Boston Celtics

By By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LeBron James scored 33 points and barely missed a triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat visiting Boston for the second time this season, downing the Celtics, 114-113, on Tuesday night. James added 12 assists, 9 rebounds and 5 steals to pace the Cavaliers, who improved to 15-4 sin...

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Sam Cassell should retire and join the Celtics coaching staff. He didn't work out as hoped last season and so if he wants to play another season, hopefully it will be elsewhere. The starting point guard spot is solidly filled with Rajon Rondo, but Danny needs to address the back up. Gabe Pruitt is looking strong in the Celtics' mini camp and I think he will be able to fill the back up point guard spot. For insurance, the Celtics also should re-sign Eddie House. House can back up both guard spots and if not needed at the point, he is a great shooter and could fill in for Ray at the 2. Also, he also is fully indoctrinated into ubuntu. He never complained when his minutes were severely cut in the playoffs and when he was called on, he came up big.   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) ESPN the Magazine has a great article on the Celtics second round pick, Bill Walker. It really makes you want to pull for this guy. Just as with Leon Powe, his promise was curtailed by injuries. Hopefully, Walker's story will have as good a result as Powe's has so far. (hat tip to Mon on CelticsBlog for pointing this out). Here is a a little taste of what the article has to say: Late in Kansas State's loss to Oregon in November, Bill Walker hustled downcourt, head turned back toward the ball, arm raised in the air. He looked like Randy Moss in Oakland, eyes wide and pleading. When the ball never came, Walker stared at the floor and pursed his lips in frustration. It wasn't the first time the play and the game had seemed to go on without him.   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Herald Celtics deny Corey Maggette offer FL's Take: I think the Celtics can go with Pruitt as back up and Eddie House as third point guard. He can back up the 2 and play point if needed. Pruitt should be able to back up Rondo. Celtics host rookie free agent camp Red's Army In appreciation of Ray Allen In appreciation of Rajon Rondo Sports of Boston Celtics four point play Lakers Live Lakers small forward questions Las Vegas Nightlife Network NBA champion Ray Allen at Wet Republic NECN Davis deal may affect the Celtics Lex Nihil Novi Lakers need another Gasol-like theft Where do the 2008 Celtics rank? Celtics 17 July coming in like a lion UWeekly Ten questions following the NBA draft ESPN Supersonics, Seattle reach last minute settlement   [read the full post]

Boston's police commissioner is asking for an independent review into the death of a man who stopped breathing while being arrested on the night the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship. Twenty-two-old David Woodman died Sunday, 11 days after police say they spotted him drinking fro...

Boston police seek review of Celtics fan’s death - MSNBC

Investigation launched into death of Celtics fan - Arizona Daily Star

More: ESPN | Boston Globe | wggb.com | topix.net | NBA for MyFox Boston | My Freeze | county29.net

Boston’s police commissioner is asking for an independent review into the death of a man who stopped breathing while being arrested on the night the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship.

Boston police seek a review of Celtics fan's death - ESPN

Investigation launched into death of Celtics fan - Arizona Daily Star

More: FOXSports.com | Boston Globe | wggb.com | topix.net | NBA for MyFox Boston | My Freeze | county29.net

By Associated Press BOSTON -- Boston's police commissioner is asking for an independent review into the death of a man who stopped breathing while being arrested on the night the Boston ...

Boston police seek review of Celtics fan’s death - MSNBC

Investigation launched into death of Celtics fan - Arizona Daily Star

More: FOXSports.com | Boston Globe | wggb.com | topix.net | NBA for MyFox Boston | My Freeze | county29.net

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) 60 Bobby Brown - A 6'2" point guard who ranks 17th in overseas free agents according to Draft Express. He is 23 years old and played in Germany last season averaging 16 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, and 1.0 spg. 68 David Hawkins - 6'4" guard who played college ball at Temple from 2000-2004. He played in the USBL and CBA before going to Italy for the 2004-05 season and has been playing there since. He averaged 10.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 1.9 apg for Lottomatica Roma last season. 75 Lawrence Roberts - 6'9" PF who played college basketball for 4 years at Mississippi State. He was the 25th pick in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft. He played 2 years for Memphis from '05-07 and averaged 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds. He didn't play last season. Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Herald Celtics make offer to James Posey A new deal on Doc-ket Globe Celtics extend offer to Maggette Meet the Celtics' rookies photo gallery Walker Hopes To Get Healthy and Earn Spot with Celtics CelticsBlog Danny stays busy Celtics hang banner at practice facility Celtics have the Midas touch LA Times Lakers interested in Posey and Barry FL's Take: Danny can afford to take a gamble with this draft and if it pays off, Danny will look like a genius. Offsides Chris Andersen visits Boston Fox Sports All time team, Boston Celtics Detroit Free Press Pistons interested in Celtics' forward Posey Can Danny? Get Carter BetUs Celtics favored over Lakers to repeat Herald News Ainge hopes to work his magic again Metro Celtics make offer to Posey   [read the full post]

“My Dream Came True” - RedsArmy.com

 - In Boston on NBA opening night, Pitino's youthful Celtics are pitted against Michael Jordan and the dominant team of the '90s, his Chicago Bulls. ... Ping-Pong Injustice Newsweek all 2 news articles

  Mass. - Jul 1, 2008 With our team right now, we have a lot of people that want to come play for the Boston Celtics. So that's a good thing. These (draftees) really haven't ...

Giddens not at minicamp - Boston Globe

Giddens arrives for camp with Celtics - topix.net

Celtics draft picks set for first camp with team - Boston.com

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Herald James Posey chooses free agency over C’s Globe Posey is Celtics' top target MetroWest Daily Celtics: Posey opts for free agency LOY's Place Looking for a free agent point guard? NBA.com USA Basketball and Nike Announce Five-Part Documentary Series Blake's take on 2008 draft Red's Army In appreciation of Kendrick Perkins Can Danny? Draft 2008: the Atlantic division MLive Detroit plans to be careful in free agency OC Register James Posey opts out of contract - Lakers next? Northstar Basketball The Coffin Corner Modest idea for the Celtics Celtics 17 Post Draft: Ainge finds NBA ready guys Fox Sports Draft grading a joke AFP Lakers make offers to Turiaf and Vujacic LA Times Draft puts wrap on a fine season for NBA, Lakers   [read the full post]

Opinion: Fiddlin' and Diddlin' - Daily Links 6/9 - LOY's PLACE a celtics green

Opinion: Today’s Links 6/9 - Celtics247.com

 United States - The Celtics pull a rabbit out of their hats (actually two — Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen) and go from one of the worst teams in the NBA to a record 17th NBA ...

 United States - By Laurel J. Sweet For the third time in four years, a young sports fan has died in connection with Boston’s now notorious post-championship celebrations. ...

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) One of the positions the Celtics will be looking to address in this off season is the back up point guard position. They signed Sam Cassell last season but he didn't work out as we had hoped. I don't see Sam coming back. Eddie House was the back up point for most of the season as well as in the finals and he is a free agent. I like Eddie and hope they re-sign him for next season. But even if they do, he can back up Ray Allen at the shooting guard position so as not to over play him in the regular season and we may still be looking for a point guard. Jason Williams 6'1" 8.8 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.2 spg 28.1 mpg Sebastian Telfair 6'0" 9.3 ppg, 5.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 28.1 mpg Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]   [read the full post]

By Kerry Skemp A Celtics fan hospitalized after the win has died. [WBZTV] People are learning to ride bikes even in their old age. [Globe] Boston isn't getting enough qualified police recruits. [Herald]

New York Knicks- Of course, the Knicks fans booed the pick. The pick was Danilo Gallinari who has the potential to be great, but guys like Andrea Bargnani make you think other wise. The Knicks have a new coach, new president but same ego-filled team.

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Herald Celtics select J.R. Giddens with 30th pick in NBA draft Ainge again busy late Celtics draft choices LOY's Place Celtics pick JR Giddens at 30 Danny gets 2 players in second round Celtics 17 Celtics get wings at draft Hoopsworld Biggest draft night losers Big night in the NBA Team report: JR Giddens Red's Army In appreciation of Leon Powe Draft night wrap up Bloomberg Winning isn't everything: Celtics grab the ring, Knicks the money The Republican UMass guard Gary Forbes doesn't get call in NBA draft Enterprise Celtics roll the dice on Giddens CelticsNews Celtics acquire Giddens and Walker in 2008 draft BostonSportZ Paul Pierce on Kimmel Giddens at NBA pre-draft camp New Celtics' biographies   [read the full post]

By Michael Femia At the top of the draft, where the Celtics were happy not to be, the Bulls took Derrick Rose #1 and Miami took Michael Beasley #2. (Bill Simmons' draft diary has much to say about that pick.) Minnesota took troubled youth O.J. Mayo third, then traded him to Memphis in a multi-player deal which inc...

By noreply@blogger.com (BP) 28 Memphis - JJ Hickson from NC State. The Grizzlies won't be short on power forwards. In fact, this may be the first all-power forward starting five in the history of basketball. Remember, this is Chris Wallace, who drafted exclusively small forwards while in charge of the Celtics. When this...

In 1979, with a pick they had obtained by losing free agent Gail Goodrich to New Orleans, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Magic Johnson with the first pick in the draft. He joined a team anchored by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers won the championship the next season.

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Kendrick Perkins #27 Delonte West #24 Tony Allen #25 Ryan Gomes #50 Rajon Rondo #21 There are a few misses in that list (Brandon Hunter, Orien Greene) and a few that may still pan out like Gerald Green and Justin Reed. But there are a lot more hits. Danny made a good point that if Powe and Gomes had come in on this team, they wouldn't have developed near as quickly because of the talent ahead of them. Whoever he picks with #30, even if he can become a rotation player will have more trouble getting the playing time to develop. Just like the good old dayw when rookies had to pay their dues before cracking the rotation. Although Perk sure had to pay his dues. 30 minutes is entire first season and only 9 mpg over 60 games his second season. It paid off, through.   [read the full post]

By Will Leitch The 2008 NBA playoffs did more than just entertain us for the last seven or eight months. It taught us stuff. Some stuff we only suspected, and some other stuff we never even knew before. Here is that stuff. The Atlanta Hawks have fans...real, flesh-and-blood fans. Boston fans, on the other hand, ap...

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) The hopes of Celtics nation dropped along with those ping pong balls. Rumors swirled about players like Kevin Garnett and Shawn Marion, but both players had said that they would not come to Boston and since both were in the last year of their contract, it would not be feasible to trade for them only to have them leave after one year. The Celtics could get another good young player, but a championship seemed so far away and we had already waited 21 years for a contender in Boston. Then on draft night, Danny made a trade that at the time seemed like too little too late as he sent Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak to Seattle for Ray Allen and the 35th pick, which became Big Baby Davis. What could a 32 year old sharp shooter with two bad ankles do for this still...   [read the full post]

By J.E. Skeets Lonnie White, LA Times: "It's always easier to second-guess when a team falls short, and that's the case with the Lakers. They will have some room to maneuver under next season's expected salary cap, but the key will be the desire to sacrifice in order to win. Boston was able to get this done be...

By Rick Chandler • The Boston Celtics Are Your 2007-2008 NBA Champions. Well Boston has done it again and I don't know what to say. There's not a single player on this team that you can hate (unless you're a Lakers fan) and you couldn't even really root against them (unless you're Jemele Hill). Screw all the part...

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) All of the talk about a Lakers' dynasty in the making is extremely premature. Andrew Bynum has yet to put together half a season's worth of productive NBA games, let alone prove that he can be a reliable playoff performer. When--if--he fully returns to health he can give the Lakers more paint presence but he will not singlehandedly correct all of the problems that the Lakers had in the Finals. Also, I have yet to hear serious discussion of the fact that he Gasol and Odom cannot possibly play extended minutes together because none of them is a small forward. Bynum or Gasol can play center with Odom at power forward or Bynum can play center with Gasol at power forward but if Gasol and Bynum are on the court together then Odom will have to be on the bench i...   [read the full post]

By Adam Lauridsen In my last post I covered what the Warriors can learn from the Celtics on the court.  There might be lessons to be learned from their front office as well.  Time will tell whether Ainge has assembled a Miami Heat-like one-hit-wonder or a new dynasty, but it’s pretty clear how the Celtics put th...

By Michael Femia Was there a time when we wondered if Danny Ainge knew what he was doing when he swung the Ray Allen trade on Draft Day? (Well, yes, we did.) Was there any worry that three guys, who were used to being the big dog, would learn to share the ball? Was there frustration and terror after being pushed to...

By Will Leitch Fickle fate, Part I. The Celtics have two chances at home to win the title...and that's about the only thing they have going in their favor right now. Paul Pierce has a bum knee and nobody knows how bad it is (he refused an MRI because he didn't want to know had bad the damage was until after the Finals...

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Even the Laker fans recognize how important Perk is to this team. With all the slapping, hitting, pushing, and reaching in that the refs allowed the Lakers to do, some Lakers' fans still complained about the refs. Amazing. After watching the officiating in this game, I wouldn't be surprised if the refs got another one of those memos to stretch the series out. The series now shifts back to Boston and hopefully the Celtics can close it out in 6. It is pretty funny that when the Celtics were cutting into those leads, the fans were ready to throw the whole team under the bus but when they pulled ahead at the end, they were all forgiven. Bottom line, the Celtics are the better team. Hopefully they can stay healthy enough to close it out. Enjoy these comments fr...   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Congratulations to the damned Boston Celtics for winning the 2008 NBA Championship. We're done. It's over. Props to the Celtics -- great defense, great heart. The Celtics make history on us!! We suck Well Boston is a better team and they deserve to win....Congrats Cs. Can you blame him? He came in here,shut Kobe down and willed his team to victory. He has outshined Kobe the entire series. Right now as it stands pierce>Kobe Congrats to the Celtics, they are truly warriors and the best team this year. Celtics will win this. I want them to win it in L.A.: I want Kobe to see Celtics celebrating in Staples and fire them up real good for next season. I can't believe Doc Rivers will be a NBA champion, something about that just doesn't sound right.   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (David Friedman) In contrast, the only future Hall of Famers who are sharing the court with Bryant in this series are all wearing Celtic green: Garnett, Pierce and Allen. That means that the Celtics can target Bryant in ways that the Lakers cannot target any of Boston's "Big Three." Bryant is alternately asked to be a roamer defensively to disrupt Boston's offense and then he is asked to be a stopper against (at different times) Allen and Pierce. As detailed above, it is up to Bryant to create most of the Lakers' offense, while the "Big Three" not only share that load but also have veteran reserve players who can step up. So why did I pick the Lakers to win this series? I thought, based on how the Lakers played down the stretch of this season and in the first three round...   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (David Friedman) Rajon Rondo is leading both teams in assists (9.0 apg) but he is both a poor shooter (.409 field goal percentage in the series) and a reluctant one (just 22 attempts). Lakers Coach Phil Jackson made the most important adjustment in the series so far when he switched Bryant on to Rondo at the start of game three; that enabled Bryant to roam around defensively, disrupting the Celtics' offense, and it also created a great crossmatch that Bryant exploited at the other end of the court. When Eddie House or Sam Cassell are in the game for Rondo the Celtics can space the floor better on offense but they are not as good defensively and they miss Rondo's ability to dribble penetrate.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) I have repeatedly mentioned one element that I think should be a bigger part of their half court offense: a screen/roll play involving Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy pointed out during game two that the Celtics have struggled to defend that action and late in the fourth quarter we even saw the Lakers successfully run a screen/roll with Bryant and reserve center Ronny Turiaf. Not surprisingly, in game two the Celtics did well in the three key areas that I mentioned: Paul Pierce seemed to be fully healthy and he was very productive, the Celtics got a lot of easy points in the paint--particularly by reserve Leon Powe--and they slowed the Lakers' transition game to a crawl for most of the night. The Lakers' late run skewed a lo...   [read the full post]

Celtics Edge Cavs as James and Pierce Stage a Duel for the Ages - 20 Second Timeout

The LeBron Rules: Celtics Contain James, Crush Cavs - 20 Second Timeout

Garnett Carries Celtics as James Struggles - 20 Second Timeout

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) The Boston Celtics led the L.A. Lakers 95-71 with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter but the Lakers pulled to within 104-102 before the Celtics escaped with a 108-102 win. Paul Pierce, showing no ill effects from his game one knee injury, led the Celtics with 28 points on 9-16 shooting from the field. He also had eight assists and four rebounds. Leon Powe came off of the bench to contribute a playoff career-high 21 points in just 14:39, shooting 6-7 from the field. Kevin Garnett controlled the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds but scored just 17 points on 7-19 field goal shooting. Ray Allen had an efficient 17 points on 6-11 field goal shooting. Rajon Rondo only scored four points on 1-4 field goal shooting but he had 16 assists, six rebounds and just two...   [read the full post]

Celtics Ride Strong Second Half Defense to 98-88 Game One Victory - 20 Second Timeout

Save the Eraser, Phil: Boston Takes Game One - celtics.bostonsportsmedia.com

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) Paul Pierce scored a very efficient 27 points (shooting 8-12 from the field and 10-13 from the free throw line) as the Boston Celtics rallied from a 70-60 fourth quarter deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 89-81 in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics will now advance to the NBA Finals, where they will face the L.A. Lakers in a matchup of the two most storied franchises in league history. Ray Allen added 17 points and six rebounds; he did most of his damage in the first quarter but in these tight, defensive struggles every point counts. Kevin Garnett got off to a woeful start, making just 2 of his first 10 field goal attempts, but he anchored Boston's defense throughout the game and made some key second half shots, finishing with 16...   [read the full post]

By Will Leitch Flip Saunders, drama queen. Flip is still flippin' the you-know-what out about that bear-hug foul Paul Pierce committed against Chauncey Billups. "I told the referee when I was standing there, 'We've got New England Patriots that are here. (Tedy) Bruschi had a tackle like that in the Super...

By Sam Rubenstein The run was the highlighted by the return to form for Ray Allen.  After stealing a Detroit pass, he hits the pull up jumper, sending the crowd to their feet and pulling Boston within two.  Minutes later, Ray strikes again, hitting a baseline jumper, 58-54, Boston.

By Michael Femia But late in the second quarter, Ubuntu kicked in. Rajon Rondo, who hadn't really gotten it going this series, got it going in a big way with two straight three-pointers on his way to a monster game: 20 points and 13 assists, and now the Cavs can't leave him alone anymore. James Posey and Paul Pie...

By Sam Rubenstein Coach Rivers discussed varied topics including KG’s 1st team all NBA bid (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Lebron James and Chris Paul are the others), the effectiveness of Zydrunas Ilgauskas (who holds Doc down in the game) and his son Jeremiah Rivers transferring (For those who don’t know...

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) Cleveland's three trumps are usually defense, rebounding and the brilliance of James but the Celtics won all three categories, holding Cleveland to .356 field goal shooting while shooting .403 themselves, outrebounding Cleveland 45-39 and doing an excellent job against James, the 20...

Do or Die Time for the Lakers - 20 Second Timeout

Celtics Edge Cavs as James and Pierce Stage a Duel for the Ages - 20 Second Timeout

Garnett Carries Celtics as James Struggles - 20 Second Timeout

By Khalid Salaam I enjoy great defense. Always have. Probably because I was the guy on the court who played D too serious and disrupted the fun of a random Sat afternoon pick-up game. Since I’ve never had a great handle and was a average passer in order for me to stay on the court I had to block shots and get steals an...

By FLCeltsFan Boobie can't guard rondo Rondo is too fast on the dribble drive for Gibson. Mike Brown is dumb! Boston is too athletic up front for us and they're too fast at the point guard position. Atlanta had the guys to play with Boston up front athletically. We don't!! We should not be in this game. Doc rivers sucks too. Mike Brown is bad but com'n Doc I hate the Celtics SOOOOOOOO MUCH Doc Rivers needs to be fired too. I wonder how Boston fans feel about him? Rondo on Z, that is cute. Doc rivers sucks, lol Atlanta took a lot out of Boston. We should be having a field day. Cavs D is way better than Celtics Will someone guard ET???? Mike Brown is one of the worst coaches in the league, luckily Doc Rivers is as well... Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]   [read the full post]

By Leitch Getting my prediction out of the way, I'm rolling with the Celtics, but I'm gonna put out there a 12% chance of LeBron winning the whole damn thing by himself. LeBron right now is Harry Truman meets Suge Knight. A dangerous nerd capable of destroying your lofty hopes, but a guy whom people stil...

By FLCeltsFan Boston is surely flustered and playing like thugs. We're seeing the true colors of these 'class' guys on the Celtics. Someone needs to stop this Kendrick Perkins I hate him so much. If only Horford hadn't taunted Pierce... Then maybe the Hawks could have stopped Pierce... Take that you cocky Celtics fans! Screw Boston.....Joe just killed their defense haha. from a Celtics fan) Your team is better than ours. I hope you will play Lebron and his team. We are out of gas. Also from a Celtics fan) Great game guys. See you in Boston. And to all the whiny Celtic fans who are proclaiming a Hawks' series victory, please stay here. Adios. Magic Johnson got suspended for like 4 games for bumping a ref... Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]   [read the full post]

Back To Fundamental Charlotte Basketball -- So if Charlotte beat Boston, and Cleveland beats Charlotte, that means the team that beat the Celtics can't beat the team who also once beat the Celtics and has also beat another team last year in the playoffs who once beat the Celtics this year. I...

The Boston Celtics might win the Eastern Conference this season, but that's all about their big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics' ninth- or 10th-best player doesn't scare anyone. The team that discarded Curry (Cleveland 1987-88) made the hard choice to prote...