Picks 'n Pops: Classical practice, holding off the competition, and dogs

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because even when I got an extra day of the year, I ended up just wasting it. 

- Today is the first day of the final full month of the regular season. Let that sink in. March is here, Gethin has actual baseball to write about, and there's still some daylight when I park my car for games. I can’t believe we’re already here. 

- Derrick White and Payton Pritchard gushed over Blake Griffin and said they would love him back in the locker room. I’m all for whatever adds to the good vibes around the team, and Griffin was a welcome addition last season. But at this point, they might as well just hire him as a coach or a consultant or something if they want him around that badly. He’s not going to be a contributor at this point. 

- Celtics lead assistant Charles Lee shared a story with Celtics.com about a unique practice in Philadelphia: 

“We needed to work on our offensive spacing and togetherness and Joe (Mazzulla) talked about not letting the music stop, not letting the ball just stop,” He explained. “He ended up telling them that they had to go up and down the court with non-verbal communication and he played Mozart in the background. The vibe, the energy in the gym, I thought it was just dope. It was really cool. And then we go out that night against Philly and it immediately translated to the game. I think we missed a ton of shots, but the ball did not stop moving and we really thought we did a great job of passing the ball. So that practice really sticks out to me.”

Slowly, people will get on board with me that Mazzulla is a good coach. I’ve been driving this train from the beginning. He’s different, and he’s a bit of a maniac, but his brain is working at the right frequency for these guys. 

- Mazzulla spent the All-Star break getting to know Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. You’d think a coach so heavily influenced by Premier League soccer would have his guys flopping more.  

- No, Draymond Green, the goalposts aren’t being moved on Jayson Tatum, but congratulations on getting the attention you crave by hopping into the discussion. 

- Damian Lillard said he thought the Bucks would be doing what Boston is doing. I don’t know why he’d think that. He plays zero defense. Boston actually guards. I’m sure the Celtics will remind him of that when they target him relentlessly next time they play.

- Kristaps Porzingis was spotted at the Bruins game. 

He’s just the happiest man on earth. He’s loving every minute of being in Boston. This is what I’d imagine hitting the lottery would feel like. 

- Jrue Holiday is expected to make the USA basketball team. Let’s hope he continues his trend of winning a championship the same year as winning a gold medal. 

- Joel Embiid says he’ll return to the Sixers if his knee feels good enough. “That’s the plan,” he said. It’s also what everyone says when they want to do something but actually know they probably won’t. 

“John, are you going to do the dishes?”
“That’s the plan.” 

- LeBron James is close to scoring 40 points, and he just had a monster fourth quarter to power the biggest fourth-quarter comeback of his career. 

I’ve seen superstars turn 39 before. I’ve seen them play well at that age, but nowhere near their former glory. What makes LeBron James so different? Is it that 39 isn’t the same as it used to be? Is it a testament to his training and body maintenance? Is it something else? This is the most dominant I’ve ever seen a 39-year-old. 

- Max Strus’ performance, including a beyond-half-court buzzer beater, to beat the Mavs was something else. 

But finishes like that always give us more, like PJ Washington’s flex into a head rub: 

And this reaction from Markieff Morris:

This is art. Hang it in the Louvre.

- It’s a good thing for the Cavs that Strus hit that shot because it helped them get to 20-5 since January 2 and it’s helped them climb from seventh to second in the East standings. 

However, Boston also went 20-5, so Cavs did all that moving up seed-wise but they gained zero ground on the Celtics. They were eight games back on January 2, and they're eight games back today. 

Now they know how Markieff Morris feels. 

- NBA officials have admitted to getting another pivotal late-game call wrong. I understand it’s a hard job, but that's why these officials are in the league. They're supposed to be the best at this. If they can’t get obvious calls right, then either get someone who can or add another official to the floor who can see the angles these other refs are missing. 

- We’ve had scuffles between the Hornets and Warriors and the Nets and Timberwolves for breaking the “unwritten rule” of shooting late in a decided game. I think it’s the most overly sensitive, ridiculous thing I’ve seen in basketball in a long time. 

This notion of it being disrespectful is just dumb. Get out of your feelings or go play baseball if you want to live by stupid unwritten rules. 

- Speaking of dumb rules, the disqualification of Owen Lloyd because he climbed onto a lane to celebrate a swimming championship is the pinnacle of NCAA stupidity.

Every time you think you’ve seen a ridiculous decision in college that costs a kid something special, there's always something worse coming around the corner. It’s mind-blowing how much people in the college power structure enjoy ripping kids' hearts out as some sort of teaching tool. 

Never come at me with college sports as some bastion of sports purity. It’s not. It’s a cesspool of egos and greed, but it’s hidden. At least we know who is getting the money in pro sports. 

- RIP Richard Lewis. 

- Toronto head coach Darko Rajaković promised to buy his team dinner if they won three games in a row. They did, and the guys demanded a pizza party. So the coach delivered: 

There's something so wholesome about an NBA team choosing a pizza party when they could go anywhere they wanted. This is the fun stuff that brings a team closer together. They actually get to act like kids for a day. 

Of course, if this was a college team, the players and coach would be suspended and the team would be stripped of four years of wins. 

- The new Clippers logo looks like a cruise ship in crosshairs.

Guys, Captain Phillips came out 11 years ago. You’re too late for cross-promotion. When someone wins a game at the new building, does the coach get to go up to Ty Lue and say “Look at me … I’m the captain now” when they shake hands?

Alternate joke #1: This explains their first promotion at the Intuit Dome: First 5,000 fans get the norovirus!

Alternate joke #2: This is just a long play for Steve Ballmer to get cast as Captain Stubing on a Love Boat reboot. 

- I dare you to watch Jon Stewart’s tribute to his late dog Dipper without crying. There's just no way you can. 

I wish we could all be like dogs, who can endure the worst of humanity but then still turn around and love someone fiercely and unconditionally. We don’t deserve them, but man am I happy we have them. 

- Here’s this week’s Bing AI-created image: Don’t get caught up in the boredom of being a great team with the East pretty much wrapped up. 

- Your NBA Belt champion: The San Antonio Spurs

- Here’s my latest podcast, if you’re bored