Sca-la-bri-ne (Clap, clap, clap)

October 25, 2005

WALTHAM After asking for a pen, Brian Scalabrine carefully wrote out the proper way to chant his name: Sca-la-bri-ne. Then he demonstrated in a sing-song baritone. "Sca-la-bri-ne," he said. "Clap, clap . . . clap, clap clap."

Out of respect for all the New Jersey fans who cheered him for four years and elevated him to local cult status, Scalabrine wanted to make sure the chant was reported accurately. He wouldn't be surprised to hear it tonight when the Celtics play the Nets at Continental Airlines Arena, his first game there since signing with Boston as a free agent this summer. He also wouldn't be surprised to hear boos.

Scalabrine Unfazed by Lack of Fan Interest

August 3, 2005

    Brian Scalabrine is used to being discounted as a basketball player. He was cut from his high school team as a freshman, drafted in the second round out of Southern Cal in 2001, and has spent most of his first four seasons in the NBA as a backup. So it won't bother Scalabrine, who was introduced as the newest Celtic at the HealthPoint practice facility in Waltham, that some may consider his signing insignificant. "Everywhere I've been, people have counted me out," said Scalabrine, who signed a five-year deal with Boston for a reported $15 million after spending the last four seasons with the Nets. "No one ever thought I'd be in the league for four years - some probably not even one year. I'm still trying to prove people wrong and I will continue to do that probably for the rest of my career." Scalabrine, a 6-foot-9-inch, 235-pound forward, averaged 6.3 points and 4.5 points last season for New Jersey.

Top Five Man Units 2008-09: Scalabrine Makes the Cut

The Celtics don't make the list until number 7, and then don't appear again for some time. But dig this, the first Celtic five-man unit that does make the list is Rondo-R.Allen-Pierce-Garnett-Scalabrine.

That old Larry Bird. Crazy like a fox. Talk of Bird wanting Scalabrine because he is white is just that, talk.

The Makeover Continues

Like I was saying the other day over at MVN, perhaps the most fascinating thing to happen this summer was something that didn't happen at all, namely the proposed draft day trade of Brian Scalabrine, Tony Allen and a choice of J.R. Giddens or Bill Walker for the Memphis Grizzlies' 36th pick and cash considerations. A lot of folks thought Danny had his eye on someone at pick #36. Not me. I figured Danny was trying to unload three players for one, and since the one player he'd get in return was a non-guaranteed second round pick, it was really three players for zero. Next you throw in the fact that Gabe Pruitt has a team option this year, the aforementioned proposed trade told us that Danny's goal was to totally remake the roster from spots 6-15.

Well, last night we heard the other shoe hit the floor.

Like any good (read "bad") Celtics' fan, I'm now obsessing over who were gonna lose in the Marquis Grissom, er, I mean Daniels deal. Losing Brian Scalabrine would have concerned me more before his third concussion of the season last year sent him to the same type of doctor that told Troy-Aikman to hang it up, meaning whatever reason there is to love or appreciate Vanilla Thunder is now a fleeting reason because of the brain issues (kind of ironic, don't you think, since Danny's brain doctor told Danny to sign Brian because he had a good brain type. I wonder what the brain doctor would say about Scal's brain today?).

Which brings us to the burning question of the next three days: what else will Larry exact from Danny in this deal?

Here's my break down:

I think Tony Allen would be a tough MoFo if his body didn't let him down and make him such a wuss. Gabe Pruitt is a preacher's kid, and thus where nature has left Tony Allen lacking bodily resilience, nurture has left Gabe Pruitt lacking a killer intensity. Between JR Giddens and Bill Walker, I say Giddens is the more talented, while Walker is tougher, physically and mentally, which thus makes him more of a Doc-Rivers guy.

So if we're gonna lose someone other than Scal, I guess the pecking order is to lose Gabe first, Tony Allen second, Giddens third, and Walker fourth. What say you?

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.