News 4/8

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1085734&format=text

Garnett feeling fresh

By Mark Murphy | Tuesday, April 8, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics

Photo by Matt Stone
MILWAUKEE - Kevin Garnett knows about feeling tired - and the memory of being haggard isn’t limited to his seasons in the NBA.

“Man, when Doc (Rivers) told me what the plan was (for resting players) this year, I told him that I’ve had seven jobs since I was 14, and since I’ve been at work this is the most rest I’ve ever had,” he said after yesterday’s practice, digging deep to come up with examples of his youthful toil.

While still in South Carolina, Garnett flipped burgers for Burger King, worked the cash register at a restaurant called Cheers, and packed bags at a local supermarket.

After moving to Chicago for his last few years of high school, he worked in a Boys & Girls Club and mopped floors at a gym.

Garnett is particularly proud of this last job. He considers himself a meticulously clean person. He keeps a spotless home. Dust bunnies are his enemy as much as any NBA team.

“I’m best at cleaning,” Garnett said. “My mom raised three very clean people. Oh, and where I come from, everybody knows how to cut grass, too. You get your masters in landscape by the time you’re 16.”

But the difference now is that Garnett’s mind is at rest, too. Playing on a Celtics [team stats] team with the best record in the NBA will do that for a player.

As a result, with the playoffs now six games away, Garnett admits that he hasn’t felt this good - mentally as well as physically - in a long time.

“I’m good,” he said. “I’m not (fooling) everyone. I feel very good. I’m a lot better than in past years. My legs are a lot better than they have been at this time of year. I’m ready to go.”

The timing couldn’t be better, naturally.

Ray Allen said Saturday night that he couldn’t remember another season passing so quickly, and Garnett nodded in agreement yesterday.

“That’s how it is when you win, man. I remember it being like this when I played with Sam (Cassell) and Spree (Latrell Sprewell),” Garnett said of the season when Minnesota reached the 2003-04 Western Conference finals. “It’s easy mentally when you win.”

But at this Garnett caught himself, for the next three seasons, none of which produced a playoff berth, came to mind.

“It’s easier, as opposed to having to look at every day as if it’s a rainy day,” said Garnett. “But it’s all in what you put into it - the consistency and the hard work.”

Celtics notes

Even if Paul Pierce [stats], the team’s newest father, joins the team in Milwaukee for tonight’s game, don’t look for him on the floor.

“I doubt I’ll play him, so why fly him?” said Rivers, who said it was more likely that Pierce would play tomorrow night in Washington.

That said, Rivers has no doubt that the Celtics captain - whose fiancee Julie Landrum gave birth to a daughter named Prianna Lee Friday night - has been taking care of himself.

“He’s one guy I never worry about working out,” Rivers said. “Sometimes we have to tell him to slow down.” . . .

Gabe Pruitt rejoined the team from the NBDL yesterday, primarily as an extra practice player. . . .

Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison expects to play tomorrow night against the Celtics after missing two games with a sprained right shoulder.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1085744&format=text

LeBron rests bad back

By Herald wire services | Tuesday, April 8, 2008 | www.bostonherald.com | NBA Coverage

Photo by AP (file)
While his teammates practiced their free throws, LeBron James worked on a trick shot where he stands under the basket and heaves a ball off a nearby wall, trying to ricochet it back through the hoop.

He hasn’t made one yet.

“I’m working on it,” he said.

He’s got time to.

James was held out of Cleveland’s practice yesterday to rest his back, which has been tightening up and bothering the Cavaliers’ All-Star forward for the past few weeks. His back spasms got so severe during a recent game against Chicago that James was unable to sit in a chair during timeouts.

James’ injury - the latest back issue for a Cleveland player - has worsened at an inopportune time for the Cavs, who are still trying to lock down the No. 4 seed in the NBA playoffs and home-court advantage in the first round. With five games remaining, Cleveland, which has dropped five of seven, enters the week with a two-game lead over Washington and a three-game cushion over Philadelphia for the fourth spot.

The Cavaliers, who don’t play again until tomorrow against New Jersey, are hoping the rest will help James for the stretch run.

As coach Mike Brown put his team through a workout, James received treatment on his back. Later, though, he came out on the floor and practiced a few shots.

“I told him just to watch TV,” Brown said, looking in the direction of his superstar.

James was asked if back spasms were his only problem.

“That,” he said, “and tightness and some stuff that shouldn’t be going on right now.”

Although it had been troubling him for a few weeks, James didn’t reveal the extent of his injury until following last Thursday’s home loss to the Bulls. The Cavaliers blew a 17-point lead in the second half, and with James unable to slash to the basket the way he can when healthy, Cleveland couldn’t come back. James, who leads the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring, missed all five field-goal tries in the final period.

Then, in another loss on Saturday against Orlando, he didn’t drive to the basket in the fourth quarter and said afterward that his back was locking up again.

Elsewhere in the NBA - Clippers guard Shaun Livingston’s surgically repaired left knee is improving and he will be allowed to pick up the intensity of his on-court workouts.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/04/08/theyre_working_in_some_rest?mode=PF

They're working in some rest
Leisure suits Celtics' Big 3
By Marc J. Spears, Globe Staff | April 8, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kevin Garnett's résumé has a lot more than pro basketball player on it.

Garnett worked at Burger King, manned a cash register at a restaurant called Cheers, worked at an Ingles Markets grocery store, and mowed lawns while growing up in South Carolina. He mopped gym floors at a Boys' and Girls' Club his senior year in high school in Chicago.

But of all the jobs he has held - including playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves - he says his current gig with the Celtics is the least taxing.

"Since I've been 14, I've probably had seven jobs, and since I've been working, this is the most rest I've ever had in my life," said the Celtics forward yesterday. "It's so much that I don't know what to do with myself. It's coming at a great time.

"You put your heart and soul in this. I'm staying afloat being a vet, being a leader. It's been good. It's coming at the right time for this team."

After having four days off - including Saturday, when the Celtics defeated the Bobcats at Charlotte to clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs - Garnett and Ray Allen were back on the floor practicing at Charlotte Bobcats Arena yesterday. Following practice, the Celtics flew to Milwaukee in preparation for tonight's game against the Bucks.

Paul Pierce, who didn't make the trip to Charlotte because of the birth of his daughter last Friday in Boston, will likely meet the team in Washington for tomorrow's game against the Wizards, according to coach Doc Rivers. If he doesn't play until then, he will have been off a week.

But Rivers isn't worried about his conditioning.

"Paul's a guy that works on his body," Rivers said. "Sometimes we've had to tell him to slow down. He comes in a lot at night and shoots and runs. That part of it I'm not that concerned about."

Rivers said one of the three would play tonight; it wouldn't be a surprise if it was Allen, since he was recently voted the third-most popular player in Bucks history and missed the previous game in Milwaukee because of injury. All three are expected to play at Washington.

"We're ready physically for the [postseason] run," Garnett said. "Mentally? I think we are in a good place mentally."

With home-court advantage wrapped up, Rivers plans to give his All-Star trio fewer minutes in the final five regular-season games, but enough to keep their timing down.

"We're in good shape," Rivers said. "We've been in good shape mostly all year. Even if we were in the West and had to play out, I think our guys would be able to sustain because we are in great shape.

"We've had a lot of games where our guys have had a lot of rest. Our practices? We've taken a lot of days off. We've kind of managed through the year, thinking all along for the big picture.

"My [attitude] is always legs over brain and getting mental rest after games. That's why we've had days off, back-to-back days off. We've done that three or four times this year. It's an older group, a veteran group, and I just thought we needed it."

Garnett is averaging 33.5 minutes per game, his fewest since he averaged 28.7 in his rookie campaign with the Wolves, 1995-96. Pierce is averaging 36.7 minutes (fewest since 36.1 in 2004-05) and Allen is averaging 36.6 (fewest since 35.8 in 2002-03).

Garnett also missed nine games with an abdominal injury in late January and February, and while he prefers not to talk about injuries in detail, he insisted that he's very healthy right now.

"Everybody is going through a season, and you're nicked up here and there," he said. "But there is nothing significant to speak about."

Point guard Rajon Rondo also is expected to get his minutes trimmed, with the slack to be picked up by Sam Cassell, Eddie House, and rookie Gabe Pruitt, who took part in his first practice since his third and final stint with Utah of the D-League.

"Rondo I'm not worrying about," said Rivers. "That's why we brought Gabe in, to get Rondo some rest."

Said Pruitt, "All in all, it feels good to be back."

Tickets for Games 1 and 2 of the Celtics' opening playoff series go on sale tomorrow at 11 a.m. There will be a two-ticket limit per customer. Tickets can be purchased at the TD Banknorth Garden box office and Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 800-4NBA-TIX, or by going to Celtics.com . . . Basketball isn't the only thing Garnett is great at. "I'm probably the best at cleaning," he said. "I'm probably one of the cleanest people you've met in your life. I take a lot of pride in that. I know how to vacuum, I know how to mop, clean the kitchen, clean the dishes. I'm cold at that." . . . Rivers shot an impressive 78 at a TPC golf course in Charlotte Sunday. He has a 10 handicap . . . Bobcats rookie forward Jared Dudley, the former Boston College star, said he didn't think Eagles junior guard Tyrese Rice would turn pro this year.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2008/04/08/ewing_elected_to_hall?mode=PF

Ewing elected to Hall
Olajuwon, Dantley, Riley also honored
By Bob Ryan, Globe Staff | April 8, 2008

SAN ANTONIO - You'd have to assume this was a rubber-stamp election.

How could Patrick Ewing not make the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame?

Well, he did. He joins Hakeem Olajuwon as first-time nominees elected to the Class of 2008, as announced yesterday at the Final Four.

Joining the two titans of the pivot for the enshrinement ceremony in Springfield, Mass., on the weekend of Sept. 4-6 will be scoring machine Adrian Dantley, five-time NBA championship coach Pat Riley, three-time national championship women's coach Cathy Rush, longtime Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson, and the one and only voice of college basketball, !!!GREENIAC!!! Vitale, who made it in after being rejected the two previous years.

Ewing's transformation from Jamaican immigrant to one of the great centers of all-time began in Cambridge, Mass., where his family settled when he was 11. Within a couple of years, tales of a tall, talented basketball phenom in the Cambridge middle schools began to circulate. Ewing paid public tribute to his first coach, Steve Jenkins, but it was Cambridge Rindge and Latin mentor Mike Jarvis who truly molded the young man into the player he became by modeling him after the greatest winner in American team sports history, and Jarvis's personal hero. That would, of course, be Bill Russell.

Jarvis wanted Ewing to realize that there was far more to this game than scoring. He wanted Ewing to be a superior defensive and rebounding presence, too, and once the 6-foot-11-inch Ewing had led Rindge and Latin to a pair of state titles, the job was handed over to John Thompson at Georgetown. Ewing went from a coach who loved and respected Russell to one who was his back-up center for two years. His work habits were further ingrained.

By the time Riley met up with Ewing, the man who had coached four championship teams in Los Angeles thought he had come across everything the NBA possibly could encompass. But the new coach of the Knicks found out otherwise.

"I'm the new coach of the Knicks, and we're having our first practice down there in Charleston [S.C.]," Riley recalled. "I work them hard the first day. We go three hours, and when it's over, Patrick says to me, 'That's it? Just three hours? I thought you were going to do some work.' From that moment on, Patrick became a great ally for me."

Ewing's Georgetown team won the NCAA championship in 1984 and got to the Final Four on two other occasions. He was a three-time consensus All-American and a member of Bob Knight's 1984 Olympic team. But he did not get a ring in the NBA, and Riley feels accountable.

"We were very close in '94," he said. "I wish I could have gotten Patrick over the hump."

For the record, the Knicks lost to Olajuwon's Houston Rockets in seven games after taking a 3-2 lead back to Houston.

The truth is the Knicks were built around Ewing for a decade and a half. He spent 15 of his first 17 NBA seasons in New York, playing in 11 All-Star Games. He is the franchise's career leader in points, rebounds, blocks, steals, and field goals. He averaged 20 points or more 13 times. He was a member of the hallowed Dream Team in 1992, where he wound up bonding with Larry Bird. And through it all, he never took a possession off.

Riley has a special place in his heart for Ewing.

"He's the kind of guy you want to get up at 5 in the morning to coach, and when you get there, you find out he's already there," said Riley.

Despite being groomed by Jarvis and Thompson to be the next Bill Russell, he turned out to be the first Patrick Ewing. Russell never had an offensive weapon as remotely feared and effective as Ewing's turnaround jumper.

The one great what-if of Ewing's career is what would have happened had he been allowed to participate in a true up-tempo offense. For there have been few centers in basketball history who could get up and down the floor as quickly and gracefully.

"I've been blessed," Ewing said. "I've been blessed since I came here from Jamaica."

The millions of people who watched Ewing play feel pretty blessed, too.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/04/i_am_a_celtic.html

I am a Celtic
Email|Link|Comments (0) Posted by Greg Lee, Globe Staff April 7, 2008 04:50 PM
Throughout the day on Tuesday, ESPN will be airing duing all of its studio programming (i.e. SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, NBA studio shows, etc.) Celtics' vignettes starting with the historic looks at the team's playoff past with an end to the current playoff push.

Stuart Scott does the voiceover, which is part of a larger project of several playoff bound teams. The Celtics are the first team to be profiled.

In addition to Tuesday, the Celtics vignette will run at halftime of the Boston/Washington game Wednesday on ESPN (7 p.m.)

I AM A CELTIC on ESPN2 – TUESDAY, APRIL 8 at 11 P.M.

As the Boston Celtics revive memories of their glorious past, ESPN2 will present I Am A Celtic, an in-depth look at their compelling run this season, on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET. Produced by NBA Entertainment, the show will provide an all-access exploration of the 2007-2008 Celtics as league’s most fabled franchise chase history and attempts to raise its 17th NBA championship banner.

I Am A Celtic will be told through the eyes of three men who were instrumental in building the Celtic tradition over 40 years ago – Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Sam Jones. These three pillars of the Boston dynasty will dissect the current edition of the team, giving their unique perspective on who these players are and if they have what it takes to be considered “True Celtics.” They will analyze not only the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, but also the team’s supporting cast, along with head coach Doc Rivers and GM Danny Ainge.

“It’s a shame that Arnold (Red Auerbach) left us last year, because he would be getting the same enjoyment that I am getting out it now,” says Cousy. “Arnold would just love what is going on now because they are playing the way his teams played.”

I Am A Celtic will mix the interviews of Cousy, Havlicek, and Jones with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the current Celtics, and chronicle the story of their remarkable season. This insightful program will document the current team’s quest to live up to an almost impossible standard of excellence – one that was once synonymous with the Boston Celtics.

Jones believes this team certainly has the right stuff to bring home the team’s first title in over 20 years.

“Gosh, I wish Red Auerbach was alive today so that he could see that this team is playing the way of the Celtics of old.”

[FLCeltsFan]

www.enterprisenews.com/sports/x195968165
Best record doesn’t guarantee best result for Celtics
The Celtics know that the NBA is littered with top teams that lost in the playoffs.
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By Jim Fenton
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Apr 08, 2008 @ 02:02 AM

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BOSTON — Their attitude about being on top of the NBA standings has been consistent for the past five months.

Having the league’s best record throughout the season has never been something about which the Boston Celtics have made a big deal.

When asked about leading the NBA pack earlier this season, Coach Doc Rivers responded with a question of his own, looking to downplay the significance.

Rivers wanted to know if reporters could remember which team finished with the best record in the 2006-07 season.

The answer — the Dallas Mavericks at 67-15 — proved a point for Rivers since that team failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, getting shocked by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors.

For all the good the Mavericks did from November through the middle of April, it didn’t help them one bit once the postseason began.

The Celtics, who continue a three-game road trip against the Bucks in Milwaukee tonight, clinched the NBA’s best mark last Saturday night.

It marks the first time since the 1985-86 season — Boston’s last title year — that the Celtics (61-15) will finish first in the overall standings.

Like they did after reaching the 60-win mark last week, the Celtics downplayed the achievement, knowing it will not mean much without taking the next step through the playoffs.

“Nothing we do right now is what we’re trying to do,” Rivers told reporters after a 101-78 win in Charlotte over the Bobcats. “It’s what we’re trying to get to later. That’s how we focus.”

Recent history shows that having the best regular-season record hardly guarantees a celebration in June as the NBA champion.

In the past seven years, only one team that entered the playoffs with the top record has survived the next two months and won the title.

That occurred in the 2002-03 season when the San Antonio Spurs, who tied the Mavericks at 60-22, emerged as the champions.

In the two years before that, the Los Angeles Lakers finished tied for second in the overall standings and won titles. The Spurs were on top of the NBA in 2000-01 with 58 wins and the Sacramento Kings were first in 2001-02 with 61 victories, but neither got out of the conference in the playoffs.

The past four seasons, lower seeds have prevailed to win championships, beginning with the Detroit Pistons (sixth overall in 2003-04), the Spurs (tied for second in 2004-05), the Miami Heat (fifth in 2005-06) and the Spurs (third last season).

In each case, teams that won more than 60 games in the regular season to have the best record were unable to parlay that into a title.

The 2003-04 Indiana Pacers went 61-21, then lost in six games to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.

The 2004-05 Phoenix Suns were 62-20, but were eliminated in five games by the Spurs in the Western Conference finals.

The 2005-06 Pistons had a 64-18 record going into the playoffs, but the Heat stopped them in six games in the conference finals.

Last season, the Mavericks had a remarkable regular season, winning six more games than the second-place team in the NBA, but they were ousted, 4-2, by the Warriors.

In the past 18 years, only seven teams with the best record during the 82-game season won titles, and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls did it four times.

After playing the Bucks, who are ahead of only the New York Knicks and the Heat in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics finish the trip in Washington Wednesday night.

The Wizards, fifth in the East, can become the only team to win a season series from the Celtics. Washington is 2-1, winning back-to-back games over Boston during a three-night span in January after losing to the Celtics on opening night.

It is expected that Rivers will get more rest time for his key players against the Bucks, though Paul Pierce could return to the lineup. Pierce did not play against the Bobcats after his fiancée, Julie Landrum, gave birth to their daughter, Prianna Lee, last Friday.

The Celtics will also be keeping an eye on the out-of-town scoreboard as the Atlanta Hawks, their likely first-round opponent, can move closer to a playoff berth tonight.

The Hawks (36-41) own a three-game lead over the Pacers (33-44) with seven games remaining, and the two teams meet in Indiana.

[FLCeltsFan]

www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/04082008/sports/hall_of_shame_105480.htm

HALL OF SHAME
By PETER VECSEY


April 8, 2008 -- UPON discovering Sun day afternoon that Dennis Johnson wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame as part of this year's exceptionally qualified inductee harvest - Pat Riley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Adrian Dantley, Bill Davidson, Kathy Rush and !!!GREENIAC!!! Vitale (be nice) - I sent the following e-mail to roughly 300 Hoop du Jour (most directly connected to the NBA) subscribers:
"D.J. got stiffed again."

Thirty-seven responded.

"How can there be a basketball Hall of Fame and exclude D. J.?"

"Unfreaking believable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"TERRIBLE!!!!!!!"

"I have no respect for the HOF!"

"That news is so discouraging. What does it take to get him to Springfield?"

"Sorry to hear that, I worked with him, great player, terrific guy, never big timed anyone."

"That defies explanation."

"Amazing D. J. keeps getting slighted!"

"Are these [24] committee members out of their minds? What did D.J. do to earn such non-respect?"

"If D.J. were alive I'd suggest he consult with Susan Lucci to get guidance through this trauma."

Chicago-based agent Mark Bartlestein said it best and speaks for us non-HOF-voters.

"Coaches, organizations and those handing out the honors love to talk about sacrificing personal statistics for the sake of success yet rarely reward it," he said. "Dennis Johnson epitomizes that. He did so many things that effected winning. Many were intangibles. Much of what he did gave his team's superstars the freedom to focus on what they did best.

"No, Dennis Johnson's stats aren't Hall of Fame. But his game was Hall of Fame. You actually have to understand the game to understand that."

*

Just as we were leaning toward believing the Suns had figured out how to play with Shaquille O'Neal . . .

Just as we had gotten excited at their spirited style of play . . .

Just as we began to witness Steve Nash seamlessly switching styles when O'Neal took a breather . . .

Just as we thought Mike D'Antoni had locked up comeback coach-of-the-year and players were paying strict attention . . .

Just as we thought last season's debacle with the Bone-Spurs was going to be avenged . . .

The Mavericks rip off a Sweet 16 straight in the fourth quarter and hold the home team to nine points (Dirk Nowitzki recorded 12 by his lonesome) overall.

How in the name of Johnny High could the Suns outsource a victory to a team that had lost 10 games by four or fewer points and were 1-10 against teams above five hundred since Jason Kidd re-arrived in Dallas?

NBA turnarounds don't get any more bizarre. The Suns became the Mavs of late. They had a 13-point lead early in the final quadrant and had complete control.

I know that was the case because ABC's crew of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson told us Dallas' defense isn't what it was the last two years, how weak its bench is, and how it hasn't worked out with Kidd - but the Suns have adjusted well to Shaq, yada, yada, yada.

We've heard it all so many times before - Van Gundy pontificating on all the finer points as to why the Suns are on a roll and the Mavs are on a free-fall - as announcers tend to do when they see the tide going out.

Abruptly, it was as if the wires got crossed and the TV sound feed went into the Mavs' huddle. All of a sudden Dallas clamped down! Erick Dampier choked off the middle. Kidd stayed in front of Nash (0-6 FG in fourth) and blocked a key shot, four altogether to go with his four steals, eight point, six rebounds and seven assists. And the Mavs came up with every loose ball.

Meanwhile, Nowitzki (a game-high 32 points plus 12 rebounds) and Jason Terry did the damage as their defensive aggressiveness carried over to the other end, resulting in 17 free throw attempts in the last 12 minutes.

From a distance it appears as if was easier for the Mavs to come from behind. Their problem has been holding a lead in the fourth (see above) and I'm inclined to think some of that is because Avery Johnson gets so emotional. That can be a positive trait for a coach, but at the end of games and in tight situations that emotion often unsettles players.

However, if your team is the one staging the comeback, working in frenzy is no problem. That's when the over-coaching stops and players are left to their own devises, er, instincts. That's what appeared to happen Sunday. Avery let his players go on offense and they scored 29 points in the fourth. As a rule, the Mavs do not score that many points when the coach is micro-managing every play. Thus Kidd became Kidd, unconcerned about the next play call that the coach wanted, and he rode his rhythm.

To Avery's credit, he did a masterful job of running a pick-and-rolls with Nowitzki handling and Dampier rolling. Nowitzki was remarkably incredible considering he's still gimpy after hurting his left knee seven games ago (four inactive) and is only about 75 percent. He made two circus shots - one that sealed the deal - at the end that would've put H-O on anyone. Off balance and stumbling left, he shot off his good leg with the bad one sticking out so he wouldn't have to land on it.

Nothing but macrame!

[FLCeltsFan]

www.boston.com/sports/columnists/bob_ryan_blog/2008/04/an_ode_to_riley.html

An ode to Riley
Link Posted by Bob Ryan, Globe Staff April 7, 2008 07:28 PM
SAN ANTONIO — Before I get to the part where I knew him when, allow newly elected Basketball Hall of Famer Pat Riley to tell a story that might help explain why your Celtics are 61-15 and will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

‘‘I have a place in Malibu, and one day two or three years ago I was taking a walk with my wife when we ran into Kevin Garnett and his wife,’’ Riley explains. ‘‘This was 10 o’clock in the morning, and we started talking. About noon the four of us went back to our place to have lunch on the deck. We continued to talk all afternoon. Things like this don’t happen with opponents very often; they just don’t. Usually, it’s just a handshake and goodbye. And let me say I wasn’t recruiting him or anything. It was just something very enjoyable you rarely get to do.

‘‘He wanted to ask questions. We talked about winning. And you could tell that he was desperate to win. We wound up spending about eight hours together, and when it was over, I was thinking, ‘Man, would I like to coach that guy!’

‘‘I think the Celtics can do it, and what I like about it is that, even with Kevin there, and all he’s meant to them, it’s not about one guy. He won’t allow that. He wants to be over there on the side. They have a legit chance. My personal pick would be their defense against anyone else’s offense.

‘‘But what a trade,’’ Riley laughs. ‘‘They’re going to have to check out what happened with Danny [Ainge] and Kevin [McHale]. I’m not saying there was anything surreptitious, but keep an eye out and see if Kevin winds up working for the Celtics in five years.’’
(Attention, David Stern: the president and coach of the Miami Heat was just kidding).

Anyway, Pat Riley has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to honor his five NBA titles, and has any new electee ever been more in need of a pick-me-up? As has been well-documented, he has been taking leave of his coaching duties of late to take an up-close-and-personal look at the obvious top lottery picks in the 2008 draft. In case you haven’t heard, his Heat, just two years removed from a championship, are the certified worst team in the NBA with a 13-64 record.

‘‘This business of personal scouting is an easy call,’’ he says. ‘‘If you’re going through the pain we are, and if we get lucky in the lottery, we must make sure we make the right first pick. We can’t have a Portland situation, picking first and passing up Michael Jordan.’’

The Riley image is so firmly fixed in the contemporary American consciousness — the Gordon Gekko hair, which is actually the Pat Riley hair appropriated by Michael Douglas; the expensive suits; the catch phrases, etc. — it’s a good thing there are a few of us around who remember Pat Riley long before he was a CEO. It really is as if there are two separate people.

When I first met the original Pat Riley, for example, he was the odd man out on the 1976 Suns playoff roster, the 13th man on a 12-man team. He was happy to hang around Paul Westphal’s pool, happy to have somewhere to go. It would have been a bit far-fetched to project that guy into the famed multi-millionaire celebrity coach he has become.

In addition to which .....

Do many young NBA fans, for example, know of his demigod status as a Kentucky Wildcat, or that he played for Adolph Rupp?

Do many young NBA fans know of his nine-year career or his role as a key sub on the 1971-72 Lakers, who won 69 games?

Do many young NBA fans know that he actually spent a year (1976-77) following his retirement from active playing out of basketball entirely, that he got back into the game as a color man for legendary Lakers play-by-play man Chick Hearn, who didn’t really need a color man, or that he was placed on the bench as an assistant in a chain of events that began when coach Jack McKinney, only weeks into his Lakers tenure, fell off a bike and suffered a major head injury early in the 1979-80 season, or that he assumed control in the 1980-81 season when Magic Johnson staged a (needed) coup to depose Paul Westhead, the man who had succeeded McKinney?

Riley admits there was a certain arrogance about him in those early days. ‘‘I had all these great players,’’ he recalls. ‘‘I had Kareem, Magic, James Worthy, Bob McAdoo, Michael Cooper, and I thought it was all about me. I was coach of ‘Showtime.’ All I can say is that I’m a lot different at 63 than I was at 35.’’

Here’s one Celtics fans will love. ‘‘I choked away the series in ’84,’’ he admits. ‘‘Game 2. We’re up 2 and we get the ball and I call timeout with the greatest ballhandler and playmaker in the game in possession of the ball. I call timeout to set up a great inbounds play, which might as well have been called ‘Throw it to Gerald Henderson.’.’’

There’s more. ‘‘I completely mishandled the McHale takedown of [Kurt] Rambis [in Game 4],’’ he says. ‘‘I realize all Kevin wanted to do was stop a layup on a fast break, but back then I was all fired up. I got in the huddle and said, ‘If Bird goes to the hoop, knock him on his !!!GREENIAC!!!,’ and I lost focus.’’

But he loved those days. ‘‘There was never a better hard-fought rivalry than the Lakers and the Celtics,’’ he maintains. ‘‘We were so competitive it was hard for us to even talk to each other. There was respect, but it was hard to like them. That’s why I was flabbergasted when Larry asked me to do the foreword on his book. That was a real rivalry. I don’t know that we have those kind anymore. I’m talking about something that had nothing to do with branding or marketing to get in the way. It was, pure and simple, about winning, with maybe an occasional commercial thrown in there.’’

You could write a book about how Riley went from the guy who coached ‘‘Showtime’’ in LA to the guy who singlehandedly may have turned the NBA into glorified sumo wrestling when he was with the Knicks, but there is no question he has been a compelling and influential coaching figure in basketball for nearly 30 years. There isn’t any debate about his qualifications to be in the Hall of Fame.

He likes the timing, too. ‘‘We are the luckiest class in Hall of Fame history,’’ he says. ‘‘With !!!GREENIAC!!! Vitale as a member, we’ll be promoted every day for the rest of our lives.’’

[FLCeltsFan]

www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/17372614.html
Jefferson has plan to match durability and strong finish
By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

April 7, 2008

Al Jefferson and his teammates are nine days away from a long summer of rest, a fact that for now and for the Timberwolves star center's well-being is a very good thing.

"I feel like if we were going to start the playoffs in two weeks, I'd have a mental breakdown," he said. "I have to do a better job this summer, getting my body in great shape, because I plan on getting into the playoffs real soon."

Until this season, Jefferson never had played more than 71 games in an 82-game NBA season, and that was in his rookie year with Boston when he averaged 14.8 minutes a game.

This time around, he has played in all 76 games so far, placing 36 minutes a game under his feet and a franchise upon his shoulders.

His body, his mind, his demeanor and his statistics all recently have displayed the demands of approaching a goal that both Jefferson and Wolves coach Randy Wittman set for him.

"Yeah," he said when asked about reaching all 82 games played, "I just haven't been talking about it because I don't want to jinx myself."

If durability is an ingredient of greatness, then Wittman considers Jefferson's perfect attendance this season another step in the development of a young player in whom the franchise invested $65 million last fall.

"To play 82 games, we had a guy here for a long time who did that," Wittman said, referring to Kevin Garnett. "The good ones do it a lot if they're lucky enough not to have injuries. He's striving to do that, but I think he's seeing what it takes to play 82 games."

Jefferson has noticed the difference this season, when he has been asked to carry a team in a Western Conference with a style of play unlike what he knew for three seasons with Boston in the East.

"That's kind of a slow game," he said, referring to the Eastern Conference. "In the West, it's run. I just need to get myself ready for the West and for the playoffs. I feel like if your body gets run down, your mind gets run down. The easy part for me is keeping my head together because of the love I have for the game. When you start having those aches and pains, when your body gets that wear and tear, that's where you can have a mental breakdown."

Until mid-March, Jefferson collected a double-double game in points and rebounds seemingly every night. He had 49 double-doubles in his first 67 games this season. In the past nine, he has had two.

Jefferson attributes the disparity not to fatigue or a determined effort he made just about then to improve his defense, but rather says his teammates have rebounded the ball better, which means he can do less.

"Now I don't have to go out and grab 15, 16 rebounds," he said. "Some nights, it's nine. Some nights, it's seven. That's just a couple of rebounds off [double digits]. I don't care who gets 'em, as long as we start the fast break off."

Wittman calls the decrease a combination of factors that include fatigue.

"I think playing 82 games is showing him the kind of shape you have to be in," Wittman said. "You can talk about how hard it is to play 82 games, but you don't really know until you do it and have an understanding. You know what? We might need our top guys to play 82 games to get into the playoffs. It might take Al playing 82 games to get there. And the demands on Al are only going to get bigger, so I want him to experience what that is like."

It is enough, Jefferson said, to convince him to work harder this summer.

"This is my first year playing this many games, playing this many minutes," he said. "It's just something I'm going to improve on next year because I plan on being in the playoffs in a couple of years."

[FLCeltsFan]

www.metrobostonnews.com/us/article/2008/04/08/02/2409-66/index.xml
Confidence game

With postseason drawing near, Rondo keeps improving
NBA. Lately, there’s been a common phrase written on the dry erase boards in the visiting locker room at the TD Banknorth Garden.


In so many words: “Keep Rajon Rondo from penetrating the paint.”


It’s true, the Celtics’ point guard has become such a menace to opposing defenses that coaches are making sure their teams are as aware of Rondo as local co-eds are of the freshman 15.


“He’s a hell of a basketball player and a hell of a point guard,” Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said.


“He’s shooting the ball with confidence, and for a young player, I think he’s playing with terrific maturity.”


“He’s extremely quick,” Hornets coach Byron Scott echoed. “He’s fearless. He loves the challenge, as well. He’s a good, solid basketball player. He’s got a high basketball IQ. He’s played well this year.”


Their praises aren’t just limited to Rondo’s offensive ability, as O’Brien and Scott each noted the Celtics’ defensive tenacity starts at the top with Rondo. He is quick enough to apply pressure in the backcourt, and he’s hard-nosed enough to battle bigger point guards on the low block.


But the most obvious improvement in Rondo’s game is his confidence while running the show, particularly while splitting through defenses in the paint. He plays with a cockiness reserved for playground stars, allowing him to embarrass Steve Nash with a quick, left-handed in-and-out. Rondo has crossed up so many 7-footers with his one-handed up-fake that he should set up a support group for their bruised egos.


Rondo’s emergence over the course of the season — his second in the league and first as a full-time starter — has been apparent with each passing game, but it’s his creativity that has shown his on-court personality.


“I’ve been doing little trick shots and things like that throughout my career,” Rondo said. “But in the NBA, I’m just getting more confident.”

[FLCeltsFan]

media.www.thesuffolkvoice.net/media/storage/paper1060/news/2008/04/08/Sports/Celtics.Rest.Starters.Look.For.Powe.Others.To.Step.Up-3308692.shtml
Celtics rest starters, look for Powe, others to step up
Celtic Pride
Philip Camara
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Sports
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Media Credit: ESPN.com
Leon Powe has stepped up his game as of late.


The NBA playoffs are looming closer with every day and the Celtics continue to make strides in several areas. A main question that has constantly been raised is: Are the Celtics' bench players and role players good enough to support Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

After Saturday's 101-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats, the answer to that question is looking more and more like it should be a yes. Doc Rivers completed the work of a genius Saturday when he decided to sit Allen, Pierce and Garnett for the entire game. That meant that James Posey, Leon Powe, Kendrick Perkins, Tony Allen and Rajon Rondo would be the starting five.

The result: A 37-point performance in the first quarter, 22 points and nine rebounds for Powe and a fourth quarter which saw the Celtics hold the Bobcats to just nine points.

Not bad for a bunch of guys who, at the beginning of the year, were supposedly not good enough to support Boston's "Big Three". It's safe to say that after Saturday's game and a season which has seen the Celtics go 61-15, all that talk is officially out the window.

Now it is time to look ahead toward the playoffs. Thankfully for Celtics fans everywhere, Doc Rivers is handling his best season ever the right way by resting his stars to ensure every one will be ready to make a championship run.

As of right now, Boston looks like it will be heading for a first round match up with the Atlanta Hawks. Anyway, does it really matter who they play? The Celtics should sweep their first round series and if not, they should win by five games or else that means Cleveland or Washington will suddenly seem to have a better chance to knock off the NBA's best team in the second round. With everyone contributing, there shouldn't be any first round or second round disappointments come April and May.

Another intriguing topic is whether or not Leon Powe can really keep this little explosion of his up? Powe is averaging a surprising 14 points per game and 4.7 rebounds in April. He is only averaging 7.5 points and four rebounds on the season. Maybe Tommy Heinsohn's rants last season on how good this guy was going to be are starting to come true. The second year "big man", who's LeBron James' 6-8 figure gives the indication he should be taking threes or long-range jumpers, is basically defying odds.

He did play inside during his college days at California, but with all the size down low in the NBA, Powe continues to be looked at as rather small for his position. Just don't tell that to Leon. His play is as important as anyone's at this point in the season and in the future.

God forbid Garnett ever gets in foul trouble in a playoff game. God forbid Kendrick Perk- scratch that. When Kendrick Perkins gets in foul trouble because of his lack of playoff experience in the paint, Powe will be the man to back him up and if he rebounds like he has lately, maybe score here and there, the Celtics will really have no problems come playoff time. Powe is important, but please Doc, keep playing him. The less rest he has, the more the Celtics might have the opportunity to develop a "Big Three-and-a-half" when the need for depth is at its greatest.