News 1/2

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1142573&format=text

Kevin Garnett mentors Patrick O’Bryant
That’s the Ticket

By Mark Murphy | Friday, January 2, 2009 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone
Kevin Garnett’s message to Patrick O’Bryant actually was to focus on the message, not the emotional static.

Or to simply let the emotional storm behind Garnett’s chest-pumping, invective-spewing, nose-to-nose tutorial drive that message home after yesterday’s practice.

The development of the 22-year-old O’Bryant has been slow since he signed as a free agent last summer, and the team is essentially treating him as a rookie.

Or as a boot camp inductee. That’s how it came together yesterday, after Garnett put two empty sneakers to the left of the basket and started rotating and cutting with the ball to demonstrate his footwork.

Assistant coach Clifford Ray attempted to feed O’Bryant in the post as Garnett bumped the youngster with forearms to the chest, grabs at the neck and waist and anything else to make the backup center react.

“No foul,” said Garnett, staring O’Bryant down after one particularly heavy hack. “No foul, no foul, no foul.”

And then this: “Do whatever I’m doin’.”

O’Bryant finally scored, and this time Garnett looked at Ray and said, “If he scores this is over.”

O’Bryant was then pinned by the two long, wiry tree roots that Garnett calls arms. Ray’s first two entry passes never reached O’Bryant. Garnett pawed them away that easily.

O’Bryant finally scored off a rain-making lob, losing Garnett with a sidestep before dunking the ball.

But it wasn’t over. Garnett stood, his face inches from O’Bryant’s under the basket, and he again pushed the kid in the chest and pointed his fingertips at his own temples.

Judging from the uneasy, hesitant look on O’Bryant’s face, he had no idea what was coming.

So Garnett scooped up the ball and dunked, swinging off the rim and landing right in front of O’Bryant. Then he repeated the violent motion.

“This is how I feel - this is how I feel,” he said before finally allowing O’Bryant to leave.

“He’s one of the best big men in the game,” O’Bryant said later, still a little ill at ease. “It’s a hell of a favor for him to take the time to help me out.

“That’s just his style,” he added of Garnett’s oral and physical aggression. “That’s his reputation in the league, and some people say I need to work on things, so this is good. We’ve done a few of these.”

O’Bryant is not alone. Glen Davis and Leon Powe know the drill. And though he smiled at mention of his aggressive style, Garnett also shook his head.

“It just looks aggressive,” he said. “My style is very straight and to the point. But if you ask Pat and Baby, they’ll also tell you that it’s conservative. To finish with explosiveness you have to be aggressive, though. I’m trying to do it all aggressive.

“As players we all have things to work on. Sam Mitchell and Kevin McHale taught me that when I first came into the league. Whether these guys now want it or not, I have to give it to them.”

Garnett only hopes they absorb the message as quickly as he did 13 seasons ago.

“I was eager,” he said. “I never had a problem staying in the gym. I would always watch Michael (Jordan) and (Hakeem) Olajuwon - guys with go-to moves that I wanted to learn. I was always infatuated with how you could work on something.

“Then there’s nothing like going out and showing what you can do. I’m not Patrick O’Bryant, but I’m in here every day. If these guys want to get better, then I’m here. Kevin McHale always told me that if you want to impress me, then go out and show it. So that’s what I go by.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics//view.bg?articleid=1142577&format=text

Blown call still irks Doc Rivers

By Mark Murphy / Celtics Notebook | Friday, January 2, 2009 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill
In a statement released Wednesday, the league finally admitted the officiating crew of Mike Callahan, Rodney Mott and Zach Zarba erred in its handling of a controversial play during the Celtics [team stats]’ 91-86 loss in Portland on Tuesday.

A basket by Blazers forward Travis Outlaw was allowed to stand despite Portland having six men on the floor.

However, an admission of guilt isn’t enough for Doc Rivers, who remained bothered by the inflexibility of the officiating crew. Callahan later said that though Portland was assessed a technical foul, the violation was discovered too late to disallow the basket.

“We know they were wrong - they don’t have to tell us that,” the coach said. “That was a joke - that call. As an official you know whether something is right or wrong, and that was wrong. There’s a lot of officials in our league who would have overturned that.”

Brown out

P.J. Brown told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he has indeed retired.

The news wasn’t received well by Brown’s former Celtics teammates, who were holding out hope that the big man would come back for a chance at a second championship ring.

“That’s not good news,” Kevin Garnett said yesterday. “But you have to understand that decision by him. This game is so hard on your body, and people don’t realize what it does to your family. But if that’s his decision, I support him.”

Added Paul Pierce [stats], who along with Ray Allen talked Brown out of retirement during the All-Star break last season: “I think this was something we knew. It’s just a great way for him to go out.”

Rivers, however, is of the never-say-never school.

“I hear him, but I talked my wife into marrying me, so we’ll see what we can do,” he said of the possibility of making one last recruiting call to Brown.

Load shouldered

The Celtics ran through a hard, exhausting practice, and Kendrick Perkins [stats]’ sore left shoulder survived the gauntlet.

“It feels a whole lot better,” he said. “I went through the whole practice - there were a lot of bumps and everything, so that’s good.” . . .

Wizards star Caron Butler, who’s missed the last three games with a sprained ankle, practiced yesterday and expects to start tonight.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1142617&format=text
Mavericks’ Jason Kidd may have lost a step, but his hands are as fast as ever

By Eddie Sefko / The Dallas Morning News | Friday, January 2, 2009 | www.bostonherald.com | NBA Coverage

Photo by Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT
DALLAS - This will not go down as one of Jason Kidd’s best statistical seasons, and that’s fine with him.

What matters more is that Kidd and his teammates are starting to get that look and feel every team desires once the calendar turns.

They are starting 2009 with the seeds of greatness planted and watered. To say they will grow into a mighty championship contender might be a stretch. But the fact is the Mavericks are right in the thick of the Western Conference race for prime playoff spots, although the No. 1 seed appears spoken for by the Los Angeles Lakers.

"We’re right there with everybody," Kidd said after a New Year’s Day practice. "When everybody hasn’t talked about us making the playoffs, we’re a game and a half out in what I think is one of the toughest (divisions). We’re right there with some of the top teams in this league.

"The way we look at it is, we can be whatever we want. We can be as good as we want or we can be as bad as we want."

Sometimes in the same game, as the Mavericks showed against Minnesota on Tuesday, when their 29-point comeback shattered the franchise record for biggest rally.

Kidd’s rock-solid efforts of late have been a key to the Mavericks looking more like a top-tier team and less like one that will have to fight to make the playoffs. He’s done it with the one part of his body that still hasn’t lost any speed.

Other than perhaps his basketball brain, his hands remain as fast as anybody’s in the NBA.

"Maybe that’s the last thing that I have that moves as if I’m 21," Kidd said.

A portion of the huge comeback was a great example. Kidd had two steals in the fourth quarter. One led to a Jason Terry layup, the other to a Dirk Nowitzki dunk.

In that stretch, the Mavericks went from down four points to up four points.

Game over.

"He just has such a sense for where to be defensively and how to be opportunistic," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He’s deceptively quick, and his level of anticipation is truly unique. He’s just one of those guys that can see things that are going to happen before maybe even the guy throwing the ball knows. It’s just one of those sixth-sense characteristics of a great player.

"He’s got a live motor for the ball. And he’s got great hands."

Hands that haven’t slowed down one bit over 15 years.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/01/02/paint_lessons_from_garnett?mode=PF

Paint lessons from Garnett
He helps O'Bryant with low-post play
By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff | January 2, 2009

WALTHAM - The potential candidates to replace P.J. Brown as this season's veteran force off the Celtics' bench continue to diminish. Brown became the latest to pull out of contention by confirming his retirement this week.

That leaves the Celtics, who host the Washington Wizards tonight, with youthful backups for Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.

But Garnett is taking proactive steps toward improving the low-post play of reserve center Patrick O'Bryant.

Following a two-hour practice yesterday, Garnett gave O'Bryant up close and personal advice, which ranged from footwork and positioning to motivation through physical contact, as they battled for entry passes from assistant coach Clifford Ray.

"My game is not perfect, by any means," Garnett said. "But I do work hard on it and I try to spread it, and get guys to incorporate that same detail.

"It looks aggressive. I guess my style is very straight to the point. But if you ask Patrick, Baby [Glen Davis], even Leon [Powe], when I'm talking to you it's very passive and conservative and not as aggressive as it looks. The finishes and explosions, they all have to be aggressive to have the impact at which I'm trying to get them to understand. It can be aggressive at times, but what I'm saying is actually kind of soothing and conservative, and it's not like I'm trying to bite your head off. I'm trying to get you to do what I'm showing you.

"When you are finishing, nine times out of 10 it's in a crowd and it needs to be an aggressive finish."

If so, Garnett was being extremely passive-aggressive with emphatic dunks and defending as he tried to convince O'Bryant to be assertive and demonstrative near the basket.

"A lot of it is mental," said Garnett, who was wearing a wrap on his right leg. "If you want to work on things, I'm in here every day. I have a bit of a cold, but I'm in here. My leg is messed up, but I'm in here. So, if those guys are willing to work hard, I'm here."

Garnett said he spent extra time training as a young player with former Celtic Kevin McHale and former teammates Tom Hammonds and Sam Mitchell in Minnesota, and drew inspiration from Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

"Kevin said, 'If you want to get better, then show me,' " Garnett said. "Sam used to say, 'If you want it, then you'll work on it.' They are in the back of my mind and carried me to this point.

"We all need to work on every phase of the game. Kevin McHale would grab me and we would go through footwork on the post countless times, and I've been able to acquire some of that knowledge. Now it's my turn as a vet to try and instill this in some of the younger guys. Whether they want it or not, I'm here to give it to them. At the end of the day, it's whether they want to be better players and get better.

"Ask anyone who worked with me, I never had a problem staying in the gym countless hours. I was always infatuated with the ability to get better, I always watched Michael and Olajuwon and guys with what I call go-to moves, moves they are comfortable with and had the confidence to go to that move and hit the move and tell you about the move. I was always infatuated with how you work on something so well, from footwork to confidence, and how it builds confidence to where you can go out there and display it. There is nothing like going out there and showing off your art, nothing like going out and showing people what you work on, seeing if your stuff actually works. That's the beauty of working hard, is when you see the results."

Brown told the New Orleans Times-Picayune this week, "I'm officially retired. When you've been doing something for 15, 16 years, and you know in your heart it's over, it's a little hard to say that word [retired]. There's still some interest out there. I'm reading the Internet and reading the papers and there's rumors floating, but I won't return. I'm moving on. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life. Boston and a couple of other teams [asked]. But like I told everybody, I'm officially done. My career is definitely over."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers was not surprised.

"He told us that, but we don't believe him," Rivers said. "I'm hardheaded. I've heard that before. I think it's official, but I'm still going to check. I'm good at making people change their minds - my wife married me. We missed P.J. in the locker room as well as on the floor. He was just as valuable to Leon and Baby in the locker room.

"We believe if we don't make a trade we can win the championship. Our improvement has come from within - our young guys have played another year and are better. They are clearly better players than last year."

As for O'Bryant, the only newcomer currently with the Celtics, Rivers said, "He's just not ready yet. He's working on it, and he's making improvement. He's very young and it takes time. That's why I push him."

[FLCeltsFan]

Door open for P.J.
Email|Link|Comments (2) Posted by Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff January 1, 2009 06:32 PM
The Celtics seemed to accept P.J. Brown's decision to retire from the NBA, but they are leaving open the possibility of a return.

"If that's his decision, I support it," Kevin Garnett said after practice Thursday. "Somewhere
down the line, if he changes his mind, I'm pretty sure the door is open for him.

"There only one P.J. Brown and if you look it up in the Yellow Pages, he wouldn't be as tall or he wouldn't be as smart basketball-wise."

Coach Doc Rivers was not surprised by Brown's announcement.

"He told us that," Rivers said. "But we don't believe him, I'm hard-headed, I've heard that before.

"I think it's official but I'm still going to check. I'm good at making people change their minds -- I got my wife to marry me."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2009/01/report_celtics.html
Report: Celtics a possible destination for Marbury
Email|Link|Comments (0) Posted by Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff January 2, 2009 09:41 AM
The Celtics are the preferred landing spot for Stephon Marbury should the Knicks eventually grant the troubled point guard his release, sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Celtics GM Danny Ainge did not comment to Stein on the situation, and has not commented on Marbury in general.

There are still several hoops to jump through, Stein reports, the most obvious being Marbury's potential release from the Knicks. The sides have failed to reach an agreement after weeks of "fruitless and oft-contentious buyout talks", Stein writes. Marbury, who is on the books for $20.8 million this season, has not played a single game for New York this year.

Should Marbury be granted his release, the other potential obstacle appears to be Marbury's reputation as a less than ideal teammate. Marbury asked his way out of Minnesota when he was teammates with Kevin Garnett. However, a Celtics source tells Stein that Garnett "has voiced no opposition" to the team bringing in Marbury.

How likely is a deal that would bring Marbury to the Celtics as a backup to Rajon Rondo? When asked specifically about the likelihood of Marbury joining the Celtics this season, the source predicted to Stein that "it will happen."

Stay tuned.