When NBA fans tuned in to watch the Boston Celtics take on the Portland TrailBlazers, they were relegated to the national broadcast on TNT. The fans in the New England area were lucky enough that Comcast carried the local broadcast. Why you ask? Mainly because the legendary Bill Walton filled in for Tommy Heinsohn (he was back in the Burlington studios doing pre, post, and halftime action) providing color commentary.
Did he ever provide it! Below are "Words of Walton" separated by quarter. Each quarter is well worth the listen so sit back and enjoy.
Q1: Walton begins by describing KG's head bash into the stanchion routine. Other Words of Walton include:
- Warning us of the failure of preparation
- His thoughts regarding statistics in relation to the Celtics
- Comparing Ray Allen's jumper to Yosemite Falls
- Discussing Paul Pierce's teeth
- Joel Przybilla's defense on Kevin Garnett in transition
- Describing how the "little guys" are flopping
- Rajon Rondo is just taking a breather after getting a hard screen
- Sneaking in a Bob Dylan "Tangled up in Green" reference
- His thoughts on the American Red Cross
- His thoughts on practices and trash talking
- He's not a fan of baggy clothes
- Nor is he a fan of Nate Robinson's shot selection
Q2: Walton discusses his thoughts on Dante Cunningham's hard foul on Ray, referencing Johnny Most. Other Words of Walton include:
- Tells us that Semih Erden is not as good as KG
- He's shocked at the lack of FGA's by Rudy Fernandez
- Thinks Shaq should stay in the starting lineup
- The Patty Mills/Tiny Achibald comparison
- More "little guys/flopping" commentary
- Describes KG as being written by a computer program
- Telling us what Przybilla does best
- Asking "Where is Maurice Lucas when you need him?"
- His thoughts on diving for a loose ball
- His thoughts on both all-star starting lineups
- His legendary advice for Greg Oden
- How he feels about playing 3 games in 4 nights
- More McNasty talk
- Telling us how Luke Babbitt fouled 4 Celtics on 1 play
Q3: Walton begins the third by describing the best aspect of Przybilla's game: violating the rules. Other Words of Walton include:
- After an Andre Miller to LaMarcus alley-oop, tells us that KG remembers what it was like when he was 25
- More Przybilla: 1-800-dial-a-violation
- Comparing Przybilla to the Detroit Bad Boys: "Breaking all the rules of human decency"
- "There has never been a possession that Rudy couldn't get it up there."
- His thoughts on the suites at the TD Garden
- Apparently Jerome Kersey still has a psychological scar from a Larry Bird buzzer beater from 1985
- Tying in Mozart's birthday
- More criticism of the officials
- More waterfall comparions to Ray's jumper
- Doc's contributions to their new website: "ilovereferees.com"
- "If you fall down in this game, you'll get the call"
- "Wesley Matthews is right handed and will remain so throughout this game"
- Wants Shaq to come back quickly, but not too soon
Q4: Walton discusses the Doc Rivers/Matthews interaction. Other Words of Walton include:
- How often he's seen Babbitt score
- One Portland record that they shouldn't be proud of
- Describing Von Wafer's offense
- On Rudy's ability (or lack thereof) to dunk the ball
- Should a player look to the coach during gameplay to see which play should be called?
- His thoughts on the Portland crowd's complaints on an Aldridge foul
- His thoughts on Semih missing two free throws
- The reason why KG has gone so long with so few assists
- His take on Ray getting whacked across the face
- He's amazed that some guys still get up after constantly falling down
- Wants more teasing by Rondo
- He's sorry that he missed Portland's season low point total game
- His thoughts on the legendary Tommy Heinsohn
- Discussing the Portland crowd as they head for the early exit
- His thoughts on Cunningham's discipline
- More thoughts on Przybilla
- Describes most of the noise in the Portland arena as "artificial"
- KG and the "gnats" surrounding him
- His thoughts on Tommy calling a Lakers/Celtics game
- Describing Big Baby's dressing skills as he re-enters the game
- Thanking Gorman for his patience
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