Celtics Central

Boston sports jubilation is ratcheting up a notch as Boston’s former flagship and recently laggering pro sports team, the Celtics, are quickening their step in hopes of catching their lofty NFL and MLB counterparts.

Featured on the recent cover of Sports Illustrated, ESPN magazine, and even entering the conversations on Boston radio sports talk shows for the first time in a long time, the Celtics have the sports world’s attention. Win or lose, it will be well documented by the national media throughout the year. There will be lots of drama and they are truly Boston’s new reality show.

There are three hungry titleless stars on a mission, along with a good guy coach in search of redemption, and a controversial team president who came up with a nice roll of the dice and says, “Here’s what I got.”

Celtic fans can no longer cry about being left out because of an anti-Celtic bias by David Stern, because Boston isn’t a major market, it is too cold, it has a racist image, or any other such nonsense. The Celtics simply did not have the gravitas to shatter those beliefs. Now they do.

Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen just walked through that door.

The negative dramas surrounding the Celtics just became positive ones with the team’s makeover this summer. And that is what Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen titled his cover story – Extreme Makeover. No one is quite sure how happy it will end and how many happy tears will be cried in this ‘reality show’ at season’s end, but it is starting off fairly well.

Even Paul Pierce didn’t think Ainge could pull off what he did, to turn this team in a new direction. Even after the trade rumors began, before the draft, Pierce didn’t think Ainge could possibly get Kevin Garnett. When the two players met at a pick-up game at UCLA Paul didn’t even mention becoming team mates to Kevin. From Thomsen’s SI article….

“He didn’t even bring it up,” says (a confused) Garnett…

“I just thought there was no possible way,” says Pierce, “and left it at that.”

The day of the trade, Pierce came in and hugged Danny Ainge saying (Sports Illustrated article)……

“Never did I think you could bring me these kind of veteran players.”

While Boston is rocking, the Cavs are rolling…in the wrong direction.

This preseason and last night’s game made clear that Cleveland will be hard pressed to duplicate last year’s success. While preseason games and records are not usually good predictor’s of what is to come, I find it hard to believe that Mike Brown will get this team going right out of the gate.

Even LeBron sounds realistic about their current state and 1-7 exhibition record (from an article by the Globe’s Julian Benbow for The Plain Dealer) …

“Season starts next Wednesday,” James said. “We either get it together or we get blown out some more. Simple as that, get it together or get blown out.”

“We are still in the process of searching.”

The Celtics scored 62 point in the paint on a team that prides itself on defense. Benbow’ article again…..

“That’s a cardinal sin,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “We don’t give up middle.”

and…

“A lot of teams don’t have that in three games,” said James…

The deconstruction of the LeBron led Cavaliers occured both inside and out by a Celtic team that was sharing the ball led by Garnett’s 10 assists and Pierce and Rondo’s 6 assists each …

Rondo attacked the middle in the critical 3rd period, drawing Mike Brown’s attention…

“That kid Rondo got in the paint whenever he wanted to.” (Benbow)

Rondo wasn’t quite that good, scoring but 10 points, but he did it at a key moment, when the Cs pulled away for good, near the end of the 3rd. At least 2 of Rajon’s assists (Glen Davis lay-up, Kendrick Perkins dunk) were directly attributed to his penetration.

The injured absence of new PF Cedric Simmons and MIA Anderson Verajeo was noticeable. But Brown’s point guard options are among his concerns as well. He flinched before declaring Damon Jones as his possible starter for the opening game. The Cavs haven’t used the same back court in a single preseason game.

It’s time for me to re-evaluate my preseason predictions for this team and maybe a few others (Miami and Indiana). LeBron won’t let the team go into freefall, but he needs help in order to move the team forward.

Boston starts it climb to NBA glory at home on Friday against the Washington Wizards. In the NBA’s reality show, Boston will no longer be a team of ‘Apprentices’, but instead, look to be a ‘Contender’ and the season’s final ‘Survivor.’

Get me some popcorn and a beer (or in my case – fine wine). I finally have a reality show I want to watch. Check the Boston Celtic’s schedule for dates and times in your area.

Tom Halzack (aka tenaciousT)

This article first appeared in Celtics 17 on the MVN.com network.

The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-89 in Boston tonight. They end the preseason 4-3 while The Cavs end at 1-6.

Kevin Garnett looked great in putting up a triple double (21 pts./13 bds./ 10 assts.) in 32 minutes as he tried to get players involved all night. Ray Allen provided 20 points in a variety of ways including a couple of 3 point deflators.

The Celtics had 7 players in double figures and one with 8 pts, getting most everyone into the act. The assists were flowing as 34 of 45 makes were assisted baskets (75%)

The Cavs had 3 assists to Boston’s 14 late in the first half (3:30 minute mark). The team did nothing in the off season to address its offensive singularity and is without a key component of its defense without holdout PF Anderson Verajeo.

Kendrick Perkins went 5-6 including a nice jumper. In 4 games, this preseason he is shooting a near perfect .800% on 12-15 from the floor. Of course, many are lay-ups and dunks coming from Garnett double teams. But he is doing what he is supposed to do – head to the hoop and make them pay. He and Kevin Garnett look pretty good together defensively as well.

Paul Pierce started strong offensively, and ended up with 12 points and 6 assists, while garnering 5 TOs.

The Celtics jumped out to 33-22 first quarter lead that they never relinquished, though Cleveland closed to within a point or two a few times in the third.

With Pierce and R. Allen on the bench, the KG led Celtics started the 4th with 14-0 run. The score was 86 -73 and ballooned to 100 -73 before the Cavs could answer. KG scored 6, working one on one against Ilguaskas while Tony Allen and Posey each had 2 of the first 10 of the 4th quarter.

Eddie House hit early and late for 16 points in 21 minutes. Rajon Rondo contributed 6 assists, 10 pts and 4 steals to the winning effort. Glen Davis has three 2nd quarter lay ups on passes from:
1) Ray Allen when he drew 3 defenders on a drive
2) Paul Pierce when he split defenders in the middle with a nice bounce pass
3) Rajon Rondo when Rondo drove and swiveled a pass by a Cavs defender at the rim.

Davis then took a charge from LeBron underneath when the Cavs had closed to within 6 points nearing the half.

Cavs 3rd quarter moves rebuffed

The Cavs made their moves to close the gap in the 3rd quarter, getting it down to 56-57 when Ray Allen answered with the shot clock winding down, on a quick jumper crossing through the key, was fouled, and converted. The Cavs were again within 2 when Rajon made his first shot (after 17 minutes of play) on a strong drive to the hoop, making it 65-61. Ray Allen finally put some daylight between the teams with the score at 71-68 at about the 3 minute mark, when he drilled consecutive threes to move the Cs out to 77-68. A Rondo drive and dish to Perkins for a jam made it 79. From there, the Celts continued to distance themselves, finishing the quarter at 86-73. Ray Allen had 11 points and Rondo had 8 in the decisive 3rd quarter.

James Posey had perhaps his best showing so far with 4-5 shooting overall, 2-3 from downtown and 6 rebounds to go with some solid defense. He contributed in multiple ways to the Celtics breakaway.

If tonight’s game was a warm up for the season, what was noticeable was Glen Davis may have moved up the depth chart ahead of Leon Powe for back-up PF minutes. Personally, I think it will come down to match-ups and consistent individual play before the issue is settled.

The Celtics did well against a struggling Cavaliers team playing back-to-back games. While I won’t read too much into tonight’s victory because of that, the Celtics still looked very good in their final exhibition game.

It all begins for real for the Celtics on November 2 at TDBankNorth Garden against the Washington Wizards.

T

Here is my blog article on the latest news and rumors….

The Celtics cut Dahntay Jones and Jackie Manuel. No big surprises there.

It reinforces the Celtics interest in Brandon Wallace’s potential

Here is Bulpett’’s release in the Boston Herald…

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/celtics/

But it is this little comment mentioned in the Herald’s Mark Murphy article that is peaking my interest…

Rivers might delay his goal of trimming the roster from 16 to 14 until just before the Nov. 2 season opener against Washington at TD BankNorth Garden.

“We may do that, unless we get wind from another team that something is up,” Rivers said. (my bold)

He was referring to the possibility of another team releasing a player who interests the Celtics, particularly a center. The C’s are short at that position, but Rivers is confident that backup Scot Pollard, sidelined by a deep bone bruise in his left ankle, will be available by Nov. 2.

Hmm…..in other news and rumors, Kevin McHale says that some recently acquired players may not even report to Minnesota. That could mean Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, or Wayne Simien.

Internet rumors have Antoine Walker interested in a buy out to come back to his beloved Celtics for some unfinished business. He is said to be willing to accept a veterans minimum salary to play here.

The other possibilities are Doleac and Simien, I guess. But it sounds like something is in the air with the early release of the two players by the Cs.

Stay tuned.

T

To summarize:

a) Internet rumors that Antoine Walker wants to come to Boston.

b) Minnesota’s Kevin McHale said he most likely won’t bring in all three players (Walker, Michael Doleac, and Wayne Simien) he just trade Ricky Davis and Mark Blount for.

c) The Celtics made early cuts – signaling a possible move to add someone else.

Let’s wait and see.

T

The final preseason game for the Celtics will be in Boston on Friday night at 7:30 against last year’s Eastern Conference Champions. ESPN will be showing it.

The Celtics are 3-3 after starting the preseason 3-0. Early success has been somewhat sobered by 3 losses in which the team did not play as well as could be expected. The outside shooters are in a mini slump. Total team chemistry is just starting to be worked on. Doc Rivers
first wanted to get the three star lots of time to try to feel each other out.

This team is certainly a work-in-progress and in its early stages. But the preseason is short and the real season is long. So expect more erratic or awkward play and line-up adjustments as the Celts work to find the right combinations throughout the month of November.

Many Celtic players are not yet in a groove and they will only get there through more playing time together. That’s why team chemistry is so important to any team’s success. The first three games were almost too easy.

Overall, the Cs have been disappointing offensively, shooting just 30-114 from 3 ptland for .263% and .429 FG% from the floor. On the other hand, the defensive stats are better than expected, as they are holding opponents to 83.2 points per game and .382% from the field, ranking the team rather high comparatively for the preseason.

Rookie PF Glen Davis’ offense is emerging as an early bright spot for the coalescing Cs. He is making typical rookie mistakes especially on the defensive end, but his offense looks NBA ready. He has a nice touch passing and is finding the ability to put points on the board. He led the team with 21 points against the Nets. He is one nimble big man. If he can play effective defense, he will see minutes earlier rather than later.

The Pollard less Celtics lack height when center 6′ 10″ Perkins leaves the floor. Neither Davis, Brian Scalabrine nor Leon Powe really can handle decent NBA big men for any period of time. Kevin Garnett best fills those Perkins absences at the moment.

The Cavs

Many think that last year’s demolition (4-0) of the Cavaliers by the San Antonio Spurs in the League Championship Series vindicates the thought that Cleveland might not even have been the best team in the East.

The Lebron led Cavs want to disprove that theory this year. They will get an opportunity to convince us on Friday night.

Boxscore

In a quid pro quo, the Boston Celtics rested their three stars and lost to the New Jersey Nets 82-71 last night. The Nets were once again without Jason Kidd (back). Celtic starting center, Kendrick Perkins, also sat out with a minor injury (tight ham).

New Jersey had rested it’s three stars in the previous match up between the 2 clubs.

Eddie Gill started for the Nets at PG in name only as Vince Carter led the team with 7 assists.

A similar thing might be said for the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo started at PG, but it was Tony Allen dishing dimes. He led the Celtics with a lusty 9 assists. Tony Allen?

I’m not sure what that says when Rondo ended up with 2 assists in 26 minutes. Rondo did nothing to dispell concern over his shooting as he shot 1-8 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. He did garner 7 rebounds on the night. Rondo will climb out of this rut. Of this, I’m sure. But the rest of his game needs to improve as well.

Tony’s line score was Antoine-esque as he shot 2-15, and added 6 steals and 6 turnovers in an ‘AW’ schizophrenic way. Help and hurt – no in between.

Glen Davis didn’t start, but was first off the bench and led the team in scoring with 21 pts in 32:38 minutes on a solid 6-10 from the floor with an eye opening 9-9 from the free throw line. Glen had 13 of his points in the first half. Glen is showing that he knows how to draw contact in every game he plays and he can hit the free throws. It’s a nice combination.

Glen also contributed 6 rebounds (4 offensive) and 3 blocks. We won’t mention that he had 4 turnovers.

The starless Celtics did an admirable job coming back from a 7 point third quarter deficit to be tied at 66 in the fourth quarter. From there the Nets regained the lead, thanks to Antoine Wright and the well traveled Mateen Cleeves , who is trying, yet again, to make an NBA club.

I’m not exactly sure what a game like this tells Doc Rivers or ourselves. Coaches gamesmanship aside, it’s time to start melding a 5 man unit and establishing the role players.

James Posey played a rather unremarkable 30 minutes and Leon Powe got 4 fouls in 14 minutes at center. I’m not quite sure that is what Doc had in mind when he said that Powe should be using his fouls more.

Posey’s time with the Celtics has been just that so far. Remarkable for being unremarkable. He is being asked to play more PF this season, according to Doc. He too, is still adjusting.

So, we knew this would take some time….and it is. You don’t – presto-chango – create a cohesive unit with 2/3 of your roster new, though it looked that way for a while, didn’t it?

But……Tony Allen had 9 assists?

T

Unless I missed it, Jason Kidd and his bad back won’t play tonight against the Boston Celtics in New Jersey.

The other 2 New Jersey stars, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson are expected to play. After heavy minutes last night against the Knicks, Doc Rivers may rest his own three stars tonight. I’m sure that the paying customers will want to see at least a little bit of the new look Celtics.

Maybe Doc will relent for a quarter or so. They look like they need to get all the minutes together they can get, after last night’s loss. It couldn’t hurt.

Last night’s Knick game seemed to revive a dying rivalry. There were a number of friction filled moments.

From Marc Spears of the Boston Globe….

“I told one of the coaches I wanted to see that game [on tape],” Garnett said. “Both teams played hard.”

Why? One reason is because the Knicks held the (Boston Three Star) BTS Express in check in the 4th quarter…

Again, Spears in the Globe….

The Knicks seemed to play with extra motivation after being hammered by the Celtics, 101-61, last week. Ray Allen (12 points), Pierce (game-high 29) and Kevin Garnett (17 points, 10 rebounds) played together in the fourth quarter for the first time in the exhibition season, but they combined to go scoreless in the fourth on 0-of-6 shooting.

The team, led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, came to Ray Allen’s rescue on a hard foul under the hoop. Pierce and Quentin Richardson had something going all game. And Tony Allen pushed Nate Robinson when they got entangled at one point. The team clearly is going to have to prove itself with a number of teams shooting for them this year.

As Doc Rivers said, the best way to fight back is with the final score. On that note, the Celtics lost as they some concentration on the team game. Or was it the Knicks defense? No doubt the Celtics will watch a little tape….and adjust.

T

Boxscore

The Knickerbockers won a hotly contested game, 94-87, with Zach Randolph leading the way with 23 pts and 5 steals. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 29 points, 8 boards and 3 steals.

What got into the Knicks? How about a humiliating 40 point loss in Boston just a week ago.

What started out as a preseason exhibition game turned into a game played with regular season seriousness and intensity.

The refs let the boys play tonight, maybe a little too much.

A hard foul on Ray Allen by Jamal Crawford sent Ray to the floor under the hoop where he apparently hurt his arm or shoulder, as he felt for it wincing at the time.

That brought Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett immediately to their partner’s defense as Pierce held Crawford’s arm aloft and then put his other hand under Crawford’s chin. Garnett was right there as well. Refs broke up the gathering crowd. Neither team’s bench players got up off the bench.

From that point on, what was already a physical contest became a seriously contested ‘exhibition’.

Further verbal skirmishes occurred between Leon Powe and David Lee and Nate Robinson and other Celtics.

When Ray did return to the game he wore an arm protector.

In the 2nd half, the Celtics managed to whittle down a 15 point deficit to a single point. In a surprise move, both coaches played to win this contest.

The BTS (Boston’s Three Stars) Express all played around 40 minutes before it was done. Rondo also played 38 minutes in an effort to find the chemistry to get over the hump and take the game back from a team they had embarassed so recently.

What a difference a week makes.

Kendrick Perkins did not play tonight. With Brian Scalabrine and Leon Powe trying to play against New York’s size in the middle, they were soon shown to be overmatched. Both ended up with 5 fouls and lots of bench time in impotent efforts against Curry and Randolph. I’m assuming it was intentionally done by Doc to see how the team will do with Perkins off the court. Mission accomplished and the results weren’t pretty.

Even defensive stalwart Garnett had his hands full against left handed Zach Randolph, who showed why he is one of the league’s best offensive big men. Garnett played very well, recording 5 blocks in a valiant effort to rally his team. But his efforts came up short as his mates did not shoot well for most of the night.

Pierce and Quentin Richardson had something going on all night and Q blocked a few of PP’s shots along the way. Paul made some great shots this evening but he missed too many to get it done.

The fact that the team assisted on only 12 of 28 makes indicates that the crisp and unselfish ball movement we had been seeing so far this preseason was decidely missing tonight. Yes, there were some nice passes by the Cs, but the Knicks defense and the unwarranted attention to individual match ups distracted the Celtics from doing what had gotten them so much success so far.

So the Knicks did what they wanted to, which was to get the Cs off their game and redeem themselves along the way.

In my Celtics 17 blog article I talk about Rondo’s preseason struggles…

Even defensively, there is work to do. Stephon Marbury muscled his way to 15 points and Nate Robinson played a nice floor game, scoring 20 points and even out rebounding Rondo at his own game 9-6. Did the Knicks guards out play Rondo? In many ways they did.

Both teams shot poorly, but New York outrebounded the Celtics with rebound magnet, with David Lee pulling down 14, including a big one near the end with the Celtics closing to within 4 points.

Pierce and Garnett accounted for 9 TOs between them as they were unable to find team mates. Ray Allen hit his first 3 shots and none after that, missing 10 in a row, making you wonder if his injured arm affected his shot.

I’ll be interested to see how Doc appraises this game.

One thing seems to be certain. The Celtics need another big body who can really play. PJ Brown, are you listening?

After tonight’s heavy minutes, I expect the New Jersey game tomorrow night to be starless from the Cs side. That would also pay back the Nets for a similar move when they played each other last week.

T

Boston took apart the Knicks 101-61 when they met in Boston last week.

There were physical moments in the game especially between Eddie Curry and Kendrick Perkins. There were lots of good plays by the Celtics and lots bad shooting by the Knicks. Still, the Knicks did have less TOs (13 to 17) than the Cs in that blow out.

There was little positive from the Knicks after the game except some tough talk from Quentin Richardson.

There was even some murmurs that Isaiah Thomas might want to try someone else besides Marbury as his starting PG. Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford came up as possible options. To me, Marbury’s style of play is part of the problem in Knickland, but perhaps Mardy Collins or someone ‘not on the team’ yet, would be better choices.

So far, neither the Knicks nor Celtics are much more than half court teams. The Knicks are expected to remain so. The Celtics have talked about uptempo basketball. Last night with uptempo guard Rajon Rondo playing serious minutes, the Celtics were outscored in fastbreaks by the 76ers by 18-8.

Admittedly, Doc Rivers and the team itself have been more interested in getting ‘BTS’ (Boston’s Three Stars) to play together. There have been some ‘quick break’ moments, to be sure. But pace and style of play are still being worked out. So far, lots of ‘pop outs’ from picks, double picks, and screens from underneath the basket and around the paint have been the MO.

Garnett has been at the high post a lot to start things and draw the best big defender away from the basket to free things up for the pop outs and cutters underneath.

I think that Ray Allen will sit this game out while Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett play after sitting out the Philly game. The Celtics will need Kendrick Perkins again against the tall, talented frontline of Curry and Randolph.

The Knicks have something to prove after the last game. The Celtics do not. Yet if both KG and PP play, it should be a good game.

Some people think that the Knicks could have enough assets to be in the running for the Kobe Bryant Sweepstakes. Ken Beger of Newsday is one of them….

Isiah may not have a team that makes much basketball sense, but he’s cornered the market on assets that the Lakers could use to prepare for a major free-agent score: decent young players on rookie contracts; players whose contracts expire by 2010, when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will be free agents; first-round picks, cash and an assortment of garbage to make the salaries match under the league’s 125 percent rule.

I’ve thought the same thing if nothing can be worked out with the Bulls or Mavericks. But clearly the Knicks would be somewhere ‘down the line’ on teams the Lakers would want to trade with.

After the Knicks game the Celtics play New Jersey on Tuesday. This time it will be in New Jersey.

Doc Rivers has said he will won’t make any further roster cuts until the end of preseason on Friday, at home against Cleveland.