Anyone who knows me knows that I love Perk. He's still my favorite player even though he's no longer a Celtic. He's also still a BEAST!!! Happy 28th Birthday to Perk! Maybe one day he'll be a Celtic again!
I know Gerald Green isn't a Celtic any more but I still like the kid. There are a few players that I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for and he's one of them. He really needs to be back in the dunk contest.
In the wake of the Lakers "shocking" decision to fire Mike Brown, word out of LA is that they are meeting with the Zen Mistress in order to bring him back for yet a third stint as the Lakers coach. I have no doubt that it wasn't the Lakers 0-8 record in the preseason, or the 1-4 record in the regular season, or even the Princeton offense that was the reason for firing Mike Brown. It was this.
There is no doubt in my mind that Kobe hated his coach. The look on his face says it all. It's one of those "if looks could kill" looks. Kobe wasn't happy when the Lakers hired Brown in the first place. Kobe wanted Brian Shaw to be hired as their coach and was very unhappy when the organization hired Mike Brown without consulting him.
Now, the Lakers are saying that they are 95% certain that Phil Jackson will return as the Lakers' coach. The 5% is just in case Jackson doesn't want to come back. Jackson is said to be intrigued by the Lakers roster with their new acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Jackson is nothing if not an opportunist. He has a knack of taking over teams that are stacked and ready to win. Kobe is said to be behind the move, and that's half the battle.
"The one thing that's kind of always bothered me is that in his last year I wasn't able to give him my normal self,"Kobe Bryantsaid Friday night. "I was playing on one leg and that's kind of always eaten away at me. The last year of his career I wasn't able to give him all I had.
"He's too great of a coach to have it go out that way. That's my personal sentiment. I took it to heart because I couldn't give it everything I had because I physically couldn't. My knee was shot. That's always bothered me."
If for some reason Jackson turns down the job, Mike D'Antoni is said to be their second choice. For now, assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff is filling in until the Lakers can hire someone to take over. Kobe is anxious to get back to running the Triangle offense again. I'll leave you with a copy of Phil's clipboard showing the heart of the Triangle defense. It might explain why Kobe wants Phil back so badly..
Boston Celtics (2-3) at Milwaukee Bucks (3-1) Saturday, November 10, 2012 8:30 PM ET Regular Season Game #6, Road Game #3 TV: CSN-NE, FSNWI, NBA-LP 756(C's)/757(MIL) Radio: WEEI, WTMJ Bradley Center
Referees: Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Eli roe
The Celtics will try to climb back to .500 once again as they visit the
Bucks. The Celtics lost to the Bucks in their home opener and now will
seek to avenge that loss. The Bucks have been surprising this season,
getting off to a strong 3-1 start, including a win on the road against
the Celtics to open the season.
Both teams are playing in the
second of back to back games and both teams will be traveling. The
Celtics are coming off a 6 point loss to the Sixers at home. The Bucks
are coming off a 10 point win vs the Wizards in Washington. Fatigue
could be a factor for the Celtics veteran players.
The Celtics
defense is once again coming under fire as they allowed the Philly, who
were the worst scoring team coming in, to score 106 points. The Bucks
are averaging 98 points a game and so the Celtics need to clamp down on
defense if they hope to get past the Bucks in this game.
The
Celtics have the pieces to be very good but they just can't seem to put
it together. A win in this game would go a long way toward calming the fears and anxiety of Celtics fans. A loss on the other hand could lead to panic among the masses.
Another game, more complaints about the refs. Since every single fan base complains about calls, including the Celtics, I can only conclude that the refs are terrible all the way around. The usual talk about Pierce being a drama queen and the Celtics illegal screens. Enjoy today's Comments from the Other Side...
Really want a win here... I maintain Boston is not very good this year... Their only wins are 2 narrow defeats of the hapless injury depleted wizards...
Boston seems to be the New York Giants of the NBA. They start slow and then turn it on when they have to. With that said I love the way we matchup with them.
I'll be surprised if this is gonna be a win for the Sixers. Gotta feeling Boston is gonna play like it's expected of them against us.
Omg its a Celtics home game.. I'm gonna have to listen to Tommy all game long
The Celtics lost their 3rd game last night. They still aren't playing Celtic defense. And they are struggling with trust, chemistry and consistency. Courtney Lee hit a couple of shots early but that was about it. He was a step slow on both ends of the court. On the defensive end, he allowed Even Turner to score a game-high 25 points and grab 11 rebounds. I can't help but feel that Avery Bradley's return could help the defense. But whether Bradley returns or not, Lee needs to get comfortable in the system and produce. We keep saying that it takes time, and I'm sure it does. I'm hoping to see signs that he's coming around sooner rather than later.
Jrue Holiday added 21 points and 14 assists for the Sixers. Rondo also played well with 14 points and 20 assists, but his defense still isn't where it should be and it's the defense that will make this team a contender. Again, Avery's return would help, but this team needs to be better on defense all the way around.
Boston Celtics' Jeff Green (8) blocks a shot by Philadelphia 76ers'
Thaddeus Young during the first half of an NBA basketball game in
Boston, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. The 76ers won 106-100. (AP Photo/Michael
Dwyer)
Paul Pierce and Jason Terry looked better in the second half than they did the first. After a sluggish start for both. Pierce scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half while Terry scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, including two 3-pointers that helped to keep a a fourth quarter rally going, which ultimately fell short. Pierce had decent stats, but he just didn't look right to me on the court. He was a step slow most of the time, especially on defense.
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at Philadelphia 76ers (2-2) at Boston Celtics (2-2) Friday, November 9, 2012 7:30 PM ET Regular Season Game #5, Home Game #3 TV: CSNNE, CSNP, NBA LP 753 Radio: WEEI, WPEN TD Garden Referees: Rodney Mott, James Williams, Sean Wright The Celtics face their division rival in a rematch of last season's
Eastern Conference Semifinals. It is the first of 4 meetings they will
have this season, which include a back to back home and home set in
December.
The Sixers are missing their prize offseason free
agent acquisition as Andrew Bynum rehabs his injured knee. Both teams
have struggled early as they try to incorporate new players find
chemistry between them. Both teams are 2-2 and are looking to climb
above .500 for the first time this season.
The Sixers have lost
six of their last seven regular-season games in Boston and the Celtics
also eliminated them in a tough 7 game series. The Sixers certainly
will be looking to avenge those losses and were expected to challenge
for the Atlantic division title but have been derailed early by
injuries. Both teams are coming off an underwhelming win. The Celtics barely beat the woeful Wizards in OT while the Sixers scored just 77 points in a win over the Hornets without Rivers, Davis or Gordon.
The Celtics are trying to improve with each game and
would like to establish home court dominance but have struggled to find
chemistry among all the new pieces. They will need a better effort
against the Sixers than we saw against the Wizards if they hope to get a
win in this one. But then again, both teams are struggling and it may be a matter of which team struggles less.
Any Celtics fan who has followed the Celtics for any length of time has a deep seated hatred for the Lakers. Our favorite teams are the Celtics and whoever's playing the Lakers on a given night. So, it is with a bit of pleasure that we have been watching the Lakers do a meltdown to start the season.
All we heard in the offseason was how dominant the Lakers were going to be with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard joining Kobe. I said then that they were going to have problems with their age and injury histories. Steve Nash has been healthy in Phoenix, but it never fails that an older player will be healthy while in Phoenix but fall apart once they leave Phoenix. It happened to Shaq. It happened to Grant Hill. And it happened to Nash. Kobe has been struggling with his health the past few years. And Dwight Howard is coming off back surgery.
Then there's the personality difference. I figured it would be just a matter of time until Kobe blew up at Dwight for not taking games seriously enough. Howard is easy-going and known to smile on the court and have fun while he's playing. Kobe Bryant is the exact opposite: all business and very intense. And then there's the coach who doesn't have the confidence of his players and is known as Mr Potato Head by their fans. The Lakers are now 1-4 in the regular season and went winless in the preseason. Kobe is mad and frustrated and Dwight isn't. from ESPN:
Bryant’s frustration was apparent long before his final exit: He got into it with referee Ed Malloy after being called for a charge in the second quarter; he punched the ball inbounds rather than passed it when there was less than a second left in the third quarter; and he was caught on camera staring down coach Mike Brown when he was sitting on the bench during a timeout in the waning moments of the fourth.
Howard said after the game the Lakers would be better off bottling up those negative emotions.
There seems to be some trouble in La La Land. Excuse me if I don't feel sorry for them. I know, just like the Celtics, they will eventually get it together and start winning. But, I don't think it's going to be as smooth as everyone was saying. I can tell you one thing. Kobe is definitely not a happy camper.
The NBA landscape is littered with them throughout history. Players who have the physical skills and who come into the league with much fanfare and many hopes. Some were #1 picks, some lottery picks, but all had one thing in common. They never lived up to expectations.
Some of these include Michael Olowokandi, Adam Morrison, Kwame Brown, Sam Bowie, Robert Swift, Eddy Curry, Kedrick Brown, Sebastian Telfair, and many, many others.
Some players were derailed by injuries, like Greg Oden, but for the most part, these players just didn't have the mental toughness or the work ethic to make it in the NBA. From all reports, Jeff Green has a great work ethic, but I'm hearing little clues that he may lack mental toughness. Doc was on Dennis and Callahan today and had this to say about Green:
Ir you're watching Jeff, Jeff's not going to ever show you intensity even though he may have it, if you know what I'm saying. He's a poker face player. You're just not going to get that out of him. What you want to get out of him is great play and he has to play better. There's no doubt about that. He's proven in stretches that he can play and play well. He did that in the preseason. So far in the regular season we've not seen that and he has to do that.
Is he a guy who can consistently give you 20 points a night or 18 points? It's in him ability-wise but you have to have the ability and the mental.
Last night, according to Mike Gorman's call of the game vs the Wizards at home, KG asked Green to take a technical free throw but Green declined. I can see where KG might have been trying to boost Green's confidence by asking him to take the free throw. I can't think of any good reasons for Green to decline.
This comes on the heels of a report out of practice where Green was late cutting to the basket and a pass from Brandon Bass went out of bounds. Doc then stopped him explained that because Green was late cutting to the basket it messed up the whole set and told him that that they need him to be better. After practice, Rivers shared with the press that Green can be great – but only if he expects to be great.
“I don’t actually think I’m hard on him. I think I’m fair on him,” Rivers said. “I think he’s hard on me. So, we’re going to demand out of him this year to be great because I think he has the ability to be great.”
He showed in the preseason that he can be very good. But the pressure and the physical play in the preseason isn't near what it is in the regular season.
Doc continually stresses that Green has the ability to be great. But, nothing in his career so far leads us to conclude that he has the mental toughness to take that ability and apply it to actually be great and Doc's comments open the door to that possibility. I'm hoping he eventually gets it and becomes the player we all know and hope he can be.
As the season heats up, the comments are going to get better. Today's were much better than the previous game. It's always interesting to see which players other fan bases hate the most. In Washington, it seems to be KG. Some fun stuff today. Enjoy!
I want to see Beal chug a Monster energy drink, hop off the bench fired up ready to rip Rondo's head off, and start stoppin and poppin
I can't stand Ariza. I really can't. Everything about him angers me. He seems like a drain on our team.
I predict another loss...but not a blowout. Boston isn't THAT great so far this year
Was supposed to go tonight, couldn’t make it. Gave my tix to two fellow Wiz fans from my building. Hopefully that good karma translates to a W for us.
2 wizards fans in a single building has to violate the fire code
Doc Rivers is so likable But I hate the Celtics so much. Getting Jason Terry doesn’t help.
Celtics locker room attendant warned the players to be careful driving home in the storm tonight. Darko responds: "I'm doing 90 tonight."
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) November 8, 2012
I've been wondering why we haven't seen much Darko so far in the season. He played just 5 minutes in one game. He played very well in the preseason and was rebounding well and his outlet passing was great. Seems like there should be a few minutes for him unless his wrist is still a factor. Or, maybe the Celtics just haven't needed anyone knocked around yet as Darko has designated himself as the Celtics enforcer. Maybe we'll see him against the Sixers who play bigger inside. Even though he's not getting a lot of playing time, he's still entertaining as we can see from the tweet above.
Keyon Dooling said he's accepted a position in the #Celtics organization
— gary washburn (@GwashNBAGlobe) November 8, 2012
When I first saw that tweet, my first thought was that I hoped they hired him to be the halftime preacher. We all remember back to last season's tough series with the Sixers, Dooling was dubbed "Reverend Dooling" because of the "sermon" he delivered at halftime of game 5 that lit a fire under the team.
"With the same approach we took tonight, with defensive intensity," Bass said of the key to Game 6 Wednesday. "At the half, we were struggling defensively. Doc didn't think we were playing for each other and Reverend Dooling stepped up and gave us a little sermon and let us know that we have to play for each other. In the second half, that's what we decided to do."
Fans were happy when Dooling re-signed with the Celtics this offseason as much for his influence in the locker room and ability to relate to the other players as for his play on the court. We were also surprised and dismayed when Dooling suddenly retired just before the season. Now, we can be happy once again because he has joined the organization in the role that he is best at, relating to players and aiding in their development.
As a player development coordinator for the Celtics, he will be right in his element. We know that Dooling's influence was a big reason for Rondo's development as a leader both on and off the court last season. The two point guards had lockers next to each other and Dooling fast became a mentor for the oft misunderstood Rondo.
“I want to encourage him, I want to help him as well,” said Dooling. “Though he’s 20-times the player that I will ever be, it’s lessons that you can learn in your approach, on your daily approach, the way I approach the game, the way I handle my teammates. Little things like that off the court can translate to better results on the court.”
It’s already resonating.
“He teaches about beyond basketball,” said Rondo, “Stuff off the court, family issues, growing and being a businessman. There’s a lot of different venues and different outlets he’s trying to teach me, which is also a good thing for me.”
Dooling loves the Celtics organization and built a strong bond with his teammates. When he retired he shared that he would be around the team and keep tabs on them. Now, he can use his strengths and wisdom to do what he does best: mentor and help to develop the younger players both on and off the court. It's a great move by the Celtics.
Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce all gave credit to Chris Wilcox for helping to turn the game around last night, which is amazing since he played less than 4 minutes. But he came into the game in the second period and brought energy and effort that the Celtics were missing at that point and it inspired his teammates to do the same.
Both Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox underwent open heart surgery last season. But let's not forget that Wilcox didn't have his surgery until March and even though he was cleared fully to play, he is 3 months behind Green in the healing process. That was more than likely the cause of his back strain that kept him out of all of the preseason games. He came back and tried to do too much too quickly. But he's healthy now and working at getting his conditioning to where it should be.
You can't help but watch those few minutes he played last night and be ready for a lot more from him. He has a connection with Rondo and they mesh very well. Hopefully we will see his minutes increase and as they do, I have a feeling that he's going to be a key player for this team. I can even see him in the mix to start at center letting KG slide back into the power forward spot where he is most comfortable. I love what Wilcox brings and hope to see a lot more of it.
Jason Terry finally got his shot going on the offensive end, but it was his defense that was being talked about after the game. He has to be the leader off the bench and I can see him getting more and more comfortable in that role and that's a good thing. The fact that he is buying into the defense first of the Celtics is a very good sign. Celtics fans finally got to see the Jet on the runway as well.
“They’ve been begging for it, and I was finally able to give it to them
tonight,” Terry said with a grin. “The ‘Jet’ just don’t come out for
nothing. [If] we’re losing, you won’t see no runway, none of that. We
needed a spark, we needed some energy and the fans responded well to
us.”
They'll get their biggest test since opening night on Friday as they host the Sixers. Hopefully they will be ready.
Kevin Garnett has given us much enjoyment with his post game interviews. We have heard rants about how he can shoot threes and how he's not old. We've heard analogies about making tortillas and casseroles. Whatever he comes up with, it's always fun. But, when even KG calls an interview weird, you know it's going to be fun. Here is a transcript from Green Street of the above interview after KG was asked about speeding up the chemistry on the team:
“You can’t speed chemistry up,” said KG. “I think the more practice, the more you get familiar with each other. There’s no hit the fast forward button here. You’ve got Comcast. Some shows you can’t fast forward through. You’ve just got to let it go through and watch the silly ass commercials and be pissed, right? This is what this is.
“Did I just take a shot at Comcast? [Expletive] it, I did it. So what? I’m a DirecTV guy anyway. This is what this is. I’m not helping myself, am I? [Expletive] it. [Expletive] it. [Expletive] it. Who cares? Anyway, that’s what this is. We totally messed that up, right? Goddamned, we just totally messed that up. But this is one of those things where it just takes its course and you can’t speed anything up.”
Never a dull interview with KG around. But what he said has a lot of merit. You can't just speed up chemistry. It's going to take time and we are seeing progress with some players and not so much with others. But it's early. If they are still playing like this in December, then I'll start to worry.
Some teams never do develop chemistry as the players just don't mesh. I don't see that happening with this team. We have players who are totally willing to give up their egos to play team ball. Maybe they are trying to be too unselfish if anything. Slowly but surely, they are getting there. One of these days they are all going to put it together and we are going to be totally amazed by how good they are. Just fast forward through a few commercials first.
The Celtics ground out their second win of the season to get to .500 as they beat the Wizards 100-94 at home in overtime. Five Celtics were in double figures and the bench finally came through for the Celtics in the win. The game went back and forth throughout with 13 ties and 14 lead changes. The Celtics built an 11 point lead at one point while the Wizards biggest lead was 7.
Rajon Rondo continued his streak of games with double digit assists to 28 games. He also had 18 points on 7-11 shooting along with 4 rebounds and 3 steals. He missed a 3 that would have won the game for the Celtics at the end of regulation but hit a couple of big jumpers in the game and his shot is looking very good this season. He is shooting with confidence and hitting them.
Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) tries to steal the ball from
Washington Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin, right, during the second half
of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. The
Celtics won 100-94 in overtime. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Paul Pierce followed up his 27 point game on Saturday with a 15 point, 10 rebound, 2 assist and 4 steal game in this one. He wasn't shooting the ball well, going just 2-12 from the field, but he was 10-12 from the line. In a rare occurrence, the Celtics got to the line early and often and shot 34 free throws to just 7 for the Wizards.
at Washington Wizards (0-2) at Boston Celtics (1-2) Wednesday, November 7,2012 7:30 PM ET Regular Season Game #4 Home Game #2 TV: CSN-NE, Comcast Sportsnet, NBA-LP 753 (Wiz)/754(C's) Radio: WEEI, WJFK TD Garden
Referees: Monty McCutchen, Bennie Adams, Kevin Scott
The Celtics complete a home and home set with the Wizards as they try to
climb to .500 after an 0-2 start. The Celtics started the game in
Washington very strong but faded toward the end, allowing the Wizards to
make it a close game and almost steal it.
The Celtics were
playing in back to back games on the road, which may have been a
factor. Doc said he wasn't happy with the team's conditioning and ran
them through conditioning drills in practice. Doc also talked about
the need for consistency.
Both teams have had 3 days off prior
to this game and so fatigue shouldn't be a factor, unless Doc has worn
the team out with the conditioning drills. The Celtics have also
struggled to regain their defensive focus and will look to regain their
reputation as one of the top defensive teams in the league starting with
this game.
Jared Sullinger moved into the starting lineup in
the last game and was somewhat successful there and although it's never
certain these days, I expect him to remain there for this game as well.
Word out of practice on Tuesday was that Sully was practicing with the
first team while Brandon Bass was with the second unit.
After their first week of play the Celtics have had their ups and downs in competition. In this Rookie Report we'll cover the newcomers contributions in the first three games, their development, and what to look for in the Celtics upcoming schedule.
Jared Sullinger - As noted and projected in the first Rookie Round-Up, there were high expectations for first round draft pick Jared Sullinger. Recently he has been a key subject in headlines and certainly is everything the team was hoping for. The biggest news came as Doc Rivers explained at this point their is no "given starter" at the power forward spot. Instead, he explained the team would constantly mix-up their starting line-ups depending on their opposition and match-ups.
Sully has steadily gained minutes as the season progresses. In our first game at Miami he only saw 8 minutes and hooked up with Rondo to make one standout, highlight play. On Friday night, in the home opener, Jared saw 18 minutes of play putting together a solid performance finishing with 6 points and 7 rebounds in the game. And then, in just his third game, Sully started at the four spot against the Washington Wizards. This was no easy task as he faced veteran PF Emeka Okafor but Sully stood tall, knew his role, and played solid defense holding Okafor to 1-6 shooting and 3 points. Sullinger finished with 4 points on 2-3 shooting and 7 rebounds.
The Celtics had a practice today that featured a full court green on white scrimmage that focused on ball movement and defensive communication. Jared Sullinger again played with the starters while Brandon Bass again ran with the second team.
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Now this has made my day. Scratch that. It made my week. No, it probably made my year! I posted today about how excited I was, as a math teacher, to see Jared Sullinger's dad Satch using math in explaining basketball strategy. Now, this.
Rajon Rondo was the smartest kid in math class as a high school freshman, and the problem was that he knew it.
“He never used to bring his book to class or take any notes,” said Doug Bibby, Rondo’s freshman geometry teacher and, coincidentally, also his basketball coach for the three years he spent at Eastern High School in Louisville, Ky. “There were quite a few times when I gave out a problem for the class to work on, and he would just blurt out the answer. I would kind of get (ticked) because I thought he was just being an (expletive).”
That was good, but to see Rondo at the chalkboard teaching Algebra is awesome. I mean, how many point guards in the league can go into a classroom and teach algebra? Put this together with Satch Sullinger's math lesson and it makes a whole lot of sense why Rondo is so good. It may also explain why I'll have a smile on my face today.
As a high school math teacher for over 20 years, I can't tell you how many times I've had kids ask me "When am I ever going to use this stuff" when I'm trying to teach some concept. For many of the lessons, my answer was "to pass the end of the year exam." You can imagine my joy this morning when I read the Herald article on Jared Sullinger and saw the following paragraph where Jared's dad, Satch Sullinger, was talking about how he taught Jared the fundamentals of basketball.
“I’ve always taught my players that you play the game the way you live your life,” Satch said. “You handle your business. It’s called accountability. Like when you’re in math class, do math, because there’s a place for math in your life. It might not be carpentry or as a mathematician, but for example, if Jared gets double-teamed, one pass out of a double team automatically creates a 4-on-3 advantage for the Boston Celtics.
“So notice where the double team’s coming from so you know where to pass the ball. That’s math. That’s as simple as it can be.”
Yes! Finally an answer for that age old question. Unfortunately, I didn't have any students go on to play pro basketball but I did have one major league baseball player and a few math teachers come out of those classes. But, that's another story. Back to basketball and Sully, who was taught the right way to play by his dad. Not just the math thing, but the team thing. Sully has been taught that the most important thing for a player to do is to fill a role on a team. As the Herald article puts it,
"That's the difference between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, the difference between a champion and a singular sensation."
Today is historic. The league has issued its first two warnings for flopping. As you might expect, it wasn't LeBron or Wade or Chalmers for any of their flops. It wasn't any of the known star who we know have flopped at least once this season already. They didn't even warn Paul Pierce for his flop this season. No, they picked two role players to make the patsies of their first flop warnings.
With 10.04 remaining in the fourth period of the Minnesota vs. Sacramento game JJ Barea of the Timberwolves committed a physical act that was a flop under the League's rule on Flopping. Here is the flop that earned Barea the historic first flop warning ever in the league.
With 5.58 remaining in the fourth period of Cleveland's game vs. Chicago, Donald Sloan of the Cavaliers committed a physical act that was a flop under the League's rule on Flopping. Here is Sloan's historic flop.
There you have it. On the heels of Bob Ryan's suggestion that we show "the Newlin thing" in order to stop flopping, the league hands out its first two warnings. I won't believe they are serious until LeBron or Wade or Ginobili gets their warning.
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KG has had some pretty good dunks since he came to the Celtics. It's kind of funny how many of his dunks end up with someone wanting to fight him. I guess that's just KG being KG.
Back when Rondo was charged with that frustration flagrant foul on Dwyane Wade, I mentioned that it reminded me of the Dave Cowens foul on the Rockets' Mike Newlin back in 1976. Grampa Celtic had a piece in Sunday's Globe recalling that very play and relating how it could be used to deal with the flopping problem in the NBA. Here is Bob Ryan's description of the play:
For those of you who weren’t avid followers of the NBA on Feb. 25, 1976, here is a brief summary.
It was the third quarter. Enraged because Houston guard Mike Newlin, a sturdy 6-foot-4-inch guard, had just pulled off a second successful “phony flop” on him, Cowens decided to enact some vigilante justice.
Newlin was running down the right side of the court on the ensuing Rockets possession. Cowens ran diagonally, catching up to Newlin as the latter reached a spot in front of the Boston bench. Cowens delivered what could best be described as a double forearm shiver, knocking Newlin to the floor. He then ran over to referee Bill Jones and screamed, “Now that’s a foul!”
There were any number of interesting postscripts emanating from Cowens’s act of violence, but expulsion from the game was not one of them. Today, of course, it would be as “flagrant” a foul as one could possibly imagine. Cowens would be ejected and, undoubtedly, suspended. Newlin’s lawyer might also seek criminal prosecution.
But times were different in 1976. In fact, the only person who wound up being ejected was Celtics coach Tom Heinsohn.
The immediate ramification was that the Celtics, who were then trailing in the game by 11, got the benefit of just about every call and non-call from then on. Boston wound up winning, 103-102. A second piece of fallout was Newlin’s need to wear a Thomas collar for several days.
I just love that story and Grampa Celtic tells it so much better than I did. Dave Cowens was a true original.
Here is video from Mike Petraglia of Avery shooting 3's from beyond the arc. It looks like he is doing very well after his surgery and his shot is looking pretty good.
In the Celtics Minute, Doc and Jason Terry discuss the need for more consistency and for hard work to get the Celtics to where they want to be. Doc stressed the need for hard work, "Being a good team takes work. You don't just show up, and because you've got good names on paper, and be good." Doc closed today's practice with conditioning drills as part of 5-on-5 work. He wants the team to be better conditioned after the team seemed to fade and appear fatigued down the stretch of Saturday's game.
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It seems to me that the problem with the Celtics so far is one of chemistry. This is understandable since only 4 of the players on the court were with the Celtics at the end of last year. Back when Doc was able to return the same core group season after season, they got off to a quick start and chemistry wasn't a problem. But players are still learning the system. Rondo is still learning players' tendencies. It will take a few games. 3 games in is definitely not the time to panic.
The starting 5 has just one new player, Courtney Lee, who is filling in at the shooting guard spot for Avery Bradley until he is able to return from shoulder surgery. The starters are coming around. Pierce, KG, Rondo, and Bass have all been playing fairly well. Lee has also been contributing. Sully, when he started the last game, also made some meaningful contributions. The problem, as I see it is with the bench.
On paper, the Celtics have a very deep and talented bench this season. Many of the players have been starters on other teams. Many have the capability of putting up some big numbers. But as I stated, we have just 4 players returning from the end of last season and those 4 have, for the most part, been starters. That means that we have an entirely new group of players trying to develop chemistry on the second unit. It's going to take a little time for them to mesh completely. But the potential to be very, very good is there.
On Friday, the Maine Red Claws selected Jeremiah Rivers, Doc's oldest son, in the fifth round of the 2012 NBA Development League Draft. Rivers played college basketball at Georgetown University, before transferring to Indiana University. Unlike his younger brother Austin, Jeremiah was not drafted in the NBA draft and has had a tough road to the NBA.
After going undrafted after graduation from Indiana, Rivers signed with Mega Vizura from Serbia in August 2011. He injured his ankle in January and missed the rest of the 2011–12 season. He played 14 games for the Serbian team, scoring 6.2 points per game.
He had double ankle surgery and while still rehabbing, he played with the New York Knicks summer league team in Las Vegas this past summer. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in four games with the New York Knicks. His ankles were still a concern, however and he wasn't able to play up to his capabilities.
Now healthy, his ultimate goal is to earn a spot on an NBA roster. He plans to take a page from his dad's playbook and focus on playing team ball for the Red Claws as a team rather than his individual performance. Jeremiah will begin his career with the Red Claws on November 12 when their training camp opens. On November 12, Doc will be coaching the Celtics in a game against the Bulls in Chicago and Austin will be preparing for a game later that week in Houston against the Rockets. I'm sure Doc will be keeping an eye on his eldest son as he plays with the Celtics D-League team.
Talk about a fan base that has been beaten down. I really feel bad for them. Even in the Celtics worst years during that 22 year absence from championships I don't ever recall talking about the Lottery 2 games into the season. As always, there's the refs complaints. That's to be expected because these days, refs blow calls on both sides in just about every game. There's also the wheelchair mention. That's pretty much a given these days too. Enjoy today's first winning Comments from the other side, the first of many!
I think the Wiz have a legitimate chance to beat the C's if they stop Rondo from.going bananas. They don't have to shut him down, they can't, but he can't have one of his triple double I'm the best point guard in the league games
They are going to murder us. If we lose by 1-10 points, consider this a victory. If we lose by 11-20 points, a tie. 21 or more a loss. That will even the odds and make it exciting.
Would not shock me to see the Wizards win this, because the Cs are still trying to find an identity and they are an older team with high expectations.
With the Celtics on a back-to-back, I like our chances. However, at the same time, the Celtics will likely be angry after last nights debacle. My gut says that this will be a close game, but we will lose a nail biter at the end.
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Once again, we recap the best and worst of the Celtics Opening
Week. So far the Celtics are 1-2 to start the season, having lost both the road
and home openers but winning against the lowly Wizards last night. Let’s take a
look at what else is up in Celtics Nation:
Too ‘hot’ to handle: The Celtics came into Opening Day with one thought: beating the Miami Heat to a pulp. That didn’t happen, as the Heat ran away with the 120-107 victory amidst a sea of questionable and dubious calls. I don’t want to sound like a homer, but I had at least seven or eight calls that went Miami’s way. Still, it was not an excuse for the porous defense and lack of defensive pressure. If there was anything we can take away from that game, it’s that the Celtics offense looks good, even if Jason Terry, Jeff Green and Courtney Lee still haven’t found their strokes yet.
Jared Sullinger and playing under the rim: I really, really like Jared Sullinger. So it pains me to write about his one major shortcoming: his lack of lift and his below the rim style of play. I can relate somewhat to Sully because I play the same way he does, but the concerns are real. Against an athletic team like Miami, Sullinger will get blocked. But he is an old school bulldog and will not give up on plays easily. He will put the ball in the hoop and and I love how he crashes the boards as well. He got his first career start last night against the Wizards as well, so Doc is quite high on Sully. And we have some excellent examples of NBA players with the similar dilemma who have thrived in the league and while I think it’s a stretch to think of Sully as the next Kevin Love, he fits on this Celtics team quite nicely.
Punk play or not, Wade needs to grow up: Please, D-Wade. You’ve had your share of so-called ‘punk plays’, and one of them even happened at an All-Star Game. Granted, it was Kobe, and maybe I should thank you for that, but I can’t forget your pivotal role in breaking Rajon Rondo’s elbow in the 2011 Eastern Semis. I just can’t. I don’t get why you keep complaining when you feel like you were fouled and it was not called, and I don’t get why you were so upset with Rondo not allowing you to coast for a layup. You were winning. You think our boys would allow you to coast for an easy two points just to rub the salt in the wound? Please.
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