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1 day 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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2 days 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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3 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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One View of the Pierce Foul

Here’s Henry Abbott on the controversial Pierce offensive foul that ended Boston’s second-to-last possession Sunday:

If you want to watch Paul Pierce’s game-changing offensive foul obsessively, again and again,this version of the highlights has good angles. You’ll see a couple of things: Yes Pierce used his off-arm to create space. It’s hardly the worst foul call ever. But is it the kind of things you often see go uncalled? Of course. Worth noting, Pierce didn’t shove Artest the direction that Artest fell, and to my eyes, Artest absolutely faked the entire fall, without which I’d be very surprised to see this call made.

I’m not going to complain about this call too much, since every team is going to lose out on a questionable call here or there (as the Lakers did when Perk tapped an offensive rebound off of a camera hanging behind the hoop and the refs missed it, awarding possession to Boston when Perk grabbed the ball).

But I will say that Pierce’s offensive foul obviously brings to mind one of the most famous plays in NBA history, a play on which no foul was called.

Again: I’m not whining. You win some, you lose some. A push-off foul (much like an illegal screen) seems in many cases to be an individual judgement call rather than an objective interpretation of a hard-and-fast rule. I always thought Leon Powe committed a push-off almost every time he went up for a contested shot at the rim, but the refs never called it.

Just food for thought. The whistle will go the Truth’s way next time. (Right?)

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