The Morning Walkthrough: ‘Days of adversity that do make champions’
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
J.R. Giddens happy to finally contribute.
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald - “Regular-season wins rarely carry more meaning. ‘If we were shorthanded, it didn’t feel like it at all,’ said Ray Allen. ‘J.R. did great going in and holding down the fort. Tony played great starting at point guard. Guys just played simple. These are the days of adversity that do make champions.’”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘It was some b.s.,’ said Wallace. ‘We both went up for the rebound, couldn’t get it, and he tried — he locked my arm. So I waited a second to see if he would let go, tried to get him off me and go down court. … He swung around and hit me in the chest. Then how do I get a tech? If anything, it should have been a double foul. Any time any of you guys see that in the league — it wasn’t flare, no elbow, nobody threw elbows or nothing — it should have been a double foul.’ Add it to the list of technical fouls Wallace would like to see rescinded this season.”
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald – “Davis is back. He logged just under 20 minutes last night, scoring 15 points. He did take a couple of shots from the outside as soon as he touched the ball, but, as Doc Rivers said later, “That’s not what he does. He goes out and he sets picks and he pops. Those are his shots. I thought after that he was absolutely fantastic. ‘He did hit the wall a couple of times, but that’s fine. We don’t know what the minutes will be for him. We’ve just got to gauge fatigue, and sometimes that’s tough to see.’”
Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Paul Pierce believes that his return to action is near, but after his ordeal of the last week, the Celtics captain wants to be absolutely certain of his recovery from two surgeries to drain an infection in his left knee. ‘At this point it’s all in my pain threshold,’ Pierce, who yesterday jumped rope and rode an exercise bicycle for the first time since the issues arose, said of not worrying about further damage to the knee. ‘No ligament damage, no tear. The swelling is going down every day. I measure it every day, ice it, keep my leg strong. . . . Right now I can’t bend it all the way back when I want to, but when I can I’ll probably be able to play. Of course you want to play, but you don’t want to be dumb. You have to pay attention to the longevity of it. I want to get out there when I’m feeling better and healthy.’”
Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe - ”‘Everybody knew we were going to be shorthanded,’ said Allen, who finished his busy night with 14 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. ‘We went hard in practice and it carried over [last night]. I’m looking at it like I got put in the position to show Coach some things I can do and I think I asked for that challenge. And, hopefully, I can carry it over to the next game. I just feel like a basketball player when I’m out there, I don’t really look at it like a slot – point guard, shooting guard. I just want to make plays, get buckets, defend, and do everything within the system, and that’s how I look at everything. I’m just looking at it like, I don’t want to get complacent, I’m still working, I don’t want to pat myself on the back, yet. I want to continue show Doc that I am working hard, every day, and just continue to build. I haven’t got a tip dunk, yet – when I get that tip dunk I know I’ll be back.’’’
Rich Levine, CSNNE – “’We talked about that for all day yesterday, and all day today,’ Rivers said after the game. ‘We’re at home, we’re about to go out on another road trip, and we have to come into the game with the attitude that you expect to win. I didn’t think we had that attitude in Phoenix. I thought tonight we showed up with an attitude that we’re going to find a way to win. We didn’t know how, but we were going to find a way.’ And they did. Not with flash, or flare, or really, even with that much precision. They won on the power of every single guy coming out, and merely earning his pay check.”
Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan could only shake his head when asked about Boston finding a way to win despite its thin bench; the Celtics dressed just 11. ‘Without their main players, [the Celtics] still go out there and play tough, play hard and play like they want to be a championship team,’ said DeRozan.”
Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (thomasking@celticstown.com) or Twitter
Celtics Blog, Morning Walkthrough | Tommy King | January 3, 2010 | 
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Celtics Columns, J.R. Giddens, Morning Walkthrough, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen, Tony Allen
A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “The only positive on the injury front for Boston involves Glen Davis, who was able to practice Friday after missing Wednesday’s loss at Phoenix due to a sprained right ankle. ‘We need some help,’ Davis said. ‘We need as many bodies as we can. As long as I’m functional, I can play with the pain. If I can function, I can play.’ In addition to the sprained ankle, Davis is still working his way into shape after suffering a broken right thumb injury on the eve of the regular season. ’Every time he missed a shot (in Friday’s practice), he looked at his hand,’ quipped Rivers. ‘Every time he didn’t get to a guy on defense, he looked at his ankle. He had two crutches today. But he’ll go tomorrow, I’m pretty sure.’”
