Since Danny Ainge came, our roster has gone through several transformations and many former Celtics are spread throughout the league. When players are on the Celtics, I spend a certain amount of energy cheering for them and build an attachment to many of them (with Blount being the one big exception). I follow some of them but lose track of others. Here is a look at where many of the former Celtics are and what they are doing.
Chucky Atkins: Chucky signed a 2 year deal with the Nuggets worth 6.4 million in July. Last season he played 27 minutes per game for the Grizzlies and averaged 13.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Vin Baker: After being released by the Celtics for violating his no alcohol clause, he has bounced around a bit. He signed with the Wolves in October of last season and was released in November. In July of 2007 he plead not guilty to driving under the influence and is awaiting trial on those charges. His salary finally came off the books for the Celtics as of this past season.
Marcus Banks: After the trade to the Wolves, Banks seemed to be playing well and the Wolves liked him. He became a free agent last off season and found a big payday with the Suns, signing a 5 year, 21 million dollar deal. He was supposed to be Nash's back up but was out of the rotation by mid season. He played in 45 games last season and averaged 4.9 points and 1.3 assists in 11 minutes per game. He played in one game for the Suns' Summer League team this summer scored 42 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Tony Battie: After spending the rest of the season after the trade in '03-04 in Cleveland, he signed with Orlando and has been averaging 6.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and .6 blocks in 25 minutes per game. He just underwent season ending surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff this past week and will miss the upcoming season.
Mark Blount: This is the only Celtic that I have been very happy to be rid of. If you question why, just watch this video (hat tip to CelticBalla32)
Along with his inept play, mostly because he just didn't care, he was a cancer in the locker room. I think I felt the worst about trading Al Jefferson because he would have to play with Blount again and Big Al made no secret of not liking the guy. Now, I don't have to worry about that any longer since Blount was just traded to Miami with Ricky D for Antoine Walker. Last season he averaged 12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and .7 blocks for the Wolves and has 3 years left on his contract worth just over 22 million. Now his stone hands and bad attitude are Pat Riley and Shaq's problem.
Ricky Davis: As mentioned, Ricky Davis was also traded to Miami. I always liked Ricky. I know he was somewhat of a head case, but he always gave 100% out on the court and always seemed like he was having fun out there. He also did a lot of good things in the community. Last season he averaged 17 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Wolves. But, his tenure in Minnesota wasn't without incident. In January of 2007 he was suspended for one game by the Wolves for leaving the bench and going to the locker room after being replaced by Randy Foye in a double overtime loss to the Pistons. He has just one year left on his contract at 6,819,000 and will be a free agent after this season. He will move into the starting lineup for Miami with Wade still rehabbing.
Dan Dickau: Dickau was just waived on Oct. 1 by the Knicks after coming over in the Zach Randolph trade. He was signed by the Clippers on October 4. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.4 assists in 8.9 minutes per game in 50 games for Portland last year.
Orien Greene. Greene was picked up by the Pacers after he was waived by the Celtics. He played in 41 games for them last season and averaged 1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, and .5 assists for the Pacers last season. He was signed as a free agent by the Kings on August 30. Luke Jackson. Although he wasn't a Celtic for long, I figured I would keep up with him anyway. Luke Jackson was picked up by the Raptors after being released by the Celtics. He played in 10 games for the Raptors last season and averaged 4.5 points, .9 assists and .9 rebounds in 12 minutes per game.
Mike James: Mike signed with the Wolves last season and was traded to Houston for Howard in June of 2007. He averaged 10.1 points, 3.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds for the Wolves last season. In his last preseason game for the Rockets, he had 17 points on 6-9 shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in 27 minutes off the bench.
Raef Lafrentz: Raef has spent much of his time in Portland on the injured list. He played in only 27 games last season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. So far in the preseason, he has been injured again.
Chris Mihm. Mihm is still with the Lakers and resigned with them on July 19. In the '05-06 season he averaged 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 26 minutes per game. He missed all of last season with reconstructive ankle surgery. So far this season, he seems to be the odd man out behind Kwame Brown and Bynum according to the LA Times.
Michael Olowokandi is an unrestricted free agent and has not yet been signed by any teams.
Gary Payton is an unrestricted free agent as the Heat opted not to resign him. He played in 68 games for the Heat last season and averaged 5.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 22 minutes per game. He has not been signed by any teams as yet.
Justin Reed. He was traded by the Wolves to the Rockets this off season. He played in 41 games and averaged 2.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game for the Wolves last season. On Sept 5, he was charged with a pot possession but the charges were dropped with others submitted affidavits claiming the drugs.
Wally Szczerbiak has played in 4 preseason games and has been sidelined for a couple with swelling in his left knee. He averaged 11.6 points, 3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Antoine Walker: Walker as important in Miami's championship run in 2006 but has fallen on hard times since then. He was suspended last season for lack of conditioning and again in the preseason and has spent more time in Pat Riley's dog house than out of it. He averaged 8.5 points ( on 39% shooting), 4.3 rebounds, and .2 blocks in 23 minutes off the bench last season for Miami. There are alot of theories floating around that Walker will be bought out of his contract that has 4 years left for a total of 38.8 million.
Eric Williams: He played 1/2 season for Cleveland after the trade. He split the '04-05 season between New Jersey and Toronto and played in Toronto for the '05-06 season but was very unhappy there. Last season he played in 16 games for the Spurs and 5 games for the Bobcats. He worked out for the Celtics this preseason, but so far is an unsigned free agent.
Delonte West has averaged 18 points 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in the two games he has played in but he can't seem to stay healthy. He has missed 4 games with assorted injuries from a sore back, which plagued him in his last season in Boston, to a thigh bruise.
Big Al has been playing well and has been the low post presence that the Wolves were hoping for when they traded for him. He is averaging 19 points and 15 rebounds per game. I am sure he is much happier in Minnesota now that Mark Blount is skipping in Miami.
Ryan Gomes has been slowed by an injury but has been in the starting lineup for the Wolves and is averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds. They are looking to play him at the 3 this season and if he can adapt to that position, he will see more playing time.
Theo Ratliff has already played more for the Wolves than he did all last season for the Celtics. He sat out 3 games but averaged 7.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in the 4 preseason games he has played in.
Sebastian Telfair started out strong in Minny and they were saying how much they liked him in the first two games. He averaged 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 3 assists in those first 2 games. Then he aprained his ankle and sat out the next 4 games. He was back in the lineup for their last game and had 7 points, 6 assists and 1 rebound in 29 minutes off the bench.
Gerald Green remains an engima. He has so much talent and just teases with glimpses of it. He shot 17-54 or 31% in the preseason and only played 8 minutes in their final preseason game. He averaged 6.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in the preseason for the Wolves.
I do miss some of the young players we traded this summer. Big Al, Gomes, and Delonte are especially missed as much for their attitudes and personalities as for their play. I believe that Al will be an All Star player for years to come and one day we may wish we had him. But, I am excited about this season and having the Celtics relevant again. I will be keeping an eye on the progress of our former players though.
In the final preseason game that was a preview of the regular season, the Celtics looked very good as a team and moved past the Cavs 114-89. The starting lineup of Perk, Pierce, Rondo, Ray Allen, and KG all played very well together and showed cohesion on both ends of the court. They were able to keep Lebron to human type numbers with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Kevin Garnett was incredible. He played with passion and finished with a triple double of 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, in 33 minutes. His last assist was a full court pass to Eddie House for a layup with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. For his efforts and triple double, KG won the Tommy Award.
Ray Allen also played very well and found his shooting touch. He finished with 20 points (8-15), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes. Pierce seemed to force things at times, forcing up shots and driving into a crowd only to lose the ball. I guess some habits die hard. He finished with 12 points (5-11), 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in 34 minutes. As he has promised, he did work hard on defense keeping Lebron in check. Doc will probably play these 3 for 30-35 mpg in the regular season and will have an 8 or 9 man rotation.
Perk played 20 minutes because they are still watching him due to the hamstring pull and looked very good. I love this guy and I can't help but feel that he makes a huge difference on this team. He finished with 22 points (5-6), 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 20 minutes. When Perk went out, Big Baby came in for him. Once again, he showed some good moves and finished with 8 point and 1 assist in 14 minutes. I love his energy and passion. He seems to feed off KG's energy. Powe played only 3.5 minutes tonight and in his press conference, Doc said that some nights Powe would play more and some nights Big Baby would play more. As he always does, Powe made the most of his time scoring 2 points and pulling down 3 rebounds in those 3+ minutes.
Rondo had a great night and was finishing at the basket on his drives. He ran the offense very smoothly and made great decisions. Tonight's game should help to settle the concerns as to whether Rondo can play the point. He finished with 10 points (3-4), 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in 34 minutes. House backed him up with 16 points (6-10), 3 rebounds, and 1 assist in 21 minutes. Pruitt came in for just 5 minutes and finished with just 1 assist.
Tony played 13 minutes and had a couple of nice drives to the basket and finished with a layup instead of trying to dunk. He is coming along and I am sure he will be back to his old form before too long. He finished with 4 points and 1 assist. Posey had 10 points (4-5), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in 21 minutes. He also took a couple of charges and showed the defense that the Celtics signed him for. It was nice to see Scal play only 7 minutes with only 2 fouls to show. Wallace played the final 1:51.
A few thoughts on the game. Rondo is fast. He is very fast. When he turns it on, no one can keep up with him. He seems to be able to get to the rim at will. Tonight he made great decisions on when to kick it out and when to finish.
KG and Perk have to be two of the best passing big men in the game. There were some great passes from our 2 big men tonight. As a team we also shared the ball very well. We had 34 assists on 45 field goals and only 15 turnovers, which is excellent.
I can't wait for the regular season. If tonight is any indication, this is going to be a very exciting season!!!
I always buy all of the preview magazines out on the shelves to see what they have to say about the Celtics. This year especially, I was excited to see what they saw in store for the Celtics. Athlon Sports seems less than thrilled with the Celtics chances this season.
Athlon Sports 2007-2008 Predictions Eastern Conference Atlantic New Jersey * Boston * Toronto * New York Philadelphia Central Chicago * Cleveland * Detroit * Minwaukee Indiana Southeast Washington * Orlando * Miami Charlotte Atlanta Western Conference Southwest Dallas * San Antonio * Houston * New Orleans * Memphis Northwest Utah * Denver * Portland Seattle Minnesota Pacific Phoenix * LA Lakers * Golden State LA Clippers Sacramento East: Chicago over New Jersey West: Phoenix over Dallas Finals: Phoenix over Chicago
They score each area on a 1 to 10 scale and here are Boston's scores with last year's in parentheses: Scoring 6(2), Defense 3(4), Rebounding 6(5), Athleticism 3(3), Coaching 3(3), Intangibles 5(3) When I got to where they gave last year's Celtics a higher score on defense than this year's team, they lost credibility in my book.
Here is their final analysis:
The last NBA team with three top 15 player on it - the '96-97 Rockets, who had Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Charles Barkley - may presage what awaits for the '07-08 Celtics. Those Rockets rolled all the way to the Conference Finals, only to lose to a more balanced, deeper Jazz squad. Even bearing in mind the combined star power and firepower of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, Boston's lack of depth beyond the top three is as striking as that top three's excellence. The Celtics will win games - with three All Stars on their roster, they should - but how they come together as a team will ultimately determine the team's fate.
Here is what they say about the possibility of Boston winning the championship this season.
The Celtics motto for next season is "Think Big, " and expectations have been raised such that an NBA Finals run is, if not quite expected... well, it's expected. And that's probably not fair: in mid-August, Boston had three great stars and ... a very young point guard, a shaking coach and a remaining roster of castoffs. A team with this much talent will make the playoffs, and no one will want to play them there. But the NBA finals? Maybe someday - it will have to be soon - but for the '07-08 season, thinking NBA Championship Big seems more tempting than reasonable.
And in the section where they discuss team changes this off season, they have this to say about the Celtics:
In Boston, meanwhile, the Celtics too another tack, augmenting standout forward Paul Pierce with other glittery brethren, All Stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Who cares if the two tranactions cost the Celtics seven players and four draft picks? They have gone from the worst team in the East to the short list of conference champion contenders. And while there could be problems with finding enough shots for the big time troika, and the supporting cast looks Nicole Richie thin, Boston has enough star power to hang with just about anybody it faces.
And in discussing the future of the Celtics, they add this:
The Celts are going to play some extra dough for the privilege of seeing them in their green uniforms, thanks to a luxury tax penalty that will cause some real pains in the checkbook once Garnett's three year extension kicks in. By the time his contract is up, it's possible Boston could be so cap strapped - and old - that it's no longer a serious competitor in the East. By the time the '10-11 season kicks off, the warm glow of this summer's activity could turn into the cold reality of rebuilding again. Meanwhile, teams like the Blazers and the Sixers, who are choosing to build with an eye on the future, rather than affect a quick turnaround, might have zoomed past the Celtics. ... The Celtics can't rely on raising a 17th championship banner any time soon, no matter how impressive their summer haul appears. But you have to give them credit for trying.
They predict the Nets winning the Atlantic and see the continuity of their own big three as well as depth as factors. They also see Chicago over the Nets in the Conference and give the not to defense, rebounding and coaching as reasons for the Bulls' emergence. They won 49 games last season and they expect their young core to be even better this season. You can check out the magazine for their take on each of the positions and some other tidbits. Even though they are pretty underwhelmed by the Celtics, there are still some good features and info to check out in the magazine.
Steve Bulpett is reporting in the Herald that the Celtics have cut Jackie Manuel and Dahntay Jones. Both had been signed to non-guaranteed contracts. It was expected that Manuel would be cut to get the roster down to 15 players but there was some discussion as to whether any further cuts would be made beyond that.
Doc Rivers had said he might wait until after the exhibition games were complete, but he noted yesterday that upon second thought he decided not to wait.
The club is keeping the roster spot available for an in-season trade or for a player released in the next week who might be of interest — particularly a big man.
The release of Manuel and Jones means that rookie Brandon Wallace has made the club as an undrafted free agent. This was pretty much anticipated, as Rivers and staff are big on the forward’s potential.
Wallace has the biggest upside of the 3 players who were on the bubble and will probably see time in the D League this season since playing time may not be too plentiful, unless injuries hit the team. However, he has potential to be a rotation player in the future. [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
Some thoughts on this team as we approach the end of the preseason. First, after watching the game in New York, I have realized how very important Perk is to this team. The first time we played this team, we beat them by 40. The second time, even with Pierce, Garnett and Allen playing close to 40 minutes in the game, we lost by 7. The difference between the first game and the second game was Perk. From the Herald:
More alarming was the decision to sit Kendrick Perkins [stats] for the second straight game. The big man has tightness in his left hamstring. With Scot Pollard still recovering from a deep bone bruise in his right ankle, Perkins is the only serviceable center on the roster. “I’m concerned,” Rivers said. “It’s in the hamstring area, so we’re not taking any chances. It’s clear from the (Knicks) game that having Perk would have made a big difference. But I won’t allow him to practice until I think it’s perfect.” Perkins wasn’t as worried. “It’s nothing serious,” he said. “But a pulled hamstring is nothing to play with. I’m not worried, though.”
Doc acknowledges that Perk would have made a big difference. We can get away with Powe, Big Baby, or Pollard when he gets healthy, at the back up, but we need Perk in the starting lineup. Hopefully the hamstring is nothing serious and resting him in the preseason will allow him to be 100% for the season opener.
While some are already putting Doc in for Coach of the Year because they figure the Celtics turnaround will be dramatic, I still have concerns about the coaching. The way Doc has been managing the minutes so far in the preseason has been concerning. Over the weekend Doc sat KG and Pierce in the game in Connecticut in which Allen played big minutes. And Doc was supposedly going to let Ray rest for Monday’s Knicks game, but Ray ended up playing about 40 minutes along with Pierce and Garnett. He then sat them in the next game. It seems to me that playing them about 20-25 minutes per game would be much better than beating them into the ground one night and then sitting them out the next. It would help the chemistry and continuity of the team to let them get some play every game. Apparently, Flip Saunders agrees with me in this quote from MLive:
Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who used to coach Garnett in Minnesota said he couldn't envision a scenario that would make him want to play his starters major minutes (in the preseason). "If they get about 24 (minutes played), I'm nervous; so we try not to do that," Saunders said.
Doc has never been very good with in-game management. When Wally's knee started to act up after he was traded to Boston, Doc was told by the doctors to limit Wally to 25 minutes and Wally was playing 35+ minutes every night. Doc's system also stunts our point guards. Rondo is best in the open court where he can create and run but in Doc's system he brings the ball up and passes it off. Rondo is a talent and has star potential but Doc's system just doesn't play to his strengths. I hope I am wrong, because I don't see Doc going anywhere and for better or worse, he is the coach here. The Celtics are 3-3 in the preseason. Yes, the games don't count, but I think we would have accomplished a lot more toward the regular season if the starters had played a quarter or so in each game rather than 40 minutes one night and none the next. We can't blame youth anymore and if the team doesn't get off to a quick start, I think the finger has to point at the system and the coaching.
The fact that our bench hung with the Nets starters as long as they did is encouraging. Against the Knicks and the Nets we shot horribly. For whatever reason, no one could hit anything. Hopefully everyone won't be off offensively in the same game many times. I guess we could credit some of it with the defenses, but we would be in real trouble if that were to happen every time a team played defense against us. Our bench will do great for what it was designed for, filling in for 15-20 minutes behind the starters. What is scary is thinking of any of our starters going down with an injury.
Rondo has a new blog up on Yardbarker and he talks about having his wisdom teeth pulled. Poor guy is in pain. Hopefully he will be feeling better by Friday and be ready to play. It would be nice to see the whole team play at least a quarter or two in a dress rehearsal for opening night. He reports that the team continues to grow together and that is a good thing.
Big Baby looked really good in the last game. He has talent and although he is still a little raw, he is going to be good. After watching Zach Randolph and Eddie Curry out there in the Knicks game, I don't know why everyone is always talking about Big Baby's size. He isn't as big as those two. I do believe he will be able to contribute on both ends of the court if Doc will give him a chance and not bury him on the bench as he did with Gomes.
Our defense is much improved this season but still has way too many lapses. Hopefully they will continue to work on it and as the players get more used to playing together and in the system, those lapses will get fewer. We will only go as far as our defense will take us.
With Ricky D and Blount going to Miami and Antoine Walker going to Minny, there are a lot of rumors going around that Walker could be headed back to Boston. Speculation is that Walker will be bought out by Minnesota since they didn't really want him in the first place and they have to cut several players, and we all know how much Antoine would love to be back in Boston. I don't know, Walker has always done well in Boston but we already have one player who chucks up the ball from beyond the arc every time he gets his hands on it in Scal. If Walker could play a low post game instead of being a volume scorer, he might be able to help us. I don't think it will happen though. If Riley was frustrated with Antoine, wait till he has to deal with Ricky and Blount. This should be good.
ESPN is reporting that a deal is close that would send Antoine Walker to the Wolves in exchange for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. My first thought on reading this was how happy I was for Big Al that he didn't have to play with Mark Blount any more.
This makes sense for the Heat because of how much Riley has come to dislike Antoine. He is getting a very good player in Ricky D, even though he tends to be a little bit of a head case at times. I can't wait for the news to come out that Shaq has decked Blount for sulking in practice.
Antoine will have to back up Big Al this time instead of the other way around when he was in his second stint in Boston. I wonder how that will play out. On another front, Al still hasn't signed that extension yet. Can't blame me for hoping. But the thought just struck me that maybe Al was holding out for Minny to dump Blount before signing the extension. I can hear his agent now... "Either Blount goes or Al doesn't sign."
Unlike the game that they played against the Celtics last week, the Nets started Carter and Jefferson and played their starters considerable minutes with Carter leading the way with 32 minutes. Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen, and Perk were all on the bench in suits while our bench held their own against the Nets starting front line. Shooting was once again a concern with the Celtics shooting 32.9% from the field and a whopping 19% from beyond the arc. The game was also sloppy with 20 turnovers for the Celtics and 21 for the Nets. For much of the game, both teams were sloppy with the ball and it was like a ping pong game at times with the ball going back and forth with each team turning it over.
Player of the game tonight was Big Baby. He got his first extended playing time of the off season and made the best of it. He finished with 21 points on 6-10 shooting to go with 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in 32 minutes. He also took 3 charges and was 9-9 from the field. This kid is solid. At one point, Antoine Wright collided with Big Baby and it didn't phase Big Baby, but Wright was sent reeling backwards. They pulled him out of the game as he was trying to shake off the effects of the collision and Vince Carter was just cracking up about it on the side. Note to opponents: Collide with Big Baby at your own risk.
Tony Allen also had his first extended minutes of the preseason and played a game high 42 minutes. He had a very rough shooting night as he was only 2-15 from the field and even missed a dunk. He seemed very tentative going up for the dunk as though he really wasn't sure he should and just barely got over the rim with the ball bouncing off the back of the rim. With his shots not falling, Tony helped in other areas with an incredible 6 steals to go with 9 assists, 10 points and 2 rebounds.
Scal started at power forward and played 36 minutes. He finished with 11 points (5-11), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steals, and 1 block. Posey got the start at small forward and finished with 9 points (2-5), 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Powe started at center and wasn't much of a factor in this one as he picked up 3 quick fouls and played only 14 minutes. He went scoreless but pulled down 5 rebounds.
Rondo kept his starting spot and finished with 4 points (1-8), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He is always inside fighting for rebounds, often leaping to take them away from bigger players. He seemed to tire or lose focus toward the end and uncharacteristically turned the ball over 5 times. Eddie House continued his streaky shooting, scoring 10 points on 5-1l shooting along with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Pruitt played only 5 minutes and pulled down one rebound and has 1 steal.
The players who are on the bubble for that final spot played some at the end of the game. Jones played 14 minutes finishing with 3 points (1-4), 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Manuel finished with 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal in 7 minutes. Wallace finished with 1 rebound and 2 fouls in 5 minutes.
On the pregame show, Marc Spears mentioned that they are concerned about Perk's quad. I haven't seen it anywhere else as other reports have said that he is fine and they are just resting him for the regular season. I sure hope it is nothing because we really need Perk. The back up center position is a concern at this point.
All in all, the game wasn't too disappointing. Our bench stayed with their starters for much of the game and that is encouraging. It was very sloppy for both teams and that could be a symptom of it being the preseason. Granted, the Nets were without Kidd, but they did play Carter over 30 minutes and Jefferson and Kristic over 20. In the end, it was just a preseason game and doesn't count, but it did give our bench players some good experience that may be very important in the long run this season.
Marc Spears is reporting that the NBA is reviewing film from the Celtics-Knicks game to determine possible punishments for Pierce an Tony Allen.
An NBA official said today that the league is reviewing game film of the Celtics-Knicks game Monday night that included physical incidents with Boston's Paul Pierce and Tony Allen. The NBA official also said a decision on whether there will be punishment won't be made today.
After Celtics newcomer Ray Allen fell hard after being fouled by the Knicks' Jamal Crawford, teammates on the floor immediately ran to Allen's defense in Boston's intense 94-87 exhibition loss at Madison Square Garden last night. Pierce grabbed Crawford's chin afterward. Tony Allen also seemed to shove Knicks guard Nate Robinson after they got tangled up with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter.
The refs didn't call any technicals in the game in spite of the rising emotions and intensity. Hopefully David Stern, a Knicks fan from way back, won't hand out any suspensions to make an example of the Celtics.
In a game that looked nothing like a preseason game, the Celtics lost 94-87 and tempers flared and both teams played with way too much intensity for a preseason game. However, the Celtics never could find their offense and had defensive lapses for much of the game. One of the biggest factors in the game could have been the fact that Doc chose to rest Kendrick Perkins and Scal started in his place. Without Perk to set screens and block the middle, intimidating players going to the basket, it seemed as though the Knicks were the tougher team. They certainly played better defense than the Celtics tonight. The good news is that Perk isn't injured, just being held out by Doc. From the Herald:
Kendrick Perkins was told to sit out last night’s game - not because of an injury, but simply to give his body a rest - and the Celtics center considered the command an honor. “I guess this means that now I’m officially a veteran,” Perkins said. “I’m a veteran, and I’m only 22.” He’s also a physical player who, with a long season ahead and a reputation for working out as hard as he plays, may truly need to spend a night on the pine. “Doc said he wants me to rest up because right now I’m the only player he has at the 5 spot,” said Perkins, who added that his right foot, which endured a case of plantar fasciitis last season, is fine. . .
The Knicks were ready for this game after being embarrassed by the Celtics last week in Boston. They came out scrappy and playing tough defense. The Celtics, in spite of playing their stars big minutes, let the pressure take them out of the game. When Crawford gave a hard foul on Ray Allen, KG and Pierce both came to his defense with Pierce grabbing Crawford's chin at one point. That is all fine and good to defend a teammate, but they would be better suited to doing it on the court with their play. Instead, they let the Knicks take them out of their game and rattle them. After that incident, there were several more jawing sessions and a few shoves,most notably between Tony Allen and Nate Robinson and Randolph and Posey. Amazingly, with all the shoving and trash talk, no technicals were called on the plays.
Leon Powe won the Tommy Award for his tough physical play and defense. Powe took 3 charges in the game and was solid in his 16 minutes of play. He finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 fouls. He played hard, but the Knicks size up front made it very difficult for him. I hope never to see Scal starting at center again. He logged 14 minutes, which isn't too bad, but it seemed as though every time he touched the ball he chucked it toward the basket, hitting only 2 of 7 shots for 5 points, 1 rebound and 5 fouls. He did have a pretty put back at the basket but that was about it for his highlights. Newsday had this little gem in their game preview:
A few Knicks suggested that Scalabrine is more effective as a tandem with Garnett than Kendrick Perkins. Scalabrine's ability to hit the deep ball and pull one big out of the paint opens up room for Garnett to work on the post. Though he's listed as a 4, Garnett is really playing center in this lineup. The key for the Knicks is to cause the matchup problem in the paint down at the other end of the floor.
It figures it is Knicks fans suggesting this. No Celtics fan in their right mind would even consider it in their worst nightmares.
Scal wasn't the only one with shooting woes, though. Almost every Celtic struggled from the floor, including the vaunted troika. Pierce was 8-20, Ray Allen was 3-13, Scal was 2-7, Posey 2-5, Powe 2-7, Tony Allen 0-2, and House was 0-2. Only KG (6-10) and Rondo (4-8) shot 50% or better. The Celtics struggled all night against the tough Knicks defense. It is going to be a long season if this team doesn't learn to deal with defensive pressure.
KG was playing with playoff intensity. He scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to go with 2 assists, 1 steal, 5 blocks and 6 fouls. He also had 5 turnovers, most of which came on bad passes. As for the other 2 stars, Pierce finished with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. He tried to pick up the slack, but there was just too much slack to pick up in this game. Ray Allen had only 12 points to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. The key stat for the 3 stars may be minutes. KG played 39 minutes, Pierce played 40 minutes and Ray Allen played 41 minutes. None of the 3 scored in the 4th quarter and it looked as though fatigue was definitely a factor at the end of the game as shots were falling short and they seemed to struggled with their defense.
Posey was strong off the bench with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots and is going to be a factor for the team this season. Tony Allen continued his comeback and couldn't seem to get it going. He finished scoreless and with only 1 steal to show for his 12 minutes. Rondo filled the stat sheet once again with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Manuel, Pruitt, Davis and Wallace all played only the final 10 seconds of the game and Dahntay Jones was a DNP coaches decision. So much for getting a look at the players on the bubble. The Celtics were out rebounded 53-41, which is unacceptable for this team. We should be a much better rebounding team. We had only 12 offensive rebounds and with the amount of misses the Celtics were racking up, there were lots to be had. The majority of rebounding is desire and this team should have more than their opponents. It just wasn't there last night in spite of the intensity in the game.
One thing this game proved to me was the importance of Perk on the team. He may not be the top scorer or rebounder in a game but his presence in the middle defensively makes a huge difference. This also underscored the importance of having some depth at the center position. Reports are that Pollard should be able to contribute this season, but with his injury history, it is hard to be very certain about it. The back up center position remains a concern and we all have to hope and pray that Perk stays healthy this season.
There have been a few interesting tidbits coming out lately. First, the other night when KG, Pierce, and Perk all were held out against Philly, KG and Pierce were on the bench in suits. Perk was there in uniform, even though Doc didn't plan to play him. Either Perk doesn't like suits, or he wanted to be ready just in case Doc needed him during the game, or he didn't want to miss out on the warm ups and a chance to get on the court before the game. I really love this guy!
In the melee that followed the half basketball game against the Nets, things got so far out of hand that Leon Powe had this to say:
“I wanted to sign more than I did, but they really started to close in around us, and we had to get out of there,” Leon Powe said. “Someone actually grabbed me and said, ‘Give me an autograph.’ That was kind of amazing.”
Have you seen Leon Powe? Would YOU grab him and demand an autograph? That is more than amazing, that was crazy.
FIBA.com reports that the Celtics hadn't planned to cut Batista but were asked by his agent to do so.
His agent, Oscar Moglia, told urubasket.com : "He was not going to be cut, but we've asked Boston to rescind due to the few opportunities to play he would have this season."
This makes a lot more sense. Doc had been talking about keeping players for need and back up center is a definite need. He signed with Israel right after he was cut. They cut him first because he already had the offer from Israel and wanted to take it.
Congratulations to the Red Sox on winning the AL Pennant and going to the World Series. With the Pats undefeated and the Sox going to the World Series, it puts a lot more pressure on the Celtics to win. All the hype over the signings this summer and the trio of superstars and what to name them will mean nothing if they don't win , and win on a regular basis. Unlike past seasons, the fans are going to expect wins and will be very irate if they don't get them.
In the Globe, there is a little bit about the possibility of PJ Brown coming to Boston.
The Celtics failed to coax Reggie Miller out of retirement, but they might have better luck with P.J. Brown. With Brown not officially retired and not officially looking for a new team, he presents an interesting case as Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers continue trimming the roster. Adding a veteran big man wouldn't hurt, especially one with Brown's credentials.
At one time he was looking to get around 5 mil a year and that was too much for the Celtics to consider. Especially now with the Celtics over the luxury tax, he would have to come down on his original demands. The lure of playing with Garnett, Allen and Pierce along with the chance of winning a title here could make him sign for less. He wants to play for a contender if he does play this season and the Celtics would give him a very good opportunity.
"If P.J. decided to play, he would probably decide to play for a team that would be a championship contender, and the Celtics certainly fall into that category. But he has not put his mind into that thought process."
For former Celtic Delonte West, a trade to a new team did nothing to help his injury-prone body. The Seattle Sonics guard missed an exhibition game against the Lakers because of lower back pain. While the Sonics traveled to LA, West remained behind in Seattle to see team doctors. With no major injury diagnosed, West was back practicing hard by the end of the week. West struggled with injuries and ailments during his time in Boston, including back problems last season. The most recent back problem marks the third injury West has suffered during camp.
I hope he can bounce back and have a good season. He plays harder than his body can take and that accounts for a lot of his injury problems. Back problems are troublesome and many times, as in the case of Larry Bird, when they start popping up, they become chronic and can end a player's career. Sending Delonte good thoughts to get over the injuries and have a good season. Also, I have read that Wally has had to sit out training camp as that left knee that kept him out of the end of the season after the trade is swelling again. Bone on bone strikes again.
Speaking of our former players, I still feel for Big Al. He really loved being a Celtic and made the comment that Boston will always be his home. Not only that, but he has to play on the same team as Blount again.
Call it an occupational hazard. When the Celtics played the Timberwolves Oct. 10 in London, Al Jefferson briefly forgot which team he played for when looking at the scoreboard. Jefferson was a key piece in the trade that brought Garnett to Boston this summer. "I looked up and saw Minnesota was ahead," said Jefferson. "I thought I was Boston for a split-second and was like, 'Oh, we're losing.' Then I caught myself."
He still hasn't signed his extension but word is that the Wolves are offering 50 million over 5 years. I wonder if he is holding out and hoping to get an offer from Boston as a free agent. And Big Al isn't the only one who may be thinking of coming back to Boston as a free agent. This from the RealGM boards
My friends dad works for Comcast Sports Net (formerly FSN) and flew out to Europe with the team for the games out there. Anyway, after the Twolves game on Wednesday, apparently there was an after party in the hotel and Gomes stopped by since he's still cool with all the guys and whatnot. So anyway, the story is that everyone was saying they miss him and his comment was something along the lines of "Well I am a free agent next year so you never know..."
I can definitely see Gomes on the Celtics wish list of free agents. He should be more affordable than Big Al and would fit very well with this team.
While most writers have put the Celtics at the top of their Eastern Conference previews, it seems that the players who will be facing them haven't. First, it was Rasheed Wallace questioning the ability of the Celtics to build a contender in one off season and questioning our PG, center and depth.
"They need to worry about making the playoffs first," Wallace said. "This is no knock on those three guys they have but they don't have a point guard, center or bench. They gave it away in the trade. I'll be [expletive] if you can build a playoff winning team during the off-season, it can't be done. It's going to take some time."
Washington Wizards all-star Gilbert Arenas, known to be outspoken, had some interesting things to say about Kevin Garnett's Boston Celtics and how to play defense against them. In an interview printed in Dime magazine, Arenas said it's not necessary to double-team Garnett at the end of a close game because "we already know who's going to take the last shot: Paul Pierce. ... You double Paul. Make Kevin beat you. If you ever look at game-winners, have you ever seen Kevin really take one? He's a first- through third-period player. "Then (Garnett) wants to get everyone involved because everyone's so focused on him at the end of the game. It's gonna be a battle between Ray (Allen) and Paul for the last shot. If it's me, I'm like, 'Let Kevin take it.' Because it's his nature to be so unselfish that he doesn't want that shot."
KG a first through third player?? I am beginning to wonder what planet Gilbert Arenas lives on.
In 10 years as an NBA League Pass subscriber I've watched less than 10 minutes of the Celtics. That's mainly because of the way Tommy Heinsohn's voice hits my ear. To me it sounds like a garbage disposal when a fork drops into it. But this year I'm going to have to check in with the Celtics on a regular basis. We all will. They matter again, thanks to the arrivals of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Will the collaboration with Paul Pierce work? Will they take us back to the "Schoolhouse Rock" days and have us singing "Three is a magic number"? Will they take the Celtics back to the glory days? I can't wait to watch … with my finger on the mute button.
Tommy is a legend in Boston and Tommy loves his Celtics and Celtics fans love Tommy because of it. No reason for Adande to put him down. I suppose the immortal Johnny Most rubbed him the wrong way too.
When the trade was made, it looked like Fred and Dan Dickau were just salary cap throw-ins. When you made that trade, how did that discussion go?
Thomas: Both of those guys fit our team. I think Dickau is going to be a good player on our team when he's healthy. With Fred, you can't consider either of those guys throw-ins.
Ok, seems innocent enough, unless you consider that Isiah had cut Dickau from the team on October 2, nearly 2 weeks before. Ok, the guy is the GM and the coach and doesn't even know who he has cut and who he hasn't? I guess when you are spending all your time harassing employees and defending yourself in court, you can't be expected to keep up with little details like who is on your team.
