"Morning Walkthrough"
Morning Walkthrough: Wizards piss down their legs
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The rest of the way, Blatche, who was killing the Celtics with 23 points, fell into the trap of talking trash to Garnett rather than playing. Wizards coach Flip Saunders said that was costly. ‘We choked … We got young guys, they don’t know what it’s like to be in a situation. We start talking to Garnett, start talking trash and everything else. Got Garnett and those guys juiced up and we just pissed down our leg the last six minutes. You have a veteran team that knows how to close out games, against a young team that hasn’t been there and instead of just letting a sleeping dog lie we juiced up their energies. We had plays coming off timeouts and we had guys going to the wrong side of the floor, we were so discombobulated.’”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “But while openly admitting that there are no excuses for their play over the first 42 minutes of Sunday’s game, the Celtics viewed the glass as decidedly half-full after rallying from a 13-point deficit for an 86-83 triumph at TD Garden. ‘You could probably say, in a small way, we did [get away with one], but we fought for it,” said Ray Allen, who scored 18 of his game-high 25 points after the intermission, including a pair of pivotal 3-pointers in the final two minutes. ‘We never gave up or thought it was over. I compare my feeling now opposed to if we lost that game. It definitely makes my food later taste a lot better. We just keep building, keep building. I have been reflecting on the championship year — losing to Washington three times, Charlotte beat us a couple times, and we were just so dejected because of it. But sometimes it’s just matchups, guys get hot. I think [Andray] Blatche and [Al] Thornton got hot tonight. We just have to move forward and continue working on our defense.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics can strike fear in an opponent at the most important moments, a quality Paul Pierce hadn’t seen in a while. ‘A lot of these games, this year, we’ve let go,’ said Pierce, who scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. ‘Tonight, we saw something that I like to see at this point in the season. Especially coming down the stretch. We saw the Celtics that I’m used to seeing.’”
Jimmy Toscano, CelticsBlog – “‘I don’t even know man, that was a bar fight,’ Garnett said with Pierce laughing in agreement. ‘Chairs were thrown, bottles were breaking. You had to get your back to something and just swing. So that’s what that was, all grit.’ Throughout his career, Allen has been one of the best in utilizing screens and picks to get open. This was no different tonight, as Doc drew up the play in the timeout that worked exactly as planned. Ray Allen did a nice job in summing up how it all went down. ‘Sam (Cassell) was over there heckling on the sideline when I walked down and he was trying to talk to me, and you know how Sam is. He looked at me and was like, ‘You’re getting the ball, you’re getting the ball, I know you’re getting the ball!’ So, you know I tried to shrug it off, so when I went to fake to Rondo I just cut out and Mike Miller is riding me and he’s kind of riding me making sure I don’t get the ball and he’s pushing me (the opposite) way so I just kind of lazily cut through to the basket and Perk and Kevin were coming up. And the minute he thought I was going that way I just cut hard and they got him. I was sitting there wide open.’”
Celtics Insider, Boston Herald – “But a great screen is nothing without a great shot. Allen took a pass from Rondo and rose for one of his picture-perfect jumpers. Though he was leaning slightly to the left, his form was solid and the shot was pure, ripping through the net to put the C’s in control. From start-to-finish, it was precisely what Rivers envisioned. ‘It was exactly the play,’ Allen said. ‘The bigs, Kevin and Perk, set a great screen and I came off. I think I even had more time, but that’s the one thing about shooting the ball – I don’t like to sit there and wait on the 3-point line. Once I come off, if the ball comes, I’m up in the air with it.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Finley said he would try to ease his way in. His role with the Spurs diminishing, he asked to be waived, leading Boston to swoop in and sign him. But Finley said he knew he’d have to simply fit in on a team full of veterans and clearly defined roles. ‘Coach was pretty honest with me, which I can respect, that he doesn’t know how he’s going to use me,’ Finley said. ‘I have to respect that. I’m coming to a team that’s already established. They’ve put in X amount of games here, so for me to come in and try to establish a role right away would be crazy for me to even think that. But Coach has put me at ease. Just when my situation comes, go out there and play hard.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘You know, it was good to win a game like this as far as I was concerned,” director Doc Rivers said. “We’ve lost so many of these where we’ve played poorly and lost. It’s nice every once in a while to play poorly and win.’ The Celts were looking at 37,248 thumbs down (based on the sellout crowd of 18,624) when Washington opened the last quarter with a 13-4 run. But after a timeout at 6:10, during which Rivers told his team it pretty much had to pitch a shutout on defense, the C’s arose.”
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “It certainly was in the fourth quarter, which is when Allen scored six of Boston’s last seven points to extend its winning streak to four in a row – the team’s longest since December. And Allen’s big game came on a night when most of the Celtics struggled. Garnett had eight points, but he was 0-for-7 from the field. His backup, Rasheed Wallace, was marginally better. He (only) missed six of his seven shot attempts. And maybe the most telling statistic about Boston’s troubles, in the first half at least, could be seen in Rajon Rondo having just one assist. But down the stretch, Boston made all the big shots from the field and the line. And defensively, the Celtics limited the Wizards to 38.9 percent shooting in the fourth in addition to getting 10 points off of Washington turnovers.”
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Pierce hasn’t been healthy enough to carry the Celtics for long stretches, while Garnett is focusing on defense and rebounding. [Ray] Allen’s resurgence has been the biggest difference with the Celtics since the All-Star break, after which they are 8-3 and nearing Orlando in the Eastern Conference standings. ‘You guys don’t know, but [Allen] deals with a lot of different things with injuries. We all deal with different types of physical stuff,’ Garnett said. ‘He is no different than that. At the same time, he had talks of business, about where he was going to be in his future and stuff. I can just tell that he is a lot healthier. Everything that he is doing is a lot more fluid. He is not thinking a lot, he is just reacting and it’s beautiful basketball.’ Beautiful enough for two more years? The answer is no longer a resounding no. It’s now more like a maybe.”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘He never had any balance offensively,’ said coach Doc Rivers. ‘But there was something I liked and Armond (Hill, assistant coach) said it in the game. I said, ‘Boy, Kevin’s struggling a little bit out there.’ And he said, ‘But not on defense. He looks active. He looks great defensively. He’s just out of whack right now offensively. Let’s not worry about that. The fact that he has it on the other end, if we’ve got to take one or the other, we would take that.’ ‘ Wizards coach Flip Saunders also credited Garnett for getting Andray Blatche into a loud discussion that had both buzzing even after the game. ‘Dray had terrible decisions,’ Saunders said. ‘Dray is woofing the whole time to Kevin Garnett. You can’t do those things. It’s a learning process. You don’t take a guy who’s been defensive player of the year three times, probably the best power forward, and all of a sudden get that guy juiced up to play against you. You got no chance.’”
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Morning Walkthrough: Robinson a blessing in disguise
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “‘Nate is pure energy, man, I said it from Day 1, since he has been here,’ Celtic forward Kevin Garnett said. ‘We hated to lose E. House but not only is [Robinson] pure energy, he’s good energy. He’s almost like fresh air. He fits right in with our team, he’s unselfish. We all knew he could play, but his personality is what stands out most about him – very respectable person, very high energy. And, like I said, I love the way he plays. We love the way he comes out and just puts it all on the floor.’ Robinson came out firing as the Celtics took a 17-point lead early in the second quarter. His high-arching buzzer-beating 3-pointer over Tyrus Thomas to end the first quarter was an indication that the Celtics now have an instant offense, tough cover guard who can bring the ball up and play the point, as well. ‘He’s the reason, really, why we turned the corner like we did,’ Garnett said of Robinson’s performance. ‘I think he took the momentum himself and just ran with it. We were talking about the possibilities of what this could be with him, especially with he and [Rajon] Rondo on the court. Defensively, that’s going to be hell for opposing guards bringing the ball up. So, Nate’s a blessing in disguise for our team and we’re glad to have him.’”
Rich Levine, CSNNE – “Kevin Garnett on the return of Gino: ‘Gino had so much dust on him I think everyone was sneezing.’ Doc Rivers on how Nate Robinson is getting along with his new teammates: ‘The guys love him. I think they love him more because he’s been donating a lot in the card games and I think that’s what’s ingratiated him more than anything.’”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘Teams are going to make runs,’ said Rivers. ‘In the first half, you can be up 15 or 20 — all you have to do is watch every NBA game. Teams make runs and then hopefully you respond and make another run. And basically that’s what we did today. We responded and made another run. Then once we got up the second time, we maintained it. ‘I thought the key was the third quarter. We came out and extended the lead and I think that’s when you take away games — when you’re up 10 at halftime and you get it to 20. Or you’re up 10 at halftime and they come back and cut it to one or two. That’s where the games are in the balance more. The first half is ebbs and flows, and they always will be. That won’t ever change.’”
Rich Levine, CSNNE – “In present time, there’s no such thing as automatic wins; the Celtics take the floor every night with something to prove. And with tonight’s dominating 104-80 victory over the Bobcats, Boston took a big step towards proving that—even if there’s still a ways to go—they’ve got their minds, and most importantly, their bodies, right for a run at turning this ship around. The No. 1 reason was Paul Pierce. In his second game back after missing three straight with an injured thumb, the Celtics captain was every bit the superstar Boston’s become accustomed to. He scored 27 points in 27 minutes, and did so while showing no lasting effects from the rust that haunted him last night in Detroit. But while Pierce was very clearly the most game’s most dominant player for each of the 27 minutes he was out there, the Future Hall of Famer was, not surprisingly, at his best when the team need him most.”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘I don’t buy this stuff that they’re in trouble,’ Charlotte coach Larry Brown said of the Celtics. ‘They’ve had some injuries. They’re just starting to get healthy. They’ve got some new players like (Marquis) Daniels, Nate (Robinson) and Rasheed. They’ve got a great coach and great chemistry. This is the way Paul Pierce plays. Garnett was phenomenal. But I just like all the little pieces they have, because I think (general manager Danny Ainge has) done a tremendous job putting them in a position where they can just about play with anybody.’”
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics improved to just 17-11 at home compared with 21-10 on the road, which is second-best in the NBA to Cleveland (22-10). ‘It’s a start,’ Pierce said, still not convinced the Celtics are confident enough at the Garden. ‘We haven’t had a game like this in a while. We need to come out each and every game like this. If we just played a little bit better at home, we’d probably have the best record in the league. This is a place we have to establish ourselves.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “After his decent if unspectacular performance in last night’s 104-80 win over Charlotte, Davis has 62 offensive rebounds in 525 minutes, a healthy average of .118 per. To put that into perspective, Kendrick Perkins has .068 per minute and Kevin Garnett has .036 per minute. Only Shelden Williams (38 in 463, .082) is relatively close.”
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Morning Walkthrough: A small step
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Shelden Williams helped do the dirty work in last night's victory. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “For the first time in his Boston tenure, Rivers is faced with the possibility that his team is too old and too content to compete. But he refuses to believe such assertions, and the past two days did nothing to change his coaching philosophy. ‘If you have a team that is ‘supposed to win a title’ or is in the running to win one, and if you’re not playing great at any point, then you’re going to be questioned,’ he said. ‘As a group, that doesn’t change. This year, something is wrong with our team and it is because we’re not winning.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘A lot of sickness, you battle injuries all year long,’ Paul Pierce said after Boston’s 105-100 victory over the Pistons. ‘Eventually, we’ll be able to put a full team out there for a long stretch, hopefully pretty soon, and hopefully we go on a run. We’re going to have to get some momentum pretty soon here going into the playoffs, start playing better basketball at this point in the season.’ Coach Doc Rivers said he liked the combination of Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace on the floor at the same time because of the way it opened things up. ‘Our guys, I’ve got to say, even though we’ve had all these different lineups, everybody’s been receptive to it,’ said Rivers. ‘They’ve been able to execute it for the most part. So we’ll take it.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘The bench just gave us a lot of energy,’ Garnett said. ‘They gave us a chance to get free and get open shots.’ Said Rivers: ‘They got the lead and protected the lead, and that’s what we need. Right now anybody that can give us a lift, we’ll take it.’”
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “A 59.5 percent free-throw shooter, he calmly sank four free throws that proved to be the difference. ‘I’ve been working hard on it,’ said Rondo, who had 15 points and a game-high 11 assists. ‘Teams are going to foul me, so I have to step up and try and knock them down.’ Said Ray Allen: ‘He looks like he’s in a great rhythm. And that rhythm, it gives you confidence. He shot the free throws, up, down, they didn’t touch the rim . . . it just seemed like it went in the way you hope to make your free throws. I like it.’ So did Kevin Garnett, who has talked to Rondo about approaching the line with the same high level of confidence he has when he’s driving to the basket or pulling up for a jumper. ‘He wants it,’ Garnett said. ‘I think he’s out to prove not only something to us, and you [media] guys, and whoever else and himself. I told him, ‘Don’t be afraid of anything in basketball, especially when you work on it.’ ‘”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘It just seems like every time he plays, he does something good’ said coach Doc Rivers. ‘He rebounded well and we needed that off the bench.’ Rivers commended all his players for being ready when injuries have struck this season, which has been often. ‘One thing I love about this team is that guys like [Brian Scalabrine], guys like Shelden, guys like Tony Allen, can go five or six games without playing, then you throw them in and they play hard. They’re ready, and Shelden was ready tonight.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: Fear in opponent’s heart
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘We’re a great team on paper if you look (and) see what we have,’ he said. ‘But we have to go out there and prove it. We have to go out there and put fear in our opponent’s heart.’ And if the Celtics don’t, if they continue to come up small as the tests become even larger, Sheed knows the No. 30 on his chest and back will take on the appearance of a target. ‘Aw, that ain’t nothing new,’ said Wallace. ‘Expletive), I’ve been facing it since Day 1 when I came into the NBA. People get upset with me because I speak my mind. I don’t hold my tongue. I don’t care who it is or who it’s about. In this league and this game and this business, they don’t like that. They want you to kiss (butt). I ain’t no kiss-(butt) dude.’ His game is alternately endearing and infuriating to fans. His makes beget some of the Garden’s loudest cheers; his clanged treys set of a chorus of groans. That Wallace is bold and unapologetic simply highlights the latter. Like my mom said, 50 percent of the people are going to love you and 50 percent are going to hate you,’ he said. ‘You can’t please everybody. That’s pretty much how I play. I don’t sit out there and worry about what the next person is thinking at all. ‘Oh, he’s got too many techs (technical fouls) and he shoots too many 3’s.’ I don’t worry about that.’”
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “One by one, the goals this team set for itself are disappearing quicker than a Tiger Woods endorsement. The dreams of a 72-win season were squashed some time ago. Finishing with the best record in the NBA was kicked to the curb as well. Home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs is no longer something to take for granted. And now, it appears not even the scheduling gods can save the C’s, something the five-win — no, make that six-win — New Jersey Nets proved when they beat the Celtics on Saturday. Up next for the C’s is Detroit, another lottery-bound club that has already beaten Boston this season.”
Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “On Friday, Yahoo! Sports reported Tony Battie is a candidate to be bought out by the Nets before Monday’s deadline. WEEI.com has learned the Celtics are one of the teams Battie would be interested in signing with if he is bought out. [...]He has not, however, had any conversations with the Celtics organization.”
Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “Meanwhile, the Celtics seemed to have lost the script once again. Pierce’s return could solve many problems. ‘We miss him a lot,’ Perkins said. ‘ ‘P’ is our go-to guy. Still, when Kobe [Bryant] was out, the Lakers found ways to win without him, so that’s no excuse. We’ve got a lot of confident guys on this team, lot of confidence within our coaches. We just need that one game to get on track and we’ll take off from there. See how we bounce back against Detroit. We’ve got a few days to think about these last two losses, guys get some rest, get in the gym and do their workouts, do what they’ve got to do, have a good practice. Remember, we lost our last one in Detroit, so we need to go get that one.’”
Zach Lowe, Celtics Hub – “Save for a couple of games against New Jersey (ahem), the C’s schedule since late January has been brutal. Seven of the team’s last 15 games have come against Atlanta, Denver, the Lakers (twice), Orlando (twice) and Cleveland, and that 15-game span also included five straight road games against Western Conference teams. The C’s went 7-8 over that stretch, with only two of those wins coming against teams that currently stand at .500 or better (@ Portland and @ the Lakers, with both teams battling injuries). The next seven games represent something of a reprieve. Only two come against teams with .500 or better records (as of Sunday morning), and none are more than two games over .500:”
Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog – “I can’t pinpoint any one player that could possibly be to blame for the issues, but they all must share in the blame here. I’m getting a little tired of hearing about how the team is leading the league in points against. There is such a thing as timely defense. If you hold a team to 85 points but can’t stop them on the last 3 possessions and end up losing 84 to 85, then what good is your league leading defense?”
Dennis J. McGrath/Phil Miller, Minnesota Star Tribune – “The Timberwolves accepted center Al Jefferson’s apology on Sunday for alleged drunken driving after Saturday night’s loss to Portland, but they suspended their leading scorer for the next two games as punishment.
Jefferson was arrested on Interstate 394 just outside downtown Minneapolis at 1:08 a.m. Sunday, a little more than three hours after he scored 19 points in the Wolves’ 110-91 loss, and booked into jail on a charge of fourth-degree driving while impaired, said State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske. ‘I made a very poor decision and I am truly sorry for that,’ Jefferson said in a written apology to Wolves owner Glen Taylor, his teammates, coaches and ‘Wolves fans everywhere.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: Disgusted, but not giving up
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Kevin Garnett looked great yesterday, but his Celtics were certainly wince-worthy. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Garnett stepped to the podium and breathed a heavy sigh after Saturday’s game. Asked initially about the loss he said, ‘I got nothing to say, I feel disgusted.’ Later he expanded: ‘I’m not going to sit up here and give a bunch of excuses, that’s not my style. You lose, you lose. They kicked our asses tonight. Period. Point blank. Players have to do more, including myself. We all have to dig deep and see what we’re made of as a team. Seriously.’ Seriously. The NBA season is in its last trimester. The Celtics look like a dad-to-be who’s just realized the baby is going to be here sooner than later. Maybe it’s time to paint the nursery and set up the crib. ‘There’s too much heart and drive, we’ll find a way to figure something out,’ Wallace said. ‘No one in here is giving up. Just because we didn’t [beat the Nets], that’s not the end of the season. No one in here is giving up. There’s too much basketball knowledge to let this go away.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I think so,’ he said. ‘That’s what it is. Doc gives us direction, and guys have to go out there and follow the plan and execute. That’s all it is. I’m not going to sit up here and give a whole bunch of excuses. That’s not my style. You know, you lose, you lose. They kicked our (butt) tonight, period. Point blank.Players have to do more, including myself. We’ve all got to dig deep and see what we’re made of as a team. Seriously.’ Added Rasheed Wallace: ‘Oh, definitely it’s in this room. . . . We’re the ones out there on the floor. Doc can only do but so much. So we can’t sit up there and say, ‘Oh, it’s Doc’s fault that we lost or Doc’s not doing this or Doc’s not doing that.’ Doc’s not out there on the floor. It’s the five guys that are out there.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘I don’t know how many wake-up calls we need, really,’ said Kendrick Perkins (2 points, 2 rebounds). ‘We done got a few this year.’ Coming off their most lopsided loss of the season, 108-88 to Cleveland Thursday, the Celtics took what will likely be their most embarrassing defeat yesterday, falling to a woeful Nets team on a home court they’ve struggled to protect all year (16-11). Coach Doc Rivers was at a loss to explain it. ‘It’s just a mind-set that we’ve really struggled getting them out of,’ he said. ‘It’s just a team that’s absolutely relaxed, and that’s on me. So I’ve got to keep working.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Honestly I’m coaching this year, you know what I mean?’ Rivers said. ‘So that stuff I could care less about. I could care less about anything past this season, because as a coach you have to coach this year. I’ll let Danny, Wyc (Grousbeck, the C’s co-owner) and all those other guys worry about the future. But this team is built for right now. . . . After that we’ll see. But I believe this team’s good enough to win a world championship. This team. I don’t think we’ve proven that. I think we still have to prove that. And we can talk about it all day, but at some point we have to show it – and I don’t think we’ve shown it. But I still believe that.’ As for any potential benefit from Ainge supporting concepts the coach already has offered the team, Rivers said, ‘I don’t think that matters. I think at the end of the day it’s in the locker room, and it’s going to have to come out of the locker room. I can talk about it. Danny, Wyc, you know, whoever, Bill Walton . . . it doesn’t matter. At some point it’s going to have to come out of the locker room. And it will, and I believe that. But it hasn’t consistently yet. It has in stretches, but nothing consistently yet. We haven’t been able to sustain a game. Even in some of our good wins we haven’t been able to sustain 48 minutes yet. So that has to come from in the locker room.’”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘Yeah, two in a row, back-to-back home games,’ said Rondo. ‘That’s what we talked about coming out of the road trip, that we wanted to come back and sustain homecourt advantage and take advantage of playing at home. Not right now, guys are coming in thinking they can win at the Garden, and last year it was totally opposite.’”
Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “Garnett, whose balky right knee remains closely monitored, showed his full repertoire, drilling his patented mid-range jump shots while also finishing at the rim. ‘I liked that he was aggressive,’ Rivers said. ‘Kevin is so unselfish, as everyone who’s been here knows. . . . Kevin is so 100 percent about the team, he’s always thinking ball movement early. One of the things we told him, ‘We are moving it – to you. And we want you to look at it.’ I thought he did a great job of that early on.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (thomasking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: ‘Celtics have lost their edge’
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “It’s that simple. The Celtics have lost their edge, and good health and a couple of ubuntu chants following huddles are not going to bring it back. This is not the 2007-08 team and the Celtics are stumbling against Eastern Conference contenders like a punch-drunk champion who has nothing but a few good rounds left. The Celtics played a sparkling first half but had nothing for a response when the Cavaliers made adjustments, as good NBA teams do. This game was reminiscent of the 36-11 pounding the Magic laid on the Celtics in the third quarter Feb. 7, only this beating lasted the entire second half.”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “With 2:50 remaining in the 108-88 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night at TD Garden, Celtics coach Doc Rivers threw in the white flag. His team was down 16 after being up as many as 13 on the Eastern Conference’s top squad, and Rivers sent Brian Scalabrine, Shelden Williams, and Marcus Landry onto the floor with Tony Allen and Nate Robinson. Part of it was practical. For a team that had dealt with its share of injuries – one that was playing without captain Paul Pierce for the second straight game because of a sprained right thumb – Rivers didn’t want to take any risks. Part of it was admitting defeat.”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “But the Bostonians chose against the path of least resistance. In the second half, when the game was crashing in all around them, the Celts launched outside shots. They scored just 14 points in the paint, many of them when the victory was far out of reach. You want a better stat? Try on the fact Cleveland was a minus-10 with Shaq on the floor. ‘Yeah, we stopped being aggressive,’ said Ray Allen. ‘I don’t know why. The nature of the game changed. They took over as aggressors, and we were more passive.’”
Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “‘I don’t mind the 3s from LeBron,’ Ray Allen said. ‘But they got a lot of layups. A lot of dunks in transition. We stopped being aggressive. They took over the game and we got passive. I don’t know why.’ Maybe they don’t, which would be bad. Maybe they do, but can’t do anything about it, which would be worse.”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “But the Celtics are well into a pattern that now defines them. They are 2-2 against the Cavaliers and Lakers combined. But add in Atlanta and Orlando, the other teams that will have lots to say about how far the C’s advance in the playoffs, and their record is 3-9. ‘We’re an executing team, and you’ve got to do that if you’re trying to beat these good teams,’ Kevin Garnett said. ‘Maybe you can get away with that against subpar teams, but when we play teams like Cleveland, LA and Orlando we have to execute. The ball has to move from one side to the other.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (thomasking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: ‘Who they said blocked that?’
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Wilson Chandler, who had 19 points for New York, appeared to be driving into the lane for what should have been a lay-up. But there was Allen coming from behind, timing his swat attempt of Chandler’s lay-up perfectly as the loose ball soared out of bounds and the shot clock expired. Allen realized he was beat on the play, and simply wanted to get in position to at least foul Chandler. ‘But I got up high enough to make a play on the ball,’ he said. ‘If I was anybody in Boston and (I heard on the radio), ‘Ray comes out of nowhere on the block’ . . . I would have said, ‘Who they said blocked that?””
Rich Levine, CSNNE – “‘Nate’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna be fine for us,” Rajon Rondo said. ‘I’m gonna work with him, as far as knowing his sets, and what to look for. I was excited to play with him tonight. I didn’t have to bring the ball up a couple times, I was able to move off the ball and allow him to do what he does best. He just has to find that feel. He just has to get more comfortable with our set and our system and it’ll be good.’ Doc Rivers is also a big fan of the potential Rondo/Robinson combo, but despite his desires to utilize it more Tuesday night, he knew that the time just wasn’t right. ‘The combination will be terrific once we get it right,’ he said. ‘We had such a speed advantage on the floor but we just didn’t take advantage of it. Right now, they just don’t know how to take advantage of it. They almost ran into each other twice, trying to get to the basket. We’ll work that out, it’s just gonna take some time. But I do like the combination. I wanted Nate on the floor at the end of the game, because I thought match-up were great for us, but I just couldn’t trust it, because he doesn’t know our rotations. I couldn’t take a chance against a team that shoots threes. Tomorrow we’re gonna do a lot of rotation stuff. And on offense, we’re just gonna go one set at a time, and we’ll do that tomorrow.’”
Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “What he does with it is up to him but the loud and welcoming ovation he received was a sign that much awaits a guy if he lights up the floor the way he sometimes did in New York. ‘I’m known for dunking, winning the dunk contest three times, but that’s not all Nate Robinson, if you follow how I play the game,’ Robinson said about Nate Robinson when asked about (who else?) Nate Robinson. ‘I play hard. I play as a teammate. I get the crowd involved. I feed off the energy of the crowd and my teammates. I play for the love of the game. It’s not that I just dunk because in the games I barely dunk. I do a lot of other things that people overlook because they just watch me once a year in the dunk contest. There’s more to Nate Robinson than just that. I wanna be the best on the court, so I play accordingly. That’s who Nate Robinson is. That’s what you’re going to get out of me every night.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – [Doc Rivers said] “‘At halftime I just said we have to get stops to be able to win the game. We’re going to score. Scoring will not be an issue. But we have to get five, six, seven, eight in a row. If we get those in a row, we win the game. If we don’t, then it’s going to be tough.’ Making it equally difficult was Lee, who scored a game-high 28 points mostly by being crafty on pick and rolls. ‘He wasn’t even setting picks,’ said Kevin Garnett. ‘He was just slipping out and getting layups and our help was just late getting there.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “The New York Knicks, restocked at the trade deadline with Tracy McGrady, Eddie House, Bill Walker and Sergio Rodriguez, tormented the C’s with a patchwork lineup. The Celtics, weaning Nate Robinson into the mix in a debut against his former team, looked just as ramshackle in a narrow 110-106 win against New York.”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘It was hard to stay serious at times, but it was a lot of fun,’ House said. ‘I was glad to see those guys. I wish the best of luck to those guys, best of luck to Nate [Robinson, who came to Boston in the deal], and best of success to those guys.’ In the first quarter, a video tribute to House was played, flashing moments from the Celtics’ 2008 championship run, and House did his best not to look before finally coming onto the parquet and giving a nod to the fans and his former teammates. ‘I didn’t want to stare at it,’ House said. ‘I saw it happening and I was getting ready to check into the game so I had to focus on what coach was drawing up. I didn’t want to get lost on that and then come out on the floor and don’t execute. I saw a little bit of it. That was a class move by the organization. It was great. It just shows how much they appreciate me and I really appreciate them and all the opportunities they gave me. You don’t expect anything like that, but that’s what a class organization does.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘It was no big deal – I didn’t put any more weight on this game than I did on my first game in Madison Square,’ House said. ‘Just play the game of basketball. Just no strain on this game at all. Just play the game the right way – that’s all I’m trying to do all the time.’ Before the game, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni couldn’t stop gushing about House. ‘It’s all just about basketball and winning,’ D’Antoni said. ‘He’s good. He has a role and knows his role. He’s a positive guy.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I’m low-key,’ Daniels said. ‘I like to be under the radar. I just go out there and play ball. I just let my action do more talking than I do. I just play the game. Everybody sees you. You don’t need to do anything to bring more attention to yourself.’ Not that he begrudges others their histrionics. ‘If that’s what they’ve been doing, keep doing it,’ he said. ‘Like Kevin, for instance. That gets him going. That pumps him up and gets the crowd going. That’s the way he’s been playing the game all his life. There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s just not me. You have to be yourself.’ Daniels’ self is appreciated by basketball people. ‘Marquis has been a good player for a while,’ Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. ‘He can play, and he gives them another look. He’s just solid, and that’s what they need. They’ve got the superstars; they just need solid players. That’s found money.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – Last night, with Paul Pierce out nursing a bad right thumb, Doc Rivers played Daniels with the starters. He scored 14 points, and although he’s not the only one to thrive in Pierce’s absences this season (see Tony Allen), he worked well with Rajon Rondo, who called him ‘probably the best cutter in the game. I think he can play with anybody,’ Rondo said. ‘I love playing with ‘Quis. I would say he’s probably the best cutter in the game. He moves very well without the ball. His man loses sight of him. He’s a great back cutter. Then of course, he’s a great defensive stopper. He’s probably our best defensive player on ball, him and TA. He does his role really very well. He doesn’t complain about anything. He just goes out there and does little things and you love to play with a guy like that.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (thomasking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: Celtics take ‘Kimbo Slice blow’
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “As hard as Boston fought to get back into the game, the early hay maker landed by the Nuggets clearly affected the C’s down the stretch. ‘My mom always used to tell me, ‘It ain’t how you start the fight, it’s how you finish,’ ‘ said Kevin Garnett. ‘If you can withstand the first blow — hopefully it ain’t [an MMA superstar] Kimbo Slice blow . . . you withstand it; you take it and you keep throwing punches and hopefully something happens.’ When asked whether Denver’s early dominance was a Kimbo Slice blow, Garnett responded, ‘Very much so. You saw we shook that off, got some ice water thrown in our face and continued . . . but we could never get the momentum back.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I just think it’s very difficult that even after the score’s tied, you’ve been trying so hard to get back in the game you run out of gas,’ Rivers said. ‘We scored 105 points and shot 53 percent and lost the game, and we’re a great defensive team. We just were not (in this game).’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘You’ve got to put out a lot of energy,’ Daniels said. ‘It’s a very tough game. You can’t dig a hole for yourself. They’re a great team. We just had to fight it out. We just dug ourselves a hole too deep and had to put out a lot of energy.’ Before the Celtics set out for the West Coast, Rivers told his team he wanted to see if it could sweep all four games on the trip. After wins over the Kings, Lakers, and Blazers, the Nuggets spoiled the plan but clawing back to lose by only single digits took away some of the sting. ‘We know we’re playing better basketball,’ said Pierce. ‘And except for one or two quarters [yesterday], I’m happy with the way we fought.’”
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Pierce believes the thumb will improve between now and Boston’s next game, Tuesday against the New York Knicks. But for now, ‘the hardest thing is catching and gripping [the ball] . . . that’s everything you do with the basketball,’ Pierce said. ‘Basically, I try to play off instincts. My instincts are shoot the ball, but it’s not the same shot,’ he continued. ‘Even my free throws feel weird. But like I said, I feel I have to help in other ways.’”
Zach Lowe, Celtics Hub – “Sunday’s game pitted the league’s second-most efficient offense against the league’s stingiest defense. They say a good defense always beats a good offense. They are stupid. Denver torched Boston, and it didn’t use anything fancy to do it. The basic screen/roll was enough to shred the C’s defense. Few point guards run it better than Chauncey Billups, but the C’s, especially early, didn’t defend the screen/roll with their usual precision and vigor. Here’s one example (in slow-mo) from that dismal first quarter:[...]”
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The Morning Walkthrough: Older, but wiser
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE- “He looks like a player who is relying more on his high basketball I.Q., than to out-jump or out-run players as often as he used to. There have been times when Garnett will have the ball and rely on his footwork to free himself up to score as opposed to trying to beat a player off the dribble.
Morning Walkthrough: Glen Davis illustrates recharged defense
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “In the fourth quarter after Portland cut Boston’s lead down to just nine points, Rudy Fernandez was able to penetrate into the lane past his defender. Davis played the role of help-side defender, and was able to draw two charges against Fernandez. Not only did it wipe out possible scoring opportunities for Portland, but it also led to Fernandez being more hesitant to attack the lane. ‘We’ve been such a good team on the ball (defensively),’ Rivers said. ‘This year, we’ve been pretty poor on the ball. Over break, let’s give in on that and become a help-defensive team. What our guards are doing, when our bigs are getting there, they’re cracking back and taking their bigs off the glass.’”
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Rivers, since the arrival of the Big Three, has set an agenda that hasn’t changed, and Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations, hopes that the Robinson acquisition, as well as good health, will put everyone on the same mental path. ‘We’re a competitive team, and I’m not different than anyone else on this team from being that,’’ Garnett said. “I listen to what Doc says. If Doc says run through a wall headfirst, in my mind I am going to question it, but I’m going to do it. But as far as confidence and as a team collectively, that has to stay [strong]. As much as we preach it and as much as we talk about it, saying it is one thing but actions are another. It’s starting to come so we have to continue to preach it to each other until we’re blue in the face.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Allen has been mentioned in trade talks before, but, again, this was different. ‘This time it was constant,’ he said. ‘Every three or four days I was going somewhere else. But it was always other teams interested. And that’s always a good thing. Teams want you. I knew that I was even more interesting to teams because of my situation, and that’s one of the reasons it didn’t affect me. It wasn’t so much about me; it was about the contract.’”
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Firday’s win illustrates that the many lessons that Rivers has been preaching to the players, and the conversations they have been having repeatedly with one another, is starting to pay off. ‘We’ve talked about it since the break, we keep getting opportunities in the first and second quarters and then we start walking the ball up and not moving the ball and I thought this was the first game that we maintained that throughout the game,’ Rivers said.”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “While talking about the team, Allen might as well have been talking about his own reemergence. ‘It looks like we’re starting to surface,’ said Allen. ‘We’re coming back to the reality of who we think we are — the team we started the season as. Every night is a new challenge, you never just show up, and that’s one thing that we always have to remember.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘We knew who we were, we just weren’t doing it,’ Rivers said. ‘We know the formula, we know who we are. It just helps to do it. We’re all doing it and our bench has been fantastic. To me that may be the best part of everything, our bench.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Though he missed 10 of his 16 shots Thursday, Garnett looked as lively and mobile as he has since his return. Certain aspects of his game – such as offensive rebounding – are still works in progress. But ‘you can start seeing some of that swagger and some of that confidence coming back from knowing we can get stops,’ he said. ‘You sit on the bench and you look at each other’s face and you look in their eyes, you can see it, you can feel it. We’re not hitting shots, but we’re not fixing to let them hit any shots, let’s buckle down and get a shot.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: Robinson ‘dribbles to his own drum’
This will be a shortened look at the Morning Walkthrough, and in a different format than usual. Such is the constraint of time in what, with the trade deadline later, promises to be a busy day.
- Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald gives a nice look at what Nate Robinson brings to the table, advising that while he packs a lot more offensive punch than Eddie House, he tends to “dribble to his own drum.” A great line, by the way. And true.
- Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog wonders whether NATE ROBINSON!!! will be the only player the Celtics get during the trade deadline. The Cavs got Jamison, basically for free. The Mavs got Butler, basically for free. And the Celtics get Nate Robinson???
- Zach Lowe of CelticsHub examines Nate Robinson and decides the Celtics are getting a better player in return for Eddie House than they are giving up. But Robinson’s still shows “clownish tendencies”, Lowe cautions.
- WEEI’s Paul Flannery gives a neat look at something you probably don’t think about very often. Rajon Rondo has improved his shooting this season.
- NESN.com came up with a cool idea, a Celtics blogger roundtable. Us bloggers talked about C’s postseason success, Ray Allen possibly getting trade, and how cool we are with Nate Robinson.
- 4 Sport Boston takes a nice, heartfelt look at Eddie House’s time in Boston while analyzing the House/Robinson trade.
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: It’s ‘nut-crunching time’ now
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “For years, Rasheed Wallace has saved his best play until after the All-Star break. This season appears to be no exception, as Wallace delivered at both ends of the floor Tuesday night to help Boston escape with a 95-92 win over the Sacramento Kings. ‘It’s money time,’ said Wallace, who led all reserves with 17 points. ‘Coming down to that crunch time. First half of the season, on some teams you got some guys that want to make the All-Star team, guys putting up shots freely. But that second half of the season, when shots are big, people depending on those shots to be made, a lot of guys don’t want to take them. They’ll let the, quote-unquote, star players take them. That’s nut-crunching time. That’s the time I like.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “The Celtics still aren’t quite over their second-half suicidal tendencies, but for one night at least, their flaws weren’t fatal. They shot just 37.5 percent and again gave up a fourth-quarter lead, but some clutch work at the line and a bit of luck were enough to get a 95-52 victory against Sacramento last night. ‘It wasn’t our best game, but we’re improving, man,’ said Kevin Garnett, who had nine points and nine rebounds. ‘It’s very encouraging, something to build off of. That’s what’s most important. We got the win.’”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics were sloppy on defense, playing the kind of game the Kings (averaging 102 points a night) live for, until Boston’s second unit buckled down. The Celtics led, 39-37, when Wallace barked at the second unit, ‘Let’s get stops. Let’s build this lead.’ Wallace swatted one shot. Glen Davis batted away another. The Celtics forced clangs on the Kings next three shots and opened up a 44-39 lead. Tony Allen smacked away a Kevin Martin layup for good measure. ‘For a minute it was back and forth, you know, we score then they score,’ Wallace said. “It’s just playing basic basketball. We had to get some stops. We had to put a string of stops together and a string of buckets together and just build the lead up.’”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘It’s a win,’ said Rivers, seeming to acknowledge that beggars can’t be choosers. ‘I don’t know what tone it’s going to set, but we get a win and now we have to move to the next game. That’s our approach over the next 31 games. We’re not looking ahead, we’re not sending messages, we’re just trying to win this game, get better, then focus on the next game. The whole trip, we’re just looking at the next game. That’s how we have to do it.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “The guard [Ray Allen] certainly would be professional about it if he does get dealt, but it would hurt him to leave the Celtics. ‘We won a championship together,’ Allen said. ‘This team is, by most accounts, still one of the better teams in the league. When we’re right, we’re one of the favorites. We still have a great shot. I just hope we win the next game (last night’s contest with the Sacramento Kings) and catch fire and keep pushing forward. The rest of the stuff is out of my control.’”
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “[Ray Allen's] tears are dry now. He understands that players are uprooted, teams move on, and players must adapt. ‘[In 2003] I was oblivious to what was happening, but now I understand a lot more what goes on based on having an expiring contract,’’ he said yesterday morning at Arco Arena before the Celtics faced the Kings to begin the second half of the season. “It’s part of it. For individual players, you have to be able to take advantage of the [luxuries] that you get. The money you make. The contracts you make. Traveling to the places that you travel to. That’s what this game has given all of us, but you know [trades are] the setbacks.You are part of a system that has been in place before we came along and while we’re here, we’re here to take advantage of it. And hopefully we leave it in a better place. You know the rules and you just deal with them.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
Morning Walkthrough: Pierce, Garnett, Rondo do All-Star game
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘It was good being on the bench with KG – he was really into it, as if it was a regular-season game,’ said Rondo. ‘He’s just himself when it comes to that. He rooted for me. He rooted for Paul. He did everything we already know he’s going to do when he’s out there to support people.’ Perhaps the one aspect that didn’t surprise Rondo was Van Gundy’s decision to use him with Wade in the last nine minutes. ‘I wasn’t surprised,’ he said. ‘It’s the situation I want to be in in an All-Star Game.’”
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – [Paul Pierce] “On playing with his Celtic teammates: ‘It was good to be out there with Rondo. I played with Ray (Allen) the last couple of years, so last few years I had a chance to play with two of my teammates and it makes it even more enjoyable. I was out there in the 3-point contest and they were out there supporting me. And talking to Rondo on the bench, he was telling me his heart was beating fast when he was about to go into the game. But he did well out there.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “[Zach] Randolph, however, admits teammates’ perspective of [Rasheed] Wallace and that of others can be different. ‘If you didn’t know him, you could probably think he’s a (jerk), but he’s a great dude,’ he said. Randolph also believes that Wallace, despite his advancing age, still can contribute. ‘I think he has something left,’ he said. ‘He’s a team player. He does the little stuff that you need.’”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘It was a great weekend,’ Rondo said. “It came and went kinda fast. Before you knew it, it was over. For the most part I enjoyed it. I didn’t have a bad time this whole weekend. I got time with my family. I’m very happy.’ Now it’s back to business and the second half of a season temporarily derailed by the Celtics’ struggles at the end of the first half. Rondo doesn’t have the answer to turning it around — if he did, he said, he’d have done it already. But he does know the Celtics will turn it around. And unlike him playing in crunch-time of his first NBA All-Star Game, no one questioned him about that.”
Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics play at Sacramento tomorrow night, then head to Los Angeles (Lakers), Portland, and Denver before returning to TD Garden Feb. 23 to face the Knicks. Rondo said he doesn’t think the trip is critical. ‘We could win all four games and come home and lose two in a row,’ he said. ‘So I wouldn’t say it’s irrelevant, but it’s not going to determine our success.’ Pierce, who dealt with knee and foot injuries in the first half, said, ‘We always look at the season in the three parts. You have the first half, the second half, and the playoffs. So this is a chance to refresh ourselves.’”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
The Morning Walkthrough: Rondo, Pierce compete
The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald- “He’s since learned to ease up on the peripheral aspects of All-Star Weekend, though, blaming an overactive nightlife for his last-place finish in the 3-point contest in 2002. ‘I’m here because I enjoy it,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t get old to me. I love being around my peers, I love the camaraderie, I love the locker room, I love the meetings. There’s going to come a day when I don’t make the All-Star Game, and I won’t be here talking to you guys, so I soak it up and enjoy it all the time.’”
Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald- “There’s no team or players in the NBA that look at Boston and feel like, ‘Yeah, OK, they’re falling off,’ ” James said. “That team is still to be reckoned with.”
Greg Payne, Celtics Blog- “Is a win in the three-point shootout enough to get your team back on track? It sure would be nice if this somehow, in some crazy way, translated back onto the court. Either way, it was a heck of a competition and Pierce absolutely brought it. You could tell he wanted to win this, as evidenced by his primal scream once he got to the center rack during the second round.”
Greg Payne, Celtics Blog- “H-O-R-S-E came down to a three-point shootout from the top of the key due to time constraints and despite a truly valiant effort from Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant took the competition for the second year in a row.”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (thomasking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.
