PO(’s) PO(st) PO(oints)

As to point #6, if memory serves, the Celtics had actually tied the game (or come within a point or two of tying it) with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter, but then the Lakers ripped off 8 unanswered points just before the half.

1. Would have scored 10 less if Tony were there.
2. See 1. Like to kick a brother when he’s down, Po?
3. Yeah, if only Powe and Kandi had played, would have made a huge difference in the outcome. GMAB
4. Master Po or Master Stating the Obvious?
5. Yeah, and his two sprained ankles have nothing to do with this? Talk about cheap shots.
6. True, but had zero outcome on the final score.
7. True again; you’re on a hot streak.
8. Only Ryan is discouraged by the losses? Huh?
9. Kobe is probably the best player for Gerald to model his game on.
10. Agreed re Rondo.
11. Scal could care less if you are on his wagon. The story here is how the fans have finally opened their hearts to him; about time.
12. Bynum can do more than rebound. He got skills. Check out that backdoor pass to that BG dude. Bynum is why we need Oden, and not Durant. I would trade any single Celtic for Bynum, straight up, including Pierce. No way the Lakers give him up for Gasol.
13. Actually, we were running the high school weave. Lame.

Is that what we were running, footey? That would imply that Doc has coaching skills beyond JR high….I doubt it.

When you’re getting beaten on the boards, it’s always wise, I guess, to leave one of your best rebounders stuck to the bench while playing the worst rebounding 4 in the NBA 26 minutes….I guess you’re right again, footey, wouldn’t have made a difference at all.

Interesting read Master Po. Nice job.

Rondo is by far the best point guard the C’s have.
I don’t understand the criticism of him when he doesn’t do something spectacular game after game.
Noone in the NBA plays every game on the level of spectacular, Rondo did a decent job, and with better players on the floor with him he would’ve done even a better job.
There are times when good or great players are on the floor with a bad team they can themselves look as bad as the other subpar players on that team.
Rondo needs to be starting and playing more minutes so he can hone his skills and have the team adjust to his level of play.
Gerald Green would benefit the most from play with Rondo, so would Jefferson. And when Delonte is playing with Rondo he seems to play a bit better.
Ryan seems to be a study player most games he’s getting better and better at doing his own thing, and nonetheless he benefits from playing with Rondo because Rondo helps out on the floor in ways that only he can.
Rondo with Tony Allen should be the guards on this team if Tony can come back strong and play like he was before he get hurt.Next years line up could be Rondo T.A / Pierce and Durant / with Jefferson.
Bench players Delonte, Gomez, Greem and Scal. Everyone else get in where you can fit in if your still on the team.
I didn’t over look the possibility of getting Olden
Then the line up would be Olden at center with Jefferson and Gomez at the forward spots, with Rondo and Pierce at the guard position.
Now that a competing team against any team in the league

You mean you rather have Gin than Don Q? aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhhh! >:(

7. West’s play wasn’t as impressive as his stats. His ballhandling was terrible. Even Tommy had to laugh at him trying to dribble with his right hand and dribbling it off himself and out of bounds. Those two missed layups on the break where he refused to pass were also impressive. :-\

re: #13
I think the Celtics were using the old Etch-A-Sketch Offense.

You can try to draw a triangle or a set play or a diagonal line, but it usually ends up looking like a wobbly mess…

There must have been 5 back door, alley oop opportunities for Gerald, that Gerald was begging Rondo to toss up, and he completely ignored him. The only backdoor that he tossed was to Scal, which was ugly.

Here’s what Kobe’s said about Gerald after the game..
i think Celtics is very lucky to have Gerald Green.. let’s help him grow.. let’s dont be so cynical about our future..

   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I told him, I said, the important thing is to keep working,” Bryant said. â€Å"Just have tunnel vision. Itâ€â"¢s a tough situation for him here right now because theyâ€â"¢re losing so much. But itâ€â"¢s important for him to just stay focused on what he has to do. I told him if he ever needs anything to track me down.
 
    Ã¢â‚¬Å"Heâ€â"¢s a hell of a talent. He reminds me a lot of myself when I first came into the league. I came out guarding MJ (Michael Jordan) and (Scottie) Pippen and those guys. It was a challenge, but youâ€â"¢re not going to learn unless you step up to that challenge and meet that challenge.”

GG will be the guiding light to our 17th

Thanks, Po, nice job as usual.

Iowa, in 27 minutes, Scal had 17 points, was 5-7 FG, 3-4 3PFG, 4-4 FT, Zero TO. Somehow I don’t think he is why we lost the game last night.

Every loss is music to my ears. We must lose as much as possible now because when PP gets back he really can will this team to victories on his own. He’s that good some nights. So, to make sure we stay in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes we must lose evry game til he gets back.

37 and 23!!! Durant is sick. Yet, I’d still take Oden. You just don’t find true centers with his basketball IQ very often. He’d erase so many mistakes defensively, and we don’t know what he’d do offensively when he can actually use both of his hands. He’s unselfish, so Al would have no problems getting touches. And the two of them would own the glass. Durant will probably end up being the more exciting player. But who would you rather have, Tim Duncan or Vince Carter?

Nice job Master Po

I can’t even begin to express how depressing this situation is. Apart from DWest, AJefferson and RGomes this team really needs a shake up. The body language some of this players have is starting to worry me.

Kiki Vandeweghe says, “Check out the big brain on Bri!”

“Here’s an interesting fact — Brian Scalabrine possesses the top brain type for basketball according to brain researcher Dr. Jon Niednagel. That’s a reason Danny Ainge got him — Jerry West, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan are similar brain types as Scalabrine.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-070201

Now if only Scalabrine had skills.

Footey said:
Iowa, in 27 minutes, Scal had 17 points, was 5-7 FG, 3-4 3PFG, 4-4 FT, Zero TO. Somehow I don’t think he is why we lost the game last night.

And don’t forget…1 rebound in 27 minutes from the guy playing primarily the 5 spot. Do you think there is any other player in the NBA who could put up that number from that position in 27 minutes? There has to be a hellacious number of “intangibles” and “the little things” to make up for getting torched on the boards. Clifford Ray needs to spend megatime with Scal on the court….not at the dinner table.

Let’s look for a trade now before Wally shows more about his terrible play!!… What about Perk and Wally for a Center???…

DANNY & WYC, listen up

Keep the youngsters as they are and let give them room to develop and grow….. I’ve been saying that all year and now

management needs to realize that the fans are “OKAY” with this as long as the long term is “CHAMPIONSHIP” with these kids.

""""DO NOT MAKE ANY STUPID TRADES THAT WILL RESULT IN US GOING BACKWARDS"""

We are doing just fine and things will work out

Please take note ………..Last night Durant had 37 points 23 rebounds

CELTIC MANAGEMENT " Do feel you need to do something, sometimes its best to let things work its course "

I really wonder if Memphis would take Jefferson, Green and Theo’s contract plus whatever spare parts for Gasol? I like Jefferson but it is his third year in the league. It is becoming apparent what he is; a legit big time rebounder with decent defensive skills and not enough of a post game to command a double team. Regardless of what happens in the lottery, the chances are pretty good the Celtics will get a 4 or a 5 at least as good as Jefferson or maybe better. Looked at that way, the Celtics replace Jefferson in the draft and essentially replace Green with Gasol. That would be a huge improvement. If the Celtics hit it lucky and get Durrant or Oden in the draft, they are golden. If they don’t, they still greatly improve. Their lineup next year would be, Perkins, Gasol, Pierce, Allen, and West, with Rondo, Gomes, Wally and the rookie coming off the bench, assuming that don’t get Durrant or Oden. That team could compete and compete for years since Pierce and Gasol are both under 30. When last seen, Jerry West was desparately trying to trade up to get Green in the draft. For Green and Jefferson he just might bite.

Did someone actually ask if there was another player in the league that could play 27 minutes and only get 1 rebound at the PF position?? Hello!!! Mark Blount can do him one better at the center position. I’m not defending Scal’s rebounding ability, because it’s pretty much non-existent, but the guy spends a lot of time on the perimeter.

Also, one of my biggest pet peeves is people spelling words differently to account for the Boston accent, like “Bahstan” and Gahhden", but since when do Bostonians not pronounce the D?? What is the “Gah-en”??

â€Å"Gerald Green please take note of the following. You have such great potential, and last night you showed some more of that in certain moments. It was a good solid game for you with a few fouls and botched defensive assignments. But something like Kobe Bryant is what we all have visions of you becoming, and that is a tall tall order and you have a ways to go. Be patient grasshopper and keep going to the hole.”

This is just plain unfair to Gerald. The kidâ€â"¢s got potential; but letâ€â"¢s face the facts, heâ€â"¢s a project at age 21. When Kobe was 21, he was 2nd team All-NBA, 1st team All-Defense, and most importantly the second best player on a monster 67-15 championship team (Of course Kobe was in his 4th year in the League at age 21, as he graduated high school when he was 17½ years old unlike Gerald who didnâ€â"¢t graduate high school until he was a frightening 19½ years old).

This is even worse than the T-Mac comparisons, which, by the way, are also unfair to Gerald. Just because he shares T-Macâ€â"¢s physical attributes, doesnâ€â"¢t mean heâ€â"¢s another T-Mac. T-Mac brought his handles and vision with him to the L (he just didnâ€â"¢t bring a work ethic- thus the limited initial playing time). Geraldâ€â"¢s a hard worker, but heâ€â"¢s miles away from having either handles or vision. With his combination of long-range shooting ability and athleticism, heâ€â"¢s definitely got a place in the L- but really as a more traditional 2/3 spot shooter and slasher in the Allan Houston/Reggie Miller mold. I think hoping he becomes another Reggie is stretching it, ‘cause your either born a killer or your not (and Gerald has shown no signs of being one); however, I donâ€â"¢t think Gerald becoming something like another Houston (pre-injuries) is out of the question and frankly I think we should be overjoyed if he does become so with the Celtics.

stop bashing on GG

you are the same cynical fans critized Billiups and JJ

good report PO. You know you’re getting old when the home team chants for the Lakers. WOW- what happened to the NBA? What happened to our Celts and their rabid fans? I guess Stern got what he wanted -Everybody loves this game, even when it isn’t their team!

“Blount averaged 15/7 for January and is shooting 53% FG for the year. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Celtics had a center that could do that? Perkins can’t even shoot 53% free throws.”

Don’t worry, Blount will return to being the reboundless wonder eventually. There is no excuse for him not having those numbers every month, but he won’t. Give it time and someone will step on his toes in the shower or insult his cat or he will get message from the mothership on planet flakatron and he will stop playing. There is just no figuring tht guy out. I will never miss him.

Two responses to previous comments. Scal blocks out on the boards better than any other Celtic with Perk a close second. When he effectively blocks his man off the boards he increases rebound opportunities for other Celtic players, especially little guys that can “knife” in to steal a rebound. If you can’t jump at least you can cancel out an opponent that can jump.

Scal is an under-rated defensive presence as well.

In response to John K.‘s comment that Jefferson lacks enough offense to command a double team, you certainly were’t watching the game last night (and other nights) if you didn’t notice that Jefferson almost always commands a double team. Apart from his having an off shooting night, the lack of a Celtic perimeter game hurts our inside guys as defenders “cheat” by collapsing the middle….most noticeable in zone defensive schemes.

As for trading Jefferson, Green and Ratliff for Gasol….great deal for Memphis, lousy deal for us because it eliminates our future stars.

In response to John K.‘s comment that Jefferson lacks enough offense to command a double team, you certainly were’t watching the game last night (and other nights) if you didn’t notice that Jefferson almost always commands a double team. Apart from his having an off shooting night, the lack of a Celtic perimeter game hurts our inside guys as defenders “cheat” by collapsing the middle….most noticeable in zone defensive schemes."

He scored 14 points on terrible shooting. But, point taken, not enough offensive game to score on a double team. He is not going to be a star. He is a good player but he is not a star. He is Charles Oakley with less defense. Not bad, but not great and not half the player Gasol is and probably not as good as what will be available in the draft even at four or five. I would love to think the guy is going to be Elton Brand, but he is just not. The numbers, the lousy scoring average when he has been the man the last few weeks don’t lie.

“As for trading Jefferson, Green and Ratliff for Gasol….great deal for Memphis, lousy deal for us because it eliminates our future stars.”

Future stars? I wish it were true but it is not. Green, as somone pointed out above, is probably Allen Houston. Like Jefferson, a good player but not a star. Green and Jefferson for Gasol is giving up two good players for one very good player. Gasol is 25 years old, seven feet tall and will score 20 points and 8 rebounds a game for the next ten years. Trading two definite maybes for a proven all star is not a bad trade. It would be a good trade for Memphis only because it would save them money and they are too cheap to pay Gasol.

Look, if Jefferson and Green were the real deal all-stars, the team wouldn’t be on a 12 game loosing streak. They have had their chance and shown themselves to be exactly what they are; good complinentary players but not first or second options on a good team. Trade them now before people figure that out and get a legit number 1 option in Gasol.

Blount is not Roger Clemens. I don’t care if he did get religion in Minnisota that doesn’t make up for the worthless whiny slug he was in Boston after he got his 40 million dollars. How many times did Blount go out and get 0 rebounds in 30 minutes of play and then whine about not getting the ball enough after the game. Too many.

It wasn’t management that smeared Blount. He did a fine job of that on his own. And none of his teammates liked him anyway. It nothing to do with management trying to spin something.

Stillaceltsfan: you da man. I’m not cool with this either. When we blew up O’Brien’s mediocre playoff team, I didn’t think we were trading it in for the worst team in the league FOUR YEARS LATER.

JohnK: You da man too. Gerald can be fun to watch, but right now, her reminds me of Kenny Walker: slam dunk champion, marginal player. He doesn’t defend, doesn’t move without the ball, and floats around the perimeter too much. And please, don’t give the the Kobe quote. That’s a great player at the top of his game being gracious after destroying a much lesser player. If he’d told the truth, he’d have sounded like a jerk.

This is Danny’s team guys. This is the fruit of four years. A MASH unit that’s good enough to lose 13 (soon to be 14) games.

It’s far from sure we’ll get Oden or Durant, or that they’ll have an immediate impact, but so far, I don’t see any reason to believe the supporting cast will make us a contender.

Time for some adult supervision on Causeway Street. We need some guys who actually have built and run a team before to begin the slow, steady, unglamorous process of building a solid team.

Szerbiak Attack said: "
  Kiki Vandeweghe says, “Check out the big brain on Bri!”

“Here’s an interesting fact — Brian Scalabrine possesses the top brain type for basketball according to brain researcher Dr. Jon Niednagel. That’s a reason Danny Ainge got him — Jerry West, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan are similar brain types as Scalabrine.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-070201

Now if only Scalabrine had skills."

Hall of fame post, Szerbiak Attack.

An important topic has been overlooked, people:

Also, one of my biggest pet peeves is people spelling words differently to account for the Boston accent, like “Bahstan” and Gahhden", but since when do Bostonians not pronounce the D?? What is the “Gah-en”??

You ain’t from around here, are yuh?[/i]

“Gah-en” is a reference to the Sebastian Telfair installment of the Celtics’ local FSNE “Lucky the Leprechaun” TV ads. For some reason, the same Bostonians who say “Gahden” think it’s [i]hilarious when someone from Brooklyn says “Gah-en”. C’mon people, the Bahston accent and the New Yawk accent are kissing cousins. Get over it.

As far as phonetically spelling things to reflect accents and whatnot, that my friend is just one way of better getting your point across. It’s visual communication. Admittedly, it is best utilized when used sparingly, but when done right it can add a tremendous amunt of flavor and accent to the written word. It adds an air of familiarity and informality. It it communication on another level.

Wicked pissah.

Nicely done, Master Po, good job.

Good post, Po. Kandi brings nothing, but at least Powe can rebound, hit shots around the basket and get to the free throw line. He should be getting all of Scalabrine’s minutes.

As for the comments, I’d like to watch a game with and pick the brains of the folks that think Rondo is a better point guard than West. What exactly are they seeing? I don’t get it.

I can’t figure out who said it, but the fact is that Oakley on his best nights of dreaming, didn’t have 1/3rd the lost post moves that Jefferson already has.

Hey Po

What’s the deal with Scal? I thought he played very well. The guy plays hard. He’s not a great rebounder but he boxes out. He takes some hard fouls, which I like – rather than the nickle dimers that lead to 3 pt plays. He played good defense, hell he even guarded Kobe and did a decent job when he had him. Some people act like Scal is making 15M a year or is suppose to be a star.

Hey Po, I guess you don’t like Wally either. Hell the guy has been out
4-5 weeks, has to be out of shape, and is a spot up shooter. He’s not going to create his own shot off the dribble. He has to have someone set him up or do it with ball movement.

Wait, let me try to understand this. You’re saying that our team, without Pierce and TA, with a sick Delonte and an injured Wally, isn’t as good as the best player in the NBA and his supporting cast? I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it……

On a side note: The celtics are the worst team (Record wise. Surely if they had a full team they wouldn’t be so bad) in the NBA.

However, I did agree with the rest of your posts.

The only thing I’d say about Doc and this team is that the kids still are playing hard for him. He has the team up and motivated even in this losing streak and with all the injuries. I don’t know if that’s enough to keep him, just my thoughts. As for timeouts, check out Phil Jackson, I’ve seen teams run 10-12-14 pts and he sits there like Chief NOSEENUTUN. Pro coaches use them much differently than college. And if I’m not mistaken, there are mandatory timeouts called each quarter – one of the home team and one of the visitor, which can create issues for later in the game.

Again, I would have like to see us sign Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, Paul Westphal or another previous Celtics to coach this team.

Okay lurky, I just watched the Telfair commercial again. I never noticed how he pronounced it that way. But it still doesn’t change how I feel about the whole thing. Bostonians don’t pronounce "r"s sometimes because it’s quicker, not because they’re retarded. What’s quicker about “Gah-en” or “Bahstann”??

Charles Oakley in his prime was a 12 point 11 rebound per game guy playing as his team’s third option. Jefferson is a 10 point 13 rebound guy right now as his team’s first option. If he has all of these post moves, how come he can’t score more than 10 points a game? This Al’s third year. The whole, he is just out of high school dog won’t hunt anymore. If Al Jefferson were going to be a 20 10 guy he would be scoring more this year with the minutes he is getting. Granted, he is probably better than 10 ppg, but I can’t see him getting more than 15 or 16 a game ever. The game just isn’t there. The kid can’t score over a double team. Yeah, so he will be a better low post scorer than Oakley and every bit the rebounder, but no way as good of a defender. Again, a very good player, but not a star. Like I said, I wish and hope you guys are right about him, but I just don’t see it.

For those of you who don’t believe that Al can score in the post, I beleive he got about 25 against some stiff name TIM DUNCAN. And also for those of you who think he can’t command a double team, are you watching the same game. He’s getting double teamed almost every possession and still getting his shots off and although Tommy Heinsohn would like to see Al ( and every Celt go to the foul line) every time they shoot, he still isn’t getting the calls he will get in the next months and next year. However, we can expect the double teams to stop once PP gets back.

Someone brought up Rajon Rondo. No, I don’t think he’s better than DW right now. However, he has the ability to penetrate at will. As we all know he needs to work on his shooting and get some more experience. I think he’ll be very special in a year or two. DW is the perfect 6th man in my opinion. Can play 2 positions, comes in with energy, can score, play a little defense, and a tough customer.

Yeah, comparing Gerald to Kobe seems massively unfair to him, there’s no way he can be anything but a failure in that situation. I’d think he’s probably more likely to resemble Larry Hughes, or Ricky Davis. And a less injury-prone Larry Hughes, or less-knuckleheady Ricky Davis, is a damn good player. But not a franchise player

you have POtential.

Hey John, how many times in his career do you think Charles Oakley was ever double-teamed???……..Thought so. Comparing Oakley’s offense to Al’s is ridiculous. They have absolutely no similarities at all in there game. You might has well have compared him to Danny Ferry.

Nice job Po…I don’t agree with every observation, but what the hell’s the difference…
There’s no doubt we have to stay focussed on the possible positives at a time like this and G$, Gomes, and Big Al are our main course at this quasi-banquet…That Rondo will develop a shot is the tease, cause if and when he does, he will be something, maybe even something spectacular…
As I see the rest of the season, Gomes has to get in terrific shape cause his future is at Power 3…Period…G$ should be dribbling everything in sight, cause he’ll be an unstoppable shooting gaurd (and with weight/muscle and unstoppable 3)…If Perks legs come around, he and Al just might be a fearsome twosome around the rim, and if they don’t come around, Al had best spend a lot of time in the weight room for next year…
These are all positive things that wouldn’t surprise me at all if they happened in the not too distant future…and then, of course, there’s the “TRADE” and the draft to alter the landscape…Hope springs eternal!!!

Well done Po.
Who did the typing for you, wife or daughter?

  :D

The losses are mounting and the basket is filling with lotto balls. Time to forget about Doc’s silly game management, subs. time outs etc. and look to future.
In the near future Doc will be gone and another new season will be here filled with hope and a high draft pick.

Master Po, that’s a pretty good wrap. Time to give it up for Scal though. Early poster hit it, Scal is best box out 5 we have. That gives some ribbies to others. Ok, he’s not solution, but he’s not problem this year. I escaped this head-banging to southern Chile for a week. Gave my Clips tickets away. So much easier to read about a loss 24 hours later. Durant? Could he be better than Oden? Only thing left to care about

For whats its worth Al in the last 10 games has averaged 16.5 points, 13.3 rebounds and had 4 games with 20 points or more. With PP out he is seeing more and double teams. Doesn’t always handle them well but before now he didn’t have to. May not become a star but certainly way too soon to say he won’t be.

Put a good shooter on the same side wing as Al and he will see fewer
doubles. As he gains more experience he will handle the doubles even better. He has a very high ceiling as a player.

So Gasol is 7 feet tall and can only garner 8 rebounds a game? Leave him in Memphis. If you are 7 feet tall you should own the glass. Has there been a tough minded European player?