Selfish

Posted on July 11, 2013 by christoph131

The “cool” thing to do the past couple of seasons has been to take pay cuts in order to build a team that can contend. LeBron did, Bosh did (even though he does not deserve what he makes now), Wade did it, Garnett did it, and Tim Duncan did it. Even Dirk offered to do it, but no one wants to take him up on it. Kobe Bryant’s salary next season is going to be worth a total of $30.45 million and he won’t take a cut. He said the following to Lakers Nation:

I’m not taking any at all — that’s the negotiation that you have to have.For me to sit here and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m just going to take a huge pay cut. Nah, I’m going to try to get as much as I possibly can.”

I mean, how much money does this guy need? He already has to be one of the richest around, and he’s about to play for a team that is too scared to rebuild and that will fight to make a playoff spot since Howard bolted. This guy is selfish and deserves every single loss that is coming to him. Lakers suck, so does Kobe.

Can you blame him?

Posted on June 24, 2013 by christoph131

If you haven’t heard already, Doc Rivers will be going to the Clippers. The Celtics will receive a 2015 first round draft pick for compensation in letting him out of his contract 3 years early. So far, we cannot trade Garnett there for Jordan, and it is widely assumed that the league will veto any trade between the two teams during the summer, stating that you cannot trade players and coaches together.

I don’t like the way this happened, but you gotta look at it from both sides. It is understandable that Doc Rivers didn’t want to go through the whole rebuilding process. Sure, it would have been better if he didn’t publicly come out saying he was ready for it when he signed the contract extension, but still. He was the greatest coach we could have had for these players. Everyone loved him, and until 8 days ago, so did you.

He brought the winning mentality back to Boston, and that is exactly why Danny Ainge kept him around after horribly-losing seasons, to work with the newly assembled Big 3. If we didn’t release him from his contract to go coach in LA, you can safely assume that he would have been taking a year or two off, and most likely broadcasting. This way, we at least get something for him, and he made sure of that. He still loves it here, he will admit that today in the press conference at noon. If only we could have gotten one of their draft picks from when they sucked. Right now, it looks as though they will be near the top of the standings, so their pick isn’t anything special. Two late round picks can be traded for a pretty penny though. No hard feelings Doc.

C’s Talking Trade

Posted on June 16, 2013 by christoph131

For most, they probably did not even hear about the possible cross-country change because the Bruins were busy evening up the series last night. Anyways, here’s the jist of it. The Clippers of Los Angeles want Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett. They want to do so by making a trade with Deandre Jordan and some other compensation. Jordan is a solid center and a lot of fun to watch, but the Celts want more. They want backup Guard Eric Bledsoe. However, The Clips want to use Bledsoe (and reportedly, Blake Griffin) to convince the Lakers, who share the same building with them, to sign-and-trade Dwight Howard to them. The Clippers-Celtics talk has fizzled a little bit since yesterday, and could be completely blown up if nothing happens by Tuesday or Wednesday.

A few opinions:

Doc Rivers has most of the power here. My guess is that he has not agreed to come back yet because he wants to make sure that Ainge wants to bring back KG and Pierce. He has one last chip to hold on to. He doesn’t want to rebuild yet.
The Clippers will not change their opinion on Bledsoe, they would rather use him to lure Howard in, not a coach.
The Lakers are not scared to do a sign-and-trade, even if it is to their counterparts, the Clippers. It’s better than getting nothing for them. The only way Howard will do this is if good friend, Chris Paul, agrees to stay in LA.
If the deal isn’t worked out, the only way we keep Rivers, is to keep all three. They believe in loyalty and want to stay loyal to each other.
The Clips will see that trading two solid players (or trade chips) for a coach is not worth it.
Pierce should retire a Celtic, and Garnett should too. Even if Pierce leaves, we should at least sign him for a day after and let him retire in the Green and White, and retire his jersey ASAP.

A Classless Bunch

Posted on May 2, 2013 by christoph131

Many people are talking about the Celtics game last night. Not about the Celts pulling off another W, but for how the Knicks are acting like children. They all planned to show up in all black outfits, with the idea that this was the “Celtics Funeral”. That’s ridiculous. Not even going to mention that it is right after the marathon bombings and how disrespectful that may seem. Even when they were talking in their post-game conference, Even after a minor scuffle (mostly trash talking) between the two teams, the Knicks looked like spoiled brats. Carmelo Anthony chimed in during his press conference saying that the reporters shouldn’t waste time writing about Jordan Crawford.

This irritates me because Carmelo is supposed to be one of the elite players in the league. As much as everyone hates Lebron James, he never did something like this. Most stars, at least I believe, should set a good example for their fans. This was not a good move by a “role model”. Especially when that very same person is shooting 18-for-59 in his last two games. They all followed suit after Kenyon Martin suggested it.

Celtics Playoff Preview

Posted on April 18, 2013 by christoph131

The Celtics begin their playoff series against the New York Knicks on Saturday at 3 P.M. at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks were real hot at the end of the season, winning 16 out of their last 18 games and clinching the Atlantic Conference for the first time in a long time. The Celtics, however, only won 4 out of their last 10 games. But if last year tells us anything, it’s that this team is built for the playoffs.

The following stats were taken from ESPN.com:

	Knicks	Celtics
PPG	100	96.5
RPG	40.6	39.3
APG	19.3	22.8
FG %	0.448	0.465
FT %	0.759	0.776
3P %	0.376	0.358

I do not want to count the Celtics out, even if the Knicks have been playing extremely well, but if the C’s want to take this one, I am willing to bet that it’s going to go 6 or 7 games. Is this team built for that? The Knicks have many dangerous weapons, especially the scoring champion of the regular season—Carmelo Anthony. He is averaging nearly 29 PPG. They also have 5 others that average in double-digits, including J.R. Smith who is averaging 18.1 PPG and hasn’t started a game all season. Tyson Chandler is their big defensive presence who can out rebound us consistently, and Amar’e and Felton who can put home 12-18 points on any given night.

The Celtics were led once again by Captain Paul Pierce. Pierce had another great season averaging 18.6 PPG and logging over 33 minutes per contest. Jeff Green has really stepped up ever since he dropped 43 against the Heat. He also put in 34 against the Pistons, and over 20 in many other games. KG is still solid with his mid-range jumper and if he can stay healthy, he should be able to help with his 7.8 Rebounds per game. Avery Bradley has been off for about a month, but still tenacious on defense, and we need him to keep that up. The Knicks can shoot so we need to make sure that we are pressuring the ball enough to make sure they don’t feel comfortable. Let’s go Celtics!I do not want to count the Celtics out, even if the Knicks have been playing extremely well, but if the C’s want to take this one, I am willing to bet that it’s going to go 6 or 7 games. Is this team built for that?

The Knicks have many dangerous weapons, especially the scoring champion of the regular season—Carmelo Anthony. He is averaging nearly 29 PPG. They also have 5 others that average in double-digits, including J.R. Smith who is averaging 18.1 PPG and hasn’t started a game all season. Tyson Chandler is their big defensive presence who can out rebound us consistently, and Amar’e and Felton who can put home 12-18 points on any given night.

C’s Drop Title

Posted on April 10, 2013 by christoph131

This marks the first time in the KG Era (formerly Big 3 Era) that the Boston Celtics did not win the Atlantic Division Title. The New York Knicks have clinched their first Division Crown since 1994. It looked like either the Nets or maybe even the Celts had a shot a few weeks back, but then New York went on their current 13 game win streak.

The last time the Knickerbockers won the Atlantic, Patrick Ewing was in his 9^th season in the league. Ironically, Doc Rivers was also on that team. However, he only played in 19 games that season. On a side note, Carmelo Anthony passed Lebron James for most jerseys sold over the past year.

I know that the Knicks have been playing lights out, but I still don’t fear them as much as some other teams. Carmelo can score, but typically (with the exception of one 28 point game) is quieter against us that other teams. The person I most fear on that team is sixth-man J.R. Smith. Smith is a spark off the bench and has already scorched us for 32 and 24 points. Do you think they are the favorites in the East to take down the Heat? Or do the C’s still stand a chance? After last season, I am done counting Boston out. The Celtics take on the Nets tonight.

Celtics new additions

Posted on March 3, 2013 by christoph131

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Celtics made a couple of new acquisitions in order to add more depth to their bench. First, they added 6’9” Power Forward DJ White. White has played with both the Thunder and the Bobcats during his 4 years in the League. He was formally a 1^st round pick out of Indiana and averages 6.8 PPG and 3.6 RPG during his career. He played the first part of this season in China where he averaged 21.6 PPG and 9.7 RPG on the season for the Shanghai Sharks. He has signed with the C’s for a 10 day contract.

Next, they went out and signed 6’10” Shavlik Randolph who played for Duke 5 years ago. I’m guessing we signed him to this 10 day contract strictly for his size. He has only averaged 2.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG over his career and has never racked up many minutes no matter where he has played. At least he can add some size to the line up after we traded Collins last week for Crawford. We don’t need him to score, just to clog up the middle a bit and maybe grab some boards in the mean time.

Most importantly, the Celtics offered hardworking guard/forward Terrence Williams to a multi-year contract. T-Will was on a 10-day contract with the Celts but will now be here to stay. Good for him! Even though he has only averaged 3.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.5 APG, Terrence gives us a spark off the bench and has proven that he can score when he needs to. The Celtics will travel to Philly on Tuesday to take on the 76ers.

C’s make trade at deadline

Posted on February 21, 2013 by christoph131

The Celtics made a deal right before the deadline for Washington Wizards Guard Jordan Crawford. In return, the Wizards will get injured Guard Leandro Barbosa and Center Jason Collins. I like this trade. I feel bad that we traded another injured player who was actually playing well for us before the injury, like we did with Marquis Daniels a few years back, but Danny Ainge knows that this could be our last shot at a title. At least we didn’t end up trading Garnett or Pierce! They deserve to retire in Boston, especially Paul.

Crawford, a 6’4” 2^nd year player out of Xavier (27^th overall pick in 2010), was starting for Washington while John Wall was injured, but his minutes were minimized once their star returned. This season, Crawford is averaging 13.2 PPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.1 RPG. Those are great numbers, but he will be coming off the bench, so the numbers are sure to drop a little bit. Hopefully, he can provide the same kind of spark that Barbosa did off the bench. On a side note, now that we don’t have a Center behind Garnett, the Celtics could bring up Fab Melo and give him some light minutes against the other big Centers in the league. Do you like this trade?

Possible Celtics Trade?

Posted on February 19, 2013 by christoph131

With the trade deadline looming (Thursday afternoon), all Celtics fans have the right to be worried. If it wasn’t for Danny Ainge trusting in Shaq’s deteriorating health and trading Kendrick Perkins a few years back for Jeff Green, the Celtics would have won another championship. At least that’s what most think. We needed a big guy to clog up the middle, and no one was afraid to run through Nenad Krstic, like they always were with Perk or Shaq in the paint.

However, this year, it is possible that we could lose the anchor of our team, who has been with the Green and White since we drafted him with the 10^th pick in the 1998 Draft. I know all about how the league is a business, but sometimes I think you should stick with your own. And it’s not like Pierce is just some player who we can’t use and that just takes up Cap Space, he is still a solid contributor. Paul is averaging 18.5 PPG and grabbing 6.4 Boards (up from 5.2 last season). And with Rondo going down, he is the only one who is generating some assists lately.

Supposedly, they are in preliminary talks with the Hawks about bringing Josh Smith (6’9” Forward) to Boston in exchange for Pierce, and probably something else. Smith is averaging about the same assists as Paul (just over 4) but is averaging 8.6 RPG. He also drops about 17.4 PPG and has over 2 Blocks per Game over his career. He is younger and more of a “future” player for the franchise, so I can understand it. But to send away a guy who stuck with us when we were one of the worst teams year in and year out. I say keep him and let them make one more run. What do you think?

Celts Sign Swingman Terrence Williams

Posted on February 18, 2013 by christoph131

The Celtics have signed Terrence Williams, 25 years old, to a 10-day contract. After being picked by the Nets (#11 in 2009), Williams has been on a few different teams. He is a 6’6” Small Forward who can handle the ball. He is the only player in Louisville history to record two triple-doubles. He is known for his athleticism and defense, but can also score the ball.

I like this signing , especially with Barbosa out. I mean, who knows if we will keep him, but it’s still a good plan to have someone who can handle the ball off of the bench. It’s becoming more obvious that this team is going to stay intact after this Thursdays trade deadline, so they need some inexpensive, outside help. After leaving the Nets, Williams signed with the Rockets. Houston then released him. This may scare some people. However, do you know who else the Rockets have released? Jeremy Lin. Then they realized they made a mistake and resigned him this offseason. I’m not saying Williams will cause some new-age Lin-sanity, but you never know. This guy also loves to dunk, and has won many contests in other leagues. He should be fun to watch, assuming the Celtics give him a chance.

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