Re: Official Celtics Training Camp Thread

[bobheckler]

Shaq, on Rondo:

Shaq had some gems about dealing with Rondo a few months ago in the playoffs. You might recall -- and if you don't it's right above -- their two-car collision in Game 1 of their second round series. Doc Rivers, half-joking, called it "an assassination."

Shaq's take?

"Being the big man and being the enforcer, he was killing us," O'Neal said. "So I had to touch him up. But I knew he was a tough kid because he kept coming down there, kept coming down there. A lot of times, you touch people up they have a choice to make. 'I don’t want to get fouled by Shaq again.' Then, you’ve make them go somewehere else. But that [kid] kept coming."

More on Rondo from the Big Brinks Truck:

On how much the Cavs focused on him during the series: Before the first game, we didn’t plan for him at all. Then when he tore us a new [one] we had to plan for him.

On how he opens it up for other players: That’s what I really like about this team. You can tell that they’re unselfish because most teams’ve got one or two guys that you’ve got to get up for. You’re concentrating on Paul and Kevin and this [guy’s] getting a triple-double. And him being a smart player he just did the same thing and when we went to him, boom, he just passed the ball. Then Ray got off. Now you’ve got to concentrate on Ray. Then Ray gives it off to Kevin. Then, in the game they beat us, everybody’s getting off. That’s why I said I wouldn’t mind playing for a team like that. They don’t [care] who scores or who takes the shots.

On comparable players:He reminds me of a Nick Van Exel. Real herky-jerky with the ball. Nice handle. Can post up. He’s a great player.

bob

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[Sam]

If you rewatched that Rondo-Shaq collision, right at the very end, the announcer mentioned that Rondo was 11 of 12 at the line. That's what's been missing from Price's tutoring. Forget the instructions, Jim. Every time Rondo goes to the hoop, just whack him with a 2X4.

Sam

[cowens/oldschool]

Shaq, on Rondo:

Shaq had some gems about dealing with Rondo a few months ago in the playoffs. You might recall -- and if you don't it's right above -- their two-car collision in Game 1 of their second round series. Doc Rivers, half-joking, called it "an assassination."

Shaq's take?

"Being the big man and being the enforcer, he was killing us," O'Neal said. "So I had to touch him up. But I knew he was a tough kid because he kept coming down there, kept coming down there. A lot of times, you touch people up they have a choice to make. 'I don’t want to get fouled by Shaq again.' Then, you’ve make them go somewehere else. But that [kid] kept coming."

More on Rondo from the Big Brinks Truck:

On how much the Cavs focused on him during the series: Before the first game, we didn’t plan for him at all. Then when he tore us a new [one] we had to plan for him.

On how he opens it up for other players: That’s what I really like about this team. You can tell that they’re unselfish because most teams’ve got one or two guys that you’ve got to get up for. You’re concentrating on Paul and Kevin and this [guy’s] getting a triple-double. And him being a smart player he just did the same thing and when we went to him, boom, he just passed the ball. Then Ray got off. Now you’ve got to concentrate on Ray. Then Ray gives it off to Kevin. Then, in the game they beat us, everybody’s getting off. That’s why I said I wouldn’t mind playing for a team like that. They don’t [care] who scores or who takes the shots.

On comparable players:He reminds me of a Nick Van Exel. Real herky-jerky with the ball. Nice handle. Can post up. He’s a great player.

bob

.

please do that to Artest,Kobe and Lebron

[bobheckler]

Rondo on Rondo. What a shock, he's got a big ego. Fer Pete's sake, Rajon, shut the F up and ball!

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/10/02/the_point_of_it_all_for_rondo_is_to_be_the_best/?page=full

Bleacher Report lists 8 greatest underdog teams in history:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/449076-cinderella-men-the-2010-boston-celtics-and-the-8-greatest-nba-underdogs#page/1

bob

.

[bobheckler]

Shaq, on Rondo:

Shaq had some gems about dealing with Rondo a few months ago in the playoffs. You might recall -- and if you don't it's right above -- their two-car collision in Game 1 of their second round series. Doc Rivers, half-joking, called it "an assassination."

Shaq's take?

"Being the big man and being the enforcer, he was killing us," O'Neal said. "So I had to touch him up. But I knew he was a tough kid because he kept coming down there, kept coming down there. A lot of times, you touch people up they have a choice to make. 'I don’t want to get fouled by Shaq again.' Then, you’ve make them go somewehere else. But that [kid] kept coming."

More on Rondo from the Big Brinks Truck:

On how much the Cavs focused on him during the series: Before the first game, we didn’t plan for him at all. Then when he tore us a new [one] we had to plan for him.

On how he opens it up for other players: That’s what I really like about this team. You can tell that they’re unselfish because most teams’ve got one or two guys that you’ve got to get up for. You’re concentrating on Paul and Kevin and this [guy’s] getting a triple-double. And him being a smart player he just did the same thing and when we went to him, boom, he just passed the ball. Then Ray got off. Now you’ve got to concentrate on Ray. Then Ray gives it off to Kevin. Then, in the game they beat us, everybody’s getting off. That’s why I said I wouldn’t mind playing for a team like that. They don’t [care] who scores or who takes the shots.

On comparable players:He reminds me of a Nick Van Exel. Real herky-jerky with the ball. Nice handle. Can post up. He’s a great player.

bob

.

please do that to Artest,Kobe and Lebron

cow,

And everybody else who comes into the paint.

bob

.

[swedeinestonia]

From today about Garnett:

“Today he was, at one point, unguardable. We were laughing with him today – if we had that post game that he gave us today all year last year, we would have been just a remarkable basketball team. But that’s where you can see it’s finally – the confidence part; last year I don’t think he ever had the confidence to go [post up], we didn’t go to the post to him much anymore because he just didn’t like it down there. This year he wants it down there, and he’s being effective.”

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/100210-camp-closes-high.html

[NYCelt]

Gaffney cut loose.

No surprise.

Next on the block, Lasme; then Wafer or Erden next?

The roster is starting to shape up pretty much as expected. Looks good with the possible exception of a decent SF behind Pierce.

[dboss]

It looks like the Gaffney vs Walfer question has been resolved as Boston has waived TG.

Doc's reasoning - we need shooting at that position.

dboss

[dboss]

In the game where Shaq hammered Rajon I called Shaq a gutless thug, a bully, a horible person.

Sure nice to have him on our team.

[bobheckler]

In the game where Shaq hammered Rajon I called Shaq a gutless thug, a bully, a horible person.

Sure nice to have him on our team.

dboss,

Just goes to show, one person's ogre is another person's Shrek.

bob

.

[bobheckler]

More news about Nate. He sure seems to be getting more than his share of coverage, isn't he?
http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/pros/x399786017/Nate-Robinson-eyes-fresh-start-with-Celtics-this-season

Too bad about Gaffney, I was rooting for him. Doc says we need more shooting at 3rd string 3? Hmm.

Here's the camp roster as it ended today. We had to trim down to 17. Apparently, Stephane Lasme made the cut ahead of Gaffney.

5-JO, Shaq, Erden, Perk
4-KG, Davis, Luke
3-PP, Q, Lasme
2-Ray, West, Von Wafer (Jawohl, Mein Herr!)
1-Rondo, Nate, Bradley, Lafayette

Some info on Lasme:
#46 pick in the 2007 draft by GSW. Played PF. 6'8", 215#. Will be 28 years old in December. He's from Gabon, so I suspect he's one of those players who's extremely athletic and has great reflexes, but didn't "grow up basketball". Very limited NBA experience, played in Europe (Belgrade) in 2008 and in 2009 for powerhouse Maccabi-Tel Aviv. Was a star on the Partizan team but not a star player in Israel (understandable, Maccabi-Tel Aviv is the Celtics of the Euro league. They get a lot of good players). They released him after a foot injury. Has a rep for offensive rebounding. Averaged 6.5pts, 4.4rebs, 1.4 blocks in 19 mpg in Europe. So, where's the shooter at 3, Doc?
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Stephane-Lasme-1079/


bob

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[bobheckler]

Ray Allen notes the difference between 2008 and now: in 2008, it was The 3 Amigos; now, it's them and Shaq and JO and Rondo and Nate and Davis and...really incredible depth. I'm hard pressed to remember a team with more. Anybody?
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?&articleid=1286128&format=&page=1&listingType=celt#articleFull

KG so active and dominant in camp, Doc was considering having to double him.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20101003kg_heads_home_on_strong_note_ticket_caps_camp/

Delonte wants this. Bad. What a luxury to have the starting guard on last year's team that had the best regular season record coming off our bench.

bob

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[swedeinestonia]

Not Celtics but did not wanna start a new thread for it..

Boozer supposedly broke his hand and is out for two months.

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/10/03/boozer.injury.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

[bobheckler]

Per ESPN's Chris Forsberg, Tony Gaffney got "got a contract offer from Turkey that was impossible to turn down, shipping out tomorrow night!".

I hope it didn't involve a horse's head. Great news for Gaffney. I'm very happy for him.

bob

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[swedeinestonia]

Hopefully he lets the Celtics have "dibs" on him if he ever becomes NBA ready.

[bobheckler]

Another player at training camp, previously unmentioned, was Mario West. Apparently, they like him enough to keep him around a little longer. Longer than Gaffney.

They're describing him as a "Scal type", meaning he works hard all the time and hustles like crazy and can be a defensive stopper (like Tony was). Can't shoot for shit, though. Played last year for Atlanta. Ok, "played" is a bit misleading. He actually only played 142 minutes in 39 games all last season for Atlanta. That's 3.6 minutess per game. By comparison, the rarely used Scal played 471 minutes.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/tag/_/name/mario-west

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/mario_west/

bob

.

[bobheckler]

The Celts waived Oliver Lafayette.

I'm surprised he lasted this long. A combination of too many better players at his position and his unimpressive performance in summer league just isn't enough.

bob

.

[bobheckler]

Jermaine out with a hammie. D West has back spasms (who cares? He can't play for the first 10 games anyway).
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=5648978&campaign=rss&source=NBAHeadlines

Shaq and Erden:
Jessica Camerato, CSNNE – “‘He played well in the FIBA Championships,’ said the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, Danny Ainge. ‘He played against some of the best players in the world, so we have confidence in him.’ Erden’s list of fierce competitors has grown since the start of Celtics training camp. Only this time, it is his teammates, not his opponents, who have pushed him to improve. ‘The other day, Semih was leaning on me and I spun off him,’ Shaquille O’Neal explained. ‘I told him, ‘Listen, there are four guys in the league that you can’t lean on like that.’ You lean on Dwight [Howard] on the side, you gonna get the lob. You lean on me, I’m gonna spin. You lean on [Kevin] Garnett, he’s gonna spin. You lean on [Tim] Duncan, he’s gonna spin. I just give him little stuff that he needs to have when he goes up against other guys.’ … ‘I already played in the Summer League and we played against the U.S. national team in the finals,’ Erden, 24, said through a translator. ‘We all know NBA players are good athletes, so I will work here more than I worked in Europe and I want to help the Celtics this year.’”

bob

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[bobheckler]

OMG.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9avWdE2BfsE&feature=player_embedded

bob

.

[Outside]

Bob,

You should've included some sort of advisory, an NC-55 rating, something to warn the general public. "OMG" could mean anything, and I was totally unprepared for what followed when I clicked that link. Copious amounts of alcohol will be required to remove that clip from my memory.

Yours in therapy,

Outside

[bobheckler]

Bob,

You should've included some sort of advisory, an NC-55 rating, something to warn the general public. "OMG" could mean anything, and I was totally unprepared for what followed when I clicked that link. Copious amounts of alcohol will be required to remove that clip from my memory.

Yours in therapy,

Outside

outside,

ROTFLMAO. Sorry.

FWIW, OMG means "Oh My God".

btw, FWIW means "For What It's Worth".

btw means "by the way".

ROTFLMAO means "Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off", btw.

Your BFF,

bob

.

[bobheckler]

Tuesday:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4677016/first-impressions-tuesdays-practice

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4677015/getting-up-to-celtics-speed

bob

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