News 1/5

[FLCeltsFan]

Celtics’ supporting cast awarded Tony for play
Allen’s effort highlights depth as team goes to 28-3

By Mark Murphy | Saturday, January 5, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill
A true contender does not rely on its stars alone.

And last night, with Ray Allen plugging through a two-point game - his lowest since scoring a single point on Jan. 11, 2006 - it was a good thing the Celtics [team stats] are deeper than some would have you believe.

Tony Allen flew in with a season-high 20 points and three steals, Eddie House, James Posey and Glen Davis combined for another 22 points, and yet again, the bench proved why director of basketball operations Danny Ainge made some of his wisest summer investments in reserve funds.

The 100-96 win over Memphis pushed the C’s record to 28-3, breaking a tie with the 1969-70 Knicks and 1990-91 Trail Blazers for the fourth-best start in NBA history. Only the 1966-67 Sixers (37-3), 1971-72 Knicks (39-3) and 1995-96 Bulls (41-3) were better - for now at least.

It was the method that haunted the Celtics last night, with sloppy stretch play allowing Memphis to jack up shots almost at will throughout the last five minutes.

Some - Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers among them - admitted that tonight’s game at Detroit may have been caught too prominently in the C’s high beams. But that’s what depth, and a player like Tony Allen building to the peak of his season, is for.

“It was our worst focus of the year, maybe because of the Detroit game,” said Rivers, who spent part of yesterday’s shootaround preaching against the very sin of looking ahead.

Though Paul Pierce [stats] and Garnett each finished with 23 points, neither could be pleased with how unnecessarily close the game became.

“Not one of our best games,” Pierce said. “We were up and down, but we have to learn from games like this. We’re preparing for something bigger than the regular season.”

Deep 3-pointers from Mike Miller and Juan Carlos Navarro early in the fourth quarter left the Celtics looking over their shoulders, especially when the latter’s cut their edge to 78-73.

But House, who opened the Celtics’ scoring in the quarter with a 3, buried another bomb with 7:20 left for an 85-75 lead and then came right back with a 20-footer. Rudy Gay stepped in with a hook, but Tony Allen followed with a drive off a Posey pass.

This time, House set up Davis for the dunk and a 91-77 Celtics advantage with 5:21 to go.

But the hosts were about to go colder than Gloucester in January, enabling a 9-0 Memphis run that coincided with the worst work of the night by the Celtics, who turned the ball over four times in six horrible possessions.

As such, their lead was cut to 91-86 when Gay hit a baseline jumper.

The Celtics went scoreless for four minutes before Garnett finally hit two free throws for a 93-86 lead. They scored seven of their last nine points from the line, including Ray Allen’s lone points with nine seconds left.

Compared to Tony Allen’s 15-point second quarter and Pierce’s nine-point third, the Grizzlies suffered from a serious power drain.

Pao Gasol (12 points) and Darko Milicic (six) finished the game a combined 6-for-23 from the field.

“We have to remember that Memphis is one of the highest scoring teams in this league,” Garnett said. “They have some players who could really put us in a hole. We have to respect them. They’re a decent team.”

Article URL: www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1064730

[FLCeltsFan]

Green have plenty to prove against Pistons

By Steve Bulpett / The NBA | Saturday, January 5, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
With all due respect to the Grizzlies, last night they were essentially a bunch of tall people standing in the Celtics [team stats]’ sightline.

“Down in front,” said the locals with the annoyingly interesting 100-96 victory.

Once Memphis put on its blue suede shoes and boarded a plane, the Celts could stop pretending they haven’t been thinking about tonight’s game with the Pistons since Dec. 19. The Bostonians lost to Detroit in the final tenth of a second that night, and eight games/wins in the meantime haven’t dented their hunger for payback.

“I think most important we lost to Detroit - our only loss this year in this building so far,” said Ray Allen before taking off for Michigan. “That’s what we want to go in there thinking. We want to get revenge for that.”

But it’s not as if the Celts are expecting a pack of passive Pistons.

“I expect them to be revved up,” said Kevin Garnett. “Boston and Detroit have a history. It’s going to be hostile like always. It’s going to be a big game. It should be fun though.”

Detroit was doing a decent job of downplaying things after its win in Toronto last night. Rasheed Wallace looked ahead and told reporters, “It’s going to be the same game it was last time. It’s two good teams that know each other pretty well. It ain’t like either of us is going to break anything new.”

There can be no question the game is more significant to the Celtics. At some point they have to establish some doubt in the Pistons’ minds, and even though the C’s led most of the night when last these teams met, Detroit was able to barge off with the win as it has done countless times over these last years.

“I think subconsciously we need to (beat Detroit),” said Garnett. “I think we need to establish who we are. But we can’t get caught up into all the shenanigans and all that. Knowing that they’re the last team that beat us, there’s a little something there, but we want to see where we’re at with this. Nothing more, nothing less than that.”

Allen believes the Celts need to get a point across.

“There is that bit of confidence or cockiness that the better teams have when they know they’re going to face certain teams in the playoffs because they beat that team three out of four times and they have their number,” he said. “We definitely want to go out and make them think of something going into the postseason.”

Doc Rivers isn’t picky about when the wins come.

“It’s important eventually,” he said of the need to douse Detroit. “Clearly, eventually we have to (beat the Pistons). But let me just put it this way: If we don’t tomorrow or the next one and then beat them in the playoffs, I’ll take that right now.”

Winning games hasn’t been a problem for either team lately. The only win streak in the NBA longer than the Celtics’ eight is the Pistons’ 11. And the only record in the league better than Detroit’s 26-7 is the Celtics’ 28-3. But Rivers isn’t buying the numbers.

“Hey, they’re the team we’re chasing,” he said. “I don’t care about records. That’s the team - and Cleveland because they were (in the NBA Finals) last year - that in our minds we’re chasing. They’re still ahead of us in our mind. If people want to give us (the lead spot) because of our record, they can give it to us. We’re not taking it. We really believe that. We believe that we have to improve to catch Detroit and Cleveland. We cannot be where we’re at right now.”

Where the Celtics are right now is high enough to produce a nosebleed. A win tonight would add credibility to their numbers. Both they and the Pistons know it. For that reason, this is not just one of 82 games. It’s a big one of 82 games.

Article URL: www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1064731

[FLCeltsFan]

Ray sees game in new light

By Mark Murphy / Celtics Notebook | Saturday, January 5, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
Ray Allen goes through his occasional slumps. He once scored just one point in a Jan. 11, 2006 game, though the Celtics [team stats] guard also played only eight minutes that night.

But the one that comes more to mind after his two-point, 0-for-9 performance against Memphis last night was a two-point, 0-for-8 game on May 4, 1999 in Cleveland.

As in the Celtics’ 100-96 win over Memphis last night, both points came from the line against the Cavs. What’s unlikely is that Allen scored those two points with 9 seconds left and his teammates desperately trying to get him the ball in a decided game, as he did last night.

But there is good news. The game was indeed decided by the time Allen got on the scoreboard, and he is finally on a team where he can score in the low single-digits and his squad can still win.

“The team definitely doesn’t win,” Allen said of what would have happened in the past. “So it’s a comfort to know that we have a group of guys on both sides of the floor here who can get the job done.

“It’s a relief that I don’t have to stress out sitting on the bench worrying about not scoring, because we have a bunch of guys that can carry the load.”

Happy anniversary

Monday will mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of last season’s record-setting, 18-game losing streak, and there is nothing Rivers would rather not hear about.

“And nobody sent me flowers,” he joked.

Allen’s dreamy

Allen is part of what sports beverage Vitamin Water calls its “Dream Team,” which also includes NBA players Tracy McGrady, Shawn Marion, Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal.

On Dec. 19 the C’s guard made plenty of dreams come true, as he donated 10 meals to the Greater Boston Food Bank for each of the 24 points he scored that night against the Pistons.

Overall, the Greater Boston Food Bank received 1,600 meals from the effort.

Giant steps

Two years ago, Mike Conley was a high school senior.

Last year at this time, he was trying to get adjusted to college life at Ohio State.

And last night he was starting at point guard for a young Memphis team.

“It really has gone by like a flash,” said Conley, who had 10 points and four assists in the loss. “I kind of want to go back and visit my high school and all my old teachers. I listen to all of my friends complain now about their second year in college, and stuff like that.

“(But) things haven’t been too bad,” he said of his adjustment to the rhythms of life in the NBA. “When we were trying to get here (from Indianapolis, where the Grizzlies played Wednesday) we had a three-hour delay at the airport. The guys were telling me that it was probably one of the worst trips they had ever been on. But you just go with it.”

Read the Celtics Insider every day at bostonherald.com.

Article URL: www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1064732

[FLCeltsFan]

Hot Pistons romp, get set for C’s

By Herald wire services | Saturday, January 5, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | NBA Coverage
Richard Hamilton scored 22 points, Rasheed Wallace added 20 and the Detroit Pistons extended their winning streak to 11 games, beating the Raptors, 101-85, last night in Toronto.

The Pistons’ streak is their longest since winning 11 straight in January 2006. Detroit hosts the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics [team stats] tonight.

Hamilton has averaged 21.6 points during the streak and has led the Pistons in scoring in each of the past seven games. Chauncey Billups had 18 points, Tayshaun Prince had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Jason Maxiell came off the bench to score 11 points for Detroit.

Chris Bosh had 23 points and 16 rebounds for Toronto, which has lost five of seven.

Cavaliers 97, Kings 93 - LeBron James scored 24 points and Daniel Gibson hit a huge 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, leading host Cleveland over shorthanded Sacramento.

James also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Gibson finished with 13 points, 10 in the fourth.

John Salmons scored 22 points and Brad Miller 17 for the Kings, who were missing injured starters Ron Artest, Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby.

Pacers 113, Hawks 91 - Danny Granger tied a career high with 32 points, and Indiana beat Atlanta in Indianapolis, snapping a five-game losing streak.

Granger shot 10-of-15 from the field and also grabbed nine rebounds.

Mike Dunleavy had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Kareem Rush scored 20 points for the Pacers.

Josh Childress tied a career high with 26 points and Josh Smith added 20 for the Hawks.

Nets 102, Bobcats 96 - Vince Carter scored 30 points and New Jersey won a season-best fourth straight game with a win over Charlotte in East Rutherford, N.J., the Bobcats’ 11th consecutive road loss.

An under-the-weather Richard Jefferson added 28 points and Jason Kidd had 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his eighth triple-double of the season.

Jason Richardson scored 33 points for the Bobcats before fouling out with 1:17 to play.

Rockets 96, Magic 94 - Rafer Alston scored 20 points, including the game-winning layup with 4 seconds left, and Houston narrowly escaped Orlando with a controversial win.

Orlando appeared to tie the game at 96 with Adonal Foyle’s tip-in at the buzzer, but officials said he didn’t get the shot off in time. The replay seemed to show he did, and the Rockets literally ran off the floor when the call came down.

Yao Ming got the better of Dwight Howard in a matchup of the probable NBA All-Star starting centers, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to Howard’s 16 points and eight boards.

Wizards 101, Bucks 77 - Antawn Jamison scored 24 points and visiting Washington shot 55 percent from the field to top listless Milwaukee.

The game wasn’t competitive from the start with the Bucks missing leading scorer Michael Redd, who was kneed in the left thigh against Miami on Wednesday night and is day-to-day.

Caron Butler added 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Wizards.

Spurs 97, Knicks 93 - Defensive specialist Bruce Bowen showed off his offense, scoring 15 points to help host San Antonio beat New York.

Michael Finley and Matt Bonner each scored 14 points for the Spurs, while Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had rough shooting nights, combining to go 10-of-29 from the field and score 12 points apiece.

The Knicks, who have lost six in a row, were led by Eddy Curry with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Nuggets 118, Timberwolves 107 - Allen Iverson [stats] scored 33 points, Carmelo Anthony added 26 and Denver beat Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves are off to the worst start in franchise history at 4-28. Reserve Rashad McCants led Minnesota with a career-high 34 points, and Al Jefferson [stats] had 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Article URL: www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1064733

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/05/its_no_walk_over_memphis?mode=PF

It's no walk over Memphis
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | January 5, 2008

With an Eastern Conference showdown on tap for tonight, it seemed hard for the Celtics to stay focused on a lesser opponent last night.

The Celtics improved to an NBA-best 28-3 with a 100-96 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Banknorth Garden. Boston enters tonight's road game against Detroit (26-7) riding eight straight wins. The last loss? To the Pistons Dec. 19.

"Well, it was a win," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "Probably our worst focus of the year, for whatever reason. Could be because of [the Detroit] game. But we won the game and that's the good part."

Kevin Garnett scored 23 points and Paul Pierce added a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Boston's bench chipped in 42 points, including a season-high 20 from Tony Allen. Ray Allen, who entered the game averaging 18.9 points, scored only 2.

"I thought the whole game was a missed opportunity," said Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni. "I thought we were in perfect position to come in here and have a shot at it and I think we did until, you know, we made some miscues, and that's the way they won. They are great, definitely a good team, 28-3 now, so kudos to them."

Detroit, meanwhile, has won 11 straight, and is 13-2 at home. Boston is 12-2 on the road.

"This wasn't one of our best games," Pierce said. "We were up and down. We talked about it at the end of the game, we huddled up. We have to learn from games like this. Against the good teams we can't go out and play like this. There was sort of a lull and we turned it on and turned it off. We've just got to learn from it.

"We are preparing for something bigger in the regular season. It's got to be every night. Doc asked us at shootaround who we were playing on [next] Wednesday and Friday, and nobody knew. But everybody knew we were playing Detroit Saturday. But we had to take care of Memphis. And that was the point he was trying to get. Not to look ahead."

The Celtics, who trailed, 24-22, after the first quarter, outscored the Grizzlies, 25-21, in the second for a 47-45 lead.

Pierce and Garnett combined for 21 points in the first half, while Tony Allen added 18 on 7-of-9 shooting. Mike Miller had 11 points and Rudy Gay 10 for Memphis at the break.

"Obviously, they got off to a slow start and I thought we played well coming out of the gate," said Iavaroni. "We got the turnovers down in the first half and that has a lot to with us being down by 2."

The Celtics used a 16-4 run to take a 65-53 lead on a Garnett 10-foot turnaround. A Pierce 3-point play gave Boston a 68-55 lead. The Grizzlies clawed back with a 6-0 run to trim their deficit to 68-61 with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

Garnett's 3-point play with 54.5 seconds left in the third pushed Boston up, 71-61, and a James Posey 3-pointer gave the Celtics a 74-63 lead with 30.9 seconds left.

"It just goes to show what kind of team we have. I think we can play with anybody, at least we will try to and we will give them a good run for their money," said Gay, the former UConn star who scored a team-high 21 points.

Reserve guard Juan Carlos Navarro (20 points) nailed a 3-pointer to trim Memphis's deficit to 78-73 with 9:05 remaining. A 13-4 run by the Celtics gave them a 91-77 lead on a two-handed jam by Glen Davis with 5:20 left.

Memphis, however, refused to give in. Gay made an athletic jumper over Garnett with 1:25 remaining to make it 91-86. Garnett's two free throws pushed the Celtics up, 93-86, with 1:11 left. Navarro's layup kept Memphis alive at 93-88 with 54.2 seconds left. Two Posey free throws with 44.3 seconds left gave the Celtics a 95-88 lead, and a putback by Garnett sealed the game with 20 seconds remaining.

"I have always been a person who could maintain focus and understand what tonight was all about. Tonight was Memphis," Garnett said. "I knew we played Detroit soon, but Doc tells us every day not to get bored with the process but respect who we play and prepare for who we play tonight."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/05/palace_place_to_be?mode=PF

Palace place to be
By Peter May, Globe Staff | January 5, 2008

Enough with the Grizzlies and other assorted flotsam and jetsam. Tonight, in Auburn Hills, Mich., the two best teams in the East again meet in what promises to be, as Johnny Most might have said, a real barn burner.

Neither team has lost since they last met Dec. 19, when Detroit came away with an 87-85 victory at TD Banknorth Garden, the only blemish on the Celtics' home record. The Pistons ripped off their 11th straight victory last night in Toronto, 101-85, while the Celtics were making it eight in a row with their ho-hum 100-96 dispatching of Memphis. (What? Two straight home games decided by 4 points each?)

After the Pistons' win here, Chauncey Billups said he hoped the Celtics wouldn't lose another game until the next Boston-Detroit meeting, the easier for the Pistons to fly under the radar, which is their preferred altitude. But it's impossible to ignore Detroit anymore, not that you ever could. The Pistons have won 26 games - only two fewer than the Celtics - and they are 13-2 at The Palace, where their average victory margin exceeds 15 points.

"I've always said that when we sit and talk about teams that are going to challenge us, and are going to be challenging, I feel that Detroit is one of those teams," Kevin Garnett said after last night's game. "I feel if we're going to be of any substance, we're going to have to beat teams like this. It's a measuring stick for our team."

That's pretty much the same line of thinking offered by that well-known philosopher Rasheed Wallace. Earlier in the week, the Pistons forward said, "For them, it's a big game to try and test their team." Last night, after the Pistons' win, he added, "It's going to be the same game it was last time. It's two good teams that know each other pretty well. It ain't like either of us is going to break anything new."

In that both teams played last night and had to travel, neither has the advantage. In December, each team had two days off prior to the game. In all likelihood, another 87-85 game is probably in the offing, given that the Celtics (1) and Pistons (2) stand at the top of the list for best defensive units in the league.

The game is a hot sell in Auburn Hills, even though the Pistons routinely sell out The Palace. (Their last non-sellout was in 2003-04; they've banged out the joint 200 straight times.) On Stubhub.com, the ticket buying website, a seat in a lower-level suite was going for $3,530. (Let's hope the food and beverages are good.) The most expensive lower-bowl seat was being sold for $589 and a seat in the nosebleed section was being offered for a comparatively reasonable $115.

Detroit's 11 straight wins matches the fourth-longest winning streak in franchise history. The 1989-90 team, which won the second of the Pistons' two straight titles, won 13 straight, as did the 2003-04 team, which also won the NBA championship. The 1989-90 team ripped off 12 straight wins.

"We have a lot of guys playing really well right now," said Billups, the hero of the first Boston-Detroit meeting. "Winning 11 in a row is a great feat in this league. There are a lot of great players and a lot of great teams. I am real happy with the way we are playing right now."

One thing the Celtics can count on - a field goal from Ray Allen. One of the league's sweetest shooters bricked all nine of his field goal attempts last night, six in the first quarter. He's only done that once before in his career. He ended up with 2 points and admitted in the past that if he had a game like that, or one close to that, his team wouldn't have won.

Allen said he thought the Celtics would like a little revenge for their only home loss of the season. Asked if the Celtics needed to win to prove anything to themselves, Allen said, "The better teams have that cockiness in the playoffs and that can come from beating a team during the season. You want to give them something to think about if you play them in the postseason."

Doc Rivers said regardless of who wins tonight, or who finishes where at season's end, the Pistons will always have one big advantage over his team: the experience of having been there before.

"We're not going to be able to make that part up," he said. "They've been through Game 7s where they've won, Game 7s where they've lost, Eastern Conference finals . . . That's an advantage that they have over us, still."

Detroit coach Flip Saunders said he expected The Palace to be rocking.

Garnett said, "I expect them to be revved up. I look forward to it being hostile, like always. Should be fun, though."

Asked what he thought about tonight's Armageddon, Pistons hoops boss Joe Dumars fired back an e-mail saying, "Armageddon?? Wow. I was just hoping for a really good, intense basketball game."

He closed the dispatch with two smiley faces.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/05/with_ray_off_tony_turns_it_on?mode=PF

With Ray off, Tony turns it on
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | January 5, 2008

The highlight reel is usually reserved for Ray Allen, not Tony Allen. It was quite the opposite last night.

Ray Allen scored his only 2 points of the Celtics' 100-96 win over the Grizzlies on two free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining. The seven-time All-Star missed all nine of his field goal attempts in 35 minutes. He failed to score in double figures for the first time this season and was limited to 2 points for the first time since April 9, 1999, when he was 0 for 8 from the field and made two free throws for the Bucks at Cleveland.

"Shots just didn't fall for me," he said. "I just had to fall off of it and not press. Just kind of let it take shape. Whether I scored tonight didn't seem like a big deal coming toward the end because I knew we won the game."

Tony Allen, meanwhile, came in averaging 5 points. But he scored a season-high 20 on 8-of-15 shooting against Memphis, with two 3-pointers and three steals.

The Celtics' bench contributed 42 points, including fine performances from James Posey (9 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists) and Eddie House (8 points, including two 3-pointers).

"Tony came in and provided a great lift for us," said Ray Allen. "It's a comfort to know that we have a group of guys on both sides of the floor that can get the job done."


Tough to swallow
It was hard to tell who got it worse, Posey or Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay. With 2:18 remaining in the third quarter, Posey chipped one of Gay's teeth when he swiped for the ball with his left arm. Gay, however, bit Posey's forearm in the process, a wound that required four stitches.

"He bit me when he chipped his tooth," Posey said. "It was an accident, but it still hurt when it happened."

Said Gay: "He swiped for the ball and he hit me in my face . . . I don't think it was on purpose."


Stoudamire wants out
The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported yesterday that Grizzlies point guard Damon Stoudamire hopes to get bought out of his contract or traded, according to his agent, Aaron Goodwin.

Stoudamire is averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 assists, but the Grizzlies have decided to give most of the playing time to rookies Mike Conley and Juan Carlos Navarro.

"Damon is a veteran who has had great success in the league," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said. "He's a true professional and he's come back very successfully from his knee injury in the last couple of years and he can put the ball in the basket, too. He is going to be attractive for teams looking for additional help at the point guard position heading into the stretch run of the season."

Stoudamire declined comment, but Goodwin told the Globe yesterday his client has done everything Memphis has asked him to do.

"They are going to try to develop the two younger guys," Goodwin said. "But they have to do right by Damon and that's with two players that couldn't beat him out in training camp."

Could the Celtics, who could use a veteran backup point guard, have interest in Stoudamire?

He is making $4.3 million this season and $4.65 million next season. If the Celtics are interested, they would likely have to acquire him via trade since Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley told the Commercial Appeal he is not interested in a buyout.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said: "He's a terrific player . . . He's a veteran. He knows how to run the position. He's been through a lot and stood up to it."


Star turn?
In all of his seven All-Star appearances, Ray Allen has never been voted in by the fans as a starter. But if more Celtics fans get to the polls soon, Allen could end up starting for the Eastern Conference at this year's All-Star Game.

During the third released balloting by the fans Thursday, Allen (617,123) was third among East guards in voting behind Miami's Dwyane Wade (1,019,582) and New Jersey's Jason Kidd (743,683). While Allen is far behind Wade, Kidd is still in reach. Voting continues through Jan. 13 for paper balloting and Jan. 20 for balloting on NBA.com for the All-Star Game in New Orleans Feb. 17.

"It definitely would be special for me," Allen said about the possibility of starting, "but more so to my family. Every year they want to know if I made it because they are so excited and they cheer for me all year. But at the end of the day, whether you're a starter or off the bench, making the All-Star team is special."

Allen is averaging 18.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. Kidd is averaging 11.5 points, 10.5 assists, and 8.6 rebounds.

Celtics forward Kevin Garnett is the leading vote-getter in the league and is expected to start for the East. Garnett and Cleveland's LeBron James are projected to get more fan votes than Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who likely will be voted in as an East reserve by the coaches. Rivers will be the Eastern coach if his team has the conference's top record on Feb. 3.

Allen and Rivers believe winning will settle all the All-Star matters. "Making the All-Star team is a great award," Allen said. "But all those things come because we win and we have been winning."

Said Rivers: "I can't control fans and everything like that. The wins will take care of it. If we keep winning, then I think good things will happen. If we don't keep winning, then good things will not happen. That's the way it should be. That's the way I look at it."


Thanks for memories
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Celtics' franchise-worst 18-game losing streak. Rivers wasn't too thrilled about being reminded about it by the media. "Oh, thanks for bringing that up," he said with a smile. "And no one gave me flowers. Well, you've left me speechless. As you know with me, that's tough. Where is [Chiefs coach] Herman Edwards when I need him?"

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/green_room/2008/01/new_year_old_re.html

Text size – + New year, old results
Email|Link|Comments (0) By Ian Rider January 3, 2008 12:11 AM
The first game of the New Year finished like most of the games in the old year did, with a Celtics victory over the Rockets, and a ridiculous performance from their emotional leader, Kevin Garnett.

After a four-game sweep on the West Coast, where Paul Pierce tried to lay claim to the MVP of the team and KG looked legitimately exhausted for the first time all season, Garnett put Pierce and the Celtics, literally and figuratively, on his back.

After blowing a first-half lead and having to play from behind in the fourth quarter, the Celtics siphoned every ounce of energy from their power forward and outlasted the Rockets for their 27th win. Head coach Doc Rivers picked up the 300th victory of his career, and he has Garnett to thank for it. Rivers did everything he could to blow it for himself.

As the Celtics were opening a double-digit lead at the end of the first half, Rivers sat Ray Allen and Garnett, and a few minutes later Pierce saw the bench as well. All five Celtics on the floor were reserves, and their inexperience allowed the Rockets to gain confidence offensively while Boston struggled at both ends. The starters were brought back in near the end of the first half, but at that point the Rockets were in a groove and enjoying a 9-0 run that closed the gap in the game.

Just when the Celtics were getting in a groove and the lead was stretching toward 20, Doc sat his best players and allowed the game to get close again, and had to bring the starters back off the bench. If the Celtics pushed the lead to 25 or 30 at the half, there is no way, without T-Mac, that team has the confidence to make a run in the second half. Instead, the Rockets picked on the C’s bench players, gained confidence, and were down only 11 at the break.

Doc may have thought that resting his players throughout the game was a smart approach coming off a long, hard road trip, but if they blow the Rockets out of the building in the first half, the starters spend the rest of the night chest bumping in warm-up suits and doing the Larry Bird towel twirl. In the second half, though, it was the same. The C’s held off the Rockets for a while, sat their money players, and had to bring them out cold at the end of the game to secure a needlessly hard-fought win.

Everyone knows that stop-and-go driving causes a lot more wear and tear than hitting the highway and throwing it in cruise control. This may come back to haunt them after two games in three days, a late night flight to Detroit, and then the second game of a back-to-back against the class of the East, the Pistons. If the can get a win in the Palace on Saturday night they will have beaten every team they faced this season. I want that game.

As for last night’s game, I guess I really can’t complain, I have to admit it was fun to watch. Plus, the C’s got the win and they didn’t let up in a potential let down game. Garnett took all the big shots and made all the big plays, and still had enough energy to almost rip his jersey off in a curse-laden tirade after a late Rockets timeout. For anyone who thinks KG shies away at big moments in games, here’s a look at his performance at the end of the fourth quarter:

With under three minutes left in the game KG hit a deep jumper in Yao Ming’s face. Two possessions later got fouled and made a free throw. The next offensive trip ended with a Garnett jumper in the lane. Finally, with 22 seconds left, and the Celtics up three, Garnett hit a straight away jumper from 20 feet to bury Houston for good. On the way to the bench for a time out Paul Pierce literally jumped on KG’s back and was carried off the floor. Kevin Garnett wasn’t the Eastern Conference player of the week, that was Pierce. Garnett was the guy who carried the Eastern Conference player of the week on his back. That’s why he’s the MVP.

Three things I thought about while counting how many times KG says the F-word on television ...


You have to read this post by former Green Room and current Boston.com Celtics blogger Gary Dzen after last night's game. Easily the funniest postgame post of all time. It has the word "gas" in it seven times. It references the Bunsen burner.


Paul Pierce won Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season. Maybe this wasn’t the greatest week in NBA history, but how many players that have received that honor did it while winning all four games on the road on the opposite coast? I don’t know. I tried to look it up but I got nothing. Damn! Sometimes I wish I was a real writer.


Looking for that Larry Bird towel twirl referenced in the above post? Well look no further than the first few seconds of this Larry Bird montage compliments of YouTube. Honestly, I was just looking for a reason to post this.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x350072921

Celtics 100, Grizzlies 96: C's hold on to win trap game

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By Scott Souza/Daily News staff
GHS
Sat Jan 05, 2008, 12:01 AM EST

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BOSTON -
Celtics players and coaches insisted prior to last night's game against the lowly Grizzlies that they were not looking past the Western Conference also-ran to the showdown tonight in Detroit between the top two teams in the East.

But as much as they protested, the thought of avenging their only unanswered loss of the season must have been rattling around in the back of their minds somewhere. It certainly had to cross Celtics coach Doc Rivers' thoughts as the Grizzlies cut a 13-point deficit down to five early in the fourth quarter as Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce sat on the bench.

Clearly hoping to give the pair a lighter night in advance of tonight's Motor City matchup, Rivers opted to leave the duo on the pine a little longer and trust the bench to hold off the upstart Grizzlies. The lineup of Eddie House, James Posey, Glen Davis, Tony Allen and Ray Allen built the lead back to 14 before Garnett methodically rose and unfastened his warmup in advance of his and Pierce's return with the Celtics up nine at the 3:32 mark.

While Memphis was able to close within four twice in the final two minutes, a pair of Posey free throws and a Garnett put-back were enough to close out the 100-96 victory.

"I was subbing by score instead of minutes tonight," said Rivers. "Had we gotten it back to 13 that probably would have meant sitting Kevin for the night. They got it back to eight and I had to bring Kevin and Paul back in. Not what I wanted to do, but that's all right. They didn't play a lot of minutes tonight. Kevin played 32 and I can live with that."

Garnett finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists, Pierce had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Tony Allen had 20 points and three steals and Posey had nine points and 10 rebounds as the Celtics overcame Ray Allen's 0-for-9 shooting (2 points) to avoid the trap.

Now it's on to Detroit where the 28-3 Celtics have some unfinished business with the 26-7 Pistons.

"We haven't beaten this team," said Posey of tonight's rematch from Detroit's 87-85 win at the Garden on Dec. 19. "They came in here and they beat us. It's a bitter taste in my mouth and the rest of my teammates' mouths as well.

"We're trying to get to where they've been and how they went about it and approached it," he added. "We just have to win (tonight)."

As much as they tried to avoid it, Rivers admitted after that some of last night's struggles may have been do to anticipating tonight's battle.

"Maybe we did," he allowed. "We looked tired in some ways to me too. We might have been looking forward.

"They are the team we're chasing. I don't care about records. They are the team."

Garnett's 10 points helped the Celtics navigate a sleepy first quarter in which they shot just 33 percent (7-for-21) and were outrebounded 14-10, yet trailed at the end of one by only 24-22.

Tony Allen's night off the bench started with a 3-pointer with 16.1 seconds left in the first quarter, and then exploded in the second quarter for 15 more points on 7-of-9 shooting overall. He scored 11 of Boston's points in a 15-9 run that gave them a 43-39 lead and helped them to a 47-45 edge at the break.

As has been the case throughout the season at home, the Celtics bore down on the weaker opponent in the third quarter as a Kendrick Perkins dunk, a Garnett basket, a steal and hoop from Pierce and four more points in a row from Garnett highlighted a 14-4 run for a 65-53 lead.

After a Pierce three-point play stretched the lead to 13, the Grizzlies countered with a 6-0 run before Garnett's 3-point play off a pass from Posey and a Posey 3-pointer lifted the Celts to a 74-65 lead after three.

Memphis chipped to within 78-73 on a Juan Carlos Navarro 3-pointer with 9:01 to go, but Tony Allen's wild drive to the basket and Pierce's pullup tempered the Grizzlies' momentum. Back-to-back Eddie House bombs and a Posey layup from Tony Allen then sparked a 7-0 run for an 89-75 lead with 5:48 left.

Two minutes later, Rivers had his hopes of sitting Garnett and Pierce the rest of the way thwarted. But the energy should be there for all of them tonight regardless, given the opposition.

"When we sit and talk we talk about teams that are going to challenge us and Detroit is one of those teams," Garnett revealed. "I feel if we are going to be of any substance, we are going to have to beat those teams. This game is going to be a measuring stick for us."

[FLCeltsFan]

aol.nba.com/celtics/news/blog/post-ups.html

In Game Reports
100-96 Celtics, Final Check the Audio Archive for postgame reaction...KG and Pierce each finished with 23, while Tony had 20.

98-94 Celtics, :09/4th: Ray just got fouled, getting a large applause from the crowd. KG patted him on the head when he sank the first one. Two points for Ray, but no field goals.

97-89 Celtics, :20/4th: If the Grizzlies get a chance to foul, Ray Allen may go to the line...We're hearing his last scoreless NBA game was in February, 26 1997 vs. the Hawks.

91-82 Celtics, 3:36/4th: Will Ray Allen go scoreless? He's 0-9 from the field in 31 minutes. Unofficial courtside internet research yields that Allen had a one-point game after getting tossed for a fight with Keyon Dooling. No official word on whether tonight could be his first NBA goose egg.

91-77 Celtics, 5:12/4th: Eddie House and James Posey ignited run in the fourth. House posted eight quick points and Posey's been all over the glass. He's got 10 rebounds. House forced a timeout with his no-look dish to Big Baby for the dunk, putting the Celtics up 14.

68-61 Celtics, 2:18/3rd: Rudy Gay took an inadvertent elbow in the chops from James Posey and has a little blood so he'll take a seat for the moment. Separated at birth: The Memphis Grizzlies trainer and Matthew McConaughey in Two for the Money...

65-53 Celtics, 5:09/3rd: Paul Pierce is quietly having a solid game, with 17 points and seven rebounds to go with three assists. He and KG have combined for 12 of the Celtics' 20 third quarter points.

Just spotted courtside: Grizzlies G.M. and Celtics front office alum Chris Wallace catching up with Wyc Grousbeck. We're sorry we missed Rockets G.M. Daryl Morey on Wednesday night.

47-45 Celtics, Halftime: 18 points in his first 12 minutes is already good for a season-high for TA. He had 16 against the Lakers in 42 minutes of action. His play helped the Celtics pull ahead in the later stages of the second quarter.

37-34 Grizzlies, 5:27/2nd: Tony Allen has been very effective off the bench, posting 11 points, a rebound, steal and an assist in 10 minutes. He's been picking apart whomever the Grizzlies throw on him, whether it's Juan Carlos Navarro or Casey Jacobsen. Doc Rivers said before the game tonight that he had to get TA some consistent minutes and he delivered on that promise in the second quarter. The team is clearly looking for him in the offense and he's responding.

24-22 Grizzlies, End of 1st: It's all about the Three tonight. Paul and KG have 17 of the Celtics' 22, and Ray Allen is on the bench thinking about his 0-6 start to the game. Then again, he always says that the next one's going in, so we look for him to turn it on in the second half.

17-15 Grizzlies, 2:31/1st: It's a bit quiet here in the Garden with the Celts falling behind early. The crowd is a bit flat and so are the C's. Said one courtside reporter, "It sounds like a Memphis home game in here."

Rudy Gay might disagree with such assertions. He's 2-9 from the field to start the game.

11-7 Grizzlies, 5:31/1st: The first six minutes of the game were pretty ugly -- until the Celtics Dancers came out -- as both teams shot a combined 8-26 from the field. The Celtics went 3-12 and seven of those misses were in the paint.

Pregame Media Access
Despite the best efforts of some local reporters, Doc Rivers wouldn't bite on questions about the Detroit Pistons, because the team is clearly focused on tonight's tilt with the Memphis Grizzlies. Rivers likes what he's seen out of their two young studs, point guard Mike Conley and swingman Rudy Gay. Rivers says he's seen Conley more than most scouts because he's the same age as his son Jeremiah and they've played in AAU tournaments together. As for Gay, Rivers pointed to his summer league play as a breakout of sorts, despite his distaste for the hype that surrounds players when they have a nice showing in Vegas. Rivers noted that Gay's Vegas experience helped him with his confidence and made him believe "that he could really play in this league."

Rivers said that Rajon Rondo's hamstring shouldn't be an issue (although he deflected the injury inquiry, quipping, "Ask Eddie [Lacerte]...") and the squad should be ready to go full tilt tonight after a day off from practice Thursday. With regard to possibly resting guys in anticipation of the back-to-back, Rivers said, "We've got to win tonight."

As always, you can hear his entire pregame presser in the Audio Archive...

[FLCeltsFan]

www.telegram.com/article/20080105/NEWS/801050431/1009/SPORTS


Celts do it without Allen

By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[e-mail]

Boston’s Paul Pierce has the ball stripped by Memphis’ Rudy Gay during the first half. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Enlarge photo


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BOSTON— Ray Allen scored only two points last night — a pair of rather meaningless foul shots with 9.3 seconds left. But unlike during his previous 11 years in the NBA, Allen’s lack of production didn’t matter. His Celtics beat Memphis anyway, 100-96, at the Garden after wasting much of a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.

With Seattle and Milwaukee earlier in his career, if Allen scored only two points, his teams probably wouldn’t have won. They needed him too much.

But the Celtics don’t have to rely upon him so much. Last night, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett each scored 23 points and Tony Allen came off the bench to pour in a season-high 20 to help the Celtics win their eighth game in a row and for the 17th time in their last 18 games. The Celtics also improved to a league-best 16-1 at home and 10-0 against Western Conference teams.



“It is a relief,” Ray Allen said, “because I don’t have to stress out sitting on the bench worrying about not scoring because I know we have plenty of guys who can carry the load.”

Ray Allen missed all nine of his field-goal attempts. You have to go back two years, to Jan. 11, 2006, to find a game in which Allen didn’t score a field goal with Seattle. He scored 1 point in eight minutes in a win over Orlando before he got ejected.

The crowd cheered when Ray Allen was fouled with 9.3 seconds left and again when he sank a foul shot to extended Boston’s lead to 100-94 and avoided his first scoreless game since Feb. 26, 1997, when he played 23 minutes against Atlanta.

Ray Allen had scored in double figures in 126 consecutive games, the NBA’s second-longest streak to the 161 games of Denver’s Carmelo Anthony. Garnett’s streak of 411 consecutive games of double-figure scoring ended Nov. 29 when he scored eight against the Knicks and sat out the fourth quarter of a lopsided win. Garnett didn’t care about his streak ending that night and Allen didn’t care about his ending last night. They’ve both put individual goals behind them and focused on winning a championship since joining the Celtics.

“It got to the point where I tried my best not to even think about it,” Ray Allen said.

Tony Allen wasn’t the only reserve to contribute. James Posey scored 9 points and tied a season high with 10 rebounds. Eddie House hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 8 points.

“That’s the beauty of what we had tonight,” Ray Allen said. “We had a lot of bench production. We didn’t look the way we like to look, but we got the win.”

The Celtics may have been looking past Memphis to tonight’s showdown in Detroit.

They trailed midway through the second quarter, led by only two early in the third and never really built a comfortable lead.

“Tomorrow’s game we might have looking forward to,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted. “I don’t know.”

“It wasn’t one of our best games,” Pierce admitted. “We talked about it at the end of the game. Against the good teams, we know we can’t go out and play like this. We turned it on and turned it off.”

Posey’s layup stretched Boston’s lead to 89-75 midway through the fourth quarter, but after Rudy Gay’s 3-pointer closed Memphis within nine, Rivers put Pierce and Garnett back in. Memphis got within five with 1:25 left, but Garnett’s put-back after Pierce’s missed jumper made it 97-89 with 20 seconds to go.

Gay had a team-high 21 points for Memphis, which has lost six of its last seven games. Juan Carlos Navarro scored 20. Mike Miller collected 16, including the 1,000th 3-pointer of his NBA career.

Pau Gasol made only 3 of 13 shots and scored just 12 points, 7 below his team-high average.

The Celtics dominated Memphis, 46-26, in the paint.

Pierce scored seven points during a 19-6 spurt that put the Celtics ahead, 68-55, with 3:57 left in the third quarter.

Tony Allen made 7 of 9 shots and scored 18 points in the first half to help Boston take a 47-45 lead.

He scored 15 of Boston’s 25 points in the second quarter.

The Celtics shot only 33.3 percent (7 of 21) in the first quarter and fell behind, 24-22.

Late in the third quarter, Gay dropped to the floor in pain after Posey knocked his tooth out with his arm. No foul was called, but Gay’s mouth filled with blood.

Gay went to the Grizzlies bench and during the next timeout Celtics trainer Ed Lacerte retrieved the tooth from the floor near the Memphis basket and made sure it was returned to the Grizzlies.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.telegram.com/article/20080105/NEWS/801050457/1009/SPORTS

Allen ready for a rematch

Guard hopes to redeem himself after loss to Pistons

By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[e-mail]




Boston’s Tony Allen shoots over Memphis’ Juan Carlos Navarro. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Enlarge photo


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BOSTON— No one is looking forward to playing the Pistons tonight more than Tony Allen.

“I am,” Allen said, “considering what happened last time.”

Chauncey Billups made two foul shots after Allen fouled him with one-tenth of a second left to give Detroit an 87-85 victory in Boston on Dec. 19.



“Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to get out there and defend and make decisions on the court,” Allen said. “Hopefully, the end result could be better than last time.”

More than 22,000 fans will be at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit at 7:30 tonight for what will be the most anticipated Celtics regular-season games in a long, long time.

The 28-3 Celtics enter with the NBA’s best record, scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense. The Pistons rank second in all three categories.

The Celtics have won eight in a row and 17 of 18 while 26-7 Detroit has won 11 straight and 18 of 20. Boston’s only loss during that span came to Detroit.

Whether the Celtics win or lose tonight, they’ll still own the NBA’s best record and the Pistons face tough road tests Wednesday at Dallas and Thursday at San Antonio in their next two games. But the Pistons can gain a huge psychological advantage by knocking off the Celtics for a second time. They’d also win the season series, which would become the tiebreaker for homecourt advantage in the playoffs in the unlikely event that the two teams finish with the same record. The Celtics face the Pistons only once more this season — March 5 in Boston.

“Every game is a big game for me, considering my (knee) rehab,” Allen said. “I take every game I play like a playoff situation.”

Returning from major knee surgery, Allen has averaged only 5.5 points and 16.5 minutes this season, but he’s been far more productive when given the chance to play more. In his three starts his numbers improve to 12.3 points in 40 minutes.

“I’m glad you noticed,” Allen said.

“It feels good,” Allen said, “any time I get out there on the court, whether it’s two minutes or 25 minutes. I need to take advantage of the minutes whenever I get them.”

“I have to find a better way of keeping him involved,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before the game, “because he’s an energy player and it’s tough for energy players when they don’t have a lot of minutes, especially minutes in a row.”

Allen then went out and scored a season-high 20 points last night in 25-1/2 minutes.

The Celtics own the NBA’s best road record at 12-2 and have won eight in a row away from the Garden, but the Pistons are 13-2 at home. Detroit has beaten Boston nine straight and 14 of the last 15 times they’ve played. Boston has dropped seven in a row in Detroit since a victory there on March 15, 2003. Detroit clearly had the better team the past few years, but the Celtics appear headed toward breaking the NBA record for most improved record from one season to the next. The 1997-1998 San Antonio Spurs set the record by winning 36 more games than the year before.

“If we’re going to be of any substance, we’re going to have to beat teams like this,” Kevin Garnett said. “This is a measuring stick for our team. They have a lot of weapons. They’ve played in huge games. This is a good test for us.”

The Celtics rely upon their Big Three, and the Pistons could have the NBA’s best starting five. Richard Hamilton, Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess all average double figures in scoring. During a win at Washington on Wednesday, seven Pistons scored in double figures.

Detroit’s Flip Saunders believes his team’s bench has the edge.

“I think we have more depth, more size than they have,” Saunders. “We can throw more bigger bodies out there.”

Saunders was honored as Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December, succeeding Rivers who earned the honor for November.

Detroit enjoys a big experience edge playing in big games, especially in the playoffs. All the starters except McDyess played for the Pistons’ 2004 NBA championship team and Detroit has reached at least the Eastern Conference finals in each of the past five years. The only Celtic with an NBA championship ring is backup forward James Posey, who earned one with Miami two years ago.

“They’re the team we’re chasing,” Rivers said. “I don’t care about records.”

In Detroit’s win at the Garden last month, the 6-foot-3 Billups used his size advantage and savvy to overpower Rajon Rondo for 28 points and 8 assists. Garnett (26 points, 12 rebounds) and Ray Allen (24 points) did their parts, but Prince limited Paul Pierce to 5 of 16 shooting and just 11 points. Pierce held Prince to 1 of 10 shooting and 2 points, but the Pistons will take that tradeoff.

[FLCeltsFan]

ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2008/01/04/sports/sports05.txt


Perkins hit high point in Lakers game


Kendrick Perkins (File photo)
By MIKE FINE
The Patriot Ledger

OK, so we all know that Kendrick Perkins is offensively challenged, but the Boston Celtics center has been working assiduously on his defense.

Coach Doc Rivers thought that defense was showcased in the victory over Los Angeles Sunday, when Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who averages 12.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks, was limited to eight points, two rebounds and one block. Perkins took him right out of his game.

Rivers called it Perkins’ ‘‘best of the year. I thought he guarded Bynum as well as you can guard him, and I thought not only did he just guard Bynum, he kept getting back to help shrink the floor so we could show Kobe five (defenders). That was our mantra going into the game - show five defenders every time he touched the ball. That’s tough to do, and I thought it was his best game.’’

Perkins continued working on his defense Wednesday against Houston, but both he and backup Scot Pollard fouled out against giant Yao Ming. Still, they limited Yao to six first-half points.

‘‘Offensively, he is what he is,’’ Rivers said, ‘‘and defensively when he plays with that type of energy and that type of focus, Perk is really good for your basketball team.

‘‘He can improve, and we’re working on it. That’s been a process since we’ve been here. He’s improved a little on it. Clearly we’d like him to get it up and over his head quicker. It’s not getting it up, he’s bringing it back down. He’s a gatherer. He has to gather himself before he goes back up. We would like him to be able to catch and go back up in one motion, and that’s been very difficult.’’

Stars shining

Kevin Garnett continues to lead all All-Star candidates with 1,527,963 votes, with Cleveland’s LeBron James coming in second with 1,294,019 votes. The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant is third in voting with 1,234,111 votes in the West.

Garnett is joined by Celtics teammates Ray Allen and Paul Pierce as top-tier vote-getters. Allen has received 617,123 votes, good for third place at guard behind Miami’s Dwayne Wade and New Jersey’s Jason Kidd. Pierce placed fourth amongst Eastern forwards, right behind Toronto’s Chris Bosh, with 352,243 votes.

The series

The Celtics host the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, hoping to win an eighth straight game while improving their home record to 16-1 prior to heading to Detroit Saturday. No one will be more intent on watching this game than Memphis’ President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace, who served seven seasons as Celtics GM. He was named to his current post in June. The Grizzlies are coming off a Wednesday victory at Indiana, where they’d never won in 11 tries. The 9-22 Grizzlies are averaging virtually the same points as the Celtics, 100.2, but giving up 104.5 - 17.5 more than the 27-3 Celtics. Memphis is 4-11 away from home.

In the spotlight

First-year coach Marc Iavaroni is on something of a hot seat, presiding over a group that features a couple of stars in Pau Gasol and Rudy Gay, but his team has yet to gel. The win at Indiana not only broke an 11-game losing streak there but an overall five-game losing streak. ‘‘They showed a grit and desire that’s been missing,’’ Iavaroni said, ‘‘and they knew it. ... We were just so hungry for a win.’’ One problem Iavaroni has been dealing with is leaning on a rookie point guard, Mike Conley, who was Greg Oden’s teammate at Ohio State. Conley is just getting over a shoulder injury that forced him out of 20 games. He returned Saturday in a loss to San Antonio, but scored seven points with six assists at Indiana, his first start. ‘‘I felt real aggressive,’’ Conley said. ‘‘I thought I ran the team well. I thought we played together from the beginning of the game.’’

[FLCeltsFan]

unpossiblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/celtics-talking-too-much-trash.html

Celtics Talking Too Much Trash?
Sorry for not having any new content yesterday, I got hit by a nasty case of food poisoning (thanks In-N-Out) and was out of commission all day.



In his recent ESPN chat David Thorpe made a few comments about how much trash the Celtics are talking out on the court. Could this have been a factor in Lamar Odom's flagrant foul on Ray Allen?



While Odom himself listed several reasons for the foul, he didn't mention trash talk. Still, the Celtic's frustrating defense, combined with the trash talk and their habit of blowing out opponents probably doesn't sit too well with other teams in the league.



Of course, trash talking is part of the mental side the game. It can be seen as crude at times, but the general idea is to get in your opponent's head while boosting your own confidence at the same time. Some of the best players that the game has ever seen were notorious trash talkers, such as Michael Jordan and Gary Payton.



Still, there are many who see trash talking as unsportsmanlike, as something that should be left on the playgrounds and removed from the professional game. It gives the impression that the player is arrogant and conceded, which doesn't help the NBA in their never-ending quest to remove the "gangster" or "thug" element from the game.



We have already seen the NBA crack down on things like taunting, hanging on the rim, arguing with referees, and other actions that would be considered bad behavior. Accordingly, trash talking seems to have declined from it's hayday in the late 90's. If th Celtics are saying a few things here and there to their opponents then so be it. It hasn't gotten out of hand yet, and if the chatter on the floor is helping Boston take their game to a new level then the NBA needs to let it go.



The rest of the league needs to understand that the way to hurt a trash talking team is on the scoreboard, not with flagrant fouls and overly physical play, which we saw when the Celtics took on the Kings. Until someone does that the Celtics have every right to talk.

[FLCeltsFan]

3shadesofblue.blogspot.com/2008/01/postgame-thoughts-memphis-at-boston.html

Postgame Thoughts: Memphis at Boston 1.4.08
Well, it wasn't a win, but it was a lot more interesting than just about anyone could have predicted. Rather than the expected blowout, it was a closely contested game that captivated the attention of both fanbases, as well as some interested third-party observers, I'm sure.

Tonight I came away impressed with what Pau and Darko were able to do on defense in the low post. I know you're saying "WHAT?!?! We got creamed by Points in the Paint!" That is true, but I'm talking about the two of them being matched up on KG, Perkins and Big Baby within 10 feet of the basket. They held their position well and either blocked or altered quite a few shots, especially in the 1st half.

How about the toughness of Rudy Gay? He had his tooth chipped by James Posey in the 3rd quarter and managed to make it back into the game in the 4th quarter and hit a few big time shots along the way. For those of you who don't know how much a chipped tooth hurts, all I can say is that you're lucky. I cannot imagine trying to run and jump while enduring that.

Michael Conley didn't lead us to a win, but for the 2nd straight game he created for his teammates and made the offense look better, even if the conversion rate wasn't what we wanted to see with a paltry .429 FG% and .333 3PT% on the night. He was also the only Grizzlies' starter with a positive +/- for the night and one of only 3 Grizzlies period to achieve that. He doesn't make flashy plays, but he always seems to make the right play -- the smart play.

Where are the body snatchers that took over Ray Allen tonight? He was 0-9 from the field and his only points came off 2 free throws in the last minute of the game. Very strange to witness after coming to expect great scoring nights from him his entire career. Everybody has an off night, but this was an anomaly of epic proportions.

The team needs to work on scoring in the paint more, both from the low post and from slashing to the basket, while looking to draw contact. Missing too many 3 pointers (8/24) and missing some key free throws (16/21) made this a win for the Celtics, rather than a toss-up for either team in the last minute of the game. I'll definitely take this result over a blowout loss though, as the Grizzlies are beginning to look like they are working together, establishing chemistry and putting Marc Iavaroni's teachings into practice finally. Definitely a positive night for Grizzlies fans looking for something to give them hope for the remainder of the season.

ChipC3's Perspective:
Who was that masked man off the Boston bench? Tony Allen went for a season high instead of Ray Allen (who probably had the worst game of his career) but once again a backcourt player had his best game of the season and led to Memphis' downfall. The team really needs a defensive stopper on the perimeter more than the reputed scorer from the NBDL.

Gasol had an off night shooting but still contributed 8 boards, 5 assists and 3 blocks but where was the blockout on that last put back by Garnett. I realize it was Rudy's man at the time but Gasol should have been looking to block out someone instead of sitting under the basket like he expected it to fall in.

Rudy Gay showed the most intestinal fortitude in a Grizzlies uniform since James Posey took down Peja Stojakovic in Sacramento. Interesting that it took Posey's forearm to show that toughness as Posey's elbow jarred loose one of Rudy's teeth. How can that not be a foul by the way? Rudy overcame a tough start shooting the ball and Posey's accidental shot to lead the team in scoring and make some big shots down the stretch.

Mike Conley has learned how to swim in the pool. He didn't fill up the stat sheet like he did in In Indiana but he made good decisions and forced Rhondo to take jump shots instead of lay ups. Speaking of lay ups Boston killed Memphis in the paint (44-26) but more from Boston not allowing Memphis to score more than defensive breakdowns on the Grizzlies. Still the breakdowns were at particularly bad times.

Mike Miller has to learn to find his shot in the 2nd half and especially in the 4th quarter. With Rudy and Gasol drawing defensive attention Mike has to take more shots. His drop off from 11 pts in the first 14 minutes to 5 pts the rest of the way really hurt. Don't worry if you miss Mike just find a way to take some shots. That will force teams to play more straight up defense and Gasol and Gay can beat straight up defenses.

Tough loss for the team but not many teams can go to Boston and only lose by four points. The team should hold their heads up and come back home ready to give 100% effort against the Heat.