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 [...]
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: [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
Regular readers of the site will know we tackle five Celtics-related questions each Thursday with our friends from ESPN Boston. This week, we’d like to try an experiment and include our readers in the process. We’re looking for your responses to each of the following questions.
Please send them to celticshub@gmail.com no later than 8 a.m. ET Thursday morning and we’ll include a sampling tomorrow afternoon in the 5-on-5.
Please keep responses to 50 words or less. You can answer some or all of the questions in whatever manner you see fit.
Here’s what we’ll be addressing tomorrow:
1. If Paul Pierce had played the first half of his career with Shaq instead of Antoine Walker, how would we regard him today?
2. JaJuan Johnson had a great game against Memphis. Where does his season go from here?
3. Which Celtics will be named as all-star reserves Thursday night?
4. The Lakers and Celtics have nearly identical records. Which team is a more viable championship contender?
5. Prediction time: what happens Thursday night between the Celtics and Lakers?
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Addendum: If we use your comment, we’ll use your real name unless you request otherwise or prefer your commenting nickname. Just let us know.
It was an emotional night for the C’s captain as he further cemented his place in Celtic history after passing Larry Bird on the all-time leaderboard for second most points in franchise history. Here’s Pierce’s full comments on his achievement, along with reaction from his coach and his teammates:
On Passing Larry Bird: “It was a relief. So much was hanging over me the last couple of days just hearing about it. Knowing that you got a game to play and so many people talked about it and talked about it. I mean that for me, its a great feat knowing that you are going to be up there with all the great Celtics, ya know Larry Bird is probably onoe of the most important players that ever played in this franchise. Just to be up there and have your name up there with them is a great honor.”
On His Video Tribute: “I actually saw little glimpses of it, Doc was talking in the time out, ya know you just try to focus in on the game and you just soak it in, soak it all in after the game. I’ll probably soak it in a little bit more once I go home and sit down and realize what’s really going on. Right now its just, its so fresh in my head right now that the game is over.”
On his standing ovation: “We have great fans. They’ve seen it all from my younger days, from my trials and tribulations, to this point today and its just a great honor just for them to be able to stand up and give me that type of ovation. Being a Celtic for all these years and understanding what it means to be a Celtic and the ups and downs you go through and just to come to this point in your career it really means so much just the support that they have given me over the years.” Read the rest of this entry »
The only highlight that matters tonight is Paul Pierce passing Larry Bird to move into second place on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list. It happened on a three-ball early in the third quarter.
Doc Rivers on Pierce’s accomplishment:
“It’s just awesome. I told the guys you’ve got to have several things: One, is longevity. The second thing is health. And then I said the third thing is you’ve got to be old as hell, because you’ve got to stick around a long time. And then the fourth thing: you’ve got to ball. You’ve got to play some amazing basketball. You know, passing Larry Bird – that’s impressive.
“Here’s the part I wish people wrote more about Paul: Paul had a chance to leave us when we were bad. And instead of moaning that he wanted to go to a championship team, he stayed. And he said, ‘I simply want to be a Celtic and I trust that we’re going to win a title some day.’ He had no reason to believe that, at that time. I mean, we were pretty awful. I wish people talked about his loyalty more, because I think that’s special, especially in this day and time, when everybody’s jumping from team to team. And that’s their right, too, I don’t begrudge that with anybody, but I do think it’s special that Paul Pierce decided that he wanted to be a Celtic for his life. And I think that’s pretty cool. In this day and time, in any sport, I think that’s special.”
Kevin Garnett, PF27 MIN | 10-15 FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 22 PTS | +2
The model of efficiency. 10/15 from the field, Garnett was feeling it early and often tonight, making the most of his five minute stints. His solid outside shooting helped Boston to outcome a lackluster night from beyond the arc.
Paul Pierce, SF37 MIN | 6-18 FG | 1-1 FT | 8 REB | 9 AST | 15 PTS | +26
I don’t care that he shot 33 percent, including an absurd 2-10 from deep. Anytime you pass Larry Bird in any category, you get an A+ in my book. A memorable night for the captain and a terrific job by the TD Garden crowd to show their appreciation. Make no mistake though, Pierce didn’t take this night off just to score, as his nine assists and eight rebounds continue to leave us marveling at his all-around abilities.
Jermaine O’Neal, C19 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | +5
A couple of predictable misses at the rim under pressure, but I’ll take seven defensive rebounds any day of the week from JO. Play defense, hit the glass and get the hell out of the way, especially when KG is hot.
Ray Allen, SG32 MIN | 8-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 17 PTS | +13
15 of his 17 points came in the second half, as he began to take over once PP got his milestone out of the way. An off-night shooting from deep, but the Bobcats are the team you can afford to have those against.
Rajon Rondo, PG33 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 14 AST | 10 PTS | +20
0 turnovers in 33 minutes! For a guy averaging 3.8 per game, that’s no small feat. A ho-hum double-double helped as well, as Rondo frolicked around all night, wreaking havoc on a clueless Bobcats defense.
Brandon Bass, PF28 MIN | 5-8 FG | 3-3 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 13 PTS | +16
Nice to see him back and healthy after a one-game absence. His jumpers were reliable, although it would be nice to see him pick it up a little bit on the glass.
The Celtics convincingly defeated the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night but the story of the night was Paul Pierce passing Larry Bird as the Celtics’ second all-time leading scorer. We got postgame reactions from the Captain himself and Kevin Garnett and Brian Robb will have grades and more reaction later on tonight.
For now, I’ll leave with my Daily Dime reactions. I was tweeting about this game all night on behalf of @CelticsHub, @DimeSmash, @DimeAlert, and @DimeUpdate. Follow, follow, follow.
Here are some of the postgame dimes I dropped:
MVP (Most Valuable Player): It was a toss up between Kevin Garnett and
Paul Pierce but the Celtics captain gets the nod for a few reasons: 8
rebounds, 9 assists and a record-breaking 15 points.
LVP (Least Valuable Player): Tyrus Thomas. The Bobcats starter
tallied two points, 3 boards, and one near-fight. It may be about time
to move some pieces around and get Mullins or Brown in the permanent
starting lineup.
Defining Moment: With around ten minutes to go in the third quarter
and the Celtics nursing an 8 point lead, Paul Pierce hit a three point
shot to vault himself into second place on the all-time Celtics’
scoring list. The crowd went wild and after that the Bobcats never got
closer than four points.
X-Factor: Ball sharing. The Celtics racked up an astounding 31
assists tonight while the Bobcats only managed 19 (under the league
average of 20.4 (Hoopdata)).
That Was Worth the Price of Admission: Usually that phrase is
reserved for a barn-burner or a slugfest. This was a blowout but also
showcased some young talent on the Bobcats and a broken record for
Paul Pierce.
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