January 31st

Three-win week for Celtics ...

• A win over Charlotte: expected.
• A win over Indiana: solid and surprising.
• A never-in-the-game loss to Phoenix: expected.
• Another win over the Bulls: inspiring?

It really was a good week for the Atlantic Division leading Celtics, despite the injury to Al Jefferson and rumors about the expected departure of fan favorite Walter McCarty. You can't be too surprised about the throttling they took against the Suns on Friday night, but you had to enjoy the finish they put on the Bulls on Saturday night.

Do you want to know why one of the best teams in the league wants a guy like McCarty? All you have to do is look at Friday night's box score. The Suns rolled over the Celtics 128-119 in a game which was never really that close. Phoenix scored 40 points in the first quarter and led 74-48 at halftime. But here is there problem: Only six guys played more than nine minutes in the blow out. Four players on their bench got the dreaded DNP Coach's Decision usually reserved for the last players on the bench in a close game. Three Suns played over 40 minutes and even a banged up Steve Nash logged 35 minutes. Newly acquired Jim Jackson saw 37 minutes.

This is why they need Walter McCarty. They need anybody really. The Suns did what they always do in this one. They shot 55.3% led by Amare Stoudemire's 42 points, Nash handed out 15 assists, Quentin Richardson knocked down seven three-pointers for 23 points and their running style even brought a smile to the face of Tommy Heinsohn - and Tommy never likes the opposing team.

Offensively, the Celtics held their own. Paul Pierce scored 34 points on 14-for-22 shooting, Tony Allen excelled in the up-tempo flow with 17 points, Gary Payton dropped eight dimes, Ricky Davis launched 18 shots for 19 points and Kendrick Perkins did more than Mark Blount in less minutes.

The Celtics shot 51.6% from the field, but they lost pace with the Suns in the second quarter when they only scored 17 points. The C's scored over 30 in the other three quarters, but they never got close in this one. McCarty scored 11 points in his audition, but Blount and Raef LaFrentz were very ineffective against Stoudemire.

As for the Blount vs. Perkins update, neither did very much, but Perkins gets the edge again. Blount logged more minutes (21 to 17) and scored more points (8 to 6), but Perkins had more rebounds (6 to 3) and blocks (2 to 1). Blount could not guard you or me right now, but much better defenders have had very few answers for Stoudemire this season. All and all, Perkins may not be earning more playing time as much as Blount is just giving it away.

As for Saturday night's game, something very weird happened in this one. Even though Perkins posted all zeros in his three minutes of playing time, recorded four fouls and got ejected with two technicals, his teammates and his coach are crediting Perkins will providing them with the lift they needed.

Think back to when Doc Rivers was hired. He said the Celtics lacked toughness. They were a good team that just played soft. Then the C's acquired Payton and that word came up again. Payton was going to bring some toughness and swagger to the court. We all love Paul Pierce, but he does not bring intimidation to the court like Larry Bird or even Danny Ainge once did. So in a lackluster game which is just about slipping away from the Celtics in the third quarter, Perkins enters the game and picks up a flagrant foul on Tyson Chandler and then gets a double technical when he has to be separated from Eddie Curry.

Good work Perkins. At least, that is what Pierce and Rivers said after the game.

"He really put some spark in this team when we were down," Pierce said. "I think he really ignited the run. He gave a foul that when he got kicked out, it kind of emotionally gave us an edge." Doc echoed these thoughts as well.

It's kind of like sitting around and watching the Yankees put up 19 runs in game three and wondering why the Red Sox have not dusted off a Yankee batter. When Pedro dropped Matsui in game five, we all said: "There it is, now we have some confidence."

That was Perkins did on Saturday. He gave the C's confidence and some toughness that they certainly will not get from LaFrentz or Blount. Maybe this is another step for Perkins. Maybe on Monday night he will use his girth to not let Yao Ming get easy layups. Maybe tonight he will back Yao down on the blocks and finish strong against the bigger center. This is exactly what the Celtics need.

As for the game, Davis scored 24, Payton added 23 and the Celtics scored 101 in their second victory over the Bulls this month. Maybe that does not sound like much to you, but the Bulls were 13-3 in January.

Tough night for Pierce: 18 points on 2-for-12 shooting, but he was 13-for-17 from the free throw line and he added 15 rebounds. That is what real superstars do to help their team win. This was pretty much a five-man game for the C's. Only Pierce, LaFrentz, Blount, Payton and Davis played more than 15 minutes. Take away Davis' points and the bench scored just 16 without Perkins and Jefferson.

January 27th

C's take first place, Jefferson hurt...

The Boston Celtics have moved into first place in the Atlantic Division with a 20-22 record thanks to last night's 100-86 victory over the rejuvenated Pacers at the Fleet Center. Coupled with Philadelphia's loss to the Wizards, the C's now have the number three seed in the playoffs if the season ended today - I just wanted to be the first to write that.

The bad news is, rookie sensation Al Jefferson appears to be out about a month after a high ankle sprain in the first quarter. Just for the record, Jefferson's three rebounds in seven minutes before the injury equaled Mark Blount's three boards in 16 minutes. Jefferson's loss is a big blow to the Celtics as they were just starting to work the younger players into the mix with the return of Delonte West and Tony Allen assuming a starter's role.

You can expect rookie power forward Justin Reed to be activated. The Celtics have buried the 6-foot-8, 240 pound forward on the injured list this season, but he has been practicing with the team. Reed was an All-SEC first team member last year with Mississippi last season where he averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Back to last night's game, Paul Pierce led the way again with 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting including 3-for-3 from three point range. Pierce was solid all game as he rarely forced anything. Raef LaFrentz continued his strong play with 12 points and 11 tough rebounds while Gary Payton added 10 points and nine assists. Allen was solid with nine points, but his defensive ability might be contagious. Ricky Davis added 18 points and Marcus Banks was effective off the bench with his defensive pressure picking up three steals.

You might think Jefferson's injury means more playing time for Blount and you might be right, but due to foul trouble last night, Blount saw the floor for only 16 minutes while fouling out. Kendrick Perkins played 26 minutes against Jermaine O'Neal with six points, five rebounds and two blocks. Not a strong night for Perkins, but he got an education from O'Neal. O'Neal scored 25 points, but the C's held their own on the glass with a 41-32 advantage. O'Neal only had six rebounds.

Bye, Bye Walter...

I love Walter...in another uniform. I think at this point, even Tommy would not mind seeing Walter McCarty hit the road. The veteran bench warmer who has gotten more out of his singing career than his basketball career, has asked to be traded. McCarty is a hold over from the Rick Pitino days and he is not getting much time in Doc Rivers' system. McCarty saw the floor for 17 minutes last night without scoring a point. It was the most minutes he had played since the 20 minute appearance against Toronto on January 12. That was the game when Rivers was asked about McCarty getting so many minutes and Doc said, "I was desperate."

The writing was on the wall then. It is believed the Phoenix Suns have some interest in Walter. The hot Suns only go about six deep and they are trying to bring in some reserves. They acquired Jim Jackson last week. Maybe the C's can get Joe Johnson back? This is just a thought, but how about McCarty for Bo Outlaw. Outlaw is not playing much and he is only signed through the rest of the season. The 6-8 Outlaw could help while Jefferson is out and the guy can still rebound. What about Jake Voskuhl? He was getting minutes before his appendectomy on December 11. Steven Hunter has now taken his spot.

Piercing thoughts...

Just like I wrote a few days ago, it seems like other columnists are jumping on the Pierce bashing. ESPN's Ric Bucher is the most recent columnist to suggest Pierce may not be right for Boston. Don't get me wrong, I love Pierce and he his a great player, but this team is changing their style either with him or without him. He is trying to get away from the slow down game and his playing a little defense these days, but this team might be better off with someone else - not this year. Pierce is not the reason this team is 20-22, but next year and the year after, this team is going to have to move this guy. The future in Boston is Jefferson, Allen, Perkins, Jiri Welsch, Davis, West and other young players. Even Bucher wrote that Danny Ainge has been stockpiling some of the best young talent in the league. This team might not have a LeBron James or Dwayne Wade, but not many teams do.

We'll get to see a lot of Perkins and West and Allen over the next month and maybe even Reed. This team can make the playoffs this year, but we are only seeing the beginning of an interesting future - just look at the Bulls. Chicago traded away Elton Brand, Brad Miller and Ron Artest, but now they have a team that can make a ten-year run. The Celtics could be going down this path.

January 26th

C's snap 9-game road losing streak in Charlotte...

The Boston Celtics finally went on the road and got a win Tuesday night. So what if it was against the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. When you are fighting for the division, no joke, you take a win where ever you can get it.

This one was much closer than a should have been. The C's shot 50% in the first half and 45% for the game, but their lack of defense allowed the Bobcats to hang around before Paul Pierce took over in the fourth quarter and led the C's to a 97-92 win. Pierce scored 14 of his game high 33 points in the fourth quarter on two buckets and ten free throws. Pierce was aggressive and no match for any of the young Bobcats who tried to guard him.

Raef LaFrentz had a nice night with 12 points and five boards in 29 minutes and Ricky Davis added 11 points. Mark Blount was his usual unproductive self scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds in 32 minutes. Meanwhile, Bobcats centers Emeka Okafor (20 points) and Primoz Brezec (18 points) combined for 38 points and 20 rebounds. Not all of that was Blount's fault, but he has not stopped anyone on defense.

The young guns continue to get on-the-job training. Tony Allen started again and played 20 minutes scoring seven points. It has become very clear that Allen is by far the best defender on the roster and Doc Rivers is rewarding him. Al Jefferson had a quiet night with that sore right hip, but he did post eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. Jefferson hit a clutch turn around jumper in the lane after backing Okafor down with the dribble with under two minutes to play to give the C's a five point lead. Kendrick Perkins only saw 14 minutes, but he did hit three free throws, grab four rebounds and block a shot.

Not much jumped out from Tuesday night's game except for Blount's continued struggles. Wednesday night will provide a much bigger test with the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers will have Stephen Jackson back from suspension and Jermaine O'Neal has been dominating. It will be interesting to see Perkins get a few minutes on the floor with O'Neal. Perkins is not as quick, but he is big enough and strong enough to hold his own. This should be a good test for the semi-rookie.

January 24th

Boston quits on the road ...

Is there anything worse than to be called a bunch of quitters. That is basically what Coach Doc Rivers said about his team's humiliating 100-96 loss to the Atlanta Hawks (8-30). Rivers said the team rolled-over with a 17-point second-half lead and he joked about not getting the memo about the Celtics winning a recent championship.

Rivers' frustration was focused on every single Celtic except for rookie Tony Allen. Allen got his first start of the season and he responded with 20 points and six rebounds. He was also the best defender on the floor the entire game. Allen sent Jiri Welsch to the bench in what should be the beginning of rookies cracking the starting lineup.

Paul Pierce scored 17 points on 8-for-16 shooting and Gary Payton had 13 assists in the loss while Raef LaFrentz had a big night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. To no surprise, Mark Blount was busy counting his money again. Blount's 11 minute, six points and three rebounds might be the last straw for Doc Rivers as both Kendrick Perkins (19 minutes) and Al Jefferson (13 minutes) saw more action. Perkins scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting and grabbed six boards and blocked two shots. Jefferson got in foul trouble, but he did add six points, four rebounds, three steals and a block. Both youngsters have been routinely out-performing Blount.

The return of Delonte West has made him the first point guard off the bench, but he only played four minutes against the Hawks after five points in five minutes agains the Nets the previous night.

Just to recap, that now makes it 9 losses in-a-row on the road with the last two coming against two of the worst teams in the league. Charlotte is the next powerhouse to host the Celtics on Tuesday night. After that, the schedule gets tough with Indiana on Wednesday and Phoenix and Chicago on Friday and Saturday night.

Abandon ship...

Is it time. The sad part is, just 40 wins could win the Atlantic Division and the Celtics are on pace for 38. Can a Celtic starting five of Perkins, Jefferson, Allen, West and Banks do any better? Probably not, but they won't do any worse. With the trading deadline approaching, Payton could be out of here. The C's are not likely to find anyone who would take Blount or LaFrentz because of their contracts, but could they move Paul Pierce? Again, not likely. A few more youngsters and continued improvement in Perkins could get this team to the top of the division with 50 wins next season.

Say what you want about Perkins, but at 20-years-old he looks like a serviceable NBA center and he is still growing into his body. I realize that nobody plays 48 minutes and these stats are a bit deceiving, but Perkins' per 48-minute averages would be 12.7 ppg, 16.3 rpg and 4.2 bpg. Again, I realize these numbers are ridiculous, but Blount would be 17.1, 9.3 and 1.5. Chris Bosh was the first big man, not counting Darko, drafted in 2003, Bosh's 48-minute numbers are 20.1, 11.3 and 1.7. Take a look at the 2003 draft and try to find a big man who you would rather have - you can't do it right now. Your options would be Bosh, Chris Kaman, Mike Sweetney, Nick Collison, David West, Brian Cook and a bunch of foreigners who are not playing here yet.

Blount mistake...

Ripping Mark Blount is getting old and a bit difficult for someone who was very happy when they signed him after last season's late surge. Blount's 10.5 ppg is not the issue, it's his inability to rebound anymore. He is averaging just 5.3 rpg and only 4.5 rpg in January. His 224 rebounds are just ahead of Al Jefferson's 194. Blount's complete lack of defensive ability will make it tough for Doc Rivers to keep Perkins off the floor. Perkins is becoming a good defender and Jefferson will improve also.

Trading Blount is virtually impossible this season, but his back could be getting sore very soon.

January 20th

Big Al makes Blount statement in win vs. Bulls

Al Jefferson scored a career-high 17 points, played 29 minutes and the rookie was on the floor in the fourth quarter while Mark Blount watched. It's a good thing Doc Rivers stuck with Jefferson in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' 92-83 win over the suddenly red-hot Chicago Bulls, Jefferson scored 8 points and grabbed four rebounds in the final quarter as he and Paul Pierce (28 points) led Boston to their 10th win in their last 12 home games.

Blount played 22 minutes more than you and I last night, but he did not outscore or out rebound either of us. Blount's embarrassing donut on the scoreboard and the backboards last night coincided with Bulls' centers Eddie Curry (26 points) and Tyson Chandler (14 rebounds) having big nights - what else is new. Blount was so bad that even Kendrick Perkins played 15 minutes grabbing seven boards and blocking three shots - both totals for Perkins were more than Blount and Raef LaFrentz combined.

LaFrentz did have a good night offensively with 13 points including 3 three-pointers, but he only managed three rebounds against the active Bulls. Pierce finally responded with a big offensive night scoring 28 points, but again he did not shoot very well hoisting up 26 shots and making just 10. He was 8-for-9 from the free throw line and he led the team with 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Similar all-around efforts from Pierce will have to continue if the Celtics want to stay at the top of the Atlantic Division. Ricky Davis came off the bench to add 11 points and Gary Payton scored 10.

The big news in this game was the Celtics ability to play defense when it mattered. The C's were down 66-57 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter before they decided to shut down the Bulls. Chicago did not make another field goal the rest of the quarter and scored just three more points. The Bulls were held to 14 points in the fourth quarter including just two baskets in the final 9:36. Apparently Danny Ainge's quick little pep-talk at the morning shoot around stuck in their heads. Ainge reportedly just said something like: Hey guys, play defense like Doc is telling you to. Simple, but effective.

Twin Towers...

As for Jefferson and Perkins, they both still have some issues that will keep them from seeing more minutes or even starting a game or two, but the bright side is gleaming. It might be a bit early, but we should thank Seattle for selecting Robert Smith in the draft and letting Big Al fall into Ainge's lap. Smith has played 28 minutes this season with one rebound and three points. We should also thank the Memphis Grizzlies for taking Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones off our hands for Perkins and Marcus Banks. Banks may not be the man yet, but he is doing much better than Jones and Bell. Bell is out of the league and Jones is averaging four points and 11 minutes per game. This trade also made it possible to select Tony Allen and Delonte West this season.

The Celtics have made their share of mistakes in the draft and in trades, but this team is really set up for a nice future.

The Celtics will travel to take on Vince Carter and the new-look Nets on Friday night. The Nets won their first game without Richard Jefferson after dropping four straight thanks to 33 points from VC and 17 points and 10 assists from Jason Kidd.

January 13th

Three-Pete in Toronto...

Deja vu all over again in Toronto last night. Last season we watched the Raptors drop 17 three-pointers on the C's, last night Toronto needed just 14 three-pointers to smack around a lackluster Boston squad 104-93.

Let's start with some of the events from Wednesday night that did not surprise us: First of all, the Celtics lost on the road and gave up over 100 points. Boston is 5-14 on the road this season and have allowed opponents over the century mark 24 times in 36 games. Boston is 8-16 when they allow 100. Second, Chris Bosh killed the Celtics. Not a big surprise, the second year center scored a career high 26 points (14 from the foul line) and added four blocks. Bosh had his way with Mark Blount, then again everybody has, but he did plenty of damage on Walter McCarty - we'll get to that later.

The Celtic defense continues to be, well, non-existent. Captain Pierce even said after the game, "Even Rick Pitino wouldn't give up 100." Well Paul, Pitino could have guarded Morris Peterson better than you did last night. Mo Pete' went for 37 points including seven buckets from downtown. When was the last time Pierce scored 30-plus points? December 18 in Cleveland. In fact, Pierce's 23 points last night was the highest total of the year (2005 that is) for Paul.

Pierce did have a decent night. At one point in the third quarter he was 8-for-11 shooting with 21 points, but in the fourth quarter he went 0-for-3 with two made free throws. Pierce did add ten boards.

Here are a few more surprises: How about the thoughts running through Doc Rivers' head? Can anyone figure this guy out? We knew he was not the best game coach coming in, but this is getting out of control. Here are the minutes from last night's game: Pierce (40), Davis (32), Payton (32), Blount (28), Welsch (27), LaFrentz (22), McCarty (20), Banks (15), Jefferson (11), Allen (8) and Perkins (5).

We knew Bosh we be a problem, but why is Doc going to Walter "All I can do is hit the occasional three-pointer" McCarty? When asked about Walter's playing time, Rivers said, "I was desperate."

There was also a stretch from the start of the third quarter until the fourth quarter when I though Raef LaFrentz may have been injured since Doc left him on the bench. I know LaFrentz has some issues with fouls, but he finished the game with only four fouls.

Al Jefferson managed five offensive rebounds in his 11 minutes. Blount had 6 total rebounds in 28 minutes. Tony Allen looked a bit out of control in the third quarter, but he was probably just happy to get off the bench and into the game. Doc surprised me in this one. He went back to a seven-man rotation with McCarty. This will not win many games and Pierce knows it.

"We're not a playoff team," according to Captain Pierce.

Fortunately, neither are the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta comes to the Fleet Center on Friday night for the first time with Antoine Walker. Atlanta got their sixth win of the season Tuesday night at home against Milwaukee 103-80. The C's will need to get on a run with a soft schedule if they hope to get into the Eastern Conference playoff race or the top of the Atlantic Division. The Knicks actually lost at home to the dreadful New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night so the C's are still 1 1/2 games back. Also, a surging New Jersey squad found out they will be without Richard Jefferson for the remainder of the year.

January 11th

C's take advantage of short-handed Magic...

This one was over before it started - literally. The Orlando Magic came into the Fleet Center Monday night with a full squad, but just 30 minutes before game time, they finalized a deal which sent their third leading scorer, Cuttino Mobley, and forward Michael Bradley to Sacramento for Doug Christie leaving the Magic a bit deflated.

They certainly looked flat. Led by another infusion of young talent, the Celtics took advantage of Orlando and laid a 119-101 beat down on Grant Hill and the Magic. The 119 points were the most scored by the C's in a non-overtime game this season. Eight Celtics scored in double figures led by Paul Pierce's easy 18. Raef LaFrentz, Gary Payton and Ricky Davis added 15 points each, Jiri Welsch added 12 and Mark Blount even scored 10 points.

But the big story was the emergence of Tony Allen and Al Jefferson once again. Allen scored 16 points and he spearheaded a 14-0 run in the second quarter which essentially put the game out of reach. The run was a short glimpse into the Celtics future. Here are just a few highlights from that run:

• Allen made 21 foot jumper assisted by Kendrick Perkins.
• Allen offensive rebound, Jefferson offensive rebound and put back.
• Marcus Banks 3-pointer assisted by Allen.
• Welsch layup and foul assisted by Perkins.
• Perkins dunk assisted by Allen.
• Allen layup assisted by Perkins.

Also on that run, Allen had two steals and Banks blocked a shot. Jefferson finished with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds in just 16 minutes for his second career double-double.

At 16-19, the Celtics are just 1 1/2 games behind the Knicks (17-17) and are desperately trying to get back to .500. Their upcoming schedule should allow Doc Rivers a chance to not only get to the .500 mark, but also a chance to continue increasing the playing time for the youngsters. The C's are at Toronto Wednesday night, host Atlanta and Antoine Walker on Friday night, then host the pesky Bulls on Wednesday, January 19 before traveling to New Jersey with the much-improved Nets on Friday, January 21. The C's then have Atlanta and Charlotte before the schedule gets tougher.

We could be getting closer to the day of having a high-priced center on the bench. Blount's terrible production (7.5 points, 4.3 rebounds in six January games) may force Rivers to move LaFrentz to center and start Jefferson at forward. This move would make the Celtics vulnerable inside against Bosh, but until Boston sees Jermaine O'Neal on January 26, LaFrentz and Jefferson should be as good, if not better, than Blount. Blount's struggles really took center stage against Dallas last week when a struggling Erick Dampier scored 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting with all of his points coming on layups and dunks.

The Paul Pierce and LaFrentz trade watch will begin to increase over the next few weeks. Both veterans could be dealt this season. LaFrentz looks much better this season averaging 11 points and eight boards a game. There could be a few interested parties in the 6-11 forward/center. As for Pierce, you have to wonder how long Rivers and Danny Ainge will put up with his pouting. Pierce realizes the Celtics are going in a different direction right now and he may not be a part of their future. If the C's can package him for some more young players, they may pull the trigger. Don't forget about Gary Payton also. Payton is certainly a guy Ainge would like to keep around, but Payton may not be interested in staying in Boston with a nucleus of players who are young enough to date his daughter.

January 7th

Nobody said a win had to be pretty - just ask the Pistons. Despite scoring just 12 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics found a way to win their fifth straight home game 84-83 over the struggling Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors (11-21) attempted to erase a 12-point third quarter deficit, but a Derek Fisher airball from 15-feet finally ended the torture for 13,078 fans in attendance. Two bright spots for the Celtics on this night came from their oldest and youngest players. Gary Payton returned after missing one game with a hamstring injury and he sparked the Celtics offense early in this one. Payton finished with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and he added five assists in 33 minutes. As for Big Al Jefferson, the 20-year-old looked dominating at times providing the Celtics with much needed rebounding presence while on the floor. Jefferson earned his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in 21 minutes off the bench. Jefferson was a solid 5-of-7 shooting and he added two blocks. There was a solid five minute stretch in the third quarter when he grabbed five straight defensive rebounds, blocked a shot and hit a 15-footer over Troy Murphy after beating everyone up the floor - Tommy was proud!

It was a tough shooting night for captain Paul Pierce, but to his credit, he added eight boards and eight assists. Pierce had one of those nights where the jump shot was often flat and a few shots came late on the shot clock when he forced it up. Pierce’s 7-20 shooting effort included missing every shot he took, when not shooting a free throw, outside of two-feet. I am not making this up, officially his only made shots were from 2-feet (layups) in this one. The Celtics as a team did not do much better in the fourth quarter.

The Celtics were 3-for-14 in the fourth quarter with all three made buckets, you guessed it, layups. Scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter usually leads to a loss, but the Celtics finally found a way to steal this one.

It should be mentioned that the Celtics actually did play good defense in the entire second half. Although they routinely lost track of Cliff Robinson (18 points, 13 in the second half), they did an excellent job on Golden State’s final possession. With 16.9 to play, Mike Dunleavy Jr. had to use a time out when he could not get the ball in bounds thanks to aggressive defense by Payton. After the timeout, Mark Blount did a nice job stepping in front of Dunleavy on a drive to the hoop which could have resulted in an offensive foul, but instead, Dunleavy got the ball to Fisher in the corner with Ricky Davis all over him. Fisher’s desperate heave came up well short in the hands of Payton.

Bring on the Pistons...

The Celtics now get a homecourt rematch with the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Detroit is coming off of a brutal loss at the hands of the Grizzlies on Thursday night when Richard Hamilton set a dubious first in the NBA. Hamilton became the first player in NBA history to lead his team in scoring without making a single field goal. Yes folks, this is not a misprint. Hamilton took the donut going 0-for-10 from the field, but he was 14-for-14 from the free throw line. Hopefully Rip and his teammates’ shooting woes will continue at the Fleet on Friday night.

Doc getting younger...

Remember the days of Jim O’Brien? Remember when he used to go to the bench and play the youngsters so that they could get some experience and grow as players? Yeah, neither do I. Doc Rivers has already made Al Jefferson and Tony Allen part of the rotation, but now he wants to add Kedrick, don’t call me Kendrick, Perkins into the mix as well. Obviously Jefferson has earned his time, but Rivers said he needs to find more minutes for Allen and he wants to get Perkins involved some more.

Here is my suggestion Doc: Less minutes for Mark Blount and more of Perkins and Jefferson. Sorry Mark, but you look tired out there. Those bigger bodies seem to be wearing him down. Less Jiri Welsh and more Tony Allen. I love Jiri’s game - at times. But sometimes he looks lost out there. Stop the Walter McCarty experience - Tommy will get over it when he sees Allen, Jefferson, Davis and eventually Delonte West filling the lanes. Playing Perkins and Jefferson with LaFrentz will allow Raef to stay out of foul trouble guarding guys he can handle.

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