Archive for October, 2010

There is a reason no one seemed to want Delonte West this offseason. First, West was traded to Minnesota, which waived him swiftly in a cost cutting measure. It took almost a month before the Celtics, realizing their lack of backcourt depth with the departure of Tony Allen, decided to bring West back to Boston. Why did no one else bite? Well, as last year’s “LeMom” rumors show, West comes with a little baggage. So should we be surprised that West was in the middle of an altercation at practice with Von Wafer? West reportedly was a little rough with [...]

Some familiar faces will greet the Celtics tonight at TD Garden as they try to shake off their first loss of the season. The Celtics already saw the New York Knicks during the preseason—once with new franchise player Amar’e Stoudemire and once with him in street clothes—so there should be no surprises tonight. Here’s a few things to keep an eye on as the Celtics try to get back to their winning ways. 1) Amar’e Inside: While Kevin Garnett has enjoyed a strong start to the season, particularly on the glass, it has not been perfect. Facing two athletic small [...]

Talk about a trap game. The Celtics were coming off a big win against the Heat, but had to travel to Cleveland for the second half of a back-to-back against the Cavs—a Cavs team without LeBron James, mind you. And whether it was the fact that the Celtics were taking Cleveland lightly or that they were tired in their first back-to-back, the team couldn’t finish the game. I’m pointing to the latter, based on the fact that the Celtics wilted down the stretch. The Celtics looked to have things in control, only to see the Cavs outscore them 27-14 in [...]

One game down, and 81 more to go. The Celtics will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight in their first back-to-back of the season. Obviously this matchup has lost some of its luster, but the Celtics should be wary of letting the Cavs sneak up on them. Its not like Cleveland is a team totally devoid of talent, it just doesn’t have one superstar any more. The closest thing to it, in fact, is Antawn Jamison, and he isn’t even a starter. Go figure. Still, you might recall that the Celtics had some trouble against bad teams last year, droppin games [...]

This isn’t college football; one game doesn’t define a season. All we know right now is that the Miami Heat will not go undefeated. These teams will both be there come postseason time, and both will be vying for a championship. It’s too early to declare Boston the superior team, but that doesn’t mean that this wasn’t an important win. The Celtics had to come out and show that they would not be intimidated by the star power of Miami’s trio, and that they would not cede their throne as top in the East without a fight. In short, the [...]

Well, did that one live up to the hype? Somewhat. The Celtics probably should have blown Miami out of the water, but LeBron James made it close down the stretch. You might remember that Phil Jackson said that the Celtics were a team that wilted in the 4th quarter during last year’s finals. Well, this time the Celtics found a way to pull out a game they deserved to win, mostly thanks to a big final quarter from Big Baby and a key shot from Ray Allen. So what else stood out from the opener? A lot of good, some [...]

Orlando Magic fans, don’t get up in arms just yet. But with the most anticipated season opener since…well, probably since the Celtics opened up the 2007-08 season by demolishing the Washington Wizards, all the talk in the Eastern Conference has centered on whether the Miami Heat can dethrone the Boston Celtics and make it to the NBA Finals. And it might be a coincidence, but guess which two teams open up the NBA season? That’s right, Miami and Boston. By now you have heard ad nauseam about Miami’s new star trio of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, as [...]

What better way to set the wheels in motion toward the beginning of the season than by establishing where each team sits as they prep for their first game of the year? What are we looking for? Let’s start with that and make our way down to the bottom, or as I will call it the spot reserved strictly for the Minnesota Timberwolves until David Kahn proves that he is a genius and way smarter than everyone else. Also, because as a Celtics fan I am biased against Kurt Rambis. You’ll get a little note and a quick (one sentence [...]

When it’s over? How about now? Finally. No more preseason basketball for the Boston Celtics. The roster is set and the regular season is just around the corner. But before focusing all of our energy on the season opener against the Miami Heat, let’s look back on the positives and negatives of the preseason. And if you think that Sugar Ray is a negative, well, too bad.

Mostly odds. Shaquille O’Neal was hanging out in Harvard Square yesterday, as he did earlier this summer. Of course, this time he was pretending to be a statue. Explain that one. Anyway, I could sit here and explain to Shaq that there are better schools to hang out around. Like Tufts, for instance. But Shaq isn’t the only big man doing some odd things lately. Dwight Howard and a team of youngsters have paired together to release a highly anticipated album by everyone who, like me, has played out Kidz Bop and every version of the “Now” CDs up to [...]