WE DODGED A BULLET!

Not exactly on point but, when Rondo returns...hopefully very soon, this will take some of the pressure off. It is harder running without 3 of the starting 5 but if the bench can step it up, more the better. It's a work in progress but if it can all jell sometime in mid to late February, I'll be a happy camper.

Whether or not Luke turns out to be an adequate player for the Celts, his rebound off his own shot and subsequent layup yesterday had all the makings of a Larry Bird moment. I really enjoy the kid and am rooting for him.

Let me add, our injured bench - Perk, KG, Rondo, and Delonte - would make a damn good starting 4 of 5 for any NBA team.

worcester

Enough with the damn injuries already! But i guess you also got to count your blessings, that and pray it all times out right like last shit save losing a gaddam starter in game 6 of the damn nba finals.

That biomat it on the way and your gal was nice as can be.

jeb

What's up with Davis, living up to his nickname? He stormed out of the locker room before the press got there slamming the door behind him!

Thatthree point shot he took was ridiculous!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:.....
That three point shot he took was ridiculous!

Hi,
Also, huge defensive mistake right after that. Expression on Doc's face said it all.

But let's look on the bright side. BBD'll settle in and will play better. He's shown before that he can learn from mistakes.

AK

The offense is so stagnant right now. Man, if anyone ever questioned the value of Rondo, watch these last three games to prove just what he means to this team. Ray isn't getting the ball where he can get off good shots, to his credit, in the second half of the game he took it up himself to make his own
offense, but this isn't good. Paul is feeling the pressure and is forcing it a bit, and Nate just is not playing as good as expected. The one guy who is showing up every game is Daniels. He plays so smart~

Not a vintage Pierce game at all,thought he tried to stick with the offense and the offense was stagnant,alot of players trying to move the ball,but nobody getting near consistant good looks.....maybe he should have tried more iso/hero ball or was one of those dog days he just didn't have it,he certainly wasn't as aggresive as we have all seen him be.Well looks like Nate is showing hes not a natural point,not bad,just what it is,he was and does hustle.

Has there been any news about Delonte returning soon?

Outside wrote:Regarding Harangody being too small to play PF, I think he has a fair shot of being a positive contributor in limited minutes. Two other examples of players who are too small come to mind:

-- DuJuan Blair, 6'5.25" without shoes (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/DeJuan-Blair-5049/). He does have a longer wingspan than Harangody but is similar in his level of athleticism and has been a solid contributor for the Spurs.

-- Glen Davis, who at 6'7.75" (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Glen-Davis-420/) fills in capably as an undersized backup center.

Outside

Here's what Doc had to say, in the Globe, about Harangody's game against the Hornets:

Harangody missed four of his five shots, but his defense impressed Rivers.

“Luke Harangody was guarding Emeka Okafor,’’ Rivers said almost in disbelief. “I mean, what a matchup that is. And Luke was phenomenal. He just played so darn hard.’’

Okafor finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, but didn’t score in the fourth quarter, when Harangody played seven of his 13 minutes.

“Being a small guy just means you’ve just got to work that much harder to put a body on him and just do your job out there,’’ Harangody said.


bob

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RosalieTCeltics wrote:Has there been any news about Delonte returning soon?

rosalie,

The last I've heard, as of 2 weeks ago, is "mid-January".

bob


.

Over time, Luke could easily supplant Rondo as my favorite Celtic. One of the approximately seven million traditions associated with the Celtics is to be a home for undersized or slower players who make good through effort, positioning, and smarts. Think about it. Russell, Cowens, Nelson, Havlicek as a forward, Chris Ford, Glen Davis, etc. (I'd also include Scal, but I realize he wasn't everyone's cup of tea.)

I like the cut of Luke's sails, so to speak. I like the fact that he seldom deviates from what he's been assigned to do. I like the fact that he doesn't shrink in the face of challenges. I like the fact that he's not hesitant to be really aggressive out there. And I also like the fact that the bench gained 37 more points on the Hornets while Luke was in yesterday's game than the starters did while Glen Davis was in the game. (No slam at Glen, because I think he's one of this season's most valuable Celtics. I'm just sayin'.)

Sam

I, too, love this kid's potential. I have always liked the guy who wasn't supposed to be the next great one, and proved people wrong. I am still a
big fan of Marquis Daniels, as I was at the start of the year before he got hurt and the roof fell in. He is one smart ballplayer, as I think Luke will prove to be if given the chance. I know he is just a rookie, with alot to learn, but, I hope
Doc gives him the chance to learn the pro game, down the line he could be
very valuable.

We made the run to take the lead and it was 74-70 at the 5:17 mark. with JO making 1 of 2 from the line giving us that 4 point lead. Both Davis and PP were on the bench but sub'd in for Luke and Daniels at that time. As well as Luke and MD were playing it would have been a tough call NOT to put Baby in and tougher not to put Pierce in. Nate looked dog tired and perhaps leaving Quis out there and having PP go in for Nate instead might have been a better option. Think RA was a bit gassed too, I know it's easy to second guess, we missed 3 key fouls shots to boot to down the stretch. Plus the 3 by Ariza was somewhat of a miracle shot. PP could not have been more in his face without fouling.

Still a lot of positives JO knocked some more rust off and looked a bit better and Luke did well in extended minutes. But we do need to get the troops back together and out of the mash unit.

And as for Davis's trey, no it was not a good shot under the circumstances. But a bit earlier he PASSED up a good look from straight away top of the key (NOT a 3) with little time on the shot clock. Instead he passed it (to PP I think) and we got off a poor shot. That bothered me more than the three attempt later.

A game we could have won but didn't. Wasn't the first time that has happened and won't be the last.

beat

I get a real kick out of evaluations that limit a player's potential according to his physical dimensions. There are SO MANY factors that are more important, ranging from his other physical attributes and skills to the role he's asked to play and the system in which he finds himself.

And why is a player's height without athletic shoes important unless a given player is somehow mandated to play barefoot while his opponents scamper around in state-of-the-art athletic shoes? This is the only athletic question on which I'd care about the opinion of Charles Barley aka "Shorty."

Sam

go Luke! What a great story, very celtic

Not very nice news tonight on the sports show,Pierce got fined $15,000 by the NBA today for throwing his gum into the crowd after he got called for a foul on Danny Granger and Doc yanked him from the game. What a stupid thing to do, and he wants us to think he is the leader of this team And we make fun of Davis?

Rosalie

Gum? .............$25,000?

Probably more than 1 stick I hope!

I've seen things like this go on ebay for a tidy sum too.

As to his distain and throwing of it, wrong no doubt but I want my leader to care and to cuss if need be. Throwing anything is wrong, he could take someones eye out! Seems we get the shaft a lot and perhaps PP did in that particular play too, but not the best way to handle it. Swear get the T and be done with it.

beat

rosie t

true for sure but the refs just beat on the celtics 24/7 and nobody does anything.

Davis got hit over and over and he says something and gets a t.

Davis does not go to the line one time. NOT ONCE. Zero. Nada. At this point I dont blame them for ANYTHING they do to those punk officials. Nobody other than themselves is fighting for them and nobody is going to.

I wish Stern would just move on but it wont happen.

I mean for real 21 free throws in game seven 4th quarter cost them a ring and imho they show almost inhuman restraint every game considering the ongoing joke they have to deal with. Those 21 free throws have to sit on pierces heart like a stone briuse every damn day.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Not very nice news tonight on the sports show,Pierce got fined $15,000 by the NBA today for throwing his gum into the crowd after he got called for a foul on Danny Granger and Doc yanked him from the game. What a stupid thing to do, and he wants us to think he is the leader of this team And we make fun of Davis?

Rosalie,

Pretty immature, I'd have to say, but not too unexpected considering the way he goes to center court and bows to the hostile crowd after hitting the gamewinnner and other stuff like that.

On the other hand, the league fined Shaq $35,000 for talking smack about ref Bob Delaney. Apparently, on the league's "bad boy do-not-do" priority list, throwing something at a fan is less odious than talking about about a ref.

Paul Pierce makes $13,876,233 this year (not including endorsements). Assuming 82 games in a regular season and four full 7-game playoff series, for a total of 110 games per year, he makes $126,148 per game. That includes games he's out injured and games he only plays 30 minutes in. $126k per game, period. His per game pay is even higher if those playoff series end in less than 7 games. $15,000 is 5 minutes and 45 seconds (or so) of one game for him. He sits on the bench resting longer than that.

bob

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Swedish media (have no clue why this made it here) say that it was his headband.

Jeb

Officials are part of the reason I always liked sports such as track and field where officals have a very minor role. Either I'm faster than you or not. Or I jump higher or I don't. But in 2 major pro sports football and hoops a ref can screw a team so easily. At least in football a coach does have a challenge flag to overrule a blown call and in the NCAA they review many close plays but there is no such call in hoops (cept time issues). Remember last season when we played Portland 5 on 6? In HS that is a tech foul and any score made by the offending team is removed at the next stoppage. If the idea is to get the call right the NBA does the worst job of any major pro sports entity by far.

So much contact is called and so much is let go. No wonder players coaches and fans have no idea what is going to be called and more importantly what isn't. I know our local officals that work high school games are trying to do their best. In speaking with them the overriding rule is DOES the play or the contact put the other player at a disadvantage if so a foul should be called. Last minute calls should be made the same as any time during the game. A foul in the first quarter should be a foul in the 4th.

How many times do we see players driving to the hoop and there is a hand or a slight touch of the offensive player as he is sailing in for a dunk and the ref goes into theatrics in making an AND 1 call. Was there an advantage/disadvantage on the play? Most of the time NO, and no foul should be called.

I have no idea how to remedy the situation unless an outside entity runs the reffing part of the league. The league can make suggestions but have no direct imput on things.

A few years ago they went to three refs, and all that does is make you wonder what those extra set of eyes are watching cause too many calls are missed and many that are called are bougus.

beat

beat wrote:Jeb

Officials are part of the reason I always liked sports such as track and field where officals have a very minor role. Either I'm faster than you or not. Or I jump higher or I don't. But in 2 major pro sports football and hoops a ref can screw a team so easily. At least in football a coach does have a challenge flag to overrule a blown call and in the NCAA they review many close plays but there is no such call in hoops (cept time issues). Remember last season when we played Portland 5 on 6? In HS that is a tech foul and any score made by the offending team is removed at the next stoppage. If the idea is to get the call right the NBA does the worst job of any major pro sports entity by far.

So much contact is called and so much is let go. No wonder players coaches and fans have no idea what is going to be called and more importantly what isn't. I know our local officals that work high school games are trying to do their best. In speaking with them the overriding rule is DOES the play or the contact put the other player at a disadvantage if so a foul should be called. Last minute calls should be made the same as any time during the game. A foul in the first quarter should be a foul in the 4th.

How many times do we see players driving to the hoop and there is a hand or a slight touch of the offensive player as he is sailing in for a dunk and the ref goes into theatrics in making an AND 1 call. Was there an advantage/disadvantage on the play? Most of the time NO, and no foul should be called.

I have no idea how to remedy the situation unless an outside entity runs the reffing part of the league. The league can make suggestions but have no direct imput on things.

A few years ago they went to three refs, and all that does is make you wonder what those extra set of eyes are watching cause too many calls are missed and many that are called are bougus.

beat

beat,

Could be worse, it could be soccer. There's only one ref (although the linesmen have tremendous standing and influence with the ref) and a huge field and so, to make damn sure they get the call, they scream and go down like they just got shot at even incidental contact.

bob

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Bob wrote.


beat,

Could be worse, it could be soccer. There's only one ref (although the linesmen have tremendous standing and influence with the ref) and a huge field and so, to make damn sure they get the call, they scream and go down like they just got shot at even incidental contact.

bob

OR the countries go to war!

beat

I am not worried about the amount of the fine. I worry about the image that he is putting out there regarding the Celtics players in general. You saw how getting a $35,000 fine affected Shaq, so this isn't going to hurt him in any way.
He gave an interview at the beginning of the year saying how he was into taking care of himself now, his body, his attitude, that he had learned a great deal from Ray Allen. Well.....I don't think he learned that from Ray. I find it embarrassing for the team, especially when it is your supposed "leader".

Swede: They said that he also threw his headband, but you can see from the replay on comcast that he reached into his mouth.

Oh well, boys will be boys, I guess.