News 1/29

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1069726&format=text

Riley: New stars bring change

By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Notebook | Tuesday, January 29, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill
MIAMI - Pat Riley understands how a franchise can step on the gas pedal and pull into the fast lane. He was the one who got Shaquille O’Neal from the Lakers to the Heat. That move was key in getting Miami from 42 to 59 wins in the first season and to an NBA championship in the second.

The Celtics [team stats]’ move for Kevin Garnett might some day be seen in similar terms.

“They built a franchise that had seven, eight, nine pretty good assets, but those assets weren’t showing the kind of progress in winning,” Riley said after Heat practice yesterday in preparation for tonight’s game against the Celts. “They were showing development. The players were getting better and better, but it wasn’t translating into wins.

“I think that’s how you get good. I mean, you’ve got to get real bad for a while. Sometimes you don’t have to get bad for a long period of time, but then you get enough players to be able to make the moves. We were very fortunate that Shaquille O’Neal was on the market. You know, very rarely does a player like that or Garnett or Ray Allen - those kinds of guys never come on the market, very rarely. And they were able to get two of them, and that’s why it’s turned. And they were able to keep enough other players to make it work, so they’ve had an incredible year so far.”

But the Celtics still have a long way to travel.

“Winning the title is what it’s all about,” Riley said. “We rolled the dice, and we did that. We won the championship. Now we’ve got to get back on track. But it’s a lot of fun when you’re going through it.”

In addition to bringing Garnett and Allen to play with Paul Pierce [stats], the Celts also are benefiting from Heat exile James Posey, who left as a free agent last summer.

“He’s an all-purpose, savvy warrior,” Riley said. “That’s what James is. He’s a cold-blooded shooter at the end of a game. He’s going to make them if he’s open. And he rebounds. He does a lot of great things. He’s a defender, an energy guy, a 3-point shooter. He does everything. That’s one of the reasons I think they’re so successful is James has given them a big lift coming off the bench.”

Garnett’s not definite

The Celtics are listing Garnett as day-to-day with his abdominal strain, and while there is word some would like to keep him out longer to be more certain of his recovery, more will be known at this morning’s shootaround.

Looking at life without Garnett, coach Doc Rivers said, “It’s different because you don’t have a post to go to out of timeouts. We were unbelievable out of timeouts (in Sunday’s loss to Orlando), but we had to be way too creative..”

Added Kendrick Perkins [stats]: “He’s our go-to guy in the post. This team is really kind of built around him.

No impulsive moves

The Celtics still are actively investigating a potential acquisition at point guard, but don’t expect them to go hard after just any experienced dribbler. Danny Ainge remains wary of upsetting what’s already in place in this process, so he appears to be moving cautiously.

“Whenever you bring in a new player, it can change roles and it can change the mood,” the Celtics boss said. “All of a sudden, things are different and maybe you don’t have what you’ve had.

“We’ve gotten contributions from everybody, but the nine guys that are playing a lot - from Tony (Allen) to Posey to Eddie (House) to Big Baby (Glen Davis) and Leon (Powe) - they’ve all contributed in a big way to our winning. But especially Eddie and Posey who have been doing it consistently. We would have at least a handful more losses without them on the court. So my feeling is that when you have a specific weakness on your team, there’s a lot of ways to fix it. And by going to get other players, you can lose one of your strengths. You have to be very careful with that.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/29/posey_can_feel_heats_pain?mode=PF

Posey can feel Heat's pain
Miami's demise draws sympathy
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | January 29, 2008

MIAMI - Celtics forward James Posey recently displayed a reminder of the Heat's good days by wearing his mammoth, diamond-studded 2006 NBA championship ring. But in just two years, those good days are gone for the Heat, as they have gone from champions to the Eastern Conference's worst team.

The Heat, who host the Celtics tonight, are 9-33 after ending a 15-game losing streak by beating Indiana Saturday.

"It's tough just coming a couple years from being a championship-caliber team and the direction they were going in," Posey said. "It seemed very positive just the other season. There has been a lot of injuries, though, and new guys and things."

Posey was a key member of the Heat the last two seasons. The 6-foot-8-inch, 217-pounder averaged 7.5 points from 2005-07, playing in 138 regular-season games and 26 playoff games. While the Heat had interest in re-signing him, it wasn't for more than the $6.3 million he netted during the 2006-07 campaign, and the belief was he wanted a raise to stay.

The Celtics offered a chance to play for another championship-caliber team with the likes of Paul Pierce and newcomers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Posey ended up taking a pay cut to come to Boston; he is making $3.2 million this season with a player option for $3.4 million for 2008-09.

Heat owner Mickey Arison told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Not signing Posey was probably a mistake."

The Heat also lost sharpshooter Jason Kapono (Toronto) and swingman Eddie Jones (Dallas) in free agency. They traded forward Antoine Walker, forward-center Michael Doleac, forward Wayne Simien, and a conditional first-round pick to Minnesota for guard Ricky Davis and forward-center Mark Blount Oct. 24.

"There is a business side of things," Posey said. "They did what they thought was best for the organization. By that, they let me, 'Toine and Kapono go knowing what you have, what you're getting from guys, compared to not knowing what you're getting from guys. I think they sacrificed a lot, for the most part, when you look at the things they are going through now, the guys they have and the chemistry."

Walker, an ex-Celtic, blamed Heat president and coach Pat Riley for the franchise's current struggles.

"Honestly, the Miami situation is something Pat Riley put on himself," Walker said. "You can't change the team like that. All the good teams, the teams contending for championships, look at Detroit, San Antonio, they have been teams that have kept their core guys together for three, four, five, six years. For some apparent reason, Coach felt like he needed a change.

"You got myself, Pose, all of us are 31, 32 years old, still can play. Still are valuable pieces. Last [season] we won 44 games. Even though we lost in the first round of the playoffs, Shaq missed [39] games, D-Wade missed like [30]. So you have to factor all those things in."

The biggest problem for Miami has been injuries to their two superstars, Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.

Wade missed the first seven games of the season while recovering from left knee and left shoulder surgeries. He hasn't consistently been back to his stellar form, and also has been suffering from a bruised right shoulder, bruised right shin, and jammed right pinky finger.

"The injuries are hard for him," said Posey. "But he's playing through them, for the most part."

O'Neal started the season with lingering left knee problems, has had right hip and left thigh ailments this season, and is out tonight with acute inflammation of the left hip and quadriceps. He recently dispelled rumors about shutting it down for the season and retiring with two years and $40 million left on his contract after this season. The Heat also lost veteran center Alonzo Mourning after he had patella and quadriceps tendon surgery Dec. 20.

Posey said he didn't think O'Neal was on the downside.

"For the most part, he is still a threat and can give it to you," Posey said. "I've been on the floor with him and see the abuse he takes night in and night out. It's not fair, for the most part.

"That abuse leads to injuries and time off for him, which is sad. But I know what he's capable of doing, and even when he's not 100 percent, he's still a threat."

Posey is averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds and shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range in 22.7 minutes per game. In Sunday's loss to Orlando, he had 16 points, nailed 4 of 6 3-pointers, and grabbed 6 rebounds in 26 minutes after missing three games with a sprained right index finger.

"He's an all-purpose, just savvy warrior," said Riley. "He's a cold-blooded shooter. At the end of the game, he's going to make them if he's open. And he rebounds. He does a lot of great things."

Kevin Garnett, who missed the Orlando game with an abdominal strain, is listed as day-to-day, but coach Doc Rivers said Sunday he doubted that Garnett would play tonight. Posey (finger), forward Brian Scalabrine (flu), guard Tony Allen (eye), and guard Rajon Rondo (ankle) are expected to play . . . Rivers gave the Celtics yesterday off.

The Grizzlies officially bought out veteran point guard Damon Stoudamire yesterday, according to his agent, Aaron Goodwin. The Celtics, Spurs, Raptors, and Suns all have interest in Stoudamire, who will become an unrestricted free agent at 6 p.m. tomorrow if he clears waivers as expected. "Obviously, Damon has expressed interest the last couple of weeks in playing for the Celtics," Goodwin said. "We'll talk to the Celtics to see what can happen." The Celtics are viewed as the front-runner in the Stoudamire sweepstakes if they want the guard. But they will likely have to move quickly to keep him from moving to another team. Rumors continue to persist that the Celtics have interest in Clippers guard Sam Cassell, but they seem to have no viable way of acquiring him via trade.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2276&Itemid=189

Birdman Cometh?
Written by Jeff
Tuesday, 29 January 2008

Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune opines:

Another intriguing potential free agent could be Chris Andersen, a hustling big man who is applying for reinstatement after a two-year drug suspension. The New Orleans Hornets control the rights to Andersen (a Joakim Noah/Anderson Varejao type) and you wonder if they'd want to risk disrupting their wonderful chemistry even though coach Byron Scott says the team's bench is weak. Andersen has become friendly with Kevin Garnett and you wonder if the Boston Celtics would want to help their shallow bench if he is reinstated and New Orleans passes on him, though the Hornets might not want to risk Andersen going to a rival like the San Antonio Spurs.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/celtics/2008-01-28-celtics-losses_N.htm

Losses don't derail Celtics playoff hopes

By Chris Colston, USA TODAY
ORLANDO — With the Boston Celtics' success this year comes a consequence: when they lose, it's news.
The Celtics dropped their eighth game of the season Sunday when Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 96-93 win. But they played without MVP candidate Kevin Garnett, out with an abdominal strain.

They still have the league's best record (34-8) and lead Toronto by 101/2 games in the Atlantic Division. Playing in the Eastern Conference — where only the Detroit Pistons and perhaps the Orlando Magic stand within striking distance — they're almost a lock for the playoffs.

Coach Doc Rivers understands the pacing of a long season, and he knew he had no reason to throw a fit following the disappointing loss. He engaged the postgame media with levity.

Before the game, he said he voted for Turkoglu as an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve. After Turkoglu's game-winning shot, he cracked, "Can I get my vote back?"

Garnett wanted to play Sunday, but Rivers benched him. "He wasn't happy about it, but that's all right," Rivers says. "That's what a coach does sometimes."

As for tonight's game against Miami, Rivers said, "(Garnett) may play. I doubt that, but he may. I just think we just go day to day with it."

Rivers also handled the prickly issue of Garnett's absence with humor. When he said he didn't want to risk aggravating Garnett's injury, reporters opined he's trying to lose games again. Last season Rivers came under scrutiny for possibly resting players to improve Boston's draft position.

"Yeah, I'm tanking games again," Rivers said, laughing. "We're trying to get a draft pick. We're going for that 30th pick."

While Rivers maintains that he doesn't believe in moral victories, the loss gave him reason for optimism. Against one of the better Eastern Conference teams, the Celtics experienced a solid test of who they are without Garnett, who is averaging 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. Last year Boston allowed 99.2 points per game; this year, it is allowing an NBA-low 88.2 points per game.

"It was a good test for us, not having our guy," Rivers says. "We're not using it as an excuse. I said, 'We're playing this game to win.' "

Said Paul Pierce: "This group plays with a lot of resiliency regardless of who's on the court. There is no moral victory but it was definitely a game we could've seen ourselves winning."

Forward Brian Scalabrine, starting in place of Garnett, spent the postgame sitting at his locker and brooding about the loss. But reserve center Scot Pollard, out with an ankle injury, could afford to step back and look at the big picture.

"This roster creates a lot of buzz," he said of the moves that brought in Garnett, Ray Allen and several key reserves. "That's going to create more headlines, just the fact that they made these big moves. So far we're backing it up. We're in first place now, I think — aren't we?"

When a reporter answered in the affirmative, Pollard said, "OK, there you go. I don't pay attention to the record — it's a long way till the end of the season. If we make it to the playoffs, then I'll pay attention to the record."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.miamiherald.com/594/story/397365.html

Heat sees similarities to Celtics
BY SARAH ROTHSCHILD
The Boston Celtics have become the Heat of old: a team assembled for a title run.
The Celtics' offseason acquisitions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett turned Boston into an instant contender. It is similar to the Heat's championship after Miami landed Shaquille O'Neal in a blockbuster trade in July 2003 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

''Every time we went somewhere it was sold out, everybody wanted to see the Heat,'' Dwyane Wade said. ``Everybody wanted to get a glimpse of the show. That's kind of how [the Celtics] feel. Even though you lose games you feel unbeatable. I'm sure it feels good.''

Coach Pat Riley said the Heat was ''fortunate'' the Lakers were willing to trade O'Neal, and added that it's rare that a player of his caliber becomes available.

Of the new-look Celtics, Riley said, ``They've had an incredible year so far.''

BUMPS, BRUISES

Although Heat players have been banged up recently, the Celtics aren't in much better shape.

Riley said the Heat continues to monitor Wade, who was experiencing sore shoulders and a stiff left knee recently. He practiced Monday, as did Ricky Davis (back spasms) and Daequan Cook (tonsillitis, flu). O'Neal remains sidelined with a sore left hip.

The Celtics canceled their scheduled practice in Miami on Monday. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Sunday that Garnett would be doubtful against Miami with an abdominal strain. Former Heat forward James Posey (sprained finger) is listed as day-to-day, even though he played in Boston's loss to Orlando on Sunday.

TUESDAY: CELTICS AT HEAT

• When: 7:30 p.m.

• Where: AmericanAirlines Arena.

• TV/radio: Sun Sports; WIOD (610), WQBA (1140, Spanish).

• The series: Celtics lead 44-34.

• The game: The Celtics lead the season series 2-0. The Heat lost the first meeting 92-91 in Boston on Nov. 16 and fell 95-85 to the Celtics at home Nov. 30. . . . Boston has lost five of its past 10 games.