Danny Ainge, the magic man

Jay King | September 6, 2010 at 11:00 am | 5 Comments

Five. That’s how many players the Celtics had under contract at the beginning of this offseason, including the soon-to-retire Rasheed Wallace. So make that four.

Zero. That’s how much cap space the Celtics had to spend, unless they wanted to renounce the rights to Ray Allen and/or Paul Pierce. Fat chance of that happening.

Eleven. That’s how many players Danny Ainge signed, and many of them quality pros. Just another summer at the office for Ainge, another offseason spent making wine out of water.
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Jermaine O’Neal, Celtics a need-based marriage

Jay King | September 5, 2010 at 10:58 am | 2 Comments

“Writer’s block” isn’t even in my vocabulary. I have no idea what it means. I simply “pound the keys, damn it,” just like William Forester advised Jamal. My writing might not be great, but I can always hammer out words with the best of them. 600 or 700 words in 45 minutes? No problem. I just keep Forester-ing those computer keys, all day long. Writer’s block? Pshh, what’s that?

Then I tried writing about Jermaine O’Neal.

A full week after I began writing this post, I finally realized the problem with writing about Jermaine, the reason the freaking words wouldn’t flow like they normally do: At this point in his career, O’Neal is damn average. He has solid post moves, but he’s no Kevin McHale. He’s a good defender, but nobody’s going to confuse him for Bill Russell. His midrange jumper is smooth, but not like Kevin Garnett’s. He’s athletic, but his aerial skills won’t blow your socks off. He’s a big name, but not like his bash brother Shaq. He’s a legit rebounder, but, again, he’s no Russell. There’s nothing spectacular about Jermaine O’Neal, nothing to get too excited about.

Until you realize he might be the missing piece to the Celtics’ 18th championship.

Don’t be confused by his performance (if you can call it that) in last year’s playoffs; Jermaine O’Neal can still play. He’s not an All-Star anymore, but he’s no chump either. He’s a well-rounded player who can affect a game on both ends. And best of all, he’s already come to terms with his basketball mortality.

Wait, you ask, Jermaine O’Neal coming to terms with his basketball mortality is a good thing? Doesn’t that mean he’s past his prime? Yep. But it also means he no longer holds illusions of single-handedly carrying his team to a ring. Of All-NBA teams. Of the Hall of Fame. O’Neal has already been humbled.

Like the Big Three before him, O’Neal is coming to Boston at the right stage of his career. No more ego, no more desire to post big stats. O’Neal just wants to fit in and do whatever Doc Rivers needs him to, so that the two can help co-host a parade in Boston at the end of the season.

O’Neal with the Celtics is a marriage based in need, an easy match. The Celtics needed size, and they got it. They needed rebounding, and they got it. They needed a stable of big men to stop Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, and they needed that same stable of big men to take advantage of Miami’s front court weakness. Done and done.

And O’Neal? He needs the Celtics to help him win his first ring. 

Now all he needs to do is help them help him.

Were the Celtics Shaq’s backup plan?

Jay King | September 4, 2010 at 11:30 am | 1 Comment

Shaq continues to say all the right things. He’s in Boston because he wants to win. He doesn’t mind being a complementary player. He has no more ego. He’s willing to do whatever Doc Rivers asks of him. He wants to sacrifice his game because he wants at least one more championship, and maybe two.

Then why the hell did he consider signing with the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Hornets? (New Orleans Times Picayune)

Before the Celtics made their offer, O’Neal was interested in joining the Atlanta Hawks. But the Hawks weren’t willing to extend him a contract in the $8 million range that O’Neal wanted.

O’Neal said Friday he was interested in joining the New Orleans Hornets, and discussions took place when Jeff Bower was the general manager.

“It didn’t work out, ” O’Neal said.

I’m no genius or anything, but if I was simply trying to win another championship I wouldn’t be demanding $8 million from the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are a good team, but they aren’t contenders. What they DID offer Shaq, though, was an opportunity to get paid and play a lot of minutes. I’m sure that’s why Shaq was interested in going to the ATL.

And the Hornets? The Hornets??? If winning was really the only thing on his mind, Shaq would have laughed in Jeff Bower’s face when the two spoke. But Shaq was actually interested.

Look, I’m not saying that Shaq will be a problem. I’m not saying he still has an ego. I’m not saying that he’ll act up and destroy team chemistry. I’m not saying Doc should fear a Sprewell or even a Manny Ramirez. I actually don’t think Shaq will be or do any of those things. From a chemistry standpoint, Shaq wasn’t a problem at all last season in Cleveland.

Just don’t think Boston was Shaq’s number one choice all along. It wasn’t. It was his fallback plan when he realized he couldn’t earn the money and minutes he wanted elsewhere.

Austin Rivers has an absurdly polished offensive game

Jay King | at 10:14 am | 1 Comment

When Austin Rivers faces you with a basketball in his hand, you’re in trouble. You are at his mercy. He has an NBA-ready repertoire of moves at his disposal, and chances are you can’t stop any one of them.

Jab step right, stepback jumper, three points. Hard dribble right, crossover to the left, finish at the rim with authority. Hesitation dribble left, blow by defender, finesse layup over an opposing big man. Triple threat position, sweep through, explosive first step, stop on a dime, pullup jumper.

Whatever move you can think of, Austin Rivers can execute it. He’s the most polished high school player in the country, and he has ESPN’s number one ranking to prove it.

Rivers always could dominate on the offensive end, but he has surpassed his peers based on an ability to lead his team to a comeback win, like he did in the AAU Super Showcase finals. He also won a gold medal and set a U.S. record with 35 points in a FIBA U-18 event against Team Canada.

He is the most-skilled offensive player in the country thanks to his array of moves, highlighted by his lethal crossover, and killer instinct. Rivers can get to the rim, put up a floater over bigger defenders, hit pull-up jumpers, score off pick-and-rolls and shoot long 3-pointers. Plus, he can deliver a good pass when under duress. He consistently put up 30-plus points this summer, despite teams keying on him. In one-on-one situations, the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers can get his shot on anyone and has come to embrace the bull’s-eye on his back.

I don’t exaggerate when I say that Austin Rivers has it all. Handle, explosiveness, a deadly outside shot, poise. The kid’s an absolute stud, someone who one of his his peers (Jahii Carson) says “just comes out and dominates every time.”

I watched Austin play a high school game last year, and he’s nothing short of electric. He had the entire crowd abuzz while he dominated an unworthy opponent, an opponent who was talented enough to be headed to Duke this season but still didn’t look like he belonged on the same court as Austin Rivers. When Doc was asked after the game about his son’s devastating performance, he replied something like, “Oh, that? Nothing special. He does that every night.”

He does it every night. You just better hope you aren’t guarding him when he does.

Highlight Reel: Austin Rivers mix-tape

Tommy King | September 3, 2010 at 3:15 pm | 0 Comments

Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, is the #1 ranked high school senior in the country. Rumors suggest he may end up at Duke, but Rivers says he is also considering Florida and North Carolina. Check out Rivers’s highlight reel, provided by Ballislife.com.

Throwing some dimes, starring “Should Perk get his job back?”

Jay King | at 3:00 pm | 0 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve thrown some dimes. For those of you who don’t know what this feature is, it’s not exactly rocket science: I simply link to some articles around the web and – bada bing, bada boom — you’re updated on all things Celtics.

• ESPN’s summer forecast continued today, asking whether the starting role should be Perk’s when he returns. For chemistry’s sake, it has to… right?
• Speaking of chemistry, Rich Levine describes the zany mix of characters in the Celtics’ locker room next season. He calls the 2010-2011 Celtics ”an unprecedented combination of personality, pride, skill and psychosis. A human experiment if you’ve ever see one.” Yeah, that sounds about right.
• Tom Ziller wonders how in the world the Celtics have such great chemistry: “Yet no one would say the Celtics have a locker room problem, or bad chemistry. In fact, good chemistry is the X-factor some observers credit when Boston plays over its head, as it did in its magical 2009-10 playoff run. How do they do it? How can so much — sorry for the insensitive word — crazy co-exist? Either queerness loves company, or Doc Rivers is a sorcerer of the highest order.” Team chemistry isn’t a mystery, folks. When you put five guys on a court who trust their coach and are willing to sacrifice anything for a W, that team will have chemistry. It doesn’t matter if those five guys are criminals, saints, or Von Wafers.
• J.R. Giddens has been invited to Kings training camp. I still don’t exactly foresee many All Star games in his future.
• Beckley Mason writes a nice piece for Dime, explaining how Team USA could use Rajon Rondo: “Over the last week it’s become clear that the attributes Rondo has in excess – ball-handling, the ability to decipher defenses and floor leadership – are in short supply on Team USA. Regardless of the reason he was left off the team, it’s hard to justify his absence using his history as a player, or the play of his peers in Turkey.”