The Captain gets the game ball: solid D, great offensive punch, final play call.

Let’s face the facts: the Celtics are playing mediocre ball and have been for the last week and a half. Despite their 10-4 record, it’s mediocre ball at best. This most recent game against New York raised more questions than answers.

I’m a teacher. I teach world history and economics. I ask a lot of questions. My students ask a lot of questions. We all ask a lot of questions. It can more often than not show a deeper understanding of a topic. Other times, it’s just the perfect thing to do when we are absolutely bewildered by a topic.

I’m bewildered.
I’m going to stop diagnosing.

Hey ¡RONDO! why aren't we seeing more of this?

Here are 34 questions for the Celtics because I just don’t know what else to say. Why 34 questions? Because #34 is Paul Pierce. Paul Pierce is the Truth. So by the power of transitive property, 34 = The Truth. I am hoping these 34 questions lead to some level of enlightenment and higher understanding.

1. Why is overall energy level so inconsistent and why aren’t we
2. Why is our offense settling for so many low percentage jumpers with the shot clock expiring?
3. Why are we not attacking the hoop more?
4. Why is Rondo playing like a $3 million PG on some nights and an $11 million PG on other nights?
5. Why is our help defense scheme look so slow?
6. Why is Ray Allen getting so many more minutes than he needs?
7. Why isn’t Quisy getting more playing time?
8. Why is Sheed shooting 3s like I shoot 3s?
9. What’s going to happen in a few weeks when Glen Davis returns (remember: no more Big Baby)?
10. When will KG finally be in game shape?
11. Actually: will KG ever be back to being in good game shape (even if he can’t jump)?
12. When will everyone realize how unbelievably good Pierce is playing right now?
13. Will Danny many any trades before the new year?
14. If Danny were to make trades, what do we really need right now?
15. Is our PG by committee / PG by convenience working?
16. Will the Real Eddie House please stand up? Please stand up?
17. Has Doc ripped into his team yet about what the heck is wrong with them?
18. Is this the kind of play we can expect for the rest of the season?
19. Is it a good sign that Rondo can’t hit his FTs because it means he is finally changing his shooting style   for the firs time in his career?
20. Will Doc force Sheed down on the block more?
21. Why isn’t Perk closing out quarters more often?
22. Aren’t we a defense-minded team?
23. So why aren’t we a) playing defense better and b) letting one of our team’s best defenders (Perk) get more minutes on the floor?
24. Why haven’t we seen more dynamic lineups on the floor (like Rondo, Pierce, KG, Perk, Sheed; or Ray, Pierce, Quisy, KG, Sheed; or Rondo, Piece, Quisy, Perk, Sheed)?
25. Will TA’s first game in the 2010 season be in Celtic green?
26. Will Scal continue to be 100% efficient on the floor for as little minutes as he is getting?
27. Should we trade Scal (with TA) and if so should we get him more minutes?
28. Is JR Giddens the epitome of practice hero and game zero?
29. Will Shelden William’s interior game improve with more touches?
30. Why can’t our team get offensive rebounds (is it not built into our defensive scheme?)?
31. Why have we started so slow offensively in almost every game this season (what happened to those 30+ points from 2008-2009?)?
32. Why are we giving up so many points in the first half?
33. Why are we turning into a team that either wins/loses a game in the 3rd quarter?
34. Is the whole “sleep experts” advice of bypassing pre-game shoot arounds in favor of naps really working?

I want to see an absolute spanking tomorrow night against the 76ers on Wednesday night. I want Philly to waddle off the court.

Cool, then we done.

Next question?
Cool, then we done.

Articles of the day from my 3 favorite Celtics sites: It’s not time to trade Ray Allen (yet) at CelticsBlog, Myth or Fact: The Celtics are shooting too many 3s at RedsArmy, Do you believe Doc at CelticsHub.

12% of the season finished, 88% left. Plenty. Of. Time.

I want to stress very early on in this post that I am not freaking out. You are not freaking out. Well, you might be freaking out, but there is no need for you to be freaking out. It’s far too early to be freaking out. We are just a tad over 1/8 of the way through the season. A measly 12% through. Calm down, folks.

Yes we have dropped 2 games, but it really isn’t a big deal. Our loss column is filled with the number 3, but there is also the number 8 in the wins column. Only 1 team in the entire NBA has played more games than us (Portland), while some teams like Milwaukee and Indiana have played 8 and 7 games, respectively. We still have the 3rd best win % in the East.

Let’s also face this fact: out of the 3 teams that are responsible for handing the Celtics a loss, Atlanta is the only one that could push us in a 7 game series. Neither Phoenix nor Indiana could take us in 7 games: both teams were on fire and couldn’t miss– you can’t repeat those shooting nights over and over again. There is a difference between taking a team down during any given game and taking a team down 4 times out of a possible 7 chances. 7 game series are designed to allow the better team to prevail. The Celtics are better than the Suns and the Pacers. Case closed.

Why you should feel good:

• Boston is the only team with a double-digit positive point differential in the entire league at +10.2.
• The Celtics are 2nd in points allowed by opposing teams with 88.3 per game.
• On BasketballReference.com, the Celtics are ranked 1st in Pythagorean W-L (Pythagorean Wins; the formula is G * (Tm PTS14 / (Tm PTS14 + Opp PTS14))); ranked 2nd in SRS with a score of 7.95 (read the explanation here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=37); and ranked 1st in BR’s team defense rating with a score of 97.8 (Defensive Rating (available since the 1977-78 season in the NBA; for players and teams it is points allowed per 100 possessions.)

We are a good team. We are designed to win a series, not every game. We are designed to win a series, not every game.
We have smart players and great coaches that have high basketball IQs: whatever is going wrong in a series, as long as we are healthy, we will rectify and fix.

But… of course, we did just drop 2 games to younger, more athletic teams.
Let’s see these 5 things as we move forward against the next 5 games: Golden State (Wed), Orlando (Fri), New York (Sun), Philly (Wed), and Tor (Fri) in the following week and a half.

Perk is a beast. The beast needs to close out the 4th.

• Keep rebounding. It’s pretty simple: the more boards a team gets, the less the opposing team gets. More rebounds = more possessions and more chances to score while at the same time taking away chances for the opposing team to score. We need to box out. We need to send 2 guys into crash the boards while sending the other 3 into transition.
• More Quisy. More Shelden. I want to see these 2 get a few more minutes: with Pierce banged up, I’m hoping we see more Quisy. His title, thus far in the young season, should be Mr. Efficiency. Everything he does is efficient, modest, controlled, and important. Quisy matters to this team as much as Posey mattered to the 2008 team. Quisy is the swingman we need to go deep in the spring. As for Shelden, he’s been Mr. Pleasant Surprise (self-explanatory).
• Perk closing the game. Perk is a Beast. Right? Right. Sheed is in a bit of a funk and I’d like to see him get a few more minutes in the middle of the game instead of the end; I want to see Perk close out the 4th. I’m choosing defense over offensive possibility. I’ll always choose defense over offensive possibility. If you have Perk in, he is guaranteed to play solid interior defense on every defensive possession. Not to say Sheed is a slouch on defense, because he has been great, but Perk can still jump. Perk can still box out stronger guys and do the dirty work underneath that he is genetically and athletically designed to do. Let him close out the quarter because it makes sense.
• Rondo needs to take 12 shots a game. While it was great to see him pushing to create for his teammates against Atlanta this past Friday, but we need to see him aggressively taking it to the hoop. We need floaters. We need lay ups. But more importantly, we need the opposing team’s defense to collapse on Rondo when he enters the paint. If he is going to get players better, clearer looks, the defense needs to bite on the possibility of him shooting/scoring so the other guys are free/open. Rondo will usually be pass-first, so it’s not like we are changing his game. We just need to see him take some more shots.
• Mix up the line-ups. I will have to stop saying this eventually, but for now, I’m still begging for it. I want some dynamic diversity in our line-ups: a speedy lineup, a big lineup, a mix of starters and reserves. Doc has a deep bench that can cause opposing teams major headaches if he is able to mix-in different lineups together. The Celtics are in the position to set the tone with lineups and make other teams match-up against us, as opposed to us having to match up against other teams like we had to do for much of last year.

So if there are 4 blue jerseys around Rondo... Hmm...

My hands are steady. There are 71 more games to play.
Settle in for the ride.

Article of the day: NBA Mate’s “David Andersen can shoot”

Genius at work.

Before I get into the story, let me first share with you that Daryl Morey (HOU), Sam Presti (OKC), an Danny are my 3 favorite GMs. They’re crafty in their own ways, but all three have an UNCANNY ability to recognize talent in different ways. Morey has been known to find players that are fighters, play with an abnormally large chip on their shoulders, grit out every possession, and understand how to play in a system. Presti just finds the right complimentary players. In time, if he can hold onto his core young guys of Harden, Westbrook, Green, and especially K-Durant, my gosh they are going to be a force. Presti has found some great defensive-minded players and as they mature, they will be great in the middle of the pack team in the West. We know about Danny’s track record with draft picks and trades.

So on Thursday, November 12th, I get an update from Twitter about a new follower. I have trouble trusting my young eyes: Daryl Morey? Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

I immediately investigate, and as it turns out, the freakin’ GM of the Houston Rockets is indeed a new follower. Aside from the fact that he would be my most famous follower, Morey only followed 84 other people at that point. I was part of an elite group.

Yup. For real.

I immediately send Morey a direct message asking if a measly blogger like myself can attend the statistical conference later on next year, and he writes back immediately:

Yup. This is also for real.

Of course, I flatter him a bunch and tell him that he wins the award for being Loscy’s most famous follower. I didn’t ask him how he found me, and I wish I had… because 9 hours later he un-followed me. I was irked by the whole ordeal.

Daryl: what did I do to make you leave?!?!

Then… I started to read my tweets the same day. First, there were probably 65+ tweets in that small window of flattery to depression. Hmmm. Maybe Morey was getting sick of the sheer volume of tweets? Probably not. The dude can remember the NYC skyline and draw it from memory after 1 fly-over in a helicopter (seriously: he did it). His ability to push out the crap and keep the goods kind of dismisses that theory. Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen I started reading my tweets a little bit closer and realized that I sounded like a child. Some foul language. Some bad jokes.

Ugh.

Daryl: did you leave me (ie, unfollow me on Twitter) because of the content of my tweets, volume of tweets, or both? Most of them were re-tweets. It wasn’t even my material! I was re-gifting!

AGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I was consoled by my wife: “It’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all”.
She was so right. So right.

But it still hurts.

Daryl: I promise to be a better Twitter member if you come back.
Now I’m begging.

How pathetic is this?

Would I be this way if the Celtics had won the last 2 nights?

What’s become of me?!?!?!?!?!?!?

DARYL!!!!!!

–

Torched by Granger.

We didn’t play sloucher teams. We played a young team that we’ve had many close games with and that was simply hungrier than us. On Friday night, Atlanta out-hustled, out-rebounded, out-swaggered, and flatly out-played us. We got killed on second chance points (20-4) and b*tch-slapped off the glass. The very next night, a young team that is playing pretty well torched us in the second half when our defense fell asleep, everything they threw up found its way to the bottom of the net, and our shots were getting stuck between the rim and backboard.

The common denominator in both losses? Young… teams. We have looked slow, old, and a bit out of rhythm. We forced passes. We weren’t playing good transition defense. We had a tough, tough schedule early on (8 in 12) and our current skid, no doubt, is a byproduct of the early going. It is a funk. It will pass.

What about some radical lineups to start the game in Indy? Why not rest Pierce if he was a game-time decision? Why not start Rondo, Ray, Quisy, Shelden, and Perk? Eh.

It is a funk. It will pass.

I’m not going to hinge the entire season on the last two nights. There is plenty to learn from the games, and the coaching staff will figure it out with the players. But at the same time, should we be worried… at least a little bit? We’ve gone from looking invincible to very vulnerable (sort of like last year after the Lakers game on X-Mas day?)

Celtics: go figure it out, please.

Article of the day: Advanced States in Pacers Game at CelticsHub.com

Shelden doing what Shelden does: crashing the boards.

Sometimes I have these ideas. They are really creative, cool, and catchy. Then I find out, in due time, that my idea has already been thought of and often executed to a higher level of functionality and desirability than I ever could have thought.

But my philosophical question stands: if I thought of an original idea autonomously without any prior knowledge of the actual existing idea, is that moment of intellectuality actually mine as well? I would argue… yes.

This is my predicament. Let me share with you, just for a moment, my ideas for upcoming columns for this week:

• The efficiency of Shelden Williams on the glass and the impact of his hustle on the floor
• The Celtics current struggles to get to the FT line
• Rondo’s match-ups with some of the league’s best PGs early on and how he will behave
• The strength of our bench offensively compared to last year

Ok. Celtics Hub wrote about the Celtics issues with getting to the stripe this morning. Celtics Blog wrote about Shelden’s work in the paint. Celtics Blog wrote about whether Rondo was going to be talking trash against D-Will this week when playing against the Jazz. Celtics Hub mentioned the strength of the second unit on offense referencing my go-to stat site of 82games.com.

Seriously?

I guess you can’t contain good ideas from good writers that are hungry in this early season. We are all eager to perform full, all-out dissection of Celtics games. I’m going to keep these topics on my sticky note in case they crop up later on in a different form. The Rondo article will appear later on this week (not quite hit so far in the Celtics blogosphere).

For today? Let’s talk about Glen Davis. Notice how I’m following Wyc’s lead: no more Big Baby if I can help it. While it is a bit of a reflex to just refer to him as Big Baby, Baby, or BBD, I’m going to do my best to call him Glen Davis, Davis, or even Glen. Have you actually stopped to think about how his school teachers used to call him “Glen”? Think about an 11 year old 5’-9” 191 in front of you with 5 kids pinned to the ground: “Excuse me, Glen, can you stop killing those kids?”

What happens when Glen returns?
Well, let’s answer that by figuring out what Glen brings to the Celtics.

• An ability to stretch the floor with his improving mid-range jumper
• The power to box out the bigger bigs on opposing teams to make way for guys like Rondo to get boards (you know, the guys that can actually get off the ground)
• An improved ability to finish near the rim
• He plays hard and hustles and is willing to sacrifice his body
• A tough, tough guy who can get beat up and play physical (so our big finesse players don’t have to)

Those are all qualities that we need from a role player. There is no doubt about that. But… what about Glen’s deficiencies in his game?

• He can’t play above the rim (at all)
• He can’t rebound because he can’t get off the floor
• Glen whines and cries
• While he’s heavy, he doesn’t have length to guard the taller PFs in the league
• While he may be agile for a guy his size, he still isn’t that quick in the grand scheme of things
• There’s a relatively low ceiling for his post moves: who knows how much better they’ll really get

The perfect system for Shelden Williams.

In comes Shelden Williams. (follow him on twitter @sheldenwilliams, one of the best NBA-ers to follow)
There isn’t a better scenario for Shelden: The Landlord™. While the lotto pick got lost in the shuffle during his bounce-around to teams like ATL, SAC, ATL, MIN, and then back to SAC, there is no better system for him than the Boston Celtics. The Landlord™ is surrounded by veterans, especially veteran bigs like KG and Perk (while Perk is young, this is his 7th year…) and he isn’t being asked to carry a team in any way. Specifically, his role has been defined very early on and clearly and he is proving that his minuscule salary was one of the best off-season pick-ups. Rebound, play defense, hustle = playing time and salary.

Understand that I have no college/university allegiance. I don’t follow college basketball: it’s overwhelming. Regardless if you like Duke or not, you have to respect it’s program. Regardless if you like Coach K or not, you have to respect him. There is an atmosphere of hard-work, an expected high level basketball IQ, and that you can play a role for a team expected to win in a pressured situation.

Guess what? The Celtics system is the same. Duke bled blue for its team and players, while Boston bleeds green for its team and players. A great fit.

Glen Davis. Not Big Baby. Not Baby. Just Glen. Davis.

When Glen finally returns, his minutes are in danger. They are even more in danger come playoff time when we’ll have an 8-9 man rotation. Who is going to fill the other bigs role off the bench besides Sheed? If I’m judging based on where Glen left last season at the conclusion of the Orlando series with the way that The Landlord’s™ playing, I’m going with The Landlord™.

• Shelden hustles.
• He has bought into his role with the Celtics.
• He rebounds.
• He lays defense.
• He’s got length.
• He isn’t selfish.

Most of all? Shelden seems to be playing with chip on his shoulder and is out to prove something… but he’s mature enough to know how to handle the situation. Shelden, Quisy, and Sheed are all shaping up to be a 3-3 hat trick for Danny this summer.

The ever-efficient Pierce 2.0 is on a hot streak scoring inside and out. Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant NBAE via Getty Images.

Only in Boston.
Only in Boston can you find fans that aren’t 100% happy when their basketball team is 6-0.
Only in Boston can you find fans calling into local sports radio and complaining about what needs to be fixed after only 1 week of basketball.

Only in Boston.

We will start with something noteworthy: the Wall Street Journal and Dave Berri is ranking the Celtics starting 5 among the top 5 starting 5 of all time.Despite our winning ways, sure enough, I can poke and prod at some of the things that the Celtics still need to address. Much like last year’s 19-game win-streak that was ended by the Lakers on Christmas Day, we weren’t playing our best ball despite the impressive record. Doc said over and over again that there were things the team needed to do better even though they were winning.

¡ RONDO !

This is what separates the good teams from the great teams: even when winning, or at times dominating, winners find ways to keep improving. The 2008-2009 Celtics had some serious issues with depth and length off the bench. These issues became even more evident when KG and Powe went down… making it nearly impossible for the Celtics to get past the front-court heavy Magic.

We saw these issues fixed during the off-season: re-signing Glen Davis (I’m going to see if I can stop calling him Big Bay for a little bit, too, Wyc), picking up Quisy, Shelden Williams, and most importantly adding Rasheed Wallace to our bench.

So why is this 6-0 2009-2010 Celtics team still not perfect?

Starting out slow.

Game 1 v. Cavs – down 21-7 early on.
Game 2 v. Bobcats – only had 12 points through the first 8 minutes.
Game 3 v. Bulls – only had 16 points through the first 10 minutes.
Game 5 v. 76ers – only had 10 points through the first 10 minutes.
Game 6 v. T Wolves – really? do we even have to talk about this one?

We’ve been anything but quick out of the gates. Part of the issue is that it is only the first week, but shots just aren’t falling early. I heard the other day that the team decided to forgo some of their pre-game shoot-arounds in favor of giving the guys additional time to sleep. They met with sleep experts and are trying to buy into rest instead shots. Am I reaching on this one? Maybe. I am hoping it is just early and we see the team come out firing… but there have always been some inconsistencies, offensively, with this starting line-up of Rondo-Ray-Pierce-KG-Perk: sometimes they will light you up for a 38 point quarter and other times have 18 on the board. I’m hoping to find some consistency in rhythm on offense… sooner than later.

Forcing passes.

Part of our sluggish start also comes with some forced passing. Sometimes we aren’t passing (remember that play against Minny when Ray dribbled down, dribbled around, and then threw up a terrible shot after holding onto the ball for 20 seconds?) and sometimes we are passing too much (how many good looks do we want to pass up?). I’m not sure which situation is worse, but both are pretty undesirable. Rondo isn’t the only perpetrator here, so bring those fingers slowly down. We are throwing the ball into places that shouldn’t be thrown and thus resulting in turnovers.

Turnovers.

Oh yeah. Turnovers. The little statistic that is already starting to rear its ugly head only 1 week in. After 6 games, the Celts have already turned the ball over 83 times (averaging 13.8 TO/game). If the Celtics are giving up the ball almost 14 times per game, opponents are getting an easy 14 points a game if they can convert just 50% of the recovered turnovers into buckets.

Mixing in starters and role players.

I’ve been screaming for this during live game chats over at Red’s Army and Gino’s Jungle and over Twitter and to my wife during games: mix in the bench players and starters! We know the starting 5 have so much ubuntu in them they’re practically crapping it out during the game. The second unit is gelling quite nicely with Eddie, Quisy, Ray/Pierce, Shelden, and Sheed in. Scal is starting to acquire some minutes as he makes his return, and the players are playing pretty well together. But I would love to see some serious mixing up of line-ups during the close of the second and third quarters. I want to see Rondo-Ray-KG-Sheed-Perk or Quisy-Pierce-KG-Perk-Shelden or Eddie-Ray-Pierce-Sheed-KG (shooter’s line-up!) in. Why not mess around to make the chemistry that much more explosive or to make their anticipation that much tighter?

KG looking more mobil with each passing game. Photo by David Sherman NBAE via Getty Images.

Going into the game tonight against the Suns, I’d love to see Doc read my blog and really pay attention to the advice that I’m giving to him free of charge. It seems like a simple game-plan: stop Nash and Amare and let everyone else hurt you. It’s as simple as that. The run-n-gun offense only works when their point guard can penetrate and their big man can finish. It just so happens Rondo and KG are two of the best defenders in the league. How convenient.

Be Green.

NEWS ITEM: Offseason moves make the Celtics much better

Someone asked me the other day how many games I thought the Celtics would win this season.

The number that came to mind? 70.

That was the number I thought they’d get to last year, when the injury to Kevin Garnett put a stop to all the talk. This year? It really is hard to imagine this team losing more than 12 and here’s why: the 2009-10 version is better than the one that won the championship two years ago.

Sure, James Posey is gone, and everyone loved James Posey. Sure, Leon Powe has moved on. But look what Danny Ainge did during the offseason.

Rasheed Wallace? Marquis Daniels? Shelden Williams? C’mon, that’s just not fair.

San Antonio made big, maybe even better moves (Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess) in the West. The Lakers brought in Ron Artest, and don’t worry about the talk of how it might not work out with Kobe. It will. Those teams are in the West and the feeling here is one of those two teams will win the title. But they’ll do it against the Celtics.

The East? Shaq to Cleveland? Did you happen to see the opening game between Boston and the Cavs? Not even close, and it won’t be in the playoffs. Orlando? Perhaps. But not Cleveland. I love Shaq but his days are well behind him. That will all continue to be about LeBron, and James just doesn’t kill the Celtics.

Simply put, Ainge has assembled a bench that could more than hold its own against some starting fives in the league. The three names mentioned above–Wallace, Daniels and Williams– joining Eddie House and the currently injured Big Baby Davis. And don’t forget the ever-useful Brian Scalabrine.

Now, for the purposes of this argument, we acknowledge Wallace is no long a 40-minute-plus guy and there really isn’t a true backup point guards. But you also have to remember this group would also have replacements for Garnett and the gang.

It’s just one of those sports arguments – my bench is better than your starters. Hear that, New Jersey? The LA Clippers? Do I put my Knicks in that group? Minnesota? Charlotte?

OK, I could be stretching a point. But this bench is good, scary good, which makes you think the Celts can withstand just about anything.

Well, a long-term injury to Rajon Rondo would be a major problem, which is why the club gave him a five-year/$55 million contract extension this week. Rondo has his flaws, mostly in his spotty maturity, and there are those out there who insist much of his offense comes from the opposition having to pay so much attention to the Big Three, but this guy’s an athlete, and he’s also the future.

The Larry Bird Celtics grew old together, and you have to remember the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis had as much to do with the collapse of the bridge to the future as anything, but Rondo is a bridge to this future. He will now, barring unforeseen circumstances, be around when Garnett, Ray Allen and perhaps even Paul Pierce are gone. Not a bad piece to a bridge.

NEWS ITEM: Bruins struggling for identity

As this was being written, the local hockey team was still in the midst of a rather amazing streak, one that could only be ended by a Tuesday night loss in Detroit.

Through the first 13 games of the season, the B’s had yet to win or lose two games in a row.

They started with a home loss to Washington and have alternated wins and losses ever since, ending up at 6-6-1. They lost to the Rangers in New York Sunday by 1-0 and were hoping to keep the early trend going for one more night with a win in Detroit, in a busy week that has Montreal coming in Thursday night and Buffalo Saturday.

The Bruins aren’t scoring. Tim Thomas, coming off a Vezina Trophy season, was 4-5, and his teammates had scored four goals in the five losses.

Marc Savard and Milan Lucic, both out 4-6 weeks with injuries, are missed. So were the 36 goals Phil Kessel scored last season, even though he wouldn’t be playing, anyway, because of offseason shoulder surgery. That was the team’s top line last year. But the problem has been the lack of production by the guys left behind.

No one is scoring, including defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman, who combined for 32 goals last year and had one through 13 games, none by Chara. He had 19 last year.

The power play was 2-for-36 over the last 11 games.

Claude Julien shook up his lines heading into Detroit, putting Patrice Bergeron, his best player since the opening faceoff this season (yes, he’s back), between Marco Sturm and Mark Recchi and David Krejci between Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler. Things got so tough that Julien was forced to break up the energy unit of Wheeler, Vladimir Sobotka and Daniel Paille, the group that produced a win over Edmonton last Saturday.

NEWS ITEM: World Series heads back to New York

Dust off that Pedro stuff, Red Sox fans, it’s not over yet.

Is it me, or does Joe Buck sound a little more excited when the Phillies do well? And he’s not even an ex-Phillie.

¡ Rondo !

It’s been all tricks AND treats for the Celtics for the first three games.

TREAT
Rondo’s command. Rondo has been in control of all three games against Cleveland, Charlotte, and now Chicago. I’ve stressed over and over again that one the most important aspects to becoming a top 3 point guard in the league rests in his ability to learn how to control the pace of games– when should Rondo push the ball to hit or create an easy bucket in transition and when does he need to slow it down and set up the offense. So far in the first three games, Rondo’s had full command over the pace.
As the guys over at CelticsHub.com pointed out this morning, Rondo has 37 assists to just 5 turnovers. While it’s still early, Rondo is averaging just a touch over 7 assists per turnover. 2 years ago, Rondo started the season with almost as many turnovers as assists and now, he’s an assist/turnover ratio machine.
We’ve known over the last few seasons that this kid can rebound, but I see him more aggressive and feisty than ever before on the offensive glass. There have been multiple possessions where he’s had more than two consecutive offensive boards. Thank goodness for his anticipation, hops, quickness, and freakishly large hands.
By the way, if you’re keeping track of whether Rondo is a top 3 point guard… he’s taken down Mo Williams, Raymond Felton, and Derrick Rose. We’ll keep track at Loscy of these match-ups throughout the season (see sidebar to the right).

TRICK
KG being KG. Does he have that ALL THAT explosiveness and burst of speed back that we are accustomed to? No, not yet. As I wrote about the other day, it doesn’t matter. KG will find his way back into basketball shape and be able to run up and down the court better and be quicker on lateral slides/transitions. But for now, he’s doing everything we need him to do. We need him to jump out of the gym. Many nay-sayers believed KG would be done because of the mysterious knee injury (including a certain Sports Guy) when he told the media countless times that his knee is fine. KG has told all of you to shut up about his knee, and I highly advise you do so unless you want him to bite out your kidneys.

TREAT

Pierce 2.0, refresssssshed.

Dear Cleveland, Charlotte, and Chicago:
Thank you for obliging to my demands that you frequently leave Pierce wide open on the wings. Thank you for letting him launch threes without a single defender in his face. Pierce has been an impressive 10-17 (59%) from behind the arc and a terrific 18-34 (53%) from the floor. He’s also tacked on 14-15 from the stripe (94%). The slimmed down version of Pierce (“Pierce 2.0”) is a lean-mean shot dropping machine. Thank you Coach Brown, Brown, and Del Negro for not forcing any of your players to guard Pierce and allowing him to showcase why he’s one of the most prolific scorers in Celtic history.

TREAT
Last night against the Bulls, EVERY SINGLE Celtic player that logged time in the game finished with a positive +/- rating. Let me say that again: anytime any of the Celtic players were on the floor last night, the Celtics were consistently outscoring the Bulls (and able to make stops) Hey junkies: when’s the last game where every player on a team had a positive +/- rating?

What a positive sign (sorry, had to do it).

TRICK

Ray Ray doing what he does.

Yes Ray is 34 years old. Yes all of the “experts” are talking about how we will likely see a slow down in production because of age. I know it’s only game 3, but Ray looks as efficient as ever. AS EVER. Has anyone moved off the ball as well, quickly, cleverly, and efficiently as Ray Allen? Maybe Reggie Miller. That’s the only person I’ll let you put in his company. Props to Ray, as well, for passing my all-time favorite player in NBA history (John Stockton) on the all-time scoring list.

TRICK & TREAT
Rondo’s ally-oop to KG in transition last night. BOOMING. This was both a trick (KG’s knee is fine) and treat (glad to see one of my favorite plays from last year resurrected).

TREAT
The team’s defense is getting tighter and tighter. The Celtic core players were bragging about Quisy and Sheed’s high basketball IQ in the off-season, and now we have some pretty reliable living proof. Quisy and Sheed know the defensive schemes pretty well so far. I’ve been really impressed with Shelden Williams and Eddie House’s D, too. The landlord is slowly carving out a niche for himself on this team and crashing the boards with controlled recklessness. I love it, Shelden.

(other) TREATS
George Hill (Spurs) is nasty. I want to see him in green.
Gilbert Arenas has returned to form.
Shawn Marion might have found a home in Dallas.

Rondo’s 16 assists via Red’s Army:

Welcome back, NBA. I’ve missed you.

In the words of the prolific and substantive Busta Rhymes:

“What y’all wanna do? Don’t we always comin through, me and my crew
Lemme hear ya say “FIRE IT UP”! (FIRE IT UP!) Say “FIRE IT UP”! (FIRE IT UP!)”

The last two nights, our crew in green has certainly come through.
And even more than that? I’ll speak on behalf of the entire Celtics’ fan-base on this one: we are all freakin’ fired up.

After just two games, I can tell you that I have a great feeling about this team.
After just two games, I can tell you that this team is going to be successful.
After just two games, I can tell you that we can separate ourselves from the rest of the pack.
After just two games, I can tell you that we have so many good things to look forward to.
After just two games, I can tell you a lot.

Rajon.

Yeah that's Mo Doucheiams watching in the background.

If you are familiar with these parts, you know that I cannot say enough good things about Rondo. He’s been aggressive out of the gates: Rondo has been attacking, attacking, and attacking. We know he’s put on some muscle, but his speed, quickness, and agility seem to be at yet another unimaginable level. His killer crossover just turned into a mightily killer crossover on amphetamines. It almost seems like Rondo is trying to learn his way around this new gear. While he’s had some turnovers, we’ll see them fade away as he gets more games under his legs. His court vision? Sharp as a razor. He’s had some great looks, especially to Pierce on the wing and KG on the move toward the hoop. I like what I see: the more aggressive Rondo is, the more efficient and effective our offense runs.

Pierce.
Pierce has visibly slimmed down. He’s lost some bulk in his upper body and he is moving better than I’ve seen him move on the court in the last few years. I saw this first hand in the pre-season game against the Knicks when Pierce had that reverse dunk on a breakaway. His first step looks quick. Against the Cavs on Tuesday, Pierce twice (read: twice!), jab-stepped and faked out Lebron to take the ball to the hoop. On both occasions, the crappy Cleveland defense collapsed on him to send him to the line. Pierce is running the floor so well but he’s still big enough that he doesn’t lose the size advantage he’s always had on smaller forwards. Just when you thought match-up problems against Pierce couldn’t get worse for other teams…

Pierce 2.0

KG.

If you're curious, he banked that shot right over Shaq. Dance big man, dance.

Welcome back, Binky. While you’ve noticeably lost so much explosiveness, it’ll either come back as you get back into shape or it won’t. If this is all of the power you will have in your legs, that will be fine. You’ve marked your return to quarterbacking our defense and helping to spread the floor with your shots from the elbows and baseline. Honestly. Welcome back.

Perk.
Perk’s starting to pull the trigger on that 10 foot jumper on the baseline and I’m liking it. Every single year, Perk has added another dimension to his game. This year, a 10 foot jumper? Yeah I’m on board for that. And the stalwart defense? Yup. Still there.

Quisy.

QUISY!

The best pick up of the off-season? Likely. He’s tied for that nomination with a teammate. Quisy looks like he’s been in this system for the last few seasons. For a guy that is helping to run the offense and asked to D up on Lebron, he’s been pretty impressive. I love how Quisy fits into the offense. I love that he pulled the trigger on the baseline for three after Cleveland kept egging him on. I love that he can put the ball on the floor and create his own shot in the paint. Most of all… I love that he can handle the ball and no one can take it away from him. Quisy has the kind of ball handling/control that looks like it is easy to take away, but it’s far from that.

Sheed.
The other guy that is tied up for the nomination for best pick up of the off-season. Sheed’s defensive abilities usually get lost amidst his on the court antics, but plenty of us have noticed what he’s doing. He’s made all of the right rotations off screens. He can guard the opposing big man on his own. Sheed has made the timely fouls when necessary. On offense, he spaces the floor as well as any other big man. Love it.

Eddie House.
I’ve noticed a significant change in the way House is playing. He’s actually commanding on the court like a point guard. He’s much more vocal and seems to be assuming a good leadership role for that second unit. After all, Eddie is the vet of that second unit. I think it is helping to make him more effective but also helping that second unit to gel. I really like this, but am looking forward to seeing him drop threes like bombs sooner than later. He had a slow start last year on his way to a record setting percentage from behind the arc, so I’m going to be patient.

Have you seen the new Celtics promotion for tickets? Check it out:

One of their tag-lines this year is that the Celtics have RELOADED. We have reloaded, and it’s not just the added ammunition of Quisy and Sheed. KG is new. Pierce is new. Ray is new. Rondo is new. Perk is new. This entire team has a new look, feel, taste, and swagger.

Last of all, the team as a whole looks like they are having one heck of a time playing basketball. The team looks like they want to play together so they can chalk up a W together. They look like they’re having fun: every single one of them. For the older vets like Pierce/Ray/KG/Sheed, the smile is genuine because they know Father Time is knocking on their door.

And for the record: I’m having just as much fun watching as they are playing.

2 down. 80 to go.

2-0.

Just cuz…

Kobe Bryant shows off his fourth championship ring.

At long last, we tip off once more. Eight months away from the 2010 Finals, the Association is already buzzing with the excitement of opening night.

Cleveland played Boston in a battle of reloaded teams poised for 60+ win seasons and the Celtics proved superior. Even a casual observer could tell that Cleveland was out of sync, as the Cavaliers gave up a huge early lead with horrendous shooting. Plagued by spotty execution, the Cavaliers, at least after the opening quarter, looked like they were playing in a completely new offense. LeBron James, despite 38 points and 8 assists, gave up four turnovers. Even the King looked lost at times, hobbling his offense with painfully slow ball movement. Mo Williams just didn’t look like Mo Williams, and Daniel Gibson played so poorly in the first half that he was relegated to the bench for all but three minutes of the second half.

O'Neal shoots over Kevin Garnett

Shaq was bad. The 37 year old shot the ball poorly despite drawing single coverage all night. He was also a major defensive liability. Shaq’s frustration was apparent when he hacked Kevin Garnett after being caught out of position. He had no points in the fourth quarter; Cleveland didn’t import the Big Fella to disappear during crunch time.

Boston looks reloaded. Doc’s entire lineup looks fresh, capable, and athletic. The Celtics scored plenty of fast break points and i’m pretty sure Marquis Daniels outscored the entire Cavalier’s bench. Rasheed Wallace, now playing the role of reserve, looked capable in the paint and from long range. Boston’s imports look better than Cleveland’s, but give both teams time.

Shelden Williams may be the ugliest player in the NBA.

In order for the Lakers to repeat, Kobe needs Lamar Odom more than he needs Ron Artest. Odom is one of the most versatile players in basketball and the second most capable scorer in the L.A. lineup. The Lakers have plenty of depth though, so scoring should never be an issue. However, point guard play will be critical seeing as how Derek Fisher was exposed by Jameer Nelson in the 2009 Finals.

Anyway, it’s game one so as a caveat to Cleveland fans, sit tight. This roster has loads of potential and will just need time to come together. As for L.A, they have to be considered championship favorites.

The overwhelming favorite for most embarrassing moment of the night is Kevin Garnett. K.G missed a point-blank dunk with no one around him late in the third quarter.

Für die Fans der Cleveland Cavaliers in der heimischen Quicken Loans Arena, vor den Fernsehern und den Computerscreens weltweit war es ein Eröffnungsspiel zum Vergessen. Zu deutlich waren jene Defizite im Spiel der Cavs wiederzuerkennen, die von Kritikern immer wieder bemängelt wurden und auch zum Ausscheiden des Teams aus Ohio in den Conference Finals im vergangenen Mai führten. Noch immer vermag es niemand, mit der Ausnahme von LeBron James eben, das Spiel an sich zu reißen und in Phasen, in denen James auf der Bank sitzt oder einfach die Hilfe seiner Mitspieler benötigt, die Mannschaft auf den eigenen Schultern mitzutragen.

Dabei hätte es im Anfangsviertel wirklich nicht besser laufen können, oder nicht schlechter, wenn man den Blickwinkel der Boston Celtics wählt. Die Cavaliers führten nach nur 3:06 Minuten im ersten Viertel mit 13-2 und ließen kein Zweifel daran, wer Herr im Haus ist. Für das erste echte Highlight sorgte dann LeBron James etwa sechs Minuten später, als er Rajon Rondos Versuch den Ball, nach einem Steal und Break, zu stopfen so übel gegen das Backboard blockte, dass erste „MVP“-Rufe auf den Rängen der Halle losbrachen.
Die Partie begann zu dieser Zeit jedoch bereits zu kippen. Angeführt von ihren Bankspieler, genauer Rasheed Wallace (zwölf Punkte) und Marquis Daniels (sieben Punkte), holten die Kelten aus Boston einen 14-Punkte-Rückstand auf und gaben die erkämpfte Führung nach dem zweiten Viertel in den folgenden Spielabschnitten nicht mehr aus den Händen. Wer fand auch, dass Sheed derzeit eher einem Obdachlosen ähnelt als einem NBA Spieler? Mehr Skills als Flip in Above the Rim hat er aber allemal. Die Reservisten der Celtics trugen insgesamt 26 Punkte zum Sieg bei, die der Cavaliers konnten derer lediglich zehn erzielen.
In den letzten anderthalb Minuten des Spiels besiegelte Paul Pierce (23 Punkte, elf Rebounds) mit zwei erfolgreichen Jumpshots und zwei getroffenen Freiwürfen die erste Heimniederlage der Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James, der oft auf sich alleine gestellt war, erzielte 38 Punkte, vier Rebounds und acht Assists. O’Neal steuerte zehn Punkte und ebenso viele Rebounds bei, konnte aber weder in der Defensive noch in der Offensive effektiv in das Vorgehen des Cavs eingebunden werden. Kevin Garnett glückte wiederum mit 13 Punkten, zehn Rebounds und drei Blocks die Rückkehr auf das NBA-Parkett. Phasenweise ähnelte er dem Kevin Garnett, den wir aus vergangenen Tagen kennen, so zum Beispiel als er mit 2:45 Minuten auf der Uhr im letzten Spielabschnitt einen schwierigen Fadeaway über Shaq hinweg traf. Andererseits musste er zuschauen, wie Jamerio Moon locker über ihn dunkte und selbst hämmerte er nach einem Fast Break den Ball lediglich auf den Ring.

In der zweiten Partie des Abends unterlagen die Dallas Mavericks den Washington Wizards ebenfalls vor heimischem Publikum. Es dauerte seine Zeit bis Dirk Nowitzki (34 Punkte, neun Rebounds) seinen Schuss fand, eine gute Quote (10-25 FG) konnte er am Ende dennoch nicht zustande bringen, und doch war es ihm zu verdanken, dass das Spiel nicht schon früher aussichtslos erschien. Es ist die bekannte Story, zu sehr haben sich seine Mitspieler auf Nowitzki verlassen, ohne selbst für die notwendige Entlastung in der Offense zu sorgen.
Übrigens kann ich die Diskussion um Nowitzkis Frisur, wobei der Deutsche in den US-Basketballmedien selten gut wegkommt, nicht nachvollziehen. Haben sich die Kollegen schon mal Mike Miller genau angeguckt? Scheinbar nicht, denn der hat mit Abstand die hässlichste Matte auf dem Kopf.
Neuzugang Shawn Marion zeigte, wie wertvoll er für die Mavs im Verlauf der Saison werden könnte, aber auch wie schwer es wird zu gewinnen, wenn er es nicht schaffen sollte entsprechende Leistungen abzuliefern. Er traf seine ersten drei Würfe, war in der Defensive sehr aktiv und verhalf Dallas zu einer früheren Sechs-Punkte-Führung. Danach verloren die Mavericks ihre Führung und mussten zusehen, wie die Wizards ihren Vorsprung kontinuierlich ausbauen, all das während Marion auf dem Feld stand. 16 Punkte, sieben Rebounds und drei Blocks standen am Ende auf seinem Konto, woran sicherlich nichts auszusetzen ist, aber besser machte er die Mannschaft nur in den ersten sieben Minuten des Anfangsviertels.
Überhaupt zeigten die Mavericks vor allem in der Defense eine schwache Leistung. Zu einfach wurde es Andray Blatche (20 Punkte) und Randy Foye (19 Punkte), die beide von der Bank kamen und stark aufspielten, ein ums andere Mal gemacht. Dabei kam Foye immer wieder zu freien Schüssen, weil Dallas nicht richtig rotierte und Blatche war zu oft nach einem Backdoor-Cut anspielbar, was ihm zu leichten Punkten am Brett verhalf.
Spieler der Begegnung war aber zweifelsohne Gilbert Arenas, der in den letzten zwei Jahren nur 15 Spiele absolvierte, gegen die Mavericks aber keine Mühe hatte zu zeigen, dass er zurück ist. 29 Punkte streute er ein und teilte zusätzlich noch neun Korbvorlagen aus. Er ist nicht mehr ganz so athletisch wie vor seiner Verletzung, was keinen wundern dürfte, aber immer noch schnell genug um an den Verteidigern der Dallas Mavericks vorbeizukommen.

Die Portland Trailblazers konnten im Gegensatz zu den Cavs und Mavs einen Heimsieg feiern. Erwartungsgemäß gewannen sie gegen die Houston Rockets, die derzeit ohne echten Star auskommen müssen. Entsprechend schwer werden es die Texaner haben in der Western Conference zu bestehen. Ohne Tracy McGrady und Yao Ming fehlt bisweilen ein Go-To-Guy. Aaron Brooks nahm sich dieser Rolle an, erzielte 19 Punkte und fünf Assists, blieb aber absolut kalt von außerhalb der Dreipunktelinie (0-6 3P). Auch Ariza (12 Punkte) scorte zweistellig, aber gegen richtig gute Teams haben diese Rockets einfach nicht genug Durchschlagskraft.
Brandon Roy (20 Punkte) und Travis Outlaw (23 Punkte), der dieses Jahr bester sechster Mann werden könnte, wenn er sein Potential endlich mal ausreizt, sorgten für die entsprechende Offense bei den Blazers, während sich Greg Oden (zwölf Rebounds, fünf Blocks) der Defense Vorrang gab.

Zu guter Letzt verloren die Los Angeles Clippers ohne ihren Star-Rookie Blake Griffin das Stadtderby gegen die Los Angeles Lakers. Zur Überraschung fiel die Niederlage nicht allzu hoch aus, sieben Punkte machten am Ende den Unterschied. Hätte Baron Davis nicht gerade eine miserable Nacht erwischt, in der er ganze zwei Punkte (1-10 FG) erzielte, dann wäre vielleicht mehr drin gewesen. Kobe Bryant brachte es im Gegenzug auf 33 Punkte, acht Rebounds und vier Steals, während Andrew Bynum 26 Punkte und 13 Rebounds, eine Leistung, die dieses Jahr von ihm erwartet wird. Auch Lamar Odem war am Ende zweistellig in den Kategorien Punkte (16) und Rebounds (13), einzig Ron Artest kann keine spektakulären Zahlen vorweisen, was man bei seiner neuen Rolle im Team der Lakers auch nicht erwarten sollte. Ron Ron ist die dritte oder vierte Option in der Offense von Phil Jackson, ein Luxus, den andere Teams nicht haben.

Tonight, in many ways, is similar to what the fans of Boston experience just over a month ago, when Tom Brady made his return to the Patriots. Kevin Garnett will be stepping foot on the floor for his first regular season game since a February 19th loss to Utah.

The team is looking to pick up what they did not finish last season. Boston was 44-12 when they lost Garnett last season. The team finished with a 62-20 record, a record that is probally a few games worse than if Garnett wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

The team had key signings in the off season, the major one being Rasheed Wallace. Wallace will play a major role in helping contribute to the Big Three. He will contribute not only on the score sheet but for Wallace to come off the bench and eat up some time will help Doc Rivers to rest his starters to keep them fresh. One other signing was Marquis Daniels, a guy the team is hoping will have a James Posey type effect on the court.

My original prediction, I made back on July 11, was the Celtics would finish first in the Eastern Conference with a 70-12 record. It will not be easy but if Garnett looks anything like he did two seasons ago, with the addition of Rasheed Wallace should make this team just dominant. Regardless of the final record as long as the team has a playoff spot, there is no reason the Celts should not make their way to the Finals.

NBA 2009-2010 Preview

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Divison

1. Boston Celtics
The storyline for this past NBA offseason was that the rich got richer.  This applies most for the Boston Celtics.  Two years ago, they added forward Kevin Garnett and guard Ray Allen.  This year, they added forwards Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels.  It’s very likely that this team gets off to a red-hot start, but I’m curious to see how this aging group progresses over the duration of the season.  Most of  the basketball world is also engrossed in seeing how disgruntled point guard Rajon Rondo performs in the wake of a summer where he was the focal point in many trade rumors.

2. Toronto Raptors
Chris Bosh bulked up this offseason.  That was only four years overdue.  They signed Hedo Turkoglu to a major contract.  That was a pretty solid move if you want to spend all your money on someone who can do nothing but shoot from the outside.  The worst part about it is, he knows he can’t do anything other than shoot from the outside.  He doesn’t try to do anything other than shoot from the outside.  This team is a mess.  Chris Bosh is on his way out after this year.  The only thing keeping them in the playoff picture is the thought that maybe they can conjure up some chemistry courtesy of underrated, yet spectacular point guard Jose Calderon

3. New York Knicks
The Knicks could very well be much higher than I have listed them when playoff time rolls around.  They’ve put together a solid core of role players and, with the exception of the male version of Aretha Franklin, Eddy Curry, all have accepted their position in Mike D’Antoni’s offense.  Forward Al Harrington is capable of going off for thirty points a night.  Center David Lee is looking to prove his worth as a consistent double-double threat.  There’s no reason for this team to tank, seeing as they don’t have a first round pick next summer.  Oh.  And they want to give that LeBron guy a reason to sign with them.

4. Philadelphia 76ers
This team is flying under the radar for the 2009-10 season.  Clearly, I don’t expect much out of them.  Most other analysts don’t expect much out of them; however, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they somehow ended up in the playoff picture.  They lost point guard Andre Miller to free agency, but if this team can stay healthy (particularly the richest bed-ridden man in America, Elton Brand), the Sixers could turn some heads.

5. New Jersey Nets
Did anyone know that in order to relocate your team, you must dispose of all its talent?  I didn’t, but apparently that’s the Nets’ mentality.  Their move to Brooklyn has been impending for four years now, and each year since then, they’ve gotten progressively worse.  The only names that stand out on this team anymore are Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, and those two are hardly recognized outside of die-hard basketball fans.

Central Division

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The big news out of Cleveland this year came when the Cavs traded for “The Big Nomad,” Shaquille O’Neal.  In his initial press conference, he told the media his mission was to “Win a ring for the King,” however; LeBron James’ newfound help may come in the form of other acquisitions such as forwards JaMario Moon and Anthony Parker.  It was clear to see that this team underachieved last postseason.  This year, they’ll be on top of the Eastern Conference in the regular season, and may even possibly get the King his first ring.

2. Chicago Bulls
No one imagined the Bulls would be as good as they were last year.  Mid-season, they acquired guard John Salmons, who proved himself to be a bona fide scorer on a young, dynamic team.  This past summer, they didn’t do much to develop their team; in fact, they did nearly nothing at all other than refuse to resign guard Ben Gordon.  In not offering Gordon a contract, the Bulls assume they will improve their team chemistry as Gordon required at least twenty-five shots per game in order to be considered effective.

3. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons made some of the most useless moves professional basketball has ever seen this past season.  They spent $94 million on two guys (Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva) who are both sixth and seventh men, at best.  They freed up all their salary cap space last season by dumping their undisputed leader, Chauncey Billups, last season, and in return, all they got were two selfish, shoot-first role players.  The Pistons, like their city of origin, are a mess.

4. Indiana Pacers
This Pacer team will be dynamic.  They’ll score 120 points per night.  They’ll contend for a title.  They just won’t do it this year.  Their front office, headed by Larry Bird, is finally putting all the pieces in place.  They have a solid core of young athletes, and eventually, will be a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.  Let’s just hope none of their players get too fed up with losing and become impatient too soon, because this team will, in time, be very fun to watch.

5. Milwaukee Bucks
Their uniforms are just as ugly as their team’s chances to win twenty games

Southeast Division

1. Orlando Magic
Last season, the Magic surprised many people.  They had effective three-point shooting, devastating defenders, and a tempo that was hard to match.  When they faced the Lakers in June, however, it was apparent that they were missing a piece or two.  Whatever they lacked last season, they picked up for this season, as they traded for all-star forward Vince Carter.  Carter is someone who has always possessed the ability to create his own shot.  It will be interesting to see how he fits in, seeing as he’s never played on a team of this caliber.

2. Washington Wizards
In simple terms, the Wizards were forgotten about last season.  They were plagued by misfortunes and look to regain the success they had two seasons ago when they lost to Cleveland in the conference semi-finals.  With a healthy Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, Washington could find itself deep into the playoffs once again.  The additions of pure point guard Randy Foye and sharp shooter Mike Miller from Minnesota don’t hurt either.

3. Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have improved every year since they hired head coach Mike Woodson.  This year should be no different; however, since they’re playing in a much more competitive Southeast Division, it will be difficult for them to repeat their past successes.  Look for forward Josh Smith to be a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year Award and his frontcourt mate Marvin Williams to contend for Most Improved.

4. Miami Heat
The Miami Wades were the most predictable team in the league last year.  Either their stellar shooting guard went for thirty points or they lost.  Look for them to continue that trend as they did nothing to change their team this summer.  If once impressive forward Jermaine O’Neal can get his act together, and sophomore Michael Beasley can successfully return from his recent stint in drug rehabilitation, this team may overachieve.  Either way, it’s not likely Dwyane Wade is in the black and red of Miami past this season.

5. Charlotte Bobcats
The Bobcats missed their calling when they refused to sign Allen Iverson.  AI could have been the answer, no pun intended, to Charlotte’s problems.  Iverson has already had experience with head coach Larry Brown, and, in spite of their past problems, the former all-star is now more mature and willing to sacrifice in order to see his first championship.  Regardless, the Bobcats traded center Emeka Okafor, who simply did not fit into their offensive scheme, for the more versatile Tyson Chandler.  This team is very capable of a playoff push late into the season.

Western Conference

Northwest Division

1. Utah Jazz:
Utah is one of the most underrated teams in the NBA. Deron Williams led them to a respctable 48-34, but they’ve only grown since. Williams, along with Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur form a very powerful offense. Even if Carlos Boozer isn’t interested in playing, they an be successful without him. The big upside is, however, that Boozer is interested in signing somewhere, so when he plays he will do well.

2. Denver Nuggets
Last year, Carmelo Anthony put his name int a conversation that included LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Oh how quickly we forget. ‘Mello will definately be in the mix again this season, but we aren;t sure if the Nuggets got much better. Chauncey Billups and K-Mart add depth to that scoring. There are just too many teams growing where Denver isn’t… And that’s why they’ll lose their hold on the number one spot.

3. Portland Trailblazers
Even if last year was considered a dissappointment, it was a stepping stone. Their very young lineup learned what it’s like to win. The Trailblazers added Andre Miller to the LaMarcus Aldridge/Brandon Roy combination. That move alone could put the Blazers in contention. Add that to a healthy and more agressive Greg Odom, and Portland is starting to look like a team. Put Odom on your list for most improved player this season.

4. Oaklahoma City Thunder
Oaklahoma City has done well considering their situation. However, they are young and inexperienced. Kevin Durant puts on a good show for fans every night, and rookie James Harden has all the potential in the world. If they keep improving, they may even mae the playoffs in a year or two. Look for the Thunder to keep it exciting this year – they will be that “close but no cigar” team all season.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves
If their offseason was any indication, Minnesota isn’t going far. Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington may pan out in the long run but it’s hard to see anything but big names with no chemistry. The Ricky Rubio disaster is just a distraction for fans. There is some hope – picking up Ramon Sessions was a definate upgrade.

Southwest Division

1. San Antonio Spurs:
San Antonio needed to add a missing piece. Antonio McDyess needed a place to land. Both got a big break. Getting McDyess to compliment Tony Parker was a great idea. DeJuan Blair was a bad pickup, and he won’t have enough playing time to even matter. Parker, Tim Duncan, and Richard Jefferson are going to prove that they have this team in their hands… Especially because they may only have a year or two to do it.

2. New Orleans Hornets:
Chris Paul is a one-ma recking crew, and he alone can make or break the Hornets.  CP3 is the best point guard in the league, but it’s just not enough to win a championship. Paul won’t benefit from losing his better half in Tyson Chandler, but someone in the front office must like Emeka Okafor. If Okafor is a bust, Paul still has David West to dish off to. Even with the miscues built in, New Orleans is still ahead of most in the Southwest division.

3. Dallas Mavericks:
With the baby momma problems behind him, Dirk Nowitzki is in the spot light. Ultimately, his successes will make the Mavericks great again. Jason Kidd is too old to be considered a factor, but that difference can be made up if Josh Howard steps up his game from last year. Drew Gooden and Shawn Marion make excellent additions, but the Mavs will still be perennial underachievers. Maybe this year someone will duct tape Mark Cuban’s mouth shut.

4. Houston Rockets:
Houston just doesn’t have what it takes. Adding Trevor Ariza was a good start, but he can only do so much for a team that needs so much more help. And don’t be mistaken, he is not a number one scoring machine. Yao Ming is still out, and Tracy McGrady begins this year injured, so as of right now there’s not one player who averaged over 15 points per game last season.

5. Memphis Grizzlies
Mephis sis the most to assure that they would be competitive this seasn, but they ended up with too big of a personality pool. The Allen Iverson experiment should be the least of their concerns. OJ Mayo is explosive, but not mature enough to run a team, and Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph are way to inconsistant to help out. Don’t be fooled into thinking Hasheem Thabeet is the answer… He isn’t designed for offense at all.

Pacific Division

1. L.A. Lakers:
You want to know how good the Lakers are? Just look at their starting five. Derek Fischer, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and new aquisition Ron Artest may be the best lineup in the league. They are so good, they have Lamar Odom on the bench! The 2009 champions aren’t relying on Kobe anymore; instead they are giving him many more options. In such a lame division, the Lakers take it easily.

2. Phoenix Suns:
The Suns showed some signs of life towards the end of last year, but they lost Shaq in the offseason. As much as he horses around, Shaq is an important part of play on both sides of the ball. Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire will continue to be a great duo, but outside of them the team looks bleak. Grant Hill is aging, and this year he may start showing it. They did muster the number one offense in the league, so they cant be that bad can they? Just good enough for second place.

3. Golden State Warriors:
Out of the three bottom feeding teams in this division, the Warriors have the most room to grow. Their lineup is young and now supplemented with Stephen Curry. The key is getting the kids to grow up together, instead of in their own seperate ways. They do have the potential to put up some poins, but defense will kill them in the end.

4. L.A. Clippers:
Blake Griffen won’t fix this team, but he sure can try. Behind Eric Gordon and Al Thornton, the Clippers offense seems recharged. Griffen should help them capitalize on those missed shots. This season will be a success if they hit 30 wins.

5. Sacremento Kings:
Yes, they drafted well. But the Kings needed more thank Tyreke Evans to make themselves a contender. Evans and Kevin Martin still won’t let the Kings be better than mediocre.

The Boston Celtics are the greatest franchise in the history of The Association. Bar none. Take a gander at this list of former Celtics players who are now enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:

1. Bill Russel
2. Bob Cousey
3. Frank Ramsey
4. John Havlicek
5. Sam Jones
6. Larry Bird
7. Kevin McHale
8. Robert Parrish

The list reads like a who’s who of the greatest players ever in the history of the game of basketball.

Despite falling on hard times earlier in the decade, the Celtics have returned to their characteristic Championship form. Aided by General Manager Danny Ainge’s penchant for blockbuster deals, the Celtics nearly swapped their entire roster for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, who teamed with Paul Pierce to bring the 2008 NBA Championship back to Boston.

Entering 2009 with the dubious title of defending champions, the Celtics held their own during the regular season, finishing with a 62-20 record despite losing Kevin Garnett for much of the season’s final stretch. The injury to Garnett was too much for the C’s to overcome, and the defending champs bowed out of the postseason with a loss to Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was evident that the Celtics were not in championship form and were missing Garnett when the upstart Bulls pushed them to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

Now that Garnett has fully recovered from knee surgery, and with the addition of Rasheed Wallace, the Celtics look to be back at full strength.

In addition to Wallace, the Celtics also acquired forward Shelden Williams and guard Marquis Daniels during the Eastern Conference arms-race that was the 2009 offseason. Williams, a former first-round pick, was acquired to make up for the loss of versatile forward Leon Powe to the Cavs.

The starting line-up for Boston mirrors last season; Rajon Rondo-PG, Ray Allen-SG, Paul Pierce-SF, Kevin Garnett-PF, Kendrick Perkins-C.

Offseason rumors have swirled around Rajon Rondo and his negative attitude. Maturity is the only thing keeping the former Kentucky star from superstardom. Considering his Oscar Robertson-like numbers in the playoffs last year, he could lead the team in scoring.

Age is also a big issue in Bean Town; Pierce, Garnett, Allen, and Wallace are all aging players. How much gas do they have left in the tank? The addition of Wallace will help increase the Longevity of Kevin Garnett given that Rasheed is a more than capable back-up. However, the addition of Rasheed will likely lead to a decrease in court-time for Glen Davis, who held his own as Garnett’s replacement.

The Celtics, give their depth, are all but assured a 60-win season. It seems unlikely, considering the Celtics were 41-9 when Garnett went down the first time that they would win less than 60 games this season. A top-three seed in the Eastern Conference,  the Celtics will, barring any major injuries, probably advance to the conference finals, and no one will betting against this team in the NBA Finals.

Oh yeah, no one is betting against this guy in the NBA Finals either.

A thing of beauty.

Ok. Let us hack away at probable minutes for the starters and reserves to see if we can make some sense out of this. We’ll also assume that this is how the first couple of months SHOULD shape up if all goes according to plan (read: no one gets hurt). The importance of Doc playing regulator with the minutes is beyond explanation: we have aging legs that need to be kept in check during the regular season in order to ensure rest for the long haul of the playoffs.

Every minute that a bench player is on the floor is an additional minute of rest for our veteran starters. Not only do we give the reserves a chance to develop more and build fluid cohesion in their play, but we prevent the fatal compression of minutes by our starters in the middle of games. Additional minutes saved now will reward us with allowable minutes for the postseason.

This could get confusing, but I’m pretty sure this is the best way of looking at where minutes can go:

• 48 shared minutes at point guard
• 48 shared minutes at off guard
• 48 shared minutes at small forward
• 96 shared minutes at the 4/5 spots (easier to combine these positions)

At the point guard position:

• Rondo gets 40 of the 48 minutes (Rondo is ready for this kind of mileage)
• TA/Scal gets 8 of the 48 minutes (TA/Scal won’t play PG, but they’ll get the 8 leftover minutes and be on the floor)

At the shooting guard position:

• Ray gets 34 of the 48 minutes (Would Ray’s minutes increase IF he is healthy and the front office has no intentions of re-signing him?)
• Eddie gets 14 of the 48 minutes (Eddie could see more minutes if he takes some of the PG reserve minutes)

The new additions.

At the small forward position:

• Pierce gets 32 of the 48 minutes (would love to even see him at 30 minutes per game and thus giving Quisy an additional 2 minutes)
• Quisy gets 16 of the 48 minutes (even though Quisy will be playing the 3 spot, we know he’ll be handling the ball)

At the 4/5 positions:

• Perk gets 32 of the 96 minutes (this could be more than he’ll really get; I could see his PT being in the 30 minute range, which would afford a couple of extra minutes for Sheed and Baby)
• KG gets 26 of the 96 minutes (26 seems reasonable: just more than half the game; but if games are out of reach or a blowout, and it’s clear what the outcome will be, I’d love to see his time reduced earlier on)
• Sheed gets 19 of the 96 minutes (would love to see him get more minutes, but where do the minutes come from?)
• Baby gets 19 of the 96 minutes (would love to see him also get more minutes, but again, where do the minutes come from?)

I don’t see JR/Billy seeing many minutes unless we have players in foul trouble or there are injuries.
Lester and Shelden shouldn’t see much of anything unless there are injuries (they won’t make the active 12-man roster if everyone is healthy).

Ok. Crazy things to think about. We have the flexibility to put a freakishly awesome mix of starters and reserves on the floor. Let’s think about line up potentials:

Consistent starters:

• Rondo, Ray, Pierce, KG, Perk

Consistent 2nd unit:

• Quisy (playing 3, handling the ball), TA/Scal, 3ddi3, Baby, Sheed

Mix of starters and reserves (middle of the 2nd quarter, end of the 3rd quarter, start of the 4th quarter, etc.):

• Rondo, Ray, Quisy, Baby, Perk
• Quisy, Ray, Pierce, KG, Sheed
• Rondo, Pierce, Quisy, KG, Sheed
• Quisy, 3ddi3, Pierce, Baby, Sheed
• Rondo, Pierce, KG, Sheed, Perk

Oh my god. My head is spinning. Is yours?

What are we seeing here? An UNBELIEVABLE mix of units on the floor at any given time. I am crying for Doc to mix up playeres in games to make matchup nightmares for opposing teams. We have the possibility to make other teams weep in their uniforms in the middle of the floor after coming out of a huddle. The five guys on the floor can go from speedy athletic (Rondo, Ray, Quisy, KG, Sheed), to powerhouse strong (Quisy, Ray, Pierce, Sheed, Perk), to a hybrid of each (Rondo, Quisy, Pierce, KG, Sheed).

The minutes matter. The minutes matter. The minutes matter. I’ll say it again: the minutes freakin’ matter! With these many lineup possibilities, we can prevent over-use and allow guys to rest. I’m envisioning a free-flowing bench that gets comfortable playing with any mix of starters on the floor. Am I crazy in thinking this? Hopefully not.

1… 2… 3… Ubuntu.

Ubuntu. All up in ya face.

Binky!

It’s been a strange last couple of months for my life in blogging.
Really strange.

I felt like I mirrored the cycle of a real basketball player in his 12-year professional career in just 12 weeks:

• I built my resume here at Loscy from the spring until the early days of summer.
• During the NBA off-season (and blogging off-season), I shopped myself around in the free agency market. I was offered a position as lead blogger/writer/editor for a a legitimate blog as part of a blog network. I was stoked to receive the offer and was excited about the possibilities of being on a stage to showcase my talents.
• As I was riding the wave of a big new deal with this big new blog, I realized that I sold myself out. I didn’t like everything that I wrote. I didn’t like the idea of volume over quality. I didn’t like the turnover and speed that was necessary to maintain the blog. I wasn’t getting to savor the taste of a well-written post. I didn’t like the kind of blogger I was becoming.
• I got out. I settled and “bought out my contract” for the betterment of every party involved.
• I then shopped my services around, yet again, but this time to the bigger Celtic blogs. Basically I was begging for work. I was like a veteran trying to get a spot on some roster. Any roster. I would find a reduced role (from lead blogger to guest writer) to be part of a winning team.– a championship caliber team.
• An offer came and I almost bit… but I turned it down.

I decided that I still had fresh young legs under me. I wanted my original team to build around me, instead of demanding to be moved. I had the motivation, the energy, abilities, and wisdom to reclaim my career in Celtics blogging. I needed to return to Loscy. Loscy is home, and home was calling.

I took a hometown discount to return back to my roots. To revitalized my career. To try again.

I’m here to stay this time.

Truth looks like he's got a second Finals MVP trophy to take home this season.

As Media Day has come and gone, as the first day of pre-season has kicked off, we are left with many of the same questions we had before the 2009 Draft:

1. Who will be our back up for Pierce?
2. Who will be our back up for Ray?
3. Who will be our back up for Rondo?
4. Is KG really okay?
5. Is there a possibility that ‘Sheed could start?
6. Will our aging vets make it until June of 2010?

Here are my answers:

Green is definitely his color.

1. It doesn’t matter.
2. It doesn’t matter.
3. It doesn’t matter.
4. It doesn’t matter.
5. It doesn’t matter.
6. It doesn’t matter.

Here is what does matter:

• We will have a healthy starting 5 come late October.
• We have Rasheed Wallace as a possible 6th Man. Let me say that again: Rasheed Wallace will most likely be our 6th Man for this season. Can you say Bill Walton circa 1986? Yeah, me too.
• We have a capable swingman in Quisy that can not only handle the ball, but slash to the hoop to compliment Eddie’s perimeter game AND play solid defense.
• We re-signed Baby which will turn into one of the best signings of our off-season.
• We have depth in our front-court (no more thanking every deity in every denomination that Scal “isn’t” in foul trouble like we did in the ORL series)
• We still have options within Billy Walker, JR Giddens, and Lester Hudson to fill random holes.
• Rondo put on 11 pounds of muscle and his attitude is just screaming WIN WIN WIN to prove he’s worthy of many years and zeros on his next contract.
• And most importantly, as of right now, our aging vets (Ray, Pierce, and KG) look fresh, happy, and ready to take f*ckin names at the door.

Offer up 5 for $58 million, Danny. Just do it.

I feel more at home right now than I have during the last few months as I played blogger journeyman.

I know that ‘Sheed, Quisy, Shelden, and Lester will feel just at home like our Usual Suspects as the team comes together and prepares for the long road ahead. What’s even more promising? Rondo could be home in Boston for another 10 years.

It’s good to be home.
–

Need more?

Celtics Media Day Pictures
Celtics Interviews After Day 1 of Camp

Kevin Garnett learned one major thing sitting and watching his team go out in the second round of last year’s playoffs: he doesn’t want to sit and watch anymore.

“It wasn’t pleasant for me at all to watch,” he said at Monday’s Celtics media day. “None of the basketball we played that I had to sit and watch was pleasant for me. I did it. I sat on the side because my teammates wanted me to sit on the bench, but other than that it was pretty excruciating.”

Probably more excruciating than the pain in his right knee, the pain that lingered throughout the season and shut him down, leading to May surgery that removed bone spurs.

He’s back now, and joined the other members of the Big Three – Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – at the podium to meet the press Monday. The trio had, of course, been together since Garnett stopped playing, but this time they were there as an active threesome.

In case you’ve forgotten, the Celtics, the recipients of some serious insider trading (didn’t Martha Stewart go to jail for this kind of thing?) by former star Kevin McHale, rode Garnett’s talented shoulders to the 2008 NBA title, the 17^th in the storied history of the franchise, the first since 1986.

Then came last year, when the Celts survived an overtime-filled first round against Chicago, then succumbed to Orlando in the second round. C’s coach Doc Rivers said Monday he told his players the Lakers were the best team in the league because they had beaten Boston twice with Garnett but you know, down deep, these guys would have loved the shot fully loaded.

Now, they have that shot. They went out and signed Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels. They kept Big Baby Davis. They lost Leon Powe, who signed with a stacked Cleveland team that also added Shaquille O’Neal.

And the Celtics got Garnett back.

“I’m excited, man. I’m excited,” Garnett said Monday.

“Better than anything, I’m playing without any pain, which is something that I haven’t had for quite some time now, so I’m looking forward to it.”

And title No. 18? The banners of the other 17 hang high on the walls at the practice facility. So do the retired numbers. But there also a blank banner hanging, the clear message for this year.

“I don’t know where that came from. It’s just there,” said Rivers. “That’s all I’m going to say. The players will know the meaning. Obviously, it’s an obvious meaning. It’s a little bit more than that but it’s an obvious meaning. I’ll just leave it at that.”

He wouldn’t admit hanging it. “It’s just there,” he said. “Red (late Celtics patriarch Auerbach) did it. Blame it on Red.”

“The teams that beat us, the team that won the championship (the Lakers), we want that feeling back,” said Allen. “Whether you call it humbled or just losing long a little bit, we want to grow that back and build who we are, grow the Celtics back to where we were a year prior.”

Said Garnett: “I think last year did one thing for us. If anything it humbled us. It showed team is everything, not one or two players can get things done. I’m eager to see how we come in, our minds and how we all are, in camp.”

NEWS ITEM: Bruins open NHL season

They had 116 points last year, most in the Eastern Conference, and won a playoff series for the first time since 1999, but the Bruins were eliminated, on home ice, by Carolina in the second round.

Thursday night, Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps are in town to open the new season.

Did the Bruins do much in the offseason? Yeah, they traded Phil Kessel, a 36-goal scorer, who wanted out and was shipped to Toronto only recently for three high draft picks. They also dealt a character guy – but oft-injured – Aaron Ward back to Carolina. They signed defenseman Derek Morris to a one-year contract – the $3.3 million probably too much – and brought in Steve Begin to replace Stephane Yelle as the fourth-line center.

But write this down – this team will be good.

Replacing Kessel’s goals won’t be easy, but the Bruins weren’t thrilled with his work ethic. Marco Sturm (28 goals two years ago) and Patrice Bergeron (expected to play better and more offensively in his second full year back from a serious head injury) should help pick up the slack. Young players like David Krejci and Milan Lucic continue to get better.

Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara anchors a capable defense (they probably still need more puck movement from back there) and Vezina winner Tim Thomas now has Tuukka Rask as his backup.

Oh, and then there’s the guy behind the bench – Montreal and New Jersey, two teams that haven’t done anything special since he left – both clearly knew what they were doing when they fired Claude Julien.

The guy can coach!

Because of the Olympics, the NHL pushed its schedule up. That allows the Bruins to open with five straight games at home, rather than making the October circus trip that normally starts the season.

The best sports videos are at www.fandome.com

By Peter F. Stringer
Celtics.com
September 4, 2009

WALTHAM – It’s nothing new for a press conference to start late, and really it should be no surprise since we’ve been hearing talk of Marquis Daniels coming to the Celtics for the better part of the last two months.

So on the Friday morning before Labor Day, with most of New England looking to skip town, Daniels finally arrived, meeting the press well after 11:30, more than 90 minutes after the meet and greet was originally slated to start.

“It was very long, pretty much all summer. My agent kept telling me, ‘Don’t worry about it’,” Daniels said, when asked why this deal dragged on seemingly all summer long. “I had other situations where I could have made more money but I wanted to be a part of a winning franchise.”

Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge told reporters that Daniels is a guy he’s been tracking since “his first summer league game,” and noted that Head Coach Doc Rivers is also a long-time fan of Daniels’ game. Along those lines, Daniels said the idea of him first joining the Celtics came up early this summer when he ran into Doc Rivers in Orlando, where both make their homes in the offseason.

Daniels also mentioned that he’s tight with recently acquired big man Rasheed Wallace.

When asked what he expected Daniels to bring to the table, Ainge emphasized the 6′6″ guard’s versatility, saying that his presence would give Rivers multiple options off the bench.

“We’re really excited about having him on our team. He brings a great deal of versatility to our team,” Ainge said. “[He] brings experience and character to our team. He can handle the ball, score, defend multiple positions. I can see him playing with big lineups, being a backup point, and I could also see him playing small forward in small ball.”

Daniels certainly knows his role, and talked at length today about spelling Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. He noted how grueling the Celtics first round series with the Bulls truly was, and how he will be able to provide a lift off the bench, as well as give the starters a rest this season.

“I just want to come in and help. You want me to play the 1, 2, or 3, whatever it is. I’ll just come in to help,” Daniels said. As for the moves made by Cleveland and others, and they relate to the Celtics hopes of another NBA title, Daniels said, “A lot of [teams] made moves, but I like our chances right now.”

And while training camp officially starts at the end of September, much like the summer of 2007, guys are already congregating in Waltham and getting ready for that very title run Daniels is suggesting. Ainge reported that Wallace has been in “at 8 am the last couple of days” and mentioned Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis, J.R. Giddens and Lester Hudson as being regulars in Waltham as of late.

“They’re starting to creep in next week after Labor Day,” Ainge said.

As for the title window that everyone talks about with regard to the age of the Celtics’ superstar core, Ainge said that his team is positioned to make championship runs in the next two years.

“That’s kind of our mindset right now,” Ainge said. “I’m not sure what the window is exactly, but we do feel like we’re a team that has a great chance to win a championship over the next couple of years.”

Donnie Walsh ist zuversichtlich, dass Nate Robinson und David Lee auch in der kommenden Saison für die Knicks spielen werden.  Es gehe voran, teilte Walsh den New York Daily News gestern in einem Interview mit. Nach Angaben der Zeitung, könne Lee $ 7 Millionen in der nächsten Spielzeit verdienen und Robinson $ 5 Millionen.

Ricky Rubio wird hingegen definitiv nicht in der NBA Spielen, zumindest nicht in den kommenden zwei Jahren. Die Timberwolves befanden sich in Verhandlungen mit den Knicks, der Rubio in einem Trade in den Big Apple schicken können, aber Rubios Entscheidung steht fest, er bleibt in Spanien und wird sich das Trikot von Regal Barcelona überstreifen, dem Club, bei dem auch Juan Carlos Navarro unter Vertrag steht. Im Gegensatz zu den NBA Teams konnte Barcelona Rubio aus seinem Vertrag für $ 5 Millionen raus kaufen.

Die Boston Celtics haben einen neuen Spieler verpflichtet. Marquis Daniels, der letzte Saison für die Indiana Pacers spielte, unterschrieb einen Einjahresvertrag im Wert von etwas unter $ 2 Millionen. Die Celtics hatten versucht ihn via Sign-and-Trade zu verpflichten, um ihm einen besseren Vertrag anbieten zu können, doch dies scheiterte. Daniels hingegen hatte andere Optionen, zieht es jedoch vor, für einen Titelanwärter an den Start zu gehen. Geld ist eben doch nicht alles. Daniels kam 2008-09 in 54 Spielen für die Pacers durchschnittlich auf 13,6 Punkte und 4,6 Rebounds.

We had some minor surprises in round one yesterday: Kevin Durant taken with the third pick, indicating just how highly some fantasy heads think of the young fella, and Dwight Howard selected in the first round, taking to task the conventional wisdom that his free-throw shooting and turnovers are too abominable to overcome.

As the draft goes on, and the choices become harder, we’ll no doubt see some far more significant surprises.

Fantasy notes: we’re working with a 12-team, head-to-head league, playing with standard categories.

13. The Funston Freaks: Andre Iguodala | Philadelphia 76ers

Y’know, I’d consider Calderon here, but his 2nd most positively-impacting category (free-throw shooting) would be wasted on a team with Dwight Howard. So, Iguodala it is, a multi-stat sure thing.

Importantly, he’s durable — in the past three seasons, he’s missed just six games. And as the focal point of a developing 76ers squad, Andre will continue racking up points, dimes, and boards.
Only drawback? He’s shot at 72% from the stripe the past two seasons. But that’s exactly what drew me to him. I’m going to punt that category so hard stattracker will cry.

2008-09: 82 games played | 18.8 points | 5.7 rebounds | 5.3 assists | 47.3% field-goal | 72.4% free-throw | 1.0 threes | 1.6 steals | 0.4 blocks | 2.7 turnovers

14. John Hollinger’s W.A.S.S.U.P System: Chris Bosh | Toronto Raptors

With Brandon Roy an effective 5-cat start in either the PG or SG position, it’s probably advisable to take a quality big to pair him with.

With Bosh still on the board this late, you don’t really have a choice — his consistent 20-10 game comes with the bonus of an .800FT clip, and he’ll generally bring a steal and a block to the party. While he doesn’t have the mouth-watering FG% of Amar’e, who’s still available, he also doesn’t have the injury gamble. Not to mention it’s a contract year.

2008-09: 77 games played | 22.7 points | 10.0 rebounds | 2.5 assists | 48.7% field-goal | 81.7% free-throw | 0.2 threes | 0.9 steals | 1.0 blocks | 2.3 turnovers

15. The Buss Family All-Star Band: Amar’e Stoudemire | Phoenix Suns

I was considering Amar’e at #10 for this team, and would almost select him ahead of Nowitzki at #7. He’s the perfect big man to pair with Deron Williams for this team.

The fact he’s fallen to here obviously highlights that there are concerns about his ludicrously frightening eye injury. However, with a re-upped Steve Nash, a contract year and a mooted return to the seven-seconds-or-less era, Amar’e could represent top-5 value this year.

2008-09: 53 games played | 21.4 points | 8.1 rebounds | 2.0 assists | 53.9% field-goal | 83.5% free-throw | 0.1 threes | 0.9 seals | 1.1 blocks | 2.8 turnovers

16. Andrew Bynom Nom Noms: Devin Harris | New Jersey Nets

With Al-Jeff locking up the big man stats, it’s time to cement some dimes, and Devin’ll help that.

The fact he’ll be the undisputed go-to guy in Jersey should only help the cause; he’ll be forced into scoring more, and dishing more, with nearly every possession run through him. He dropped off at the tail-end of 2008-09, but we can chalk that up to injury issues. Bonus: His 1.7 steals will nicely complement Jefferson’s 1.7 blocks.

2008-09: 69 games played | 21.3 points | 3.4 rebounds | 6.9 assists | 43.8% field-goal | 82.0% free-throw | 0.9 threes | 1.7 steals | 0.2 blocks | 3.1 turnovers

17. On Grounds Of Vinsanity: Chauncey Billups | Denver Nuggets

I’m glad at this point that someone else gambled on Harris, who will likely up his injury risk (as well as is numbers) by being almost the only Net who can attack the basket.

But after picking up Gasol, this team needs a solid 1-man and Billups is the guy. He proved last season that he’s running Denver now, with his 2+ treys and 6+ dimes from last season also coming with a ludicrous 91%FT (on 5 attempts). His game log will attest that he barely has a night off and will sporadically explode.

2008-09: 77 games played | 17.9 points | 3.0 rebounds | 6.4 asssists | 42.0% field-goal | 91.3% free-throw | 2.1 threes | 1.2 steals | 0.2 blocks | 2.3 turnovers

18. Mark Cuban Missile Crisis: Steve Nash | Phoenix Suns

The conventional wisdom of PGs and bigs seems to be prevailing in this draft, so I’m going to go with the unfavoured Nash. He’s one of the best conditioned athletes and, as much as we expect it every year, never seems to slow down. I’m also partial to pairing him with old sparring partner, Dirk Nowitzki, so I can use [this photo] as my team’s profile picture.

2008-09: 74 games played | 15.7 points | 3.0 rebounds | 9.7 assists | 50.3% field-goal | 93.3% free-throw | 1.5 threes | 0.7 steals | 0.1 blocks | 3.4 turnovers

19. Facilitatin’ With Mr. Wallace: Josh Smith | Atlanta Hawks

Granger nearly does it all; blocks, steals, nails threes, boards, scores in bunches, but doesn’t dime. So while it may seem odd to pair him with Smith — another stat dilettante who wouldn’t pass the ball with a gun to his head — I’m viewing it as securing two of the most versatile, across-the-board players in the game.

Smith was a busted potato for much of last year, but his work in 07-08 (17 and 8, with 2.8 blocks and 1.5 steals) shows just how dangerous he can be. His poor free-throw work is made up for by Granger’s stunning 89% clip.

2008-09: 69 games played | 15.6 points | 7.2 rebounds | 2.5 assists | 49.2% field-goal | 58.8% free-throw | 0.4 threes | 1.4 steals | 1.6 blocks | 2.3 turnovers

20. That’s My Power Forward! That’s My Teammate!: Jose Calderon | Toronto Raptors

So we’ve taken an all-cat stud in Kobe and it would be tempting to go with a big here, but Calderon’s near-flawless spread is too tempting. Out-of-this world %’s from a guard (50%+ from the field and a ludicrous 98% from the line) should continue, while his 9 dimes and 1+ triple/steal from last season will likely drop off with the versatile Turkoglu in the line-up, but not too greatly. Plus, with barely 2 TO’s a game, he’s error-lite as an elite guard.

2008-09: 68 games played | 12.8 points | 2.9 rebounds | 8.9 assists | 49.7% field-goal | 98.1% free-throw | 1.2 threes | 1.1 steals | 0.1 blocks | 2.1 turnovers