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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 13, 2009 6:40:04 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1158282&format=textBill Walker gives support to Celtics By Mark Murphy | Friday, March 13, 2009 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Matt Stone Nothing irritates a veteran big man more than getting bumped and hassled by a younger, smaller player. Such was the case Wednesday night in Miami, where 6-foot-6 rookie Bill Walker of the Celtics [team stats] was pressed into action at power forward due to manpower issues and started boxing out Jermaine O’Neal. The Heat’s 6-11 veteran was so ticked off he shoved Walker against the support padding, drawing a technical foul. C’s forward Leon Powe, another undersized type not shy about laying muscle on bigger players, looked on like a proud father. “I like seeing my young fella in there fighting to get O’Neal off the block,” Powe said. “It’s good to see him (tick) somebody off like that.” Powe, after all, already has been there many times in his young career. It even could be said Walker is a slightly younger, smaller version of him. “Yeah, he’s like me,” Powe said. “We always fight. We always scrap.” This also is known as wringing every last drop out of an opportunity. With the injured Kevin Garnett and Brian Scalabrine on the shelf, the Celtics have a large need for frontcourt help. When early foul trouble to Kendrick Perkins [stats] and Mikki Moore compounded the problem in Miami, Walker’s moment arrived. Michael Beasley, the Heat rookie who played with Walker for a year at Kansas State, said earlier in the day that his former teammate’s value would eventually reveal itself. “It’s been hard for him, but people are going to see that he’s a great player,” Beasley said. “Bill is what, 6-5 or 6-6 and 240 pounds, but he moves like he’s 215 and he jumps like he’s 195. “Once everyone sees what he can do, they’ll see that he’s really special. He suffered with two knee surgeries, and that’s a tough thing for someone to deal with, but he fights through it. I ask him, ‘Man, you don’t wear knee braces or anything when you’re out there.’ But he says, ‘No way, I just want to go out there and enjoy it.’ ” Rest assured, Walker drew significant joy from the scowl on O’Neal’s face despite Wednesday’s loss. “Those big guys get a little agitated when you try to box them out of the paint,” Walker said. “I know I’m doing my job when he has to push back like that. I’m not a weak guy, either, so I know he must have felt it.” Doc Rivers even paid Walker one of his favorite compliments when he referred to him as a “defensive irritant.” “Billy Walker was phenomenal,” the Celtics coach said. “I thought he played with great energy and showed a lot of toughness, which is what we really need from him, and I thought he did that. “We are asking him to play a position he hasn’t played all year, and he did a hell of a job. He got under some people’s skin, and that’s what we want him to be. Be an irritant, be an instigator out there, and Billy is doing that.” If Rivers had asked Walker to play center, or even point guard, the rookie’s response clearly would have been the same. “I just play basketball - I don’t think of myself as having a set position,” Walker said. “It’s not my job or role to do anything any other way. I just go out, D-up and rebound.” And if he’s lucky, someone from the other side will get angry enough to push back. Just so everyone knows that Walker is doing his job.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 13, 2009 6:44:24 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1158277&format=textScouting report: Grizzlies at Celtics By Herald Staff | Friday, March 13, 2009 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Stuart Cahill Grizzlies at Celtics [team stats] TONIGHT - 7:30, TD Banknorth Garden. TV - CSN. Radio - WEEI-AM (850). THE NUMBERS 4-26: Grizzlies’ record on the road. 0-2: Celtics’ current losing streak. 16-7: Celtics’ record without Kevin Garnett over last two seasons. WHO’S HURT For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett (knee), Rajon Rondo [stats] (ankle), Glen Davis (ankle), Brian Scalabrine (neck) and Tony Allen (thumb) are out. For the Grizzlies, Chris Mihm (ankle) and Mike Wilks (knee) are out. WHO’S HOT For the Celtics, Ray Allen scored 27 points Wednesday in Miami. For the Grizzlies, O.J. Mayo leads all rookies with an 18.9-point scoring average. WHO’S NOT The Celtics’ Stephon Marbury has shot 3-for-21 over his last five games. BOTTOM LINE The opponent hardly matters right now, with the Celtics depleted by injuries. But for Marbury and Mikki Moore, neither of whom has played well over the last two games, now is the time to acclimate.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 13, 2009 6:46:14 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/03/13/free_and_easy?mode=PFFree and easy When it comes to shooting, Allen puts it all on the line By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 13, 2009 It started as a gentlemen's bet before the season between two ultracompetitive Celtics, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The issue was free throws. As long as Pierce can stay within 6 percentage points of Allen's free throw accuracy, he wins. No money was involved. Just pride. At .838, Pierce is just .06 shy of surpassing his career-best mark. But even with that average, he is getting trounced by Allen, who is not only doing the best free throw shooting of his career but seems poised to surpass a longstanding Celtics record and challenge the NBA standard, too. "That dude's having a super career year, Ray Allen," Pierce said. "He's never shot over 92 percent. I thought I'd get within like 6 or 8 percent of him, but he is just running away with it. That's little stuff we do to push each other. Dang, he's got his career year. I didn't know he was shooting 95. He's killing me." Allen ranked fourth in the NBA in free throw percentage last season at a career-best .907. The 13-year veteran is now shooting a stunning .954 from the line (206 of 216). The franchise record is .932 (342 of 367) by Bill Sharman during the 1958-59 season. The NBA record is .958 (206 of 215) by Houston's Calvin Murphy during the 1980-81 season. Allen has never missed more than one free throw in a game all season and hasn't missed any the last eight games. Not even the best Despite Allen's free throw prowess, he is second in the NBA. Toronto's Jose Calderon has shot nearly 100 fewer than Allen but is hitting at an amazing .983 clip (117 of 119), and once made 84 straight this season. Moreover, he was one of seven players who had shot at least .900 from the line entering last night. "The top four, that's probably some of the highest free throw shooting in the league," said Allen. "Normally, 91 [percent] is pretty much leading it. That's some pretty good free throw shooting." Calderon isn't dwelling on challenging Murphy. "It's a long way until the end of the season," he said. "Foul shooting is one of the many things I have to think about right now. I don't know what's going to happen at the end of the year. If it happens, it happens. But I really don't go out there thinking about it. I just want to keep on doing the same things consistently." Allen set a franchise record by making 72 straight free throws from Dec. 28, 2008-Feb. 22, 2009. Larry Bird owned the record of 71, set in 1989-90. After passing Bird, Allen missed the next one. "Larry Bird, he's this franchise," Allen said. "He is what being a Celtic stands for. When you look at the record books, you look at how many points were scored and how many championships were won and all the different records the Celtics hold not only in this organization but the NBA, just to be able to at least kind of put my name up there somewhere - obviously in the future, records are broken - but just to have an impact here, this is a special feeling." Calhoun a key So how did Allen become such a great free throw shooter? While he says he had great teachers while growing up, he mainly credits his college coach, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun. At the beginning of every practice, Allen said, Calhoun would pit the players in free throw shooting contests. Once the competition was over, the losers would have to go on the opposite side of the floor from Calhoun to be seen by everyone before running to the coach. Calhoun would almost make a point to let everyone know when the usually sharpshooting Allen lost. Allen shot .779 during three seasons at UConn, including .810 his junior season. He says his free throw stroke has been consistent since college. "Coach Calhoun bred us into believing that free throws were the cornerstone of where we needed to go. We wanted to be a 75 to 85 percent free throw-shooting team," Allen said. Allen is known as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, the result of hard work and countless shooting over the years. He once fulfilled a personal challenge by hitting 100 straight free throws during a practice in Cleveland. "I just stopped, just shooting by myself," he said. "I was with Milwaukee. because I was there for a long time."
Recipe for success
Allen says he shoots about 50 practice free throws "every single day." He takes part in free throw games that include 2 points for a swish, 1 for a make, and minus-1 for a miss. The 33-year-old also makes a point to practice free throws between shooting drills while he is fatigued to create game simulation.
"Every drill where I shoot, I always shoot free throws," Allen said. "If I go from shooting threes to shooting midrange, I always go to the free throw line in between. After I shoot and get fatigued, I go to the free throw line. Say if I'm missing a lot of shots from the 3-point line, I'll just stop and go to the free throw line and develop a good rhythm from free throws and go to that spot again."
Another key is focus. Regardless of whether it's a free throw in a blowout or late in a tight playoff game, he treats it the same.
"People talk about great free throw shooting. I just say it's great focus," said Allen. "You have to prepare for it. You have to know how to calm yourself down. You're talking about a game where it can be so intense and the game is flowing and you get to the free throw line and it goes against everything you just did. From running up and down the floor, your blood is pumping. You just have to calm yourself down.
"It's no different than anything we do. If we want to do well, we focus on that."
It's rare to see Allen miss. It's even rarer to see him miss two straight. Missing two straight during a game in Cleveland last season still stings him. But when he does miss, Allen says the key is to shoot the next one with focus, as if that miss never happened.
"You're going to miss," Allen said. "But you have to make sure you prepare yourself the same way for the next free throw. Don't take the pressure of the games, the situation of the game, and how my body feels to the free throw line. Take it like I'm practicing on it every day by myself."
While Allen doesn't seem bothered by the crowd, he did say that sometimes the elements can make it tough for shooting. He was challenged by the moisture on the ball against the Pistons in the playoffs because of the heat in The Palace of Auburn Hills. He also said that in cold arenas, like TD Banknorth Garden, he will put a heat pack on his hands to warm them for a better grip on the ball.
Shooting free throws in the clutch with 20,000 screaming fans clapping inflatable sticks doesn't seem to bother Allen in the least. Surprisingly, the toughest free throw is the technical.
"If you can treat them all the same, you are doing better for yourself," said Allen, who is the Celtics' main technical free throw shooter. "But the toughest ones are technical free throws. Everybody is off the line. It doesn't seem like a whole lot when you go to the line. You're isolated out there by yourself, and that's the one time you know everybody's watching.
"You just zone in and do what you do. That's why you have to treat it the same. But it can be daunting if you allow the situation to overcome you."
To Allen, great free throw shooting isn't complicated. He says the keys are simply lots of practice, focus, and confidence. But as Pierce can attest, it's easier said than done.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 13, 2009 6:47:36 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2009/03/13/grizzlies_thumbnails?mode=PFGrizzlies thumbnails March 13, 2009 When, where: Tonight, 7:30, at TD Banknorth Garden. TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (850). Scoring: O.J. Mayo 18.8, Rudy Gay 18.6, Marc Gasol 11.6. Rebounding: Gasol 7.4, Gay 5.7, Hakim Warrick 5.0. Assists: Mike Conley 4.0, Mayo 3.0, Gay 1.7, Gasol 1.7. Head to head: This is the first of two meetings this season. The teams also play March 21 in Memphis. Miscellany: Gasol is averaging 19.8 points on 70 percent shooting over his last five games . . . The Grizzlies were outscored, 66-32, in the first and fourth quarters of a 104-79 loss at Minnesota Wednesday . . . The Grizzlies are 4-26 away from home this season, the second-worst road record in the NBA . . . Center Chris Mihm had surgery on his right ankle March 3 and is out indefinitely.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 13, 2009 7:22:36 GMT -5
www.dailynewstribune.com/sports/x1676802300/Celtics-Busy-stretch-up-ahead-for-CsCeltics: Busy stretch up ahead for C's -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jim Fenton/Gatehouse News Service GateHouse News Service Posted Mar 13, 2009 @ 01:49 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSTON — The last thing the undermanned Boston Celtics need at this point is a hectic schedule. Five players from their rotation, including two starters, are sidelined with injuries, and the Celtics are in a survival mode with a 2-3 record this month. Starting tonight, however, the Celtics will be getting little time to rest up as they play 10 games in the next 17 days, including five next week alone. The busy stretch begins with the lone TD Banknorth Garden appearance of the season by the woeful Memphis Grizzlies. The Celtics will continue to play without Kevin Garnett, who could return at the end of next week, and Rajon Rondo, who should miss his third game with a sprained ankle. Reserves Glen Davis, who was starting in Garnett's place until suffering a sprained ankle last Sunday, Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine are also unavailable for the Celtics. Entering last night, Boston (49-16) was three games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (50-13) in the loss column in the race for the top spot. The Orlando Magic (47-17) are just a game behind the Celtics in the loss column. In the remaining 10 games this month, six are against teams in the playoff hunt. The rest of the schedule includes two games with the Grizzlies, and Garden visits by the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder. By the time the Celtics get to April, when six of their last eight games are at home, they should be a lot healthier, but catching the Cavaliers may be out of the question. With few options to turn to, coach Doc Rivers has been relying heavily on veterans Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and will have to find a way to reduce their playing time. Pierce has played at least 40 minutes in four out of the last five games while Allen has been above 40 minutes in three of the last six games. Boston has already lost as many games as it did a year ago when the Celtics ruled the NBA with a 66-16 mark. They have also equaled the loss total at the Garden where Boston is 26-6 after going 35-6 last season. The Celtics are just 2-4 in their last six games on the parquet floor with the lone wins coming over the Indiana Pacers and the Cavaliers. The Grizzlies are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a 16-47 record and have just four road wins in 30 tries. Memphis is led by rookie guard O.J. Mayo (18.8 points) and Connecticut product Rudy Gay (18.6). Former Celtics general manager Chris Wallace is in charge of the basketball operations.
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