CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Fiddlin and Diddlin on Friday

February 16, 2007

I don't know about you, but I am excited about the approaching All Star Weekend and especially the Slam Dunk Contest. I feel that Green is the definite favorite to win, but from sounds of it, Dwight Howard is going to put up quite a fight.

Orlando sources report that Howard has been practicing a couple wicked maneuvers that might inject this dying competition with the ingenuity/originality it desperately needs. One is a 360 throwdown with the rim hiked to 12 feet, two feet higher than regulation. The other sets the rim at 11 1/2 feet and has Howard purportedly going between his legs with the ball in mid-air before flushing.

But ESPN Insider is telling us that League officials have denied his request to raise the rim for his dunks.

The unexpected sidebar here? I'm also told that Robinson, who's still 5-7, made the same request about raising the rim for a dunk or two. Guess we'll find out at Friday's media day what he had planned.

Hmmm... It took Nate 13 tries to dunk on a regular 10' rim, we can only wonder how long it will take for him to make a dunk on a 12 foot rim. It has also been reported that Green may jump over Pierce on one dunk. I mean, jumping over 5'5" Spud Webb is one thing, but jumping over a 6'6" Paul Pierce is something else entirely. Dee Brown is offering Gerald some advice and likes Green as a player. I really hope that Green does well as it will give him a huge boost in confidence. On the other hand... No, I don't even want to think about the other hand.

The Celtics will be heading out West with renewed confidence according to the Globe Notebook. It seems that talk of the losing streak has given way to talk of a winning streak. You have to love youthful exuberance.

The Patriot Ledger tells us that Pierce could ask for a trade in the future if things don't improve quickly. Pierce has been pushing for the Celtics to trade the pick for a veteran instead of drafting yet another young player. But if we have any chance at either Durant or Oden, we need to take the chance on them. However, reports are surfacing everywhere that it is possible that one or both of these future franchise players may opt to stay in school. Although the majority still feel that both will declare, there is that possibility that we may have to consider the 3rd or 4th option after them. Will that player help us or will we remain mired in mediocrity. Something to think about.

We are just a week away from the trading deadline and things should heat up after the All Star game with the Celtics being linked to trades all over the league. There has been a report that Chicago is re-thinking a trade for Gasol due to chemistry concerns. If Memphis is still trying to cut costs and trade Gasol, the Celtics could be a possible frontrunner if indeed Chicago is out of the picture. It should be an interesting week either way. Stay tuned for breaking trade news all week long.

In the meantime, if you want to keep up on all the hoopla in Vegas, you can check out Peter Stringer's All Star Blog on Celtics.com. JoJo White was a participant in the Legend's Shootout. Lucky missed the plane and Courtney is blogging also. This blog is updated as the weekend goes on so check it out.

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