Today marked the end of the Greg Stiemsma era in Boston. He was introduced by the Timberwolves at a press conference today. Stiemsma said that he had hoped to return to Boston but they didn't have to twist his arm very hard to get him to return to that part of the country, which is just half a day's drive from his hometown in Wisconsin. He gave props to KG saying this about the Celtics' big man, "He was always willing to teach. He's got such a high knowledge of the game." Stiemsma also said that his feet are feeling great and he doesn't feel limited. He will wear #34 for the Wolves. That seems to be a popular number for former Celtics this off season.

Speaking of centers,  in spite of the fact that the Heat have been linked to just about every available center out there including Darko Milicic, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace, Joel Przybilla, and others, Pat Riley is quoted in the Sun Sentinel saying that the Heat don't need a center.   He uses Tim Duncan as an example of the way they use Chris Bosh at center.  And looking back, the centers on their team have all been benched in the Finals in favor of a small lineup with Bosh at center and LeBron James at power forward.   I'd say that the Celtics are in good shape as far as matching up with them from this standpoint.   Both teams have converted their power forwards to serve as centers.  I'd take KG over Bosh any day,


Doc is doing some good work at the Olympics.  It cracked me up last night when they interviewed the girl who won the gold medal in judo.  She said she was heading to the studio for the interview and there was Doc Rivers and she said" OMG that's Doc Rivers," and he looked at her and said, "OMG a gold medal!"  He said he'd never touched a gold medal before and was able to hold her medal and she was very excited to have met Doc.    On coaching the 2016 Olympics, Doc said if they asked he'd have to say yes, but put in an endorsement for Greg Popovich as his choice for the job.

And, speaking of the Team USA, what a game today!!  The USA basketball team beat Nigeria 156-73.  They broke all kinds of records with their 83 point win.  They had 78 points at halftime and if they had not scored a single point in the second half, they would still have won by 5.  That's pretty scary.  Carmelo Anthony set a record scoring 37 points in just 14 minutes of play.  It was amazing to watch.

Speaking of #34, we know somewhat how Paul Pierce has been spending his time this summer.  I posted this article in mid July with a photo from his Facebook page showing him working out in the gym and looking pretty good.  Since then, he has tweeted about eating at Red Lobster and craving their biscuits and more recently, the above photo has circulated around the blogs,  showing the Captain with his wife and two daughters on a lunch outing in Calabasas, California.   At least we know he's been eating well. Hopefully there's as much working as there is eating. 

Celtics fans are getting a bit antsy waiting on Jeff Green's contract to be officially signed.  Lex is bringing up some conspiracy theories over on Lex Nihil Novi.   He's got a point.  We have very often had something strange happen.  A player has a strange injury.  Danny doth protest too much about it.  You know the drill.  It's nothing serious.  Just a slight setback.  Nothing to worry about.  Then either Danny drops a bomb about a serious injury (ie: heart surgery)  or we find out it's a lot more serious than they let on because the player never returns (ie: Shaq's injury or KG's knees).  We've all seen it before and we're all wondering what Danny is hiding and we will all keep wondering until Danny either comes clean or Jeff is signed, sealed and delivered.

And finally, speaking of Lex,  if you want some great reading in this slow part of the off season, hop on over to Lex Nihil Novi and you'll find some of the most original content of any Celtics blog.   And while I'm at it,  another blog to check out is Celtic Nation. This is a great blog with original content that will help you pass the dog days of summer.  Lee Lauderdale is reprising his Summer Quandries series there and it's well worth reading.  You'll find #1 here and #2 here.   Both blogs are very entertaining and a change from the usual recycled news articles that most of the blogs are forced to post this time of the season.   Oh yeah, Celtics Green isn't all that bad either.  :)  I hope you'll stick with us this off season as well. 

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