Hornets ready to run in Western derby

http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/116236369275620.xml&coll=1

Hornets ready to run in Western derby

Long list of teams set to jockey for playoffs

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

By Benjamin Hochman

Staff writer

BOSTON -- The horses have entered the gates at the Western Conference Derby.

This field of long shots will vie to win, place or show -- the payouts being the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds in the NBA's Western Conference playoffs.

Among the field, there is HonestI'vechanged, the horse out of Golden State with a familiar face aboard.

There is Hous To Be Feared, an injury-plagued horse with past triumphs; a candidate to finish the race strong, despite a jockey who is 7-feet-5.

There is Sooner Or Later -- the horse from Seattle that, sometime, should make its ascension in the conference and could make its move to Oklahoma.

There's also ShouldadraftedChrisPaul from Utah, Kobeandwhoelse? From Los Angeles and Risen Star from New Orleans (of course), primed to make its arrival to the playoffs with its dynamic point guard at the helm.

Sound the bugle.

The race for the final playoff spots in the West should be thrilling, and the Hornets plan to be in the thick of the competition down the stretch.

Though the season is just beginning -- the Hornets opener is tonight at Boston -- it's still safe to predict these three things about the Western Conference:

-- The Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns are playoff locks.

-- One team from the Northwest Division has to make the playoffs -- because league rules say so.

-- And if the up-and-coming Clippers (yes, that's not a typo) don't make the playoffs, it would be the biggest surprise in basketball since . . . The Clippers made the playoffs last season.

And so, that leaves three playoff spots open.

Said Tyson Chandler, the Hornets' center: "I definitely think that we shouldn't accomplish anything less than making the playoffs. We definitely have the capabilities and players to do so. And now the chemistry is coming together."

Their competition is stiff. Assuming the Denver Nuggets nab the automatic bid as the Northwest Division champions, the Hornets' challenges will be the Golden State Warriors (with point guard Baron Davis), Houston Rockets (with center Yao Ming), Seattle SuperSonics, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers and, really, themselves.

Last season, the Hornets were neck-and-neck with playoff-bound teams, until they faded and dropped out of the race. Of last season's collapse -- the Hornets went 9-21 after the All-Star break -- Coach Byron Scott said, "I learned that my guys were young. I learned the things I was trying to tell them, especially after the All-Star break, I don't think they understood or were fully aware of how important those games were -- and that the level of intensity was going to rise. I don't think they understood that until maybe it was a little too late. But that experience is something you can learn from -- myself included, from a coaching standpoint. I expect us to be better this year."

Of course, the Hornets are confident because of their offseason acquisitions -- three-time All-Star Peja Stojakovic, the budding Chandler and guards Bobby Jackson and Jannero Pargo, who should play extended minutes off the bench. Forward David West, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season, was splendid in the preseason, and he was rewarded with a contract extension Monday, thwarting any in-season distractions. And point guard Chris Paul, the reigning Rookie of the Year, is vocal and seasoned, after a summer at the point for Team USA.

"As a leader, he's willing to take on that responsibility, whether it's the closing minute or a game or in other (facets)," said Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower, who pieced together this upstart club. "He has the mentality -- he wants to lead you. It's a trait and skill he'll be developing all year, strengthening and making him a bigger part of our team. . . . But let's always remember -- we're talking him about being a leader, and the young man is just about to start his second year in the league. Our leader is still learning."

. . . . . . .

#64379

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:53 pm
Subject: "Delonte West did not practice..."-MilfordDailyNews

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/sportsNews/view.bg?articleid=76487&format=text>

Celts step on to proving ground

By Scott Souza/ Daily News Staff

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 01:12 AM EST

WALTHAM -- There has been a lot of talk lately about how the Celtics can improve upon last year�s 33-49 mark.

� � Tonight the talk ends and the proving begins.

� � "I think we will be a better team and we should win a lot more games," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers after the team�s final workout before tonight�s home season opener against the New Orleans Hornets (FSN, 7:30). "But that�s what we say. We have to prove that.

� � "Nobody is going to believe it anyway," the coach continued. "We don�t need the talk. We have to show action. This team has to be about its actions."

� � Those actions include the Celtics showing they are committed to their up-tempo style for the long haul, that they can develop a consistency they lacked last year and that they can finally separate the modifiers "young and inexperienced" from every description of them.

� � "The youth thing is an excuse in my opinion," said center Kendrick Perkins. "I think it�s Doc�s opinion, too. I don�t like to use it. I think a lot of guys we have now understand basketball and understand the game."

� � Rivers, who declined to reveal his starting lineup to reporters yesterday, said it is a more experienced team even though the Celtics added another injection of youth in the offseason.

� � A sign if he is right will be how the Celtics react in late stages of the tight games that were their undoing most of last year.

� � "We have to bring a lot of energy every night," Perkins said. "We have to be consistent every night. I think last year we lost a lot of close games with little mistakes that we need to take away this year. Our defense needs to be there every night."

� � "Last year we never won more than two games in a row," Rivers noted. "When you have so many guys who haven�t played a lot of NBA basketball, you worry about consistency."

� � A good start would help -- especially with nine of 14 November games at home.

� � "We are making an extra emphasis on protecting our home court this year," said captain Paul Pierce, who added some levity to the eve of the season in donning a homemade mask of the character Jigsaw from the "Saw" horror movie series for Halloween. "The stuff gets tougher as the season goes along, so we have to get off to a good start."

� � While Rivers would certainly welcome that, he noted that with an influx of new players into the still-undetermined rotation, tonight will be a starting point.

� � "We are going to be a better team the second half of the year whether we have home games or not," the coach said. "I think that�s obvious because the guys are still young. If we can get off to a great start, that would really set us up for the second half."

� � A second half that will be a major disappointment if it doesn�t lead to more games after the April 18 regular-season finale against Detroit.

� � "The guys have a better feel for what it takes to win," Perkins said. "A lot of guys were on the team last year when we didn�t make the playoffs and are hungry. They not only want to make the playoffs, but make noise in the playoffs.

� � "I think that�s the difference from last year," he concluded. "It�s about your focus and your attitude."

��

***

� � Delonte West did not practice after his back spasms flared up. Rivers said he thought West would be ready to go tonight...

� � Theo Ratliff, who has been sidelined for the past three weeks with a herniated disc in his back, did not take shots after practice yesterday as he did on Monday. He figures to be one of the three players on the inactive list tonight...

� � Rivers reiterated that he expects Al Jefferson to see more time at center early this season...

� � While Rivers did not officially announce a lineup for tonight, an educated guess would be Sebastian Telfair and Pierce in the backcourt, Wally Szczerbiak and Ryan Gomes at the forward spots and Perkins in the middle.

� � The more significant issue could be which players are the first three or four off the bench.�

#64378

From: Jared Cantin <Jcanti71@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 2:58 pm
Subject: Celtics Pregame

jcanti71

Offline

Don't wanna step on anyone's toes, but this hadn't
been done yet, I am bored at work, can't get C's off
the mind, figured I'd post for all to enjoy:

1.  From the Hornets Boards

Wonder who's starting at PG for Celtics. Rondo is
playing crazily so far in preseason and is a great
defender. That'd be a fun matchup if his play so far
isn't a fluke.

I can't make a prediction on this one, it is probably
too close to call.

After scouring the message boards I realized that the
New Orleans Hornets have exactly seventeen fans.  That
being said, the above comments were inclusive of their
entire thoughts on the game.  As such, I will make a
starting lineups prediction section of this post:
____________

Presumes Starters

New Orleans

C: Chandler
PF: West
SF: Peja
SG: Mason
PG: Paul

Celtics

C: Perkins
PF: Gomes
SF: Wally
SG: PP
PG: Bassy

_________________

Notes:

16,6,11,11  - Those are the rebounding numbers for
Tyson CHandler against the C's last year.  Perk
struggled badly in those same games, with the
exception of one, where he put up 8pts, 14boards, 5
blocks, one of his best as a pro.

The Celtics won both games against the Hornets last
year. 91-78, 101-87.








________________________________________________________________________________\
____
Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business
(http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com)

#64377

From: "profblidiot2003" <profblidiot@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 2:05 pm
Subject: Re: [Celtics' Stuff ] Off subject

profblidiot2003

Offline

< From here, it looks like you've become a bitter
old woman.> - JB

It's all Ainge's fault, ya hear me? He's chained
my heart.


< It's a shame, you once had so much to offer.>
-JB

Ah yes, those were the good old glory days when
I was voted Ms. Pre-Teen Wellesley (Mass.) back
in '08.

Egg

----------------------

--- In Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com, JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...> wrote:
>
>
> On Nov 1, 2006, at 8:24 AM, profblidiot2003 wrote:
>
> > I can only assume from his casual
> > reaction, that the ever-expedient JB has now officially
> > graduated to the wave of the future, a blog.  And with
> > his "Now that I'm a professional sports writer I ..."
> > that he no longer gives a hoot about this self-destructive,
> > overly sensitive group.
>
>  Egg
>
> ************
>
>  Ah, the shark smells blood.
>  You couldn't help but try to pour a little salt on the wounds, could
> you?
>  From here, it looks like you've become a bitter old woman.
>  It's a shame, you once had so much to offer.
>
>
> 		 JB
>             
>       		 Unchain My Heart!
>

#64376

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:19 pm
Subject: Ryan says C's will: "shock the world!"- Globe

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2006/11/01/staff_picks?mode=PF>

The Boston Globe

Staff picks

November 1, 2006

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

Celtics: 41-41. Game presentation and Danny's vision strive to disguise abject mediocrity.

Eastern finals: Miami over Detroit. What a field day for the Heat.

Western finals: LA Clippers over San Antonio. Clipper Chic is all the rage in Tinseltown.

NBA champion: Miami.

JACKIE MacMULLAN

Celtics: 36-46. If Sebastian Telfair is the answer, then what, exactly, was the question?

Eastern finals: Miami over Orlando. Dwight Howard emerges as the Next Great Thing, but he still can't wrestle the goods from Shaq and D-Wade.

Western finals: San Antonio over Dallas. Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich don't get mad, they just get even.

NBA champion: San Antonio.

PETER MAY

Celtics: 32-50. The lower rung of the East has improved. Have they?

Eastern finals: Detroit over Chicago. Ben who?

Western finals: Phoenix over Dallas. Only if Amare is close to what he was two years ago.

NBA champion: Phoenix.

BOB RYAN

Celtics: 43-39. The most athletic team in Celtic history is going to shock the world! How about that?

Eastern finals: Cleveland over Miami. What? You think LeBron isn't going to keep getting better and better?

Western finals: Phoenix over Dallas. I have seen the future of NBA coaching and it is Mike D'Antoni.

NBA champion: Phoenix.

SHIRA SPRINGER

Celtics: 33-49. D�j� vu as Boston waits on the young and Pierce plays through his prime without postseason in sight.

Eastern finals: Miami over Cleveland. King James must wait another year before claiming throne.

Western finals: Phoenix over San Antonio. C'est la vie, Canada trumps France, but Tony will always have Eva.

NBA champion: Miami. �

#64375

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:04 pm
Subject: "no Celtic worked harder this offseason than Jefferson."-Globe

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/11/01/routine_progress?mode=PF>

The Boston Globe

Routine progress

Third-year players need to make jump

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff� |� November 1, 2006

During a recent talk about the importance of preparation, Doc Rivers asked his players, "Who has a pregame routine?" A show of hands reminded everyone in the room how young the Celtics remain. The nine players on the roster with two years or less NBA experience sat still as veterans such as Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak raised their hands. Pierce described his routine, down to the fact that he drives the same route to the TD Banknorth Garden before every home game.

Citing that example, Rivers challenged players to sustain focus throughout a long season, to recognize a consistent approach leads to consistent play. But like everything else with a team on which the average age is 25, developing consistent routines remains a process without a definitive timetable. Asked when young was no longer young, Rivers said, "I don't have an answer for that." Danny Ainge said he hoped the answer was tonight, when the Celtics start the regular season against the Hornets.

While both Rivers and Ainge publicly refuse to place expectations on players, the success of the Celtics this season could hinge upon the 2004 draft class. If Boston shows some newfound maturity, it should come from Sebastian Telfair, Delonte West, Al Jefferson, and Tony Allen. Each is in his third NBA season, and they should have enough experience and playing time to make significant contributions.

"The third year is a year to start making a step," said Rivers. "I don't think it means you've arrived. The first year, coaches throw everything in the book at you. The second year, you're starting to figure it out. The third year, you're starting to play with it."

If recent history is an accurate predictor, Telfair, West, Jefferson, and Allen have good reason to expect a big year. Of the 15 players named to All-NBA teams last season, 10 made major statistical leaps in their third season, particularly in field goal percentage. The list includes Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Elton Brand, Ben Wallace, and Yao Ming. And everyone knows that three-year veterans LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony not only earned All-NBA honors and led their teams to the playoffs last season, but they also positioned themselves as the future of the league.

But for every James, Anthony, and Wade, there is a Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, and Tracy McGrady who took longer than three years to truly emerge. For every early lottery pick who almost automatically becomes the focal point of his team, there are players selected later whose career paths are less predictable.

"It's dangerous to make generalizations, to say if a player doesn't do it this year then we know who he is," said Ainge. "This year is important for them [Telfair, West, Jefferson, and Allen] because it looks like they're going to get an opportunity to perform and play a role on our team. But whether [it's] their first year, second year, third, fourth, I don't really pay any attention to that. I have my own expectations of what I see players becoming. A player that might not live up to my expectations can still be a valuable asset. He might not fit in with us, but he may fit somewhere else."

No rush to judgment

With the obvious caveat that players improve every year, Ainge conceded that everyone knew the kind of player Pierce would become after his third season. Pierce enjoyed a breakout year during the 2000-01 campaign, making the biggest statistical jump of his career in scoring (5.8 points per game) while also improving his numbers for rebounding, assists, and shooting percentage.

When the Celtics stocked the roster with 2004 draftees, they did not expect those players to become the future of the NBA or the next Pierce. But they wouldn't be disappointed if the class yielded the Celtics' starting point guard (Telfair), a dominant big man for the future (Jefferson), and the perfect complements on offense (West) and defense (Allen) for the future. Will youth finally be served this season? Only playing time will tell.

"Players can get better any time," said Luke Jackson, the 10th pick in the 2004 draft who was cut by the Celtics Oct. 26 and whose injury-riddled career underscores the importance of luck and opportunity in the maturation of a player. "But you can look at almost anybody and say, 'That's who that player is [after three years].' Those first two years, you figure out what you need to do to be successful. Then, you have two offseasons to get better and work on your game and get stronger. After that, if you haven't put the work in by then, you probably never will."

By all accounts, no Celtic worked harder this offseason than Jefferson. He has the weight loss (30 pounds) and lower body fat percentage (8.7) to show for it. But even though his mind and body are primed for a breakout year, reviews of his play during the exhibition season were mixed, as were the results of his sophomore NBA season. At times, Jefferson plays with confidence, making strong moves on offense and staying aggressive on defense. At other times, he looks lost at both ends.

For his part, Jefferson is preaching patience, commenting that his rookie season "was about survival" and his second year was jinxed by ankle injuries. Ainge echoes the call for patience and laughs at the suggestion this season could be a referendum on Jefferson, noting that each young player is different.

To start the season, Jefferson will play behind power forward Ryan Gomes and centers Kendrick Perkins and Theo Ratliff (when healthy). Given that kind of depth in the frontcourt (never mind at shooting guard), it's a good thing the Celtics are practicing patience. Fans, however, may feel differently. At some point, the time must be now.

Earning their time

As Rivers waits for one or two or three young players to separate themselves and prove deserving of playing time, the coaching staff is in an unenviable position. That Jefferson once seemed a future All-Star does not guarantee him minutes. But without playing time, it is difficult for a young player to improve, never mind put together a breakout year. For some in the 2004 draft class, the wait may be longer than they had hoped.

Ex-starters Allen and West face uncertain futures in the crowded shooting guard rotation. As arguably the best defender on the team, Allen likely will earn minutes. While West will log most of his minutes at shooting guard, his experience as the starting point guard last season and his all-around game should earn him considerable playing time.

"The more you get the trust of your coach, the more you get the opportunity to be out there on the court," said Allen. "Once you're out there, you've got to take advantage of it. That's when the breakout comes -- once you get those minutes, get that time in clutch situations and make plays."

But it is Telfair, acquired during the offseason, who has the best chance at a breakout season. Replacing West as the starting point guard, Telfair will have every opportunity to realize the potential he showed as a high school phenom. The Celtics' up-tempo style suits his strengths. But Telfair claims there is more to it, referring back to Rivers's speech about the importance of pregame routines.

"I feel like I'm in a situation where I can go out there and play to my best abilities," said Telfair. "The third year, you get the tools to win [on and off the court], you develop that NBA life, and you're organized. At this point, when I go to New York, I don't have any calls about tickets. Everybody knows to call my brother, call my dad. It's just knowing how to exclude things and focus on basketball."

Even in the NBA, big strides start with small steps.�

#64374

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:50 pm
Subject: Re: [Celtics' Stuff ] Off subject

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

On Nov 1, 2006, at 8:24 AM, profblidiot2003 wrote:

I can only assume from his casual�

reaction, that the ever-expedient JB has now officially�

graduated to the wave of the future, a blog.� And with�

his "Now that I'm a professional sports writer I ..." �

that he no longer gives a hoot about this self-destructive,

overly sensitive group.

Egg

************

Ah, the shark smells blood.

You couldn't help but try to pour a little salt on the wounds, could you?

From here, it looks like you've become a bitter old woman.�

It's a shame, you once had so much to offer.

�JB

� � ��

�� Unchain My Heart!

#64373

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:07 pm
Subject: Could Allen be the mystery starter?-Globe

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/11/01/theyre_trying_to_generate_some_buzz?mode=PF>

The Boston Globe

CELTICS NOTEBOOK

They're trying to generate some buzz

By Peter May, Globe Staff� |� November 1, 2006

For just the second time in the last 14 years, the Celtics will open their season against a Western Conference opponent. In 1992, the Minnesota Timberwolves came to town for the Celtics' first game since Larry Bird retired. The Celtics won that game.

Tonight, it will be the Hornets, a team embraced by two cities, New Orleans and Oklahoma City, a team the Celtics easily handled in both of their meetings last year. (Boston was one of six teams to sweep the Hornets, all but one, Dallas, being in the East.)

But, as they say, that was then and this is now. The Hornets have made serious upgrades, on paper anyway. They signed free agents Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson. They improved their nonexistent interior by trading for Tyson Chandler and drafting Cedric Simmons and Hilton Armstrong.

Oh yes, and they have one of Doc Rivers's favorites, Chris Paul, running the show, and David West, their leading scorer and rebounder last season. And, of course, they have Byron Scott as their coach. We know how much he loves Boston.

It could be an interesting night. There will be a final Red Auerbach tribute (fans are encouraged to arrive by 7, with tipoff being 7:30), capping days of Red Auerbach tributes. There will be Auerbach clovers on the Celtics' uniforms and the first look for many at the new scoreboard (but not the new dancers). There also will be a meaningful basketball game in the TD Banknorth Garden for the first time since Maryland beat Duke in the NCAA women's final last spring.

"I have great expectations," said Rivers. What, you expected him to show a plane ticket to Secaucus for next May?

"I'm curious, but I have great expectations," the coach went on. "There are teams that know what they have -- the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit, blah, blah, blah. I think I know.

"I like this team. I know we have to be a great team to win. We can't do it with one individual's success. If we do that, I don't think we're going to be very good."

Rivers would not divulge his starting lineup for tonight -- "I want them to like me for one more night," he said by way of explanation/avoidance -- but it's a safe bet you'll see Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak, Sebastian Telfair, and Kendrick Perkins out there for the opening tip. Both Ryan Gomes and Tony Allen practiced with that quartet yesterday and Rivers indicated that changes in his starting lineups this year would mostly involve tweaking the power forward and center positions.

Yesterday was the team's fifth straight day of practice and, well, it is ready to play. (The Hornets, who went 2-5 in the exhibition season, last played Oct. 24 and are equally testy.)

"I think they are ready to see someone else, and hear someone else," Rivers said. "They're ready to hear the fans, and not me. And that would be great. If they heard the fans the whole game and didn't hear a word from me, that would be a perfect game."

Play him again

Delonte West (sore back) did not participate in practice yesterday, but Rivers said he would be "shocked" if the kid didn't play tonight. (And he wasn't saying "shocked" the way Claude Rains said it when he confronted Humphrey Bogart about gambling in Rick's cafe in "Casablanca"). Rivers said West's sitting out was more of a precaution. "I'd be very surprised if he wasn't in uniform and playing," Rivers said . . . The Celtics are 38-22 in season openers, 1-1 under Rivers. There was the blown lead late in the game to Philadelphia in 2004 (Jim O'Brien's debut in his first and last season as the Sixers' coach) and last year's overtime win over the Knicks (Larry Brown's debut in his first and last season as the Knicks' coach) . . . Rivers said the team considered having the players fly down to attend Auerbach's funeral yesterday, but it proved to be too onerous logistically. Rivers stayed over (his son is a freshman at Georgetown) and took an early flight to Boston to be at practice.

Get your programs

Six of the 12 players likely to be in uniform tonight for the Hornets played elsewhere last season. Four of the 12 Celtics played somewhere else last season . . . Theo Ratliff did some light shooting, but will be on the inactive list tonight as he recuperates from a bad back. "He was our last line of defense," Rivers said of Ratliff, who appeared in just two exhibition games, "and I haven't seen him in three weeks." Ratliff last played Oct. 13.

Peter May can be reached at P_May@.... �

#64372

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:33 pm
Subject: Re: [Celtics' Stuff ] City honors Auerbach today (Globe)

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

On Nov 1, 2006, at 7:43 AM, Fabio wrote:

For the ones who are planning a visit to City Hall Plaza or to the�

Garden, could you please sign the remembrance book with my name,�

Fabio Anderle, too?

I'd appreciate it a lot, since I live so far away.....�

Fabio

****************

I will do that for you Fabio.

�JB

� � ��

�� Unchain My Heart!

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (6)

#64371

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:41 pm
Subject: "Move the (expletive) ball. We have a second and a third option."-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165179&format=text>

C�s need finishing touch: A better endgame No. 1 goal

By Steve Bulpett

Boston Herald Sports Reporter

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 07:12 AM EST

Celtics coach Doc Rivers hopes to get offense out of other players in addition to Paul Pierce, shown here at practice Sunday. (Staff photo by Lisa Hornak)

The numbers stare back at the Celtics from last season�s ledger. Forty-nine, 21, five. Not even all the witches in Salem can make them go away.

� � If the Celts are to lower their take of 49 losses from a year ago, then beginning tonight they will have to find a way to avoid losing 21 games by five or fewer points.

� � �Oh, you don�t need to remind me,� said coach Doc Rivers. �We are all very well aware of what happened and what we need to do.�

� � Getting the Celtics� younger minds to think properly in crunch time may be more a matter of time than teaching.

� � �A lot of it is a learning experience,� Rivers said. �Guys just have to go through the situations to know. But the No. 1 thing is we�ve got to be a better defensive team. We didn�t get a lot of stops for the most part. We don�t have a lot of stoppers either. It almost has to be a team effort. It does have to be a team effort.

� � �But our guys just have to learn. They have to learn how to milk the clock. They have to learn what a good shot is with four minutes left as opposed to the beginning of the game. There�s so many things for them to learn, and there�s no way to shortcut that curve.

� � �Hell, I believed before last year - and I said it - that I know for 3 quarters I can get this team in any game. My fear is the last six minutes. And unfortunately that became a true statement as the year went on. I thought we got a little bit better at the end of the year. We won some close games down the stretch at the end of the year, so it did show improvement and I was happy with that.�

� � While defense was clearly a problem, it�s not as if the coach is letting the offense off the hook. He saw how too often the Celts failed to run their plays and simply put the ball in Paul Pierce�s hands.

� � �I just didn�t think they trusted each other,� Rivers said. �And there�s no shortcut to that either. Dallas is the best example of all time because they got all the way to The Finals with a 2-0 lead. In Game 3 their offense was clicking, and then the game gets tight and you saw good players stop trusting and looking for Dirk Nowitzki. Josh Howard, to me, stood out in that, passing up good shots.

� � �But they only have one Josh Howard. We have seven. That�s what makes it tough. We work on it every day, but it�s different in practice. In a game down at the end, guys will still be like, �Move the (expletive) ball. We have a second and a third option.� And we have good second and third options. Wally (Szczerbiak) coming off a pin-down on the weak side when the whole defense is shifted, that�s as good as you want. Paul coming off the back pick after he doesn�t get it the first time is as good as you want. What we�ve got to do is work on it every day. And we have to spend more time on that than probably every team in the league because of all the guys who haven�t been in that situation enough.

� � �That�s who we are and we accept that, but I think we�ll be better at it this year than we were last year,� Rivers added. �Offensively our execution will be better, and defensively we�ll be better because we�re more athletic.�

� � As he prepares to begin his ninth NBA season, Pierce was talking about just how close the Celts are to playing with the bigger lads.

� � �It�s just a matter of learning from our mistakes, man,� he said. �That�s really all it is. We realize what�s costing us games, and it�s the little things. I think a lot of times we lost games by giving up offensive rebounds late in games and turning the ball over in the fourth quarter. If we can learn from those type of mistakes, we can make a good turnaround this year. Even though we�re a young team and we made those mistakes, we were still in those games. Fixing those little things at the end of games, that�s the difference between being a playoff team and a lottery team.

� � �If we can learn from that, then we can definitely make the playoffs.�

� � If not, then the numbers won�t be any prettier than last year�s.

��

sbulpett@...

#64370

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:13 pm
Subject: "It wasn't...nuclear physics. It was basketball,"-Globe

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The Boston Globe

BOB RYAN

Auerbach's spirit lives on

The many he touched will always carry a little bit of Red with them

By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist� |� November 1, 2006

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- The rabbi said the family had directed that the ceremony be "brief" and "punctual."

He read the 23d Psalm.

He read the Kaddish, or prayer of mourning.

The casket was lowered.

An American flag was placed inside.

The ceremonial dirt was thrown on the coffin by either a trowel or shovel.

And that was it.

No muss, no fuss, no frills.

How positively Auerbachian.

This was, after all, a man who arrived in Boston with seven basic offensive plays, plus options, and who quit coaching 16 years later still using those basic seven plays, plus options. It wasn't, he figured, nuclear physics. It was basketball, and no one ever has known it better.

They came old and they came young. Some wore yarmulkes and some didn't. Men and women. Caucasians and people of color. But they were all united in love and admiration for a man who had affected them in ways that will last for the rest of their lives.

"He did so much for so many people," said Brookline and Northeastern's own Rick Weitzman, whom Red picked in the 10th round of the 1967 draft, and who impressed Red's immediate successor Bill Russell enough to earn a spot on the team, which led to a championship ring. "He gave me an opportunity when nobody else would have. And he was responsible for everything that has happened to me since."

It was time to say good bye to a truly great American icon, a man who, had he not channeled his talents into basketball, could have been a Speaker of the House or corporate CEO. If ever a man was born to lead people, it was Arnold J. Auerbach.

Many had come to pay their respects the night before to the Joseph Gawler Funeral Home on Wisconsin Avenue. And now there were additional mourners, such as NBA commissioner David Stern, former NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik, Kevin McHale (who needs no introduction), New Jersey Nets general manager Rod Thorn, and Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld, who was so much the object of Red's affection at the 1977 draft that Red pounded his fist on the table in anger when the Bucks scooped up Grunfeld a pick before Boston's (hello, Cedric Maxwell).

But the gathering included more than just the NBA's high and mighty. There were plenty of just plain folk, too, including a man and his 12-year old son, dressed in a green Celtics sweatshirt.

Towering above the crowd were two large black men, one quite simply the greatest player Red, or anyone else, ever had, the other a fabulously successful college coach. Bill Russell and John Thompson were teammates for two seasons in the mid '60s, when, as the great Frank Deford once wrote, "There are two great spring rituals in Boston: Lent, and the Celtics in the playoffs."

The large black man from Oakland and the large black man from Washington each had fallen under the spell of the little Jewish man from Brooklyn, quoting him and re-quoting him, the former to enraptured audiences and the latter to the kind of young men his own son and successor as Georgetown coach, John Thompson III, had brought en masse to the funeral parlor the night before.

Red Auerbach is gone in body, but his feisty spirit lives on in the countless people who either played for him, worked for him, or studied him. The Auerbach basketball stories and the Auerbach bad driver stories and all the rest always will be told and retold, because they are either instructive or flat-out funny. But it turns out there were far more people who had good reason to mourn Red beyond those who made their lives from professional basketball. Now I'm hearing from people whose personal encounters with Red Auerbach resulted in everything from a pair of free tickets or a Celtics trinket to help in paying their medical bills. Red's Midas touch in finding employment for Celtic alumni was legendary, but that was hardly the end of his personal largesse. In fact, it was only the beginning.

I learned Monday night from Red's nephew Stuart Grossman that in his later years Red had become enamored of the jump-roping activity known as "Double Dutch," funding programs throughout New England. Who knew?

Red liked helping people, and he wasn't shy in dispensing advice. Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News remembers telling Red that his own dad, having reached 80, was reluctant to use a cane, which he obviously needed. Red, who had used one for years, demanded Ben Lupica's phone number. Red called him up, told him to stop being so foolish, and Ben Lupica now uses a cane.

He was a natural-born host. His office in the Old Garden was like a social club, but he really turned it up a notch if you went to his home. He was one of those people who kept offering you candy or another drink every five minutes. And he absolutely always inquired about your kids. I mean, always.

Did you want to get on his bad side? No, you didn't. Ask Maxwell, who Red thought was not diligent enough in rehabbing his knee during the '84-85 season, and who was then dispatched when the season was over to NBA Siberia (i.e. the Los Angeles Clippers). Max was on the outs for 20 years before Red relented and agreed to have Maxwell's No. 31 go up in the rafters. "I go see him," Max recalls, "and he taps me on the knee and says, 'All is forgiven.' I'm thinking, 'Forgiven? Wait a minute; he traded me!' "

OK, so he had a long memory.

But it's his generous nature that will be remembered. Weitzman is hardly the only Celtic alum who feels a debt of gratitude to the old coach. Red was helping out people 55 years ago. He put in a good word for Bones McKinney to get the Wake Forest job, for example, and a few years later Bones repaid him by tipping him off to a player at a little-known college he thought Red should consider drafting. The player was Sam Jones, and he was the first No. 1 pick in either football or basketball to come from a historically black college. Yup, another Red Auerbach first. Red and race and being ahead of the curve; there's a book in that one.

It's all past tense now, and his countless disciples are left to carry on. "The rabbis always say the best part of these graveside services is the throwing of the dirt," mused David Stern, "because that's one favor you can't return."

Wanna bet?

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is ryan@.... �

#64369

From: "John S" <js33@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:21 pm
Subject: Bulls turn champs into chumps

joesixpack33

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Bulls turn champs into chumps

November 1, 2006

BY BRIAN HANLEY Staff Reporter

MIAMI -- The Miami Heat asked the Bulls to wear their white uniforms rather than their customary road reds on opening night Tuesday. The Bulls happily agreed, then made themselves right at home.

The Bulls' 108-66 blowout victory against the defending champion Heat -- their largest winning margin in a season opener and the most lopsided loss for a defending champ in a season opener -- was about the only thing not scripted on the minute-by-minute schedule of the TNT-televised festivities that tipped off the NBA season.

Because the pregame ceremony honoring the Heat's championship season ran long, the tipoff came seven minutes later than the slated time of 8:16 p.m. Eastern. The wait was well worth it for the Bulls, who outscored the Heat 37-14 in the second quarter to take control.

Kirk Hinrich, who got a five-year, $47.5 million contract extension earlier in the day, led the Bulls with 26 points. Chris Duhon, who left the game early in the fourth quarter after being kicked in his already-bruised right foot, added 20 on 7-for-8 shooting off the bench.

''We discovered in the preseason that if we get the game up-tempo, it plays into our favor,'' Hinrich said. ''We have a lot of guys who can create, catch-and-shoot and draw-and-kick. That will definitely be useful for us this year.''

The Bulls bounced back from 5-for-20 shooting in the first quarter to go 15-for-19 in the second, a 78.9 percent clip that enabled them to open a 59-30 lead at the half. The Heat, meanwhile, shot only 31.3 percent in the first half (10-for-32) and was outrebounded 26-15.

''I thought our defense was excellent,'' said Bulls coach Scott Skiles, whose team held the Heat to 38.5 percent shooting and had a 49-29 rebounding advantage. ''We had a lot of energy. I liked how aggressive our guys were. We spread the ball around, and guys did a nice job of finding each other.''

Veteran forward P.J. Brown liked what he saw, too.

''It was a lot of fun,'' said Brown, who helped hold Heat center Shaquille O'Neal to seven points and five rebounds. ''I thought everybody played great on both ends of the floor. We've been working real hard the last couple of weeks. You go through training camp, you go through preseason and finally you get a chance to see what kind of team you can be on a national stage.''

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 25 points.

''We were late on everything,'' said O'Neal, who shot 3-for-10 from the field. ''It was just one of those nights. We just didn't do anything right.''

Center Ben Wallace, the most important of general manager John Paxson's offseason additions, said the Bulls didn't have to use all the pregame fireworks and confetti that dressed up the Heat's ring ceremony as motivation.

''We were just ready to play,'' said Wallace, who grabbed 11 rebounds. ''We'd play pickup ball regardless of who or where we play. The season starts, and either you're ready or you're not. It was a lot of emotion for them, accepting their rings. The adrenaline was flowing. Then when the game starts, you have to settle yourself down and concentrate on basketball.

''But it's just one game. Take a couple of those points and add it to another game, then that would be different. Sometimes you come out and everything's clicking for you. Sometimes you come out and things aren't clicking. Those are the nights you have to grind it out. You take more meaning out of those games when things aren't going well for you.''

bhanley@...

Leading scorer:

BULLS RECAP

BULLS 22 37 21 28--108

Miami 16 14 21 15-- 66

BULLS min fg-a ft-a o-t a pf pts

Deng 24:07 4-9 4-6 1-2 1 2 12

Brown 18:23 1-2 2-2 0-3 1 3 4

Wallace 28:29 2-5 1-1 6-11 1 2 5

Gordon 22:56 1-9 4-5 0-1 2 3 6

Hinrich 34:38 10-18 3-4 0-4 3 2 26

Nocioni 28:54 4-8 0-0 1-11 2 2 9

Duhon 16:40 7-8 3-3 0-2 3 0 20

Thomas 16:23 1-4 2-6 1-5 2 3 4

Khryapa 14:00 2-4 1-2 1-4 3 2 5

Griffin 11:14 1-2 0-0 0-1 2 0 2

Allen 13:42 2-6 0-0 1-3 1 1 4

Sefolosha 10:34 4-4 3-3 2-2 1 1 11

Totals 240 39-79 23-32 13-49 22 21 108

Percentages: FG .494, FT .719. 3-point goals: 7-13, .538 (Duhon 3-3, Hinrich 3-5, Nocioni 1-3, Gordon 0-2). Team rebounds: 11. Team turnovers: 16 (15 PTS). Blocked shots: 5 (Thomas 2, Allen, Brown, Wallace). Turnovers: 16 (Deng 3, Thomas 3, Gordon 2, Nocioni 2, Khryapa 2, Brown 2, Duhon, Griffin). Steals: 10 (Hinrich 2, Sefolosha 2, Allen, Deng, Gordon, Khryapa, Brown, Thomas). Technical fouls: Nocioni, 11:10 second; Coach Skiles, 30.2 second; defensive three-second, 6:03 fourth.

HEAT min fg ft o-t a pf pts

Walker 35:47 3-9 3-6 0-6 2 3 9

Haslem 27:34 3-9 0-0 0-6 0 2 6

O'Neal 24:26 3-10 1-2 3-5 0 2 7

Wade 34:07 10-15 3-6 1-2 3 3 25

Payton 34:41 1-5 4-5 0-3 4 4 7

Mourning 15:23 0-2 1-2 0-2 0 1 1

Posey 22:35 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 3 2

Quinn 13:51 1-5 0-0 0-0 3 2 2

Kapono 10:32 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 3

Wright 8:14 1-4 0-0 0-2 0 1 2

Simien 7:43 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2

Hite 5:07 0-3 0-0 0-1 0 2 0

Totals 240:00 25-65 13-22 4-29 13 24 66

Percentages: FG .385, FT .591. 3-point Goals: 3-17, .176 (Wade 2-3, Payton 1-4, Hite 0-2, Quinn 0-2, Walker 0-6). Team rebounds: 9. Team turnovers: 23 (32 PTS). Blocked shots: 3 (Walker 2, O'Neal). Turnovers: 21 (Wade 4, Payton 4, O'Neal 3, Walker 3, Mourning 2, Hite 2, Posey, Simien, Wright). Steals: 6 (Haslem, Kapono, Wade, Walker, Hite, Payton). Technical fouls: defensive three-second, 4:46 second; Wade, 3:42 second.

Officials--Bernie Fryer, Tim Donaghy, Derek Richardson. A--20,229 (19,600). T--2:25.

� Copyright 2006 Sun-Times News Group | User Agreement and Privacy Policy

#64368

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:52 pm
Subject: "Fifteen of the 17 teams...either relocated or went bankrupt"-Globe

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<http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/11/01/how_money_changed_red_auerbachs_game?mode=PF>

The Boston Globe

VICTOR MATHESON

How money changed Red Auerbach's game

By Victor Matheson� |� November 1, 2006

RED AUERBACH, the legendary coach and general manager of the Boston Celtics, died last week at 89. As a coach, he guided the Celtics to eight straight NBA championships from 1959 to 1966, a feat unmatched in the NBA or any other major professional sports league. When he retired from active coaching in 1966, he was the league's all-time winningest coach. He brought another seven titles to the Celtics as a GM. He made the Celtics' success in the 1980s possible by drafting the great Larry Bird (after five other teams had passed him by) and acquiring Robert Parish and Kevin McHale.

Yet the NBA has changed a great deal over the past 50 years, and it is worth asking whether the traits that made Auerbach great still have a place in the modern game. When he arrived at the Celtics in 1949, the Lakers still played in a city that actually has lakes; the league had franchises in such metropolises as Sheboygan, Waterloo, and Fort Wayne, and the Celtics finished dead last in their division.

Since those days, the economics of the game have changed. In today's environment, even Auerbach would find it more difficult to create a Celtics dynasty.

First of all, the league is more financially stable nowadays. Fifteen of the 17 teams in the NBA in the 1949-50 season either relocated or went bankrupt over the next decade. It was within these years of turmoil that Auerbach pulled off some of his best moves. Auerbach only happened upon his first great player, Bob Cousy, because Cousy's team, the Chicago Stags, folded before the 1950-51 season. The Celtics picked his name out of a hat when the team's players were reallocated.

Auerbach's greatest triumph, however, came in 1956, when he persuaded the owner of the Rochester Royals to pass up drafting Bill Russell. In exchange, Auerbach arranged for Rochester to get the Ice Capades. Bill Russell went on to win 11 titles. Of course, what seems laughable today may have made perfect economic sense in the low-revenue 1950s.

The financial gains that the league has reaped in the subsequent five decades have contributed to an explosion in player salaries. Shaquille O'Neal's $20 million salary last year earned him about $11,500 per minute of playing time -- more than the $9,000 Cousy earned in his first year playing for Auerbach. In an era when the sport's biggest stars enjoy such enormous wealth, motivating players and promoting teamwork is a constant challenge for all coaches and GMs.

Free agency played a crucial role in this change. It's harder to get players to do those important little things that win games but that don't show up on the score sheet. Auerbach's finest talent was getting players to play the roles that the team needed to win. Before free agency, Red could make a convincing case to his players that he personally controlled their future salary and that he was indeed watching those little things. Nowadays, the players with the gaudy statistics are the ones rewarded with the big free-agent contracts.

Even though the NBA has loosened its salary-cap rules, making it easier for a team to re-sign its own players, free agency makes it harder to keep a team of stars together. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers, who won three NBA titles in a row between 2000 and 2002, have lost all but one player, Kobe Bryant, from their last championship team to free agency. Though Bryant is undeniably one of the NBA's great talents, his titles stopped coming without his supporting cast, which included O'Neal and Robert Horry. Free agency brought the Lakers' dynasty to an end after just three seasons.

None of this should take away from Auerbach's accomplishments. Indeed, his talent in identifying the great potential players like Russell or Bird remains a skill that is in great need today. To build a winning team in any era, one needs to be able to tell the difference between a Sam Bowie and a Michael Jordan, and Red had a knack for identifying potential franchise players whom other teams passed on. In any case, it is unlikely that Boston or the rest of the league will see a dynasty like Auerbach's Celtics anytime soon.

Victor Matheson is an economist at Holy Cross. �

#64367

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:15 pm
Subject: "Hard work."-Globe

jb_celticsstuff

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The Boston Globe

It was a leap year celebration

By Peter May, Globe Staff� |� November 1, 2006

LeBron James ascended to the top in his third year, making the All-NBA first team while also winning MVP honors at the All-Star Game and leading his team to its first playoff berth since 1998. Carmelo Anthony made his first All-NBA team (third team) and increased his scoring average by 20 percent.

Both players, chastened and all but ignored in Athens in 2004, were asked to join the Yanks again and became the de facto leaders and two of the tricaptains of the 2006 World Championship team.

They were good when they came into the league. They were better in their second years. But they joined the NBA elite in Year 3, doing what Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers are so hoping that their many third-year players on the Celtics can do in 2006-07 -- make the big leap.

Asked what he thought was the main reason for the jump between his second and third year, Anthony said, "Hard work. You get your feet wet after two years. You learn what to expect on the court and off the court. You learn the league. The third year is a big year for lots of people."

Nuggets' gold standard

For Anthony, it was huge. He averaged 26.5 points per game, by far a career best, and helped Denver win its first division title since 1988. On at least eight occasions, he made shots that either won or tied the game in the last five seconds. And after being snubbed for the All-Star team, he took off in the final 10 weeks of the season, earning Player of the Month honors in April.

"After the All-Star break, when he did not make the All-Star team, [that] was when he made the mental commitment to not only play well, but to take this team and carry it on his back and to make the playoffs and to win the division," said Denver coach George Karl. "And to do it through a lot of problems that we had last year with injuries, attitude, and atmosphere. I thought his growth from February to now has probably been as consistent as any time I've coached him."

It is somewhat shocking to think Anthony could not crack the Western Conference elite last February in Houston -- until you look at who did. He was a victim of a numbers game. Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan were voted in as starters. The reserves featured the likes of Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand, and Pau Gasol. How can you quibble?

Anthony watched the game while "chillin' " in Las Vegas, the site of the 2007 All-Star Game. He said he used the snub as motivation.

"Oh yeah. I had that in the back of my mind," he said. "I was supposed to have been there. I wanted to show people that I deserved to be there."

He did. But as well as he played, Denver's situation internally had deteriorated. The Nuggets easily won the Northwest Division -- no other team from the division qualified for the playoffs -- with the sixth-best record in the conference. But they were awarded the No. 3 seed in the West (a glitch that has been corrected) and lost their first-round series with the Clippers, who had the homecourt advantage. In each of Anthony's three years, the Nuggets have been knocked out in the first round in five games.

Denver's lack of postseason success gnaws at Anthony and will continue to do so until the Nuggets break through. Karl said players tend to mature in their third year in the league because they come to understand what really is important. (Somehow, the message did not get conveyed to some of Anthony's teammates, many of whom have been in the league longer than three years.)

"I think there is always a stage in the young player's [development] where winning becomes the factor, or it moves up a letter in priority," Karl said. "I think that when you first come into the league, you're learning, you're scared, you're competitive, you're statistically oriented and winning is like fourth or fifth on the list. Sometimes it takes time for a player to understand, in the basketball world, the most important thing is winning. I think Melo, ever since I've been here, has been very positive and progressed in a good way."

Makeup is age-defying

Most people feel James already is there. He is the favorite to be the 2006-07 Most Valuable Player. He was runner-up to Steve Nash last year, making a Beamonesque leap in his third year in becoming the fourth player in NBA history to average 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists for a season. The others? Lads named Jordan (Michael), Robertson (Oscar), and West (Jerry).

In James's third season in Cleveland, the Cavaliers went from 42 wins to 50, claimed the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, and eliminated Washington before losing in seven games to Detroit. James was a pack mule, making game-winners in the playoffs while averaging 46.5 minutes per game. His first-year coach, Mike Brown, started the season amazed at what he saw in the 21-year-old James and was utterly astounded at what he saw eight months later in the 22-year-old James.

"In their third year, it's a big year," Brown said. "They've been through their freshman year. They've been through their sophomore year. In high school, you come in as a freshman and you're scared to death. Then, sophomore year, you feel a little better. By the time you're a junior, you're feeling your oats and you understand what everything is all about. It's no different in college and it's no different in the NBA.

"At the beginning of the season, I was thinking his maturity was already off the charts. But it even grew last year. I still don't understand how young he is and how he can be as mature as he is with all the pressures he has. I tell my wife every day, 'If I'm in his shoes, I'm not as down to earth as him, I'm not as focused as him, especially with all that money and glory around him.' I just didn't think he could grow any more in that area. But he did."

James attributed his improvement in his third year to working out in the summer.

"You have to trace it to the summertime because that's when you get all your work done," James said. "From Year 2 to Year 3, we were able to pick it up as a team, I was able to perform at a higher level, and we were able to showcase our talent on the court. It shows that the summertime really helps."

Circling around a ring

But while Anthony was getting his Nuggets into the playoffs, and then exiting, and while James was getting his Cavaliers into the playoffs, and then exiting, fellow third-year superstar Dwyane Wade got the whole soup-to-nuts treatment. He was drafted after James and Anthony, but he has a ring. And at least one NBA coach believes James is going to have a longer wait unless the Cavaliers get that Someone Special to play alongside him. Wade has Shaq. James has, er, Larry Hughes?

"Magic had Kareem right off the bat," said Washington coach Eddie Jordan, who was a member of the 1982 NBA champion Lakers. "[James] probably needs to get another top-quality teammate so [the Cavs] can reach the highest level. I'm not saying if things don't go well they can't get there. But it's all about playing with another top-level guy [so] we can compare him to the other guys who've won championships, whether it's Oscar with Kareem or whether it was Tim Duncan and Tony Parker or Avery Johnson and Tim Duncan. You have to have another guy to help you win a championship. Right now, they don't have that guy yet."

But they have James. The Nuggets have Anthony. But neither the Cavs nor the Nuggets is a favorite to win it all because the Heat have Wade (and Shaq) and the Spurs have Duncan (and Parker/Manu Ginobili) and the Mavericks have Dirk Nowitzki (and a lot of other guys.)

James and Anthony finished their third years in the league by playing for the US at the World Championships. At least they were playing this time around instead of watching, which had been the case in Athens. The US finished third, losing only one game (as opposed to three in each of the previous two international competitions.) And they likely will be on the floor next summer in Las Vegas, when the US tries to win a qualifier to get to Beijing in 2008.

So, too, will Wade and perhaps Chris Bosh, another member of the celebrated class of 2003 who improved his game in his third year. Those four have one other thing in common beside their skill -- they all signed maximum contract extensions that kick in after this season.

That makes them the ultimate bargains in Year 4, mainly because they did what they did in Year 3.

Peter May can be reached at P_May@.... �

��

#64366

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:49 pm
Subject: "The purists and traditionalists wailed in self-righteousness."-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165178&format=text>

Ainge, Celtics endure growing pains: Celtics boss reflects on highs and lows of rebuilding process

By Mark Murphy

Boston Herald Sports Reporter

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 05:23 AM EST

Danny Ainge hopes this year�s Celtics are better than the weak and aging team he inherited in 2003. (File photo)

The Celtics retired Cedric Maxwell�s number the night of Dec. 15, 2003, during a game against Minnesota, and anyone who later saw the frozen smile on Danny Ainge�s face could have sworn it was one of the worst nights of his life.

� � Ainge now swears it wasn�t so - that he wasn�t shaken by the cavalcade of boos - but when it was his turn in the lineup of Max�s former teammates to stand and wave to the crowd, they dusted him.

� � It was enough to make you squirm, the sound was so resonant and unforgiving.

� � Earlier that day Ainge had traded Tony Battie, Kedrick Brown and the crowd�s beloved glue guy - Eric Williams - to Cleveland for a package that included one of the most infamous names in the league, Ricky Davis.

� � Already divided by the Oct. 20 trade of Antoine Walker to Dallas, they were fed up. They saw the team that reached the 2001 Eastern Conference finals being dismantled before their eyes.

� � Ainge, in the director of basketball operations chair for just over six months, was throwing stuff against the wall to see if it would stick, they figured. Change for the sake of change, upheaval, chaos. The purists and traditionalists wailed in self-righteousness.

� � �I really don�t think I was stunned by it,� Ainge said during an extensive interview this week. �I think I know Boston very well, and I know how they can grow attached to certain people. That stuff really doesn�t bother me. It�s the nature of the business, the way it is. You can make a deal that looks good ultimately, but it can be very tough to take at the time.�

� � As Ainge notes now, Williams� career quickly tapered off from that point. He also admits that the 2 1/2-year Davis project - which found the excitable swingman playing some of his best basketball as a Celtic - didn�t bear the anticipated fruit. That is, unless you count the arrival of Wally Szczerbiak as a byproduct.

� � For Ainge, it�s all connected. The good and bad arrive together, and hopefully the result will be a team that is better than the weak, aging playoff qualifier he inherited.

� � He�s already absorbed a lot of shots in his quest to build an up-tempo team, and figures more will be on the way, especially if the Celtics don�t make the playoffs next spring.

� � �I think what we have can be a playoff team. As I stand here today, I truly believe that,� he said. �That�s a goal we are fighting for every night.�

� � Ainge may also be covered by rotten fruit by then. But the calming voice that has been in his ear for the last four years has always said not to sweat the rough stuff.

� � Red Auerbach never forced his opinions on Ainge. But now that the man who built the greatest sports dynasty of all time has passed on, Ainge may need his wisdom the most.

� � It certainly helped him face the storm on Cedric Maxwell night.

� � �He was always very supportive, you know, �Don�t worry about what so-and-so said,� � recalled Ainge. �You have to go on with what you believe is right. I remember drafting Steve Nash (in Phoenix) and they booed. The guy they wanted was John Wallace. When we drafted Shawn Marion the whole town was against it. There�s a lot of people now who don�t see what we saw in Rajon Rondo.

� � �I feel really good about where we are right now. I wish that we had added one or two more proven players to this team by now, but I like what we have. There�s some uncertainty, but it�s an exciting uncertainty.�

� � A self-assessment

� � Ainge was asked to evaluate his performance over the last four years in three areas: trades, free agent signings and the draft.

� � He acknowledged both the ups and the downs.

� � TRADES: �Trades are so different than at any point in the past, because so many deals are done with future cap management and budgets in mind,� he said. �There are stepping stone trades, which enable you to get to another player.

� � �So there was really only one trade, looking back and understanding that it wasn�t a good fit for the players and coaches, that I probably shouldn�t have done, and that was the first Antoine trade. That had to do with Raef (LaFrentz�s) health. We had hoped that Raef�s health would come along better and more quickly than it did.

� � �But if you look at the fact that in the long term we ended up with Delonte (West) and Rondo out of that, then it could still work for us.�

� � Ainge agreed that like the resignation of coach Jim O�Brien in response to the Williams deal, the team�s 2 1/2-year commitment to Davis may have ultimately been a long detour.

� � �But it wasn�t a negative step because we got Wally and a first-round pick out of it. But we did invest some time in Ricky. The same with Chris Mihm, after we got him from Cleveland (as part of the same trade). We gave Ricky 2 1/2 years, and he just didn�t fit. Ricky and Doc (Rivers) weren�t a great fit, and Ricky and Paul definitely weren�t a good fit.�

� � FREE AGENTS: New Jersey president Rod Thorn called Brian Scalabrine the Nets� best player off the bench shortly after Ainge signed the power forward to a five-year, $15 million deal in the summer of 2005. The deal was called prohibitive, and Scalabrine - through little fault of his own - has had trouble fitting into Rivers� rotation. But Ainge still sees potential here.

� � �It wasn�t a real big contract, but it�s significant. I feel like what happened with Scal was (the emergence of) Ryan Gomes. But I�m not down on Scal. You won�t find another guy who is loved as much by his teammates. He�s as competitive a guy as we have. And he�s proven. We�re going to need Scal before the year is over.�

� � Dan Dickau, the other free agent signing of the 2005 off-season, was another story.

� � �The Dan Dickau deal didn�t work for us. We signed him and he got hurt, and that was that.�

� � THE DRAFT: This is the area where Ainge has routinely garnered high grades, though curiously his first Celtics pick - Marcus Banks - was also his biggest draft disappointment.

� � Even there, though, Ainge points out that the point guard recently signed a lucrative long-term deal as Nash�s backup in Phoenix. Where he has had particularly strong success, however, is with his choices after the 20th pick, including players like West (24th, 2004), Rondo (21st, 2006), Tony Allen (25th, 2004), Gomes (50th, 2005), Kendrick Perkins (27th, 2003), and even the since-released Orien Greene (53rd, 2005), who just made the Indiana roster.

� � He admits that Al Jefferson - the player billed, when selected, as Ainge�s biggest catch yet - has sagged since an encouraging rookie season.

� � �But the thing is that Al was hurt all last year,� Ainge said. �I just hope that the expectations are not unrealistic for him. We�ve talked Al up just as we have for Delonte and Tony, but it seems to be higher on Al. Maybe that�s because he played so well as a rookie. Maybe he played so well when he was so young that it elevated expectations. But I�ll say this much. He has a knack for putting the ball in the basket.�

� � Cornerstone in place

�� Perhaps the most important move Ainge foresaw was to sell Paul Pierce on the program. Two years ago the Celtics captain, frustrated with the team�s drudging progress, appeared ready to leave.

� � Ainge turned to his then-87-year-old advisor for an answer.

� � �I called Red a lot about Paul back then,� said Ainge. �I asked for his opinion of where Paul was in his career, and his response was, �What does Paul think? Does he like it here?� That was a big determining factor for me in deciding to try and sign Paul to the extension.

� � �Two years ago, and then going into last year, Paul really reflected on those things,� he said. �And he�s playing better, and his leadership is better, as a result.

� � �There�s no question that everything considered - the trades and the drafts - that signing Paul was the most important thing we had to do. I�m talking about getting him to buy into things, and talking him through everything we�re doing. Doc and Paul also have a great relationship now, and he takes ownership of what we�re doing.

� � �I know how Paul feels about our young guys, and that really helps. He�ll come to me and say, �Oh, you can�t trade this guy,� or, �I love this guy, we have to keep him.� �

� � Perhaps the most important person with an eye on Ainge�s plan, then, is the man he just extended through the 2011-12 season.

� � Ainge, himseld, is signed through the 2008-09 season. Ask him about the pressure of the upcoming season, and he says, �I know people want numbers, but I�m really concerned that these guys learn how to win. A lot factors into how many wins we can get.�

� � Ask Pierce about his understanding of this plan, and he says, �I know Danny is a very smart guy, and he�s doing his best for the team. Right now we�re putting some of the smaller pieces of the puzzle together.�

��

#64365

From: "profblidiot2003" <profblidiot@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 1:24 pm
Subject: Off subject

profblidiot2003

Offline

It's difficult to concentrate on this group after reading
that Reese Witherspoon and Ryan are separating,
but ....

The name-calling, petty, and counterproductive insults
that JB has allowed Lance, Fabio, and JSS to continue to
advance is about as low, sleazy, and boring as it comes
on message boards. I can only assume from his casual
reaction, that the ever-expedient JB has now officially
graduated to the wave of the future, a blog.  And with
his "Now that I'm a professional sports writer I ..."
that he no longer gives a hoot about this self-destructive,
overly sensitive group.

Fabio -  I can't help but to feel that you have been
shabbily treated and basically discarded as a fraud after
your many intelligent contributions to this board.
I never realized the resentment of some here to the
concept that a foreigner's knowledge of the Celtics
could possibly be so threatening or ... oh no ...
as keen as their own expertise?  Poster pride.

But I also don't understand why you were so offended
with the email sent by JSS. Obviously, it was intended as
a private email warning to Lance, not to you.  Loyal
soldier JSS comes off to me as a moderate "good guy,"
arguably the glue that presently holds together this
once proud and active message board. Should JSS stop
contributing here, this list would go Chapter 11 in
a very big hurry.

IMHO, Fabio, your complaint in this "hilarious"
(� Asterix) brouhaha should have been directed at Lance
for his usual unnecessary but compulsory schlock,
insulting, "Aren't I clever" response to your original
Auerbach tribute.  And especially after he followed
that with his sudden "Fabio is full of shit, no?"
Who here wouldn't have been offended with that?

But then isn't everyone offended by Lance, Lance, Lance,
more Lance, too much Lance, poor sick Lance?  Just ask
the best and the brightest posters on the IGTC list
why they no longer post here.  Just poll the hundreds
of members of this group who JB proudly lists with pride
on why only a handful of them even bother to post
here anymore.

Did you really expect that Julius Caesar (JB) would
defend you or any other insulted poster against the
wacko slings and arrows of his "clever" illegitimate
son, Brutus (Lance)?

I didn't.

Egg

#64364

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:22 pm
Subject: "I work at this restaurant. I couldn�t get out."-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165181&format=text>

All alone, thinking of him: Former Celts mourn with their memories

By Steve Buckley

Boston Herald General Sports Columnist

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 05:30 AM EST

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - M.L. Carr and Paul Silas each planned to board flights out of Charlotte, N.C., early yesterday morning to attend the funeral of Celtics legend Red Auerbach at a cemetery outside Washington.

� � Carr�s flight took him to Reagan National Airport. Silas booked a flight to Dulles Airport. Carr�s flight arrived early. Silas� flight was cancelled.

� � And so yesterday Carr had time to ask his taxi driver to drop him off at the Dunkin� Donuts on the Robert E. Lee Highway for coffee and a muffin. From there, he hitched a ride to King David Cemetery with a secret service man he met while in line. Turns out the secret service man, a friend of Aubrey Jones, son of Celtics legend Sam Jones, also was planning to attend Red�s funeral.

� � By the time Silas arrived at the cemetery, pretty much everyone had gone. He missed a gathering as diverse as NBA commissioner David Stern to a young boy decked out in a Celtics shirt as Auerbach was joined with his wife, Dorothy.

� � It was a sparkling, warm, sunlit autumn morning, and the service was as simple as it was beautiful. Yet, too, it was no less poignant to watch Silas, another great Celtic from the old days, stand silently at Red�s gravesite, alone in his thoughts. A half-hour earlier, Celtics great KC Jones stood off to the side during the service.

� � �I was just doing a lot of thinking,� said Jones. �What did I think about? I thought about everything.�

� � Now it was Silas, alone. He waited for cemetery workers to finish their chore, and, as they prepared to leave, Silas nodded at them and approached the gravesite.

� � And there was that word again. Everything. Same word KC used.

� � �So much goes through your head,� said Silas. �You know what I was thinking about? I was thinking about this practice we had during the �74 playoffs. We had just finished, and I was out there on the court by myself, and Red walks up to me. He says he wants to play me one-on-one. Red was in his mid-50s by then, and he wants to play me one-on-one. He insisted.

� � �So I play him, and you know what happens? Every time I have the ball, he�s poking me in the stomach, poking me in the ribs. I say, �Red, you can�t do that.� He says, �Shut up and play.� �

� � The winner? �I beat him by one point,� said Silas, �and Red says, �It�s a good thing you won or I was going to trade your ass.� �

� � It was one last Red story.

� � Yet Paul Silas was not the last Celtic to pay his respects to Red Auerbach. As Silas prepared to step into his rental car, another car pulled up. The doors opened, and two men emerged. One, Charles Smith, played for the Celtics in 1989-90 and 1990-91.

� � Smith�s days with the Celtics are remembered not for what the onetime Georgetown star did on the court, but off of it. One night in March 1992, Smith was behind the wheel of a car that struck and killed two Boston University students. Smith served prison time. He returned to Washington, the place he had grown up and played for John Thompson at Georgetown.

� � It�s safe to say Smith�s Boston years are a sad, sorry chapter in his life, marked by events that will forever be on his mind. Yet he, too, made the trip to King David Cemetery, and he, too, arrived after the service had ended.

� � �I know D.C.,� he said. �Once I get into Virginia, I get lost, and I wanted to be (at the viewing) the night before, but I work at this restaurant. I couldn�t get out.

� � �But I felt I had to be here this morning for this,� he said. �I wanted to pay my respects to Red.�

��

sbuckley@...

#64363

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:17 pm
Subject: In alphabetical order.-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165176&format=text>

�

Meet the 2006-07 Boston Celtics

By Herald staff

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

42 Tony Allen

� � Position: Guard

� � Experience: Third season/Oklahoma State

� � Size: 6-4, 213

� � Last season: 7.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.0 spg

� � Skinny: Came back from preseason right knee surgery to play in 51 games last season (9 starts). . . . Saw time at three positions and finished the year playing a lot of point guard. . . . Considered the team�s best returning one-on-one defender. . . . Recently had the fourth-year option on his rookie contract exercised and is signed through the 2007-08 season.

� � 4 Ryan Gomes

� � Position: Forward

� � Experience: Second season/Providence

� � Size: 6-7, 250

� � Last season: 7.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg

� � Skinny: After playing sparingly early the season, started 33 games during the second half of the year. . . . Had eight double-doubles and grabbed 10 or more rebounds nine times. . . . After seeing time at small forward early in the season, has settled into his natural position of power forward and is a likely starter for the season opener. . . .Named a first-team Toshiba Summer League All-Star this July with averages of 19.0 points and 5.8 rebounds.

� � 5 Gerald Green

� � Position: Forward

� � Experience: Second season/Gulf Shores Academy (Tex.)

� � Size: 6-8, 215

� � Last season: 5.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

� � Skinny: Gave a glimpse of his potential late in the season when he played in 33 games (3 starts) after returning from two stints in the NBA Developmental League. . . . Scored in double figures seven times with a season-high of 22 vs. Indiana on April 4. . . . Possesses a polished outside shot and tremendous leaping ability, but still struggles with defense and decision-making. . . . Considered one of the early favorites to win this year�s slam dunk competition at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

� � 7 Al Jefferson

� � Position: Forward

� � Experience: Third season/Prentiss High School (Miss.)

� � Size: 6-10, 265

� � Last season: 7.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.8 bpg

� � Skinny: Pair of ankle sprains limited him to 59 games (7 starts) during his second year after a very promising rookie campaign. . . . Had surgery on his right ankle in August to alleviate pain due to bone spurs that had developed. . . . Has put in extensive work in the training room this summer to lower weight and improve conditioning. . . . Expected to come off the bench at power forward to start the season and may see considerable time at center.

� � 43 Kendrick Perkins

� � Position: Center

� � Experience: Fourth season/Clifton J. Ozen High School (Texas)

� � Size: 6-11, 270

� � Last season: 5.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 bpg

� � Skinny: Took a big leap in his third year, starting 40 games (68 games played overall) after having only three starts in his first two seasons. . . . Has significantly improved his conditioning since his rookie year and was down 50 pounds at one point from his high of 308. . . . Signed a four-year contract extension this summer after recovering from left shoulder surgery due to a pair of separations. . . . Expected to begin the season as the starting center.

� � 34 Paul Pierce

� � Position: Guard

� � Experience: Ninth season/Kansas

� � Size: 6-6, 230

� � Last season: 26.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.7 apg

� � Skinny: Resurrected image as face of the franchise with a career season after 2005 playoff meltdown in Indiana raised some doubts about his future in Boston. . . . Led the Celtics in nearly every offensive statistical category and established career highs in several, including scoring at 26.8 points per game and shooting at 47.1 percent. . . . Signed three-year, $59 million extension this summer, designed to keep him in a Boston uniform for at least the next five seasons. . . . Appears fully recovered from minor left elbow surgery this summer, but has also dealt with a hip contusion and infected finger this preseason.

� � 0 Leon Powe

� � Position: Forward

� � Experience: Rookie/California

� � Size: 6-8, 240

� � Last season: 20.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 0.9 spg (at California)

� � Skinny: Came back from pair of knee surgeries his second year at California to have a tremendous season for which he was selected as a second-team All-American. . . . One of only six players in Pac-10 history and three players in the nation last year to average a double-double. . . . After a slow start to preseason, made a big impression when he scored 27 points and grabbed 24 rebounds over a two-game stretch.

� � 50 Theo Ratliff

� � Position: Center

� � Experience: 12th season/Wyoming

� � Size: 6-10, 230

� � Last season: 4.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 bpg

� � Skinny: Elder statesman was acquired from the Trailblazers in a draft-day deal that also included point guard Sebastian Telfair. . . . Has been a dominating defensive presence throughout his career and led the league in blocked shots three times. . . . Has battled a series of injuries in recent years and has missed most of the preseason with a herniated disc in his back.

� � 12 Allan Ray

� � Position: Guard

� � Experience: Rookie/Villanova

� � Size: 6-2, 190

� � Last season: 18.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.2 spg (at Villanova)

� � Skinny: Was the top perimeter threat for a guard-oriented Villanova offense last season when he hit 107 3-pointers and topped the 2,000-point mark. . . . Considered undersized for a shooting guard and unproven as a point guard, which led to him going undrafted in June. . . . An excellent free-throw shooter at 88.9 percent his senior year at Villanova. . . . Beat out Luke Jackson for the final roster spot and figures to see limited playing time early this season.

� � 9 Rajon Rondo

� � Position: Guard

� � Experience: Rookie/Kentucky

� � Size: 6-1, 171

� � Last season: 11.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 4.9 apg (at Kentucky)

� � Skinny: First-round draft pick dazzled in the preseason with his speed, court vision and low turnover totals. . . . Was the first true point guard chosen in the draft when the Celtics selected him with the 21st overall pick they acquired from the Phoenix Suns. . . . Has likely worked his way into the main rotation to start the season and may share the backcourt with Sebastian Telfair at times in a double point guard lineup.

� � 44 Brian Scalabrine

� � Position: Forward

� � Experience: Sixth season/USC

� � Size: 6-9, 235

� � Last season: 2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.7 spg

� � Skinny: Veteran role player signed a five-year contract with the Celtics last offseason after four years as a Boston nemesis with New Jersey. . . . Saw limited time most of the season, though he did appear in a career-high 71 games. . . . Has been hampered this preseasson by a shoulder injury. . . . Figures to provide some experience off the bench at both forward spots once he is fully recovered from the injury.

� � 55 Wally Szczerbiak

� � Position: Forward

� � Experience: Eighth season/Miami (Ohio)

� � Size: 6-7, 235

� � Last season: 19.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.0 apg

� � Skinny: Former All-Star was acquired from Minnesota along with Michael Olowokandi on Jan. 27 for a package that included Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Justin Reed and Marcus Banks. . . . Tremendous outside shooter has also been known for his hustle, understanding of the game and efficient play throughout his career. . . . Suffered a left knee injury in his second game following the trade and was slowed the rest of the season. Had surgery in April to repair torn cartilage in the knee.

� � 41 Michael Olowokandi

� � Position: Center

� � Experience: Ninth season/Pacific

� � Size: 7-0, 270

� � Last season: 5.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.5 apg

� � Skinny: No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 draft came into training camp with a non-guaranteed contract through an invitation from the team and earned a spot on the opening night roster. . . . Played 16 games for the Celtics last season after being acquired Jan. 27. . . . Should be a veteran presence off the bench at center behind Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson as Theo Ratliff recovers from a herniated disc in his back.

� � 30 Sebastian Telfair

� � Position: Guard

� � Experience: Third season/Abraham Lincoln High School (N.Y.)

� � Size: 6-0, 168

� � Last season: 9.5 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.0 spg

� � Skinny: Massively hyped point guard out of high school was acquired, along with Theo Ratliff, in a draft-day deal on June 28 after two mediocre seasons with the Portland TrailBlazers. . . . Intended to give the Celtics a combination of youth, speed and pass-first point guard ability they have lacked in recent seasons. . . . Has impressed this preseason with his outside shooting ability, which was maligned early in his career.

� � 13 Delonte West

� � Position: Guard

� � Experience: Third season/St. Joseph�s

� � Size: 6-4, 180

� � Last season: 11.8 ppg, 4.6 apg, 4.1 rpg

� � Skinny: Last season�s starting point guard is expected to be used off the bench in a combination backcourt role this season. . . . Was the team�s most consistent threat behind Paul Pierce over the course of the entire season as he filled the stat sheets. . . . His 46 blocked shots led all NBA point guards. . . . Was slowed early this season with back pain and then an infected toenail, but appears fully recovered heading into the season opener.

� � Doc Rivers

� � Coach

� � Experience: Third season with Celtics (78-86); Four-plus seasons with Orlando Magic (171-168)

� � Skinny: After guiding the Celtics to the Atlantic Division title his first year in Boston, saw the team regress last season as the organization went with a younger lineup and finished tied for the sixth worst record in the NBA at 33-49. . . . Was named 1999-2000 Coach of the Year after leading the Magic to a 41-41 record in his first year. . . . Played 13 seasons in the NBA as a guard for the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.

��

[E-mail article to a friend]� E-mail [View Graphic Version]� Graphic [View Most Popular]� Popular Add to your del.icio.us del.icio.us

#64362

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:32 pm
Subject: "he had the stones...and the brains."-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165180&format=text>

Red: World champion

By Steve Bulpett/ Appreciation

Boston Herald Sports Reporter

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 07:10 AM EST

Former Celtic Paul Silas stands by the grave of Red Auerbach yesterday after the C�s legend was laid to rest in Falls Church, Va. (Staff photo by Nancy Lane)

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The world paused around 10:15 yesterday morning as the workers from King David Memorial Gardens lowered Red Auerbach�s body into the ground.

� � Family and friends gathered around the grave site, closing in the circle as they recited Psalm 23 and the Mourner�s Kaddish. Some held tight to each other for support. Others, like Bill Russell, seemed singular in their grief for the moment, letting the loss seep into them so as not to miss a drop. We can never know fully the depths of Russell�s relationship with Red, nor should we.

� � Then again, most everyone in attendance had a strong personal connection with the Celtic patriarch. From NBA commissioner David Stern to Steve Curley, who must now run Red�s summer camp without his decades-long friend, they shared one last brief moment in the warm sun.

� � Soon after, the world turned again, resuming its envy of Red Auerbach. There are not many like him left, a fact that received support in several conversations before the service.

� � It is rare in these times that one gets to travel life entirely on his own terms, and while the tales of Red meander through his wide range of interests, it is this overriding feeling that is carried away from the years in his presence and, alas, from his graveside.

� � He was all the things people have said he was - warm and caring, petulant and brash, pensive and pompous. That he tied all of it together with one great unapologetic ribbon is to his everlasting credit.

� � Mostly he had the stones to do what he believed was right and the brains to understand just what right was.

� � People have spent a great deal of time talking about Red Auerbach�s basketball accomplishments. Perhaps too much time, for to frame his life that narrowly would be to leave the best of him beyond the borders of a much larger canvas.

� � The quantifiable portions of his 89 years - the wins and the championships - will speak loudly on their own. But more a measure was that this was a man who served his country both with the military and by standing up for justice in the best sense of the American ideal.

� � At a time when institutional ignorance prevented a large segment of the population from participating in the NBA, Red essentially told the league it could kiss his cigar ashes when he drafted Chuck Cooper. How easy would it have been for him to hold the color line then and again when he was the first to start five black players? How many other men of otherwise good conscience had succumbed to the easy way over the years?

� � But Red did what he believed was right. No apologies. It seems, looking back, that such turns in social culture are made not so much by the visionaries as by those tough enough to stand up to the fallacy of The Way Things Have Always Been Done.

� � Red Auerbach didn�t make his mark on race relations because he wanted a hug from the civil rights movement. He did so because he wanted to win and because of the line in the Declaration of Independence stating that all men are created equal.

� � And because it was simply the right thing to do.

� � If as a result people wanted to begin judging others by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, well, fine. For a society that struggles still with enlightenment, Auerbach was a pioneering example that common sense is rewarded.

� � Making Bill Russell the coach of the Celtics? A rather nice character judgment, wouldn�t you say? And not a bad concept to hold close.

� � So mourn his passing as much as you need. Pause, like those on the hillside yesterday, to take in all that he gave to basketball and Boston and to his country and planet. Then celebrate a life spent toeing no one�s line and see if there isn�t still a lesson to be gleaned from the old coach.

��

sbulpett@...

#64361

From: "Fabio" <legend33@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:43 pm
Subject: City honors Auerbach today (Globe)

fabiothefabu...

Offline

For the ones who are planning a visit to City Hall Plaza or to the
Garden, could you please sign the remembrance book with my name,
Fabio Anderle, too?
I'd appreciate it a lot, since I live so far away.....



City honors Auerbach today
November 1, 2006

The City of Boston will pay tribute to late Celtics legend Red
Auerbach today in a ceremony at City Hall Plaza.

The event, which will begin at 11:30 a.m. and is open to the public,
will be attended by local dignitaries as well as Celtics greats such
as Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, Jo Jo White, and Robert Parish.

For those attending tonight's season-opening game at the TD Banknorth
Garden, there will be pregame ceremonies honoring Auerbach beginning
at 7. There also will be tributes, including a moment of silence,
before all games at NBA venues tonight.

Fans can sign remembrance books both at the City Hall ceremony and
the Garden.

� Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (6)

#64360

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:36 pm
Subject: Is Doc planning a surprise in the starting lineup?-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165175&format=text>

To start or not to start

By Mark Murphy/ Celtics Notebook

Boston Herald Sports Reporter

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 05:32 AM EST

Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers sit courside. (Staff photo by Matt Stone)

The Celtics� starting lineup is going to be a non-issue this season, according to the man who will do the juggling.

� � Doc Rivers decided to keep the starting five who take the floor for tonight�s season opener against the New Orleans Hornets under lock and key yesterday.

� � �I know what it is, but I want them to like each other for one more night,� said the Celtics coach. �As (Chuck) Daly once said, �You want to see seven unhappy people, I�ll show you the guys who aren�t starting.� �

� � Considering that the Celts may be more moldable, according to matchups, than even last season, tonight�s lineup could be quite different from the one that steps out against the Pistons on Friday night.

� � New Orleans, as opposed to Detroit, could well be a team that provides a good early test for Rivers� smaller combinations. Considering the presence of outside-oriented players like forwards David West and Peja Stojakovic in the Hornets� lineup, that could be a good match for Ryan Gomes, an athletic but undersized power forward.

� � �I think we can go smaller, anyway, regardless of who the team is,� said Rivers. �But yes, this will be a good team to test that, but when we go small it�s not going to matter who the other team has in there.�

� � The release from training camp, alone, may be enough to propel this pent-up team.

� � �They�re ready to see someone else and hear someone else, which is why it will be good to get in front of that crowd,� said Rivers. �If they could hear the fans and not hear a word from me, that would be the perfect game. These guys get along and work hard, but they don�t have the losses and wins right now. We�ll see if they�re still getting along when 10 of them play in a game and two don�t, or we haven�t just picked up a couple of losses.�

� � On his back

� � Delonte West, whose sore lower back flared up, didn�t practice. As alarming as that may look, Rivers didn�t expect his valuable combo guard to miss the opener.

� � �He didn�t practice, but he should be OK,� said Rivers. �I�m making the assumption that he�ll play. (Trainer) Eddie (Lacerte) thought that missing today�s practice might be the best thing to do. He rode the bike today.� . . .

� � Paul Pierce faced the media wearing a hairy Halloween mask of Jigsaw from the �Saw� movie series, and was a little disappointed when not everyone caught on.

� � �What, y�all never saw �Saw?� � said the Celtics captain. �Y�all don�t get out much, do you.�

� � Pierce proceeded to conduct the entire interview in costume. �This is the start of my new tradition,� he said. �I�m going to be something different next year.�

� � Remembering Red

� � Rivers would have �loved� to take the team to Washington for Red Auerbach�s funeral yesterday, and a visitation with the family the night before, but logistics got in the way.

� � �Everything happened so quickly that we couldn�t get the plane to do it,� he said. �It would have been great, though. It was really neat to watch the whole Georgetown team walk in there in suits and ties, quiet and respectful.

� � �The service was pretty much over, and to have this team come walking down the center aisle was really kind of special to see.�

� � Rivers� oldest son, Jeremiah, a Georgetown freshman, is part of the team.

��

Read the Celtics Insider blog every day at bostonherald.com.

#64359

From: "JS" <js33@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 10:48 am
Subject: Dime Smack / Pieced

joesixpack33

Offline

http://www.dimemag.com/smack.asp Pieced We�re not sure if it�s because they were a little deflated after the ring ceremony or what, but the Heat looked terrible last night - painfully old and slow. Miami got pieced, 108-66, by the Bulls. Kirk Hinrich had 26 points, Chris Duhon had 20 off the bench, and D-Wade was the only �Heater� in double-figures with 25. If someone had missed the NBA Finals and you told them that the Heat team on display last night was the defending champion, no way they�d believe you. In fact, here�s an e-mail sent during the game from one of the Dime Crew: �One of my roommates knows next to nothing about basketball � she basically knows who LeBron is and that�s about it. I told her Miami was the NBA champs, and she said, �They won the championship? But they�re really bad.� � As far as ring ceremonies go, Miami�s was fairly strong, with personalized intros for each player. And one thing we�ve noticed as time has gone on: NBA championship rings are clearly getting bigger. You know that famous photo of Mike with his championship rings? Mike�s rings are like half the size of the one Jason Kapono is wearing today. Seems about right ... Chris Quinn not only made the Heat�s final roster, but he also saw tick early in the game. Now we know that Jason Williams is hurt, but to see Quinn that early in the game was kinda funny. He came in, GP slid to the 2, and Chris did what he was supposed to do � take care of the ball, initiate the offense and not even think of shooting unless all of the Hall of Famers in red jerseys had nothing going ... Another rookie, Tyrus Thomas, had a different first experience. He checked in and was immediately submarined by Antoine Walker going for an offensive rebound. Then on the other end he swatted an Alonzo Mourning shot. On the Bulls� ensuing possession, he then took the ball baseline and was whistled for an offensive foul and Scott Skiles pulled him. 1.5 trips up and down the court and about 30 seconds of actual game time ... But Tyrus came back later and had himself a nasty put-back dunk where he caught the rock with one hand and finished with two, then swatted Shaq�s shot � Before the game, it was reported that Hinrich had agreed to a last-minute extension with the Bulls (the deadline was yesterday) worth $47.5 million over five years � After all the nonsense of "will he play or won�t he?" surrounding Kobe over the past week, Mamba was in street clothes in L.A.�s 114-106 win over the Suns � On the Lakers� first possession, they went right to Andrew Bynum in the post. He got fouled by Kurt Thomas and stuck both free throws. �The Child,� as one of the Dime Crew calls him, finished with 18 points, nine boards and five dimes. When Kwame gets back from his injury, he�s gonna have to earn that starting center spot back � At first it looked like the Lakers were on their way to getting waxed, but Lamar Odom turned into everything we thought he could be when he came out of Rhode Island: 34 points, 13 boards, six assists, three steals � Leandro Barbosa led Phoenix with 30 points off of six treys � T.J. Ford also signed a three-deal extension with the Raptors � Assuming no one picks him up off waivers, Jalen Rose will become a free agent soon. Word is that a number of teams are interested in a cheaper version of Jalen, with the Heat and his hometown Pistons being the most likely landing spots � Earl Boykins in the Denver Post: �I�m the best backup point guard in the NBA. It�s not even close. Look at the stats.� Boykins, who put up 12.6 points and 3.8 dimes per game last year, added, �When you compare my numbers to other backup point guards, there is no comparison.� You could make an argument that Earl�s the best second-string QB, but the whole �not even close� thing is a reach. What about Chris Duhon? Devin Harris? Shaun Livingston? Gary Payton? Earl Watson? And don�t sleep on rookies Marcus Williams and Rajon Rondo, either � Over the summer, Carlos Delfino was making a lot of noise about wanting to leave the Pistons either for another NBA squad or to go overseas. According to the Detroit News, Chauncey Billups confronted Delfino before this season began and asked him straight-up, �Are you with us or not?� Delfino said he was, and Billups told him to act like it � Steve Francis to the New York Daily News on the constant questions about whether he can play with Steph: �Answering that question is like old underwear. I just keep on seeing it.� � Andrew Bogut was expected to miss the first month of the season, but he�s somehow been cleared to play in Milwaukee�s opener � Tony Parker may miss San Antonio�s opener after rolling his ankle in practice. The Spurs trotting out Beno Udrih and Jacque Vaughn at the point? They�d better hope TP gets well soon � We�re out like the champs �
+ email this article to a friend	+ Dimemag.tv	+ Smack Archives
Got some feedback or Smack of your own? Hit the Dime Forums.

#64358

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:05 pm
Subject: A day of rememberance.-Standard Times

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.southcoastresponse.com/board/showflat.php?Number=270518>

Re: How the Celtics Will Honor Red� [Re:� Tim_Weisberg]

� � � #270523 - Tue Oct 31 2006 04:55 PM�

�

In addition, the Dance Team won't debut on Wednesday night, out of respect to Red, who never wanted to see them take the court (in a bit of bitter irony, when I asked Red about them two years ago, he told me 'Over my dead body,' as he said to most who inquired).

Also, the Celtics sent out the following information about a special tribute tomorrow in Boston:

The Boston Celtics today announced that the City of Boston will pay tribute to Arnold �Red� Auerbach with a special ceremony on Boston�s City Hall Plaza officially declaring Wednesday, November 1, 2006, as �A Day in Memory of Arnold �Red� Auerbach.�

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, U.S Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Governor Mitt Romney, Boston Celtics players, and legends Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, JoJo White and Robert Parish will join Celtics Ownership and front office staff to honor the team patriarch and legend in a special ceremony to be held at the North Stage on City Hall Plaza at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday November 1.

The event, which is open to the public, will begin promptly at noon. Celtics fans will be able to record their well-wishes and thoughts in special remembrance books that will be positioned throughout the plaza. City officials encourage attendees to take public transportation.

The Celtics also announced extensive plans to pay tribute to Red throughout the upcoming season. The team will officially dedicate the 2006-07 NBA season to honor and celebrate �Red�s� life beginning with the team�s Opening Night game on Wednesday, November 1 against the New Orleans Oklahoma City Hornets.

The game will feature a salute from The Team and Celtics legends prior to the 7:30 p.m. tip-off and includes a special tribute video commemorating the storied coach�s life. The team encourages fans to arrive at the Garden promptly by 7:00 p.m.

NBA Commissioner David Stern will be present for the opening night tribute to Coach Auerbach. Separately, the National Basketball Association has announced that all NBA teams will honor Coach Auerbach with a special highlight video, player address, and moment of silence.

Celtics Legends Tommy Heinsohn, JoJo White and M.L. Carr, along with WEEI radio personality Glenn Ordway, will host a halftime panel discussion to share their favorite Red memories with the crowd.

In a season long tribute, the Celtics will honor Coach Auerbach�s memory with a signature black shamrock emblem with the name RED which will be prominently displayed on all Celtics home and away jerseys. The Celtics also unveiled plans to feature a memorial logo on the famed parquet floor at the Garden.

On opening night, fans will have the opportunity to sign a remembrance book. The Celtics will issue a commemorative pin to the first 15,000 people through the turnstiles at the Garden.

In addition, the Celtics plan to have a scholarship fund established in Red Auerbach�s name. Instructions for fan donations will be provided at a future date.

--------------------

The Southcoast's only radio show about the paranormal!

www.spookysouthcoast.com

Edited by Tim_Weisberg (Tue Oct 31 2006 05:59 PM)�

#64357

From: "Eric Pincus" <Eric@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:36 pm
Subject: RE: [Celtics' Stuff ] NBA Daily / Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2006

emplay

Online Now

http://www.insidehoops.com/daily.shtml

Actually Brian Cook signed a 3-year extension not 2 as listed below – though the 3^rd year is a player option.

From: Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of John S
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 4:18 AM
To: Celtics Stuff
Subject: [Celtics' Stuff ] NBA Daily / Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2006

NBA Daily
On InsideHoops.com | 2006-07

The NBA Daily on InsideHoops.com is a complete league roundup of key news and game results. Also, discuss today's news on the InsideHoops message board and read NBA rumors.

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2006

Here's what went down on the floor Tuesday, the first day of the regular season:

Chicago 108, Miami 66 -- The AP reports: They got their championship rings, saw the postseason highlights played on giant video screens and watched a new banner swing from the arena's rafters. Everything was perfect for the Miami Heat. And then the game began. Kirk Hinrich scored 26 points, Chris Duhon added 20 and the Chicago Bulls emphatically spoiled Miami's celebratory mood, beating the defending NBA champion Heat 108-66 in Tuesday night's season opener.

The AP reports: It was -- by far -- the worst loss in NBA history for a defending champion on opening night; the previous low was the Los Angeles Lakers' 132-117 defeat to Golden State on Oct. 29, 1982. The Lakers went on that season to win 58 games and return to the NBA finals under Riley... Dwyane Wade had 25 points before sitting out much of the fourth quarter for Miami, which didn't even have anyone else reach double figures.

LA Lakers 114, Phoenix 106 -- The AP reports: Playing without Kobe Bryant, it appeared the Los Angeles Lakers didn't have a chance, especially when the high-scoring Phoenix Suns made their first nine shots of the season opener. But Phoenix cooled off, Lamar Odom sparked a comeback, and the Lakers beat the Suns 114-106 Tuesday night.

The AP reports: Odom matched his career high with 34 points to go with 13 rebounds and six assists; 19-year-old Andrew Bynum had career-high totals of 18 points and nine rebounds, and Maurice Evans added 17 points in his first game for the Lakers, who outscored the Suns by 27 after falling behind 39-20 in the first quarter... Suns reserve Leandro Barbosa scored a career-high 30 points. Shawn Marion had 16 points and seven rebounds and Steve Nash had 15 points and 13 assists for the Suns.

Key NBA News

Red Auerbach funeral takes place -- The AP reports: Red Auerbach was buried in a simple graveside ceremony Tuesday, with Hall of Famers Bill Russell and John Thompson and commissioner David Stern among those paying last respects. About 150 family, friends and special guests attended the private burial for the NBA great at the King David Memorial Gardens in suburban Washington. Mourners chanted Psalm 23 and stood in silence as Auerbach's casket was lowered, then chanted the Mourner's Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. Stern was among those who took part in the tradition of shoveling dirt onto the grave.

Miami Heat get their championship rings -- The AP reports: Pat Riley's right hand was bare as he walked onto the court Tuesday night, his 1987 Los Angeles Lakers championship ring put away for safekeeping. Minutes later, he had a new favorite piece of jewelry. The Miami Heat completed one last order of business before starting the defense of their NBA title, receiving their championship rings in an elaborate pregame ceremony before opening the new season against the Chicago Bulls. "Tonight is a great night, just a great night because it's something we value, and we've looked forward to for a long time," Riley said.

Brian Cook signs extension -- The AP reports: Brian Cook signed a two-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers shortly before their season-opener against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. Cook, a 6-foot-9, 250-pounder, signed the extension about 90 minutes before a 9 p.m. PST deadline, keeping him from becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Nick Collison signs extension -- The AP reports: An offseason's worth of moves are coming during the first hours of the Seattle SuperSonics' new ownership. The Sonics announced late Tuesday that they have signed forward-center Nick Collison to a multiyear contract extension, after hinting such a deal may not get done until after this season. Terms of the contract for the third-year veteran and key reserve were not immediately known. However, it is likely less than the extension -- believed to be for about $18 million over three years -- starting point guard Luke Ridnour received on Monday.

Kirk Hinrich signs extension -- The AP reports: Hours before the regular season began, the Chicago Bulls already had something to celebrate. Guard Kirk Hinrich and the Bulls agreed Tuesday on a five-year extension, the maximum length allowed under league rules. The deal, which kicks in at the start of next season, is believed to be worth about $47.5 million. If Hinrich had not accepted the deal by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, he would have become a restricted free agent next summer and the Bulls would have had the opportunity to match any offer. Now, that angst-ridden process can safely be canceled.

Darius Songaila will have surgery -- The AP reports: Washington Wizards forward Darius Songaila will have back surgery for a herniated disc and be sidelined up to three months. "I am very disappointed that I will not be out there with my new teammates," Songaila said in a statement on Tuesday. "I plan to work hard and look forward to getting back on the court. Unfortunately, surgery is my best option at this time."

TJ Ford signs extension -- Ticker reports: T.J. Ford has yet to play in a regular-season game for the Toronto Raptors but already has a new contract. Hours before the deadline, Ford signed a multi-year contract extension Tuesday with his new team. Had the Raptors not signed Ford to an extension, the point guard would have been a restricted free agent next summer.

Raptors take option on Kris Humphries -- Ticker reports: The Toronto Raptors on Tuesday exercised their 2007-08 option on the contract of forward Kris Humphries, who was acquired in an offseason trade.

Sonics name Danny Barth interim president and CEO -- Ticker reports: Danny Barth on Tuesday was named interim president and CEO of the Seattle SuperSonics, whose future in the Emerald City remains very much up in the air. Barth had spent the last six years as the team's chief financial officer. He replaces Wally Walker, who had been with the SuperSonics for nearly two decades before resigning a week ago. In his interim role, Barth will oversee the business operations of the Sonics and WNBA Storm.

Kevin Garnett wins Kennedy Citizenship Award -- Kevin Garnett was honored Tuesday with the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for outstanding service and dedication to the community. Garnett set a remarkable standard for Katrina relief efforts, donating $1.2 million to Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network to build 24 houses over the next two years. He also played in a charity basketball game that benefited Katrina victims and donated $100,000 to the tsunami relief effort in Malaysia.

College Basketball Daily News

For daily college hoops news, hit our college basketball section.

Today's Birthdays

Happy birthday to Jake Voskuhl (1977). Note that we still haven't factored this season's rookies in yet. We'll do that tomorrow.

Today in History

November 1, 1946: The New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Huskies 68-66 in the first NBA game, which was played in Toronto. Any fan taller than Toronto’s 6-8 center George Nostrand got in free.

November 1, 1949: Dick McGuire made his debut for the New York Knicks at the Chicago Stags. The Knicks won in overtime 89-87.

November 1, 1949: Ed Macauley made his debut for the St. Louis Bombers against the Tri-City Blackhawks. The Bombers won 72-51.

November 1, 1950: Bill Sharman made his debut for the Washington Capitols at home against the Indianapolis Olympians. The Capitols won 100-84.

November 1, 1950: Bob Cousy made his debut for the Boston Celtics at Ft. Wayne. The Pistons won 107-84.

November 1, 1996: Fifty years to the day that the first NBA game was played in Toronto between teams from New York and Toronto, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors 107-99.

Hit the Boards

The world's most hardcore basketball fans hang out all day and night on the InsideHoops basketball message board. Registering a cool nickname takes literally 20 seconds -- you click 'yes' a few times, pick a name and password and you're ready to post! Hit our message board, post your opinions, read what others have to say, and enjoy a group of dedicated fans ready to talk with you 24/7.

Also see yesterday's Daily.

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (2)

#64356

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:12 pm
Subject: "playing vintage Celtics basketball...we'll be a tough team to beat,"-StandardTimes

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-06/11-01-06/04sports.htm>

Young Celtics look to play the transition game

Will youth begin being a positive?

By TIM WEISBERG, Standard-Times correspondent

CHITOSE SUZUKI/The Associated PressDelonte West will be able to focus on scoring this season coming off the bench. But will his teammates offer enough help to make sure the 2006-07 season is a step in the right direction.

It's too bad Red Auerbach won't be in Section 12, Row 7 tonight � the franchise patriarch always seated on the aisle, with the rest reserved for all visiting Celtics legends � because he (hopefully) would have liked what he saw.

Now more than ever, the Boston Celtics are closer to returning to the fast-break offense that brought them so much success under Red's watch, both as a coach and a GM. But will they match the competitiveness, and ultimately that championship success, that those teams enjoyed?

As the Celtics open their first season in 56 years without Red's cigar filling their nostrils with smoke and their minds with visions of victory, the passing of a finely aged legend gives way to the promise of a youthful core.

But for the 2006-2007 Celtics, youth is no longer an excuse for losing. They're hoping instead, it will be an advantage in winning.

"I'm tired of using being young as an excuse," third-year power forward Al Jefferson said. "You know what they say about the Celtics. 'They're still a young team, they don't know this, they don't know that.' Yeah, we're young, but we're from the old school. I feel like we're more mature now. We know how it feels to lose, and now we want to know how it feels to win."

Jefferson is one of the key figures in whether or not this youth movement finally comes due. Oh, and he knows all about the talk of a "sophomore slump" last season, but he's come back slimmer � he lost 30 pounds in the off-season by cutting out fried foods and sweets � and slighted.

"A lot of people thought I was faking this past season, when I said I was hurt and my ankle was hurt, but then I had surgery," Jefferson said. "It just made me work harder. I'm excited about coming back in shape. I've never felt this good before."

New point guards Sebastian Telfair and rookie Rajon Rondo are going to do all they can to make sure Jefferson has to get up and down the floor, and he feels his ankle is ready to hold up to that pressure. In addition, the presence of two up-tempo point guards will allow third-year combo guard Delonte West to play as the first two-guard off the bench, focusing on scoring rather than distributing the ball.

"We definitely sped the tempo up, playing vintage Celtics basketball. For the most part, it's been working for us. What we need is consistent scoring and rebounding, and we'll be a tough team to beat," West said. "I don't want to say we're a young team, but we're too young to not be underdogs. If people start picking us to win, we might play with a swagger we haven't earned yet."

The Celtics have been one of the league's youngest teams for the past few seasons, but if you ask them, the lack of a veteran presence isn't what's holding them back.

"I've never played with a lot of older guys, so I wouldn't know," second-year swingman Gerald Green said. "I would think a lot of veteran guys would help you learn more. But we always learn from each other. I learned a lot from (Delonte) West and Tony Allen. I try to watch how they play defense. They're really good defensive players."

Green, who spent most of last season in the developmental league but got a significant amount of playing time once the season was in the tank, thinks he's better for what he endured last season.

"It helped me a lot. It would help anybody just to get playing time. It gave me a little experience," he said.

If Green, who came to the NBA right out of high school prior to last season, can become a true scorer, he could be the missing ingredient in developing an offense that can wear down and out-gun the opposition. That's an immediate goal, since the Celtics ranked 20th in points allowed last season.

"I know he can score. I don't know if he's at the level of trying to make him an efficient scorer � let's just make him a scorer first," coach Doc Rivers said. "We don't want him to grab the ball, hold the ball and have everybody watch. That's no fun and you don't win that way."

But you also don't win without multiple legitimate scoring options � something the Celtics lacked last season, as they compiled a 33-49 record while going 12-21 in games decided by five points or less.

The young players are looking to blend seamlessly with a veteran core that includes captain Paul Pierce, pure shooter Wally Szczerbiak, shot-blocker Theo Ratliff (who, although injured, has been named co-captain), center Michael Olowokandi and reserve forward Brian Scalabrine.

"We're going to have to learn how to execute, and how to come together," Szczerbiak said. "The main thing is going to have to be consistency. You have to help your team in all 82 games, and that's the toughest thing when you're a young player."

As the Celtics still figure out how to best get that help out of their players, Rivers will once again struggle to come up with the right rotation, at least while Ratliff and Scalabrine are still recovering, and some of the rookies are still learning the system.

"We've got to work on a couple of different lineups that I want to use," Rivers said. "We're going to play 10 (guys) early on, I can see that. There will be nights we might just go with a nine-man rotation. Right now, the way we play and speed we play, we almost have to play 10. I know nine that can play every night and be efficient. It's the 10th one we've got to find, and that could change from game to game."

Inexperience will continue to be a problem. So will defense.

Desire and a commitment to succeed will not.

"What we need to do is create an identity of who we want to be, and buy into that," Rivers said. "This is a team that wants to be a team. I think that you can mold them into playing the way you want them to play. I like where we're at right now, far better than I have in the past."

The continued improvement of fourth-year center Kendrick Perkins and second-year power forward Ryan Gomes � two players whose hard work earned them starting roles toward the end of last season � will serve as the benchmark for the rest of the young players.

"I think you can really push this group, and I'm going to push this group. Unless I'm wrong, I think this team wants to be pushed. I don't think there's any resistance at all on this basketball team," Rivers said. "They're going to allow me to coach them 100 percent, and they're going to receive coaching, and I love that. I love that in this city."

But the one key to the Celtics changing from a young team to a young competitive team is the one thing Rivers, no matter how hard he might try, can't coach.

"Our maturity. That's the key right there. A lot of these guys can play, but they're going to have to learn how to win. That's the next step we have to take," said Pierce, who signed a three-year, $59 million contract extension that will essentially make him a Celtic for life. "I want to go out there every day and push these guys to be better. I want to show them what it means to be a pro, and to be a Boston Celtic."

Yes, Red Auerbach would like what he saw from this team, but he would also know full well that it is far from the finished product.

Nobody knew more about tweaking a franchise, and hopefully some of that knowledge has rubbed off on Danny Ainge.

Tim Weisberg covers the Boston Celtics for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@...

Date of Publication: November 01, 2006 on Page C04

#64355

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:27 pm
Subject: "he can get to the level of...Kobe and LeBron"-Herald

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=165177&format=text>

Gerald�s still Green: Celtics exercise patience with promising second-year forward

By Scott Souza/ MetroWest Daily News

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - Updated: 06:45 AM EST

When the Celtics selected Gerald Green with the 18th pick of the 2005 draft, the 19-year-old immediately became one of the poster children for a franchise promising a better future.

� �

Celtics forward Gerald Green hopes to spend a limited amount of time on the bench. (File photo)

His athleticism was exciting. His potential was tantalizing. His upside was in the stratosphere.

� � His experience was limited to a charter school in Houston. His defensive understanding was virtually nonexistent.

� � His contribution to a winning Celtics team seemed a very long way off.

� � �We knew he was really raw,� Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. �He had a lot to learn. But we knew he could shoot, which was a big plus. I mean a huge plus. Most guys out of high school can�t shoot the ball at all. What he didn�t know was how to get his shot. He is still working on that.�

� � The contrast between the second-year player and the rookie who often seemed lost last October is striking. His body is stronger. His maturity is evident. His knowledge of the game is dramatically improved.

� � But his age is still only 20. His experience level still lags behind on what is one of the least-experienced teams in the NBA.

� � Out of nowhere

� � Green was not supposed to be an option for the Celtics leading up to the 2005 draft. By the time they were on the clock, director of basketball operations Danny Ainge could not resist taking a gamble on the 6-foot-8 kid who now admits he was only 191 pounds at the time of the draft.

� � �I had watched his (McDonald�s) All-American game and had heard his name around the AAU circuit,� said new teammate Sebastian Telfair, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers� entry in the 2005 Las Vegas Summer League when Green�s show-stopping dunks became the stuff of instant legend. �I knew who he was, and when I actually had a chance to watch him play, I saw he deserved all the hype he was getting.�

� � Said Rivers: �His athleticism was off-the-charts good. He�s a wild guy. You knew that would give him a chance. The other stuff was going to be just knowledge of the game.�

� � It became increasingly more difficult for Green to increase his knowledge during the regular season. Road trips, back-to-backs and shootarounds allowed for little of the intense practice repetitions he needed. When game time arrived, he spent all but one in the first two months of the season wearing a suit instead of a uniform.

� � Minor adjustment

� � Anxious to get Green some real playing time anywhere, the Celtics looked to the NBA Developmental League. Green was first sent to the Florida Flame and then to the Fayetteville (N.C.) Patriots, where his coach was former NBA player Mike Brown.

� � It was there in the D-League that Green has said he did a lot of growing up. Though Ainge and Celtics strength and conditioning coach Walter Norton spent some time watching over him, he was also forced to be on his own and experience a life far away from the bright lights of the NBA.

� � �He was a very talented kid,� Brown said. �He is in the top percentage of players in the NBA the way he runs the floor, so he was far beyond anything in the Developmental League athletically. But he needed to get his confidence back. He hadn�t played since summer league, so he had no rhythm. . . . Once he started to get his minutes up to 30, 35 a night you could see it all come back.�

� � Brown took a directive from the Celtics to focus on Green�s mid-range shooting and defense.

� � �In high school he was so athletic that he could stay right with his man and then fly across the lane and block someone else�s shot,� Brown said. �But the NBA is a team game and you have to understand that. Paul Pierce doesn�t score on Gerald in practice because he is more athletic. He does it because he knows the game of basketball.�

� � While work ethic was never considered a problem for Green, taking criticism was a different story.

� � �I never talked back or anything,� he said, �I just felt that sometimes I put my head down. But I would put my head down when I would do something wrong because I knew that I was better than what I just did.�

� � Brown said he saw an all-around improvement in Green even though they were together less than a month.

� � �You could tell he wanted to get better,� Brown said. �He was not just satisfied being a McDonald�s All-American and being a Boston Celtic. When I saw him out in the summer league again this year I was happy with how much he had progessed.�

� � Going back to school

� � John Lucas makes no bones about it. The former NBA guard does not run a summer basketball camp in Houston to stroke the egos of professional players. If you go to him, you are going to work. If you can�t handle it, nobody is going to keep you from leaving.

� � Lucas said Green had stopped by in recent years but never stayed for more than some running. This past summer, Green decided to stick around.

� � �I have been trying to get Gerald for three years, and I finally got him for two months this summer,� Lucas said. �I knew his mindset would have to change if he was going to be the type of player he could be. He started to understand that accolades are not given. You have to earn them.�

� � Lucas said his focus was on Greens ball-handling skills and his ability to play without the ball.

� � �He needs to be able to create his own shot,� Lucas said. �He has a great shot, but he couldn�t put the ball on the floor. I have worked with Kobe (Bryant) and LeBron (James). Gerald has as much skill as any of them, but they can handle the ball. If he is willing to work to improve his ball-handling, and lock in on it every summer, he can get to the level of those guys, he added. But he is not there yet.�

� � Said Green: �He pushed me through the whole summer. Conditioning. Weights. Skills. Everything. He wants me to get better. Now the coaches here see a big difference in me.�

� � Long road ahead

� � Though there has been improvement, it is still a process. Green was the 15th player on the depth chart to start last year. This year, he may have moved up a bit - but not as far as some might have forecast.

� � �People see the dunks and it wows them,� Rivers said. �They say, �Man, you�ve got to play that guy the whole game.� They don�t understand how far he has to go. I believe he will. But it is still going to take some time.�

� � Green seems to understand.

� � �I thought I did a lot better (this preseason) than last year,� he said. �I thought I could have done more, but there were things I did better. I grade my preseason at about a 7. It wasn�t that good, but it wasn�t that bad either.�

� � Green said he has spent the most time working on his much-maligned defense, using close friend and teammate Tony Allen as a model.

� � �I still miss things here and there,� Green said. �It still needs a lot of work, but I am pretty pleased with how much better it has gotten. The biggest key for me is to just stay focused all of the time.

� � Rivers said Green is on the outskirts of the rotation right now. That means Green, along with the starry-eyed Celtic fans, will have to maintain patience in hopes of that big payoff one day.

� � �He has to keep remembering how good he is,� said Telfair, who dealt with similar expectations game when drafted out of high school. �There is going to be a time when you are going to get the opportunity to go out there and show it. You have to keep that confidence with you so when that time comes you are ready to go.�

#64354

From: "asterix_9_9" <asterix99@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:26 pm
Subject: Re: B2Tall

asterix_9_9

Offline

For the last time since apparently most of you on this board are too
stupid to actually read what someone wrote before making asinine
comments.

This was never about Eric as a poster or contributor. I CLEARLY
stated that my beef was with all the LA Laker and Clipper stories
that I felt had no place on this board. All I asked was that Eric
discuss toning down the abundance of those posts.  If you want to get
an idea of the number, just do a message search on "emplay".

The result of bringing this up civilly is that I've become the brunt
of attacks since you all want to make this a battle between me and
Eric (all except Ravi whom I should point out was wise enough to read
everything I wrote).

I've sat around the campfire with all the original injuns too.  It's
been almost ten years since the original group all gathered on that
AOL board.

But I can see the campfire going out. We're down to a handful here
and there is a reason for that.

Later, JB.  Good luck with the new blog.  I'm outta here.





--- In Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com, "hugeturnout"
<hugeturnout@...> wrote:
>
>
> I don't post much anymore to this board but I read it everyday. I
remember B2Tall as well.
> He was a source of much debate, some angry, some polite.
> Anyhow, this fella Eric has never tried to instigate an argument to
my recollection. He's a
> fella who's trying his best to break into a very difficult and cut
throat business. (as you can
> see by the call's for his head just here at celticsstuff)
> For those that can't stand the idea of an LA guy posting here, just
remember that old
> saying about keeping your enemy closer. Maybe that will allow you
to psychologically
> handle him.
> In addition, those of us that have been with this board since the
AOL days have seen this
> group expand beyond what anyone could have imagined. Spamming is
one thing, but
> honest sports journalism is another.
> Those that want a ban of anything non-Celtic should start their own
group and allow JB to
> continue his organic takeover of the sports cyberworld.
> Eric seems like a decent guy, (and that's not b/c I live in LA, I
cried like a baby when I
> heard Red passed on and I absolutely hate the Lakers with a undying
passion), but I think
> the guy should be given a break.
> He's not a hater, he's just a sports writer who knows passion when
he's sees it. Why else
> would he bother with a group of Celtic thugs? Take it as a
compliment if nothing else... or
> just hit the delete button... I've been doing it for years.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In Celticsstuffgroup@yahoogroups.com, CeltsSteve@ wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 10/31/2006 5:51:59 P.M. Central Standard
Time,
> > bdodgers@ writes:
> >
> >
> > Some  years ago, when we were on AOL, we had a Sixers' fan named
B2Tall.
> > Anyone  remember him?
> >
> >
> > Yes!  I remember him.  It was on the old AOL Grandstand  board.
About half
> > the time he was funny, and the rest of the time we  wished he
would stay on his
> > own board.  Wonder what ever happened to  him?
> >
> > Take Care
> >
> > George
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > He developed a permanent case of laryngitis and became quieter
than a  church
> > house mouse because his 6uhs landed with a giant  Thud after
Larry Brown
> > traded away all of their lottery picks  with the exception of
Iverson.
> >
> >
> >
> > CeltsSteve
> >
>

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (6)

#64353

From: "John S" <js33@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:17 pm
Subject: NBA Daily / Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2006

joesixpack33

Offline

http://www.insidehoops.com/daily.shtml

NBA Daily
On InsideHoops.com | 2006-07

The NBA Daily on InsideHoops.com is a complete league roundup of key news and game results. Also, discuss today's news on the InsideHoops message board and read NBA rumors.

Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2006

Here's what went down on the floor Tuesday, the first day of the regular season:

Chicago 108, Miami 66 -- The AP reports: They got their championship rings, saw the postseason highlights played on giant video screens and watched a new banner swing from the arena's rafters. Everything was perfect for the Miami Heat. And then the game began. Kirk Hinrich scored 26 points, Chris Duhon added 20 and the Chicago Bulls emphatically spoiled Miami's celebratory mood, beating the defending NBA champion Heat 108-66 in Tuesday night's season opener.

The AP reports: It was -- by far -- the worst loss in NBA history for a defending champion on opening night; the previous low was the Los Angeles Lakers' 132-117 defeat to Golden State on Oct. 29, 1982. The Lakers went on that season to win 58 games and return to the NBA finals under Riley... Dwyane Wade had 25 points before sitting out much of the fourth quarter for Miami, which didn't even have anyone else reach double figures.

LA Lakers 114, Phoenix 106 -- The AP reports: Playing without Kobe Bryant, it appeared the Los Angeles Lakers didn't have a chance, especially when the high-scoring Phoenix Suns made their first nine shots of the season opener. But Phoenix cooled off, Lamar Odom sparked a comeback, and the Lakers beat the Suns 114-106 Tuesday night.

The AP reports: Odom matched his career high with 34 points to go with 13 rebounds and six assists; 19-year-old Andrew Bynum had career-high totals of 18 points and nine rebounds, and Maurice Evans added 17 points in his first game for the Lakers, who outscored the Suns by 27 after falling behind 39-20 in the first quarter... Suns reserve Leandro Barbosa scored a career-high 30 points. Shawn Marion had 16 points and seven rebounds and Steve Nash had 15 points and 13 assists for the Suns.

Key NBA News

Red Auerbach funeral takes place -- The AP reports: Red Auerbach was buried in a simple graveside ceremony Tuesday, with Hall of Famers Bill Russell and John Thompson and commissioner David Stern among those paying last respects. About 150 family, friends and special guests attended the private burial for the NBA great at the King David Memorial Gardens in suburban Washington. Mourners chanted Psalm 23 and stood in silence as Auerbach's casket was lowered, then chanted the Mourner's Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. Stern was among those who took part in the tradition of shoveling dirt onto the grave.

Miami Heat get their championship rings -- The AP reports: Pat Riley's right hand was bare as he walked onto the court Tuesday night, his 1987 Los Angeles Lakers championship ring put away for safekeeping. Minutes later, he had a new favorite piece of jewelry. The Miami Heat completed one last order of business before starting the defense of their NBA title, receiving their championship rings in an elaborate pregame ceremony before opening the new season against the Chicago Bulls. "Tonight is a great night, just a great night because it's something we value, and we've looked forward to for a long time," Riley said.

Brian Cook signs extension -- The AP reports: Brian Cook signed a two-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers shortly before their season-opener against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. Cook, a 6-foot-9, 250-pounder, signed the extension about 90 minutes before a 9 p.m. PST deadline, keeping him from becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Nick Collison signs extension -- The AP reports: An offseason's worth of moves are coming during the first hours of the Seattle SuperSonics' new ownership. The Sonics announced late Tuesday that they have signed forward-center Nick Collison to a multiyear contract extension, after hinting such a deal may not get done until after this season. Terms of the contract for the third-year veteran and key reserve were not immediately known. However, it is likely less than the extension -- believed to be for about $18 million over three years -- starting point guard Luke Ridnour received on Monday.

Kirk Hinrich signs extension -- The AP reports: Hours before the regular season began, the Chicago Bulls already had something to celebrate. Guard Kirk Hinrich and the Bulls agreed Tuesday on a five-year extension, the maximum length allowed under league rules. The deal, which kicks in at the start of next season, is believed to be worth about $47.5 million. If Hinrich had not accepted the deal by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, he would have become a restricted free agent next summer and the Bulls would have had the opportunity to match any offer. Now, that angst-ridden process can safely be canceled.

Darius Songaila will have surgery -- The AP reports: Washington Wizards forward Darius Songaila will have back surgery for a herniated disc and be sidelined up to three months. "I am very disappointed that I will not be out there with my new teammates," Songaila said in a statement on Tuesday. "I plan to work hard and look forward to getting back on the court. Unfortunately, surgery is my best option at this time."

TJ Ford signs extension -- Ticker reports: T.J. Ford has yet to play in a regular-season game for the Toronto Raptors but already has a new contract. Hours before the deadline, Ford signed a multi-year contract extension Tuesday with his new team. Had the Raptors not signed Ford to an extension, the point guard would have been a restricted free agent next summer.

Raptors take option on Kris Humphries -- Ticker reports: The Toronto Raptors on Tuesday exercised their 2007-08 option on the contract of forward Kris Humphries, who was acquired in an offseason trade.

Sonics name Danny Barth interim president and CEO -- Ticker reports: Danny Barth on Tuesday was named interim president and CEO of the Seattle SuperSonics, whose future in the Emerald City remains very much up in the air. Barth had spent the last six years as the team's chief financial officer. He replaces Wally Walker, who had been with the SuperSonics for nearly two decades before resigning a week ago. In his interim role, Barth will oversee the business operations of the Sonics and WNBA Storm.

Kevin Garnett wins Kennedy Citizenship Award -- Kevin Garnett was honored Tuesday with the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for outstanding service and dedication to the community. Garnett set a remarkable standard for Katrina relief efforts, donating $1.2 million to Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network to build 24 houses over the next two years. He also played in a charity basketball game that benefited Katrina victims and donated $100,000 to the tsunami relief effort in Malaysia.

College Basketball Daily News

For daily college hoops news, hit our college basketball section.

Today's Birthdays

Happy birthday to Jake Voskuhl (1977). Note that we still haven't factored this season's rookies in yet. We'll do that tomorrow.

Today in History

November 1, 1946: The New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Huskies 68-66 in the first NBA game, which was played in Toronto. Any fan taller than Toronto�s 6-8 center George Nostrand got in free.

November 1, 1949: Dick McGuire made his debut for the New York Knicks at the Chicago Stags. The Knicks won in overtime 89-87.

November 1, 1949: Ed Macauley made his debut for the St. Louis Bombers against the Tri-City Blackhawks. The Bombers won 72-51.

November 1, 1950: Bill Sharman made his debut for the Washington Capitols at home against the Indianapolis Olympians. The Capitols won 100-84.

November 1, 1950: Bob Cousy made his debut for the Boston Celtics at Ft. Wayne. The Pistons won 107-84.

November 1, 1996: Fifty years to the day that the first NBA game was played in Toronto between teams from New York and Toronto, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors 107-99.

Hit the Boards

The world's most hardcore basketball fans hang out all day and night on the InsideHoops basketball message board. Registering a cool nickname takes literally 20 seconds -- you click 'yes' a few times, pick a name and password and you're ready to post! Hit our message board, post your opinions, read what others have to say, and enjoy a group of dedicated fans ready to talk with you 24/7.

Also see yesterday's Daily.

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (2)

#64352

From: "JS" <js33@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 11:27 am
Subject: Ricky Davis just wants a team and a home - with longevity

joesixpack33

Offline

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/15897070.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Posted on Tue, Oct. 31, 2006

Ricky Davis just wants a team and a home - with longevity

By Steve Aschburner

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

MINNEAPOLIS - Ricky Davis is looking for a home, a pro basketball residence to match the high-rise apartment in downtown Minneapolis that he shares with his fiancee, Vanessa, and their kids.

Eight years into an NBA career that has been, through a series of trades, criticism and emotional departures, one extended traveling violation, Davis - beginning his first full season as a talented, offensive-minded swingman with the Timberwolves - wants to buy rather than rent.

He's ready, finally, for a place to kick off his sneakers to relax, not in disgust on the bench over a coach's decision. Somewhere he can throw a towel just because it's laundry, not an angry statement. At 27, Davis would like his stay in Minnesota to be measured in years rather than months, different from how it went for him in Charlotte, Miami, Cleveland and Boston.

"I've been looking for it my whole career," Davis said before training camp even began. Refreshed and eager after a few months off, the 6-7 veteran-slash-vagabond admitted he never has quite had that professional sense of place.

"I felt it kind of in Cleveland but it started fading away a little bit each year," he said. "I got a taste of it in Boston. They embraced me real well while I was there. But this is another notch up. They've embraced a guy like Kevin Garnett. I'm sure I can be here and do the same thing."

When Davis joined the Wolves in Houston last Jan. 26, hours after being swapped in a seven-player trade, Dwane Casey became his ninth head coach in eight pro seasons. The only constant in his career, to that point, was his reputation, and it wasn't a good one.

The image thing

Davis toted an image as one of the NBA's resident knuckleheads, a selfish player who could outlast coaches, wear out his welcome and still find work in a league of 30 teams and 28 cities. He had size, quickness, athletic ability and a knack for putting the ball in the basket, but became known as a good scorer on bad squads, someone who couldn't thrive in a strong team system.

Funny thing was, his reputation often hasn't tracked with the impressions of people who played with him and others who got to know him. In person, off the court, Davis comes across as good-natured, easy-going, even sensitive. The troubles in his reputation have come out on the court in game- or practice-related moments, rather than on city streets of the after-hours NBA.

Veteran Miami guard Gary Payton, back when they were teammates in Boston, said of Davis: "Me and him are so tight because we both have the rep as guys that can't be approached. But off the court, he's a great guy. He's funny. He keeps everybody in stitches, so he's not that (bad) way."

On his way out of Boston last season, Davis sought out the team's media relations staff to say goodbye to Celtics fans. His departure from Cleveland in a December 2003 trade wasn't as sweet. "Glad to be out of that black hole," Davis said. "It's terrible over there."

There he was, Ricky being Ricky. Especially at age 24.

Clifford Ray, a Cleveland assistant coach at the time, said of Davis: "He does some bonehead things, but he'll run through the wall if you tell him to."

He said, he said

Davis' piece de resistance, of course, came in March 2003 when he shot at the other team's basket in garbage time of a game against Utah. He wanted the rebound in a misguided attempt at his first triple-double. That one moment, replayed dozens of times on SportsCenter, probably cost Davis the league's Most Improved Player Award that spring.

"I was just in my own little zone," Davis said.

Celtics coach Glenn (Doc) Rivers lobbied for Davis for the 2004-05 Sixth Man Award, when his reputation might have hurt him in the balloting; he lost despite topping winner Ben Gordon in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage. "I think a lot of people don't know Ricky Davis. They know about the past," Rivers said.

Said teammate Paul Pierce: "We all know it's about politics. Ricky hasn't been labeled a quote-unquote good guy in the NBA."

So guess what? Just last month, a published report out of Boston relying on an anonymous source alleged that Davis undermined Pierce's leadership during their two years together, "talking and joking behind the Celtics captain's back, and `rolling his eyes' when Pierce attempted to address the rest of the team."

Rivers wouldn't address the inner-locker room aspect but said: "He was phenomenal for me."

Wolves forward Justin Reed was in the Celtics locker room with Davis and said he never saw any such thing. Still, it called to mind rumblings that Davis, in Cleveland, had chafed with young star LeBron James, triggering Davis' trade to the Celtics. Davis denied any rift with Pierce, just as he had with James.

"That there," he said of the latest rap on him, "that's heartbreaking."

Consider it the latest step as Davis grows up in plain sight.

"Ricky's getting older now," said Kevin McHale, Wolves vice president of basketball operations. "He's no longer just a young guy trying to establish himself in the league. He's got to take ownership of this team. I tell these guys all the time, if you own the car, you treat it a lot differently than if it's a rental car."

Davis obviously wasn't ready when he left Iowa after only one season and, on sheer talent, was selected by Charlotte as the 21st pick in the 1998 draft. After a bit role with the Hornets and then the Heat, he was traded again late in 2001 camp to Cleveland.

At the end of that season, the Wolves signed Davis to an offer sheet worth $34 million over six years. He had averaged 11.7 points and 2.2 assists in 23.8 minutes that year, but regularly scored 20 points a game over the final six weeks, his potential kicking in.

"Ricky's got an innate toughness about him that everybody sees every day," McHale said. "He's kind of a street fighter. Those are the types of guys you like having around."

Getting defensive

Davis played despite a groin pull in March and April last season, an injury that turned him into a liability defensively (or provided an excuse for lack of effort).

Arriving in January, he was slow to learn the Wolves' schemes, and admit he took "half the year off" at that end. "I wasn't playing too much defense last year," Davis said. "Me and McHale had a talk about that. I was relying on Trenton (Hassell) to stop all the good guys. I've got to turn it back on."

Casey grew impatient, too, as Davis too often just tried to outscore his man. But the coach gave him solid preseason marks. "He's paying attention and taking pride in his defense," Casey said. "He's done a good job of keeping the ball out of the middle of the floor. We still have to stay on him about taking possessions off. `Don't shortcut the play. Just be solid.'"

That, basically, is what the Wolves are asking of Davis across the board. He averaged 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists, numbers that - if repeated - would be fine with Mike James and Randy Foye added to the attack.

"I think he's finding his niche," Garnett said. "He's understanding his role. You can tell it in his voice, you can hear it in his conversations: He wants to be a part of this."

There's no place like home, assuming this is where Davis finds it. "I feel real comfortable, just being one of the leaders, one of the older guys," he said. "I've been wanting to be in Minnesota, so it feels good to see what I can do.

"They say KG needs help. I feel I'm the answer right here, plus Mike James and some other guys. I have to go out there and lead by example. Instead of talking, go out and be that dog I know I can be."

---

� 2006, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

#64351

From: JB <JB_Celticsstuff@...>
Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 12:15 pm
Subject: "You don't know...until you go out and play."-Projo

jb_celticsstuff

Offline

<http://www.projo.com/celtics/content/projo_20061101_01celts.335e3be.html>

Upward youth movement is Celts' goal

Coach Doc Rivers, whose team opens its season tonight, has plenty of young, talented players who he hopes can help Boston reach the playoffs.

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 1, 2006

BY KEVIN McNAMARA

Journal Sports Writer

WALTHAM -- As his team's final preseason practice came to a close yesterday, a relaxed Glenn "Doc" Rivers talked about his expectations for the Boston Celtics.

The third-year coach knows his team is young. Nine of the 15 players on the opening-night roster own just two or fewer seasons of NBA experience. That list includes vital pieces of the pie like point guards Sebastian Telfair and Rajon Rondo, shooter Delonte West and big men Ryan Gomes and Al Jefferson.

But Rivers thinks his kids are all right. He's not guaranteeing a playoff berth or even stating that this group can better last season's 33-49 record, but heading into tonight's opener at the Garden against the New Orleans Hornets, Rivers is anxious to see what his team can do.

"They're a hard-working group," he said. "We thought that from the start and they proved that to be right. They get along, they work hard, but we don't have any losses or wins yet. I always thought it was easy to get along right now. We'll see how they get along when nine or 10 of them play and two don't, or five don't."

Asked what the biggest concern with his team is, Rivers said, "Our consistency. When you have so many guys who haven't played a lot of NBA basketball, you worry about consistency. Last year we won two games in a row (five different times). That was it. That hits that point home. In some ways we're younger, but I think we're better. We're more experienced."

The Celtics that fans will see starting tonight are different than last season's group. The biggest difference comes at point guard, where Telfair and Rondo, both of whom were acquired on draft night, will split duties. There's a chance that West will run the team at times, but Rivers seems excited about the ability of his two young, fast and confident point guards.

"I like both of them. They have great vision and great speed. I like the fact that for 48 minutes we can play at the same speed," he said.

The Celtics played at a faster pace in the preseason and appear to have enough parts to jump start what was already a pretty explosive offense.

Defensively, however, the team has major concerns. The biggest come inside, especially since veteran 6-foot-10 center Theo Ratliff (back woes) isn't ready to play right now. That'll put a huge load on the shoulders of third-year veteran Kendrick Perkins, eight-year veteran Michael Olowokandi and Jefferson.

"(Ratliff) was the last line of defense and I haven't seen him (on the floor) in three weeks," said Rivers. "That's where we need Perk and Al and even Ryan (Gomes). We have to keep Perk extremely aggressive early and in the game without fouling."

Rivers wouldn't name his starting lineup, but the best bet looks like Telfair and Wally Szczerbiak at guard, Paul Pierce and Gomes at forward with Perkins at center. West and Tony Allen will spell the guards, with Jefferson and perhaps high-flying Gerald Green helping out up front. Rivers said he's likely to switch bodies at the big-forward and center spots most often.

"We may go with different starting lineups on different nights, but for the most part, when we go small, we don't care what they have in there. It's a game of chicken. We're going to do it regardless of who they have," he said.

After tonight's game, the Celts host Detroit on Friday. Boston plays nine of its first 14 games at home and needs to improve on last year's shaky 21-20 home record.

"It would be great (to get off to a quick start) but it's not going to make or break our season," Rivers said. "I think we're going to be a much better team the second half of the year, whether we have home games or not. It's a team that's really starting to come together and the young guys are still growing. Obviously if we get off to a great start that would really set us up for the second half because I think we're going to be a much better team by the midpoint than we are now."

Star scorer Paul Pierce was in a joking mood yesterday, wearing a colorful mask and long, black hair while he addressed reporters. He hopes Halloween's jovial mood stays with him as the youngsters grow up with him this season.

"It's hard to say right now," Piece said. "You don't know if you're better until you go out and play. I think we're more talented but you don't know much until you go out and play."

kmcnamar@... / (401) 277-7340