Logo
The Ticker
16 hours ago

Rondo Replacing Johnson on All-Star Team

The Herald got it right from Rondo’s agent. According to his agent, Bill Duffy, the Celtics point guard has been named to the Eastern Conference All-star roster, presumably to replace Joe Johnson, the injured Atlanta Hawks guard. This would be Rondo’s third all-star appearance. Nice birthday present for RR, who probably should have been selected [...]

2
3 days ago

Comments Deleting?

We apologize if your comments are being deleted (provided that they are not offensive). We are looking into why this is happening. We also want to apologize for the lack of a game thread for last night’s game.  We had a premonition that the Celtics would play that poorly and thought if we pretended the [...]

2
7 days ago

5 Questions With Greg Monroe

I talked with Detroit star forward Greg Monroe prior to the Celtics-Pistons game on Wednesday night.  Here is what the 2nd year big man out of Georgetown, who is averaging 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game had to say. 1. Just your 2nd year in the league, but playing so well, were you disappointed [...]

3
8 days ago

Call for Responses: 5-on-5

Readers! Last week’s responses to the 5-on-5 questions were really, really great. We had way more qualified answers than we were able to use. So we’re going to keep doing it! FOREVER. Here are this week’s questions: 1. Are you concerned about Rondo’s media boycott this week? 2. The trade deadline is less than a [...]

0
11 days ago

5 Questions With Ronnie Brewer

I talked with Chicago starting guard Ronnie Brewer prior to the Celtics-Bulls game on Sunday.  Here is what the 6th year man out of Arkansas who is averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists had to say. 1. You guys have a lot of the same players back from last year’s team which was [...]

0
13 days ago

5 Questions With Josh McRoberts

I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden.  Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, had to say. 1. How have you guys been able to deal [...]

2
Browse Archives by:

More Preseason Eh? C’s-Raptors Preview & Open Thread

UPDATE: Celtics Twitter tells us Shaquille O’Neal (rest), Paul Pierce (stomach bug) and Stephane Lasme will be out tonight in addition to Delonte.

No surprises there, except for Lasme. Perhaps, he developed an injury Wednesday night and C’s are being cautious with him? Whatever the case, major minutes open up for Marquis Daniels, Von Wafer and perhaps even Mario West gets a real look this evening.

Embarking on their third city in four nights, the C’s will take on the Toronto Raptors for the second time in six days this evening at 7pm from the Air Canada Centre. This will be the team’s last official “road” game of the preseason, although they will play tomorrow night in Hartford before returning to Beantown to wrapup the exhibition calendar.

With the number of preseason contests dwindling quickly, there is a lot to keep an eye out for tonight with opening night just eleven short days away.So here’s a few things for you guys to watch out for this evening:

* Last Shot for Von Wafer?
The train have already left the station for the former Rocket guard, who has done little to impress Doc Rivers and company through his first few weeks in camp. Meanwhile his competition (Stephane Lasme) for the final roster spot has done nothing but wow the coaching staff with his effort.

The potential good news for Wafer tonight is that with Delonte West out of action until at least tomorrow night (back spasms) and Ray Allen coming off a big minute night in New York, Von may actually get one more crack at serious minutes. It’s not a great chance, Doc Rivers could just as well give a healthy Avery Bradley those minutes tonight but this could be Wafer’s final stand.

I’ve been excited about Wafer ever since he signed this offseason, but he needs to show everyone something tonight. The guy is a shooter, and teams could always use shooters but Wafer has struggled to stay within the flow of the offense thus far. Meanwhile his defense has been underwhelming to say the least. Big strides must be made and made soon. They must start tonight.

* Does Stephane Lasme Continue To Get Big Minutes?
Say all you want about KG’s ejection Wednesday night, but this combined with a convenient night off for Big Baby gave Lasme a chance for big minutes in NYC. After a strong start, he slowed down in the second quarter with a couple of turnovers and foul trouble to boot, which opened the door for Luke Harangody to stake his claim to a big night.

All that being said, Lasme has put together an impressive body of work thus far, and clearly has the inside track on the final roster spot due to his defense, hustle, and versatility at the 3/4. Another strong effort tonight might clinch quest to return to the NBA.

* Injury/Starter Watch

Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo all played monster minutes Wednesday night. Thus I wouldn’t be shocked if any/all got a boatload of rest or the complete night off this evening, especially the elders to ensure adequate rest/give the roster bubble guys an extended look. Glen Davis reportedly will be back in action after resting his sore knee and Shaquille O’Neal is likely to return as well after a two game hiatus. Delonte West as mentioned should return Saturday night against the Knicks.

* Rajon Rondo’s Aggressiveness
He started showing a bit of it in MSG, taking the ball to the basketball with a purpose for the first time this preseason as the C’s went small for nearly the entire second half. Is Rondo just playing possum? Or has he reduced his role in the offense this year given the additional weapons that surround him? Definitely something to keep an eye on.

That’s all for now, let us know what you guys are seeing out there. Brendan will have your full wrap up later this evening/early tomorrow.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>