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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 9:41:28 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1142237&format=textCeltics finish road trip, ’08 with loss in Portland A blaze of gory for Celtics By Steve Bulpett | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by AP PORTLAND, Ore. - At the end of a year to remember, the Celtics [team stats] had a night they just as soon would forget. Counting playoffs, they won 84 games and there was that new green and white flag up in the Garden rafters as a nice little memento. But the final on-court sip was a bit bitter. The Trail Blazers didn’t have their best player, but they had enough to burn the Bostonians, 91-86. The Celtics still had the best record in the NBA when they boarded their red-eye charter home. But they also had a 1-3 road trip. The home team survived the absence of Brandon Roy (right hamstring) and his 23-point average. Greg Oden had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Blake had 21 points and Travis Outlaw added 20. “Clearly, Brandon Roy was holding the Trail Blazers back, huh?” Doc Rivers said. “I’m sorry, I have to laugh at something.” The Celts failed the boards, getting outrebounded 44-29 overall. Portland had a 13-5 edge on the offensive glass, which translated into a 20-7 advantage in extra-chance points. “They were the more physical team, epecially on the glass,” Rivers said. “I said before the game the key was if we rebounded, we’d win the game. If we didn’t, we’d lose the game.” The Trail Blazers pulled out all the stops, even going on a power play in the waning seconds of the first half. Something was fishy when Outlaw took a pass from Oden and dunked with three seconds left, with the Celtics believing they had accounted for everyone. They had. Taking the term “sixth man” to a new level, the Blazers had an extra man on the floor. Kevin Garnett (17 points) pleaded with the officials, who met and gave Portland a technical for the extra skater. But, much to the Green chagrin, they allowed the basket to stand because they hadn’t spotted the violation in time. Ray Allen did get one of the points back by hitting the technical, but the Celtics were shaking their heads. “Oh, that was awful,” Rivers said. “And it actually came back into play. But hell, we had enough time to make it up. “It absolutely had an effect. Our guys were complaining the rest of the game about it. I kept telling them, ‘you’ve got to get over it’. But that was a doozy. There’s no excuse for that to happen.” Said official Mike Callahan: “If we would have caught the six men on the court before the made goal, then there would have been no score. We woould have called a technical foul on Portland and stopped play. After the technical foul shot (by Boston), Portland wold have inbounded the ball as they were in possession before the stoppage.” The Blazers shot 56.3 percent in the third quarter to complete the trip back from 13 points down. They got their first lead since 7-6 in the last minute, but Paul Pierce [stats] (game-high 28 points) hit two free throws to send it into the final period even at 64. There Portland scored the first six points against a lineup of Eddie House, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, Tony Allen and Ray Allen. The Celts called time and subbed Garnett for Powe, and the Blazers were stopped on their next three possessions. The C’s got within a point on two Pierce free throws with 3:13 left, and they were within two after Pierce hit one from the line with 2:08 to go. But after an Outlaw miss, Rajon Rondo [stats] turned the ball over on a pass and LaMarcus Aldridge hit a turnaround in the lane with just under a minute remaining. Pierce hit two more from the line, but Outlaw went around him and dunked on Garnett to return the margin to four with 29.4 left. Pierce then scored on a twisting drive and made it a three-point play (Oden foul) at 22.6. Sergio Rodriguez was fouled on purpose and got the lead back up to three with 17.9 left. House’s trey with 11 seconds to go caught only air, and Rudy Fernandez ended it by making two foul shots.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 9:43:32 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1142231&format=textKevin Garnett: Rivals are all talk But some think C’s a trash act By Steve Bulpett | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by FAITH NINIVAGGI PORTLAND, Ore. - The Celtics [team stats]’ game speaks for itself. It’s the other verbiage that’s being called into question. A columnist in yesterday’s Oregonian called the C’s arrogant, and opponents, too, have openly stated their trash talking is beneath a defending champion. For their part, the Celts would like to be known as a classy team - but they aren’t campaigning for MySpace [website] friends. “Hey, look here, man,” Kevin Garnett said after yesterday morning’s shootaround. “We’re not here to be liked. And when we’re out there, a lot of times we’re talking to ourselves. We’re communicating amongst each other and it has nothing to do with the other team, and the other team likes to jump in or say little (expletive). A lot of that we let go. We don’t even comment on a lot of stuff, because half the guys who are talking we don’t even know their names. “A lot of times we let our play do the talking. Doc (Rivers) doesn’t really encourage us to talk. He encourages us to communicate amongst each other. But a couple of the times we do have conversations with some guys, now it’s coming off like we’re non-classy. But it’s never told what’s being said to us. I mean, class vs. class I can understand. But when you’re dealing with idiots who don’t know what they’re talking about or guys who are just talking out their (tail) or just talking out their mouth, then that’s a whole other level.” According to Rivers, Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala was speaking from a truthful place when he was critical of the C’s after losing to them last Tuesday at the Garden. “Everybody knows they won the championship,” Iguodala told reporters. “Everybody knows they’re a great team. They try to go overboard with (the trash talking) sometimes. Actually it takes away from how good of a team they are, from the respect factor. Teams don’t respect them as much because of that.” Asked about the issue, Rivers said: “You know, I thought Iguodala was right with what he said. I really did. I thought we were talking too much in the game. “You know, it’s not like they don’t. The other teams do. The other teams do it first. But we don’t have to respond all the time, and I told our guys that. Some of the other teams are frustrated. You’re up on them and so they get to talking. We just need to get to playing. I think we’re getting better at it. I do. But it’s a process. It’s a learning process for us, too.” Garnett believes there is another side to the story. “We don’t trash talk a lot, to tell you the truth,” he said. “I think the conversations that we do have, we’re straight to the point with guys on the floor. But our focus is to come in and communicate with each other and let’s get out of here with a win. And that’s it. You know, a lot of opposing teams come at us real crazy. They come at us with dumb stuff, and we let a lot of it go. Half of the stuff we don’t even comment on, you know? We look at each other and we sort of laugh at each other. We’re here to win and play, man. You ought to hear some of the things that are said on the floor. It’s quite comical. But at the same time, we communicate and we are a team that, you know, competes. “Sometimes you can’t level off how we play,” Garnett added. “Sometimes the emotion is at a high level. When we’re going, we’re going. There’s no excuses needed for that. But we are a team of class, and lot of class is on how you carry yourself - not necessarily on what you say, but what you do.”
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 9:48:52 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1142233&format=textGood time to work out kinks By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Notebook | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by AP PORTLAND, Ore. - The Celtics [team stats] did something out of the ordinary yesterday morning. The team held a practice. It was just a morning-of-a-game session, but coach Doc Rivers will take it. “It’s the first time we’ve been on the floor for any type of practice or shootaround in over a week,” Rivers said as he prepared for last night’s game, an eventual 91-86 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. “That’s a long time. We need it. We need floor time bad.” With a heavy schedule of games and travel, Rivers has chosen to keep his players off their feet rather than risk further fatigue. But the coach would like to get them in a gym more often. Rivers was asked what he’d like to work on in practice. “Oh, the list is too long,” he said. “Timing mostly, defensively and offensively. You know, the more you practice the better your timing gets.” Despite owning the best record in the league, Rivers sees slippage. “Oh, yeah, it’s been tremendous,” he said. “But it was expected. There’s nothing you can do about it. With this group, they’re pretty professional and they do it as well as anybody with no practice - any team I’ve ever been around. I think (the problems) started long before the (19-game winning) streak ended because we had a ton of games. And the winning helps, but it can get you thinking you’re a little better than what you are, as far as where you’re at at that time. “I mean, it happens with everyone and we understand that, and it’s all correctable. Slippage and winning is a good problem. Slippage and losing is a bad problem.” The Celtics took a red-eye charter home after last night’s game and will have today off. But the team will take to the court at their facility in Waltham some time on New Year’s Day. After a couple of cracks about the condition of the participants following tonight’s revelry, Rivers smiled and said, “I don’t know what time we’ll have (practice). We’re thinking about having it at 8 in the morning. It gives you more time to run it out. “That’s usually the garbage can practice. You put it in the middle of the floor.” Sore subject Rajon Rondo [stats] has been battling soreness in both elbows. The point guard hits the floor a great deal because of his style of play. “Usually when I hit the ground I’m bracing myself with my hands or something,” Rondo said. “But it seemed like in the Laker game (the Christmas loss) I went down on both elbows.” A skinny guy playing like Patriots [team stats] safety Rodney Harrison [stats] would seem to be the recipe for trouble. “I don’t want to settle (for jump shots), so I attack the basket,” Rondo said. “The way I play might shorten my career but, I mean, AI (the Detroit Pistons’ Allen Iverson [stats]) has done it for a long time and now he’s shooting a lot more jump shots than he did in the past. I’m sure probably the older I get the less I’m going to go to the basket, but right now I still have to drive.” Minute point Rivers wanted to clarify his statements about Kevin Garnett’s playing time. After saying he wanted to cut Garnett’s minutes, the coach said he actually wants to play the veteran forward in shorter stretches of no more than eight minutes. “We’re trying to change up his minutes allocation,” Rivers said. “It’s the same amount.”
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 9:55:30 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1142220&format=textCeltics: Great eight By Herald staff | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics 1. January 5 at The Palace at Auburn Hills -- Celtics [team stats] 92, Detroit 85 -- Glen Davis scores 20 points and the Celts outscore the Pistons by 10 in the fourth quarter on the road to avenge one of their three earlier losses. After this gut-check win, they do not look back. 2. March 20, at American Airlines [AMR] Center -- Celtics 94, Dallas 90 -- Celtics conquer the Texas Triangle, beating San Antonio and Houston earlier on the journey. The decision over the Rockets two nights earlier snaps their 22-game winning streak, the second-longest run in NBA history. 3. May 18 at TD Banknorth Garden -- Game 7 against the Cavaliers -- Paul Pierce [stats] and LeBron James have an epic scoring duel, which James wins, 45-41. But 38-year-old P.J. Brown hits all four of his shots from the floor, including a critical 20-footer to beat the shot clock with 1:21 left. Celts win, 97-92, and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. 4. May 24 at The Palace at Auburn Hills -- Game 3 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit -- Celtics win their first road game of the postseason, holding the Pistons to 32 points in the first half. Final score is 94-80 and a trip to the title round is well in sight. 5. June 12 at Staples Center -- Game 4 NBA Finals against the Lakers -- L.A. leads by 24 and is about to even The Finals at 2-2, but James Posey and Eddie House throw in 18 and 11 off the bench and the Celtics come back for an inconceivable 97-91 victory. The series is 3-1... and over. 6. June 17 at TD Banknorth Garden -- Game 6 NBA Finals against the Lakers -- Rajon Rondo [stats] preventing the Lakers from getting into their offense. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen scoring 26 apiece. Doc Rivers getting doused. Celtics 131, Lakers 92. Green and white confetti raining down from the Garden rafters. Paul Pierce being handed the Finals MVP trophy. 7. October 28 at TD Banknorth Garden -- Opening night -- Celtics get their championship rings before beating Cleveland, 90-85. But the night will always be remembered for Paul Pierce crying as he receives his jewelry. 8. December 11 at Verizon Center -- Celtics 122, Washington 88 -- More than just another mundane regular season win as the Celts move to 21-2 and surpass last year’s team and the 1963-64 squad for best start in franchise history. These guys are, evidently, interested in winning this thing again.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 9:57:00 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1142222&format=textHere are some things to expect in the Celtics’ future By Herald staff | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics 1. A move. Or two. -- The Celtics [team stats] like their team, but it’s fair to say Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers would welcome a veteran. Particularly a tall one. The Celts won’t look appreciably different after the trade deadline, but as with P.J. Brown last season, the change could be significant. 2. More crazy playoff nights at the Garden. -- By league rule, the Celtics have to wait until they clinch a postseason berth to put playoff tickets on sale, but operators will be standing by and a formerly maligned building will again be rocking. 3. Great elation or deflation. -- As long as they remain healthy, the Celtics are a lock to be in the discussion for the 2009 championship. But win or lose, the team and its following have so much invested in the enterprise that an emotional final act is a given. And after years of mediocrity, passion -- even in defeat -- is to be embraced and appreciated.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 10:00:48 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/12/31/blazers_rattle_celtics?mode=PFBlazers rattle Celtics Road trip ends with third setback By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | December 31, 2008 PORTLAND, Ore. - As cold as it may be in Boston, the Celtics probably won't mind considering the heat they endured out West. The Celtics returned home from an unsuccessful four-game road trip following a 91-86 loss to the Blazers at the Rose Garden last night. "It was an awful trip," said coach Doc Rivers. "We wanted to go 4-0 on this trip and we went 1-3. But it's over. It's over. "There is nothing you can do about it. You go back home and regroup and get it going again." The Celtics (28-5) are still well out in front in the Atlantic Division and lead Cleveland (26-5) by one game for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Paul Pierce scored a game-high 28 points while Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 8 rebounds. But the Celtics shot only 40.3 percent from the field. Ray Allen had 12 points on 2-of-11 shooting, and the Boston bench had 9 points and 2 rebounds. "There is nothing to hang our head about," said Kendrick Perkins. "We just need to keep working." Said Pierce, "It's a tough one to swallow, but it's a long season." The Blazers (20-12) were without guard Brandon Roy, who averages a team-best 23 points per game, because of a right hamstring injury. Rookie guard Rudy Fernandez made his first NBA start in Roy's place. Despite a left ankle injury, Portland center Greg Oden had a solid game with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 7 rebounds, while guard Steve Blake added 21. "Roy was holding the Trail Blazers back," joked Rivers. "Sorry, I had to laugh at something." Said Portland coach Nate McMillan, "This was a great win for us, and now we have to build on that. Before the game it was no secret what we had to do. They don't beat themselves. You have to beat them." The Celtics were upset about a play that cost them 2 points in the first half after an odd call. Portland's last bucket of the half came on a true power-play dunk by Travis Outlaw - the Blazers had six players on the floor. A technical was called, with Allen making the free throw, but Outlaw's basket was allowed to count. "That was awful," Rivers said. "It absolutely had an affect on our guys. They complained the rest of the game about it. I told them, 'You got to get over that.' That was a doozy. There is no excuse for that to happen. "They said you couldn't correct the play, which I still disagree with. But the problem was that we called around, we called the league, and they didn't have the answer, either. It is what it is. There is nothing we can do about." Said referee Mike Callahan, "If we would have caught the six men on the court before the made field goal, then there would have been no score. We would have called a technical foul on Portland and stopped play. "After the technical foul shot, Portland would have inbounded the ball as they were in possession before the stoppage." "They counted the basket," Perkins said. "I don't know how, but they counted it. There is nothing we can do." With 3:13 left in the game, Pierce made two free throws to bring Boston within 81-80. He made 1 of 2 with 2:08 left to bring Boston within 83-81. Following a Rajon Rondo turnover on a bad pass, Aldridge's turnaround jumper gave Portland an 85-81 lead. Two Pierce free throws cut Portland's lead to 85-83 with 52.3 seconds left. Outlaw drove past Pierce for a baseline dunk over Garnett to give Portland an 87-83 lead with 29.4 seconds left. Pierce, however, earned a 3-point play with 22.6 seconds left to trim the deficit to just 87-86. After being fouled on purpose by Tony Allen with 17.9 seconds left, Portland reserve guard Sergio Rodriguez made both free throws to push Boston behind, 89-86. "We just didn't execute down the stretch," Rondo said. "We didn't take care of the ball and we lost our focus when we had those leads." The Celtics immediately called a timeout to draw up one last play. They had 3-point threats in Pierce, Ray Allen, and Eddie House on the floor, but House put up an airball on a contested shot. Fernandez nailed two free throws to seal the win. Boston was outscored, 27-22, in the fourth quarter. "We had to step it up a notch," Blake said. "If you want to win a championship, you're going to have to step it up. We got out there together. We support each other and it's nice to know your teammates have your back." Said Ray Allen, "Down the stretch we just made bad plays. It was reminiscent of the other losses."
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 10:02:22 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/12/31/practice_sorely_needed?mode=PFPractice sorely needed By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | December 31, 2008 PORTLAND, Ore. - While it wasn't a typical practice, Celtics coach Doc Rivers was appreciative of the rare floor time his team had yesterday. The Celtics have not practiced since Dec. 20, but in hopes of fixing some recent "slippage," Rivers was happy to get on the Rose Garden court in the morning for the team's first shootaround in a week. "It's been four games played," said Rivers, whose team nevertheless lost to the Blazers, 91-86, in the finale of a four-game road trip. "We haven't been on the floor for any practice or shootaround in over a week. That's a long time. We need it." Rivers said he had a "long list of things" to work on - most notably timing - during the Celtics' next practice, which will be tomorrow in Waltham, Mass. Rivers called his veteran team "pretty professional" and said it can play as well as anybody without practice. Even so, he felt that tomorrow's practice is much needed, since the slippage he saw began "long before" the 19-game win streak ended with a loss to the Lakers on Christmas. "Practice is important for every team," Rivers said. "The only way you can have timing is practice. You can't do it, go away from it, and expect it to be there. You could see that in the Lakers and Golden State games, we never got to the second and third option on plays because we couldn't remember half of them. The timing was off." "At this point in the season, you do what you can," said Ray Allen. "You work on your bodies. But as a team you do have to check in and get that rhythm together and make sure everybody is on the same page, which we've been on." So what time will the Celtics practice on New Year's Day, perhaps after a night of celebrating? Rivers joked, "We're thinking about doing it at 8 in the morning. It gives you more time to run it out. That's usually the garbage can practice. Put it in the middle of the floor." Staying together The star trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Allen typically speak to the media together after the game. But after the last night's loss, which completed a 1-3 Western trip, they stayed together longer than normal before meeting the press. Garnett declined to divulge what was said, but Allen said, "That's just the meeting of the minds." . . . Blazers guard Brandon Roy missed last night's game with a right hamstring injury. He aggravated it in Saturday's game against Toronto. Roy, who is averaging a team-best 23 points per game, is listed as day-to-day. "It's just a sore hamstring," said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. "It's pretty tight. He tried to stretch it and loosen it up. He's still feeling a little something." . . . Garnett has a routine of watching the last three games of an upcoming opponent on tape, but considering how foes are bringing their best to beat the champs this year, sometimes the video lies. "They look like nothing like those three games they played prior to us playing them," he said. "It's kind of hard to scout or foresee what you have to play because it's a totally different team." . . . Asked about Dikembe Mutombo re-signing with Houston, Rivers facetiously said, "That's a shock." The Celtics had mild interest in the 42-year-old center.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2008 10:07:05 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/Cs lose 91-86 at Portland Link|Comments (0) Posted by Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff December 31, 2008 12:21 AM PORTLAND, Ore. – As cold as it may be out in Boston, the Celtics probably don’t mind it now considering the heat they endured out West. After leaving Boston with the best record in the NBA, the Celtics returned home from an unsuccessful four-game West road trip following a 91–86 loss to the Blazers at the Rose Garden tonight. The Celtics (28-5) finished their trip with a 1-3 record. Atlantic Division-leading Boston still owns a one-game lead over Cleveland (26-5), which had a six-game winning streak snapped at Miami tonight, in the Eastern Conference. Celtics forward Paul Pierce scored a game-high 28 points and had 5 rebounds while forward Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Boston shot only 40.3 percent from the field. Guard Ray Allen had 12 points on 2-of-11 shooting. The Blazers (20-12) were without guard Brandon Roy, a 2008 All-Star who averages a team-best 23 points per game, because of a right hamstring injury. Rookie guard Rudy Fernandez, who entered averaging 10.7 points, made his first NBA start in Roy’s place. Despite a left ankle injury, Portland center Greg Oden had a solid game with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 7 rebounds while guard Steve Blake added 21. After being fouled following a steal, Pierce made two free throws to bring Boston within 81-80 with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter. Pierce made 1 of 2 freebies with 2:08 left to bring Boston within 83-81. Following a Rajon Rondo turnover on a bad pass, Aldridge’s turnaround jumper gave Portland an 85-81 lead. Two Pierce free throws cut Portland’s lead to 85-83 with 52.3 seconds left. Travis Outlaw drove past Pierce for baseline dunk over Garnett to give Portland an 87-83 lead with 29.4 seconds left. Pierce, however, earned a 3-point play with 22.6 seconds left to trim Boston’s deficit to just 87-86. After being fouled by Boston guard Tony Allen with 17.9 seconds left, Portland reserve guard Sergio Rodriguez made both free throws to push Boston behind, 89-86. The Celtics immediately called time to draw up one last potential tying play. Boston had such 3-point threats as Pierce, Allen, and Eddie House on the floor. But House, who had 3 points on 1-of-5 shooting, shot a contested airball 3-pointer. Fernandez nailed two free throws to seal Portland’s win. Boston was outscored, 27-22, in the fourth quarter. Cs in third quarter @ Portland Link|Comments (1) Posted by Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff December 30, 2008 11:36 PM I can't say that I've watched all of Portland's games. But this is the best I've seen Greg Oden play for the Blazers. He's active. Rebounding well. Challenging shots. His post game and screens still need some work, but he does look like he's improving. Portland also used an interesting lineup with two centers, Oden and Joel Pryzbilla, on the floor. Oden is close to having a double-double. By the way, Celtics rookie Bill Walker scored 27 points for the NBADL Utah Flash during a 98-82 win over Tulsa tonight. Celtics rookie J.R. Giddens added 14 points for the Flash. With 3:18 left in the third quarter, Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau was given a technical for complaining to the referees. Fernandez missed the free throw. Celtics @ Portland 2nd quarter Link|Comments (1) Posted by Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff December 30, 2008 10:49 PM The Blazers showed a promotion in the second quarter pushing Rudy Fernandez for the last and final of four spots for the dunk contest during NBA All-Star weekend against Orlando's Dwight Howard, New York's Nate Robinson and Memphis' Rudy Gay. Fernandez is competing with Milwaukee's Joe Alexander and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook for the last spot. My vote is with Fernandez after watching the Spaniard dunk on USA's Dwight Howard during the Olympics. International blood is needed in the dunk contest! Man, but Rudy couldn't hit the side of a barn with a bean bag. Dude is throwing up some bricks. That has been the knock on Fernandez, though. Wow, Portland center Greg Oden got a standing ovation for shoving Ray Allen onto the floor after a foul. C'mon Blazers fans, cheer if he pushes down someone his own size like Kendrick Perkins or Kevin Garnett. Oddly, Portland’s last buck came from a power play dunk by Travis Outlaw with six players on the floor with 3 seconds left. The referees called a technical, with Allen making the free throw, but didn’t take away Outlaw’s basket. Cs @ Portland 1st quarter Link|Comments (0) Posted by Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff December 30, 2008 10:09 PM What a great opening quarter by Boston point guard Rajon Rondo. Dude is all over the place getting steals, pushing the pace, and getting layups. One major sports magazine is here just to do a story on him right now, and by the looks of things he's not disappointing the esteemed writer. Rondo had 4 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 rebounds in the opening quarter. So who's having a better season in terms of these three young East point guards who have yet to be an All-Star? Rondo, New Jersey's Devin Harris, or Orlando's Jameer Nelson? Roy OUT against Celtics Link|Comments (1) Posted by Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff December 30, 2008 09:29 PM Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss tonight's game against Boston with a right hamstring injury. The 2008 All-Star has been hampered with the injury of late and it worsened in last Saturday's game against Toronto. Roy, who is averaging a team-best 23 points per game, is listed as day-to-day. Rookie Rudy Fernandez will start in his place. Blazers center Greg Oden will be playing despite a sprained left ankle. "We can't just make drastic changes," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "We're going to run our stuff for Rudy and our first option is to go through (LaMarcus Aldridge) as it was with Brandon. We want to go inside to LaMarcus and Greg and add Rudy in there and run some sets. It just depends on what the defense is doing. Our focus is still going to be the same. Attack inside-out."
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