This is old news for many of you, but I'm still getting caught up, so I had to share this with the class.  Clifford Ray is not a miracle worker, so he couldn't heal Scot Pollard or Theo Ratliff.  But he's done just about everything else you could ask a big man coach.

He tapped into Al Jefferson's potential to make him a 20/10 machine.  He took an awkward, hacking Kendrick Perkins and made him one of the top centers in the league.  He helped Leon Powe and Big Baby Davis overcome their height limitations to become super subs.  He took a retired PJ Brown and made him a key contributor on a Championship team.  He even squeezed a few decent games out of Olowokandi in a time that seems long, long ago.  Oh yeah, and he may have helped some guy named Dwight Howard get started in Orlando.

Now, as expected, he's working with Patrick O'Bryant.

Cliff's notes: Celtics newcomer Patrick O'Bryant, the center drafted ninth overall two years ago who has fallen well shy of expectations, has quietly been spending a lot of time working out with assistant coach and former NBA player Clifford Ray at the team's Waltham practice facility. Ray has helped Magic center Dwight Howard and Celtics center Kendrick Perkins blossom.

Best news of the summer thus far.