Fielding only 8 players for the second game in a row, the Celtics never led in this game and lost 105-98 in spite of putting up a hard fight. Whenever the Pacers would make a run, it seemed as though the Celtics would come right back but could never get any closer than 5 points.

According to multiple sources, both from the NBA and close to the player himself, Kevin Durant will be announcing in a press conference mid next week that he will be putting his name in the draft.

The Celtics played well tonight but came up short as they lose to the Heat 88-85. The Celtics fielded only 8 players and every one of them played hard and almost pulled out the upset.

The Celtics lost to the Bucks tonight 98-89 and now are 3 games ahead of the Bucks for the second most ping pong balls in the lottery. We also lost Delonte West to an ankle sprain early in the 3rd quarter and he didn't return to the game. After the game Doc said he expected West to play on Friday, in spite of the sprained ankle. He scored 10 points to go with 2 rebounds and 4 assists before he went out.

From time to time I post a good piece from Celtics Green here. Derrenmatts had a good post about West, Ray, Rondo and Telfair that I wanted to share here.

Derren's thoughts:

I think these 4 guys (RR, ST, DW and AR) can really solidify their roles on the team and make their impacts felt. I'm looking at big improvements from them next season.

Rajon: Clearly has been the best PG on the team (and I'm glad Doc has allowed him to showcase his playmaking ability). I still have hopes for Telfair, but clearly Rajon's all around abilities--mainly his defensive pestering--makes him the right guy to handle the starting job right now. He can carve out defenses with ease and he can come around the corner like only a few PG's can. His ball handling is exceptional, and considering how long his arms are and how strong his grip is, his dribbling can take him anywhere he wants to go on the court. This, along with his speed, is what allows him to be so creative. What I want from him next season is for him to look for his offense more. He's got to perfect that 8 foot floater because he can get to that part of the paint at will. He's also got to work relentlessly on his jumper and use it more next season. By becoming a double digit scorer, Rajon will find more passing angles cause teams will have to play him tighter on defense, rather than dropping off of him. He'll be an even more complete PG then.

Delonte West: Doc has made the right decision by moving Delonte out of the PG slot. It took awhile for Doc to realize this, but better late than never. Now Delonte has to reset his programming so that he looks for his scoring again. Remember last season when Delonte was unconscience with his sizzling shooting (at one point he was nearly automatic, hitting 50% of his FG's, 90% from the FT line, and 40% from beyond the arc)? Well, we need Delonte to get back to that mode of thinking. I think this is where Delonte is struggling right now. Before he gets the ball, he's not thinking 'shoot'. He's thinking about moving the ball, he's thinking about driving into the lane, he's thinking about everything else but shooting the ball. Next season, he has the realize again that beyond anything else, his bread and butter is his shooting, and he's got to have that mentality that anytime he catches the ball, if he's got sunshine between him and his defender, he's going to shoot the ball. If he thnks like this, he'll start draining his jumpers at a high percentage again.

Sebastian Telfar: Many fans have already given up on Telfair. I ain't one of them, but admittedly, it is hard to defend his case right now cause he's hardly getting playing time and when he does play, he feels that he has to prove himself in the few minutes he'll be on the court, and that causes him to force things and tighten up on his shots. Telfair has excellent court vision and passing ability (believe me, he does), and once he gets comfortable and familiar with his teammates, he'll be much better than what we see now. I'm big on Rajon too, so I don't mind if Telfair settles in as his backup. But I do think he can be a much better PG than how fans view him now. Sebastian is a PG who wants the attention on him--to me that's what makes him alluring. Coming off of screens, he's a threat to take it to the basket or thread nice passes. But Doc doesn't call for these plays nearly enough so we haven't seen Sebastian (or Rajon) really shine in this area. Telfair absolutely needs to perfect his elbow jumper this summer. You'll hear Tommy shout that out every time Telfair knocks it down, that that is exactly what Telfair needs to do. Bassy will never be the all around player that Rondo is--but he can be a valuable player once he begins to consistently knock down the jumpers he'll see coming off of screens. Its there for him almost every time. If Telfair doesn't beat out Rajon, he should make a really good backup.

Allan Ray: I like this kid. Not because I think he'll be a star, or even a starter for us (might happen, but not likely). I like him because off the bench, I think he can have a special role as a sharpshooter. All good teams have guys who can knock down three's, and Allan Ray can provide this for us. He's got a quick trigger and he's not afraid to pull. We've got to find ways to free him up for open looks because when he's hot, he'll reel off 10 pts in a heartbeat. I don't find it surprising at all that Ray is getting playing time now. He's not getting playing time because we're tanking the season--I'm absolutely sure that Ray is really shining in practices and that's why Doc is playing him now. Ray's a shooter and shooters are valuable commodities in this sport.

Celtics.com is reporting that Al banged knees with Gomes in practice and is likely to sit out the game against the Bucks.

Jefferson is also cognizant of the fact that he may be better off sitting out rather than trying to come back for the final few weeks of the season.
"You've got to think about things like that, but also I want to play," Jefferson said. "I want to get better, take advantage of these games and get better as a team, but I don't want to go out there hurt and risk further injury."

This headline on Newsnet5 caught my attention:

Boston Downs Shorthanded Cleveland

April 2, 2007

If anyone knows what Greg Oden is thinking, it is probably his best friend since elementary school, Mike Conley. Oden has been steadfast in saying that he hadn't made any decisions yet. Conley has said that he will stay whether they win or lose.

In an interview, Conley made this comment,

"It will be very hard when Greg's not here next year,'' Conley said. Then he quickly amended the statement. "If he's not here next year.''

LeBron James sat out this game with "general body soreness." The Cavs must have felt they could easily handle us without him, because this was an important game for them with Detroit and Chicago both winning tonight and a loss would cost them in playoff positioning. They didn't count on Perk and Al combining for 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists or Green going for 25 points or our PG pulling down 9 rebounds. It was a total team effort tonight.