Starting Five - 2/24

by Jeff Clark on Feb 24, 2009 8:34 AM EST in Boston Celtics News & Links

It has been a while since I did a Starting Five and there are a number of little things I want to go over and update so it seems like a good time to bring it back.

Multiple sources indicate that Mikki Moore will be a Celtic by the end of the day. "Moore is on the West Coast and could fly to Los Angeles today to get his physical. While a number if logistical issues have to be worked out, he could be with the team tomorrow night against the Clippers." - Herald
Joe Smith is not walking through that door: "If they get Moore, the Celtics will turn the porch light off for Joe Smith. They were hoping Oklahoma City would buy Smith out and make him available, but there were no assurances along those lines. And there was no guarantee, either, that if Smith were free he would choose the Celts." - Herald
I was in favor of bringing in the Birdman this offseason. The Celtics went with Patrick O'Bryant instead. "While O'Bryant played sparingly before being dealt to Toronto, Andersen, who signed with Denver, entered last night's game averaging 6.2 points on 58.3 percent shooting from the field, with 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks (fourth in NBA). "I was probably out of shape in the [Celtics] workout," Andersen said - Globe
Sounds like some initial positive news from Scal: ""I strained or sprained my neck," Scalabrine said. "They held me out more for precautionary reasons. As of right now, you just take it day by day. Based on my [concussion] history is why they held me out. But I don't feel the same way. I don't have a headache. I'm not sensitive to light." - Globe
Nice to see JR Giddens get some run: "Rookie guard J.R. Giddens scored the first points of his career and finished with 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting in 4 minutes and 33 seconds. "My legs were a little shaky, I was kind of nervous," said Giddens. "I didn't know if I could shoot or not. It felt good to get one." - Globe

Tweet Comment 16 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Mikki will be a good signing

With teams like San Antonio, Cleveland, Phoenix, Dallas and Denver trying to sign Mikki He must have quite a bit to offer

by michael32951 on Feb 24, 2009 8:30 AM EST reply actions

Not to quibble...

… but Cleveland reportedly had no interest in Moore.

http://www.ohio.com/sports/40188707.html

A source close to that situation said Moore has received no interest from the Cavaliers.

All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino

by Roy_Hobbs on Feb 24, 2009 8:33 AM EST up reply actions

That tells me that we don’t – or won’t – have the cash for Joe Smith.

Well, Moore’s an improvement over O’Blount.

But so are you, Jeff.

by CoachBo on Feb 24, 2009 8:44 AM EST reply actions

Well, the Yankees reportedly has no interest in Teixiera.

Jeff, we will have to agree to disagree about Chris Andersen. He’s awful. At least POB has some skills. The Birdman can’t defend either. Leon danced on his head last night. It was almost as bad as Kelly Tripucka trying to guard Kevin McHale.

As for Moore, Kendrick Perkins certainly has a high opinion of him— higher than mine, that’s for sure. But I have no problem with Mikki. He is what he is, an experienced guy who can come in and give you 10-15 decent minutes at the center position. That’s what they needed, not another pf. They’ve got three pretty good pfs already (actually four with Scalabrine playing well) plus Pierce, who can play the position if necessary.

by Brickowski on Feb 24, 2009 8:51 AM EST reply actions

POB was a risk worth taking. Lots of talent and upside, but unfortunately not the work ethic. Moore on the other hand has stuck around mainly on his energy and of course height. For right now, Moore is a very good choice. He fills a need and has the ability to play right now.

by amenhotep04 on Feb 24, 2009 8:53 AM EST reply actions

bulpett quote ~

“There has been talk lately that Moore might be a better fit than Smith. He is a bit taller, and some prominent people believe he has more range and is a better finisher. The C’s also expect Moore’s energetic style will work better with Garnett. The C’s are hoping his performance level will be elevated around better talent.”

bingo. i agree with brick – smith may not have really fit a role other than to replace baby and / or leon minutes at the 4. not sure that’s what we need.

by ssspence on Feb 24, 2009 9:56 AM EST reply actions

I hope he’ll bring that energy to the C’s! I know we could use his height, especially on the second unit. Ben Wallace had a lot of success playing with 4 all stars in Detroit and he wasn’t a scorer. Maybe Mikki can do the same here if he has to come in for KP on the first unit…..

by wingate on Feb 24, 2009 10:01 AM EST reply actions

Mikki will be the best of what is available now. Is he as good as Bill Russell? No but he isn’t available and either is Joe Smith. There are some good (and awful) posters relentlessly complaining about the signing. We will see how it goes. I have ended many of my posts since last summer with “we need a long big and a shooter.”
We need a shooter

by wahz on Feb 24, 2009 10:07 AM EST reply actions

By the way, how about that awful bench yesterday?? Holy cow. You'd think we were a threat to win the title again;>)

by wahz on Feb 24, 2009 10:09 AM EST reply actions

shooter

Wahz,

I was hoping that we could of worked something out at the deadline for Reddick!! Maybe this summer….

by celty86 on Feb 24, 2009 10:18 AM EST reply actions

if we could play the Nuggets every night

then we would win the title and get Giddens and Walker plenty of playing time

"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Michael Scott

by Jeff Clark on Feb 24, 2009 10:19 AM EST reply actions

the nuggetts looked awful, but it might have had something to do with the Celtics

against elite teams this year at home: they lost to LA by 7, lost to 17 vs Sa after beating sa in sa, beat sa by 8, lost to cle by 17. They play LA this Friday i think it is. That will be interesting

by wahz on Feb 24, 2009 10:29 AM EST up reply actions

3 Comments

Anderson: Didn’t impress me at all. Then in one of the Boston papers it said that he said that he was not in shape for his tryout with the C’s. Enough said.

Was last nite a physical game or a dirty game?: In my opinion it was dirty on the part of the Nuggets. Carter, Martin (for dirty fouls on Ray) and Petro (for his foul and extra kick on Scals) should all be suspended and fined.

Why was Ray Allen given a tech when he was taken out by Carter? I know it was said that Ray said something to Carter. Did he hurt Carter’s feelings and thus the tech?. I made a comment I think about the decent officiating in Phoenix, but that is so rare. Poor officiating is taking away from enjoying the game and it will end up in someone getting seriously injured. Both Ray and Scals could have been seriously hurt last nite.

"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird

by TrueGreen on Feb 24, 2009 11:10 AM EST reply actions

Seriously hurt

Along the lines of someone getting seriously hurt as a result of poor officiating… let’s remember that Scal’s first concussion was caused by Dirk N, and Scal was called for fouling Dirk on that play! Too ridiculous for words.

I thought the first 2 charge calls against the Nuggets last night were questionable, especially the first one where Baby was still moving into position while the guy was already in the air. I don’t like it when we get the benefit of bad calls either (though I’ll take em, of course). The argument that it just evens things out shouldn’t exist… but it does. Bring on the video reviews, NBA.

by DRJ1 on Feb 24, 2009 11:26 AM EST up reply actions