News 4/4

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1084955&format=text

Veteran team respects Rondo’s point

By Mark Murphy | Friday, April 4, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Stuart Cahill
If there were any Celtics [team stats] who doubted Rajon Rondo [stats]’s willingness to talk back to his elders, their fears have been laid to rest.

As Ray Allen discovered Tuesday night in Chicago, the second-year point guard now has a healthy, NBA-sized bark.

Allen was about to inbound the ball when Rondo ran up close to receive the pass. Allen, who later pointed out to Rondo that he should have been further down the floor in order to advance the ball quickly, refused to make the pass.

Rondo shouted, Allen shouted back, and Doc Rivers called a timeout to defuse the situation.

Luckily, neither player let the animosity linger.

“I don’t mind getting into little disputes like that, but I made sure after the game that he understood how I felt, too,” Allen said. “He apologized to me about it later, too. But we had a play later that was a similar situation where I got it up the floor to him, and he got it back to me for an open (3-pointer).”

But Allen admits he has respect for young players who learn to speak up - even when they may be wrong.

“Rajon is trying to listen to a lot of people right now,” Allen said. “He’s trying to listen to Doc, and he’s trying to listen to me. (Paul Pierce [stats]) is in his head, and Sam (Cassell) is talking to him. He’s got a lot of voices in his head.”

But as he sifts through all the information and advice, Rondo continues to draw respect not only from his teammates, but from the league as a whole.

He has a swagger that wasn’t there at the beginning of the season, and as his game continues to develop, the size of that attitude may also keep growing.

But Rondo, who knows that him developing an edge is a must on this veteran C’s squad, understands that his teammates wouldn’t respect him as much if he wasn’t willing to return their fire.

“I’ve had altercations with Paul and KG (Kevin Garnett), too,” Rondo said. “I think you definitely get more respect from guys if they see you’re not going to back down.”

Ultimately, the rest of the league sees a young point guard who is growing in his leadership role.

Though it may seem like a long time ago, Rondo’s game, from his outside shooting to his ability to run with one of the league’s most experienced units, was the biggest question facing the Celtics at the start of the season.

Consider that question answered. Rondo has grown so much as a player that some around the league consider him a legitimate candidate for the Most Improved Player award.

“There’s a long way to go, but I’m developing,” Rondo said. “The same goes for the way I deal with coach Rivers. But I’ll say something when I have to to all of these guys. I’m the point guard, and I have to do that.

“You have guys on this team with 13 years of experience. But in my position I have to speak up.”

For Rondo understands that only then does true respect come his way.

“When you are running with the big dogs, you always have to be strong and confident,” Allen said. “As much as everyone can be vocal and cocky, I think you also have to be careful about how you flash your bravado. He has to understand our experience, and what that counts for. But he’s getting there.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1084951&format=text
Oh baby, Pierce may sit

By Mark Murphy | Friday, April 4, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone
Perhaps it’s about time Celtics [team stats] owner Wyc Grousbeck began construction of a team day-care center.

Paul Pierce [stats], whose fiancee Julie Landrum is about to be induced into labor, may miss tomorrow night’s game in Charlotte as the result of becoming a father for the first time.

Pierce, the only Celtic to play every game this season, would understandably miss his first game of the year.

The Celtics captain is also about to join a large list of Celtics who became fathers over the past year.

James Posey’s girlfriend gave birth to a daughter named Sai Aleke last week in Washington.

This prolific group also includes Rajon Rondo [stats], Brian Scalabrine, Kendrick Perkins [stats] and Leon Powe.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1084953&format=text
Legends come to 4 in C’s poll

By Herald staff | Friday, April 4, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
The field of 32 has steadily been whittled down over the past three weeks and Herald readers have narrowed the group of Celtics [team stats] greats to a Final Four that should surprise no one.

The Herald’s online poll to determine the Greatest Celtics Player of All Time has followed form and the voters’ Fab Four has Bill Russell emerging as the Auerbach Bracket champion, courtesy of his victory over Robert Parish. Russell will now be matched up against Grousbeck Bracket champ John Havlicek. “Hondo” defeated Paul Pierce [stats] in his bracket final match.

In the other Great Eight matchups, Larry Bird cruised to victory in the Walter Brown Bracket and Bob Cousy won the Gaston Family Bracket championship. Bird defeated Dave Cowens to advance to the Final Four and Cousy slipped past Kevin McHale. Bird and Cousy now square off in the poll’s other semifinal.

The voting booth is now open, so go to www.bostonherald.com and cast your vote. Winners will be announced next Friday to set up our grand finale round. The Herald will unveil the readers’ choice of Greatest Celtics Player of All Time on Friday, April 18.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/04/theyre_trying_to_fit_in?mode=PF

They're trying to fit in
Cassell, Brown are biding their time
By Julian Benbow, Globe Staff | April 4, 2008

The Celtics have been playing the "narrow focus" broken record for a while, and when they won No. 60 Wednesday night, they had no idea they'd achieved the milestone.

Of course it sounds silly, and Sam Cassell thought the same thing.

Then he got into the locker room.

"You ask some guys what's our record, they don't even know," Cassell said. "They're not [kidding]. They don't care about that."

Needless to say, Cassell, signed by the Celtics last month for his eighth stop in a 15-year career, is still getting acclimated.

Title hunt aside, there are good things about being in Boston. Cassell is a lot closer to his two children in Baltimore and can skip down to New York for Jay-Z concerts. But both he and another March arrival, P.J. Brown, are still taking it all in.

"I've never seen anything like this," Cassell said. "As far as how Doc [Rivers] runs things and the organization, we've got one goal and one goal only. That's to win the chip."

Over the last few weeks, Cassell hasn't seen much of the parquet. He sat out the 92-77 win over the Pacers Wednesday and played one minute last Friday against the Hornets.

The same could be said for Brown, who was as close to retirement as you could get (homework with the kids, carpools, soccer games) before phone calls from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen brought him back to the court.

Brown was a DNP Tuesday in Chicago, about a week after similar designations against Phoenix and Philadelphia.

But with home-court advantage for the playoffs a Boston win or Detroit loss from fruition, Rivers plans on increasing Cassell and Brown's minutes.

In Cassell's case, Rivers said, it's crucial because he needs to get a handle on the point guard position - which, strangely, was part of the reason for sitting him against the Pacers.

"Sam needs to get a better rhythm of the offense," Rivers said. "I knew after this game he was going to be on the floor a lot, and that's basically why I decided to play Eddie [House]."

Cassell has played for eight teams and nine coaches, so he knows the game. It's just a matter of knowing the Celtics' system, which he said will take time, but not much longer.

"I'm getting better," he said. "I'm getting a lot better. Just getting familiar with the sets. They run the same thing, just different terminology. Once I can call my own plays when I'm on the court, I'm going to break out with a 20-point game."

As for Brown, Rivers said he will play. But if he never makes a basket, Brown still has made an impact. On the court, all Rivers needs from Brown are things that are inherent: be big, be a center, and get rebounds. Chances are the ball will find him.

It's what Brown does off the court that Rivers raves about.

"If every team could have a P.J. Brown in their locker room, it's to their benefit," Rivers said. "I'm pretty comfortable with P.J. whether we play him in this stretch or not. I know he's going to help us."

To gauge Brown's impact, you'd be better off checking the lines for some of the other big men in the box score - particularly Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis.

"He's been great for Perk," Rivers said. "He's been great for Baby, and you can tell that they listen to him. He's a great pro."

Brown has made a protégé of Leon Powe, who has a similar background: being drafted in the second round, coming from a tough past, and scrapping his way through the NBA. Brown, who has carved out a 15-year career and won 60 games with the Miami Heat in 1996-97, can tell Powe it's all worth it.

"We talk about a lot of different things," Brown said. "Not just about basketball but about life on and off the court. Things these guys have been through, I've been through it all. I've seen it all. And they trust me to come to me and ask me [about] some serious topics and just ask me about everything."

Brown tried to go from zero to 60 about a month ago, walking out of near-retirement into a machine and trying to be one of the pieces.

"This team is already 55 games in, they know each other, the chemistry is there," he recalled. "I've never played with Kevin Garnett before. I've never played with Leon Powe, Paul Pierce. So I've got to learn their tendencies and they have to learn me. Obviously, I'm still learning, but overall, I think it's going good."

Cassell called the biggest adjustment finding a role on a team that was winning before he arrived.

"This team won 49 games before I got here," Cassell said. "You can't just come here and spread your will. You've got to get in when you fit in."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.milforddailynews.com/sports/x1972539788
Celtics continue to get defensive
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By Scott Souza/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Apr 03, 2008 @ 10:42 PM
Last update Apr 03, 2008 @ 11:42 PM

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On Sunday, the Celtics set an NBA record for fewest baskets allowed in a game during the shot-clock era when the Heat managed only 17 makes in an 88-62 drubbing.

Wednesday night at the Garden, former Celtic coach Jim O'Brien got a glimpse of how that could have happened when the Celtics did something similar to his Pacers in a 92-77 stifling.

The start of the fourth quarter was a microcosm of the type of struggles the Celtics have forced teams into throughout the season. The Pacers turned the ball over on the first possession, hit a free throw on their next and then missed shots on their next two. Tony Allen drew a charge on Indiana's Danny Granger at the 9:15 mark, then the Pacers turned the ball over again on their next possession 55 seconds later.

When Granger finally knocked down a jumper with 7:39 left in the game, it was Indiana's first made basket of the quarter.

"They are an outstanding defensive team with great quickness," concluded O'Brien, who stressed team defense above everything else during his coaching stint in Boston. "They take a lot of your offense away from you.

"I think they are by far the best defensive team in the league. I think they play the hardest of any defensive team in the league. I don't think there would be much dispute about that."

The statistics over the last month leave no dispute. Only twice in 18 games since March 1 have the Celtics allowed an opponent to score more than 100 points. In nine of 11 games since March 15, they have held opponents under 45 percent. For the season, Boston leads the NBA in field-goal percentage allowed at 41.8 percent, in field goals allowed at 32.3 and in points allowed at 90.0.

"That's how we do it," said center Kendrick Perkins. "We come into the game and we take pride playing defense. That's our main goal. We know we can score the ball. But we try to take care of things on the defensive end too."

Point guard Rajon Rondo explained it as: "Defense wins championships and offense sells tickets." But to the trained NBA eye, watching a team like the Celtics hold a team even as wobbly as the Heat to 17 baskets over 48 minutes, or hold the Pacers to just 21 baskets over the first 45:58 on Wednesday, has its own charm.

"Everybody is on the same page out there and it's a beautiful thing," said veteran power forward P.J. Brown. "Me, being a defensive guy, I enjoy it just as much as the offensive end."

Brown said the key to his new team's defensive prowess is based in personal responsibility and unwavering belief in the team concepts of Doc Rivers and associate coach Tom Thibodeau.

"Each individual guy wants to shut his guy down," Brown said. "They don't want their guy to score. It seems like that if he scores, you are letting the team down. We have a lot of offensive firepower on this team, but guys on this team take even more pride in shutting a team down.

"For instance, what we did against Miami. The guys really hung their hat on holding them to the lowest amount of field goals. That meant a lot to this team. That shows you what kind of character this team has and what defense means to it."

For the Celtics, like most everything else during their 60-15 season, it also means not resting on what they have done in the regular season. The most important challenges await in the playoffs where defense often takes center stage.

"I still think we have a lot to improve on with our defense," said Rondo, noting that field-goal percentage allowed is "the No. 1 key stat for us.

"In the fourth quarter (Wednesday), we gave up a lot of points that we shouldn't have. At the start of the fourth quarter they were at 31 (percent shooting) and they ended up at (35.6 percent). Especially in the last few minutes of a game, we can't have any letups."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.lowellsun.com/sports/ci_8796192

Speeding C's hit 60, tie record
By Lynn Worthy, [e-mail]
Article Last Updated: 04/03/2008 11:57:02 AM EDT


Celtics forward Kevin Garnett pumps his fist after a basket as he passes Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal. AP PHOTO BOSTON -- Things change.

Sometimes they change for the worse -- for example the last 20 years of Celtics basketball compared to the rest of the franchise's history -- and other times they change for the better.

Last night's 92-77 victory against the Indiana Pacers was the 60th win for the Celtics (60-15). This is the 12th time in franchise history the Celtics reached that plateau, and this time it also tied the 1997-98 San Antonio Spurs' NBA record for biggest one-year turnaround (36 games).

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has said repeatedly that he doesn't concern himself with numbers and records. Even he took a moment to have a little fun with the press when questioned about tying the Spurs' record.

"It is nice, don't get me wrong," Rivers said before he quipped, "I enjoy everything. You guys just don't see it. The parties I have in my apartment are amazing! What's the football player? The quarterback for Arizona? (Matt Lienart) I'm going to invite him."

Celtics captain Paul Pierce lived through the daily grind that included a combined 57 wins in the past two seasons, but he has eyes firmly planted on bigger and better things this year than tying the 1997-98 Spurs.

"I'm just fortunate to be in this position, you know, coming from a year ago," Pierce said. "I'm thankful that we've got the players now that we can do that, everything we're doing is all great and dandy, the records, turnarounds, this team is tremendously focused. We wouldn't


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even know about any of these things unless you brought it up."
While Pierce may not readily acknowledge the significant difference between last year's 24-58 Celtics and the new and historically improved Celtics, games like last night paint a picture.

His 13 point-performance last night marked the 22nd time Pierce has scored 15 points or less this season.

During any other year those sorts of numbers would almost definitely translate into a dreadful season for The Green.

But with the additions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, as well as a veteran corps of bench reserves, Pierce isn't carrying an entire team as well as a city's basketball tradition by himself.

Garnett scored 20 points and hauled in 11 rebounds, Allen tossed in 15 points, and Leon Powe tallied 14 points, while Pierce tossed in his 13 (just five after the first six minutes of the game) as the Celtics crept one game closer to clinching home court advantage in the playoffs.

The Pacers, who are still in the running for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference (and a first round date with the Celtics), looked more like the team playing the second half of a back-to-back set in different cities.

Indiana shot a lackluster 25 percent from the field in the first half, scoring just 30 points.

The Celtics' grabbed a 49-30 halftime lead with Garnett leading all scorers with 14 points. No Pacer scored more than eight in the first half.

An alley-oop from Pierce to Garnett one minute into the third quarter made the score 53-30 and a defensive stop followed by a Allen three-point dagger pushed the lead to 56-30 with 10:31 left in the quarter, the biggest lead of the game.

Another game. Another win for Boston.

If nothing else, the Celtics can use the last seven games as an opportunity to rest and prepare for a playoff push when everything will be raised a notch.

Pacerd head coach Jim O'Brien, Boston's head coach from 2001-04, knows better than anyone that the playoffs can bring out the best in Pierce.

"He's one of the two or three toughest guards in the league," O'Brien said of Pierce. "I mean toughest people to guard. When you put the ball in his hands, there are not too many people that can guard him one on one. And with the group of people he has surrounding him right now, he could have a huge playoffs just because he seems to take it to a completely other level."