CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Celtics Related Bits and Pieces from Around the League

September 7, 2006

Even though things are fairly quiet in Boston, several things have caught my attention recently.
Gary Payton has resigned with the Heat. Gary was a class act in Boston. I believe that he is the reason that Delonte did as well as he did last season. He learned from the Master. I was really happy that Payton got his ring last season. He apparently still has something left to contribute even after all these years. I know that Danny wanted to get the running game going and Payton just wasn't as fast but he is proving that he is a very productive back up PG.

Ralph Sampson is pleading guilty to mail fraud.. I was reading in a book on the Celtics that Red really, really wanted Sampson when he came into the league. Sampson never really lived up to expectations for him and even now is making headlines for the wrong reasons. It just shows that the draft is a pretty uncertain thing. I see Sampson and more recently Kandi coming into the league as the #1 pick with a lot of potential and expectations and never living up to them. Such a shame.

Dominique Wilkins is finally going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I couldn't understand why he wasn't there before. Even though he is remembered most for his time as a Hawk, Dominique was a Celtic for a short time and takes a bit of Celtic Pride into the Hall with him. He was a class act throughout his career and deserves this honor. I look at Gerald Green and see a lot of similarities with Dominique. We can only hope that he will reach similar heights in his career.

This quote:

"Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounds win championships," said Pat Summitt, the Hall of Fame women's coach from the University of Tennessee.

in an article on Joe Dumars, who is also going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, caught my attention. Offense does sell tickets. Everyone wants to see the high flying dunks and excitement of a high scoring game. Danny has brought in a running team that will put lots of points on the board to sell tickets. But if we truly want to win games and championships, we have to commit to defense and rebounding. I believe that he is trying to do that as well by bringing in Clifford Ray. Wherever Ray goes, the team improves in rebounding dramatically. We have Perk and Al and Jones and Ratliff who should be able to put up some good numbers if Doc learns to use them correctly and hopefully that is where Ray comes in again. Danny went for Rondo instead of Williams at the PG which brings in a very good defensive player at the point. If we want to get to the next level, it will have to be with defense and rebounding... Hopefully Doc will get the message.

The Toronto Raptors have become a much better team this offseason. If you watched Spain in the Worlds, you know that Calderon and Garbajosa are both players and have good chemistry. From the article:

If the second Raptor unit — in a nine-man rotation — comprises Calderon and Garbajosa with either Anthony Parker or Fred Jones, Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh, that's going to be pretty solid.

Toronto is no longer going to be a doormat and they feel they have a score to settle with the Celtics after Gerald Green dunked on them not once but twice last season. We shouldn't sleep on the Raptors.

The oldest play in basketball doomed the US team. This article in the Seattle times relates how failure to defend the pick and roll was the downfall for the US team. The Celtics lost several games last year because they had the same problem. I am hoping that Doc (and Clifford) work on this from the start this year. If we can't defend the pick and roll effectively, we will lose games again this season because of it. This takes me back to how important defense is to winning a championship.

Hoopsworld responded to the Globe article on how Wyc says the hardest part is being patient. Here is their take on it:

Four years...and not a whole lot of progress if you look at the win-loss column. Plus, their youth movement has gone too slow for this group of players to peak while Paul Pierce is still in his prime. Ainge should trade Pierce now while his value is high and get players in return who fit the mold of the other guys on the team.

I don't agree with their assessment. I think keeping Pierce is a good thing. I agree that the youth movement hasn't moved all that quickly to date because of injuries and lack of playing time in Perk's case. But I also believe that this year is going to be a break out year for Perk and Al and maybe a couple more. I believe that a team with Pierce at the center and our talented youth playing around him will win Championship 17. If Ainge wanted to trade Pierce, he shouldn't have signed him to the extension. Which reminds me, Ainge had better sign Perk to an extension soon or he is going to cost us a whole lot more.

NBA.com is having a Photo of the Year Contest to help spend the time until the season begins. Not a single Celtic in the mix. You would think that Gerald Green should have a contest worthy picture as he hangs above the rim. Or maybe Pierce as he muscles his way to the rim. Or even Perk swatting away LeBron's shot. But the Celtics haven't been getting any respect from the league for some time now, so it isn't really a surprise. Besides, the Celtics probably wouldn't win because all of the fair weather Celtics fans around the globe are now cheering for a winning team. All I can say is our day is coming once again very quickly!!

Will Bynum is going to be playing for Tel Aviv this season. I have always believed that the only reason Bynum was signed with the Celtics was to light a fire under Banks. It obviously didn't work. However, Bynum's signing indirectly led to Tony Allen's legal problems that are still continuing today, and that have put his career in jeopardy. Tony and Will were celebrating his signing when the alleged assault took place. It wasn't all that long after the celebration turned bad that Bynum was cut from the team. By mid season, Banks was traded. Seems like a waste all the way around.

Derren mentioned something on CG the other day that I hadn't thought of but it is pretty interesting.

"...the only way a PG is ever going to play for us is by having a unique first name Sebastian, Delonte, and Rajon are not names you hear on a regular basis (plus we had Orien too). That's why Dan Dickau is no longer with the team."

This explains why Danny picked Rondo over Williams in the draft and why Banks was traded (among a host of other things). Marcus just isn't all that unusual for a first name. It does give me pause though now that Bonzi Wells is available. Danny may not be able to pass that one up and may try to put him at the point just on the strength of the name. Be afraid, be very afraid.

What is with the Boston Herald? Are all their reporters on strike or vacation? They still have USA over Germany as their lead headline. The players are coming into Boston and working out. Perk is cleared to play. Al will be cleared to play next week and is healing rather quickly now that they found the problem and fixed it. Ratliff is here after being the invisible man since the trade. Al is vowing to average a double double. Why is the Herald not reporting any of it? The Globe isn't much better with their one article a week about the team. It is only 26 days until training camp. I see articles on a regular basis on other teams from their local papers. I can see a lack of respect from the league but not from the local Boston papers. It really is a sad state of affairs.

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