CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 8/30

by FLCeltsFan 10:03 AM

The lead story today comes from the Herald where Danny says he is probably done dealing for now. Asked if there were any other moves to be made, Danny Ainge shook his head and said, “Probably not.” Along with a lot of others, I have been hoping that Danny would sign a veteran PG to back up Rondo. Here is what Danny had to say about the PG situation for this season.

“Here’s the thing with point guard,” Ainge said. “You know how much we love Rajon, and that’s really important, but Ray Allen wants to play minutes at point guard, and Tony Allen two years ago, when he had a chance to play point guard, played fantastic. Our offense was more efficient with Tony Allen playing point guard than with any other guy during that stretch.
“And we think Gabe Pruitt can help us there. Even though we don’t want to count on Gabe as a rookie coming in and playing a major, major role, we feel very confident with him (in that) role in case of an injury. We think he can help us there as his game evolves.
“And then Eddie House has played the point, and we think Eddie is actually a very good fit playing alongside Ray or Tony,” Ainge continued. “So we think we have five guys more than capable of playing the point.”
Wait. There’s more.
“We also feel like we have big guys who are able to get out on the perimeter and handle the ball and make good passes,” Ainge said. “I think KG (Garnett), Scal (Brian Scalabrine) and Big Baby (Davis) are going to really help us with their ballhandling and passing. Those guys will be able to come back and help breaking pressure. We have (power forwards) that are great passers and ballhandlers in their own right. So I just don’t think point guard is going to be an issue for us this season.”

I don't know about you, but I am not as convinced that our PG situation is all set. We have Rondo who is a point guard and I believe he can handle it, but House, Pruitt, and the 2 Allens are not PG's, they are shooting guards who can play the point. That just isn't the same. And I don't remember the TA at PG experiment quite as favorably as Danny does. Maybe he just isn't happy with the PG's who are out there and will wait awhile until one comes along that he does like. I guess we just wait and see.

In the Globe, Bob Ryan feels better about our playoff chances. My question is how could he not? Taking it to the Rack has an interview with Doug Christie who says he wants to come back to the NBA and that he has interest from 2 Eastern Conference teams. There is speculation that they might be Miami and Boston. If we were to go for another golden oldie, I would rather go for Payton. He has been in our system, and he has at least been playing recently. Green 17 states their case that they would like to see Payton back in Boston and they show us what a great motivational speaker he is.

Team USA is still unbeaten and haven't even had a close game yet. It seems as though every game a different player steps up. Last night, LeBron James led the charge as the US beat Uruguay.

West Central Tribune has an article on Al Jefferson's efforts to help the kids who were affected by the bridge collapse in Minnesota. We gave up some really good young guys and I am going to miss them. I really hope we win a championship with this group or I am going to be very, very upset for the next 10 years as I read articles like this about the kids we gave up.

Celtics 17 discusses Mark Cuban's attempts to reel in Garnett. Paul Pierce is having fun while becoming a video game icon. Pierce hammed it up with the kids present and said that he wants to wear the lycra suit clubbing, even though later he would say it was so hot it made him feel as though his body was on fire. Yes, we have a very happy Pierce these days.

Not all the moves the players performed Wednesday will make it into NBA Live 08. David Tinson, public relations manager for EA Canada, said some data are banked and put into the following year's game.
As the NBAers are told the basic moves needed, Pierce breaks into an odd funky dance that looks more suited for the Roxy than the TD Banknorth Garden. This guy certainly knows how to have a good time, even when his body feels like it's on fire.

Red's Army discusses the hoards of bandwagon fans who will be flocking to the Celtics this season. I personally could never understand going from one team to another just because the team was winning. It just doesn't seem to give much satisfaction. Having been a steadfast Celtics fan through the Pitino and Carr years and never wavering, it is very satisfying to see them considered a contender again. Only 10 Things has a Primer for Celtics fans who may need some help with foreign words such as winner, championship and playoffs.

Only 33 days till training camp. Even though Danny has said he is probably finished, I still expect a move to bring in a veteran PG, even if it is after training camp. It just doesn't make sense not to.

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