|
|
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/7
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
............................................................................................................................................................................
Playoff Matchups Still Up in the Air
by FLCeltsFan 8:24 AM
With the playoff seeding still in flux, the Celtics may not know their first round opponent until the last day of the season. Right now, it is very much still up in the air.
The Celtics could be the 2nd or third seed. Right now, the Celtics are in 2nd place with the Magic a very slight half game behind them. The Celtics have 5 games left:
vs New Jersey (31-45)
vs Miami (41-36)
at Cleveland (62-15)
at Philadelphia (40-35)
vs Washington (18-60)
Of those 5 games, 3 are against teams above .500 and 2 are against sub-.500 teams, although the Wizards with Arenas and Jamison back are a much different team than the one that won only 18 games this season. The Celtics have 3 at home and 2 on the road. With Cleveland 4 games in front of the Celtics, the only thing that seems fairly certain is that the Cavs will remain the top seed.
Orlando has 6 games left, 3 at home and 3 on the road:
at Houston (48-28)
vs Memphis (22-54)
vs New York (29-47)
at New Jersey (31-45)
at Milwaukee (32-46)
vs Charlotte (34-42)
Of those 6 games, only 1 is against a team over .500. So, it would appear that Orlando has an easier schedule remaining, even though they play one game more than tne Celtics. Also, the Celtics will play the next 3 games short-handed, without KG, Leon or Scal. The Magic on the other hand have their roster as healthy as it will be for the playoffs. They are missing Nelson, but won't have him for the playoffs either and they have Alston to replace him for the remaining games and the playoffs.
But the murky playoff picture doesn't end there. The 4th through 8th spots are also still up for grabs. As it stands now, the 4th through 9th spots belong to:
Seed Team GB
4. Atlanta 0.0
5. Miami 2.0
6. Philadelphia 2.5
7. Chicago 6.0
8. Detroit 6.0
9. Charlotte 9.0
So, there is going to be a battle between Atlanta, Miami and Philadelphia for the 3rd, 4th and 5th spots. And another battle between Chicago and Detroit for the 7th and 8th spots, with an outside chance of Charlotte sneaking in.
The Celtics need to watch the 6th and 7th spots since those would be the teams that they would face if they would finish in the 2nd or 3rd spot. If the playoffs were to end right now, the Celtics would face Chicago, which would seem to be a good matchup for the Celtics. Detroit, who may be a dangerous team in the playoffs would face the Cavaliers and Orlando, in 3rd place would face Philadelphia.
The Pistons and Chicago are in a virtual tie for 7th with Chicago owning the tie breaker if they finish tied. Over the remainder of the season, Detroit has 6 games remaining and Chicago has 5 games remaining. Of Detroit's 6 games, there is only one game against a team with a record above .500. Chicago also has just one game against a plus .500 team. But one of those sub-.500 teams for both Chicago and Detroit is a head to head matchup in Detroit in the next to last game which may be the deciding factor between these teams.
Philly is 3.5 games ahead of Chicago and it seems pretty unlikely that they will slip to the 7th spot, but they are only half a game behind Miami for the 5th spot and only 1.5 games behind Atlanta for the 4th seed. So, by the end of the season, Atlanta, Miami and Philly could flip flop in any order for those 4-6 seeds.
Atlanta in 4th has 5 games remaining with only one of those games against a team above .500, and with 3 of those games on the road. Atlanta has a head to head matchup with Miami at home in their next to last game, which could be very big in deciding the final seeding. Miami, in 5th place also has 5 games remaining. They face 3 teams above .500 including that head to head matchup with Atlanta and a game in Boston. Philadelphia may have the hardest schedule of all with 6 games remaining and three of those vs Cleveland twice (one in Philly and one in Cleveland) and Boston at home. They also have a game against Chicago who will be fighting for their own spot on the list as well as two against Charlotte and Toronto. With the toughest schedule of all the contenders, it is feasible that Philly could drop to 7th or even 8th.
The Celtics may not know their first round opponent or possible 2nd round opponents until the final day of the season. They will have home court advantage in the first round, but it isn't certain that they will have it in the second round. But one thing is certain, the Celtics are getting healthy, and a healthy Celtics team would be very scary for any teams they face, whether the Celtics have home court advantage or not.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment 
............................................................................................................................................................................
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/6
Monday, April 6, 2009
by FLCeltsFan 9:47 AM
Herald Danny Ainge’s hopes high for playoffs
FL's Take: I think the Celtics have an excellent chance to repeat if they are healthy. Both the Cavs and Lakers depend on one star, both of whom have played non-stop since last season with the Olympics over the summer, and have had to play heavy minutes during the season. They are both starting to show a few cracks in their armor and the Celtics are putting it all together as long as they can get healthy.
Lakers notch 61st win - barely - over Clippers
LeBron James, Cavs right back on course
Two game slip? Never fear, LeBron rises for the Cavs
Globe Perkins anchors defense
FL's Take: Perk deserves to be on the All Defensive team. Granted Howard is ahead of him for the first team, but Perk deserves to be on the second team. He has been the anchor of the Celtics' defense all season, and even more so since KG went out. The case that Perk's improved play is because he is playing beside KG doesn't work any more since he has been just as dominant on defense, and maybe even more since KG went out. I love Perk.
Cavaliers put end to slump
CelticsBlog JR Shoots and JR scores
Celtics Stuff Live Sunday night with Marc Spears
It doesn't matter
LOY's Place Giddens struggles offensively in Flash loss
Celtics 17 How do the 2008 Celtics compare to the 2008 Champs? part 2
Red's Army Ainge likes our chances
Detroit News Allen Iverson, Pistons didn't blend well, Curry says
Blitz Corner Celtics and 76ers rivalry in the 60's
WEEI Ray Allen reaches new heights while conditioning
Cleveland.com Cavs players keep hurting right wrist
SouthCoast Today Iverson certainly not the right Answer any more
NESN Back on track: Celtics' week in review
Chicago Tribune How the Bulls match up with potential playoff opponents
Celtics Hub Will KG miss the rest of the regular season?
LA Times Vujacic or Farmar: Who's the least improved?
FL's Take: While the Celtics worry over KG's knee and health problems, the Lakers have some worries of their own.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Giddens Struggles Offensively in Flash Loss
Sunday, April 5, 2009
by FLCeltsFan 7:31 PM
The Utah Flash needed a win in today's game vs the LA Defenders in order to clinch their first D-League playoff berth. But, they weren't able to pull it off as they lost to LA 102-91 in the Staples Center.
The Flash, who has shot better than 50% from the field in each of their last 7 games, shot only 28% in the first quarter. As a team, they struggled to score and could never quite get on track.
JR Giddens struggled offensively in this game as well. He finished with just 6 points on 3-7 shooting but did grab 7 rebounds and dished out 2 assists in 32 minutes.
The Flash drop to 28-17 and slipped to 2nd in the Western division, one game behind the idle Idaho Stampede.
The Flash will try to clinch a playoff spot again on Tuesday night when they host Los Angeles at home. The game will start at 7 p.m. MDT and you can watch it on NBA FutureCast free of charge.
Box Score
Recap
Play by Play
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/5
............................................................................................................................................................................
How far can we go with Baby in place of Garnett?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
by Derren.Matts 9:55 PM
Say worst case scenario happens and KG is out of the playoff picture. In his stead, Big Baby Davis is our starting PF. How far do you think we as a team will go without KG, and with Baby as his replacement? Past the 1st round? Get by the 2nd round. Reach the Eastern Conference Finals? Repeat as champs?
Can Baby do enough as a starter to minimize the loss of KG?
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/4
............................................................................................................................................................................
Giddens Scores 21 in Flash Win
by FLCeltsFan 8:49 AM
The Utah Flash came up big in the second half with 71 points in the half to grab a 125-105 victory over the visiting Albuquerque Thunderbirds Friday night at the McKay Events Center.
JR Giddens scored 21 points on 10-13 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal in 37 minutes. He had just 1 turnover in the game as well. We don’t mind sharing the ball, and a lot of our baskets tonight came off assists.” J.R. Giddens said.
The Flash, with a 28-16 record, increased its West Division lead to one game over Idaho, who were idle, and will travel to Los Angeles Sunday for a 1 p.m. MDT matinee with the D-Fenders. You can watch the Flash games on NBA FutureCast.
Box Score
Recap
Play by Play
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Comments from the Other Side - Hawks
by FLCeltsFan 8:40 AM
For all Bibby's talk about Celtics' bandwagon fans, I have to say, at least Boston has fans. There were very few comments in game threads on their boards. No thread was over 2 pages. And, many of the comments that were on the boards were trashing their own team. You would think that with their team in 4th place in the East that they would be supporting them, but it appears that Hawks fans could care less.
Celtics tonight. KG is DNP, we'd better win this.
It took double OT for the Celtics to put down the Bobcats in Boston.
Even if it's a losing effort in regulation, lets at least try to look as good.
Call me crazy but I have a feeling we're going to win this one tonight
I STILL HATE THE CELTICS!!!
Well its the Hawks last chance to prove anything, thought it wont mean much BC of KG being shutdown for a while. I expect another blowout.
I doubt that they will even bring the intensity that the Bobcats brought the other night.
I hate Glen Davis!!!
Wow. What a BS call for Pierce there.
Every time we play the Celtics I am envious of how they have young 2nd round bigs who make positive contributions based on effort alone while we have Solomon Jones and Randolph Morris who look lost every time they hit the floor.
Those 3 free throws are a killer. Smart play by Rondo. Sucks for us.
The Hawks are shooting 35% and its gonna come off as "oh the Celtics played amazing defense." How many times will the Hawks settle with shooting jumpers, and be content with that??
No KG and the Hawks get owned again. Sad
Well after a beatdown by the Celtics tonight (without KG) again, and Rondo being able to do whatever he wants, it is become clearer that the Hawks will be the underdog in the upcoming playoff series regardless if it is Miami or Philly.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/3
Friday, April 3, 2009
............................................................................................................................................................................
Unsung Player Day
by FLCeltsFan 9:46 AM
With Malice is once again hosting the Unsung Player day this season. My first thought for the Celtics unsung player is always Perk. Although he is getting a lot more credit for what he does for this team this season. We saw what his presence on the court means to this team in last year's playoffs when he missed game 5 out in LA and that opened a lot of peoples' eyes to his importance. But he still doesn't get near enough credit for what he does because most of it doesn't show up in the box score.
But, the guidelines for the award is for a role player, rather than a starter. Here is what they are looking for in an unsung player:
A role player who gives his all in the 2-5 minutes he gets per game (should be definitely under 10 minutes). Someone who doesn't get a lot of recognition.
On the Celtics, the guy who gives his all for whatever amount of minutes he gets has to be Leon Powe. Whether he plays 5 minutes or 25 minutes, you know that you will get every ounce of energy this guy has. He gets more out of his minutes than any player in the league in my opinion. Much has been made of the Celtics missing KG, but the fact that we are also missing Leon Powe is a huge setback.
Powe is officially averaging 17 minutes per game, but he has ranged from DNP's to a starter with both Big Baby and KG out. Leon's minutes have been up and down his whole career and he never complains about lack of playing time when he the minutes are limited. He just stays ready and when his number is called, he comes in and gives it his all. One of the hardest things as an NBA player is to deal with an inconsistent role and Leon has dealt with it with class and success. I love this kid.
I also have to give a little shout out to Eddie House as being underappreciated. He doesn't exactly fit the under 10 minutes per game description, but I don't think he gets enough credit for what he does for this team. Is there a player in the league who gets his shot off quicker? I don't think so. And, those shots go in! He is shooting 44% from beyond the arc. I can't count the games this season where the Celtics were behind and playing sluggishly and Eddie comes in and brings energy and hits a couple of huge 3 pointers and gets the Celtics back into the game.
So, I guess I have one official unsung player in Leon Powe and two unofficial ones in Perk and Eddie House. But on a team with 3 future Hall of Famers who get most of the headlines, it is natural for the team to have several players who play in their shadows. Thanks to With Malice for once again recognizing the "little guys" who play a big role in their teams' successes.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/2
Thursday, April 2, 2009
............................................................................................................................................................................
Comments from the Other Side - Bobcats
by FLCeltsFan 11:53 AM
have a bad feeling about this....like we are coming off such a high that we can only be met by failure.
Of course, its the Celtics, not like we are playing the Kings or Raptors, so we aren't expected to win.
I wonder if the Celts are using DJ's quotes from our last match up as bulletin board material tonight. You know the one about them collapsing when you stand up to them acting like punks.
I actually feel good about tonight's game. Boston really isn't such an intimidating team without KG. I think they are playing .500 ball without him in the lineup. And we typically play good versus them even with KG playing.
We will win. Mark my words.
We can beat these low life leprechauns since several are injured should be easy....
Ugh! I hate these chowdah eatin, beer drinkin, retarded biased Boston announcers
Iw ould not mind having Perkins on our team, he is a bad ass and a good physical inside prescence
It's kinda funny that the refs have called only three fouls on the Celts in 20 mins, ridiculous actually.
I swear I hate Paul Pierce. My least favoriate player in the NBA.
His entire game centers around trying to get foul calls from the refs...
It's amazing. Everyone knows what he is going to try and get you to do every time, yet people still get sucked into it. I actually admire him for it.
Seriously, Paul Pierce's game is centered around whining to the refs for calls
Perkins is standing in the exact same spot on offense every time and pulling down offensive board after offensive board unchallenged.
Of course I am rooting for the cats but it is hard to not like the way the Celts play, they don't take sh!t from anyone and they pound the ball and play D and hit shots.
11-6 in fouls these refs are making sure the game goes a certain way.... Its obvious.....
22-3 at the free throw line must be nice to have the refs on your side....
Again I never b\blame the refs but the disparity tonight is just mindblowing
Dirty play by Pierce...
House is killing us...back to back 3's Why did we get rid of him?
The refs reeeeaalllly want the Celtics to win....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
let's try to stop Eddie House one time please!
I totally expected Shuttlesworth to make the shot when it mattered..
God Ray Allen always does that to us...
He does that to all teams
WIDE OPEN Ray Allen for 3 and he air balls it?
Hahaha so much for Ray Allen being clutch.
I guess I spoke too quick.
Somebody please explain to me how do you play in a game that goes to double overtime and only get to the free throw line 4 times
Under NO circumstances do you help off of Ray Allen in situations like that. NEVER. We let him get MULTIPLE shots on us in clutch situations which is INEXCUSABLE.
You know every time they need a shot in that situation, it's going into Ray Allen's hands. And every time he hit the effing shot. But notice how they don't screw around when it's their turn to score? They run a play, there's picks, there's movement, and then they get an open look. We wait till there's 8 seconds left on the shot clock and then throw up a brick.
LB post game:
We didn't switch well - we might have had a little brain damage.
They hit big shots and played well when they needed to.
Something isn't right when as a team you take 102 shots and they take 26 ft's to our 7. Something just isn't right.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Giddens Plays Well in Flash Loss
by FLCeltsFan 11:35 AM
JR Giddens played well, but his team lost 115-110 to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The Flash had its five-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 27-16.
The Flash led 59-47 at the half. But some sloppy play from the Flash in the second half allowed the Vipers to catch up and pull ahead for the win. Rio Grande Valley turned 20 Flash turnovers, 13 in the second half, into 21 points on the night.
JR Giddens finished the night with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 36 minutes of play.
The Flash will host the Albuquerque Thunderbirds on Friday at 7 p.m. You can watch the game on NBA FutureCast.
Recap
Box Score
Play by Play
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Tony's Playing Tonight!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
by FLCeltsFan 11:38 AM
The Globe is reporting:
Tony Allen, who has missed 35 games with injuries this season, will return to action when the Celtics play host to Charlotte tonight.
Allen has not played since Feb. 8. Allen, who injured his left thumb in practice two days later and has been out for 22 successive games, went through a full practice session Tuesday.
"I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes," Allen said after a morning shootaround. "Today is a big day for me. I'm not looking at going out and scoring 50 points, nothing like that. Just getting in a rhythm and getting a feel for my new teammates and just trying to do what I can do to help."
This is good news for the Celtics. Today Tony, tomorrow Leon, and the next day it will be KG. Good news is coming. I can feel it.
I am looking forward to seeing Tony tonight. He probably won't play much and may not even play well, but he will play, and this is a very positive story for a Celtics team and Celtics fandom that needs a positive story right now.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 4/1
............................................................................................................................................................................
The Sky is Not Falling
by FLCeltsFan 9:50 AM
Cartoon Courtesy of Larry Johnson WEEI
I spent yesterday afternoon reading through all kinds of doomsday articles talking about KG having surgery to KG sitting out the playoffs. I refuse to get caught up in all those doomsday reports.
Danny Ainge said that if the playoffs were today, KG would be playing. Doc said that there is no structural damage but that his knee is sore and not responding like they thought it would when they re-activated him. Much was made of the fact that in his press conference, Doc said that he was shutting KG down, probably not for the season and they took it to mean probably not for the year. The season is the season. The playoffs are the playoffs. Even if he is shut down for the season, that is just until the playoffs start.
I fully expect KG to play in the Cavs game on April 12 and give the Celtics a boost in that game to beat them on their home court and thus keep them from tieing the 1986 Celtics record for best home record in a season. That would be very fitting.
I also fully expect that with KG resting another 4 games that Big Baby and Mikki Moore will continue to get better and will be a force in the playoffs. The extra time with KG out is a chance to further develop these two big men so that going into the playoffs, the Celtics will have the strongest bench in the league. I am tired or reading articles about how the Celtics can't possibly repeat without KG. We still have 2 future hall of fame all stars on the team in Pierce and Ray Allen. We have one of the best defensive centers in the league in Perk. We have one of the best PGs in the league in Rajon Rondo. We have an emerging star in Big Baby and a former all star in Marbury, who is looking better game by game. Look at who we have instead of who we don't have.
Stop with the doom and gloom and look at the silver lining. KG will be fine. When the playoffs come, he will play and he will play well. Leon Powe will also be back for the playoffs and will be ready to contribute. Tony Allen will be back in the fold and playing the best basketball of his career. The only player I am not so sure about is Scal because the news on him hasn't been so good. But, with KG out another player who is making strides is Bill Walker and he may be able to contribute in the playoffs. Stephon Marbury is showing signs of being the player he was before the long layoff in New York. Things are looking pretty good for the Champs. And with KG coming back much healthier than he would be if he was playing now, I'll give the Celtics a good chance at being champs again. The sky is not falling. In fact, it is looking pretty bright.
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
Giddens Sparks 4th Quarter Rally
by FLCeltsFan 9:24 AM
Without a Celtics game on to watch, I tuned into Futurecast on NBA.com and watched the Flash game against the Bakersfield Jam. At the half, it looked like the Jam was going to run away with the game as they were playing with a lot more energy than the Flash. Giddens didn't look all that great in the game either.
But, in the second half, it was a different story and Celtics assignee JR Giddens sparked a 4th quarter rally that gave the Utah Flash a 108-92 win over the Bakersfield Jam. Utah outscored Bakersfield 30-13 in the fourth quarter behind a combined 20 points from Giddens and Jazz assignee Kosta Koufos. The Flash recorded a franchise record fifth consecutive victory and improved to 27-15 on the season.
Giddens finished the game with 18 points on 8-12 shooting to go with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 block. I really like this kid and look forward to seeing what he can do with the Celtics in his second season. On a side note, Former Celtic draft pick Justin Reed had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for the Jam.
Next game for the Flash is tonight at 7:00 PM vs. Rio Grande Valley. You can watch all D League games live on FutureCast on NBA.com.
Recap
Box Score
Play by Play
[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
|
Leave a comment
............................................................................................................................................................................
|
|
|
