Leon Powe Enjoying Life As A Champion

Leon's ESPN Chat

Leon Powe did a chat with ESPN on Monday and I wanted everyone to see it. I thought there were some interesting questions and answers. Unfortunately I can't get rid of some of the less intelligent questions but hey, I wasn't the moderator for the chat. Either way I think you'll enjoy learning a little more about Leon the man.

Click here for link to fan chat

Leon Celebrates

Celtics Win Championship; Leon Gets Snubbed of Finals MVP

Just Kidding. I had to make the title something about Leon not getting Finals MVP. It was eye catching and how often can I use that title. Paul Pierce was the most deserving player for the Finals MVP because he's been a Celtic the longest and he did have the best Finals out of anyone. Ray Allen played amazing and you could have given him the MVP but I think the NBA made the right choice.

Right now I don't think any of the Celtics care about who got the MVP though, finally the Big 3 and supporting cast are NBA Champions. Everyone did their part and they got the job done. This is one of those teams I'll remember for the rest of my life. I'll be 90 years old and I'll be able to list every guy on the roster for all the contributions they made all the way down to Gabe Pruitt, Tony Allen, and Brian Scalabrine. It was just a very special group of guys and all of them seem like good humans that deserved to win. With exception to Sam Cassell, he seems like a jerk. I'm still bitter that he took a swipe at Rajon Rondo's head a few days before he signed with the Celtics. I'm also bitter because he would never pass Leon the ball so I guess I'm happy he'll be gone next year. But anywho, the rest of the Celtics earned this and I'm very proud of all them.

I'm so happy the Celtics ended it the way they did. In my last post I mentioned that if the Celtics won game 5 it wouldn't have felt right. Mostly because KG played awful and because it was in LA. But This was how it was suppose to end. With the Celtics putting a real ass kicking on the Lakers in Boston. With the crowd there to celebrate for a whole quarter. It was just so beautiful to watch.

I'm so happy I can call Leon a world champion from now on. Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, and many other greats can't call themselves that, but Leon Powe can. It wasn't like Leon didn't contribute either. Powe left an imprint that will be remembered for many years to come. His record performance in game 2 was something I'll be telling my great grandchildren about, and I'm sure I'm not the only Celtic fan that will.

Although Leon has only been in the NBA for 2 seasons he's been through more than any of us including myself could ever fathom. So to be here at this point in his life is beyond a miracle to me. He went from being a homeless child, to a young man without parents, to a talented ball player with seemingly career ending knee injuries, to being stuck on the bench never knowing if he'll get his chance, to an NBA Finals hero, then finally to an NBA Champion. I'm sure Leon has gotten some help from the big man up stairs along the way, but his hard work and determination have put him at a level that no one could have imagine this poor kid could be at. Could you imagine where Leon would be if he could actually catch a break? But who knows, maybe it was all those bad breaks that made Leon become a champion. Maybe the greatest break for him was not getting one at all? Either way Leon has found a way to become successful when the world was against him and I'm happy he's beaten the odds again!

P.S. I'm also happy that Leon will be getting a new contract soon. You gotta figure game 2 got him a lot of money on a new deal. Plus it always helps when you have a ring on your finger when signing the dotted line. I really hope the Celtics work something out with Leon this offseason, It would be a curse to the Celtics if they were to not lock up Leon for a long time.

World Champions!!!!

Congratulations Leon Powe! You and the Celtics are World Champions!

Heading Back to Boston

Well the Celtics are headed back to Boston for game 6 after a less than great performance in game 5. While I was rooting for the Celtics with great intensity, I still thought in the back of my head this would be an ugly way to win a championship. With the exception of Paul Pierce the whole team didn't do much.

It was tough to watch Kevin Garnett struggle in what could have been the championship clinching game. KG has done such a fine job this whole year, so to watch him play as poorly as he did was tough. I know beggars can't be choosers but I want the Celtics to win while Kevin is playing well. Paul and Ray have clicked in the finals, but KG just can't get things going. Statistically he's fine, but his overall impact has not lived up to what we all expected of Garnett.

I don't feel like putting KG down right now but I have to speak the truth. He looked like a lost rookie out there. I was rooting for him to foul out when he got 5 fouls because it was embarrassing watching him struggle in the clutch like he did. He couldn't make lay ups or free throws. I got to the point where I was hoping they would get the ball to anyone but Kevin. Watch next game how Pau Gasol gives Kevin his left hand and he still tries to go to the right or take a fade away jumper. It was very surprising to realize how bad KG is at going left. I hope KG see's this in the next game and takes advantage of the baseline. What's also frustrating about it is Pau is one of the worst defenders I've ever scene in all my years watching pro basketball. Kevin should be scoring 30 a game right now. He's a little too wired and thinking a little to much. I guess all that lost sleep is catching up with him. KG may not be Larry Bird in the clutch but I think he can get things together enough for game 6 at home to lead the Celtics to a victory.

Leon got his first career post season and NBA Finals start in game 5. That's about all you could say about him though. He played 5 minutes and that was it. When it's a young guys first career post season start he's going to need a few minutes to get it together and warm up. Well Doc decided not to give Leon those minutes and ended the starters day early. What frustrates me about this move is Leon has showed that he can cause some serious problems for the Lakers (hello, anyone remember game 2?). Leon decided not to take any shots with his first few touches because it's the Big 3's job to do the scoring. Powe grabbed a couple boards and didn't let Lamar Odom score while he was in just as he's done to Lamar the whole series. Leon made a silly play when he got caught on a switch guarding Pau who he stopped, but the ball got tipped back to Gasol and Leon fouled him. Well Leon isn't allowed to make minor mistakes in Doc's eyes so his day was done after that. Always a good teaching lesson for a young player, "If you mess up once your not going back in". Ya that will keep Leon nice and loose.

P.J. Brown does a nice job holding his ground when he's in there. The problem with this is sometimes you need a guy that can do more than just hold his ground. Brown's productivity is killing me right now. He's no threat to score on offense so his defender always leaves him and double teams whoever has the ball. He isn't a great rebounder and is not the athlete these younger players are. I like that he does have the calm veteran presence but that's only good for a few moments when giving the young guys a break. PJ has averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes a game during this series. For those of you that don't know much about basketball, that's mediocre at best. Yes, Brown does some nice things that don't show up in the box scores, but rebounds is a very important stat and so is points. When your not doing either of those things well and your a big man then we've got some issues. Leon always gives something when he's out there and is the best fit most of the time. Isn't nice to know if Leon gets the ball he's going to score or draw a foul, it's comforting. I like P.J. Brown a lot, I think he's done the best with the talent he has left in his old body. But he just isn't as productive as some of the other players on the Celtics bench. I still want him to play, just not as much as he's been playing.

Ok, bad game lets try and forget about it. Props to Tony Allen for stepping in and having a nice impact. I was happy to see that. They lost game 5 but now we get to see them win it in Boston which will make it even sweeter.

In game 6 I expect better play out of KG and more playing time for Leon. If the Celtics get both of those things they can't lose!

Hooray Celtics! One More Game!

Well that was a nice game wasn't it? The Celtics had the worst half in the history of the NBA Finals and they still won. That's a pretty good sign for things going forward. The Celtics have 3 games to win one, and two of those are in Boston. So I'm feeling pretty good about things.

James Posey was my player of the game in this one. He hit some big 3's and played some solid defense as usual. When Perkins went out with an injury, Posey was the guy that lead the charge. I would have liked to see Leon get in after that but sometimes rolling the dice can work. Playing with a smaller line up could have either buried the Celtics or brought them back and lucky for Boston the plan just happened to work out. Sometimes when your getting blown out you gotta do unusual things to get back in the game and playing Posey with Pierce at the same time worked out well.

Posey played amazing, Eddie House played great, Paul and Ray played very well, But I can't undervalue the performance by my guy Leon Powe. Leon scored 3 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in his 9 minutes and it was just enough to get the job done. It was huge that Leon was able to hold down the fort while KG got his rest in the fourth quarter. Not only did Leon hold down the fort, he hit a big time shot to tie things up at 73, which was the first tie in the game since 2-2. I know Powe didn't have a huge game 2 like performance, but he stopped Lamar Odom who was hot earlier in the game, and he attacked the rim and brought physicality to the game. Although Leon can't get a call since that game 2 outburst, he's still putting the fear into Lakers defenders and bringing his tough presence. I hope Doc will give him some of P.J's minutes in the next game. He's proved that he earned that playing time with his efficient play.

Great all around team effort in this game. I can't believe the Celtics and Leon are one game away from being world champs again. I'm trying not to get too excited yet, but they're just so close.