Clang!

Doc was trying to prove a point. Cuts tomorrow; PJ Brown on Thursday.

The officiating has been pretty brutal this preseason, I also wouldn’t worry about Nate Robinson dropping 20 in a real game, he’s a joke. RayRay was disappointing today but the ball also didn’t bounce the C’s way today. David Lee is a legit rebound machine even when you box him out.

Why are we forced to watch Scalabrine night after night? He must be the WORST player in the NBA. If they can’t bear to cut him, then put him at the end of the bench.

He’s AWFUL.

David Lee was awesome , I love him .

Great point in the post above though.
We need another big , no doubt .

The proof was in the pudding tonight !!

Bill Cosby has pudding , I like Pudding !!

Definitely agree on the need for a big man, just have no idea who it’ll be. Garnett playing center against Curry for extended periods of time is dumb in my opinion.

And yes Brickowski, Scalabrine is brutal- I don’t care how fundamentally sound other posters say he is.

Scal is not the worst player in the NBA. But he is the worst REBOUNDER. He grabbed one rebound tonight. It makes a lot more sense, when Perk goes down, to either play Powe or shift KG to center and start Posey.

Just got back from the game. Ugly, but we had fun. I had my 8 yr old with me & he loved it.

I knew it was going to be a long night when Scalabrine got all those early touches. Garnett & Allen seemed to be out of sync all night. Pierce reverted to the old PP & tried to force the action. QRich did a good job of perstering Pierce and it got to him. Lee & Robinson played well. Funny how the cheapest guys on the roster sometimes try the hardest. Randolf was as advertised. He will shoot anytime he gets the ball, where ever he might be on the floor. He seemed to make most shots. Curry seems to be his usual pre season heavy self.

The point guard situation looked pretty bad tonight. Rondo seemed tentative all night. House couldn’t advance the ball against pressure. It’s still preseason, but unless Rondo can take and make shots, that could be their weak spot. House doesn’t look like the answer at backup.

Other stuff: Isiah was booed mercilessly when he was announced. Pierce was booed every time he went to the line. When Allen was fouled by Crawford & the tussle broke out, one fan screamed “ARE YOU CRAZY?! It’s preseason! IT DOESN’T COUNT!!!”

I spent most of the time explaining basketball to a vacationing Scot sitting next to me. When he asked before the game if the Knicks were any good, I told him no. When they won the game he said “I guess this might be their season eh?” Not likely, I told him.

they lost the game in the 1st half. they tried harder in half 2. no 3s, no boards. posey impressed me- got a few tough boards, hit the clutch shots. garnet had his hands full and did not want to shoot at the end, forced some passes, but was magnificent on d. brick- scal is not the worst but when he is outmanned, he smells the house up. house had a bad day, and even if rondo was tentative at times, he got 10 pts, some boards and steals and was not the reason they lost. when ny can bring in malik rose and or jeffries for a few mins. it shows you how really deficient we are with big man depth.

I was not happy that Batista was cut. If we don’t land P.J. Brown then that was a very bad cut. We aren’t playing Wallace, Manual or Jones and very little Pruitt. Where was Baby tonight if we are sitting Perk? Small ball didn’t work the last few years, it isn’t going to work. Don’t let KG get dinged up at center.

I’ve said this a month and a half ago, center is the big concern on this club. If Perk goes down, trouble. Pollard may be several notches above Scal but he is not PJ Brown.

I’d rather Batista banging at center than Scal.

So, is everyone still predicting a trip to the finals after watching this crap?

Gee, Delonte West had a smooth 22 pts/ 7 assists the other night on 6-9 shooting. Too bad we have that aging bricklayer Shttlesworth instead.

Scalabrine was not good tonight, for sure, but the game was lost due to poor play at the point and poor shooting by Ray and others. Posey was not very good until hitting a couple 3’s at end. To put it on Scalabrine may make you feel better but it doesn’t make you a very good observer

I don’t want Pierce shooting 3s. I know we were desperate late in the game hoisting 3s but we were 20% and shot 24 of them. This team cannot be in love with the 3. Ray Allen has free reign, Pierce and Scal maybe several if wide open.

Just finished watching the game on DVR. It was a very uneven performance by the Cs to say the least. Yes, the shooting was bad, but the ball movement was worse—it felt like the big 3 were trying to go one-on-one with their defenders. No one was able to break down their man or make the extra pass. The got trapped into making bad passes and bad shots that really seemed to set up the points for the Knick. The defense was terrible too. I thought that was supposed to be a focal point?

As for individual players, Rondo wasn’t playing like much of a point guard, but he did have good energy, was making the blocks and hustling. I thought Powe looked great too. Lots of hustle and good D—he just needs to do a better job of finishing when he gets the ball near the rim. I thought those 2 plus the big 3 were the best lineup tonight.

Nate Robinson is a streaky player. We supponsingly have 3 very good guard defenders in Rondo, T. Allen, and Posey. Had we put the brakes on this guy earlier enough we would have been in much better shape.

Also, no way Lee should be getting 14 boards against us. Big boy help has been a weakness for the past several years.

Doc and Danny better get on their knees because we need PJ Brown. We can make adjustments and survive the point concerns, but not enough depth with the big boys as always.

What we seen tonight is what we have seen over the last 4 years. Boston has no rythym in their game, they didn’t move the ball in a good way, Rondo had 1 assist for the game, and that again is typical of the way Doc’s pont guards play for the most part. KG, PP, and RA handled the ball too much instead of catch and shoot. Paul did a lot of drippling and the same can be said of Ray Allen.
Rondo looks a bit confused on the floor, he’s reminding me of all of Doc’s point guards going back to Marcus Banks, Delonte West, Sebastian Telfair and Rajon Rondo and the same can be said about all the other pg’s that played on this team under Doc Rivers.
Can someone tell Doc that pick and rolls work very well, screens for the shooters do well for good shooters, drive and dish works well for cutter moving to the basket ect ect.
Too much individual play from the 3 stars.
Doc’s coaching is sub standard to say the least.
This team didn’t look the least bit impressive today

CELTPINOY, Im a CeltPinoy also. Great to find another one in this board. Are you in Manila? If you have the time, please e-mail me cel33ticsATyahoo.com (AT is actually @….just trying to avoid spam mail). I just have a few questions to ask. Thanks.

There is no question that they need another big man but Perk was out and I suspect DA is waiting to see how things shake out.

However, the point guard play in the first half was really of greatest concern. Marbury was able to muscle and penetrate on Rondo and House does not appear to be the answer when defences extend. Admittedly, this was the first game I have watched this season and Rondo did play better in the second half. I wonder how long it will be before Pruitt starts seeing some minutes.

on the Scal issue…I have been on Po’s bandwagon for years but it becomes especially clear when he is not hitting his shots how useless he is…how about the three fouls in 14 seconds at the beginning of the 4th Q…lmao

I still am predicting NBA finals for the Celts. It makes no sense to play without the bigs: No Perk, Pollard hurt, no Baby, Batista cut. The Knicks have a big strong front line; unless Scal is on fire offensively, it make no sense trying to get him to bang with their bigs.

Lee is a very good player for the Knicks but no way should he be getting 14 boards in 31 min. of play. I will predict we land PJ Brown or someone close to his equivalant during the season. Had Perk played I think we win this game despite not being at our best on many levels.

I am surprised with our defensive capability at guard we couldn’t shut down Nate Robinson when he had the hot hand. This shouldn’t happen in the future. I do think that Rondo will develop as the season goes. If the offense is stagnant with him, then Celts may get themselves in the market for a point.

On Delonte West out west, the latest I heard on him is that he is injured again (back) and he is not traveling with the team because doctors are going to be checking him out. I don’t mean to pile on Delonte, but I don’t think he has an NBA body for 82 games and there lies the rub.

They say you learn more from defeat than victory. If that’s the case after the past several years we should all be geniuses.

I have been a 100% on the Celtic band wagon but I am momentarily hoping off to verbally b-slap Danny and Doc.

I know it is exhibition but there is an aura about the Big 3. We took care of Toronto, Minny was fairly easy, Knick 1st game a laugher, and winning verse the Nets when the court turned into soup.

We should not have cut Batista without PJ Brown in hand. Secondly, we could have probably beaten the 76er by a dozen had the front line starters played and we should have played them.

Had Perk played (and I assume as the box score states DNP coaches decision) it may have been a tussle but I think we still beat the Knicks despite playing poorly.

I think we could have beaten the Nets at their place and we will beat the Cavs at ours.

I’d just as soon play the Big 3 40 minutes a game (which we did tonight) and win then play 40 min. and lose.

I want a take no prisoners approach with this team every game, exhibition, regualr season, or playoffs. Let’s make the cuts and get down to business.

I agree with you Master Po. This team looked so good the first few exhibition games of the year I think even I could have ran the point without my contacts on. I didn’t see the game tonight but it appears we struggled on many levels.

I just don’t like the idea that Doc, Danny or whomever on the Celtic brass was trying to show in Philly that we could beat them without our front line starters. They didn’t have Dalambert and we could have blown their doors off.

Knicks have a big front line and again it appears Doc and Danny wanted to prove that we can beat their team without playing our center. If Perk is hurt and this team is hiding it, then it really makes the Batista cut show what a stupidity decision it was. If Perk wasn’t hurt then it is pure arrogance to say we are going to beat you and not play our starting center. Why push the big 3 40 min. each and give Perk zero minutes?

This isn’t supposed to happen this year. I’m not supposed to be scratching my head wondering WTF is going on here.

Larry Bird was an arrogant winner, but he won. Doc and Danny have shown arrogance as losers the last 2 games, and I want to get as far away from losing and tanking like we did last year as I possibly can. This team should be 5.5 wins and 0 (since we were winning at 1/2 vs Nets, I will call it a 1/2 win). This team needs to show Larry Bird arrogance and not whatever the heck Doc and Danny have been doing the last few games.

After so many years of losing, the team needs to head into the season with momentum, chemistry and confidence. Winning should be a priority, even in pre-season. Let’s develop that Patriots (old Celtics) swagger.

It’s become old hat at this point, but Doc’s biggest problem is refusal to change his offensive system. Rajon is a prototypical PG, among the league’s quickest. He should be driving and dishing, pick-and-rolling w/ KG. Doc’s system doesn’t foster that.

Is any other coach in the league dumb enough to play his 30 year old stars for 40 minutes in a preseason game?

And how was it possible for a 6-9 guy to get 1 rebound the entire game?

The game results could have been different had our shots started falling. Ray Allen had ANOTHER disappointing shooting night. When he misses foul shots you gotta believe something is wrong in Gotham.

We did not play like a veteran team either. Countless TO’s, poor ball and player movement and absolutely HORRID shooting from the outside. Of course, defenses will sag inside when we’re not hitting from the outside.

You may not like Robinson but what he brought tonight, we simply don’t have. A penetrating PG with an outside shot, superior hustle and great defense on House. Those bloggers that wanted a Pruit sighting would have cringed to see him struggle again at the point. No loss with him on the bench. But what of Wallace? Is he so “green” that we need to “hide” him at the end of the bench?

We could have used Big Baby tonight. Perhaps the outcome wouldn’t have changed but Big Baby could have received valuable experience playing against a premiere inside scorer in Randolph. David Lee’s length was a N.Y. bonus too and he has surprising mobility for a big man. If only we had someone like him instead of Pollard!

These posts are just horrible. What over analysis. The team played FINE. They just missed a crazy amount of open thats that they’ll usually hit. If even a somewhat respectable percentage of those wide open looks they had go on, the game is a BLOWOUT.

Relax and stop being such sensationalist dorks over this. It’s a pre-season game.

But what of Wallace? Is he so “green” that we need to “hide” him at the end of the bench?

Yes he is. I’d be surprised if Doc gives him any type of time (say over seven minutes) in pre-season. His main value is potential and he’s here to develop and improve.

I think we’ll see Dahntay Jones though, Doc has to know how much he can contribute (right now today how much he can contribute) and if he hasn’t garned that info in training he’ll throw him into a game to see how he does.

Wallace is here because of potential. Doc will see enough in training to make a call on him.

to bocelts and celticpinoy
haven’t you wondered why despite the popularity of the celtics in manila as evidenced by many guys wearing celtic jerseys no. 34 and 33 in the streets of manila, there is no philippine flag displayed in the masthead of this blog? if there are more of you out there pls. make yourselves known. the nba has long been popular in the philippines, long before china caught on the fever because of yao ming et al. im really thankful for the internet it has allowed me to feel what fans who see the games live and on tv regularly in boston have known all their lives while we only get a glimpse of a few games on tv specially after bird and company have retired.

Doc’s management might become an issue again. Of all games, why would you choose the Knicks game(ECurry, Randolph, Lee, physical play, etc.) to give Perk a break?..with no legit backup Center! I know its preseason but…….

umm…this was a preseason game, people…relax…I thought they played hard, they just missed shots, nothing to get panicky about….thats a big team over there in NY, and the Celts were playing without there first and second string centers….that was the difference…that and the Knicks played harder than Ive seen them play the last 3 REGULAR seasons, never mind the last preseason game when they got trashed by 40…at least they showed some pride all that being said, we need another big…a blind man could see that

This game was a waste of time except for one item. It highlighted the need for another big body. Get someone with some mass. Pollards only use is if Lucky pulls a hammy and we need another mascot. It doesn’t have to be an all-star. Just someone we can lean on Curry and Shaq if and when Perk is in foul trouble.

Some of the folks here are missing a key point. The Celtics didn’t really cut Batista, as was first put out. Instead, according to his agent, the Celtics had no plans to cut Batista, but he and his agent asked them to release him, so he could sign elsewhere (which the Celtics did). This was cited in the LOY’s Place blog yesterday, with a quote from the agent, Oscar Moglia.

Why Batista wanted to sign elsewhere isn’t entirely clear. One might argue it was the few minutes of playing time he forsaw. But my guess is, the Celtics weren’t willing to pay him the money he was being offered elsewhere.

So if you’re imagining they cut Batista because they have a deal in the works with another veteran, such as the PJ Brown, then you may be engaging in wishful thinking. They didn’t plan on cutting Batista.

DOC HAS TO GO! SAME CRAP, DIFFERENT TEAM

no kidding is right on. Batista wanted out. It’s that simple.

If Ray Allen shoots 40% which he will on most nights, then this team wins going away. Maybe not a 40-point blowout, since NY finally relaized they have a size advantage and ought to use it instead of letting their guards dominate the ball. But, we would still have handled them easily. Even with KG preoccupied with guarding Randolph and Curry, even with PP’s turnovers, even with Rondo’s lack of jumpshot, even with Scal’s 1 rebound – if Ray Allen shoots 40, we win this game. NY played as good as they are going to play; we played (oofensively at least) about as stagnant as we are going to play. And still, if Ray Allen shoots 40 we win this game. That’s reason for optimism.

I am not saying these players should all be playing the Center position but we have the following people that play the position but I wish we had one more 7 Footer wide body who could play against other large people and clog up the lane. I would think there is someone in the World of basketball that fits this role.
Perk – Upside – wide body, passes well, blocks shots, plays good defense against similar types of players, makes him self available for the quick pass and dunk, good rebounder. Can be over assertive at times leading to a foul especially sliding feet when switching man to man. Health not his fault but hope his feet stay healthy.
Pollard – I think he will fit well but those nagging injuries have to be frustrating for him. Perfect for a backup because he can play defense and is wide enough and tall enough. Hustle type of player.
Garnett – Personally he should play center only when crucial moments of the game occur and if we are playing the Phoenix Suns or small lineup teams. Important at age 31 to have energy left for the playoffs.
Powe – People say he is to small but I don’t think he is. He jumps high more then most centers, he has very long arms and is as strong as anyone in the league, plays under control, blocks shots, draws charges and rebounds on both ends of the floor. He is only going to get better. Some people thought Ben Wallace was to small he is the same size as Leon.
Scal – Sometimes plays Center but personally I think he should not and if he does just against non offensive centers.
Davis – If we do not get another 7 footer wide body center I would play him at center. Who is going to move him he has quick feet,good shooter, block shots and is a very smart player. Wes Unseld was the same size of Center and he is in the top 50 players all time. He was quick, great passer, had a good touch and a smart player.

As for the Center position, I agree that it would be helpful to have another true big-man. However, last night was the absolute worst-case scenario. Very few teams are throwing two guys at you the size of Randolph and Curry.

Chicago is going to throw 6-9 Ben Wallace and 215-pound Tyrus Thomas at you; Toronto is going with mini-Dirk Bargnani and mini-Garnett Bosh; Detroit has moved Rasheed to center and put 6-9 McDyess in the starting lineup. The Nets and Wizards don’t scare you down low either.

Miami, Cleveland, and New York are the problems. But, it’s the same problem that that Detroit, Chicago, and Toronto are going to have – and no one is counting them out because of it. And then, think about the Suns, who gave away their only true center for pennies to Seattle. There is more than one way to win against size; you don’t always have to match it. So, while I agree that it is a need, I’m not panicking yet. Even without Perk, that game was winnable last night. With Perk (even if only for 25-30 minutes), we’re favorites 8 out of ten games. So, let’s relax just a little.

It’s a pretty bad sign when the two worst coaches in the NBA match up and your’s gets outcoached.

There must be some logic involved in plugging in the worst rebounding big man in the NBA against a strong rebounding team that I, as a lowly fan, can’t figure out. It would seem to make way too much sense to give Davis the experience banging with one of the NBA’s best rebounders instead of having Mr Intangible chucking up and clanging 3s. Especially when it appeared that Rivers was interested in actually winning this game.

After yukking it up with the opposition after a blowout, (Did anybody notice how disgusted Wallace looked as he walked off the court after the Philly game?) and getting his clipboard handed to him by of all people, Isiah Thomas, it looks like Rivers is back in his comfort zone.

For all of you who have visions of a 50 win season and a championship run………….Hopefully you missed last night’s game.

What a bunch of fair weather fans! This nonsense is absolutely rediculous for a variety of reasons.

1- Preseason!
2- Even great teams have off shooting nights.
3- No center in the game at all.
4- After pounding a team by 40 you expect the other team to come out and play hard.
5- Preseason!

You can’t annoint them the champions after the first three games and then jump off the bandwagon after a loss that they weren’t even trying to win, and then a loss against a mad team that we didn’t play our centers. Come on people…

You also can’t have Scal get 5 rebounds in 3 games and then 1 last game and say that he can’t rebound. Selective memories I guess!

PLAYA, there should be no selective memory to access where your backup PG and your starting center have the same number of rebounds in the same number of minutes.

To reference your reasons one and five: If you are Rivers and the games are meaningless, why subject yourself to Scalabrine’s incredible intangibles and basketball IQ? Even someone as astute as Rivers probably knows what he has after 2 full seasons and three preseasons of watching. In Rivers’ case, though, maybe he doesn’t. This would have been a tremendous opportunity to see what Davis could do against a great young rebounder. Our shooting percentage definitely would have gone up because if Davis shoots, it’s usually not from 30 feet. Since Rivers never plays rookies unless he absolutely has to, this would have been a perfect opportunity to see how tough Davis is. We already know how soft Scal is.

We may not need another big. We may already have one. But how would Rivers know when a potential big person already on the roster plays 10 seconds in a “meaningless” game?

Plowboy,

First of all, he probably would like to have Scal play some extra minutes and get into a confidence level where he can contribute where needed at certain points of the season. He has been ridden and booed so much last year that his confidence level has taken a hit. Despite what these CelticsBlog ’’geniuses’’ think, there are much smarter basketball guys out there on this team and on the Nets that realize that Scal brings things to the table that can help a team. No matter how much everyone here says he sucks, it just isn’t true. He is a role player plain and simple, and role players especially can lose confidence. Calling him soft is just plain ignorant. The guy is a tough defender and if you can’t see that you are blind. He may not bring as much to the offensive stat line a lot of games, but you can’t say he isn’t a tough defender.

Davis makes so many Rookie mistakes that a couple of preseason games will not put him in a position to get playing time. I think he will be a staple on this team for years to come, or at least good trade bait at some point, but he is no where near to being a legitimate contender for minutes. He is turnover prone with his offensive fouls and traveling. He commits a lot of cheap fouls. He isn’t tall enough to be a defensive presence inside. He’s D league material this year plain and simple. Putting him in a few more games will not change that.

No matter how you coat it, you have a personal issue with Doc and Scal. That is apparent. You can wrap it in whatever topic you want, but every post of yours is related to hating Doc and Scal. Once again…Broken Record…