Post Ups Notebook
Peter Stringer and Couper Moorhead "post" the latest from practice and pregame media sessions in Celtics.com's Post Ups notebook. Bookmark this page and come back for updates from the Garden and Waltham. You can send them .
Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author exclusively and do not necessarily represent those of the Boston Celtics.
Celtics Audio Archive
Listen to live interviews from practice and the Celtics locker room. Requires the latest Flash Player from Adobe.
Upgrade your Flash Player
Please download the latest Flash Player to enjoy the full functionality of Celtics.com.
Post Ups Notebook Archive
Shop Now at Celtics.com
Post Ups Notebook
Thursday, December 4 - Practice
No Practice for T.A. Today
Not much to report from a short practice in Waltham. Tony Allen (right ankle) did not participate in today's session, which leads us to believe he may not be active again Friday against the visiting Portland Trailblazers.
In the meantime, Brian Scalabrine, who's been staying sharp by playing one-on-one against Sam Cassell after practice and before games, and Gabe Pruitt (who appears to be joining the Scal-Cassell fray) are the logical candidates for extra minutes. Coach Doc Rivers dismissed the idea of calling up J.R. Giddens or Bill Walker from the D-League for some short-term relief (by D-League rule, players can be called up at any time, but can only be sent down three times per season), which would indicate that their assignments are being viewed in the long term.
Speaking of the long term, no one knows it better than Greg Oden after he missed his entire rookie year due to knee surgery and is now finally getting a chance to show what he can do on the NBA circuit. Oden did make the trip to Boston last year, and he's larger than life in person up close when he's giving interviews, so we'd expect he'll have a rather large presence on the court as well.
Doc Rivers, like everyone else, is expecting big things from the big man who was once the apple of many eyes, the Celtics' included, in the 2007 NBA Draft.
"They're bringing him along, and he's going to be a dominant defensive player in our league," Rivers said of Oden. "I think right now defensively he's still learning the timing of the game, the speed of the game and the craftiness of veterans. But he'll get all of that."
Friday night's matchup also pits teams with two of the league's longest winning streaks against each other, so something's gotta give. The Celtics have won 10 straight games while the Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers have each won six consecutive games as of Thursday morning.
- Peter Stringer
Check the Audio Archive for interviews with Doc Rivers, Kendrick Perkins, Sam Cassell and Rajon Rondo.
Wednesday, December 3 - Pacers at Celtics
Live from Courtside
114-96 Celtics, FINAL: Make it 10 straight for the C-Train. Rondo finished off his first career triple-double in impressive fashion, racking up 17 assists, 13 rebounds to go with his three steals. In the process, he managed to overshadow Ray Allen's season-high 31 points. Allen's been filling it up, averaging 22.6 PPG over his last six games, and he's hit 23 of his last 41 threes over that time, for a blistering 56% from behind the arc.
Pacers 73, Celtics 88, End of Third Quarter: The third-quarter run trend is officially on, and for that matter, so is the rout. The Celtics have locked down on defense and the Pacers have gone cold, resulting in a 31-22 scoring advantage for Boston in the period.
Expect plenty of Rondo stories to invade the Web tomorrow, as he completed his first career triple-double less than two minutes into the quarter. Following a Celtics miss, Rondo (13 points, 12 assists, 10 boards so far) rebounded the ball and dished to KG for the bucket and the foul, all in one fluid motion. Just around 100 more to go to tie Jason Kidd's career mark.
Rondo did have 11 boards and 12 assists to go with five points against San Antonio last season.
It seems that as Danny Granger goes, so go the Pacers. He didn't score a point in the third.
- Couper Moorhead
Pacers 51, Celtics 57, HALFTIME: Rajon Rondo's been the story for the last two weeks and he's basically maturing in front of our eyes. After 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in the first quarter, Rondo has a near-triple-double at the half, posting 10 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists in just 21 minutes, and he's yet to turn over the basketball.
Yet despite Rondo's impressive line, the Pacers are right there with the Celtics, and this should be a good one down the stretch. The C's have had some big third quarters of late, so keep your eyes on how the boys come out to start the half.
Pacers 27, Celtics 28, End of First Quarter: Doc Rivers can't be pleased with the 14 points in the paint his team has given up, but with 16 of their own under the bucket, the Celtics are giving just as much as they get.
Seven second-chance points and Ray Allen's healthy start (13 points) kept the Celtics close in the early going despite efficient shooting from the Pacers. But a 7-0 run late in the quarter, and the evening out of the percentages, returned command to the home team. Danny Granger started out hot (nine points) as he was left open on a couple defensive rotations, but the moment he left the game, the Pacers offense stagnated.
- Couper Moorhead
T.A. Out Tonight
Tony Allen is a confirmed no-go for tonight, and it didn't even come down to a doctor's decision. TA tested his sprained right ankle with leg lifts and step ups before the game, and said he ruled himself out. The results of a precautionary MRI should be out by tomorrow, and Doc Rivers said team doctor Ed Lacerte hopes Allen will be back by Sunday's rematch with the Pacers. But that doesn't rule him out for Friday, Rivers said.
Jim O'Brien was reluctant to read too much into Indiana's wins over the Celtics and Lakers, saying they caught Boston just after the emotional high of the banner raising, and the Lakers on their first trip East. Still, there have been plenty of teams that haven't been able to take advantage of either team on the road, so give the Pacers credit.
While O'Brien is a former Celtics coach, there's one guy on his roster that Rivers wishes was a current Celtics player. Potential All-Star Danny Granger was yanked out of Danny Ainge's grasp in the 2005 NBA Draft, selected by Indiana just ahead of Boston, which took Gerald Green with the 18th pick.
"Danny was a guy we wanted," Rivers said. "We thought he'd be just perfect for our team. When it got to that pick, we saw it was Granger or Gerald Green, we were about to get one or the other. Obviously Granger so far has turned out to be better, but Gerald's a lot younger and there's still time for him. But it would have been nice."
And, answering a burning question for some intrepid media members, Rivers said that Granger reminds him of a cross between the Orlando Magic's Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.
It was reported about forty-five minutes ago that Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell was fired. Just as with the end of the last regular season, when teams were making personnel decisions, the move provided Rivers with a reminder of the nature of his job.
"You win, you get to stay a little bit," Rivers said. "[You] lose, you hope Danny Ainge is on your side."
- Couper Moorhead
Tuesday, December 2 - Practice
A Dish Best Served Lukewarm?
The Celtics aren't calling Wednesday night's game at the Garden against the Indiana Pacers a "revenge game", but they're well aware that the Pacers are one of just two teams who've blemished their 17-2 record.
"We absolutely struggled against them on both ends of the floor," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said after Tuesday's practice. "We've got to play our game and can't worry as much about what other teams are doing. We've got to keep trying to correct what we're not doing and do it better."
They're also well aware of the Pacers' young star, Danny Granger, who scored 20 points and had his two front teeth knocked out while diving for a loose ball in the Pacers' November 1 victory over the Celtics at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"Granger has turned out to be a star. He's a terrific basketball player," Rivers said, noting that the Celtics had eyes on him in the NBA Draft a few years ago. "We knew about him, but no one knew he was going to be this good, this quick."
Celtics captain Paul Pierce, who's an admitted League Pass junkie and has seen plenty of Granger on TV, also works out in the summertime against Granger and really likes his game after seeing it up close and personal.
I've been watching him develop as a player, and he's playing at an All-Star level this year," Pierce said of Granger, who's averaging just over 24 PPG and 5 RPG, while shooting a shade under 47% from the field. "He's their best player, he's doing a lot of things for them this year, and he should probably make the All-Star team this year."
You can listen to the full interviews with Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo in the Celtics.com Audio Archive.
- Peter Stringer
Monday, December 1 - Magic at Celtics
Live from Courtside
107-88 Celtics, FINAL: The Celtics' bench did the job here in the fourth quarter. Celtics reserves scored 14 of the Celtics first 18 fourth quarter points, keeping the game in hand for the starters to finish off down the stretch. Also of note, Perk picked up technical foul #9 of the season while arguing for a goaltending call that he'd actually already gotten whistled in his favor. Details.
Rondo had another impressive outing, scoring 16 point to go with 16 dimes. The Celtics improve to 17-2; the Magic drop to 13-5. Not bad.
Magic 65, Celtics 77, End of Third Quarter: Other than a Ray Allen three midway through the quarter, the Celtics haven't needed any drama as they methodically pulled away from the Magic. No fancy stats will describe the difference better than this: the Celtics are shooting 55.6% from the field, the Magic just 39%. That's what they call defense, and the lack thereof.
Once he stopped attempting 15-foot bank shots (clearly a work in progress), Howard got going with seven points in the third. It forced a quick double-take, but the box don't lie: Paul Pierce had 17 points in the quarter.
The only things keeping the Magic in the game are 17 second-chance points and 24 from Rashard Lewis. Orlando hasn't scored a single fast-break bucket.
- Couper Moorhead
Magic 46, Celtics 48, HALFTIME: The Celtics' 15 point lead has all but evaporated thanks to the work of volume-shooter Rashard Lewis. Lewis is 6/13 with 18 points, and while he's shooting just 41% from the field this season, he's getting it done tonight. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard has been contained by Perkins, and "Superman" is just 2/7 for seven points. But the story for the Magic might be the work of an old friend, the oft-injured Tony Battie, who has seven points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
Ray Allen, who's been on fire over his last five games coming into tonight, is once again stroking the ball. He's got 14 to lead the Celtics.
Cassell Ejected: Sam Cassell hasn't played a minute all season, and it definitely won't happen tonight. Bob Delaney ejected Cassell for apparently arguing a loose-ball foul call against Kendrick Perkins from the bench with 4:40 to play in the half.
Tony Allen Injury update: Tony Allen went down awkwardly early in the second quarter and went back to the locker room followed by team physician Brian McKeon. The update from PR chief Jeff Twiss is a "right ankle sprain, will return"...
- Peter Stringer
Magic 18, Celtics 28, End of First Quarter: The Celtics couldn't have asked for things to be going much better. They are holding the Magic to 26.1% shooting from the field, in part because they are allowing Anthony Johnson to take open jumpers along the baseline. The Magic are doing the same to Rondo -- giving this the feel of a playoff game, at least from a technical standpoint -- but he's converted on 4-of-7 so far.
Looks like Doc has Kendrick Perkins on the Dwight Howard rotation, having left the game right after the Magic center, and the two are engaging in a bonafide duel. Backing up his quasi-fighting words before the game, Perkins is getting the best of Howard, holding him to 0-of-4 shooting. The Celtics have been swarming Howard whenever he puts the ball on the floor, and the sparsity of easy buckets would make Zaza Pachulia proud.
Stan Van Gundy got called for a technical foul following a Magic defensive three-second call midway through the quarter. That in itself was not unusual, except that Van Gundy was yelling loud enough that it was the ref in the far corner of the court that assessed the tech. Howard ended up walking over to calm his coach down.
- Couper Moorhead
Pregame Media Access
Even with the Eastern Conference's third-place team in the Garden tonight, the Celtics locker room maintained its regular-season calm that set in following the initial fervor of November's national TV victory laps. And even with Dwight Howard about to try and bring his gaudy numbers to the parquet, Kendrick Perkins maintained his cool that, really, he always has before tipoff.
Perk said he hasn't watched Howard this year, shaking his head when asked if he had even watched him on film, and said he just goes by what Doc tells him to do. Asked what his impression was of Howard after the Magic center won a gold medal in Beijing, the always-quotable Perkins responded:
"What's his impression of me after I won a ring?" Perkins said. "I don't watch people like that. I'm not a fan of everybody."
Perkins did concede that Howard is a good challenge, but added that he plays Kevin Garnett every day in practice, and Howard doesn't have a better post game than KG.
The other news was Doc winning his fourth Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award. Doc predictably shrugged it off and said it doesn't mean much, other than that his players made more shots and got more stops than the other teams. There are plenty of great coaches that haven't had good talent, he said.
One of Doc's "good" talents took the time to explain what makes him a good coach.
"I can tell that he's not lost what he knew as a player," Ray Allen said. "He understands how to manage who we are as players, [and] at the same time make sure he gets the best out of us...make sure we get the proper rest. But at the same time, he knows how to push buttons.
"He has the perfect balance of it all."
- Couper Moorhead
Rivers Named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
BOSTON - Boston Celtics Head Coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers was named NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the month of November. This marks the fourth time in Rivers' career that he has been named Coach of the Month.
Press Release: Doc Rivers Named NBA Coach of the Month
Saturday, November 29 - Celtics at Bobcats
Live Game Coverage
Celtics 89, Bobcats 84, FINAL: The C's defense came alive down the stretch, and Kendrick Perkins finished his night nicely. His dunk at 77-77 gave the Celtics a 79-77 lead and they never looked back. He finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, including one against Raymond Felton in the final minutes to help secure the victory. Six Celtics scored in double figures, with Pierce leading the way with 19 points. Rajon Rondo handed out nine assists.
The Celtics move to an Eastern Conference best 16-2 and open their three-game homestand Monday night against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at the Garden. Orlando also won tonight, 110-96 over the Indiana Pacers, who come to Boston on Wednesday night.
"I loved what we did tonight. You could see we were on empty tonight. Think about playing six back-to-backs in one month, with this being the sixth," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "There were a lot of jump shots hitting the front of the rim, but they just found a way so I'm really proud of them."
Celtics captain Paul Pierce says that playing so many back-to-backs early in the season will pay off down the road when the Celtics gear up for the postseason.
"These back-to-back games can be pretty tough, but we are grinding them out," Pierce said. "These back-to-back games get us prepared for the playoffs. I'm just glad we are able to get them done."
Celtics 66, Bobcats 62, End of Third: Richardson and Wallace each have 15 points for the Bobcats, who are keeping it close in a low scoring affair.
Celtics 45, Bobcats 43, Halftime: The Bobcats turned the ball over 10 times in the second quarter, including three straight on their last three possessions of the half, and the Celtics rallied to take a 45-43 lead into the locker room. While KG is clearly struggling (he's 1-for-6 from the field for just four points), Tony Allen and Paul Pierce each have nine to lead the Celtics.
The Celtics' vaunted defense hasn't quite been up to speed tonight, so we'll see if they can clamp down in the second half to salt this one away. Gerald Wallace got two of his 12 points on a crazy one-handed slam right down the middle of the Celtics D, something you rarely see with this team. Looked like a rare communication problem on the pick-and-roll at the top of the key.
Celtics 17, Bobcats 22, End of First: Last we checked, it was the Celtics who won in a blowout and the Bobcats who played into overtime last night, but the C's starters look a little fatigued and the team only shot a shade under 39% for the quarter while the Bobcats are just over 52% in the first quarter. Jason Richardson, who had the huge game against the Celtics at the Garden last season, leads Charlotte with six points while Paul Pierce has six for Boston.
Early Pregame Update
Gabe Pruitt (sick) did not join the team in Charlotte for tonight's game, but he will joining J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker on the inactive list, as they are on assignment with the Utah Flash in the D-League.
Speaking of Giddens and Walker, both had big games last night for the Flash, and Giddens' baseline jumper with just under a second to play sealed the victory for the Flash over the Austin Toros Friday night and capped his 19-point, 12-rebound night. Walker was also solid, scoring 23 points and had eight rebounds, and also assisted on the Giddens gamewinner.
Friday, November 28 - Sixers at Celtics
Live from Courtside
102-78 Celtics, Final: The fourth was essentially 12 minutes of garbage time. And that's good news since the starters got some well-earned rest; only Ray Allen played more than 30 minutes.
The Celtics have a 7 p.m. game in Charlotte tomorrow night.
Sixers 47, Celtics 73, End of Third: Maybe we should just say "End of Game", because this one is over. Ray Allen did the early damage, going 6/8 in the period by draining a handful of wide-open jumpers. And once again, Rajon Rondo had a huge third quarter. Rondo dished eight of his 12 assists in the quarter, his prettiest being an alley oop (and one) to KG that made it 73-47, brought the house down and all but ended this one.
Sixers 28, Celtics 46, Halftime: The Celtics started the quarter with an 11-0 run over the first 3:30 of the quarter, jumping ahead 33-16. After that, they were willing to trade hoops but refused to give any ground and took an 18-point lead into halftime. No Celtics player is in double-figures, but everybody who's been in the game not named Brian Scalabrine has got in the book for Boston.
Garnett, Perkins and Ray Allen all have eight points apiece for the Celtics; Brand's 12 points leads the Sixers.
Sixers 16, Celtics 22, End of First Quarter: The C's came out of the gates playing some active, suffocating defense in the opening minutes, holding the Sixers to just 2-of-their-first-9. Rajon Rondo was pinballing around the floor, and the Celtics really seemed to be disrupting the Philly offense. Meanwhile, 14 of the Celtics 22 points came in the paint, continuing the trend from Wednesday night against Golden State.
Elton Brand did get it going for the Sixers, scoring 10 points in the opening stanza.
Pregame Media Access
Most of today's pregame chatter concerned Allen Iverson missing practice -- not a game, practice -- yesterday in Detroit. The Celtics, for what it's worth, did not have any practice scheduled, and according to Ray Allen, that's what many Celtics were thankful for yesterday.
Check the Audio Archive for pregame remarks from Allen, Paul Pierce and Head Coach Doc Rivers.
Early Pregame
The Celtics will try to match the intensity the Boston Bruins brought to the Garden this afternoon in their 7-2 in over the Islanders when they play the second half of a rare Bruins/Celtics double-header tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The locker room is just about to open, so we'll have pregame notes just before tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 27 - Thanksgiving
No Practice
The Celtics are off today to enjoy the holiday, and they will return to the court Friday night when the Philadelphia 76ers come to the TD Banknorth Garden.
Wednesday, November 26 - Warriors at Celtics
Live from Courtside
Warriors 111, Celtics 119, FINAL: Rondo turned it around in the third, and the frantic fourth quarter kept the Celtics ahead as they continued to score in the paint and get to the free throw line. Tony Allen played out the fourth quarter in place of Kendrick Perkins as KG played center to match up with the Warrior small size and fast pace. Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Rondo all had 20-plus in the victory.
Warriors 83, Celtics 86, End of Third Quarter: And the Celtics are back on top. Rajon Rondo basically took the game over in the third quarter. Doc always says that Rondo's at his best when he's pushing the ball up the floor rather than walking it up, and the third quarter was proof positive. Rondo scored 16 of his 20 points and had six rebounds in the third quarter. And most of those buckets came in the paint as the C's scored 24 of their 50 points in the paint.
Rondo's third-quarter line is even more impressive when you throw in his pair of steals and an assist in the period. And in case you wondering he's yet to turn over the ball all night.
Warriors 67, Celtics 54, Halftime: Wow. Well things sure turned around quickly in a second quarter that kept P.A. guy Eddie Palladino busy. The Warriors outscored the Celtics 39-19 in the period, with Corey Maggette doing quite a bit of damage by himself, scoring 11 of his 17 points. Stephen Jackson and Jamal Crawford each chipped in six of their own as well. Overall, the Warriors were 12-for-19 from the field, while the Celtics started the period 1-for-their-first 11, and finished just 5-for-20 on field goals.
Remember all of those points in the paint in the first quarter? It's been largely jumpshots in the second quarter.
Doc Rivers can't be happy with the turn of events, and he's already picked up a technical. We'll see what happens, but the Celtics probably want to slow down the pace in the third quarter rather than continuing to run-and-gun with the Warriors.
Warriors 28, Celtics 35, End of First: One quarter of basketball tells you all you need to know about the Golden State Warriors. They don't waste any time on the shotclock, shooting the first available look. And it seems the Celtics felt compelled to run with them tonight. Ray Allen and KG already each have 10 points, and Pierce isn't far behind with 7. Stephen Jackson, who's anything but gun shy, has 12 for the Warriors.
The surprising thing about this game? Points in the paint. You figured the Warriors would be a jumpshooting team, but 14 of their 28 came in the paint, while 18 of the Celtics' 35 where in the lane as well. And both teams, predictably, are shooting over 50% from the field.
Moment of Silence
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the moment of silence tonight for Helen Heinsohn, better known to Celtics fans as the Redhead in Needham. The wife of Tommy Heinsohn, Helen passed away this week after a protracted battle with cancer. Helen was a Garden fixture, attending virtually every Celtics home game alongside her husband.
Pregame Media Access
It was a pretty quiet pregame tonight, with very little chatter going on in the locker room, and Doc Rivers kept his remarks brief. He said there's no news regarding tapes featuring Kendrick Perkins picking up technicals, something they've apparently sent to the league.
"No...when you send film they never really respond, unless they're gonna do something," Rivers said. "We're just trying to notify them when it does happen [so they will] watch it in the future, more than the past."
Truth be told, Rivers was probably more concerned about the Golden State Warriors and getting home to Orlando after the game tonight to taste his mother's stuffing (according to Rivers, it's called "dressing") for Thanksgiving.
As for the Warriors and their new acquisition Jamal Crawford, who was just at the Garden last Tuesday with the Knicks before the trade, Rivers says Crawford is a perfect fit for Golden State.
"He plays exactly the way they play. I think it's a really good move for them," Rivers said. "It's a great move for him. I don't know if players, when they get traded, see that right away."
One move that the jury's still out on is Patrick O'Bryant's arrival in Boston, topical tonight since his former team is in the house. When asked about O'Bryant's progress, Rivers said that he's "coming along."
"He's working hard. He's a great kid. Early in the year, in the preseason, we were really on him about the tempo of his work. Him and Clifford Ray have been together far more than Patrick would probably like," Rivers said, chuckling. "But it's been great for him, and in the few practices we've had, you can see the improvement."
Tuesday, November 25 - Practice
This Talk Might Not Be Cheap
It's good to be king, but when you're on top of the mountain, everyone is looking to knock you down. And if they can't do it by beating you, they might try baiting you. That seems to be what Kendrick Perkins and the 13-2 Celtics are finding out, even though Perk says it's the champs themselves who typically start the chatter.
"We initiate a lot of the noise. That's just how we are. We've been like that since last year. That's just how we play," said Perkins, who leads the NBA with eight technical fouls. "Guys are trying to get at us so we're going to get at them first."
Perkins has been assessed eight technical fouls in just 15 games, but that's a number that coach Doc Rivers thinks is inflated by referees assigning double-technicals when two players get engaged in trash talk. While he doesn't expect any of Perkins' techs to be rescinded by the league, Rivers did say the Celtics will be sending tapes of the incidents to the NBA for review.
"A lot of the double-technicals where someone's saying something to him, and he turns around and they give him a double-tech, that to me is where the officials have to do their job," Rivers said. "I think it's easy to just say 'double-technical' instead of saying, 'this guy started it, we're just going to give you a tech.'"
The concern for the Celtics is that when a player is a assessed his 16th technical of the season, he is automatically suspended a game by the NBA. Perkins is well aware of the rule.
"I'm an emotional guy, but it's not anything I can't change. I can control it," Perkins said. "I blame it on myself. I'm a man. Nobody makes me do that."
Perkins insists that he can control himself and turn off the talking if he must. But he did say that he thinks that talking trash gives his team an edge, and Paul Pierce told reporters that it's just as much a part of his game as it was for Larry Bird, one of the undisputed kings of NBA trash talk.
"I use it to get in my opponent's head," Pierce said. "Sorta like what Larry Bird used to do in the day and Michael [Jordan] did. I use it more as a tactic. I'm not out there trying to fight anybody or cause any commotion. It's nothing personal against the other guy. I like everybody in the NBA."
As long as it's directed the right way and revolves around the game, Rivers, who played against Jordan, Bird and Magic, doesn't mind his team talking a little trash. After all, they are the champs.
"You want [them] to be emotional, but you don't want to have what we call emotional sabotage," Rivers said. "If our players are talking, it should be about, 'We're going to beat you, we're going to win.' There's nothing wrong with that. When it gets personal, then there's something wrong with that."
- Peter Stringer
Monday, November 24 - Off Day
The Celtics will have Monday off and return to the practice floor on Tuesday morning before facing the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night at the Garden.
Sunday, November 23 - Celtics at Raptors
The Celtics once again demonstrated why they are the reigning powers of the Atlantic Division.
Ray Allen registered 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and Kevin Garnett posted 15 points as Boston cruised past host Toronto, 118-103, on Sunday for its fifth straight triumph.
The C's, who defeated the Raptors earlier this season in dramatic fashion when Paul Pierce led a furious fourth-quarter comeback, never trailed in this one as they improved to 6-1 on the road.
Saturday, November 22 - Travel Day
After Friday night's 95-78 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Celtics spent the night in Minneapolis and had an afternoon flight to Toronto. There is no practice today due to the early afternoon start tomorrow in Toronto.
Friday, November 21 - Celtics at Timberwolves
KG returns to Minnesota to play in his first game at the Target Center as a member of the Boston Celtics after spending 12 years with the Timberwolves. Garnett did not play in the game last season due to an abdominal injury he suffered, ironically enough, against the Wolves in a January 25 win at the TD Banknorth Garden.
Walker Joins Giddens in Utah
BOSTON - The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned rookie forward Bill Walker to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash. Walker is the team's second assignment to the NBA Development League this season.
Celtics Assign Walker to Utah Flash
Thursday, November 20 - Pistons at Celtics
Live from Courtside
98-80 Celtics, Final: Gino finally came out with 52 seconds to play, but he really should have been dancing at the eight minutes to play mark. The Celtics bench tipped off the fourth quarter with a quick 9-2 run in the first 4:00 of the quarter to quell any designs the Pistons may have had on making a run.
This was the first win at home that reminded us of the way it was in the Garden last year. Falling behind 13-2 notwithstanding, the C's dominated this one basically from wire to wire. Basically, they pulled off a 96-67 run over the last 40 minutes of the game.
Pistons 57, Celtics 77, End of Third: Rajon Rondo has been the story of the third quarter, driving to the hoop and dishing off to teammates for some great open looks at the basket. He played the entire third quarter, and he's chiefly responsible for the Celtics extending a nine-point halftime lead into a 20-point edge at the end of three. Rondo scored nine points and had four assists in the period (18 and 8 for the game to this point on 7/11 shooting), and that could easily be a double-double if a few more shots went down.
This is one of those NBA games where the home team quietly pulls away. Turnovers tell much of the story; the Celtics had just seven to the Pistons' 15. Let's see how the bench does to start off the fourth quarter. Speaking of which, Gabe Pruitt was on the floor to start the third.
Kendrick Perkins also helped the Celtics on the glass, coming up with five rebounds in the period.
Pistons 40, Celtics 49, Halftime: It's fair to say that the Celtics bench probably loves seeing "DET" on the schedule. With Tony Allen going for a repeat performance (nine points) after scoring 23 in his last outing against Detroit, the Boston subs have put up 21 points compared to six (all Jason Maxiell) from the Pistons.
Most of the hustle stats are close, but the Pistons have committed 10 turnovers to the Celtics' six. Detroit hasn't been able to get into any sort of offensive rhythm since Stuckey came in, and it's clear that he and Iverson have yet to chisel out how they should play together.
Both teams have been lights out from downtown, with the Celtics holding the edge (5-of-7) over the Pistons (3-of-5). Eddie House accounted for two of those, hitting back-to-back bombs after missing his first free throw of the year on a technical freebie. House is now 13-of-14. Luckily, Gabe Pruitt is still 1-of-1.
Looks like Ray Allen's free-throw fundamentals talk before the game was more pertinent than we thought, as the Celtics are 8-of-15 from the line.
- Couper Moorhead
Pistons 21, Celtics 21, End of First Quarter: The Pistons jumped out to a 13-2 lead (yup, another slow start), but the Celtics countered with a 12-1 run of their own behind six consecutive points from Rajon Rondo. Rondo has nine points in the quarter, including the rare pullup three.
Early signs are that this is not the Pistons team of eleven days ago. Their ball movement was fluid and rather than the passive Allen Iverson we saw trying too hard to fit in, he came out looking like he wanted to drop 30. That all changed when Rodney Stuckey came in to play point, pushing Iverson to off-guard. With Stuckey at the helm, the Pistons committed three straight turnovers and needed a couple bailout shots from Rasheed Wallace on other possessions.
- Couper Moorhead
Pregame Media Access
It's Allen Iverson's first visit to the Garden in a Pistons uniform tonight, and now that the Celtics are starting to see teams for the second go-round, there was plenty of straight hoops talk before the game (as opposed to philosophical ramblings about the effect of offseason moves).
Pistons coach Michael Curry called the Celtics' double-digit smackdown two Sundays ago a "dizzy spell" for his squad, and said they've used that game to address their weaknesses. With the Pistons going 4-1 since playing Boston, it appears as though Doc Rivers' warning that they will improve as the season progressed was spot on.
"It's not just Allen [Iverson] getting used to them, it's them getting used to Allen," Rivers said before the game, adding that Rasheed Wallace (14.2 points per game, up 1.5 from last year) has been helped the most from the Pistons' increase in tempo. "I think he's benefited the most from it, especially in transition. You have to load to the ball with Allen coming up with the floor, and to do that you have to load off of Rasheed.
"I was yelling 'Get back' the entire game and I hadn't done that in the previous years playing Detroit," Rivers added. "It worried me, even in that game. I was laughing with [coach Tom Thibodeau] after the game, I said, "I don't think I've said that 20 times in the past and the whole game I was just screaming getting back."
Though not having much to do with tonight's game, Ray Allen spoke at length about the keys to becoming a good free-throw shooter -- which he doesn't think he became until playing under Jim Calhoun at UConn (81% his final year). Asked whether he could help Rajon Rondo, who's shooting 53.5% from the line, Allen said he could but that it's up to Rondo to ask.
- Couper Moorhead
Early Pregame
If you haven't seen it already, check out CelticVision HD for video interviews with Coach Rivers, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett as they talk about Allen Iverson and the new-look Pistons. While it seems like we've been calling every other team the "new-look" [plug-in-a-team-name-here], the Pistons are probably the most dramatically different, relevant and successful since their deal for The Answer.
Tonight's game will be on TNT, which means a late 8 p.m. start and a late-night finish as well. Since the C's will be hitting the road for Minnesota after the game, it should be a brief postgame as the C's will be trying to get on the plane as soon as possible.
Holy Cross Honors C's Legends
Apparently, Holy Cross doesn't retire just anyone's jersey. Either that or there's a 50-year waiting period. Whatever the reason for the delay, the Cross raised Tommy Heinsohn's #24 (class of '56), Bob Cousy's #17 (1950) and Togo Palazzi's #22 to the rafters along with George Kaftan's #12 in a halftime ceremony at the November 16 game between the Crusaders and St. Joseph's in Worcestor, MA. All four men later played for the Boston Celtics.
- Peter Stringer
Tuesday, November 18 - Knicks at Celtics
Live from Courtside
110-101 Celtics, FINAL: This one was close, as the Knicks had cut the Celtics lead to 4 points with 2:06 remaining on a Duhon three and a Chandler put-back. They came into the game averaging just over 28 three-point attempts a night, so it should surprise no one that they hoisted 29 bombs Tuesday night.
But the shot of the night honors go to Brian Scalabrine, who drilled a three from the corner with 1:14 to play to put the Celtics up 107-99 and effectively smothered any run the Knicks could conceivably make.
We'll have more in postgame...
- Peter Stringer
Knicks, 77, Celtics, 89, End of Third Quarter: This is hardly a blowout, but Celtics never looked anything less than in control this quarter. The Knicks' field goal percentage has dropped to 43.8%, while the Celtics are hovering over 60%, mostly because they have been pounding the paint.
Ray Allen had six early points, but Rondo and Perkins carried the Celtics offensively in the quarter, scoring nine points apiece. Scalabrine also got into the action, hitting jumpers on consecutive possessions that were, to say the least, crowd pleasing.
For this to be a game, it looks like the Knicks are going to have to shoot their way back into it.
- Couper Moorhead
Knicks 47, Celtics 56, Halftime: The Celtics cranked up the defense in the second quarter holding the Knicks to just 6 of 19 from the field, and they quickly turned a two-point deficit at the end of the first into an eight-point lead thanks to their 19-9 run over the first 5:50 of the quarter. They finished the half up nine points, thanks in large part to Leon Powe, who continued to get it done on the offensive end, scoring 8 points in the quarter (14 overall).
The C's are dominating inside while the Knicks hoist jumper after jumper. The C's hit 10 of their first 13 shots in the period by pounding the ball inside and they're enjoying a 34-12 points in the paint edge.
Powe and Zach Randolph tied up under the basket and were both assessed technicals, but there didn't appear to be any suspension worthy conduct in the exchange. Given that Powe spent the pregame telling reporters how tough it is to stay under control when physical altercations start brewing, hats off to him for keeping his head on a night where the C's couldn't afford to lose any more manpower.
Knicks 28, Celtics 26, End of First: For awhile it looked as though the Celtics' (somewhat) slow starts would continue, but they've done a strong job controlling the tempo and the paint.
The Knicks aren't quite the Phoenix Suns, but they are putting up plenty of treys, hitting on 3-of-8. Quentin Richardson had nine early points, and yes, if you were wondering, he still does the double-fist head pound. Wilson Chandler has 10 points, but mostly on mid-range jumpers, and the Knicks as a team are shooting 52.2% from the field. With most of the Knicks' attempts coming from outside the paint, and the Celtics allowing less than 40% shooting from opponents all season, you'd expect that number to fall.
Scalabrine was solid if unspectacular (which is what Doc was going for) in his Garnett fill-in role, getting an assist and taking a charge before coming out for Leon Powe, who had six points in the quarter.
- Couper Moorhead
Pregame Media Access
The New York Knicks are tonight's opponent, but with regard to the questions before the game, it could be anyone. The story of the day, of course, is the one-game suspension of Kevin Garnett for a hit on Andrew Bogut in Saturday's contest against the Milwaukee Bucks. Brian Scalabrine will start in Garnett's place, leaving the second unit intact.
The Celtics didn't find the suspension particularly agreeable, with Doc Rivers calling it "ridiculous", Kendrick Perkins saying that it was "kind of messed up", and Leon Powe saying simply that, if it were up to him, he wouldn't have suspended KG.
"It just happens, it's the game of basketball," Powe said of the hits underneath the basket.
The quote of pregame, as is becoming habit, belonged to Perkins. Asked whether he had learned anything from Garnett about keeping his composure and limiting fouls, Perkins stared into the media huddle before offering this gem:
"KG, he's crazier than me," Perkins said. "What do you want me to say? If I said anything else I'd be lying to you."
As for Garnett's reaction to the suspension, he is not allowed in the arena tonight, and according to Doc, not even allowed to buy a ticket. He was at the team's shootaround this morning, though, and Powe said the Big Ticket had very little to say other than, "Good luck, guys."
- Couper Moorhead
Early Pregame
Doc Rivers isn't pleased with the NBA's one-game suspension of Kevin Garnett stemming from a league review of his altercation with Andrew Bogut in the fourth quarter of Saturday night's overtime win over the Bucks. Rivers called it "ridiculous".
Brian Scalabrine, first off the bench Saturday night, will get the start in KG's place as expected, so as to not disrupt the cohesion of the second unit.
Couper Moorhead will have more from tonight's pregame media access.
- Peter Stringer
Monday, November 17 - Practice
Rested C's Ready for Knicks
With their eight-games-in-twelve-days stretch behind them, the Celtics, now 9-2, caught their breath a little bit with a well-earned day off after beating Milwaukee in overtime Saturday night. The team returned to the practice floor Monday for a long practice, and they'll be ready to go against the visiting Knicks at the Garden tomorrow night.
As for what to expect from the Knicks (6-4), Doc likes what he's seen from Mike D'Antoni's new-look New York team and figures that the Celtics defense, despite its top-three ranking in points allowed (89.7, third) and field goal defense (39.6, first), will have to be on top of its game to get the win.
"They're putting a ton of points on the board so we're going to have to have a hell of a defensive night," Rivers said.
Jamal Crawford, who's spent most of his first seven seasons in the NBA as a secondary scorer, has become the Knicks go-to guy on the offensive end over the last year or so, and he's averaging a career-high 21.3 points per game in his first 10 games this season.
Crawford has been lethal from three-point land to start this season, shooting it at 46% from behind the line, and he's opening eyes as the Knicks seem to be taking well to D'Antoni's run-and-gun system.
"Crawford has been very good for a long time. He's a great scorer," Rivers said. "He can score off the dribble, he can score off the catch. When he has big games it makes it very difficult to beat New York."
Check the Audio Archive (right column) for audio from today's practice from Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Brian Scalabrine.
Saturday, November 15 - Celtics at Bucks
Giddens Headed for D-League
J.R. Giddens has yet to see the floor in a regular season game, and it was becoming clear that he'd have a hard time just getting on the floor in practice, let alone crack the rotation on this championship team. So Giddens stayed behind Friday night as the Celtics left for Milwaukee, and he'll be reporting to the Utah Flash this week.
Press Release: Celtics Assign Giddens to Utah Flash
Friday, November 14 - Nuggets at Celtics
Live from Courtside
94-85 Nuggets, FINAL: The Celtics suffered their first home loss tonight, and they were just killed in the paint along the way (42-20 on points in the paint). They also gave up almost 50% shooting and simply looked like a tired team that's played too many games in a short period.
Their end-of-the-third lead evaporated, and they had to play catch-up again in the fourth quarter. Despite Ray Allen tying the game at 82 with 4:17 to play, the Celtics gave up a 12-2 run over the next 2:30 minutes, and that was all she wrote.
Also worth keeping your eye on: Kendrick Perkins, who's had a history of shoulder problems, appeared to hurt his left shoulder in a wrestling match for the ball at center court. He didn't initially come out of the game, but was not on the floor in the final minute when the Celtics, trailing by 10, went to their gunners lineup.
64-65 Celtics, End of Third Quarter: And just like that, the C-Train is back on the tracks. Paul Pierce dropped 12 of his 19 points in the period, and the C's rallied from 15 points down to take a one-point lead into the final quarter. They trailed 59-44 with 8:37 left in the quarter, but put together a 21-5 run to take the lead.
Not much from the bench tonight. Non-starters have contributed just six points; five of those belong to Eddie House.
48-42 Nuggets, Halftime: Um, yeah, what happened? Ray still has 18, but the Celtics were outscored 25-7 over the first nine minutes of the quarter, and found themsleves behind by six at the half. The C's shot just 5/18 in the stanza while Denver was 11/21.
The C's are getting killed in the paint, 26-14, and their jumpers aren't falling, either.
23-29 Celtics, End of First Quarter: Ray Allen has it going early for the Celtics, dropping 18 points in the quarter and finishing the period with a pair of three-point shots. He's 6/7 from the field, and leads all scorers. Heck, he nearly outscored the Nuggets.
Chauncey Billups, whose physical brand of basketball and size is a matchup problem for Rajon Rondo, has nine points to lead the Nuggets. But Carmelo Anthony (1/5) has been kept wrapped up in his nine minutes of action.
Wednesday, November 12 - Hawks at Celtics
Live from Courtside
Hawks 102, Celtics 103, Final: Paul Pierce does it again. The Hawks put their best foot forward tonight, and they even appeared to have the game won after a Marvin Williams three from the corner, but Pierce (34 points) hit the backbreaker with 0.5 seconds left over the outstretched arms of Al Horford to make the Celtics 8-1.
For such a tightly contested game -- one that got close to playoff level -- the final play was decidedly simple.
"The last play was drawn up, get the ball to Paul Pierce, get the hell out of the way," Kevin Garnett (25 points, 12 boards) said. "Superman's in the booth. Let's go home. That was the play and if you don't believe that ask Doc Rivers and he'll say the same exact thing."
There wasn't any need to ask that question. Most Celtics credited the Hawks for their improved defense, but keep in mind that despite what you may be thinking based on a few exchanges between the two teams, this isn't quite a heated rivalry.
"The things that stick out is that they're a lot more defensively sound than they were a year ago," Garnett said. "It's entertaining, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a rivalry."
- Couper Moorhead
Hawks 77, Celtics 76, End of Third Quarter: In previous years, the Hawks might've folded after that mighty run by the Celtics in the second quarter, but this team is proving that the seven-game playoff series was no fluke.
Eight Hawks' three-pointers and 10 second quarter points from Kevin Garnett are preventing either team from taking control. Meanwhile, Flip Murray has a quiet 14 off the bench. The Celtics are still shooting just 42%, so, as Doc would say, the shooting odds are in their favor for the final stanza.
Zaza Pachulia will not be returning in the second half after suffering a sore shoulder (AC joint). Someone else will have to remind the Hawks that really, "nothing easy."
-Couper Moorhead
Hawks 51, Celtics 51, End of Half: Big Baby went back to the locker room midway through the quarter. No official word yet, but it looked like he did something to his lower back. Either way, he's available for the second half.
For awhile, this appeared to be the slow start that finally caught up with the Celtics. The worst of it came after a backcourt turnover from the Celtics became an open second-chance layup when nobody hustled back, putting them at a 16-point deficit. But whatever Doc said in the ensuing timeout put the team into playoff mode, and defense took over.
Not that there wasn't any offense. With the Hawks barely mustering a decent offensive possession, the Celtics ran off an 18-2 run to tie things up at 46, highlighted by a handful of and-ones. By the time Rondo lobbed the ball to Garnett for a monster jam, the Hawks' body language was spelling d-e-f-l-a-t-i-o-n.
To his credit, Solomon Jones tried to rekindle his team with a brief standoff with Perkins after a hard foul, but things dispersed quickly and Perkins shared some choice words with the Hawks' bench.
Stats-wise, Ray Allen has 15 points, Pierce has 11 and the Celtics are winning the battle in the paint with an 18-12 scoring advantage and four more rebounds than the Hawks. Both teams had their spells of sloppiness with 11 turnovers apiece.
-Couper Moorhead
Hawks 31, Celtics 24, End of First: It's becoming a theme. The Celtics are off to yet another slow start and fell behind early, 13-7, and spent the rest of the first quarter trying to catch up. And once again, the Celtics defense just didn't arrive in time for tip off. A Flip Murray three at the horn gave the Hawks their seven-point first quarter lead.
Al Horford had a huge game in Chicago, but he picked up two quick fouls in the first four minutes of the game, and with Josh Smith already out of action with the high ankle sprain, the Hawks suddenly found themselves missing a huge chunk of their interior defense.
We're looking for carry-overs from the playoffs series, but so far there hasn't been much in the way of physicality.
- Peter Stringer
Pregame Media Access
Pretty quiet before tonight's game with the Atlanta Hawks -- who got into Boston at 2:30 a.m. -- especially compared to last year's playoff series when Mike Bibby and Kendrick Perkins had a brief war of the words in the days leading up to Game 2.
After Bibby called Boston fans "fair weather fans" following a practice last April, Perkins responded by saying, "I mean, coming off a 2-for-10 night shooting, he would say something like that." By gametime, Bibby was questioning Perk's tough streak while the Celtics center said that he wasn't losing any sleep over anything Bibby had to say. Bibby shot 2-of-7 that night and was booed every time he touched the ball while Perkins posted a solid eight points and nine boards as the Celtics won by 19.
Tonight, a reserved Bibby stayed on the topic of the Hawks' unbeaten standing, while most words out of Perk's mouth were off-key lyrics.
Both Bibby and Hawks' coach Mike Woodson credited their seven-game series with the Celtics for the team's play, and defensive effort.
"It was huge," Woodson said of the series. "You couldn't draw it up any better. It left a great taste in these guys mouth in terms of their direction."
Asked whether tonight was more about them or the Celtics, Woodson said it's got to be about his squad because they are still trying to take what the Celtics have. If you haven't already, get used to hearing that.
- Couper Moorhead
Monday, November 10 - Raptors at Celtics
Live from Courtside
Celtics 94, Raptors 87, Final: Only two words are needed to describe that fourth quarter: Paul Pierce. After a first half marred by easy misses, Pierce scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth, including back-to-back threes that kept the Celtics within one. The lead ping-ponged back and forth over the next few minutes before Pierce's turnaround jumper gave the Celtics the lead for good. Then, Celtics defense took over and that was all she wrote.
Credit the fans for their great sense of the moment, too. But one thing to take away from this win is that Pierce played 46 minutes and both Garnett and Ray Allen played over 35, and there are three games left to play this week.
- Couper Moorhead
Raptors 65, Celtics 59, End of Third Quarter:The Celtics starters progressively built up steam throughout the quarter, eventually forcing a run-stopping timeout from Sam Mitchell after a KG jumper and Pierce three brought the C's within eight. From that point on, the crowd's pulse doubled and the Big Three took over.
Garnett has been a madman, at one point even picking up Jose Calderon at half court. On a Chris Bosh post up, Garnett pushed him so much that three dribbles later, Bosh was three feet further out. The Big Ticket has 19 points and nine boards, and the Celtics have taken the points in the paint advantage, 22-20.
Of the starters, only Kendrick Perkins came out of the game (4 fouls), so it's up to the bench to keep the run going.
- Couper Moorhead
Raptors 48, Celtics 36, Halftime: At least for the first half, the Celtics' reserves won't be the heroes they were against the Pistons last night. In the first five minutes of the quarter, the bench was outscored 9-4.
Reports out of Toronto in the days leading up to this game were that Jermaine O'Neal was struggling with his new role next to Chris Bosh, but he's been playing at a different level than everyone else on the floor. And it's not just open jumpers he's hitting -- O'Neal fed a cutting Jason Kapono for a layup, and on one post up, he left Kendrick Perkins in the dust with a baseline spin move. O'Neal has 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, with eight boards and two assists.
As for the Celtics, their half can best be summed up by a pair of missed layups by Paul Pierce (9 points), one after completely blowing by his defender. They are getting the shots they want, despite some solid Toronto defense, but the shots just aren't falling. Garnett kept the team from falling into more of a hole with nine second-quarter points (11 overall), but 32.4% shooting from the team isn't going to beat this division opponent. While chances are that the percentages return closer to the norm, the Celtics will have to clean up the boards (the Raptors hold a 25-18 advantage) to get themselves back in this one.
Raptors 23, Celtics 18, End of First Quarter: The story of the game so far has been Jermaine O'Neal, who's got his retro shoes on as he looks more like the Indiana Pacers, All-Star version of himself. O'Neal has 10 points (5-of-10 shooting) on a number of turnaround jumpers in the lane over both Perkins and Garnett, as well as an alley-oop courtesy Jose Calderon.
The starters had a slow start on the offensive half of the court and the shots still aren't falling. The Celtics are shooting 5-of-16 from the floor and are being outscored 10-4 in the paint. The Raptors also hold a 5-0 advantage on second chance points.
- Couper Moorhead
Pregame Media Access
The top two teams in the Atlantic Division are facing off tonight, and as you can imagine, there's a few more members of the media around then there was for the Milwaukee Bucks barnburner.
Rajon Rondo had a bag of ice wrapped around his right elbow in the locker room, because, as Doc Rivers put it, he "twisted his body." Rondo said he just landed on the elbow against the Pistons, but you can't be too surprised he's icing anything given the way teams have been putting him on the floor.
Tony Allen spent some time with reporters after scoring 23 points against the Pistons last night, and anytime someone mentioned him being "back" from the pair of knee surgeries, Allen quickly announced that he's still not there. He's got the quickness to get by defenders, he said, but that explosiveness to rise up at the rim isn't back yet. As for a percentage for Allen's health, he took a few moments to come up with 82 percent.
If you ask most NBA fans over thirty who they think the coolest player of all time was, Walt "Clyde" Frazier would surely be one of the first names out of their mouths. If you want a less trendy, darkhorse pick for that discussion, though, throw out Raptors' coach Sam Mitchell, who's voice alone is keeping cool alive.
Asked whether he was surprised the Celtics have picked up where they left off last year, Mitchell, a former teammate of Garnett's with the Timberwolves, gave a few incredulous looks around the media huddle before responding.
"Unless someone kidnapped Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett over the summer..." Mitchell said. "Three future hall of famers, getting their first taste of glory, and they gonna let up? I don't know about human nature, but I know about athletes, and athletes that are said to be the best, they don't let up. The more they win, it becomes a drug."
-Couper Moorhead
Early Pregame Report
After blowing the Pistons out at the Palace, the Celtics return home for their first Atlantic Division game of the year, hosting the Toronto Raptors.
In the house tonight watching from the seats: Dino Radja, who played three seasons with the Celtics in the mid-90s. Radja posted career averages of 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.
Couper Moorhead will have more from Doc's pregame presser just before tipoff...
Sunday, November 9 - Celtics at Pistons
Celtics 88, Pistons 76, FINAL: It wasn't as close as the final score indicates, as the Celtics defense just devoured the Pistons from bell-to-bell. Winning their fourth straight game, the Celtics made it clear that they're still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
Tony Allen had an impressive outing, scoring 23 points in 27 minutes, going 11/16 from the field and getting almost everything on layups. Given that Paul Pierce (seven points) and Kevin Garnett (eight points) went a combined 7/25 from the field, TA gave the Celtics a much-needed lift from the bench.
"I just took advantage of what the defense gave me. Coach said, 'Just attack', and that's what I did," Tony Allen said.
Ray Allen, who had 17 to lead the starters, liked what he saw from TA and the rest of the reserves.
"All the players around those guys stepped up and made plays," Ray Allen said of the bench. "The second unit has come in and competed. Those guys keep giving us the energy and the sky's the limit for them."
Tony Allen noted that the bench understands its role.
"We're supposed to come in with energy. We've got to be that lift for the starters if they're not getting it done early," Tony Allen said.
Coach Doc Rivers echoed those sentiments, calling the team's defense "the best of the year, by far", noting that his guys had active hands and were getting up into the Pistons' bodies. But again, Rivers emphasized that the play of his bench was instrumental in tonight's win.
"Our bench has been phenomenal. The last three or four games, our bench has been the reason we won," Rivers said. "They do all of the little things that as a group make them a good group. There's no one guy who can carry them, but when they played the way they've played, it makes them a very good basketball team."
69-49 Celtics, End of Third: The Pistons didn't draw any closer in the third, despite Tayshaun Prince taking the scoring lead with 21 points. Iverson scored just two points in the quarter. Meanwhile, the Pistons have to be concerned about Rodney Stuckey, who had trouble leaving the floor at halftime and his status at this point is unknown.
47-29 Celtics, Halftime: The Celtics defense absolutely overwhelmed the Pistons in the second quarter, and as a result, the Celtics outscored them 30-10 in the period to build a 47-29 halftime edge that had the locals booing the Pistons off the floor.
Allen Iverson's presence (8 points) has really messed up the Pistons' chemistry and it's clear that the Pistons will need some time to get their offense together. The Pistons, shooting just 25% from the field, did not score a field goal in the last 7:33 of the half. Meanwhile, with Pierce riding the pine (three fouls), Tony Allen played 13 minutes and scored a game-high 13 points in the half.
Rajon Rondo continues to be a target for opposing teams trying to intimidate him with some stiff shots, whether it was Rasheed Wallace's blind backcourt pick or a few hard hits on Rondo's drives.
17-19 Pistons, End of First Quarter: If you were expecting a defensive struggle, this first quarter certainly didn't disappoint. It took a full three minutes before either team could get on the board. But the news of the first quarter is three personals on Paul Pierce, the last of which was laughable and drew techincals on Pierce and Doc Rivers.
Saturday, November 8 - Open Practice
The Celtics staged an open practice Saturday at the Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint today for New England Baptist Hospital, one of the team's official sponsors, and while it was a brief session, the team sharpened up on some training camp drills before catching a 3 p.m. flight to Michigan for their big game against Allen Iverson and the new-look Detroit Pistons Sunday night.
Check CelticVision HD for interviews with Doc Rivers and Ray Allen from today's sesssion.
Friday, November 7 - Bucks at Celtics
Recap | Box Score | Perkins, Pierce Come Up Big vs. Bucks
89-101 Celtics, FINAL: Soctt Skiles summed it up in his postagme address. "They pretty much owned us [in the paint] from beginning to end," Skiles saif of the Celtics win over the Bucks Friday night at the Garden. Despite Milwaukee jumping out to a 25-12 lead to start the game, and shooting somewhere around 70% from the field, the Celtics put the clamps down and returned to the defensive form that made them champs last season. By game's end, the Bucks had shot under 40%, and the Celtics had the game tied up with a few minutes to play.
Given the team's recent travel woes, lack of rest and practice, a sloppy start didn't surprise anyone on the Celtics bench. But you really can't argue with the team's subsequent recovery.
"We were concerned with the start," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "That's I was just trying to burn, you know, minutes, get the game going for them. I didn't want to sub any of them out. [I] just thought it was a good way of getting them running."
Once the running started, it never really stopped. The Celtics outscored the Bucks 24-10 in fast break points, and in the paint, the 60-36 edge was even more dominant. In the middle of it all? Kendrick Perkins, who posted a career-high seven blocks in just 24 minutes. The last time he blocked seven shots? How about all of his senior year at Clifton J. Ozen High School, according to the averages, when he was good for 7.8 swats per game. Sure, it was easier back then, but with 15 blocks over his last three games, recently he's been making it look easier in the pros too.
Not one to blow his own horn, Perk said he's not out there looking for the block, and besides, he had some amends to make; he had five turnovers.
"I was messing up so bad on the offensive end that I had to make it up on the defensive end," Perkins said. "As long as I keep protecting the paint, [the blocks] will come."
Fourth Quarter: Back-to-back hoops from TA and Rondo made it 82-72 with 10:23 to play, and the Celtics slipped into cruise control from there on. Gino came out with the C's up 97-83 with 2:44 to play. Early? Perhaps...Bill Walker got his first taste of PT in garbage time and even got his first regular season bucket of his NBA career.
As for Kendrick Perkins, his seven blocks is a career-high. KG had his own 7-swat game last year, and the last Celtics player to block eight was Kevin McHale, who did it to the Sacramento Kings in the old Boston Garden in 1987.
70-75 Celtics, End of Third: The Celtics can't seem to pull away from the Bucks, despite Perkins blocking three more shots in the third. They're just 4/14 from three point land, but they do have 22 assists on 29 field goals.
47-55 Celtics, HALFTIME: The Celtics really came alive in the second quarter, mounting a 19-7 run over the last six minutes of the half to jump out to a 55-47 advantage. A KG fast-break dunk put the C's up 44-42 and they haven't looked back.
Kendrick Perkins, who had a huge game Tuesday night in Houston, blocked four shots in the first half as the CEltics dominated the paint. How about a 38-12 points in the paint advantage? Impressive.
30-23 Bucks, End of First: Not a lot of defense to be seen in the first quarter. For most of the first, the Bucks were hovering around 70% from the field as they built a 25-12 lead. When the Celtics D came to life, an 8-0 run got the C's back into the game and it was 30-23 at the end of the quarter. The C's did come up with four blocks in the first period.
Pregame Update
The Michael Redd-less (high ankle sprain) Milwaukee Bucks are in the house tonight, the first Celtics opponent in a brutal stretch which features six games in the next eight days, bookended by the boys in purple. With little time to catch their breath over that period, Doc Rivers said the team's only practice will be tomorrow, which will be open for a Celtics sponsor.
"We're going to have what I guess you'd call a practice tomorrow," Rivers said. "We don't see a decent practice until December, because of the [schedule]."
The talk in the Celtics room circulated around Rajon Rondo and his free-throw shooting woes thus far this season. Despite making 100 shots from the stripe a day this summer, usually out of 110, according to Rondo, he's shooting an Olden Polynice-esque 13-of-33 (39%) in the Celtics' first five games.
"I don't know what the story is; if I knew I'd definitely try to improve it," Rondo said. "I'm going to continue to try and get fouled and attack the rim. I'm not going to shy away from getting fouled because I have to make them eventually. I need to make them, especially being a point guard."
Many of Rondo's trips to freebie-land have been preceded by a hard hit underneath the bucket, which he acknowledged, saying that it may be the adrenaline rush contributing to the erratic nature of his shots.
"For some reason, it's just not going in right now. Some are long, some are short, but I'll get a rhythm," he said. "Once I get a rhythm, I'll lock in."
To counteract that, Rondo said Sam Cassell told him to focus on taking a breath before he shoots and even to stop and tie his shoes to buy some time. While he hasn't had the chance to try this yet, fortunately Rondo's laces are always loose so as not to cut off circulation in his feet.
- Couper Moorhead
Wednesday, November 5 - Celtics at Thunder
Live Game Update
96-83 Celtics, FINAL: The Big Three all came up big Wednesday night, with each guy flirting with a double-double. Paul Pierce, despite playing with a sprained hand, led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Ray Allen had 18 and nine boards while KG chipped in 17 and eight rebounds.
"I got a little sprained hand I suffered last night," Pierce said of the minor injury. "I haven't been shooting the ball well, but I'm going to keep shooting until I get out of the slump."
While the Celtics fell behind early in the first quarter, the C's made the rally in the second period when the reserves took the floor.
"I really thought the second unit did a good job," Pierce said. "They played with energy, took the lead and we never looked back."
Heralded second-year player Kevin Durant finished with 17 points, but he disappeared for most of the second and third quarter and if that's the case, it could be a long, long year for the Thunder.
The Celtics, meanwhile, improved to 4-1 and will return home Friday night to host the 3-2 Milwaukee Bucks at the Garden.
70-55 Celtics, End of Third: The C's started to pull away from a young Thunder team in the third quarter, outscoring them 19-11 behind strong play from Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Allen struggled early but started finding the groove and socred 10 of his 14 points in the third, while Rondo has nine assists and some nice plays on the defensive end.
The Celtics have clamped down on defense, coming up with nine steals and holding Oklahoma City to just 34% shooting.
51-44 Celtics, Halftime: The Celtics tipped off the second quarter by jumping out on a 25-7 run, while the Thunder went just 1-for-their-first-16 in the period. Leon Powe made his impression felt, leading the Celtics with 11 points at the half and some typical hard-nosed rebounding under the basket.
Delays have plagued the game, from net issues to floor moisture that had ball boys mopping up with towels between baskets late in the half.
29-21 Thunder, End of First: So far we're pretty even statistically, but a high-energy 11-3 Thunder run to end the quarter has Oklahoma City up 29-21 after the first. Ray Allen continues his fine play with four points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.
Tuesday, November 4 - Celtics at Rockets
Live Game Update
103-99 Celtics, FINAL: The Celtics (3-1) get a nice win in Texas, as Kendrick Perkins and Ray Allen both had huge nights. Allen dropped 29 points before fouling out on a questionable call. Perk, playing in front of family and friends, owned Yao on both ends of the floor as the Celtics controlled the paint and the tempo of most of this game.
Allen did most of his daamage against Tracy McGrady, who looked more than a step or two slow and failed to stay with Allen on the defensive end. Allen ran McGrady against picks most of the night, Reggie Miller style, before the Rockets finally switched up to put Artest on Allen in the waning minutes.
"It looked like Tracy was hobbled a little bit and we took advantage of it," Allen said. "The guys set some great screens and I got some good looks."
If anyone knows how to attack McGrady (not too mention knows his injury history), it would be Doc Rivers, who coached him with the Orlando Magic.
"Once [Allen] gets it going he's very difficult to stop," Rivers said. "I'm sure [McGrady's] not 100% yet."
All five starters scored in double figures for the Celtics, who visit Oklahoma City tomorrow night.
81-78 Celtics, End of Third: Rondo continues to play well, controlling the pace in a back-and-forth game in which the referees have been reluctant to blow the whistle despite some physical play. Perkins is having himself a nice night and has 15 points on 7/8 shooting.
Despite shooting 54% from the field through three periods, the C's have just a three-point lead.
58-53 Celtics, Halftime: After building a 16-point lead early in the second quarter, the Celtics endured a 20-7 Rockets run over 4:30 when the score went from a 43-27 edge to a 50-47 deficit. But the C's closed out the half strong and took a five-point lead into the half. Ray Allen has 12 points and four assists, while Perk and KG continue to work the glass.
Garnett, however, is having another rough shooting night, going just 2/10 in the half as his midrange jumper just wont go down. Ron Artest (9 points, 4 rebounds) has played well for the Rockets.
28-22 Celtics, End of First: The Celtics scored 14 of their 28 first quarter points on either dunks or layups, and the Houston defense, which coming into this game was among the best in the league, was non-existant. The Celtics also out-rebounded the Rockets 16-9 in the opening stanza. Yao Ming picking up two quick fouls certainly didn't help the Houston cause.
Rajon Rondo led all scorers with 10 points in the quarter.
Bill Walker Activated
7:31 p.m.: Rookie Bill Walker has been activated for tonight's game, while reserve center Patrick O'Bryant will not dress tonight for the Celtics' game against the Rockets in Houston.
Walker, if you remember, got into it with Tracy McGrady during the Celtics preseason game against Houston in Manchester, NH.
Saturday, November 1 - Celtics at Pacers
Live Game Coverage
95-79 Pacers, FINAL: A 12-0 too-little, too-late run by the bench wasn't nearly enough, and the Celtics fall for the first time this season to start their three-game roadie. KG had 18 points and 14 rebounds but still didn't look like himself.
The only thing uglier than the Celtics' 24 turnovers tonight? Danny Granger's new $60 million smile. Granger lost his two front teeth diving for a loose ball, and now we know what he wants for Christmas.
Doc Rivers won't use the 4 a.m. arrival as an excuse, but when everyone looks a step slow and you turn it over that many times, the travel woes have to have played a role.
69-58 Pacers, End of Third Quarter: The turnovers continue to kill the Celtics. Twenty one turnovers and counting is making it tough to make any sort of sustained run to chip away at Indiana's double-digit lead. Paul Pierce is attacking the basket more, and it might be one of those nights where the Truth has to put the team on his back.
48-41 Pacers, Halftime: The Celtics got as close as three points, but the Pacers riding Granger and T.J. Ford and the emotion of their opening night. But 14 turnovers is crazy for a half, and the Celtics will have to clean it up in the second half to get the win tonight. Five guys have committed at least more than one turnover here in the first half.
Given their 33% shooting, their isn't much to point to on the positive side for the C's, but Tony Allen did provide a nice lift off the bench with eight points.
27-17 Pacers, End of First Quarter: Danny Granger's 11 points are highlighted by an up-and-under scoop shot that you'll be seeing on the highlights tonight. The Pacers are looking to shoot at the first available opportunity, and so far it's working. The C's (8 turnovers) look a little sluggish, but a 4 a.m. arrival in Indianapolis will do that.
Friday, October 31 - Bulls at Celtics
Postgame Coverage
Celtics vs. Bulls: Recap | Box Score | Highlights
After Rough Opener, KG Rebounds in Game 1K
Live Game Coverage
96-80 Celtics, FINAL: Make it 2-0 for the C's, officially, after a game that was largely over after the first quarter. Pierce played 35 minutes, but KG and Ray Allen had light duty in making short work of the Bulls. A very professional win for the Celtics tonight.
70-54 Celtics, End of Third: Kendrick Perkins fouled out in just 21 minutes on opening night, and he's already got five personals through three quarters. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em, Perk...
With a comfortable lead and a game tomorrow night in Indiana (the Pacers' home opener), look for the starters to rest most of the fourth if possible. Garnett has 18/10, while Rondo has 14 and six dimes.
49-31 Celtics, Halftime: After a terrible shooting night on Tuesday (5-15), KG, playing in his 1,000th career game, has hit 7/10 for 16 points and seven rebounds, both game highs. And the paint dominance continues; the C's have a 30-12 edge in the lane.
And speaking of terrible shooting, the Bulls can't hit the ocean or the broad side of the proverbial barn. They're just 10/45 from the field. Tyrus Thomas is a brutal 1/10.
24-13 Celtics, End of 1st Quarter: By popular demand, live game updates are back. The Celtics dominated the paint here in the first quarter, as Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett all but marking their territory by posting eight points and seven rebounds between the both of them. The Celtics defense was tenacious, holding the Bulls to just 17% shootin and forcing seven turnovers. Offensively, the C's overwhelmed Chicago in the paint, 16-4.
Pregame Locker Room
The Chicago Bulls are in the house with this summer's No. 1 draft pick, point guard Derrick Rose. But despite the attention the rookie is receiving, the man of the day is the Celtics third-year point Rajon Rondo, whose rookie contract option was just picked up by the team earlier today.
In one of his more candid conversations with the media, Rondo talked about being happy with the team's no-brainer, and who wouldn't be, he said, having won a championship and returning the following year with the same team and a chance to repeat.
"I don't take anything for granted, but winning a championship helps," he said.
Asked about the possibility of being a Celtics' lifer, Rondo kept his head about him and commented on the business that, in the end, basketball is and will always be.
"You never know, it's a business," Rondo said after a pause. "Kevin [Garnett] was in Minnesota, I think 13 years, and he's in Boston now. So you never can say you want to be in one place throughout your entire career because, you know, General Managers can change, coaches can change, you never know what can happen."
But that's far along down the road, and Rondo knows he has a good thing going and wants to do what's best for himself and for the team.
"I love the organization right now, we're winning, that's what it's all about," he said.
- Couper Moorhead
Early Pregame
The locker room is about to open. With news of Rajon Rondo's option being exercised, we hope to catch up with him before tonight's game to get his thoughts...
Rondo Option Exercised
BOSTON, MA - The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has exercised the fourth year option on guard Rajon Rondo. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Thursday, October 30 - Practice
Cavs Set Physical Tone for C's Opponents
The ceremonies are over, the rings have been handed out, and the Celtics withstood their own sluggish start to get an opening night win against Cleveland Tuesday night. You couldn't ask for much more. So with all of that out of the way, the grind officially begins. Next up: the 1-0 Chicago Bulls, led by rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro and a standout rookie point guard, Derrick Rose.
"[The Bulls are] much improved. I was really impressed watching them the other night. Rose, he didn't have a great game, but you can already see that he's going to be a great player. He's already controlling that team, they're running at a better speed. His decision-making is what stood out," Rivers said of Rose, who finished with a not-too-shabby 11 points and nine assists (and four turnovers) in the Bulls' 108-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. "They're going to be a good opponent."
While the Bulls probably aren't as good as the Cavs on paper, they're not likely to play as physical a brand of basketball. The Cavs, with a seven-game playoff loss still fresh in their mind, seemed determined to push the Celtics around, and seemed to take particular interest in sending Rajon Rondo to the floor whenever he went to the bucket.
"I told him, 'It's nice to go to the foul line, it's better to go to the foul line shooting one.' You know what I mean? He took some hits and if he did that all year, that would be a concern," Rivers said. "You want him going at that speed all year and you want him getting to the basket without contact as much as possible, but this is a physical game."
To that end, Paul Pierce is expecting teams to try to lay the lumber on them every night.
"When you're the champs, teams are gunning for you. They're gonna try to find an edge. That's the way it is when you're trying to unseat the champs in any sport," Pierce said. "We've got to be ready to take everybody's best punch."
Wednesday, October 29 - No Practice
After Tuesday night's opening night victory over the Cavaliers, the Celtics will have Wednesday off before regrouping for practice on Thursday ahead of Friday's game against the Chicago Bulls.
Tuesday, October 28 - Cavaliers at Celtics
Postgame Recap
BOSTON - Paul Pierce exploded for 27 points and the Celtics capped a special night in style with Tuesday's 90-85 season-opening win over the Cavaliers at The Garden. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and six assists, while Leon Powe added 13 points as five C's finished in double figures.
The World Champion Celtics turned the page on their storybook turnaround Tuesday night when they handed out rings, and raised their 17th banner to the rafters.
Celtics vs. Cavs: Recap | Box Score | Ring Ceremony Video
Emotional Pierce Keeps C's in Check
More: C's Eye Repeat | Player Forecast | Ainge Promoted
Pregame Media Access
Lots of familiar faces at the Garden tonight with most national media outlets covering the game. The timing of the ring ceremony is throwing everybody off their routi