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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Thumbnail: After beating the best of the Western Conference on Sunday, the C’s wrap up their Pacific Division road trip with a visit to Arco Arena tonight. Don’t be fooled by Sacramento’s lackluster record however. This is a squad that is finally showing some kind of cohesion, winning three of their past four games, with all three wins coming over playoff teams including those floundering Lakers. With that said, the Celtics are fully capable of blowing this squad out and have enjoyed plenty of success out there in the New Big Three era, as Arco is the only place out on the west coast they’ve won all three years. Put it all together and a win certainly would be a nice exclamation point on the road trip before a tough stretch of opponents visit the Garden.
WHAT THE KINGS DO WELL
Offensive rebound. The C’s asserted themselves on the boards in LA and tonight will be another test, especially with the knowledge that Paul Westphal will be going with the twin towers lineup in Dalembert and Cousins. Those two, along with Carl Landry rank among the elite when it comes to offensive rebounding rate, so Boston will have to have all hands on deck in the frontcourt to keep the Kings from countless second chance opportunities. The good news is Kendrick Perkins will be a big help in this department, as we count down the days before his return to the starting five.
Finish At The Rim. They are number eight in the league in this department, which goes to show you just how bad the rest of their offense must be. Still, the majority of this roster, excluding Dalembert has a soft touch at the rim as they finish overall at a 65 percent clip. Evans can get there at will, so Rondo will need to give a top notch defensive effort to keep him at bay, though he does have trouble finishing when challenged. Also be wary of Udrih and Landry who both clock in at 70+ percent from close in.
WHAT THE KINGS DO POORLY
Shooting. If the C’s keep them away from the bucket, they should be okay as the Kings rank in the bottom five for both FG and three-point FG percentage. Packing it in, and giving them the mid-range jumper, which is a staple of the C’s defense when it is firing on all cylinders, is the sure fire route for a win tonight.
Getting to the line: Not only do the Kings struggle shooting, getting to the free throw line is another huge issue for the cellar dwellers as they rank next-to-last in this department in the NBA. With Evans as the only guy on this team truly capable of creating his own shot on a regular basis, combined with a squad with no real point guard to begin with, you can see how this problem could arise.
PLAYERS THAT MAKE ME WORRY
I’ll say DeMarcus Cousins. The youngster is beginning to put it all together, averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds in his past five games on 50 percent shooting, including back-to-back double-doubles in the team’s past two wins. Having Perk back again helps in containing the big guy, but it likely will be KG spending some time on him as well with Dalembert penciled in to start. Should be a fun matchup of experience vs. youth, in which the former usually wins out.
PLAYERS THAT DO NOT MAKE ME WORRY
Rest of Kings bench besides Landry: With Garcia and Thompson out, the Kings bench is fairly unintimidating to say the least. Pooh Jeter? Donte Greene? Luther Head? Despite some terrific names, that’s one of the weakest rotations in the league. Look for the C’s second unit, who finally showed something in LA, to take advantage.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE TONIGHT
Pretty simple gameplan here. Be strong on the defensive glass, keep the Kings out of the paint, and get out in transition. Sacramento’s offense is lackluster at best, so sufficient D should be enough for the win as long as Boston stays away from the jump shot road trap they’ve fallen victim to during their last few road losses.
In addition, after a pretty chippy road trip, I’d like to keep it clean tonight. No more of stuff like this. I’m not sure Shaq could get through the tunnel fast enough this time to break things up.
PREDICTION
C’s 91, Kings 84. Plus some guy in sac should be in attendance so they need to win it for him.
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