The Celtics didn’t clinch the title by acquiring Robinson, but they grabbed a boost of energy that a locker room filled with older guys sorely needed. And just as Robinson will learn from his new teammates, his energy and passion will spread to a team whose desire and chemistry has been questioned of late.
Ainge astutely did not break up the Big Three or execute a major deal just for the sake of making change. While there aren’t many miles left in these current Celtics, there’s enough for another journey to the title. It’s just a matter of the roster as a whole responding to Ainge’s challenge to improve.
LINK
I can't find the story about the Big Bad Bruins of 1970, and how an opposing coach observed that Boston looked like a pack of hungry dogs just waiting for the ref to drop the puck to start the game. Still, that's exactly what I want to see, a little snarl return to the team. Keep your traps shut and your nostrils flared.
Showing posts with label snarl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snarl. Show all posts
2.17.2010
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 |
2.16.2010
Can Doc Get the Celtics to Finish the Season the Way they Started?
Injuries have clouded the Celtics’ ability to dominate the East, but yet they began the season 23-5. Boston blew away opponents in the early going. The Celtics punished teams defensively. Rajon Rondo emerged quickly into a star. Garnett didn’t look like vintage KG in the first two months, but he did produce.
What the first 28 games did is create delusions of grandeur for the players who believed 2009-10 would pan out just as 2007-08 did. What’s more, the Celtics thought their prowess from the championship season would just reappear and didn’t work to improve obvious weaknesses despite the early victories.
LINK
29-3. 27-2. 23-5. Three NBA seasons, three fast starts. What this tells us is the same thing it told us back in 1990-91, when the Celtics started the season with an improbable 29-5 record: Gaudy records are fun, they build enthusiasm, and they sell tickets. But they don't mean much in April and May, with 1986 and 2008 being notable exceptions.
If I were Danny Ainge, my concerns would be threefold:
DEFENSE
Do the Celtics have what it takes to start playing the kind of defense that wins games in the fourth quarter? I don't think we execute very well down the stretch either. But a smothering defense can sometimes hide a stumbling offense, especially if that defense creates turnovers and easy points in transition.
THE BIG, BAD, CELTICS
Can the Celtics add a snarl to their game? Screw the smack. I mean stick a sock in it. What I want to see is some action. Mouths shut, mean ugly faces, and some bad ass basketball. Amid the 1970 Boston Bruins title run (i.e., the Big, Bad, Bruins) SI ran an article in which an opposing coach described the locals as a team that couldn't wait to impose a beating the second the puck dropped to start the game. The Celtics had that kind of mojo in 2008. They need to get it back.
GENERAL PATTON
Does Doc Rivers have any tricks left up his sleeve? The pre-season, duck-boat ride was clever. The light on the blank wall at the practice facility next to banner 16 spoke volumes. But the blank banner next to #17 seemed a bit too familiar. I remain convinced that Doc is a great motivator of men. He needs to bring this team together, get it going in one direction, because right now it's going every whichy way.
What the first 28 games did is create delusions of grandeur for the players who believed 2009-10 would pan out just as 2007-08 did. What’s more, the Celtics thought their prowess from the championship season would just reappear and didn’t work to improve obvious weaknesses despite the early victories.
LINK
29-3. 27-2. 23-5. Three NBA seasons, three fast starts. What this tells us is the same thing it told us back in 1990-91, when the Celtics started the season with an improbable 29-5 record: Gaudy records are fun, they build enthusiasm, and they sell tickets. But they don't mean much in April and May, with 1986 and 2008 being notable exceptions.
If I were Danny Ainge, my concerns would be threefold:
DEFENSE
Do the Celtics have what it takes to start playing the kind of defense that wins games in the fourth quarter? I don't think we execute very well down the stretch either. But a smothering defense can sometimes hide a stumbling offense, especially if that defense creates turnovers and easy points in transition.
THE BIG, BAD, CELTICS
Can the Celtics add a snarl to their game? Screw the smack. I mean stick a sock in it. What I want to see is some action. Mouths shut, mean ugly faces, and some bad ass basketball. Amid the 1970 Boston Bruins title run (i.e., the Big, Bad, Bruins) SI ran an article in which an opposing coach described the locals as a team that couldn't wait to impose a beating the second the puck dropped to start the game. The Celtics had that kind of mojo in 2008. They need to get it back.
GENERAL PATTON
Does Doc Rivers have any tricks left up his sleeve? The pre-season, duck-boat ride was clever. The light on the blank wall at the practice facility next to banner 16 spoke volumes. But the blank banner next to #17 seemed a bit too familiar. I remain convinced that Doc is a great motivator of men. He needs to bring this team together, get it going in one direction, because right now it's going every whichy way.
2.15.2010
Ray Allen is Still a Celtic: So What's Danny's Next Move?
"Caron Butler replaces Ray Allen's productivity and the Celtics get Antawn Jamison, too? Sounds too good to be true!"
So wrote one Celtics scribe.
I was never that excited. Not about Caron Butler. Not about Antawn Jamison. I have no doubt that both players are talented. But right now Ray Allen is the second best player on the Boston Celtics, regardless of what he is shooting from 3. At the end of the game, I want Ray Allen wearin' da green. He makes a difference, and as poorly as the Celtics are playing right now, we know two things: games will be decided in the fourth quarter, and they'll be decided by playmakers.
How long does it take to integrate a player we acquire for Ray-Ray? Will the player be one who can be counted on to score game winning baskets? Maybe. But seems unlikely to me. We already have KG and Sheed, who like to impact other parts of the game and leave fourth-quarter scoring to their teammates. We need proven scorers down the stretch for the stretch run. That's Ray Allen.
So while the All-Star game is over and the regular season is about to resume, my question is this: will Danny make a move before 3 p.m. on February 18th? I say, yes, but the move will likely add more snarl than stardom.
We've got plenty of depth on the wing with Marquis Daniels and Tony Allen playing well of late. Both of them can man the point on the second unit, too, and, I might add, defend the point better than Eddie House. We also have depth at the 4-5 spots, with Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine, and Shelden Williams waiting in the wings for minutes.
So what's the move I'm predicting?
This team looks and feels soft to me. They look like a giant green Pillsbury doughboy. The team talks trash, but no one cares, particularly not opponents who are streaking past them for an easy deuce. In fact, many Celtics fans would prefer they shut up until they have something to talk about. Danny can change this by adding a John Salley Bad Boy type, someone who can come in slap some balls around, make his presence felt, and infuse his teammates with some testosterone. This player may be a 4-5 or he may be a 1. But he's gotta have mean streak, whatever his name is.
So wrote one Celtics scribe.
I was never that excited. Not about Caron Butler. Not about Antawn Jamison. I have no doubt that both players are talented. But right now Ray Allen is the second best player on the Boston Celtics, regardless of what he is shooting from 3. At the end of the game, I want Ray Allen wearin' da green. He makes a difference, and as poorly as the Celtics are playing right now, we know two things: games will be decided in the fourth quarter, and they'll be decided by playmakers.
How long does it take to integrate a player we acquire for Ray-Ray? Will the player be one who can be counted on to score game winning baskets? Maybe. But seems unlikely to me. We already have KG and Sheed, who like to impact other parts of the game and leave fourth-quarter scoring to their teammates. We need proven scorers down the stretch for the stretch run. That's Ray Allen.
So while the All-Star game is over and the regular season is about to resume, my question is this: will Danny make a move before 3 p.m. on February 18th? I say, yes, but the move will likely add more snarl than stardom.
We've got plenty of depth on the wing with Marquis Daniels and Tony Allen playing well of late. Both of them can man the point on the second unit, too, and, I might add, defend the point better than Eddie House. We also have depth at the 4-5 spots, with Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine, and Shelden Williams waiting in the wings for minutes.
So what's the move I'm predicting?
This team looks and feels soft to me. They look like a giant green Pillsbury doughboy. The team talks trash, but no one cares, particularly not opponents who are streaking past them for an easy deuce. In fact, many Celtics fans would prefer they shut up until they have something to talk about. Danny can change this by adding a John Salley Bad Boy type, someone who can come in slap some balls around, make his presence felt, and infuse his teammates with some testosterone. This player may be a 4-5 or he may be a 1. But he's gotta have mean streak, whatever his name is.
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