Celtics Central

I have to get this out there before the play-offs start.

I don’t want it to look like I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

As a Celtic fan, I’ve thought about Doc Rivers quite a bit over the last few years. My thoughts have varied as to whether he is a good coach or not. There are still some unanswered questions. But not many.

I’ve basically decided that Glenn Rivers, the person, is someone anyone would benefit to be around. A while ago, I also decided that Doc Rivers does far more right as a coach than he does that could be questioned. Not that things couldn’t be questioned. But questioning the decisions of a coach whose team leads the league in wins from gate to gate is for the brave, curmudgeons, and those who simply won’t let the facts get in their way. It is even more difficult when his team is playing team ball, leading the league in the most important defensive categories, and sharing the ball in a way that purists simply delight in to watch. As the saying goes, (only) fools go where wise men fear to tread. Besides, what is there to complain about?

Ironically, the Celtic message board threads are shorter. There are few things to debate, almost nothing to complain about, and a whole lot to just quietly admire this season. How many times and how many ways can you say, “These guys are unbelievable.”

It was Doc’s idea to play the stars heavy minutes early, his idea when to start to cut them back, and who to start incorporating more into the offense. It was his idea to bring Rondo along with kid gloves early in the season. Remember those early games when Rondo would simply cross mid court, pass the the ball to Pierce or Ray Allan and run to his spot on offense? Remember when Glen Davis and Leon Powe were DNP-CDs? James Posey became a 2 position player from the get-go and since has played more minutes as a power forward, than a small forward. That is a Doc decision.

Doc has masterfully managed the three stars minutes this season. They broke from the gate fast. Doc pulled back the reigns when it was time, has hardly has to use a whip, and eased up going into the home stretch. He used the bench quite heavily at the end. They still won by multiple lengths. This Celtic steed is as prepared and rested as any team heading into the play-offs.

Now he has that rare opportunity to demonstrate he has the ability to captain a ship that brings home the ultimate NBA prize, the NBA Championship Title.

The play-offs will answer whatever questions remain.

In my mind, I’m rooting for Doc. Doc stands for a lot of things I believe in. He is not a screamer or micro manager of the game. Sometimes last year, I wished he were. He is a players’ coach. He is a people person. He gives players time off for the birth of their children, and family emergencies. He’s not a ‘two-a-day’ coach. He won’t burn out the players with practices. He considers the talent he has, the risk and the importance of such things to his veterans. As James Posey said recently, he won’t beat you over the head all the time. He communicates in an effective but more respectful way. But I think it would be a mistake to think he is soft.

Every Celtic has mentioned personal accountability this season. Everyone. They got that from Doc Rivers. It sounds more like a father talking to his children, not a coach of multi-millionaire, highly egotistical basketball players. But they buy what Doc’s selling. Maybe it’s because Doc’s not selling, he’s just telling. Telling it like it is. Doc’s authentic and he is smart. He can be an original thinker.

Doc’s effective fatherly approach, I’m sure, came from having a strong father in his own life. We received a special insight into Glenn Rivers very early in the season when his own father, Grady Alexander Rivers, passed away on November 4.

From Marc Spears Globe article…

“While many of Rivers’s friends’ fathers were incarcerated or dead, his parents were always near.

“We were there because so many parents weren’t,” Grady Rivers told the Globe in an Oct. 1, 2006 story.”

From the great gift of Doc’s committed parents, Doc learned the value of commitment. When you talk with Celtic players about Doc, you get a sense of respect and deep appreciation and understanding of Doc’s commitment to them.

Through what must be Doc’s biggest personal tragedy, the death of his beloved father, we got to see Doc in a special light. Doc returned on the very night of the funeral to coach the team. His mother told him to go. Grady would have wanted it that way. It was a deeply meaningful moment. The team won their 5th straight that night to start the season undefeated. It is really sad to know that Doc won’t be able to share this incredible season with him. I’m sure that Grady is looking down and smiling.

In a league where every stat is looked at and judged under a thousand microscopes, Doc recently said about the 66 win season, the biggest turnaround in NBA history and 3rd best regular season ever on the winningest franchise in NBA history…

“What difference does it make? That is not what we were playing for.”

After their incredible run of wins was broken, and everyone was somberly asking what the team’s reaction was, Doc shrugged and said, “We’re okay. Nobody died.”

That is vintage Doc.

He is already a very good coach. He has proven that. He is better at some things than others. But I think he knows that.

I haven’t seen who in the Celtics was the initiator of trying to bring in Larry Brown or getting Tom Thibodeau. But Doc was willing to accept having micro manager Larry Brown as an assistant. (He played for Larry briefly in 1991-92 while on the Clippers. Larry was hired to coach the inept Clippers. He came in for the last 35 games and turned them around with a 23-12 record.)

Doc accepted Tom Thibodeau to bring his defensive knowledge to bear on his team. Every indication is that he welcomed him with open arms. But you must know that Doc never thought it was a weak point of his. Before Tom T. was hired, Doc said that he would handle the defense himself this season. As Doc has asked his players to subdue their egos for the good of the team, he has modeled the behavior for them.

You can question his understanding and non-use of some of his own players. Ryan Gomes and Leon Powe have seemed to be overlooked NBA talents sitting on his bench. But his understanding of most of his roster has been quite good. Occasional substitutions (or lack of them) may be curious. But by and large, Doc has got it right in this very different season.

He has done something quite difficult. He has molded a highly disciplined team without being a disciplinarian. He molded a highly committed team by being highly committed.

Fans of drill sargeant coaches may not like him for that reason. It is one of the reasons I do like him. I used to think that player motivation was not his strong suit. In a certain way it is not. The team will not come out to start a game on fire because Doc Rivers preached up a storm in the locker room. If they do, it will be for other reasons.

I have come to understand that Doc tries to motivate your mind, not your emotions. You can only play on emotion for so long. But if he can get you to change the way you think when you play, it will last longer.

Yet, there is no question he is in charge. He lets you know who is boss. Just ask Sam Cassell. He of the ‘huge ones’. Sam came in expecting to play minutes right away. Doc will let you know when he thinks you should get minutes. In a surprise to some, Sam has waited his turn and patiently deferred to Doc. Message sent. Message received. Sam’s adjusted.

Now Doc’s adjusting for Sam. Sam says he loves playing for Doc. Sam’s not alone.

Kevin Garnett said earlier in the year, in (perhaps overly) dramatic fashion, that he would die for Doc. A more telling statement could not be said.

Make no mistake, Doc is not a K.C Jones or a Jimmy Rogers, who were also handed talent laden rosters that would win with most any coach. Doc has shown successful coaching ability before. He is more like Joe Torre, but a with better record than Joe had before he came to the Yankees. Like Joe, Doc seems to understand people. Joe was not perfect and neither is Doc. But both understood the rhythms of a game and of a season and how to keep things focused – on and off the court.

Paul Pierce said in the last post game how much hard work it is to manage all those egos, and how well Doc has done. There is no doubt about that.

Doc Rivers takes credit for nothing and will deflect compliments in a self-deprecating way. In an Auerbachian way, it’s all about the players.

The Celtics embark on the first step of the final leg of the journey on Sunday night. Everything rides on it.

Whatever success the Celtics achieve this season, just remember…a Rivers runs through it.

You have heard about the Cider House Rules. There are also Celtic House Rules.

They instituted them in the pre-season (I’m guessing) and are considered cardinal rules of a sort for the team to live by and to hang their collective hats on when things get cock-eyed a bit, out on the floor. What I didn’t know is that they are a state secret. Silly me.

In the course of asking Tony Allen a few questions before the last game of the regular season last night, one of the questions was how he feels about Atlanta.

It’s just about watching those films, knowing the coverages, knowing what the players like to do at the perimeter and just basically sticking to all our defensive principles. Rules that you know, we went over all year.

I mentioned that Doc would sometimes have to remind them at half time of some games of their defensive principles or ‘rules’.

Things might not be quite going right in the first half of a game, and players would be coming into the locker room saying that ‘we need to do this’, ‘we need to do that’ and Doc would say, “We’re not changing anything. We just need to keep doing what we’re supposed to be doing and everything will straighten itself out” (paraphrase)

Tony agrees….

Right. When that comes, that’s when we make adjustments.

Or maybe…not make adjustments? Just do the core things they’ve been taught…better? What are those rules?

I can’t really explain that in the papers right now. But we know what they (are) and that’s pretty much it.

It seems to be kind of like…secret principles. They could tell you but…you know.

Yet, I wanted to take a stab at it and see if I was right. (I thought I heard the team talk a few times this season about ‘not switching’ on defense if at all possible. You are supposed to fight through the picks, be aware to not get picked if at all possible, or recover very quickly if you are picked.)

Part of it is ‘not switching, right? Sticking with your man?

Tony…

Watch the game man. You’ll find out!

With a gleam in his eye, Tony smiles mischievously as I understand that our time together is ending.

If I’m guessing, my guess is that the principles are:

1) get back on D.
2) Pick up your man quickly
3) Stay with him through picks
4) Stay between him and the basket
5) rotate and help when the first four rules breakdown
6) no lay-ups
7) no open shooters

Two big FBI agents drag me off to another room with a single chair and a spotlight shining on me as they interrogate me to find out what I knew. It soon became clear. I knew very little.

“Quick, what’s the capital of Wisconsin?”

“Ummm. Cheddar Cheese! ” I blurted out. (insanity, don’t fail me now)

They breathed a sigh of relief and I was released back among the herd of wild reporters once again. Perhaps they were hoping I would soon be isolated from the herd and suffer starvation just like it happens in those National Geographic specials. Not a chance. I knew the way to the cafeteria blind folded.

Whatever the defensive principles are, they have done an impressive job with them. They will be even more important from here on out. Let the play-offs begin

The Nets got the Powe-House combo. The Celtics got richer..by one win.

The Celtics finish the regular season at 66-16, their 3rd best season ever. They lead the NBA from gate to gate, setting an uncatchable pace from game one.

Leon Powe had a career high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Eddie House sparked the 3rd quarter burst for an eleven point swing to take back the lead.

And don’t leave out Tony Allen either. He added 18 points on 5 of 9 from the floor and 8-8 from the foul line. All while playing his usual effective defense.

It was a solid game by one of Boston’s solid unsung players. Tony is viewed by many as the wild card, or X factor for the Celtics in the play-offs. It has been established that Tony plays more effectively with sizable minutes. He got those this evening (32 plus minutes). He brings a defensive element and a fearless attack mentality the team can really use at times. It hasn’t been an easy year for Tony. How far back from that injury is Tony?

I just look at it as progress. I can’t really give a percent. I feel good some days. Some days it’s rough on me. I just look at it like… hey, I got through a full year, knock on wood, I got through a full year healthy. And that lets you know my strength and conditioning people are A-1. Best in the league, I could say because it’s tough injury, and I bounced back from it.

Tony had 10 fourth quarter points on 3-3 shooting, 4-4 from the line, 3 rebounds and an assist.

A play-off ready Celtic team ended the regular season with a solid win against a Nets team that is in transition, 105-94.

In what was a final tune up for the play-offs, Doc gave Sam Cassell some minutes with the starters and the bench players were given big minutes again to build their confidence, though that’s not what we will see going forward.

Doc regarding the value of the bench finishing together…

Oh it’s valuable. I doubt that you’ll see all five of them in together in the play -offs, but it gives each one individually a lot of confidence. Of that stretch,…that was probably the most important part of this last two weeks, is keeping our starters fresh, with rhythm, and giving our bench confidence.

The starters, minus Rajon Rondo (DNP – CD), did an acceptable job, but played less than 20 minutes each. The second unit played the majority of the minutes and won the game for the Cs. Led by the Medium Three (Powe, House, And Allen).

Glen Davis played one of his better games in a while, hit a few jumpers and was part of the run to retake the lead. He finished with 8 points and 5 boards.

Leon Powe…

We just had to try and get momentum back on our side. Baby hit a jumper in the corner, and that’s what started it.. That’s what got the momentum back on our side and from there on we kept the pressure up. The defense, and force some turnovers…got some loose balls and scored the ball a little bit.

Leon Powe’s improvement has been significant in the second half of the season. He unveiled his offensive repertoire this evening. He hit a few jumpers including a high arcing fade away I’ve never seen him shoot before. He was his usual tenacious self around the hoop on lay-ups and he threw down a monster dunk in traffic that would have broken fingers if someone had tried to stop it. Powe had twelve 4th quarter points.

Most telling about Doc’s mindset and what he’s preached to the team time and again this season, is to key your eye on the final goal. Did they meet expectations Doc?

Didn’t have any. I honestly didn’t. I told the guys before the game….if we had won 70, if we had won 50, if we had won 40, if we had won 60…..does that matter at all to anybody in this room?….And the answer is no, it doesn’t matter. It’s not what we’re playing for. So, why have an expectation of a number? Because that’s not what we are playing for.

The Nets they played tonight no longer have their three stars. They traded Jason Kidd and are now run by former Dallas Maverick, Devin Harris. What is the difference between a Jason Kidd Nets and a post Jason Kidd Nets? Josh Boone said this about the Nets with Devin Harris vs. Jason Kidd…

When the trade was made it completely changed the structure of our team. We became a much faster team, in that Devin is a little bit quicker than J. We fast break about the same. It’s just a little bit different because Devin does it with the dribble where as Jason always used to pass it ahead.

But…at least at home, we’ve been scoring more points. We just haven’t been stopping people. So that’s been the issue for us… Ever since the trade was made, our defense has been just going downhill. I don’t think it’s a matter of personnel. We’ve just been concentrating on scoring, not so much on stopping the ball.

So the Nets will pack their bags and head home. The Celtics will pack the practice court and watch film of the Atlanta Hawks, their first round opponent this week-end.

How ready are the Celtics for the play-offs?

Ray Allen…”We couldn’t be anymore ready. We’ve gone through a lot and we couldn’t be anymore excited than we are now.”

Boston brings their remarkable regular season to a close tonight against a team many thought would be play-off bound themselves.

The New Jersey Nets season never developed into anything resembling a play-off season and Jason Kidd was traded away for Devin Harris, Desagna Diop, and Maurice Ager.

Rod Thorn believes they are reshaping, not rebuilding, and will be in the play-off hunt next season.

Doc Rivers says that Rajon Rondo may not play this evening to give him a rest, and to give Sam Cassell more minutes. Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen will play, though limited minutes again.

It has been an incredible run so far and the second season is just about to begin.

The Atlanta Hawks are Boston’s first round opponents, Boston swept the 3 games, but the Hawks showed signs of life in each game.

New Jersey has some young players who may become solid NBA players with time. Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Sean Williams could make a solid supporting cast around Devin Harris, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. Nenad Krystic is continuing to get back into form after recovering from a lengthy rehab.

Lawrence Frank has been given a vote of confidence from ownership and should be back next season.

Doc Rivers makes his final tweaks before the Celtics take on the Hawks in Round One of the Eastern Conference Play-offs.

I’ll be there as the one curtain closes before another one opens.

Boston won another game without the big three playing as Doc gave Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett the night off.

The Celtic subs plus Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins brought home the team’s 65th win by the score of 99-93 over the New York Titanics.

The point guard tandem of Rondo and Cassell did the biggest damage scoring with 23 and 22 points. Well, Cassell wasn’t really a point guard, as I had as many assists as he did this evening in almost 31 minutes.

Rondo led the team with 10 rebounds and 5 assists as well. Many of Rondo’s shots were high on the difficulty charts. He had his outside shot going and dropped in some crazy off balance stuff to boot. He was 11-15 as he shot over Nate Robinson time after time. Cassell did have 5 rebounds.

James Posey got the nod at small forward, contributing 15 points on 5 for 11 from three point land. He also had 3 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Glen Davis added 13 points and 9 boards in 29 minutes. Leon Powe started at power forward and added 10 points and 5 boards in 19 minutes.

With Eddie Curry and Stephon Marbury out, the Knicks actually played a close game for much of the contest. They led a few times in the second half, even after withstanding an 18-2 run by the Celtics to take the lead.

With the unusual line up, the Celtics struggled a bit at times and only managed 13 assists on their 37 made baskets. They shot a solid .481 from the floor, and did try to run a purposeful offense, though not exactly one like we are used to…obviously.

After the Knicks took a lead of 75-73 entering the 4th quarter, the Celtics ‘point’ guards lived up to their name, putting up lots of points up to finish the Knicks. Rondo’s 9 and Cassell’s 12 fourth quarter points combined for 21 of the Celtics 26.

Thanks to hitting some icebergs named Selfishness, Stupidity, and Arrogance, the Knicks’ ship has been taking on water like the Titanic since early in the season. It’s about to sink for good. Boston swept the beleaguered Knickerbockers 4-0 this season.

New Knick President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh was in attendance to oversee what was probably Isaiah Thomas’ last home game as the Knicks’ coach. Whether Thomas remains with the organization, remains to be seen. He is being paid a lot of money to just jettison him in an overhaul.

The rest tonight for the Boston Three Star (BTS) Express means they will play in the final home on Wednesday night against the Nets according to Doc.

Not much more to say. Everyone is just waiting for the play-offs to begin.

BTW… The Hawks clinched tonight, so they will be Boston’s 1st round opponent. Celtic Nation is just waiting for the second season to start. Boston is loaded, rested, and as prepared as they can possibly be. Doc Rivers has done a great job getting the team to this point.

Soon the real wars begin.

James Posey has turned out to be the key off season acquisition, post Garnett for this Celtic team.

At that time, he looked like he would be big…and he has been. He has been everything the team, fans, Doc Rivers and, I would guess, ownership would have hoped he would be. As it turns out, he was much more.

5th Best Defensive Rating in the NBA

Who would have thought James Mikley Mantell Posey would have has the 5th best defensive rating in the entire NBA, according to Basketball-Reference.com? Link

Let me note that he is one of 5 Celtics in the top 11 in the league, which is no surprise because this year’s Celtics have the best defensive numbers in the league in all of the key areas. It makes perfect sense.

But he is the only reserve to crack that group. The other 4 Celtics are all starters.

Just as in war, team sports is a battle. It is a between you, your team mates, and the enemy – the other team.

In the ultra macho world of male sports, the fraternity of males bonding in the form of hugs is nothing unusual. But it usually occurs after a game or in a group embrace before the contest, whatever sport it may be. James Posey’s now widely known pre-game ritual sends each Celtic starter into battle with a hug and a whispered message.

I was unaware of it before this year, but James Posey’s pre-tip-off hugs of his team’s starters was something he been doing for years now.

“It actually started, I say, when I got traded to Houston and that was just a couple of team mates. Then from Houston I went to Memphis, it was pretty much…(just) some team mates at the beginning, but then at the end, it was all my team mates, then from there I went to Miami, it was the same thing.”

Another reporter asked, “Do your past team mates miss it?

“Nah, they ain’t gonna say that! (laughter all around)

It’s just my way of letting guys know, before they go out there, ‘Y’all, we’re in this together’ (still) and all these years, I say something different every game for the most part.”

To have a personality on the team like that is special. I mean…really unique. Chemistry can be an elusive thing. Yet, it is critical for winning in team sports. Doc has said that James is like an extension of the coach, and that is one of the unknown bonuses that James Posey brings. The fact that supposedly jaded stars like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen have accepted it, is a credit to who Posey is as a human being. It is also a credit the the three stars and the rest of the team. They are in it for each other and team comes first.

Speaking of this team….What was the biggest surprise for him about this team, now that we are near the end of the season?

“….How we gelled so early and had that chemistry going. I mean, that’s rare [for most teams]. With the type of talent we had and the guys we had, coming in early. We got know each other, on and off the court. I think that was key for us. Then we had the trip overseas. That really brought us closer together. And then..these guys in here…they’re very competitive. That’s fun. We like hanging around with each other on and off the court.”

When asked if he was ever around a group of guys like that before…

“Not at all. Even in Miami, we didn’t start gelling until March, for the most part. Then we started hitting our stride.”

This team did gel early and kept getting better and more balanced in scoring on the court as the year went on.

“We enjoy being around each other. Going out to eat, going to each other’s houses, you know, just hanging out. I just wish every team you (were) a part of understood this, and had, you know what I’m saying, the same feeling each guy brings into this locker room. At the end of the day it’s about winning and enjoying the process and being happy for your team. And sticking with each other through the course of the season.”

You have had a number of head coaches. What is different about Doc that makes this work?

James was silent for a number of seconds as he thought a little deeper for a moment…

“His communication skills with the players. Everyone communicating back and forth. He’s not always talking at you and beating you over the head with everything, because he played, he understands a little bit. You can have a conversation with him and tell him how you feel and he tells you what he sees, and then you like..okay… I understand that. That you can get things off your chest, instead of keeping things bottled up. You gotta have that communication with the coach. That’s been key with us.”

Then James thought of a specific example of Doc’s unique style….

Even in tight situations, he still has that sense of humor or is able to relate and communicate with us so we can get the job done.

It was crazy… (pause)…we (were) in Orlando and we were down big and we were shorthanded a little bit, and he came in the huddle, I think Rondo went down, and he said, “(expletive) you guys bring it in. Just go out there and play hard. We got tomorrow off! (laughter)

See, we were already down, getting smacked and everything, and at that point in time that’s how he talked to us and we fought ourselves, got back in the ball game. We lost on a last second shot. Things like that. Not just pounding us over the head. He made us just relax and we got back in the game. That (moment) sticks out as the main thing as far as Doc being (good) communication-wise.”

James went on to say that Doc also cares about the players beyond basketball. He knows that players have other things going on. Does that make a more committed team?

James says yes. His final testament to Doc’s way being effective…

“He knows you have families. But we got guys, on off days, you still see most of our team in there. Guys doing cardio, lifting weights, get their shots up, getting treatment, and whatever. I’ve been on teams where…when you say ‘day off’…they gonna take that day off, you ain’t see nobody around there. They (are) gone!” (chuckles)

That is a direct credit to Doc?

“Yeah. He’s respecting us as being veterans and getting our work done without him beating us across the head. Guys still come around here like that.

He’s leading us. But on top of that, we take responsibility for when we mess up. From Ticket to the last man on the bench. You have to respect that. You don’t always have a coach who does things like that.”

James is sold on Doc, the team is sold on James, and this is what James Posey gives you as a player, statistically and otherwise:

His Defense

Doc Rivers has surprised many by playing Posey at the 4 for much of the season. Posey has responded with great defensive efforts most of the time, while giving the team a floor spreader at the other end. He can’t be left alone at the 3 point arc.

Besides solid fundamental positioning, staying in front of his player, etc., his defense includes multiple deflections most every game, and seems to come up with steals at critical moments. He draws charges, and will put a hard foul on you when it is required. He will get into opponents heads. He will frustrate his opponent. He is consistently solid. As expected, James is one of the key cogs in this vaunted Celtic defense.

Offense

He has hit a number of big three point shots over the course of the season and has made some clutch free throws to help win some games. Many of his threes seem to be a part of runs to keep Celtic rallies going. It’s kind of like that player in a baseball line-up who keeps a scoring rally going by getting another key hit to move the runners along or bring another run in to destroy the opponents morale. Posey pours oil on the fire. Picking his spots, and using his picks, James can drive and finish or dish it for a better shot.

Initially, I thought Posey might be used more offensively than he has been. Something along the lines of his most offensively productive year (12-14 points per game) at Memphis was possible, in my mind.

That year (03/04) this may surprise you (it surprised me) but, according to Basketball-reference.com James Posey was:

1) 3rd in the league in true shooting pct at .614%
2) 6th in offensive rating
3) 10th in win shares (30)
4) 14th in offensive win shares – ahead of guys like McGrady, Billups and Reggie Miller

Of course your team has to be winning to get win shares, but Posey was a big reason offensively that Memphis won 50 games that season under Hubie Brown.

James Posey on Hubie Brown…

“He kept it simple for us. He made it fun. (like here) guys liked playing with each other.”

James can start against the other team’s best forward, as well as anchoring the second unit’s defensive efforts. Though James comes off the bench here, Posey has been a starter on other teams, even the championship Miami Heat team. In fact, James started much of the year that season, only to be moved to the bench for the play-offs, to let Antoine Walker start. The moved worked well for both players and the team.

James was one of two players suspended for a few games by Pat Riley for not meeting team body fat standards. Antoine Walker was the other. Astoundingly, Shaq was not. If you are wondering just how out of shape Posey was, don’t fret too hard. The team’s standard was no more than 8% body fat. Posey was at 9%. I find it hard to believe that Shaq was carrying less than 10%, yet no suspension there, was there?

As a Celtic, Posey doesn’t look out if shape, or have conditioning problems, though he certainly doesn’t look like a weight room freak either.

In terms of off season pick-ups to revolve around the anointed threesome, James has been the most important pick up for the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics had already signed Eddie House and Scot Pollard within 9 days of making the trade for Garnett on July 31. They added Posey on August 27. This signing was the most significant of the post-Garnett signings. It legitimized Boston’s chances to go places in the eyes of many previous skeptics.

After making $6.4 million the previous season, he was signed for a 2 year deal worth $3.2 mil this year with a player option for $3.5 next season. It’s been reported that Eddie House had called James and helped convince him to come to Boston to help try and win a championship.

From this point forward, Boston had, at least, a solid 8 man rotation. With House, Tony Allen and Posey coming off the bench, Boston’s starters had a modicum of real bench support.

With Davis, Powe and now PJ Brown all performing well, maybe James will get to play a little more at the 3, his natural position. But wherever Doc plays him, James will give you what you see in the stat column and a whole lot more.

A little over a year ago (2/14/2007), The Sun Sentinel of Florida reported how important Posey was to the Heat. It was assumed Posey was on the way out as trade rumors surfaced…

” That thinking should stop. Now.

If nothing else, recent games have proven the value of Posey, particularly fourth-quarter value, when his relentless approach has helped put away victories against San Antonio and Portland.

The acquisition of (Eddie) Jones seems to have inspired Posey. His play alongside Jones has provided the Heat with a defensive lineup that continually has flustered the opposition.”

That is what James does. He has been doing it all season. Now he does it for a coach he respects and team mates that really like each other. What could be better? Answer: Adding another NBA championship to his resume with that coach and those team mates.

If this was baseball, Sam Cassell would have gotten a save.

After the Hawks had tied the game in the third quarter, they came out and took the lead back in the 4th with 2 three pointers by Mike Bibby to go up 84-78.

At that point, the Celtics point guard ‘reliever’ Sam Cassell took over and pitched his way to another Celtic win. He scored 15 fourth quarter points, on 6 of 9 shooting, including two three pointers, as the Cs went out to outscore the Hawks 21-5 to win 99-89.

Sam did it while running Boston’s 2nd unit. He provided the knockout punch while the rest of the unit provided the defense. It was a nice combo to KO the Hawks. Oops. Now I’m doing a boxing metaphor. Whatever.

The Celtics starters did well, but the bench provided the spark to put the game away. Cassell, Davis, Brown, Posey, and Tony Allen comprised the 4th quarter line-up and brought the team’s 64th victory home against their most likely 1st round opponent. But the Celtics biggest lead of the game was only 11 points. It doesn’t sound significant, but that’s a little unusual for a Celtic win. I’m sure that Atlanta was trying to show that they can play with the big boys.

Mike Bibby has been a difference maker for this Hawk team. The Hawks played the Men In Green just about even when he was in there. Since his arrival 31 games ago, the Hawks have gone 17-13 and have won 7 of the last 10 to be close to elevating into the play-offs for the first time in 9 years. Mike has averaged 14.1 points and 6.7 assists as a Hawk.

This is from my interview with Coach Woodson from the last time the Hawks played in Boston. They had just gotten Bibby…

“He brings us more leadership. He brings us a point guard that’s capable of running a basketball team…something that I really hadn’t had since I’ve been here. Plus he can score the ball. He’s very crafty in terms of making plays for guys around him. Our guys are really starting to grow with him, considering that it’s only been 7 games with him.”

At that time, rumors were swirling that Woodson’s job was on the line. While he wouldn’t address those rumors, his answer spoke directly to how he viewed some of the difficulties of trying to playing winning basketball without a PG who can run a team. Since then they are over .500, proving Mr. Woodson correct and perhaps not such a bad coach afterall. Has his job been reprieved? I have no idea. But it would be fair to think he has bought himself some time.

Should the Hawks clinch, which the Celtic win last night delayed, it will be their first play off appearance since 1999, a nine year drought. They are 2 games ahead of the Pacers with 2 games left.

The Celtics were led by Garnett’s 24 points in 29 minutes, followed by Cassell’s 20, then Pierce, and Ray Allen with 14 each. Sam added 5 assists to tie Rondo for team honors. Glen Davis played one of his stronger games in a while, contributing 8 points and 10 rebounds while playing solid defense. James Posey officially had no shot attempts in 23 minutes, though he did go to the line twice for 3-4 while adding 3 steals.

Doc Rivers once again was able to give the starters solid rest and the bench pulled out a win.

The Celtics are 23-4 since that 3 game losing streak out west.

The Celtics play next in New York on Monday night.

In the penultimate home game, the Celtics exacted revenge, or maybe just rectified a small situation.

The Beantown Ballers were coming off of a very close win against these same Bucks in Milwaukee in overtime, and then losing to play-off bound nemesis, Washington, in their next game. Nothing major to be concerned about. But nothing you want to see continue either.

You don’t really get revenge or even need to get revenge for a previous win, even if it was an OT win against one of the league’s doormats. As the saying goes, the Celtics have ‘bigger fish to fry’.

Last year these two teams were going head to head at this very time…for better position in the NBA lottery.

The Bucks are in rerun mode. Their season collapsed early on and they are back to scenes of hopes and dreams. They are in last place in their division, are 26-53 overall, have lost 5 straight and are 2-9 over the last ten games.

Celtic fans can relate. Boston just came off of two of the worst years in franchise history, before hitting the mother lode with their off season acquisitions

Last year’s lottery pick, Jianlian Yi, didn’t want to come to Milwaukee. When he finally arrived he had a lot to learn. His season is on the shelf with injury. The team’s plans to make the play-offs this season never had a chance to materialize.

Bucks announce John Hammond as new GM

The Bucks made it official yesterday. They announced that John Hammond will be their new General Manager, effective immediately. They plucked John from the Detroit Pistons where he had served the past 7 years as Vice President of Basketball Operations. He replaces Larry Harris who was let go recently, after not meeting Buck’s owner and President Herb Kohl expectations of making this team a play-off team. Whether that was a reasonable expectation or not, I’ll leave to your judgment.

The Celtics continued their habit of devouring teams under .500. They have lost only once all year to the nether regions of the NBA to 36 wins.

The game itself followed the script to a T. The Cs started fast, played smothering defense, got strong bench help and rolled over the hapless Bucks.

Rajon Rondo had a particularly effective game. He did a days work in just 23 minutes, garnering 16 points and 10 assists to lead the team in both categories, adding 4 boards and a steal to just 2 TOs.

Believe it or not, Rondo was ill the past few days and coming into the game, according Kevin Garnett…

“If you saw him 2 days ago, you would never think he would have played tonight. Rondo knows how ill he was, seeing how he played tonight. He’s being superman, the extra time for us today, not having shoot around (because he was ill) ….he looked to be aggressive early. He was his usual self.”

Both point guards played well, as Sam Cassell anchored the 2nd unit. He was one of 7 players in double digits with 10 and had 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

Doc Rivers…

“Both were very good. Efficient. Obviously Rondo came out, was attacking early….I thought Sam kept the second unit together. I was really surprised how sharp he was, with all the time he missed.”

Doc said before the game that he would limit Sam to 16 minutes because of his recent back issues. True to form, Cassell played 17 minutes. Gabe Pruitt got some 4th quarter run and looked pretty comfortable out there, scoring 2 points with 2 assists and a steal in almost 8 minutes.

Doc summed up the win well..

“I just thought everyone came in and was very professional about doing their jobs, trying to stay within their roles, and that’s what we needed.”

Micheal Redd’s thoughts…

Tough game for us. We knew we were going to be in a dogfight. Boston has been playing well, especially at home. They’re tough to beat at home. They did a tremendous job tonight……We’re not going to back down from anybody. We have pride. We’re going to play hard. It’s my job as a leader to not allow us to play anything else but. We came in feeling that we had a chance to win. If you don’t come in that way, you are already defeated. This was a tough game. We battled. We just came up short.”

The Celtics travel to Atlanta to play the possible play-off first round opponent Hawks today.