The Celt's last two games would officially be categorized under the "Don't want to talk about it" header. Although we didn't get to witness the Milwaukee game, the recap/box score appeared to point to yet another example of a game we could have won, but didn't. Again without watching it, I can't be sure, but I'd bet if you watched it closely, there were a couple of key Doc errors that were directly responsible for us being in that sitution.

Then there was last night. A worst case scenario of sorts. We got a guy that's happy to be traded, playing against four former C's who were pissed and all too eager to prove the Celtics wrong. We've all seen flashes of Banks similar to last night but never had he completely taken over a game like he did against us. Maybe this is the start of something great for him and if it is, I wish him luck, but it just wasn't going to happen in Boston (or maybe more accurately, Doc couldn't bring it out of him). I honestly hope Marcus, Ricky and Justin move on to have great careers (maybe that will get Doc fired more quickly), but Blount... Blount is a different case entirely. He could go jump of a bridge for all I care. I thought he had reached rock bottom with the Celtics, but last night's classless, immature and disrespectful display ripped the bottom out and set a new standard. Good riddance to bad rubbish is all I have to say about that.

An interesting thought occurred to me today. It will be considered heresy by most Celtics fans who are familiar with the Bird Era C's. I often try to compare the current Celtics roster to other championship caliber teams both current and in history. Today, I started comparing them to the '86 Championship team and, at least in my own mind, was stunned by the similarities. Let's start in the middle. Kendrick is easily a 10 rpg center and his post game is improving all the time. His offensive game might never reach the Chief's status, but he has a chance to be a better rebounder and is already a better shot blocker. I think by this time next year, this comparison will be even more obvious.

Big Al, to me is a young Kevin McHale waiting to happen. His incredible post game is his strength and he will develop into a better defender and rebounder with time. This one might take 2 seasons to be completely obvious, but this guy has 22 and 9 written all over him.

I realize I'm making a positional change here, but I wanted to match up best player to best player. In my book, comparing anyone to Bird borders on travesty, but of the current Celtics, the only one with any chance would be PP. Scoring they matchup well and Pierce has shown at least the heart to want the ball in the closing seconds with the game on the line and although he may never be as proficient at sticking a dagger in the opposing teams heart like Bird did so often, there is something to be said for the willingness to take the chance. As for rebounding and passing, Paul doesn't come close, but is a very good rebounder for his position and his assist number might go up in the next few years just from feeding Al and Kendrick in the post.

Danny to Wally is another very close matchup. Wally is a bit better rebounder while Danny is a bit better passer while both can simply shoot the lights out from distance. 'Nuff said.

The Delonte to DJ comparison might be my favorite comparison. I loved DJ and I love Delonte in a similar way. Both are soft spoken, but intensely hard workers on the court. Both work their butts off on Defense with limited physical skills. DJ has the edge in passing, while Delonte is the better shooter. Perhaps DJ's greatest skill was knocking down big jumper after big jumper in the fourth quarter of close games. Delonte hasn't proved it yet, but I see all the signs that he might be a similar type of player in that regard.

Might be a stretch, but I just hope that starting now (like blogger nation has been begging for during the last season and a half), Doc starts letting this 5 play big minutes together (Delonte, PP, Wally, Al and Perk). They are the future and if you give them time, they will dazzle and hopefully bring number 17 to the Garden rafters.

My initial reaction to hearing the news of the Ricky for Wally World trade was anger and frustration as I was driving home from a poker game last night around 11pm. I really hadn't considered (prior to last night) that Ricky was even an option as we looked to deal Blount before the trade deadline. My next thought was that maybe this is just the next step in Danny's secret vision to have an all white starting lineup. After trading for Raef, signing Dickau and Scalabrine in the off season and now acquiring Wally, he's only one player away from completing his idiotic plan. The only problem so far is that he has a coach who is unwilling to play the stiffs he brings in and thank the basketball gods for that.

All kidding aside though, lying in bed around midnight, my view of the trade began to shift. Most Celtics/Sox fans can understand this. We disagree with some of the decisions the front office makes, but after voicing our displeasure, we quickly fall in line and continue to support our beloved team. In that vein, here is my take on the positives and negatives of this trade:

Negatives:

1. Wally's contract. I think it's like 38 Million over the next 3 years. That's a lot for a guy who doesn't rebound much and is a lousy defender (although he does appear to work pretty hard at it). The offset to this negative is that with more minutes for Al, and Kendrick combined with the fact that Delonte and Pierce are way above average rebounders for their positions, Wally's lack of rebounding won't be much of an issue.

2. While I certainly don't want any of the former Celtics to struggle, I feel like there is a good chance that all of them will flourish in their new environment. I could see Banks being a great backup PG for them. Ricky won't have to play 40+ minutes per night and his ppg will probably go up playing with KG while Blount is probably going to play more like his contract year and average 15 and 9. With the other riff raff they have playing for them and the offense they'll get from KG, Ricky and Blount, I could even see Reed being a strong bench performer with his good defense and improved offense. The better they do collectively, the worse this trade will look for us is kind of what I'm saying.

3. Ricky's a fan favorite and it will be hard for a lot of people to see him go.

4. Any minutes for the Kandi man off the bench is too many.

Positives:

1. We are rid of Blount's contract!

2. We are rid of Blount's contract!

3. We are rid of Blount's contract!

4. Wally was averaging more ppg than Ricky in about 7 less minutes of action per night and in general compliments Pierce's game more than Ricky did. Also, if you add Wally to the combination of Paul, Delonte and sometimes Raef, it will make it harder for teams to double down of Al in the post.

5. We picked up Olawakandi's expiring contract.

6. We got a 2008 conditional first rounder and who knows where MN will be by then.

7. The NBDL youngster (only 22 I think) we picked up is a nice defensive/rebounding presence and could develop into a nice player for us in the next couple of years.

8. We've freed up 2 roster spots for Gomes and possibly Gerald who I'd like to see a bit on the NBA level this season even if it is only in garbage time.

9. Not knowing what it's like in the locker room, this one might be a reach, but from watching him in interviews, seeing him on the court and sidelines and the story about how he called out Pierce during halftime a couple of weeks ago, this might clear the path for Kendrick to step into a leadership role beside PP. He's a hard worker with genuine enthusiasm for the game and might prove to be a better and more vocal leader of this team than Pierce has been. I'm not slighting Paul either, he has just never seemed comfortable in this role.

10. The distraction of the pending departures of Blount/Banks is now gone.

In reading various accounts, it appears to be split as to what this means for Paul. Some people believe this further strengthens the idea that we are building around him and he's here for the long haul, while others view it as the first step in his departure and that he is unlikely to to be a Celtic after the trading deadline has passed. We probably won't know for sure until the deadline passes. The guys over at Full Court Press have nice write up about the trade also, so check that out..

Tonight's game against Sacramento is a lot more interesting now than it was a couple of weeks ago. How will Artest adjust to his new team and what kind of shape is he in? Will Wally be in the starting lineup tonight? Will Gerald be sitting on the C's bench? How will the departure of Ricky affect Paul's game? Will Al start tonight? All interesting questions and all will begin to be answered tonight.

After one of the most pitiful stretches of professional basketball I've ever seen to end 2005 and ring in 2006, the Celtics appear to have turned a corner. Starting with that double OT epic loss to the Sixers, the C's play has been quite impressive. After dropping a relatively close one in Detroit, PP and the boys ran off two in a row against the T-Wolves and the Nets. In the Nets game, we overcame missing 14 free throws to hang on for the victory, otherwise we would have blown them out. Unfortunately the next night we had to play the Nets again in NJ and as is often the case with back to back games against the same team, the winner of game 1 came out a little flat and we never recovered.

Doc finally has taken the hint from the rest of the basketball world and given Kendrick and Al some crunch time minutes together and it has worked great. The next step will be to move Al into the starting lineup with Perk and off we go. Another big plus over the last month or so has been Delonte's improved play. He started the season great, but because he was concentrating so much on other things, he let his offensive mindset take a back seat. Now that he is comfortable in the PG spot, he has allowed himself to go back to his roots again and he's proving that he is the best outside shooter on the team. Tonight will be a good test for him as he has to go against Chris Paul who has been playing lights out and has the Hornets playing some good ball this season, in fact if my math is right, if the playoffs started today, they would beat out the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 8th spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

Bill Simmons wrote a scathing, but unfortunately truthful, article about Doc's lack of coaching skill for ESPN page 2. If you're familiar with the Celts blogosphere, you know that a lot of us have been pointing out Doc's transgressions all season, but his is a very succinct look at most of his failings.

The schedule line's up well for us over the next 8 or so games. It would be nice to put a little stretch together and win 5-7 of those, but time will tell. If the last 2 home games are any indication, the team has turned the corner and has now fully integrated the future with the present. I guess we'll find out more tonight.

On a road trip like this, Monday's game against the Sonics was one you can't afford to let slip through your fingers. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Celtics did. After a nice first half, the C's really struggled defensively and on the boards in the third, giving up 40 points to the Sonics. If they'd buckled down a bit more in that quarter things might have been different. Delonte hit a couple of big threes late to keep us in it, but in the end it wasn't enough. As far as positives, Pierce ended with 43 points and tied with Delonte in leading the team with 5 boards. That would normally be nice but when your top two rebounders are both in the backcourt, something is wrong. Ricky pitched in with a nice all around game as well.

You really have to hang this loss on the bigs. When you're 4 big men have more combined fouls (21) than rebounds (11), you aren't going to win too many games. Hopefully they can recover from this in grand fashion going against the ultra soft front court of Golden State tonight. The struggling Warriors are desperate for a spark and are inserting the 6'8" Ike Diogu into the starting lineup at Center for collossal waste of money Adonal Foyle. Ike has a good offensive game but I like Perk's chances of handling him in the post. The problem will be Murphy who usually plays well against us and will be a tough cover for Blount. I'd like to see Gomes get some minutes against him as he will be better able to get out on the perimeter to defend Troy's outstanding outside game. We match up well with Golden State as we have simlar strengths and weaknesses but will need a better total effort than we put on against Seattle on Monday.

All in all this road trip is shaping up nicely. The Kings have a few injuries they're dealing with, the Warriors and Clips have struggled a bit recently with Denver being the only monster remaining. I'm still hoping for a 3-2 road trip, but it would have been a lot easier if they'd take care of business in the opener.

Tonight is a must win game for the C's and hopefully they will come out with the fire and intensity that this situation requires. I hope you all had a Happy Holiday.

FINALLY, TWO IN A ROW!
After struggling to find consistency for 24 games this season, the Celtics have put together two nice wins in a row over the Warriors and the Jazz this week. It appears that Doc is finally settling on a rotation and while I don't completely agree with every decision he has made, it is good to see him at least allowing players to get comfortable in the roles he has assigned them.

The return of Marcus Banks has been a huge stablizing factor. Justin Reed is either in the dog house, or Doc is preparing him a bit early for the return of Tony Allen. Gomes is finding some consistent minutes, thanks in large part to his hustle and uncanny nose for the ball. Big Al is finally getting the minutes he should have been getting since halfway through last season and producing consistently. I'd still like to see Kendrick getting about 5-7 more minutes per game. I think that would put him up into the 10 boards per game category and as I've said before, I can't remember the last NBA champion that didn't have a guy who averaged at least 10 rebounds... Ricky and Paul continue to dominate in all facets of the game and Blount is showing signs of life. Even Orien is playing some strong ball and refuses to be pushed to the bench with the return of Marcus and the continued strong play of Delonte.

All in all a good finish leading into the Christmas break before heading out West for a tough 5 game stretch. It would be nice if they could return from that trip 3-2, but more likely 2-3 as their two toughest games are the final two against the Clips (who have come back to Earth a bit) and the Nuggets.

For those of you that enjoy misery, you can read about the losses to the Bucks and Bulls here and here.

For any of you techies out there, here is an interesting article about how the C's brass is using data analysis to improve their ticket sales at the Garden.

I'm going to write a post during the break about how some local Maine B-Ball talent is doing at the Division 1 level, so stay tuned and have a safe and happy holiday.

We picked a good game to go to last night with the C's dominating the Pacers throughout. Watching the game, it looked like Perk had way more than 8 boards, but either way he quietly had a nice game, playing some stellar D without getting into foul trouble. Al was again strong off the bench, although he did have a stretch where he had three or four travels called on him. I think it was a combination of having Jermaine on him and wanting to impress and some over zealous Refs, but either way he looked good. Blount had the offensive mojo working, along with Pierce, while Ricky was a bit cold from the field, but did chip in with 7 nice assists. All in all, a good win after two tough losses to end the road trip.

My Nephew Derek (at left with his father Jeff) actually got to high five about half the team as they entered the court for warmups, including Ricky, Paul and Blount. His Dad told him after the game that he shouldn't wash his hand until after his b-ball tourney this weekend and maybe some of Marks good shooting will be contagious. Our seats weren't that far from the Get Buckets Brigade, and we all enjoyed their steady cheering throughout the game. Brigade member Matt B. was actually part of the halftime festivities in the length of the court layup contest and finished a very respectable 2nd.

Although my picture taking skills left a little to be desired, I got a good one of Pierce hanging in the air on a layup attempt and Jeff got a nice one of me and my girlfriend Lisa (see below).

























I guess that's all for last nights game. Friday's game looks to be a bit tougher, with Milwaukee rolling into town, but hopefully we can put together our first back to back wins of the season. We can hope can't we...

Sorry for the lack of posts, I am in the process of moving and just got the computer set up, not to mention I wrecked my back trying to maneuver a huge couch down the worst designed staircase I've ever seen.

Anyhow, I saw the Spurs game and was impressed with out efforts. I thought Paul played well even with having to go against Bruce Bowen. Has there ever been a player who gets away with more clutching and grabbing then Brucey? You have to respect the guy for it though. He came into the league, realized the only way he was going to stick was by being a shut down defender and went about perfecting it. By being so committed to his D, he has earned a good reputation with the refs similar to how great offensive players sometimes get mystery calls when they go to the hole. Now he seems to have even added an outside game to his repetoir, but enough about Bowen. Back to the positives for the C's, Ricky was his consistent self, while Kendrick had 10 boards and played some good defense and Blount continued has strong play off the bench. When that game ended and I saw that Dallas had won their game against Memphis, I was hopeful that we could pull off the upset, but alas, no such luck.

I didn't actually get to see the Dallas game but in looking over the stat line, a few things jumped out at me. Why did Doc decide to tinker with the lineup? Blount was playing well off the bench (partly because he was seeing other teams backups) and judging by his stat line of 4 points, 1 rebound and 3 turnovers in 26 minutes, didn't adjust well to the change in assignments. Raef was benched against his former team, which to me is an undeserved slap in the face even as poorly as Raef has been playing of late. He did respond though with 10 and 5 off the bench. Gomes got 14 minutes but put up goose eggs across the board. I thought before the game they might use Ryan on Dirk a bit and I'm guessing that is what he was doing for those 14 minutes. Ricky and Paul were again great, combining for 48 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but the 'Big' story was Al. He once again got minutes (27) and responded with big numbers (21 and 12 to be exact). I'm not sure who was defending him, but I really don't care. It's well past overdue for this guy to be in there every night for big minutes, in fact I thought it should have happened about half way through last season. I would go so far as to say he should be starting with Kendrick. That would be a nice starting lineup for many years to come if you ask me. I'll settle though for a consistent 25-30 minutes every night regardless of what he puts up for stats.

I'm actually going to be at the next C's game against the Pacers tomorrow with my girlfriend, brother in-law and nephew. Should be a good time and hopefully we'll see a lot of Big Al and a C's victory (maybe they'll trade Ron before the game and be short handed...).