SB Nation - Paul Pierce

Watchability: C's Rank 5th

Jeff Clark — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:57:47 -0000

Ever wonder what other team's fans think of watching the Celtics? Here's a quick insight from SBNation's Mike Prada.

NBA 'Watchability' Scale: Ranking Every Team Based On Entertainment, Not Talent - SB Nation

There's something unbelievably satisfying about watching a veteran team just take care of business no matter what, even if everyone guns for them. Boston is 11-1 on the road this year, and watching them, you know why. They never make a mistake. All their sets are precise, though it helps that they have two great scorers in Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, along with two of the league's best screeners in Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins. On defense, they shut down everything your team likes to do. You like pick-and-roll? No problem, we'll unleash the human pick-and-roll eraser, KG, on you. Like post play? Don't worry, we only have the two best low-post defenders in basketball. Good luck, guys. Thanks to Rajon Rondo, they also have the best secondary fast break in the league, meaning they do a great job of pushing the ball on missed shots and taking advantage of the confusion that results while players try to find their man on defense.

Here's the problem: Boston is so damn unlikeable. Garnett and Rondo are punks. Perkins has developed some ridiculous fake swagger, the kind that results from riding the coattails of your four all-star caliber teammates. Rasheed Wallace needs no introduction, and Pierce is a chronic whiner that got carried off the floor by his teammates in the 2008 Finals, only to magically come back a few minutes later and be just fine.

Same stuff we've heard time and time again. One of the reasons people like watching us is because they need a villain to root against. Like I've said before: This team will be America's Most Hated this year.

10 YEARS OF STIFFDOM: A Decade Retrospective...

Andrew Feinstein — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:04:03 -0000

Who knew that at the beginning of the '00s - with none other than Dan Issel in charge - that the Nuggets would end up having a successful and often thrilling decade? Here's a look back at the last 10 years of Denver Nuggets basketball...

At the conclusion of the 1990s, the Nuggets were in utter disarray. As documented in detail here at Denver Stiffs, this once proud and respected franchise had been turned into an NBA laughingstock thanks to a lethal combination of ineptitude, incompetence, and ignorance. Between 1990 and 1999, the Nuggets made the playoffs just twice and Nuggets fans were forced to endure seasons with win totals under 40 games eight times (including the lockout shortened 1998-99 season in which the Nuggets would likely have "won" about 25 games had an 82-game season been played out). We witnessed five seasons in which the Nuggets won less than 24 games, and in 1997-98 the 11-win Nuggets won less games than the Broncos that year.

Making matters worse throughout the 1990s, the Nuggets never caught a break. Even though they participated in eight NBA Draft lotteries, twice sported the worst record in the NBA (1990-91 and again after that infamous 1997-98 campaign) and had a bottom-four record five total times, the highest pick they were ever rewarded was third (which Issel promptly screwed up by drafting Raef LaFrentz over Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Antawn Jamison). We missed out on all the game-changing draftees of the 1990s: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber and Tim Duncan. And a freak knee injury sustained by rising star LaPhonso Ellis in 1994 would prove to be the undoing of the Nuggets only good team of the decade: the 1993-94 squad that had just stunned the NBA world by beating the number-one seeded Seattle Supersonics in the playoffs before taking the Utah Jazz to seven in Round 2.

But make no mistake about it, the Nuggets problems throughout the 1990s were self-inflicted. Cartoonish figures such as Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, the Comsat "Corporation," Paul Westhead, Bernie Bickerstaff, Allan Bristow and finally, Issel, made every wrong/bad decision possible, leaving the Nuggets organization in tatters until Stanley E. Kroenke rescued the franchise in 2000 with his purchase of the team. Upon arrival, Kroenke made it clear that he wanted to win and win now, and thus set in motion a series of events that produced one of the better decades in franchise history...

2000-2001 (40-42, no playoffs)

In an increasingly tough Western Conference, the Nuggets remarkably won 40 games but were still seven games off the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. While a 40-win season would normally be a good thing having come off a 35-win season, team "president", "head coach" and dictator Dan Issel had already mortgaged the Nuggets future by sending away numerous first round picks in order to build that 40-win team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Antonio McDyess

Coming off a gold-medal winning performance in the Sydney Olympics, McDyess was a stud in 2000-01. The quiet, dignified power forward averaged 20.8 ppg, 12.1 rpg and 1.5 bpg and even made the All-Star team.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

The aforementioned Issel had previously (and foolishly) traded away the Nuggets own first round picks for 1999, 2000 and 2001 - all lottery picks, mind you - and after an assortment of complicated, even more stupid deals, for those picks he essentially brought back Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Kevin Willis (on the very wrong side of his career), Voshon Lenard and Tracy Murray. But that was just off-the-court. On-the-court, Issel was a tyrant with his players and the refs. At one point, his players were so fed up with the way he was treating Raef LaFrentz (a draft bust of Issel's own making) and others, that point guard Nick Van Exel led a player boycott of practice.

2001-02 (27-55, no playoffs)

After years of overpaying for mediocre players and parting with valuable first round picks in exchange for nothing, the wheels finally came off the Issel Administration and the Nuggets fell apart in 2001-02, precipitated by a major knee injury to McDyess that caused him to miss all but 10 games of the season. Prior to the season starting, Kroenke - either sensing that Issel had too much power, was too incompetent or both - astutely hired Kiki Vandeweghe as GM to a five-year contract.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

After Issel "resigned" the day after Christmas (more on that shortly), Vandeweghe gutted out the roster and made a controversial move that would put the Nuggets on the path of success they still enjoy today. Knowing the Nuggets were going nowhere with the expensive roster he inherited, Vandeweghe boldly shipped out Van Exel, LaFrentz, Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson (another overpayee thanks to Issel) to Dallas in exchange for Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey and a future first round pick. When the Nuggets eventually met the Mavericks in the 2009 playoffs second round, I detailed how that major trade actually brought the two once dormant franchises together.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

"Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit!" Those nine words - uttered by Issel towards a heckling Hispanic Nuggets fan after a December 10th loss to the Charlotte Hornets - were exactly what Kroenke and Vandeweghe needed to kick Issel out the door. Issel, a Nuggets legend as a player, had built up so much great PR in the community (he still has some...note Woody Paige's ludicrous suggestion that the Nuggets bring Issel back to the organization last year) that he would have been tough to fire otherwise. After serving a four-game suspension, Issel "resigned" on December 26th, 2001 and unfortunately for Issel, things haven't exactly worked out for him since.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Tim Hardaway

Unlike Howard who - knowing playing in Denver would be a brutal, losing situation - accepted the trade to the Nuggets and behaved like a total professional during his time here (it helps when you're getting paid $18.8 and then $20.1 million per season!), Hardaway was a petulant, angry brat who never got over leaving Dallas where he was hoping to gravy train his way into an NBA Championship. After starting 14 games for the Nuggets, Hardaway unleashed his anger on a TV monitor by throwing it onto the floor and getting himself suspended two games.

2002-03 (17-65, no playoffs)

Entering the 2002-03 NBA season, Vandeweghe purposefully compiled the worst roster in modern NBA history in hopes of tanking enough games to win the first pick in the draft (knowing that on the horizon was one of the better drafts in NBA history). The Nuggets starting back court of Vincent Yarbrough and Junior Harrington couldn't crack a 14-man roster the following season, and the rest of the roster was littered with names you already don't remember. Armed with two lottery picks - thanks to a great trade that sent McDyess to New York in exchange for Marcus Camby and the Knicks lottery pick - Vandeweghe drafted Nene and some skinny kid from Georgia, and I'm not talking about the university (more on him shortly).

Non-Stiff of the Year: Jeff Bzdelik

In spite of being dealt the worst hand ever dealt a coach in modern NBA history, rookie head coach Jeff Bzdelik refused to make excuses, worked his ass off and was able to get 17 wins out of our Nuggets. I'd argue that was 17 more wins than they should have had and Bzdelik should have gotten Coach of the Year consideration. The Nuggets were awful talent-wise, but they played harder than their opponent almost every night.

Stiff of the Year: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Drafted fifth overall out of the Republic of Georgia, "Skita" has since gone down in history as the worst fifth overall pick of all time (and believe me, there have been some bad fifth overall picks). Given ample opportunity to succeed in his first season, Skita - listed at seven-feet tall - shot 29.3% from the field as a rookie. At a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers, I once saw Skita shoot a wide open shot in which the ball hit the shot clock first before getting anywhere near the backboard or rim.

2003-04 (43-39, 1-4 in the playoffs)

A full 10 years after upsetting the Sonics in the playoffs, the Nuggets finally got their act together and Coloradoans cared about basketball again. Unable to shake the Nuggets streak of bad luck with the Draft Lottery, Vandeweghe got lucky nonetheless thanks to Detroit GM Joe Dumars' stupidly drafting Darko Milicic (i.e. Skita 2.0), leaving Syracuse star/stud Carmelo Anthony available with the third overall pick. And with Howard's giant contract coming off the books, Vandeweghe was finally able to spend Kroenke's money. Free agent signees Andre Miller, Jon Barry and Earl Boykins joined Melo, Nene and a healthy Camby. Under Bzdelik's stewardship, the Nuggets won 43 games and put up a respectable fight against the Timberwolves in the playoffs first round. As fans, we were happy just to be in the playoffs!

Non-Stiff of the Year: Carmelo Anthony

For the first time since Alex English last donned a rainbow jersey, the Nuggets had a perennial All-Star caliber player in Melo. As a rookie, Melo averaged 21 ppg and 6.1 rpg while giving fellow rookie phenom LeBron James a run for the Rookie of the Year Award. But more importantly, Melo led the Nuggets back to the postseason in a hyper-competitive Western Conference, whereas LBJ couldn't do the same in Cleveland in the weakened Eastern Conference.

Stiff of the Year: Rodney White

Playing for his next contract after his rookie deal was due to expire in two seasons, White gave the Nuggets next-to-nothing in 2003-04 even though he appeared in 72 games and received 14 minutes of playing time per game. Just a few years removed from being the ninth overall pick to Detroit (ahem...Joe Dumars again), White would be out of the NBA completely after the 2004-05 campaign. But hey, at least he was nominated for the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame!

2004-05 (49-33, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Wanting to build upon the Nuggets newly found success (and at Kroenke's alleged insistence), Vandeweghe spent the entire 2004 offseason shopping for a big name free agent to bring to Denver. After being turned down by Manu Ginobili and Brad Miller, Vandeweghe panicked and got duped into sending three number one picks to New Jersey for Kenyon Martin in a sign-and-trade deal. K-Mart's price tag? $90 million over seven seasons. Under immense pressure to win more games, Bzdelik and the Nuggets floundered out of the gate, starting out 13-15 before Bzdelik got sacked and replaced by a former WNBA coach (Michael Cooper) who went 4-10 as coach of the team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Inheriting a 17-25 team loaded with talent but without any direction and big egos to boot, Karl's no-nonsense, "my way or the highway" approach immediately turned the Nuggets fortunes around. With only 40 games to work with, Karl guided the Nuggets to a 32-8 record (the best in NBA history after a mid-season coaching switch) and had the Nuggets playing the best basketball in the NBA down the stretch of the regular season.

Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

By acquiring K-Mart, Vandeweghe essentially panicked while throwing away all of the salary cap flexibility he had worked so hard and smartly to cultivate. But worse than that, Vandeweghe was eerily silent while Bzdelik was left to twist in the wind as the Nuggets struggled early in the season. Vandeweghe never publicly defended the one man willing to coach the dreadful 2002-03 roster that Vandeweghe had assembled, and Kiki made matters worse by bringing in Cooper to take over as head coach. The Cooper hire cost the Nuggets a higher playoff seed.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Carmelo Anthony

Melo couldn't stay out of trouble in 2004. First, he was cited for marijuana possession at DIA that his cousin conveniently took the blame for (the old "that wasn't my pot!" excuse). Second, he feuded with Olympic coach Larry Brown in Athens and found himself benched on the 2004 Team USA that embarrassingly finished with a bronze medal. Third - and perhaps the worst/dumbest - Melo was caught on a "Stop Snitching" DVD in which alleged drug dealers explain what happens to people who cooperate with the police. Melo didn't improve much on the floor, either, and found himself (rightfully) in Karl's doghouse early and often.

2005-06 (44-38, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Unable to build off the team's incredible run under Karl to conclude the previous season, injuries ravaged the Nuggets and they limped their way to a 44-38 record. K-Mart and Camby missed 26 games apiece and most tragically, Nene succumbed to the Nuggets power forward curse and was lost for the season with an ACL and MCL tear after just one game. At the time, the Nuggets marketing and PR team spun the season as as success under the guise of "Northwest Division Champs" and that the Nuggets were a three-seed entering the postseason. But this was before the NBA properly seeded division winners who have mediocre records. The Nuggets were such a weak three-seed, that the Clippers purposely tanked games to face them in the first round...and when they got their wish, the Clippers clocked the Nuggets in five games. Oh, and that was the Clippers only playoff series win since becoming the Clippers in 1978. Overall, the season was a mess from from the top down (as chronicled in detail at the time by the Denver Post's Thomas George). Vandeweghe would be let go at season's end and was replaced by Mark Warkentien (and eventually Rex Chapman, too). Dysfunction, egos and injuries had set the Nuggets back a few steps.

Non-Stiff of the Year: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller

Melo and Miller played in 80 and 82 games, respectively, and carried the Nuggets in 2005-06. Melo improved his scoring average by over six points per game and his field goal percentage went up, as well. Miller - the modern day NBA "iron man" even if he doesn't condition well in the offseason - was a steady hand as always, starting in all 82 games and dishing out over eight assists per game.

Stiff of the Year: Kenyon Martin

Recovering from microfracture surgery and frustrated by knee tendinitis, K-Mart was pretty surly for much of the season and was morphing into a locker room cancer. He allegedly didn't get along with coaches or teammates (according to George's article, K-Mart's teammates questioned his commitment to recovery and work ethic) and it all came to an ugly head during halftime of Game 2 at Los Angeles, when K-Mart went at it with Karl and several teammates. K-Mart was benched for the remainder of the game and eventually su spended for the duration of the series.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Reggie Evans

As perhaps a microcosm of the dysfunction and lack of respect for the game that was taking over the Nuggets, "The Joker" grabbed Clippers center Chris Kaman's testicles while fighting for a rebound during Game 1 of the Clippers series.

2006-07 (45-37, 1-4 in the playoffs)

In spite of it being K-Mart's turn to succumb to the Nuggets power forward curse (he would play just two games all season) and losing their first three straight games by a total of five points, the Nuggets would win 12 of their first 21 games with Melo playing the best basketball of his career. That all changed abruptly on Saturday, December 16th, 2006. In New York facing the Knicks (who had embarrassingly beaten the Nuggets in Denver in Game 3 of the season), the Nuggets found themselves up 19 with 75 seconds to go. Karl - alleged by some to want to rub the victory in Knicks coach Isiah Thomas' face (Thomas had recently sandbagged Karl's good friend Larry Brown) - left his starters on the floor, prompting Thomas to send in his "goon squad" and make the Nuggets pay. What began as a hard, unnecessary, dangerous, around-the-neck foul on J.R. Smith by the Knicks' Mardy Collins erupted into a full-scale brawl...culminating with Melo's cheap shot punch on Collins. Melo would be suspended 15 games and Smith 10, prompting Nuggets management to attempt to salvage the season by bringing in super star guard Allen Iverson from Philadelphia in exchange for Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

Welcomed with open arms by Nuggets fans and his new teammates, Iverson made an immediate impact on the Nuggets (on and off the floor, in good ways and bad). But with Melo out 15 games, Iverson was able to keep the Nuggets afloat and competitive almost by himself. When Melo and Iverson finally got to play together for a long stretch, the Nuggets reeled off nine straight wins and 10 of 11 to finish out the season strong as the hottest team in the NBA.

Stiff of the Year: Isiah Thomas

In addition to sinking the Raptors as an incompetent vice president, sinking the CBA in a summer as an incompetent commissioner and sinking the Knicks as an incompetent president/coach/alleged sexual harrasser (hell, Isiah was an incompetent broadcaster, too), Isiah would sink the Nuggets season in one fell swoop by commandeering his players to take out the Nuggets starters in that game.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith

Even though Isiah "started it," Melo and J.R. were unable to keep their heads cool and unnecessarily exacerbated an already ugly situation, ruining the Nuggets entire season as a result.

2007-08 (50-32, 0-4 in the playoffs)

Entering 2007-08, the Nuggets would finally have a training camp with their full roster participating from the get-go. With Melo and Iverson having ample time to play together, optimism in Denver was higher than it had been since entering the 2004-05 campaign. So high was the optimism, in fact, that Kroenke had over $83 million invested in the team's payroll (second or third highest in the league at the time) and Melo and K-Mart started floating out "60 wins" as a realistic goal. But even with Iverson appearing in all 82 games, Camby playing 79, Melo 77, K-Mart 71 and vast improvements seen in the games of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets weren't able to secure a playoff spot (an eighth seed no less) until the 79th game of the season with a big win at Golden State. As an eighth seed, the Nuggets got worked over by the Lakers in an embarrassing four-game sweep: a series which saw Melo bark at Karl "don't just sit there!" and the benching of Iverson early in Game 3 that didn't go over well. Prior to the Nuggets final regular season game, Melo would get arrested on suspicion of a DUI. It became evident that the A.I. experiment was an expensive failure.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Nene

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoing surgery to remove his right testicle, Nene remarkably returned to play again on March 27th against the Mavericks, giving the Nuggets a much needed emotional boost that helped them secure a playoff spot down the stretch.

Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Stuck in an admittedly tumultuous and difficult situation, Karl spent much of the 2007-08 sitting on his hands during games while the Nuggets unraveled on the court. While the Nuggets head coach got called for just one technical foul all season (second to last in the NBA), his players finished in the top two in personal fouls, technical fouls, flagrant fouls and ejections. The inmates were running the asylum as Karl's coaching record in Denver got extended to a paltry 3-16 over four years. Karl would later admit to SI.com that "...the last couple of years, I was confused." Watching Karl's Nuggets routinely take nights off that season, so were we.

2008-09 (54-28, 10-6 in the playoffs)

Disappointed with his lack of return on investment, Kroenke gave an edict to management to slash payroll during the 2008 offseason. Camby would be shipped out to the Clippers in exchange for a trade exception, coach and fan favorite Eduardo Najera would not be re-signed, Iverson's contract wouldn't be extended and things were looking grim entering the 2008-09 campaign. But what loomed as a disaster instead became a season of reformation and rejuvenation. Karl came into training camp as "Fiery George" again, Melo won a gold medal with Team USA and learned a thing or two from Kobe Bryant on what an NBA work ethic really is and K-Mart, fully healthy, came into camp with an apology to his coach and teammates and a vow to work harder and play better. With former NBA castaways Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Dahntay Jones added for next-to-nothing (by NBA salary standards) and Nene in real basketball shape for the first time ever, the Nuggets were quietly confident that they had a special season on their hands.

The lone chink in the Nuggets newfound armor would be Iverson who, upset by not receiving a contract extension, showed up to camp out of shape and several steps slow. Remarkably, Nuggets management was able to pull off one of the great trades in Nuggets history by shipping Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups. By adding Billups to a roster primed to take off, the Nuggets would shock the basketball world by tying a franchise record with 54 wins and going toe-to-toe with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Simply put, it was the greatest full season of Nuggets basketball since the 1984-85 Nuggets made it to the conference finals and hopefully a sign of more good things to come in the decade ahead.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Chauncey Billups

The Denver-born Billups - who had been cast off by Issel years earlier without ever given a fair hearing as a Nugget - immediately proved to be the perfect leader for the Nuggets. Coming off six consecutive conference finals appearances with the Pistons, Billups would make it seven when he led the Nuggets there.

Non-Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Nuggets Management and George Karl

After years of placing talent over character, the Nuggets GM "troika" of Warkentien, Chapman and team adviser Bret Bearup had assembled a roster stocked with good character guys and also deserve credit for not panicking after the 2008 playoff debacle. Warkentien would be rewarded with the NBA's Executive of the Year Award, but it should have been shared by all three guys. Karl, meanwhile, turned in one of his finest performances as an NBA head coach while bridging whatever gap had existed between him and his mercurial stars Melo, J.R. and K-Mart.

Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

The NBA will soon be announcing their "All Decade Team" and it will be fascinating to see if A.I. makes the squad. One of the greatest players of the decade, Iverson ultimately proved to be a bad fit for the Nuggets and a bad influence on Melo and J.R. This became painfully clear when the Pistons imploded after bringing Iverson on board in exchange for Billups.

Overall, the '00s were a great decade for Nuggets basketball: six straight playoff appearances, two 50-plus win seasons, All-Star players and thrilling performances (how many game-tying and game-winning shots has Melo made?!). And while it would have been nice to see a few more playoff series victories prior to last season, the memories of the Bickerstaff and Issel Administrations are still prominent enough for me to appreciate what's been going on recently.

Fortunately for Nuggets fans, four of our best players - Melo, J.R., Nene and rookie Ty Lawson - still have many seasons ahead of them and hopefully will remain in a Nuggets uniform into the next decade. At the very least, we're guaranteed that the new decade starts out reasonably well and it will be fascinating to see where this franchise is standing in 2020.

Thanks for the memories and Go Nuggets!!

Photos courtesy of AP and NBAE/Getty Images

Daily Links 12/12

FLCeltsFan — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:18:20 -0000

Herald    Counter points
Scouting report: Celtics at Bulls
LeBron James scores 33, Cavs trip Trail Blazers
Amare Stoudemire’s big rebound helps Suns beat Magic
Globe   Bulls thumbnails
On guard: Rondo slicing through foes
Vote for Perk    Vote For Perk
SportCenter 5     Vote For Perk!

Celtics Blog   AM Notes: Allen's Last Chance, Lester Helps Rondo
Loscy    The Rondoness of all Rondo Articles: The Mother-load "
HoopsHype    Zebras and lions
NESN    Celtics Seek 10th Straight Win Against Flailing Bulls
Live Blog: Celtics at Bulls
Tony Allen Emerges as Marquis Daniels Hits the Shelf
Paul Pierce, Glen Davis, J.R. Giddens Get in Holiday Spirit With Local Students
Celtics Legends Cedric Maxwell, JoJo White to Distribute Food to Lee Academy
Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis, Lester Hudson to Host Stay In School Assembly
Dueling Couches    Ray Allen's Most Memorible Moments
CelticsLife Shaq Injures Eye, Kobe Breaks Finger, Injuries Reportedly Unrelated
McHale on Lebron's Dancing Nonsense
Today's Video: Ray Allen 20,000 Points NBA Career
LOY's Place    Quote of the Week - Kevin McHale
Red's Army    Rashard Lewis Has No Respect for His Coach
The Big 3 Things of the Week
Your KG Face of the Day
Ray Gets UP!
Your Morning Dump... Where Kevin McHale is still awesome
Celtics Hub   Kentucky-UConn Garden Party—an NBA Fan’s Perspective
Eddie House and 3 Point Attempts
Gratuitous Wolf on Human Violence
Saturday Notebook: Hudson’s Value, Rondo’s J, the Bulls
North Station Sports    More than a feeling: Dwight & Nate, pt. 2
Tony Allen Takes Over For Daniels. Should You Be Scared?
More Thoughts From Egypt: LeBron's Behavior in Question
Celtics Town    Celtics 'define what winning basketball in the NBA is all about'
Ray Allen gives teammates credit for milestone
Joe Johnson wants to come back to Boston?
Ray Allen, named top shooter of the decade, says Dirk is best
Rajon Rondo latest Celtic to deflect praise to teammates
Lex Nihil Novi    Wedman Leads Birdless Celts Over Hawks 83-84
Wedman Adapting to New Role 83-84
Knicks Try to Make it 3 in a Row against C's 83-84
Rondo Gives Jerry West No Respect
Celtics Overcome 12 4th-Quarter TO's to Finally Beat Knicks (83-84)
ESPN   Bulls-Celtics preview
So you're saying there's a chance?
Businesslike Approach Working For Celtics
Legler: Celtics are underrated
Chicago Tribune Chicago Bulls woes tied directly to defense
Chicago Bulls hear strange sound -- cheers during 96-91 overtime victory
Milford Daily News    Celtics: Green streak
Daily Herald    Bulls not responding well to other teams' runs
LA Times   Is this Lakers team the NBA's best ever? Not by a three-pointer
Sporting News   Celtics-Bulls Preview
HoopsAddict    Rajon Rondo: Silent, But Deadly
Washington Post     As the Wizards' big three try to mesh again, past is not present
The Starting Five    Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA
Patriot Ledger     Celtics bid for another double-digit winning streak
Ohio.com    Notebook: Cavs' West earning more time on floor
Mass Live    Celtics buzz: Tony Allen's early returns, Boston's rebounding woes, and appreciating Ray Allen
Truth About It    Inconsistency Is A Muther: Celtics Down Wizards 104-102
4 Sport Boston    3 Things You Didn’t See In The Celtics-Wizards Rumble
Philly.com   Dick Jerardi: Biggest Donaghy question remains: Which games?
Basketbawful    Worst of the Night: December 10, 2009
Hoopsvibe     Tracy McGrady: All-Star Starter?
Dimemag     The Bulls Are Struggling And Vinny Del Negro Will Be The Scapegoat
Rashard Lewis didn’t want to play; Van Gundy says it’s no big deal
CSNNE   Celts, Bulls headed in opposite direction
WEEI    Postgame Guest - Tony Allen on WEEI
Washington Post   Book review: When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson
Seattle Times    LeBron James' dance act wouldn't play well in old-school NBA

Daily Links 12/11

FLCeltsFan — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:04:45 -0000

Herald    Early returns positive on Tony Allen’s work
Pistons shoot off win
Ray Allen, Paul Pierce hit milestones
Globe   Notes from shootaround
Celtics 104, Wizards 102
Video: Ray Allen reaches 20,000 points
Ray Allen through the years
Allen notches his 20,000th
Celtics tested by Wizards
Vote for Perk     Vote For Perk

CelticsBlog    Give a Gift, Get Thanks from Ray
Celtics Outlast Wizards
Behind Rondo, Celtics Fight off Wizards
Appreciating Good Tony
Loy's Place    Early All Star Results
Comments from the Other Side - Wizards 12/10
Random Thoughts After Going to See the Wizards
Nets Daily    Is Brook Lopez an All-Star?
Celtics.com    Ford Keys to the Game: Celtics at Wizards
Red's Army    Your KG Face of the Day
Don't Rush Tony Allen
Celtics vs Wizards Live Blog
Wiz Get Rondo'd!!!
Your Morning Dump... Where the Wiz lost a dare
CSNNE    Live from the Verizon Center in Washington!
Celtics 104, Wizards 102
Celtics Hub   Hanging on: C’s 104, Wiz 102
NESN   Live Blog: Celtics at Wizards
Rajon Rondo Nets Season High as Celtics Win Ninth Straight
North Station Sports    Gilbert Arenas: sleeper agent, struggling leader or hoops anarchist?
Celtics Grind Past Wizards 104-102
Kevin McHale is a golden god, wouldn’t stand for LeBron’s hi-jinx
Celtics Town    Where do I begin when discussing recent Celtics play?
Ray Allen reaches 20,000-point milestone
Celtics escape Wizards, 104-102
The Morning Walkthrough: Tony Allen was actually pretty good last night
Hardwood Houdini    Congratulations Ray Allen!!!
Celtics Use Some of Their Own Magic, Defeat Wizards
Lex Nihil Novi    Celtics (16-6) Pound Nuggets
Bird Strains Knee Ligaments in Win
18-4: Celtics 104, Wizards 102
Celtics Life    Tommy & Mike's Mailbag
Ray Allen's Ray of Hope
Throw It Down Little Man
Celtics 104, Wizards 102 Highlights
Celtics/Wizards Post Game Videos
Celtics Stuff Live      The Gold Rarities Postgame Show
NBA.com   Losing streak places Bulls on the brink of implosion
Ray appreciation day
20,000-Point Milestone: Ray Allen
Kobe in West, D-Wade in East take lead in All-Star voting
Slam Online    Decade’s Best: Shooter
Fox Sports     Surprises, letdowns after NBA's first quarter
Cavs News   Upcoming Road Games Will Test Cleveland’s Mettle
Green Street     Fast Break: Celtics vs. Wizards
Allen scores 20,000th career point
Rondo, Perk Trail in First All-Star Voting Update
Hardwood Paroxysm   Green From The Limit: Boston’s Shooting Less From The Corner
Lion Face/Lemon Face 12.11.09: Three Games of Goodness
Slam Dunk Central    Rapid-Rajon Leads Celtics To Ninth Straight Win, Beat Wizards 104-102!
Deseret News   Utah Jazz: TNT's Sager likes to add color to broadcasts
WEEI   Ray Allen - Locker Room on WEEI
Washington Examiner   Celtics 104, Wizards 102
ESPN   Time to go streaking?
Big 3 near top of early All-Star voting
Perkins among NBA's top young big men
Allen joins 20,000-point club
First impression: Celtics 104, Wizards 102
On the rebound
Challenged, Rondo makes the Wizards pay
TA making immediate impact
What's up with Semih Erden?
NBA Roundtable   Perk Article
Washington Post   Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards fail to come through in the clutch vs. Boston Celtics
NY Post    Nets still on track for Brooklyn
Bobcat Zone Red Claws Report: Walker continues to shine for Maine
Chron.com McGrady on pace to start All-Star Game — really
Bleacher Report    Never Can Say Goodbye: When Is It Time For an NBA Player To Retire?

Briefing: Hey, good job! Ow!

JakeTheSnake — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:52:13 -0000

Twitpic via @courtside by way of @jeskeets.

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Game Hub | Boxscore

On a night where the Wizards could have very easily packed it in and accepted the blowout that most of us thought they would receive, the gave a strong enough effort (more assists than turnovers, 5 players with double-digit scoring games, limiting Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace to a combined 16 points) to earn an emphatic high five. But in the narrow loss they did just enough things wrong (missed free throws grabbing a total of zero (!) rebounds in the 2nd quarter) for that high five to end up feeling like a slap in the face.

Gilbert Arenas Can't Buy a Free-Throw - Tom Lorenzo, Fantasy FanHouse

Note to Gilbert Arenas: you have to make your free throws. He shot just 1-of-6 from the line on the night, with two key bricks in the final 26 seconds of the game that helped seal the loss for the Wizards. Aside from a poor showing at the line, Arenas turned in a fairly standard line -- 24 points on 11-of-23 shooting, eight assists, zero steals and four turnovers. Though my favorite stat of the night had to be the zero rebounds that the Wizards pulled down in the second quarter. Zero. Think about that one.

Wizards toe the mark, then retreat again, in loss to Celtics, 104-102 - Craig Stouffer, Washington Examiner

"The positive is that we’re in games," said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders, whose team has lost three games in a row that have been decided in the fourth quarter. "We’re not getting blown out. We’re in games. We had a situation where we were down two. We had our best player with the ball at the free throw line. He was expected to make those and didn’t." Arenas (25 points, 8 assists) retreated to the practice court immediately, where he knocked down 48 of 50 free throw attempts in a desperate search to figure out why he finished the night 1 for 6 at the line. "In a minute, it’s going to be called hack-a-Wizards," said Arenas, as Washington was a combined 14 for 22.

Celtics 104, Wizards 102 - Michael Lee, Wizards Insider

Arenas used to have a reputation as a reliable closer, but for the second time in as many home games, he came up short when his team needed him most. He missed two free throws that could've tied the game with 26.7 seconds remaining against the Celtics, after missing a point-blank layup that could've tied the game late against Toronto. The Wizards love to talk about how they compete against any team in the league when healthy, but right now they are proving that to be true. Competing isn't enough. The goal should be to win. Granted, they lost to the Celtics, a possible championship contender, but this team isn't winning games against anyone right now. That loss to Detroit on Sunday remains one of the most perplexing of the season.

Wizards can't convert in final minutes, fall to Celtics - William Yoder, Agent Dagger

Down two with :27 seconds left in the game, Gilbert Arenas did the right thing. Instead of being the passive, nervous player that many have criticized him for being this season, the former all-star drove to the lane and drew two fouls. He did what the star of the team had to do, he did what a closer needed to do. However despite drawing the foul, Arenas couldn't convert on his free-throws. Gil missed both, completely squandering the opportunity he had created for his team. But hasn't that been the story of the season for the Wizards so far this year? Their man, who used to be the man, can seemingly do everything but finish. He gets open, he makes the plays, but seemingly never when they count the most.

Fundamentals can't rescue the Wizards - Mike Jones, Washington Times

"We competed for the most part except that second quarter, but if we compete the way we did in the second half, we'll win our share of games and get things going in the right direction," Saunders said. "We had the situation where we were down two, had our best player at the free throw line, and you expect him to make those - and he didn't. He also got a pretty good look at a 3-pointer to tie it later - but didn't. We're doing things to put ourselves in good position, but unfortunately we haven't come up on the better end of the draw."

Celtics Deal Wizards 3rd Straight Loss - Dave Johnson, CSN Washington

Even with Arenas missed free throws and the defensive breakdown that led to the Rondo dunk, the Wizards still had a chance in the closing seconds. Down 103-100 with 14.6 seconds left, the Wizards were able to get the ball in Arenas hands. Arenas was able to get a good look from the top of arc but his three point-attempt ricocheted into the corner. That’s when Randy Foye tracked down the rebound but he hurried a shot with 8.5 seconds left that fell short. "It was a tough place to be. KG let the ball roll so I thought the time was running out so I chased down the rebound," Foye recalled. "He gave up so I just tried to get a shot off real quick. I didn’t know how much time was on the clock."

Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards fail to come through in the clutch vs. Boston Celtics - Michael Lee, Washington Post

"You got to understand when things are not going well, you got to continue to fight. Only way it's going to happen is to work hard and believe we're going to turn things around," Jamison said. "We're in games. We're competing. We're just not finding a way to get it done. Right now, it's getting tough but guys are still positive. Guys realize things are going to turn around." But that won't happen unless the Wizards find a way to play a full 48 minutes. They trailed 63-48 when Rondo hit a fadeaway jumper over Arenas. Arenas drew a foul on the Wizards' next possession, but as he stepped to the foul line, a group of fans in the upper deck began to chant, "Let's go Celtics!"

Instant Analysis: Celtics-Wizards - Brian Jackson, CSN Washington

DeShawn Stevenson got the start in the second half and breathed some life back into this team. The Wizards opened the third quarter on a 22-6 run that got them back in the game. In his 16 minutes on the floor he only scored five points but the Wizards were +9 when he was in the game. This was the first time all season that the Wizards old starting line-up of Arenas, Stevenson, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood had been on the floor together for an extended period. Another positive was the play of Haywood and Andray Blatche. The two combined for 34 points on 14-of-17 from the field.

Celtics 104, Wizards 102 - Mike Jones, Outlet

How do the Wizards get Butler going? "That's what we keep on [saying]. We have our meetings, and we keep on talking about that," Saunders said. "To his credit, he's good defensively and he rebounded well. But we're not doing a good job setting screens and getting him open, and when he gets it, some of these teams are loding up on him. ... We're hoping that by pushing the ball up the floor more, we can get him some more open-floor opportunities, but we do have to get him free on more situations."

Celtics 104, Wizards 102 - Craig Stouffer, Pick and Roll

Point: Brendan Haywood finished the night with 17 points on a perfect 7 for 7 from the field, including nine points right after the break in which the Wizards trimmed the 14-point halftime margin completely with a 22-6 run that culminated with taking the lead, 72-70, when Arenas gave up the ball in the lane to Jamison for the And-1. Counterpoint: Of course, Jamison missed the free throw and Allen took the lead right back with a three at the other end -- a jumper that just so happened to give him 20,000 points in his career. Nice touch. It also sparked a 13-2 run for the Celtics that restored a nine-point advantage at the end of the third.

Behind Rondo, Celtics Fight off Wizards - Greg Payne, CelticsBlog

"Clearly (the Wizards') game plan was they weren't going to guard (Rondo)," said Rivers. "They were going to give him shots and he took them. That's what we tell him: 'Once it's your shot, it's your shot. No more passing or being a point guard. When it's time to shoot, it's time to shoot. You're a shooter.'

Best of Twitterville

Twitter / Truth_About_It
Walked in media room bathroom just b/f the game, Gheorghe Muresan was squatting over a urinal trying 2 pee, turned around & walked back out.

Twitter / Jon Lewallen
Unless I missed it before the game, I have a feeling they're not going to ask Webber about Abe Pollin.

Twitter / Jack Kogod
Just begged Ted Leonsis to bring back the old colors/name. Time will tell. #wizards

Twitter / Mike Prada
If the #Wizards do indeed win, they have Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche to thank. Both guys have really come to play tonight.

Twitter / Mike Jones
7-Day-Dray got posterized, whipped off the headband, then schooled Rasheed Wallace.

Twitter / wizznutzz
deshawn should get ABE logo patch tattoo on the neck of his Lincoln tat

Twitter / Andrew Sharp
I love how jamison's leaning threes are like, actually a part of our offense.

Twitter / Wolf Blitzer
Ernie Grunfeld is Wizards President. He's a great guy and (again full disclosure) a good friend. He assembled this team.

Twitter / J.E. Skeets
I wonder who Gil will "blame" those missed free throws on. Spalding? Wolf Blitzer? Me?

Twitter / Agent Dagger
How can that man be so good at shooting three's to win games, but he can't hit the free throws..De ja vu from Cleveland series

Twitter / George V. Panagakos
@AgentDagger If I'm Foye, I don't end the game with a lay-up, I jack another three; hope he has a body guard in that locker room

Appreciating Good Tony

Jeff Clark — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:47:24 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

The Good Tony showed up.

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Tony Allen is an easy target on this blog. He's known for his maddeningly low basketball IQ and frequent boneheaded plays. But he's on this basketball team and in the NBA for a reason. He's athletic, aggressive (which is important: see Gerald Green), and he gets after it on defense. When the stars align and he is focused on what he needs to do to help the team win, good things can happen like they did last night.

TA making immediate impact - ESPN Boston

Allen connected on 4 of 5 shots for eight points, with three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes. Most impressively, he finished with a game-high plus-14 in the plus/minus category, showing how much he contributed at both ends of the floor in a dominant second quarter for the Green.

"[Allen] was big for us," said Celtics captain Paul Pierce. "He came in and gave us some very productive minutes. He was able to play defense for us and he came back in the nick of time with Marquis being out so he was able to fill the void. We are able to put him on different guys, defensively, and what people don’t know is that he can get to the basket and score the ball, too."

"Tony was terrific," said Rivers. "That's what our bench has to do at times, help stretch out that lead."

There were some head scratching moments last night (like the double dribble for instance) but they were few and far between and were far outweighed by the positives he brought to the floor.

I was particularly impressed with his rebounding and going after loose balls. That kind of "get after it" mentality might be what has been missing from the team lately. Not that he alone is going to solve our rebounding woes, but sometimes it just takes the effort of one man to remind everyone else how to get after the ball with the same burst that you would use on a dribble drive. Sure, boxing out is great, but sometimes a guy that is boxed out can simply will himself around the screen and snatch the ball faster than his opponent. Our guys need to do more of that and Tony was that kind of guy last night.

Here's hoping for more of the same. He's got his ninth life now and he used it to help us to our ninth win. We'll see how much more of the Good Tony we see in the coming weeks, which would make Doc's job a whole lot easier with Daniels out.

Why the NBA isn't Tough Anymore

aramnath — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:31:07 -0000

More photos » by David Liam Kyle - NBAE/Getty Images

Don't blame Lebron for dancing, blame David Stern and the excessive suspensions in place if players tried to police the game themselves. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

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"If a guy was doing the Riverdance like that, coach would come over and say, 'Who's got the fewest amount of fouls of my big fellas?' " said ex-Celtic and TNT analyst Kevin McHale. "If you raised your hand, he would say, 'We will let him drive and then we will throw him on the ground.'

"When he is laying there we would say, 'Do you feel like dancing now?'

"And that pretty much solved the dancing problem."

Let's imagine that what McHale said would happen back in his day took place today. To begin with, both teams would pretend to actually want to fight, but since since fights never happen in the NBA nobody would actually do anything. The reason why a fight has almost no chance of happening is because of the heavy suspensions that is now imposed on any sort of slightly physical play.

Any time there's any kind of physical play, there is an immediate reaction that a flagrant foul needs to be called and then announcers usually will say something like "there's no place for that in the game". Well if there's no place for that in the game then you can't really complain about guys showboating and you should expect Lebron to continue his "Riverdance" (Kevin McHale you were a horrible GM, but that was slightly redeeming).

It's gotten to the point where a guy like Kendrick Perkins is considered a tough guy. Bitch please. Oakley would slap Perkins silly and not one player on the Celtics would be man enough to step to him (I'm looking at you wannabe thug Paul Pierce, throwing up the B against the Hawks). If you think I'm joking go watch some clips of the early 90's Knicks. Yeah, we never won a championship, but if you had to choose one team in the history of the NBA in a fight, you would choose that team because we had Oakley and Mason. Do you really need anybody else?

When players could settle things on the court like that, you didn't have these problems. That's why you never saw Jordan, Bird, Magic, Dr. J or any other great player dancing around on the court. Back then if you were talking trash and trying to show a player up, you better believe your ass was going down hard whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The league was obviously tougher when you allowed the players to police it themselves. Ever since the Malice in the Palace the league has become excessive in its punishments of players involved in fights or any physical play that could lead to confrontation. Remember the last "fight' in the NBA between the Knicks and Nuggets?

There were maybe 3 punches thrown, followed by Carmelo's bitch slap and run (seriously just look). The suspensions in comparison to the fight were insane. Melo got 15 games for his slap and both Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith were hit with 10 game suspensions for their wrestling match. Then after the fight we had to hear about how this was such a disgusting act that tarnished the game and that "there's no excuse for behavior like this".

If the blame should go anywhere for Lebron's dancing and the less physical brand of basketball we watch today, look at David Stern and the league office.

Rondo, Celtics Pounce on Bucks in 4th: 98-89

tenaciousT — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:10:41 -0000

More photos » by Brian Babineau - NBAE/Getty Images

Rondo and KG put the pinch on Jennings.

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Thanks to a masterful performance by Rajon Rondo and continued hot shooting by Kevin Garnett, the Celtics took care of home cooking tonight against a feisty Bucks team that was hungry for a win. They dropped their 4th straight.

The Cs winning streak reaches 8 straight and they are 17-4 overall, while raising their record at home to 8-3.

The Cs started the final period tied at 71, and after another tie, pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to an unstoppable performance by Rajon Rondo. Shaquille O'Neal move over. The Hack-a-Rondo has arrived.

Kevin Garnett led a balanced attack with six Celtics in double figures with 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting.

Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins finished with 15 points each, Ray Allen added 13 to the cause, including 2 of 4 from the three point line, and Rasheed Wallace popped for 13 more, with 3 of 4 from the arc, off the bench. Eddie House was shooting blanks last night, going 1 for 7, but got busy with 3 steals.

Ray Allen on Rondo…

He just distributed the ball throughout the whole game and then the plays were there for him to make, and to me, it was one of his better games, based on just how he managed it.

After three quarters, Rondo was 0-6 and scoreless but had orchestrated the Celtics offense all night with strong drives to the hoop, kick outs, and pin hole interior passing.

Scott Skiles…

Rondo was in the paint on us all night long. A team like that, as the game goes on, they’re going to wear you down and they’re probably going to beat you if you continue to let them do that.

We had tremendous difficulty keeping him in front of us the whole game. We went to go under the pick and rolls and we didn’t have any luck with that. We tried to make several adjustments and he took it to our rookie pretty good.

That rookie is Brandon Jennings, the Bucks new point guard of recent reknown. Jennings looked tentative starting out the game and was 1-7 shooting, before going 6-12 the rest of the way. He was 0-4 from the arc.

Rondo had 13 assists, but also made passes that led to assists for someone else.

Rondo turned it up a notch in the 4th, dropping 11 points on 3-3 shooting, including a few jump shots and 5 of 7 free throw shooting. Rajon finished with 13 assists, 11 points and 9 rebounds, just missing the triple double.

Jennings finished with 17 points on 7 of 19 shooting and had 6 points, but 4 fouls in the final period trying to guard Rondo. He finished with 5 fouls and 4 turnovers.

The Celtics started out the game with one thing in mind, pound it into the paint. They didn’t take a jump shot until the 4:07 mark and they had scored 17 points.

Rasheed Wallace…

We just tried to do what we could to punish them in the paint. We knew they only had one true big with Bogut. They had two bigs on the side (Dan Gadzuric, Kurt Thomas) that didn’t get a chance to play, but we just tried to punish them inside.

The Celtics got small leads all game and the Bucks would battle back. There was great interior passing at different times in the game by both teams. But the Celtics were able to create shots with more varied overall passing due to Rondo’s ability to get inside.

The 4th Quarter was the Difference

After losing Jennings on a screen on the left side, Rajon drove and scored his first basket of the game with a little jump shot on a beautiful spin move in the paint. That made the score 75-73.

The next time down the floor, the Celtics moved the ball around with Scalabrine passing up a three and driving and kicking out to Sheed for a three that rocked the house. Score 78-73.

Jennings drives to make it 78-75, but Pierce kicks it out to Rasheed for another three to make it 81-75.

The Bucks come back to tie it at 86 all on an Ilyasova lay-up, before Charlie Bell fouls Rondo on what Doc Rivers called Hack-a-Rondo.

Rivers…

Well tonight was the first time I saw ‘hack-a-Rondo’. With five minutes left, that was an intentional foul. And he made them. Thank G-d, you know?

And he’s going to get fouled more. That’s going to happen. So, it’s really important, obviously, for your point guard to make free throws. And he’s going to do that. He’s starting to now.

Rondo made both foul shots and then made a pull up jumper to make it 91-86. After Garnett fouls Ilyasova and he makes both free throws, Ray Allen hits a three pointer off a Rondo pass, making it 96-89.

Rondo...

I like taking shots. It's just...you know when you're playing with guys that are great at what they do, my job is to distribute the ball so.....I'm a 'pass first' point guard, probably 'pass second', I think shoot third. This is how I play. I love the...I'd rather get an assist any day than score the ball.

I'm going to shoot the ball when I have to or when I feel I need to but other than that I'm fine with getting rid of the ball to Paul Pierce....Eddie House. You know, I've got great shooters around me.

After taking the rook to the woodshed in a number of ways, what was Rondo's impression of Jennings?

He's a crafty point guard. He can definitely score the ball. He missed some shots tonight. I think we did a pretty good job on him. But he's definitely going to be a great player.

After a Jennings three pointer misses, Pierce comes down court and passes to KG for a long side jumper that decides the game at 98-89 with 1:48 to go.

The Celtics went on a 12-3 run to close it out with a kick. The only three points the Bucks scored were on three Ilyasova free throws in the last 4:51 of the game.

Garnett's Torrid Shooting Continues

Many of Garnett’s 25 points were set up by Rondo drive and kicks, and Pierce drawing Garnett’s defender and kicking it back to KG as in that final shot against the Knicks. Garnett has been nailing the open Js.

Since going 6-6 against Toronto on Nov. 27, he is 50 for 65 from the floor for a ridiculous .77%, especially considering that many of those shots are 16-18 footers.

Andrew Bogut had a strong game though Perkins was guarding him fairly well. The difference between Bogut and Howard is that Bogut has a go-to move or two in the middle. He was on last night and was making a number of contested shots around the paint. Bogut finished with 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting. He also had 7 turnovers due to a harassing Celtic defense.

It was a physical game, especially rebounding late in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics pulled away.

Rivers…

I thought there was one stretch in the fourth quarter where you could physically see bodies on bodies. And we got all the rebounds. And we’ve just got to get better at it.

Even without winning the board battle overall, the Celtics out shot and outplayed the Bucks. They also had 17 steals and those were huge as well. Rajon led with 5 steals, two in the final period.

Tony Allen played for the first time this season, going scoreless in almost 6 minutes time. How did he feel about his performance?

It could always be better. The shots that I did take...I got fouled on one. I need to convert my free throws. For the most part, I took what was in the offense. I couldn't really do too much. It isn't like I had some clear outs.

I just have to get the rust out. I feel good. I have to see how I feel tomorrow.

So the Celtics continue their winning ways and go back on the road for 3 more games before having three games at home before the Christmas Holiday.

Paul Pierce Deserves (Some) MVP Consideration

Greg Payne — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:15:29 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

When you discuss the NBA's MVP, be sure to mention Paul Pierce. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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I need to start this article with a very large disclaimer: This is not a "Paul Pierce should be MVP" article. This is simply a, "Paul Pierce should at least be considered for MVP" article. I do not believe Pierce is the MVP of the league at this point in the season, but I do believe he should be amongst the Top 10 in all of the various MVP lists being published by the likes of NBA.com and ESPN.com. Pierce deserves credit for the tremendous season he's having and just being in the discussion for something like an MVP award would serve as testament to how effective he's played so far.

Those of us who watch Pierce on a nightly basis and witness first hand not only the obviously dominating parts of his game, but also the subtle aspects that will only be appreciated by watching him nightly. We know his game isn't always flashy and he won't grace SportsCenter's Top 10 every morning like some other stars, however a slashing drive and spin move for a layup by Pierce and a tomahawk dunk by LeBron James both count as two points. However as great as Paul is, and even though he means so much to one of the top teams in the league, he is nowhere to be found in the MVP discussion.

NBA.com's Top 10 MVP candidates as of yesterday:

1) Kobe Bryant...2) Lebron James...3) Dirk Nowitzki...4) Carmelo Anthony...5) Dwight Howard...6) Steve Nash...7) Kevin Durant...8) Dwyane Wade...9) Tim Duncan...10) Brandon Roy

ESPN.com's Top 10 MVP candidates as of Monday:

1) Kobe Bryant...2) LeBron James...3) Steve Nash...4) Dirk Nowitzki...5) Carmelo Anthony...6) Dwight Howard...7) Dwyane Wade...8) Joe Johnson...9) Brandon Roy...10) Kevin Durant

As I'm sure you noticed, there are quite a few duplicates on both those lists. But neither list includes Pierce. Therefore, allow me to present my rationale as to why he should be on both.

Much was made of the sluggish play that was beginning to define this Celtics team after a promising 6-0 start. We questioned the defense, the intensity, the heart and the general interest these guys had in reclaiming a championship in June. Well, amidst questions of Kevin Garnett's health and Ray Allen's age and performance, Pierce was the stabilizer during this stretch, which arguably reached its peak after the Celtics lost to the Magic on November 20 at home. Pierce was the mark of consistency and durability that the team often fell back on when the transparent play was visibly noticeable amidst a 9-4 start. Basically, Pierce kept us afloat while we figured ourselves out.

Kobe and LeBron are obviously both fantastic players and people always seem to latch onto the idea that if they were to be removed from their respective teams, those teams would suffer mightily. I'm sure this is true to an extent, but I'm also sure it's true of any superstar in this league. When the team's best player misses time, the team is bound to suffer. It's a simple formula.

However, a guy like Pierce never really seems to get the benefit of this argument, most likely because he has such stellar teammates like Garnett and Allen. But think back to earlier this season, in the midst of all the hoopla this team was working through. Where would this team have been had Pierce not been in the lineup? Surely this group would not have weathered the storm as effectively as it actually did. Think back to how many close games this team had to deal with against sub par opponents. With Pierce out of the lineup, do we win those games? I'm not so sure that we do.Then the critics really would have been calling for some sort of move to be made.

Pierce's phenomenal play this season has really bailed out many other guys on this roster. Garnett is finally starting to look like the guy we loved in 2008. The KG that started the season was hesitant, arguably a step slow and appeared unsure of his own athleticism. He needed NBA minutes to work his way back and we needed him to do that without the team losing a hefty amount of games. Pierce's play took a ton of pressure off of Garnett, which allowed him to comfortably work his way back and now we're started to reap the benefits of an apparently healthy KG.

The same can be said of a guy like Ray Allen, who wasn't necessarily shooting lights out to begin the season. People wondered if this was the year we'd see a steady decline in Ray (turns out it appears it won't be) and after just an okay start, the trade talk started to swirl. But again, Pierce's play allowed Allen to work his way into a groove and now he's just as deadly as ever.

Imagine if we didn't have Pierce and expected steady production from Rasheed Wallace and Eddie House, who both suffered through nightmarish slumps at the commencement of the season. Pierce's play helped us transition through that tough stretch and now 'Sheed and Eddie are finding their respective grooves as well.

I want to take a closer look at the NBA.com and ESPN.com lists. The top four teams in each conference all have representation on ESPN's list - except the Boston Celtics. Cleveland has LeBron, Orlando has Dwight Howard and Atlanta has Joe Johnson. Now please tell me, how is it that the Celtics, Cavs, Magic and Hawks have extremely similar records, yet Pierce is the only one on the outside looking in? What's the difference? A player from a 15-4 Orlando Magic squad is going to grace the top six on that list, but a player from a 16-4 Boston Celtics squad isn't going to crack the Top 10?

Then I look at a guy like Brandon Roy gracing the ninth spot on ESPN's list. Portland is 12-8 and sits fifth in the Western Conference. Now, If Portland was currently 17-3 or 18-2 and in the top three in the West, largely due to the play of Roy then I could certainly see why he would be considered. But they're just 12-8 and that's supposed to be enough to get some MVP love? And leading a team to a 16-4 record and the top spot in the Eastern Conference isn't going to cut it? A similar argument could be made against Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Sure, they're an up and coming team and Durant plays the pivotal role for them, but they're 10-9 on the season and are currently out of the playoff picture. Again, if they were 16-3 or 15-4 and challenging the upper tier teams, I could certainly see Durant getting the nod, but not when his squad is a mere game over .500.

Another reason those lists bother me is because back in 2008, Garnett was held out of the major MVP debate because everyone thought he had too much help around him. Well, this season, that excuse cannot and should not keep Pierce from being in the discussion, because the vast majority of the guys on that list have practically all the help they need this year.

Here's the breakdown of the help:

Howard: Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson (when healthy).

Kobe: Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.

Johnson: Josh Smith, Al Horford, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford.

LeBron: Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon and Mo Williams. Coming into this season everyone said Shaq was the solution to LeBron's problems. Well, don't hype up this duo at the start of the season and then start this talk of these two not gelling together on the court properly. If Shaq isn't what LeBron needs, please voice these claims now, rather than waiting until April or May.

Tim Duncan: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson.

I will say that guys like Carmelo, Nash, Dirk and Wade absolutely deserve to be on this list because they don't have as much help around them as some of the other superstars they share the list with. But because the Magic, Cavaliers, Lakers, Spurs and Hawks are so loaded, Pierce can no longer be ruled out because of his superior teammates.

Many of the players on those lists are defined by the numbers they put up every night, but has Pierce's play ever been defined solely by his numbers throughout his career? Pierce has always defined himself by being the ultimate team guy and asserting himself in whatever area the team needs production in. Pierce is an analyst in true form - he assesses the situation, realizes what the team needs and more than adequately supplies it. Sometimes scoring over 20 points is not what this Celtics team needs and Pierce realizes that. Sometimes they need a guy to grab more rebounds or hand out more assists or slow down the opposing team's best perimeter player. Whatever the scenario, Pierce always answers his team's calls.

Sometimes these MVP debates are defined too heavily by numbers, which is a shame, because it plays into the hands of guys like Kobe and LeBron. Does Kobe realistically need to average over 27 points per game in order for the Lakers to win? Probably not. But that's how Kobe plays the game. Can Pierce realistically average over 25 points per game this season? Probably. But that's not how Pierce plays the game.

I alluded to it in an article on Friday, but how many times has Pierce passed up open shots in order to get his teammates involved? I've lost count of the number of times he could take a lightly contested three, only he dishes to a guy like Brian Scalabrine instead. And this trend with Pierce didn't magically develop when Garnett and Allen showed up two seasons ago. Remember when Wally Szczerbiak first showed up here and Pierce immediately allowed Wally to start shooting the free throws after opponents committed technical fouls?

And isn't that the point of an MVP? An MVP make his team better by making his teammates better. An MVP sacrifices at times so his team benefits. An MVP is much more than just the numbers he puts up.

That's interesting. An MVP sounds an awful lot like Paul Pierce.

Game 19 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Boston

Zorgon — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:28:22 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

I was at this game! In truth, I've been to every Thunder-Celtic game ever. Kyle Weaver was simply astonished at my attendance.

Browse more photos »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Comcast Sports Net New England

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): CelticsBlog, CelticsGarden, There's like a Million Others

Matchup: The Celtics are one of, and possibly the best team(s) in the NBA. They've been cruising to the top ever since the season started, and they look to have a better year than last. As everyone knows, last season Kevin Garnett got injured towards the end of the year, leaving them not much better than the lower-seeded Bulls. But, this season, they have added the veteran Rasheed Wallace to their bench, along with Shelden Williams and Marquis Daniels. They come into the Ford Center on a strong 6 game win streak, with their last loss being November 20th to a strong Magic team.

Meanwhile, the Thunder are coming off of a expected win against Philadelphia, and a somewhat dissapointing loss against the Rockets. Don't get me wrong, the Thunder's track record is strong, but it's not nearly as serious as Boston's track record. It's going to be a complete uphill battle.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Kendrick Perkins

It's no secret that Kendrick Perkins is and always has been the weak spot in the Celtics starting lineup. Unfortunately, this year, he's much more than a weak spot, averaging 12 Points and 8 Rebounds. I'd expect him to pretty much dominate Krstic in the post. Hopefully Krstic will be able to step out and shoot his jumpers, but I don't think Boston's front line is as lazy as Philadelphia's.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Kevin Garnett

There's just no possible way I see Jeff Green winning this matchup. He's struggled against worse big men in the past, so I think the struggle will only increase when facing one of the best big men in the NBA.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Paul Pierce

This is probably the most interesting matchup of the game, as Paul Pierce and Kevin Durant have very similar games. I'd expect Durant to finish better, but only because he has less talent around him than Pierce does.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Ray Allen

Thabo doesn't do well against drivers, but he does do well against shooters. Hopefully he can phase Ray Allen a bit tonight, as it will probably be a big key into winning this game. That being said, expect Ray Allen to blow Sefolosha away in the scoring department, hands down.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo is averaging one less assist than points this year, so he's having his best assist year ever, along with his excellent defensive skills. Expect Russell Westbrook to struggle a lot offensively, yet (hopefully) revert to his assisting form.

Battle of the Benches

The Celtics win here, hands down. They have possibly the best true backup in the league in Rasheed Wallace, a solid streaky shooter in Eddie House, and another solid backup in Marquis Daniels. This isn't even mentioning defensively minded Tony Allen and perennial backup Shelden Williams, who easily beat the guys the Thunder have as 9th and 10th men.

Coaching and Intangibles

The Celtics have everybody healthy sans Glen Davis, and they are in full speed ahead mode as they try to rack up 7 straight and get home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Pretty much every intangible except for the fact that the Thunder are at home and more well-rested is on the Celtics side.

Bottom Line

Last year, we were able to compete with the Celtics for 2-3 quarters or so, but lost badly when they decided to put the accelerator down in the 4th quarter. Look for them to do the same tonight, unless Sefolosha can somehow stop the march of Ray Allen, Krstic can knock down some jumpers, and Westbrook can actually be productive offensively. Still, all of that is pretty doubtful.

Prediction: Boston 103, Oklahoma City 89

Hey, at least we'll be within range at halftime!

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. Go Thunder!

Poll

SB Nation - Paul Pierce

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Game 19 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Boston

Who's going to win tonight?