Celtics Central

The next win for this Celtic team will be a career high for coach Doc Rivers, a one time Coach of the Year with Orlando.

Doc Rivers patiently, and loyally developed one of the youngest rosters in the league for a few years, and dealt with a few ‘interesting’ and challenging personalities along the way (Marcus Banks, Gary Payton, Paul Pierce, Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, and Antoine Walker – just to name a few.) It wasn’t the way he wanted it. But it was the way it was.

Patience is a virtue or…

All things comes to he who waits….

like a three all star team led by one of the 5 most coveted players in the league.

Glenn ‘Doc’ Rivers ended up with a coach’s dream roster this year that has just gotten better with the signing of P.J. Brown and the imminent signing of Sam Cassell.

To the surprise of everyone, this Celtic team hangs it hat on defense. Kudos to Doc for being willing to bring in Larry Brown (who ended up passing on Beantown) and finally bringing in Tom Thibodeau to construct this team’s defensive schemes.

They have made quick work of much of the NBA up to now and lead the entire league with 45 wins.

Tonight’s Game

Tonight, they did just what they had to, and used not one ounce of energy more, to beat the Charlotte Bobcats. They made the Bobcats look good, and the score was closer than it should have been, by perplexingly settling for jump shots in the 4th quarter. They could have had their way in the paint in spite of Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed in the middle for the Bobcats for much of the quarter.

The team went from looking very good to looking rather careless in spurts, depending on what play you were watching. They missed a number of fast breaks with careless passing and decision making, but they were quite unselfish with the ball night as they garnered 33 assists on 41 baskets.

Rajon Rondo had a career night in that department with 16 dimes to go with 9 points and 6 rebounds while doing an acceptable job defensively on high scoring Bobcat guard Ray Felton.

Felton and Jason Richardson took over half of Charlotte’s shots (43 of 82) as Richardson didn’t meet a shot tonight he didn’t like. He led the ‘Cats with 30 points on 10-26 shooting.

It seems that Pierce concentrated on defending JR for the rest of the game and scored just 13 points on 5-15 shooting, though he did hit a key mid range jumper near the end when Charlotte was within a few possessions of tying it up.

Ray Allen was on all night, going 5-7 from downtown and leading the Celtics with 23 points. Kevin Garnett added 17 points and 9 boards, though few were of his baskets were inside. KG played 32 minutes but did not look himself, even though he engaged in his usual on court trash talking, this time with a frustrated Nazr Mohammed. They each received technicals.

Garnett received a quick 2nd foul in the first quarter trying to cover for Paul Pierce when Richardson got by Paul and was heading for an easy two. PP looked disgusted (at himself) on the play. Even though Garnett went out and Davis came in, the Celtics made a run to tie the game and eventually took the lead in the quarter.

Many of Rondo’s assists went to big man Kendrick Perkins. Perkins scored 11 first quarter points on an assortments of dunks and lay-ins. PK ended with one of his most productive games as a pro, finishing with 19 points on 8-10 shooting, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists, and 4 TOs.

I’m wondering if it is any coincidence that Rondo and Perkins each had big games as new comer PJ Brown has been practicing with the team, and was in attendance, while Sam Cassell is on the way. Hmm…..

Brown has said he will try to mentor the young bigs on the team and his locker is next to Glen Davis’ in the practice facility.

Leon Powe played well with 9 tough points in the paint and 4 boards in 11 minutes, while James Posey was throwing more dimes (5) and hitting threes (2-4) to go with 4 boards.

Glen also had a solid game with 7 points and 4 rebounds in 14 plus minutes. Big Baby gave Emeka a big back ache as he lowered the boom on Okafor on one play, as he jumped on his back (literally) when he tried to stop a sure lay-up from behind. Okafor crumpled to the ground under the weight. It was something to behold. Davis received a flagrant foul on the play.

The Celtic bench all contributed nicely as Charlotte’s defense left much to be desired. I’ve read that the team has given up on coach Sam Vincent as they have only won a single game ( are now 1-12) in the entire month of February. While it seemed they were competitive tonight, it was more of a case of the killer whale playing with a baby seal, before eating it as its next meal.

The Celtics played a fairly slow almost deliberate game against them it appeared to me, in spite of their 108 points.

So, Doc’s next win is a milestone, though he has many more to add before the season is done.

Their next opponent is the Atlanta Hawks in the TDBanknorth Garden at 6:00pm

Marc Spears of the Boston Globe is reporting that Sam Cassell is about to sign a buy out from Donald T. Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers and will receive a portion of what is owed of approximately $2 million. He will then have to wait the 48 hour waiver clearing period before he can sign with the Celtics.

He is reporting that Sam “will sign with the Boston Celtics.”

After all the last minute drama, Sam I Am will be bringing his smiling face, clutch game and vocal presence to the best team in the league.

That will be 2 great additions, along with PJ Brown, addressing both concerns that they had about their roster. This roster is now full, at 15 players, and ready for all comers, in their quest for the NBA title.

They are adding a solid, battle tested, point guard to bring the ball up under pressure, play with poise, and be a solid offensive option in the 4th quarters. They just signed a similarly experienced big man in PJ Brown to help with defense in the middle and enough offense to take advantage of double teams on Kevin Garnett.

All question marks are now filled.

More on this later.

It wasn’t as close as the score seems. The Celtics were up by 16 (the biggest lead of the game) with 5:11 left and 14 with 2:49 remaining.

The not-quite-as-new-look Celtics beat the new look Cavaliers and seemed to be getting back on track as they did it. The Celtics had 27 assists on 34 baskets, harkening back to some early season games.

Cleveland was playing just their 3rd game with 4 new players (Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Joe Smith) acquired in an 11 player trade.

Delonte West had a strong game with 20 points on 8-13 with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Szczerbiak couldn’t find the range, finishing 3-13 for 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 TOs. Joe Smith provided 9 points in 14 minutes on 4-5 shooting. Ben Wallace went for 6 rebounds and 6 points in 26 minutes.

The talk around the boards and in the media is mixed on this trade to get Lebron some help for this year’s play-offs. Kenny Smith has said that he’s not sure the trade makes the team better. Doc Rivers thinks it does. I tend to agree. Time will tell as they try to meld things together this next month or so.

The Celtics won despite being out rebounded by 44-37 and 12-5 on the offensive boards. That is after starting the game off strong with a 12-5 rebounding edge after one quarter. The Cavs out rebounded the Celtics 39-25 the rest of the way.

The Cavs took 16 more shots on basket (81-65). Both teams had some success with points in the paint, running 38-36 (Celtics). The Men in Green shot a sharp .523 for the game while holding the Cavs to .383.

Lebron James had his 2nd worse shooting game of the year, going 7-24 according to the Cavs announcers. A large part of that might be due to the fact that James went down with a twisted ankle in the first half. He returned to play 39 minutes total, but didn’t look the same when he came back. James Posey also did a nice defensive job on James for the time he played him.

Kevin Garnett looked sharp as he was hitting his outside shot, playing very good defense and had a good all around game with 18 points on 8-14, 11 rebounds (0 offensive), 5 assists, and 4 steals.

Ray Allen continued to look smooth offensively and he led the Cs with 22 points on 7-10 and 3-5 from downtown. Rondo had a strong Rondo-esque game with 8 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 TOs, and went 0-3 from the foul line.

Kendrick Perkins had trouble with the large 7′ 3″ Zydrunas Ilguaskas again. Z had 9 points and 12 boards (6 offensive) in only 28 minutes of play. After the last time they played, Kendrick said that he should be playing Ilguaskas better. Kendrick logged 8 points on 4-4 shooting last night, but he had only 1 rebound for 25 minutes.

Paul Pierce had a tough night with only 12 points on 4-14, with 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal. He also had 6 TOs.

Yet, the Celtic defense looked coordinated and the shots were falling for most
everyone else.

The bench gave a solid performance with Glen Davis going for 9 points and 4 boards in almost 24 minutes. Leon Powe had a very productive 13 points in 13 minutes. While Posey concentrated on ‘D-ing up on Lebron, he added 5 rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes. Eddie House had 5 assists, 2 boards and a steal in 14 minutes. He also had the best plus/minus on the team at +6 for the game.

The Celtics are now 44-12 and have won three straight.

PJ Brown a Celtic

They signed semi-retired, 6′ 10″ PF PJ Brown before the game. That gives them a solid big man with play-off experience heading down the stretch. Brent Barry and Sam Cassell are still possibilities for shoring up the depth at guard.

Next up: Boston goes to Charlotte on Friday night.

If we know anything about the league’s owners, we know that Donald T. Sterling has a reputation for being…umm…. among the most frugal, by far.

Will Sam Cassell actually finish the season playing out the string in Los Angeles?

His recent expansion of his pocketbook over the last few years has raised the Clipper’s roster salary total to $64 mil, just under the luxury tax penalty, and in fairness, more generous than 10 other NBA owners. That has been somewhat of a sea change for ‘The (other) Donald’.

When many other franchises pretended to be trying to compete to win a title, Mr. Sterling ran an NBA sports team as a business to make money. In the unusual world of NBA owners, he would make sure they were operating in the black as much as possible.

Whether you agree with that outlook or not, that was/is the reality.

In a league where this kind of player buy out is becoming ‘de rigeur’ of the day, it appears to be an ‘alien’ concept to Mr. Sterling. Either that or he is playing hard ball right up to the last moment.

Whatever it is, Marc Spears and Peter May of the Boston Globe, are reporting this morning that a buy out of Sam Cassell’s contract is not on Sterling’s ‘to do’ list this week. Cassell’s agent, David Falk, has given the Clippers until Saturday to complete a buy out, so that Sam could play on another team for a play-off run. Indications from a ‘league source’ are that Sterling has no intention of paying Cassell off do he can play for another team.

From Peter May…..

The owner actually said Monday night that he figured if Cassell were to leave the team, then the Clippers’ financial obligation to him would go with the player. Doesn’t work that way, Donald.

I will add that the Grizzlies owner, Michael Heisley, was reported to have made much the same comment initially, before buying out Damon Stoudamire’s contract. Damon was bought out and went and signed with the Spurs.

But Danny’s is dancing around all this and there is still a chance that Brent Barry could sign with the Cs. He was supposed to commit yesterday (to the Suns, some said) , but hasn’t made a decision as of this article, and is rumored to still have Boston as a possible destination of choice.

The Celtics are also interested in SG Flip Murray, recently of the Pistons. So it looks like Ainge is keeping three plates spinning in the air, like that old act you used to see on Ed Sullivan from time to time. (I know. I dated myself with that one).

It will be interesting to see which plates crash and which one spins its way to Boston, if any.

In the meantime, the new look Cleveland Cavaliers will play in Boston tonight. The Cavs are already up 2-1 in their season series with Boston.

Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak return to their former home as agents of Lebron this time. I wish I was going, just to get a quote from ‘Delonte’s World’.

Catch you all later.

The media reports are heating up and I found this from last night’s Celtic/Clipper game from Hoopsworld….

‘* If Sam Cassell isn’t on his way to Boston he sure could of fooled me after the game. Dude almost looked like he was already a member of the Celtics when he came in the locker room. First, he gave Ray Allen a big hug and talked to him for a couple of minutes. Then, searching for his good friend Kevin Garnett, he asked: “Where’s Ticket?” A few seconds later he marched directly into the training room and started shooting the breeze with his good friend for awhile. The laughter from the room rang out for a good couple of minutes.

* Can we please just get this thing done and get Sam to Boston already. I’m just sayin’.”

And now ESPN has this today….

After a frenzy of activity by contending teams this month, it appears the Boston Celtics’ response is to add a 38-year-old point guard who has missed 15 games this season.

Three sources said that the Clippers would buy out the remainder of Sam Cassell’s contract this week and that he would sign with the Celtics assuming he passes through waivers.

So, it sounds close to a done deal.

But what about Rajon Rondo? He is getting better by the minute, it seems.

And don’t think Rajon hasn’t noticed all of the talk about needing another PG. Remember the last time the Clippers played the Celtics and Sam was playing? Rondo played with a vengeance…or a point to prove…and ate up Cassell so badly that Sam laid a hard foul on him on one of the many drives where Rondo blew by Cassell on his way to the hoop. Rajon scored a career high 24 points in that game, and looked spectacular doing it. Hello, Sam. Here is what you have to replace.

Since then, Rondo has kept up his improvement, and is getting closer and closer to what everyone thinks Rondo can be, a complete and true point guard. But Rondo offers more than that. Rajon stepped up his scoring and rebounding in a big way when Garnett went out. He was as much the reason why they continued winning as any of the other role players. Perhaps nearly as much as Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

Where Rajon is behind Cassell offensively is with his shot, and even ball distribution, which is critical in the play-offs. But he is gaining experience there every game. What Rondo can’t offer is leadership and experience. The funny thing is….the poster boy for not needing experience to win an NBA championship is…..the man who says he can offer it – Sam Cassell. Sam won a title (2 in a row actually) with the Rockets and Hakeem as a rookie point guard and played a significant part in the accomplishment.

So….couldn’t Rondo do the same? Isn’t Sam living proof of that? Ironic, isn’t it?

With Sam glad handing the Celtics already (granted, he is friends with Kevin Garnett) it seems possible this will happen very soon.

If it does, Rondo will say all of the right things. Doc will say all of the right things. Sam will say all of the right things. Well maybe not, at least for now. In fact, here is what he says about Rondo and himself in the Adande article in ESPN…

“Can I be effective with that team?” Cassell said before the Clippers played Boston Monday night. “I think that team is lacking … Rondo is a great young talent. In the playoffs, it takes more than talent to win playoff basketball games. Leadership means everything. Knowing who to get the ball to, knowing when to run, knowing when to set it up. I have experience.”

Though I’ve read that they are interested, Denver and Dallas don’t seem to have a chance. It sounds like Sam is positioning himself for the Celtics.

For the record, I’m all for getting Sam. For the reasons mentioned and one more – the referees – they will give Sam more of the benefit of the doubt than Rondo. It’s not fair. It isn’t the way it should be. But it is the way it is.

And few other things…who would you want shooting free throws near the end of the 4th quarter in a close play-off game? Sam has proven to be a clutch performer. Rondo is shooting 61.9% from the line. As good of a driver as Rondo is, Sam will be equal or better at it this year. Maybe not next year, but the team is not worried about next year.

But to add a little more fuel to the discussion…Sam was a much worse shooter (42.7%) than Rondo (50%) is today, in Sam’s 2nd year, but a much better foul shooter (84.3%). Still the move makes tons of sense. As far as defense goes, which is a main argument against Sam, he will give defenses more problems than Rondo will, at this stage of Rondo’s career.

Getting a Sam Cassell, for next to nothing is the right thing to do. As far as chemistry, it is my guess that it is Rondo’s ego that will need massaging. Rondo is very competitive. You see it in his game. You see it in his eyes when you talk to him. Rondo feels his own greatness on the near horizon. He is certainly not saying that. I am. At least that is how he plays. One day, he might be part of the ‘Big Four’ or whatever they will call them. It is possible that he could be that good.

But I will give you another fact from Cassell’s championship run as a rookie. Sam played in just 17 minutes a game as a rookie and 23 minutes in his 2nd year. So Sam had to share the position and the spotlight with a veteran named Kenny Smith (28 minutes, 4.2 assists). In the play-offs that first year, Sam averaged 21 minutes and Kenny Smith 30 minutes. Perhaps the minutes will be reversed, but I’m sure that Rondo will be willing to do the same, should the apparent pick up of ‘Sam I Am’ actually happen.

Playing for an NBA title does that to good players.

The Celtics easily beat a decimated Los Angeles Clippers team 104-76 last night.

I tried to think of a clever title, but there was little clever about the game. Celtic fans can remember games like these last year, except that the boys in green were playing out the string. 48 minutes and done.

It as kind of like a practice game. The Clippers are 19-35 and already have little to play for in a strong western conference. With little used Aaron Williams as the starting center, and Sam Cassell, ‘career year’ Chris Kaman both out, and Elton Brand and Livingston on the shelf for the season, the Clippers played like they knew they would have little chance against the league’s top team, especially when the men in green were determined to make up for starting the 5 game road trip with 3 straight losses. Two wins to finish were at least some consolation.

There was a first, as James Posey tied Paul Pierce for game honors in scoring with 17. He did it in 21 minutes with 6-8 from the floor and 4-6 from downtown. James added 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Celtics toyed with an anemic Clipper squad, as they concentrated on stopping Corey Maggette, knowing that there few were answers after him. Maggette had only 3 points at half time and finished with 11. In their last meeting, Maggette had 33.

The Celtics put the game away in the 3rd, outscoring the Clippers 32-21, for a 77-57 lead going into the 4th. Paul Pierce had 9 and Ray Allen 8 in the decisive 3rd quarter.

The Celtics defense looked good, though they did allow a weakened Clipper team 30 points in the paint. I’d have to assume that most of that occurred with Perkins and Garnett on the bench. Garnett only played 23:26 minutes, but scored 11 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 4 blocks and a steal.

Ray Allen was right behind Pierce and Posey with 15 points, but led the team with 7 assists and had 4 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Kendrick Perkins had 9 rebounds, and 6 points on a perfect 3-3 in 21 minutes.

Nine of the 11 players who played each had a steal, as they played the passing lanes well. The lead ballooned to 29 at one point, and it time to coast home after that.

Most of the team played well, but were hardly challenged by a sedated Clipper squad. There were many open looks from the perimeter, so most any misses were uncontested, as were the makes.

This was a Gabe Pruitt sighting game as Gabe played over 9 minutes and did well, scoring 6 points on 3-4 and had an assist and a steal, though the game was well decided and players were already mentally at whatever party or restaurant they planned on going to afterwards.

The Celtics head home among rumors that Cassell particularly, might be released and headed to their team. Boston plays the revamped Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night

Sorry for the delay. I watched a tape delayed version of the game, and re-watched parts of it, though I’m not sure why.

After three losses, the Boston Celtics finally won a game on this west coast trip, beating the Portland Trailblazers by 112 -102.

They trailed by 17 in the first half. Got it to 54-47 by half time and took off for a 37 point turnaround at one point in the second half.

Paul Pierce led the way with 30 points on a sparkling 12-14 from the floor and 4-5 from down town to go with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 TOs in 42:21 minutes.

Ray Allen supported that with 19 points on 7-8 shooting, another 4-5 from downtown, and 4 assists.

Rajon Rondo, and James Posey tied for third with 15 points each. Rondo added a team high 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Posey must have eaten what Pierce and Allen had, as he shot 6-8 from the field and 3-5 from downtown. Eddie House joined the 3 party with 3-5 and 11 points in just under 15 minutes. Kendrick Perkins was in foul trouble with 4 in 13 minutes, but added 5 rebounds (4 offensive) and a block, to go with 4 points.

Kevin Garnett played 31 minutes and scored 10 points on 5-15 shooting, to go with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He is still working his way back, it seems.

Brandon Roy went out in the second half with a re-aggravated sprained ankle.

After being the hottest team in the league at one point, the Blazers have fallen back to earth hard, and are 2-8 over the last 10 games, barely keeping themselves above .500.

The team shot 14-21 from the three point line in this game.

I didn’t see this one, but I’m glad the Celtics got it going today. It sounds like the Blazers didn’t want to go out and cover the shooters, setting up a hot day from beyond the line. The Celtics ended up shooting .579 to the Blazers .453, while outrebounding them 37-31.

Pierce was a driven man after his last performance and made sure it wasn’t a 4 game losing streak.

The team goes to L.A. for the Clippers, and Sam I Am Cassell, on Monday night. Maybe he will be changing uniforms after that game (Tuesday).

In some ways, I love it.

The Celtics have lost three games for first the time all season. When they were breezing through their first half schedule, I kept thinking that it can’t be this easy, can’t it?

The Celtics have been so good so easily that real adversity has been sparse. I know that they won’t agree with that. They have put in serious hard work to achieve the record they have. I don’t disagree. It has just looked easy.

But they now have a real challenge in front of them. But it is not unsurmountable. This is when we really see what they are made of – everyone from Doc Rivers to each of the team’s leaders. I think it can only help make this team better. I think it would actually help if they played more games against the best in the west. Two games against Phoenix is just not enough.

But bear in mind, the Celtics, as bad as they played, outscored the Suns for the last three quarters last night. Neither team was stellar. That was play-off basketball intensity. The Suns were adding someone who is still a force (Shaq) to be reckoned with in the middle and the Celtics were trying to play defense against one of the top offenses in the game. With Shaq now in the middle it gives Amare a license to roam and roam he did.

From figuring out what to keep, and how to keep it, from the time KG was out, (read that: Rondo’s stepped up play, mostly) to getting back to playing solid D, rebounding and still running a smooth, confident offense, the coach and team have some work to do.

Has running into high flying, high scoring west coast powerhouses had something to do with it? It sure has. Welcome, Boston to west coast ballin’….on their own courts. You don’t the calls you get at home at their places. It changes things a bit. They have to find a way to deal with it if they want to win a championship. A revamped Cavalier team, the Magic and the Pistons don’t play basketball like that. That is what makes these games a little harder. There is no one on the east coast that plays like that.

There is no question that the three leaders on this team can figure things out. They have to and they will. Paul and Ray will rarely have as bad shooting games combined as they did last night. Kevin and the other bigs will have to control the boards more and they will. They have done it all year. They will or dreams will die.

Still, it makes you wonder if Danny should fill those 2 open spots.

Celtics have interest in Barry, Magloire, and Andersen

I have no idea what big could be had. Jamal Magloire was just released from New Jersey. I’m not sure what he has left. Apparently not much. But Marc Spears of the Globe has reported that the Celtics will inquire about him.

Marc also said that the Celtics (and all of the other play-off bound west coast teams) are interested in recently released sharp shooting (43% from downtown this year, 95% Foul shooting, 68 play-off games and 2 championships) Brent Barry. The Cs look to be a long shot as he could ply his trade on the west coast which is closer to home.

The Cs are also said to be interested in soon-to-be-reinstated big man (6′ 10″ ) Chris Andersen of the New Orleans Hornets, if he is released from the team, as is expected.

Rumors abound that the Clippers are finally thinking of a buy out for Sam Cassell…again. Sam won’t play better defense than Rondo, but he can make some big time 4th quarter plays on the other end.

Anyway, this rumor has been going on for a while, we should know if there is anything to it soon. Coincidentally, March 1 is the next important date. Sam must be released by then to be included on a play-off roster on another team this season. The Celtics play the Clippers on Monday, March 3rd. They would actually have to wait until Tuesday at 6:00pm for him to clear waivers according to Marc.

The Celtics first go to Portland for a game on Sunday.