Yearly Archives: 2012

Celtics Player Preview: Paul Pierce

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Next up for our player preview is Paul Pierce.

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee | Paul Pierce

Our captain has been around for 14 years, and stuck with the team even when we sucked. Nicknamed The Truth, Pierce is still one of the most clutch players in the league and one of the best players in Celtics history, and that’s saying a lot. Bleacher Report came out with the all-time best Celtics and made a starting line up. Pierce was chosen for this accolade along with Bill Russell (11 titles), Bob Cousy (6 titles), John Havlicek (8 titles), and Larry Bird (3 titles). Other than the fact that he only has 1 title, Pierce deserves to be up here, and is behind only Havlicek on the scoring list all time. He is still about 4,000 points behind him, though.

Pierce was recently ranked as the 29th best player in the NBA.  Pierce’s assists and points numbers have gone up last season compared to what they were in the past few seasons.

He is still one of the best players on this team and some say this may be his last season in green, but I’m willing to bet that we re-sign him, and he deserves it after all that he has done for the organization. He deserves, more than anyone, to retire as a Celtic, and Danny Ainge will most certainly feel the same way. His number 34 will be retired in no time. His stats are below, but i only put the last few seasons, since the former big 3 was formed and he was forced to take on a smaller role.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FG% 3P% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’07-’08 BOS 80 80 35.9 0.464 0.392 0.843 0.7 4.5 5.2 4.5 0.5 1.3 19.6
’08-’09 BOS 81 81 37.5 0.457 0.391 0.83 0.7 5 5.7 3.6 0.3 1 20.5
’09-’10 BOS 71 71 34 0.472 0.414 0.852 0.6 3.8 4.3 3.1 0.4 1.2 18.3
’10-’11 BOS 80 80 34.7 0.497 0.374 0.86 0.4 5 5.4 3.3 0.6 1 18.9
’11-’12 BOS 61 61 34 0.443 0.366 0.852 0.6 4.6 5.2 4.5 0.4 1.1 19.4

Celtics Player Preview: Courtney Lee

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Next up on the list of starters is Courtney Lee. Although he is a great player, it is expected that when Avery Bradley comes back in late December-early January (hopefully), he will take back his role that he beat Ray Allen out for last season. But you can still expect a lot of minutes off the bench for Lee.

Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee

Courtney was recently ranked as the #117 best player in the league (Bradley was 106). Lee is best known for his tenacious defense which should make the duo of him and Rondo tough to beat. He will be a good match up on Dwayne Wade since we will not have Avery to shut him down like he did last season.

At the bottom I have listed his stats for his 4 years in the NBA since he left Western Kentucky. He averages exactly 10 PPG in his career and can score off the dribble. He needs a little bit of practice distributing the ball, but that should be easy considering he is now on a great looking team, not the Houston Rockets. I think he will score in the double digits again this season and will be a go-to defender in big games. Look for him to be a big factor on this team now that Ray Allen is gone.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN 3P% FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’08-’09 ORL 77 42 25.2 0.404 0.83 0.2 2.1 2.3 1.2 0.2 1 8.4
’09-’10 NJ 71 66 33.5 0.338 0.869 0.9 2.7 3.5 1.7 0.3 1.3 12.5
’10-’11 HOU 81 1 21.3 0.408 0.792 0.6 2 2.6 1.2 0.2 0.7 8.3
’11-’12 HOU 58 26 30.3 0.401 0.826 0.5 2.3 2.7 1.5 0.4 1.2 11.4

Celtics Player Preview: Brandon Bass

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Since the Celtics begin camp on Friday, I thought we’d take a look at each of the projected starters that should be suiting up for the Green and White this season. First, we will start with the Power Forward position: Brandon Bass.

Brandon Bass had a breakthrough season for the Celtics in 2011. Danny Ainge went outside the box and traded Glen Davis. Although many people barely heard of Bass prior to the trade with Orlando, he quickly made a name for himself on the Celts. I think it was the most underrated move we made last season.

John Hollinger of ESPN has predicted that he will score 15.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG. He was recently ranked as the 97th best player in the NBA.

Below are Bass’ stats for his 7 seasons in the NBA. Brandon averaged the most points, rebounds, assist, steals, blocks, and minutes played of his career.

SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PTS
’05-’06 NO 29 1 9.2 0.632 0.6 1.7 2.3 0.1 0.2 0.1 2.3
’06-’07 NO 21 3 7.7 0.75 0.6 1.4 2 0.1 0.1 0.1 2
’07-’08 DAL 79 1 19.7 0.822 1.5 2.9 4.4 0.7 0.6 0.3 8.3
’08-’09 DAL 81 0 19.4 0.867 1.6 2.9 4.5 0.5 0.7 0.3 8.5
’09-’10 ORL 50 3 13 0.825 1.1 1.5 2.6 0.4 0.5 0.2 5.8
’10-’11 ORL 76 51 26.1 0.815 1.8 3.8 5.6 0.8 0.7 0.4 11.2
’11-’12 BOS 59 39 31.7 0.81 1.6 4.6 6.2 0.9 0.9 0.6 12.5

Are the Celts Better Than 2008?

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Although it is impossible to predict the NBA season already, I think it is safe to say that the team that Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers assembled this summer could be the best one that we have seen in at least 4 years, maybe even longer. Sure, we lost the best shooter the game has ever seen and KG and Pierce are that much older, but we brought in the perfect kind of players to fit into our system. Pierce averaged roughly the same PPG last season (19.4) as the year we won it in 2008 (19.6). Garnett’s numbers are significantly different and he is not feared by every player breaking through the lane anymore, but he is still a leader on this veteran team.

In 2008, Leon Powe  and James Posey were arguably our best bench players, both averaging about 7.5 PPG. I am willing to bet that Jeff Green, Jason Terry and Courtney Lee will all average above 10, or close to it. And with their amount of energy, experience, and Lee’s outstanding defense, they will be one of the most feared guard groups in the league, especially once Bradley is back.

There is one other major difference between the then-and-now teams, and that is Rajon Rondo. He averaged 10.6 PPG, 5.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG in the 07-08 Season.  Last year, he averaged 11.9 PPG, 11.7 APG, and 4.8 RPG. He has also developed into one of the best point guards in the league and a leader on a team that is mostly older than he.

Chris Wilcox is a solid bench player who was having a great season before getting injured. Jared Sullinger will play right away, and Brandon Bass will pick up right where he left off last season (12.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG). Not to mention Christmas, Joseph, Fab, Collins, and Smith who have all had great summer sessions and are prepared to fight for the last few spots. Plus we signed Darko Milicic who is 7’1. For those of you who don’t know him, he was selected #2 in the 2003 draft behind LeBron but ahead of Melo, Bosh, and Wade. Talk about a great pick up by the Pistons…

Although we have clearly re-fueled our roster, other teams have also gotten better. The Heat are obviously the team to beat, the Lakers had a huge summer trading for Howard and picking up Nash, and the Thunder are one year more experienced. The Spurs are always good and our division just got tougher with the new Brooklyn Nets. For anyone who thinks the Knicks are finally going to be good are mistaken. It should be an interesting season, as long as we can stay healthy for a change.

Replacement Refs Fail Video

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The NFL can’t seriously go another week with these guys. Not to mention I don’t think these refs can bare another week of getting shredded by every single football fan in America. There’s got to be a point where they just quit themselves. I mean it’s just an all around embarrassment. It’s your move Roger.

Patriots Work Out 6 Players Monday

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Reported first by Tom Curran of Comcast Sports Net, the Patriots worked out six players on Monday. All of the players maintain practice squad eligibility.

Name

Position

Previous Team

College

Key Stat

Chandler Fenner

DB

Chiefs

Holy Cross

1st Team All Patriot League, 158 career tackles

Jerry Franklin

LB

Broncos

Arkansas

4 Year starter, 370 career tackles

Buddy Jackson

DB

Colts

Pittsburgh

4.32 40 Yard Dash

Ricardo Lockette

WR

Seahawks

Fort Valley St

2 Catches, 105 yds., 1 TD

Tyler Nielsen

LB

Vikings

Iowa

Honorable Mention Big Ten

J.K. Schaffer

LB

Bucs

Cincinnati

114 Tackles last year, ST Stud

From what it looks like the Patriots are trying to add speed. Fenner, Franklin, Jackson, and Lockette are all guys whose entire careers have been based on them just being faster than anyone else. Fenner was the former football and track star at Holy Cross and would be a great hometown story. Lockette is the only guy with any real NFL action catching two passes, one for 44 and one for 61 and a score. Nielsen and Schaffer offer both special teams play and run stopping ability. 

Most likely none of these players will see the field for the Patriots, but its just a little snapshot into Belicheck’s head for what he feels that the Patriots are missing.

What Just Happened?

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The last time the Pats had a losing record (1-2) entering week 3, the Celtics had not won a world championship in 15 years, the Bruins hadn’t won the Stanley Cup in 29 years, the Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series in 83 years, and the Patriots had never won a Super Bowl. The last time the Pats had a losing record entering week 3, the year was 2001, or better yet, the year that started a decade of Boston sports dominance. The last time the Pats had a losing record entering week 3, they were Super Bowl champions.

Obviously it sucks and Monday’s are just that much worse when the Patriots don’t win, granted we’re not too used to that, but everything will be fine. The Cardinals are a good team (3-0), who we played like garbage against and should have won. The Ravens are also a good team, and we arguably did win that game. I’m not going to even get started on the replacement refs because they were just all around miserable for both teams. Just an utter disgrace out there and an embarrassment to the NFL not just in our game, although especially in our game, but all day across the NFL. Nonetheless, we put ourselves in the position to lose on our own and much of it started in the secondary. McCourty missed not one, but two more opportunities for a pick this week and Kyle Arrington got tripped up by the turf monster on what was sure to be a game ending interception on the Raven’s final drive. Capitalize on just one of these plays and it’s a win. It’s also a win if the opposing team misses the game winning field goal, but I won’t touch on that yet. I’m still confused about that.

PS – On a side note, you gotta be happy for Torrey Smith last night after what he had to endure just hours before the game. You can never wish that kind of misfortune on anyone, so to come out and play the way he did was great. After all, it’s just a game.

Throwback Thursday

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Happy Birthday Red!

1917 – Arnold “Red” Auerbach born September 20, NBA coach/GM (Boston Celtic)

1915 – Boston Braves trounce St Louis Cardinals 20-1

1978 – Red Sox finally beat Yanks in Sept 1978, 7-3

1931 – Red Sox Earl Webb sets record with 65 en route to 67 doubles

1956 – Yanks set record, stranding 20 men on base. Mantle hits a 500′ plus homer but Red Sox win 13-9 in Fenway

Big Day for the Pats

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Just a quick overview of a busy Tuesday for the Patriots team that had a bye week on Sunday. ( I refuse to admit that we lost against the Cardinals with Kevin Kolb behind center)

1. Deion Branch has reached an agreement to come back to the Patriots. Most saw this coming from a mile away. And now with Hernandez going down, we needed someone else who was familiar with our system. As a former Super Bowl MVP and one of Tom Brady’s favorite players to be around, this is a big move for the Pats that all fans should love.  Branch had 702 yards last season and 5 Touchdowns. New England left his locker exactly the same as when he left, something they failed to do with the hopeful return of Brian Waters.

2. Kellen Winslow reached a deal with the Pats to help immediately in place or Hernandez. Winslow has caught for more than 1100 yards in a season with the Browns, and 4 other 700+ yard seasons with the Bucaneers/Browns.

3. The Pats released WR Greg Salas to make room for Branch on the roster. He played for McDaniels at St. Louis last season and quickly became one of there most reliable players. He has been hurt for a while but the Pats will not rule out bringing him back later in the season to keep him around our system. He is only 24 years old out of Hawaii and had 264 yards in only 6 games last season but he averaged 9.8 yards per catch.
More on this tomorrow!