Isiah: Robinson might make C's team to beat

As much as he says he hates to admit it, Isiah Thomas says he believes the Boston Celtics may have found the missing piece of the championship puzzle.

The Pro Basketball Hall of Famer, who now coaches at Division 1 Florida International University in Miami, says the acquisition of Nate Robinson (for Eddie House, Billy Walker and J.R. Giddens) is just what the then-listless (my word, not his) squad needed to get back into contention for an NBA title.

Why does Thomas feel so strongly?

He drafted and later coached Robinson for three seasons with the Knicks before he was fired before the 2008-09 season.

"Trust me, saying nice things about the Celtics isn't easy for me," said Thomas, via a cell phone just before his team was about to take the practice floor. "But Nate is going to bring the Celtics a ton of energy. I really believe he's good enough to win one playoff game, by himself ... on the road."

Thomas said the 5-foot-9 Robinson has been game-changer almost since the day he was drafted out the University of Washington in 2005, averaging 9.3 points per game.

"You don't find a person in the league who is more competitive than he is," said Thomas. "To be able to do the things he can do — shooting, driving, running and even dunking — at his size, you have to bring something to the table. And that's his competitiveness."

Thomas sees Robinson as instant offense for the Celtics' second unit, which has struggled on the offensive end for most of the season.

"Nate is a game-changer," said Thomas. "Any time you can bring a guy off the bench who can score 40 points ... man, that would ignite the (Boston) Garden. I've seen him for a few years. Pressure doesn't bother him. He can perform in a big situation and he'll get that chance with the Celtics.

"He's a nightmare matchup," added Thomas. "Doc (Rivers) will find a way to get him high screens and rolls. When he gets that part of his game going, he's as good as any offensive player in the game."

Thomas' team has struggled in his first season, 7-24 overall, but he has had a ball giving it the old college try.

"I'm loving it," said Thomas. "I'm in the gym every day. I live in Miami. What's there not to love?"

Thomas said he realized this season would be a difficult one. He was hired in late April of 2009, missing most of the key recruiting period.

"We have a really good group of players coming in," said Thomas. "It's an incoming class that's been ranked among the top 20 recruiting classes in Division 1. We're excited. Sure, losing is never fun. But I realized this was going to take some time. I love it. I really do."

As for the Celtics, Thomas says he's happy they made the decision to acquire Robinson.

"Nate deserves a chance to play for a winner," said Thomas. "But nothing changes in terms of my feelings for the Celtics. I still hate them."

Thomas laughed after the comment, explaining further.

"It's probably more envy than hate," said Thomas. "I've always respected the Celtics and the unselfish way they play."

Thomas recently had dinner with his former Detroit Pistons teammate Bill Laimbeer, who was in Miami visiting.

When informed that most Celtics fans "hated" Laimbeer more than even Thomas, the coach laughed.

"After talking to Bill," said Thomas. "The feeling is mutual."

An Olympic experience that had silver lining to it

North Andover resident Paul Healey was sitting in his Canada Hockey Palace in Vancouver last Sunday afternoon and had to pinch himself.

USA had just scored in the closing seconds of the gold medal men's hockey game to tie the game at 2-2.

It seemed to good to be true.

"There was so much anticipation of this game, even before the Olympics started," said Healey, who is U.S. Business Director for Bauer Hockey, based in Greenland, N.H. "Then it grew as the Olympics started and then after USA beat Canada (5-3 in pool play). ... Then, I'm sitting there for the gold medal game, USA vs. Canada, and it's going to overtime. It was surreal."

Healey arrived in Vancouver five days before the gold medal game, just about the time the medal round started.

He got to see the USA-Canada women's gold medal game, as well as almost every medal round game for the men.

"The buildup for the men's game was amazing," said Healey. "Back home we hear about how big hockey is to Canadians. But you don't realize it. It's bigger than anyone can imagine. I think every Canadian I saw had a red hockey jersey with the maple leaf. I think I saw 300,000 of them from the time I got there. Those people are crazy about hockey."

Healey said there was a difference between the fans.

"The Americans wanted to play Canada for the gold medal," said Healey. "The Canadians wanted the USA to lose every game it played. It was funny on Friday, in the semis, the Canadians at the game USA-Finland game wanted us to lose. But later that night the USA fans wanted Canada to beat Slovakia, which they did ... barely. We wanted USA vs. Canada ... And we got it."

Healey said the gold medal game was probably the most special sporting event he had ever attended. The Canadians simply made it bigger than life.

"I've never seen that much energy before," said Healey, who has been to Patriots-Colts games and Red Sox-Yankees tilts. "I wore my USA jersey, but it felt like maybe five percent of the fans there were Americans. In fact, two guys who sat in front of me, one was from Toronto and the other was from Denver. But the guy from Denver was Canadian. He drove all the way just for this game. He didn't come to see any other Olympic event."

The game lived up to its billing.

Healey recalls the Canadians going from euphoric after taking a 2-0 lead, to panicked after USA scored to close it to 2-1.

"It was perfect ... just what I wanted to see," said Healey. "It's a one-goal game. We pull the goalie. And win or lose, I'd be happy. But when we scored the air came out of the arena's balloon. People were turning gray. One of the guys in front of us had his head in his hands, almost ready to throw-up ... I'm not kidding."

In the end, Canada got what it desperately wanted, the gold medal, after Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner.

"I was very disappointed," said Healey. "This was a big deal for us. But it was a bigger deal for them. After a while, I was happy for their fans."

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