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RETRIEVING CONTENT...PLEASE WAIT
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/24
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/23
Friday, January 23, 2009
Comments from the Other Side - Magic
by FLCeltsFan 9:16 AM
Once again I was amazed by how many Magic fans were complaining about their own team by the end of the game. There were also the obligatory complaints about the refs. Funny thing is that the Celtics fans were complaining just as much about the Magic getting all the calls. These comments are definitely more fun to gather when we win!
This game is business.
Boston playing Miami the night before. Let's hope they get run ragged. This is the biggest game of the year thus far.
The Magic bust out with a huge lead, leading by 20 at halftime. Then they hold off a charge where the C's get close to 10, and Jameer puts away the game.
we win by double digits. I'm thinking, 109-92. They won't know what hit em' until the game is over midway through the 3rd.
I'm so glad that Boston has bounced back and is on a nice win streak. It wouldn't have been the same if we crushed them when they were down.
Because of the Magic's "soft" reputation, the Celtics love to try to bully us. In big moments though, the Magic rarely shrink down to any team not named "the Detroit Pistons..."
Kevin garnett is a weirdo.
Rondo is very good when he is on. He seems to reach the basket rather easily with those long arms.
This is the game for Jameer to destroy Rondo and claim his spot on the ASG.
And Dwight, please make KG cries.
I want jj to light it up, to show ainge why we rejected his offer
Eddie house >>>> dwyane wade
Pierce is a tough guy. He survived a stabbing--which is good, because to be named "Pierce" and die of a stabbing would be linguistically unfortunate
Doc Rivers is a crap coach, so in this case, its a great rule. Less we see of that hack the better.
This game is not a big deal. Boston is a joke. Ooooo I can beat teams by 20 points...but they never played the magic when we are healthy...watch them get blown out the way they blew us out in Boston.
I am not impressed by Boston, we just can't make open shots. Our defense could bea better, but if everything was equal, we should be leading by 8 or so right now.
Looking at their roster, yeah they have 4 good starters, but the rest of their team sucks, I'd take our bench any day over theirs, and I'm really not scared that we're down 8, if we can hit shots next half this game should easily be ours
Howard's acting like he scare of Perkins.
Just wondering who Garnett will classlessly pick a fight with
Sounds like theres more "Boston" fans there than Magic fans.
Boston fans in most sports are like sand in buttcracks - they get everywhere.
Magic have to win this game in order to be taken seriously out East. Beating a soft Laker team twice is one thing, Boston and Cleveland are different stories.
Oh my God. Glen Davis is an awful player. Why does he have to show up tonight of all nights?
I can't give credit to Boston's defense for how we are shooting right now. We have hit these same shots before.
Their PG just won a tip-off against our PF
This game feels just like the Lakers game. We are ice cold in the first half, but we won't stay cold.
Of course, in the Laker game, the refs actually called the game both ways. Both the Magic and the refs need a better effort in the 2nd half.
I can't say there is a team that I hate more than the Celtics. These calls by the refs only make it harder to watch.
Refs werent out of the ordinary - don't blame them.. Celtics D >>>> Lakers
Seriously even though they are playing good D we're playing like a bunch of sissies. Same thing against Detroit we try to play their game and we'll get owned at it every time.
I see no toughness in our team. If our 3 isnt falling we are screwed. A good defensive team like the Celtics and Detroit are going to be tough to get by in the playoffs.
Scrubs like Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins should not be getting calls over Dwight Howard.
Good to see the refs are consistent in giving Boston every call.
Big Baby is a superstar.
Big Baby is gonna make us lose.
Glen Davis is not nearly this good. Ridiculous. Has he ever made this many jumpers in a game? All alone in a gym?
I can see the headlines.."the magic our pretenders, they get blown out at home against a real team"
It's frustrating that this game ended up coming down to Glen Davis having a career performance.
Give Boston credit, they're simply better than the Magic. It's unfortunate, but until Howard actually becomes a consistent threat on offense (if he ever does), I don't see Orlando ever beating a team like Boston or Detroit in the playoffs. They can play him straight up and he never does enough to make them pay.
Highlight of the game was Dwight getting murdered by big baby!
Boston just straight up made us look like some little dudes out there tonight.
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Celtics at Magic in Pictures 1/22
by FLCeltsFan 8:12 AM
KG was part of the formidable front line that kept Dwight Howard frustrated all night. Along with his tenacious defense, he finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He was also named as a starter to the All Star game before the game.
Paul Pierce had a spectacular game all the way around with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in a game high 44 minutes. But, they will have a couple days off before facing Dallas on Sunday so I guess to win a statment game 44 minutes is ok.
Nothing came easy for the Magic as every trip to the hoop was greeted with a sea of green jerseys. Nelson especially was stifled as even if he managed to beat Rondo, the help defense was phenomenal in this game. It was nice to see the Celtics' trademark defense back in full force, especially on the road.
Rondo was aggressive in this game, especially on defense, dogging Nelson's every move. He finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. But the highlight of the game for me was when he tied up Rashard Lewis going to the hoop and then proceeded to win the jump ball against the much taller Lewis. Good stuff.
Ray did a little of everything with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He also helped to hold the Magic's shooting guard, Courtney Lee, scoreless.
The story of the game was Big Baby who played great defense on Dwight Howard and had a season high 16 points to go with 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 21 minutes. Last night it was Eddie House off the bench who was a difference maker and tonight it was Big Baby. It is great to see the reserves stepping up and making a difference in games. We may not have length, but we have size and last night, Big Baby proved that even against the best, that can sometimes be enough.
Perk played well in his 25 minutes but is still getting his timing and wind back. He finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. When he was set to return to the game in the 4th, he suggested to Doc that as well as Baby was playing, it would be better to leave him in and it appears he was right.
After his big night against the Heat, Eddie House was very quiet, but his outside barrage wasn't needed in this one. The Celtics shot 0% from beyond the arc. Yep, Zero! As a team they were just 0-6. And, that was good because they didn't fall in love with the outside shot and won this one going to the hoop. The Celtics outscored the Magic 42-30 in points in the paint. It was great to see the Celtics step up in a statement game after losing to the Cavs and the Lakers. If they played against those other two teams the way they played last night, the results would have been different, guaranteed.
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Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/22
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Comments from the Other Side - Heat
by FLCeltsFan 8:17 AM
IF THE KNICKS BEAT THE CELTICS SO CAN THE HEAT
If the season ended right now this 2 team would be facing each other in the playoffs.
Celtics Big 3 against our Big One.
This is gonna be a war. I don't expect a win but I expect a hard-nosed effort from our players. UD will surely fight KG, and hopefully beasley holds his own against the bullies.
I bet Chalmers lights up Rondo. Kg's ganna try to intimidate Beasley and I hope Beasley goes right back at him like Bayless did.
Knowing our luck I bet Rondo suddenly has a terrific jumper against us and we won't be able to double downlow off of him
The Celtics size is going to kill us.
Shutdown their bench and well be good
THE HEAT AS A TEAM IS BETTER SO WE WILL WIN
Lets put it this way if we can beat the lakers and cavs then we can definitely beat the Celtics. Why?? Because we have dwade and nobody on the Celtics can guard him.
The Heat will win this one.
If we lose by 5-10 ill b happy....really not expecting a W tonight
Oh cmon we've beat cavs and lakers who are better than Celts, we are playing on our home floor, I'd could care less of their 5 game wins streak.
If Garnett is so good how come the timberwolves never won anything while he was there?
This is a Boston massacre in the making
Hopefully we can catch Detroit for the 5th seed before the season is over, otherwise we would have to face this juggernaut of a team in the first round probably.
You gotta figure the refs are gunna be on the Celtics side, even if the games in MIA..
These refs are terrible.. They refuse to call a foul on the Celtics and call ticky tack fouls on wade and cook.
We haven't played that great in this half, but when Eddie House makes 6 3's in a quarter, its just not your day.
Beasley you don't leave rondo open behind the three
You know it isn't your day when Brian friggen Scalabrine runs down Wade and stripes him from behind
This is how u know its bad, some dude named Pruitt and O'Bryant already played for the C's in the 1st qtr
This goes to show how bad we really are againts a good team.
Not completely true, we beat the Lakers at home and we played a close game at their house the whole way.
Wow house is killin us are u serious?????
Would someone mind guarding Eddie House? I mean seriously.
Whoever is defending house needs to be benched for the next week or two.
I will do that if I was the coach
We here are the Miami Heat are a generous bunch and we love to make scrubs look good
Take away at least 17 points from house it wouldn't be a blowout, House made all his 3 ppters because he was WIDE OPEN, I mean he could tie his shoe then shoot a 3, that's how wide open he was..
Why is that everytime we play a team, somone gets a season high or quarter season/career high, or something
So should we start trying to guard Eddie? Just a thought.
Boston just passes the ball too well. They defend, the only thing that is probably could be their weakness, they are turnover prone.
Good thing, Beasley didn't seem that intimidated by Kevin Garnett, Garnett has a history of being able to punk out young players, that is a good sign at least that Beasley didn't back down.
Boston is real freaking good.
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Celtics at Heat in Pictures 1/21
by FLCeltsFan 7:42 AM
Eddie House lit up the Heat for 25 points, most of them on wide open 3's. I think Eddie is way more effective when Doc plays him at the 2 along side either Rondo or Pruitt. He also added 4 rebounds. Danny said we need a shooter. I think we have one.
In spite of the fatigue from rushing to the inauguration between games, Ray Allen also came up big in this game with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He was also was very efficient hitting 9 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Paul Pierce surrendered his Superman cape to Eddie House last night, but he still did a little of everything to help his team win, finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Rondo continued his aggressive play of late and finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 steal. He was even 1 of 2 from beyond the arc.
It sure was good to see Perk back in the starting lineup. In the post game, Doc said that Perk's shoulder was fine, which was very good, but his conditioning was off a bit, which wasn't so good, and he was gasping for air a few times. It was good to get him back for this game to shake the rust off so he will be ready to face Dwight Howard when the Celtics face the Magic tonight. Perk finished with 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 22 minutes of play.
Kevin Garnett finished with a double double of 16 points and 13 rebounds to go with 1 assist and 3 steals. How does a growling 7 footer sneak up on you to steal the ball? Maybe it is an intimidation thing and they just give it to him. The Celtics beat the Heat on the boards 48-30, which is a very good thing.
Scal was the big that got the bulk of the back up minutes in this one and finished with 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block and 5 fouls in 22 minutes. Scal's block was a good one where he chased Wade down the court on a break in time to block his shot from behind. Leon finished with 4 rebounds and 1 block and Big Baby had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Gabe Pruitt had another early entrance to the game but it wasn't his best performance as he finished with 1 assist, 3 fouls, and 2 turnovers in 9 minutes.
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Perk will Play Tonight
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
by FLCeltsFan 2:33 PM
According to the Boston Globe, Kendrick Perkins will return to the starting lineup tonight vs the Miami Heat. This is good news and hopefully he will shake off any rust from his 5 game layoff with the shoulder injury.
Tony Allen didn't make the trip with the Celtics and so will not play but he hopes to be ready by Sunday's game vs Dallas. Ray Allen is back with the team after his trip to Washington to attend the inauguration.
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Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/21
Random Thoughts as Celtics Take on the Florida Teams
by FLCeltsFan 8:37 AM
It has been fun watching the Celtics dismantle the Nets, Raptors and Suns, but the real test lies ahead. With the game against the Heat tonight, the Celtics will start on a tough stretch of games that will see them playing 11 of the next 16 games on the road and 12 of those are against teams with winning records.
The Celtics are capable of winning every one of those games if they maintain their focus and play defense. But, too often on the road, they leave their defense at the Garden. This next stretch of 16 games will tell us more about this team than the past 43. The first games of the season, the team is all rested and ready for the season and able to sneak up on a lot of teams. During the win streak, they were on a high and teams were slightly intimidated by them. Then, during the losing streak, they were tired. The win streak took a lot out of them and they weren't playing well. Now, there are no excused. They are apparently back on track. They have supposedly learned from the losing streak. The schedule isn't quite as grueling as it was at first. Now, we will see what this team is really made of.
The biggest test will be tomorrow night against the Magic. Orlando sits on top of just about every power ranking now and they also have the best record in the NBA. They have handled all the competition including a romp over the Lakers in LA. How the Celtics play against the Magic in Orlando is going to be a measuring stick for the Celtics.
I am glad to see Miles playing well in Memphis. They offered him a second 10 day contract. His reaction to all of the Blazers' efforts to keep him from playing was simply that he just wants to play. When a player works that hard to come back from injury, he deserves a chance to play.
Speaking of players coming back from injury. Tony Allen is taking a very long time to recover from an ankle sprain. He isn't on the trip with the team to Florida and Doc said he isn't near ready to play yet. It seems as though it has to be more than just a sprain. But then again, Tony has always taken a long time to recover from injuries. With Walker in town and picking up Tony's minutes, I have been impressed with his play. I really, really like this kid. I love his energy, his hustle, and his toughness. He has been playing good defense and has also been very aggressive going to the hoop. I think Danny needs to give this kid a chance to play and he very well could be the answer to the need for a defensive 3. This kid can play. Doc needs to give him a chance.
Patrick O'Bryant is a puzzle. The Celtics need length off the bench and they have this 7 footer with all the tools necessary sitting on the bench. Doc keeps saying he isn't ready and he has gotten 5 minutes playing time in blowouts, but it has me wondering what the problem with him is. Any player who doesn't improve when mentored by both Clifford Ray and Kevin Garnett has to be pretty bad. It may be his work ethic, in which case, I don't see him lasting on this team with players like Perk, Powe, Garnett, Allen, Pierce, etc. who work harder than just about anyone in the league to improve their games. Even with superstar status, Pierce, KG and Ray all still work as hard as anyone. Perk and Powe have always had superior work ethics and should set an example. It will be interesting to see if O'Bryant is the one to go if they do bring in a veteran.
Sam's position is still puzzling. He has been on the active roster, but still hasn't played a minute. Doc insists that Sam is part of the plan for the team and that he is saving him because he has just so much basketball left in him. I'm not really buying that. At 39, he is quite capable of playing 10 minutes a game for a season. I see it more as a way to get Gabe minutes and see what he can do. If Gabe can handle the back up point guard duties, thus allowing them to move Eddie to the 2, where he is more effective, I can see Sam moving to the coaching staff instead of on the roster. But, they are keeping Sam on the roster until they know whether or not Gabe can handle the job. I thought it was hilarious after the Suns game that it was reported that Reggie Miller and Sam were talking before the game as Doc walked by and Sam yelled to Doc to put him in the game. Doc replied that he would put Reggie in before Sam. If they can joke about it like that with no hard feelings, there has to be an understanding in place as to what Sam's role is on this team.
The Celtics do have needs. They need a defensive 3 who can back up Pierce and cover the other team's better players. They need length off the bench. And, according to Ainge, they need a shooter. All these needs can be addressed from within but it involves a lot of "ifs." If Bill Walker can get playing time and develop into the player I think he can, he would fill the need for a back up defensive 3. He has shown a lot of promise so far and I think he can do it. We have a 7 footer on the bench but so far he hasn't been what the Celtics had hoped he would be. If O'Bryant can reach his potential, he could be that big center off the bench to back up Perk. That seems the biggest longshot. The Celtics need a shooter off the bench. We have that in Eddie House. If Gabe (or Sam) can effectively run the point, that frees Eddie to be the spot up scorer that he has been his entire career. But he isn't near as effective when he has to run the point as well as being a scorer.
Marbury is said to be close to a buyout and he has reported that he has a firm offer from a team to join them if he can get out of his contract. There has been a lot of talk about the Celtics being that team, but I am thinking that it may be the Lakers. Marbury has been out in LA watching their games. They could use a back up point guard. And Marbury seems to be a fit for the Lakers. A selfish player who is looking for his own glory rather than the team's. I don't think the Celtics are offering him a big enough role on the team for him to want to come to Boston.
Tonight it's the Heat. Tomorrow the Magic. Two tough games. I hope Perk is ready to go. We can use him especially against Dwight Howard and if he can get a game under his belt in Miami to shake the rust off, that will be that much better.
Regardless of whether Perk is back or not, I think Scal has earned the right to play. He has been nothing short of amazing playing center in Perk's absence. You have to respect the effort he has put out over these past 5 games. I used to think we should get rid of Scal but he has won me over. How valuable is a player who never complains, even when being benched for the entire playoffs? He is a glue guy and a great locker room guy. He is willing to do whatever it takes to help his team whether it is playing small forward, power forward, or center. He has made a believer out of me.
I have to admit, I like the Magic. Being a Floridian, when the league expanded into Florida, I kind of adopted the Magic as my home team. I love Pat Williams. The guy is as classy as they come and having met him at a couple of teachers' conferences, I can tell you the guy is genuine and a really good person. Back when the Heat and the Magic came into the league, one of the teachers I worked with was a big Heat fan and we always had a wager when it came to the Heat playing the Magic. I had a lifesize poster of Larry Bird in my room at school and it was very clear where my loyalties were, but I also cheered for the Magic, especially against the Heat. I hadn't heard from that teacher in years but when the Heat won the championship, I got an email from him to gloat. Last year, he got an email back from me. But, when it comes to playing my Celtics, there is no competition. Go Celtics!
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Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/20
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
by FLCeltsFan 10:07 AM
Herald Rajon Rondo shines brightest in Celtics’ rout of Suns
Kevin Garnett sure can talk, and play, a good game
Shaquille O’Neal is fond of Green
Ray Allen set to see history
Kobe Bryant, Lakers beat Cavaliers
Team hits the floor for same-day Bruins, Celtics games
Globe Celtics hold court in racing past Phoenix
Easy for Nash to make call: Rondo is good
Allen up for trip to inaugural
Various posts in the Globe Celtics blog
MetroWest Daily Shaq plays the new Garden
CelticsBlog It's always sunny in Boston
LOY's Place Comments from the other side - Suns
Suns at Celtics in pictures
ESPN Rondo scores 23, Allen 20 in 3 quarters of action as Celtics crush Suns
Stein's Rankings: Magic #1, Celtics #4
Hollinger's rankings: Magic #1 Celtics #3
Red's Army The preservation of Kevin Garnett
Worcester Telegram Measuring up
Shaq goes back to back
Patriot Ledger Glen Davis shows Shaquille O’Neal how much he has learned
Boston extends winning streak to five
Celtics' Allen will have an up close view of the inauguration
Connecticut Post The Redemption of Glen Davis
WEEI Rondo makes Suns pay
Sounds of the game
Cutting Shaq down to size
Arizona Republic Celtics deal Suns humiliating loss
Herald Online Fish of power: Smith looks to Obama and beyond
Commercial Appeal Darius Miles set to sign second 10 day deal
Comcast SportsNet CSL: Bill Walker interview 1/19
Post Game Podcap: Celtics vs Suns
ProJo Shaq says Celtics have all the right pieces in place
Celtics set on Suns from the start, cruise to easy victory
Shaq is impressed with the Celtics
Celtics pummel Suns 104-87
What It All Looks Like D-League: Utah Flash
LA Times Shaq gets an All Star vote from Paul Pierce
Fox Sports NBA mid-term grades: Eastern conference
Bleacher Report Paul Pierce stating tall claims again
Phoenix New Times Best team ever? Naw, but an awesome one
Hoopsworld Power Rankings: Orlando on top, Celtics 5th
Lex Nihil Novi P-R-I-D-E (1997)
Bird fails to reach double figures... Again (90-91)
New England Sports Blog Suns go down early in Boston blowout
Be the Three As Rondo goes
Down 3 with 12 seconds left, what do you do?
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Comments from the Other Side - Suns
by FLCeltsFan 8:17 AM
It's amazing how many fans really don't like their teams this season. A lot of the chat was how bad the Suns are. Of course there was the obligatory complaining about the officials. And, it is interesting to see how many Suns fans are now wishing they had kept Rondo.
This might get really ugly tonight. Suns need to play point for point with them and try to escape with a victory at the end. Play like the Cardinals with pride and we should be able to come out on top.
Magic fans need Suns to win tonight.
Shaq should have a moster game going up against scalabrine
I want to see how the Suns react to Boston's punkish attitude. Several teams have complained about them talking crap and pushing players. I assume there will be a rough foul from Barnes tonight.
I think Amare is going to have a big game tonight. I think Boston has problems with teams with big centers, and I think it's going to open Amare up tonight. Honestly, I have a feeling he gets something ridiculous tonight, like 50.
Boston's not too hot, not too cold right now - IMO a good time to be catching them.
This is comedy. It never ends with this team.
That Rondo kid's pretty good. Maybe someday we'll get a shot at a good young point guard like that.
This game is a exclamation on the problem with officiating in the NBA. One game a team decides to be over aggressive and they are constantly called for fouls. Another night a team does the same thing and they aren't. There is no consistency in the NBA with its officials.
The Suns should man up and just kick each of their assignments in the crotch. Then the refs will start calling aggressive play.
We are getting so outhustled it's not even funny and Watching Glen Davis keep a ball alive over Stoudemire and Amundson on 2 consecutive posessions is no fun to watch.
Can we hope Rondo doesn't come back into the game while Nash in on the floor? He doesn't even need a screen to abuse him.
What are the odds that Garnett ends up with more rebounds for the game then our team does?
Against Good teams such as the Celtics Amundson looks like a D-Leaguer. Powe and Davis are just absolutely Having their way with him.
Amare has 2 touches and 2 offensive fouls...against Brian Sclabrine...aka Defensive Player of the yr
Yet another gutless performance on the road vs. One of the NBA's elite?
Are we seriously trying to cover KG with AMundson? I mean seriously? That's like them covering Amare with Scalabrine....oh wait
At the first sign of trouble KG will run to the smallest guy on the court from our team and start yelling at them.
Can you please remind why we traded Rajo Rando? This guys is killing us!!
Not that it matters, but everytime SHAQ gets the ball they can call a foul on Glen Davis or KG or whoever is guarding him. They put their forearm in his back on every play and 1 Play KG proceeded to just push him from behind...
They showed Doc's halftime speech, but I guess they didn't want to show Porter's home ec session going on in the visitor's locker room.
Sometimes I wish I could be a bandwagon fan. You know, just pick up and leave kinda thing.
Pretty sad letting Rondo score 23 points. This guy shouldn't be scoring that much but he made Nash looks very bad tonight.
We had Rondo. We let Rondo go. Biggest mistake they ever made.
Yeah, Rondo's good. We thought Nash was good too. We need to trade him now while people still think he is a MVP caliber guard.
Amare is getting completely schooled by Scalabrine.
I can't believe that Scalabum is out playing Amare. Maybe his red hair and shiny white skin is blinding him when he goes to the hoop. Has to be some supernatural reason for it. I mean Amare can't stink that bad that a scrub can out play him.
Can we trade Nash for Rondo?
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Suns at Celtics in Pictures 1/19
Monday, January 19, 2009
by FLCeltsFan 11:27 PM
Rondo was aggressive from start to finish in this game and outplayed the 2 time MVP Steve Nash. Rondo finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals while Nash had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 turnovers. Rondo's performance had Suns fans wishing they could trade Nash for Rondo and thinking wistfully about the fact that they drafted him and then let him go.
KG's defense on Shaq was terrific as was his play on both ends of the court. He finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in 25 minutes. Afterward he likened having to guard Shaq to having to having to hold up the foundation of a house and having it fall on you.
Once again, Scal's defense was impressive. Scal finished with 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block while holding Amare Stoudamire to 3 points and 1 rebound.
Ray had a very efficient night, scoring 20 points on 8-12 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 23 assists, and 1 steal in 32 minutes of play.
Pierce started out hot, hitting the first 3 shots of the game and finished strong doing a little bit of everything with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes.
Big Baby and Leon filled in nicely off the bench. Big Baby finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist while Leon had 5 points and 5 rebounds.
Gabe Pruitt continues to show that he is capable of filling in behind Rondo at the point as he finished with 2 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals. His defense has been very impressive also. I like the way Gabe and Eddie House play together and it frees Eddie up to play his natural position. Eddie finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Bill Walker is also making a case for staying with the team and getting more playing time. He finished with 7 points in 5 minutes of play.
The starters got to enjoy Gino from the bench as they got to sit out the 4th quarter of the 104-87 blowout after building a 30 point lead at the half. They have a 5 game win streak going and next up is Miami. Hopefully they will bring the defensive mindset they had in this game on the road. When they play as they did tonight, they are very hard to beat.
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Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/19
Constructing our future team
by Unknown 3:04 AM
Not very long from now, we are going to have to build up our next championship caliber team. Some names will remain the same, but the rest of the team will be new faces. With Ainge at the helm, we won't know what moves he's going make or how he's going to get us there, but give it some time and he will get us there. In the meantime, here's how I'd begin constructing our future team:
PG- Rajon Rondo. No, he's not consistent enough to be an All-Star yet, but he's made big strides in his second year to put him among the names of the league's top young PG's. With that said, there is a small concern about whether we are missing something in Rajon. A PG who can shoot, distribute, and defend is ideal, and Rondo doesn't have one of those 3 elements (I'm sure I don't have to tell you which one that is). Even without a reliable jumper, Rajon is closing in at the All-Star level, so its not out of the realm of possibility for him to reach this level without a full arsenal. Time will tell. But for the time being, I'll pencil him in as a fixture at the future #1 spot.
SG- Terrance Williams. Some of you may not be familiar with the name, and understandably so. Terrance Williams is playing for the Louisville Cardinals right now (yes, the team Rick Pitino is coaching), but he definitely has a future in the NBA coming soon. He almost has everything I want in a SG--height (6'6"), athleticism, quickness, adequate ball handling and court vision to be a secondary playmaker, solid basketball IQ, solid anticipation skills (he's a solid ball thief), good defender, aggressive nature, team player, and passion for the game. So what is he missing? Well, I'm nitpicking here, but he's not a pure shooter. Though he can knock down midrange and long distance shots consistently, he's not Peja Stojakovic (told you I'm nitpicking). He may not be a future All-Star, but definitely got a chance to be a starter (he's really got no holes in his game), even on a championship caliber team with proper development.
The problem is, Williams is likely a first round pick--and we don't have a first rounder this year. Ainge will have to make a trade with some team who is willing to surrender their pick to us for cash considerations, for a future 1st, or a player we can afford to give up. I'm sold on Terrance Williams, and hope we can secure this guy somehow.
SF- I'm jumping the gun, but I'll say Bill Walker will be our future SF, as well as our future All-Star representative. If we are to field a championship caliber team, we're going to need "star" power, and of our young players, only Rajon and Walker have star potential ceilings. Rajon is a jumpshot away from reaching his ceiling, and the same could be said about Walker (along with proper development). He's got the body, the moves, and the attitude to be a star, so all we're hoping for are healthy knees and proper development of his game (which includes a consistent jumper). Bill Walker gives me the impression that he can be a go-to guy, even as young as he is. He's showing me much greater maturity in his game than Gerald Green showed in his few years here, and that leads me to think he's got a better shot at being something in the NBA than Gerald (who in spite of having so much talent, hasn't surfaced above the "potential" label yet). So yes, its premature to label Walker as a future star, but that could be the road he's heading on if things fall right.
PF- To be honest, I don't know who to put here at this time. KG is most likely not in the long term plans, and Leon Powe is best suited as our backup PF. If I had to pick a position I want to have another star player at, it'll be here at PF. I want a big scoring, mass rebounding PF who commands double teams. But so do 99% of the league. Maybe we can swing a trade for Chris Bosh. Maybe Amare comes here (I know Ainge is a fan of his). Maybe we can find a way to draft (or trade for) Samardo Samuels--a young collegiate PF in the mold of Al Jefferson (who also plays for Rick Pitino at Louisville). Or hey, maybe in a weird turn of events, Al Jefferson finds his way back home!! For now, I'll just leave this position blank.
Center- If Rondo and Walker turn out to be star caliber players, and we secure a monster PF, then Perkins is our Center (as long as his shoulders hold up). He's a solid #5 guy if we have a strong Big 3. But if we don't have a star PF, we'll need more impact in the frontcourt than what Perkins offers. Granted, he is a solid starter, and though he's a liability on offense, he's better than average defensively. But he's not a difference maker. One of our big men needs to be a big impact player and if we can't find a young stud at the 4, we have to look to upgrade at the 5. So as you can see, our future is cloudy at the Bigs. It'll all depend on what Ainge can pull out of his hat to get us a beast up front. In the meantime, I'll pencil Perkin's name here.
PG- Rajon Rondo (star level player--even with a semi reliable jumper)
SG- Terrance Williams (solid all around backcourt player--no holes in his game)
SF- Bill Walker (star level player, go-to player)
PF- N/A (hopefully we plug in a star level PF who scores and rebounds)
C- Perkins (solid 5th wheel in the starting unit)
So there you have it--my blueprint for our future contending team. I'm just about ready to print this out and send it to Ainge (right after doing a spell check).
-Derren
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Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 1/18
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Comments from the Other Side - Nets 1/17
by FLCeltsFan 9:33 AM
I have another bad feeling about this one especially because it is a matinee game. Seriously a game at 1pm on a Saturday? Who does this..
RONDO is a thief...damn...
In Najera's defense Powe should have gotten the T, not him. BS refs.
The Nets cannot let Boston build up a big lead.
I feel sick watching this...
It is really hard to believe that the Nets cannot even play on the same court as the Celtics. They can't even give the Celtics a competitive game. That is very discomforting. Even the Knicks beat the Celtics once. I find it hard to believe that the Nets are worse than the Knicks.
Refs are terrible Trenton hassel got hacked so many times on that play
I want Najera out there throwing punches in the second half. Preferably at the refs.
This is BS. I know we were down but the Celtics are getting all the calls. Anderson is getting no respect by the officials. I want a Celtic to go down.
It's hard enough to beat Boston as it is, but when they get EVERY single ******* call, it's ridiculous.
Someone should send a copy of this to the league and these refs should be punished.
The refs didn't cost us the game.
The Nets didn't know what the **** they're doing out there.
I really hope Lopez knocks Rondo the **** out when he drives for a layup.
Pruitt ran a better offense than anyone on this team in the first half.
I think the Celtics are the most classless champion in the history of this league. There was no reason for Rondo to shove Anderson at the end. I know they are beating up on the Nets but have some class.
I know the refs aren't costing us the game, that's obvious we were out of this game before it started. But if you really look at the calls being made. They are favoring the Celtics.
They were in it until the refs gav the Celtics every call, not even only close calls, every call, so how can you expect the Nets to beat the Celtics when they have to battle the Celtics and the refs.
Its not the refs. We suck!
Don't sleep on Veal...
I don't know why Scalabrine is killing us.
I can't believe the Celtics still have Paul Pierce in the game. No class at all
Bill Walker is a ****ing dirty piece of ****.
Eddie House is officially unconscience.
House is a a**
The Celtics have an amazing defense.
These 2 games proved we aren't in the same league as the Celtics. We have a ways to go before we can even hope to make the playoffs.
We are not on the same planet as the Celtics.
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