News 3/17 Happy St. Patricks Day

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1080886&format=text

West test awaits C’s

By Steve Bulpett | Monday, March 17, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill (file)
SAN ANTONIO - The Celtics [team stats] are about to head into a four-game fandango with some Western Conference iron, and it’s important to note that their season won’t be made or broken by what takes place between now and nightfall Saturday in New Orleans.

But that doesn’t mean the Celts aren’t excited by the prospect of meetings with the Spurs, Houston, Dallas and the Hornets.

“We’re definitely up for this,” said Paul Pierce [stats]. “We look at the teams we’re playing, and you always want to step up against the elite. These are the elite teams in the NBA and we think we’re one of them, so definitely it’s a barometer of where we’re at. The places we’re going and the buildings we’re playing in are going to be a playoff-type environment, so we can see where we’re at.”

Coach Doc Rivers was therefore correct when he looked at the journey and said, “The good thing about playing teams like this is that you get up on your own. Listen, whenever you play San Antonio you’re fired up. I don’t care when it is. The same for these other teams. We’ll be ready to play.”

But what if the Celts stumble like a tumbleweed through Texas and get a hangover on Bourbon Street? That’s not out of the question, playing on the road with Ray Allen injured and Sam Cassell still working his way into the system. The truth is that even with four losses, the Celtics will still be eligible to win the 2008 NBA championship.

“No matter what happens, we won’t change anything about our focus,” said Rivers. “You can’t do anything different. You treat it just the same. If we win them all or lose them all or split, it doesn’t matter. We just have to get through it and then keep working.”

The changes, if any are needed, will come into the picture after the first 82 games end on April 16.

“Once the regular season is over with, you’ll go back to the drawing board a little bit and get ready for the first-round opponent,” said Allen. “So what we’re doing now is really shoring everything up, tying up loose ends that we’ve been working on.”

But is it possible the Celts could have their confidence shaken with a poor four nights?

“No,” said Allen. “That’s not going to happen.”

Still, as much as he tries to put this week in perspective, it’s fair to believe Allen will do everything he can to come back as early as tonight from his jammed left ankle. In their own world, the Celtics would like to maintain and build on the respect from their peers.

“I’m pretty sure people are expecting us to go in and have a tough time with all four of these teams we’re about to play,” he said. “We’ll be in a hostile environment. It’ll test our resolve.”

Before he left Milwaukee to fly here Saturday, Rivers got word of San Antonio’s loss to Philadelphia.

“That’s (three) games in a row, so we’re playing the Spurs in San Antonio with them having lost (three) straight,” he said. “It’ll be great. They’ll have a sense of urgency. We’re going to have a sense of urgency. And that’s what we want. That’s what it should be. Everything is good for us as far as that stuff.

“For us, the whole focus is improving. We’re playing some great teams on the road that are desperate, so it’ll be interesting to see how we handle that. Sometimes it’s difficult if you’re not in that same state as they are. Somehow we have to manufacture that to get there.”

While wins might be an issue, intensity shouldn’t be a problem for a team that has manufactured the best record in the NBA.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/17/a_four_star_stretch_for_celtics?mode=PF

A four-star stretch for Celtics
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 17, 2008

SAN ANTONIO - There will be no Southern hospitality for the Celtics this week.

Boston faces its toughest road challenge of the season over the next four games against Western Conference power teams that have at least 43 wins. The Celtics open the trip against reigning NBA champion San Antonio tonight and follow with games against Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans.

"These next four games are going to be playoff-style basketball games," forward Kevin Garnett said. "We have to be ready."

Measuring sticks have come and gone for the Celtics, who own the NBA's best record at 52-13.

Boston has clinched a playoff berth, won the Atlantic Division, and surpassed 50 wins, and is on pace to earn home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Celtics also ran to a 16-0 record against the mighty Western Conference and are now 20-4.

Coach Doc Rivers said the trip is a measuring stick "for everyone else but us. We just look at it as another opportunity to get better. We like challenges. This is a good one."

Said Garnett, "It's on the schedule. We are aware of it. We'll come calling. We got some tough teams this week. I think everyone mentally, to themselves, is ready."

Considering the Celtics' longtime popularity, their success this season, and the fact they make only one trip to each Western Conference arena, tickets will be hard to find and a wild atmosphere should be expected each night.

In fact, a Spurs official said demand for tonight's sold-out game was similar to that of the NBA Finals. San Antonio (44-22) will be looking to get back to its winning ways after dropping three straight games. The Celtics defeated the Spurs, 98-90, Feb. 10 in Boston. "It's always good to play great teams," Spurs guard Tony Parker, whose team is 27-5 at home, told the Express-News in San Antonio. "To be honest with you, I like that game. It's going to be a playoff atmosphere. Lots of intensity. It's going to be good."

Said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, "Always, the Spurs are a measuring stick for the league. They've set the standard of what everyone wants to do and what they've accomplished. It's a great challenge for us, especially since they play well at home. It will be good for us."

The Celtics go to Houston tomorrow night to play a Rockets team that has a 22-game winning streak after dispatching the Lakers, 104-92, yesterday. Boston faces Jason Kidd and the Mavericks Thursday and finishes the trip Saturday night against MVP candidate Chris Paul and the surprising Hornets. All of Boston's games this week are critical for the Western teams in their playoff fights.

"It's a big challenge for us," Pierce said. "We have a good flow going. We've won the last five on the road and the last 10 out of 11 [overall]. This is the time of the year where you want to get hot and these are the types of games you want to play at this time of the year because they prepare you for the playoffs."

"We've had playoff-atmosphere games all year," said Garnett. "These games coming up are no different from that. It should be fun."

Guard Ray Allen missed Saturday night's 99-77 win at Milwaukee with a left heel injury. While Allen could return tonight, Rivers often is cautious regarding injuries. "We want to go into the playoffs 100 percent healthy," he said . . . The Celtics had yesterday off.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.enterprisenews.com/sports/x272545157
Celtics buckle up for rough road ahead
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By Jim Fenton
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Mar 17, 2008 @ 06:28 AM

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BOSTON — If Glance at the 24-week Boston Celtics’ schedule, and it’s easy to pick out which week is the most difficult of them all.

That would be the one the Celtics are about to embark on with four road games in six nights against Western Conference heavyweights.

“It’s a big road trip, definitely,” said Paul Pierce. “It’s the biggest road trip of the year, especially at this point in the year. You’ve got teams fighting for playoff position.

“It’s that time of the year, trying to secure home court. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot and there are some elite teams in the NBA we’re going to play.”

The rugged stretch gets going tonight when the Celtics play the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs (8:35, TV: Comcast SportsNet; radio: WEEI-850 AM).

From there, the Celtics will travel to Houston on Tuesday night and play the Rockets, who are flying high with a remarkable 22-game winning streak and own the best record in the West.

The Celtics will be in Dallas Thursday night to play the Mavericks, who had the best record in the NBA last season, then meet the Hornets in New Orleans on Saturday night.

The Spurs, Rockets, Mavericks and Hornets are a combined 92 games above .500 and rank in the top six of the highly competitive Western Conference.

Only 41/2 games separate the first-place team in the West and the eighth-place team, the Golden State Warriors, who are 17 games above .500.

“They’re in desperation mode,” said Coach Doc Rivers of the upcoming opponents. “I was reading something (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) said, that all of the teams have had to go into playoff urgency earlier than normal.

“So we’re going to catch that and get thrown into the middle of the fire. It’ll be a great test for us. We’re out on the rode, teams are desperate for wins. They’re going to play their best, and if we don’t play absolutely great basketball, we’re not going to wins games.”

The Celtics, who began their five-game road trip with an easy win over the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night to improve to 52-13, are 20-4 against the West and 23-8 on the road.

They figure to be in situations this week that will give them some insight into what lies ahead in the postseason.

“I think it’s great when you go into atmospheres that are going to be playoff-like,” said Pierce. “What better time of year than right now? It’ll prepares for what we’re going to see in the playoffs when we go on the road.

“There are going to be big crowds, you don’t expect any calls, you just have to get it done on the road. That’s what playoff basketball is going to be and you’re going to see it (this) week.”

The good news for the Celtics is that after this week, only three of their final 13 opponents have winning records.

That late-season breather will come in handy after what the Celtics, who are tied for the NBA lead with 23 road wins, will be dealing with this week.

“This team has shown a lot of heart and character this year,” said Pierce, “and I expect us to get the job done.”

Here’s a capsule look at who the Celtics will be going against in their toughest week of the season:

Tonight, San Antonio Spurs (44-22; 27-5 at home):
The Spurs have hit a rare rough patch, losing three straight games and five of the last six games.

San Antonio had won 18 straight games against the Celtics, but lost at home last season and at the TD Banknorth Garden last month.

One thing going for the Celtics tonight is they are playing on St. Patrick’s Day. Boston is 20-9 on that day, including last season’s upset win over the Spurs.

Tuesday, Houston Rockets (46-20; 26-9 at home):
The Rockets have become one of the most amazing stories in the NBA with the 22 wins in a row, the latest in a first-place Western Conference showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday afternoon.

Houston was 10th in the conference in January when the streak began, now they own a one-game lead over the Lakers. The winning streak is the second-longest in NBA history, behind only the Lakers, who won 33 straight in 1971-72.

The Rockets have kept winning even with Yao Ming going out for the season with a foot injury.

Thursday, Dallas Mavericks (44-23, 29-4 at home):
The Mavericks, sixth in the West, are on a five-game winning streak, but they are just 18-11 against the East. This marks the first time Boston will play Dallas since the Mavs added Jason Kid.

Saturday, New Orleans Hornets (44-21, 24-10 at home):
The Celtics get their first look at the Hornets, who have been a surprise all season.

Point guard Chris Paul is one of the best in the business, but fellow All-Star David West injured his ankle on Friday and did not play in Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080317/SPORTS/803170365

Celts getting mettle test
March 17, 2008 6:00 AM
Cruising toward the NBA postseason doesn't mean a team will avoid every speed bump that appears. But when what lies beyond the horizon is a virtual road block, the true mettle of a team is not in how they get around it, but whether or not they hit the gas and plow right through.

The Celtics suffered a slight setback on Friday with a 110-92 loss to the Utah Jazz—one of only three games in NBA history in which a team with a winning percentage of .800 or higher at least 50 games into the season lost at home by that many points.

But they responded with another historical win the following night, defeating Milwaukee by a 99-77 margin—the 17th time the Celtics won by at least 20 points this season, the most 20-point wins by any team since the 2002-03 Mavericks had 17.

With Boston currently at 52-13, they've become only the second team in league history to win its division a year after posting a record as poor as the 24-58 mark they accumulated last season. The 1989-90 Spurs won the division title a year after going 21-61, which not coincidentally was David Robinson's rookie year.

But for as much as they've accomplished this season, the next week might indicate just how far they have to go. Division titles, playoff spots and the eyes of the NBA world aren't the final destination.

"We've been very simple with that kind of stuff," head coach Doc Rivers said. "We don't look ahead a lot, we don't celebrate, or whatever. We're just marching towards where we want to go."

The Celtics continue their most difficult road trip of the season this week with games against some of the Western Conference heavyweights. After blowing out Milwaukee to start the trip on Saturday night, they now face a slate of four games in six nights against teams hungry for wins.

Because while the Celtics are already division champions and enjoy a comfortable lead over the Pistons for first place in the East, the West is still very much in play with each of the upcoming four games in the mix for the conference's top spot.

"These next four games are going to be playoff-style basketball games," Kevin Garnett told reporters. "And we are going to have to be ready."

On Monday, the Celtics start their traditional three-game Texas swing against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, who find themselves uncharacteristically seeded sixth if the postseason were to begin today. Then, it's on to Houston, where the Celtics will seek to end the second-longest win streak in NBA history, and the surging Rockets will be looking for 23 in a row on Tuesday.

Thursday brings a trip to Dallas, where the Celtics haven't won since 2000, and where Jason Kidd has helped lead the Mavs to four straight. On Saturday, they'll wrap up the trip against the New Orleans Hornets, with Chris Paul playing some of the best basketball of his young career.

And should anyone think the following week's homestand will bring any respite, the Celtics will host a Philadelphia squad battling for a playoff spot, the Phoenix Suns and a return match with the Hornets.

"We're taking it one game at a time," Paul Pierce said.



WOAH, NELLIE!
The Golden State Warriors recently exercised their option to keep Don Nelson at the helm for next season, which will be his 30th as a head coach in the NBA.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no other manager or head coach in the history of the NBA, NHL, NFL or Major League Baseball has been at the helm of a team for as long as Nellie has without ever bringing their team to a championship game or series in their respective sport.



HOUSTON, WE HAVE NO PROBLEM
Some of the world's most respected rocket scientists work in Houston, keeping America's space program ahead of all the other upstarts looking to get into the great beyond.

But not even those scientists could come up with a formula for the Houston Rockets' success, winning 10 straight games without center Yao Ming as part of a 22-game streak that is the second-longest in league history. And these upstart Rockets are also looking toward the great beyond as well—the playoffs.

Only the 1971-72 Lakers, who won 33 straight games, have put together a more significant winning streak. And that Wilt Chamberlain-Jerry West sqaud won the NBA championship that year.

While nobody really believes the Rockets can go all the way without Yao, nobody's lining up to take on Houston in the postseason. Their convincing defeat of the Lakers on Sunday gave them the West's best record.

In order for the Rockets to break the Lakers' milestone, here's a list of the teams they'd have to defeat in the quest for 34 straight: Boston, New Orleans, Golden State, Phoenix, Sacramento, Minnesota, San Antonio, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, the Clippers and the Sonics once again.

Tim Weisberg covers the NBA for The Standard-Times. Contact him at [e-mail]



HOT
CHRIS PAUL

The Hornets guard scored 26 points and had 17 assists against the Spurs, followed by 27 and 17 in beating the Lakers.

HAWKS WIN BIG ... FINALLY

Atlanta's 117-93 win Friday over the Clippers was their largest since beating Toronto by 25 in 2002. Every other NBA team (save the Bobcats, who didn't enter the league until 2004-05) has won at least five games by 24 or more since that date.

SUPERMAN STARTS STRONG

Magic star Dwight Howard put up 14 points and nine rebounds in the first quarter of Orlando's recent win over the Clippers. That makes him only the second player (Kevin Garnett, 2004) in the last six seasons to have such a big opening period.

NOT

STREAK ENDS STUPIDLY

The Spurs' Bruce Bowen saw his league-leading consecutive game streak end at 500 when he sat out Friday's game suspended after kicking Chris Paul.

MJ IS NO. 23, NOT NO. 10

Amid speculation "Chicago-based Client No. 10" in the Eliot Spitzer prostitution ring was Michael Jordan, his attorney had to check with an assistant U.S. attorney to ensure that his client wasn't under suspicion.

ANOTHER ONE DOWN FOR ISIAH

First, Stephon Marbury was out for the season. Now, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to remove torn cartilage, Eddy Curry is too. The only other mistake left to remove from the Knicks? Zeke himself.