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22 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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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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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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Andris Biedrins and the Ghost of Boston’s Garfield Smith

I’m going to be totally honest: The name Garfield Smith meant very little to me until about two hours ago. Smith played 73 games for the C’s in 1971 and 1972 before falling out of the league, resurfacing briefly for the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA (head coach: K.C. Jones!) in ’73 and then disappearing from the NBA and/or ABA. 

I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the name before, that it was sitting in the recesses of my brain next to other obscure 1970s players. But I can’t tell you I really know anything about Garfield Smith. 

So why am I writing about him now? 

Because of this tidbit in a story by Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle (huge hat tip: Golden State of Mind):

Biedrins is 3-for-23 from the line this season. The NBA record low percentage, one season, for a player shooting at least 20 free throws, is held by Garfield Smith, Boston Celtics, 1971-72, shooting 6-for-31 from the line, 19.4 percent. Biedrins is barely better than 13 percent.

Yikes. That 6-of-31 mark wasn’t an aberration for Smith, either. He shot 22-of-56 (.393) in 1971 and 28-of-93 (.301) the next season in San Diego. He shot significantly higher from the field in both of those seasons. 

Readers, I ask you: Does anyone remember anything about Garfield Smith? Anything? An admittedly quick Google search, cursory scan of my C’s library and look at the usual hoop nerd sites yields nothing other than the basics (college, career stats, draft position, etc.) about our man Garfield. 

Readers: Tell us something about him, so that he is not just a footnote in Andris Biedrins’ mission to disgrace the memory of Ivan Drago.

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