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On the Rebound In Charlotte
by CelticBalla32
on Jan 6, 2009 3:30 PM EST
29-6 
@ 
12-22
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
7:00 pm ET
Tim Warner Cable Arena (Charlotte, NC)
Before the holidays, all was well in Celtic land. Boston had put together a franchise-best 19-game winning streak, and when it came to team concerns, there weren't many to report.
Since Christmas' marquee matchup in LA, the tables have shifted a bit in the wrong direction. The C's have dropped four of their last six games, with all of those losses coming on the road (including those pesky Knicks). Through this frustrating streak, the bench play has been below average at best and the team is legitimately beginning to show signs of fatigue.
Meanwhile, one of the league's cellar dwellers is starting to play some halfway-decent basketball. The Charlotte Bobcats made big changes last month, as they sent high-scoring "Celtic killer" Jason Richardson to Phoenix in exchange for defensive specialist Raja Bell and well-rounded forward Boris Diaw, whose career may have been reborn with this change of scenery. Since the deal, Diaw has held impressive averages of 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.2 rebounds per game on an efficient 50.4% shooting clip. Hell, he has even hit 13 of 25 from beyond the arc (52%).
Since Bell and Diaw stepped into a Bobcats uniform on December 13, Charlotte has held a semi-respectable 5-6 record. Granted, their schedule throughout that stretch hasn't exactly been the league's most challenging, as only two of those 11 games were played against teams with winning records. And both of those games, played in Atlanta and at home vs. Detroit, have resulted in losses for Larry Brown's club. Regardless, a win is a win, and for a hard working young team like the 'Cats, the more confidence, the better.
Charlotte has given the C's problems on an annual basis since their 2004 franchise birth. In fact, Charlotte even beat last year's Celtics squad at the Garden, and if it weren't for a miracle three-point buzzer-beater by Ray Allen on November 24 (2007), the 'Cats could have gone 2-2 against the 07-08 NBA champs.
1 comment
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Tony Out: Gabe Freed?
by Jeff Clark
on Jan 6, 2009 3:06 PM EST
in News/Links
Celtics guard Tony Allen will miss the game against the Charlotte Hornets tonight with a right ankle strain. Allen, injured during the Celtics' 100-88 loss to New York Sunday, could also miss the Celtics' home game against Houston Wednesday.
"I re-injured it driving into the middle when I got called for traveling," Allen said after viewing the Celtics' pre-game shootaround at the Time Warner Cable Arena Tuesday. "I tweaked it and I should have left the game but I tried to play on it. Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow."
Celtic coach Doc Rivers said the involvement of Gabe Pruitt and Brian Scalabrine would likely be increasing, regardless of Allen's status.
"We have to figure out a way to get (Scalabrine) on the floor," Rivers said. "He does a lot of good things for us."
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Awaiting Junior Dunleavy's Impending Return
by Steve Weinman
on Jan 6, 2009 1:00 PM EST
in NBA
A Daily Babble Production
If you told me a year and a half ago that I would have been excitedly anticipating Mike Dunleavy's return to action at this time, I might have jokingly asked whether you meant the coach or the player. And then laughed at you regardless of your answer.
At that point, the best thing the younger Dunleavy had going for him might have been the facts that Jay Williams and Nikoloz Tskitishvili were picked second and fifth in the 2002 draft. By comparison, the Warriors' selection of Junior with the third pick didn't come off quite as poorly as it could have.
Now, it's with a straight face that I write that Dunleavy's early-season injury trouble in Indiana has been one of the 2008-09 campaign's biggest bummers so far. He is reportedly due back in the next week or so, at which point the Pacers will become even more worth watching in the interest of seeing whether Dunleavy's renaissance season a year ago was an aberration or his new standard going forward.
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Benchmarked
by Jeff Clark
on Jan 6, 2009 12:11 PM EST
in News/Links
Mike Fine's cutting analysis of the bench:
The bench needs some direction. Tony Allen is a disaster with the ball. He ranks 39th in the NBA in turnovers per 48 minutes (4.1) and 300th in assists/turnovers ratio (.73). Leon Powe isn't nearly as effective scoring the ball as last season and Doc Rivers is so desperate for scoring off the bench that he's given Glen Davis a full go-ahead to shoot the elbow jumper. A brute who scored 16 points in the paint in the final quarter of a win at Detroit last season is now shooting at a .373 clip. Eddie House has done a nice job as a shooting guard, but he's not a quarterback, and Gabe Pruitt is, at the moment, strictly a garbage time performer.
16 comments
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Daily Links 1/6
by FLCeltsFan
on Jan 6, 2009 9:20 AM EST
in News/Links
Herald Celtics navigate bumpy road
Scouting report: Celtics at Bobcats
DUI charge for Antoine Walker
Defensive scheming lifted Knicks to upset of Celtics
Globe Celtics in united state
One vote for Marbury
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I'm On A Plain, I Can't Complain
by Jeff Clark
on Jan 6, 2009 8:28 AM EST
in Articles
You know, I was pretty bummed out about the Knicks game. Put together with the recent road trip it puts us in an actual slump. I mean, in the span of a couple weeks we tripled our loss total for the year. But that's a glass-half-empty way of looking at it. The glass-half-full view is that we're 29-6. That's still on pace for 68 or so wins (2 more than last year).
So maybe we should take a cue from the players. When they were busy winning 19 games in a row, they were pretty confident and they had some swagger, but they never really made a big deal about the records they were breaking. It didn't matter too much to them. Now that they have hit a slide, they understand there are issues to work through and things they need to work on, but they aren't getting too down either.
33 comments
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Clipps Waive Fred Jones and Paul Davis
by Jeff Clark
on Jan 6, 2009 6:37 AM EST
in News/Links
A lot of teams will be making moves so they cut contracts they don't want to guarantee by this Saturday. The Clipps were one of those teams.
The Clippers acquired Cheikh Samb from the Denver Nuggets today, in exchange for a conditional second round draft pick. L.A. also got some cash as part of the deal, and to make room for Samb, they opened up a couple of roster spots by waiving Paul Davis and Fred Jones.
One writer from Dime Magazine thinks there is opportunity there for the Cs. (h/t RA)
The Celtics should sign Fred Jones immediately. Seems that all the cheapo Clip Show did was give every other NBA team a look to see what Freddie still had in the tank and frankly, it was a lot (or at least enough). The Clippers decided not to pay Jones for the rest of the year and waived him today. He’s better than Tony Allen right now and Allen is essentially the C’s 6th man. By the way, the Clippers also cut Paul Davis, who is probably better than Big Baby right now as well.
I'm not sure about those evaluations (but then again I haven't scouted either player very well), but I'm sure both guys are worth at least looking at.
Something else to keep in mind. If the team wants to take a flyer on someone, they can always give the guy a 10 day contract. If he works out, great. If not, then you still leave the door open for a run at someone like Joe Smith down the road. Of course to pick up anyone, it would mean cutting a player to make room on the roster. However, I can't imagine anyone would be too broken up about making Cassell an assistant a half year early.
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SSoM: Breakdown of Knicks/Celtics
by Jeff Clark
on Jan 5, 2009 9:55 PM EST
in News/Links
Another great video breakdown of the Knicks/Celtics game by Seven Seconds or Mess.
SSoM Webisode 13 (via SevenSecondsOrMess)
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Antoine Charged With Drunk Driving
"MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Former NBA player Antoine Walker has been charged with suspicion of drunken driving in Miami Beach."
1 day ago
Jeff Clark
15 comments
0 recs
Thanks For Playing, Scal
by Steve Weinman
on Jan 5, 2009 1:00 PM EST
in NBA
A Daily Babble Production
Sunday evening's game classified as a throwback game of sorts for me. It provided a chance to experience a feeling I haven't met since 2006-07: embarrassment.
The last season and change have for the most part been a dream for Celtics fans, so there haven't been too many negative emotions in the first place. But there's been some agitation and some frustration along the way as is probably healthy for every long-term experience. The early struggles in last year's playoffs likely made the ultimate prize that much sweeter (though I still would have preferred better coronary health during those first two series).
Maybe it has to do with my previously discussed sentiments about the Knicks and how badly I want these games. Perhaps it was the sight of Al Harrington running around with his tongue hanging out of his mouth after another three-pointer. Watching the notoriously foolish Quentin Richardson keep jawing despite a 1-for-13 shooting night didn't help. Or maybe the sort of effort the Celtics put out last night would have done it to me no matter the opponent. Whatever it was, embarrassment is the only word that does this one justice for me. I can't remember the last time that I sat in the comfort of my own den with no opposing fans around and felt my facial temperature skyrocket and my cheeks burn because of the way this team played.
Losing to the Knicks and losing games in which our boys seem to have no energy as a unit bring out the worst in me. It is particularly fortunate for me then that Jeff covered the feel of this one more than amply in his game recap (as he always does), so we can forgo a Babble full of overreaction and me saying things I'll regret about Glen Davis (on my last nerve at the moment), Tony Allen (The Guru says, "Get him a MENSA application"), the Gabe Pruitt minutes situation (whatever) and with perhaps three exceptions, just about everyone else who physically showed up in green yesterday.
Nope, none of that today. You're going to get tired of hearing me say this, but this isn't the time yet. The absolute-no-holds-barred-pull-no-punches flipout is best used sparingly (or its value depreciates), and there is a time (or a few) for it during each season. But as angering as last night was, we've all got to pick our spots. This isn't one of mine.
So instead, now that we've spent half this piece telling you what we won't be talking about today, a few notes on one of the few Celts who did bring some New Year's cheer on Sunday night: Brian Scalabrine.
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Atlantic Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Boston
|
29 | 6 | .828 | 0 | Lost 1 |
| New Jersey | 17 | 18 | .485 | 12 | Won 1 |
|
New York
|
13 | 19 | .406 | 14.5 | Lost 1 |
| Toronto | 14 | 21 | .400 | 15 | Lost 1 |
|
Philadelphia
|
13 | 20 | .393 | 15 | Lost 2 |
(updated 1.6.2009 at 4:15 PM EST)
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