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No words to explain!..#LETSGETIT!!..
— Dionte Christmas (@Dchristmas22) October 5, 2012
Lost in all the excitement over the Celtics' first preseason game is Dionte Christmas' long journey to make it in the NBA. The Celtics have a share of comeback stories this season from Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox returning from heart surgeries to Kevin Garnett deciding to re-up with Boston for another run, but a player I'm definitely rooting for is Christmas. He went from being summer league fodder to signing an unguaranteed contract with the Celtics to having a good chance at making the final 15. He's welcomed the mentorship of Jason Terry and the other vets, but has stayed aggressive and not backed down to them either. During yesterday's scrimmage, he got into a little scuffle with KG. Don't think that that doesn't go unnoticed to The Big Ticket.
Check out Molly McGrath's shootaround preview with Dionte and some of the other young guys. He's a pretty humble kid with a very modest approach to the game, but you can tell he's really excited to wear the green and play in the country where he spent several months as a pro. He knows the opposing players well and is very familiar with the European style of play. I'm sure Doc understands the sentimental value of Dionte playing in Turkey again and I'm expecting him to give Christmas extended Scalabrine minutes in front of his "hometown" crowd.