They Said It: Quotable Quotes About the Celtics
By Kevin Henkin
Changing gears a bit, we’re going to add a new regular feature here at FCP by handing the microphone over to some other folks who have some interesting thoughts to offer regarding all things Celtics:
“They all of a sudden have something at stake now, which is their absolute legacy. And now they’re going to use each other, a little bit like we did two years ago. We used each other to establish something because we felt we had something at stake.”
- Pat Riley on the Big Three
“I’m like everyone else. I didn’t care about the Celtics the last few years. But now I love watching them. Kevin Garnett is the best. Every time you look, he’s got a double-double.”
- New England Revolution star Taylor Twellman on being a shameless front-runner (Someone get this man a pink hat immediately!)
“I thought they were actually better than I expected in some areas, better defensively…I thought that they were what I expected from the standpoint of their main guys.”
- Flip Saunders during a Detroit radio interview after defeating Boston
“I’m looking forward to watching the Celtics. I love the way they play.”
- TNT Analyst Charles Barkley, who hasn’t had a kind word to say about the Boston team since roughly the Reagan administration, before the game against Seattle on December 27th
“I like Rondo. He’s figuring it out. I think the biggest thing he has to learn is to say ‘no’. No, I’m not giving it to you right now. No, you’re open [but] yes, I’m still going to run this play…When you’re running the point guard position, you’re like the quarterback. You have to understand who gets it, when they get it and why they get it. Even though they are the best players on the planet, you still decide who gets it.”
- TNT Analyst Kenny Smith on Rajon Rondo and the challenges of running the Celtics’ offense
“If Rondo can’t stop Delonte West, the Celtics can’t beat Detroit.”
- Barkley on Delonte West’s scoring effort (19 points in 25 minutes on 6-8 shooting) against the Celtics and Rondo
“”I don’t know if anyone has improved as much as Rondo. When you put what he’s doing in that pressure situation … he has done an unbelievable job. He has a tough job, being the quarterback of that team. And for a second-year guy, having to play with the superstars that he’s playing with, he hasn’t deferred to those guys. He’s shown a lot of aggressiveness.”
- Flip Saunders on Rondo
“I don’t know if they have gone on any extended road trips yet. I know they usually take a big one right after the Christmas break. We just hope to see them out West where we can beat them up a little bit.”
- Phil Jackson about the Celtics to a Chicago reporter in mid-December
“We’re better. I think our continuity is better, our rhythm is better and I think we have a better understanding of what our strengths and weaknesses are.”
- Kobe Bryant about the Celtics, days before suffering a 19 point season series sweep defeat against them at home
“They’re leaving here like they’re giving away free tofu outside.”
- Celtics Announcer Mike Gorman during the aforementioned game against the Lakers in Los Angeles with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter and the Celtics ahead by 19
“I don’t care what they would have offered me for Kevin Garnett. I think I would have turned it down. Those guys come along once every twenty years, maybe. I know they hadn’t been winning with him, but that couldn’t have been Kevin’s fault. He’s simply too good a player. Poor Kevin [McHale]. He must be answering a lot of questions these days. I really feel badly for Kevin. I like him. I think his good friend Danny did it to him, pulled the wool over his eyes or something. Danny, all of a sudden, is on top of the world as he should be, and Kevin is probably hiding in his cellar.”
- Bob Cousy reflecting recently on the Kevin Garnett trade
