ridiculous, I think the main difference between this year and last is that you replaced young hungry players fighting for a contract with Sheed and young players with contracts (Rondo, Baby) I don't think that Sheed is to blame for all the problems but I do think he has affected the intensity and drive of the team negatively

What part of last year?  Because the C's had some major issues with effort last year as well.

Yeah, Sheed has not helped anything, but the laziness was already on this team. 

[Fan from VT]

Where does the bandwagon talk come in?  I didn't really read anything about bandwagon fans in there.  Just wondering.

Also, I feel like Simmons is writing without really knowing what he is writing about.  I feel like he doesn't really watch this team.  Not because he's calling out sheed because I think sheed is a big part of the problem, but because Simmons only talks about generic examples.  For instance he never gives any specific examples except for the clippers game.  Thats all fine and good but he watches all clippers games.  That doesnt really tell me he watches the Celts consistently.  One other game he mentioned has the OKC game but i have to believe thats because he has a man crush on Durant.

I love Simmons but sometimes he is overly harsh on the Celts (maybe its because he wants to come off as unbiased) and doesnt really give them much credit when its due.  Ehh, just some random thoughts i guess

I disagree. Clearly a lot of people don't like his style. That's fine. But it's clear he watches a lot of Celtics. And, frankly, there's a lot of fans around here' that have the same "overly harsh" view that he does. Maybe it's living in LA, maybe it's his personality, but I don't think it's being a bad fan or overly harsh to think the celtics aren't a top 5 team or true title contender. Judging by how they've played lately, i'd say it's overly optimistic to call the C's one of the top teams in the NBA. As a fan, I hold onto hope that they really can turn it on, but when I step back and think about it, there's about 5 teams i would bet my life on winning the title before the celtics.

[j804]

insightful spot on article on Sheed via espn


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100407&sportCat=nba

[RJ87]

i thought the article was fantastic. i was anti sheed from day one while many others were so excited about this signing (not saying I am always right, i have been wrong more than my fair share). i tried to see the good in him, but unfortunately, like jerry once said about newman, "i've looked into his eyes, he's pure evil."

Ditto.

[ssspence]

Well written and some funny stuff all along. I was surprised to see some positive things about Sheed in that article.

But bashing Sheed and making him the scapegoat for the team's poor behaviour and lack of intensity is ridiculous ; you would think Simmons would know better than that.

This paragraph destroyed the rest of his arguments in my opinion :

Sheed's Celtics are 25-24 since Christmas. The 2008 world champs killed themselves every night. A depleted 2008-09 Celtics team exhibited remarkable pride and heart. Now they're bored and sluggish? Now they're searching for ways to get fired up? Now they're blowing home games left and right? Now they're on pace to break the unofficial record for "most players-only meetings and clear-the-air dinners" by a contender in one season? A team led by three future Hall of Famers who ALWAYS tried in the past? It doesn't add up.

Sheed may not have infected the Celtics as Character X did, but he did compromise the one thing that made them special: intensity. They care only when it suits them. The seven words that defined Sheed's career. Both the team and Sheed think they have an on/off switch that can be flicked at any time. Not true. They are in denial. "Lost" has the Smoke Monster; the Celtics have the Smoke and Mirrors Monster. And it's the entire team.

"Sheed's Celtics"? Really? And the guy has infected the entire team, and 3 future Hall of Famers just because it "doesn't add up" and you have to find a scapegoat/culprit? Come on...

I agree he takes it too far, but think you may be underestimating the infectious nature of his dominent personality. regardless, one weak link on the defensive end trashes the whole concept which is really what's most important anyway. the plus minus numbers are shocking.

[butterbeanlove]

Horrible timing on this column, as Sheed has played some of his best ball in the last two weeks.

I've enjoyed Simmons in the past but he's become insufferable with his thin-skinnedness (is that a word?) and "I told you so" insecurity about every opinion or prediction he has ever made in his life. "The Book of Basketball" was a good read but his cheap formulaic jokes ruined it and made it tiresome the longer it went on. Maybe he's playing to the cheap seats to maximize eyeballs and book sales, or maybe he has nothing deeper to offer than Karate Kid references. As for me, I prefer his buddy Klosterman (whose essay on the NFL was one of the most perceptive pieces of sports writing I can recall).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=klosterman/091019

[Brazilian Celtic]

I really enjoy the article. In fact i'm a huge fan of Simmons. But lately one thing, in fact one player, is bothering me much more than Sheed. Man...Perk has been awful. He's no longer The Beast. Right now i guess he is The Feast for others bigs...

[jdpapa3]

Claims to be a huge Celtics fan, but he tweets observations about other games while the Celtics play a great game and thinks Sheed was suspended for a game. Complained about the Durant call, but said nothing about the calls KD got last week.

[crownsy]

Bill's a celtics fan and i like his stuff, but i'm sick of his implied attitude that he's some sort of celtics expert.

While he got it pretty much right in this case, i can't stand his pattern the last two years of trying to trade on the fact that he's the most knowledgeable celtics fan around.

Bill is an NBA fan at this point, not a celtics fan. Which is fine, but don't expect me to treat your knowledge level like bob ryan's or jackie M when you write this stuff bill.

Kinda off topic, but this is like two weeks ago when he wrote that live wrestlmania diary and prefaced it by talking about what a huge WWE fan he was and how hyped he was, and then blatantly displayed within the recap that he didn't know simple things that happened in the past 5 years storyline wise.

I like Bill, but the last three years or so, he's lost a bit off his fastball.

[fairweatherfan]

Bill's a celtics fan and i like his stuff, but i'm sick of his implied attitude that he's some sort of celtics expert.

While he got it pretty much right in this case, i can't stand his pattern the last two years of trying to trade on the fact that he's the most knowledgeable celtics fan around.

Bill is an NBA fan at this point, not a celtics fan. Which is fine, but don't expect me to treat your knowledge level like bob ryan's or jackie M when you write this stuff bill.

Kinda off topic, but this is like two weeks ago when he wrote that live wrestlmania diary and prefaced it by talking about what a huge WWE fan he was and how hyped he was, and then blatantly displayed within the recap that he didn't know simple things that happened in the past 5 years storyline wise.

I like Bill, but the last three years or so, he's lost a bit off his fastball.

Ironically a whole lot of the negative traits he sees in Sheed could be applied to his own writing.  He's got exceptional ability but has become complacent and more than a little full of himself.  Still a lot of fun to watch when he's involved in something but the lazy aspects are starting to become more and more prevalent over time.  I blame having children. 

[Larry for 3]

Claims to be a huge Celtics fan, but he tweets observations about other games while the Celtics play a great game and thinks Sheed was suspended for a game. Complained about the Durant call, but said nothing about the calls KD got last week.

really man? Simmmons was spot on as usuall. And there was only 1 bad call on durant last week, the pierce stip, but what do you expect? When you play an entire game defensieivly with your hands and not your feet (reaching in all game long) , your not going to get the benefit of the doubt from the refs. That's the way basketball works.  Don't believe it? , the celtics have lost 3 games in the past few weeks when THEY shot over 50%!! SO they havent really been playing defense with thier feet or their brains for that matter, all year.  Good luck getting the benefit of the doubt, espically when you dont deserve it.  You want fantom calls? Wait till Lebron in round 2,  it's only gonna get worse, unless you have a time machine and can take us
back 2 years

[Rondo_is_better]

Pretty much spot on, unfortunately.