10 Things

by Gant on Jan 30, 2008 3:31 PM EST in Boston Celtics Articles

1) Miami Game

First off, Who kidnapped Bob Cousy and replaced him with Barney? "I love you. You love me. We're a Happ-ee fam-a-lee." What happened to the acid spitting Cous whose disposition resembled the monster from Alien? Winning changes everything.

2) Miami Game Again

It was nice to see Mark Blount giving his all for another team in a 30 point loss. Let's face it: You can't stop Mark Blount. You can only hope to trade him.

Speaking of Mr. Blount, my brilliant and beautiful wife made the following observation: She pointed out that after scoring Blount goes completely rigid when he runs to the other end, whereas Tony Allen does just the opposite; after he scores he goes totally loose and floppy as he goes the other way. I don't think it means anything, but it's funny.

3) Rondo

Give me a break you Rondo critics. Repeat after me: "Rajon Rondo is the man." Did you say it? Good.

He's young and extremely talented. The team suffers more when he's sidelined than anyone besides Garnett and Pierce. He's the single most important key to maintaining the tempo. He's a vital contributor to the team's early season awesomeness. Recently he missed a few games and is currently playing HURT. Keep developing him. Tough games now will be paid back later with playoff wins.

The kid's a future all star. The man I tell you! The man!

4) Damon

I'm not a big Damon Stoudamire guy. He's less selfish on the floor than he used to be, but is still a Damon-first point guard . He's also got Telfair disease on defense- too small and does not have Rondo arms to make up for it. I warned you about Telfair after the Portland trade. Well I'm warning you again. Overall, Damon probably won't give you more than Eddie House as a point.

5) Tony Allen

Also, floppy Tony Allen is just starting to come into his own, right on schedule. Recovery from knee surgery actually does take some time. Really. I don't know why anyone expected Tony to come out of training camp in top form. I also don't know why anyone thought he wouldn't improve (and will continue to improve) as the season goes on.

In other words Danny Ainge is doing the right thing by holding out for Sam Cassell or some other agreeable point guard. Sam's big, so he doesn't give away the farm against Billups. Sam's poised, so he'll keep his head in big games. Sam's a good guy too; he won't screw up the boulliabase.

5) Midseason blues

Are you feeling down because the Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10? Chin up there fella. Everything's fine. The Celtics are in a dip for temporary health reasons. Ray Allen is worn down. Keving Garnett is out. Posey missed some games. And Rondo who supercharges the whole team— we've already covered him. They'll all get better.

When they do, the Celtics will go back to obliterating people again and everyone will be as jovial as Bob Cousy.

6) Dallas

I've been looking forward to this next game since about Halloween. Nowitzki has been the bane of my brain since the Celtics barely missed out on him in the 1998 draft. Don't get me wrong— Paul Pierce is not exactly what you'd call a consolation prize, but big bad Dirk is someone the Celtics have never come close to matching up with...

...until now. Garnett easily cancels Dirk out, and maybe is a bit better. KG is a rare player that can challenge Dirk defensively. So here's hoping for some serious abdominal healing, because without Mr. Garnett the Celtics are in for a rough night, and with him it's probably the other way around.

7) Leon Powe and Glen Davis

If my calculations are correct, that makes three contributing undersized second-round widebody frontcourters for Danny Ainge in the past three years. It's great to see Davis and Powe tenderize the opposition at the same time. One grown man. One big baby. That's a lot of results no matter what age they might appear to be.

Throw in the fact that Perkins is starting to break himself of the bad habit of bringing the ball down before he shoots, and the Celtics are getting a lot of unexpected production from the three toros.

8) The Gerald Henderson Effect

The Gerald Henderson Effect is a simple thing. It goes like this: When you have a great team the trade value of marginal players skyrockets.

Back in the 80s Henderson was a pretty decent guard. But since he played with Bird, McHale, Parish, etc., he was perceived to be far better than he actually was. Red Auerbach took advantage of this and traded Gerald to Seattle for the second pick in the entire draft.

The same thing happened to Rick Robey. Robey wasn't very good, not to mention he kept Bird out in the bars all night; but because he played on such a great team his trade value was very high. He landed Dennis Johnson for the Celtics.

Keep this in mind over the next year or two, because guys who are currently 7 to 13 on the depth chart might eventually land amazing returns in a lopsided trade a la Mr. Henderson and Mr. Robey.

(Winning the title would greatly magnify the effect.)

9) Havlicek

Seeing John Havlicek in the stands of the Miami game gave me goosebumps. I wonder, did the people sitting around him even know who he was? That man was utterly unique in the history of this sport, and Hollinger-type robotic number crunching does not tell the tale of this terrific player. Havlicek was a great scorer and he was a great defender, but the best thing he did— the thing he did as well as anyone who has ever played, is control tempo and wear the opposition down. He sprinted non-stop. His whole game was aimed at making the other guy too tired to be effective in the 4th quarter, and MAN was he good at it. Ask former Senator Bradley.

10) Playoffs

Are you starting to peek at the standings with an eye toward playoff seeds yet? It's my firm belief that the Celtics will maintain their top position in the East. I also think Detroit will be second and Cleveland third, putting those two dangerous teams in the opposite bracket. The big question then is, who will be the 4-5 seeds? Right now it looks like some combination of Orlando, Washington and Toronto. However it goes, that will make for a high energy second round series between the Celtics and the survivor of that group.

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Something that always hurt the Wolves against Dallas… When KG guarded Dirk, the Big German would rarely venture inside the 3 point line, pulling KG out with him, and leaving ample offensive boards for the Mavs to gobble up for 2nd chance points. When KG would sag in to help on the boards, Dirk would kill them.

Hopefully if KG plays and Avery uses a similar strategy, Perk/Powe/BBD/Pierce bring their energy to the defensive glass.

by Big Ticket on Jan 30, 2008 4:37 PM EST reply actions

I agree with you 100% on #3 (Rondo). Here’s what I wrote about Rondo (edited for clarity) in a previous discussion…

"The most significant move Danny Ainge made in his entire tenure with the Boston Celtics was handing the point guard duties to Rajon Rondo. In my opinion, that move is equivalent to Bill Belichick handing over the quarterback job to a then unheralded, untested, and unproven Tom Brady. The rest, as they say, is history.

Like Brady, Rondo brings a specific non-basketball skill to the table that very few people posses – that is his instinctive ability to determine a weakness in an opponent and strike on cue. While Rondo hasn’t fully meshed this skill into his basketball game, I believe that will happen over time.

Let me elaborate a bit… Pay close attention to Rondo in game situations after the Celtics have scored a basket; the opposing player grabs the ball and slams it to the parquet in frustration and proceeds to inbound the ball; emotional with his his concentration off just a bit. Rondo senses this vulnerability and reacts with deadly efficiency, resulting in a steal and a quick basket, or a forced error/turnover. Other times, he sees a play develop well before the rest of his team or the other team can visualize it. If his team is not on the same page with him, we end up with a turnover (which Rondo unfortunately gets blamed for).

That killer instict – one’s ability to determine when one’s opponent is vulnerable well before it becomes obvious to others, and then striking with deadly efficiency to take advantage of the situation is what sets apart players like Rondo (Kobe has it, Pierce doesn’t)."

by The Village Idiot on Jan 30, 2008 4:50 PM EST reply actions

And we got this guy from the Suns for nothing. Nothing! Wow.

by kozlodoev on Jan 30, 2008 5:14 PM EST reply actions

Thanks Gant, as enjoyable as ever and this time a Mrs Gant observation thrown in for free.

When the Baby Gant’s start contributing, then you will really be on to something.

I totally agree with your Damon Stoudamire observation. He was drafted by Isiah, enough said.

Cheers

Aussie

by Aussie Celtic on Jan 30, 2008 5:34 PM EST reply actions

Wouldnt Orlando claim the three seed because they’re in a different division? It’s the same thing we’ve seen in past years with the terrible winner of the Atlantic getting the 3 seed. Even if Cleveland has a better record than Orlando they would be the 4?

by dpaps on Jan 30, 2008 5:59 PM EST reply actions

Jeff writes, “…after he (Tony Allen) scores he goes totally loose and floppy…” Aren’t most guys that way?

by The Real Large James on Jan 30, 2008 6:01 PM EST reply actions

Rondo is a definite keeper. A nice piece of scouting by Ainge.
When he pushes the ball the Cs are very hard to handle.

by Greg37 on Jan 30, 2008 6:25 PM EST reply actions

Sorry, Jeff didn’t write that. It was Gant.

by The Real Large James on Jan 30, 2008 6:43 PM EST reply actions

hey Dan,I think they changed the rules last year—where it now goes by best record,not division winner…

It is huge if Detroit and Cleveland match up,I don’t think we want to face both of them in the playoffs—let them beat each other up…My prediction is Boston vs. Cleveland in the ECF.

by Maxwell Smart on Jan 30, 2008 6:45 PM EST reply actions

The Real Large James said: Jeff writes, “…after he (Tony Allen) scores he goes totally loose and floppy…” Aren’t most guys that way?

I know you would never fail to acknowledge author credit, but Jeff didn’t write this piece. You just missed that by accident.

I would encourage everyone, after you’ve read the title of an article here, to notice the author of the title (just below the article title. One of those, the author of this item, is Gant. CelticsBlog is swarming with great writers. They add a richness to CB that could be had in no other way. It is easy for us to miss these things, but rewarding when we discover them.

Go Gant!

by webmaster on Jan 30, 2008 6:49 PM EST reply actions

The Village Idiot said:

"The most significant move Danny Ainge made in his entire tenure with the Boston Celtics was handing the point guard duties to Rajon Rondo.

Don’t want to nitpick, but I’ll nitpick. DA did not hand over the point guard duties to Rondo. DA swindled him from Phoenix. Doc is the coach and he’s the one who put Rondo at the point.

by TrueGreen on Jan 30, 2008 7:17 PM EST reply actions

Watched the Miami game on League Pass so I didn’t get to hear Cous gush. I was wondering as the Heat announcers talked about him. “Rhaando’s ghatta take that shought…” But Rondo? Yeah, the kid is good.

Tony Allen? I’ll be a believer when he doesn’t follow up seemingly EVERY bucket with a turnover or a bad pass. He needs to get consistant fast.

Powe in the last couple of games has been unreal. I wrote him off as a decent rebounder/tough guy. I suspect Clifford has been working with him day and night. Davis has the goods. No question.

by LuckyNumber07 on Jan 30, 2008 8:09 PM EST reply actions

Thanks, Gant. I agree. Good read. :)

by BleedinGreen417 on Jan 30, 2008 8:16 PM EST reply actions

Thanks for commenting everybody.

It’s a great thing that even after trading what seemed like just about every promising young guy this summer, that we’re all able to gush about so many developing players. Rondo, Baby, Powe, Perkâ€" and Pruitt’s got game too.

IMSO, Rondo will be the best point in the East in a few years.

Yeah, Tony has had a turnover problem. But didn’t he have 6 assists and only 1 TO in the last game? He’s showing great signs recently and really adds a dimension the team needs.

by Gant on Jan 30, 2008 8:23 PM EST reply actions

Gant…wonderful post…I saw Havlicek play against the Knicks in 1967…He is the reason why I became a Celtic’s fan, much to the chagrin of my family..I did manage to coerce my godson into becoming a fan as well..I’m still trying to mend some of those fences..again Gant..well done

by Fastbreak on Jan 30, 2008 9:19 PM EST reply actions

I agree with all of your comments 1-9. I think you have left off one team for the playoffs….The Raptors. They freaking flat out shoot three point field goals.

Tonight they were 13-18 against the Wizards and how can we forget the 15-21 effort against the Celts.
I know the Suns shoot 3’s and don’t win a championship but we are not taking the Raptors serious enough. Remember they were the Atlantic Divsion winners last year. They are a better team than the Cavs also.

by BigT1942 on Jan 30, 2008 9:27 PM EST reply actions

Regarding 2) the trade comment had me lol. I think TA is ahead of schedule, and perversely I think the injuries have helped him understand the game better (he’s not genius, but he is figuring some things out). I figured this might be a lost season for TA: I would like to see him for two injury free seasons in a row, then we’ll know what we have, and it could be really good. If Perk keeps working next year he will be scary: his improvement combined with the players starting to know each other could be interesting. Powe and BBD can then mix and match with the two starting big men (not to say there isn’t a drop off with Garnet on the bench, but it will be less pronounced). Hondo is one of the most underrated players ever. Very cool seeing him last night.

by Silverlock on Jan 30, 2008 10:10 PM EST reply actions

great post-gant. i can’t disagree with you or say it better. skippy was stiff because he couldn’t remember to skip, or was trying to remember and just tightened up.

by nazzbo on Jan 30, 2008 11:09 PM EST reply actions

I think winning a division guarantee 4th seed. They changed it after Memphis and Clippers tanked for avoiding 5th seed (San Antonio) and instead face Denver.

by Galiza Ceive on Jan 31, 2008 6:27 AM EST reply actions