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FLCeltsFan
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News 12/10 Dec 10, 2008 7:39:37 GMT -5

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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 10, 2008 7:39:37 GMT -5

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1138035&format=text
Celtics give start little thought

By Mark Murphy | Wednesday, December 10, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill
WALTHAM - So what if the Celtics [team stats] have a chance to make history with a win against the Wizards tomorrow night in Washington.

They wouldn’t have reached 20-2 - a feat matched by only two other teams in franchise history - if they actually thought about this kind of irrelevance.

That, anyway, is the way they are looking at the chance to go 21-2 - a mark no other Celtics team has achieved.

“I don’t even care,” coach Doc Rivers said after yesterday’s practice. “That’s not a focus. It doesn’t do a lot for us.

“That kind of thing is nice, but I’d trade that any day for the best finish ever. That’s what we’re aiming for.”

Rivers can rest easy. His players long ago bought into the plan of only looking ahead.

“I don’t think we’re aware of that at all,” Ray Allen said. “You think of all those milestones we passed last year that weren’t really milestones, like starting the year 7-0 and things like that.

“I guess it is great to set fresh records. It’s great to make history, but it doesn’t mean anything.”

Should the Celtics break a best-start tie they hold with last year’s team and the 1963-64 squad, it will be because they haven’t dwelled on the achievement.

“What’s important is that we just keep playing well,” Paul Pierce [stats] said. “We never go into a season where it’s our goal to win this many games.”

Instead, the goal is to develop a healthy case of amnesia.

“We’ve forgotten about last year,” Pierce said. “We don’t get discouraged when we get down in games, and that comes from winning a championship.

“A year ago we might have wondered in certain games what to think of a certain situation, but right now we’re a very confident group. No team has ever gone 82-0, so we can definitely get better.”

And in case anyone has thought about dwelling on the numbers, Rivers has made sure to knock them back to reality.

“As a staff I know we don’t look at our record,” Rivers said. “We don’t talk about that. The guys hear that they’re 20-2, and all we tell them is that they have to improve. I always tell people, ‘You have to be careful about paying attention to your record.’ ”

Message delivered.

Celtics notes

A spry Tony Allen ran through practice without any apparent trouble from his sore right ankle.

That doesn’t mean he’s not still feeling the effects of an injury that kept him out of two games last week before Sunday’s return against the Pacers.

“I think he’s fine. He has that explosiveness back,” Rivers said. “He had a good practice, and he had a good game (Sunday). I just threw him out there, and I was ready to pull him out again, but he was good. He was so good I almost regretted not playing him Friday.”

Said Allen: “I still feel the pain, but for the most part I’m fighting through it. There’s a lot going on right now.

“I just want to fight through it.”

FLCeltsFan
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News 12/10 Dec 10, 2008 7:41:18 GMT -5

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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 10, 2008 7:41:18 GMT -5

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1138073&format=text
Kings finally win a home game by defeating Lakers

By Sam Amick / McClatchy Newspapers | Wednesday, December 10, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | NBA Coverage

Photo by AP
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The outlook was as grim as Gavin Maloof’s outfit, an all-black getup that made for a fitting fashion statement in light of the recent circumstances.

This was the lowly Kings and their twisting-in-the-wind coach against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers and their traveling supporters, a seemingly perfect scene setter for Reggie Theus’ projected demise.

And as the Kings co-owner watched his team jump out to an early lead Tuesday night at Arco Arena, he shook his head as he discussed the cumulative effect of so many recent failures.

Eleven losses in 12 games qualified as trying times for the family, even more so in light of a recent scare that caused concern of an even greater kind. Just last week, Gavin said, Joe Maloof had spent a day in a Las Vegas hospital after suffering what was initially thought to be a stroke. The cause remains a mystery and he has returned to full health, but the unending stresses of all types left them badly in need of a reprieve.

"This team is going to kill us," he said with a half-hearted laugh.

Yet by night’s end, Maloof and so many frustrated fans reveled in their team’s shocking revival, a 113-101 win that stopped the Kings’ eight-game losing streak, gave the Lakers only their third loss in 20 games and kept the Kings from breaking the franchise record with a ninth consecutive home loss.

Playing with an end-to-end effort that had become the exception more than the rule and feeding off a rare near-capacity crowd announced at 16,068, the Kings entertained and sustained at a level that left Maloof as the loudest cheerleader. He cheered early and often with his two-fingered whistle, clapped so hard he hurt his thumb at one point and raised his hands at the end in a moment that was a long time coming for all involved.

Nearly three weeks after the Kings’ last win, there was reason to celebrate.

"It shows what I’ve been telling the guys, that you play hard no matter what the outcome is," Francisco Garcia said. "All you can do is go out and play hard every night."

With the Kings shooting 49.4 percent, Garcia and John Salmons had 21 points each, and Bobby Jackson tied his season high with 15 points. They shunned their most damaging personality traits, tying a season low with 10 turnovers and locking down defensively to hold the Lakers to 40.2 percent shooting. Kobe Bryant was an abysmal 9 of 25 from the field.

"All in all, with the look of the team, the way the team played, the level of concentration, the intensity, the focus, it makes you wonder," Theus said. "I know this is who we are."

Following a 33-point Denver drubbing in which the Kings trailed by 21 after the first quarter and the smallish crowd booed early and often, it seemed as if Theus’ standing was best judged in 12-minute increments. Yet this first quarter was far different from the last, with Garcia hitting a jumper, three-pointer and layup and Brad Miller converting a putback layup for an early 11-2 lead.

The Lakers made just 9 of 26 shots in the first quarter and allowed the Kings to hit 13 of 26. A 27-22 lead, in some ways, had the feel of a mini-success for the Kings considering their recent play.

The Kings survived a 10-0 Lakers run to start the second quarter en route to a 56-51 halftime lead after Bryant had shot just 2 of 9. A 15-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters pushed their lead to 15, and they coasted from there.

"Now we know what we can do against a great team," Jackson said. "They weren’t 17-2 for nothing. And now they’re 17-3."

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News 12/10 Dec 10, 2008 7:46:35 GMT -5

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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 10, 2008 7:46:35 GMT -5

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/12/10/celtics_trying_to_stay_one_step_ahead_on_march?mode=PF
Celtics trying to stay one step ahead on march
By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | December 10, 2008

WALTHAM - The Celtics are close to breaking a team record for the best start to a season. A victory in Washington tomorrow would give them 21 wins in 23 games, ahead of the pace set in 1963 and matched last year.

"That's nice, but I would trade that for the best finish ever," coach Doc Rivers said yesterday. "That's what we're looking for and aiming for."

Asked if the Celtics could "burn out" after a such a hot start, Rivers replied, "We're just playing basketball. We're winning, but we're playing normal minutes. So, the question should be, if we played the same amount of minutes and lost, would we be burning out? No. So, if we're going to play the minutes, I think we should try to win the game, and that's what we're doing."

The Celtics have not lost since a Nov. 14 home game against Denver (94-85), their 12-game win streak beginning the next night with a 5-point overtime win at Milwaukee (102-97) and leading to a 5-point overtime win at Indiana (122-117) Sunday. The Celtics have outscored foes by an average of 13.2 points since Nov. 15.

"We don't look at our record, we look at where we think the team should be someday," Rivers said. "And we know we have to be better. They are hearing we are 20-2 and we are telling them we have to improve, so it's two different messages. We just hope they get our message and not yours.

"We are winning games, but you've got to be careful with records. Even with teams you beat during the regular season, you don't know if they had back-to-backs, they were tired, they had injuries, it could be their fourth game in six nights.

"In the playoffs, they are focused and ready to play you. They've had rest. It's a different breed.

"That's why the record is great and we'll take it. And, on most of those nights, we were the tired team, and we won those games. But we know we have to be better."

The Celtics have mostly avoided injuries; Tony Allen (sprained ankle) returned from a two-game absence against the Pacers. And they have imposed their will on most opponents. But Rivers said the team needed a practice session to correct defensive errors after Indiana scored 105 points in regulation, the second-highest total for a Celtic opponent this season.

"I thought we had a lot of slippage in defense the last couple of games," Rivers said. "We've given up more points than we should have. It's just communication, on both ends of the floor. Little things of execution."

Rivers said he called a halt to practice early.

"You are always careful in practice," he said, "because sometimes it's more intense than some games - there's no rest, no fouls, you worry about it.

"Before the season started, we were concerned by the schedule, and to our guys' credit, they have had great mental focus and were able to fight through it. Like we tell them, at some point everyone has to play 82 games. Everyone is going to go through tough stretches. We just happened to have ours early.

"Now, the stretch of games coming up, there aren't as many, but they are tough teams, so we have to have great focus. Focus can never leave you - it's just different situations."

The Celtics could be approaching the best 28-game start in league history. The 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1969-70 New York Knicks were 26-2 before losing for the third time.

"We never go into a season with a goal to win this many games or break any records," captain Paul Pierce said. "Our goal is to just continue to get better until we get to the playoffs. We can always play better.

"No team has gone 82-0, so we can always get better - that's definitely the goal. And you can see it in the guys in practice. Everyone knows the feeling of winning a championship and we want to do it again."

Said Ray Allen, "20-2 is the best record in the league, but if you settle on it, that's all you have - the best record. We are trying to win a championship, so it's a situation where we're constantly trying to improve.

"Teams are watching us now. They watch the last game we played, and see what they can do to beat us. So we have to be one step ahead of them to counter what they're doing on defense.

"The record doesn't make us any better. We could have easily lost to Indiana."

Tony Allen scored 12 points in 20 minutes against the Pacers and ignited the Boston reserves, who had struggled in a 93-78 win over Portland Friday.

"He looked OK in the game," Rivers said. "I thought he was explosive. He actually surprised me. From watching him, he should have played the game before that.

"He's one of the guys who can break defenses down, and when he's not on the floor and they don't get a great look on a pick for Eddie [House] or get it in deep to Leon [Powe], they run into trouble.

"We need them to get consistent. They've been up and down. They are young. The starters are playing so well right now, it's almost difficult to give them a rest. But, at some point, you have to give the starters a rest."

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News 12/10 Dec 10, 2008 7:54:29 GMT -5

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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 10, 2008 7:54:29 GMT -5

www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/pros_and_colleges/x865140839/Celtics-Stellar-start
Celtics: Stellar start
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AJ Mast/Associated Press
Coach Doc Rivers and the Celtics are off to a 20-2 start for the second straight season, this time despite a brutal early season schedule.

By Scott Souza/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News
Posted Dec 09, 2008 @ 10:00 PM

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WALTHAM — Danny Ainge, the Celtics president of basketball operations, said prior to the season that Boston might be a better team this year even if that improvement didn't show up in the early season record.

The Celtics have turned out to be every bit the squad last year's champions were early in the campaign. And amazingly, despite a front-loaded schedule and targets on their backs, it has been reflected in the record.

Despite playing 22 times, including six back-to-backs, in the first six weeks of the season - more than all but three other teams - the Celtics are sitting atop the league with a 20-2 record.

The mark matches the pace of last year's edition and puts them in position to make a run at last season's unfathomable 29-3 start to the season.

While Celtics coach Doc Rivers mockingly asked following yesterday's workout if there were a "little glass whistle" awarded for such a feat, he acknowledged the record has exceeded his expectations.

"Before the season started we were concerned about the schedule - that there were losses built in just because of the schedule," the coach said. "To our guys' credit, they have great mental focus and were able to fight through it."

It hasn't been easy with all the games packed so tightly together, but they got through it challenging the best start in franchise history (no C's team has ever started 21-2) and this week are enjoying their first three-day break of the campaign.

"It's great to set franchise records and be a part of that," allowed Ray Allen, amid a scorching stretch of six 20-point-plus games in his last eight, including 35 in Sunday's overtime victory in Indiana. "There's a lot of history, and to have your name associated with certain teams is great for us. But at the same time it doesn't really mean anything. It's one of those stats that you talk about for two or three minutes, then you move on."

Allen knows if they don't, they are liable to get caught from behind quickly.

"Teams now are watching the last game we played and (trying to figure out) what they can do to beat us," he said. "When a team is thinking that way, you have to be one step ahead of them. It's a tougher job for the coaching staff to always keep us motivated. We're a pretty motivated bunch. But they have to stay one step ahead of us."

Fortunately, Rivers and his staff finally get a chance to gain their footing this week. For the first month of the year, the coach had to decide between giving the tired bunch a day off or hitting the practice court for some fine-tuning. This week, he was able to give them Monday off with two days of practice still left heading into the next back-to-back (tomorrow at Washington, then Friday at home against New Orleans).

"It's really nice," Rivers said. "Hopefully, that means they can get healthy, get their rest, and we can work on a lot of stuff that we've had a lot of slippage in recently. Defensively, the past couple of games we have been giving up more points than we should."

Similarly, Kendrick Perkins agreed said, "I think we needed a practice. I think these two days are going to be key. Every time we have a good practice, we come back strong."

They will have to in order to keep up the pace. While the Wizards have stumbled to a 3-15 start entering last night, the next three games are against teams (the Hornets, Jazz and Hawks) with a combined record of 36-22.

"We need to keep playing well," Paul Pierce said. "Our record is what it is, but we have to concentrate on keep getting better. We never come into a season saying that it's our goal to win this many games, or break any records. The goal is to continue to get better until we get to the playoffs."

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News 12/10 Dec 10, 2008 10:07:44 GMT -5

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