They're both 6-5 with stocky builds. They both do a little bit of everything, but are great at nothing, though each could fill up the basket on any given night. Each player spent some time playing overseas, though Gamble played mostly in the CBA before signing with the C's.
Kevin Gamble was given a shot to earn minutes at the point. I suspect the same will be true of Dionte Christmas. In the end, both may be remembered as "energy guys" who can help enliven the aging team around them.
That assumes, of course, that Dionte Christmas makes the Celtics team this fall, and is given any meaningful PT to contribute. In the meantime, here's an opportunity to compare their clippings.
KEVIN GAMBLE
March 17, 1993
GAMBLE GETS TRIPLE-DOUBLE
OAKLAND, Calif.
Asked if he knew that Kevin Gamble was going for a triple-double in the fourth quarter last night, Chris Ford just laughed. "Yeah, I knew," he said. "I wanted him to get it. Three players in Celtics history. It's quite an accomplishment."
Gamble stayed in during the rout and ended up with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, his first career triple-double. He joined Larry Bird and Robert Parish as the only Celtics to accomplish the feat in the regular season (the league began keeping track of such things in 1979).
"They said there was only a select few that's ever done it," said Gamble. "It makes you feel good. It makes you happy."
Gamble has been scorching lately, and his timing is perfect. His output coincides with a continuing slump by Reggie Lewis, who failed to hit a field goal in the first half and finished with 11 points in 31 minutes on 3-for-9 shooting. In the last five games, since returning from a back injury, Lewis is shooting 36.5 percent.
Gamble enjoyed a dream season in 1990-91, ranking with the league leaders in field goal percentage for most of the year before checking out with a highly respectable .587 mark. He also averaged 15.6 points a game. The postseason, however, served as a cruel awakening. When the team stopped running, he stopped producing. In one playoff game against Detroit, he registered zeroes across the board. He also registered some heavy criticism. The book on Gamble has been the same since Detroit coach Chuck Daly decreed the young Celtics swingman had appeared from outer space: great transition player, nice shooting touch, always goes left, a defensive liability.
During that 1991 season Gamble's rags-to-riches season (the previous year he was making $600 a week in the CBA) got national recognition when the Celtics' starting forward finished second in balloting by NBA media for Most Improved Player. The winner was Orlando's Scott Skiles, who received 25 of a possible 96 votes. Gamble got 21, Kenny Smith of Houston 20. The prior season Gamble averaged 5.1 points in 12.9 minutes a game. He had more DNP-CD's (11) than starts (10). This season he's averaged 15.6 points in 33 minutes a game and shot 58.7 percent, third best in the NBA.
DIONTE CHRISTMAS
Dionte Christmas scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half, including 11 straight, and also finished with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. For someone who is trying to catch on with an NBA team, the energy stats may matter more than the scoring. From the time he was at Temple, the entire league knew that Christmas could score.
"I went overseas and developed a lot," said Christmas. "There's a lot of scorers in the NBA, and to get on a team, they don't need a guy like me to come in and score 20 a game. Boston has KG, (Rajon) Rondo, Jason Terry, Paul Pierce, all of these guys who are great scorers. They just need a guy to come in and fill the void. They need an extra guard who can rebound. So I just try to do the little things.
"If you can't do nothing else, you have to have energy, man, especially playing in the NBA summer league, there's nothing greater," he said. "You have to have energy, man. That right there is what gets me going. You're playing the Orlando Magic in front of all these people, you have to have energy. You're playing the sport that you love. I've had energy ever since I've played basketball. That's nothing new to me."
"I think Boston is a real good fit for me," Christmas said. "They have Jason Terry, but they couldn't get Ray Allen back. I think I can fill that slot for these guys. Hopefully, [general manager] Mr. Danny Ainge and [coach] Doc Rivers like what they see from me and know that I'm just trying to compete on every play. I don't take plays off. Every guy that I've gone up against — MarShon Brooks, Lance Stephenson, Reggie Jackson — they're all great players and I've just tried to shut them down and play my hardest.
"I think he deserves to be in the NBA," said Boston's summer coach, Tyronn Lue. "I told him before we started camp that I know he is a great scorer, but teams want to see if you can defend, if you can make the right play or the right pass. I think down here he's done all that and he's rebounded the ball well, he's passed, he's guarded the other team's best player every game."
"I've translated my game to try and be an all-around player," Christmas said. "Everybody knows I can score. I've been doing that for years. If I want to make a team like this, I mean, they have Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo and Jason Terry, so the scoring is pretty much filled up there. They need guys, young guys, to come in and play defense and fill up that defensive void. Some of those guys are getting older and can't chase all the young guys around all the time. Maybe that would be a job for me. I can come in and help on the defensive end, knock down some shots from Rondo in a pick-and-roll and things like that. I'm just trying to come out and show teams that I'm a whole lot more than just a scorer."
Last season in the Greek league, he averaged 18.6 points. 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 57% from 2 and 36% from 2. During summer league, Christmas averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in Vegas, while posting 12.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists averages in Orlando.
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