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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:12:01 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1127711&format=textDoc Rivers: C’s team to beat It’s easy pickin’s By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Notebook | Saturday, October 25, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Jess Gatley Doc Rivers seems profoundly unconcerned with the fact that a number of people are picking teams other than the Celtics [team stats] to win the NBA championship. Even the league’s general managers are taking the Lakers. “Oh, I don’t care one way or the other,” the coach said as his club returned to practice yesterday after a two-day break. “We pick us. We picked us last year, too. “The bottom line is we have to be a better team than we were last year to win it. We believe that. To us, that’s a process that we’re going to have to go through all year to improve as a basketball team. And I think I have a group of guys that are willing to do that.” The Celts still have time to iron things out between now and Tuesday night’s season opener against Cleveland. Of his short-term goals for the lads, Rivers said, “Just getting on page with everything, getting their timing back and getting it to the point where it’s game ready instead of preseason ready. There’s a difference. “We understand it’s going to be 82 games of being attacked every night. That’ll probably in the long run be a good thing for us, but it’s something that we’re going to have to get used to.” The Celtics also will have to get used to some new jewelry. Before they break a sweat Tuesday, they get to revel in the raising of the championship banner and the presentation of the championship rings. “You play for all of it,” Rivers said. “You play for that night when you win it. You play for the parade. But I think the two things that are the most special are the banner going up and when you get the box and you can open it up and you have a ring. Because when you think about it, that’s the only thing you get to take home. Everything else is hanging or stays in someone else’s cabinet. So I think the ring is something that’s going to be very, very special.” Nice ring to it The Celtics brass last night offered a sneak peek at the honkin’ piece of $30,000 championship bling that the team and coaches will score. At its annual Shamrock Gala at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, a replica of the NBA championship ring was viewed on the big screen during a live auction. It looked big, heavy and, if you believe it, rather understated. The 14-carat white gold ring sports 64 pave-set diamonds, 20 princess-cut diamonds and scores of emeralds in the shape of a shamrock on the face. There’s also the Celtics logo, the player’s name and his number. “I’ve got big hands and this ring even looks bigger on my hand,” Ray Allen said. “I think my hand is going to be dragging on the pavement.” For photos of the ring, visit bostonherald.com. Still building You can expect to see a lot of Tony Allen, Leon Powe, Glen Davis and Eddie House coming off the bench at the start of the season, but Rivers noted that the supporting cast still is a work in progress. “I saw them enough,” he said of their stints in preseason games and practices. “We know who we want to play, at least now. As the season goes on, that doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t take another guy’s spot. It always is competitive. We know that.” Asked if he’s told the players the rotation, Rivers said, “No. They’ll figure it out.” Things are a good deal more certain atop the depth chart, with Paul Pierce [stats], Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Kendrick Perkins [stats] and Rajon Rondo [stats] back as starters. The continuity is appreciated. “This is my ninth year starting a season, and this is the first time in my coaching career (having the same starting five),” Rivers said. “So that’s how rare it is, and it means a lot.”
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:19:46 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/10/25/plenty_of_fight_in_them?mode=PFPlenty of fight in them Practice intensity sign of readiness By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | October 25, 2008 WALTHAM - Judging by practice sessions and exhibition games, the Celtics are going all out to defend their turf. In fact, they have been taking their competitive attitude to the limit in preparation for the season opener against Cleveland Tuesday. "We are so prepared," Ray Allen said yesterday, "that in one-on-ones, it got to the point where guys get in fights. Nobody ever actually fights, but we have a lot of barking on this team, from everybody, and I think you see that machismo among the guys. Everyone wants to feel like the top dog. Ultimately, we take that and translate it to the team concept, and everything we do helps the team. "I've been on teams where guys thought they were good but never showed that passion on the floor. Ultimately, if you care about what you are doing, it shows up on the floor." The aggressive tone is set defensively, usually starting with Kevin Garnett. "[Garnett] is a lot more intense this year," Paul Pierce said. "I didn't think he could go to another level, but he has. It's infectious and you see it in practice - it's like we never won anything." Said Garnett, "My intensity rubs off on Paul and Ray a little bit. The young players are getting to understand the intensity we play with for 48 minutes, that when we play at home, we protect that; what practice is - we come here and we don't go long but we go hard." The players' competitiveness has spilled over into conflicts against opponents, the most spirited encounter during a 90-89 win over Houston in Manchester, N.H., when Pierce was targeted by Ron Artest and the Celtics' Bill Walker tangled with Tracy McGrady. "Everyone feels they can go out and get the job done, and that makes this team better," Allen said. "We take great pride in playing defense, stopping the best guy on the floor. That makes us a great unit, because we all help each other. You can't ask for anything more." Nice ring to it Allen got a preview of the NBA championship rings the Celtics will receive during a pregame ceremony Tuesday. "It really doesn't matter what it looks like because what it stands for is most important," said Allen. "We all have that symbol that bonds us together the rest of our lives, and nobody can take it away from us." Asked to describe the ring, Allen replied, "You're definitely going to notice it. It's definitely a conversation point when you're wearing them. I don't know how much we'll be wearing them. But there are so many people in our lives and in our careers and they need that, to understand that winning championships is not something that happens to everybody, it's not something that happens every day. When you have the opportunity to symbolize that, what better way than to have that than in a ring?" Pierce prefers the element of surprise. "I decided not to look at it," he said. "I can't imagine it but it's going to be a special night." Said coach Doc Rivers, "Two things make it special - the banner going up and when they get the box, open it up, and it has the ring in it. The ring they get to take home. Everything else is hanging or stays in someone else's cabinet. I think the ring is something very, very special." Old is new Point guard Rajon Rondo illustrated the Celtics' progress over a year ago, when players were being introduced to Rivers's system and to each other. "We should be better than last year, we should know each other better, we should have better chemistry," Rivers said. "A good example was [yesterday], even though I didn't like it and it worked. We were working on end-of-the-game stuff and Rondo came down and called a play from last year and ran it, and they knew it. We hadn't put that in yet; we wanted to put it in in the middle of the year. But that's an advantage we have."
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:24:43 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/10/25/uplifting_experience?mode=PFUplifting experience Hawks showed promise by stretching Celtics to seven By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | October 25, 2008 There used to be lots of good seats available at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The only positive thing to talk about was the good ol' days, when Dominique Wilkins was dunking from above the rim. But suddenly, with one strong playoff showing against the eventual NBA champion Celtics last season, everything changed for the Atlanta Hawks. "It puts us in a different light in terms of expectations," said coach Mike Woodson. "We're still a young team. But I don't think people will take us real lightly anymore whether we are in Atlanta or on the road. "We've been competitive the last couple of years. But taking Boston to seven games shows that we can compete on a high level." Few thought the Hawks had a chance against the mighty Celtics. The Hawks were the lowest playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. No postseason team had a worse record than Atlanta's 37-45 mark. Youthful Atlanta was also making its first playoff appearance since 1999. To make matters worse, the Celtics dominated three regular-season games and easily won the first two playoff games at TD Banknorth Garden. But back in Atlanta, everything changed as the Hawks won their three home games by playing an uptempo, athletic, and defensively suffocating brand of basketball. They were energized by their boisterous fans, who had been dormant for a long time. And when the Hawks pushed the series to a deciding seventh game, there was talk about Atlanta becoming just the fourth No. 8 seed in NBA history to upset a top seed. But the Celtics responded in Game 7, hammering the Hawks, 99-65, at the Garden. "Just the thought that we got into the playoffs was a gratifying part," Woodson said. "We got it together the last 20-22 games to get in. No one gave us a chance or thought we'd win one game. It shows in the playoffs that anything is possible. "When we were in Boston, we were scared. Boston had a lot to do with that. But when we got home, we got momentum. It's not easy winning in the Boston Garden. The better team won." Said Hawks forward Josh Smith, "Some teams think of us as a pushover. But for the most part, we gained respect. We had to earn it. This run can put Atlanta back on the map." The Hawks' newfound momentum hit a bump in the offseason. Atlanta did not have a selection on draft night, having traded the pick to acquire All-Star guard Joe Johnson. Forward Josh Childress signed a lucrative contract in Greece. And the Hawks were forced to re-sign Smith by matching a five-year, $58 million offer sheet he signed with Memphis. The Hawks, however, added veteran help by signing swingman Maurice Evans and guard Ronald Murray. Veteran point guard Mike Bibby, a midseason acquisition who was sidelined by a thumb injury for much of last season, is healthy and will benefit from a full training camp with Atlanta. And with Smith, Johnson, All-Rookie selection Al Horford, and budding forward Marvin Williams, Woodson is confident the Hawks are better than they were at the end of last season. "I like the way that we've grown," Woodson said. "Everyone is older. Bibby is a healthy Bibby. We are deeper than last year. Mo and Flip are veteran guys who know how to play and score. It helps a little bit from a locker room standpoint." Smith and Woodson said they noticed strong enthusiasm from fans for the upcoming season. "Just walking around [Atlanta] seeing the fans, they're ready," Smith said. "Everyone is excited. The city of Atlanta is excited." The Hawks are now flying high, and although Woodson said, "Every team in the East has gotten better," Atlanta is focused on improving upon what it accomplished last season. "I've been preaching all through training camp that what happened last year is behind us," Woodson said. "The fans expect more and they should. I don't want to add pressure to our team or me. When you push the No. 1 team to [Game] 7, people expect a lot. "You don't want to go back. Once you taste the playoffs, you don't want to go [backward]. That's the furthest thing from my mind and the team's mind."
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:27:35 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/10/rondo_returns.htmlRondo returns Link|Comments (0) Posted by Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff October 24, 2008 04:24 PM Rajon Rondo returned to full speed at Celtics' practice Friday and is expected to be in the starting lineup in the season-opener against Cleveland at the TD Banknorth Garden Tuesday. Rondo (ankle sprain) missed the final two preseason games and the Celtics took two days off before returning to training in Waltham. The Celtics, 6-2 in the preseason, are expected to practice Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:28:33 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/10/player_profile_11.html Player profile: Brian Scalabrine Email|Link|Comments (4) Posted by Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff October 24, 2008 12:49 PM This is the 12th in a series of profiles for all 15 players on the current Celtics roster. We'll profile at least one player each day leading up to the season opener on Tuesday. Brian Scalabrine Brian Scalabrine boxes out Lamar Odom in an attempt at a rebound. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff) Born: March 18, 1978 Height: 6 feet 9 inches. Weight: 235 College: USC Years pro: 7 Acquired: Signed as free agent in 2005 (Drafted No. 35 overall by New Jersey in 2001) 2008/2009 salary: $3.2 million Signed through: 2009-2010 Last year's numbers: 1.8 ppg, 0.8 apg, 1.6 rpg in 48 games Strengths: Scalabrine is a pest on defense. A couple of years ago when the Celtics were cellar-dwellers, Doc Rivers put Scal on Kevin Garnett (there weren't many other options), and I recall he didn't do a bad job. He can also spread the floor and hit the outside shot (35 percent career three-point shooter). And he's a good teammate and a contributor in the community. Weaknesses: It's no secret Scalabrine didn't contribute much on the court last season. He didn't see any playoff minutes (but he was active when Kendrick Perkins went down during the Finals, allowing me the chance to watch him at least warm up for a meaningful game in LA). The knock on Scal is that he doesn't do anything particularly well. He's a guy whose "intangibles" aren't going to show up on the stat sheet, but then when you actually go looking for them, really dig deep, they're still hard to find. What to expect: The Celtics aren't likely to let Scalabrine go and eat $6 million over the next two seasons. And for now he's a player who goes hard in practice and gives the starters all they can handle between games. Is $6 million a lot to pay someone for that role? Absolutely. But with Darius Miles gone, don't expect Scal to go anywhere, unless the Celtics can package his salary in a trade. Next season is when that $3 million salary may come in handy, as the Celtics will have a lot of decisions to make concerning their roster.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:30:33 GMT -5
www.nba.com/celtics/promotions/news102308-trophy-plates.htmlCeltics Championship Trophy at the Burlington Mall Show your Celtics Pride when you drive the lane in Massachusetts and support Children's Hospital Boston. Apply for a Celtics Plate: Download Application (.pdf) Join Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins, Lucky, Celtics Dancers, and the 2008 Championship Trophy at the Burlington Mall on Sunday, October 26, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Anyone who signs up for a Boston Celtics license plate will be able to take a picture with Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins, Lucky, Dancers and the Championship trophy. All proceeds from the License Plates benefit Children's Hospital Boston, a Focus Partner of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation. Plates are available for $40 and all fans who sign up will also receive a limited edition Kevin Garnett t-shirt! The Boston Celtics License Plate will be available once 1,500 applications are received.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 7:48:55 GMT -5
news.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1127712&format=textCeltics cut loose at Shamrock Foundation benefit By Inside Track | Saturday, October 25, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | The Inside Track Photo by Jess Gatley The reigning NBA champs showed their silly side and their Celtic Pride last night at the team’s annual Shamrock Foundation benefit. The highlight of the swish evening was the “unplugged” portion of the program where captain Paul Pierce [stats] instructed Glen “Big Baby” Davis to tell (and show) the Truth about Kevin Garnett’s locker room dancing which drew the biggest laugh from the audience. Eddie House did his imitation of the soft- but well-spoken Ray Allen explaning the team’s African “ubuntu” mantra. Apparently, No. 20 is the team egghead . . . “This is what the people want to know - uncut,” laughed Pierce, “the real dirt.” Last up were rookies Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens who were hazed into crooning R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly,” assisted by Big Baby. Giddens got into it. Walker, not so much. During the end of the event’s live auction, a replica of the team’s championship bling was flashed on the screen to entice a deep-pocketed fan to pony up for a ring of their very own. The $30,000, 14-carat white gold ring, which will be awarded to players and coaches on Opening Night Tuesday, has 64 pave-set diamonds, 20 princess-set diamonds and scores of emeralds that make up the shamrock in the center. The team’s logo and player’s name and number are on the sides. Classy, without being gaudy. The Lucky bidder won his very own for $15,000. The gala, which raised $1.7 million for the team’s charitable foundation, drew 500 people to the ballroom of the Renaissance Boston Waterfront. “Mark Blount never drew crowds like this,” joked WEEI yakker - and the evening’s emcee - Glenn Ordway, poking fun at the team’s former disgruntled center who was traded away in 2006 to the Timberwolves. While the team’s good-doobie works were the focus of the event, politics also came into play in the beginning of the evening when coach Doc Rivers talked about the champs’ trip to the White House. “We saw Bush,” said Doc, a die-hard Democrat, as he put his hand on assistant coach Clifford Ray’s shoulder. “We want to see Obama next year.” Besides the Celtics [team stats] brass, alumni, staff, broadcasters and other F.O.C.s, we spotted: State Treasurer Tim Cahill; Suffolk University cheese John Nucci (the school’s sponsoring this year’s ‘Who Wants a T-Shirt’ schtick during the games); WAAF [website]-FM’s Greg Hill; chefs Michael Schlow and Ken Oringer; superfan Mike Rotondi; WEEI suits Julie Kahn and Jim Rushton; Harrah’s honcho Gary Loveman; Lansdowne Street sultan Patrick Lyons and wife, Kristina, and concessions king Joe O’Donnell.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 8:04:01 GMT -5
K.G. still hungry man
Champions want a repeat
By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
wdoyle@telegram.com
WALTHAM— Don’t worry, Celtics fans. Kevin Garnett hasn’t grown fat and happy after finally winning his first NBA championship in his 13th NBA season.
Garnett insists he’s just as intense and motivated as ever.
“Why would I change?” Garnett wondered.
Isn’t it human nature to relax a bit after you’ve reached the top?
“No, I don’t go out for human nature,” Garnett said after a long, hard practice yesterday at HealthPoint. “I go out for what got me here. I’ve been doing this for whatever year this is for me, I think 14th for me. This is my mark, if you will. This is how I play, this is my style, this is what I’m accustomed to, and I don’t see myself changing anytime soon.”
Garnett said he felt as if he rented an apartment during his first 12 NBA seasons before he finally found a home of his own by winning the title last June. He’s not ready to move out of the championship neighborhood.
“Now you own a home and it’s nice,” he said. “You’ve got grass and you’ve got to cut it, front, back, sides. You’ve got a lawn system. It’s yours. You want people staying off your grass. You don’t want people cutting through your yard, leaving trail marks. You give a little more when it’s yours. So that’s how I take it.”
Celtics coach Doc Rivers expected nothing less from the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“He may be even hungrier,” Rivers said. “He’s just a different breed. They don’t make them like him.”
Rivers hopes Garnett will relax once he retires, but he’s not sure that will be the case.
“I can’t imagine him as an AAU father,” Rivers said. “I would not want to coach that team, second-guessing you and screaming. I’ll pass.”
If Garnett avoids a letdown, he’ll make sure his teammates do as well.
“The fact I am intense brushed off on Ray (Allen) and Paul (Pierce) a little bit,” Garnett said, “and the fact that they are patient players brushed off on me a little bit. As teammates, you coexist. You draw from others as they draw from you.”
Pierce and Allen enter this season in better condition than a year ago. Pierce reported to camp nearly 10 pounds lighter than last season when he was coming off foot and elbow injuries.
“I ate better this summer,” Pierce said. “When you win a championship, it just motivated me to work a lot harder because I know it’s going to be a lot harder to do it again.”
Allen’s ankles bothered him for much of last season. Allen was still with Seattle when he had surgery on both of them in April 2007. During rehab, the Sonics’ doctor advised him to skip training camp because of the pain.
“When I got traded here,” Allen said, “it was tough to come in and say, ‘I’m not going to do training camp, I’m going to ease my way into it.’ I just came full steam ahead and dealt with what I was working with. The situation we had last year was just too much not to want to be a part of.”
The pain from the four incisions in each ankle, Allen admitted, “never stopped” last season.
“Just running up and down the floor,” he said, “you just feel it aching the whole time.”
The pain has dissipated with massage and therapy. Now, Allen works on getting his ankles stronger.
The Big Three expect to blend together even better after winning a title.
“I think so,” Pierce said. “I think our chemistry is a lot better than it was this time a year ago. It was sort of like we were learning on the fly last year, but I feel like it’s been a lot better this preseason and in the practices.”
“What we can do is become more efficient,” Allen said, “turn over the ball less, shoot a better percentage.”
The Celtics plan to win with defense, just as they did last year. Associate head coach Tom Thibodeau designed the defense, but Garnett made sure to spread the credit around.
“It’s more Doc, to be honest with you,” Garnett said. “Tibs, everybody gives him credit for the defense, but you have to go out and actually execute it. I’m sure he’s not the only defensive-minded coach in this league, but it does take the players to execute anything and everything and I think we do that, for the most part.”
The Celtics will receive their NBA championship rings prior to their season opener Tuesday night at the Garden against Cleveland. Allen already has seen his ring, but Pierce wants to wait until Tuesday.
“It really doesn’t matter what it looks like,” Allen said. “It’s what it stands for that’s most important. We all have that symbol that bonds us together for the rest of our lives and nobody can take that from us.”
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 8:05:37 GMT -5
www.projo.com/celtics/content/lb_celticmovie_10-24-08_65C08C0_v10.1bd0db9.htmlDocumentary of Celtics’ championship 2007-08 season on the big screen 01:00 AM EDT on Friday, October 24, 2008 You can relive the Boston Celtics’ 2007-08 championship season on the big screen Monday when Return to the Rafters will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in several local National Amusements theaters. The one-time-only showing of the 75-minute documentary follows the team through its season and the playoffs. It includes interviews with the players, head coach Doc Rivers, general manager Danny Ainge and fans. The film uses archival audio of the late coach Red Auerbach to frame the pressure that was put upon Rivers and Ainge to re-create the old Celtics magic. There also are off-court scenes of the players as the team tries to come together as a cohesive unit. Return to the Rafters will be screened at the Providence Place Cinemas, the Showcase Cinemas in Warwick, North Attleboro and Seekonk Route 6, and the Cinema de Lux Patriot Place in Foxboro.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 25, 2008 8:07:07 GMT -5
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