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Pistons 105 Celtics 95: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
DET (29-29)	20	35	22	28	105
BOS (47-14)	22	25	23	25	95

Final

1:00 PM ET, March 1, 2009

TD Banknorth Garden

Boston, MA

DETROIT PISTONS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Antonio McDyess, PF	34	5-8	0-0	0-0	1	4	5	0	0	1	0	5	-1	10
Tayshaun Prince, SF	41	4-9	2-3	5-6	2	6	8	3	3	0	0	2	+11	15
Rasheed Wallace, C	36	6-16	2-6	1-1	0	6	6	2	1	2	1	4	+14	15
Richard Hamilton, SG	39	6-12	2-3	11-12	1	5	6	9	0	0	3	3	+20	25
Rodney Stuckey, PG	36	4-8	0-1	2-5	0	3	3	5	1	0	1	3	+14	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Kwame Brown, C	8	0-0	0-0	2-2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	+4	2
Jason Maxiell, PF	17	1-3	0-0	6-6	3	0	3	1	0	0	0	2	+1	8
Will Bynum, PG	12	2-5	0-0	5-6	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	2	-5	9
Arron Afflalo, SG	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+2	0
Walter Herrmann, PF	16	4-5	1-1	2-2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	-10	11
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		32-66	7-14	34-40	7	24	31	22	8	3	6	24		105
		48.5%	50.0%	85.0%	Team TO (pts off): 8 (9)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	48	11-20	0-3	4-6	0	6	6	3	1	1	3	2	-10	26
Glen Davis, PF	36	7-13	0-0	4-7	4	2	6	3	1	0	1	4	-8	18
Kendrick Perkins, C	34	6-8	0-0	0-0	2	4	6	2	0	0	0	2	-16	12
Ray Allen, SG	36	2-10	0-5	6-6	0	2	2	1	0	0	2	5	-16	10
Rajon Rondo, PG	31	2-7	0-1	4-4	0	6	6	6	1	0	3	4	-9	8
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Stephon Marbury, PG	12	0-3	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	3	0	0	2	4	+6	0
Mikki Moore, PF	9	1-3	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	-6	2
Eddie House, SG	18	3-7	2-5	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	0	0	2	-2	8
J.R. Giddens, SG	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Leon Powe, PF	16	3-4	0-0	5-5	4	1	5	2	0	0	1	1	+11	11
Bill Walker, SG	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		35-75	2-14	23-28	11	24	35	21	3	1	12	27		95
		46.7%	14.3%	82.1%	Team TO (pts off): 12 (13)

Kobe Abysmal in Laker Loss

Everyone knows my distaste for the color purple, at least when it's even remotely related to the Los Angeles Lakers. Having been swept by them during the regular season this year, however, I've been trying to not talk junk out of respect for their accomplishment. Sometimes my passion gets the better of me, usually when Kobe hoists 30 or more shots in a Laker loss or when Phil Jackzen stammers and chokes his way through an interview asking him to comment on the Celtics' latest acquisitions.

Last night Kobe hoisted 31 shots, and made ten. He was 0-6 from range. The Lakers' bench was outscored 47-7. Now I'm not saying this totally to dis' on the purple. They are still a league best 48-11. Instead, the Zen Mistress made a pungent observation after the game. "It was a junk game," he said. "You'll have those."

Something to keep in mind next time we shoot an air ball against a cellar-dweller.

Pining for PJ

I love PJ Brown. The above picture is in my top 5 from last year. But the dude is 39. Sam Cassell? Ditto. Stephon Marbury is 32, seven years younger than the Alien and still in the prime of his career (very late prime, but still part of that magical 28-32 year-old age group for athletes). Mikki Moore? Well, he never had a prime. But he is 34, five years younger than PJ and owner of more energy than any Celtic sub since Waltah McCarty. Moore's career playoff averages are as follows: 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds, while shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

I think we're doing OK. Despite this moron's hints to the contrary, Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore do not constitute "crinkling tinfoil into a ball and jamming it into a champagne bottle when the real cork can't be found."

The piece actually says Paul Pierce sounded "desperate" when he responded to the Celtics' latest roster additions.

Say what?

Ok, I admit it. Our Bench Was Bad. Very Bad.

Prior to this week's acquisitions, the Boston Celtics ranked 21st in the league in scoring off the bench (28 points per game) and 29th in the league (tied for last) in assists (less than four per game). Good lord. That's putrid. Last night, the first game with both Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury in a game together, the second unit posted 31 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.

Much better. But not as good as they'll be in March, April, May, or June.

Pistons 105 Celtics 95: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	DETROIT	BOSTON
Points	105	95
FG Made-Attempted	32-66 (.485)	35-75 (.467)
3P Made-Attempted	7-14 (.500)	2-14 (.143)
FT Made-Attempted	34-40 (.850)	23-28 (.821)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	7-31	11-35
Assists	22	21
Turnovers	4	12
Steals	8	3
Blocks	3	1
Fast Break Points	8	7
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	24 (2/0)	27 (0/0)
Largest Lead	10	4

The Boston Media

The local media's attempt to start a "quarterback controversy" between Rajon Rondo and Stephon Marbury is truly pathetic. Does anyone remember a guy named Bill Walton? Perhaps the most talented big man in the history of the NBA, he played a full season behind Robert Parish. We're only asking Steph to play back-up for a couple of months.

But Walton didn't have a bad reputation, you retort.

Oh yeah? Go back and read the articles from his days with the Blazers. He was thought to be lazy, feigning injury because he didn't have the moxie to play an 82-game schedule. Those criticisms followed him to San Diego.

So whaddya say we give both of these gentlemen a break? Rajon Rondo had 17 dimes last night. I think we know who our starting point guard is. Marbury, because he is more of a proven scorer, is better suited for the sixth-man role anyway.

Length

Obie Echoes Flip

Yesterday former Timberwolves' coach Flip Saunders said that Stephon Marbury is good enough to win at least two playoff games all by himself. After last night's game, former Celtics' coach Jim O'Brien said the same thing.

That's great.

Can I pick the two games?

Cool.

I'll take a road win in Cleveland, and another one at Staples.

Steph, are you listening?

The Last Great Number 8

Winning: Our Best Insurance Policy

Continuing my theme from yesterday, it occurred to me that I told you everything we need to know about Stephon Marbury coming to Boston right here.

"The post has no text, Lex," you counter. "You told us nothing."

Au contraire.

Winning cures everything, a cliché to be sure, but clichés are overused for a reason--their ability to convey powerful truths simply. What are the truths conveyed here?

The Knicks suck, and have sucked for the last five years, or the entire length of Starbury's stay in the Big Apple. I know New York fans think differently. They're waiting for the next great revival of Knickerbocker basketball. But the undeniable truth is that the New York Knicks have been bottom dwellers for as long as I can remember. Therefore, it sucked to play for the Knicks, it sucked to coach the Knicks, and, quite frankly, it sucked to have anything to do with the Knicks.

Now what was that you were saying about malcontents in New York? Isiah Thomas? Larry Brown? Stephon Marbury? Guys who either are used to winning or want to win so badly they'd cut off limbs and sever digits just to have a chance at another win. Of course, everyone was pissed off. The Knicks sucked!!!

Now here comes Stephon Marbury to Boston. And what truths do we know about the Celtics? Well, they are defending champs. They have forty-seven wins and thirteen losses. We also know Doc was born to lead this team and is fun to play for and is a master motivator (you remember, spotlights on an empty gym wall, pre-season duckboat rides, and the like). We know that Doc loves to win, and so does everyone else on da GREEN.

Anything else?

Oh yeah.

One more thing.

K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G K-G

This guy has more friends than Brad Pitt on Facebook. Opposing players stand in line waiting to play with him. But Stephon Marbury isn't just some guy off the street who has spent his life watching KG. This is one-half of the next Stockton-Malone combination, a duo forecast to win rings by the handful. Although it never happened, these two guys have been talking about unfinished business since 2006, while Garnett has been thinking about it since 1998.

Stephon Marbury is coming to Boston to reunite with his old buddy, KG. He's coming to play basketball with KG and the Boston Celtics. He's coming to win a ring and add that missing piece of legitimacy to his résumé. This sounds like fun to me. How about you?

Unless Stephon Marbury is truly mentally ill, I now fully expect this to work out. Winning and having fun doing it is our insurance policy against Marbury losing the battle with his Inner Mike Tyson.

Starbarius Debuts with a W

Box Score

Game Log

Jalen Rose: These Moves Make the Celtics Favorities to Repeat

Before the moves, Rose didn't like the Celtics chances to get past Cleveland. The bench was too thin. Now he says the Celtics bench is on par with the other elite teams . . . if they get healthy.

Stephen A. Smith: Marbury Will Have a Tremendous Impact

Statistically speaking, Smith says, Steph's been in the same class as Magic, Jordan, and Oscar Robertson.

The Zen Mistress Talks Celtics

KG to Steph: "Basketball is Gonna Be Fun Again"

So Then Why Did We Sign Starbury?

Game 6. NBA Finals. Staples. The Celtics are up 3-2. The series started in LA. Boston took game 2, the Lakers game 4. Otherwise, home court has held true. It’s a tight game. Midway through the third, the Lakers own a six point lead, 59-53. Neither team can throw it in the ocean.

Doc summons Stephon Marbury to the scorer’s table. A minute later he’s in the game. Three, two, three, dish for a dunk, dish for a three. Lakers respond with but two freebies from the stripe. Celtics close out the quarter with a 24-5 run, building a 12-point lead. Starbarius remains in the game for the duration. Celtics win banner 18 going away.

Oh yeah.

That’s why we signed him.

On Second Thought

After reading through newspaper coverage of Stephon Marbury's career, I'm a little more nervous today than I was yesterday. From the day he forced Kevin McHale to trade him so he could go get the same max contract in New Jersey that McHale was offering him in Minnesota to the days when he went from being an advocate for Isiah Thomas and Larry Brown to alienating them both, I'm left with one thought.

This guy reminds me of Mike Tyson. At times, both have been unpredictable and erratic, almost to a point of psychosis and self-destruction.

Can Starbury get it together and keep a lid on it here in Boston?

I don't know. Eddie House, Tony Allen, and even Sam Cassell were all unhappy about their playing time during the playoffs last year at one point or another. Professionals that they were, each one of them to a man simply said "talk to Doc about it" when asked by the media to comment on the lack of minutes.

Can Steph do that?

About as likely as asking Mike Tyson to be professional.

No?

.785

Steph from the stripe over his career. Think about that in crunch-time, in the Eastern Conference playoffs, or in the Finals. I think it's a number Boston can warm up to.

Now I Understand How KG Hurt His Knee

Starbury High School Interview

An interview prior to his senior year of high school.

Starbury & Dino

Grampa Celtic Talks Starbury

The Celtics Fish Bowl

Doc admits that he’s gotten calls from coaches who think the Celts are crazy to bring the guard on board. Rivers also has received some positive messages, but that didn’t stop the media from asking him why the defending champs would want to add a player with such a troubled past. “Because,” Rivers said, “we want to be defending champs again next year.”

“It’s about our locker room,” Rivers said. “It always has been and it always will be. If I don’t think our locker room’s right, it’ll get right. “I think we have a great group. We have a high-character team. I think this team can absorb it, and if we can’t, then we’ll find that out as well. . . . Every player who comes here has to commit to winning.”

It should be an interesting experiment. After reading and watching the pundits yesterday, what sticks in my mind is as follows:

Flip Saunders: He compared Steph to JR Rider with Lakers. Everyone told JR that if he didn't shape up for the Lakers, he'd be out of basketball. He didn't, and he was. Saunders said that Steph likes his paychecks too much to let that happen.

New York Writers: A couple of New York writers actually defended Marbury, which astounded me. One writer talked about various coaches abandoning Steph, while another compared him to Randy Moss. Somehow, I don't think Steph will perform for the Celtics like Randy performed for the Patriots.

Health: If the green doesn't start having better luck with the injury bug, no amount of great play from Starbury will matter.

Home Court: We haven't defeated the Cavs in Cleveland once during the KG Era. I like our chances of beating LA in LA better than beating Cleveland in Cleveland. Still, if healthy, it can be done.

Doc: The success or failure of the Starbury experiment may come down to Doc. Undoubtedly the Big Three will play a role, too. But Doc has proven to be a great leader of this squad, and getting the most out of Starbury while keeping everyone else happy will be his biggest challenge to date.

KC!!!

Photo by AP

MAINE EVENT: Celtics great KC Jones speaks during a press conference yesterday to announce Portland’s new NBA Development League team, which likely will be affiliated with the C’s.

Dee Brown Jump Starts Celts

The Green Crush Washington
Improve to 12-2
12/1/1990
Remembering the 29-5 Start

All returned to normal last night. The floor stayed dry. Larry Bird joined some select company. And the Celtics continued to stomp what passed for opposition.

Bird hit the 20,000-point mark en route to a 21-point performance which, rekindling the Larry of Yore, featured three 3-pointers. And the Celtics made it eight straight with a hold-your-nose-and-swallow 123-95 victory over the wretched Washington Bullets. Bird paced eight Celtics in double figures. Dee Brown (8 for 9) checked in with a season-high 18 as the Celtics recovered from a glacial start and scored 105 points in the final three quarters.

Other than that, however, there were few redeeming features about this one. And even though it's after Thanksgiving, be grateful you do not have to watch the Bullets every night. Even their one certified star, Bernard King, was out of it and finished with 22, well below his league-leading average of 29.8. He was 1 for 9 in the first half.

But by far the most anticipated moment of the evening was Bird's homing in on 20,000 points. He needed 12 (although in reality, he only needed 6 because the 6 he scored Wednesday in the slip-out against Atlanta are in hoop lay-away and will automatically kick in on Dec. 23).

The blessed event came with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter. It was a bit anticlimactic, almost like Michael Dukakis waiting for the Hawaii returns before conceding. Even Bird admitted, "If it hadn't happened last night, it would happen tonight."

Bird had 8 at the half and then made his second 3-pointer of the season. He missed on another trey before finally connecting from the foul line. The crowd went wild, the ball went to Springfield and the game went on. "It isn't really that big of a deal," Bird said. "You want to get it out of the way and go on with it. Hey, if they paid us by the point, I'd have 50,000 by now."

Bird became the 15th player to reach 20,000 points. Earlier this season, he became the 15th player to register 5,000 assists. Only four others are on both lists: Jerry West, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The basket, foul-line jumper, gave the Celtics a 63-52 lead. It temporarily got the crowd into things as well, but the resilient Bullets -- they do not quit -- were soon back to within 76-71.

Enter Brown. The rookie got orders to jump-start the lead-footed, lethargic Celtics and he complied. The Celtics closed the quarter with a 10-4 run and Brown figured in all 10 points, scoring 6 and assisting on two Brian Shaw hoops. That got the Boston lead back to 11 entering the fourth. "Dee really gave us a lift," said coach Chris Ford.

It was still a 12-point game with eight minutes left when the Celtics really put it into overdrive and finished things off. Bird nailed his third 3-pointer -- he had as many as the team had had in the first 13 games -- to trigger a 13-0 run.

The Bullets, who alternated between awful and abysmal all night (41 percent shooting), were co-conspirators in their undoing, committing three turnovers in the run. The Celtics' heretofore dormant running game erupted, with four straight dunks or layups. Kevin Gamble (16) had 6 in the spurt.

By the time Washington scored again, the Celtics led by 25, Stojko Vrankovic and Dave Popson were on the floor, and the Celtics were looking forward to tonight's battle with Philly. The Celtics outscored Washington, 37-20, in the fourth quarter.

"We had breakdowns," said Bullets coach Wes Unseld. "And we didn't get anything from our bench."

Said Kevin McHale (18 points), "We got an 8 1/4-game winning streak. That's the first time we've had one of them. But what does it mean? Not much right now."

Fans probably wondered if it would ever get to eight after the first quarter. The Celtics had no life from the start, but managed to stay close because Washington dragged them into the slime and wouldn't let go. Consider this nugget: Three minutes into the game, the Bullets led, 2-0, and the teams were a combined 1 for 12. Enthralling, huh? Soccer has more scoring.

After one, it was 22-18 and fans might have been praying for condensation to surface on the parquet. The Celtics were luggish and stagnant, much to the dismay of Chris Ford. His continuous appeals for movement generally went unheeded, the running game never really materialized and the trench warfare mentality took hold.

But McHale (8 for 13) came out strong in the second quarter and the Bullets looked a lot like the gang from Gary's in Cheers" on defense. McHale had a jump hook, a dunk and drive and soon the Celtics had their first lead of the game, 25-24. Before the half was through, fans endured a stretch of nine straight pointless possessions. Bird and King were a combined 4 for 19.

The Celtics got the lead to 9 at the half and soon had it to 13 before the Bullets made a run led by Harvey Grant (21 points). But that was their only live moment in an otherwise dead evening.

KG Reflects on his Chemistry with Marbury & Cassell

"The chemistry Steph and I share is probably basketball. It's the (chemistry) I've shared with Spree (Latrell Sprewell). The ones I've shared with Sam Cassell and Sam Mitchell. It's an untalked about chemistry. It's one of those things that just happen. The moons align correctly, things happen. And I don't think he's made that connection with anybody else. I sacrificed. He sacrificed. We made it work."

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
March 27, 2006

Recalling the End of the KG-Marbury Duo in Minnesota

3/13/99

Kevin Garnett had heard the charge before, and the look on his face and the words he chose to discuss it appeared to convey an awkward mix of sadness, embarrassment, annoyance and impatience.

Stephon Marbury wanted to leave Minnesota for a number of reasons, the story goes, but one of the most compelling allegedly was Garnett. To hear team insiders tell it, the Timberwolves forward's $126 million contract, his bundle of skills and his charisma were too much for Marbury to handle. Driven to be a star, Marbury couldn't accept being a sidekick or worse, second fiddle.

Garnett had heard it before in whispers. But in the wake of Marbury's trade to New Jersey on Thursday and statements by coach Flip Saunders and vice president Kevin McHale, it suddenly was being shouted.

Now, Garnett had to respond.

"I know Stephon," he said, speaking softly. "I know we're always in competition with each other, whether it's basketball, girls, jewelry. I thought that was just having fun."

It was, instead, a rivalry that bordered on jealousy, perhaps even resentment of Garnett's All-Star status, Olympic invitations and, most of all, money.

"I haven't necessarily got that vibe from him," Garnett continued. "Some people thought that was the case. I don't understand how someone can be mad at me when they've got the same opportunities that I had."

He paused, thought again about his buddy, sidekick, former teammate and, it seems, rival.

"I need someone to sit down and justify that to me," Garnett said. "We had the same opportunities. This is our team. If he's got a problem or it's bothering him, I don't understand that. They were going to take care of him the same way they take care of me."

Actually, the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement - born in part out of the breathtaking contract Garnett signed in October 1997 - imposes maximum salaries on players. The most Marbury could have received was a six-year, $71 million deal.

That's the deal Marbury signed Friday, too - with the New Jersey Nets. Had he stayed with the Wolves, though, the spectre of that missing $55 million would have been too much for him to tolerate.

"[New] rules put a limit on, or whatever, in his case," Garnett said. "But where else are you going to go and get [more]? It's a can't-win situation."

Never mind the absurdity of $71 million being turned into some sort of insult. What mattered was how Marbury felt about himself, his place within the team and Garnett.

"I always say your greatest strength is your greatest weakness," Saunders said before the Wolves' game Friday night against the Sacramento Kings. "Stephon was always wanting to be the best, wanting to be No. 1. He had a tough time dealing with Kevin."

Veteran forward Sam Mitchell has heard sillier things in his time, just not recently. "I don't know about all that. Whatever," Mitchell said. "There's room enough for two, there's room enough for three, there's room enough for everybody. But if somebody just doesn't want to be here, there's nothing we can do."

Garnett, the grizzled veteran of the Wolves, has had plenty of teammates come and go. At the ripe old age of 22, he ranks first among the players in seniority with the club.

He got a chance, he said, to say goodbye to Marbury Thursday after the deal was announced. "Steph came to my room, knocked on my door, had a few things to say," Garnett said. "I looked at him, hugged him, [tapped] him on the forehead and told him, y'know, good luck."

In truth, though, Garnett knew Marbury was gone two days earlier, when the Wolves faced Seattle on Tuesday at Target Center. There had been enough smoke around the point guard and management to find the fire.

"When we were shooting around, and before the introductions, I sort of told him what I had to say then and there," Garnett said. "I knew that was going to be the last time we played at home. I knew that was the last time we were on that floor together in the same jerseys."

My Night with Mikki, er, I Mean EJ

If you run a search on Google for "EJ Phillips" and "Bourbon Street," you'll find a couple of hits for a musician who plays a mixture of blues and rock. One night, back in my younger days, I had a few too many at a place called the Funky Pirate, and Mr. Phillips summoned me up to the stage .

Keep in mind I can't sing. I mean I really can't sing. But I was making so much racket applauding his efforts, he figured it was easier to let me embarrass myself on stage than it would be to call me out.

So I went up and sang a couple of songs with him. No clue what either of them were, though I think one may have been a Hendrix tune. The only reason I think that is because his talking voice sounds exactly like Jimi's talking voice.

In any event, I stopped in the next day for lunch, and he came over during a break. "Man, you were so wasted last night," EJ said with his Hendrix-like voice. That's the only part of the conversation I remember today.

EJ had himself some serious dreadlocks. Kind of like Mikki Moore. In fact, back then EJ looked a lot like Mikki does now. So when ever I see a picture of Mikki in the dreads, I'm immediately reminded of a night I've long since tried to forget, but probably never will.

Heisler Wastes No Time Weighing In

On Sunday in Phoenix, Rajon Rondo blew past Steve Nash, who couldn't have caught him with a lasso, scoring 32 points with 10 assists in a 128-108 rout. Monday in Denver, Rondo shut down Chauncey Billups, outscoring him, 14-3, in a 114-76 laugher. "It got to the point last year, I was concerned if he wasn't on the floor because he runs the team so well. When he goes off the floor, it's a major loss for us," Doc Rivers says.

This just in: It won't be as major a loss soon. The day Marbury arrives, they'll have a former All-Star on their bench, who's guaranteed to be on his best behavior, hoping to get a new contract, knowing he'll be cut if he so much as rolls his eyes. To Lakers fans seeking catharsis after last year's Finals loss to Boston, nothing short of beating the Celtics this June will do. But getting Stephon Marbury will make Boston that much tougher.

Link to rest of Mark Heisler's article.

What Mr. Heisler fails to mention is that we just grew by several inches as well. For a guy obsessed with player height, this Laker columnist fails to mention that the second unit now has someone taller than 6-7 to guard Pau Gasol. Gasol is 16-28 against the Celtics this year, but a lot of his success has come against Big Baby, Leon Powe, and a sick KG.

He’ll have a tougher time of it against seven-foot, hyperactive Mikki Moore. “Just shooting over him” won’t be an option like it was with Powe and Davis.

Elite Company

                      Points    Assists     Rebounds
Oscar Robertson        25.7       9.5         7.5
Magic Johnson          19.5       12.3        7.7
Isiah Thomas           19.2       9.3         3.6
Stephon Marbury        19.7       7.8         3.0

The only four players in NBA history to average at least 19 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds over their careers.

The Bill Walton Effect

Bill Walton was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 1985-86. Lest you think this is just some throw-away award bestowed on the league's best scrub, but still not someone worthy of starting or capable of making an impact, let us return to the only two regular season games that mattered. I'm talking, of course, about the Lakers-Celtics contests.

In both games Walton dominated Kareem. At the Gahden, the Celtics defeated the Lakers 110-95. Walton hit five of six shots, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished 5 assists while blocking a whopping seven shots in 16 minutes. Walton frustrated Jabbar every minute he was on the floor, holding Kareem to two field goals on eight attempts. In Los Angeles, the Celtics again won comfortably, with Walton posting 10 points, seven rebounds, 5 blocks, and four assists. This time he held Kareem to 1 field goal in five attempts.

These were outstanding performances, but not necessarily rare or even his best that year.

Opposing coaches and players could be heard cursing in disgust as they looked over at the scorer's bench, where Bill Walton was getting ready to check into the game for the first time. Having just been mopped up with the rest of the loose debris by the Celtics' first unit, opponents realized it wasn't going to get any easier with the second unit. In fact, it could likely get worse.

Can the 2008-09 Boston Celtics find anyone who will even remotely have this kind of impact off the bench?

Happy Now, Mr. Heisler?

If anyone forgot, as almost everyone did, the Lakers' size, depth and athleticism are far superior to the Celtics'. If the Lakers played as hard as the Celtics, and defended as well, they really would win 70.

Celtics players dismissed the impact of Bynum's return, as if he were a 7-foot equipment manager who had wandered on the court. The alternative would have been to say, "His mere size changes everything. Even if we can still beat them, we're going to get cricks in our necks looking up at them." The Celtics are very short for such a physical, defense-oriented team, with Garnett their only rotation player over 6-9 in bare feet.

Tough as he is, Kendrick Perkins, who's listed at 6-10, looks 6-8 1/2 , at most. (I saw him next to the Globe's Marc Spears, who's 6-6. Perkins looked an inch or so taller.) Glen Davis, listed at 6-9, looks about 6-7 1/2 . Leon Powe, listed at 6-8, looks 6-6 1/2. Then there's their bench, as in, what bench? Powe and Tony Allen might or might not break into the Lakers' nine-man rotation. Davis and Eddie House, no shot.

--Mark Heisler

I'm not sure Derek Fisher, the Lakers' starting point guard, would beat out Eddie House for third-string point guard on the Celtics.

Celtics 104 Pacers 99: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	INDIANA	BOSTON
Points	99	104
FG Made-Attempted	38-87 (.437)	39-74 (.527)
3P Made-Attempted	7-18 (.389)	10-19 (.526)
FT Made-Attempted	16-18 (.889)	16-23 (.696)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	17-46	7-35
Assists	19	31
Turnovers	14	13
Steals	8	4
Blocks	3	8
Fast Break Points	6	4
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	21 (1/0)	21 (0/0)
Largest Lead	6	13

Top Performers
INDIANA		BOSTON
	T. Murphy Points: 20 Reb: 13 Ast: 3 Stl: 1 Blk: 2		R. Allen Points: 30 Reb: 6 Ast: 3 Stl: 1 Blk: 0

Game Leaders
	INDIANA	BOSTON
Points	T. Ford 23	R. Allen 30
Rebounds	T. Murphy 13	K. Perkins 11
Assists	M. Daniels 4	R. Rondo 17
Steals	J. Foster 4	R. Allen 1
Blocks	T. Murphy 2	K. Perkins 5
· Team stats: Indiana | Boston

2008-09 Season
Boston leads 3-1
Sat 11/1	@IND 95, BOS 79	Recap | Box Score
Wed 12/3	@BOS 114, IND 96	Recap | Box Score
Sun 12/7	BOS 122, @ IND 117	Recap | Box Score
» Fri 2/27	@BOS 104, IND 99	Recap | Box Score
· Complete Schedule: Celtics | Pacers

Next 5 Games
INDIANA (ET)	BOSTON (ET)
03/01 DEN 7:00pm 03/03 @SAC 10:00pm 03/04 @POR 10:00pm 03/07 @LAC 10:30pm 03/10 UTA 7:00pm	03/01 DET 1:00pm 03/04 @NJ 7:30pm 03/06 CLE 8:00pm 03/08 ORL 1:00pm 03/11 @MIA 7:30pm
· Complete Schedule: Indiana | Boston

Associated Press

BOSTON -- Newly acquired backup Stephon Marbury scored six points during a 9-0 fourth-quarter run, Ray Allen added 30 points and Rajon Rondo matched his career high with 17 assists on Friday night as the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 104-99.

Marbury finished with eight points and two assists just hours after clearing waivers and signing with the Celtics for their push toward the playoffs and a try at back-to-back NBA titles.After receiving a standing ovation, Marbury quickly sank his first shot -- his first points since Jan. 11, 2008.Glen "Big Baby" Davis, starting in place of the injured Kevin Garnett, scored 18, and Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds for Boston, which returned home after going 4-2 on a six-game road trip.Ford scored 23 and Troy Murphy had 20 points and 13 assists for the Pacers.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Da Mik Gonna Wear #7

Mikki Moore will wear jersey #7 for the Boston Celtics. He chose that that number after his namesake, that "other" Mick. :)

Kevin McHale, Is That You?

The Knicks put Marbury on waivers late yesterday, and depending on when that information was recorded at the NBA office, he could clear and become a free agent as early as Thursday. Marbury will then - barring any last-minute glitches - become a Celtic. According to an executive with another team, who asked to remain nameless, “I don’t see how this doesn’t happen, but I guess that’s always a possibility. I just think this is all set - and I think it’s going to work out better than a lot of people expect.”

Bring on the Fakers

Celtics 104 Pacers 99: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
IND (25-36)	18	31	26	24	99
BOS (47-13)	26	22	29	27	104

Final

7:30 PM ET, February 27, 2009

TD Banknorth Garden

Boston, MA

INDIANA PACERS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Troy Murphy, PF	36	6-11	1-3	7-7	3	10	13	3	1	2	1	4	-3	20
Marquis Daniels, SG	38	3-12	0-1	0-0	2	5	7	4	0	0	1	3	+8	6
Roy Hibbert, C	13	1-5	0-0	1-2	2	1	3	0	0	1	0	4	-12	3
T.J. Ford, PG	36	9-19	2-4	3-3	5	1	6	4	1	0	4	0	-9	23
Jarrett Jack, PG	27	5-11	0-2	4-4	1	2	3	3	1	0	2	4	-24	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Rasho Nesterovic, C	12	2-5	0-0	0-0	1	3	4	1	0	0	1	0	-5	4
Jeff Foster, C	33	3-6	0-0	1-2	3	4	7	1	4	0	2	3	+11	7
Travis Diener, PG	12	2-3	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	2	+4	5
Brandon Rush, SG	31	7-15	3-7	0-0	0	3	3	1	0	0	2	1	+5	17
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		38-87	7-18	16-18	17	29	46	19	8	3	14	21		99
		43.7%	38.9%	88.9%	Team TO (pts off): 14 (14)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	39	6-13	2-4	2-2	0	2	2	2	0	1	1	2	+6	16
Glen Davis, PF	25	6-12	0-0	6-9	0	2	2	2	1	1	1	3	+9	18
Kendrick Perkins, C	27	3-5	0-0	0-0	3	8	11	1	1	5	3	5	+2	6
Ray Allen, SG	43	11-16	6-10	2-2	0	6	6	3	1	0	2	1	+14	30
Rajon Rondo, PG	34	1-7	1-2	0-0	0	4	4	17	0	0	1	3	+8	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Bill Walker, SG	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stephon Marbury, PG	13	4-6	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	2	1	0	3	0	-7	8
Mikki Moore, PF	16	2-5	0-0	2-3	0	3	3	0	0	0	2	2	-9	6
Eddie House, SG	16	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	2	-5	3
Leon Powe, PF	26	5-7	0-0	4-7	4	2	6	2	0	1	0	3	+7	14
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		39-74	10-19	16-23	7	28	35	31	4	8	15	21		104
		52.7%	52.6%	69.6%	Team TO (pts off): 17 (12)

When's the Press Conference?

The Mikki Moore Files: Vol. I

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14 Points (5-7 FGs), 8 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block

and just two turnovers in 31 minutes.

Not a bad night for the second best point guard in the NBA.

Link

Celtics Might Pursue a Second Big Man

Word is the Celts might pursue another big man if one of higher profile becomes available, but they do not expect that to happen before March 1 (the deadline for a player to be waived so he can be eligible for a playoff roster).

--Herald

Da Mick Goes Deep: Some Mikki Moore Videos

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Celts Bring Back "Da Mick"

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Behold the Free Agent Bonanza

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More on Tommorow's Marbury Meeting

Donnie Walsh is planning to meet privately, man to man, with Stephon Marbury before tomorrow's arbitration hearing. According to a person familiar with the situation, the two will go face to face and see if they can work out a buyout settlement and avoid the legal hearing altogether.

--Newsday

Doc's Face

I think my favorite part of yesterday's game was the look on Doc's face when he called a twenty-second timeout after Phoenix opened the contest by scoring on a seemingly endless array of lightly contested layups. "WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU GUYS DOING OUT THERE!" "DOES ANYONE REALIZE THE GAME HAS STARTED?" An absolute classic. Nobody's face expresses precisely what he's thinking and feeling the way Doc's does. I really need to use my Doc Rivers' pictures as emoticons to capture the mood of Celtic Nation. I keep threatening to do this. Maybe for the playoffs.

Billy and Gabe

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Marbury, Walsh Meeting Tomorrow

Donnie Walsh is preparing to meet with Stephon Marbury before Tuesday's arbitration hearing on his $400,000 fine. Marbury must come to a buyout agreement with the Knicks and be placed on waivers by Sunday, March 1, if he hopes to sign with another team in time to be eligible for a postseason roster. Once a buyout is reached, the Knicks would put Marbury on waivers. He would have 48 hours to clear waivers before becoming a free agent.

--Newsday

Bird Yet to Have Good Game at Silverdome

1981-82 Boston Celtics

The Celtics have yet to lose in six visits to the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., but you can pardon Larry Bird if he wished never to see that ugly structure again.

The cavernous Dome has been his personal House of Horrors, and the Pistons' fans can be forgiven if they don't quite understand what the hype is all about. Only once in those six games has Bird shot the ball well at all, that being an 11-for-19 effort last Feb. 21. His other five Silverdome outings have produced such gems as 7 for 21, 8 for 21, 4 for 14, 5 for 15, 7 for 19 and 2 for 8, all of which, when combined with the one good night, adds up to 35 percent shooting.

Bird will enter the Silverdome tomorrow night (Ch. 4, 9 p.m.) as the league's hottest player, however. After shooting 10 for 35 in games against Chicago and Philadelphia last week, he went 40 for 67 in his last three affairs before last night while scoring 93 points. He has also had 49 rebounds, 32 assists, 13 steals and 4 blocks in those three games. His 28- point, 19-rebound, 15-assist game against Atlanta may very well have qualified him for Player of the Month, let alone Player of the Week, on the basis of that game alone.

If shooting background is what has been bothering Bird in Pontiac, he should be pleased to hear that the Pistons are expecting a crowd in excess of 20,000 for tonight's game. That should eliminate the sea of blue one normally sees.

Playing alongside Larry Bird must do a job on the ego, if one is geared to publicity. Poor Robert Parish, for example, posted back-to-back 24-point, 11- rebound games against New Jersey and Atlanta, and nobody has noticed . . . And in any ordinary circumstance, a Kevin McHale would have been showered with praise after scoring 28 points while starting in place of Cedric Maxwell (knee injury) on Wednesday. McHale's 43 minutes played established a career high in that category, surpassing the 34 he posted last season while starting his only game of his rookie year. In his two starts McHale has scored 49 points . . . The Celtics have won four straight and have also won four of their last five road games dating back to Dec. 26, when they stopped Kansas City in overtime . . . Bird, who again leads all NBA forwards in assists, has racked up 47 in his last five games. He's also averaging 15.4 rebounds a game in his last eight games, and 31 points a game in his last three.

Is Rajon Rondo the Best Player in the NBA?

Probably not.

But in any given game?

I can't rule it out.

Knicks only Want $2m - $3m from Marbury

INSIDE STEPH: Donnie Walsh reached out to Stephon Marbury's representatives yesterday in an effort to hammer out a buyout with the exiled guard. Marbury, who has not appeared in an NBA regular-season game in 13 months, is earning $20.9 million this season. Marbury has refused to give back more than $1m, but in all likelihood Marbury would have to give the Knicks between $2 million and $3 million in savings for his freedom.

--New York Daily News

JR Giddens: Let's See the Goods

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Celtics Floored by Wet Garden

1990-91 Boston Celtics
11/29/1990

They milled about the parquet floor, gossiping and talking about the weather. All that was missing from this Garden cocktail party were the peanuts and the gin and tonics.

Of course, what the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks were supposed to be doing was playing a basketball game, not trading tips on how to beat the salary cap. However, in yet another bizarre chapter of Boston Garden lore, the teams endured a 24-minute delay before their outing last night was suspended because of condensation on the floor. The condensation was the result of unusually high temperatures, which caused the ice underneath the parquet to begin melting and create slippery and unsafe conditions.

Thus, last night's epic will undoubtedly go down in history as the first NBA game called on account of nice weather. "I'm really impressed with Red Auerbach," said Tim McCormick, one of the many players who slipped on the floor. "I thought I had heard about all his tricks, but climate control, that's one I never expected."

At the time suspension the Celtics were cruising, 37-22, with 10:30 left in the second quarter. The league office indicated last night that play will resume with the score intact, but that offered little consolation to the locals, who felt they were laying the groundwork for a win.

"When the other team has lost eight in a row and they're down 15, this is not something you want to happen," said Celtics chief operating officer Dave Gavitt. "I just wanted the game to keep going," said Larry Bird, who was 6 points shy of the 20,000 career mark when the game was called. "But the longer we stood around, the worse it got.

Joe Smith Doesn't Deserve to be a Celtic

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Postscript on Patrick O'Bryant

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How California became France

Best Headline of 2009

Joe Smith Not Seeking Buyout

"What for?” Smith asked before Friday night’s game against Phoenix. "I’ve been here all year. Why would I want to do that now? I’m (not) seeking it.”

Link

Marbury, Walsh set to meet on Tuesday

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Lanier Leads Bucks Over Celts

Green Fall to 27-9
1981-82 Boston Celtics

His ancient knees give out from time to time, and Bob Lanier is no longer the awesome offensive force he was for many years with the Detroit Pistons. But if you want a simple explanation of why the Celtics ' four-game winning streak went down the drain last night, he is the man with whom you start.

In the third quarter Lanier rose from a season of less-than-spectacular play, and suddenly a battle of NBA division leaders turned into a rout. The Milwaukee Bucks, shooting 74 percent in the period and riding the shoulders of their veteran center, shot to a 19-point lead and held on to knock off the Celtics , 122-118, before a sellout crowd of 11,052 at the Mecca.

Don't let the final score or the fact that Milwaukee had six players in double figures fool you. This was The Bob Lanier Show, particularly in the third quarter, when he hit seven of eight shots and scored 16 of his 26 points.

Lanier is currently averaging about 13 points a game, which is a far cry from his days with Detroit.

But he reached back, into the past as it were, and once again threw around his 6-foot-10, 265-pound frame; nobody could stop him. His 26 points were a season high and three short of his Milwaukee career high.

"We've asked Bob to do a lot of different things in Milwaukee, different than he's done in Detroit," said Bucks coach Don Nelson. "He's not scoring as many points as he used to, and is more involved in the passing and running of the offense. But he's still a great player. He may be only 60 percent of what he used to be on offense, but once he gets it going you have to change your defense.

"He's had nights when his knees were sore and he couldn't play much. But just his presence on the floor is impressive. Teams have to respect him."

The Celtics gave Lanier respect last night, maybe too much respect. But then it's hard to stop an incredible hulk of a man who can throw power hooks and his body around the way Lanier does.

"It's easy to look at Robert Parish on a night like this," said coach Bill Fitch, "and say he didn't do his job. But the fact is that Lanier shot well and our defense overall was a little soft. We let him get the ball where he wants to, and weren't helping out Robert enough."

One bad stretch was all it took to sink the Celtics last night, following as it did a so-so first half in which Boston trailed by eight points, 60-52. Milwaukee went on a 17-11 tear to open the quarter and soon built the lead to 19 points at 83-64.

Lanier took complete control in the period, and said the reason that he was so active was that he noticed that Boston was letting him get to his spot in the first half.

"It didn't seem as if the Celtics were giving Parish a lot of help," said Lanier, "and I can cause a lot of damage when they are doing that."

This was no night to make excuses for the Celtics. They were outhustled at the starting gate, blew a second-quarter lead, and were beaten.

The Bucks showed they like to run as much as Boston, gambling by releasing the guards on almost every shot, and got away with it.

"You can stop that controlling the backboards," said Larry Bird, who led the Celtics with 29 points. "But we didn't do that, and their guards released down the floor and got going before we could set up our defense. Lanier made the difference in the third quarter. We let him get the ball where he wanted it, and he put it in the basket."

Boston's fourth quarter was a good one: the Celtics cut a 19-point lead to four points. They made a game of it with around 9 minutes left, running off nine straight points and trailed, 95-85.

But Milwaukee did everything right in the next few minutes, and by the time Boston got the deficit to under 10 points at 117-108, there was only 1:21 left.

The Big Three are Old

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Walsh Says He Expects Marbury Talks to Heat Up

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Starting Gamble at the 3 is Working Out

1990-91 Boston Celtics
Remembering the 29-5 Start

Kevin Gamble spent some time floundering in the CBA. Then, one year, he found himself leading the league in scoring. Next thing you know the scouts started paying attention. "It's funny," Gamble laughed. "All they tell you in the NBA is how you have to play defense. But as soon as I started scoring, they all showed up." This year, the Boston Celtics are 7-0 with him as a starter, and he is posting impressive numbers.

Read more.

Bench Needs a Shot of Adrenaline

Is Mikki Moore gonna come off the bench and put ball in basket? What about Scot Pollard? I'm not even sure Joe Smith can be counted on to do this.

On the other hand, you add a point guard who can score and distribute and act as a catalyst for the second unit, and suddenly everyone on the bench is a threat to score.

I hate to say it. But the bench needs Stephon Marbury.

McHale Starting in Cornbread's Absence

1981-82 Boston Celtics

Of all the Celtics , no one is looking forward to playing the Milwaukee Bucks tonight (Ch. 4, 9 o'clock) more than Kevin McHale, the second-year player who has suddenly found himself thrust into a starting role.

For Boston, which will be trying to extend its winning streak to five games, it is a major test against a team that would be a difficult opponent even if it weren't leading the NBA's Central Division. The Bucks' modest two game winning streak includes victories over Los Angeles at home and Philadelphia on the road Wednesday.

For McHale, it will be a return to the Midwest, where he was a star at the University of Minnesota a few years ago.

Read more

Let the Buyouts Begin

Now that the Sorrowful Song of Solomon is no longer a Celtic (was he ever?), we can get back to the business at hand.

Tonight's game?

No way.

We've got nine days left until the March 1 deadline for postseason eligibility. As noted earlier, the NBA salary cap is expected to decrease this year, which, in turn, is expected to increase the number of players who will be bought out to save money.

This means that your Boston Celtics will soon be adrift in free agents vying to fill their two open roster slots. Joe Smith and Stephon Marbury are the early frontrunners. But in this economy, you never know what other big name players may be offered fifty- to seventy-five cents on the dollar to explore opportunities elsewhere.

What Was Bill Walton Doing in 1985?

January 5, 1985
Seven Months Before Red Pulled the Trigger on the Walton-for-Maxwell Deal

There were four little Waltons fluttering around their father's locker when he came out of the shower. They greeted him with tales of the hot dogs they had eaten and the funny faces they had made, and they asked him for a basketball to play with, too. Bill Walton understood the need. Indeed, maybe no one has ever understood it better.

One day Adam, Nate, Luke and Chris Walton will grow up to realize that. When their ages no longer range from 9 to 3, they will hear the stories of how the man who begot them might have been the greatest center in history if his body hadn't betrayed him. And perhaps they will remember winter nights like this one, when Bill Walton battled to regain just a fraction of what fate stole from him, battled until he was completely drained.

"Nate," he said wearily, "would you get some cans of beer and put them in my bag?"

The order was filled posthaste.

"Thanks," said Walton, a mischievous smile flickering across his face. ''That'll get me to midnight."

He works up a thirst for the Los Angeles Clippers now, a team that is better than anything its checkered past in San Diego might lead you to expect, but still little more than a fly for the Boston Celtics to swat. And that is what the Celtics had done by 15 points after shaking hands with Jack Nicholson at courtside and waving to Mike Warren of "Hill Street Blues" in the high- priced seats. The lords of the NBA wove a fast-break tapestry, leaving Walton to marvel at their handiwork.

"That doesn't come from playing together, that comes from winning together," he said. "A lot of teams play together, but when you win a championship, you all look to do it yourselves, and if you can't, you have the confidence that your teammates can."

Championship spirit unquenched

It was that way in Portland in '77, when the Trail Blazers were the power and Walton was the glory. And you could tell he hasn't forgotten the feeling even when the Clippers were getting waxed by the Celtics eight seasons later. His Clydesdale stride was still proud, his jaw was still thrust forward defiantly, his eyes still burned with the fire inside him. He didn't back up an inch whether he was blocking Cedric Maxwell's driving layup in the opening minutes or fighting for a three-point play when the Clippers had no hope. Both times the lip-readers in the L.A. Sports Arena saw him deliver the same message: "Come on, come on!"

This was the Bill Walton that Clippers coach Jim Lynam always heard about when he talked with his friend and mentor, Jack Ramsay - the Walton who certified Ramsay's tactical genius in Portland. "Jack used to say Bill was such a competitor that he liked road games more than home games," Lynam says. ''I guess Bill just loved the struggle."

Walton had no choice, really. If he hadn't been willing to struggle, he would have lost basketball forever. "The only things I love more are my wife and family," he says, "and they didn't even used to be up there."

The future outweighs the past

He is 32, a fine age for anyone to get his priorities in order. But anyone who insists on telling that to the world should add that his outlook on life may be better because he no longer fears that his next step in basketball shoes will be his last one.

"I spend most of my time now thinking about my next game," Walton says, ''not the games I couldn't play in."

Perhaps the load of the past would be too much, for he was a budding NBA tragedy that couldn't be traced to drugs or profligate spending or agents who weren't worth the dotted lines they had him signing. True, he hung out with what people in high places thought was the wrong crowd and he was embarrassingly capable of saying the wrong thing. But he was young and headstrong, and at last glance, neither of those qualities was a felony.

Where Walton was concerned, the real crime involved his underpinnings. He had feet that wouldn't support the 235 pounds strung over his 6-11 frame. Every time he took a step, you were afraid of hearing a bone crumble like a potato chip. In the best seasons he has ever had, Walton still could have been Blue Cross-Blue Shield's poster boy. There were 17 missed games on his report card the year Portland won the title and 24 when he was the NBA's Most Valuable Player the year after. Then he became a missing person.

In three of the next four seasons, Walton played nary a minute. In the fourth, he got into 14 games. No wonder everybody started to speak of him in the past tense. "In late '80 and all of '81," he says, "the doctors said I had no chance of playing basketball again, or even participating in any sport of any kind."

Operation gave hope

Out of the hopelessness, however, came hope. There was an operation - Walton's fifth and most daring - and it left him with a restructured left foot and the chance for the comeback that began two seasons ago. The pain it involved was nothing. "I'd already known pain," Walton says. The patience required of him was something else again. "I couldn't play back-to-back games," he said. "I could only play every other game, and that was very unsettling to my feel for what was happening out there." Worst of all, it left him with a question that only action could answer.

"In the past, whenever I got started to play again, I was always concerned about being injured again," he said. "I'm still concerned, but I had to get over having the possibility of another injury preoccupying my basketball thoughts. I have to do my playing and thinking without hesitation."

To the dismay of drama lovers, there was no grand moment when everything flowed once more for Walton. It just happened. He could feel the change welling inside him at the end of last season, when he needed no more games off. Then he had a healthy summer while playing pickup games with his fellow Clippers and old UCLA teammates. "That was the first time in seven years that I didn't have any major surgery or casting in the summer," he said. To celebrate, he smashed his mental block.

Now, more than a third of the way into the new season, Jim Lynam understands what Jack Ramsay meant when he talked about Walton loving the struggle. "Bill never let the dream die," Lynam said, "and that's all it was for a while - a dream."

Season's routine still not ideal

The reality doesn't always please Walton, of course. He can't practice enough to mesh smoothly with the Clippers' offense, and his adventures at forward have been limited by the inflamed tendon in his ankle that kept him out of the only two games he has missed. And deep down, there is something that perhaps will always gnaw at him: On the court, he will never be the real Bill Walton again.

There are too many years and scars on him for that. "I just have to learn to do the best with what I've got," he said. "I have to keep pushing." So he campaigns for more minutes of play since they are the coin of the realm, and he wants more chances to see if he can make Akeem Olajuwon, Houston's rookie prize, eat the basketball the way he did the first time they met. The hunger of old has been stirred again, and even on that unhappy night against the Celtics, it was there to offer a lesson to Walton's sons.

"Daddy," said 6-year-old Nate, "if you'd had four more points, you would have had the most points on the team."

Bill Walton tried to look as stern as he could wearing a Dance for Disarmament T-shirt. He forgot about the Grateful Dead music that is always playing in his mind, and he even tried to frown.

"If the team had had 16 more points," he said, "we would have won the game."

Father knows best.

Will Solomon

Point guard Marcus Banks, the wild card in the trade with the Miami Heat that brought Marion to the Raptors along with cash considerations for Jermaine O'Neal, Jamario Moon and a conditional draft pick, is a player that Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo believes is an upgrade over Will Solomon .

--Globe and Mail

Wait. It gets better.

Banks is a tougher nut to crack defensively, and is bigger physically. It isn't about cutting into Roko Ukic's playing time as much as a realization that at worst Banks gives the Raptors a more professional option than Solomon.

Once Danny read this post he changed his mind and sent Solomon to Sacramento.

:)

On Account of the Economy

Speaking of My Lakers' Friend, this guy is pretty plugged in, and plays it pretty straight (no need for a Laker filter). He's telling me that because of the dire state of the economy, NBA executives expect to open the floodgates on buyouts very shortly, which will create a buyer's market, something obviously that favors DA GREEN.

If true, I may have to give this guy a regular column here. He's the one that told me about the Celtics taunting Odom throughout the Finals (You know, "shoot it! Come on, shoot it again!").

He's always telling me stuff that turns out to be true. But because he's a Lakers' fan, I usually tune him out.

Lakers Trade Mihm to Grizz

Link

This puzzles me.

The Lakers only got a conditional second-round pick in return.

I'm surprised Chris Wallace didn't offer up Rudy Freakin' Gay.

Moron.

Reality is Setting in at Waltham

Link

Brad Miller's a Bull

Link

Clippers 93 Celtics 91: The Box

BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	39	7-19	1-5	5-6	0	3	3	4	0	1	3	1	-10	20
Glen Davis, PF	27	5-7	0-0	4-6	1	3	4	1	1	1	4	5	-10	14
Kendrick Perkins, C	31	1-3	0-0	1-1	1	8	9	1	1	1	3	5	-5	3
Ray Allen, SG	42	4-10	2-5	7-7	1	3	4	6	1	0	1	1	-3	17
Rajon Rondo, PG	37	6-10	1-1	4-8	3	4	7	3	1	0	4	2	-10	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Leon Powe, PF	24	1-6	0-0	1-4	3	6	9	1	1	2	2	5	+3	3
Mikki Moore, PF	14	2-2	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	2	+7	4
Eddie House, SG	22	4-7	2-4	0-0	0	4	4	2	2	0	3	1	+11	10
Gabe Pruitt, PG	6	1-2	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	+7	3
Kevin Garnett, PF	DNP COACH'S DECISION
J.R. Giddens, SG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Bill Walker, SG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		31-66	7-16	22-32	9	32	41	20	7	5	20	23		91
		47.0%	43.8%	68.8%	Team TO (pts off): 21 (21)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Mardy Collins, PG	37	6-13	0-1	0-0	1	4	5	5	0	1	3	5	+9	12
Zach Randolph, PF	43	12-30	0-2	6-8	6	6	12	3	0	0	0	2	-2	30
Marcus Camby, C	41	6-10	0-0	2-4	4	7	11	2	1	5	4	1	+10	14
Eric Gordon, SG	21	1-7	0-5	2-3	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	+4	4
Baron Davis, PG	36	6-10	2-5	2-3	1	6	7	5	3	0	3	6	0	16
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Fred Jones, SG	33	4-5	2-3	1-3	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	2	-3	11
DeAndre Jordan, C	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	+3	0
Mike Taylor, PG	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0
Ricky Davis, SF	16	1-3	0-1	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	0	0	3	-5	2
Steve Novak, SF	9	1-5	1-5	1-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	-5	4
Jason Hart, PG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Alex Acker, G	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		37-83	5-22	14-22	13	26	39	19	6	6	11	21		93
		44.6%	22.7%	63.6%	Team TO (pts off): 13 (8)

Clippers 93 Celtics 91: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	BOSTON	LOS ANGELES
Points	91	93
FG Made-Attempted	31-66 (.470)	37-83 (.446)
3P Made-Attempted	7-16 (.438)	5-22 (.227)
FT Made-Attempted	22-32 (.688)	14-22 (.636)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	9-41	13-39
Assists	20	19
Turnovers	21	13
Steals	7	6
Blocks	5	6
Fast Break Points	10	6
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	23 (3/0)	21 (0/0)
Largest Lead	9	7

My Take on the 1987-88 Boston Celtics

Celtics historians remember the 1987-88 Boston Celtics as weaker than the 1987 team. Well they should. They won two fewer regular season games than the 1987 team, and got beat in the ECFs, unlike the 1987 team, which got beat in the Finals.

But the 1987 and 1988 teams shared one thing in common. Their benches were two of the most maligned in Celtics' history. What I didn't remember, however, was that the Celtics had Robert Parish, Bill Walton, and Artis Gilmore practicing together from February until April.

That's quite a threesome when you stop and think about it.

Although Artis Gilmore still is awaiting his call from the Hall, the man was a force in the paint, and, I suggest, had he teamed up with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale for ten years, would already be sporting a bust in Springfield. Bill Walton, of course, is one of the greatest all-around big men in the history of college and professional basketball. He played forward along side the Chief for much of the 1985-86 season, including the NBA Finals.

Even if Gilmore and Walton had never played at more than 75% of full capacity during the 1988 season, a big man rotation of Bird-McHale-Parish-Walton-Gilmore might have topped the big man rotation of the 1986 team. You throw in a couple of creative moves like starting Jim Paxson at the two and bringing Danny Ainge in at the back-up point guard and maybe even moving Reggie Lewis up in the rotation, and all of a sudden that bench is cooking with gas.

Alas, it never happened. Walton hurt himself again. Gilmore was a shadow of his former self. KC Jones ran the starters into the ground, keeping Reggie Lewis as far from meaningful playing time that year as Doc Rivers has kept JR Giddens this year. Even if everyone had been healthy and properly used, the Celtics would still have been short on athleticism and long in tooth. So I'm not sure a healthy Walton and Gilmore would have made a difference.

But it would have been a whole lot more fun to watch them than it was watching Fred Roberts and Brad Lohaus come off the bench.

Paxson's Back is a Pain

May 1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

BROOKLINE Jim Paxson had just come off the bench to spark a second-half surge that helped the Celtics polish off the Milwaukee Bucks late in the regular season.

Afterward, Bucks coach Del Harris said the former Portland captain -- who was traded in February from the Trail Blazers to the Celtics for Jerry Sichting -- was "the right guy on the right team and at the right time."

Now everything that seemed so right for the nine-year veteran has gone wrong.

It started last Friday when he woke up with a stiff and sore back and saw limited action that night in Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals against the Hawks. In Atlanta, he played just three minutes in Game 3 Sunday, then sat on the bench in uniform Monday night.

On Wednesday night, as the Celtics lost, 112-104, at Boston Garden, Paxson missed his second consecutive game.

He stayed in the dressing room, watched the game on television and stretched. Trainer Ed Lacerte worked on him at halftime and, while he felt a bit better, it wasn't good enough for him to play.

Yesterday as the team worked out at Hellenic College, Paxson continued his quest to get back in the lineup.

He passed up calisthenics, preferring to shoot layups and do some hamstring stretches.

At times, the 6-foot-6-inch Dayton alumnus simply stood with hands on hips, with an "I can't believe what's happening here" look on his face.

After practice, when all his teammates had left the building, Paxson and Lacerte had a half-hour therapy session, after which Paxson made a quick exit.

"I'll just have to find a way to play Friday," he said quietly. "I'm making progress. That's all I can say now."

Lacerte said there was some improvement in Paxson's condition -- decreased motion in two of his lower back joints -- "but he seems to be reacting to treatment. He'll give it a try tonight."

Coach K.C. Jones was cautiously optimistic that Paxson, one of the best in the NBA at moving without the ball, would give it the old college try in Boston's last-ditch stand at the Omni.

"He looked pretty good today," said Jones. "Maybe tonight he'll be feeling better and perhaps he'll go in Game 6."

It has to be a frustrating season for Paxson, who played just 17 games for Portland after injuring his toe, then thought he had found basketball heaven on the East Coast.

He is a proven, steady player who many people, including San Antonio coach Bob Weiss, thought would be the extra ingredient the Celtics needed to challenge for the title.

"He fits right into their mold. He's a Celtics kind of player," said Weiss.

But yesterday, as his teammates shot around after formal practice, Paxson sat in a corner of the gym, looking grim as he pedaled on the stationary bike.

"We got some excellent minutes out of Reggie Lewis, but we'd prefer to have Paxson out there," said assistant coach Jimmy Rodgers, "because he's showed his ability to come off the bench in the regular season and really give us size, shooting and scoring.

"Hopefully, we'll have him by tonight. But he has to be in a position where he feels he can do it. He just hasn't been able to."

Rodgers agreed with Harris' and Weiss' assessment of what Paxson brings to the team.

"You can't foresee an injury problem -- but all the things Del and Bobby said are true," said Rodgers. "He had fit in very nicely with our guard rotation and did some very good things. We could use some of those things now."

As Rodgers talked, Paxson, who usually stays on the floor to chat and shoot around with his teammates, walked briskly and silently to the locker room, staring straight ahead.

The disappointment was showing.

"You know he'd love to be out there, but that's out of our control and Jim's control," said Rodgers.

"Whether he'll be back in time for Game 6 is still an unknown."

Lamar Odom and the Trade Deadline

Last 5 Games | Complete Game Log											Rebounds
DATE	OPP	RESULT	MIN	FG	3P	FT	STL	BLK	TO	PF	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	PTS
2/5	@Bos	W 110-109	35	6-10	1-2	7-11	2	0	1	4	2	4	6	3	20
2/8	@Cle	W 101-91	38	13-19	0-1	2-3	0	1	2	1	7	10	17	2	28
2/10	Okc	W 105-98	37	6-17	0-3	0-1	2	1	2	4	5	13	18	1	12
2/11	@Uth	L 113-109	40	8-13	0-1	3-5	1	2	3	5	7	12	19	1	19
2/17	Atl	W 96-83	34	6-11	1-3	2-4	2	2	2	4	7	13	20	5	15
Numbers for Last 5 Games			36.8	39-70	2-10	14-24	1.4	1.2	2.0	3.6	5.6	10.4	16.0	2.4	18.8

Funny.

I don't remember Lamar being a beast on the boards until recently.

You know, until recently when his name was being bandied about in trade rumors for Brad Miller.

Anyone wanna bet his numbers start to decline in games that begin after 3 p.m on February 19th?

Who is the NBA'S most annoying defensive player?

Bruce Bowen, Spurs F 45%

Ron Artest, Rockets F 15%

Raja Bell, Bobcats G 6%

Reggie Evans, Sixers F 5%

Shane Battier, Rockets F 2%

FAST FACTS
Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao tied with Battier at 2%.... Bowen has been named to the all-defensive first or second team eight times.... Artest was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2003--04.... The Pacers' Jeff Foster was the only true center to receive multiple votes.

Based on a survey of 190 NBA players .

For more on the poll, and to comment on it, go to SI.com/players.

Scot Pollard

A name seeping back into the lexicon of the local fish wraps.

My guess is that he's a fallback option.

Celtics 114 Nuggets 76: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	BOSTON	DENVER
Points	114	76
FG Made-Attempted	41-83 (.494)	25-72 (.347)
3P Made-Attempted	14-23 (.609)	3-21 (.143)
FT Made-Attempted	18-21 (.857)	23-34 (.676)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	11-46	11-38
Assists	28	16
Turnovers	10	17
Steals	8	2
Blocks	5	6
Fast Break Points	13	2
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	24 (2/0)	18 (2/1)
Largest Lead	38	2

Celtics 114 Nuggets 76: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
BOS (46-12)	29	31	26	28	114
DEN (37-20)	20	17	21	18	76

Final

9:00 PM ET, February 23, 2009

Pepsi Center

Denver, CO

BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	33	8-18	4-7	2-2	3	3	6	4	0	1	1	2	+27	22
Brian Scalabrine, C	11	1-4	1-2	2-2	0	2	2	0	1	0	0	1	+11	5
Kendrick Perkins, C	26	1-4	0-0	0-0	0	7	7	5	1	1	3	5	+27	2
Ray Allen, SG	33	8-15	6-11	4-4	0	6	6	1	0	1	1	2	+30	26
Rajon Rondo, PG	31	5-7	0-0	4-5	3	5	8	8	1	1	2	2	+25	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Leon Powe, PF	29	5-13	0-0	6-8	2	3	5	2	1	0	0	1	+21	16
Glen Davis, PF	28	4-8	0-0	0-0	1	4	5	2	1	0	0	5	+16	8
Eddie House, SG	16	3-4	2-2	0-0	1	2	3	2	1	0	0	0	+14	8
Gabe Pruitt, PG	17	2-4	1-1	0-0	0	2	2	3	1	0	0	2	+13	5
Bill Walker, SG	10	2-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	3	+5	4
J.R. Giddens, SG	5	2-3	0-0	0-0	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	+1	4
Kevin Garnett, PF	DNP MUSCLE STRAIN, RIGHT KNEE
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		41-83	14-23	18-21	11	35	46	28	8	5	10	24		114
		49.4%	60.9%	85.7%	Team TO (pts off): 10 (16)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
DENVER NUGGETS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Carmelo Anthony, SF	32	5-13	0-2	8-10	1	5	6	1	0	0	1	3	-19	18
Kenyon Martin, PF	28	2-6	0-1	1-2	0	4	4	2	1	1	3	3	-15	5
Johan Petro, C	21	4-7	0-0	1-4	2	8	10	1	0	2	0	4	-15	9
Dahntay Jones, SG	18	0-5	0-0	3-4	1	2	3	0	1	0	2	0	-17	3
Chauncey Billups, PG	34	1-8	0-3	1-1	0	0	0	5	0	0	4	4	-38	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
J.R. Smith, SG	39	6-15	1-8	6-8	2	3	5	5	0	0	4	2	-22	19
Chris Andersen, PF	20	2-5	0-1	1-1	2	2	4	1	0	3	1	0	-24	5
Anthony Carter, PG	16	2-5	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	-17	4
Linas Kleiza, SF	27	3-7	2-6	2-4	2	3	5	1	0	0	2	1	-22	10
Sonny Weems, SG	5	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0
Nene, C	DNP BONE BRUISE, RIGHT KNEE
Renaldo Balkman, SF	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		25-72	3-21	23-34	11	27	38	16	2	6	17	18		76
		34.7%	14.3%	67.6%	Team TO (pts off): 17 (19)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.

Paxson Ready for a Playoff Run

April 1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

No offense to the Mychal Thompsons, Kelvin Ranseys, Calvin Natts, Kenny Carrs and Kiki Vandweghes he used to play with in Portland, but Jim Paxson kinda feels this may be the first real playoff team he's ever been on.

"The Lakers were always the best team in our conference," he says. "Even if we got past the first round, we never had enough firepower to beat Los Angeles. It would be over early, and then off to the golf course. Here people go to the golf course, but we're still playing."

Paxson played in nine playoff series as a Trail Blazer. Well, make it eight. He was injured in 1981, seeing action during a miniseries loss to Kansas City in just one game for four minutes. "But it was long enough to go 0 for 3," he laughs. Anyway, his teams went 2-7 in series and 13-21 in postseason games. He has never played on a team that has advanced past the second round. As much as any player on the 1988 Celtics, he is looking forward to the playoffs.

"I am very excited," he declares. "Already, I can see a difference in the feeling here. The attitude is like, 'OK, now let's really start working.' It's not that they weren't working hard before, but there is a higher expectation level here than I'm used to. Not every team knows how to work. I've been on teams in the last three or four years that didn't work hard in practice and which lost in the playoffs because they couldn't execute. All of us who are new here -- Artis (Gilmore), Dirk (Minniefield), the rookies -- can see the difference, and we're all looking forward to these playoffs."

The Celtics have no plans to contact the Better Business Bureau in Portland, because Paxson has lived up to his billing. "I'd say there's even more to him than we expected," contends assistant coach/player personnel director Jimmy Rodgers. "He's shown more defensive ability than we had thought. He can be a defensive stopper. And he's very good at post-ups. We knew he could move without the ball and shoot. But these other parts of his game have pleased us very much."

Paxson's numbers aren't dramatic. In 28 games as a Celtic, he averaged 8.7 points while shooting 49 percent from the floor. He cracked double figures 13 times, with a high of 19 points. By the Boston substitute standards of the past two seasons, Paxson is a scoring machine.

What he happens to be is a pro. "He's a starter coming off the bench," says K.C. Jones. "We'll be counting on his experience to help us in the playoffs."

Adds Rodgers, "He's an experienced player who is top-quality. He gives us a lot more confidence. Another important thing about Jim is his size (6 feet 5 inches). Playoff basketball is usually more physical, and he can add, offensively and defensively, in that aspect."

Paxson stresses that the situation he finds himself in here is the precise one he dreamed about during his final unhappy year or two in Portland. "I wanted to be with a team that was good enough to win, which could determine its own destiny. I was afraid I'd spend 2 1/2 years sitting in Portland, which would be a bad way to go out."

That, however, is no longer a worry. When the Knicks arrive tomorrow night, Jim Paxson will be wearing a white uniform with the green lettering and he'll be thinking about winning a championship, not teeing up the white ball.

A Sense of Finality

“I thanked Sam for what he has done helping our young guys, sharing knowledge and being a part of our team. Sam was an important piece of our championship team last season. His profound knowledge of the game and his infectious personality will be missed from our locker room. We wish Sam the best of luck.”

This goodbye has a sense of finality one might not expect for a deal that many assumed could end up with Cassell back in Boston if the Celtics were unable to make any roster moves before March 1. Ainge has a move in his hip pocket. It's just a matter of when it gets done.

I'm gonna go with Marbury. Ainge knows something on the Marbury front that the rest of us don't.

My .02.

Paxson Continues Making an Impact

March 1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

For at least the second time -- perhaps a conservative estimate -- since Jim Paxson joined the Celtics three weeks ago, the team won a game Tuesday night it would not have won without him.
This, of course, is what both parties had in mind when Paxson was obtained from Portland Feb. 24. This union was viewed as the perfect marriage of team and player need in the entire NBA when it happened.

"It's definitely what I hoped would happen," Paxson says. "I didn't expect to come in and play 30 minutes and score 20 points a game, but I did want to come in here and contribute. I was hoping to get in ballgames at crunch time and be productive. I feel I've helped the team in that kind of a role and I hope it continues."

Paxson was on the floor during the early part of the fourth quarter against the Pacers, and he was a big-time player. He scored three baskets and made a big steal, with

each hoop entirely different. He cut from the left corner across the lane for a pass from Dennis Johnson, he posted up on the right box for a short turnaround ("No one's posted me up in about four years") and he stole an outlet pass and nailed a corner jumper. These were vital plays in a tense ballgame that wound up in a 119-113 Celtics triumph.

Paxson is still assessing the events which brought him to Boston. The two-time All-Star and leading scorer in Trail Blazer history fell from grace rather quickly, because of a combination of an injury to his right big toe and the ascendancy of Clyde Drexler, a certified All-Star.

"It seems that when a guy is a starter here (Boston), unless he falls off the face of the earth, the job is his if he suffers a short-term injury," says Paxson. "I had given six good years to the Trail Blazers, but when I hurt my toe, I became bench-ridden and had a hard time getting back in the flow. It also complicated matters that they had just signed me to a six-year contract."

Much has been said and written about that contract. All league executives are interested in the whys and wherefores of just how Celtics general manager Jan Volk and Paxson's agent, Larry Fleisher, "restructured" the contract in order to fit him into the Boston salary cap. Some GMs are full of praise for Paxson, who is widely viewed to have lost money in the deal.

Paxson confirms that while he lost "a little" guaranteed money in the maneuverings, it was an easy call. "Obviously," he says, "something had to be worked out (Paxson was drawing $875,000 this year, and the Celtics had no more than 60 percent of that available). And, sure, everybody enjoys playing for its own sake. At the same time, it is a business and you've got to think about security for your family. But getting to come here was an opportunity I was probably not going to have again in my career, and I had to take it."

Paxson explains that while his injured toe will never be 100 percent, he's much better following surgery last October. The injury originally occurred during a playoff game in his second year when he was landed on by Denver's Bill Hanzlik. "It was back when they used to throw me alley-oops," laughs the 30-year-old guard. "Hanzlik came down on me, and I felt something rip."

The toe became more of an issue over the years as the process of NBA basketball caused a protective capsule to wear down, leaving Paxson with a bone-on-bone situation by last summer. After consulting three doctors, he finally had the operation in October, not returning to action until January, at which point he was a Blazer afterthought.

"It feels much better now," he says, "although I'm still getting used to the feel. I have a heavier shoe now."

Paxson has been everything he was advertised to be, and K.C. Jones has discovered his value in more and more second-half pressure situations. The pattern is for Paxson to make a somewhat abbreviated first-half appearance, usually with a number of fellow bench people. He often runs around aimlessly in the first half. In both the San Antonio and Tuesday night Pacer games, he touched the ball one time on offense during the first half.

The second-half pattern is different. He gets in as a replacement for a starting guard and is usually out there with the Larry Birds and Kevin McHales. There is usually a dramatic increase in production during these second halves (see accompanying chart).

He didn't come with a money-back guarantee, but it would have been safe for the Celtics if he had. The Celtics and Jim Paxson will have a very long honeymoon.

Curiouser

Sam Cassell comes in the final year of his deal worth $1.2 million, and the cash coming the Kings' way is expected to be in the neighborhood of $500,000. That would just about cover Cassell's remaining wages for the rest of the season, and so the question then becomes why the Kings - who have a roster spot available for Cassell - would bother to do this for the mere chance to have a respected veteran presence on board.

--Sacramento Bee

So what exactly would be the motivating factor on the King's side of the ledger?

Busy Week for Boston's Beat Writers

The Sam-Cassell-to-Sacramento deal continues to intrigue. Despite some of my posts, I don't like to think of myself as a news reporter or as a media outlet. I'm a blogger. If I find a tidbit of news that no one else is carrying, and that tidbit is of relevance to the Boston Celtics, I'll post it.

So why am interrupting the Jim Paxson Saga to write about a trade involving a player who didn't play a single game for the Boston Celtics this season?

A couple of reasons.

Before the trade, I would have bet you any amount of money (up to $25) that Sam Cassell was penciled-in as the Celtics back-up point guard for this year's playoff run. Doc Rivers pretty much said he was saving Sam for the stretch run. This trade doesn't kill that idea, but it certainly puts a dent in it, as the Celtics cannot reclaim Sam for 30 days (assuming he's waived), which seems a little late to be incorporating a key player in your rotation.

The second reason is more interesting to me on a personal level. You may have noticed this morning that neither of the local fish wraps devoted any space to the Cassell deal until after the rumor was circulating in the media for several hours. Now the Globe and the Herald are saying that Ainge made the deal pretty much to open up a roster space for Thursday's trade deadline.

Can you imagine the amount of activity going on at the Globe and Herald this morning? You gotta believe they are contacting every source they know around the league. Someone must have some information about the so-called "other shoe." Danny Ainge doesn't make this move unless there is another shoe involved, and it's about to drop.

Speed dial.

Redial.

Speed dial.

Redial.

Over and over the beat writers work their phones from now until either the deadline expires or someone figures what the hell is going on.

I love this stuff.

Paxson Providing Instant Offense

March 1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

Jim Paxson came into the New Jersey game Wednesday with seven minutes to play in the third period and went the rest of the way, winding up with 12 points on 4-for-7 floor shooting and 4-for-4 accuracy from the foul line. "He's a pro," said Celtics coach K.C. Jones of the veteran guard obtained from Portland for Jerry Sichting.

"That's what we expected when we got him. He knew what to do with the ball and he was out there on the press. He was impressive."

Larry Bird and Del Harris React to Paxson Move

1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

Larry Bird:

"Jim Paxson's going to fit in just fine. Now all we have to do is wait for Bill Walton to come off vacation."

Milwaukee coach Del Harris:

"He can't create a shot any better than (Jerry) Sichting can, but he's as good as it gets coming off a pick, him and Larry. You could set up a couple of trash cans out there and they'd use them to get open. Those two can use a pick as well as anyone in the league. There's no such thing as a bad pick for those guys."

Darren Daye Waived to Make Room for Paxson

1988

To make room for Jim Paxson, the Celtics waived Darren Daye, whose fall from grace after being a key performer in the month of November (scoring 27, 26 and 27 in one four-game stretch) was truly astonishing. "When he started," said K.C., "he was most effective. After he went back to the bench, we didn't get much."

Paxson Chooses Number 4

1988

A number long sitting in mothballs has been exhumed for Jim Paxson. The newest Celtic will wear the No. 4, last seen on the back of former Boston College star Gerry Ward in the 1964-65 season.

Others who wore that number were, in reverse order, Clyde Lovellette (who also wore 34), Carl Braun, Ken Rollins, Sonny Hertzberg, Tony Lavelli (who also wore 11), Saul Mariaschin and Wyndol Gray.

Celtics Acquire Jim Paxson

1988
Jim Paxson is Acquired for Jerry Sichting

There are some things about Jim Paxson that will never change, no matter what color uniform he wears or where they happen.

That much was obvious last week when, during a third-quarter fast break against the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtic guard -- it still sounds funny, doesn't it? -- looked right, faked left and blew past Vinnie Johnson for a scoop layup. He left Johnson clawing at a shadow.

The Boston Garden fans, who still are getting used to him, applauded wildly. A Portland Trail Blazer spectator, having seen the same thing game after game for eight straight seasons, might have shifted in his seat a little and looked to see when Clyde Drexler was coming back into the game.

Later on, after the mob of New England reporters had moved from his to Kevin McHale's locker, Paxson said the response of the Boston fans was one part of his new life that he absolutely loved.

``I know I replaced a guy (Jerry Sichting) who was very popular here,'' he said. ``But it seems as if I was accepted very quickly.''

Acceptance is the main thing that Paxson worried about when the Blazers traded him, his $875,000 salary and his all-time Portland record 10,003 points to the Celtics for Sichting and ``future considerations'' on Feb. 23.

Sure, he had asked the Blazers to trade him in the middle of last season. But this isn't exactly San Antonio. These are the Boston Celtics, the flagship franchise of the National Basketball Association where the magic carpet is made of oak parquet and championships aren't expected, they're assumed.

If Paxson had been able to read the minds of the Celtic franchise, he wouldn't have worried. The Celtics looked at him as the potential key to hanging another NBA championship banner in the Garden rafters.

In a nutshell, the thinking in Boston is that Paxson could give the team some things that Sichting couldn't. For instance:

*An instant bench. The last time the Celtics won the NBA title, in 1986, Bill Walton jumped off the bench to do all the right things at all the right times. Until the trade this season, the first guard off the bench was Dirk Minnifield; the first forward was Fred Roberts. As one Boston writer put it, the difference between the Celtics' fifth-best player and sixth-best player was ``bigger than any team in the NBA.''

*Some immediate relief for guards Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge. Johnson is skilled, but he's also 33, and the games of 40-plus minutes were wearing him out. Johnson had to sit out a recent game at Washington with a sore shooting shoulder. So Paxson started that one, then started again against the Pistons.

It was a workmanlike game from a workmanlike player. Paxson played 23 minutes, hit five of nine field goal attempts and scored 10 points. If he hadn't jammed his wrist running into a pick by John Salley late in the third quarter, he might have played more. But the Celtics were cruising and Coach K.C. Jones felt comfortable finishing the game with Minnifield and Johnson.

Jones even refers to Paxson as ``a starter'' as a credit to Paxson's skills.

``Jim is a starter,'' Jones said, ``a starter off the bench. When we go to him, nothing is lost in the way we play. He's a great shooter, he moves without the ball and he can do a little of everything.

``He's able to shoot the ball from the outside well enough that teams can't double down inside on us. That's something we've needed.''

Larry Bird, who had been taking his size outside and away from the rebounding wars more and more before the trade, thinks much the same way.

``It's an addition we needed pretty badly,'' he said. ``He does just about everything, and you can't ask for more than that, can you? He's made us a lot better -- with the kind of talent we have, he fits in perfectly.''

Ainge, speaking for the guards, made it unanimous. ``It's been great,'' he said. ``He gives us so much coming off the bench. Jim puts pressure on the other team with his cuts and his shot, and he can post little guards down low.

``Now DJ and I don't have as much pressure on us anymore to play all those minutes.''

So the ayes have it, and the numbers back them up.

Since he left Portland, Paxson's playing time has increased only slightly.h the Celtics, he averaged 19.2 minutes a game (up 3.7 from Portland) and is contributing just about what the Celtics expected from him.

His 49.2-percent shooting -- up substantially from his 40.2 percent with the Blazers -- has allowed him to improve his scoring average from 6.1 points a game to 8.7. He has accumulated the little things that first-line reserves are supposed to do -- played 10 minutes or more 27 times and scored 10 or more points 13 times.

The most telling number, though, may be found in the NBA standings. Since Paxson became eligible to play -- he couldn't play against the Blazers Feb. 24 because Sichting hadn't had his physical yet -- the Celtics have a 20-8 record -- a percentage of .714 and had their longest winning streak of the season at eight games. On the day they got him, they had a 39-17 record -- a percentage of .696.

The difference isn't much, but the timing is perfect. The Celtics open the NBA playoffs Friday against the New York Knicks.

Paxson has been effective. But is he satisfied with the way his career has turned out? The answer came after Boston beat Detroit. He was asked if the playoff tension in Boston was somehow different from what he experienced in Portland.

Pause.

``Around here,'' he said finally, ``they say nobody gets excited until the division. Heck, I've never even played in a division final.

``This has been a really good situation for me,'' Paxson said. ``In Portland, I had 8 1/2 years and it was great. I'm really happy for the time I spent there.

``I never had a problem coming off the bench -- I've been coming off the bench since my seventh year in the league. I just wasn't a point guard. But I still have a lot of friends there.''

As disappointed as he was at having last summer's trade to Cleveland scotched when Keith Lee failed his Blazer physical, Paxson is happy that it worked out the way it did.

``This (wanting to be traded) is just a career move,'' he said. ``In the Cleveland trade, I looked at all the positive things that could come of it. Now that I'm here, I'm looking at the positive things that have come from this. I guess it worked out in the long run.

``There was a stretch during the last part of March when I wasn't playing well, and I was down about that. But I'm over that now. I'm ready to do the things they want me to do, and I have the confidence that I can do them.

``It's a combination of things. I'm playing more now, and each game I know more about the other players. We're starting to know what each other's game is like on the floor.''

True, but he does confess to some homesickness. At the moment, Paxson is living in a Boston hotel. When the season is over, he will head back to his Lake Oswego home.

Paxson wanted to know about what's going on in Portland -- what the weather was like, how the team is getting along, who won the state high school championship, things that would interest a full-time resident of Portland.

Boston is, after all, just another stop in Jim Paxson's career. Home in the NBA is where you hang your sneakers.

Celtics Interested in Paxson

February 1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

How convenient for the Celtics to be in Portland. It will save them the expense of sending a scout to look at Jim Paxson.

The 30-year-old Dayton grad is available, and the Celtics are believed to be interested. Paxson, a two-time All-Star and a 16-points-a-game career scorer, is expendable because he is an off-guard, making about $875,000 a year playing behind Clyde Drexler, who has developed into one of the premier players in the league. Paxson has had recent surgery on a toe and is just now getting his game back.

Celtics general manager Jan Volk will neither confirm nor deny that Paxson is the No. 1 Boston quarry at the moment. "Lots of things are considered at this time of the year," Volk said. "Some things we take more seriously than others."

Volk believes the Celtics will soon be better off, trade or no trade. "We will soon acquire a player through action or inaction who will help us," he said, referring to the imminent reactivation of Jerry Sichting.

Celtics 128 Suns 108: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	BOSTON	PHOENIX
Points	128	108
FG Made-Attempted	46-73 (.630)	42-84 (.500)
3P Made-Attempted	8-18 (.444)	7-16 (.438)
FT Made-Attempted	28-40 (.700)	17-26 (.654)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	8-40	7-26
Assists	17	19
Turnovers	17	15
Steals	5	9
Blocks	2	3
Fast Break Points	16	18
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	25 (4/0)	26 (3/0)
Largest Lead	22	8

Celtics 128 Suns 108: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
BOS (45-12)	38	30	28	32	128
PHO (31-24)	33	21	29	25	108

Final

2:30 PM ET, February 22, 2009

US Airways Center

Phoenix, AZ

BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Rajon Rondo, PG	37	13-18	1-1	5-9	0	6	10	3	0	5	3	+14	32
Ray Allen, SG	38	10-15	4-8	7-8	3	4	2	0	0	1	3	+18	31
Paul Pierce, SF	44	8-17	0-1	10-10	1	6	3	0	0	5	3	+17	26
Brian Scalabrine, C	37	5-8	2-4	2-2	0	2	1	0	0	1	3	+13	14
Kendrick Perkins, C	17	2-3	0-0	1-4	0	6	0	0	0	4	4	0	5
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Gabe Pruitt, PG	5	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	-4	0
J.R. Giddens, SG	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0
Tony Allen, SG	Did not play
Leon Powe, PF	15	2-2	0-0	1-5	1	6	0	0	1	1	3	+8	5
Kevin Garnett, PF	Did not play
Eddie House, SG	12	1-4	1-3	0-0	0	6	1	0	0	0	1	+10	3
Bill Walker, SG	2	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	1	0	1	1	-1	2
Glen Davis, PF	24	4-4	0-0	2-2	2	3	0	1	1	0	4	+20	10
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		46-73	8-18	28-40	8	40	17	5	2	17	25		128
		63.0%	44.4%	70.0%	Team TO (pts off): 17 (36)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
PHOENIX SUNS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Leandro Barbosa, SG	32	8-15	1-2	1-3	2	4	2	3	1	3	3	-13	18
Grant Hill, SF	29	2-7	0-0	4-7	0	2	1	1	0	2	2	-4	8
Steve Nash, PG	34	8-20	2-5	1-1	0	0	11	1	0	2	4	-11	19
Jason Richardson, SG	33	7-12	2-5	5-5	1	1	2	2	0	1	3	-15	21
Shaquille O'Neal, C	27	7-11	0-0	3-6	0	6	0	0	2	2	5	-15	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Goran Dragic, PG	12	1-1	0-0	2-2	0	0	2	1	0	1	3	-5	4
Matt Barnes, SF	23	4-8	2-4	0-0	0	5	1	0	0	1	5	-7	10
Alando Tucker, SF	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	-1	0
Courtney Sims, C	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Robin Lopez, C	2	0-1	0-0	1-2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	-1	1
Louis Amundson, PF	9	2-4	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	+1	4
Jared Dudley, SF	20	3-5	0-0	0-0	2	5	0	1	0	1	0	-7	6
Amare Stoudemire, PF	Did not play
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		42-84	7-16	17-26	7	26	19	9	3	15	26		108
		50.0%	43.8%	65.4%	Team TO (pts off): 15 (23)

Bird has Solution for Celtics' Bench Problem

1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

The Celtics team bus was wending its way through the streets of Denver toward McNichols Arena for last night's game against the Nuggets when Larry Bird spotted something at a bus stop.

"K.C.!" yelled Bird from the back of the bus. "You're looking for a bench. How about over there?"

He was looking at a bench at a bus stop, on which was painted an advertisement which read RENT-A-BENCH. Call 333-RENT.

"There's your bench," Larry said. "You'll only need it 'til June."

Knicks and Marbury to Faceoff at Hearing

In 10 days, Stephon Marbury and the New York Knicks brass will legally dispute the $400,000 fine he was tagged with for allegedly "refusing" to play vs. the Pistons on Thanksgiving Eve, according to a league source. The New York Post has learned a hearing has been arranged in New York on Feb. 24 that may require Mike D'Antoni to miss a Knicks practice to testify against Marbury, who was banned from the team after being docked $400,000 in pay.

++

With the March 1 deadline looming, it will be interesting to see if the interested parties continue playing push-and-shove, playground style, or get down to business.

Celtics Need More Guns to Overtake Lakers

1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

IF YOU'RE interested in seeing the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals again this year, there are a few things you should know:

1. On Saturday, the day before Boston was wiped out by the Lakers, Larry Bird was spotted playing one-on-one basketball with Bill Walton at Loyola Marymount. The big fella looked pretty good.

2. Artis Gilmore's line Sunday: 13 minutes, no shots, no rebounds, five fouls, and an air-ball free throw.

3. Bird's comment: "The Lakers are just better than us, that's all. They have more talent."

4. Mychal Thompson's comment: "The night I was traded to the Lakers (almost exactly a year ago), I looked north and saw a new star in the heavens. It was big and bright, and it was gold with a purple hue around it."

All of which adds up to this: The Lakers are somewhere around 13th gear, steamrolling their way to the title, and getting positively giddy. The Celtics are getting desperate.

In a way, Larry Bird's week told the whole story. He had a phenomenal run through Texas, averaging 40.7 points in three games, and after leaving the Forum, he cranked up 49 at Phoenix on Monday night.

But Bird had just 25 against the Lakers, and it seemed more like none. With Michael Cooper playing the kind of defense that can only be described as history-making, Bird missed 14 of his 22 shots and never really showed up. When the Celts made that remarkable comeback from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter, Kevin McHale did the big damage.

Everything's going the Lakers' way right now. Byron Scott has become a prime-time player; Thompson and A.C. Green provide consistent muscle up front; James Worthy's sore knee is improving, and Cooper - for the moment, at least - has Bird's number. We'll wait until the NBA finals (if the Celts get that far) before closing the case on that one.

When Bird suggested the Celtics couldn't go all the way with the talent they have, it meant just one thing. They have to make a change. Their bench is one of the league's biggest jokes.

Brad Lohaus and Mark Acres, nice guys that they are, are overmatched now, and they always will be. Fred Roberts' main contribution is his conversation-piece haircut. Gilmore should have retired in the '60s. Rookie Reggie Lewis isn't ready (evidence: three garbage-time minutes against the Lakers). Dirk Minnifield has a reputation of folding in the big games, and he sure did disappear on Sunday (no points, three turnovers in 10 minutes). Super-soft Darren Daye had the hot hand earlier this season, but when Bird and McHale came back from their injuries, Daye still thought he was the man. You're so very, very wrong, Darren.

"It used to be, when we got beat, we had guys on the bench who wouldn't let you lose the next game," Bird said. "M.L. (Carr), Cedric Maxwell, they'd start talking about your family, the girl you're dating. Now it's a lot different. We got a lot of young guys just learning the game."

The simplest solution would be Walton. It's all sort of hush-hush right now, but Celtic insiders feel he might be ready for the playoffs. Walton has come back in great shape before. In fact, he's has made a career out of it.

Without Walton, the Celtics have to make a trade. Like, tomorrow. The way they play in Detroit - losing their last seven, most of them blowouts - there's no guarantee they'll even get through the Eastern Conference.

How often has the Boston management talked trade? "Every single day," said one source close to the team. "But who do you give up? The five starters are tremendous. They're winning this thing (the Eastern race) on pure smarts alone. You can't trade any of them."

And there's nothing left in reserve. The days of Frank Ramsey, John Havlicek, Bailey Howell and Paul Silas are long gone, fans. Before long, the Celtics may be, too.

DJ Finalist for Hall

Link

Boston's Bench Situation Getting Desperate

1988
The Jim Paxson Acquisition

K.C. Jones has instituted a new substitution policy of late, featuring Dirk Minniefield, Brad Lohaus and Mark Acres. Perhaps they'll be the answer to Boston's lingering bench problems, perhaps not. But at least he is addressing the problem in a logical manner.

The truth is that over the past two years, no team has been forced to operate the way Boston has. The difference between Boston and its opponents in bench use, and bench production, is startling. Of course, having five All-Star-level players changes your outlook. Nevertheless, it's a difficult road to travel when so much of the burden is placed upon five pairs of shoulders, rather than seven or eight.

The lone Boston 20-point bench game was submitted by Kevin McHale in his first game back. The other three 15-point bench games are as follows: Brad Lohaus, 15 vs. Exit 16W, Dec. 2; Jerry Sichting, 17 vs. the Lakers, Dec. 11; Mark Acres, 19 vs. Philadelphia, Dec. 20.

The low opposition bench minutes logged in a single game is 47 by the Nets on Jan. 16. The Celtics have had nine games under that total. The opposition low bench point total is 15 by Sacramento on Dec. 27. The Celtics have been under that total on 15 occasions.

Those are the facts. K.C. realized he had to try something, and all you can do is wish him luck.

Rajon on the Road

As we learned last spring, the league's lesser lights don't play well on the road, especially in the playoffs. So for Rajon Rondo to post a triple double after three quarters in Dallas is not something we should come to expect or something we should ever get used to. It is the kind of performance that will always be an extraordinary feat, even more so now that he's turning in such performances on the road.

On any given night, this kid is the best point guard in the NBA. Bar none. That doesn't mean he's better than Chris Paul. But it does mean that on certain nights, Rajon is in a league of his own. Last night was one of those nights.

My final thought:

Dennis Johnson was never a great shooter, except during the last five minutes of basketball games, when he never seemed to miss. If Rajon ever adds clutch shot-making to his bag of tricks, you're looking at the next Dennis Johnson, maybe better.

Another Notch in His Holster

Pierce Scores 18 in the fourth quarter to lead Boston back from fifteen down against Dallas.

Time to Call in a Favor

In February 2004 the Atlanta Hawks shipped Rasheed Wallace to Detroit and received Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura, and a first-round pick, as well as the expiring contract of Chris Mills, from Boston. The Celtics shipped guard Mike James to Detroit and received Hunter, guard Chucky Atkins, and a first-round pick from the Pistons. But rivals-turned-decision makers Danny Ainge of the Celtics and Joe Dumars of the Pistons had a wink-wink deal on Hunter. Hunter never reported to the Celtics. In fact, he never even left Michigan. A week after the deal, Hunter was waived by the Celtics and he re-signed with Detroit, which went on to win the NBA title.

++

After the trade, both Pistons' fans and Celtics' fans joked that Ainge should have won GM of the year for the role he played in that transaction. After all, without Ainge's cooperation, maybe that deal doesn't go down, and, if the deal doesn't go down, Detroit doesn't get Sheed. And if Detroit doesn't get Sheed, well, you get my point.

Whatever your opinion, Danny has a chip to play. I'll call it the "you owe me, Joe Dumars" chip.

Let's see if he calls it in over the next 12 days.

The Pistons certainly aren't going anywhere this year.

Gravitas

"I think it surprised a lot of people," Popovich said of Rondo's emergence. "I didn't really know what he was when he came in [to the league]. I've heard the good and the bad and from what I can see, he has silenced a lot of critics in the sense of really being able to have the gravitas to run the team, get things done and move the ball where it is supposed to go -- to be an important player in their success. He deserves a lot of credit for that."

++

Rondo finished with six points, 16 assists, and five rebounds, while Parker finished with seven points, seven assists and three rebounds.

Kobe Takes 33 Shots in Laker Loss

Link

The Boss thinks he should have taken 8 more.

Wishful Dreaming

Last night I drank about a half a can of Mountain Dew with dinner. Ordinarily, I quit drinking caffeine around 2 in the afternoon. Let's just say it was an interesting night of dreams.

Only one was memorable.

The Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls decided to merge their franchises. I started jumping up and down (in my dream). Now we have a bench! Now we have a bench!

109-27

The Celtics record during the KG Era.

Gabe

Gabe "Don't Confuse Me with Rodney Stuckey" Pruitt was one for six from the floor last night. His field-goal percentage for the year is .303. Over his career, he's shooting .322.

Now what was that everyone was telling us about how well this kid from shoot?

Three Things We've Accomplished this Year that We Didn't Last Year

1. Swept New Orleans

2. Beat Orlando in Orlando

3. Won the season series against Washington

Ok, New Orleans was all beat up this year, and Washington is one of the worst teams in the NBA. But, hey, that win in Orlando was big!

How 'bout them Celtics??!!

Hmmmm

So that tells me the Celtics could resign PJ, and then trade him to whomever for whatever, and get a great player in return, without PJ ever leaving his living room. The other team would then get a contract--PJ's contract--that expires after the season.

PJ, meanwhile, would get paid for not doin' a thing.

Great idea, too bad Wyc won't pay the bill for the incoming player and his contract we'd receive in said deal.

Spurs May Sign Horry & Then Trade Him for Brad Miller

2/8/09
Sacramento Bee

According to a source close to the Spurs, San Antonio has interest in John Salmons or Brad Miller, and the only way of landing one of them (in a trade) may be by way of the man who so many Kings fans despise. Robert Horry the Kings-killer is not playing and has shown no signs of coming out of retirement, but he may be the only way San Antonio can land Salmons or Miller. The Spurs, according to the source, are considering which player helps them more and trying to figure out what it would take to bring one of them on board. The big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are obviously untouchable, and there aren't a whole lot of intriguing or attractive players or contracts beyond that.

Nellie and Harrington Square Off

Al Harrington crossed paths again with Don Nelson on Tuesday, inviting a testy recap of their tangled relationship. It was a debate Harrington could win only with a big point total and a victory, but he came up empty on both counts.

Harrington's first return to the Bay Area was spoiled by boos and a 144-127 blowout by the Golden State Warriors. The signature moment was not any of the 24 points Harrington scored, but the ball he lost to Jamal Crawford, the player he was traded for in November.

Crawford, the former Knicks guard, stole the ball from Harrington midway through the fourth quarter and passed it to Corey Maggette for a fast-break dunk as the Warriors put the finishing touches on their rout. Harrington, fueled in part by his anger at Nelson, had an energetic first half but scored only 2 points after halftime. Harrington and Nelson were declared enemies long before they met again Tuesday night. Their pregame rhetoric probably aggravated their ill feelings. Nelson accused Harrington of being motivated by money. Harrington said Nelson ruined players' careers.

--Read more

The Onslaught Continues

Celtics Crush Heat, Move to 11-2
The 1990-91 Boston Celtics
Remembering the 29-5 Start

Boston jumped out early, survived a midgame relapse, then pounded Miami after halftime to take a reasonably painless 118-101 victory. It was Boston's seventh straight victory, its longest such streak since April 1988.

The 15,239 who showed up got a little bit of everything. Larry Bird notched his first triple-double of the season (21/14/11). Brian Shaw survived a scary first-quarter collision and fall. Six players were in double figures. And Stojko Vrankovic dazzled the hardcore fans who remained.

Read more.

Bird Says Celtics One Player Away, Someone Like Magic or MJ

1990-91 Boston Celtics

The public insists on taking Larry Bird's temperature according to the points he scores. Forty-five points against Charlotte? Hot, very hot. Nine points against Sacramento? Oooh, so cold, Larry. Feeling OK?

Read more.

Finding Ways to Win

Paul Pierce says its not the end of the world.

KG cautions against hitting the panic button.

Danny Ainge says the Celtics are simply losing close games and need to find ways to win them.

I've got two suggestions on this front:

1. Don't give up 60 points in one half to the Spurs.

2. Don't let the Lakers shoot 6-6 in the last four minutes of the game.

Reduced to a single bullet:

Find some ways to get stops, fellas.

Speaking of the Pacers, How Close are they to the 7 Spot?

Every time the Pacers beat one of the league's behemoths, I get concerned we'll play them in the first round of the playoffs. Looks like they are lurking 3.5 games out of the final spot.

Eastern Conference
	W	L	PCT	GB	HM	RD	CONF	DIV	PF	PA	DIFF	STRK	L10
Boston	42	11	.792	-	24-4	18-7	30-4	12-1	101.6	92.3	+9.3	Lost 1	8-2
Cleveland	39	11	.780	1 ½	23-1	16-10	23-8	8-3	100.7	91.0	+9.7	Lost 2	7-3
Orlando	38	12	.760	2 ½	20-5	18-7	19-7	7-2	102.8	94.3	+8.5	Won 1	6-4
Atlanta	30	21	.588	11	19-6	11-15	21-14	8-3	98.9	97.1	+1.8	Won 1	5-5
Detroit	27	23	.540	13 ½	14-12	13-11	17-12	7-3	93.9	94.2	-0.3	Lost 2	4-6
Miami	27	24	.529	14	17-9	10-15	15-12	7-3	96.3	96.2	+0.1	Lost 1	5-5
Philadelphia	26	24	.520	14 ½	16-11	10-13	16-15	4-6	96.7	95.5	+1.1	Won 3	6-4
Milwaukee	25	29	.463	17 ½	15-9	10-20	15-18	2-7	99.0	98.9	+0.0	Won 1	5-5
New Jersey	24	29	.453	18	11-16	13-13	13-19	4-5	98.2	100.0	-1.9	Lost 2	5-5
Chicago	23	29	.442	18 ½	14-10	9-19	11-17	4-5	100.4	102.2	-1.8	Won 1	5-5
New York	21	30	.412	20	14-12	7-18	12-17	2-6	104.7	107.4	-2.6	Lost 5	4-6
Indiana	21	32	.396	21	15-11	6-21	14-20	3-6	104.7	106.9	-2.2	Won 1	5-5
Charlotte	20	31	.392	21	14-14	6-17	10-22	3-6	92.0	94.0	-2.0	Won 1	4-6
Toronto	20	34	.370	22 ½	9-15	11-19	13-19	3-7	97.0	99.9	-2.9	Won 1	4-6

Pacers Down Cavs

Link

19th Street Red

Standing Pat

If Boston was 3-0 against the Lakers and Spurs this year, Celtics' fans would be far more content than they are now. And yet the Celtics had leads over the Lakers and Spurs late in all three games.

The Celtics didn't execute or get stops when needed. Would trades help Boston do either of these things in the waning moments of a basketball game?

The answer is "it depends."

Adding Dikembe Mutombo would not have changed the outcomes of any of the three games. At his age, he's just not a game changer anymore. You could argue that he might have played earlier in the game, and thus have given KG or Perk a little more rest for crunch time, but I'm not even sure Doc would have played Dikembe in any of those games. He's certainly not playing much in Houston.

What about a Chris Andersen? It's hard to look at his game logs and not come away thinking he would have helped the Celtics on both ends of the floor. The difference? He still has fuel left in the gas tank.

Adding a body for the sake of doing something is flat out stupid. But adding some talent at any position is almost always worth doing. Taking a look a Byron Russell is a non-starter for me. Maybe he can shoot a tad better than Tony Allen, but Tony's got him beat on just about every other front. What about Bob Horry and Employee #8? Bring them in for a workout. What harm can that do?

In every case the only question is whether a player can make a difference? With the number of teams looking to unload salary, it says here Danny will make one roster addition before March 2.

He'll also activate Sam Cassell, and the Celtics' playoff preparations will then begin in earnest.

Or Maybe the Cavs Will Stand Pat

Link

Cavs, Spurs Interested in Vince Carter

Link

1000 Games and a Cup of Coffee

You take a look at the graphics in the below post, and you see two serviceable players whose careers both lasted about 1000 games. Twelve years and all you have to show for it is 1,000 games. Ok, Rick Fox has three rings. But at retirement age--maybe during nursing home convalescence--it sure seems like those thousand games amount to little more than a truck stop on the highway of life.

With that in mind, you can't fault any player for trying to milk the NBA for every last red cent it has before they call it a career.

Stacey Augmon & Rick Fox

The other day, against the Spurs, I watched Tony Allen catch a Leon Powe miss and lay it back in all in one-fell swoop. Shortly thereafter, I watched TA drive down the lane, pull up and nail a jumper. Smooth as silk.

The two plays weren't memorable because Tony Allen was contributing off the bench. If you look at his performance over the last five games, he's contributed more often than not. The plays weren't memorable even because it looked like the on-again-off-again player was setting himself up for an on-again game.

No, the reason the two plays were memorable was that when the camera closed in on him running down the court after the made baskets, you saw focus in his eyes. You saw Tony Allen alert and into the game as he was transitioning back to D.

How often have we seen this? Not often enough. That's for sure. What we usually see is Tony Allen making a basket and then running down the court in some kind of dream state, head in the clouds, or that place where no one else can find him. You know the one. It's the one that prompted KG to give TA a couple of love taps on the head after the infamous they-don't-want-no-pick-and-roll-speech on the bench.

I remain convinced that Tony Allen could be a very effective sixth man in this league. Someone that makes a difference at least six games out of ten. But right now he's not even as good as Stacey Augmon or Rick Fox.

Or maybe he is.

You tell me.

You'll need to click on the graphics to enlarge.

More Proof the Bench Isn't Getting it Done

For those of us who are masochists, I have some more gloomy numbers to report. I stumbled across an old piece that I wrote indicating that Doc Rivers was using his bench on average more than 80-minutes-per-game during January and early February of last season. I couldn't beleive it. I don't have the bench's playing time committed to memory this year, but I am pretty sure they aren't playing that much.

So I did some spot-checking here (feel free to do additional research, if you feel so motivated). In seven random games, I found the bench averaging a mouthdropping 85-minutes-per-game this time last season. To wit, on January 4th, the bench clocked 80 minutes in a four -point win over Memphis. The next night they logged 80 minutes in a seven-point win over Detroit. Four days later the bench labored for 76 minutes against the Bobcats, a game which the green lost by 12. On January 31, the Celtics bench logged 94 minutes in a 6-point win over Dallas. On February 5th, the bench played 83 minutes in a one-point loss to Cleveland. Finally, on February 10th, the bench played 96 minutes in a win over San Antonio.

Then I contrasted those numbers with the minutes logged by the bench over their last ten games this year: 52, 75, 66, 50, 57, 60, 100, 99, 58, 69. This works out to be an average of 68 minutes per game, or a difference of 17-minutes-per-game between this year and last. But keep in mind that none of the games from my sampling last year were blowouts. Two of the games from this year were blowouts, meaning Doc could play the bench without fear of suffering any repercussions. In the lopsided victories over Sacramento and Phoenix, the 2008-09 Celtics' subs logged 100 and 99 minutes. If you remove those two games from the equation, this year's bench is averaging just 60 minutes per contest or 25 fewer than they were this time last year.

I wonder what accounts for the difference?

Al Jefferson Tears ACL

Link

Bob Ryan Called it the Best Performance He Ever Saw

Green Improves to 27-8
1981-82 Boston Celtics
Bob Ryan

It was the best performance I've ever seen. I saw Willis Reed get 34 points and 34 rebounds in a playoff game. I saw Wes Unseld outrebound the entire New York team. I saw the best of Rick Barry and The Doc. I've seen the best players, and I've never seen anything better than this. This outshined everyone of them, and I knew this was true before I ever picked up a stat sheet. Did he park cars? Did he usher old ladies to their seats? What's he going to sweep up after it's over?

Read more.

Bird Goes for 25, 14, 10, and 4 in Win Over NJ

Green Improves to 26-8
1981-82 Boston Celtics

This morning we will not overlook the obvious. Diplomacy will take second place to pragmatism and to fairness. Fair is fair, and this ballgame belonged not to Robert Parish, Rick Robey, Chris Ford or M. L. Carr, as valuable as their contributions were. This was Larry Bird's game. Actually, most of them are, but it would be repetitious to extol his virtues every night. The local journalistic custom is to wait until Bird does something so extraordinary that to overlook him would constitute a felonious act.

Last night's game was one of those.

Read more.

The Little Things

After yesterday's game, Paul Pierce was asked to explain their two-game skid at home.

His answer?

"The little things. The little things are what separate wins from losses against the elite teams."

I hear that, and I think Danny does, too. If Danny stands pat, which he very well could, it will be because the below games were winnable, and Ainge will conclude that the Celtics simply need to figure out a way to win them.

Date   Opponent       Score    Team Ahead  Time Left    Outcome
12/25   LAL           81-79      Celtics     3:56      Lakers Win
2/5     LAL           100-98     Celtics     1:49      OT
2/5     LAL           109-108    Celtics     .16       Lakers Win
2/8     SAS           93-90      Celtics     .55       Spurs Win

The $13 Million Chip

Over the course of a little more than 72 hours, the Western Conference sent a message to the Eastern Conference, and the message was "we ain't dead yet." In fact, the West appears very much alive, poised to regain status as Top Dog in the NBA, after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers on their home courts, while the Spurs visited a similar pain on the Celtics at the Gahden yesterday.

So if the Western Conference sent a message, I guess the next question is whether anyone was listening? With the February 19th trade deadline looming, all eyes will be on the Two Dannies, Danny Ainge and Danny Ferry. Ainge, head of basketball operations for the Celtics, has been biding his time for most of the season, turning down opportunities to sign Dikembe Mutumbo and others.

One advantage Ferry, head of basketball operations for the Cavs, has over the other Danny is a $13m chip in the form of Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract, kind of like Theo Ratliff's contract before the KG trade. Ferry is said to be angling for Clippers' big man Marcus Camby, but he only makes $8m, and Ferry has other smaller chips he could exchange for him. So let's just say the Cavs have a few options to explore.

Meanwhile, the Celtics have some contracts they can move, but it's unclear what Ainge is willing to do other than trade JR Giddens and Gabe Pruitt. The Celtics were competitive against the Lakers until the very end of both games this year, which Ainge may interpret as a sign to stand pat. As I'll write later, he's not looking to add bodies to the roster, he's looking to add talent. Talent makes a bigger difference than height.

The Riot Act Lakers Style

The 12/30/07 game at Staples was one of the more amazing things I've witnessed in Celtics-Lakers history. As I observed then, the Celtics had administered such a thorough and complete beatdown that the purple quit trying with more than seven minutes to play.

Then I witnessed game six of the 2008 NBA Finals, where many observers say the Lakers quit trying midway through the second quarter.

Obviously, I'm no fan of the purple. But to watch that once proud franchise play like a bunch of pansies really made me wonder. In particular, I wondered what the Laker forefathers had to say about the lack of effort. Magic Johnson was very vocal, saying that he'd been closed out of series before, but he'd never laid down and waved the white flag. Other Lakers from the past had also indicated that the 2008 purple had tarnished the franchise's good name.

If you want to know why the Lakers are playing better this year, I say it's in part because the larger Laker family made it clear that the purple doesn't lie down for anyone. You know when Big Woos Lamar Odom starts banging in the paint, diving for loose balls, and trying his best to be "Mr. Intangibles," something has happened, something has clearly changed.

I'm pretty sure I know what. Everyone from Jerry to Kareem to Magic had a little chat with the 2008 NBA softies, and Lamar finally got the message.

The '72 Dolphins

Today proved that if you live long enough, even the Los Angeles Lakers manage to do some good. Holding King James to just 16 points, the Lakers defeated Cleveland and ended any talk of the Cavs finishing the season with a perfect record at home. This is a good thing because every time an NBA team makes it past 20 home games without a loss, the 1985-86 Boston Celtics' 40-1 home record enters the discussion.

Running the string over 41 home games may prove as difficult for an NBA team to do as it has been for an NFL team to surpass the Miami Dolphins feat of going 17-0 in 1972. Some of you may argue that what the Celtics did was even more impressive, especially once you factor in that they went 39-2 the following season.

Feel free to make that argument. I certainly won't take exception. At the same time, I'm comfortable that the 40-1 home record of the 1985-86 Celtics will some day rank as one of sports most difficult records to best.

C's Put Up a Fight

I kind of like this title from Celtics.com. It sort of captures everything that is the Boston Celtics on February 8th, 2009. Not good enough to win big games any more, but, hey, we do put up a good fight.

Go Cavs

Link

This is how I became a closet Pistons fan in 1987. The best of all possible worlds is the Celtics winning a championship against the Lakers. The worst of all possible worlds is the Lakers winning a championship against the Celtics.

Next on the good list comes a Celtics' championship against anyone else.

Next on the bad list is a Lakers' championship against anyone else.

Given that reality, I pick a team to root for under my breath, a team I see as having the best chance of preventing contingency number 4.

So, like I said, Go Cavs.

Can We Still Dominate Big Games at Home?

Three teams are locked in a dog fight for the best record in the NBA. This tells me that home court advantage in the playoffs means something. It's still important. But the Celtics just lost a huge game on their home court where the referees clearly failed to give the home team any clear advantage.

But what really concerns me is that we failed to dominate the game. We dominate the game, and we aren''t having a conversation about the officials. The days of dominating the Lakers may be over. But it's unclear whether we can still win home games in convincing fashion against other elite NBA teams.

Today should help shed some light on that question. If we can't dominate good teams on our home court, then winning home court advantage is of dubious value. We should instead focus on becoming the best road team we can become.

We'll talk more about that later (aka, the relevance of the 1974 Finals).

Atlanta Loses by 24 at Home . . . to the Clippers

Link

Radmanowhatsit Dealt to Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats traded managing partner Michael Jordan's first draft pick on Saturday, sending struggling forward Adam Morrison and reserve guard Shannon Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers for forward Vladimir Radmanovic.

The deal gives the Lakers some salary-cap relief. Radmanovic is owed $6.5 million next season and $6.9 million a year later.

Rivers Fined

By the time you get here, you've already read the story. In this case, you knew the story before the fine was even levied. As for my opinion, I try not to talk about the quality of officiating. Think about Phil Jackson in games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals. He blamed the refs. In reality, the Celtics outplayed the Lakers in both games, and the refs had little or nothing to do with either win.

But Jackson still blamed the refs.

Weak, lame, pathetic.

Add your own adjective.

Doc Rivers can blame the refs for 2/5 defeat. He may or may not be right. We lost. And that's all that matters as far as I'm concerned.

February 19th

Some interesting trade prospects be bandied about by Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. You've got your Star Berrys, your JJ Redicks, your Mike Millers, and your Joe Smiths. But you also have your Joakim Noahs, your Drew Goodens, and your Tony Batties.

The Cavs apparently are gonna make a run at Marcus Camby. Whoo hoo.

The Celtics?

The most interesting name on the list is Grant Hill.

You make a trade for him, 3-for-1, wait for teams to buyout a veteran or two, and now all of a sudden the bench becomes a little more robust.

Questions 67 & 68

Peruse Celtics' message boards over the last two days and you're likely to find two recurring questions:

1. Why is Glen Davis taking big shots for us down the stretch?

2. Why don't we have somenoe on the bench who can guard Pau Gasol?

Anyone have any thoughts on these subjects?

Buehler?

Echoes of 1987

1987 Bench                   2009 Bench
Jerry Sichting               Eddie House
Fred Roberts                 Brian Scalabrine
Darren Daye                  Tony Allen
Sam Vincent                  Gabe Pruitt
Greg Kite                    Glen Davis
Conner Henry                 Leon Powe

How is it that the Boston Celtics end up defending championships with benches like this?

Rondo Continues to Post Some Impressive Numbers

DATE	OPP	RESULT	MIN	FG	3P	FT	STL	BLK	TO	PF	OFF	DEF	TOT	AST	PTS
1/30	@Det	W 86-78	39	4-8	0-0	0-0	1	0	2	0	0	4	4	12	8
2/1	Min	W 109-101	35	2-6	0-0	1-1	2	1	1	1	2	5	7	8	5
2/3	@Phi	W 100-99	36	9-12	0-1	2-2	0	0	7	2	3	2	5	8	20
2/5	Lal	L 110-109	37	7-16	0-0	2-2	1	0	2	4	2	6	8	12	16
2/6	@Nyk	W 110-100	32	5-11	0-0	2-4	2	0	4	3	1	9	10	7	12
Numbers for Last 5 Games			35.8	27-53	0-1	7-9	1.2	0.2	3.2	2.0	1.6	5.2	6.8	9.4	12.2

Back on the Treadmill

With home court at stake, the importance of every game is magnified. My thought would be to forget about home court, and instead learn how to win big games on the road.

And look, a road trip next to give us practice.

February	Opponent	Time	Local TV	Nat TV	Radio
Sun 08	vs San Antonio	1:00pm			WEEI
Wed 11	@ New Orleans	8:00pm	CSNHD		WEEI
Thu 12	@ Dallas	9:30pm			WEEI
Thu 19	@ Utah	10:30pm	CSNHD		WEEI
Sun 22	@ Phoenix	2:30pm			WEEI
Mon 23	@ Denver	9:00pm	CSNHD		WEEI
Wed 25	@ LA Clippers	10:30pm	CSNHD		WEEI
Fri 27	vs Indiana	7:30pm	CSNHD		WEEI

Robey Unsung, But Not Unappreciated

1981-82 Boston Celtics

No one appreciates the help he has at center more than Larry Bird. In Robert Parish, he has an intimidator whom he can funnel to the middle. In Rick Robey, he has a bruiser who has given a new definition to the expression "bump and run."

"I like to play with both," said the Celtics' star forward.

Parish's best weapon is his leaping ability that enables him to launch a mile-high jump shot or grab a valuable rebound. Robey is a meat and potatoes man, who makes up for what he may lack in finesse with bruising strength, with the emphasis more on the bruise. Some say he sets the meanest pick in the NBA.

Read more.

Carlisle Recalls the 1985-86 Practices

“The ’86 team became a great team the instant we acquired Bill Walton,” Rick Carlisle said this week from his largely-unfurnished office overlooking the American Airlines Center practice court. “His presence allowed other role players like myself, Jerry Sichting, Scott Wedman, Greg Kite to play at a higher level. All of a sudden our practices became very competitive.”

A count was kept on the board in the locker room of the daily scrimmages between the second team (Green) and the starters (White). Despite the presence of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish on the White, the results were surprisingly even.

Read more.

Can We Take a Punch?

Doc Rivers is fond of saying that the Celtics breezed through a turmoiless regular season last year before stumbling in the first round of the playoffs.

That won't be a problem this year.

At the end of the day, I'm a bottom line guy. Did the Celtics win the game? Did they hoist a banner? How many championships do we have? How many does the other guy have?

But, like the players, Celtics fans look for ways to keep themselves motivated, keep themselves engaged at a high level throughout the drudgery of an 82-game season.

On this front, I'll be watching to see how the Celtics respond to getting smacked in the nose twice by the Lakers. Paul Pierce is the captain for a reason. He can take a punch. At his core, he's a street fighter.

Let's see how fast our leader can get his teammates over these two losses and on to the business of the day: fighting for homecourt and becoming a team that has a puncher's chance at winning a game on the road against Cleveland in the playoffs.

No Joy in Mudville

We just got hit in the mouth twice, and have yet to take a swing back. The Celtics may be defending champion, but they're no longer the favorite to win it this year.

--Maryland Celtics Fan

Jazz 90 Celtics 85: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
BOS (44-12)	22	17	27	19	85
UTH (32-23)	13	25	22	30	90

Final

10:30 PM ET, February 19, 2009

EnergySolutions Arena

Salt Lake City, UT

BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	45	7-19	1-2	5-9	0	9	9	2	3	0	5	2	-3	20
Kevin Garnett, PF	15	4-6	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	+4	8
Kendrick Perkins, C	32	6-6	0-0	0-1	5	6	11	2	1	3	4	5	-1	12
Ray Allen, SG	37	4-15	2-6	2-2	0	4	4	2	1	1	3	1	-3	12
Rajon Rondo, PG	33	5-7	0-0	5-6	0	1	1	7	0	0	1	3	-5	15
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Gabe Pruitt, PG	15	1-5	0-3	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	0	2	4	-1	2
Leon Powe, PF	22	1-4	0-0	7-10	5	4	9	0	0	0	4	5	-7	9
Glen Davis, PF	16	0-2	0-0	0-0	0	3	3	0	1	0	0	3	-3	0
Eddie House, SG	11	1-4	0-1	0-1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	-3	2
Brian Scalabrine, C	12	2-3	1-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	6	-3	5
J.R. Giddens, SG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Bill Walker, SG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		31-71	4-13	19-29	10	33	43	14	7	5	19	30		85
		43.7%	30.8%	65.5%	Team TO (pts off): 19 (24)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
UTAH JAZZ
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
C.J. Miles, SF	23	1-5	0-1	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	1	1	2	-7	2
Paul Millsap, PF	33	3-10	0-0	2-3	3	7	10	1	1	1	2	4	+2	8
Mehmet Okur, C	34	6-12	2-3	5-6	0	6	6	0	0	1	1	1	+10	19
Ronnie Brewer, SG	29	5-10	0-0	6-7	3	1	4	0	4	1	1	1	-6	16
Deron Williams, PG	40	6-17	0-2	6-6	0	3	3	10	0	0	2	2	+8	18
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Kyle Korver, SG	25	1-7	0-4	0-0	0	2	2	3	1	1	1	2	+12	2
Jarron Collins, C	14	2-3	0-0	0-0	1	3	4	1	0	0	0	2	-6	4
Brevin Knight, PG	8	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	-3	0
Andrei Kirilenko, SF	16	4-5	0-0	5-9	0	2	2	0	1	1	2	1	+4	13
Matt Harpring, SF	18	4-7	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	+11	8
Ronnie Price, PG	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kosta Koufos, C	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		32-77	2-10	24-31	7	28	35	16	7	6	11	18		90
		41.6%	20.0%	77.4%	Team TO (pts off): 12 (10)

Jazz 90 Celtics 85: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	BOSTON	UTAH
Points	85	90
FG Made-Attempted	31-71 (.437)	32-77 (.416)
3P Made-Attempted	4-13 (.308)	2-10 (.200)
FT Made-Attempted	19-29 (.655)	24-31 (.774)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	10-43	7-35
Assists	14	16
Turnovers	19	12
Steals	7	7
Blocks	5	6
Fast Break Points	8	11
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	30 (0/0)	18 (2/0)
Largest Lead	11	5

Celtics 89 Hornets 77: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	BOSTON	NEW ORLEANS
Points	89	77
FG Made-Attempted	35-79 (.443)	26-64 (.406)
3P Made-Attempted	2-14 (.143)	2-11 (.182)
FT Made-Attempted	17-22 (.773)	23-29 (.793)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	10-39	7-36
Assists	18	16
Turnovers	13	18
Steals	9	4
Blocks	3	6
Fast Break Points	4	4
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	20 (5/0)	23 (1/0)
Largest Lead	14	5

Top Performers
BOSTON		NEW ORLEANS
	P. Pierce Points: 30 Reb: 3 Ast: 4 Stl: 0 Blk: 1		H. Armstrong Points: 14 Reb: 5 Ast: 1 Stl: 0 Blk: 2

Game Leaders
	BOSTON	NEW ORLEANS
Points	P. Pierce 30	D. West 15
Rebounds	K. Garnett 10	D. West 8
Assists	R. Rondo 11	C. Paul 5
Steals	R. Rondo 3	C. Paul 1
Blocks	G. Pruitt 1	H. Armstrong 2
· Team stats: Boston | New Orleans

2008-09 Season
Boston leads 2-0
Fri 12/12	@BOS 94, NO 82	Recap | Box Score
» Wed 2/11	BOS 89, @ NO 77	Recap | Box Score
· Complete Schedule: Hornets | Celtics

Greg Kite: Not a Bad Start to His Career

The New Big Three apparently didn't hesitate to remind the Celtics youngsters how lucky they were to be raising a banner in their first or second year in the league, especially after Mssrs. Garnett, Pierce, and Allen had toiled so long without having brought home da bling.

Then you have someone like Greg Kite.

Drafted in 1983, over the next four years he appeared in four NBA Finals, winning two of them.

Four years.

Four Finals

Two rings.

Not too shabby.

GREG KITE'S FIRST FOUR YEARS IN THE NBA

YR	G	MPG	FGM	FGA	PCT	FTM	FTA	PCT	3PM	3PA	PCT	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
83-84	35	5.6	0.9	1.9	0.455	0.1	0.5	0.313	0.0	0.0	0.000	0.8	1.0	1.8	0.2	0.03	0.14	0.6	1.2	1.9
84-85	55	7.7	0.6	1.6	0.375	0.4	0.6	0.688	0.0	0.0	0.000	0.7	0.9	1.6	0.3	0.05	0.18	0.5	1.5	1.6
85-86	64	7.3	0.5	1.4	0.374	0.2	0.6	0.385	0.0	0.0	0.000	0.5	1.5	2.0	0.3	0.05	0.44	0.5	1.3	1.3
86-87	74	10.1	0.6	1.5	0.427	0.4	1.0	0.382	0.0	0.0	0.000	0.8	1.5	2.3	0.4	0.23	0.62	0.5	2.0	1.7

Celtics 99 Mavs 92: The Game Log

Team Stat Comparison
	BOSTON	DALLAS
Points	99	92
FG Made-Attempted	35-72 (.486)	32-81 (.395)
3P Made-Attempted	3-10 (.300)	7-17 (.412)
FT Made-Attempted	26-28 (.929)	21-24 (.875)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total)	13-50	8-31
Assists	24	16
Turnovers	21	8
Steals	2	8
Blocks	1	6
Fast Break Points	12	14
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant)	25 (3/0)	26 (3/0)
Largest Lead	7	15

Celtics 99 Mavs 92: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
BOS (44-11)	17	23	29	30	99
DAL (31-21)	21	30	24	17	92

Final

9:30 PM ET, February 12, 2009

American Airlines Center

Dallas, TX

BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	44	9-20	0-2	13-14	0	5	5	3	0	0	2	4	+6	31
Kevin Garnett, PF	31	7-13	0-0	2-2	2	3	5	3	0	0	4	5	+2	16
Kendrick Perkins, C	27	0-2	0-0	0-0	4	5	9	2	0	1	4	4	-3	0
Ray Allen, SG	35	5-12	2-6	8-8	0	3	3	2	1	0	3	2	+3	20
Rajon Rondo, PG	44	9-14	0-0	1-2	3	12	15	14	1	0	6	1	+10	19
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Gabe Pruitt, PG	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0
Leon Powe, PF	22	2-6	0-0	0-0	3	4	7	0	0	0	0	6	+4	4
Eddie House, SG	14	2-4	1-2	2-2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	+7	7
Glen Davis, PF	16	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	3	4	0	0	0	0	2	+7	2
Sam Cassell, PG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Patrick O'Bryant, C	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Bill Walker, SG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		35-72	3-10	26-28	13	37	50	24	2	1	19	25		99
		48.6%	30.0%	92.9%	Team TO (pts off): 21 (19)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Josh Howard, SF	33	6-19	1-2	4-4	0	3	3	2	1	2	1	6	+2	17
Dirk Nowitzki, PF	39	13-28	2-4	9-12	1	7	8	0	1	0	3	3	0	37
Erick Dampier, C	39	1-3	0-0	2-2	4	3	7	1	0	2	0	3	-7	4
Antoine Wright, SG	31	4-10	2-3	0-0	1	2	3	1	1	0	0	5	-2	10
Jason Kidd, PG	42	1-8	1-4	0-0	2	4	6	10	2	0	1	4	-9	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Matt Carroll, SG	18	2-3	0-1	2-2	0	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	-1	6
Brandon Bass, PF	18	2-4	0-0	4-4	0	1	1	0	1	2	1	0	-5	8
Jose Juan Barea, PG	11	3-5	1-2	0-0	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	3	-6	7
Devean George, SF	10	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	-7	0
James Singleton, PF	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Ryan Hollins, C	DNP COACH'S DECISION
Gerald Green, SG	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		32-81	7-17	21-24	8	23	31	16	8	6	8	26		92
		39.5%	41.2%	87.5%	Team TO (pts off): 8 (6)

Celtics 89 Hornets 77: The Box

	1	2	3	4	T
BOS (43-11)	23	19	22	25	89
NOR (30-20)	21	23	20	13	77

Final

8:00 PM ET, February 11, 2009

New Orleans Arena

New Orleans, LA

BOSTON CELTICS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Paul Pierce, SF	43	10-19	0-3	10-12	0	3	3	4	0	1	2	1	+16	30
Kevin Garnett, PF	30	7-13	0-0	0-0	1	9	10	2	1	0	1	4	+5	14
Kendrick Perkins, C	28	4-8	0-0	1-1	3	3	6	0	0	1	1	3	+6	9
Ray Allen, SG	19	0-3	0-2	1-1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	+3	1
Rajon Rondo, PG	43	3-11	0-1	0-2	3	5	8	11	3	0	4	4	+13	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Leon Powe, PF	24	3-3	0-0	5-6	2	4	6	1	1	0	0	3	+11	11
Bill Walker, SG	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	-4	0
Glen Davis, PF	14	2-5	0-0	0-0	1	2	3	0	0	0	1	3	+2	4
Eddie House, SG	20	5-11	2-5	0-0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	+9	12
Gabe Pruitt, PG	17	1-6	0-3	0-0	0	1	1	0	2	1	0	2	-1	2
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		35-79	2-14	17-22	10	29	39	18	9	3	10	20		89
		44.3%	14.3%	77.3%	Team TO (pts off): 13 (8)
+/- denotes team's net points while the player is on the court.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Peja Stojakovic, SF	31	3-12	1-6	1-1	1	5	6	2	1	0	0	2	-4	8
David West, PF	37	3-12	0-0	9-10	2	6	8	1	0	1	3	1	-16	15
Hilton Armstrong, C	28	4-8	0-0	6-6	2	3	5	1	0	2	2	3	-11	14
Rasual Butler, SG	27	3-6	1-3	0-0	0	4	4	1	0	1	1	0	-6	7
Chris Paul, PG	31	6-15	0-2	1-3	1	1	2	5	1	0	3	4	-8	13
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
Antonio Daniels, PG	17	1-2	0-0	1-2	0	2	2	5	1	0	2	2	-4	3
Sean Marks, PF	18	2-4	0-0	1-2	0	4	4	1	1	1	0	3	+1	5
James Posey, SF	25	2-2	0-0	2-2	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	-8	6
Ryan Bowen, SF	11	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	1	2	4	+4	0
Devin Brown, SG	14	2-2	0-0	2-3	0	2	2	0	0	0	3	1	-10	6
Julian Wright, SF	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	+2	0
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF		PTS
		26-64	2-11	23-29	7	29	36	16	4	6	18	23		77
		40.6%	18.2%	79.3%	Team TO (pts off): 18 (15)

Spurs 105 Celtics 99: Box Score

San Antonio Spurs (34-15)

			Field Goals				Rebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
M.Finley	F	27:22	1-4	0-1	5-6	-1	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	0	7
T.Duncan	F	39:28	9-16	0-0	5-5	+1	3	10	13	5	2	0	2	1	2	23
M.Bonner	C	36:28	10-17	3-6	0-0	+2	2	6	8	2	3	2	2	0	0	23
R.Mason	G	30:36	3-9	2-6	3-3	+2	0	3	3	1	4	0	1	0	0	11
T.Parker	G	32:15	3-12	1-3	0-0	+9	0	3	3	7	1	1	1	0	0	7
M.Ginobili		31:20	6-11	2-4	5-5	+11	1	2	3	3	1	3	4	1	1	19
K.Thomas		18:41	3-5	0-0	0-0	+7	1	4	5	0	3	0	0	0	0	6
G.Hill		16:11	3-3	0-0	1-2	-2	0	3	3	1	2	0	1	1	0	7
M.Hairston		00:03	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
B.Bowen		06:34	0-2	0-1	0-0	-1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
F.Oberto		01:02	1-1	0-0	0-0	+2	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
I.Udoka	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	39-80	8-21	19-21		8	32	40	21	19	6	13	3	3	105
			48.7%	38.1%	90.5%	Team Rebs: 6				Total TO: 13

Boston Celtics (42-11)

			Field Goals				Rebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
P.Pierce	F	39:47	9-17	0-2	1-2	+4	0	8	8	2	5	1	2	1	1	19
K.Garnett