KG: Old Dog Doing Same Tricks

Much is being made lately about Kevin Garnett's stunning fall from grace. Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer compared him to "an old coot." Joakim Noah said he was "a dirty player." Quentin Richardson labeled him "an actress."

Sucks getting old, right? It's obvious watching KG hobble around out there that he's a shell of his former self. Every movement is labored, every trip up and down the court filled with grimaces. The man is literally breaking down before our eyes.

But is anyone pretending that Garnett was winning any sportsmanship awards before? No, of course not. He was ALWAYS a dick (ask Anthony Peeler or Tim Duncan or anyone in the Minnesota food service industry) but he used to be an underdog dick in a small market. He used to be scrapper who wanted it more, hungry and ambitious. In that context, all of his barking, elbowing and intimidation were viewed as 'passionate' and 'fiery.'

Now that he's an old champion, these qualities make him 'dirty' and 'a coot.' Life's funny that way. So much of how we interpret things is based on our expectations. We expect KG to age gracefully. We expect him to accept his shortcomings and bow out with dignity when the very reason that we loved him in the first place was his unbridled ferocity.

When something gets old, it loses its luster. You get sick of it. You don't want to keep it around anymore. You want something new that works better. I can remember Laker fans being pissed at Kareem when he refused to retire, even though he was still pretty good. Same goes for Patrick Ewing. It was incredibly disrespectful to those legendary players but those fans wanted something new.

I could be way off base with this but it seems to me that Kevin Garnett hasn't changed a bit. He's the same guy he's always been. But because he can't get the job done on the court, he's useless to us and so there's no reason to keep forgiving his boorish behavior. A coot? Maybe. Dirty? Has been for a decade. That's just KG.

Pictured: a pose Calderon might recognize

Glen Davis Starting Tonight

My man, Glen Davis, will be a part of the first unit tonight! I'm very excited for tonight's game. Look for a great match-between Davis and Michael Beasley, who is bound to go off at least one game this series. I look for Davis to regain a lot of his confidence tonight, sparking energy in the team and exploiting a lot of the garbage points (back-cuts, offensive rebounds) that are easy to get against Miami if you're good at shaking your defender (which Davis is).

I'm hoping Miami doesn't out-rebound us as badly as they did in the first half of game one. Davis has the energy to use for the whole game that Garnett saved for the second half and single-handedly demolished the Heat on the boards.

I'm also looking forward to a great performance from Rasheed tonight. Wallace, initially the go-to guy when KG was out, is going to look to avenge himself after Doc skipped over his name and called on Glen Davis to replace Garnett in tonight's game.

I'm definitely hoping to see vintage Rasheed Wallace, posting up, wreaking havoc with his bank shot, and punishing smaller defenders with a simple drop-step move.

Go Celtics!

Where a Playoff Game Can Turn 40 Seconds Into 10 Minutes in More Ways Than One (Hardwood Paroxysm Style: Or, Where Miami's Bench Just Gave Heat the "One-Up" For Game Two)

For those of you that don't know, the Boston Celtics were down by 14 at one point during Saturday night's Celts-Heat at the playoff-atmosphere Garden. In fact, it was the third quarter, with 19:03 left to play in the game. I, likely not alone, was not happy with how the Celtics were playing.

I'll be honest: I couldn't have expected to go the entire game without seeing the Heat more juiced than the Celtics were. The Celtics played hard. We're finally getting somewhere with this team emotionally-wise. But they didn't have adversity on their side, as I mentioned Saturday, and the Heat did. It fueled Miami, to say the least. Why should they lay down to a team that they only finished three games behind in the regular season? The Heat had been scorching hot for the last two months, and there was no reason to stop dead during the playoffs.

What really caught my attention was that the Heat decided to come out and embarrass the Celtics for 48 minutes. There was no mercy in their play. They were grabbing offensive rebounds, lighting the open court trail on fire, and utilizing every opportunity they had to trump the Celtics on both ends of the floor. They were playing defense. They were playing offense. And it isn't a coincidence which one I mentioned first.

As most of us should have recognized, the Miami Heat were playing like a playoff team. And rightfully so. Sure, Miami was the underdogs. However, they weren't heavily unfavored. Most picked the Celtics, but not by way of a clean sweep. No, the Miami Heat were bound to stick around. Some picked six games. Some picked seven. But those were just the predictions pointing in Boston's direction. Down in South Beach, the Miami journalists had the Heat prevailing. After seeing last night's game, I can see reason to their forecasts.

That is, before the 7:03 mark in last night's third quarter. The Celtics hung around with the young, athletic Heat team. Hung around here, though, sounds like a much more depressing term than it should be here. The Heat were playing the basketball the propelled them to a 47-35 record and a 12-1 season-finish. They ran the fast break game with a beautiful energy, orchestrated a strong defensive effort, and their superstar was given the stretch to release his wrath. All in one bundle. It seemed that the Boston Celtics couldn't handle it. Until Kendrick Perkins made a jump hook, Kevin Garnett swatted away a Jermaine O'Neal shot, and then dropped it in for an easy two. Down 10.

The game was not out of reach. And that's because the Boston Celtics realized that it's better to imposing your will with actions instead of an air of swagger and words.

From then on out, it was the wizardry of Rondo and the ability of Boston to move swiftly, cunningly, and patiently to find open shots and loopholes in the Miami defense. Rondo wasn't on a scoring tear last night. He still wasn't 100% after recuperating from a nasty stomach virus, as noted obviously from many Celtics' fans and analysts. But he was quick and smart with the ball, and found a compassionate Pierce and the energetic trio of Perkins, Garnett, and Davis for easy buckets.

Ensuing all of that came one possession. One possession that from here on out in the series will make this a bloody war. We may or may not see another skirmish like we did last night. But it won't be just a first round playoff series anymore, which holds enough tension in itself. It will be 48 minutes of hell, 48 minutes of players and units seeking ways to avenge their teams'. However, despite the fact that this series will probably be extremely fun to watch, I'm none too pleased about what happened during the confrontation between Boston and Miami, starting with the contact between Paul Pierce and two Miami defenders.

Pierce was trying to cut around Haslem when he obviously banged up his shoulder into Haslem, who was trying to recover defensively and stay in front of Pierce. Then Pierce bumps into a second Miami defender, Richardson, whose feet were also moving. That's two possible foul calls. After that, Pierce stumbles into the crowd in evident pain, and proceeds to lie down on the floor. Now I know that this is just another example of Pierce elaborating a bruise, but there's no doubt that the contact between Pierce and the Miami defenders had an effect on Pierce's route to the basket as well as the fair clarity of his passing lanes. In other words, Pierce drew a foul.

Fine. That's just fine. We don't want to start anything, do we? Of course not.

And then Quentin Richardson moseys over.

Let me just say this: It was complete bullshit to say when first looking at the play that Quentin went over for Pierce. Pierce doesn't like Quentin and vice-versa. Quentin was specifically trying to humiliate Pierce in front of his guys. On the other hand, I don't like Quentin as a basketball player. I don't think many people do. And there's reason for that.

Quentin Richardson went over to start trouble, and then look innocent so he wouldn't have the hammer come down on him. Because you notice the entire time he's over in BOSTON'S circle, he has this pristine, tranquil expression on. Quite the trickster he is. Then Garnett flings back his elbow. Hell, let's pretend we don't know what Richardson said. You can't blame Garnett for that either provocation: one being that Quentin could've been being a complete ass, and the other being that Garnett doesn't like anybody interrupting his little huddles. And anyone and everyone there or watching knew that.

Luckily for us, we can quickly return to reality and check out with really happened. And it involves both provocations:

From CelticsBlog

"I was trying to get over there to take the ball out of bounds and he started to talk to me so I talked back," explained Richardson. "I don't have any business talking to him (Pierce), he was on the ground crying. I don't know what was going on, two actresses over there that's what they are."

"I said to Jermaine (O'Neal), ‘he's ok', because I knew nobody touched him. Is he taking another break like he does so many times? Sometimes he falls like he's about to be out for the season and then he get's right up, that's all I said."

"I don't like them, and they know it," Richardson then said.

I truly don't think I could dislike Quentin Richardson any more. And why both provocations by the way? Because Garnett was quoted later saying that he thought it was a little disrespectful for Quentin to be standing over a hurt guy and talking junk. Garnett didn't want him in that huddle, and he certainly didn't want him over there mouthing off.

Then Big Baby must've heard some words, because he comes over, furrowed-eyebrows and spit-flyin' Glen Davis, trying to defend Kevin Garnett. Garnett and Davis surround the little rat bastard until Haslem steps in and tries to break it up.

Here's where I get legitimately (in this context, meaning that I have reason here even if I wasn't a Celts fan) angry. Even though I'm a Celtics fan, I can't lie to you and say it's all been Miami boiling the pot. But when Jermaine O'Punkface and Jamal "I haven't done anything since I became satisfied after one random 13 ppg season I had" Magloire jump in and pretend they can take everyone there, it's upsetting. Partly because the only reason they looked like they could actually participate in that altercation is because no one was even paying attention to them before they started "taking charge" and ripping Glen Davis by his jersey to the ground. Partly because Kevin Garnett and the Celtics were made to look like the bad guys when all the scrubs off the Miami bench jump up and turn it into a dumb bar scuffle; none of the Celtics except for Garnett (who, once again, we KNEW was going to react like that anyway) tried to escalate the altercation. Not Big Baby, who yes, did step over and have some words with Richardson. But wasn't he trying to tend to Pierce, and then only started talking when Richardson wouldn't shut up and he found himself getting pushed around?

Not only that, by the peak of the altercation, Magloire, O'Neal and whoever was in the middle of that starts bumping Davis around like he's a school girl getting roughed up by a bunch of pedophiles in the back of a schoolyard. It's ridiculous and I personally don't think that the magnificent Miami bad boy duo should've gotten away with it.

Look, I'm a Celtics fan. And I'm sure many Heat fans and anti-Celtics' supporters realize the inadequacy of my perspective. But if you're trying to tell me that Big Baby nor Kevin Garnett deserve a backbone for their case of defense here, then I could just as easily disregard the fact that Haslem was initially trying to separate Garnett and Richardson and point out that he too, was talking and contributed a bit of shoving on his own. I could counter the argument that although Dwyane Wade was just trying to hose the fight down, he too was equally as adamant at handing a few words of his own to Garnett. But it'd be unfair to say that, because anyone in that situation would have assumed the defensive position and started getting some in for their team. Especially in an intense Garden atmosphere like that.

What do I think about it today? I think it painfully overshadowed a good victory from Boston, I think Miami is ecstatic about the decision from Richardson to walk over and start trouble with Garnett, and I think I wasted 10 minutes of my life listening to Hubie Brown break down an NBA fight and watching the replay dozens of times.

Stupid Quentin Richardson...

PS. Chuck McKenney is right once again. There is no conceivable difference between Kobe's elbow to Artest in last year's playoffs and Garnett's to Richardson (other that in this year's case, there were more Celtics' and Heat players around to raise the fight to another level), and Kobe never found himself under suspension. Richardson hustled over to Garnett for the wrong reasons just as Artest did to Kobe, and Garnett/Kobe physically defended themselves and their team. And Artest got ejected!

This is reason number 759 why I wish bloggers ran the NBA.

Heating Up: Which Miami Team Will Boston See?

Here's the first of a slew of articles that will continue throughout the Boston-Miami series giving you a deeper look at the Heat, their players, and the anecdotes that lie within the team. What different looks does this team have? How loyal is their star? Just how tough is the Southeast division? And one unknown, depending on how the series goes...

For a team that only finished three games behind the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat seem to be the clear underdogs here regardless. Maybe those opinions will pan out to be true after the first game or two of the Celts-Heat series in the first round. Maybe they won't.

But one thing is for sure: When adversity isn't placed directly in front of the Boston Celtics, they tend to disappoint. In a way, adversity must be on the Celtics' side to win.

However, it's not just about which Boston Celtics we'll see; the series is equally as dependent on what face of the Miami Heat we'll see. Will Boston find themselves against the defensively-concentrated, more team-oriented Miami Heat team, which Dwyane Wade thrives in even though the game has less possessions and his teammates are more involved; or will the Celtics be challenged with merely Dwyane Wade and Miami's "Let's funnel the ball to Wade, let him barrel towards the bucket and draw fouls, and once Boston collapses on him after a few trips, have him dump it off to the open big man or a good look behind the arc" tactics?

Which one is more difficult to handle, is the question. Let's look at a few numbers/facts.

Wade's Heat have demolished the league in their last two months taking 12 out of their final 13 and finishing the season on a defensive tear. They also lost just three game in the month of March. The Heat have held opponents to 88.7 ppg in their last 13 games and they look to be that team who replaced the Bucks as the very good but not great squad after Andrew Bogut's injury. Michael Beasley finished the season with a 25 point game and many people are expecting him to do more of the same against an older, less mobile Boston front line. Look to see the Celtics mixing things up down low if Beasley frightens them in the first few games.

But that all boils down to how Wade's teammates play. If Haslem is chipping in, Beasley is giving Boston fits, and Q, Daequan Cook, and Chalmers are all hitting their threes, then Boston is in for a tough fight. Sure, Garnett could come out more fired up than we've seen him all season, suffocating Beasley and anchoring Boston's interior D. But that doesn't alter nor fortify his defensive abilities at this age, and Beasley could still beat him if the Heat decide to open up a more athletic style of basketball.

Big Baby couldn't cover him, because although he has more talent than most recognize in the fast break game, Beasley could torch him on the wing. It's not about Davis' quickness, which surprisingly could match Davis if he was playing smart and true to Beasley. It's the fact that Beasley needs but a quarter of a step to utilize his seven-foot-plus wing span and 35 inch max vertical jump (Draft Express). To put this in more picturesque terms, Beasley's draft day vertical leap is only seven and a half inches off Nate Robinson's and he obviously has a greater wing span. And despite originally being listed at 6'10", Beasley is still 6'8" win basketball shoes on, one inch shorter than Glen Davis. But, as put by NBADraft.net put it, Davis doesn't get great lift when he jumps and has a medium wing span. So Davis is a no go.

Shelden Williams is NOT going to see time in the playoffs, Rasheed doesn't have near the mobility to slow him down, and we can't pull Perk off the block even if Miami's best post-up options are Jermaine O'Neal, Joel Anthony, Magloire, and Yakhouba Diawara. So it goes without saying that Beasley could give us more trouble than even a double-covered Wade, who is as good as finding teammates and giving them good looks than anyone in the league. Why do you think a lazy Jermaine O'Neal came close to cracking 14 a game this season, or Quentin Richardson is averaging 10.1 in the last 10 games?

On the other hand, that was the Quentin Richardson that was receiving the ball from a Dwyane Wade that sparked a dominant defensive stretch and a couple of win streaks to close out the season. What does Miami look like when Wade is monopolizing Miami possessions? For lack of a better answer, the Heat simply look beatable. The decision by Spoelstra is influenced by how well Miami as a whole is playing. If they are playing poorly, most of the offensive play sequences are centered around Wade until the defensive adapts and teammates are accumulating multiple open looks each time down the floor. The evidence? Miami has attempted just 12.4 3-pointers per game for the last 13 games (12 of them wins are arguably the Heat at their hottest in terms of the Heat as a unit) as opposed to the season average of 17.4 3-pointers. What does this mean? The Heat have more opportunities to take it down low and get easier points, which is obviously when any team is at their best, even the more potent of shooting squads, as opposed to when it's just Wade either driving and drawing fouls or driving and kicking it out for threes.

So what team do I think we'll see? I think we're going to see the Miami Heat team we've seen for the past two months. And honestly, I'm going to say that if they beat us, I will not be shocked. I don't think they will. I think we can put them away. But I'm not going to call it an upset if the Miami Heat beat us playing their best.

In the end though, it's Boston in six or less. I think we can handle Miami's style of team play if we stick to it and play every possession for 48 minutes hard. If we do, Miami might even change their game style and try to throw a Wade 45-pointer at us. Not that we couldn't handle it.

Go Celtics!

Boston Starts and Finishes the Weekend With a Loud Win in Texas

Boxscore

Highlight stats: KG with five steals on the night... Pierce, Rondo and Allen combine for 70 tallies... Garnett with a +17 +/- to trump Dirk's lowly -12... Caron Butler held to 3-14 shooting, Brendan Haywood stifled and allowed just three points in 26 minutes.

Gone unseen: Glen Davis continued his statistically unaccounted for play last night, banging up the Dallas interior D and grabbing four rebounds and checking in seven points. Davis outhustled, outsmarted, and plain outplayed the Mavs in another energetic effort that is beginning to infect the entire Celtics team.

Notes: In a good one, perhaps the only two disappointing impressions on the game was Perk's so-so rebounding numbers and the bench's poor efficiency. No bench member had a positive +/- and the unit averaged a +/- 9.4 for the night. Glen Davis is really the only bench member I'll let slide because unless the game style morphs into a garbage time/scavenger/hustle type of play or he notches 20-22+ minutes, his numbers aren't going to show for much of anything anyway. Jason Terry exploded for 18 and we looked to our bench to at least cement a little bit of a counter-attack before our starters came back in and they couldn't do it. Marquis was 0-2, Nate Robinson only played nine minutes and took just three shots, and Rasheed gave us a mere basket with three rebounds in 16 minutes.

But hey, a win is a win... Right?

Celtics Are Shown First-Hand Who the Team to Beat Is

Yesterday, Celtics' fans were buzzing. Today, they're holed up inside their own minds trying to find out how perhaps we could have evaded the last straw of doom for our Boston team. So far, we've come up with answers that aren't going to help the Celtics. Essentially, because they are answers that have been said over and over again, and that the C's have probably already figured out themselves.

Yesterday, though, we caught a glimpse of what the '07-08 Celtics looked like. The Cleveland Cavaliers are on an aggressive mission. They concretely just aren't going to let loopholes, twisted karma, or unpleasant kismet tear them from their path. They absolutely positively control their destiny, and they know that.

The '09-10 Celtics though, aren't in that same mindset. They're frustrated with the fact that drive and initiative can't come with work, discussion, and craft. It's a snowball effect that usually begins with an unfortunate impetus. Whether it happens 10 years before or the day before, it's something that sticks in their head and haunts them until they turn that memory around. Until they resurrect and rectify that horrific mistake/uncalled for blunder/whatever. The Celtics can't get there, because they are satisfied. They content. Or at least, a good chunk of the team is.

(I just wanted to point out that when Jeff Van Gundy was gushing over Andy Varejao, talking about how he's so effective by merely not giving up plays, hustling, and having been a student of the game so long that he picks up things more quickly than others -- OK, I added that last part, even though I loathe Varejao -- ABC immediately shows a pretty much sarcastic close-up of Rasheed Wallace. And then in the next couple of plays, Rasheed simply hacks at the Cavaliers that slice through the lane instead of actually trying to put a body on them or block the shot. Classic. OK, back to the un-comedic pessimism.)

I will never, ever write off the Boston Celtics. Ever. Hell, I'm so optimistic that I thought they had well-constructed teams the year Gary Payton joined the team and the year we won 24 games. Go figure. But just because I won't write them off doesn't mean I can't accept reality, or that I can't take off my green goggles. There just isn't a way that a motivated team with their type of talent couldn't be in the same championship debates with teams like the Cavs, Lakers, Nuggs, and Mavs... or the Hawks and Magic. That doesn't mean they can't turn it around at any time. But right now, they just aren't there.

And I just want to quickly point out to the fans saying that Boston may be running out of time (translation: I'm contradicting the Celticsfanatic of a few days ago) that there is no such thing as time limits for the Celtics. If they get into the playoffs and somehow get hot or regain that drive (unlikely -- considering there have been so many things that usually at least get a team pumped up for a stretch of the season that the Celtics haven't shown affected them on the court -- but still), they can do anything they want in this league. And I mean that.

Look at Ray Allen motivated (torching the league for a substantial number of games to prove the post All-Star bonanza of scoring from him wasn't a fluke). Look at a Paul Pierce motivated (27 points in 26 minutes despite being defended by a tough Stephen Jackson and a proven-defender in Gerald Wallace). Look at Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins motivated (Rondo and Perkins dominating in their respective areas, Kevin Garnett scavenging the boards like the glass is a treasure chest). Even our bench is extremely talented when they get going (Glen Davis, Rasheed, Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels, and Tony Allen. Wow).

I wanted to point out three things from yesterday's game, and the first is Paul Pierce. I know Pierce was pretty juiced for yesterday's game, so it was a surprise to see that LeBron was flat-out blowing by him late in the game to boost the Cavs and abuse Boston down low. Pierce was one of the few yesterday who tried to single-handedly put away the Cavs with consistent effort but just couldn't do it, so it's no secret that he was trying (for at least most of the game -- and for all of the second half).

But LeBron was using simple crossovers and a quick first step that resembled Pierce in his physical prime to eat up the opposing team's interior D (which could be an over-/understatement depending on how well you remember Pierce's ferocious scoring spurts and ability to take over whenever necessary), and Pierce couldn't do anything about it. So I guess my point here is, yeah, a few of the guys on the team are a step and a half, maybe a step slower than one or two years before. But can they get the job done as a group? Certainly, and it'd be foolish to analyze them any different.

Glen Davis, on the other hand, was our kryptonite to the Cavs and Anderson Varejao, who was beating up the Celtics' paint in every which way by playing scrappy and utilizing all opportunities given to him. He's really just a taller, more offensively gifted Leon Powe, with a bit more athleticism vertically. And those type of players can really shut down the Celtics and set a tone for their team. Glen Davis? He was getting on the floor, playing competitive, and had the same effect. The numbers don't show it, but he was clearly the player on the floor who was bugging Cleveland with his sheer edge and determination.

And lastly, I'd also like to pay tribute to Nate Robinson yesterday. Nate didn't a great shooting day, which has been rare since his arrival in Boston, but he played good defense for about a large stretch of minutes, as one of the ABC broadcasters mentioned. Despite Boston's disappointing play, he's been a glaring bright spot during these past five-10 games or so.

Go Celts.

A Few Spare Tidbits

On Friday night, the Celtics blew out the Indiana Pacers, avenging themselves after suffering an embarassing loss to the athletic and energetic Memphis Grizzles. Here's the talk from around the Celtics' blogosphere, and more thoughts revolving around the state of the Boston Celtics during this time of the season:

The Boston Herald reports:

Rivers said he’d consider holding his veterans, both of whom are on the mend from injuries, out of games so they’re able to log practice time down the stretch.
"We have to have them playing at their peak (when the playoffs start). Whatever we have to do that, we have to do it," Rivers said before the C’s 122-103 win against the Pacers last night. "If that means working them more in practices and maybe them missing games - whatever it takes, that’s what we have to do and that’s what we’re going to do."

Garnett and Pierce didn’t exactly welcome the idea with open arms.

That's a very interesting take by Doc. Rivers may feel that if they can just hang on to a top four seed and come into the playoffs fresh, competitive, edgy, and with a new look at their goal, Boston can be a much better team, which is an understandable theory.

I said yesterday that the Celtics were saying hello to goodbye (of the championship window) if they couldn't prove to us that they still had that fire that characterizes champions. We all know they have the talent, and even most of the intangibles. So it's not entirely implausible here to think that if we go in with a fourth seed that we can't make a run at the championship. ]In addition, third seed or fourth seed aside, I still think we have enough to get past the first round.

It's a matter of getting past Cleveland though, and if we do, either Orlando or Atlanta (two teams we're 1-7 against during the regular season), that Doc is planning around for. But again, maybe rest is what's in our way of a new life. But I can't help but saying that we need to drive this team into the ground mentally to get them in condition for the big games, the must-win quarters, and the excruciatingly critical play sequences. Sure, fans aren't always able to recognize that their teams may be dog-tired. But it sure seems to me that with the relaxed style of play we've been going about with every night, we should be well-rested.

On the other hand of that argument, you have to keep your players happy. And like the article mentions, I seriously doubt Pierce or Garnett is willing to cap off the regular season and show up to games in suits because it might give them some extra recovery time. They're vets. They know how to battle through injuries. They know the bangs and bruises of a regular season and they understand that the real contenders are those who lead by example. In this case, how are Pierce and Garnett going to show their team the true mold of a contender if the validity of their playoff position is still up in the air and they're voluntarily sitting out? Which leads us to this:

From the Celtics' Twitter:

Pierce and KG say the team had a "heart to heart" and open dialogue this morning. Say that loss to Memphis and boos at home stuck with team.

Via CelticsBlog

(Disclosure -- this was reported yesterday morning before last night's annihilation of the Pacers.) That's a great thing to hear. I don't care if I've been hearing reports of the team recognizing that they all need to sit down and really discuss their objectives all season -- it's about time that it's been taken care of (or at least begun) and that we have evidence that's it's started to work (once again, the annihilation of the Pacers last night). Keep it up, boys.

CelticsBlog has an interesting piece about Glen Davis, preaching something that has kept me a fan of "The Eleventh Hour" since the beginning:

Fortunately, ever since that incident in Detroit on January 20, the artist formerly knows as "Big Baby" has cut out the superfluous junk that has plagued both his game and his reputation, and has seemed to re-focus his everlasting energy strictly on the basketball court. And that energy has in fact highlighted his play of late. He certainly hasn't been a perfect player, but the various flaws that have hindered his game, have so far, for the most part, been overshadowed by the relentless effort he's putting forth these days.

Obviously "hustle" stats are not kept in NBA game logs, but if you've watched this team of late, you'd be hard pressed to argue that the energy isn't there from Davis, which must be a welcome relief for Doc Rivers, because in these troubled times, effort has sometimes been harder to find than Carmen San Diego.

Red's Army reflects on the brilliant performance put on by the blazing hot Nate Robinson during Friday night's Pacers' game. They argue, can this hot streak stay on track? And will Nate make the dire mistake of living and dying by the three from this point on?

Nate is 16-27 from long range in March... a blistering 59.3%. 

It's an impossible pace... and a dangerous one at that.  Nate has fallen in love with the 3. 

At some point, that long-range stroke is going to go cold... which is going to put a serious strain on the second unit.  And it was the second unit last night that made Gino possible. 

All I'm saying is we've got to be realistic about what Nate brings us in the future.  What we see now is not what we're going to get.  No one sustains 59% shooting from 3. 

So the question is... will Nate adjust and get back to attacking when he knows the 3 stroke has gone cold... or will he become a mini-Sheed who continues to shoot from deep without regard for reality?

Glen Davis Is Too Smart of a Player to Give Away

Hat tip, CelticsBlog:

Via TrueHoop (Chris Broussard):

The Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats are discussing a trade centered around Glen "Big Baby'' Davis and D.J. Augustin, according to league sources.

The sources cautioned that nothing is imminent, but said the clubs are having discussions

We'll post more details as they become available.

I'll consider it, but I'm too much of a Glen Davis lover to go right ahead and do it. He's one of the hardest workers on the team (speaking of work ethic on the Celtics, I'm definitely getting a fullblown article about it up before the trade deadline), and still has a lot of untapped potential.

He could be unguardable in the fast break if he got into better shape. He has great hands and can predict defensive schemes and where to be really well.

Glen Davis is too intelligent to just give away.

Scott Souza: Will It Be Enough?

Via CelticsBlog

Scott Souza gives a detailed piece on the vast variety of worries binding Celtics' fans down right now:

"Sometime in the next few days, Celtics coach Doc Rivers should finally have the entire team together he and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge assembled at the end of the summer. The hovering question is: Will it be enough?"

Let's face it: Despite the fact that these next few weeks will be stressful for a Celtics fan -- even if everything pans out exceptionally -- I can't point out that we're overreacting just a teensy bit. We're swallowing everything the media is giving us, and sometimes those reports might just not be true. Be realistic here: As much as last Sunday's ESPN/ABC crew mentioned the ongoing injuries for the Lakers, the incredible impact a banged-up Kobe Bryant has on that L.A. team, I don't remember them equally pointing out that KG's entire right leg is only just starting to show flashes of its old form; Glen Davis is struggling mentally and was out for a good portion early in the season; Paul Pierce has already suffered an unfortunate number of injuries, which is making an impression on his play; Marquis Daniels has been out for quite some time now; and both Eddie House and Ray Allen are shooting below-average compared to last year's numbers.

All of that adds up to a huge hole that is fixable and comes with a few things: time, patience, and persistence in believing in the team's confidence and work ethic.

Sure, I really do think it'd be a plus to get somebody like Andre Iguodala, who could fill Allen's spot, regenerate the team, and strengthen our youth. There's a lot of pros there. But can we do it if we rid ourselves of this terrible luck? Sure. It's only a matter of time before a black-eyed team like us catches a few breaks.

Now the question is, how much and how long can we depend on the likelihood of all those coming in one place at one time?

A New Road Streak

Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog compiles a great piece on last night's loss to Golden State. Also check out CB's injury updates.