News 3/22

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1082042&format=text

Closeness a comfort
Tight games will benefit C’s

By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Notebook | Saturday, March 22, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by AP
NEW ORLEANS - The trip through Texas benefited more than just the Celtics [team stats]’ ego and their standing among the hoop cognoscenti. The tight games in San Antonio and Dallas gave them some much needed preparation for what is to come.

With a scoring differential higher than 10 points - far and away the best in the league - and a batch of blowouts, the Celts need to get used to crunch time protocol.

“It’s good to have these close games,” said Paul Pierce [stats] after the C’s needed a 7-2 run in the last 31.7 seconds to get out of Dallas with a 94-90 victory. “They help you find out what to run and what we have to do to win these type of ballgames. You have to be able to execute under pressure, and these games help you get ready for that.

“Postseason basketball is close games in rough environments. That’s why I knew this would be a great trip for us - because we’d be in those type of games.”

The Celtics’ relative lack of experience in such sweat sessions is why Doc Rivers continually pays homage to more playoff-tested teams like the Pistons and Cavaliers. His players have quickly picked up the theme.

“That’s Detroit and San Antonio and Dallas - they’ve been in these situations,” Ray Allen said. “They know what plays they’re going to. They’ve won games with them and they stick to what they know. The best teams in the league, you know what they do. They don’t stray far from what they do. That’s key. When you get down the stretch, you’ve got to be able to know what you’re doing and where you’re going.”

Having said that, Allen believes his club has enough training for the postseason.

“We’re ready,” he said. “It seems like we’ve been through a lot. We’ve gone through a lot of different scenarios where we continue every game to be battle-tested. This continues to be a good road trip for us, but we still have a good team to face (the Hornets tonight), so it doesn’t stop. It’s not like you can go out any night and say you have a night off. We’re still trying to establish this in our first year of us all being together.

“But I think we’re in the position of playing different teams that present different problems, and we’ve been able to find a lot of different solutions,” Allen added.

The psychological benefit is evident.

“We know we can compete with the best in the NBA on their home court - anywhere, any time,” Pierce said. “When you can do that, your confidence just swells up.”

That’s ‘D’ way

The Celtics were essentially bailed out by their defense against the Mavericks. Holding Dirk Nowitzki to two points in the fourth quarter (both from the free throw line) was key, because the offense failed to come through on a lot of occasions.

“We didn’t make the next pass a lot down the stretch, and that bothers me,” Rivers said. “We made some good passes, but there were times when if we’d just made the extra pass we would have had someone wide open. That’s something we’ve got to do better.”

Pierce acknowledged the problem and added, “Regardless of the offense, everyone takes pride in the defense - helping one another, talking, communicating. That’s going to be the key for us. Offense, we don’t worry about that. When we come to the huddle, it’s not the shots we’ve missed. We always talk about our defense, and (Thursday) it was there for us when we needed it the most.”

Rest for the best

Rivers had been pointing to yesterday as a chance for the C’s to practice, but he decided to give the team the day off. With Tony Allen (bruised back) and Rajon Rondo [stats] (back stiffness) hurting and others nicked up, the move made sense.

Rivers, now 157-157 as Celtics coach, was on the move, however, traveling to Raleigh, N.C., to watch his son Jeremiah and Georgetown play in the NCAA tournament.

Allen’s attitude fits

Ray Allen hadn’t played at all in the fourth quarter until he went in for the fouled-out Kendrick Perkins [stats] with 1:54 left in the game Thursday. He had no problem warming up and hitting the big 3-pointer in the last minute.

“I just think when you’re younger in this league and you sit on the bench for a long time you start developing bad body language or posture that’s against what the team’s trying to do out there,” Allen said. “But whether I came back or not, we were up and Pose (James Posey) and Sam (Cassell) were in the game and they were doing a good job defensively. There’s a point with me where I say to let them ride it out because they’ve been doing well.

“I want to win the game. I’m not concerned with whether I get back in the game. I think maybe a couple of years ago it would have been different, but from this vantage point with what we’re trying to do this year, you’ve got to be very selfless and do whatever you can to allow the team to win.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/22/full_court_press_by_celtics_convinced_brown?mode=PF
Full-court press by Celtics convinced Brown
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 22, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - If it weren't for the allure of playing for the Celtics, P.J. Brown could still be down the road in Slidell watching tonight's game on television instead of playing in it.

Brown was a free agent coveted by the Celtics, Spurs, and Hornets, his former team. The 15-year veteran was comfortable being home with his wife and four kids and not playing. But with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen on the roster and a real shot at winning a championship, Brown relaced his sneakers and headed to Boston.

Tonight, Brown and the Celtics visit the Hornets in a showdown between two of the NBA's top teams.

"We just begged him," coach Doc Rivers said, noting the Celtics have had interest in Brown since the beginning of the season. "We called him a lot. I thought it came down to us and retiring. I just told him to come and try us out. I said, 'P.J., you don't want to look later and feel like I could have. Just come and try us out and if you don't like it, that's fine. And I think you'll like it.' "

Through 14 seasons before Boston, Brown averaged 9.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.03 blocks per game for New Jersey, Miami, Charlotte, New Orleans-Oklahoma City, and Chicago. The 6-foot-11-inch, 239-pounder has also played in 81 playoff games.

Brown still had numerous teams vying for his services midway through this season and it would have been easy for him to play for New Orleans. The ex-Louisiana Tech star played four years for the Hornets and lived about a half-hour away from New Orleans Arena with his wife, Dee, and their three daughters and one son.

But despite overtures from Hornets owner George Shinn, general manager Jeff Bower, and assistant coach Darrell Walker, Brown declined, since "at this time in my career it wasn't time for me to go back."

"I talked to his agent repeatedly throughout most of this season and made it well known that we'd like him to join us, and we had a spot for him," Bower said.

Added Hornets coach Byron Scott: "It was a personal decision that he has to make, and obviously he felt going there that he has a little bit better chance of winning a championship [in Boston], and I totally understand that."

Brown was still a free agent during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans in mid-February. And over that weekend, he decided to become a Celtic after some aggressive prodding from Pierce and Allen.

Pierce was driving on New Orleans's famed Canal Street Feb. 17 when he saw Brown walking across the street to the Sheraton Hotel. Pierce said he opened his car door right in front of Brown and said, "P.J., we could use you."

"He was hollering out the window saying, 'P.J., we need you,' " Brown said. "He was with a couple of his boys going somewhere. He let down the window and said, 'C'mon, man, come to Boston, we need you.' I said, 'I hear you, man.' I shook his hand out the window and kept going. He was in the middle of the street. I just let him go."

Brown said he didn't think Pierce was serious. But the next night at the players' union's annual party, Pierce and Allen spent close to 10 minutes trying to convince Brown to sign with Boston.

Brown signed with the Celtics Feb. 27 for the rest of the season and has said Pierce and Allen's talk was a determining factor - along with a legitimate chance at making a title run. Other than "maybe" San Antonio, Brown said no offer other than Boston's "really moved me."

"This is the No. 1 team in the league and these All-Star guys say, 'We think you can help us. We think you'd be a good fit. We think everything you do can help us out,' " Brown said. "Coming from a player? You hear from general managers, you hear from agents. But when you hear from players, guys that are in the trenches, guys who have busted their tails to make their team where it is up to this point, it really meant a lot."

Brown, 38, had not played since suiting up for Chicago in last year's playoffs. He is averaging 2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 10.4 minutes in eight games for Boston.

While he is still trying to get the rust off in preparation for the Celtics' postseason run, his kids aren't giving him a break.

"They are excited about [my return]," Brown said. "They are critiquing my game and saying I'm old. They don't give me no slack. They don't care that I've been out nine months and I'm almost 40 years old.

"They say, 'You're supposed to go out there and kick tail.' I hear a little positive, but I hear a lot of negative. They are on me."

Brown said that as soon as the Celtics' private jet arrived in New Orleans yesterday he was going to be on his way to Slidell to see his family. The timing couldn't be better as he will be able to celebrate the birthday of one of his daughters.

Brown is enjoying his time with the Celtics thus far. "No matter what happens," he said, "I feel like I made the right decision."

Whether he returns to action after this season, however, remains to be seen.

"I try to take it day by day," Brown said. "Four weeks ago I didn't even know I would [be a Celtic] . . . I'm just taking it day by day, working on making this team better and doing my part. I'm trying to achieve the ultimate goal. When it's all said and done, then I'll think about it, evaluate it, and go with the family [to decide] once again."

Rivers took a private jet to Raleigh, N.C., to watch his son, Jeremiah, play for Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament yesterday . . . The Celtics did not practice yesterday . . . Tony Allen is day to day after missing the Dallas game Thursday with a lower-back bruise . . . The Celtics are 4-0 on this five-game road trip and are playing the Hornets for the first time this season.