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March 24th

Walker and Knicks bury Celtics...

Yeah, I said it. Antoine Walker reminded Danny Ainge and the Celtics why he was shipped out two years ago last night against the Knicks: Poor shot selection, lazy turnovers, hanging around the three-point line and embarrassing defense. All of this led to a brutal 107-82 loss in front of a Knicks team that thoroughly enjoyed giving out the humiliation to the Atlantic Division's best team.

I know, he was not the only one who was awful last night. You can include a very old-looking Gary Payton and a pouting Paul Pierce into the mix. But Walker took the cake, actually, it looked like he had been eating the cake too much with his sluggish play last night. Here's the line for Walker:

Walker: 31 minutes, 13 points on 5-for-20 shooting, 2-for-6 from behind the arc, 10 boards, one assist and two turnovers.

Whoever the statistician was that only credited him with two turnovers must have been watching the same game that Doc Rivers was watching - we'll get to that later. There was a play in the third quarter where he had two turnovers (only one was official) on the same play. Standing 30 feet from the rim, he threw a lazy pass to the right for Delonte West. Jamal Crawford, not known for his defense, pushed the ball away towards mid-court, but Walker recovered the loose ball. He then tried to dribble past Malik Rose, but Rose stripped him and started a 3-on-1 break where Ricky Davis had to commit a foul.

This quarter also included a 2-on-1 break with Walker that resulted in a turnover off of his hands. Granted, the pass from Tony Allen was somewhere around seven and a half feet from the ground, but you could almost see Allen's eyes questioning why Walker did not even jump for the pass that went off the one, token left hand that Walker raised. Throw in the air ball on the ill-advised three-pointer in the second quarter when the game started to slip away and you have at least three turnovers.

Like I have said before, Walker poisoning the Celtics last night was not 'Toine's fault just like Mark Blount's poor play was not his either. Doc Rivers needs to see the same game that everyone else is seeing. Go back and look at the three box scores from the Celtics three wins against New York this season. Don't worry, I already did. You will see something in common with these three games. Marcus Banks, Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson (two games) all provided pretty good production. Why? Quick, fresh legs. Say what you want about Perkins, but he could have run laps around Walker last night. Perkins only got five garbage minutes, but six points and three offensive rebounds were not bad.

Back to my point. When the Celtics were down early in the second quarter, Rivers brought Banks, West, Davis, Blount and Jefferson into the game. These guys got them back into the game. On back-to-back plays, Jefferson tipped in a three-point attempt and then got fouled the next time down the court while he tipped in another miss. Five points in about thirty seconds and three offensive rebounds during that stretch. To make matters worse, Rivers allowed Payton to get seriously exposed against Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford. Meanwhile, West and Banks were giving them fits. Later in the game, after seeing Banks easily go by Marbury, Fox's Mike Gorman said Banks is clearly too quick for Stephon and it looked like Marbury was in a turnstile.

We knew this game would come. It was the first time this team looked bad since the pre-All-Star game fiasco in Denver. Maybe they were tired. They did just play five games in seven days, winning all five. Maybe the three day break was too long and they grew some rust. Who knows, but a back-to-back against Chicago and Detroit could deflate this Celtic balloon if they are not careful.

On the flip side, what is not to like about the recent play of Banks, West and Blount? Maybe Blount only likes to play the last 30 games of the season? He has really developed some chemistry with that second unit. West continues to improve and looks like he will be a nice player in the future. Banks does things that you just don't see in the box score. His defensive pressure, and West's, has been great to watch. Now if they could only find a way to get Payton to defend.

By the way, Walker was the only player in double digits with 13 points. Eight of those came in the third quarter when the C's showed signs of life. Walker hit two three's and then Allen set him up with an easy layup. Allen and Blount had nine points while Jefferson added eight. LaFrentz, West and Banks each scored seven. Ricky Davis was could not make anything going 2-for-10 with six points. Pierce barely played the first half and finished with 23 minutes and five points on just five shots.

March 3rd

Celtics Assault Kobe and the Lakers ...

The only trip for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers to the Fleet Center of the season will be one they will love to forget about. Kobe's final 25-foot jumper at the buzzer came up short and the Celtics and Antoine Walker held serve for a 104-101 victory in front of a sell out crowd.

Quick side note on the crowd: Guys who wear suits and bring trophy wives to a basketball game should not be allowed in the door. Whatever happened to those blue collar workers who wore their stained and tattered shamrock shirt to the game? I think the seats really close to the court should be the cheapest. This way the real fans will be seen and heard.

For those of us who still love the Celtics and the NBA, last night was a TIVO event and neither team disappointed. We learned a few things about the Celtics last night and we also found out that sometimes Doc Rivers really can coach.

Let's start out with the heroes: Ricky Davis: 29 points on 13-for-23 shooting and the dunk of the year. Davis played 43 minutes and he always had more energy than Kobe Bryant. Davis had his troubles early against Kobe, but he and Paul Pierce held Bryant to an 0-for-6 showing in the fourth.

Paul Pierce: Simply brilliant. Pierce dropped 29 points, grabbed 9 boards and dished out 7 assists. Pierce was 10-for-18 shooting and I can think of at least three shots which he had to force because of shot clock issues. He missed just one free throw and was 3-for-3 behind the arc. He made two great moves down the stretch to put the Celtics ahead also.

Antoine Walker: Employee number eight returned to the Fleet and he looked rusty early as he bounced two balls off his leg and out of bounds, but those were his only turnovers. In fact, the Celtics only had five turnovers all night and three were in the first three minutes. Walker did not shoot well (6-for-17), but who cares. He grabbed 13 boards and blocked four shots. He also scored two big hoops down the stretch and still had 16 points. For those of you keeping track, he took two three-pointers. One three was a bad one which he just about air-balled. The second three later in the game would have sealed the game, but it went half way down and popped out. Walker has played in the post for three games now.

Al Jefferson: Walker said Big Al, now wearing #7, was the reason why they won this game. I would not go that far, but he was very productive and he made defenders look bad. Al had 10 points last night and was on the floor for most of the fourth quarter.

Marcus Banks: Banks had the best game you will see a point guard have without scoring a point. That's right. No points, but 8 assists and excellent defense. The guy only took four shots, but was a harasser. He split minutes with Delonte West and both of them did a very good job of defending and controlling the tempo of the game.

Chucky Atkins: Let's give Chucky some credit. This guy screwed up Ainge's lottery plans last year when he carried the C's into the playoffs. This shoot first point guard was not the direction the C's wanted to go, but he just about killed them last night. Chucky scored 29 points including nine-straight points at one point in the fourth quarter while Kobe was trying to figure out how many games he would have to play to pay off that chick.

There was only one goat out there last night - Kobe Bryant. Kobe scored 17 points in the first quarter and 26 points through three, but his goose egg in the fourth was ugly. He was 9-for-24 on the night and 0-for-6 in the fourth quarter. To the Celtics' credit, Davis and sometimes Pierce played him tough. They also made Bryant work on the defensive end against Pierce or Davis. Good game plan for the C's.

I'm not going to call Mark Blount a goat for last night's performance - 4 points, two boards. I think Doc has realized that Blount just does not have it. He only played 17 minutes and he did struggle at times, but this guy's head has been lost. I saw Walker go up to him at least three times last night to get his head in the game.

Doc did some coaching last night and for the third straight game we saw a different player on the floor late in the game. You can expect Pierce, Walker, Davis and West on the floor late in the game, but the fifth guy has been changing. Against Utah it was Blount, against Phoenix it was Banks and last night it was Jefferson. Rivers is almost preparing this team for the playoffs. Good for you Doc, you got the job done last night.

With Tony Allen out, Rivers finally went to Justin Reed last night and this guy did not disappoint. In 10 minutes, Reed scored four points, grabbed two boards and had one big block. We know Ainge likes Reed, but we just did not know where he would fit in. Reed got the assignment on Kobe last night and at one point he stuck right with Kobe and blocked a jump shot attempt. You normally don't see a block on the perimeter, but Reed did it. This kid can shoot also. At one point they had Davis curling off the pick on one side and Reed on the other. In the second half, when the Lakers overplayed on Davis, Banks gave the ball to Reed two times and he swished the jumper both times. This kid was a first-team All SEC player last year, that has to count for something.

Remember what I told you: 14 games in March, six automatic wins, four automatic losses and four toss ups. In the first toss up game, the C's got the victory while Philadelphia was losing to the Nets. Automatic victory night on Friday against Charlotte and then a toss up game on Sunday against Minnesota.

Expect a return by Gary Payton next week. It does not look like he will be claimed off of waivers. With the C's a little short, they might also pick up guard Jamison Brewer or possibly Kenny Anderson. Both players were waived this week. These moves would only be for depth, nothing more. The Celtics only dressed ten players last night with Allen injured.

At some point, we will have to talk about who the odd-man out is if Payton returns. I think it would be Banks, but he is not going quietly these days.

February 28th

Suns Burned by Sub-par Celtics ...

Maybe the Phoenix Suns were still smiling from their 123-122 victory over Dallas. Maybe the Suns (43-14) just felt superior to the Atlantic Division leaders from the East. Maybe the Suns just thought they could throw their sneakers on the court and easily run away from the Celtics. Maybe Walter McCarty convinced the Suns not to play MVP candidate Steve Nash because he would not be needed against this sorry team from the weak East.

For whatever reason Suns' Coach Mike D'Antoni had for calling the Celtics' "sub-par" and for saying his team "just got trapped," the boys in the green uniforms did not get this memo.

After two of the worst efforts we had seen all year in losses to the Lakers and Denver, the Celtics have since responded with the acquisition of Antoine Walker. The future of the Celtics was on display last night as they ran to a 120-113 victory in overtime against the highest scoring team in the league, the team with the best record in the league and they did it on the road.

Employee number 88 did it all on Sunday night. Walker poured in 33 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, handed out six assists, blocked two shots and even made his free throws (8-for-10). He did take more shots (32) than Paul Pierce (17) and Ricky Davis (14) combined, but very few, if any, were forced. He missed a hook shot that would have given the C's a win in regulation, but his fine play and a few free throws in overtime put this one away.

If you were watching the Oscars, you missed arguably the best Celtics' game of the year which included seven technical fouls, young guards controlling tempo, very little Mark Blount, a little Celtic swagger and possibly the best blocked shot you will ever see out of a little guy.

Early trash talking made this game chippy and D'Antoni was not happy with his better team getting trapped into a war of words. Quentin Richardson and Pierce picked up early technicals as they verbally sparred at the free throw line. With the game out of reach in overtime, Pierce looked over to the Suns' bench from the free throw line before his second shot and had something to say to the bench. D'Antoni flipped out and then got ejected after Pierce hit the shot. This was most likely the reason for D'Antoni's less than kind words about the Celtics after the game. Pierce then removed Ricky Davis from the free throw line while Doc Rivers yelled for Pierce to get his "butt" off the line. Pierce took the shot anyways.

Early in the game, Delonte West really gave the Suns problems as he scored on four layups early. He got inside on one, pump faked Amare Stoudamire off his feet and was then tackled by Stoudamire on the way down. For once, Tom Heinsohn was correct, this should have been a flagrant foul, but it was not called. After several C's, led by Walker, ran to help West off the ground and to forceably remove Stoudamire's hand out of West's face, the technicals were handed out. Stoudamire and Joe Johnson got one and West and Walker got one each.

The big step forward last night was the play of Marcus Banks (31 mins) and West (36 mins). Not only were they effective, but Rivers left them on the floor in the fourth quarter and overtime with Walker, Pierce and Davis. West seems very poised and very active already. He scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and he hit the big three-pointer in overtime to put the C's up for good. West will be the first Celtic point guard that will be able to stretch the floor with his shooting ability. He will have very little trouble knocking down the three after feeding the post.

This may have been a coming out party for Banks. He scored eight points, grabbed four steals while pressuring the Suns' guards all night and added two huge blocked shots. One of the blocks truly showed his athleticism. After Shawn Marion attracted the defense in the paint, he dropped a pass down to Steven Hunter, the Suns' seven-foot backup center, for what looked like an easy two-hand flush. But Banks switched over and cleanly blocked the dunk attempt before getting driven to the court in another absolutely flagrant foul that went uncalled.

With Tony Allen out with a sprained ankle, Davis got the start for Boston along side Pierce, West, Walker and Raef LaFrentz. Judging by the Utah and Phoenix games, it appears that LaFrentz will be the odd man out in the fourth quarter. Phoenix played a small lineup for the fourth quarter and overtime with Stoudamire fouled out which left LaFrentz and Blount on the bench. Blount played well down the stretch in Utah, but he saw just 14 minutes of action off the bench playing against much smaller defenders in Phoenix. He did have eight rebounds. Al Jefferson (6 mins) and Kendrick Perkins (2 mins) were not used mostly due to matchup problems.

The C's now have a two game lead in the Atlantic and will now begin a very favorable March schedule. Boston plays seven of their next eight games at home including the Lakers, Charlotte, Minnesota, Atlanta, Detroit and Washington. They then go to Charlotte before a home game against Toronto, and then hit the road for three against Houston, New Orleans and New York before hosting Chicago, going to Detroit and hosting Dallas.

In their 14 games on paper the C's have four games they should not win (Detroit twice, at Houston and vs. Dallas). They have six games that they should win (Charlotte twice, Atlanta, Toronto, New Orleans and New York). That leaves four games that could make or break the month and they are all at home (Lakers, Timberwolves, Wizards and Bulls). An 8-6 month would probably keep them on top of the Atlantic, but a 10-4 or 9-5 stretch could open up a nice gap going into April.

February 23rd

Mihm's the word in LA

I hate to say I told you so, and technically I shouldn't since I never really told any of you, but I really liked Chris Mihm and I thought he could be could center in the NBA. Unfortunately, since Jim O'Brien had absolutely no eye for talent and really no idea about how to get the most out of every player on the roster by putting them in a position to succeed, we never really got to see the best out of Mihm.

With that said, don't get me wrong, I loved the trade with L.A. The Celtics basically got Gary Payton for Chuck Atkins. A first round pick for Mihm. And Rick Fox's salary cap space for Jumaine Jones. I think the C's won every one of these battles. And last year I certainly would have chosen Mark Blount over Mihm.

So now Mihm averages 10.6 points per game and seven rebounds while starting for the Los Angeles Lakers. At the same time, Blount averages 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds. The numbers might be pretty comparable, but all you need to do is watch last night's Celtic/Laker game to see the difference: Heart.

It all comes down to heart when comparing these two. Blount does not have one and Mihm appears to have one. I know that it has been pretty easy to beat down on Blount this season, but he is the number one reason why the Celtics are not five games over .500. His 6 point, 4 rebound, 0 block effort in 28 minutes against the Lakers last night was an absolute joke. And the sad part is, Doc Rivers never did anything about it. The only reason why the Celtics did not put this game away before the fourth quarter is because of their inability to get a rebound. The C's were out-rebounded 54-32 thanks largely to Mihm. Mihm completely dominated Blount with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. We knew Lamar Odom would be a problem (21 points, 11 rebounds). And we knew Kobe Bryant would be a problem, (21 points, 9-for-12 from free throw line) although Ricky Davis did an awesome job making him work for every bucket. But Mihm and Jumaine Jones' four three-pointers finished off the C's last night.

So, like Barry Bonds said: "Who should I blame."

Well, we can't blame Danny Ainge, because he has actually done a pretty good job of making this team better. We can't blame Kendrick Perkins for the lack of rebounds because he only played three minutes for some reason, but he did have two boards. We can't blame Gary Payton because he looked like the old All-Star last night as he backed down Chucky Atkins and got him into early foul trouble leaving the Lakers' offense searching for a leader. We can't blame Ricky Davis because he scored 25 points and played great defense. We can't blame Paul Pierce because he scored 25 points even though he was in foul trouble and he quit in this game.

By the way, when Pierce came back in the game with 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, he looked like a dead man walking. Could Doc not see this? I would have rather seen Justin Reed at this point. At least Reed would have tried down the stretch.

Should we blame Mark Blount. You might think I am going to say yes on this one, but you would be wrong. It is not Blount's fault they lost last night's game. You could blame him for the Celtics' record to this point in the season since he is basically the only Celtic who has not provided anything near what we have expected. Jiri Welsch, Marcus Banks and Tom Gugliotta might be the only other C's who have underachieved, but they are essentially the bottom of the roster and you did not expect too much from them anyways.

And it is not Blount's fault that he still logs 28 minutes in a game where he is completely outplayed by Mihm. He and Davis were the only two Celtics who were not in foul trouble in the first half, so Doc had to leave him in there for all of those minutes. It's not Blount's fault that he continues to remain in the starting lineup every game despite his allergic reactions to playing defense and hustling.

By the way, all you need to know about Mark Blount happened in the first quarter of last night's game. Two minutes in, Pierce loses the ball near the top of the key and Lamar Odom scoops it up and the only guy back on defense is Blount, since he had just gotten over half court when the turnover occurred. What did Blount do? You might be saying to yourself: "He fouled Odom." Nope. That is what I was yelling at my television though, so good guess. Blount retreated and allowed Odom an easy layup. He didn't even jump and try to block the shot. He just bent over.

Well, then I guess the blame falls on Doc Rivers. We knew he was not a very good game situations coach when he came to Boston, but we knew he was great with young players and would get this team into more of an up tempo game while teaching this team really how to play. Rivers has succeeded with our expectations.

But his in-game decisions are really starting to look bad. Am I the only one who thinks Blount needs some sort of wake up call? I don't care about how nice of a guy he is off the court. Give me a million dollars and I will shake hands and smile with Michael Jackson, Barry Bonds and Osama Bin Laden. Blount needs to see the bench. It is time to move LaFrentz to the five and let Al Jefferson start. Heck, you can start Kendrick Perkins if you want. At least then we will get to see him work with Pierce, LaFrentz and Payton instead of Banks, Welsch and Gugliotta.

In last night's game, why wouldn't the long-arm, agile, athletic Blount attempt to guard Odom while LaFrentz guards Mihm? Odom was able to drive by LaFrentz whenever he wanted last night. This is not a knock on Raef, this is just a mismatch like when Antoine Walker had to guard Kenyon Martin in the playoffs. Bad matchup Doc, get out of it! And to make matters worse, Doc's second unit was forced into a lot of minutes due to foul trouble, but why would you play Gugliotta more than Perkins or Justin Reed? And why would Gugliotta guard Lamar Odom?

I didn't understand this one last night. In a game the Celtics led all the way to the fourth quarter, you never thought they were going to win. When Kobe and Odom were in foul trouble, the Celtics allowed Mihm, Jones, Brian Cook and Luke Walton to keep the game close. You could almost see the lack of hustle on the court last night by the Celtics. It was almost like a video game where the player started to change colors when his hustle ability was dropping. It was a sad night and it only gets tougher. Denver, Utah and Phoenix are up next for the C's. This could be a four game losing streak if Doc does not figure something out. This Celtics could still win the Atlantic Division and maybe even a playoff series, but this team should be better.

I hate to see this team settling for mediocre performances. This team has just as much talent as Detroit, Cleveland or Washington, yet these teams have better records. This team needs to move forward and stop settling for a .500 record. Think about this right now: If the C's are the three seed, can they defeat first round opponents Chicago or Orlando right now? Of course they can. That sets up a match with Detroit or maybe even Cleveland. Are these teams overwhelming favorites against Boston? Nope. Miami is head and shoulders above the rest of the East, but what if Shaq's injury keeps him out for a while? What if Indiana earns the eighth seed and they get Ron Artest back for the playoffs? Could this Pacers team defeat Miami?

Did you ever think the Patriots could defeat Oakland, Pittsburgh and St. Louis to win the Super Bowl? Of course you didn't. There is always hope.

February 3rd

Celtics crush Nets Kansas style...

There was a point in last night's game when I was looking to see Roy Williams standing up with his arms folded on the bench at the Fleet Center. The old Kansas duo of Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz turned this game into a laugher and then they both took the fourth quarter off in the 110-89 win.

The Jayhawks combined for 49 points in just three quarters as Pierce (28) and LaFrentz (21) combined for 20 points on a 24-8 third quarter run which gave the C's an 87-58 lead with just two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Pierce recorded his second triple-double of the season with ten boards and dimes in this one and LaFrentz shot 9-for-12 and added eight boards.

Everyone played well in this one - even Mark Blount. Two in a row for Blount. He added 11 points and five rebounds and even looked like he knew what he was doing when he hit Pierce with a back-door, sort of no-look bounce pass late in the third quarter leading to a Pierce lay-up. Gary Payton even had one of those nights where you felt like he could do whatever he wanted, but the veteran stepped aside for the other Celtics. Payton scored 13 points without missing a shot. He was 6-for-6 from the field and made his only free throw attempt. Tony Allen did his thing as usual with very good defense and a monster jam off a steal. Ricky Davis did not score and played just eight minutes because of the flu.

Marcus Banks did a nice job off the bench scoring 13 points although he did foul out. Banks showed again last night that there just is not a player in the league who can guard him off the dribble. Unfortunately, he gets called for too many charges when he throws himself into the big men. Speaking of big men, Kendrick Perkins committed a typical NBA foul last night which always leaves you wondering what the referee could have possibly seen. I did have the audio on, but I am sure Tommy was yelling at the officials as he described the replay of the clean block.

In the division that Paul Pierce called the worst in the history of the NBA, the Celtics now have a half game lead over Philadelphia and a three game lead over New Jersey and Toronto. Meanwhile, the Knicks continue to plummet. The Celtics are the only team in the division scoring more points (100.9) than they allow (99.7). In the east, only Washington (102.1) and Miami (101.8) are scoring more points per game than the Celtics are. Say what you want about the Celtics, but if they could just find a way to win some games on the road, they could run away with the Atlantic Division.

They currently have the seventh best record in the East and the teams behind them do not look like they are capable of making a run other than Philadelphia. Indiana continues to slide even with Jackson's return. By the way, in case you missed it, with a one point lead, Stephen Jackson fouled Jalen Rose 20-feet away from the basket with 0.4 seconds remaining last night. Rose hit both free throws and Toronto won. At this point, you can expect Boston, Philly, New Jersey, Toronto and maybe Indiana to fight for the last two East spots with one of them getting a three seed. The sixth and seventh seeds in the East are Chicago and Orlando - two teams who the Celtics have been able to handle this season.

So if you hope your Celtics will get in the Andrew Bogut or Chris Paul lottery this year, you are sadly mistaken. They will make the playoffs and unless they get Miami or Detroit, they could win a series. Cleveland and Washington are dangerous, but do you really believe the Celtics could not beat either of these teams in a series?

Steve Vinci's January Notes

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