By Dan
Mavericks 112 - Celtics 100

The General versus the Sergeant
(disclaimer: after 4 beers in 30 minutes and some other stuff, it is difficult for me to tell the following events were real or imagined.)

Maybe it痴 a stretch to say Doc River can make John Carroll look like John Wooden, but Avery Johnson with the help of Dirk Nowitski sure made Doc Rivers play the part of the fool last night. Doc would have you believe it was the fault of players complaining and not getting into offensive sets, but Dallas dictated the entire game from start to finish. Homers will complain of ticky tack fouls called by the officials making it nearly impossible for the Celtics to defend Dirk, but the game was lost in the third quarter (once again) where Doc left the starters in for far too long allowing Dallas to dictate matchups for the rest of the game, it was in the third that Antoine picked up his fourth foul after he had been left out on the court 2 minutes too long.

The game started off miserably as Gary Payton looked like a man with a fused spinal column. The Celtics offense was miserable at the start of the game, the didn稚 push the ball up the floor, failed to recognize the fluctuating zone defense Dallas kept running and they appeared to be intimidated by Shawn Bradley痴 presence underneath the basket. It was a wonder that the Celtics were actually not down by 15 to 20 points after the first quarter. At one point in the first the Celtics had all five players stationed outside the 3-point arc for an entire possession. Dallas was in a 2-3 zone, Payton had given the ball off to Pierce and everyone stood outside the arc and watched Pierce dribble, no one was cutting along the baseline or trying to penetrate the gaps of the zone with or without the ball, all the little things you do against a 2-3, instead they watched as Pierce hucked up a bad shot against two defenders. At this point I knew the game was going to end up in a loss, as the Celtics were content to let Dallas determine what they would do on offense and defense.

The second unit came in at the end of the first and made an immediate impact, the contrast between Banks and Payton in this game was very telling, the ball zipped up the court and Banks quickly cracked the sort of floating/match up zone that Dallas was playing. Perkins played great during the second quarter and worked to take Dallas� frontcourt out of the game. KP was the ONLY one to do this the entire game, and why he didn稚 receive any playing time in the second half is one of the riddles that Doc Rivers spun last night.

This team is so bad at closing out quarters it is scary. To me, this is all coaching. Now don稚 get me wrong I realize I致e been trashing Doc this whole time, I genuinely like what he has done with this team, developed young talent, for the most part kept minutes down for the starters (which has prevented injuries), made Ricky into the 6th Man of the Year, and been a very good 素ace� for the franchise. That being said his approach to game management is at times flat out awful. They almost never have strong runs to close out quarters against the elite teams in the league, which means that they are screwed in the playoffs. They might be able to get past Chicago or Cleveland (unless David Stern institutes his 選 want LeBron on TV no matter what!!� edict to the officials.) but a well-coached team like the Pistons or the Heat will capitalize on the fact that the Celtics don稚 know how to manage a game.

All right so they go it close in the third and actually had a lead, Doc left the starters in way too long and it was clear they were gassed after charging to a 4-point lead. I知 sitting in my seat quietly pleading for Doc to 叢lay the kids�. He didn稚 the Mavs closed out the quarter and the game had slipped away. The fourth quarter was and exercise in how much dignity the Celtics could lose.

Of course it must be noted the Dirk 添ou can稚 call me 選rk� because there actually is a D in Dirk� Nowitzki was simply amazing. He could get his shot off under any circumstance and of the 22 shots he made (11 from the line) I知 not sure if one of them touched the rim, nothing but net. The Celtics didn稚 value the basketball, and be it Pierce trying to throw a behind the back pass to Al Jefferson or Tony Allen sending an alley oop to Ricky 5 feet out of bounds they were a sloppy team and turned what should have been easy passes into difficult ones.

Headscratchers:
Pierce痴 isolation play to close out the third when he had a wide open Blount on the wing squared up and ready to hit his patented 18 footer, instead Pierce goes up against two guys and doesn稚 even get the shot off.

Al Jefferson coming into the game at the most decisive moment of the fourth quarter.

Doc痴 failure to play Banks and Delonte at the same time and put pressure on the Mavericks young backcourt.

Mark Cuban痴 hair plugs, come on dude, I like you and all but those plugs, or weave, or whatever it is makes you look like my 7th grade science teacher and a lifelong virgin.

Perkins� dunk. Where the hell did that come from

The two idiotic Maverick fans behind me. I知 not sure if they love Dirk because he makes all his shots in NBA 2K5 or if they are actual fans, but to have that much attitude about a team that has never even been to the NBA Finals is laughable. They reminded me of a couple Colts fans.

Turnover city, the Celtics demolished the Mavs on the glass yet still get hung with the L.

By Jon Duke
Pistons 105 - Celtics 99 (OT)

Let’s be clear about one thing… Detroit is an evil, evil place.

Ever since Game 4 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, when one William Laimbeer felt it necessary to “horse collar” Larry Bird, any love I had for Detroit Rock City vanished into thin air. Not only were Laimbeer’s “Bad Boys” a truly classless bunch, but also they prematurely ended the run of legendary 1980’s Celtics the following season. A defeat that I still have difficulty getting over some seventeen years later.

Fast forward to March 26, 2005. The Boston Celtics have emerged from a nearly thirteen year slumber to once again become “relevant” in the city of Boston and across the New England, while their opponents are the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons. The names and faces have changed numerous times over the past seventeen years, but the hostility between these two storied franchises remains. This hostility has not reached the levels of the those playoff series in 1987 and ‘88, but the handful of technical fouls handed out this evening are a sign that each team passionately wants to defeat the other. This isn’t Grizzlies - Cavaliers, its Celtics - Pistons.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, they were not as fortunate in the Palace at Auburn Hills as they had been at the Boston Sports Media.com Center. A tight ball game, from the opening tap to the final buzzer, the Celtics and Pistons battled for 48 minutes to a tie and needed an extra five minutes to decide a victor. Tonight the title belt went to the home team, as it had when these two met in Boston, but as with the last meeting, both squads could feel good about the effort given.

Prior to the game, word out of Detroit led one to believe that neither Gary Payton or Rip Hamilton would play due to injury, but both started and had an impact on the outcome. Payton gutted out 39 minutes with 8 points and 6 assists, and displayed some excellent defense that forced his opponent into difficult shots. Hamilton somehow stayed on the court for 49 minutes without any noticeable after effects of the sprained ankle that had held him out of the Pistons last two games, both defeats. Rip finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, including the basket that put Detroit ahead for good with 48 seconds remaining in the overtime.

All of Detroit’s starters continued to rack up heavy minutes as the NBA season winds down, which leads one to wonder how much the Pistons will have left in their tank as the playoffs roll along. The Detroit starting 5 averaged 46 minutes this evening, and with an incredibly thin bench (No, Darko Millicic isn’t walking on that court) the onus of winning ball games falls entirely on their shoulders. No doubt Hamilton’s absence the last two games played a huge role in Detroit’s three game losing streak, but his fellow starters more than did their part to lead the Pistons to victory. Early in the ball game, Rasheed Wallace was unstoppable (4/5 from the field to begin the game) and his hot hand continued throughout the evening. Wallace piled up 31 points, with none bigger than his 3 pointer in the final minute of overtime that pushed the Detroit lead to four. But, no matter who Doc Rivers threw at Wallace, whether it was Raef LaFrentz or Antoine Walker or Mark Blount, there wasn’t anyone who could slow down ‘Sheed.

The Celtics were much improved over their effort against the Bulls on Friday night, but still struggled with their offensive execution down the stretch. Were it not for the nearly heroic efforts of Paul Pierce in the 4th quarter and overtime, the Celtics might have ended this evening’s contest in a similar fashion as Friday. Pierce finished with 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists; with a number of Pierce’s baskets being of the “clutch” variety. However, the Celtics offense relied solely on Pierce and focused far too much on running isolation plays for Employee #34. Obviously Pierce was successful, and a coach should always follow the hot hand. The error in Doc Rivers’s ways is that has yet to adequately move the ball around amongst the troika of Celtics who can “get it done” when baskets become difficult in the latter stages of a ball game.

Tonight, going to Pierce, time after time, worked even though he was matched up with Tayshaun Prince. Many, view prince including Rivers, as one of the top defenders in the league, but nevertheless Doc goes to this match up again and again. Much of the time, it worked, but the Celtics did not come away with the win. Proof, at least in my mind, that the Boston Celtics cannot advance deep into the playoffs unless Rivers becomes comfortable with using all of his options down the stretch of a ball game. Ricky Davis was, at times, lighting up Rip Hamilton, and Davis has shown the ability to hit a number of big shots over the past year. Celtics fans can only hope that Rivers’s reluctance to utilize more options in the latter stages of the game is only temporary until Antoine is better integrated into the offense… or so we hope.

In other news, there was a Kendrick Perkins sighting, and for this “humble scribe” it has been far too long. Not only was Perk beast-like on the glass, but also showed on numerous occasions some toughness, a quality the C’s have lacked over the past 4 games. Perkins, in limited minutes, was able to bang with Wallace boys and didn’t back down in the least. Mark Blount and Raef LaFrentz had solid games tonight, and each played a role in keeping the Detroit big men off of the offensive glass. But, for as well as Blount and LaFrentz played, “toughness” has never been significant portion of their game. At times, the Celtics have needed an infusion of “toughness” in the paint and if nothing else, Perkins brings that each and every night. The only question with Perkins is how many minutes he can accumulate before fouling out or being pulled by Rivers for “rookie mistakes”.

The only downside to playing Perkins more minutes is that it comes at the detriment of Al Jefferson. But, Jefferson has struggled recently and his has not outweighed his weaknesses on the defensive end inside scoring and rebounding. Rivers has to hope that either Perkins or Jefferson can play effective backup minutes in relief of Walker, but if both falter, the Celtics will be in a very difficult situation come playoff time. But that is always the risk a team takes when relying upon young players to play consistent roles on a playoff team. Sure they will gain experience and should be much improved the next time the Celtics are in the playoff hunt, but the Antoine Walker trade proved that the future is now… and tomorrow.

By nature “the kids” are inconsistent, but the ceiling is high with each and every one of them. If Doc Rivers can find a way to win games with the veteran personnel on hand (and utilize them even in the final minutes), while providing the younger players with opportunities to produce, as Perkins did, then the future will get brighter and brighter.

Maybe there is some symbolism in this being the Marie Antoinette Celtics. Maybe they can “have their cake and eat it too”?

By Jon Duke
Celtics 105 - Wizards 101

“WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! - Ric Flair

It can’t be said any better folks. Your Boston Celtics just finished their first home stand following the Walker trade at 5-1 by defeating the Wizards tonight at the BostonSportsMedia.com Center. The profile and status of the Celtics has never been higher, or so richly deserved as it does right now. Even for men like Greg Dickerson and Peter May, who have lived in the “magical” 2002 Celtics season like Napoleon’s Uncle Rico, the past might finally be in the rear view mirror. The 2004-05 Boston Celtics are winning over basketball fans across New England, and creating an atmosphere that causes people in the city of Boston to once again care about NBA basketball. Something that seemed within reach two or three years from now, just 2 weeks ago.

Tonight’s game showed precisely why the Celtics are not only a solid basketball team that can compete with any team in the league, but one with an even brighter future. The Celtics faced a very good Washington Wizards team that can fill the basket at will, and has, what Doc Rivers calls “the best backcourt in the league”. Lofty praise for the Wizards, but after seeing Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes combine for 51 points (26 and 25 points respectively). And don’t forget Antawn Jamison who, while hobbled by with knee tendonitis, put up 14 points in 36 painful minutes. With that three headed monster, the Wizards are a very tough match up for any team, but this evening the Celtics were equal to the task.

To equal the fabulous performance by the Wizards’ troika of stars, one might assume that the Celtics Little Three (Pierce, Walker, and Davis) needed to play a huge game. But, that way of thinking is the old way of viewing the Boston Celtics. In the past, you get your scorers the ball, and have them win the game for you. We saw that worked quite well on Friday night against Detroit, but if one believes Danny Ainge and buys into “The Vision”, wins like tonight should become the norm. Six players in double figures, with Pierce and LaFrentz leading the way with 20 and 19 points respectively. The Celtics only had 13 fast break points, but the ball movement was excellent as the team worked to find the open man on every possession. Sometimes you can’t run on every possession, so if the team is forced into a half court set, passing and moving without the ball is key. Obviously the weak Wizards’ defense played a role in this, but the Celtics did their job to not help Washington’s defenders by remaining stagnant on offense.

For those who were unable to catch the game, they might ask, “Wha happened?” Well, after the starters struggled at the end of the 3rd quarter, Doc Rivers did as what many Celtics fans have been clamoring for weeks “PLAY THE KIDS!” Well, “play the kids” he did. Doc put Marcus Banks, Tony Allen, and Al Jefferson in the game to give the Celtics a much needed shot in the arm, after what must have been fatigue settling in after the double OT win 45 hours earlier. Once in the game, Banks became the catalyst for the Celtics turnaround, bringing the C’s back from being down by 10 points. Banks filled up the stat sheet (9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) and played some much-needed tenacious defense on the thin Washington backcourt. Off of Banks’ energy, Al Jefferson (12 points and 8 rebounds in 17 minutes) and Tony Allen (12 points, a block, a steal, and 2 rebounds in only 11 minutes) picked up some crucial baskets while Pierce, Walker, and Payton got some much-needed rest. Without those contributions from “the kids” the Celtics lose this game easily because Rivers would be forced to go back to his starters much earlier, without much left in their gas tank.

The Celtics starters all had solid games with the exception of Delonte West, who got the start after Tony Allen was benched due to a “disciplinary issue.” West did some nice things on the court, but was really somewhat of a non-factor in the game. I can agree that West should be above Banks on the depth chart, but Marcus Banks deserves much more playing time than he has had recently. The kid can do some very nice things on the court, and no one on the team is as disruptive on the defensive end as Banks. His defense more than makes up for some of boneheaded decisions on the court, and if Doc needs to take time from Payton and West to give Banks more time, then so be it. The guy is multi-time “Tommy Award” winner for chrissake.

We shouldn’t forget to give kudos to Antoine Walker and Jared Jeffries today on the boards. Walker continued to give the C’s some much needed help on the glass, and Jeffries played as if Ben Wallace possessed his spindly frame. Both Walker and Jeffries may be disappointed by their respective alma maters showing on “Selection Sunday”, but they did more than their share of dirty work to help their team victory. The Wizards may no longer be the miserable Les Boulez, as dubbed by Tony Kornheiser, but they were not the better team this evening. Having three great players certainly helps, but a true T-E-A-M leads to winning. The Celtics may be in the process of building a team that can go much further than any reasonable person would believe just one fortnight ago.

By Jon Duke
Celtics 115 - Pistons 113 2OT

The defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons visited the TD Banknorth Garden tonight, and left asking themselves, “who were those guys?!” The Boston Celtics, yeah you know… those guys who play in that barn next to the Zakim wearing green and white? Paul Pierce? Antoine Walker? Larry Bird!? I thought you’d remember him. Well his old team still plays in Boston, and for the first time since “The Basketball Jesus” laced them up, the Celtics won the proverbial Game of the Year. Without any hesitation or reservation, I can recommend watching the Boston Celtics to the average sports fan, and feel fairly confident that fan will walk away entertained and impressed with the guys in green.

There have been a handful of Celtics games that were “great”. So great that the Celtics performance warranted discussion on the “Home of Boston Celtics basketball…. talk,” but there is a key difference between this “great” win and those that preceded it against the Suns and Clippers. For one, not only was this win against the defending NBA champion, but also a team that Celtics may face should their winning ways continue into the playoffs. Second, the Celtics had struggled to even stay on the same floor as the Pistons for the last two years, including one loss at the FleetCenter where the Pistons bested the C’s by more than 50 points. My how things have changed.

Obviously the return of Antoine Walker, just over two weeks ago, has been a focal point of the recent media coverage of the Celtics, but what many of these Johnny-Come-Lately’s don’t realize is that this roster was incredibly talented before Walker wiggled his way back to Boston. Walker, himself, repeatedly remarked how much more improved the talent on this roster is over the one that he played with during the “deep” playoff runs in 2002 and 2003. It is this depth that was the difference tonight, not to mention tremendous game plan execution by both Detroit and Boston. The Celtics and Pistons combined for only 19 turnovers in 58 minutes of play, held each other to 43 and 42 percent field goal shooting, and produced almost the same amount off the fast break.

Yet the depth helped keep the Celtics in the game despite a bad-shooting performance by Antoine Walker (4-19, 8 reb., 4 ast.). The Celtics bench provided 45 points, to offset Walker’s woes, spurred primarily by 23 points from Ricky Davis and 17 points from Mark Blount. Who, speaking of missing people, may have returned to relevance himself. As Greg Dickerson noted on Fox Sports New England’s post game show, this was the fourth game in a row that Blount provided a solid performance. Tonight, Blount was fabulous. Not only was Ole StoneHands defending the excellent Detroit big men well, but Blount was making great passes, nailing the 15-18 foot jumper with deadly accuracy, and made very difficult baskets that kept the Celtics in the game when things looked bleak.

Yet, for as good as Blount and Davis were, the Boston Celtics won tonight thanks to the much-maligned Celtics captain, Paul Pierce. Some Celtics fans can’t decide if Pierce is the Anti-Christ or the Second Coming, but warts and all The Truth can ball. Admittedly, I used a number of profane words to describe the half hearted isolation play the Celtics ran at the end of regulation, but I sincerely doubt if the Celtics would be within 10 points of the Celtics at the end were it not for the heroic efforts of their captain. Pierce, who finished with 38 points and 12 rebounds, proved to even the most irrational and psychotic observer (Love ya, Meter) that guys like Pierce don’t grow on trees. When you get a player who can dominate a ball game, as Pierce did, you don’t trade him away without a very good reason. This isn’t to say that I am 100% in Pierce’s corner because I am not. Pierce uses Iso plays far too often and rarely uses much energy moving without the basketball, but much of this can be attributed to Doc Rivers. If Doc didn’t want Pierce dancing with the ball at the top of the key, he would have run a play that used Ricky or Antoine. So far, Doc’s overuse of isolation/clear out plays is my biggest pet peeve with his tenure as coach.

There were a couple of areas that surprised me that Detroit failed to attack, and may have brought them more success. Most notably, Chauncey Billups rarely penetrated into the lane, particularly when Payton was in the game. To say that the former Celtics draft pick is quicker than Payton would be a severe understatement. Last spring in the NBA Finals, the biggest mismatch the Pistons had in their favor over the Lakers was Billups’ match up with Payton. Of course the flip side of this, understands the lack of minutes for Marcus Banks, and to a lesser extent Delonte West. West got more burn than Banks, particularly in the 2nd overtime, but Banks was very effective in his limited time on the court (3 assists in 4 minutes) making the right pass and pressuring the ball heavily. I just don’t understand keeping him off the court 54 minutes in a 58-minute game.

Nor can I understand how one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA can allow the Celtics to beat them in the number boards each roster gathered in the game. Obviously, Ben Wallace, and his 18 rebounds, did their share to fill this void, but the Pistons reserve guards failed to get even one rebound in 36 combined minutes. The Celtics outworked the Pistons on the glass in the second half and overtime, especially Mark Blount and Paul Pierce. This kept the Celtics defense strong and limited the Pistons to one shot per possession. A key to slowing the Piston offensive attack.

So what does this win mean, aside from the improved television ratings for Fox Sports New England? Respect. For years the Celtics have been discarded as an irrelevant team in the grand scheme of NBA basketball. When the national broadcasts followed the Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, and Kings; the Celtics were stuck in anonymity without a talented roster to make them worth viewing. Now that Danny Ainge’s “vision” is becoming clearer by the day, the Boston Celtics are worth discussing for even no-nothing NBA talking heads like Stephen A. Smith and Tom Tolbert. All of the Eastern Conference teams struggle for every bit of credibility they can scrape together, and now that the Celtics have knocked off one of the NBA elite perhaps the discussion can revolve around the quality of the team. For the past three years, the only time the word “Celtics” was mentioned on the ESPN it was probably in reference to that crazy Danny Ainge and all those moves bringing in cancerous players like Walker and Ricky Davis.

Maybe it is too much to ask, but a month ago I never would have thought the Celtics could beat the Detroit Pistons. Now, anything is possible. A trip to the Eastern Conference Finals? Maybe. The Finals? Well, as “Pulp Fiction’s” Mr. Wolf said, “Let’s not start sucking each other’s…” ahh.. you get the point. A great win by the Boston Celtics, the newly relevant Boston Celtics. Let’s see how they can respond off the high from this victory and enter Sunday night’s game against the very good Washington Wizards.

by Jeremy Cutler
Special to the Full Court Press
March 3, 2005

First Off, due to the fact that I was driving to and from the Fleet tonight (curse my sister’s ear infection!) I was not the Chico Walker you know and love. Two Guinness at dinner was the extent of my alcohol consumption. The good part is, since my tickets were free, I parked on the street, and my sister will write off the dinner as a business expense (insert lol guy here) I spent a grand total of $13 tonight. On with the jibber jabber, Kent Thaler style…

-Dinner at the Harp. Lots of Antoine jerseys everywhere, as expected. There was a crew at the downstairs bar that was rowdy as hell and geared up something fierce. They were taking pictures of each other, which I found a bit odd. It seemed a classic case of suburban white kids gone hip-hop awry (Horry?) That is, until I walked by them and got a closer look…..they were a bunch of guys in their 40’s and 50’s! What I thought was a latter day Young Black Teenagers was in fact just a bunch of Old White Taxpayers. The sound you hear is all of their teenage children quietly sobbing in their closets.

-During the video montage before the game, both of great Celtics moments and the one welcoming back Antoine, it got a bit dusty in the whateveryoucallit.com center….just sayin’

-My seats were so high up I didn’t ask an usher where they were, I asked a Sherpa….try the veal! WTF, they were free, right?

-Lakers fans to my right, but they were actually ok

-I was a bit shocked when I heard &%$*& RAPIST! come bellowing from my section…but when i realized it was my sister? Can’t say I wasn’t proud

-I don’t throw the term “lustily” around too liberally, but I was lustily booing Kobe….and the kids to my left chanting “NO MEANS NO!” earned my undying respect

-It seemed like every time there was a break in the action, there was a &*%$ing contest. Where was the contest to see who could shove the microphone up the obnoxious MC’s *** the furthest? That would have held my attention

-At one point during the break they were honoring a 93 year old wheelchair bound woman who has spent her golden years doing a variety of volunteer work and community service…very nice. Unfortunately, at the same time the “cheerleaders” (who wouldn’t have made flag squad at my high school, and I graduated from a freakin’ kennel) were tossing out thunder sticks….so I was treated to the half-soused bellowing of “HEY! I WANT FREE !@$*^!” by Man Mountain Dean sitting to my left…

-The halftime contest was bizarre. Dribble down the length of the court and hit a layup in 5 seconds. There were some junior Oliver Stones in my section after the count for the first kid, white, went 5….4….3….2….1….and the count for the second kid, African American, went 5.4.3.2.1…..hmmmm

-There were an inordinate amount of people in this contest…something like 9 or 10. Normally you’d expect 3…..even so, 2 of the 10 were from Iceland. Nobody else was from west of 128 or south of Quincy. One of the Bjorks was named Hummous….I nearly threw my back out making “I’m rooting for tabouli” jokes, to no avail….uncultured savages, I’m ensconsed in ‘em…..

-Mark Blount is a turd….pure and simple. Every time he drops a pass or misses a rebound that the drummer from Def Leppard would have no problem with he should give back a million bucks.

-Was Chucky Atkins really this good?

-I don’t know about you, folks, but I think that Joyce DeWitt is a fine little comic actress (oops, that’s for Larry King….he pays a fiver per bon mot!)

-Seriously, for the nuts an bolts of the game, look to Larry Legend’s piece…I tried taking good notes, but every time I took out the notebook my sister laid into me for writing for my “nerds.com” website….I had to save a little face…

-Antoine frustrated me a bit leading the break, but all in all if he shows this kind of commitment to hitting the offensive board and playing defense I’ll gladly swallow one (1) off balance air ball three a game…

-The train ride back to Cleveland Circle was an experience..there were two groups of young Chowdaheads in close proximity…the train stopped short at one point and caused one to bump into another. A full scale brawl broke out. On the friggin’ train. I couldn’t believe my eyes….then one crew broke off (after the door opened and there were many calls for police) and one of the kids getting off landed a Roger Mcdowell-esque loogie on another. I thought I was hallucinating. One of the kids apparently lost his glasses…we all looked around, nowhere to be found. Just before my stop, he looked down and noticed they had fallen off, right into the side pocket of his napsack….he then proceeded to tell everyone on the train (perhaps everyone in Brookline, at his volume) “I found my &%$*ing glasses! WOOOOO!” Ric Flair would have been proud. As I exited the train, I wished the guys good evening, and jokingly told them to stay out of trouble. The kid’s response? “We’ll try, but we’re from Worcester” I nodded sympathetically.

-Speaking of the train, anyone going to the fleet from points south needs to do what I did. Park for free on the street near BC and take the train. I made time that would have given Clark Griswald a semi. I emerged from the Fleet onto Causeway Street at 10:15. I was back in Providence at 11:50. Good Times.

-Full Court Press Crew, thanks for the oppurtunity to let me consolidate all of my nonsense in one spot…hope I don’t drag you all down into the gutter with me, you do great work….

By Jon Duke
Celtics 104 - Lakers 101

“It was real crunk” - Al Jefferson

Yes it was… or something. I’m not real sure, but perhaps Stu Scott can clear this up for me on SportsCenter tonight. Either way, the Celtics overcame the tremendous distraction that is Antoine Walker’s return to “The Jungle”, and won a tough game against a good Los Angeles Lakers squad.

This game attracted a great deal of publicity both locally and nationally. In New England the return of Employee #8 has been met with widespread approval that seems inconsistent with the attitudes Celtics fans had regarding Walker during his seven year first act. Yet Walker’s play in his first two games with Celtics quieted his doubters, and made many of his detractors to believe Danny Ainge acquired a better and more improved Antoine Walker. The question many Celtics watchers had was whether this fabulous start could continue, and Walker could finally become the player that he showed the potential to be. After tonight there were more encouraging signs, though the old Antoine reared his ugly head at times.

In 36 minutes of action, Antoine compiled 16 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. That’s right… 4 blocks. I can never remember Antoine getting half that many blocks in his first go-round in green and white, so that alone shows growth in Walker’s game. Nevermind that Antoine, for the third straight game, has consistently parked his fried chicken-filled tookus on the block and did the dirty work that thousands of Celtics fans pleaded with him to do for seven years. However, I’m not ready to proclaim him cured… Antoine still has a twitch inside of him that causes him to believe that if he gets a defensive rebound that he can somehow take the ball coast to coast successfully. Walker did this and failed not once, not twice, not thrice, but 4 times. If I have one complaint of Walker’s game, it is that he believes he is a much better ball handler than he really is. This is the point when Doc Rivers needs to tell Antoine to give up the basketball when he gets a rebound, and get up the court for the pass on the block. One on four breaks just aren’t part of good basketball, so one can only hope that Doc will do, as Jim O’Brien did not, and tell Walker that he can’t pull crap like that and stay on the court.

That I am four paragraphs into this game review without discussing Tyree Ricardo Davis is appalling. I’ll end up whipping myself, Reverend Dimmesdale style, for not discussing him sooner because the star of “Antoine Walker Night” was Ricky “Get Buckets”. Even though the offense had “no rhythm all night”, as Doc suggested, Davis got all of the key baskets and was truly the catalyst (29 points and 7 rebounds) for the Celtics offense this evening. Never mind the defensive clinic Davis gave Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter.

Ricky was everywhere, and it seemed no matter where the Lakers put Kobe on the court, he couldn’t get the ball where he wanted it. Ricky had enough quickness to stay with Kobe, and even held his own defending Bryant on the blocks. Maybe Kobe was tired from signing all of his settlement papers?

Now typically 29 points would get top billing for a Celtics player in one of the Full Court Press reviews, but with the big headlines going to Walker and Davis it is easy to lose Paul Pierce in the shuffle. Pierce quietly had a fabulous game pairing nine rebounds and seven assists with his 29 points. Pierce got a number of players involved with his passing, and rarely forced bad shots. After an early rough start, Pierce has played very well over the last two months, and shows signs of playing even better with his old wingman in the fold.

While Pierce’s production has improved with the arrival of Antoine, Al Jefferson’s playing time and numbers have taken a bit of a hit over the last two games. Tonight, Wheezie answered the bell and his play was, well “crunked”. Jefferson ended with 10 points, 4 boards, and a block in 20 minutes of action, many of which came down the stretch. After yet another poor performance by Mark Blount, Doc shook things up in the 4th quarter and kept the 19-year-old rookie in the game with Walker, with glowing results. Even Walker himself noted that Jefferson won the game for the C’s with his play down the stretch. High praise, indeed.

Another area that held my attention was the play of the Celtics young point guards. Delonte West, after a pair of fabulous games on the road, came back to earth with 5 points and 4 assists in 26 minutes of action. Marcus Banks had a much better game, in my estimation, with eight assists and four rebounds in 22 scoreless minutes. However Banks continued his suffocating defensive ways and he was very disruptive to the Lakers offense. While Chucky Atkins torched the Celtics defense for 29 points in 35 minutes of action, much of it came with Banks on the bench. Why Doc decided to go with West in crunch time, I am still not sure.

Also, a quick note about Justin Reed. Reed will never be a great NBA player, but tonight he looked very good in limited action. Doc Rivers, limited on the wing with Tony Allen’s sprained ankle did not shy away from playing Reed substantial minutes against the Lakers and even paired him with Bryant for at least half of his time on the court. Pierce has already said that Reed’s defense reminds him of Ron Artest, and while that praise seems out of reach at this time, Reed did a fine job on the Lakers petulant superstar. It will be difficult to find playing time for Justin Reed as the Celtics battle to win the Atlantic division, but the kid can play. Maybe those lauding Danny Ainge for his three great draft picks might want to amend that thought to four.

Overall, not the best performance by the Celtics, but a win nonetheless. The inconsistency experienced on offense fits with the arrival of a new player to the rotation, but these wrinkles should be smoothed out over the next week. Time will tell if Doc Rivers will receive help from a certain 36 year old, soon-to-be Hall of Famer, but until then Celtics fans have a lot to be encouraged about. We have yet to see this team play its best basketball, and the Celtics are still improving.