News 3/14

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1080221&format=text

Even Larry’s legend can’t top Russ

By Gerry Callahan | Friday, March 14, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Herald file
First of all, No. 5 is going up in the rafters. Already there should be no doubt. He has been here for just five months, played in only 54 games, but about two weeks from now, Kevin Garnett will make history. And not just any history. Celtics [team stats] history.

That’s like being the hottest escort at the Emperors Club. Or the wildest weekend in John Daly’s life. That’s saying something.

A win tonight against Utah will put the Celtics an astonishing 40 games over .500. It will be their 52nd win of the season and 11th in a row. They have already blown away all expectations for the season, but soon this team will make an even more dramatic turnaround than it did in Larry Bird’s rookie year.

Bird took over a 29-win team and carried it to a 61-21 record in 1979-80, his first season. With 18 games to play after tonight, there is no doubt that Garnett’s team will improve by more than 32 games in the win column. In fact, it will probably break the mark set by David Robinson’s Spurs, who went from 20 wins to 56 after drafting Tim Duncan in 1997.

So Garnett has already earned a place in the rafters, especially by the Celtics’ cushy standard for retired numbers. Indeed, if Don Nelson’s No. 19 belongs up there, I’m thinking Brian Scalabrine just has to stick around for a couple more seasons and he’s a lock. There are 21 numbers up there now (not including Jim Loscutoff’s LOSCY); Garnett and Paul Pierce [stats] will be the next two.

The question is, will Garnett someday be considered among the best Celtics ever?

An 11-time All-Star and a former MVP, he will surely join the list of 24 Hall of Famers who have played for the Celtics. He is among the best players ever to play in Boston. Just not among the very best Celtics.

No fault of his own; he just arrived too late. He’ll be 32 in two months and has already played more regular-season games than Larry Bird or Bill Russell. Oh, Danny boy, why couldn’t you have swindled your pal Kevin McHale a few years earlier?

But Garnett joins an elite class that includes Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Sam Jones, Bill Sharman, Robert Parish and McHale. All great Celtics, but you can’t make the case for any of them as the greatest ever. We hate to fast-forward to the ending, but the Herald’s online tournament to determine the Greatest Celtics Player of All Time is really a two-man race:

Bird vs. Russell.

As far as players go, they are the two leading men in Celtics history.

Everyone else is just part of the supporting cast.

Bird is the sexier of the two, as strange as that may sound. He did more to raise the profile of the league, spent more time on national TV, hit more dramatic shots and talked more trash than Russell or anyone else. He had a more, ah, memorable face. He is remembered more for losing the NCAA national title game than Russell is for winning it twice.

Bird won three MVPs and three titles. But it feels like more. The case for Bird is, admittedly, an emotional one. To paraphrase Hillary Clinton on Barack Obama, some of us in Boston still hear celestial choirs sing when Bird’s name is mentioned.

He had an attitude, and it was infectious. Kids wore his number (Billerica kid Gary DiSarcina even wore No. 33 with the Anaheim Angels to honor Bird.). They wiped the bottoms of their sneakers, though no one was quite sure why. Bird did it, so they did it. In his 13 years in Boston, Bird rarely played in front of an empty seat.

Unfortunately, there were lots of empty seats when Russell played and not many games on TV. What a shame.

We are left to rely on grainy footage and passed-down stories, and of course, a Garden full of championship banners. There is one thing that hasn’t changed in sports, and that’s the reason they play the games. Whether it’s Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, Tom Brady [stats] or Josh Beckett [stats], the winners are the ones we admire the most.

And no one ever won like Russell.

He averaged 22.5 rebounds per game for his career. He won five MVPs, including one in 1962 when Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points a game. One longtime official scorer estimated that Russell blocked more than 10 shots a game, though it was not an official NBA statistic back when he played.

But it’s almost an insult to mention individual statistics when discussing the brilliance of Russell. This year we have marveled at the way Garnett has elevated the play of his teammates, intimidated opponents and not spent a second worrying about personal accomplishments. Russell only did that for 13 years. He won 11 titles, including eight in a row.

Last week Russell spent a day with Garnett in Boston shooting a piece for NBA TV. Yesterday No. 6 was asked about No. 5.

“I like him a lot, I’ve always liked his game,” Russell said in response to an e-mail. “Kevin Garnett will take the Celtics and get them to play to their potential. It may or may not be enough to win it all. But we will find out.”

We will find out in a few months if Garnett can deliver banner No. 17 to Boston. But whatever happens, we already know the answer to today’s question: And it’s the guy who won the first 11. It’s William Fenton Russell, the greatest Celtic and the greatest winner ever.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1080230&format=text

C’s ‘D’ deserves an A

By Jeff Horrigan | Friday, March 14, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone
At first glance, it would seem only natural to credit the Celtics [team stats]’ offensive touch for their longest winning streak in nearly 22 years, due to an average victory margin of 16.7 points.

As they look to extend their undefeated string to 11 games tonight against the Utah Jazz at TD Banknorth Garden, however, the C’s fully understand it has been their defensive play that has allowed them to play their best basketball of the season as the playoffs approach.

Throughout the winning streak, which is the franchise’s longest since the original Big Three helped rip off a 14-game run in 1986, the Celtics have stymied their opponents with relentless, airtight defense. As a result, the opposition has shot a woeful 38 percent (303-for-797) from the field during the streak.

“Any team can beat you in this league if you let them or if you give them a chance or an opportunity,” Kevin Garnett said. “Defensively, I think we are very fundamentally sound right now. We are connected and talking more than ever. Obviously, we got some additions to the team and they come in gradually, but for the most part, we are coming together a little bit.”

During the winning streak, the Celtics have surrendered more than 100 points on one occasion and they won that game, 112-102 at Portland, to end a three-game losing skid following the All-Star break. They have held teams under 90 points in seven of the last nine games, including the last three.

“It all starts with the defense,” Eddie House said. “Everyone’s out there working hard and playing hard. If you play good defense and execute on offense, you get wins.”

The Celtics are 45-6 when holding opponents under 100 points. Newcomer Sam Cassell lauded the team defense, which allows for risks to be taken defending the ball due to the security that a teammate will be backing you up.

“This team plays hard,” he said. “This team talks a lot to each other on the court. We help each other out a lot. You know if you get beat, somebody’s going to be there to help you out. A lot of teams don’t have it, but whatever it is, we’ve got it.”

Center Kendrick Perkins [stats] said the key is that everyone remains selfless.

“It’s the guard getting the steal, a big man blocking a shot or taking a charge or whatever, just making any play that will get us going,” he said.

The Celtics head off on the road following tonight’s game for what promises to be a major test against some of the Western Conference’s top teams. They open with a gimme tomorrow night in Milwaukee against the hapless Bucks (23-42), who squandered an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter Wednesday night in a 114-110 home loss to Utah.

After that, however, the Celtics have to play the current second-, third-, fifth- and seventh-place teams in the West. They travel to San Antonio (No. 3, 44-20 record) on Monday before taking on scorching Houston (No. 2, 44-20), which is riding a 20-game winning streak, on Tuesday. The trip continues in Dallas (No. 7, 42-23) Thursday before wrapping up in New Orleans (No. 5, 43-20) a week from tomorrow.

“It will be great because they are in desperation mode,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I was reading something that (San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich) said the other day that all their teams, including his team, have had to go into playoff-play urgency earlier than normal, so we’re going to catch that. We’re going to get thrown in the middle of that fire, and that’s going to be a great test for us. I’m really looking forward to it.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/14/great_to_be_green?mode=PF

Great to be Green
Celtics' resurgence a sight to behold
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist | March 14, 2008

There are so many components to the resurgence of the Boston Celtics worth celebrating, it's difficult narrowing it down to a Fave Five.

Of course, any conversation of this nature begins with the obvious - the almost surreal sight of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in Celtic green, a vision that, truthfully, I still have trouble believing is real.

It's like going to bed one night with the family minivan in the driveway, loaded with multiple car seats for the gaggle of youngsters who need to be transported along for the journey, then waking up the next morning with a Cadillac Seville and a shiny new Hummer at your disposal - and a host of drivers mature enough to trust behind the wheel.

It has been equally intriguing to watch Rajon Rondo transform the point guard position from a question mark into an exclamation point. Rondo has proven he has the tenacity and talent required to run this team of All-Stars with the authority of a player well beyond years.

Kind of nice to see him stroke that jumper, too, isn't it? In case you've forgotten, defenders ignored Rondo on the perimeter last season, and with legitimate reason. The kid couldn't bury it. He changed that by taking 750 shots a day last summer and discovering the difference between nailing the open look and having the presence of mind (as Frank Broyles likes to say) to know when to make the extra pass.

There have been other notable trends, like Kendrick Perkins establishing himself as a consistent shot-blocking presence and James Posey putting the clamps on various offensive threats, but of all the scenarios concerning this electric Celtics turnaround, the one that I've found most enjoyable is the way Paul Pierce has folded seamlessly into his new nucleus. Just the other day, Garnett lauded him as his league MVP, and while that has virtually no chance of happening, KG's sentiments were not misplaced.

All those doubters who wondered aloud if Pierce could share the ball, the minutes, and the limelight have been quieted. The critics who dogged his defense have had to eat some crow.

And, even with Garnett and Allen aboard, No. 34 still remains one of the most dangerous scorers - if not the most dangerous - on his team.

"Paul's not perfect," said Celtics boss Danny Ainge, "but the one thing I've always appreciated about him was he loves to play the game of basketball. He comes to play every night. Now, some nights he might have gotten frustrated, and he didn't always do the right thing, but I think people forget he had a great deal of responsibility and expectations placed on him, and sometimes that wasn't fair."

It has been a tumultuous ride for the captain, particularly when you consider the unforgettable playoff debacle against the Pacers was only three seasons ago. That was the seven-game series when the favored Celtics imploded, and Pierce was ejected in Game 6 after picking up two technicals, then ripping off his jersey and waving it at the Indianapolis fans. Later, in protest of what he felt was a non-call, he appeared at the postgame press conference performing his best Jacob Marley imitation with gauze wrapped around his jaw.

And that was after the Celtics won.

The fallout was immediate. Pierce was vilified for his sophomoric actions. His leadership and his value to the franchise were questioned. The Celtics seriously considered trading him.

"At the time, Paul was pretty disgruntled, too," Ainge said. "He felt the wrath of the city and the fans and the media. It bothered him. He felt bad about what he'd done, but he was also looking for an opportunity for a change."

On draft night in 2005, the Celtics prepared two advertisements to appear in the Boston Globe the following morning: one prominently featuring Pierce, and the other with Pierce conspicuously absent. The team haggled with the Portland Trail Blazers in the days leading up to the draft over a deal that would have shipped Pierce west and landed Boston the No. 3 pick and some contracts to make it work cap-wise.

"We were pretty close," Ainge said.

Instead, the Blazers ended up swapping the third pick to Utah for the sixth and 27th selections. The Jazz snapped up Deron Williams (the likely choice of Ainge, too, had he pulled the trigger on Pierce), and the Blazers used the sixth pick to tab Martell Webster.

Boston stood pat, drafted Gerald Green at No. 18, and went about mending fences with Pierce.

Pierce told the Celtics he wasn't sure how long he could hang in with a young, developing nucleus. They told him they needed him to make an honest commitment to the team, including tempering his nightlife. Neither side was particularly happy with where they stood.

Funny how Garnett and Allen cleared up so many issues for so many people.

Pierce has been consistent, unselfish, reliable, and positively buoyant this season. He sat for nearly 10 1/2 minutes in a tight game against Detroit March 5 without a complaint, then came in and nailed arguably the biggest shot of the night - a 3-pointer that pushed Boston ahead, 81-77. The Celtics won, 90-78. On Wednesday, after Pierce dumped in 14 points against Seattle in 26 minutes, coach Doc Rivers aptly termed him a "professional scorer."

As for his defense, the commitment has been there from the start. On the very first possession of this magical 2007-08 season against the Washington Wizards, Pierce, overplaying Caron Butler, deflected a pass, then clapped like an excited schoolboy when the ball grazed off Butler's fingers and out of bounds.

The new era of Celtics basketball was officially in motion. This season has been all about defense, because everyone knows that's how you win championships.

Pierce has maintained that's all he ever wanted - a shot to win it all. He is closer now than he's ever been. His life has slowed down. He's about to become a father. He has rededicated himself to conditioning, something he only did in spurts when he was younger. The influence of Allen, a fitness nut, is apparent.

"There was always that side of Paul," Ainge said. "He worked extremely hard, he just didn't do it every day."

Now, Ainge reports, on the offdays after back-to-back games, he can see Pierce from his office window doing sprints on the treadmill. In a recent conversation I had with Pierce, he told me he was so impressed with Allen's conditioning program he was going to implement it for himself this summer.

"You wait," he said, his eyes dancing, "I'm going to look like Ray someday."

That probably won't happen. But the fact Pierce wants it to is what counts.

The captain has grown up. And - finally - his teammates are grown-ups, too.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/14/preaching_what_they_practice_less_is_more?mode=PF

Preaching what they practice: Less is more
By Peter May, Globe Staff | March 14, 2008

Doc Rivers can't tell you how many wins his team has, how far in front of the Pistons it is, how many games there are to be played, or any other statistic or number that so many of us find so meaningful. But he can tell you the exact time and place of the Celtics' next practice: one week from today in Dallas.

That would be more than two weeks since their last practice.

Forget the old saw about how you get to Carnegie Hall. The Celtics are riding a 10-game winning streak, playing what might be their best basketball of the season, have all of their key guys in reasonable shape, and have, for the time being, eschewed the idea of a conventional practice. There wasn't one yesterday. Or Tuesday. Rivers points to the compacted schedule, the travel, and the need to preserve aging bodies for what everyone hopes and assumes will be a long march in May and June.

That's fine with Ray Allen.

"The way we conduct business is the way all teams should conduct business," Allen said. "At this stage of the season, there's really not a whole lot you can get accomplished. Why risk having the players get tired? You don't want that. And by not having practice, what that does is it drives everyone to get to the gym to get their own work in anyway. Believe me, there's no sense of anyone wanting to stay home all day."

And that is what happened yesterday and that is what happens on most offdays. A handful of players arrived for on-the-court work, especially newcomers Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown, and the rookies.

Said Rivers, "Baby [Glen Davis] comes in every day. If he didn't, he'd be a bigger baby." Bada-bing. Then, Rivers said, "Sorry, guys. That was the best I could do."

The rest of the veterans report if they so desire - and, as Allen noted, they all desire. It's a routine, whether they hear Rivers's voice or the dulcet tones of the strength and conditioning coaches.

"On optional days, guys come in on their own, get their extra running in, shots up, weightlifting," said Kevin Garnett. "Just because we call it a day off from practice and we aren't all organized doesn't mean guys don't come in. We've got about nine or 10 guys that get their daily [work] and stay consistent. Paul [Pierce] and I are no different from that. So even though we're not up and down [the floor] beating each other up, we get in there, keep the rhythm, keep the things we've been doing throughout this year consistently. It's an offday. If you want to take it or you need it, you can. But, for the most part, guys come in and get their work in."

For all teams, there's generally a relaxation on the number of practices and the length of practice as the season wears on. Rivers, for instance, almost never has a practice on the day after the second game of a back-to-back. But this season, owing to the veteran makeup of his team and the realization it has a chance to go far into the postseason, he also has substantially pulled back on what normally would have been obvious days for practice.

Like yesterday. The Celtics last saw tonight's opponent, Utah, on their post-Christmas trip through the West. That was before the Jazz caught fire after incorporating Kyle Korver into their rotation. That was with Andrei Kirilenko injured. But Rivers and Co. will deal with the Jazz this morning in what looks to be an extended shootaround.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has been using a similar approach for the last couple of years, only he tends to go in the opposite direction by canceling the shootaround. If the Spurs have a day to prepare for their next opponent, they will usually practice. Then, there is no shootaround on the day of the game.

Popovich said he finds cutting back on this sort of thing useful not only in preserving his players' bodies, but also in uncluttering their minds.

"Going through it on a five-on-five basis, taped and aggressively, is, I think, a better way to prepare for an opponent than not being taped, standing around, and walking through things with no timing," Popovich said. "It's also one less appointment the players have to keep, one less appearance they have to make. To lighten up the mental side is good. If, on the day before, you went through it in a more efficient, aggressive, realistic way anyway, why do you have to come back the next day and do it in a less efficient, less aggressive, less realistic way? I think it's copycat stuff. I don't think it makes any sense."

Lest the Celtics think that Rivers is going Easy Street on them, they would be advised to know that the coach already has google-eyes on April - and not because the schedule is, well, appealing. There are two two-day stretches between games in the first week of the month. The coach already has practices planned for some of those days.

"We started doing this [not practicing] two weeks ago when we played a bunch of games," Rivers said. "Our thought is getting into April where we have two days between games when we can get back to practicing a lot. When we get off the [Texas] trip, that's when we can get back to having practices."

So, until next Friday fellas, enjoy the downtime. Then it's back to work, unless, of course, the coach changes his mind.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x971877479

Celtics: Benefiting from days off
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By Scott Souza/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Mar 14, 2008 @ 12:05 AM

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It's usually hard to find anyone who will argue with getting a day off.

But in the Celtics locker room these days, at least two of the players, understandably, are not overjoyed about the team's new practice-free policy.

Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown are trying to play chemistry catch-up on a squad that has spent the last six months scrimmaging, practicing and competing with each other through 63 games. Their efforts to catch up, however, are made more challenging with the team's lack of full-squad workouts.

As expected, the team did not practice on Tuesday coming off its two-game swing through Memphis and Philadelphia. Then yesterday, Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave his players a bonus day off between two home games. Rivers said it is part of his strategy to keep an older team as fresh for the playoffs as possible. Though both Cassell and Brown are 38 years old and fit into the rest is best strategy, it is not ideal for either of them right now.

"We are both in the same boat, trying to get on the same page as the guys," said Brown. "There's a certain rhythm and flow that this team has developed over the last 60 games and we're trying to put all that together in two weeks. We're trying to get in as much practice with dummy offenses, and schemes, as possible.

"You would rather have everybody out there going at it - bumping, grinding, going over plays and getting into each other. That would help speed up the process."

Brown said he fully understands why Rivers has been so lenient with the time off lately.

"There is a trust and a bond that has built between Doc and (Kevin Garnett), Ray (Allen) and Paul (Pierce)," he said. "They have been playing a lot of minutes, we have a tough road trip coming up, one of the toughest teams in the Western Conference (the Jazz) will be here (tonight), so those guys need as much rest as possible."

Rivers said that Brown and Cassell were to be in the gym both off-days this week, going through plays with a combination of reserves that includes Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe and Tony Allen. The next full team practice is not planned until Thursday between the Dallas and New Orleans games during the upcoming five-game road trip.

"We made a choice," Rivers said. "We don't have a young team, especially the guys who are playing a lot of the minutes. We know ahead there's going to be a lot of games - especially with this stretch coming up. So we started doing this two weeks ago.

"Our thought is to get to April when we have those two days between games (more often) and we can get back to practicing a lot. Really, it's when we get off the trip. That's when we can get back to doing a lot of good practicing."

Rivers began looking for extra days off for the team early in the season and the way it has responded to the downtime has convinced him to continue the practice.

"They do handle it well," the coach said. "That's why we do it. We kind of fell upon that when we noticed that every day we have off they come in and get their shots off, get in their lifts and they work out. Once we saw that they continued to do that throughout the year, then as a coach, you knew this is a team you could give days off to because they are going to work anyway."

Garnett, predictably, is among those leading the way into the Waltham training facility when it is not required.

"They are optional days, and optional days are just that," he said. "You come in on your own, get extra running in, shots up, weightlifting. Just because you call it a day off from practice, and we're not all organized, it doesn't mean guys aren't coming in. We get nine, 10 guys in there getting their daily regimens in.

"Even though we are not going up and down beating each other up, we are still in there keeping our rhythm and sticking with the things we have been doing throughout this year."

"I have seen it before," the 14-year veteran Brown said of the reduced schedule. "It varies from coach to coach with his philosophy and how he feels about the team. We have a team of veterans. I think that makes the difference. If this were a team of young guys, I don't think you would see that."

At 51-12, it's hard to argue with the formula.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.patriotledger.com/sports/pros/x673880073
Celtics have had turnaround seasons before
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By Mike Fine
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Mar 14, 2008 @ 03:27 AM

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BOSTON — When the Boston Celtics arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a preseason game in September 1978, they discovered that forward Marvin Barnes had packed two left shoes – and no rights. At that point they discovered something else: impending disaster.

After many years of unprecedented success, the Celtics relapsed to 33 wins in 1977-78, a season that ended with John Havlicek’s swan song at Boston Garden. But the following season was an unmitigated calamity. With such characters as Barnes, Bob McAdoo, Earl (The Twirl) Williams and Curtis Rowe, plus the franchise swap with the Clippers, an owner who was a scourge and an early-season coaching change, the Celtics fell to an embarrassing 29 wins.

It was Team Turmoil. “From top to bottom,” said WEEI radio analyst Cedric Maxwell, a second-year forward with that 1978-79 team. “It was management – I remember (owner) John Y. Brown coming in giving us a lecture – all the characters we had. We had so many people: McAdoo, Marvin Barnes, Billy Knight.”

Knight was a solid citizen, but 18 players came and/or went that season, including McAdoo, the prolific scorer who came over in the bizarre franchise swap that involved the Buffalo Braves moving to San Diego, and then the owners swapping themselves (Irv Levin for Brown) and seven players and two draft picks.

One year later, 1979-80, the Celtics won 61 games, the biggest turnaround in NBA history. Starting to see a parallel? Last season the Celtics, who’d been have-nots for many years, won 24 games. With the Utah Jazz in town tonight, the Celts are up to 51 and counting, having been the NBA’s leader from opening day. They can clinch the Atlantic Division with a victory.

“It brings back memories in the way they’re winning,” Maxwell said, “because we were losing so many games and they lost so many games, so the comparison could easily be there. All of a sudden in one year you turn it around from being a laughingstock to being the cream of the crop. That similarity can definitely be there. As a player it makes you think how lucky you were and how far you were from where you were last year.”

There were differences, of course. The team the Celtics fielded last season was not the bunch of misfits and disgruntled veterans that the 1978-79 team had.

“It was a bad team but I was a young player so I was trying it establish my own credentials,” Maxwell said, “so I might have been playing for a different reason, trying to establish myself. But I had things happening around me with Jo Jo (White) getting traded (to Golden State), all the guys moving around, Bob McAdoo coming in my second year, becoming my roommate because he was so frustrated at being traded to the Celtics that he said he wasn’t going to get an apartment and he slept on my couch in my apartment for a whole month and a half. So there was a bunch of different things going on.”

Brown clashed often with GM Red Auerbach, and fired Satch Sanders 14 games into the season. To save a salary, the owner asked Dave Cowens to become player-coach. The team lost 12 of its last 14 games. After years of rousing successes, the Garden was dead. Auerbach threatened to leave the following summer, and nearly accepted a job with the Knicks, but, ultimately, was convinced to stay by a Boston cabbie. Shortly thereafter, Brown’s partner, Harry Mangurian, bought him out and the team’s fortunes began to turn.

Auerbach acquired defensive specialist ML Carr from Detroit, and gave the Pistons McAdoo in return for two first-round draft choices in 1980. They were used in the acquisitions of Kevin McHale and Robert Parish a year later. For that season, though, he had Larry Bird coming in thanks to a draft pick he made a year earlier. Chris Ford and Tiny Archibald were holdovers from the dreadful 1978-79 team.

“Harry Mangurian got the team and Red Auerbach and him meshed together along with (coach) Bill Fitch,” Maxwell said, “and everything collectively kind of came together: the coach, the GM, the pride of the Celtics, Larry Bird, all the players we had. Everything meshed together and it made for a magical year, just like this year for the Celtics.”

Last season, when the Celtics won 24 games, the new Garden was always jumping. Fans saw promise in a young group of players, including Al Jefferson, Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo and Delonte West. It was a solid team under Doc Rivers, but it wasn’t happening because of youth.

“The only difference between those teams and my ‘78 team and transitioning was that most of the better players were younger,” Maxwell said, “whereas on this team, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce are all older and established veterans. There’s some similarities in the way these guys have played, how the chemistry has come together.”

Maxwell was asked if he could understand how Pierce felt, playing for so long under such difficult circumstances, but he pointed out that he was a second-year player just trying to establish himself. Pierce had tasted the playoffs and was trying to get back. “I’m sure he was very frustrated. I was frustrated because you’re so used to winning, and on a team like the Celtics you just figure that’s automatic. That’s one of the guarantees that Red Auerbach gave me for not giving me as much (salary). He said, ‘We make the playoffs all the time so you can get extra playoff money.’ How’d that work out the first couple of years?”

But Maxwell can also relate to Pierce’s rejuvenation this season. Coming to work was a chore in September, 1978, a year later it was unabashed joy.

“It was truly a college atmosphere because guys who had not won in the NBA, guys who were new to the NBA, everybody was cheering for everybody else. It became more than fun to come to work because you could see a sense of greatness, you could see a great picture about to be painted. You wanted to be there, you wanted to play hard, you wanted to play well and saw better things happening for this team.”

Thirty years later, that hasn’t changed.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.patriotledger.com/sports/pros/x693015224
Green thumb for Celtics as playoffs’ looming top seed
The Celtics have the pole position for the playoffs as they make their stretch drive.
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By Jim Fenton
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Mar 14, 2008 @ 01:24 AM

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BOSTON — Five weeks from today, the Boston Celtics will be at their training facility in Waltham preparing for the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

Barring an unforeseen collapse in the final 19 games, the Celtics will be the No. 1 seed throughout the postseason, pitting them against a sub-.500 No. 8 seed to start the playoffs.

As the Celtics fine-tune their game the rest of the regular season, they will soon begin looking at possible first-round opponents they could be matched up with starting the weekend of April 19-20.

If the playoffs opened today, the Celtics (51-12) would be facing the New Jersey Nets (27-38), but there is a long way to go and several other potential teams in the mix in the weak Eastern Conference.

Four teams are within 21/2 games of the Nets, and it looks like the eighth and final playoff spot won’t be determined until the end of the regular season on April 16.

The Celtics face the Utah Jazz tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden before opening a difficult five-game road trip Saturday night.

Boston has a 10-game winning streak going and has won 11 straight games at home, dating back to a Jan. 23 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

The Celtics have opened a six-game lead in the loss column over the Detroit Pistons in the race for the best record in the NBA, and they are in possession of the tie breaker.

As the Celtics head towards their first 60-win season since the last championship year (67-15 in 1985-86), they will soon begin itching for the start of the playoffs and what promises to be a wild spring.

Who will they being the postseason journey against? It could be the Nets, or it could be the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks (both 26-38, one-half game behind New Jersey). The Indiana Pacers (25-39) are a game and a half in back of the Nets, and even the Charlotte Bobcats (24-40, 21/2 games out) can’t be counted out.

The way the Eastern Conference is shaping up, the Celtics, Pistons, Orlando Magic and defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers will probably hold on to the top four spots.

The Toronto Raptors are fifth, 21/2 games in front of the Washington Wizards, who will be improved with Caron Butler returning to the lineup. The surprising Philadelphia 76ers are seventh, four games in front of the Nets, though it is not out of the question they could drop back to No. 8.

The team with the best overall record last season — the Dallas Mavericks — was stunned in six games by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in the opening round.

The Celtics will be on guard to avoid another shocking upset from occurring, but any of their potential first-round matchups don’t come close to comparing to the high-scoring Warriors.

The Nets, who have lost seven of their last 10 games, went in another direction when they dealt Jason Kidd to the Mavericks right after the All-Star break.

New Jersey, which is 0-3 against the Celtics and plays the regular-season finale in Boston, has Devin Harris starting at point guard, taking over for Kidd.

The Bulls, one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season, might be the most dangerous team in the group, which is not saying much.

Chicago won 49 games a year ago and eliminated the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in a first-round sweep. But the Bulls staggered at the start of this season, fired Coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve and shook up the team by trading Ben Wallace and Joe Smith and getting Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes from the Cavaliers.

The Celtics are 3-0 against the Bulls and will play in Chicago on April 1 to conclude the season series.

The Hawks have not been in the playoffs since 1999 when they made it to the second round.

Atlanta, which is 0-2 against the Celtics with a game in Georgia still go to next month, gave Boston some problems with its youth and athleticism on March 2 before losing, 98-88.

The Pacers, a team the Celtics faced in three straight postseasons from 2003-05, have struggled with off-court issues and an injury to Jermaine O’Neal while the Bobcats are still in playoff contention only because of the sad state of the East.

As the No. 1 seed, the Celtics would be paired against the winner of the No. 4-No. 5 series in the second round, meaning they could be seeing LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_8570045

Utah Jazz: Jazz have plenty of motivation vs. Boston
By Ross Siler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 03/14/2008 03:00:05 AM MDT


Related
Jazz Game Day
Mar 14:
Utah Jazz: Williams attains high trust with SloanBOSTON - It's been 76 days since the Jazz last dropped a game at EnergySolutions Arena, an 18-game home winning streak that now stands just one victory shy of the franchise record.
Don't think for a second the Jazz have forgotten the last team to beat them on their court. That would be the Boston Celtics, who took a 104-98 victory on Dec. 29.
The Jazz can repay the favor tonight as their four-game road trip continues, and Carlos Boozer didn't hesitate after in answering a question about the chance for a little payback.
"Absolutely,'' Boozer said. "I thought we had that game won, and then Paul Pierce took over a little bit. So we're going to have revenge on our minds. Hopefully, we can come back and get that game. They play really well at home, they've been playing well everywhere, really."
The Celtics own the NBA's best record at 51-12 (29-4 at home) and are riding a 10-game winning streak, their longest since 1986. Back in late December, the Celtics beat the Jazz as Pierce scored all 24 of his points in the second half and drove for a layup in the final minute.
Ray Allen also nailed a late three-pointer after nearly losing the ball out of bounds. The Celtics, who have added veterans Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown since then, joined Houston and Portland as the only other teams to win in Utah this season.
"I don't look at that sort of thing,''
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Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "We've got to play them and we know that they're a very talented team - a great team - and we've got to play our tails off to try to beat them."
The Jazz were left with a 16-16 record after losing to Boston in December, the same day they acquired Kyle Korver from Philadelphia. They have since won 27 of 34 games.

Blasting off

For all their struggles on the road, the Jazz can take some satisfaction in having been the last team to beat the Houston Rockets, whose 20-game winning streak is now tied for the second-longest in NBA history. That victory came on Jan. 27, which, as Deron Williams noted, was far enough in the past to have been before the Super Bowl. Williams said he sent a text message to Rockets guard (and former Illinois teammate) Luther Head after Houston's victory Monday over New Jersey.
Given the streak, Williams was asked if Houston had to be considered a contender even with Yao Ming finished for the season with a foot injury.
"I think you've got to look at them," Williams said. "I mean, it's not like they've just been playing cupcake teams. . . . They beat good teams in there." Houston has beaten New Orleans, Atlanta and Cleveland twice each during the streak.

The long road

With the Jazz just 15-20 on the road this season, Sloan said before Wednesday's game he was at a loss to explain things. He cited the difference between players in his day who were "like clockwork" and those who had good days and bad days.
"If they're replaceable, you replace them,'' Sloan said. "If they aren't, you go with who they are. That's what we try to do and have confidence that they'll fight back somewhere along the line and gain some experience from it."
[e-mail]


Jazz at Boston
Where: TD Banknorth Garden
Tipoff: Today, 5:30 p.m.
TV: FSN
Radio: 1320 AM, 98.7 FM
Records: Jazz 43-23; Boston 51-12
Last meeting: Celtics, 104-98 (Dec. 29)
Line: Celtics by 6
About the Jazz: They have won only seven games all season on the road against teams (Golden State, Toronto, Detroit, Orlando, Houston, Denver, Phoenix) that presently have winning records. . . . Andrei Kirilenko sat out the Jazz's loss to Boston in December with a biceps tendon injury. Kyle Korver has played just 27 minutes combined the first two games of this trip.
About the Celtics: They cruised past Seattle 111-82 on Wednesday to win their 10th consecutive game. . . . Boston also was the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot. . . . Veterans Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown have played in a combined six games since signing with the Celtics.

[FLCeltsFan]

deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695261526,00.html
Utah Jazz: Celts won at Utah; now Jazz look to return favor in Boston
By Tim Buckley
Deseret Morning News
Published: March 14, 2008
BOSTON — The Jazz have not all forgotten that it was Boston, way back on Dec. 29 of last year, that handed them their last loss at EnergySolutions Arena.
"I thought we had that game won," All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer said. "Then Paul Pierce took over a little bit."

Since that 104-98 defeat, Utah has reeled off 18 straight victories on its home floor — one shy of tying the Jazz's franchise record.

Retribution in that regard against the NBA-leading Celtics, however, will not exactly be first and foremost on Jazz minds tonight.

Certainly not Jerry Sloan's.

"I don't look at that sort of thing," the Jazz coach said after Utah's come-from-behind win Wednesday at Milwaukee. "I just look at we've got to play them, and we know that they're a very talented team, they're a great team, and we've just got to play our tails off to try to beat them."

Proving they can win when away, after all, is much more important to Sloan's 43-23 club these days than recalling who last beat them at home.

Utah's 15-20 travel mark pales in comparison to most of the NBA's Western Conference playoff-position teams, as only Dallas is also sub-.500 at 14-19.

Moreover, with just six away games left including tonight's, the Jazz are one loss away from having a losing record on the road for a seventh straight season.

That follows a span with seven consecutive seasons worth of winning road records.

"We've got to get our confidence up on the road for the playoffs, so we know in the playoffs that when we go on the road we can win a game," Boozer said. "So, that's our goal the rest of the year — to try to win as many as we can, hopefully, win all of them, and go into the postseason with confidence on the road."

Even more disconcerting for the Jazz has to be the fact that their road record against the West's best — the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Phoenix, Dallas and Golden State — is just 3-6, as opposed to 7-6 against the conference's current lottery-bound teams.

The flip side to that is how Utah has struggled against the East's least.

The Jazz have losses this season at — gasp — Indiana, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami and, at Tuesday's start of their current four-game trip, Chicago.

"We had a terrific game at home (last Saturday's win over Denver), and sometimes you get to feeling good about yourself, and that's when you get smacked right between the eyes," Sloan said. "I hate to say that, but that's the lesson you learn in this business."

No wonder Sloan gets so flustered when he tries to pinpoint the cause behind his club's incredible inconsistency.

"That's one of the questions I've always had in this business," the longtime Jazz coach said.

"I played with guys that some days they played better than others. And I've played with guys that just every day they're like clockwork; you know what you're gonna get out of them," he added. "That's the nature, I guess, of some people. If they don't have a good day, then they don't have a good day. So what do you do about it? If they're replaceable, you replace them. If they aren't, you go with who they are."

It's with that in mind, and cast intact, that the Jazz face Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and the already playoff-qualified 51-12 Celtics tonight sensing they can ill-afford yet another road loss.

"You see how tough the West is, and teams aren't losing right now," point guard Deron Williams said, "so we've got to keep on winning."

"It's the Wild West," Boozer added. "For us to stay where we are, or move up, we've got to continue to win games."

[FLCeltsFan]

blogs.metrowestdailynews.com/celtics/?p=1091

Around the parquet for Thursday: Sonics post-deadline
Posted on March 13, 2008 by Scott Souza
Filed Under Uncategorized |

With no practice today, we’ll go through a few thoughts from Wednesday’s non-competitive game against Seattle.

While it’s tough to put too much into any statistics given the amount of garbage time in the game, two players who did have good nights fly under the radar were Ray Allen and Eddie House.

Allen, whom Doc Rivers has been critical of lately, was decisive and aggressive driving to the basket. When he has struggled this season, it has been mostly because of tentativeness both physically and mentally and there were few signs of that last night. He attacked the basket and passed well.

With a guard’s minutes crunch on the horizon as the Celtics look to get Sam Cassell more into the mix, it was a good time for him to rebound in his hopes of retaining his role as primary backup to both Paul Pierce and Tony Allen.

House also had an impressive day shooting, passing and running the point. His 5-for-5 shooting stands out, but he also had several sharp passes and ran the team very effectively and was the floor general when the Celtics pulled away early in the second quarter.

It was interesting that House did not see much time (if any) at shooting guard as he, Rajon Rondo and Cassell split the point guard minutes. It was also interesting that in perhaps one of his final games playing almost exclusively point guard, he may have had one of his top games at the position all season. …

As discussed in today’s Courtside View column in the MetroWest Daily News, tomorrow’s game against Utah begins a very compelling stretch of the season that includes the final major tests before the playoffs start in a little over a month.