News 1/21

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1068000&format=text


Rondo eager to play
C’s may need point vs. improved Knicks

By Steve Bulpett | Monday, January 21, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Nancy Lane (File)
When the Celtics [team stats] left for New York yesterday afternoon, they packed a Rajon Rondo [stats]. After missing the last two games and three of the last four with back and hamstring issues, the second-year point guard hopes to play against the Knicks this afternoon.

“That’s my intention,” Rondo said. “I’m going to get some treatment and massage, ice it down and see how it feels.”

Rondo ran with the first team in yesterday’s practice and reported afterward he feels, “better. A lot better. I ran a little bit and I don’t feel as much pain as I did the last couple of times.

“I don’t feel I’m limited in any way - maybe in my explosiveness, but I don’t really jump too much except for rebounds. I took a couple of bumps and I didn’t feel any pain in my back. But I didn’t take any falls either, so we’ll see.”

That’s the approach being taken by coach Doc Rivers, whose optimism was beginning to wane the more he spoke about Rondo.

“I think he’s going (to play),” the coach said. “He went through the whole practice. I thought he looked OK, not great. I’m going to wait until (today) actually. I’m going to talk to Eddie (Lacerte, the trainer) a little bit. I thought he looked OK, and to me OK may not be good enough. Right now I’ll tell you OK’s not good enough for me, but we’ll see.”

While the Celts may be unsure of what they’re going to get from Rondo, they know they have to be ready for the Knicks. The hosts’ 13-27 record is a tad deceiving in that they’ve won four of their last five games. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Stephon Marbury (ankle) has been inactive for those contests.

Paul Pierce [stats] was asked about getting up for the Knicks.

“I mean, that’s going to be easy,” Pierce said. “You can just look at the last week how they’ve been playing. They beat Detroit and they just went down to Miami and got a win, so they’ve been playing better basketball.

“These are the type of games you’ve got to be up for. It’s a Monday in the middle of the day against the team that’s been playing well, and it’s in a hostile environment. We’ve got to come with our ‘A’ game.”

The logistics are a concern to Rivers, who’d rather play at night.

“What worries me is the one o’clock start on the road,” he said. “I hate one o’clock starts to begin with, but on the road (it’s worse), because if you get attacked, by the time you wake up the game’s over. We’ve warned them and said it, but you know how it is. We’ll see.”

And it’s not as if the Celts weren’t able to find something to do in Manhattan last night.

“Hopefully football’s on and everybody’s watching,” Rivers said.

Even if the Knicks weren’t playing better of late, the Celts still would have to look out for a motivated team. There’s the little matter of the abuse they heaped upon the New Yorkers in November. The C’s led that game by as many as 52 before settling for a 104-59 victory.

Speaking of how Isiah Thomas might get his point across, Rivers said, “Clearly - and I’m sure he’s going to do it - just put the game on. We played well in that game. They didn’t play well. It was a perfect storm.

“I think sometimes when you get beat bad, just put that game on in the locker room and loop it and let it run. But they know . . . and our guys better know, because we’re going to get attacked.”

Celtics notes

Pierce is cognizant of the significance of Martin Luther King Day.

“Oh, definitely,” Pierce said. “It’d be nice to have the day off, but people like to go and check out ballgames on MLK Day. It just tells you how far we’ve come as a minority and just as people as a whole throughout the world that we have this day.” . . .

Rivers took advantage of Saturday’s day off to fly down to D.C. and watch son Jeremiah and Georgetown beat up on Notre Dame. . . .

Rivers on what Leon Powe needs to do for playing time: “Play like he played the other night every night and every practice. That would be a start. That would be nice. Listen, we have 12 guys on our team. Nine are going to play. With the bigs, like I said before the year, it’s by committee, and I think at some point every one of them will help us win games. They’ve been great with accepting that. I don’t think it would be easy to accept, but they do and it’s good.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/21/pioneer_reflects_on_history?mode=PF

Pioneer reflects on history
Thanks to Celtics, Lloyd first black to play in NBA

By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | January 21, 2008

NEW YORK - Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated across the NBA today, including at the Celtics-Knicks game. And while the nation commemorates the slain leader of the civil rights movement, Hall of Famer Earl Lloyd will surely reflect on his belief that the Celtics ultimately opened the door for him to be the first African-American to play in an NBA game.

"I truly believe this, that if the Celtics did not draft Chuck [Cooper] in the second round, you could not tell me that the Washington Capitols in 1950 were going to make me the first black player to play in this league. No way . . . The Boston Celtics had a tremendous influence on my acceptance in the NBA," said Lloyd in a recent phone interview.

Lloyd, Cooper, and the Knicks' Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first African-Americans to play in the NBA during the 1950-51 season. Boston made Cooper, a former Duquesne star, the first black ever drafted. After being reminded Cooper was black, then-Celtics owner Walter Brown reportedly said: "I don't care if he's striped, plaid or polka dot!"

Clifton, a former Harlem Globetrotter, was the first African-American player to sign a contract with an NBA team when he signed with the Knicks in 1950. Lloyd was drafted in the ninth round by the Capitols after playing at all-black West Virginia State. The Alexandria, Va., native had never interacted with whites until he made the Capitols at 22 and he signed a contract for $4,500.

"I don't think they purposely picked the three of us," Lloyd said. "They didn't do an extensive look into your background and all that to make sure we were the right kind of people. But they picked three good people.

"They picked three guys who were decent enough guys to play in this league and we [comported] ourselves as gentlemen and decent human beings. There was never any worry to my knowledge about "Sweets" or Chuck or me, none."

Lloyd became the first African-American to play in an NBA game Oct. 31, 1950, in Rochester, N.Y., when the Capitols played the Royals. Cooper made his debut the next day, while Clifton's bow came four days later. Lloyd scored 6 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the Capitols' 78-70 loss to Rochester.

Lloyd's NBA debut paled in significance to the arrival of Jackie Robinson in major league baseball in 1947. At that time, the NBA had about as much fanfare as the Arena Football League today. The next day, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle didn't mention Lloyd in its game story while the Rochester Times-Union only wrote: "Bones McKinney, the Caps' new coach, injected big Earl Lloyd, Negro Star of West Virginia State, into the lineup (after halftime) and he took most of the rebounds."

"In 1950, the NBA was like 4 years old," Lloyd said. "We were like babes in the woods. I wouldn't say it was ho-hum. But it didn't get the type of coverage that major league baseball got."

But the effects of the breakthrough resonate today.

"The history is what it is," said Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. "I'm aware of it. The words that come to mind are not only homage, but monumental."

Lloyd said fans in St. Louis, Baltimore, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Indianapolis were particularly hard on him. He was spit on, asked by fans to see his tail, and told to go back to Africa. Lloyd said he was rarely allowed to go into restaurants or hotels with his white teammates. While playing for Syracuse during the 1952-53 season, he wasn't allowed to play at a preseason game at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., because he was black. The Nationals still played and to this day it pains Lloyd that none of his teammates showed any remorse.

But even with the racism he faced, Lloyd doesn't compare it to what Robinson endured.

"I take polite homage to people who try to compare me to him," Lloyd said. "There's no comparison, man. Here's a guy who was all by himself, man. I thank God he had a beautiful, lovely wife who was smart. If he didn't have Rachel, no telling what could have happened to him.

"When I go to high school to speak sometimes and say, 'You want a project, go to your computer, go to Google and throw Jackie Robinson's name in there and see what you get.' The guy was a renaissance man. Any time your own teammates don't want to play with you? I never experienced that."

Lloyd averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in nine seasons for Washington, Syracuse and Detroit. During Syracuse's 1955 championship season, he and teammate Jim Tucker became the first African-Americans to win an NBA title. In 1968, Lloyd became the NBA's first black assistant coach with Detroit. In 1971, he became the second African-American head coach after the Celtics' Bill Russell. Lloyd was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Clifton died at 67 Aug. 31, 1990, in Chicago, while Cooper died at 57 Feb. 5, 1984, in Pittsburgh. Lloyd and his his wife, Ginny, live in a retirement community in tiny Crossville, Tenn. He turns 80 April 3.

"I'm in good health but lousy shape," Lloyd said. "My wife tells me I need to get out there and walk."

Lloyd isn't bothered that most NBA players have no idea who he is. All he hopes is that every black NBA player, present and future, live up to one request.

"One [young NBA player] said to me one day, 'Mr. Lloyd, we owe you,' " Lloyd recalled. "I said, 'Let me tell you who you owe, you owe the people that come behind you.' I know Chuck Cooper, Sweetwater Clifton, myself, we made it a better place. If we didn't do that, all of ya'll wouldn't be there now.' "

Said Garnett: "I always give homage to the people that have come before me and give a maximum amount of respect to them. I'm sure that one day we'll be perceived as ones that created opportunities for people after us. It's only right we give respect to people that came before us, Martin Luther King included, Mr. Lloyd."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/21/rivers_wary_of_matinee_in_new_york?mode=PF

Rivers wary of matinee in New York

By Peter May, Globe Staff | January 21, 2008

At the risk of overstating the obvious, does anyone think the Celtics are in for another 45-point rout of the Knicks this afternoon at Madison Square Garden? Didn't think so.

New York and Boston meet for a Martin Luther King Day matinee at the World's Most Famous Arena and Celtics coach Doc Rivers can't decide which concerns him more: The improved play of the Knicks or the early afternoon start (and the fact that New York isn't exactly a sleepy little burg). It's the first meeting between the teams since the Celtics' clobbered the Knicks, 104-59, Nov. 29 in Boston.

For starters, the Knicks are playing as well as they've played all season, which coincides with Stephon Marbury's absence and subsequent decision to have what likely is season-ending ankle surgery. The Knicks went 4-1 in a five-game, seven-day stretch last week, the only defeat coming Friday night in Washington. They then turned around and dealt the Heat their 13th straight loss Saturday night in Miami.

"They're playing great," said Rivers.

For what it's worth, he made similar comments the day before the last meeting, when the Knicks had been on a two-game winning streak

"[In Miami], they won a game [and] they didn't play well on the road," added Rivers. "To me, that's a sign you're playing well. Nate Robinson has been absolutely terrific for them with energy and [Jamal] Crawford gives them a big point. He's moving the ball, but he's dangerous at the end of games.

"The first thing you see is their spirit. They seem like they like each other, they're getting along, it's nice to see."

Rivers also is a bit worried about the early start. In general, he said, he's not a fan of afternoon games. (He'd better get used to them; two games coming up, next Sunday at Orlando and Feb. 10 vs. the Spurs, have been moved to afternoon to accommodate network television.)

"We're going to get attacked," Rivers said. "What worries me is the 1 o'clock start on the road. I hate 1 o'clock starts to begin with, but on the road, if you get attacked and you're the visiting team, by the time you wake up, the game is over. We've warned our guys about that."

After the Knicks' victory in Miami, reporters asked Crawford what he remembered from that bleak night in Boston, a game in which the Knicks needed a desperation heave at the buzzer to avoid the lowest point total in the history of the franchise (post 24-second clock era.) At one point, the Celtics had a 50-point lead in the game.

"The most embarrassing game of the season, by far. Definitely," Crawford said. (And given that the Knicks have had a slew of numbing losses, that's saying a lot.) "That was something people talked about for a little while, but that's in the past for us and it's a new beginning, so hopefully we'll just continue to build on what we've been doing."

Crawford was asked if he thought the Celtics did a little too much celebrating during the game.

"Oh yeah, yeah. They stuck it to us," he said. "That game was a month and a half, two months ago and I know it's back then, but you still remember things like that, definitely."

Rivers was asked what he would do if he were in Knicks coach Isiah Thomas's shoes to remind the players of the game. Do you do something?

"Just put the game on [television]," he said. "I did that the other day with one of our games. [It] shows what you didn't do. We played well in that [Nov. 29] game. They didn't play well. It was a perfect storm. I think motivation is when you get beat bad, put the game on and loop it and let it run. They know. And our guys better know."

Ray Allen said he would just put the tape of the game in the circular file.

"I think they'll do everything they can to forget about that game," Allen said of the Knicks. "That's one of those games where the coaches say, "We don't know what happened, we don't know why, we lost, we played poorly, we don't even want to talk about that game, let it go, and build on what we've done the last three or four games.' "

Thomas and Crawford both said the Knicks are better equipped to play the Celtics this time.

And Thomas even referenced the infamous Boston Massacre (Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals) in which the Celtics routed the Lakers, 148-114, and LA came back to win Game 2 and the series in six games.

"I've been around a long time and I've had some big wins in the Garden and I've had some bad losses in the Garden," Thomas said.

And a victory this afternoon by the Knicks, especially the way their season has gone, would surely go down as a "big win" - in either Garden.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/21/rondo_rounding_into_form?mode=PF

Rondo rounding into form

By Peter May, Globe Staff | January 21, 2008

Rajon Rondo, who has missed the Celtics' last two games and three of the last four with a combination of back and right hamstring woes, went through practice yesterday and thinks he'll be ready to play this afternoon against the Knicks. His coach isn't so sure.

Rondo has been ailing for the last 10 days since taking a tumble in the Jan. 11 game in New Jersey. He sat out the Celtics' loss the next night in Washington, came back two nights later and couldn't do anything, then shut it down for the Celtics' victories over Portland and Philadelphia. But he looked pretty much like the Rondo of old yesterday.

" a lot better," he said. " ran a little bit. I'm not feeling as much pain. I'll get treatment and massage and see how I feel [this afternoon.]"

Doc Rivers said he thought Rondo looked "OK," and added he thought his point guard might be able to play in the Celtics' first visit of the season to Madison Square Garden. But, Rivers added, "OK is not good enough for me. I'll wait until [today]."

Rondo said he was encouraged by the workout: He took a couple of hits and didn't feel any pain in his back. But, he added, "I didn't take any falls, either. So, we'll see. I don't feel I was limited doing anything. Maybe my explosiveness, although I don't jump too much, except for rebounds."

The hamstring bothered Rondo as much or more last week, especially in the Monday game in limited minutes against the Wizards. But he said the hamstring also has improved, thanks in part to a compression pad.

Eye on Stoudamire

An NBA source said Memphis point guard Damon Stoudamire will meet with the Grizzlies today and is expected to have his contract bought out within the next few days. The source added that Stoudamire would have serious interest in joining the Celtics if he becomes a free agent. The 5-foot-10-inch, 171-pounder is averaging 7.3 points, 3.9 assists, and a .383 3-point shooting percentage in 21 1/2 minutes per game for Memphis. Stoudamire, who is the Grizzlies' captain, hasn't played since Dec. 30. Memphis has turned its point guard reins over to Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry. The 13-year NBA veteran has averaged 13.8 points, 6.3 assists, and a .358 3-point shooting percentage in 33.9 minutes per game during his career, which includes 46 playoff games.

Home away from home

Madison Square Garden has been anything but inhospitable to the Celtics, who have won their last four games there. The last Knicks win against Boston in The World's Most Famous Arena was March 23, 2005 . . . Don't expect Leon Powe to get any preferential treatment or extra minutes because of what he did Friday night (10 points, 8 rebounds) against the Sixers. "We have 12 guys on our team; nine are going to play," said Rivers. "The bigs are going to be by committee and at some point, every one of them will help us win games. They've been great accepting that. I don't think it's easy to accept, but they do." . . . The Celtics had a closed, 30-minute walkthrough and then opened practice for their television sponsor, Comcast. At one point, Rivers walked around the players and said, "If I'm the other team, I like what I see." . . . The Knicks' recent stretch (4-1) happens to have come since Stephon Marbury shut it down for the rest of the season and undergo ankle surgery. Freddie Jones, who did not play in the Jan. 11 loss to Toronto, Marbury's last game, has replaced Marbury in the starting lineup.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/01/21/2008-01-21_knicks_hope_jokes_on_celtics.html?ref=rss

Knicks hope joke's on Celtics
BY MITCH LAWRENCE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Monday, January 21st 2008, 4:00 AM

Schwalm/AP
The Knicks hope Paul Pierce (l.) and Kevin Garnett don't turn Monday's game at the Garden into a laugher.

Elsa/Getty
When the Knicks and Celtics met on Nov. 29, the Knicks were trounced, 104-59.

As goals go, the Knicks have the most modest ones imaginable for Monday's matinee against the Boston Celtics:

Don't become a national laughingstock again.

Don't fall behind by 52 points at the Garden and get plastered by 45.

It's not about winning for Isiah Thomas' team in the traditional Martin Luther King Day game, but merely about being able to stay on the court with the rampaging Celtics in their first meeting since a national TV audience watched one of the low points in Knick lore. The 52-point deficit during the 104-59 trouncing in Boston is one of the largest in Knicks' history, and although it happened 54 days ago, the sting still lingers.

After that night in Boston, when they scored their second-lowest total in team annals, the Knicks immediately became a national punch line. That's saying a lot, since they were blown out in a handful of games before suffering their third-largest defeat of all-time.

But nothing topped the Boston massacre, not even a series of humiliating home defeats in which the Garden regularly erupted in chants of "Fire Isiah."

"They stuck it to us," remembered Jamal Crawford. "That game was a month and a half, two months ago. But you still remember things like that, definitely. It was the most embarrassing game of the season, by far. That's definitely something people talked about for a while. But that's in the past for us. It's a new beginning."

The Knicks have won four of their last five games, their best stretch of the season, all without Stephon Marbury. Draw your own conclusions. Without naming the names, the Knicks can see that they are better off without Marbury's sullen personality in the locker room, or his me-first approach on the court.

"We understand everybody's role," Crawford said. "We're playing together. We're sharing the ball. We're playing good defense as a team. It's the best we've been in awhile."

Still, they're only 13-27, 20 games behind the 32-6 Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

"The Celtics beat us pretty bad last time," Zach Randolph said. "It was national TV. Guys weren't playing together. I think we're a better team than we were the last time. We're playing together better. We're moving the ball and we're getting stops. There's no better time than now to play them."

But will it be good enough to compete with the Celtics, who are on pace to win 69 games? That would set a franchise mark, breaking the 68 won by the 1972-73 team. The Knicks understand that they have to prove they can play with the Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce before they can think about beating them.

"We're playing our best ball," David Lee said Saturday night in Miami after the Knicks sent the Heat to its 13th straight defeat. "We have a lot of confidence coming in, that if we continue to play the way we've played we're going to be competitive. That's what we're trying to do - just go out there and compete and not get embarrassed. That's what we're all about."

Modest, yes, but it's a realistic approach.

"We're playing a little bit better than the last time we saw them," Isiah Thomas said. "But they're capable of making you look bad because they're that good. We'll come in and try to play as good a basketball game as we possibly can."

The coach offered no guarantees.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080121/SPORTS/801210361

FREE THROWS: Blazing different trail to success than the C's
January 21, 2008 6:00 AM
When Greg Oden finally arrived in the TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday night, it was 36 games later than originally expected.

But true to the belief Celtics fans developed around March Madness last year, the team that drafted Oden instantly improved, and the Celts are once again championship contenders.

Of course, the two have nothing to do with one another, and absolutely nothing to do with Greg Oden himself.

We all know by now how the ping-pong balls bounced. Without the opportunity to get Oden or Kevin Durant, the Celtics assembled a win-now team built for a strong championship push. The Portland Trail Blazers, with the top pick in the draft, won the right to rebuild their franchise with a once-in-a-generation player.

As of right now, both teams can look back and say "Who needs him?"

While the Trail Blazers enjoyed a 20-year string of consecutive playoff appearances, the Celtics won a few titles before watching the Big Three fade into oblivion and, along with them, any chance of competing for another. By the mid-to-late 90s, they couldn't have been further apart.

But for the last few years, the two franchises have followed a similar path. Both were trying to piece together some semblance of their glorious past, but couldn't assemble the talent needed to do it.

The tide began to turn for Portland on Draft Night in 2006, when they finished the night with combo guard Brandon Roy, who went on to become Rookie of the Year. They added him to a roster that already featured another young guard, Martell Webster, and a rookie forward in LaMarcus Aldridge, acquired earlier in the evening.

Roy could have been a Celtic if Minnesota had just picked its eventual draft selection, Randy Foye, at No. 6, leaving Roy for the taking at No. 7. (They later swapped Foye for Roy with Portland, who had made a draft-night trade with Boston as well).

Instead, Boston came home with Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Rajon Rondo and the weight of Raef LaFrentz's deal off its payroll. It was the beginnings of the future deals that would get them where they are today. Missing out on Oden meant instead Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, James Posey, Eddie House and Scot Pollard. A veteran ball club in the pursuit for immediate gratification. Gratification that will require some serious wheeling-and-dealing down the line to keep this team a contender for the years after the dissolution of their All-Star trio.

Portland, on the other hand, inherited the youngest team in the league title from the 2006-2007 Celtics, but have done what the Celts and most other young teams can't do — compete. After starting the season 5-13, a physical practice by coach Nate McMillan and Roy's request to have the ball in his hands more essentially turned everything around for Portland in an instant. They rattled off 18 wins in 20 games, including 13 in a row, as Roy emerged as one of the game's biggest up-and-coming stars.

And still, Oden — who underwent knee surgery in the offseason — watches and waits for his chance to make whatever his imprint will be.

"I have no idea. I hope I can add to them, (maybe) the guys can win a couple more games," Oden said before Wednesday's game in Boston. "When I go out there, they're already going to be a good team. I'm going to try to play my part."

And that game was indicative of the direction these two franchises are now headed. The Celtics have to win a championship in the next three years, or it was all for naught. The Blazers, meanwhile, are built to contend perhaps in that window and certainly much longer as well.

For those who believe young teams have to lose because you can't win in the NBA with experienced veterans, see how close the Blazers kept the game while playing some of the worst ball of their current streak. While the belief is going through lows together can improve team chemistry, Roy feels winning is just as cohesive.

"It brought us together even more," he said as Oden sat nearby, keeping close to his teammates even as he rehabs his knee. "Even when we were losing, we never strayed from each other. We stayed together. Winning just makes us have fun, and trust one another."

There's going to be a lot more winning for the Trail Blazers in the coming years.

"Regardless of their youth, they play well together," Garnett said. "Brandon's coming into his own so early ... they play good team basketball, too. They have a balanced attack."

That attack will only be more potent when their new, defensive-minded center takes the floor. Despite looking older than the Celtics' core of veterans, Oden is just 20, the centerpiece for this or any team for the next 15 years. There could soon be another long postseason streak in Rip City.

And even though Boston fans are swept up in the euphoria of having the NBA's best team thus far, they couldn't help but look over to the Portland bench on Wednesday night and think about what could have been instead. And for that matter, neither could Oden.

"It would have been nice," he said of playing in Boston. "Paul Pierce was already here and he's a great player. To have the possibility of playing with someone like that is always good, (but) I'm enjoying Portland."

And it's going to be enjoyable for many seasons to come.



RONDO BACK MONDAY, WHO'S RIGHT BEHIND?
Word is Rajon Rondo will return to the court in time for today's matinee against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, but that shouldn't stop the Celtics from looking at some of the veteran point guard help about to become available, just in case Rondo's back or hamstring flares up later.

ESPN.com is reporting Damon Stoudamire, who hasn't played since the end of December, is close to a buyout with Memphis. He is earning $4.35 million this year, with one more season remaining on his current deal of $4.65 million (only half of which is guaranteed).

Also, the Los Angeles Clippers are contemplating trading or buying out point guard Sam Cassell, who has a long history with both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. He's in the final year of a $6.156-million contract, and while it's doubtful the Celtics could provide the pieces to trade for Cassell, you'd have to think they'd be interested in him at the veteran minimum.

Of course, the luxury tax is of concern no matter who they try to acquire, but if Rondo's absence has proved anything, it's that the Celts need an emergency floor general.

Tim Weisberg covers the NBA for The Standard-Times. Contact him at [e-mail]



HOT
YOUTH MOVEMENT

Despite adding so much veteran talent last summer, the Celtics are still getting younger! Forward Leon Powe and his girlfriend welcomed Leon Powe III on Tuesday night, and according to the Boston Herald's "Inside Track," Paul Pierce and fiancee Julie Landrum are expecting their first child.

GOOD NEWS FOR NENE

Nuggets forward Nene checked out of the hospital early after having a testicular tumor removed. Doctors are still testing to see if the tumor is cancerous and whether or not the cancer has spread elsewhere, but doctors expect the 25-year-old should be able to make a full recovery regardless.

GOING GLOBAL

Five companies "” including the Walt Disney Co./ESPN "” are joining up with NBA China, the league's new arm to handle league business in that nation. The five companies are investing $253 million to combine for 11 percent of the organization's ownership, while the NBA will retain the rest.

NOT

WHEN YOU GOTTA GO ...

Chicago developmental talent JamesOn Curry, who was already busted for selling pot to an undercover cop back in February 2004, was arrested at 2:25 am Thursday and charged with misdemeanor counts of urinating in public and resisting arrest.

SAY GOODNIGHT, RON

Ron Artest can never live down what happened at the Palace of Auburn Hills in November 2004, but he can show love for the Detroit fans that will forever boo him. He blew them kisses late Friday after making a three-pointer. "I figured if they're going to boo me, I'm going to love 'em," Artest said. "I love Detroit."

NOW KOBE WILL WANT OUT AGAIN

Young Lakers center Andrew Bynum is expected out for eight weeks after injuring his left knee. Without him, L.A.'s seven-game winning streak "” the team's longest in four years "” ended Thursday.

[FLCeltsFan]

enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2008/01/20/news/sports/sports03.txt


Rondo expected back in Celtics' lineup



By Jim Fenton, Enterprise staff writer

BOSTON — After missing three of the last four games, point guard Rajon Rondo appears ready to rejoin the Boston Celtics' lineup.

Rondo, bothered by back and hamstring ailments, took part in practice Sunday in Waltham to prepare for today's game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden (1:05, TV: Comcast SportsNet; radio: WEEI-850 AM).

The absence of Rondo has meant more playing time at the point for Eddie House, who is known more for his long-range shooting.

The Celtics struggled, at times, without Rondo as they adapted to a different approach by their point guard.

“Definitely, Eddie and Rajon bring two different elements to the game,'' said Paul Pierce. “With Rajon, you have more speed. He's a pressure defender up the court. He's able to get rebounds and get steals.

“Eddie is a little bit more solid than Rajon as far as not reaching and not gambling as much. He picks his spots, but it's a different tempo.

“That's what makes our guard unique. They change the game in their own way. We have more of a running style of play when you have Rajon out there, but Eddie, he knows how to run the offense in the half-court and we space the floor pretty well.''

The speculation over whether the Celtics will acquire a veteran point guard may intensify this week.

Damon Stoudamire and the Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly negotiating a buyout that would make him a free agent.

The 34-year-old Stoudamire has not been playing since rookie Mike Conley became the starter this month.

Stoudamire is making $4.35 million this season and has a partially guaranteed contract next season.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the team and Stoudamire's agent, Aaron Goodwin, will have further talks this week.

The Celtics, who have 13 players under contract, have two openings on their roster.

Rondo is the lone true point guard on the Celtics' roster, so Stoudamire would give them depth.

The Phoenix Suns are also a team that will have interest in Stoudamire if he becomes a free agent.

The Celtics, who have won two straight games after losing three of four, will face a Knicks' team that is playing its best basketball of the season.

New York, which has been playing in a circus-like atmosphere under Coach Isiah Thomas, went 4-1 last week, defeating Detroit, Washington New Jersey and Miami.

The Celtics had little trouble with the Knicks in their first meeting on Nov. 29, winning 104-59.

It was the third worst loss in the history of the Knicks and their second-lowest point total in the shot clock era. The Celtics have had only five larger wins in their history, and it was their biggest margin of victory since 1979.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=340260


Inside Dish: Celtics feel Rondo's pain
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Posted: January 21, 2008
PG Rajon Rondo's back problems have taken a toll on the Celtics' offense. With Rondo at full speed, Boston typically started a play with about 17 seconds left on the 24-second clock. With Rondo either out or hindered by his back, the Celtics often don't get into a play until there's just 12 seconds left. The result is an offense that averaged 92.8 points in its first nine January games after averaging 98.8 in December. ...

The Spurs' recent 9-9 run of mediocrity also can be attributed to offensive woes, namely a lack of ball movement that has resulted in too many rushed shots. In October and November, they shot 48.3 percent and averaged 101.6 points per game. Since then, they're shooting 46.3 percent and averaging 93.7 points. ...

Pacers PF Jermaine O'Neal, 29, has told friends he would welcome a fresh start in an offense that better suits him. O'Neal still is slowed at times by his surgically repaired left knee, which will make his max contract more difficult to move. ...

In the Lakers' first game without C Andrew Bynum (knee), SG Kobe Bryant put up 44 shots and was criticized by coach Phil Jackson even though L.A. beat the Sonics. In their next game, Bryant took half as many shots and the Lakers lost to the Suns, ending a seven-game winning streak. ...

Timberwolves rookie SF Corey Brewer's minutes have been cut almost in half in January, making at least one scout wonder whether he was the right pick at No. 7. The scout has been disappointed in Brewer's athleticism and energy level: "I don't see him being anything more than a role player," he says. Bucks rookie PF Yi Jianlian, meanwhile, has impressed the same scout. "He's highly skilled and very agile for his size," he says of the 7-footer, who has started every game. "He's got to improve his low-post game, but I think he's going to be pretty good in this league. They need to get him more involved than they have so far." ...

If the 76ers decide not to trade Andre Miller, there's still no shortage of available point guards. Mike Bibby is looking good in his return from left thumb surgery and figures to be traded by the Kings, and Damon Stoudamire is waiting for the Grizzlies to make a deal or buy him out.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1200880510289800.xml&coll=7

Around the NBA Lacking depth, Celtics count on Big Three's health
Monday, January 21, 2008
GEOFFREY C. ARNOLD
The Oregonian
The Blazers' loss at Boston on Wednesday represented good news . . . for the Celtics.

Boston's win snapped a two-game losing streak at the time, and the Celtics have won just four of their past seven games after starting the season with a 29-3 record. The Celtics' "slump" has rekindled concerns about their long-term health, durability and depth.

The Celtics' slide has coincided with point guard Rajon Rondo's health issues. The second-year player, nursing a sore lower back and strained right hamstring, did not play against Portland or Philadelphia on Friday and he also sat out the Celtics' loss at Washington on Jan. 12. He was limited to 21 minutes in the Celtics' 88-83 home loss to Washington on Jan. 14, and 22 minutes in a win against New Jersey on Jan. 11.

"As much as people have focused on the Big Three, it's been proven over the last two or three games that Rondo may be just as important as those other three guys," said Rick Carlisle, former Indiana Pacers coach and now a television analyst.

The injuries restricted Rondo's movement on the floor when he did play, moving Boston coach Doc Rivers to sit Rondo until he is completely healthy (he could play today against New York). Rivers started backup shooting guard Eddie House at point guard against the Blazers and used rookie Gabe Pruitt as the backup.

"It's a slow process," Rondo told the Boston Globe. "When I shoot, I feel a lot better. But when I jump, I feel sharp (back) pains."

The point guard problems highlight an issue that has been lurking below the surface all season for the Celtics: Depth. Not only are the Celtics thin at point guard, they don't possess much talent on the frontline, and guard Ray Allen, who has a history of ankle problems, has missed two games with right ankle pain.

The Celtics might be able to survive an absence of Allen or even Paul Pierce, but it's unlikely they can remain successful for an extended period of time without Kevin Garnett. The three have a combined 33 years of experience, leading to concerns about whether the three can hold up after a long season. But one front office executive says the Big Three will be fine.

"None of those players have the wear and tear of the postseason," said John Hammond, Detroit's vice president of basketball operations. "That's a big factor."

Opportunity for Roy? Brandon Roy's chance to play in the All-Star game in New Orleans Feb. 17 could receive an unexpected boost. The Rockets' Tracy McGrady, second among guards in voting and most likely a starter, is offering to relinquish his spot to a more deserving player.

"There's other guys definitely having better seasons than me," McGrady told the Houston Chronicle. "If it was my choice, I would select another guy to participate in my spot because I see other guards that are having outstanding seasons."

The problem is the league doesn't allow players to be so magnanimous. If a player is healthy, he is required to play. McGrady had missed 12 games with a sore right knee before he returned against San Antonio on Saturday.

Barbosa Punk'd: The telephone call came through to Leandro Barbosa's hotel room: The voice informed the Suns' backup guard that he had been traded to New York and needed to meet with general manager Steve Kerr immediately. A frantic Barbosa rushed out of his hotel room in search of any Suns front office person.

"Every time I hear the word 'trade,' . . . it's just not a comfortable word for me at all," Barbosa told reporters Thursday. "I went a little crazy."

It was all a joke. Barbosa, who had registered under his real name, was finally told the call was fake.

Noah challenges Wallace? The Chicago Bulls rank as one of the league's biggest disappointments this season, and rookie forward Joakim Noah has not been shy about voicing his opinion.

Noah's criticizing players for laughing on the bench reportedly rubbed Ben Wallace the wrong way and the two nearly exchanged blows during halftime of their loss to Orlando on Tuesday. At least, that's the way it was reported by the Chicago-area media before the Bulls engaged in damage control.

"I know all about it, and there was no argument," Chicago interim coach Jim Boylan told reporters. "I don't know why it was reported that way. A couple of things were said, but there was no confrontation. There was no one going after each other. There were no angry words."

The Bulls are clearly frustrated that they haven't seen any change in their fortunes since the firing of Scott Skiles on Dec. 24. Despite a 16-point win against Detroit on Saturday, the Bulls are 7-7 under Boylan.

Notes:

Damon Stoudamire is close to a buyout agreement with Memphis. Phoenix and Boston are considered frontrunners to sign him. . . . Jermaine O'Neal will be out a minimum of two weeks with a bone bruise on his right knee. . . . The Pacers and Nets have reportedly discussed a trade that would include O'Neal and Vince Carter. . . . The Zach Randolph to Milwaukee (Charlie Villanueva, Dan Gadzuric, Lionel Simmons) proposed deal is reportedly not completely dead.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrobostonnews.com/us/article/2008/01/21/02/0021-72/index.xml

Doc to get Star treatmentCeltics coach one victory shy of trip to New Orleans
The process
Head coaches with the best record in their respective conference on Feb. 3 will coach the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Feb. 17.

NBA. Doc Rivers has always enjoyed being at home during the weekend of the NBA All-Star Game. This year, he’ll have to work.

If the Celtics beat the Knicks today — or win any of their next six games — Rivers will serve as the head coach of the Eastern Conference in next month’s All-Star Game by virtue of Boston having the best record in the season’s first half.


Coaches are not officially selected until Feb. 3, but the Celtics (32-6) will clinch the best winning percentage in the East with one more victory.


“It would be great for Doc to get the recognition for the great job he has been doing,” said Celtics captain Paul Pierce, who has played for Rivers for four years. “He’s been a great coach since he entered the league. He’s finally got an opportunity where he can coach some veterans, and he’s showing what he can do. I think he is one of the more underrated coaches in the league. It would be a great honor if he got a chance to coach the All-Star team.”


Rivers, whose lone All-Star appearance came as a player in 1988, has done a tremendous job of blending a team that was completely rebuilt last summer, keeping his three stars happy and getting everyone to focus on the season-long process.


As a result, the C’s easily have the best record in the NBA, and Rivers will likely be the first Celtic to coach in the All-Star Game since Chris Ford in 1991. It’s an accomplishment his players believe would be well-deserved.


“He cares about the guys genuinely, and he wants everyone to get better and get smarter as an individual,” Ray Allen said. “It would be nothing for him to tell us about something that his dad told him growing up and how it made him who he was. Nothing for him to quote a scripture from a poet or the Bible or any great book or good author he read from.


“It’s interesting because it’s tough for a coach in this league to play 82 games, and you say the same things all the time. You have to find different ways to say the same thing, and I think he does a great job of doing that. He finds different aspects of sources to pull from.”