Me, Sheed and the Denver Airport

The extreme Sheed lover that I am, you can imagine how disappointing it has been to see his weak-ass play while sporting the Green. His defense, the core of his ability to dominate, has diminished to the point where he is a severe liability. Especially during the the C's last 50 games, anytime Sheed was on the floor and the shot clock was winding down, opposing guards simply drove at him the paint. The result? Either Sheed gave them the matador and allowed an easy lay up, or he gave it a half-assed reach and gave away free throws. Sometimes both. Infuriating, to say the least.

To me, the true litmus test of whether a player you like still has it is during the playoffs. If you feel anxious every time they are on the court, the race is run and the player is done. But however far Sheed has fallen off, there still seems to be some special magic for me as a Sheed fan. That magic happens in the Denver Airport.

See, I was on a flight back from somewhere last summer and had an hour plus to kill in the Mile High city. Using Denver's painfully slow wi-fi, I uploaded the story of Sheed signing with the C's. The exhiliration I felt carried me home to Portland on a cloud of happiness. Rasheed a Celtic. I knew he was on the back end of his career, but how much did he need to do to make Boston better? 20 minutes of D and 3's sounded like a very achievable reality. Then the season began, and Sheed's decline was clear as day. Ughh. It was not even playoffs, and yet I had "Get him off the floor' mantra running by mid January.

At times he seemed dis-enchanted, other times lost..Doc dropped him below Glen Davis in Miami, which gave me relief. But even his 12 minute stints seemed to much. When Rivers mentioned after Game 1 vs the Cavs that he was thinking of elevating Dukie Shelden Williams, both Dave and I agreed it was likely for the best.

But then I returned to the Denver airport. I had a 60 minutes lay-over on my way to Little Rock, enough time to catch most all of the first half, and 13 point scoring outburst Mr. Wallace. While he still had suspect moments on D, his signature fire had returned, at least for a half. I landed in Arkansas a few hours later and logged on to see the Celtics had won in a romp. Sheed had for a game fulfilled the fantasies that were birthed in Denver some 9 months prior.

I am in Denver as I blog this, now returning home. My next trip through this airport in on June 1. Just in time for the Finals.