CelticsStuff Live has 3 reports from the Season Ticket Holder's Picnic posted on their site. Kim Malo's report gives a good description of Al's new physique.

I can certify from live and in person that Al
definitely looks in great shape. And for those bemoaning the loss of
bulk to throw around on the boards and in the paint, I’ll add that
it’s clearly muscle based cut and not just a matter of dropping
pounds - he’s not skinny, he’s lean, and there is a real difference.

The only memorable moment was when Telfair guarenteed the playoffs this year. That was great to hear but big talk from a guy who may not start, however it appear that he is stepping up into a leadership role as Allen and Rajon deferred to Sebestian during their portion of the Q&A.

I managed to get some conversation with Doc.
I asked him about Tony Allen’s knee. He said that Tony’s knee condition was chronic and he would have “bad days” for his whole career.
He contradicted himself though saying he hadn’t lost his athleticism. When I questioned this he said: “except on his bad days.”
I was also concerned about Wally. I asked him if he was considering using him as a sixth man to save the wear and tear and he said he was, but that Wally was healthy now. When I reminded him that Wally had all or most of his cartelage removed after hi freshman year at college, he said something about his good days and bad days, also. I really hope Doc takes this seriously. I not only want Wally being able to finnish games, I want to see him fresh enough to contribute in the playoffs.
Clifford Ray was pretty candid, agreeing with me that Jones and Pittsnoggle would compete for the last roster spot.
Armond Hill stressed that Jones was one of our tougher players and that Pittsnoggle was having trouble defending.

ESPN came out with their first Preseason rankings and the Celtics were ranked #22 and they had this to say about the team:

"Can this really be Ainge's fourth season in charge? Perhaps it's not just Ainge's coach and all his kiddies who are due to pick it up a notch."

There are a few interesting things out there today. The Herald has an article that centers on Doc being ready for the season but in it is a bomb about Ricky Davis.

There is also a quiet acknowledgement from the team that by midseason, Rivers had an unworkable situation on his hands. The Davis experiment, while bearing fruit on the floor after two seasons, had run its course in the locker room.
According to a team source, Davis habitually undercut Paul Pierce’s authority, often talking and joking behind the Celtics captain’s back, and “rolling his eyes” when Pierce attempted to address the rest of the team. Similar things were said about Davis during his brief time as LeBron James’ teammate in Cleveland.
“Paul was very aware of it,” said the source. “It began to affect his play and his demeanor. That was something that had to change.”

To make up for the lack of tolerance that basketball great Bill Russell received here in Reading in the 1960s, Stoneham resident Bob Sansone would like to rename a portion of Route 28 - from Main and Franklin streets to the North Reading line - as Tolerance Road. Russell, an African American, lived in Reading first on Main Street then on Haverhill Street while playing for the Boston Celtics. During that time, vandals broke into his home and damaged his property. In addition, his residency was petitioned against by a small group of townspeople.

The Celtics used a number of combinations, searching for players to take hold of spots, but Rivers doesn't see that happening this season.
“The whole rotation thing will spell out,'' he said. “San Antonio and Detroit, they know their rotations now. With us last year, no one ever separated themselves. I do think there will be separation this year. That'll make our jobs easier.''

Forward Akin Akingbala and center Kevin Pittsnogle, both signed as free agents, figure to be the longest shots to make the roster.

His name isn't on the Celtics' roster, and he won't be included in the preseason media guide. But it's impossible to miss 6-foot-11-inch Akin Akingbala working out at the team facility these days. He is, as they say, along for the ride. He played college ball at Clemson and then played three games for the Celtics in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13 minutes a game. His big game came against the Pistons, when he had 10 points and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. If Akingbala doesn't stick here, maybe Nellie should give him a call. He was 8 for 8 from the line during the Vegas Summer League .

Wow! after nothing in the papers for a long time, today has articles all over the place. Lots of things to talk about today so let's get right to it.

The Herald brings us good news that Perk is back to being Perk. This kid is such a hard worker that there was no doubt in my mind that he would be ready for the season and attack it with a vengeance. I am a bit worried that Delonte is still nursing a sore back. I have visions of Bird laying on the floor to alleviate his back pain over the last couple of years in his career.

MetroWest Daily has done a good job of covering the Celtics this summer. While the Globe and Herald virtually ignored them for much of the summer, we got some great info all summer from Scott and Lenny. Today's piece echos the others in that it talks about all the players getting into shape and working hard and that it mentions the many questions that still need to be answered. One tidbit caught my eye is that Scal has slimmed down this summer. I just don't know that Scal has that much he can contribute to the team that our younger players can't do better. Danny quoted Bill Russell

"We don’t want veterans just because they’re veterans," he said. "I think it was Bill Russell who said experience is overrated. A lot of veterans aren’t very good players."

He never settled on a regular rotation.
"I don't think we ever had one and I don't think we were a team that should have had one. No one separated themselves enough to have one,'' Rivers said. "I do think there will be separation this year where last year I don't think I ever made that statement.''

I’ll need David to be there to keep Red off me when the dancers come out,” Grousbeck joked.

Danny has gone all out to bring in point guards who can run the fast break. He has been building this team to run since he got here and it appears the parts are all in place to finally have a running team. In Doc's interview he had this to say:

"Yeah, we want to run, but we want to be an efficient running team. Quite honestly, I didn't think we were a very good fast-break team last year at all, even though we scored high numbers. I thought we were pretty bad on the break. That's where we have to improve. We have to value the ball; we have to make better decisions."

Celtics.com has an interview with Doc Rivers.

"No, I don't know yet. I think this is the year that several have to. Since I've been here, we have yet to develop a core. Before you can do anything, you have to develop that. Before you can make trades and figure out where you want to go, you have to figure out who you want to keep. Because we've made trades and decided to play a lot of young guys, we need them to develop and show us that they're keepers. And I think this is the year, and I really believe this, that several will show us that we can't do without them and that they're people worthy of hanging on to.

Well, some of them won't play. It's just that simple. We have too many of them to play them all.
"We're in the business of trying to win games and trying to build a team for the future that will win for a long time. This is still a competition, that will never change. So when you look at the numbers of guys that we have, some guys wont play. It's just that easy. But that's on every team."

It is Delonte's job. It was Delonte's job at the end of the year. But when camp starts, it's an open position. I know Delonte, so obviously, he probably has the upper-hand, because I know what he can do. But it's going to be a very competitive camp, and that's all good."

"I'm just excited about the team. This is the first year since I've been here that you can actually see a group developing. By the end of the year, I think we'll know who will be Celtics for a long time."

Again, the Globe and Herald are silent on what is going on in Boston as the Celtics prepare for training camp but there are a few things out there.
Celtics Blog has a good interview with Clifford Ray. I really believe that the acquisition of Clifford Ray as a coach will be one of Danny's best moves this off season. We have young bigs who need guidance and Clifford Ray is going to help them to break out this season. I loved the way he was up on the side lines yelling instructions in the Summer League and I hope that continues. I also hope that Doc allows him input into how the bigs play.

The 5 position is not a glamour position but when you see who the teams are that play for a championship each year they all have a guy playing the 5 who understands what he needs to do for the team to be successful....Many of the responsibilities of this position do not appear on the stat sheet and you have to watch the game to understand how well or poorly the 5 has played. These are some of the things that Perkins will learn in time

The good shooters will kill you if they are left open but we can always get help from rotations if you make him put the ball on the floor. This group that we have has to learn to rely upon one another in this regard. It has to be a group effort as we do not have the personnel to succeed individually yet.

The exhibit focuses on 35 athletes who brought their sport to a higher level. And the world to a higher level.

Russell fits the bill well.

"You try to make the world a better place when you leave it than it was when you came into it," he told a gathering at the preview.

It’s not too often that younger members of our society grasp the concept of putting others first so that we can advance ourselves. In basketball every great team needs a great floor general. Someone’s who’s willing to sacrifice some of their personal glory so that the team can flourish. Someone willing to make the extra pass so that a teammate can get the easy deuce. Someone who’s not worried about seeing their name in flashing lights as long as their team gets the W.

Rudest welcome back
“For the love of God (”Gawd” as written by Sports Illustrated), go back on strike!,” a Boston Celtics fan implored the Celtics as they were playing a forgettable first game back after the NBA strike, during the proud franchise's forgettable days with then-coach Rick Pitino.

Certainly Bill Russell appeared to be the measure of calm when he stepped on the parquet and dominated. Only later did we learn he was a bundle of nerves before every game, and usually vomited before he left the locker room.

Yet there are times when the way an athlete carries himself says it all. There was no mistaking Larry Bird's body language in 1989, when, angry at coach Jimmy Rodgers for turning him into a ``point forward," he purposely passed up open jumpers and stubbornly passed off to teammates in a game at Detroit.

I had a conversation with Celtics coach Doc Rivers recently about Paul Pierce's body language. Rivers conceded that before he coached Pierce, ``I used to say, `Man, that guy is always sulking.' But when you get closer, you realize it's not really true.

``But, as I explained to him, perception matters. I told Paul, `You have no idea of the value of your smile.' When Paul laughs or smiles, it lights up our team."

The Celtics have become the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA. They just don't get any respect. None of the previews seem to give the Celtics much credit. Not many of them seem to give our young players much of a chance to break out. Even many Celtics fans have fallen off the wagon and no longer expect anything from this team.

Yesterday and today I eagerly checked the Boston newspapers - all of them - for news of the Celtics. After all, it is only 8 days until training camp and most of the players are in Boston working out. There must be news. How is Tony Allen doing? Any news on his trial? How is West's back? How are the scrimages going? Are any players standing out? There has to be something out there. The Herald talked about the scoreboard yesterday, and the Globe had a piece on Bonzi Wells' search for work. Nothing on the Celtics. Again today, nothing on the Celtics... nada.

ESPN has been doing a series titled 2010. The first part asked writers which of the bottom 10 teams would be most likely to win a championship by the year 2010. Even the Knicks were given more of a chance than the Celtics. To give the Knicks more of a chance to win a title than the Celtics is pretty bad.

Then, they looked at which players would break out and rise from mediocrity. You would think that someone would pick one of the Celtics young players who are on the verge of breaking out... Perk... Gomes... West... Al... Green... Telfair... Rondo... Powe... Allen... any one of our core of young players could possibly break out this year. All have the potential to become stars. But did any of the writers pick them? They picked Carlos Arroyo, Gerald Wallace, JR Smith, Hakim Warrick, Raymond Felton, Beno Udrich... The list goes on but not a single Celtic.

Even Danny said that the rest of the league doesn't value our young players as much as he does. West got some props last season but is seen as injury prone. Al has been construed as soft. Gomes got a lot of attention last season, but apparently not enough. Perk should be seen as an up and coming center but he isn't and I don't know why. When the top 20 Center Rankings were posted, Perk wasn't one of them, in spite of having better stats, even in limited playing time than some that were listed. Green is seen as somewhat of a novelty. Wind him up and watch him dunk, but no one sees him as much of a player otherwise.

In David Thorpe's chat he was asked this question:

Being from Boston, me and the rest of the city crave the days of Bird, Parrish and Mchale. Which of the young guys on the Celtics do you see having the most potential to be a star?

Ryan Gomes-or nobody. Gerald Green has so far to go. I heard Jefferson lost weight-which is good-but is really lazy still-which is bad. Telfair and Rondo still have a lot to prove. I was kidding about Gomes-he may be their best guy in 4 years from that group, though.

It would be nice to see some of the Celts never ending parade of new fresh faces take the step from prospect to great pro. For various reasons it hasn't happened and Danny Ainge keeps importing a new group every year. Supposedly Jefferson is healthy and has lost 30 pounds so he'd be worth watching. They must like Perkins because he just got a four-year extension, which surprised many in the league.