News 4/17

[FLCeltsFan]

www.projo.com/celtics/content/sp_bkn_celtics17_04-17-08_RB9Q62N_v21.38fd14b.html
Rejuvenated Pierce envisions title run

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 17, 2008

By KEVIN McNAMARAJournal Sports Writer

Boston’s Paul Pierce pursues New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson in the first quarter last night.


The Providence Journal / Kris Craig
BOSTON — At the end of the last few, losing seasons, Paul Pierce would always walk out to mid-court before the final home game and thank the suffering Boston Celtics fans.

Last night at the Garden, Pierce again walked to center court. This time, the team’s captain wore a large smile on his face, pumped his fist toward a cheering crowd and reveled in the Celtics’ best season in 22 years.

“All I could remember the last two, three years is coming out here promising you better days,” Pierce said to the crowd of 18,624, the same number that’s filled the arena for every game. “Now look. Better days.”

As Pierce continued, he asked the crowd to focus on the next two months as the Celts enjoy home-court advantage throughout the playoffs which start this weekend against the Atlanta Hawks. The playoff schedule is expected to be announced today.

“We were talking in the locker room that this has been a good year. We want to make this a great year,” Pierce said. “The only way to do that is to get another banner up in those rafters.”

The Celts put the wraps on a special regular season with last night’s 105-94 win over the New Jersey Nets. They finish 66-16, easily the best record in the NBA.

More importantly, the Celts completed the most impressive turnaround in NBA history.

The 66 wins mark a 42-game swing over last season, smashing the previous record by six games. The 66 wins are the third most in the history of the NBA’s most storied franchise.

Asked about the different feeling between leading a lottery-bound team and a championship contender, Pierce laughed. “It’s a whole lot different. I was on my way to the airport right now (last year). True story. I left right after the game last year,” he said.

Kevin Garnett, the key addition that’s transformed the franchise, sat next to Pierce as he told the story. He was asked if he ever thought the Celtics could win as many games as they have after he arrived via a trade with Minnesota.

“You could never imagine a year that we’ve had. It’s one of those dream seasons,” said Garnett. “We expect to win this thing. That’s the focus here. That’s the mentality.”

For the last two weeks, coach Doc Rivers has balanced resting his players and keeping them sharp for the postseason and last night was no different. Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen started and each looked good in the 8-10 minutes each posted in the first quarter. The New Big Three combined for 16 of the team’s 25 first-quarter points and led a quick 19-7 spurt to open the game.

Boston led, 53-47, at the half and the three stars returned for six more minutes of action in the third quarter. The Celts lost the lead for a few possessions in that frame but rallied (30-23) in the fourth quarter to grab the victory.

Leon Powe (27 points, 11 rebounds), Tony Allen (18 points) and Eddie House (10 points), three of the team’s reserves who’ll need to contribute in the postseason, led the way. Powe was especially sharp, scoring 12 points in the final quarter.

Rivers says he feels the extra time the bench has seen over the season’s final weeks should pay dividends in the playoffs.

“I think it’s helped a lot,” said Rivers. “They’re obviously not going to play as a five, as a group, but I think it helps in confidence that each guy has played at his own time. We don’t know but we’re assuming it’s going to help.”

Rivers and the players are ready for the playoffs to begin. As Pierce said, “the journey starts right now…now it’s time for real basketball.”

Rivers will hold a few hard practices over the next few days and polish his team for the Hawks.

“They’ve been bored with the process for the last week. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “It’s really a tough last couple weeks trying to keep them interested. They’ve been great with it. We’ve set some little private goals for each game, just to have some kind of interest in them because there obviously wasn’t a lot to play for. Our guys have done a great job with that but they’re ready to play meaningful games. I can tell you that. All of us are.”Celtics

105

Nets

94


Next Game

vs. Atlanta

TBA

[FLCeltsFan]

Hawks have blueprint for upsetting Celtics

Golden State knocked off Dallas as the eighth seed last year

By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 04/17/08

Miami — The MapQuest directions for the challenge facing the Hawks in the first-round playoff series against Boston have already been leaked to the public.

Baron Davis and the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors showed it could be done last year, eliminating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs and shocking the basketball world in the process.


Hans Deryk/AP
(ENLARGE)
Miami Heat's Joel Anthony, left, attempts to block Atlanta Hawks' Zaza Pachulia.

So it's not like the Hawks won't have any role models when they take on the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics in a series that begins this weekend in Boston.

"We'd be fools to think it's not possible," said fourth-year Hawks forward Josh Smith. "We'd be bigger fools not to believe in ourselves, especially after the way people have bashed us the past few years. Why shouldn't we think we're going to shock the world? The Warriors showed everybody that it's not impossible."

Impossible? No. But it's certainly improbable.

The Warriors were the first No. 8 to upset a No. 1 in the opening round since the league went from a best-of-five format to its current best-of-seven for the opening round.

The Hawks certainly aren't intimidated by the Celtics and their gaudy, league-leading 65 wins. The Celtics' All-Star trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen is healthy and primed for a deep postseason run.

Their bench, led by veterans Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown, is capable of handling lesser teams on their own; much the way they did the Hawks in the fourth quarter of a Celtics comeback Saturday at Philips Arena.

Stubborn as ever, though, the Hawks are just crazy enough to think they've got a shot.

"We feel like it's a great matchup for us," Josh Childress said. "I don't think there's any position where you can say we are severely undermanned against them. We don't feel like it's a situation where you can say it won't be a competitive series, because we've played and played well against some of the best teams in the league."

The Hawks defeated nine of the other 15 playoff teams this season, including a home win over the Western Conference No. 1-seed Los Angeles Lakers.

Those wins, however, just like much of their chest-puffing playoff bravado, aren't rooted in actual postseason experience, which highlights a dramatic edge the Celtics will have.

Captain and All-Star Joe Johnson (15 games) and point guard Mike Bibby (51) are the only Hawks players with NBA postseason experience.

Cassell alone has played in nearly twice as many postseason games (115).

"That's the one place where we know they'll have a decided edge," Johnson said. "We can't make up the experience gap. So there's no need in us even worrying with that. What we have to do is come out aggressive and attacking. We're the team with no pressure, with nothing to lose."

That's also why Hawks coach Mike Woodson has tried to continue to stoke his team's passion after they had already clinched their playoff berth with two games to play.

"We're facing a team that's been on a mission from the day they put that group together," Woodson said. "Our challenge is to match their intensity and play at as high a level as we can for a sustained period. As a young team, that's always a difficult thing to do."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.patriotledger.com/sports/x2103872342
Celtics bench looks ready to go
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By Mike Fine
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Apr 17, 2008 @ 09:31 AM
Last update Apr 17, 2008 @ 09:41 AM

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BOSTON — The last two weeks have been crazy for the Boston Celtics and for coach Doc Rivers, who said that in the past he was always coaching down to the final game of the season. Not so this season. The Celtics clinched homecourt advantage for the playoffs on April 5 and his main goal has been to allow his players to rest and relax as needed.

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce sat out a few games and James Posey and Rajon Rondo did so in Wednesday’s 105-94 win over the Nets. Needless to say, after winning 11 of their last 12 games, the bench did a tremendous job.

“Yeah, I think everybody on that bench is ready and focused,” said Leon Powe, who Wednesday put up a career-high 27 points with 11 rebounds, and was positively a beast. “They (bench) prepare for the games just like the starters. We go out there and play hard just like everybody else. We’re ready, everybody is ready on this team and we are just looking forward to the challenge.”

The down time for the starters proved crucial for the bench.

“I doubt that you’ll see all five of them in together in the playoffs, but it gives each one individually a lot of confidence,” said Rivers. “And you never know, with foul trouble or something, they may have to finish a game. You just don’t know. So I think it was very important. Of the stretch, and that was probably the most important part of this last two weeks, is keeping our starters fresh, with rhythm, and giving our bench confidence, and I think we succeeded in that, so that was good.”

The Celts are particularly thrilled with Powe, who has turned himself around.

“Leon has come as far as anyone in the league since last year,” said Pierce. “He’s a second-rounder who in the first half of the season didn’t come off the bench at all. He stuck with it, put in a lot of hard work and got to the weight room.”

“Leon is absolutely playing terrific,” Rivers said. “It’s really nice when you think about who he is. He’s gonna help us, no doubt about that.”

“I was just trying to find my rhythm,” Powe said. “I was out for two games (sore right foot). I was coming off the bench, anyway. Just trying to get out there and do something to help my team. Just go out there and play hard on defense, and be aggressive on the offense end when I get the chance. I was just trying to find my rhythm today.”

Around the rim

Rondo was awarded the Sixth Star Award by fans voting through Comcast SportsNet.com. He followed on the heels of Al Jefferson and Delonte West, among others.

Rivers said he never was concerned with the point guard, who held the position throughout the season.

“Wasn’t that concerned about it and he’s come a long way. Obviously I was more concerned with the backup. With Kevin, Ray and Paul, Rajon is a natural point guard and I felt what he does would (mesh) even more with those guys. I think most people were honestly concerned about his shot. They weren’t concerned about him at point guard. They were concerned if he can make an open jump shot and they still are. He’ll prove them wrong in the playoffs.”

Rondo finished averaging 10.6 points, and heading into Wednesday was eighth in the league in point guards shooting percentage, .492, which seems to belie thoughts of poor shooting. He had 5.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds, which was third amongst NBA point guards, behind only Jason Kidd and Baron Davis. He was also sixth in steals.

“Rajon’s one of the more underrated players in the league, in that he’s one of the best finishers,” said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. “Unbelievable speed and quickness, a lot of mental toughness, and playing with those others have made him a better player.”

Asked for his MVP choice, Frank said, “Where are we? Boston? Garnett.”