CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Random Thoughts

First, this week there is a free League Pass preview from January 21-27. So, most of you can watch the Raptors game if you have Digital Cable or DTV. The game is on channel 754 on Direct TV. Also, the price has dropped to $99 for the rest of the season.

The Dunk Contest participants have been named. Gerald Green will defend his title against Rudy Gay, Jamario Moon and Dwight Howard. While I would love to see Green repeat, I think Dwight Howard had one of the best dunks last year and it was a shame that he wasn't allowed to go on to the finals. I can't wait to see what he comes up with this season.

New York Sun has a couple paragraphs that are very interesting about Doc's coaching in the Knicks game.

Another bad rout was a possibility when Celtics coach Doc Rivers did the Knicks a big favor. Early in the second quarter, he countered the Knicks' "energy unit" — the group led by pivotman David Lee, guard Nate Robinson, and swingman Jared Jeffries — with a motley crew of Celtics, including Allen, guard Tony Allen, guard Eddie House, forward Leon Powe, and power forward Brian Scalabrine. The small Boston lineup couldn't board to save their lives, and the Knicks closed the gap to two points before the Celtics' starters came back and restored the double-digit lead by halftime.

I suppose it's hard to take a team seriously after you've beaten them by 45, but Rivers's move seemed careless and irresponsible. He had Glen "Big Baby" Davis at his disposal, and he is a much better rebounder than Scalabrine. Rivers can afford these sorts of mad scientist moments against the Knicks, but against tougher opposition, the Celts will suffer if they don't maximize their personnel

The one thing that worries me is Doc's love of small ball. We invariably get beat on the boards when he goes small. Going to the bench is ok, but Doc needs to keep rebounders on the floor. If anything beats us this season, it will be small ball.

The Raptors are coming to Boston for their 4th and final attempt at a win against the Celtics this season. They are the defending Atlantic champions and the Celtics haven't lost a division game yet. Should be a good game as these two teams have been building a rivalry over the last couple of years.

The Heat have lost 14 in a row. Just 4 more and they will tie the Celtics 18 game losing streak from last season. They have lost 14 games AND they have Mark Blount. That is like adding insult to injury.

James Posey doesn't know how he hurt his hand but it has been bothering him since the West coast trip. Hopefully only a couple of games off and he will be as good as new. Rondo said he felt good after the Knicks game in spite of being hit hard by Curry. You know, we talk a lot about Big Baby's size. New York has some very hefty players on their roster.

Teams now are developing a new strategy to beat the Celtics. If they can goad the Celtics into losing their cool, maybe they can get one or two thrown out. The Celtics, especially Pierce, need to learn to check their emotions and keep their cool. They will be seeing more of this in the future.

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