New Jersey Nets (0-2) at Boston Celtics (1-1) Sunday, October 11, 2009 1:00 PM ET CSN HD TD Banknorth Garden
Probable Starters Point Guard vs Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris
Shooting Guard vs Ray Allen vs Terrence Williams
Small Forward vs Paul Pierce vs Chris Douglas-Roberts
Power Forward vs Kevin Garnett vs Yi Jianlian
Center vs
Reserves Eddie House Rasheed Wallace Marquis Daniels Shelden Williams Tony Allen Brian Scalabrine Lester Hudson Michael Sweetney
Injuries: Bill Walker (knee) out Tony Allen (ankle) probable Paul Pierce (back) will play
Reserves Jarvis Hayes Rafer Alston Josh Boone Sean Williams Bobby Simmons Bennett Davis Brian Hamilton Tony Battie Trenton Hassell Will Blalock
Injuries Eduardo Najera (back) out Courtney Lee (foot) questionable Keyon Dooling (hip) out Key Matchups vs Rajon Rondo vs Devin Harris Rondo has alternated between looking impressive and struggling so far in the pre-season. We saw a very confident pull up jumper in the first quarter against the Knicks but was just 3-7 from the field. He also had just 3 assists to 2 turnovers. Harris had just 5 points but dished out 8 assists to just one turnover in his last game. In this matchup, Rondo will be playing against the PG who beat him out for a spot on the All Star team last year and I expect him to try to make a point.
vs Kevin Garnett vs Yi Jianlian Every game will be key for KG as he regains his conditioning and proves to everyone that he is truly pain free. But, this is also a matchup of what is vs what might have been. Danny was set to take Yi in the draft and might have if he had kept the draft pick and not made the trade for KG. I don't think there will be any Celtics fans who will be wistful about what might have been what might have been. Honorable Mention Kendrick Perkins vs Brook Lopez Perk came into camp in great shape and it is showing in his game. He is more mobile and will be able to stay with the quicker centers in the league that he had problems with in the past. He is also looking for his offense more this season. Brook Lopez is one of the best young centers coming up in the league and this should be a good matchup for both teams.
Game Notes Doc increased his starters' minutes from the teens to around 20 in the last game and it will be interesting to see if he holds them around 20 minutes again or gradually increases their minutes game by game.
The Celtics defense is definitely ahead of their offense thus far in the preseason. They held an offensive minded Knicks team to 37% but only shot 44% themselves. I am sure that as the preseason goes on, the offense will start clicking and we will see a blow out or two.
The Nets are traditional rivals of the Celtics as we think back to the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals where the Nets defeated the Celtics in a hotly contested 6 game series. The Nets have fallen on hard times and this season are just marking time until they can make a play for LeBron or some other big free agent in 2010. Their ownership and even location are up in the air at this point and that can't make for a very stable club. The Celtics should win this one easily.
Kg starts **** and al Harrington puts him in his place....book it
Mike Sweetney is going to bamboozle us.
I look forward to seeing if Darko can handle Perkins. Perkins always beats our ass.
The announcers suck, the refs suck, everything sucks in Boston but the teams...
I have two theories as to why there have been an insane amount of fouls called this preseason. 1. By calling everything that looks like contact a foul, they ensure that there will not be any missed foul calls. 2. The whistles the replacement refs get in the NBA are much nicer and sound a lot better than the ones they had before. They just want to use them as much as possible.
I love marquiese daniels hair We are making big fat baby Davis look like Tim Duncan
These refs are better than the real ones -- keep them.
Has anyone realized that the announcers are almost mocking the knicks... "harington on a scoring BINGE! Then he snickers"
It's Boston, not surprised there. They are an interesting bunch...
How does Garnett ALWAYS get away with those illegal ass screens...
Celtics thought they could punk us down. We came to play.
Lmfao at the Celtics Announcers. Everytime Gallo chucks the ball they make fun of the D'Antoni quote, Wow "That's the Best shot I've ever seen."
Perkins is killing Lee on the block.
Perkins owns lee so bad
DAVID "THE DOOR MAN" LEE is making Perkins look like an All Star caliber center.
Paul Pierce is so lame
Kevin Garnett is NOT gonna last the season if he keeps on showing that he's still in pain and it's still preseason.
I know the Celtics are leading, but they do not look like a contender at all. With all the sh*t talking they were doing in the offseason, not impressed.
Uh-Oh IS SCaLaBriNe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
59-104 feels like it lol they making us look like fools
5 stitches above Lee's left eye. Cut above the eye via Paul pierce elbow to the face
Boston having Rasheed and Kevin is going to make for loud and t'd up nights.
Sweetny as fat as ever...wow...eddy curry status
Sweetney is HUGE yet still in better shape than Curry
Scalabrine>>>>>>>>>>>>Effries 1000times out of 100
The Celtics are collecting failed lottery pick big men... Shelden Williams and Sweets.
I wish I could find that thread where posters were saying Shelden (finishing strong in April of his rookie year) was going to be a beast.
Sweeteny is Super Fat. He looks like he should of played the fourth fat boy on Krush Groove.
New York Knicks (1-0) at Boston Celtics (0-1) Friday, October 9, 2009 7:30 PM ET TV: CSN HD, MSG TD BankNorth Garden Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs Rajon Rondo vs Chris Duhon Shooting Guard vs Ray Allen vs Larry Hughes
Small Forward vs Paul Pierce vs Al Harrington
Power Forward vs Kevin Garnett vs Jared Jeffries
Center vs Kendrick Perkins vs David Lee
Reserves Rasheed Wallace Marquis Daniels Big Baby Davis Eddie House Brian Scalabrine Lester Hudson Shelden Williams JR Giddens Michael Sweetney
Injuries Tony Allen (ankle) questionable Bill Walker (knee) out
Reserves Darko Milicic Toney Douglas Nate Robinson Danilo Gallinari Jordan Hill Joe Crawford Marcus Landry Chris Hunter
Injuries Eddy Curry (calf) questionable Wilson Chandler (ankle) questionable
Matchups to Watch vs While the starting point guard matchup will always be a key one. The back up PG spot is going to be one to watch for the Celtics. Doc is set on using Marquis Daniels as a point forward to back up Rondo. It will be interesting to see how this concept works with a quick and tough PG like Nate Robinson.
vs Celtics fans will be watching whichever matchup KG has until they are certain the knee is good and KG is 100%. It will be interesting to see how he does in his second outing back after the surgery and whether his minutes increase by a few in this game.
Notes: Knicks fans should enjoy this because it should be the only time this season where the Knicks have a better record than the Celtics. As with every other game, lineups and minutes are going to be very inconsistent as coaches take a look at the fringe players, decide on which rotations work best and easing their starters into the season.
The replacement refs so far have not had the best effect on games. The Celtics opener went over 3 hours and included more than 100 free throws. Calls were wildly inconsistent and of course, Sheed got the obligatory technical foul. As the pre-season wears on, either the refs will have to improve or the players are going to be worn out before the preseason is over.
The Knicks had signed former Celtic Gabe Pruitt to a training camp contract but he was cut along with 3 others to pare the Knicks roster down to 15. I hope Smilin' Gabe can catch on with a team.
Things to Watch 1. KG's conditioning and 2. Daniels ability to play the point against a quick and experience pg 3. Rondo's jumper 4. Chemistry of the second unit 5. Replacement refs and their affect on the game
Anthony (Tony) Allen was born on January 11, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. Another player raised in a single parent home, Tony was raised by his mother Ella Allen. He has two sisters, Ebony and Dominique, and a brother, Ryan. In his spare time, Tony enjoys listening to music, and is considered somewhat of a music "connoisseur" by his Celtic teammates. He also frequently assists the Celtics in charity work in and around the Boston area. Allen attended Crane High School in Chicago, where he was a basketball standout.
Tony Allen came from a tough part of Chicago and he has said that most of his high-school friends are either dead or in jail. Tony was able to get out of the neighborhood by playing junior college basketball. He played hard enough for Oklahoma coach Eddie Sutton to notice him. And so, while Tony couldn’t get into a Division I program out of high school, Oklahoma State offered him a second chance. That second chance ultimately led Tony to a trip to the Final Four, a college degree, and a place in the NBA.
At OSU, Tony was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year his senior year, after averaging 16 points per game and leading his team to the Final Four. He became the first player in OSU history to score 1,000 career points in just two seasons. He graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in education. Tony has said that when he retires from basketball he would like to become a teacher.
After graduating, he entered the NBA draft and was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round, with the 25th pick overall. In his rookie year he averaged 6.4 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game, and ranked 3rd in the NBA for steals per 48 minutes, with 2.89. He was selected to play for the rookies in the Rookie Challenge game during All-Star Weekend, along with fellow Celtics rookie Al Jefferson.
The nature of Tony’s old neighborhood was brought to national light in an October 2005 incident. During a trip home, violence broke out in a restaurant/night spot where Tony was celebrating the Celtics signing fellow Chicago native, Will Bynum. One person’s orbital bone was broken and another was shot. Two of those injured in the scuffle filed civil lawsuits against Tony. Despite being able to get away from the violence, it seems that Tony was being drawn back in by it. This time, his success at OSU and the resulting financial security that resulted have given Tony the resources to keep from being brought down by it. The lawsuits hung over him for almost 2 years until he was finally cleared of the charges in April of 2007.
After a rookie year full of promise, his second season was derailed by his legal troubles and an injury. The ongoing legal battles over the Chicago incident had to be a distraction for him. Along with the legal woes, Tony injured his knee and had to have surgery on it. There was a lot of conjecture as to how he hurt the knee after having dominated in Summer League. It was rumored that it was injured in the scuffle in Chicago. He seemed to struggle when first coming back from surgery and didn't have the explosiveness or the lateral movement that made him such a great defender and so exciting to watch in his rookie season. Finally, after the All Star break, Tony seemed to be getting back to normal and had several very productive games, once again exciting Celtics fans with his athleticism and defense.
After his second season, Danny Ainge announced that Allen would again have minor surgery on the knee that was still bothering him. In Tony's third season, he was finally turning the corner. Pierce had gone down with an injury and Tony picked up the slack and was playing the best ball of his career. He had a string of 7 games where he was the high scorer and had over 20 points in each game. Then, on January 10, against the Indiana Pacers, Tony had already scored 19 points and went up for a dunk after he had drawn a foul and crumbled to a heap on the floor with a torn ACL. He missed the rest of the season and the team missed the player who had become their leader.
There is a funny story about the injury though. Even though in pain, Tony kept his spirits up and his sense of humor. Brian Scalabrine had also been injured in the game and after the game, Scal drove Tony and his mother to the hospital. When Tony's mother questioned this and asked if they shouldn't get an ambulance or something, Tony said, "No Mom, this is better than an ambulance. This is Scal."
In the 2007-08 season, Tony started out slow again as he was recovering from yet another setback. He wore a cumbersome knee brace that seemed to limit his mobility at times. As the season wore on, he seemed to be getting his explosiveness back as he gained confidence in his knee. He averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 18.3 minutes per game. And then, last season with the absence of James Posey, many expected Tony to step into that role. But yet again over his career, he failed to live up to expectations. He played in just 46 games, averaging 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in just over 19 minutes per game. And once again, his off season was spent rehabbing from yet another surgery on his ankle.
Coming into this season, most of the expectation for Tony has come in the form of wondering what the Celtics will do with his expiring contract. Over his career, he has been often injured and has been very slow to recover from those injuries. It seems that with each injury he has lost a little of the explosiveness and athleticism that made him such an exciting player coming into the league. He is starting the preseason with inconsistent play as he slowly recovers from his latest surgery and most fans feel that he won't be a Celtic past the trade deadline. But, there is always the possibility that he will finally get back to playing as he did before that first ACL tear and if he does, it will make the bench even stronger and deeper. But after 5 years in the league, Tony's career is still mostly question marks.
After being so excited about watching this game, I was so disappointed that CSN blacked it out and League Pass didn't offer it. If it isn't on League Pass, they shouldn't black it out. It just isn't fair. I enjoyed the chat at Celtics Life, though. I even won a tee shirt in their give away at the end of the first quarter. A great group of Celtics fans. If you haven't been by there yet, you should check them out. They have a nice site going.
According to Kyle Lowry's twitter Garnett is going to play tonight.
That's good because we have the Garnett stopper in Chuck.. Well we know Chuck can stop Garnett in 5 minute increments..
I wonder if this game will be as chippy as last year's preseason game in Manchester, NH.
Haha no wayy. I think it was competitive due to the known fact that both were contenders and wanted to send a message... Even though it was preseason. McGrady actually started the chippiness
You have a point there. The one thing that makes me think it might get to that level of chippiness, is Garnett. The guy simply doesn't have an OFF button, much less a volume knob. He jaws at everybody, all the time, and I'd bet he especially likes to test rookies with his intensity.
We is gettinged runned out of of the Jim what the hell is rick adleman thinkng???
Isn't Garnett supposedly injured?
Oh man that Celtics team is talented. Potentially 5 allstars on the same team. If Garnett stays healthy I don't see how they don't win the whole thing this year.
Garnett needs to stop goaltending after the whistle. It's getting annoying.
I see these refs interpret a foul as touching another player.
Celtics are very chippy. Lots of swipes and hacks.
Rasheed Wallace is such a thug lol. I hate him more now since he is with the Celts
This Celtics team is very mouthy
Does anyone else find it hilarious that the two white guys with red hair are guarding each other
Can you guys imagine if we still had Artest? He and Sheed would be going at it, and maybe even pull down Pierce's shorts
Daniels is going to really help Boston this yr. They can play him with house.
Bench agaisnt bench were up vs Boston Ever since they starters sit down, Boston is just garbage
Kendrik Perkins is a BUM.
Rasheed Wallace is going to be the key ingredient in a Boston championship this year - mark it down. If KG gets hurt, he can step into his leadership role and floor position quite easily, otherwise he can just come in and spark them. Perfect player to put a team over the top.
MIKE SWEETNEY DAMMMMM THAT DUDE IS STILL HUGE
Dude Boston has a football player!!!!!!!!!!!
Scalabrine just took budinger to school
Boston is currently starting their D-League starting five, and the Rox backups are doing OK against them.
They better hurry and get to the half before Sweetney gets hungry ! Damn he's fat
Morey might have made a big mistake with Ariza. He's never been the guy and that Laker team could make anyone look good. The Lakers are nobodies fool, they let him go.
The refs are bad, but I would take them over Joey Crawford anyday.
Does Sweetney outweigh our starting backcourt?
I think he is outweighing our frontcourt.
18 total free throws for the Rockets... To 31 total free throws for the Celtics. Methinks Stern Snuck in some of the old refs tonight.
These refs are calling everything!!!!!!!! LET EM PLAY
If they let them play, Celtics would injure all are damn players
If it makes anyone feel better.....artest is stinking it up right now
Haha....technical foul on Sheed in the Pre-Season.
I see Rasheed is getting in his obligatory technical. Gotta keep the skillz sharp.
What is with all these cheers for Boston? We are literally on top of Mexico's sombreo! How did these people get down here?
Big comeback after being down by 10. They are really working over the Celtics starters in this quarter. Great work.
The Celtis have a lot of fatties
But what about Rondo? What if we picked him up this offseason? Good sized, do it all PG. I'm thinkin maybe if we let him go, we can try and use our cap space to pick up Rondo.
I like Rondo in terms of his "all-roundedness".. Except that he doesn't possess the ability to shoot 3s at a steady rate.... Which is a very crucial aspect of the Yao-inside-out game... But he's still young and could develop a good stroke from downtown? IDK... IF the Celtics is willing to let Rondo walk and Rondo wants to come here... I'd be all for this idea...
Rondo is going to want a big contract.
ANDERSON! What do you Anderson haters have to say now?
Its not like he scored on Bill Russell.. It was Mr. Candice Parker for goodness sake
LOL @ Doc calling the time out.. Theres no way he wants to lose like this.. Not after sitting in the damn building for 3 hours..
Boston Celtics (0-0) at Houston Rockets (0-0) Wednesday, October 7, 2009 7:30 PM ET TV: CSN HD Preseason Game 1 Dodge Arena, Hidalgo, Texas
Probable Starters PG: Rajon Rondo SG: Ray Allen SF: Paul Pierce PF: Kevin Garnett C: Kendrick Perkins
Off the Bench: Rasheed Wallace Marquis Daniels Shelden Williams Big Baby Davis Eddie House JR Giddens Brian Scalabrine Lester Hudson Michael Sweetney
Injuries Tony Allen (ankle) questionable Bill Walker (knee) questionable
Players to Watch The most obvious player to watch is Kevin Garnett. Reports and video out of training camp have been very encouraging. But, this will be our first chance to see him in game action. Scott Souza reports that KG was limited in Tuesday's practice by pain in his calf and shin splints but is still expected to start this game. We may not see much of him, but what we see will be closely monitored by Celtics fans everywhere.
Perhaps the most important player on this team other than KG is Rajon Rondo. KG has described him as razor sharp in practice. He has gained 11 lbs of muscle and also has reportedly worked on his jumper all summer. It would be nice to see him hitting his shots early to gain confidence. Honorable Mention: Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, Shelden Williams, Perk and Big Baby This will be our first opportunity to see how the new players are meshing with the team and how the weight that Perk and Big Baby lost affects their games.
Probable Starters PG: Aaron Brooks SG: Kyle Lowry SF: Trevor Ariza PF: Luis Scola C: David Andersen NOTE: This is a wild guess as to their starters. Rick Adelman has said that he doesn't know who his starters are going to be and it could change from game to game in the preseason. I PM'd a Rockets fan and asked for his best guess as to who would start and went with that. In their opener, Chuck Hayes started at center, Chase Budinger started at small forward and Trevor Ariza was the starting 2 guard. That doesn't mean anything because Rick Adelman has said that he may have a different starting lineup for each preseason game until he settles on a rotation.
Off the Bench Brent Barry Chase Budinger Will Conroy Brian Cook Joey Dorsey Chuck Hayes Carl Landry Pops Mensah Bonsu Jermaine Taylor Garrett Temple
Injuries Shane Battier (hamstring) questionable Yao Ming (foot) out Tracy McGrady (knee) out
Players to Watch Luis Scola was a key player for the Rockets last year and he should pick up where he left off last season. The matchup between KG and Scola will be fun to watch as KG gets his first taste of competition since last February.
Trevor Ariza was the Rockets' key acquisition over the summer. He swapped places with the combustible Ron Artest and should be a better fit for this team all the way around.
Honorable Mention Aaron Brooks, Brent Barry, David Andersen It will be fun to watch the PG matchup between Brooks and Rondo. Anderson is not a lock for the starting center spot and if he gets the start, he will be playing to make an impression that he should be there. Brent Barry has been a key player off the bench and it will be interesting to see if he is slowing down any. Notes
This is the Celtics first preseason game and the second for the Rockets, who opened their preseason last night with a 99-85 win over the Spurs. Word from the Celtics Tuesday practice was that KG had some pain from his shin splints and a sore calf and was limited in practice. It was also mentioned that he was limping as he left the floor to sit out the end of practice. Doc insists that he is not injured and that it is just soreness from not playing for so long. He is expected to start, as are the other regular starters, but how long they will play isn't known.
Celtics basketball is finally back. Buckle up and hang on because it's going to be a fun ride this season!!
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