News 2/3

[FLCeltsFan]

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Jennings hopes to be affiliated with Celts

By Mark Murphy | Sunday, February 3, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Two days after Jon Jennings lost his 2004 race for Congress in Indiana, the former Celtics [team stats] assistant coach received a call from Red Auerbach.

In his typical salty manner, the C’s patriarch informed Jennings that his time in politics - which included an extensive run as one of President Bill Clinton’s White House aides -had come to a close.

“Red called and said, ‘OK, now that you’ve got that (expletive) out of your system, are you ready to come back?’ ” Jennings said last week.

Jennings didn’t listen - at least not right away. He did move back to Massachusetts, though, and up until last spring ran the state office of Sen. John Kerry.

But from his office on Beacon Hill Jennings found himself catching the fever once again.

Which led to last Thursday’s ceremony in Portland, Maine, where a group brought together by Jennings, TD Banknorth chairman Bill Ryan Sr. and Oxford (Maine) Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan Jr. are attempting to land a new NBDL franchise.

NBA representatives, who toured the city and were hosted by Maine Gov. John Baldacci, were presented with lobsters as part of a City Hall ceremony.

In a city where Major League Baseball and the NHL have already established successful minor league operations, an NBA affiliate seems like a logical next step.

Jennings’ group is not alone. An ABA franchise that currently plays in Manchester, N.H., is also bidding for NBDL consideration.

“I see the D-League as an amazing opportunity,” said Jennings, who would function as the franchise’s general manager. “When I was coaching with the Celtics, we would draft guys in the late first round and then have to cut those guys because there was no place to send them.

“But now that you have the force of the NBA behind (the NBDL), it has a chance to become this fantastic minor league system.”

The Celtics appear to agree.

Jennings has talked with Celtics president Rich Gotham about the possibilities and benefits of having a C’s affiliate in a city as close as Portland.

It would certainly beat sending guard Gabe Pruitt for another stint with the Utah Flash.

“We feel very confident in our discussions with the NBA,” Jennings said. “I’ve been truly blessed in having Bill Ryan Sr. and Jr. as the lead investors in this.”

The NBA appears ready to make a commitment - in some city - as well, with the Knicks and Nets also looking at East Coast locations for NBDL affiliates.

Overall, the NBA is expected to establish four NBDL franchises in the east, which is one of the few remaining areas without a D-League connection. At least four cities would be needed to make the transportation between cities workable and affordable.

Jennings had investigated several locations, including Hartford and Springfield, before looking into Portland.

Unlike Hartford, where a D-League team would likely fight a losing battle for fan attention against UConn men’s and women’s basketball, Portland would come equipped with an established fan base that has already demonstrated its appreciation for minor league sports.

The Portland Sea Dogs - the Red Sox [team stats]’ Double-A affiliate - have set a high standard for the minor league experience.

“The guys who run the Sea Dogs have sheer brilliance,” Jennings said. “They make sure that every moment of a game is entertaining.”

Gotham, whose marketing expertise assured him a quick rise through the Celtics organization, is one person who appreciates a product that extends beyond the game.

“We hope to be affiliated with the Celtics,” Jennings said. “But that is ultimately going to be up to the NBA.”

[FLCeltsFan]

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Kidd deals blow to NJ
His trade demand Thorn-y issue

By Mark Murphy / NBA Notes | Sunday, February 3, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by AP
Somewhere deep inside, Rod Thorn would probably like to grab his point guard by the throat and make like Latrell Sprewell.

But the New Jersey president is one of the league’s cooler operators.

With 18 days left until the trading deadline, Jason Kidd has asked for a trade, making him the most desirable commodity on the market.

The result is that Kidd has chummed the water, and all of the sharks have shown up - people like Dallas’ Mark Cuban and Chicago’s John Paxson looking to get something for very little.

Don’t doubt for a moment that Thorn would like to grant Kidd’s wish.

As premier a talent as he is, Kidd has also groused behind the scenes at the sight of every rough spot.

It makes you respect Paul Pierce [stats] that much more for keeping to himself when fortunes turned south before this season’s improbable turnaround.

He made it possible for director of basketball operations Danny Ainge to seek a trade with a minimum of noise - with the Celtics [team stats] ultimately able to keep their captain when they made their big moves last summer.

That doesn’t seem possible for Thorn. Among other things, he is under pressure to put a contending team on the floor when the Nets move to Brooklyn at some point in 2010. Though it’s unthinkable that Kidd would be part of that package, at one stage it was probably unthinkable that he would be a Net now, too.

“Sometimes when you ride a wave you get to the end and that’s all there is,” Kidd said early last week, before the Nets finally snapped a nine-game losing streak with Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee. “It used to be that if I got a triple-double, that was an automatic win.

“That’s just not the case now. We tried to make this work. We’ve found out that it doesn’t. It’s time for us all to move on.”

Thorn’s answer is that he’ll only make a trade if it makes sense. A player like Dallas’ Devin Harris certainly makes sense. But the bottom half of Portland’s roster - another component that has been mentioned repeatedly - is only good if what Thorn wants is flexibility, not an instant bang.

“It’s certainly not the optimum position to be in,” Thorn said last week of trying to complete a deal after his star player has publicly demanded a trade. “But you never know how a deal is going to come together, or when it will happen. You always want to do it when it makes sense.”

And that means not falling out of contention. Heading into yesterday’s games, the Nets - however tenuously - held the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference, and thus a playoff spot. A lot can change, probably for worse unless Thorn can cut through the pile of bad offers to make a move that makes long-term sense.

“There’s a lot of those out there,” Thorn said with a laugh of the bad offers that have crossed his desk. “I’ve been on both sides of that fence.

“But our prerogative is to make the playoffs every year.”

The reality is that Kidd is 34 with slightly more than $21 million due on the final phase of his contract next season. He’s also upset that the Nets didn’t extend him last summer - an emotion that some link to his current demand.

“Maybe this has made it tough for them, but I think they’ve told him that they were going to do something for the last couple of years,” another NBA personnel chief said of Thorn’s predicament. “Believe me, it wasn’t the nine-game losing streak that suddenly made the difference in this.

“They were close to a deal last year at the All-Star break, and then they were close to a deal again last summer,” he said. “If you look at the history of this league, you rarely win when you trade a great player, and Rod knows that.”

What makes it worse, though, is Kidd’s reputation as a behind-the-scenes malcontent - one who is rarely happy.

“He can potentially be that way, I guess,” said the official. “He seems to be a guy who needs regular communication to stop that from happening.

“But I wouldn’t be too hard on Jason. He’s like so many guys. He just wants to win. Sometimes losing brings out the worst in these guys.”

Come April, Kidd could also still be a Net, however much that thought galls him.

“You only have so many assets,” said Thorn. “Unlike other sports, you’re talking about small squads in basketball. You do not get rid of assets easily - especially when you’re talking about extraordinary players.

Whoa, Nellie!

The first time around, when Chris Webber was a rookie and Don Nelson was putting together one of the most exciting young teams in the NBA, this combination of young star and brilliant coach was a disaster.

Webber still carries the label of being a less than genuine character.

Nelson’s teams are still brilliant offensively and absolutely negligent in the other end.

So here they are again, reunited where it all started - in Golden State.

The Warriors’ investment in the 34-year-old forward - who still has skill but virtually no mobility - is negligible. Money isn’t the issue.

The question is how much he can actually help what is once again a young, exciting, athletic team.

The good news is that this latest edition of the Nelson Warriors still doesn’t defend, so there isn’t much of a problem there.

Strangely enough, they actually deserve each other. . . .

Two names come to mind when compiling the annual All-Star snub list, and one is the player who just sunk the Celtics down in Orlando.

For all of the other stars on the Magic roster, no one seems to make more late-game shots for that team than Hedo Turkoglu, who is clearly having a career season not only statistically, but in his importance to the team.

As Pierce will attest, the Turkish forward earns his modest salary at the other end of the floor as well.

The other is Baron Davis, whose free shooting version of how a point guard should play has always been an acquired taste. In this respect, Webber will fit with the Warriors, because they need a lot of passing help.

But there’s little doubt that the success of Nelson’s offense is tied directly to Davis’ triple threat abilities. He’s one of only five players in the league, for instance, with two triple doubles this season.

“It’s a shame,” said Nelson. “For him not to make it is kind of a disgrace. I’m pretty disappointed with the coaches in the West.”

Davis is fourth in scoring among NBA guards and is averaging a hefty 39.3 minutes per game. Like last year, he’ll probably make a few teams pay for this slight down the stretch.

A lot of Bull

It’s still difficult to imagine just how quickly the Chicago Bulls went from everyone’s pick as a deep playoff team to one of the NBA’s most dysfunctional units.

Joakim Noah may be a brat, but the motor-mouthed rookie out of Florida is looking more like a perceptive brat with each game Chicago plays.

Interim coach Jim Boylan - whose Al Haig-ish “I’m in charge here” speech didn’t help following the dismissal of Scott Skiles and Noah’s churlish tantrum at the expense of an assistant coach - appears to be a lame duck in every sense of the phrase.

The new crisis point was last Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota.

Boylan later sounded like he can’t stand his team.

“Just shut it off,” he said of this latest act of quitting. “They stopped playing with energy, they stopped playing with focus.

“They went into their own little world,” said Boylan. “They acted kind of childish at times instead of doing what we need to do against a team like this.”

A team like this? Minnesota is one of the worst in the league.

“It is what it is,” Ben Wallace, who has long been a big part of the problem, said while falling into the classic Bill Belichick defense. “We’re trying to make a playoff run, and we can’t afford to have games like this. Games like this set you back.”

Much further back, and they’ll be the Timberwolves.

[FLCeltsFan]

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Dunk by Green, assist by West

By Mark Murphy | Sunday, February 3, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by AP (file)
The NBA has moved well past the age when anyone beyond the player and his nearest and dearest care whether his name was on the list for the All-Star weekend dunk contest.

But before he finally decided to defend his title, it was with real sadness that Gerald Green’s old Celtics [team stats] friends received the news that he nearly nixed a return to the All-Star weekend floor.

“He had to go back, man,” Paul Pierce [stats] said. “I know he’s gone through some tough days this year, but you’ve got to defend.”

Tough days hardly describes it.

The very curse that Green carried out of last year’s contest - the label of a dynamic athlete without the skill and drive to become a complete NBA player - is what has relegated him to a minor role in Minnesota now.

In other words, he needed a pep talk from an old friend.

It was only after reconnecting with one of his former Celtics teammates and fellow outcast that Green finally decided to stop moping and start scheming.

“I wasn’t really motivated to go back and do it again, honestly,” said Green. “But the person who changed my mind about all of it was Delonte West.

“When (Seattle) came in I hung out with him one night in town,” Green said of the Sonics guard. “He had already heard that I was thinking of not getting back into it, and he told me that. He said I had to do it. My family had already told me the same thing, the same as my teammates had told me.

“But I think it was that night out with Delonte. He’s the one who talked me into it.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/02/03/bumps_didnt_derail_celtics?mode=PF


Bumps didn't derail Celtics
January potholes just a reality check
By Peter May | February 3, 2008

A comfy conference lead. A welcome break in the schedule. A grind-it-out victory over one of the league's elite, a victory without your best player. Not a bad way to end a month of January that brought the Celtics back to earth. A little.

They still have yet to lose a game to a Western Conference team, a truly impressive mark even though they've yet to take on most of the iron of the conference. They have lost only once to a division rival, which seems impressive until you remember that the Knicks, Sixers, and the extremely disappointing Nets are in the division. Barring a catastrophe, they have all but sewn up their division, for what it's worth, but if January showed some chinks in the armor, then February has a chance to show a little more.

It was totally unrealistic to think the Celtics' otherworldly play in November and December would continue unabated. But we had become so accustomed to routs at home, victories on the road, wire-to-wire wins, dominating defense, that close wins over Houston and Memphis in early January were, well, almost shocking. Then came - horrors! - home losses to Charlotte, Washington, and Toronto. They were lucky to beat the Timberwolves - at home. Who foresaw that after what happened in the first two months?

So what did January tell us about the Celtics? It didn't tell us anything we really didn't know, other than to reveal that other teams are paying attention to the Celtics, unlike years past. But it also served as a reminder, as will February and March, that it is a long NBA season and that the oft-used cliché - a marathon, not a sprint - is dead-on. The recent injury to Kevin Garnett drives that home, albeit painfully to Celtics fans. No one wants to see a Garnett-less Celtics team for any sustained period of time, but we might not have a choice.

The Celtics lost five times in January, or almost twice as much as they did in the first two months, combined. But they also won 10 times, with wins at Detroit and at home over the Mavericks. Unlike the first two months of the year, however, there wasn't a single January home game that went uncontested; even the big win over Philly was a game well into the fourth quarter. All the easy wins in January came on the road.

This month poses the Celtics' first real road challenge: a game Tuesday against the getting-it-together Cavaliers and then five Western Conference games after the All-Star break, four of them against possible playoff teams. (Their December Western swing had only one game against a playoff team, the Lakers.) There also are home games against the Spurs, who haven't lost in Boston since Tim Duncan came into the league, the Cavaliers (the always-dangerous first game back after the Western swing), and the apparent burr-in-the-saddle Bobcats, who should be 2-0 against Boston.

Much has been made of the Celtics' schedule and, rightly or wrongly, it's been pretty hospitable so far. They played 43 games, more than half a season, before meeting either the Suns, Spurs, Mavericks, or Hornets. (And they will have played 52 before playing any of them on the road.) They got to play their two games against the Kings when both Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby were out and got Cleveland at home without LeBron. But other than to submit dates, the Celtics don't determine their opponents, so they get props for, as Jimy Williams liked to say, "playing the schedule."

But are they closer to the 26-3 tsunami of November-December or the 10-5 high tide of January? Probably the latter (although if you look at their games in April, they might run the table). The Celtics now have a body of work out there for other teams to strategize against. I always thought the Celtics would have more luck early, even with all the new faces, because there was nothing to prepare against if you were an opponent. Now, there is. That still might not help you stop Paul Pierce down low or drive on Garnett, but it's out there.

But November-December gave the Celtics a Secretariat-in-the-Belmont lead over the rest of the East, which makes it easier for Doc Rivers to manage time and bodies the rest of the way. The Celtics are not going to break the Bulls' record. They may not even become the best Celtics team in terms of wins and losses in a season. But they are going to make the playoffs, they are going to have the home court, and, for the first time in two decades, there is a sense of something special

in the spring.


Allen has a healthy attitude

Ray Allen said it has taken him almost half a season to finally feel like, well, Ray Allen.

When he arrived in Boston, he was, as you recall, coming off ankle surgery and confronting the twin necessities of taking care of his body and mixing in with his new team. Doc Rivers told him initially to worry about his body, proposing that Allen skip the second night of back-to-back games and rest during some practices.

"If I had still been in Seattle," Allen said, "that probably would have been the case. But once I got traded, I knew I needed to be out there and try to make the team better.

"So it was a matter of getting my body to a point where I could manage it and then build it from there, working my way back, trying to buy time. I was dealing with the ankle soreness early on and then came the latest with my shoulder, so it was tough to get over those things, get ready for games, get warmed up.

"I knew I could still play, but it was tough in terms of still being aggressive and helping the team. As far as my explosiveness, I just didn't have it."

Well, he's hoping all of that has passed. He'll get a nice breather this weekend, and unless he gets a commissioner's pick, he'll have a nice breather over All-Star weekend, which is probably the best thing for him. As he noted after Thursday's Dallas game, "I just want to be better in the second half of the season than I was in the first half."

One thing Allen can count on is not getting pushed by his coach.

"I told all of the guys that I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure they stayed healthy," said Rivers. "That wasn't just true for Ray, but for all of them."


Cost-cutting Grizzlies find themselves in a bear market

What are they thinking in Memphis? Apparently, they're thinking in dollars, because that's about the only thing that makes sense out of the somewhat shocking news that Pau Gasol was dealt to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, and two No. 1 draft picks.

This sure looks like a money-saver, pure and simple, as well as a statement from ownership that you can put a stamp on the 2007-08 season. (Although, as the old adage goes, "We were 13-33 with you, Pau, and we can be 13-33 without you, too.")

Brown's deal is up at the end of the season, so he should be toast (although GM Chris Wallace was a big Kwame fan when Brown was coming out of high school in 2001). The Grizzlies could be some $15 million-$18 million under the cap next summer if they allow Brown to peace, which would seem to make the most sense. Crittenton is a point guard on the rookie scale, so he is short money. And the Grizzlies already have two young point guards (which is why they saved a little more money in buying out Damon Stoudamire).

As for the Lakers, kudos to the oft-beleaguered Mitch Kupchak. He procured a potential 20-10 guy without surrendering anyone of consequence, as Brown was only recently playing because of Andrew Bynum's injury and Crittenton was a rookie.

Gasol's Spanish buddies in Toronto, Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon, were thrilled for their countryman.

"For sure he's going to enjoy Los Angeles, it's a great city and he's a great player," Garbajosa said. "And in the past in Memphis, sometimes he didn't agree with the team. It was not a winning team."

Added Calderon, "It's an unbelievable trade for him. Right now, I think they can win the championship. Or contend."

While Memphis saves $45 million or so, the Lakers will continue to be luxury-tax payers, which, one could argue, is the cost of doing business in Los Angeles. But you have to think Kobe Bryant is ordering the Cristal after this one. Dare we say it - a Celtics-Lakers final in June?


Etc.

In need of a new Jason?
After watching Jason Terry Thursday night, you had to believe the first call out of the 214 area code Friday morning was from the Mavericks to the Nets, trying to somehow get the Jason Kidd deal going/rekindled. True, the Mavericks were without Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse and, as coach Avery Johnson noted at the shootaround, "We like our team and we're moving forward with our team. We feel when we have our 10-man rotation - which we got a snapshot of when everybody was healthy - we think we can be pretty good." He may be right. But with a veteran core, you'd have to think Kidd would be a difference-maker in the next year or two. Johnson shot down the Kidd rumors Thursday, so expect a deal any day now.

A Maine focus in D-League
Two of the top movers and shakers of the NBA's D-League were in Portland, Maine, Thursday and got the red lobster treatment from the city's top officials, who hope to land a D-League franchise. The proposed team is being financed by Bill Ryan (of TD Banknorth fame) and his son, and hopes to be up and running for the 2009-10 season, with a link to the Celtics. Still to be determined is where the team will play, but the group's application has been in for months and all signs look promising. The NBA is looking to get some D-League franchises in the East for its Eastern teams, which would certainly help the Celtics, whose current D-League affiliate is in neighboring Orem, Utah. Other possibilities in the East for D-League teams include Harlem, Youngstown (Ohio), Trenton, and possibly a site outside Toronto for the Raptors. The Portland group, which also has K.C. Jones as a consultant, hopes to get the official imprimatur this spring.

Grudge rematch
Folks in Athens are already circling July 16 on their calendars. That's the date of the Brazil-Greece game in next summer's Olympic qualifying tournament, which will produce the final three teams for the 2008 Olympic field. Why the Brazil game? Well, in a prelim to last summer's World Championships, Brazilian Anderson Varejao elbowed Greece's Nikos Zisis in the cheek, forcing Zisis to miss the Worlds and have surgery. (The Greeks still responded pretty well without Zisis, beating the US and taking the silver in Japan.) Zisis, a 6-foot-5-inch guard, is playing for CSKA Russia this season. Varejao is on the sidelines for the Cavaliers after spraining his ankle last week.

Travelin' men
A couple of numbing road trips are under way for two of the elite in the Western Conference. For the Spurs, it's the annual January-February excursion to allow the rodeo to set up shop at the AT&T Center. (Who knew rodeos lasted longer than the Olympics?) Starting with last Monday's game in Utah, the Spurs are playing nine straight roadies, finishing up Feb. 13 in Cleveland, their final game before the All-Star break. San Antonio has used this trip in the past to get its act together; in 2003, San Antonio went 9-0 on the trip, and it has never had a losing record on the trip since it began in earnest in 2002. Another team on a long trip is the Lakers, who have played two games of a nine-game Eastern swing that also finishes up Feb. 13. For the Lakers, eight of the nine games are against Eastern Conference teams (they started 1-1, with a loss at Detroit and a win in Toronto). For the Spurs, the final six games of their odyssey are against Eastern Conference teams, including a Feb. 10 visit to TD Banknorth Garden. One benefit for the Spurs: They got to spend some time at home following Thursday night's win in Phoenix, which made them 1-2 on the trip (and Tony Parker is ailing). Their Eastern part begins Tuesday night in Indiana and includes stops in Washington, New York, Toronto, and Cleveland.

Can't do it without him
Making yet another (involuntary) pitch for MVP honors, LeBron James sat out Thursday night's West Coast finale against Seattle with a right ankle sprain after leading the Cavs to close wins over the Lakers and Trail Blazers. Of course, the Cavs lost to the Sonics, who, after losing 14 straight, turned around and beat the two NBA finalists from 2007. The Cavaliers are 0-6 in games James has missed this season, one of them the Dec. 2 game in Boston. The Cavs hosted the Clippers last night and are off until Tuesday's visit from the Celtics.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x939366007


Courtside View: Allen's ankles having an effect

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By Scott Souza/Daily News staff
GHS
Sat Feb 02, 2008, 09:17 PM EST

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There was disappointment when word of Ray Allen's absence from the All-Star reserve list circulated through the Celtic locker room shortly before Thursday night's game against Dallas. The hope among teammates and coaches was that the team's league-best record (36-8) would make up for the downturn in the 12th-year shooting guard's statistics.

The true surprise of the season thus far for Allen, though, may not be as much that he hasn't always played at an All-Star level, but that he played at all in training camp and played in as many games as he did in November and December.

Nearly 10 months after undergoing double-ankle surgery to remove bone spurs and scar tissue last April - and seven months after proclaiming the ankles "perfect" following his draft night trade from Seattle to Boston - Allen revealed that the road back to full health has been a lot longer and more painful than the 32-year-old ever admitted.

"When I left (Seattle) the doctor there told me that he didn't want me to go to training camp and he didn't want me to play back-to-back (nights) starting the season off," Allen said. "The team had a relationship with the trainers, and the doctor, so they knew what the prognosis was - that I would have to ease into it.

"But then when I was traded, with all the excitement and everything that I was doing, I just came here getting ready to play a season. There was no way I was going to come in and say, 'I can't play. I am not going to training camp.' And then, 'I'm not playing back-to-backs.' I was just going to take it day-by-day and see how I felt."

For the most part, Allen felt reasonably well - at least, well enough to keep practicing and playing. But watching one of the more prolific scorers in NBA history struggle with his shot virtually all season, there was lingering concern that it was more than just a prolonged slump.

Allen was well aware of the cause.

"I just didn't want to talk about it," he said. "I knew it was going to be an issue, so I didn't want to bring it up."

Instead, he practiced as hard as ever during training camp and went through his demanding shooting regimens before and after workouts. He rested when he could, got his treatments, but mostly kept his mouth shut about any ongoing ankle pain.

But the numbers spoke for him. While his points per game (18.2) have taken an expected hit (down from 26.4 last year) because he is now sharing the floor with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, his shooting percentage (42.2 percent) is the lowest of his career, and his 3-point shooting percentage (37.2 percent) is his lowest since the 2002-03 season.

It hasn't just been the deep ball, either. Distance shooters are expected to go through bouts of inconsistency, but the way Allen - a great finisher throughout his career - struggled scoring at the rim was more alarming.

"One feeds off the other one," he said. "When you finish at the rim, you've got legs and you've got explosiveness. Then you can kind of build it out to the 3-point line, and when you shoot it's so effortless and I don't even think about it. But then, if I don't have the explosiveness in my legs when I get to the rim, it's going to show. When I am shooting my jump shot, it's going to show."

Allen said he knew this could be a factor early in the season. The questions in his mind were how much of a factor and how well he could deal with it.

"I was hoping when I started the season that I wouldn't have any problems, and would just move ahead," he said. "Obviously, your body, the doctors, everybody knows that this surgery is a lasting thing. You are not going to jump right back into it like I thought I was going to do.

"When I started the season," he added, "there was so much that I wanted to do from me being who I am. Then when I am going out there on the floor, I am trying to play my type of basketball. My body, at some point, was telling me, 'Hey, you are not going right back to where you were last year before you went down with the surgery, or the year before.' I think I have been fighting myself a lot with what I want to do and what I am capable of doing."

After putting up the good fight for more than a month, Allen said he relented in December when he sat out two games and a week of practice to rest the ankles.

"Not playing at the level I know I am capable of playing at, and I am used to," he said, "that's when I knew I had to say, 'Let's be real with myself. Be honest.'

"That helped a lot, but that's where I knew I was going to be, in that situation."

Allen said he has finally started to round into form in recent weeks. Though he was forced to sit for another couple of days three weeks ago with a pinched nerve in the back of his neck, and missed Tuesday's game in Miami with a virus that prevented him from eating for two days, overall he claims to be healthier than at any time since last season.

"I've felt good, but I've still had slight problems with my ankles and trying to move forward," he said. "That's just with the soreness in them. It just hurts me a little bit.

"Just in the last week I have been able to get back fit with my body. In between practices, I have been working on my power stuff - getting in there, exploding to the rim, dunking with both hands like I know I am capable of doing. I've been getting my legs back underneath me and that carries over to my jump shot."

Allen acknowledged that being patient has not been easy.

"I have pressure," he said. "I have put so much onus and responsibility on myself to get my body right. That is just what I have been dealing with - working at being who I was before I had surgery."

He said he hasn't always been able to feel that way over the last three months of games, but he expects that to change as the team heads toward the playoffs.

"When I look back at the first half of the season, I think there was so much more that I could have done," he said after Thursday night's 26-point effort (including 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the first half). "It is solely on me and me being ready, making plays down the stretch for this team and being there for these guys.

"We won games, we have a great record, but in the second half I want to be better than I was in the first half. I know how I am capable of playing. ... I am starting to move forward. It definitely feels good."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_8153635

Resurgence of Lakers, Celtics is what NBA needs
By Billy Witz, Columnist
Article Launched: 02/03/2008 12:00:00 AM PST


If yet another sleep-inducing Finals weren't enough to cause sighs from commissioner David Stern, then came the referee gambling scandal that (at least initially) threatened to to rock the NBA.

And if that weren't enough, there was the buffoonish New York Knicks no longer confining their mockery to the court - but in court.

Meanwhile, amateur film star Kobe Bryant was causing calamity on the other coast, even if he wasn't having to stand before a judge (this time, anyway).

If Stern had decided to stay underground this winter, who could blame him?

Ah, but as the nearest groundhog might have told him, if he popped his head out of the ground Saturday, it's clear that sunny days are ahead.

In fact, it looks like the good old days all over again.

If Stern can't have Bird and Magic, the Forum and Boston Garden, at least he can have the Lakers and Celtics.

When the sports world turns its attention back to basketball after the Super Bowl today, there's suddenly a lot more to look at.

After the Lakers basically stole Pau Gasol from Memphis on Friday, the Lakers are no longer a speculative dark horse.

With the Spurs limping along on Tony Parker's bad heel, the Suns trying to maintain interest on a nightly basis and a log-jammed Western Conference that's currently led by ... New Orleans? ... who wouldn't think of a lineup featuring Bryant, Gasol, Lamar Odom (or Jason Kidd?), Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher


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as a front-runner?
And with the Celtics rolling along with the best record in the league, you can bet that by Monday morning ABCand NBA execs will have drafted thank you notes to Memphis general manager Chris Wallace.

(Note of irony: the two people most responsible for turning the Celtics and Lakers into contenders are former Celtics - Wallace, the former Celtics general manager who succeeded Jerry West; and Kevin McHale, who as Minnesota's general manager deal Kevin Garnett to Boston.)

It's hard to see how the Lakers might have weakened themselves, giving up Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton, and a couple of draft picks that no longer figure to be very high. For Lakers fans scoring at home, ridding themselves of Brown is addition by subtraction.

It's also hard to come up with a better fit for the Lakers than Gasol - a sublime offensive player whose skill set (terrific passer, excellent mid-range jump shooter and unselfish to the core) figures to fit in perfectly with the triangle offense.

If Gasol isn't always interested in defense, perhaps being rescued from Memphis will foster a commitment on that end. And perhaps not.

On the other hand, it sounds like all the worry over whether there would be enough basketballs in Boston for Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Garnett was for nothing. As was the concern that anyone on the Celtics would play defense.

Everyone seems to be getting along just fine, and no team has held opponents to a lower shooting percentage (.419) than Boston.

The biggest question appears to be how quickly Gasol can assimilate with the Lakers, particularly since Bynum is still more than a month away from returning.

Nevertheless, this trade feels less like Allen Iverson going to the Denver Nuggets than it does Clyde Drexler going to the Houston Rockets.

One of the beauties of the NBA is that with some combination of good fortune and smart basketball decisions, anyone can win in the NBA. There are no Kansas City Royals. If you're lucky enough to be bad the year Tim Duncan comes along and smart enough to unearth a French teenager named Parker, you become what the Spurs have become. Same goes for Cleveland with LeBron James.

Conversely, if you just throw money at your problems, you become the Knicks and the Celtics (of years past), not the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Still, for the league to truly thrive, there's nothing like its glamour franchises, and as we might be about to find out before too long, there's nothing like the Lakers and Celtics.

[FLCeltsFan]

Boston-Dallas showdown II

Powe to the rescue...January thaw, no melt...

Bill Doyle
[e-mail]




Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki believes the Celtics would be one of the top teams even in the deeper Western Conference. (ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS)
Enlarge photo


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After the Patriots beat the Cowboys last October, many fans looked forward to a rematch in the Super Bowl.

The Pats marched to Super Sunday, but the Cowboys didn’t.

Thursday night at the Garden, another Boston-Dallas showdown took place — the Celtics hosting the Mavericks. It was another possible preview — this one for the NBA Finals in June. And if those two teams make it that far, the Celtics will carry the confidence of having ended a seven-game skid against the Mavericks, even though Kevin Garnett didn’t play because of an abdominal strain.


The Celtics made a believer out of Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavs star thinks the Celtics would be one of the top teams even in the deeper Western Conference.

“They’re right there with everybody else,” Nowitzki said. “They’re a tough team. They’ve got the shooters. They’ve got a low post player in KG. They can guard you. (Paul) Pierce has an all-around game, post up, shooting. So I think they’ve got all the pieces that they need. So we’ll see who comes out on top at the end.”

The Mavs and Celtics meet once more during the regular season, March 20 in Dallas. Garnett should be back well before then.

With defending champion San Antonio bothered by injuries and going only 12-13 after a 17-3 start, the possibility of the Celtics capturing their first NBA championship in 22 years and 17th overall isn’t out of the question. Point guard Tony Parker was slowed by a bone spur in his left heel for a month before the Spurs finally sat him out last week. He’s not expected to be back by next Sunday when San Antonio visits the Garden in a game switched to 1 p.m. so ABC can televise it nationally. Even without Parker, San Antonio proved in an 84-81 win at Phoenix Thursday that it can’t be counted out.

The Spurs yesterday were expected to sign Damon Stoudamire as insurance at the point after Memphis bought out his contract. The Celtics could use a veteran to back up Rajon Rondo at the point, but Danny Ainge, Celtics executive director of basketball operations, showed little interest in signing Stoudamire.

“I don’t feel like I have any needs right now,” Ainge said.

Ainge is reportedly more interested in talking to the Clippers about acquiring Sam Cassell, who played with Garnett in Minnesota and Allen in Milwaukee. Cassell and the Clippers visit the Garden Wednesday.

Cassell is 38, but he averages 13.3 points and 4.6 assists while shooting 45.5 percent. He’d probably love to leave the woeful Clippers for a chance at a ring, but it’s debatable whether he’d agree to become a back-up. He’s earning $6.1 million in the final year of his contract.

Ex-Celtic Delonte West is available to back up Rondo. West has fallen to third on Seattle’s depth chart at point guard and hasn’t played much lately. The Sonics might feel awkward about sending him back to Boston, but they certainly don’t need him. The Celtics do.

The Western Conference is undeniably deeper than the Eastern Conference. At 26-19 entering Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers would own the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, but they play out west, and they don’t even rank among the top eight teams that would make the playoffs.

“If you look at the west, everybody’s in the race right now,” Kendrick Perkins said. “If you lose tonight, you could fall from second to fifth. In the East, you could lose three in a row and still be in the same place. I don’t think the East is catching up just yet.”

The 36-8 Celtics continue to own the NBA’s best record. Regular-season records mean nothing come playoff time, however. The Mavs proved that last year when they finished an NBA-best 67-15 and were ousted in their first round of the playoffs — just like the Cowboys this season. The Mavs thought so little of their 67 victories, they mentioned them on the back cover of their media guide, not the front cover.

Nevertheless, the beasts of the East, the Celtics and Pistons, wouldn’t be pushovers in the NBA Finals. The Celtics are 13-0 against the West. They have yet to play San Antonio, New Orleans or Phoenix, but they’re 6-0 against the other six western clubs in position to make the playoffs.

“I think the Western Conference favors the kind of style we like to play any way,” Pierce said. “They like to get up and down a little more. They are more offensive oriented than I think the Eastern Conference is. That suits our style just fine.”

Detroit is 10-7 against the West. On the other hand, Phoenix is 19-2 against the East — and just 14-12 against the West. San Antonio is 10-3, New Orleans 9-4 and Dallas 10-8 against the East.

Say this much for Leon Powe — he was ready when the Celtics needed him.

The second-year forward rarely played in the first half of the season, scoring only 37 points in Boston’s first 37 games and sitting out seven games in a row before coach Doc Rivers finally turned to him in desperate need of a rebounder against Philadelphia on Jan. 18. Powe responded by collecting 10 points and 6 boards in the final 15 minutes to key a Celtics victory. That began a stretch of seven games in which the 6-foot-6 Powe has averaged 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds.

In the three games that Garnett has missed, Powe has averaged 14.7 points and 8 rebounds while making 57.1 percent of his shots. Tuesday at Miami, Powe scored a career-high 25 points and tied a career high with 11 rebounds.

Powe lacks the height to be a true power forward, but he makes up for it with his incredible strength. Immediately after games, he heads to the Garden’s weight room to work out.

Despite not playing much, he remained ready by working on his game with assistant coach Clifford Ray and working out before and after practices.

“It is tough,” Powe said. “That’s why you put the work in before and after practice. It’s your job, but you also have to do it because you love the game. And I love the game. It’s a privilege to be able to play this game at the highest level. I don’t take anything for granted.”

Powe takes a lot of pride in his defense.

“I don’t like it when anybody scores on me,” Powe said. “I hate that. I just try to play as tough as I can, but play smart, too. That’s what I’ve been doing the last few games.”

Powe took a turn Thursday guarding Nowitzki, who is six inches taller.

“When I put my hands out, he was going to try to draw the foul,” Powe said. “That’s what I had to watch.”

Powe fouled out in the final minute Thursday when he pushed Nowitzki going for a rebound. Nowitzki hit two free throws to tie the game, but the Celtics went on to win any way.

“I just try to get in there,” Powe said, “and do what I know I can do — rebound and pick my spots on offense.”

Two nights before that Jan. 18 Philadelphia game, Powe was at the hospital with his girlfriend, Lloren, for the birth of his first child, Leon III. Powe’s father left home for good when he was 2 and his mother died when he was a junior in high school so he wants to make sure he’s a good father.

“I told my girl,” Powe said, “that on game nights I have to get some sleep, but I try to help out as much as I can. If it isn’t game night, I stay up with the baby while she gets some sleep. He’s been acting up a little bit lately.”

So has the father.

The Celtics couldn’t match their success of November (13-2) or December (13-1), but they finished with their best January (10-5) since they went 10-4 in January of 1992-93.

They also posted three consecutive winning months for the first time since the final three months of the 2004-05 season.

They failed to post any winning months in either of the past two seasons.

Tom up for challenge
Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau will serve as head coach in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star weekend in New Orleans. He won’t necessarily get to coach Rondo and the sophomore team, however.

He may have to coach the rookie team. He’ll find out today.

Huge paychecks for what?
In the NFL, teams can release overpaid players to avoid paying unwanted contracts. In the NBA, contracts are guaranteed. To some NBA teams, the only guarantee is that they’ll pay a lot of money to unproductive players.

Portland is winning with youth, but it owes veteran guard Steve Francis $16.4 million this year and $17.2 million next year even though he’s on Houston’s injured list with a quad ailment. Francis, who averaged 5.5 points in 10 games before getting hurt, collects another $2.4 million from the Rockets.

Portland will also pay ex-Celtic forward Raef LaFrentz $11.8 million this year, and he’s due $12.7 million next year even though he’s averaging only 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds and rarely leaves the bench. LaFrentz can thank Mavs owner Mark Cuban for signing him to that hefty contract.

Michael Finley also has Cuban to thank for the $18.6 million the Mavs are paying him this year to play for San Antonio. Finley pockets another $3.1 million from the Spurs for his 10 points a game and 38.9 shooting percentage.

The Sixers waived Chris Webber a year ago last month, but they’re still paying him $19 million this year. Webber signed with Golden State last week. Philadelphia is also on the books for $7 million for Aaron McKie, who is out of the league.

Elton Brand hasn’t played yet this season because of a knee injury, but the Clippers still owe him $15.3 million this year and $16.4 million next year.

Minnesota owes $11.7 million to Theo Ratliff, limited to six games by a knee injury after playing in just two a year ago for Boston because of a sore back. The Timberwolves must also play Juwan Howard $6.9 million this year and $7.4 million next year, even though he’s riding the bench in Dallas. The Mavs are paying Howard another $1.2 million.

An ankle injury could sideline Stephon Marbury for the rest of the season, but the Knicks still must pay him $20.1 million this year and $21.9 million next.

Finally, Adonal Foyle is on Golden State’s payroll for $8.9 million this year and $9.8 million next even though he’s the backup center in Orlando where he pockets another $1.2 million.

It’s a great country, isn’t it?

On the other hand, Al Jefferson averages more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, but makes less than $2.5 million this season. Don’t feel sorry for him, though. His salary jumps to $11 million next year.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.miamiherald.com/593/story/404213.html

NBA Extra | One on one
By MICHAEL WALLACE
WITH: BOSTON CELTICS FORWARD PAUL PIERCE, NAMED AN ALL-STAR FOR THE SIXTH TIME.
Q: Being 3-0 against the Heat this season, can you relate to Miami's struggles this season since the Celtics went through them last season?

A: We went through a lot of injuries last year and the losing. It can get frustrating, especially for guys like Dwyane (Wade) and Shaq (O'Neal) and Ricky Davis, guys who are veterans who have tasted success, to be going through this right now.

Q: When you consider how small the window of opportunity there was for the Heat to win a title, does that remind you the Celtics may only have a few seasons to get a championship?

A: In my situation, sure. We have limited opportunities with the guys we've got in here, so you have to figure we're only going to be in the league three, four or five more years with this group. We definitely are motivated and want to take advantage of the opportunity and see what we can make of it.

Q: After being in Boston so long and struggling recently, it has to be a good feeling to be winning again.

A: It's finally good to be on the other side of the fence.

POWER RANKINGS

1) DALLAS: Four-game winning streak ended Thursday in a close loss to Boston. But it did enough in wins vs. the Lakers and Denver to stay on top.

Last week's power ranking 1

2. NEW ORLEANS: Nine-game winning streak ended at home vs. the Warriors. But rebounded after with news that Chris Paul and David West made the All-Star roster.

Last week's power ranking 2

3. BOSTON: A 3-1 week with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen ailing shows this is more than a three-man show -- even if two victories came against Miami and Minnesota.

Last week's power ranking 3

4. PHOENIX: Followed an embarrassing loss to the Clippers by winning seven of its next eight to tie the Hornets for the best record in the league. Now it's time for stability.

Last week's power ranking 5

5. DETROIT: The up-and-down, on-and-off Pistons are now hot again, having won four in a row heading into a big-time showdown Sunday against the visiting Mavericks.

Last week's power ranking 8

6. UTAH: The Jazz has been rolling under the radar, having won six in a row entering the weekend. Carlos Boozer had double-doubles in seven of nine games.

Last week's power ranking 9

7. CLEVELAND: LeBron James is building a convincing MVP candidacy. The tougher the challenge, the better he plays for the Cavaliers, who have won seven of eight.

Last week's power ranking 10

8. ORLANDO: Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu hit game-winners in a wild run for the recovering Magic, which split with Detroit and beat Boston in a recent stretch.

Last week's power ranking NR

9. PORTLAND: Cinderella has been dealing with adversity recently, losing six of 10. The Blazers are still fun to watch, but haven't defeated a winning team since Jan. 9.

Last week's power ranking 7

10. SAN ANTONIO: Injuries are crippling the defending champions, who are without Tony Parker (foot) indefinitely. But the Spurs are only three games off last season's pace.

Last week's power ranking 6

HEAT INSIDER

DESCRIBE THE RELIEF OF ENDING THE 15-GAME SKID?

• Dorell Wright: ``It's tough to put into words, man. You just don't understand. We needed something positive to happen. It's been a long time coming. Really, we're just happy that it's over, and maybe we can a streak together the other way.

• Pat Riley: ``You just want to get it over. It doesn't alleviate anything else. You get it over with. . . . It lasts for one second, but you had to get that streak off your back.''

OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL

WHO HAD THE MORE OBSCURE PATH TO BECOMING A THREE-POINT SHOOTING CHAMPION DURING ALL-STAR WEEKEND, TIM LEGLER OR JASON KAPONO?

Legler was undrafted out of La Salle in 1988 and worked his way through the CBA before he landed with the Phoenix Suns for 11 games during the 1989-90 season. Legler would change teams seven times in a 10-year career, highlighted in 1996 when he won the AT&T Shootout in San Antonio. He set a Shootout record with a three-round score of 65, the highest total in the event's history. He finished second the following year in Cleveland, but was out of the league three seasons later.

Kapono was drafted twice -- once out of UCLA by Cleveland in the second round in 2003 and a second time by Charlotte in its 2004 expansion draft. He eventually ended up with the Heat as a little-used reserve during the 2006 championship run. Kapono had a breakout campaign last season and despite being the last player officially invited, won the three-point contest at the 2007 All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Kapono moved on to Toronto and is playing for his fourth team in five seasons.

• The edge: Old School. Kapono had the UCLA pedigree and a productive game to go with the 3 three-point title. Legler came from nowhere to win it -- and didn't do much afterward.

AWARDS WATCH

ALL-SNUB TEAM

Five players from both conferences who have the numbers to prove they deserved an All-Star appearance but were left off the roster for the Feb. 17 game in New Orleans. (stats are entering Friday's games):

1. Baron Davis, G, GSW: B-Diddy is simply more deserving than Brandon Roy.

Ppg: 22.3Apg: 8.1Rpg: 4.8

2. Richard Jefferson, G/F, NJN: Only player among top-six scorers left off the team.

Ppg: 24.0 Apg: 2.8 Rpg: 4.0

3. Josh Howard, F, DAL: Better numbers than last season, when he was an All-Star.

Ppg: 20.9 Apg: 2.1 Rpg: 7.5

4. Gerald Wallace, F, Bobcats: Scores, rebounds and steals more than Joe Johnson.

Ppg: 21.4 Apg: 3.7 Rpg: 6.2

5. Shaquille O'Neal, C, Heat: Strictly for entertainment and honorary purposes only.

Ppg: 14.2 Apg: 1.4 Rpg: 7.8

[FLCeltsFan]

lexnihilnovi.blogspot.com/2008/01/is-powe-being-showcased.html

Is Powe Being Showcased?

The Lakers acquisition of Pao Gasol is vaguely reminiscent of the Mychal Thompson pick-up in the summer of 1987. There is only one difference. This time the acquisition won't net them a title, not this year anyway, not unless they get Jason Kidd, too.

What the Gaosol trade does tell me, though, is that teams are gearing up for the stretch run.

Danny Ainge, protestations to the contrary, is no doubt active on the phones himself. Rumors of the Celtics acquiring Sam Cassell likely scratch only the surface of his miscellaneous machinations.

One deal I have heard repeatedly as of late is Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, and Leon Powe for Sam Cassell. This trade scenario seems far-fetched at best. The only problem is that I am hearing it from the same guy who told me Garnett was coming to Boston before just about anyone else knew.

The source emphasizes that Powe's increased PT of late is proof of what he is saying, as that increased PT demonstrates that the Celtics Agent Zero is being showcased for a trade.

Still, I am inclined to write-off his apparent insider's knowledge on Garnett as beginner's luck.

Here's why.

Sam Cassell is 38. He would most likely be a one-and-done with the Cs, meaning he'd play from February through June and be done. Meanwhile, the Cs would be without the services of three other players who are currently playing important roles.

Tony Allen isn't totally healthy yet and he definitely isn't a point guard. But if we get a traditional point guard to back up Rondo, and I’m pretty sure we will, even if his name isn’t Sam, Allen's value increases immediately. As a wing guy, Allen can D-up 2s and 3s. One could argue that his skills overlap with Posey's and thus we don't need him. But given how frequently Celtics’ players have gone down this year with injury, I'd rather not risk going thin at the backup wing spot just to get Cassell, especially if we have to throw in Powe and Scalabrine.

Brian Scalabrine is one of the more underappreciated Celtics in recent memory. He sits on the bench and does nothing...until asked to step up and start in place of an injured Kevin Garnett, which against the Dallas Mavericks meant guarding Dirk Nowitski. No, he didn't shut him down. Yes, he picked up a couple of quick fouls. But I also saw him put a body on Dirk, and force him to hoist some low-percentage fade-aways. Big Baby couldn't have stayed with Dirk. Nor could have Pollard. Leon Powe did reasonably well, but he's not as tall as Scalabrine, and if Powe would have been assessed the two early fouls, then you risk getting Posey in foul trouble early by putting him on Dirk.

Leon Powe’s recent play may not be evidence that he is "coming into his own," but he certainly is making a case that he has something to offer. Last year Doc Rivers said "as long as I'm in this league, I hope to have Leon Powe on my team." I agree. Leon Powe is Brian Scalabrine, only with more talent. He is a guy that can sit on the bench and sit and sit, until called on to perform, at which point he brings some toughness and grit, not to mention an inside presence. Oh, and he puts up the numbers that Scalabrine doesn’t.

Before the season began, I compared the Celtics bench to the 1990 Pistons bench, and, oh boy, did I get laughed out of the building. Not as many people are laughing now.

It is easy to confuse Detroit's 1990 championship team with the 1989 squad. But the two teams did not have the same roster. The 1989 team included Adrian Dantley and Rick Mahorn, while the 1990 squad had neither. The 1990 team relied primarily on Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Vinnie Johnson off the bench.

It is not obvious to me that Laimbeer, Rodman, and the Microwave offered the Pistons much more than James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, and Scot Pollard offer the Celtics. House and Johnson are a push, Rodman is better than Posey, and Laimbeer is better than Pollard. But the Celtics bench still has three more players who contribute on a regular basis.

The other night the Celtics bench played 94 minutes against Dallas, and that doesn't even count Scalabrine's minutes in a starting role. Since the start of the New Year, Doc has been playing his bench more than 80 minutes a game. That is a heap of minutes, son.

Long story short:

The Celtics bench is effective not because it contains three highly talented players who play 20 minutes per game each, but because it is comprised a 5-6 role players who bring a variety of skills to the court, and who provide Doc a significant amount of flexibility in devising game plans.

It says here you don't eliminate a proven, palpable strength to get Cassell. You figure out a way to get Cassell without your bench taking a hit. Otherwise, an injury to Cassell after he joined the Celtics would mean Doc would be short four key bench players, not just one.

[FLCeltsFan]

ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2008/02/02/sports/sports02.txt

Home grown: C’s absent from world party


Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki of Germany is the reigning NBA MVP. (Associated Press)
By MIKE FINE
The Patriot Ledger

When they came into Boston Thursday, Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki and Jose Juan Barea looked like a couple of guys who might have grown up on the playgrounds of Texas, Boston or, well, anywhere across the United States. In fact, Nowitzki is German and Barea, the former Northeastern University star, Puerto Rican. They’re two of 76 players from 30 foreign countries who are listed on NBA rosters this season.

There could be a trend to fewer foreigners coming to the U.S. what with recent age restrictions. Last season there were 85 players from 37 countries, for instance, but the fact remains that internationals have become the lifeblood of NBA teams as scouting techniques have sharpened and the tentacles of every club have spread throughout the world to mine new talent.

It’s just that while this trend seems to have taken hold throughout the league, the Celtics are one of only four clubs (with New York, Indiana and Charlotte) that don’t have any foreign-born talent, and they’ve rarely had an impact international playing for them. The Celtics have dipped their toes into international water for several years, having featured players from Rick Fox (Canada) to Dino Radja (Croatia) to Jerome Moiso (France) to Jiri Welsch (Czech Republic). Even Milt Palacio (Belize) had foreign roots. They drafted Lithuanian Darius Songaila, now with Chicago, in the second round, but didn’t keep him. They also hold the rights to three other international players, but Ben Pepper, who was taken in the 1997 draft, seems to be happy playing for the Townsville Crocodiles in the Australian National Basketball League.

‘‘I don’t think there’s a reason,’’ said Celts director of operations Danny Ainge, explaining the lack of foreign-born players on his team. ‘‘We’ve been close. There’s a lot of foreign players that we’ve liked and have come very close, but we’ve negotiated with some that haven’t panned out. There’s a lot of good players in the world and I don’t pay much attention to where they’re from as much as looking for the best player to fit a specific need, and we look globally to find those guys.’’

These players have transformed the NBA. Nowitzki is the reigning NBA MVP for having led the Mavs to 67 wins last season. Steve Nash of Phoenix, a Canadian, won it two years running before that, and prior to Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett taking the award in 2003-04, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) kept the trophy for two straight years.

Through all those years, the Celtics, despite their best efforts, were unable to land any game-changing talent from South America, Europe, Africa, the Caribbean or Asia. But, yes, they’re always trying. They maintain a scouting presence throughout the world, Ainge says. ‘‘We have guys everywhere and we also have a lot of friends in the business in coaching ranks overseas to find out about players, and then I make trips to Europe.’’

Hingham’s Ryan McDonough is in charge of European scouting for the Celts.

‘‘We have a guy that’s over in China right now,’’ Ainge said. ‘‘We just follow the game internationally through independent services to give us insights on guys in Australia and South America. We make trips if it’s pertinent. We get tapes and films and have contacts everywhere.’’

Last year Ainge made three trips to Europe and two more to China, but other teams seems to be snapping up players while Ainge was snapping up American draft picks. There was some thought that China’s Yi Jianlian was his top choice in last June’s draft, but when he made the deals to get veterans Ray Allen and Garnett, that went out the window. Jianlian ended up in Milwaukee, chosen sixth overall.

Currently, the Spurs feature an NBA-high six international players, starting with Duncan and guards Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina). Toronto and Golden State feature five apiece. Two drafts ago, the Raptors made Italian Andrea Bargnani their top choice. One year before that, Aussie Andrew Bogut, who played his college ball at Utah, went first to the Milwaukee Bucks.

In last June’s draft, seven foreign players were chosen in the first round of the draft, eight more in the second round.

NBA rosters this year feature 46 European players, with seven from France. There are 12 from non-U.S. North American locales, four of them from Canada. Ten others come from South America, five from Africa and four from Asia. Some of these players, of course, are inactive and many others barely see the light of day during most games.

One reason for the success of the majority of foreign players is the system they grow up in. As youngsters they join club teams and work under the same systems for years rather than go from a JV program to a high school program to college to the pros.

‘‘The skill level of these players is higher in many instances than the Americans that are coming out in the draft from high school or college,’’ said Memphis Director of Operations Chris Wallace, who left the Celtics last summer. ‘‘Their system is superior in terms of teaching individual skill development because they’re not confined to the school system.’’

‘‘We have the only system that depends on education,’’ said Celts player personnel director Leo Papile of Quincy. ‘‘With them (internationals), it’s like sending a kid to the ‘Y.’ It’s like, ‘you’re going to be a figure skater’ and ‘you’re going to be a gymnast.’’’

‘‘Sports in this country comes out of the school system,’’ Wallace said. ‘‘It’s a separate entity abroad. And they practice all the time. In Yugoslavia they may do 48-50 weeks a year, six days a week, six hours a day. Repetition means you’re going to shoot better than someone that’s not putting up half that number of shots.’’

At one time, Wallace said, rules prohibited foreign players from coming to the U.S. until they were 22. That changed. Nowitzki, who drew considerable interest from former Celtics president Rick Pitino before he was chosen by the Mavs, and Parker were both 18 when they arrived in the U.S. Memphis’ Pau Gasol was 19, ‘‘although he had played a full year of big basketball for the FC Barcelona team,’’ Wallace said.

Now players must be at least 19, and all players must be at least one year removed from their high school graduating class.

In the long run, the influx of international players has proven very successful for the NBA, perhaps because they are only supplementing the vast reservoir of great American players. ‘‘I think it’s a very good thing for the NBA,’’ Wallace said. ‘‘One, it opens up interest in the game worldwide outside the boundaries of the United States, and, two, on our end people are trying to put teams together. This gives us a deeper supply of talent to pick from instead of if we were only dealing with American players.’’

It’s also enhanced the stature of the NBA throughout the world. The league is now wildly popular throughout Europe and China, and it has opened offices in numerous countries. Suffice it to say that the NBA has become a multi-billion dollar business that now stages preseason games throughout the world. The Celtics played games in Rome and London last October and found themselves swarmed by fans.

If there is some thought to the NHL’s struggles having to do with so many foreign-born players, that doesn’t seem to be the case with the NBA. ‘‘I don’t think so,’’ Ainge said. ‘‘I think that nobody really cares that (New Orleans’) Peja Stojakovic and Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki and Duncan are foreign players. I don’t think people even think that. I really don’t. I think it’s only enhanced the game.’’