News 3/31

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1083954&format=text

C’s in a different league
Have little trouble with lowly Heat

By Steve Bulpett | Monday, March 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matthew West
Opposite ends of the NBA spectrum met last night, and no one shook up the world. The Celtics [team stats] easily eclipsed the team that calls itself the Heat these days.

The best team in the NBA increased its lead on Miami in the Eastern Conference standings to 45 games with an 88-62 rout at TD Banknorth Garden. And no one expected anything different. Two years after a championship parade through Miami, the Heat have a new franchise slogan: “Where Secaucus happens.”

Kevin Garnett was proud of the fact the Celts held Miami to 17 made field goals, a league record in the shot clock era. Paul Pierce [stats], however, was tired of being nice.

“Man, I’ll tell you the truth,” said The Truth, interrupting his friend.

“Go ahead,” Garnett said.

“You got (Kasib) Powell, (Earl) Barron, (Stephane) Lasme, (Blake) Ahearn. . . . We’re supposed to do that,” Pierce said. “They got D-Leaguers out there, so I think we just handled our business. I mean, they put about four or five guys from the (NBA Development) League in, and we did our business. . . . We knew this was a game we’re supposed to win, and we just focused from the jump.”

With Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion not even in town and just nine bodies in uniform, Ricky Davis and the D-League dribblers failed to even cover the 23-point Vegas spread. The Heat wilted under the Celtics’ depth, and it was abuse that only Donald Rumsfeld would endorse.

There was more mystery in the Harlem Globetrotters game earlier in the day at the Garden. The Washington Generals at least were competitive.

Garnett had 12 points in less than 22 minutes, while Pierce and Ray Allen had 10 each in 25 minutes, leaving the stage open for Leon Powe to post 17 points and 13 rebounds. Even video dance icon Gino was begging to get in the game in the first quarter.

This one was over just moments after it began. Chris Quinn hit two free throws with 9:57 left in the first quarter to cut the Celtics lead to 4-2. That was the last time Miami was within telescope sight of the Green, who led by as many as 31.

With a little more than 1:30 to go in the period, the hosts were ahead, 27-4, and parents were covering the eyes of children all across New England. The young and impressionable simply should not be subjected to such violence.

“I was happy with the win,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I was happy with the start of the game.”

By the end of the frame, the Heat had tied their season-low with just three field goals made, part of a 17.6 percent shooting effort that, coupled with the Celts going 14-for-23 (60.9 percent), had the locals ahead, 32-13.

The C’s got into the missing spirit in the second quarter, making 4-of-15 shots while Miami was hitting 4-of-13. But with Garnett and Powe completing halves of 12 and 10 points, respectively, the Celtics still added a point to their margin and led, 50-30, at the break.

School was out thereafter, as it was clear the Celts were prepared to muster enough interest to deal with whatever minimal threat the Heat presented. The Green crashed the glass for 22 offensive boards and a 34-4 edge in second-chance points. That meant 38.6 percent shooting was more than good enough for their 58th win.

“We definitely didn’t want to lose the game or play with the game or mess around with the game,” Garnett said. “We just came out aggressive and never looked back, to tell you the truth.”

Then again, Pierce provided all the truth that was needed to analyze this mismatch.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1084012&format=text

Doc: The future is now
But big decisions loom

By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Notebook | Monday, March 31, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
During the past few seasons, plenty of people said the Celtics [team stats]’ window of opportunity was miles away. Last night, however, coach Doc Rivers acknowledged that the future is now and that the club will have some major decisions to make on how to proceed in coming seasons.

With their three top players - Paul Pierce [stats], Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen - in their primes at 30, 31 and 32 years old, respectively, the Celts eventually will have to decide whether to keep fishing or cut bait.

“We do have some nice young guys, as well,” Rivers said before last night’s 88-62 rout of Miami, a team that decided to deal away Shaquille O’Neal and go younger. “That’s the trick, and who knows? Do you stay with what you’ve got and keep churning it out, or do you make a move?

“I don’t know. I mean, you can look at all the sports and teams have done it both ways. The Chicago Bulls, could they have won one more? Probably. So that’s the question. Hopefully we can answer that question. That would be great.”

Riley gets away

About two weeks ago as the Miami losses continued to mount, coach Pat Riley decided to get out of Dodge and go scouting at the NCAA tournament.

“I actually sat with him at the Davidson game (vs. Georgetown),” said Rivers, who was there to see son Jeremiah play for the Hoyas. “I thought it was pretty cool that we got to sit there and watch a college game.

“He’s the president and the GM and the coach, and they’re going to have a 1-5 pick (in the draft). I can’t say one, because last time we thought that, we know what happened. And it’s got to be the right pick. I understand it.”

The Heat players are trying to understand.

“It’s tough,” former Celts guard Ricky Davis said. “It’s just like everybody else hurting and everybody else leaving. From game to game, I don’t know who’s coaching actually. I don’t know if it’s (Ron) Rothstein; I don’t know if it’s Riles. I’m just trying to make it through.”

Iron man

Pierce is the only Celts player to appear in every game, but he said he’d be open to missing one or more if it serves the team.

“If there’s an opportunity for me to rest and the coach feels like it’s necessary, then I’ll be for it,” he said. “But as a competitor, I want to be on the court at all times.”

He probably won’t have to worry.

“I don’t believe in that a whole bunch,” Rivers said of keeping players out. “As a player, I always laughed when they said, ‘Hey, you guys are in (the playoffs). How about sitting out two games?’

“We’ve played 78 games, and I sit two and I’m going to be rested? The notion of that to me is ridiculous. Now, if you have an injury or something like that, then absolutely you sit out. . . . But other than that, I think rhythm is far more important.”

School spirit

Pierce had cooled his Kansas jets after the Jayhawks escaped with a two-point win against Davidson to reach the Final Four. Before the game, he was splashing the trash.

“If we don’t win by 20, it shouldn’t count,” the captain said. “They (Division) 1? When did they become D1? No, that’s a serious question.”

Told that Davidson long has been a Div. 1 hoop school, Pierce asked, “What state are they in? (The answer is North Carolina.) I don’t know. It could have been Idaho or something. . . . In the Kansas locker room, they’re like, ‘Who we got in the Final Four after this game?’ ”

Asked later if he heard how close the game turned out to be, Pierce said, “I heard we won the game.” . . .

Coming into last night, Miami held the record for holding an opponent to the fewest field goals in a game since the advent of the shot clock in 1954-55, keeping Chicago to 18 in April 1999.

Now they are the team on the other end after producing just 17 baskets last night.

“Offense for show, defense for dough,” Ray Allen. said . . .

Davis is rooting for the Celts to win the title.

“They’ve got my vote, so hopefully they can back it up and do it,” he said of his former team.

Davis also isn’t disturbed by Shaquille O’Neal’s recent comment that he no longer has to play with Davis and Chris Quinn.

“It is what it is,” Davis said. “If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels. . . . I’ll go to war with Quinn every night, man. “He’s a good guy.”

[FLCeltsFan]

link includes a video of the press conference.

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/31/celtics_happy_to_frolic_in_field_of_dreams/
Celtics happy to frolic in field of dreams
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 31, 2008

With little-known NBA Development League products named Blake Ahearn, Joel Anthony, Stephane Lasme, and Kasib Powell now starring for Miami, a Celtic nicknamed "The Truth" strongly spoke his mind on how his team handled business last night.

The Celtics hammered the cold Heat, 88-62, in a blowout at sold-out TD Banknorth Garden. The Heat sank only 17 field goals, setting an NBA record for the fewest since the shot-clock era began in the 1954-55 season. The previous NBA record was 18 by Chicago against Miami on April 10, 1999.

"I'm going to tell you the truth," Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who had 10 points in 25 minutes, said. "When you got Powell, [Earl] Barron, Lasme, and Ahearn, we're supposed to do that. That's D-Leaguers out there. I think we just handled our business. They put in about four or five guys from the D-League and we did our business.

"We knew this was a game we were supposed to win and we were focused from the jump and went out and did it."

The Celtics' top-ranked defense had its best game of the season, holding the Heat to 28.8 percent shooting (17 for 59). The visitors missed 17 of 21 3-point attempts and tallied 4 second-chance points. No Miami player scored more than 14 points or made more than four field goals.

"They told us about [the field-goal record] when we came in the locker room," said Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, who had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 22 minutes. "Our defense has been our bread and butter all year. Tonight was no different."

Heat swingman Ricky Davis, who scored 14 points, said: "They are just on the same page defensively. Everybody is talking to each other, helping each other, kind of like they are on a string there."

The win reduced the Celtics' magic number to secure the Eastern Conference's top regular-season record to 3. Boston (58-15), in sweeping the season series (4-0), won its third straight game and finished March with a 13-3 record.

"We're trying to prepare and get ourselves ready for the playoffs," Garnett said. "The competition is what should motivate you. We definitely didn't want to lose the game or play with the game or mess with the game. So, we just came out aggressive and never looked back."

Said Celtics coach Doc Rivers: "The defensive effort was good throughout the game. So I'm happy. It was a win and we'll take it."

Boston reserve Leon Powe had game-highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes. The 2006 second-round pick has gone from being stuck on the bench through mid-January to being the first big man into the game.

"I've worked for everything my whole life," Powe said. "I've been battling for something. Nothing came easy for me. So I want to play, but I'm going to have to earn it."

The Heat won their first NBA championship two years ago. Now, Miami, which has the NBA's worst record (13-60) might have a hard time winning the D-League title.

Miami coach and president Pat Riley missed the contest to scout the NCAA Tournament and was replaced on the sideline by assistant Ron Rothstein. All-Star guard Dwyane Wade is out for the rest of the season because of left knee treatment, forward Shawn Marion was out with back spasms, and six other players were out injured, as well.

The lack of NBA talent meant the Celtics' coaching staff had to study more tape than usual to learn the tendencies of the unfamiliar players wearing the Heat uniform.

"I did what I had to do in my 10 days," said Lasme, whose contract just ran out. The UMass product was only able to contribute 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 21 minutes

"If they don't like me and don't keep me for another 10 days, it's nothing I can really control."

While Rivers doesn't plan on benching any of his key players during the final stretch of the regular season, he would like to cut their minutes. Such happened on this night as all of the Celtics starters sat in sweats the entire fourth quarter, and not one of them played more than 25 minutes.

In contrast, Rothstein didn't have such a luxury.

"They got guys fighting for jobs or looking for jobs next year," Garnett said.

"This is a great opportunity for guys, especially from the D-League, who don't get a lot of opportunity to come in and play, show what they have and they want to showcase themselves. You just can't do it in the Garden. You just can't do it on the Celtics. That's all."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/03/31/a_different_viewpoint?mode=PF

A different viewpoint
NCAA tourney offers opportunity for coaches
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | March 31, 2008

While he didn't enjoy Georgetown's recent loss to Davidson, Celtics coach Doc Rivers did enjoy sitting next to Heat president/coach Pat Riley during the recent NCAA Tournament game in Raleigh, N.C.

Riley noted during that game that while he was there scouting caused a big stir, Rivers being there to watch his son, Jeremiah, play for Georgetown caused no concern.

"I thought it was pretty cool that we got to sit there and watch a college game," Rivers said yesterday. "He says, 'I can't believe you're here and nobody said nothing about it.' And I said, 'Well, the difference is we [Celtics] are not playing right now.' "

Riley has been criticized for taking games off from coaching to scout college talent. He missed the Celtics' 88-62 win over the Heat at TD Banknorth Garden last night, the fourth game he's missed this season to watch the NCAA Tournament. Still, Rivers didn't see any problem with the move.

"He's the GM, president, and the coach," Rivers said. "They are going to have a 1 through 5 pick. And it's got to be the right pick. I understand it. I really do. It was probably tough for him to make that call.

"Let's put it this way, next year if they made the perfect pick no one is going to question it. And if they make a bad pick? You know how it works."

Veteran assistant Ron Rothstein coached the Heat, and he took questions about the Riley situation in stride.

"I'm trying to do it the best I can," he said. "There is not a whole lot to say. It's pretty straightforward. If you're a professional in the NBA, your job is to be a professional. No one can really take your professionalism from you if you choose not to give it up. We'll try to do the best possible job we can."

Heat swingman Ricky Davis, an ex-Celtic, said he understood why Riley has been off scouting but said it has affected the team.

"It's tough," he said. "It's just like everybody else hurting and everybody else leaving. From game to game I don't know who's coaching. I don't know if it's Rothstein. I don't know if it's Riles. I'm just trying to make it through."


Wait a minute
Paul Pierce is the only Celtic to play in every game this season and said he would be open to taking some time off before the playoffs if Rivers wanted him to. Rivers, however, said, "I'm going to play them and try to keep a rhythm. I'm going to shorten minutes. That's injury prevention more than rest." . . . James Posey, who won an NBA title with Miami in 2006, didn't have a lot to say about the recent verbal feud between Riley and former Heat star Shaquille O'Neal. "That's between them," Posey said. When Davis was asked about O'Neal saying it hurt his play to have to be on the floor with Davis and Chris Quinn while with Miami, Davis said he thought O'Neal was a "good guy" and that he was a little bit surprised by the comments.


Not one for the 3
Guard Rajon Rondo recently said one thing Hornets guard Chris Paul has dramatically improved on this season is his 3-point shooting. Although Rondo isn't considered a 3-point threat now, he also isn't worried about becoming one. "That's why we have Ray [ Allen] on the team," Rondo said. "As long as he can make it, I'm cool. I just want to get in my range, the 17-, 15-footer, and continue to knock those shots down. I don't really practice threes. I shoot them every once in a while if the shot clock is going down. It's not a focus of mine." . . . Pierce said before the Kansas-Davidson game that it shouldn't count if the Jayhawks won by fewer than 20. The top-seed Jayhawks defeated 10th-seeded Davidson, 59-57. After the Celtics' victory, Pierce said about the Kansas game, "I heard we won the game. I'm not going to give y'all no more material about Kansas."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x172401526

Courtside View: C's take care of business
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photos
Photos

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
Miami guard Ricky Davis, a former Celtic, is surrounded by the Boston defense.

By Scott Souza/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Mar 30, 2008 @ 10:46 PM
Last update Mar 31, 2008 @ 01:43 AM

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BOSTON — Paul Pierce could have been politically correct following the 88-62 destruction of a laughable Heat squad last night at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The captain decided to be realistic instead.

He listened to Kevin Garnett talk for a few seconds about how the Heat had veteran "competitors" such as Mark Blount and Ricky Davis. He likely heard Celtics coach Doc Rivers go on and on in the locker room about the spirit that comes with battling for a second 10-day contract and roster spots next year.

He'd been on the other side of it for the past two years and didn't appreciate the pity party. After a while, he'd had enough.

"Man, I am going to tell you the truth," said Pierce, half exasperated and half eager to don what Sam Cassell called his "Havana Joe" tan suit and hat for a rare early exit from the Garden. "We are supposed to do that. They got D-Leaguers out there and I just think we handled our business. I mean, they put four or five guys from the D-League in and we did our business, we are supposed to do that.

"We knew this was a game we were supposed to win and we just focused from the jump and went out and did it."

A refreshing lack of feigned graciousness for an opponent that didn't deserve it.

Rivers, who declined to second Pierce's blunt assessment after the game, said prior to the contest that his team's staunchest opponent would be its own standards over the final 10 games of the regular season. The Celtics certainly weren't going to get any assistance from Miami on this night.

In a game when the biggest drama was whether the Heat would set a new NBA futility standard for fewest made field goals - which they did with only 17 - the Celtics (58-15) began their string of playoff tuneups treating the Heat (13-60) like the hardwood palookas they are this season.

"It's not about whom we are playing right now," said Cassell, who contributed nine points and two assists in 18:29 off the bench. "What we've got to do is execute our game plan.

"We've got one goal and that's to win a championship. The guys have got to understand that's what we've got to do. It makes it easier when guys understand that. This is a veteran group of guys and (they do)."

The game started with a punishing 27-4 run out of the opening tap and it was roughly 38 minutes of garbage time from there. Leon Powe kept his intensity high with 17 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, while Pierce, Garnett and Allen all stayed under 25 minutes played.

"We've all got pride on this team," Powe said of the early blowout. "We compete against each other. That's just another opportunity for us to compete with another team. That's the fun thing about basketball.

"We try to take it one game at a time now matter who we are playing. But we said that we've really got to get these types of games in order to be a championship team. We need to go out there and play hard. That's it."

The Celtics jumped out to a 13-2 lead over the first 4:52 and were up 27-4 on a Kendrick Perkins basket from Pierce with 1:32 left in the quarter. The Heat had missed 14 of their 15 shots to that point, while the Celtics stood at a lofty 63 percent (12-for-19).

The Boston bench suffered a little lull to start the second quarter when it went the first 4:23 of the session without a point and allowed the Heat to close within 32-19. But a three-point play from Powe (10 points, 7 rebounds in 12:42 of the first half) and five points from Cassell sparked an 8-2 run that restored order.

The starters then re-entered the game and sustained the 20-point lead to 50-30 at the half.

The inspiration level lagged for both teams in the third quarter. Miami took only 12 shots - giving it an absurdly low 42 for the game to Boston's 62 at that point - and hit just four to improve to 26 percent for the game (11-for-42). The Celtics slowed to 30 percent over the second and third quarters (13-for-43) after the hot start, yet remained up 20, 68-48, entering the fourth.

"In the third quarter they didn't come out with that same energy that they had," Rivers said of the starters. "But they had a 20-point cushion, so you understood.

"They key, as far as I'm concerned, is keeping their rhythm. If we do have games where we have (big) leads, not getting into bad habits. One of the things that Kevin and Paul kept yelling was, 'Extra pass! Extra pass!' What happens, I think, when you get a lead is that you start trying to score individually instead of keeping the extra-pass mentality. Actually, I thought in the third quarter it was getting to the point where we were passing up wide-open shots. It got to the point where it was almost silly in some ways. But I would take that over any other way."

A 7-0 run early in the fourth, including five straight points from Powe, stretched the lead to 27, at 75-48, and it was countdown time from there with Garnett (12 points in 21:30), Allen (10 points in 24:52 minutes) and Pierce (10 points in 24:45) on the bench the entire fourth quarter.

The lead eventually grew to 31 as the Heat brigade did little to indicate they deserved more 10-day contracts, and the Celtics dutifully did little to help them to that end.

[FLCeltsFan]

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

Postgame Wrap Up - Paul Pierce Tells The Truth
Recap | Box Score | Highlights

It's pretty rare to get candor from an NBA player at a press conference. But Paul Pierce was feeling frisky today (despite Davidson giving Kansas a scare) and he decided to end his nightly tag-team presser with KG a little early by just telling it like it is.

Or telling The Truth, as it were.

"I'm gonna tell you the truth. When you've got [Kasib] Powell, [Earl] Barron, [Stephane] Lasme, [Blake] Ahern, we're supposed to do that," Pierce said. "They've got D-Leaguers out there so I think we just handled our business. We're supposed to do that. We knew this was a game we're supposed to win. We just focused from the jump and went out and did it."

And that was the end of that. just moments earlier, Garnett said basically the same thing in kinder, gentler terms, but still made his point.

"They want to showcase themselves. They just can't do it in the Garden," Garnett said. "They can't do it on the Celtics."

Live from Courtside
Live Scoreboard


88-62 Celtics, FINAL: Mercifully, this one is over. The C's did what they needed to do. Pierce, Allen and Garnett all stayed at 25 minutes or under. Perfect.

79-55 Celtics, 3:50/4th: Is it too early to give away the Celtics.com Player of the Game? Well, Leon Powe has 17 and 13; we think it's safe to say he's locked it up.

77-51 Celtics, 9:29/4th: Leon Powe has 15 and 8, and that's probably enough to be the leading scorer tonight. Meanwhile, the Heat have eight assists on 12 field goals...which is great if it's the end of the first quarter. The Celtics had nine assists on 14 after one tonight.

68-48 Celtics, End of 3rd: Nobody in the building has more than 12 points, which is exactly what KG had at the half. But the C's are crushing Miami on the boards, 40-22. P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell will probably get quite a bit of burn here in the fourth.

59-40 Celtics, 5:57/3rd: Doc Rivers has said in numerous press conferences that he tells his guys not to "get bored with the process." I'm guessing he isn't counting tonight's game. The crowd is dead, and this is one of the more unremarkable NBA games I've ever seen. But when you play 82 games a year, there's bound to be a handful of these.

50-30 Celtics, Halftime: KG is leading the way with 12 points and five boards; Powe has 10 and 7. Old friend Get Buckets has 10 points on two buckets (one threeball) and five free throws.

48-25 Celtics, 2:47/2nd: The Heat's shooting performance isn't getting any better; they're just 5/27 from the field. No Heat player has hit more than one shot here in the first half. If they weren't getting to the line, this game would be completely out of hand.

32-15 Celtics, 8:57/2nd: Leon Powe manages to his damage quickly. The man has five rebounds in eight minutes. But it's been a quiet quarter thusfar.

Meanwhile, either Ricky D went swimming at the quarter break, or he's just sweating [wait for it], um, Buckets. His uniform is soaked from his seven-point, four-rebound effort.

32-13 Celtics, End of 1st: Miami finished the quarter 3/17 from the field. This one is probably already over. It should mean short minutes for Pierce, Allen and Garnett. Perhaps T.A. gets a chance to get back on track tonight, despite picking up two cheap fouls here in the quarter. The Celtics continue to have their way in the paint, dunking their way to an 18-2 advantage in the first quarter.

22-4 Celtics, 2:55/1st: The Heat missed their first five shots before Chris Quinn broke the ice off a stop-and-pop on the pick-and-roll, and that's the only field goal they've scored of their 12 attempts. The Celtics have a 12-0 points in the paint advantage, and the Heat are showing no signs of stopping the Celtics inside. Boston also has a 12-5 rebounding edge. Perhaps most revealing? The Celtics have a 10-0 lead in second chance points. The Heat stand no chance if it's going to be one-and-done every time down the floor.

Pregame Media Access
Paul Pierce took some time to chat with the media today, talking about everything from today's Kansas-Davidson matchup to the first pickup game the Celtics played in September as they prepared for training camp.

Pierce started off by talking a dumpster's worth of trash on behalf of the Jayhawks, and said that Kansas should beat Davidson by 20 or more, or it "shouldn't count."

"When did they become D-1? I didn't know what state they're from. They could be from Idaho or something..." Pierce said.

Pierce didn't know a lot today. He said he'd just had a chance to look at the Heat's roster and there were a few unfamiliar names from the D-League he'd never seen before. But with that in mind, he said that the Celtics had to beware of playing against guys who were playing for jobs in the NBA. And the C's still have the unfinished business of securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

"Our motivation is going to be to go out there, get better and try to win home court," Pierce said. "We can't have any let ups right now, regardless of Miami's record or who they put on the court."

As for September, Pierce was asked if there was a point this season when it clicked and he thought the Celtics were championship contenders. Pierce replied that after the first pick-up game in September with his new mates, he realized that his team could compete with anyone in the league. Pierce said he picked the teams, and at the time it was Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Scott Pollard vs. everyone else.

"This is our five right here. They brought us in, so why not get it started from Day One?" Pierce said.

Well, Pollard quickly developed ankle issues before training camp and never really made an impact on the floor this year, but hey, Paul, with apologies to Meatloaf, four outta five ain't bad.

Check the audio archive for the entire session with Pierce, as well as Doc Rivers' pregame presser.

Early Pregame Report
The locker rooms open in five minutes. We'll be back just before 6:00 p.m. with a full report just in time for tip-off.

[FLCeltsFan]

celticsgreen.proboards18.com/index.cgi?board=bchistorian&action=post&thread=1206962608&page=1
FREE THROWS: KG for MVP not to be
March 31, 2008 6:00 AM
There are two reasons why Kevin Garnett won't be the league's MVP this season.

One, because there are other players who are more deserving of this award. And two, because KG doesn't want it.

During a week in which he was once again the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week (he won it back in the second week of the season as well), a number of media outlets started touting their potential MVP candidates, and while few selected Garnett as their choice, everyone agreed he was in the discussion.

It's not the first time this season Garnett has received serious attention for the MVP ballot, however, a nine-game absence for a strained abdominal muscle, in which the Celtics went 7-2 without him, did a lot to quiet the conversation.

But now, as the end of the regular season closes in and balloting time draws near, nobody can overlook what Garnett has done as the Celtics will likely lead the NBA wire-to-wire and complete the greatest single-season turnaround in league history. For that, Garnett deserves to be considered more valuable to his franchise than any other player has been this season.

And why shouldn't he be? His numbers aren't as flashy as a Kobe Bryant, a LeBron James or a Chris Paul, but that doesn't mean he's any less significant than any of those players. Sure, his numbers are down in four key categories — he's scoring 19 points a game (from a career mark of 20.4), grabbing 9.4 rebounds (11.2), dishing out 3.5 assists (4.4) and blocking 1.2 shots (1.6). But the effect Garnett has had on the Celtics can't be quanitified.

"The whole face of Celtic Nation turned around when the trade happened with this guy," team captain Paul Pierce said. "Everybody talks about the MVP and they talk about numbers; this guy has changed the culture around here, and I think that says a lot. The mentality, from a day-to-day aspect, everything has changed from a year ago."

But Garnett, who was sitting next to Pierce in a press conference when it was said, immediately deflected that praise.

"WE. We changed it," KG said, before ending the discussion and the press conference.

Garnett has said all season that what the Celtics have been doing is the culmination of three stars (along with Ray Allen) sacrificing their own individual recognition in a quest for a championship. He called Pierce "his MVP," and refused to talk about "all that individual (expletive deleted)."

In truth, Garnett isn't more valuable on the court than Pierce or Allen. KG doesn't lead his team in scoring, assists, blocks or steals. But he does lead the Celtics in intensity, something that's become infectious among the team this season.

So while the award will likely go to Bryant, who has never won it in his illustrious career, or Paul, who has single-handedly kept the Hornets among the West's best, at least Garnett's in the running.

Even if he doesn't want to be.



MAGIC ON THE MIND
Shaquille O'Neal has never shied away from talking about the past, ripping the Lakers when he was traded to Miami and squawking about the Heat when he was dealt to Phoenix. But the one organization he's been with of which he always speaks with reverence is the Orlando Magic.

Shaq told the Orlando Sentinel this week that once he retires after the 2009-10 season, he hopes to become general manager of the Magic, with Suns teammate Grant Hill as team president.

"I'm serious," Shaq said. "They need me down there with the new arena coming. Grant and I are coming to do the job."

Previously, Shaq has said he plans on getting into law enforcement when he retires, even running for the office of Orange County Sheriff. He was already a reserve police officer in Miami, and recently applied to be a volunteer with the Tempe police now that he's in Arizona.



DOLAN CAN'T DOLE IT OUT
While Knicks owner James Dolan is doing the right thing in hiring Donnie Walsh to run his team — reports are, Walsh will sign a three-year, $15 million deal after the season — the highly sought-after basketball mind can expect to do Dolan's dirty work on the way in.

The New York Daily News reported that Dolan wants to keep Isiah Thomas as the team's head coach, even if he is being stripped of his GM role. A source told the Daily News that Dolan's approach is to tell those he interviews for the job that he would prefer to keep Thomas on, but "You do what you have to do."

According to reports in both the New York Post and Newsday (which both cite unnamed sources, something there's no shortage of in the Big Apple), the team is unhappy, but there are conflicting reports about whether or not they want Zeke as their coach. The Post source said the team is "lost" and wants him gone, while the Newsday source claims "we would have Isiah over someone new."

Isn't that like saying "I'll take a punch in the stomach over a kick in the groin?"

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



HOT
NENE RETURNS

Two and a half months after undergoing surgery to remove a malignant testicular tumor, Nuggets forward Nene played one minute of action in Denver's 118-105 win over the Mavericks. Although he didn't do much, it didn't matter. "It's not about how he plays," coach George Karl said. "We're just happy he's back and we're going to celebrate his health, we're going to celebrate his coming off major cancer surgery, and we're just going to celebrate. This has nothing to do with basketball."

THE WILD WEST

Is anyone else getting excited about the tumultuous Western Conference, and how the battles down the stretch might make the finals easier for the Eastern offering? Plus, it would be pretty interesting for a 50-game winner to miss the postseason, and for the Jason Kidd trade to result in the Mavs missing the playoffs but the Nets squeaking in.

NBA EUROPE

When announcing the next preseason slate of European exhibition games, NBA commissioner David Stern said he predicts there could be an expansion team in Europe possibly within the next 10 years. But he says to do that, the league will need more fans, more NBA-style arenas and more money across the pond.

NOT

KEEP IT!

Sonics chairman Clay Bennett, in his attempt to get out of Seattle and move the team to Oklahoma City, offered to work out a deal with the city in which Seattle will retain everything about the franchise "” the name, logo and everything else "” while only the players and coaches will move to Oklahoma.

PICK-UP MIX-UP

After playing in two pickup games while he was supposed to be rehabbing from microfracture surgery on his right knee, Greg Oden was chastised by the Blazers. But they wouldn't have known about it had one of the doofuses he ran ball with not immediately run home to blog about it.

C-WEBB RETIRES

In an unsurprising move that should have come two years ago, Chris Webber finally officially retired from the NBA, his comeback with the Warriors lasting just nine games. While C-Webb put up some numbers worthy of Hall consideration, the fact that he never won anything and couldn't remain healthy for much of his career will cost him votes.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.patriotledger.com/sports/pros/x876599025

Pierce has eye on Kansas
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The Patriot Ledger
Posted Mar 30, 2008 @ 11:55 PM

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BOSTON — By MIKE FINE

The Patriot Ledger

Paul Pierce was sitting at his locker around 4:45, before the start of the Davidson-Kansas NCAA tourney game, and he was feeling pretty good about his team’s chances.

“Who are we playing in the Final Four?” asked the Kansas product. “I ain’t worried about no Davidson, I guarantee that. At all. If we don’t win by 20 it shouldn’t count. Davidson? Are they D1? When did they become D1? That’s a serious question. What state are they in? Really, who knows what state they’re in? They could have been from Idaho or somewhere.

Pierce also said he didn’t know who Stephen Curry, the Davidson sharpshooter, was. “That’s the dude scoring all those points? Good for him. Take the shoe off – the Cinderella shoe. Tell him that.”

In fact, Pierce wasn’t familiar with a lot of personnel yesterday. He’d only just finished reading over the Miami Heat roster, something he ordinarily wouldn’t have to do. But given the turnover in the Heat system, he figured he might as well check out and see who he was going to beat later in the evening.

The Celtics did that, too. They didn’t just beat the Heat, they croaked them, 88-62, and after getting out to an early 27-4 lead, it was plainly obvious that this was going to be nothing more than a night of exercise and tuning. At least this was one 20-point win for Pierce, not that he didn’t accept Kansas’ two-point escape that put the Jayhawks in the Final Four with each of the other No. 1 seeds.

This was one of those nights where Kevin Garnett was just a bit speechless. What do you say about a team that has 17 players on the roster, but only nine able to suit up, with three D-leaguers being counted upon as warm bodies?

“Competing,” said Kevin Garnett, who like every other Celtic played fewer than 28 minutes. “Y’know they’ve got guys. I know Ricky Davis – he’s a competitor. I know Mark Blount – he is going to compete. They got guys over there trying to probably fight for jobs or looking for jobs for next year. Just a great opportunity for guys, especially from the D-League who don’t get a lot of opportunities to come in and play, and they want to show what they have and they want to showcase themselves. Just can’t do it in the Garden, just can’t do it on the Celtics that’s all.”

Garnett was asked about the Celtics defense, which limited the Heat to an NBA record-low 17 field goals (post shot clock) on 28.8 percent shooting. “Our defense, man. I mean, it has been our bread and butter all year, and tonight was no different from that.”

At that point, Pierce had enough.

“Man, I am going to tell you the truth,” he said, and he wasn’t kidding. “You got (Kasib) Powell, (Earl) Barron, (Stephane) Lasme, (Blake) Ahearn. We’re supposed to do that. They’ve got D-Leaguers out there, so I think we just handled our business. I mean, they put about four or five guys from the D-League in and we did our business. We’re supposed to do that. We knew this was a game we were supposed to win and we just focused from the jump and went out and did it.”

So, all that talk about staying focused and playing for the playoffs, well, duh. That’s about all the Celtics could have done in this one. They shot 30 percent over the final three quarters and still won by 26. They outrebounded the Heat, 54-31, which is interesting because in last Wednesday’s game against Phoenix they had a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, only to follow with a season-low two against New Orleans two nights later. Of their 54 against the Heat, a whopping 22 were offensive. Meanwhile, they held a 38-10 advantage in the paint and 34-4 on second-chance points, which is no shocker given the board work.

[FLCeltsFan]

Mom critical of Pierce

CELTICS NOTES

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




The Celtics’ James Posey maneuvers for a shot during the first quarter. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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BOSTON— Paul Pierce improved his free-throw shooting this season because he got tired of hearing that he should be making more of them.

His biggest critic, as usual, was his mom.

“She always talks about my 3-point shot and my free throws,” Pierce said. “I got to give it up to her. She always asks about how my 3s are going. I make or miss them, mom.”


Pierce is getting to the line a lot less this season with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen sharing the offensive load, but he’s shooting a career-high 84.3 percent. He shot 77.2 percent and 79.6 percent the last two years to dip his career percentage under 80 percent to 79.1.

“In my mind, I knew I was a better free-throw shooter,” Pierce said. “I knew it was all about the concentration and doing the same things every time.”

Recovering last summer from a stress reaction in his foot and an elbow injury, Pierce couldn’t do much except shoot free throws for awhile. So he changed his mechanics by squatting slightly at the foul line with his left leg behind his right leg.

“I’m more consistent with it,” Pierce said. “When I went in droughts before, I would change the way I would shoot the free throw, how many number of bounces, how many times I would spin it or how many times I would count. Now I pretty much keep it the same no matter if I’m missing them or making them.”

Pierce is the only Celtic who has played in every game this season, but if coach Doc Rivers wanted to sit him out to rest him during the final week of the regular season he said he’d do what was best for the team.

Rivers said he plans to play his starters less once the No. 1 playoff seed is clinched, but he won’t rest any of them out for an entire game at any time if they are healthy. He wants to keep them in rhythm, but not play them too much to risk injury.

“Let me get this right,” Rivers said. “We’ve played 78 games and I sit two and I’m going to be rested. The notion of that to me is ridiculous. Now if you have an injury or something like that, then you absolutely sit out.”

Rivers said resting Garnett during games wouldn’t do any good because he’d work out in the gym for three hours the next day to stay sharp.

Riley feeling the Heat
Pat Riley, who doubles as Miami president and head coach, is taking heat from Heat fans and media for skipping games to scout college players with an eye toward the draft. Rivers has no problem with Riley’s decision though. Rivers even sat with Riley at the Davidson-Georgetown game.

“He made the funny line that I can’t believe you’re here and nobody is saying anything about it,” Rivers said. “I said the difference is we’re not playing right now.”

Rivers was at the game to watch his son play for Georgetown.

“Lets put it this way,” Rivers said, “if next year, they made the perfect pick no one is going to question what he did this year. If they make a bad pick, you know how it works.”

Mike Dunleavy also skipped games to scout when he was general manager and head coach with Milwaukee years ago.

The Heat are being accused of tanking games to improve their lottery chances. The Celtics heard the same complaints last year.

“I believe that players don’t play as hard when they don’t have anything to play for,” Pierce said, “late in the year when you’re thinking about the summer. If you’re talking about just giving up and losing on purpose, I don’t think that happens.”

Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion are both out injured and the Heat is in no hurry to get them back.

“Those bumps and bruises when you’re losing become magnified,” Pierce said. “The pain gets a lot worse when you’re not playing for anything.”

Last year, Pierce sat out the final 11 games to rest his foot and elbow. The Celtics went 2-9 to secure the NBA’s second-worst record.

Extremely tough year for Davis
Ex-Celtic Ricky Davis, one of the Heat’s few healthy veterans, has suffered through quite a few losing seasons.

“This is about the worst one I’ve been through,” Davis said.

Davis took a dig from Shaquille O’Neal after the latter was dealt to Phoenix.

“I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys,” O’Neal said. “We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I’m actually on a team again.”

“If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels,” Davis said.

“Some stuff, you don’t even listen to,” Davis said. “I don’t worry about it. If it’s true, I’d worry about it, but it’s not really true. I don’t really pay attention to it.”

Lasme’s contract expires
Stephane Lasme, who starred for UMass last year, is one of five players who joined the Heat from the D-League this season. The 6-foot-8 forward had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in nearly 21 minutes last night. Lasme’s 10-day contract expired after last night’s game. The team plans to announce today if he will be signed to another 10-day deal.

Lasme watches every UMass game he can on TV. No UMass coaches or players attended last night’s game because they headed to New York to prepare for the National Invitation Tournament semifinals tomorrow night.

“I think they’ve got a good shot to win the whole thing,” Lasme said.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.telegram.com/article/20080331/NEWS/803310580/1009/SPORTS
Celtics don’t break a sweat vs. Heat

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




The Heat’s Kasib Powell (12) fouls the Celtics’ Leon Powe during the second quarter at the Garden. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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BOSTON— Miami Heat coach Pat Riley skipped last night’s game to scout the NCAA Tournament. So it was only fair that Celtics coach Doc Rivers didn’t do much coaching either.

He didn’t need to.

The Celtics jumped out to a 27-4 lead and Rivers just sat back and relaxed as his team cruised to an 88-62 victory over the embarrassingly bad Heat at the Garden.


The Celtics own the NBA’s best record (58-15) and the Heat has the worst (13-60) so the lopsided outcome was no surprise.

The Celtics are the NBA’s top defensive team and the Heat is the worst offensive club with five NBA D-League players filling out its injury-riddled roster, so the fact that Miami scored the fewest field goals (17) in the NBA since the shot clock was installed in 1954-55 shouldn’t be too much of a shock either.

“Man, I am going to tell you the truth,” Paul “The Truth” Pierce said. “You got (Kasib) Powell, (Earl) Barron, (Stephane) Lasme, (Blake) Ahearn. We’re supposed to do that. They got D-Leaguers out there so I think we just handled our business. I mean they put about four or five guys from the D-League in and we did our business. We’re supposed to do that. We knew this was a game we was supposed to win and we just focused from the jump and went out and did it.”

That about sums it up. Ray Allen was a bit more diplomatic about holding Miami to 17 field goals.

“Any time that you can become part of NBA history, it’s special,” Allen said.

Not only did Miami set the record for fewest field goals, it lost the record for allowing the fewest field goals. Miami had limited Chicago to 18 field goals on April 10, 1999, for the old NBA record.

The Celtics reduced their magic number for clinching the No. 1 seed in the playoffs to three with nine games left.

Leon Powe collected 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Celtics won their third game in a row. Kevin Garnett scored all 12 of his points in the first half and finished with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Pierce and Allen each scored 10. All five Boston starters sat out the fourth quarter. The Celtics shot only 38.6 percent, but they out-rebounded the Heat, 54-31.

Former Celtic Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn each scored 14 points for Miami, but they combined to make only 7 of 27 shots. Blake Ahearn scored 12 points off the bench, but he was just 2 of 8.

The Heat made its last two shots to shoot 28.8 percent (17 of 59) and barely avoid shooting the lowest percentage by a Celtics opponent. The Celtics limited San Francisco to 26.7 percent on the road on Dec. 5. 1964, (28 of 105).

The Heat opened the season expecting to make the playoffs again, but injuries changed everything. Incredibly, eight Heat players are on the injured list, including Dwyane Wade (knee), Shawn Marion (back spasms), Alonzo Mourning (torn patella) and Jason Williams (sprained thumb). After trading Shaquille O’Neal in the middle of February, the Heat turned their attention toward winning the lottery. There’s nothing hot about the Heat except its nickname.

“Come on, we had no shot,” Ron Rothstein admitted after last night’s game.

Miami missed 14 of its first 15 shots while falling behind 27-4. The Garden videoboard didn’t play the Gino tape then to indicate the game had been won, but it might as well have. Gino didn’t actually appear until 5:57 remained with the Celtics on top, 79-55.

Powe mostly rode the bench the first half of the season, but he’s worked his way into becoming one of the team’s key reserves. He’s played especially well of late, averaging 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in his last seven games.

“If you’re sitting on the bench and ain’t playing,” Powe said, “anybody is going to get discouraged, but it’s what you do in the meantime. I just tried to go back to the drawing board, go back in practice, work hard, work out, come extra, just try to do anything possible to help me get out there on the floor. I told myself when I’m out there, I’m going to be productive every minute I’m out there, even if it’s just for a minute or two minutes.” The caliber of opposition won’t improve much for the remainder of the regular season. Of Boston’s final nine games, only one — Washington — has a winning record.

The Celtics went 4-0 against Miami for their first series sweep of the Heat since going 3-0 in 1999.

The Celtics ended up 13-3 in March for their best March record since they also were 13-3 in 1993. The Heat take a 2-14 March record into tonight’s game at Indiana.

[FLCeltsFan]

deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695266160,00.html

Utah Flash: Pruitt learning what it takes to be a pro
By Jason Adkins
Deseret Morning News
Published: Monday, March 31, 2008 12:32 a.m. MDT
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OREM — A quick glance of Utah Flash point guard Gabe Pruitt's stats with the Boston Celtics this year could give the impression that he was too big for his britches in deciding to leave USC a year early.
Of course being the 32nd pick in the 2007 draft by Boston and then relegated to the Flash three times this season wouldn't be the aspirations of most college kids with dollar signs in their eyes looking for a fat, guaranteed two-year NBA contract. But any thoughts of Pruitt regretting his choice to skip his senior year with the Trojans when he's playing in a league where you carry your own bags and share a college-style apartment with a couple of other players is quickly quashed.

"I knew it would be kind of an off-or-on thing," Pruitt said of his back-and-forth shuttling between the Celtics and the Flash.

Pruitt's lack of playing time with Boston gives him the motivation to work hard in Utah. At least with the Flash he is averaging more than 35 minutes a game — a far cry from the five minutes he was averaging with the Celtics, with several DNPs not calculated in the total.

"I heard he wasn't even practicing that much there, and I know a lot of games he didn't even dress," said Flash general manager David Fredman.


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"It's always good to come down and play games," Pruitt said. "It's something I wanted to do. And I think I have the opportunity to come down and work on my game, and teach me stuff that Boston wants me to do."
The minutes have paid dividends for Pruitt as he is averaging 19 points per game and has led the Flash's scoresheet in several games.

Flash coach Brad Jones can see the improvement Pruitt has made in his game in this recent tour with the team compared to his first time being sent down at the beginning of the season. Jones said it's not his performance in games that can be measured but his approach to the game in general.

"When we've had him back in November to when we've had him now," Jones said. "He's a totally different guy. It's almost now like he understands it's a job and how to be a pro."

Adding to that is Fredman's observation that Pruitt's attitude has changed as the season has progressed.

"It is, but I don't mean to say that it was bad," Fredman said. "But I think he has matured quite a bit."

Part of that has to do with the learning the differences between the pro game and college ball. Also the bar has been set pretty high for Pruitt to earn playing time with the Celtics due to their depth in a year in which they have gone from the cellar to the league's best record.

"When he was here the first time, I thought he thought it was more like college and came and got a lot of shots up, didn't play hard all the time," Jones said.

"It's amazing how much more of a student of the pro game he is now to back then," Jones added. "Having said that, that really speaks a lot to one, the Boston Celtics and what he's been around. And two, to the validity of this league."

Fredman added: "He knows he needs to play to get better. And I think he was excited to come down here and play."

Pruitt had a good thing going at USC in being its second-leading scorer in 2006-07. This season could have risen his draft stock by getting the chance to team with national phoneme O.J. Mayo.

"I did think about staying and playing with O.J.," Pruitt said. "Me and Nick Young (Pruitt's teammate with the Trojans who was picked in the first round by the Washington Wizards) were kind of thinking the same thing, and we decided to come out together in the same year."

Jones said that Pruitt is one of the few who could leave school early and ready for the NBA, at least on some levels.

"There's very few I felt like are ready emotionally to come out," Jones said. "There are several skill-wise that are ready to come out. But I think there are a lot who come out that aren't ready emotionally or skill-wise. Maybe have the potential. One thing Gabe does have is the skill-set."

Waving off the notion that Mayo's individual play could have hurt him, Pruitt said any additional notice that USC would get only would have NBA teams notice him more.

"He would have brought more attention to our team and allow to do what I do, which is play basketball and get the attention as well," Pruitt said.

With that potentially on his plate for his senior year, Pruitt thought now was the time to make the move to the NBA.

"I thought it was the right time, and I had pretty good workouts," Pruitt said. "The stuff I was hearing was pretty good and positive. I thought I had a good chance, and I don't regret coming out at all early. I came down to a good spot and a good opportunity."