News 3/11

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1079412&format=text

Celts play off 50th win

By Steve Bulpett | Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by AP
PHILADELPHIA - For the Celtics [team stats] of the last dozen or so years, the history of the franchise has been worn like a two-ton, 20-karat chain around their neck. But when this team is mentioned with the teams of old, the comparisons are more favorable.

Last night when the Celts slapped the Philadelphia 76ers [team stats], 100-86, they took another step into the realm of their storied forefathers. The triumph was the C’s 50th of the season, the first time that threshold has been crossed since the 1991-92 season - otherwise known as Larry Bird’s last year.

And they really don’t care.

“I guess it’s nice, but that’s not what we’re playing for,” coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re not playing for 50. We want more. That’s just not why we’re playing.”

Said Ray Allen: “Any time you win 50 games in a season and we have quite a few games left it’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment, but, you know, I’m going to check my mailbox first to see if I’ve got any prizes in it for winning 50 games. We’ve seen other people in this league and (in other) sports accomplish greatness during the regular season, and still you’re always judged by what you do in the postseason.”

When it was noted to Kevin Garnett that most teams would be excited about crossing the 50-win line, he said, “We’re not most teams, man.

“I didn’t even know we had 50 wins,” Garnett added. “I look at who we play and the person I’m going to guard.”

With the Celtics riding in on an eight-game win streak and the Sixers in possession of eight straight victories at home, something had to give. In truth, however, the Celts just took what they wanted to up their streak to nine. They tied their longest run of the year with an impressive display and, for the fourth straight game, never trailed.

In Sam Cassell’s debut, (no points, one assist, four fouls in 5:25), the C’s broke the game open in the third quarter behind some sound thinking. Garnett had made all five of his shots in the first half and it was decided that, hey, maybe this guy should get the ball a little more. So Garnett matched his 12 first-half points in the opening 6:38 of the third quarter to put the Celtics ahead by 14. It was just details after that as Rivers played his entire 12-man roster.

“That’s what we talked about at halftime,” Rivers said. “That was our adjustment. I said, ‘Guys, to the post. Let’s play out of that.’ He did score, but half the time other people score when you throw it to Kevin.”

Garnett led with 26 points, while Allen added 21 and Paul Pierce [stats] had 17. The three combined to shoot 25-for-37 (67.6 percent) from the floor. Kendrick Perkins [stats] missed out on a double-double, but he had his fifth straight double-figure rebound game with 10 to go with a career high-tying six blocks and seven points.

The Sixers surrendered the game’s first 15 points but came back to tie it at 44. However, with the Celts holding Philadelphia to a season-low 31.6 percent shooting, the 76ers never appeared to be a true threat.

Philadelphia came in hoping to use the game as a measuring stick. The Celts were well aware of the Sixers’ thinking.

“It’s one of those things where we might have to see them again, so we wanted to try to make a statement tonight,” Pierce said. “You’ve got to try to take a team’s confidence away if you’ve got to see them down the road. You want to make teams think they can’t beat you. Mentally, that’s half the battle.”

Mentally, the Celtics are fighting larger battles than a March Monday in Philadelphia - or even 50 wins.

“It’s good that we’re playing really well and getting a lot of wins,” Pierce said, “but like I’ve been saying all year, we’re building for something bigger than just total win amount. I’m just happy that we’re playing well right now.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1079423&format=text

Feeling the rust
Layoff slows Cassell in debut with Green

By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Notebook | Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by AP
PHILADELPHIA - Under the circumstances, Sam Cassell gets graded on the curve for his first appearance in a Celtics [team stats] uniform. In that the veteran point guard hasn’t played in an NBA game since Feb. 20 for the Clippers, coach Doc Rivers was smiling when he ranked on his new guy last night.

Cassell was scoreless with four fouls (three in his first 3:05), one assist and two turnovers in 5:24 of a 100-86 win against the 76ers.

“Yeah, he looked awful,” Rivers said. “But he was good. You knew he’d be rusty, and he was. I told him I knew he was in trouble when he passed up the first jump shot. I’ve never seen him do that before. But you can see he’s going to be good. Even though his shot and stuff was rusty, he made a couple of passes that were terrific. He has great vision, and that’s going to help us.”

Cassell certainly didn’t lose any confidence along the way, saying afterward, “It ain’t going to take long. It ain’t going to take long. That’s the first time I’ve been on the court in 2 weeks.

“My wind is fine. It’s just my timing is off. Not knowing the sets - not knowing where to go on the court - that’s tough. But you’ve got to start somewhere.”

With just 21 games left to prepare for the postseason, Rivers figured the timing was right for Cassell to make his debut.

“He’s ready,” Rivers said before the game. “He hasn’t done much, but I just wanted to throw him in there and see what happens.”

The pressing schedule was a key; if there are things to be worked out, they must be resolved now.

“That’s a lot of it,” Rivers said. “We don’t have a lot of games left, and we have some tough games coming up. It’s actually a good time to throw him out there because we’re going to have some games that are tough, drag-out games, and even though he doesn’t know what we’re doing, quite honestly, it still gives him a chance to play in those type of games.”

Kevin Garnett got creative when describing his new/old teammate.

“Depth, veteranship - if that’s a word,” said Garnett, who played with Cassell for the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Leadership is more what I was thinking, experience. He’s a general. He’s coming in and he’s fitting right in.”

With the pressure certain to mount for the Celtics as they get deeper into the season, Cassell will be a welcome relief valve.

“We’ve got a lot of personalities around here, and he’s no different from that,” Garnett said.

“Sam has never found it hard to fit in with anybody, so it’s hard not to like his ugly (butt).”

Scal takes seat

As expected, Brian Scalabrine was the one left off the active roster (joining the injured Scot Pollard and demoted Gabe Pruitt) with Cassell making his debut.

And - again, as expected - Scalabrine dealt with the situation professionally after Rivers told him at yesterday’s morning shootaround.

The forward’s next move was getting with strength and conditioning coach Walter Norton Jr. to set up an extra workout time.

After discussing the logistics, Scalabrine said to Norton, “Hey, you’ve got other people to deal with. You tell me what’s good for you.”

What’s good for Scalabrine now is maintaining his playing shape, something Rivers passed along.

“He just said I’ve got to stay ready because in this game anything can happen,” Scalabrine said. “To be honest with you, I could probably go from being on the (inactive) list to maybe playing in the next game because of matchups. Some teams go small, and I’m more of a small forward than Baby (Glen Davis) and Leon (Powe) and P.J. (Brown).

“The key is you just have to stay positive and stay ready. I won’t let this discourage me at all.”

With that, Scalabrine took off for the team bus headed to the hotel and his next workout.

“We know for sure that I won’t be playing, so I can really blow it out in the weight room,” he said.

Pollard waits

According to Rivers, there is still no time set for Pollard’s ankle surgery.

“They don’t know,” he said. “They were hoping for Tuesday, but he hasn’t been feeling well, so they may delay it.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/11/happy_50th_for_celtics?mode=PF

Happy 50th for Celtics
Blowing out Sixers is a piece of cake
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 11, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Doc Rivers noted that you don't get a trophy for 50 wins in the regular season. Ray Allen said he'd look in his mailbox at home today to see if there was a prize for getting 50 wins. And Kevin Garnett basically couldn't care less.

With their focus on the big picture of an NBA title, the Celtics were ho-hum about becoming the league's first 50-win team after a 100-86 victory over the Sixers last night at the sold-out Wachovia Center.

"I didn't even know we had 50 wins, to tell you the truth," said Garnett, who had his 23d double-double of the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds. "I haven't even looked at our record. I've looked at who we've played and the person I'm going to guard.

"Other than that, I [don't care] about the record. My focus is on who we play one game at a time. That's it."

At 50-12, these Celtics tied the second-fastest route to 50 wins in franchise history. The 1964-65 and 1985-86 teams both reached 50 wins with just 11 losses.

"It doesn't really mean anything," Allen said. "I haven't thought about it. I don't think any one of us has looked at the schedule or the record at 50 wins. I know 50 is 50.

"Any time you win 50 games in a season - and we have quite a few games left - it's a pretty remarkable accomplishment. But I'm going to check my mailbox first to see if I've got any prizes in it for winning 50 games before I speak too soon. Other than that, you don't win anything for 50."

Said Rivers, "Numbers are numbers. We just want to keep getting better and keep playing. You don't get a trophy for getting 50 wins."

The Celtics extended their winning streak to nine games, tying a season high already accomplished twice. They have won four straight on the road and improved to 7-0 on the road against the Atlantic Division.

Allen had 21 points and nailed four 3-pointers while Paul Pierce added 17 points. New Celtic Sam Cassell, in his debut, was scoreless with four fouls in 5:24. The Sixers, who played an afternoon game at Milwaukee a day earlier, shot a season-low 31.6 percent from the field.

"We've got to continue to do the things we've been doing and we've got to do them a little bit better," Sixers coach Mo Cheeks said, "especially when you're playing against a team like Boston."

Since a Dec. 5 loss to Boston left them at 5-13, the Sixers had gone 25-20. They entered last night's game having won four straight and were facing a potential first-round playoff opponent.

The Celtics came out focused from the tip-off, sending a message to the Sixers about what they could be looking forward to come playoff time. Boston is 3-0 against Philadelphia this season.

"It's one of those things where we might see them again," Pierce said. "So we wanted to make a statement tonight. You always want to go out there and win and make a statement because you want to try to take a team's confidence away.

"You want to make teams think they can't beat you. Mentally, that's half the battle, anyway."

The Celtics ran out to a 15-0 lead before finishing the first quarter ahead, 26-20. The Sixers got back into the game - and had it tied at 44 - before going into halftime down, 53-47.

"It was great," said Rivers about the early lead. "But then we let our guard down."

The Celtics put the Sixers away in the third quarter by opening with a 10-3 run finalized with a Garnett alley-oop dunk to take a 63-50 lead. They outscored the Sixers, 23-15, in the quarter, holding the home team to 5-of-22 shooting, as they built a 76-62 lead. Garnett had 12 points and 5 rebounds in the period.

Boston's defense kept the Sixers from getting back in the game by holding them to 7-of-23 shooting from the field (0 for 5 on 3-pointers) in the fourth quarter.

"We all know that Boston's a very good basketball team," Cheeks said. "No. 1 defensive team in the league and they showed why tonight."

But having 50 wins, right now, isn't a big deal to the Celtics.

Said Pierce, "It's great. It shows that we've been playing well through the course of the season. But we have bigger goals than that."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/11/cassells_debut_with_green_rust_colored?mode=PF
Cassell's debut with Green rust-colored
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 11, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - When Sam Cassell's jumper sailed high above the rim late in the fourth quarter for an airball, it was safe to say he was a little rusty.

In his Celtics debut last night against the Sixers, Cassell was scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting and had 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4 fouls, and 2 turnovers, playing 5:24 of the 100-86 victory at Wachovia Center. It was his first action since Feb. 20, when he was still a Clipper.

Cassell, who averaged 12.8 points and 4.7 assists for Los Angeles this season, took the start in stride.

"I haven't played in 2 1/2 weeks," he said. "It's going to be all good. It ain't going to take long."

The 14-year NBA veteran, who was signed by Boston a week ago after being bought out by the Clippers, said he wasn't nervous in the least before the game. He relaxed during the day at the team hotel by watching the MTV show "Making The Band."

Cassell entered with Boston ahead, 38-34, with 7:07 left in the half. He replaced Tony Allen and joined Eddie House in the backcourt. The Philadelphia fans, renowned for being testy, welcomed the 38-year-old with boos.

He was replaced with 4:02 remaining in the half after picking up his third foul in just three minutes. He returned with Boston up, 98-79, with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter and played to the final buzzer.

"My wind is fine, just my timing is off," Cassell said. "I don't know the sets. I don't know where to go on the court."

Scalabrine bumped
When Celtics coach Doc Rivers told forward Brian Scalabrine he had something to talk about yesterday morning, Scalabrine had a hunch he probably wasn't going to be in uniform last night.

To make room on the 12-man active roster for Cassell, Rivers and executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge decided to place Scalabrine on the inactive list.

Scalabrine joined center Scot Pollard (out for the season with an ankle injury) and rookie guard Gabe Pruitt on the inactive list.

"I knew already," said Scalabrine. "I'm not dumb. I'm not one of the high-end players."

Scalabrine is averaging 1.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game (41 games), and has a .317 field goal percentage. His field goal percentage is the lowest on the team, and only Pruitt is averaging fewer rebounds. The recent addition of forward-center P.J. Brown also took up a potential roster spot for Scalabrine.

"I can understand why I am being put on the list right now," Scalabrine said. "I don't think I've played as well as I could've played. But it's just an unfortunate situation. I was starting [when Kevin Garnett was out] and then I got hurt. I've come out of the rotation since.

"There are things I can improve on. I have to continue to try to do that."

In the meantime, the six-year veteran was told by Rivers to "always be ready," and keep working on his ball-handling for "timing" during games.

"I just want to continue to work and get better," Scalabrine said. "I'll always know that if anything happens in the NBA, I'll be ready if a guy goes down. I'll just schedule my workouts and be ready to go.

"It's a lot bigger than Brian Scalabrine, this whole thing. It's about winning a championship for the Boston Celtics. If Danny and Doc believe it's best for me to be on the list, then that's my role.

"As a competitive person, you want to fight and go out there and give yourself minutes. But on the other hand, you have to realize that we're in a situation where we are going for a championship and those guys are the ones that are helping us right now."

Rivers said Scalabrine's attitude was "fantastic," and that "for the most part" the entire team was that way.

"Those are the types of guys you need on your roster," Rivers said.

Latest developments
In two games since being reassigned to the Utah of the D-League, Pruitt has averaged 19 points, 7 assists, 3.5 steals, and 2 turnovers in 37 minutes . . . Rivers will be a candidate for NBA Coach of the Year, but he thinks Philadelphia's Mo Cheeks deserves consideration because his team is overachieving and in playoff contention. "Mo has done a better job than anybody in the league," Rivers said.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1079377&format=text
Celts fans reading into Ray Allen’s book pick

By Inside Track | Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | The Inside Track

Photo by Tara Carvalho
Celtics [team stats] big gun Ray Allen, who has $36 million left on a two-year deal, had the hoop-loving literati a little Green around the gills the other day when he bought a couple of retirement-planning books at Borders.

“When he was cashing out everyone asked him if he was retiring,” said our spy in the stacks at the Boylston Street store. “He said no, the books were for a friend.”

That’s Ray’s story - and he’s sticking to it. Because walking out on $36 million sounds like a chapter in “Retirement for Dummies!”

“Ray enjoys and is avid about reading,” Celts PR man Jeff Twiss told the Track. “He’s interested in a variety of topics and subjects, and he did purchase a book on retirement because a good friend is comptemplating retirement in the near future. And he thought a book would be a nice gift.”

Perhaps a free visit with Ray’s financial adviser would be a better one???

[FLCeltsFan]

lexnihilnovi.blogspot.com/2008/03/nbas-anti-celtic-bias-hosed-cs-after.html

NBA's Anti-Celtic Bias Hosed Cs after Lewis Death

Late in the afternoon on June 8, 1986, Danny Ainge gleefully bounced around the crowded, champagne-soaked, cigar-stenched Boston Celtics locker room, high-fiving each of the teammates with whom he had just crushed the Houston Rockets to win the NBA championship.

"Forty-five grand, baby," Ainge said. That was the playoff reward for the NBA champions. (NBA champions now earn more than $1.77 million each, or more than the entire playoff pool in 1986.) And the Celtics looked ready to do it over and over again.

Larry Bird and Kevin McHale were in their primes. Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, and Ainge were also good for several more years. Bill Walton had played in 100 games, and never looked better. The team had the second pick in the upcoming draft.

Had anyone that day offered that the Celtics would still be looking for their next championship two decades later, well, as Ainge said recently, "That would have been unbelievable. At that time, with the team we had, it seemed like it would go on forever."

But the long dry spell wasn't simply a case of bad luck.

As it turns out, some of it was payback.

After more than 25 years of cigar-tinged Celtic dominance, the league watched on as misfortune befell the Leprechauns from Beantown. Len Bias' death. Bill Walton's career ending surgeries. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale's greatness hobbled by a series of injuries. And then the death of Reggie Lewis, the second-best two-guard in the league behind Michael Jordan.

Two years after the Celtics started the season 29-5, Boston still had hopes of climbing to championship heights once again, with Lewis playing a leading role and Bird playing the role of Halicek circa 1974 and 1976.

After Reggie's death, any hopes of the Celtics recovering from his loss were snuffed out by the NBA board of governors.

Appearing before the board, Celtic executive Dave Gavitt asked the league for a special exemption that would allow Boston to use Reggie's salary for a free agent signing. There was no response—literally. None. No one said a word. Not one team was even willing to second Gavitt's motion, much less entertain further discussion on the topic.

After the meeting, Suns boss Jerry Colangelo pulled Gavitt aside.


"Don't take it personally, Dave. This isn't about you," Gavitt recalled being told by Colangelo. "This is about cigar smoke from all those years. This is about Red, not green."

+++

Wow.

I've never been a believer in an anti-Celtics conspiracy--until now.

I've always thought of the conspiracy theorists as unstable and in need of something else to occupy there time--until now.

Having read this, it does make you wonder about legitimacy of the Tim Duncan and Oden-Durant draft results.

Come to think of it, it makes me wonder whether penny-pinching, money-grubbing Don Gaston, Celtics owner during the Joe-Johnson cum Rodney-Rogers cum Vin-Baker fiasco, was paid off by someone in the league to deal the Celtics a blow at the very moment they had been however briefly resurrected.

[FLCeltsFan]

blogs.metrowestdailynews.com/celtics/?p=1081

Around the parquet for Monday
Posted on March 10, 2008 by Scott Souza
Filed Under Uncategorized |

The Celtics go for the big 5-0 tonight in Philly in (yet another) game that could be a preview of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

THe Sixers are playing as well as any team in the conference - except maybe the Celtics - of late and have been far from the pushover this season you might have expected in November.

It continues to be an interesting stretch for Rajon Rondo, who will face another opposing guard tonight in Andre Miller who has given him trouble in the past. Miller is the type of big, physical guard that can be a matchup problem for the slighter Rondo. Miller got the best of Rondo when the Sixers nearly pulled the upset early this season.

After this, Rondo faces Deron Williams and Utah in another big challenge on Friday. …

A quick look back at Saturday night’s non-competitive event in Memphis:

It was good to see James Posey get untracked. The normally quiet Posey seemed to let a little frustration with his lack of role in the offense surface in weeks and lighting up the Grizzlies from beyond the arc might have been the “feel good” session he needed. …

Interesting comment from Doc Rivers Friday night that go overlooked a bit was that: we’ve got to get Tony Allen playing better. That’s the only way we are going to get Ray (Allen) and Paul (Pierce) some rest.

Rivers has used the public forum to criticize (motivate?) Allen in the past - including early this season - and it has worked, so maybe this is just more of that. As an aside, ultimately it worked with Al Jefferson, and perhaps Kendrick Perkins as well, too.