E.House Trails Off after Big Debut

Game By Game Stats

Date	Opponent	Result	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OFF	DEF	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Regular
Mar 06	vs. NJN	L 93 - 113	23	3 - 8	0 - 4	0 - 0	0	3	3	3	0	0	1	1	6
Mar 05	@ TOR	L 96 - 102	18	0 - 4	0 - 3	1 - 1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	1
Mar 03	vs. DET	W 128 - 104	30	5 - 7	2 - 3	5 - 5	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	2	17
Mar 01	@ CLE	L 93 - 124	20	1 - 8	0 - 4	0 - 0	0	2	2	3	0	0	1	0	2
Date	Opponent	Result	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OFF	DEF	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Feb 27	vs. MEM	L 109 - 120	22	5 - 12	3 - 7	2 - 2	0	2	2	4	1	0	3	2	15
Feb 26	@ WAS	W 118 - 116	23	2 - 10	0 - 5	0 - 0	1	6	7	4	2	0	0	2	4
Feb 23	@ BOS	L 106 - 110	27	2 - 7	0 - 5	0 - 0	1	4	5	5	1	0	4	1	4
Feb 22	vs. MIL	L 67 - 83	31	4 - 16	2 - 6	0 - 0	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	2	10
Feb 20	vs. OKC	L 118 - 121	36	8 - 14	4 - 8	4 - 4	1	4	5	2	1	0	2	3	24

Relief from Trade Rumors may Give Team a Boost

Days before the All-Star break, Allen saw Glen Davis in the team hotel in New Orleans. Davis’s name, like several others, also had been mentioned in a possible trade, and Allen had no clue whether it was official or not. There was an awkwardness to the exchange.

“I didn’t say anything to him,’’ Allen said. “But I was like, ‘Is everything all right?’ He said, ‘Yeah, everything’s cool. I’m just about to go see some family.’ ’’

But it was like avoiding the elephant in the room.

“I’m sad to see Eddie go,’’ Allen said. “He was a brother of ours. We won a championship together, so we’ll be forever connected. “As a player, you feel a little more comfortable knowing you’re here for the rest of the season,’’ said Davis. “You’re not getting traded to another team, you’ve just got to keep playing, staying focused on what we have to do, staying focused on the main goal.’’ Said Allen, “We were saying how it’s a lot of guys in grocery carts this past month, because a couple of us have been shopped left and right.’’

LINK

It's hard enough to get on the same page and play like a team when you have players coming and going due to injuries. Throw in trade rumors involving rotational players, starters even, and the task grows more complicated.

Now the focus can return to where it should be--basketball and winning banner #18.

Dimensions

House has been a huge help to the club, and his shooting was a key in the win over Sacramento Tuesday (the three second quarter treys helped open a 10-point lead). But the Celts see him as basically a spot-up shooter from the perimeter. Eddie catches; Eddie shoots.

And when he has room and time to set his feet, Eddie usually hits.But Robinson can score in more ways, and his offensive package could mean a great deal in spreading the threat through the rotation.His extra dimensions would make the Celts more difficult to defend.

Robinson’s abilities on the pick and roll will keep opponents more honest because he is just as likely to turn the corner and drive as he is to pull up for a jumper.And while Robinson isn’t the true point guard the Celtics have been seeking as a backup to Rajon Rondo he is a better ballhandler than House.

LINK

The Eddie House Luxury

The funny part of all this is that, for the past two trade deadlines, the Celtics have gone out to get someone to take House’s minutes. In 2008 it was Sam Cassell, and last year it was Marbury. In each case, House had the job back by the end of the year, most famously stepping out of the shadows and limited playing time in the ’08 postseason and playing a large role in the championship run.

LINK

At the beginning of 2008 playoffs, I distinctly remember writing a piece entitled Is Sam Cassell the new Eddie House? It did indeed appear that Eddie House had lost his job to the Alien. But when Cassell failed to perform consistently, Doc enjoyed the luxury of being able to call Eddie's number, and, as House would prove time and again, #50 rose to the occasion and played an indispensable role in helping Boston bring home banner 18. The same thing happened all over again last year with Stephon Marbury.

Who will Doc call on if the Nate Robinson experiment fails?

Done Deal (Giddens Likely Included)

A league souce close to negotiations just said the Celtics and Knicks have finalized a trade that will send Eddie House to the Knicks in exchange for guard Nate Robinson. A second source also confirmed that Celtics forward J.R. Giddens has likely been included in the deal. There is also still much that could happen, with the Knicks still attempting to send other players to other teams. “(Giddens) is probably going to be part of this,” said the source. “And at the end of the day Eddie is probably going to end up in New York. But there are so many moving parts to this, a number of things can still happen.”

LINK

Nate a Serious Defensive Downgrade

All reports have placed Boston in the market for either an offensive capo to replace Ray Allen, or a defensive-minded back-up point guard to spell Rajon Rondo. Nate is neither. He's a scorer, plain and simple, but not a dude you build anything (except perhaps a moat) around. He's a brilliant spark plug, one of the select few in the NBA capable of 40 off the bench. But when he comes in for Rondo, that's a serious defensive downgrade.

LINK

Nate Robinson for Eddie House?

Should we be excited about this? After game 4 of the 2008 Finals, Eddie House became a Boston Celtic for life. EH is my guy. There's nothing I like better than writing a post entitled HOUSE AFIRE!!! Still, Eddie is six years older than Nate. Eddie's shooting better from three, but only slightly better (.383 to .375), while Nate is shooting better overall (.452 to .401). Playing eight more minutes per game than House, Nate averages more points, more assists, more steals, more rebounds, and more turnovers than EH. House shoots .900 from the stripe to Nate's .778.

Three big questions are whether Nate can run the point, defend the point the point, and add some snarl to a Celtics team in desperate need of a testosterone injection. I'm not talking smack. I'm talking about a gritty, grimey, James Posey kinda roll-around, get down and stomp you around kind of thing.

Nate, you got any a dat?

BTW, I said last month that Eddie House was starting to remind me of Jerry Sichting just before Jerry Sichting got dealt for Jim Paxson. Let's see if my prediction comes true.

NATE ROBINSON

Season Averages

Season	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3p%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
09-10	NYK	30	2	24.4	0.452	0.375	0.778	0.8	1.6	2.4	3.7	0.9	0.2	1.8	2.2	13.2
Career		312	61	24.8	0.429	0.353	0.795	0.9	2.0	2.9	2.8	0.9	0.1	1.5	2.6	12.5

EDDIE HOUSE

Season Averages

Season	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3p%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
09-10	BOS	50	0	16.9	0.401	0.383	0.900	0.1	1.2	1.4	1.0	0.6	0.1	0.5	1.2	7.2
Career		643	30	17.2	0.412	0.394	0.837	0.2	1.5	1.7	1.6	0.7	0.1	0.8	1.3	7.6

Eddie House v. Vinnie "the Microwave" Johnson

Long-time Celtics fans are fond of comparing Eddie House to former Detroit Piston Vinnie "the Microwave" Johnson, who played in Motown during both of their championship runs in the 1980s. The comparison is based both on their physical characteristics--House and Johnson were about the same height and shape, though Vinnie weighed slightly more--and their style of play--both were undersized shooting guards forced to play the point to take advantage of their ability to score points in bunches.

But is the comparison fair?

Vinnie Johnson is revered by Pistons' fans, and, indeed, his number is retired by the Pistons' ballclub. No Celtics' fan would suggest that number 50 will ever be hanging in the rafters, at least not because Eddie House wore it.

Still, let's see how the two players match-up. In doing so, I'm going to narrow the focus by comparing two years of play, Vinnie's two championship seasons and Eddie's last two seasons.

In 1988-89, Vinnie averaged 13.8 PPG, 3 APG, 3.1 RPG, and .9 SPG. In 2008, Eddie House averaged 7.5 PPG, 1.9 APG, 2.1 RPG, and .8 SPG. The edge would appear to go to Vinnie. But keep in mind, Vinnie played 25 minutes per game, while Eddie played just 19. Vinnie also shot just .295 from 3, while Eddie shot .393. Vinnie had a better overall field-goal percentage, while Eddie shot better from the stripe. Vinnie turned the ball over more, too.

Vinnie gets the nod in the first year of head-to-head comparison. Let me know if you disagree.

In 1989-90, Vinnie's scoring declined to 9.8 PPG, but his other statistical averages were about the same as the previous year: 3.1 APG, 3.1 RPG, and .9 SPG. Last year, Eddie House averaged 8.5 PPG, 1.1 APG, 1.9 RPG, and .8 SPG. Vinnie again played more than Eddie, 24 MPG to just 18. This time, though, Eddie shot better than Vinnie both from 3 and overall. Eddie's overall field-goal percentage was .445, while Vinnie's was .431. The real difference came on threes. Vinnie shot an anemic .147 from 3, while Eddie set a club record from downtown, shooting .444. Vinnie also turned the ball over more than 3 times as much as Eddie.

I'm giving the nod to Eddie on the second head-to-head.

So what's the verdict?

I'm going to side with Vinnie as being the more well-rounded hoopster, but side with Eddie as being a better Microwave than the Microwave himself. Heating up implies coming in and scoring at will whenever and from wherever one chooses. Shooting .295 from 3 in 1988-89 and .147 from 3 in 1989-90 just doesn't fly for me.

So Eddie is the better microwave, but Vinnie was more well rounded.

I'm Glad Eddie's Coming Back

Hey, how 'bout that Eddie House? He must be a good brooder, because he has the knack of bouncing back when things go a bit south for him. Consider his 2008 playoffs, when he was displaced in the postseason by Sam Cassell to the extent of accumulating nine DNPs, including Games 1 and 2 of the Finals against LA. But who came up big in the Game 4 comeback against the Lakers? Eddie House

This year he was a miserable 9 for 30 in a paltry nine minutes a game in Games 1-6 against Chicago before bursting forth with that dazzling Game 7 in which he scored 16 points on 5-for-5 shooting in 22 minutes. And what can you say about his performance Wednesday, other than it was one of the great off-the-bench scoring outbursts in team history? Eddie's a pro's pro.

BOB RYAN

With all the talk of adding Sheed and the possible additions of Marbury, Bowen, and Marquis, it's easy to forget about that little guy who helped fuel the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.

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.

House's 61 Points Differed from Alcindor's

The crowd gathered in Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 25, 1967 kept chanting, "Give the ball to Lew," so what else were the UCLA Bruins supposed to do?

Sophomore center Lew Alcindor responded with one of the greatest performances of his legendary career, scoring a conference-record 61 points in UCLA's 100-78 victory over Washington State.

To do it, Alcindor hit 26 of 35 shots and made three baskets in the final minute, including a dunk at the buzzer. If the big fella had made more than 9 of 18 free throws, he'd have approached 70.

"They played him straight (man-to-man defense)," UCLA coach John Wooden said at the time. "I don't believe you can handle him this way."

For 33 years, Alcindor's performance stood as the greatest in league history. Now it has company.

Last Saturday, in Cal's sparkling new Haas Pavilion, Arizona State senior guard Eddie House scored 61 in a double-overtime victory over the Bears.

It was the most points by a major college player since Kansas State's Askia Jones hit 62 six years ago and the most points ever scored in the Bay Area (any level) by someone not named Rick Barry or Wilt Chamberlain.

Athletes sometimes talk about being "in a zone." House was in a different dimension. He scored 19 points in the overtime periods and secured victory with two free throws with 2.9 seconds left. He made 18 of 30 field goals, was 7 of 10 on 3-pointers and hit 18 of 19 free throws.

Afterward, House screamed,"This is my house," and with good reason. The Union City resident and Hayward High School graduate did not receive a scholarship offer in 1995-96 from then-Cal coach Todd Bozeman.

"It means a lot to me to come back home and get a win like this," said House, who had his number retired at Hayward last week.

House saved his best for the Bears, but he's been picking on everyone. In the six games since an 0-of- 16 performance against Brigham Young,he's averaging 37.5 points. He's the first player to win the Pac-10 Player of the Week award three straight weeks.

"I don't know what Cal was thinking," said UCLA guard Ray Young, an Oakland native who played against House in high school. "I never envisioned anybody going for 60 at this level, but I could definitely see Eddie getting 40. He puts in the work. The dude just works."

It's impossible to compare House's 61 to Alcindor's 61. House had 10 more minutes, courtesy of two overtimes, and he made seven 3- pointers, which didn't exist in Alcindor's time. (The issue is moot anyway; Wooden never would have let Alcindor shoot from 19 feet.)

Then again, the 7-1 Alcindor was physically superior to his competition, while House, at 6-1,is small by today's standards.

There's really only one way to solve the argument. House has to score 62.

Still The Truth's House

I thought the 1985-1986 Boston Celtics were impressive putting games away midway through the third quarter. But I don't recall them doing it too many times midway through the second quarter.

But led by Paul Pierce, who had 15 points in the period, that is exactly what the Green did, building an 18-point lead with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett on the bench. Speaking of Garnett, he played his first regular season game in a Celtics uniform.

How did he do?

Well, how does 22 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks sound?

Let me put it this way. For the first 40 years of my life, Bill Walton was the greatest rebounding big man I ever saw play the game of basketball. Kevin Garnett may force me to reconsider. He got EVERY rebound. EVERY REBOUND. The dude is amazing on the glass.

Nonetheless, it was Pierce who sent a message to anyone watching the game in the second quarter. Yes, he still made some bone-headed drives during quarter 3, but when the game was still close, and he was the only starter on the floor, he pretty much single-handedly put the game on ice.