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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 7:41:17 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1077614&format=textCassell in fold, but Rondo runs Celtics By Steve Bulpett | Tuesday, March 4, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by AP (File) Sam Cassell is a Celtic. Almost. While the team would say officially only that it’s “fully anticipated he will become a Celtic” when he arrives in town today, sources confirmed the obvious. “Obviously I’m thrilled to get Sam,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s coming in with the right frame of mind. He understands that he’s just coming in to fit in and be another piece of the puzzle that we’re trying to put together to do something special.” Cassell is expected to have his first workout with the Celts at tomorrow morning’s shootaround, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll play that night against the Pistons. The team spent last night making flight plans and rolling out the green carpet for the veteran point guard, who received a buyout from the Clippers last Thursday and cleared waivers yesterday. Meanwhile, Rivers made it a point to say the free agent signing is not a statement on Rajon Rondo [stats]. “No,” Rivers said. “This is Rajon’s team. That’s not going to change. He’s the point guard of this team. He’s going to remain the point guard of this team. We just want to have backup. “(Cassell) gives us another guy that’s been there and makes big shots - and is willing to take big shots. He makes good decisions. I just think overall it gives us another skilled player with experience.” While it’s true that Cassell could usurp some of Rondo’s minutes in crunch time as the Celts take advantage of his steady hand and experience, Rivers appreciates what Rondo has done in guiding the club to the best record in the NBA. In addition, he has seen the improvements the 22-year-old has made as this season has advanced. “And he’s just going to keep getting better,” Rivers said. “His biggest step is going to come later, though. As great as he’s been, he’s going to get another test. Rajon’s never going to stop getting tested. That’s what we always talk about. “In the playoffs, they’re going to really force him - I mean really force him - to beat you. They’re doing it a little bit now. They do it more in the fourth quarters, but they don’t do it for a game. In the playoffs, it’s going to be for the game, the whole game. That’s where he’s just going to have to keep understanding that he has to get shots that the team needs, not the shots that they’re giving him. That’s going to be tough for him, but he’ll be fine because he just keeps getting better at it.” To this point, Rivers hasn’t had too many difficult decisions to make while carving out his rotations. But with Cassell coming aboard and last week’s free agent signee P.J. Brown about ready to join the mix, it is incumbent on the coach to hit on the right combinations. “We have a lot of things to choose from,” Rivers said. “But as long as we all understand there’s one goal and what we’re trying to do is special, then it shouldn’t be a problem. “If any single person gets that out of whack, then that’s a problem. But I don’t worry about our team in that way. The key for us is trying to get everybody integrated in what we’re doing so when the playoffs start, we’re not still trying to figure each other out. We all have to be on the same page.” Rivers is unable to speak about Cassell in definitive terms until he signs his deal for the prorated veteran minimum, but it’s fair to say the Celts are pleased with what they’ve heard from the two-time champion with the Houston Rockets.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 7:44:00 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1077613&format=textWins make it all good By Steve Bulpett | Tuesday, March 4, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by AP It is said that perception is reality, but in the Celtics [team stats]’ case, reality has body-slammed conventional wisdom during the last several months. Coach Doc Rivers and director of basketball operations Danny Ainge have noted with bemusement the fall of the once familiar notion that no one wants to play for the Celts. What began with Kevin Garnett last summer has continued with P.J. Brown coming aboard and Sam Cassell getting bought out of his Clippers contract to become a Celt. It even got to the point where the club was turning away players (Damon Stoudamire). “It all comes down to one thing - winning,” Rivers said. “When you’re bad, nobody wants to come. When you win, people start looking at you in a different way.” It had to be hard for the coach to hear pundits picking on his team and saying free agents didn’t want to come to a cold winter climate and such an allegedly tough media market. “Our league’s like that. Every league’s like that.” Rivers said. “I don’t know if people were running to the Patriots [team stats] before they started winning, you know? Then Bill (Belichick) comes and everything changes.” Ainge just shrugged. “People always talk about the players just going for the money,” he said. “And I’m sure that’s a big part of it. But guys want to win, too.” Defensive priority After giving up 124 and 119 points to open their western trip, respectively, the C’s have surrendered an average of 89.7 in the six games since. “When we play great defense, everything seems to come into place,” Paul Pierce [stats] said.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 7:45:02 GMT -5
www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1077517&format=textCassell clears waivers, heading to Hub By Steve Bulpett | Monday, March 3, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics Photo by Matt Stone/file Sam Cassell has cleared waivers, and while he is still a virtual certainty to become a Celtic, the club isn’t rushing things. The current plan is for the free agent point guard to fly to Boston sometime tomorrow and take a physical. He is expected to sign tomorrow but will not practice with the Celts. His first appearance in Celtics [team stats] gear will most likely be at Wednesday’s morning shootaround. Sources are giving no indication on when Cassell will play his first game here, but Wednesday night’s duel with Detroit might be pushing it. Cassell, 38, was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. He had missed four straight starts with a wrist injury and was injured for 12 games earlier in the season. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Cassell has averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 25.7 minutes in 38 games this season.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 7:47:08 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/04/cassell_pointed_toward_boston?mode=PFCassell pointed toward Boston Veteran guard signed and set to join Celtics By Peter May, Globe Staff | March 4, 2008 The Celtics are quickly becoming a gerontologist's dream - as well as an even better team and a more serious championship threat. Last night, the final piece of the puzzle tumbled out of Waiver Heaven at 6 p.m. as Sam Cassell became a free agent. He has signed a contract with the Celtics, according to his agent, and will bring the paperwork up with him today from Baltimore to join his new team. "He had some personal business he had to attend to in Baltimore. There was a death in the family," agent David Falk said last night. "But he will be on his way up there and everything is done. He is really excited." The Celtics don't expect Cassell to be available at practice today. It's more likely that his first session with the team will be at tomorrow morning's shootaround. It's not known whether he'll be able to play against Detroit tomorrow night; he has been out because of a sore wrist. Cassell, 38, a 15-year veteran with two championship rings (Houston, '94, '95), joins a team already featuring fellow 38-year-old P.J. Brown, signed last week, as well as 30-somethings Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Scot Pollard, James Posey, and soon-to-be 30-somethings Eddie House and Brian Scalabrine. Cassell played with both Allen (Milwaukee) and Garnett (Minnesota) and has 115 games of playoff experience, one of the main reasons for the signing. He also has some gas left in his tank; this season, he has had games of 35 and 32 points (the 32-pointer came Jan. 15 against the Suns) and six other games in which he has scored 20 or more points. He is averaging 12.8 and is almost automatic (89.1 percent) from the free throw line. "He's a proven player," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We're just going to wait and see where he fits in on our team. He's coming in with the right frame of mind and he just wants to help. He knows how to play. He's terrific at the end of games. He can still really play." Cassell has appeared in only 38 games this season and has not played since Feb. 20, when he injured his wrist. He nearly was dealt to Memphis at the trading deadline, but when that fell through, he sought a buyout from the Clippers so that he could join a contending team. After a few days of what Falk called "sometimes hairy" negotiations, the buyout was completed last Thursday. Because the NBA is closed on weekends, the 48-hour period for him to clear waivers did not end until last night. The Celtics are Cassell's eighth NBA team. In addition to the Clippers, Rockets, Bucks, and Timberwolves, he has played for the Suns, Mavericks, and Nets. He has been involved in deals for Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, and Stephon Marbury - as well as Shawn Bradley. Boston became the logical destination once the buyout was worked out, although there also was interest from Dallas and Denver. But the chance to rejoin Garnett and Allen, as well as play in the Eastern Conference, was too good to turn down. He also fills a demonstrable need - an experienced, quality backup to Rajon Rondo. Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge has maintained all season that the team was fine at the point guard position, but the opportunity to get a battle-tested Cassell to help out Rondo was a no-brainer. Even Rondo himself thinks it's a good move. "He coming in only helps me," Rondo said. "He's been playing a long time. He knows a lot about the game. In that aspect, he can help me as well. He can help more with leadership. He's been to the conference finals. He knows what it takes to get there. He can groom me and help me along." Garnett and Cassell teamed with Latrell Sprewell to lead the Timberwolves within two games of the 2004 NBA Finals. The coach of that team, Flip Saunders, will be in town tomorrow night with the Pistons, perhaps facing his old point guard. Saunders has been effusive in his praise for Garnett this season - and is happy at the way things turned out - and he's saying the same things about Cassell. "Any time you can add a veteran guy, that's always a positive," Saunders told Detroit reporters earlier this week. "One thing about Sam - he's not afraid to take big shots. He's probably going to a perfect situation. At his age, when you get in those type of playoff situations, you probably need to have your minutes monitored a little bit. He's not going to have to play 30 minutes a game. "I'm happy for him. He wants to finish with a ring, because he started with a ring. That's always been his ambition."
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 7:50:14 GMT -5
www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/green_room/2008/03/perkin_at_the_r.htmlPerkin' at the right time Email|Link|Comments (0) Posted by Ian Rider March 2, 2008 11:14 PM I’m going to be perfectly honest with you: I’m not a huge fan of Kendrick Perkins. I never have been. Well, that’s not exactly true. I was a huge fan his first year in the league. That was the year he would come in for 10 minutes a game and hack anyone driving free to the basket. He’d knock down anyone who had given Paul Pierce a hard foul. He’d go after anyone who got in a teammate’s face. Since he became a starter, however, my feelings on the big man have changed. I just don’t think he has the skill set to be the starting center on a team contending for a championship. First of all, he can’t catch. At least three times a game he drops a pass when he is wide open. He’s like Ivan Radovadovitch from “Eddie,” I’m just waiting for him to take one off the face. Secondly, he doesn’t rebound like he should. Perkins is 74th in the NBA in rebounds per game, 37th in the Eastern Conference. On this team, all Perk should be doing is rebounding. The fact that he can’t grab eight boards a game, minimum, is ridiculous. If you took any other center in the league they’d grab 10 boards, no problem. He is a liability offensively. As highlighted by Mike and Tommy on a nightly basis, Perk can’t set a pick without getting whistled for a foul. Even if he could, he might be the slowest player in the league, so it’s worthless anyway. More than half the time he has the ball at the top of the key the play ends in a turnover. Perk doesn’t have any effective low-post moves that could help KG get wide open jump shots. He can’t hit an elbow jumper, so he doesn’t help when KG or Pierce are being double-teamed on the block. His hook shot is a 90 mph fast ball that doesn’t get an inch over the rim. The nights the offense is moving smoothly are the nights that Perk stays out of the way. Defensively, he knows where he is supposed to be, and has limited his fouls enough to keep him in the game. He is an average shot blocker, and is sufficient at help defense. What I’ve missed the last few seasons is Perk’s mean streak. He seems to reserve all of that fire for yelling at the refs and his teammates when things go wrong. Honestly, for a team that prides itself on the defensive end of the floor, it is lacking the bruiser that the great defensive squads have always had. The Bad Boys had Laimbeer, the Bulls had Rodman, and the Knicks had Charles Oakley. Boston’s direct rival, the Pistons, have their own starting center as their bruiser. Rasheed is never afraid to give a hard foul or get into it with an opponent, and he brings the edge that every tough defensive team needs. Recently, though, Perkins has stepped up his game. In the last two games, against two potential Eastern Conference playoff teams, Perk has put in two of his best games of the season. First, he dropped 19 and 9 on the Cavs, with 5 blocks. Then on Sunday, Perk grabbed 12 boards and blocked five shots, while scoring 11 against the new-look Hawks. Plus, he had the block of the year on Josh Childress. To me, that beats out KG’s block of Gilbert Arenas in the opener. Childress was already starting his celebratory scream and Perk threw it back in his mouth. In the last week he has been the definition of a beast. But, where has this Kendrick Perkins been all season? Clearly the impending footsteps of P.J. Brown have something to do with it. Whenever a trade or a pickup like this happens, and the player whose minutes are going to be most affected starts playing out of his mind, fans and the media never seem to care. Mike and Tommy chuckle when the production of the Bigs and Rondo increased when the past week’s transactions went down. It seems to be totally expected that the player is going to try that much harder now that his job security has evaporated. Honestly, it aggravates me. Perkins should have been playing like this all season. It shouldn’t take the threat of losing his job to have him put it in overdrive. But what can you do? That’s life in the Association. Sometimes it takes a push from an outside source to get these pampered players to stay on the top of their game. If Perk is going to play like this for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, I hope P.J. keeps pushing. I hope Perk pushes back, too, just as long as he doesn’t knock him down. He needs to save that for the rest of the league. Three things I thought while making Matt Hafele carry Nunes’ luggage ... welcome to the Green Room, ROOKIE! I used to think Sam Cassell looked like an alien, but then I saw Lord Of The Rings and it’s clear that he looks most like Gollum. Ironically, both are obsessed with getting a ring. I just hope Sam will be the final piece of the puzzle that lands the Celtics the precious. Brian Scalabrine continues to rack up the DNPs. For a guy who might earn GM of the year, Danny Ainge certainly has his name attached to some awful contracts. Scalabrine may be the most egregious for what he’s given the team, basically nothing. Danny Ocean couldn’t make stealing $15 million look that easy. The Celtics have lost 1 game by double-digits this season, the next closest teams have lost 6 games by double digits. If they go the rest of the way without losing by double digits again, that has to be a record, right? Once again I wish I was sportswriter so I could find these things out.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 7:51:45 GMT -5
www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x679651502Celtics: Cassell is coming to C's -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Scott Souza/Daily News staff GHS Mon Mar 03, 2008, 11:07 PM EST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Tools: Email This | Print This Sam Cassell is coming. His arrival just didn't come quite as soon as some projected. While it seems the veteran guard's path has been pointed in Boston's direction since last summer, his journey picked up momentum when the Clippers reached a buyout agreement and granted his release Thursday. While Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge wouldn't confirm contact with Cassell Friday night, both the player and agent David Falk gave public indications over the weekend that he was, indeed, headed to the Celtics. As of last night, Cassell had cleared waivers, and was traveling to Boston. The 38-year-old will likely arrive sometime after this morning's practice and be with the team in time for tomorrow morning's shootaround. Without a full practice with the team, his availability for the Eastern Conference showdown against Detroit would appear to be in doubt. "He has shown desire to come to Boston and we anticipate him being a member of the Boston Celtics," confirmed Celtics director of media relations Jeff Twiss last night. "He is expected to come to Boston (this) afternoon to meet with management." Cassell will become the second NBA veteran to join the squad for its stretch run in the last week. Last Wednesday, 14-year veteran power forward P.J. Brown signed for the rest of the season after being talked out of semi-retirement during an All-Star weekend visit from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Allen may have had a hand in the recruiting of Cassell as well, though he said prior to Friday night's victory over the Bobcats that he spoke with Cassell on Thursday and that the 15-year veteran didn't need a lot of convincing on the virtues of joining the NBA's best team (now 46-12). "The minute (Kevin Garnett) got traded here in the summer, Sam liked what we looked like here," said Allen, who was a teammate of Cassell's in Milwaukee. "He thought we were doing big things. It's been a long time for him since he's been able to say he's been on a team that's vying for a championship." Cassell, the 24th pick in the first round out of Florida State in 1993, won titles with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995. He also played with Garnett for two seasons in Minnesota and helped the Timberwolves reach the Western Conference Finals in 2004. "(Cassell) being an addition to this team will be over the top," said Garnett Friday night. "I think it would be great. Obviously, Sam, with his experience, he has a knack for the fourth quarter with his leadership. He is a natural leader. ... He definitely brings an aura with him." He will also plug the last major remaining hole on the C's roster. Brown's signing last week provided some needed height and depth to a smallish and inexperienced frontcourt reserve corps, while Cassell's addition should give the Celtics a legitimate second point guard - along with second-year starter Rajon Rondo. The Celtics had been using a combination of guards Eddie House, Tony Allen and rookie Gabe Pruitt to back up Rondo this season. "I think if he were to be on this team," Garnett said Friday, "I think he could definitely help - not only Rondo, but some of our other guards too." Rondo said on Friday that Ainge spoke with him about the likelihood that the team would be adding the 6-foot-3 floor general and that he was fine with it as long as it helped its chances of winning. The last time Rondo saw Cassell on the court was not such an amiable occasion - as Cassell was ejected from the Feb. 6 game against the Celts after knocking Rondo to the ground with a flagrant foul on a breakaway. Rondo jokingly added that he did owe Cassell a hard shot in practice once he arrives. Cassell, who is joining his eighth NBA team, did not play against the Celtics when they traveled to the Staples Center last Monday and has sat out the last four games with a sore wrist. He played in 38 games for the Clippers this season and averaged 12.8 points and 4.7 assists. Despite his age, Cassell has been a productive starter in recent seasons, just one year removed from averaging 17.2 points and 6.3 assists with the Clippers. He averaged at least 19 points per game five times in his career and had a career-best 9.0 assists per game in 1999-2000. For his career, he has averaged 15.9 points and 6.0 assists a game.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 8:34:17 GMT -5
www.patriotledger.com/sports/pros/x2125954395?view=print38-year-old Sam Cassell joining Celtics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jim Fenton GateHouse News Service Posted Mar 03, 2008 @ 11:11 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSTON — There have been few holes on the Boston Celtics’ roster this season, as evidenced by their NBA-leading 46-12 record. One area of concern since the start of training camp, though, has been depth at the point guard position, with Eddie House, a shooting guard, backing up Rajon Rondo. Six weeks before the end of the regular season, the Celtics have taken care of that matter by adding experience at the position. As expected, 38-year-old Sam Cassell agreed to sign with the Celtics on Monday night, four days after he received a buyout from the Los Angeles Clippers. Cassell, who won championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, cleared waivers at 6 p.m. and became the 15th player on the Celtics’ roster. While Rondo has made rapid progress in his second season and is now a quality point guard, the Celtics had need for a backup. House’s role will be more of a shooter off the bench and Cassell, who has played 976 regular-season games and 115 in the playoffs, will provide Rondo with relief. After adding 38-year-old power forward P.J. Brown via free agency last week, the Celtics now have two players who can be valuable assets on the bench in the postsesason. Cassell, who was scheduled to make $6.1 million with the Clippers this season, received a buyout worth $800,000 on the $1.7 million he had remaining. The Celtics will pay Cassell the pro-rated veteran minimum ($1.3 million), which works out to nearly $400,000 for the final 24 games. The signings of Brown and Cassell are a signal that the Celtics are doing all they can to climb to the top of the NBA after getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen last summer. “I think the message right now, at least to the older players, is winning is now,” said Garnett Sunday night. “It’s not a process where they’re trying to mold younger talent. “Obviously, you’ve got some younger guys here who are in the molding process. But for the majority, it’s about winning now. When you’ve been established in the league, you want that message. It shows we’re trying to win now. That’s important for a vet.’’ Cassell has not played since Feb. 20 due to a sprained right wrist, but it expected to be available soon. Cassell, who is averaging 12.8 points and 4.7 assists in 38 games this season, should join the Celtics today to take a physical and sign the paperwork. “You don’t get this opportunity often,” said center Kendrick Perkins of the Celtics being in contention for a title. “With Sam coming, that’s going to help us a lot going to the playoffs.’’ Paul Pierce, who was part of a team that won only 24 games last season, is appreciative that Celtics’ management keeps adding pieces. “This shows this organization has really stepped up and is trying to bring back what’s been missing the last 20 years,” Pierce said. “I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be part of it. We have special players and are having a special season. “Just to be around these guys every day, go to practice, the total experience has been great. I’m happy I’m still a Boston Celtic.” The acquisition of Cassell will mean House’s minutes are going to be reduced, and even shooting guard Tony Allen could have his playing time cut if Cassell gets paired with Rondo in some instances. “Like I told you from day one, whatever I can do to help team,” Allen said. “If that’s what happens, it would be unfortunate, but I’ll be, ‘Go Celtics, let’s go get this ring.’ If it’s handing out Gatorade bottles, that’s what I’d do. What ever it takes, I’m willing to help.”
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Mar 4, 2008 9:26:49 GMT -5
www.enterprisenews.com/sports/x1945175799?view=printCeltics’ point sharpened with Cassell acquisition The point guard is expected to provide relief for Rajon Rondo and add depth to the first-place team down the stretch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jim Fenton ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER Posted Mar 04, 2008 @ 03:04 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSTON — There have been few holes on the Boston Celtics’ roster this season as evidenced by their NBA-leading 46-12 record. One area of concern since the start of training camp, though, has been depth at the point guard position with Eddie House, a shooting guard, backing up Rajon Rondo. Six weeks before the end of the regular season, the Celtics have taken care of that matter by adding experience at the position. As expected, 38-year-old Sam Cassell agreed to sign with the Celtics on Monday night, four days after he received a buyout from the Los Angeles Clippers. Cassell, who won championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, cleared waivers at 6 p.m. and quickly became the 15th player on the Celtics’ roster. While Rondo has made rapid progress in his second season and is now a quality point guard, the Celtics had a need for a backup. House’s role will be more of a shooter off the bench and Cassell, who has played 976 regular-season games and 115 in the playoffs, will provide Rondo with relief. After adding 38-year-old power forward P.J. Brown via free agency last week, the Celtics now have two players who can be valuable assets on the bench in the postseason. Cassell, who was scheduled to make $6.1 million with the Clippers this season, received a buyout worth $800,000 on the $1.7 million he had remaining. The Celtics will pay Cassell the pro-rated veteran minimum ($1.3 million), which works out to nearly $400,000 for the final 24 games. The signings of Brown and Cassell is a signal that the Celtics are doing all they can to climb to the top of the NBA after getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen last summer. “I think the message right now, at least to the older players, is winning is now,” said Garnett Sunday night. “It’s not a process where they’re trying to mold younger talent. “Obviously, you’ve got some younger guys here who are in the molding process. But for the majority, it’s about winning now. When you’ve been established in the league, you want that message. It shows we’re trying to win now. “That’s important for a vet. You’ve been in the league a long time. Nothing personal to the young guys, but winning is about now and careers are not long, so you try to take advantage of the opportunities you have and that’s the message that is sent.” Rondo has been sensational of late, increasing his assist total and playing solid defense. He will still get a majority of the minutes, but having Cassell around makes the Celtics a deeper team. He will especially be handy if the Celtics face the Detroit Pistons and point guard Chauncey Billups in the postseason. Cassell has not played since Feb. 20 due to a sprained right wrist, but it expected to be available soon. Cassell, who is averaging 12.8 points and 4.7 assists in 38 games this season, should join the Celtics today to take a physical and sign the paperwork. “You don’t get this opportunity often,” said center Kendrick Perkins of the Celtics being in contention for a title. “With Sam coming, that’s going to help us a lot going to the playoffs. “He’s won two championships. I heard KG say earlier that’s why he made it to the Western Conference finals that year (in 2004 with the Minnesota Timberwolves). I’m pretty excited about him coming.” Paul Pierce, who was part of a team that won only 24 games last season, is appreciative that Celtics’ management keeps adding pieces. “This shows this organization has really stepped up and is trying to bring back what’s been missing the last 20 years,” said Pierce. “I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be part of it. We have special players and are having a special season. “Just to be around these guys every day, go to practice, the total experience has been great. I’m happy I’m still a Boston Celtic.” The acquisition of Cassell will mean House’s minutes are going to reduced, and even Tony Allen could have his playing time if Cassell gets paired with Rondo in some instances. “Like I told you from day one, whatever I can do to help team,” said Allen. “If that’s what happens, it would be unfortunate, but I’ll be, ‘Go Celtics, let’s go get this ring.’ If it’s handing out Gatorade bottles, that’s what I’d do. What ever it takes, I’m willing to help.”
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