Celtics Central

They are not taking aim at Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Some Celtics have bigger things in mind like…Michael Jordan’s best Bulls teams. Their coach is aiming at the best defense ever.

Wyc Grousbeck revealed in a video interview on Media Day with Gary Tanguay, that Kevin Garnett told Rasheed Wallace that this team could be one of the greatest ever with him coming (and if things break right).

That was then. Friday night Rasheed Wallace dropped this bomb -“I think we can get that Bulls record.”

The ‘greatest team ever’ statement, was that a Kevin Garnett hyperbole meant to intrigue and entice Wallace’s imagination? Or is it something actually considered attainable?

Rasheed Wallace…

Oh definitely. Definitely, playing with those three other guys, also combining that with the guys we have on the bench, I think we definitely can. Me personally, I think we can get that Bulls record. You know we have the talent for it. We have the will for it and…I think we have the defense for it.

Do you want me to use that?

You can. Because honestly, I really do feel that. That was a good team. They had some HOFs  on there, but we have a few on this team, too.

That’s a high mark to shoot for…

Definitely.

Doc has also talked about having the best defense ever like, he uses the Chicago Bears the ’85 team, taking that kind of mentality

We want our mark to be known as a defensive team, not just high scorers.

One of the greatest ever?

Glen Davis -“We can.”

Put your ear to the ground. Listen. Quietly.

You’re thinking, ‘I don’t hear a darn thing.’

You might not. Most people aren’t hearing anything….yet. But in just a few weeks, you will. You won’t be able to miss it. There is a basketball team in Boston that thinks it can make some big noise.

The Sound of Rolling Thunder

It will be low and soft at first. You won’t know quite what you’re hearing. It will be a distinct low, constant rumble. Like a rising tide in a storm, the decibels will gradually increase as October 27th draws closer.

Paul Bunyan-esque, wait, make that… a John Henry pile driven freight train is starting to roll down the tracks.

The wind will pick up. Slowly at first, then gradually shaking doors, rattling windows and opening eyes as people look out to see what under God’s heaven is causing all the commotion.

That sound is the Boston Celtic basketball team, regrouping… make that massing for an all out assault…after reloading. But they are not simply getting ready for a season. They feel they are getting ready for The Season. A ‘Remember THAT team?’ season.

They were ‘69 wins fierce’ last year. They led the Eastern Conference Finals representatives, the Magic, 3–2 and were close to closing out the Magic in six before falling in seven games. They did it even with their fuel injection clogged a bit and a couple of cylinders out. Arguable the team’s best player, Kevin Garnett, and supersub Leon Powe were out with season ending injuries.

It was a tremendous year by most any standard. Everyone knew that repeating would require divine providence without Garnett. Other Celtics strained to make up for lost power.

People forgot that the Celtics have a few other proud warriors. They were a team that refused to accept excuses and reasons to fold up and go play golf early. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and some little guy named Rajon Rondo wanted to keep playing. Outnumbered and outflanked, like Custer, they died with their boots on.

The Celtic engine, that is Kevin Garnett,  has been surgically repaired. It just needs to be broken in, tuned. But a diabolical head mechanic and his mad scientist coach have tricked out the train with even more massive horsepower for a return season. Truly, it was the players themselves that convinced Wallace to throw in with them.

Doc, before the Knicks preseason game, was asked about getting Rasheed to commit.

Doc Rivers called it his ‘begging tour’…..

“I said, Rasheed, please come.”
(Rasheed walks by at that moment and mockingly says, ‘Hell no.’ – laughter)

“We really believe that if we allowed him to get on that flight and to go to San Antonio and to Orlando, it’d be very tough to go to both of those states (and have him consider cold winters in Boston). We thought we had to make a great imprint in his mind about being a Celtic and how important it is and I thought we did that. Kevin, Ray and Paul did that. And I thought it meant a lot to him to walk into a room and all those guys are sitting there. He didn’t know that (they would all be there).”

What did they sell him on?

‘Winning, playing together, being a team, no egos.”
Doc mugs, looks around, and with a devilish smile adds quietly, ‘hope it was true.’ (Laughter all around)

With recent comments from Doc about personal agendas last season possibly affecting team focus, we got the joke. This season, this team apparently is not joking.

Some on that train, the Boston Celtic Express, some key players themselves, think it not only could win the race, but that the team could set a new course record in doing so.

The depth of Celtic belief in themselves started to be revealed in that Media Day interview with Celtic owner Wyc Grousbeck. He revealed one interesting thing about that private meeting with Rasheed. Wyc said that Kevin Garnett told Rasheed that if he came to the Celtics they could ‘be one of the greatest teams ever.’ That is correct. One of the greatest teams…ever.

A throw away line? Maybe. Until Doc goes on NBATV and says that he wants this Celtic team ‘to be in the conversation’ as one of the…. greatest defensive teams in NBA history. No wait. Make that in sports history. And he said he was serious.

So a season’s quest to reclaim a lost title just became more than that. It is a quest for a special place in sports history. Not just the basketball and not just the NBA. Doc Rivers said that they want to be considered as the 1985 Chicago Bears are for football, as the greatest defensive team (in Doc’s opinion)…ever. Or are at least in that conversation.

For the record, the Chicago Bears that year set a few Super Bowl records. Wiki….

“The Bears set Super Bowl records for sacks (7) and fewest rushing yards allowed (7). The Bears’ 36-point margin over the Patriots was a Super Bowl record until Super Bowl XXIV (45). The Patriots were held to negative yardage (-19) throughout the entire first half, and just 123 total yards in the entire game, the second lowest total in Super Bowl history.”

Doc and this team must have looked at what it accomplished last season without a bench and without Garnett and said, with Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, and Glen Davis (resigned), that the league really doesn’t know what will hit them.

For the record:

The 1995-6 Bulls went 72-10, had the best rated offense, the best rated defense, scored 105.2 points while giving up 92.9 for a spread of 12.3 points, and beat the Seattle Supersonics 4-2 for the NBA title that year.

Is this ‘greatest team ever’ a team wide belief?

Glen Davis…

We can. With the caliber of our team, the team we have, we can do some big things here. We can do some unbelievable things. You know as far as Ray, Kevin, everybody on this is capable of starting and we just have to make sure we do what the coaches want us to do, and stick together as a team and everything will fall (into place).

The Celtics coach is shooting for best defensive team ever. Key players are shooting for best record ever. They all feel a title will follow if those things occur. Who would bet against that quinella? But can they reach such lofty goals?

So, that low deep sound you are about to hear is rolling thunder coming out of Boston. To make those kind of statements you have to be crazy, confident, or a little of both. This team’s record over the last couple of years says that the talent might be there. But it takes a few breaks and tremendous mental toughness by the core of the team to even get close to something like that.

Pat Riley once famously guaranteed a repeat title to keep his club focused on the prize. Maybe this is just what the team needs to remain focused over 82 games. They have so much talent they can mail it in and beat about half the teams in the NBA.

Adding a player like Rasheed Wallace gives the team 4 veteran all stars and a potential one in Rondo. With Perkins, Daniels, Davis, and House, they have a deep, formidable top nine.

Rolling thunder generated by a Celtic locomotive with a special place in sports history in mind starts the season on October 27 against an arch rival with a dream of their own, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Can this team do what Jordan, Pippin, Kukoc, Rodman, Harper, Kerr, and Longley did? Let the conversations begin.

Depending on which Celtic player you listen to, Doc Rivers is either the NBA’s version of the President of the United States, Barack Obama or….

a mad scientist.

Some players like Ray Allen, view Doc’s skills at dealing with the media, superstar egos and just about everyone else, as the NBA’s version of Obama. President Obama’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday elicited a strong endorsement from Ray Allen. Doc River’s ability to diplomatically keep the peace around another group of power hungry elites with their own agendas – his players – earns him the Obama tag, NBA style.

Rasheed Wallace has a different take on Doc, when asked about his taking so many threes (9)…

Hey, if Doc wants me to shoot the three, I’m not going to argue with the coach.

We definitely did a lot of positive things tonight.

Offensively, like I said, Doc is the Mad Scientist. It’s who he wants to put in there at different situations of the game…if we need the three, need the two, whatever.

Previously Wallace referred to the more clearly defined defense roles as ‘coming together’. Offense? Well, Doc is letting the veterans wing it a bit with just a few offensive sets in play right now. Instead, Doc is looking at the offense and the defense being played against it, before deciding what new ‘element’ he wants to throw into the formula. Even the bench is more versatile now.

Wallace…

We are deep. We have guys that can do it all. Guys that can shoot on the perimeter. Guys that can post up., that can rebound. We can give the first unit a helluva run in practice.

I know you’ve played center for the last three years. Do you consider your self more of a power forward that plays center (when he has to)?

Yeah, Pretty much.  For the majority of my career I was a power forward, so I see myself as a power forward playing center. You know, it’s a little different here on the east coast. You know, you can’t be a thin center so obviously over the last 5-6 years I had to boost my weight up, you know, as much as I could, to try to defend some of the bigger fives out there and so far it worked.

And that might be why some fans are seeing a slightly bigger Sheed than they expected in the pre-season.

Your appraisal of the team’s effort tonight?

Defensively, I think we (are) okay. But we definitely have the talent and energy to get better.

Don’t tell the Knicks that. They scored just 33 first half points on 27.9% shooting and had just 82 points on the game including a dismal 16% from the three point line.

Doc Rivers on a new stronger post game by the Men In Green…

Right now with him, Perk, and Kevin down low – forget the jump shots – just the post game it gives us. It’s just fantastic for us. You know, having three bigs who can post. And then Rasheed’s dimension. We scored a couple of buckets that he literally had nothing to do with the play, except for standing behind the three, but he took a five (center) out there with him, and our guards are driving down the lane, and there’s nobody there.

But if some guy in a white lab coat mixes this test tube with that test tube and pours it into the game beaker and it says Wallace should be hoisting up ‘three bombs’…Rasheed’s not going to argue. That Mad Scientist  is coach Doc Rivers talking. Rasheed argues with referees. He argues with opposing players. But Rasheed’s not arguing with his coach.

54 times to be exact…rebound that is.

The Celtics’ defense looked better than their offense tonight as you can tell that they are still getting comfortable with each other on the scoring end of the court.

They held the Knicks to 8 first quarter points on 3 of 22 shooting and never relinquished the lead.

Kendrick Perkins was supposed to be the defensive force, which he was, but he also came out offensive minded, scoring 7 first quarter points, mostly against David Lee, to lead the team. Putting that little jump shot to good use, KP finished 5 of 7 overall for 14 points and game honors.

Perkins was so good that an alley oop meant for Garnett went right in. It was a good thing, as I don’t think KG would have converted it otherwise.

The Rasheed Wallace show debuted as a Celtic. He rained three pointers, unpacked a few post moves, led the game in rebounding with 12, playeds with starters and the second unit., and finished with 13 points to tie with Ray Allen for second honors on the team.

How did Rasheed described his game?

It was okay. Mediocre. You know just trying to do things defensively. I’m not worried about no offense, you know, because shots will fall. Even though I missed my first few, that’s alright.

Kevin Garnett

The Kevin Garnett watch will be on for a while. He looked okay tonight, except he got kicked in the calf at one point. He finished with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting, and 8 rebounds. His 18 foot jumper is still there. He looks okay but not very smooth on the court yet.

Yeah, he (Jared Jeffries, I think) kicked me in the calf. That didn’t help things. A little hot pack and some ice. I thought I finished the game pretty well.

The Knee

“No, I’m not back to where I want to be. But I don’t have any worries when I go out and play. You know, I’m putting in the time. I’m putting in the work, and I’m doing everything they ask me to do, and then some.And on top of things, I’m just getting stronger. It’s about time and duration at this point. I’m not even thinking about (my knee). “

This should be a headline…Ray Allen missed three foul shots…in the first quarter. I don’t know when that last happened. Maybe high school.

Ray was active all night, and handled bringing the ball up court at times. He had 6 first quarter points to go with 2 steals and 2 rebounds.

Rajon Rondo had trouble with fouls all night. Doc kept him in there with 5 fouls at one point, but put Lester Hudson in with him and Paul Pierce brought the ball up. Rondo finished with 6 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. He looked for his jump shot early and missed a wide open ‘dare’ three pointer. Over all, he was active defensively, and the team was +16 when he was in the game.

Paul Pierce’s shooting rhythm was off early, starting 1-7,  but he finished 4 of 12 for 9 points including an emphatic, crowd pleasing reverse dunk off a pass from Garnett .

Pierce…

Oh man. I don’t know where that came from.You know, I’m good for one of those like every 20 games. So about four times a year. My legs feel fresh right now, feel pretty good. Trying to get the fans into it.

Thanks to Brian Scalabrine’s 3-4 from downtown, the Celtics shot as well from the arc (42.9% on 9 of 21) as from the field generally (43.9%).

Playing more around the middle with Rasheed on the team, Glen Davis had a productive game in 16 minutes, scoring 7 points to go with 8 rebounds, and a block.

Marquis Daniels was quiet offensively shooting just 1 of 5 but looked comfortable out there for the most part. There were times when he and Rasheed weren’t quite sure what to do with ball and ended up with difficult last second shot clock attempts. That will improve with time.

Both teams ended up with 9 steals and 18 turnovers. The Celtics held the Knicks to 37.7% shooting and the Knicks shot just 5 for 31 from the three point line, some of them were wide open looks. David Lee played center and was in foul trouble from early on, but finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes.

So the Celtics generally looked pretty good, especially defensively. Brian Scalabrine was not used at the three tonight and he was more effective filling the same role he did last season, drilling the open three and playing the power forward.

But until Bill Walker returns, Scal may be asked to slide over to the small forward position from time to time, he said, especially in practice.

Dov Rivers on the value of Rasheed Wallace…

He just spreads the floor and he has a post game. And he’s a terrific passer, too, so he does a lot for us, obviously.g Gives great spacing for our team.

Overall..

I did get a lot out of…the starters got a lot of minutes and good rhythm and they handled it very well.

Summary

So far things are looking good getting Wallace and Daniels folded into the team. Doc said they are going with a greatly simplified playbook right now and are just letting the veterans play fundamental basketball with about 5 different offensive sets (which each have variations). The starting five will come together soon enough.

I’ll be there when the Knicks travel to Boston for the Celtics’ second pre-season game tonight at 7:30pm. The Knicks are coming off a win over the New Jersey Nets 115-107. Not that that means anything in an early pre-season game.

The Green Machine

The Celtics are coming off a loss to the Houston Rockets 96-90 with a 4th quarter collapse 26-15.  Kevin Garnett looked good limited minutes, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce likewise. Rasheed Wallace blocked three shots, got his first technical, and had his moments. Marquis Daniels impressed in his Celtic debut. Glen Davis was productive with 9 points and 4 boards, Rondo was a bit sluggish, while Perkins made his presence felt with 5 fouls.

Rookie guard Lester Hudson took it to the hole for 9 foul shot attempts and 9 points total.  Eddie House put in 9 more and the entire roster (save Tony Allen – sore ankle) got substantial minutes. I expect that those minutes will sift down to potentially meaningful players going forward. New comer and former lottery pick from Duke, Shelden Williams, was solid defensively and grabbed 5 boards.

The Celtics are stronger than last season and some say are stronger up and down the line up than even their 2008 Championship team. Expectations and spirits are high as they get ready for another championship run.

Tryin’ Brian

One area to watch is 6′ 9″ Brian Scalabrine being tried as a back up small forward, behind Paul Pierce. He is being watched as he guards opposing threes. It is one area that wasn’t remedied in off season acquisitions. With Bill Walker out for 6-8 weeks, and no real replacement added to fill that James Posey role, it will come down to Scalabrine or Daniels.

My guess is that Daniels will get the bulk of those assignments and help will be looked for during the season. Brian’s strength is as a mobile power forward. He did a great job of stretching defenses with his three point shooting from the PF position last season. He also played some effective defense against power forwards and even centers occasionally, in what was his best year as a Celtic. but keeping up with the quickness of NBA’s ultra athletic small forwards might be asking a bit too much of the ultimate team player.

But ask Brian to run through a wall for you and he’ll give it his best shot. Even if he ends up with a concussion…or three, as he did last season. I think that any success Scal has with defending threes will be to back off a little to play the drive and use his length to contest the jumper. If he gets up in somebody’s grill, they will probably draw the foul or blow by him a bit too often for it to work. That’s my guess anyway. Wouldn’t be great if Brian rises to the occasion, though?

The Knicks

Expect a similar team to last season from the Knicks. They are trying to keep things open for the big free agent bonanza next summer, so they didn’t make any dramatic moves. They were expected to loose either David Lee or Nate Robinson to free agency this past summer, but ended up re-signing both to one year contracts. That was a pleasant bonus for Knick fans.

Coach Mike D’Antoni says he’ll go with a veteran line up right now. That means PG Chris Duhon, SG Larry Hughes, SF Al Harrington, PF David Lee, and C Darko Milicic unless Wilson Chandler goes at SF and moves Harrington to PF,  Darko to the bench and Lee to center. Either way, that actually makes sense.

Edit – Danilo Gallinari (SF) and Wilson Chandler (SG) started, moving David Lee to center

The Knicks spent a lot of prime time playing time developing the versatile 6′ 8″ Chandler last season. I really like him, but I think he had a bit too much freedom last year, especially shooting. He has a lot of tools and his potential is intriguing. A bit more discipline this season should help his game.

D’Antoni and Walsh failed to land a starting point guard to send Duhon to the bench, though he tried with overtures to both Ramon Sessions and Jason Kidd. So Duhon, one of Donnie Walsh’s earliest decisions as Knick head man, will be it again…for right now.

Power forward/center 7′ 0″ Darko Milicic was their only off season addition, besides their draft picks.He actually fills a hole on this team. They had no shot blockers, interior defenders on this squad last year. Darko will bring that to the table. Though Milicic has had a spotty and largely disappointing NBA career, this may be his best opportunity of all. He wants to be able to spot up for his outside shot, a strength, al a European big man style, and he may get permission to do so here.

Al Harrington is supposed to be in great shape and with a ‘I want to retire here’, good guy attitude. Danilo Gallinari is looking like a solid pick up as a skilled big man and Euro draft choice from last season. But coming off the bench for now is a good thing. He is only 21 and has a lot of time to learn the game.

Nate Robinson, the man without a defined position, meaning a point guard who isn’t really, returns after being unable to draw a contract out of another NBA team. Still, Nate brings one man offense, lots of energy, has added a little defensive disruption to his game, and entertainment value to a team that is treading water this season.

The rookie additions for the Knicks are 6′ 10″ Jordan Hill out of Arizona, and 6′ 2″ Toney Douglas from Florida State. Hill, a lottery pick, should see some regular minutes this season.

Note of disappointment: No more Quentin Richardson to talk big and play small while trying to aggravate Paul Pierce. After what seemed like a 30 team, 50 state tour, Q ended up in Miami…..for now.

I’ll give you the sights and sounds after the game. Have a great week-end!

Next on the NBA merry go-round-the-league are the Chris Paul led Hornets.

Here is the low down in Big Easy by….

At The Hive

And here’s a portion….

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

New Orleans did its fair share of wheeling and dealing. Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor was the headliner, with the Hornets swapping out a defensive ace with injury questions. Okafor enters the season nursing his own injury, but the hope is he can offer more consistent minutes than Chandler did in ’09. The Hornets also saved money by offloading Rasual Butler and Antonio Daniels. Via the draft, Chris Paul‘s new backup- Darren Collison- joined the team, as did Marcus Thornton, a potential scoring threat off the bench. Toss Darius Songaila into the forward mix, and the Hornets enter 2009-2010 with a significantly different look and feel….

The NBA blogger preview continues with a team in constant rebuilding mode (even when they had Pau Gasol) , no not the Timberwolves or Clippers…the Memphis Grizzlies

Over the din of advice not to, by his team’s management, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley signed one of the NBA’s IAM (It’s About Me) players, Allen Iverson, to put fannies in the arena.

Read the whole Three Shades of Blue breakdown, but here’s a tidbit…

1. What significant moves were made in the off-season?

Signing Allen Iverson is the most significant off-season move the Grizzlies have made since trading for Pau Gasol and drafting Shane Battier the summer of 2001. Iverson brings star power never before seen in the Bluff City…

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Grizzlies are talented now at all five starting positions and off the bench. Not many if any teams can claim to have six players who scored at least 30 points in an NBA game last season. O J Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Iverson are all capable of having huge nights at any time. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol will need to find a way to get shots in the offense but are capable of scoring whenever teams forget about them as well…

Keeping up with Jeff Clark’s NBA carousel of team previews, here is the Houston Rockets breakdown by….

The Dreamshake…

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

From a position perspective the team’s biggest strength is the power forward slot.  Few, if any teams in the NBA can boast a 3 deep rotation of starter quality players at any position.  The Rockets have Luis Scola, Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes.  Each brings something different to the table with Scola being the most complete player.  He is likely to be the Rockets biggest star this season.  My prediction is that he will earn a spot on the All Star team this year, but won’t actually get in.  I also predict that he will be listed as the number one snub by every respectable writer around.  If Carl Landry can continue to add some shooting touch from beyond 12 feet he will take a huge step forward in his career.  At 26 years old, this is the season where he will define who he is as a player.

From a team perspective defense will keep the Rockets in games that their scoring will say they have no business being in….(check it out and see)

Ballerblogger.com…

2) What are the team’s biggest strengths?

One word: Defense. Even without Yao’s presence in the paint, this is going to be a formidable defensive team. They’ve got two of the best wing defenders in the league (Ariza and Shane Battier), a great defensive point guard (Kyle Lowry), and a trio of strong (if undersized) defensive post players (Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola and Carl Landry). They won’t block a ton of shots or force a bunch of turnovers, but they give up nothing easy.

Instead of trying to add further insight into a game I didn’t actually see, I thought it would be a much better idea to let you listen to the Celticsstufflive crew break it down on their post game podcast.

Click the link to Celticssufflive’s brand new website here and down load the show and listen up.

Here is the summary intro to the show…

Justin and Jon took to the internet following the Celtics 1st preseason game of 2009, a loss to the Houston Rockets 96-90.  The Celtics jumped out to an early lead and Kevin Garnett looked strong, handling a hard foul under the basket by Brian Cook.  He also began his recovery effort by nailing that pattened elbow jumper of his from the left side.  Rasheed Wallace got a predictable “T” and Marquis Daniels displayed penetration, drive n’ dish, and fadeaway capabilities as well as difficulty in knocking down his FT’s.  We spent an hour talking on those topics in addition to Lester Hudson, Scals at the 3, and Kendrick Perkins confidence factor.