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19 hours ago

Greg Stiemsma’s Contract To Become Fully Guaranteed

The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]

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1 day ago

5 Questions With Kemba Walker

I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night.  Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]

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2 days ago

I Am Awesome!

Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]

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3 days ago

Pierce Wins Eastern Conference Player Of Week

One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]

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4 days ago

Garnett’s Wondrous 3-point Rant

Via ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who knows a great, playful rant when he hears one, here’s Kevin Garnett discussing his not-so-newfound aptitude for three-point shooting after the C’s took down the Grizzlies. “When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting like y’all shocked that I can shoot 3’s. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the [...]

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4 days ago

5 Questions With O.J. Mayo

I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden.  Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say. 1. You started every game your first two years in the league, [...]

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Doc on Rebounding: “Not a Crisis”

The C’s rank 25th in offensive rebounding percentage (a measure of the percentage of avaialbe rebounds they grab on offense) and 11th in defensive rebounding percentage (the same thing on defense)

Last year, they ranked 8th in ORB rate and 3rd in DRB rate.

In 2008, they ranked 18th in ORB rate and 8th in DRB rate.

Here’s Doc on the rebounding decline, courtesy of the Globe’s Frank Dell’Apa:

“We have to be a more physical rebounding team,’’ Rivers said. “We’re not going to jump over everybody, we’re not a great athletic team that way. And, sometimes, we rely on that and we find out during the game we’re not, so I think that’s something we have to do better.

“We’ve been up and down in that. Overall, those are things we have to get better at. I don’t think it’s a crisis, or anything.”

I’m already on record (several times) as being concerned about the C’s early rebounding numbers, though I agree with Doc that it’s not a “crisis” until a) we see if it sustains over a longer period; and b) we see if Big Baby helps the ORB numbers a bit.

That DRB number really needs to be in the top 10. The C’s front line is filled with great defensive rebounders (KG, Sheed, Perk) who have never been elite offensive rebounders. Not only that, but some evidence suggests that (for various reasons) veteran big men improve as defensive rebounders and see their ORB numbers decline as they age.

In other words: This team should be really good at defensive rebounding—probably better than 11th-best in the league.

Offensive rebounding is a different story. Their personnel suggests the C’s will continue to fare poorly there. The big question becomes: Can the C’s find ways to score when perimeter shots aren’t falling? Right now, they rate poorly in offensive rebounding and getting to the foul line.

Can they improve in either area?

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