1. Rajon Rondo named Eastern Conference Player of the Week – Just another week in Rondo’s maturation. I imagine he’ll win a few more this season, especially if he keeps piling up assists like the fourth-grade me collected pogs.

2. Big Baby has a children’s book – No seriously, Big Baby has a children’s book. When I woke up this morning, the previous sentence was the last one I ever expected to write. At least the picture on the book cover makes him look a little slim. It can be yours for only $14.95!

3. Nate Robinson’s slow start – Nate Robinson is the worst three-point shooter in the league among those who qualify (yup, the worst). He’s 1-for-9 so far, which means, in the grand scheme of things, absolutely nothing. The bigger concern is that Robinson may be abusing the additional slack Doc Rivers has given him. Brendan Jackson noted one play, and I remember it, when Robinson drove incontrollably to the hoop and tossed up a wild scoop shot hard off the glass. I wanted Robinson to be more aggressive this year, but I didn’t want him to get crazy. My college coach would have written three letters on the scouting report to describe how Robinson has played so far this season: O.O.C. — out of control. Somehow, he has to find a balance between aggression and efficiency. Then again, it’s only been three games. Nate should be fine. I think.

4. Tweet of the Day – Rich Levine tweets, “KG called Big Baby ‘A young voice for the young people.’”

KG must have read Big Baby’s children’s book, huh? Umm, probably not. The tweet continued, “… in the Celtics locker room. Said BB’s been great for Harangody and Bradley.”

I never thought I’d live to see the day when Big Baby would be a leader. People grow up, I suppose.

5. Power rankings – After the Celtics beat the Heat and both finished the opening week with one loss, ESPN’s power rankings rated the Heat ahead of the Celtics. As Chris Forsberg tweets, “Cue the outrage.”

But the rankings actually make sense. The C’s followed their win against Miami with an ugly loss and an ugly win. The Heat followed their loss to Boston with dominance. I wish I could complain about the rankings and tell Steiny Mo I hate him for placing my team third, yet I just can’t. I agree with it. But if you really care about power rankings and want to see the Celtics ranked above the Heat, just hop over to NBA.com. That’ll be sure to bring a smile to your face.

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

Every once in a while, I link to a few articles from other writers around the internet. You know, I throw some dimes.

1. Glen Davis’s latest nickname – Glen Davis doesn’t want to be called Big Baby anymore. No, he’s Big Swoll Baby. WEEI’s Ben Rohrbach did a little research to find the definition of swoll: “I’m not gonna lie, I actually had to consult UrbanDictionary.com on this one. They define ‘swoll’ as ‘to be muscular, jacked, strong, etc.’ (I also love their use of it in a sentence: ‘Man, I’m mo swoll than AC Slater‘).”

Two thoughts: 1) I’m proud to say I actually knew what swoll meant. My roommate at school used to love “getting swoll” while I sat on my couch watching TV. And 2) The person on Urban Dictionary may be “mo swoll than AC Slater,” but he cannot possibly be as cool as Slater while sitting on a backwards chair.

2. Big Swoll Baby gets some deserved love – After being the best player on the court last night, Big Swoll Baby got very little love from the media today. Only one piece really focused on his impressive performances in the first two preseason games: A. Sherrod Blakely’s piece for CSNNE. “He’s really working on trusting offensively,” Rivers said of Big Swoll Baby. “Defensively, he’s been even better. I think he’s been terrific.”

We all know what Big Daddy Swoll (yes, I changed it a little) is capable of. His problem has always been consistency. If he can bring the same energy every night, the C’s will have a dangerous weapon at their disposal.

3. John Strickland passes away. Who is John Strickland, you ask? I wondered the same thing, but he’s a streetball legend who made quite a name for himself among celebrities. From the New York Post: “The 6-foot-8 forward, who was currently in the Halifax Rainmen’s front office as their Director of Basketball Development, was considered one of the best players ever in streetball. As a low-post wizard and a superb passer, he once averaged more than 40 points per game at Nike Pro City, considered the circuit’s primer league. Strickland became the first person to win a title there as a player and a coach when he led Gold’s Gym to the championship this summer.”

4. Highlights from last night’s game – Wait, that two and a half hour waste of time actually created highlights?

5. Rajon Rondo named 17th-best NBA player – Slam ranked Rondo the NBA’s 17th-best player and wrote this: “When you considered the fact that Rondo’s assists have been increasing at a rate of almost two assists per season (1.93 to be exact), a double-double season average for this upcoming season is inevitable.”

6. Triple double or bust for Lebron? – CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel: “Nobody has done what LeBron has to do this season, at least nobody in the NBA’s modern era: He has to average a triple-double.”

Has to average a triple double? C’mon, Gregg. Take a few plays off. Averaging a triple double has been done once in history, when the pace of play was faster and assists and rebounds far easier to come by. And Lebron will be a disappointment if he doesn’t equal the feat this season? Relax. Take a few deep breaths. Then come back to reality.

7. Bench video - After last night, the Boston Bench Mob is worthy of at least a Semih-erection. Get it? I salivated about the second unit’s prospects, and Celtics Hub breaks it down with some video.

8. Dwight Howard’s mid-range shooting display – Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back it up a second. What? From the Orlando Sentinel: “During Thursday’s session, Patrick Ewing threw Howard entry passes and Daniel Orton rebounded. Howard shot jumpers from both elbows, bank shots from the wings and turn-around jumpers while fading away. He made more shots than he missed, at one time making seven jumpers in a row.”

Said Howard, “”Look, if you work on stuff, it’s going to happen for you sooner or later.” I guess if you can’t learn a post move, you teach yourself how to hit jumpers.

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

Every once in a while, I link to a few articles from other writers around the internet. You know, I throw some dimes.

1. Chris Johnson and Jamar Smith have been waived. I still have no idea what either of them looks like, but Chris Forsberg reports they’ll both have a shot to make the Red Claws.
2. Doc Rivers thinks Shaq’s screens could help free Ray Allen: “They’ll be great. The great thing about setting screens for Shaq alone is every team in the NBA that has played against Shaq: You’re taught never to get off his side. Everybody tries to trap Ray off the screen. If you come off Shaq’s body, you’re releasing Shaq to the rim.” Doc might have a point. Shaq’s bigger than Perk and also more of a threat rolling to the rim.
3. Sign #15,473 that Shaq’s getting old: he falls asleep in the movies, before the movie even starts. And then he gets popcorn thrown at his face.
4. J.A. Adande, you could not have done a better job on your piece about Lebron. Well done, sir.
5. Two words that will forever haunt Antoine Walker’s basketball career: what if?
6. It’s official: the Celtics are far more important than politics. And my high school teammate did the reporting.
7. Al Jefferson bulked up to 277 pounds this year to play the center position. “Hopefully all muscle,” he said.

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

Every once in a while, I link to a few articles from other writers around the internet. You know, I throw some dimes.

1. I didn’t know Perk could move and groove like that. But if I ever hear “That’s that Houston!” again, I might chuck my computer out the window.
2. Delonte West is making a habit of being the last man in the gym.
3. Nate Robinson could swim in Shaq’s shoes. But running suicides in them is more fun. And so is trying to defend Delonte West in the size 22s. Nate: “I think that’d be a good punishment. Guys gotta run in Shaq’s shoes if you don’t do something right.”
4. Kevin Garnett ain’t lying:  “This chemistry has been very good. Needless to say, it’s a (bleeping) zoo around here. But we have to work on things at the same time.”
5. Tom Thibodeau offers high praise to Joakim Noah. “”His motor, to me, is very similar to Kevin Garnett,” Thibodeau said of Noah. “It’s high, high energy. I’ve never seen him low on energy. It doesn’t matter if it’s the start of practice, the end of practice, he’s just always in motion. I felt that on the opposing team, when we were competing against him, he’s one of those guys, he didn’t take any plays off. He’ll make four or five efforts on the same play.” Noah’s response: “”Kevin Garnett’s a heck of a player, so that’s very nice of him.”
6. Michael Finley didn’t always play basketball like your grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather.
7. Shaq’s shot at Chris Bosh: “They [the Miami Heat] got a great 1-2.” Zing.
8. As if the Celtics needed any more bonding, they’re going to the movies tonight.
9. The playoffs were very important to Nate Robinson. Very, very important.
10. According to Chris Forsberg, “Doc Rivers admitted Von Wafer hasn’t gotten a fair shot at proving himself yet. ‘It’s been unfair for him, honestly, because he’s kinda been with the third unit with Delonte [West] playing with the second unit. [Wafer] hasn’t had the opportunity to play with the better players. The same thing with Luke [Harangody], the same thing with Semih [Erden]. It’s very difficult to show how good they are. Preseason, we’ll see a lot more, then [Wafer will] be in with one of those [first] two teams, and then I think I’ll have a better look at him.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

Every once in a while, I link to a few articles from other writers around the internet. You know, I throw some dimes.

1. It’s KA-zaam, Von. Damn it. Also, I get the feeling Semih Erden’s translator’s going to provide some serious unintentional comedy.
2. It’s China’s lucky day! Patrick O’Bryant signed to play with Fujian SBS of the Chinese Basketball Association.
3. Avery Bradley will likely miss the entire training camp. No big deal, though: camp only runs through Saturday. Come back quickly, Avery. It’s tough enough (impossible enough?) for rookies to crack Doc’s rotation as it is.
4. You could win a visit from Paul Pierce. You know, if you want to write an essay about a coach in your community.
5. Wyc Grousbeck, speaking about The Game That Must Not Be Named: “”We lost it, but I’m not putting up with that any more if I can help it.”
6. Celtics talk about their first dunks. Delonte West, you are still a clown.
7. Delonte tries to define the term beast. The man’s a Golden Panther.
8. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel calls Kevin Garnett “a bulky bruiser.” Only if I, a man with a dreadful case of white man’s disease, can call myself an athletic freak.
9. A Nate Robinson tweet: “We all can’t be stars, but we all can shine bright.” Preach on, brotha.
10. Glen Davis is confused. “I love my new role on the team!!” he tweeted. ”I feel like I’m going to be a big help this year.”
11. The C’s sing happy birthday to Red Claws coach, and Danny’s son, Austin Ainge.

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

1. Ray Allen on Shaq: “Just watching him and being around him, he’s still got a lot of passion for the game of basketball. The one thing I learned early is to get out of his way. He’s moving around well. He’s still getting up and blocking shots. I expect big things out of him. I think we’re going to ask him to do a lot for us.” All I ask is for a little effort — just a little — defending pick-and-rolls.
2. Ray on the team’s mentality going into training camp: “We kind of know what we’re made of as a team and as individuals. Now, when we talk about urgency, right now for us it’s preparation, commitment to the process.”That urgency will take shape as we get deeper into the season,” Allen said. “Right now, it’s a building process. Nothing’s guaranteed. We can’t come into this thinking that it’s going to make itself, it’s going to shape itself.”
3. Rajon Rondo, you know how I know you’re gay? Shaq kissed you on the cheek and you feigned breathlessness.
4. If Doc Rivers had left, said Paul Pierce, “we probably would have seen rebuilding here.” Thank you, lord, for blessing us with Doc’s return. Rebuilding is the mother of suck.
5. Semih Erden: “It was my dream to play with Shaq one day.”
6. Shaq interviewed with WEEI, saying he would have played for the Celtics for free if he had to. While discussing his season with the Cavs, Shaq revealed “we just faced a team that everybody counted out all year. You can never count out Mr. Garnett or The Truth, because those two guys, when they get mad, they’re unstoppable.”
7. One of these days I’m going to stop linking to Paul Pierce’s uninteresting blog. The only reason I do now is that Pierce was cut from his high school’s varsity team during his sophomore year. You know what that means? I was a better high school player than Pierce. Or something like that.
8. Nate Robinson, you are a clown.
9. A breakdown of Ray Allen’s free throw form. According to CelticsBlog, he “came into camp weighing around 206 lbs. Said he ran more this offseason than he ever has and is in excellent shape.”
10. Shaq spent time with some locals in Salem. I’m awed by any athlete who’s so gracious in speaking to fans. I went to a dinner last night and Boston College football star Mark Herzlich was there, giving his time to anyone but himself. I swear he introduced himself to every person there, shook hands with everyone, signed footballs until his wrist hurt, and had absolutely zero time alone or with his girlfriend. Herzlich’s grace was beyond impressive, and he’s only a college player for BC! I’m sure Shaq’s fans are twenty times as relentless, every single day of the year. That Shaq still smiles and enjoys his fans is a testament to his character.
11. Surprise, surprise! Baron Davis is at least slightly out of shape.

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.