[NBA] Boston Celtics Thread

[Tealey7]

This is my thread following the Boston Celtics. Read. Enjoy.

History

The Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America. After the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association. The Celtics had struggled during their early years. But the hiring of Coach Red Auerbach would change all that. One of the first major players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy. Auerbach at first refused to draft him. Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags. When that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy was acquired by the Celtics in a dispersal draft. Cousy would become a huge part of the Celtic's success and would become good friends with his new coach in time. Under Auerbach, the Celtics acquired rookie Bill Russell in 1956. Russell was even more of an important acquistion than Cousy. He was the player Auerbach would build the Celtics around for more than a decade. Russell had an immediate impact during the 1956 season; the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the then St. Louis Hawks in seven games, giving the Celtics the first of their record 16 NBA Championships. In 1957, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, this time losing to the Hawks in 6 games. However, with the acquisition of K.C. Jones, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last 8 seasons.

In 1959, with Russell and Jones, the Celtics won the NBA Championship with the sweep of the Minneapolis Lakers. Still coached by Auerbach, the Celtics won another seven championships, making eight championships in a row. During that timespan, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals six times, starting an intense and sometimes bitter rivalry. The Celtics would eventually meet the Lakers a total of 10 times in the NBA Finals. After the 1966 championship Auerbach retired as coach but remained General Manager, a position he would hold well into the 1980s. Russell took over as a player-coach. However, that year the Celtics' string of NBA titles was broken. The aging team managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, each against the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Russell retired after the 1969 season, effectively ending a dominant Celtics dynasty that had garnered 11 NBA titles. The streak of 8 consecutive NBA championships is the longest streak of consecutive championships in U.S. sports history. Other important players during this era included Sam Jones ( brother of KC Jones), John Havlicek, and Tommy Heinsohn.

The next season was one of rebuilding as the Celtics had their first losing record in a long time. However, with Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White, the Celtics became dominant again. In 1974 the team bested the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals, and in 1976 the team won yet another championship after defeating the Phoenix Suns. The 1976 NBA Finals featured one of the greatest games in the history of the NBA. With the series tied at two games a piece, the Suns trailed early in the Boston Garden, yet came back to force overtime. In double overtime, a Gar Heard turn-around jumper at the top of the key sent the game to an unprecedented third overtime, at which point the Celtics prevailed. Tommy Heinsohn coached the team for those two championships. After the 1976 victory, though, Boston went into another phase of rebuilding.

The rebuilding phase only lasted two years. Auerbach selected Larry Bird in the 1979 NBA College Draft. Bird elected to remain in College for his senior year but the Celtics retained his rights (something that couldn't happen in today's NBA). Bird would debut for the Celtics during the 1980 season, a year after his selection, and go on to win Rookie of the Year honors. Bird was joined by another Celtics draft pick, Kevin McHale, and trade acquisition Robert Parish. With these three future hall of famers in place, the Celtics yet again became a dominant team in the NBA. At this time the Celtics also had Cedric Maxwell, a solid veteran who was part of the first "Bird Era" championship team. The Celtics went on to capture the NBA Championship in 1981, just two years after Bird had been drafted, under head coach Bill Fitch.

K.C. Jones was named head coach after Fitch's reign ended. Under their new coach, the Celtics would fail to achieve postseason glory for a few more years. The Celtics added players like Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, and M.L. Carr. In 1984 the Celtics would come back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, thus winning their 15th championship. Bird renewed his college rivalery with Lakers (and former Michigan State) star Magic Johnson during this series. In 1985, the Lakers and Celtics would meet again. But this time the Lakers would take home the championship. During the following offseason the Celtics acquired Bill Walton from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Cedric Maxwell. Walton was a future Hall of Famer and had been a big star with the Portland Trailblazers, but injuries had kept him from living up to the expectations people had of him. He was also a lifelong Celtics fan. He would be a big part of the Celtics' success in 1986. That year the Celtics would field one of the best teams in NBA history. The Celtics would win their 16th and last championship to date, easily defeating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. Jones had led the Celtics to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances against the Lakers and Houston Rockets when all was said and done. Bill Walton would not stay with the team much longer as injuries would force his retirement. The Celtics would remain competitive for the rest of the 80's, but would only return once (1987 - losing 4-2 to the Lakers) to the NBA Finals again after 1986.

The Celtics drafted Len Bias in 1987 NBA Draft and had high hopes for the young University of Maryland star. Tragically, Bias would pass away just a short time later, after experimenting with drugs during a party. It would be the first in a long string of bad luck for the Celtics, and is more importantly long remembered as one of the worst tragedies in all of sports.

The era of the great teams of the 1980's drew to close as Larry Bird began to experience back trouble and Kevin McHale and Robert Parish's skills began to diminish with age. In 1992, the Celtics would win their last Atlantic Division Championship until the 2004-2005 season. Soon after Bird would retire due to his back injures, after thirteen seasons with the club. By this time former player Chris Ford was the coach of the Celtics. Reggie Lewis was seen as Bird's successor and became the new franchise player for the Celtics. In 1995 the Celtics moved from the Boston Garden into the Fleet Center (recently renamed the TD Banknorth Garden).

Tragically, Reggie Lewis would faint during a playoff matchup with the Charlotte Hornets. It was later revealed that Lewis had heart problems, yet he was able to get doctors to clear him for a comeback. Lewis would die of a heart attack after parcipating in a pickup basketball game during the offseason. The Celtics honored his memory during the following season by retiring his number.

Former player M.L. Carr would soon become the team's General Manager and draft young players like Eric Montross and Eric Williams. He would later fire Chris Ford and take the coaching reins himself. After a somewhat disappointing season, the Celtics made the Playoffs only to be easy dealt with in the first round by the Orlando Magic. Robert Parish would leave the team via free agency in 1994. The Celtics continued to play in medicority for the next few years and would fail to make the playoffs.

M.L. Carr stepped aside to another job in the organization when the Celtics acquired Rick Pitino to serve as the team's President, Front Office Manager, and Head Coach. Pitino had led the University of Kentucky to an NCCA Championship and was a very successful head coach, with a short NBA stint with the New York Knicks several years prior. Unfortunately for the Celtics, Pitino would not be the savior everyone expected him to be. Yet would bring several talented young players to the team during his tenure. The Celtics would finish last in the NBA (overall) during the next season. They would fail to win the NBA' Draft Lottery, to determine who got the first pick in the college draft. The Celtics received the third and sixth picks instead. They drafted Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, two players would would not remain fixtures on the team in the long term (although Billups would go onto later success with the Detroit Pistons). The previous year the Celtics would draft future Star Antoine Walker, and the year after that drafted Paul Pierce, a college star who had been expected to go much sooner than the Celtics' pick at number 11 overall. Other notable players Pitino acquired were Walter McCarty, Tony Delk, Eric Williams (re-acquired after leaving the team), and veteran Kenny Anderson.

Pitino failed to coach any successful teams and would resign a few years later, leaving the Celtics in the hands of Assistant Coach Jim O'Brien, a friend of Pitino's who took the reins as Interim Head Coach. Chris Wallace would become the de facto front Office Manager as General Manager of the team. Ironically, the Celtics would greatly improve after the coaching change. Paul Pierce would mature into an NBA Star and was complmented by Antoine Walker, along with the other young veteren players acquired over the years. O'Brien would later be made the permanent head coach. The Celtics had three picks in the draft that year, yet would squander them on players that did not work out in the long run (including Joe Johnson, who would have later success with the Phoenix Suns). The Celtics made the playoffs for the first time in years the following season. The Celtics would make it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the New Jersey Nets. The following season the Celtics would make it back to the playoffs ( but would be eliminated in the second round this time, also by the Nets).

Before their elimination ,the team hired Danny Ainge to take over the front office, pushing Chris Wallace to another job in the organization. Ainge believed the team had reached its peak and promptly traded many of its stars throughout the next season. Antoine Walker was the most notable to go, being traded during training Camp to the Mavericks (along with Tony Delk). Eric Williams and Kenny Anderson would also go during that year. The Celtic however would acquire Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Raef LaFrentz and others. The Celtics would stuggle a bit as they struggled to find their new idenity. Jim O'Brien stepped down during the season to be replaced by Interim Coach John Carroll. The Celtics would make the playoffs only to be swepted in the first round by the Indiana Pacers. Ainge took a lot of critism for breaking up the previous team. Yet he was able to have a few successful drafts, including picks like Marcus Banks, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Delonte West and others. During his second off season Ainge was able to unload a some pay roll when he acquired veterans Gary Payton and Rick Fox from the Los Angeles Lakers. Fox would retire before playing with the team and Payton threatened to not go to training camp. Payton would end up playing for the team during the that season ( 2004-2005). The Celtics were a young team under new coach Doc Rivers. Yet they seemed to have a coup of good young players , led by rookie Al Jefferson, with some good veterans (Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, and Ricky Davis. Before the trading deadline the Celtics would re-acquire Antoine Walker when they dealt Gary Payton to the Atlanta Hawks (Payton would re-sign with the team after being released from the Hawks a week later). With Walker back in the fold, the Celtics would get really hot. They would win their first Atlantic Divison title since 1993. The Pacers would however, defeat them in the first round yet again.

Payton and Walker would both become free agents. Walker was traded to the Miami Heat in a multi team deal (it was a sign and trade deal) that brought the Celtics some young talent. Payton would also sign with the Heat during the off season. Ainge brough in a few more young players during the draft.

As of 2005 the Celtics have never lost a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. They are a perfect 7-0 in these games, winning in 1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1974, and 1984.


Historical Rivalries
The Boston Celtics have had a longstanding rivalry, especially throughout the 80s, with the Los Angeles Lakers. At the height of the rivalry, the Lakers and Celtics would win 8 NBA Championships in the decade (The Lakers won 5 while the Celtics won 3), and would play each other in the NBA Finals 3 different times. The rivalry was cooled off as the Celtics slipped into mediocrity in the 90s, but Lakers-Celtics is considered by many NBA fans to be the league's greatest rivalry. The Celtics also have historical ties with the Philadelphia 76ers, who played with the Celtics in tense playoff series in the 60s and 80s.



Current Roster

34: Paul Pierce (F-G) (Captain)



44: Brian Scalabrine (F)



13: Delonte West (G)



43: Kendrick Perkins ©



7: Al Jefferson (F)



12: Allan Ray (G)



5: Gerald Green (G-F)



4: Ryan Gomes (F)



0: Leon Powe (F)



42: Tony Allen (G)



41: Michael Olokwandi ©



55: Wally Szczerbiak (F)



50: Theo Ratliff (C-F)



9: Rajon Rondo (G)



30: Sebastian Telfair (G)




The Arena - TD Banknorth Garden

Traditionally, the Celtics and Bruins played at Boston Garden, the scene of various triumphs and failures from its opening in 1928 until its closure 70 years later in 1998. Both teams moved to the TD Banknorth Garden in 1995, and it has been both teams' home arena since. It seats 18,624 for basketball, 17,565 for hockey and has an overall capacity of 19,580.

[Tealey7]

Current Standings:

Philadelphia 13-12
New Jersey 12-12
Boston 10-14
New York 6-17
Toronto 5-20

Dan Dickau surgery is success

Originally Posted by celtics.com

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics announced today that guard Dan Dickau had successful surgery to repair a ruptured right achilles tendon at New England Baptist Hospital. The surgery was performed by Team Physician Dr. Brian McKeon and Dr. Mark Slovenkai.

Dickau suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Celtics game at Chicago December 17, 2005. He will be out indefinitely.

The 6-0 guard was acquired on September 30, 2005 in a deal that sent Miami’s 2006 second round draft choice to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Dickau has appeared in 19 games averaging 3.3 points and 2.1 assists in 12.3 minutes per game.

Next Game Preview

Our next game is tonight against the 11-13 Utah Jazz. Here are the starters for both teams:



PG: Delonte West
SG: Ricky Davis
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Mark Blount
C: Kendrick Perkins



PG: Deron Williams
SG: Gordan Giricek
SF: Andrei Kirilenko
PF: Mehmet Okur
C: Jaron Collins

My tip: I think the Celtics will edge it 82-80

[Tealey7]

Game Review



Boston 101----------Utah 89

Originally Posted by nba.com

It took 10 tries for the Boston Celtics to finally see double.

Paul Pierce scored 30 points and carried things down the stretch as the Celtics put together consecutive wins for the first time this season with a 101-89 victory over the slumping Utah Jazz.


Still searching for consistency with a young roster, the Celtics became the last team to win consecutive games. They had been 0-9 after wins and were coming off Monday's 109-98 victory over Golden State.

"We finally got that monkey off our backs," Pierce joked. "It wasn't pretty, but we got it done."

Pierce made 11-of-21 shots and 8-of-9 free throws as he took advantage of the absence of Andrei Kirilenko, the Jazz's best defensive player who was sidelined with back spasms.

Pierce was at his best late, scoring the Celtics' final 10 points. His 17-footer with 3:24 remaining provided a 93-82 lead.

"I told Paul with 5:30 left that he needed to get into this game, he needed to take this game over," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I can tell you that I did not mean that."

"I know what he means, but I guess I kind of did it literally," Pierce said. "He means defend and rebound and do all of the little things to help the team win. It was my scoring down the stretch that helped us."

Ricky Davis added 20 points for the Celtics, who reeled off a 16-2 run to start the second quarter to take the lead for good.

The Celtics used their quickness to their advantage the entire game, getting to the basket and drawing fouls. Boston made 37-of-45 free throws while Utah went just 13-of-20 at the line.

"They shot 45 free throws and we shoot 20," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "On the road we're never going to win. You don't have a chance to win."

Sloan was also troubled by Utah's 23 turnovers that led to 29 points for the Celtics. The Jazz turned the ball over three times in less than a minute in the fourth quarter, thwarting any chance of a comeback.

"Three turnovers and we put them on the foul line and all of a sudden it was a 10-point game," said Jazz forward Matt Harpring, who scored 19 points. "It's frustrating because we can be good, and then we don't play as a team."

Mehmet Okur led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who fell to 1-3 on a five-game road trip.

Keith McLeod made 1-of-2 free throws with 9:18 remaining to pull Utah within 78-76. However, the Jazz went cold and managed just two baskets in nearly 6 1/2 minutes as the Celtics rebuilt the lead to 91-80 with 3:53 remaining on two free throws by Delonte West.

West, who missed Monday game after lingering effects from a concussion suffered Saturday in Chicago, had a solid all-around game with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

"I thought the guy who won the game was Delonte West with the little plays," Rivers said. "He had his hands on everything. He got loose balls. His effort and his hustle were the difference in this game."

Who got the points?

G: Delonte West---15
G: Ricky Davis---20
F: Paul Pierce---30
F: Mark Blount---14
C: Kendrick Perkins---5

Subs

F: Al Jefferson---10
G: Marcus Banks---4
F: Raef LaFrentz---0
G: Orien Greene---2
F: Brian Scalabrine---0
F: Ryan Gomes---1

Current Standings

Philadelphia 14-12
New Jersey 13-12
Boston 11-14
New York 6-18
Toronto 6-20

[Tealey7]

Next game Preview

Originally Posted by nba.com

SEATTLE (Ticker) - The Seattle SuperSonics hope to put a stop to their poor home play when they host the Boston Celtics on Monday.

The SuperSonics have lost five of their last six home games, including Friday's 101-98 defeat against Dallas, a game in which they held a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Vladimir Radmanovic scored 20 points off the bench while Ray Allen adding 19 in the defeat. Allen made just 8-of-21 shots from the floor.

Rashard Lewis collected 16 points and 12 rebounds for Seattle, which has lost two in a row and five of seven overall.

Boston is in the midst of its first winning streak of the season. The Celtics became the last team in the NBA to win consecutive games when they toppled Utah on Wednesday, 101-89.

Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ricky Davis added 20 for Boston, which missed all 10 of its shots from the arc.

The Celtics have won five of the last six games against the Sonics, including both meetings last season.

Probable starters



C: Kendrick Perkins
F: Mark Blount
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Mikki Moore
F: Vitaly Potapenko
F: Damien Wilkins
G: Ray Allen
G: Mateen Cleaves

[Tealey7]

Game Review


http://www.nba.com/media/PierceP435.jpg


Boston-----111
Seattle-----118

Originally Posted by nba.com

Ronald "Flip" Murray was the spark the Seattle SuperSonics needed off the bench.

Murray scored 18 of his 29 points in the third quarter as the SuperSonics earned a much-needed 118-111 home victory over the Boston Celtics.


Paul Pierce matched his season high with 43 points on 13-of-25 shooting and 16-of-21 free throws for Boston, which fell to 2-9 on the road. Starting guard Luke Ridnour was ill and did not play in the second half, opening the door for Murray, who took full advantage of his 32 minutes on the floor, making 10-of-15 shots and 7-of-10 free throws. "I had a chance to go out there and play more tonight," said Murray, who finished two points shy of his career high point total. "I think a lot of stuff opened for me because they were collapsing a lot on Ray (Allen) and Rashard (Lewis)." Murray's performance may have been even more impressive if he did not suffer two dislocated fingers late in the fourth quarter. X-rays were negative and he will be re-evaluated Tuesday. "Ronald Murray was just fantastic," Seattle coach Bob Weiss said. "He had 29 points, five assists and two dislocated fingers." "He (Murray) was great," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "He made big shots. He's a shot maker. He's capable of doing that." Murray's jumper with 2:56 to go in the third capped a 26-7 run and gave Seattle an 82-71 advantage. Finishing with 22 second-half points, Murray was responsible for 12 points during the surge. With the game tied at 105-105, Murray converted a three-point play that put Seattle ahead for good with 3:40 remaining. Delonte West hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull the Celtics to within 112-111 with 1:44 left, but Pierce missed a jumper and the Sonics put away the game at the foul line. Lewis finished with 21 points for Seattle, which had six players in double figures. Allen scored 18 despite shooting just 3-of-13 from the floor, including 0-of-7 from the arc. "Every time I play against Boston they jump pick-and-rolls hard and force the other team's main scorers to give the ball up," Allen said. "You've got to trust your other guys to step up and make plays and tonight Flip was the guy who made plays for us." The Sonics won for just the second time in their last seven home games, relinquishing several fourth quarter leads during that stretch. They led by nine in the opening minute of the fourth quarter Monday, but the Celtics battled back to take a brief 97-96 lead with 7:57 left in the game. "Our main conversation in the locker room was finishing the game in the fourth quarter," Lewis said. "We have got to finilalalala and make sure we get these wins. They came back, but we kept our composure and kept playing." Nick Collison had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Reggie Evans had 14 and eight and Danny Fortson added 12 and seven for the Sonics, who held a 20-7 advantage on the offensive glass. "The difference in the game was that their bigs just manhandled us," Rivers said. "Thirteen extra shots (from the offensive rebounds) makes it tough to win." Ricky Davis collected 20 points and seven assists, Mark Blount finished with 14 points and West and Marcus Banks had 12 apiece for Boston, which lost to Seattle for just the second time in seven meetings. Despite his big scoring night, Pierce, who took 25 shots, thought he should have had even more opportunities down the stretch. "Guys have to step up and understand that the focus is on me," he said. "When I have it going, you have to look for it. I thought a couple of times we went out on our own and wasted possessions. It's a learning experience and this team is still learning."

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----14
F: Kendrick Perkins----0
F: Paul Pierce---43
G: Ricky Davis----20
G: Delonte West----12

Bench

F: Raef LaFrentz----4
G: Marcus Banks----12
F: Al Jefferson----4
F: Ryan Gomes---2
G: Orien Greene----0
F: Justin Reed----0
F: Brian Scalabrine----0

Current Standings

New Jersey 16-12
Philadelphia 15-13
Boston 11-15
New York 7-19
Toronto 6-22

Our next game is tonight against Golden State Warriors away from home.

[Tealey7]

Paul Pierce to face Jason Richardson in this week's Nike Baller of the Week

Our star player Paul Pierce will come up against living legend Jason Richardson in the Nike Baller of the week. From what I've picked up, this is a fan's vote on who they think is better. The two players will be matching up in a game this week (tonight) so that is how the two players are chosen. Enough garbling, let's get on with the next game's preview.....

Next game Preview

Originally Posted by nba.com

Boston (11-15) at Golden State (14-14) 10:30 pm EST

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors find themselves at a crossroads as Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics visit on Wednesday.

The Warriors got off to a 12-6 start this season but have dropped eight of their last 10 games to fall back to the .500 mark.

In danger of falling below .500 for the first time this season, Golden State will have to improve its defense, which has been porous of late. The Warriors have yielded an average of 110.6 points during the losing streak, while allowing four of the five opponents to score at least 108 points.

The Warriors' worst defensive performance in that stretch came Monday in a 118-112 loss to Denver, which scored 44 points in the first quarter and shot 60 percent (47-of-7 for the game.

Jason Richardson scored a team-high 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Mike Dunleavy Jr. added a season-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting for Golden State, which lost despite shooting 11-of-19 from the arc.

Boston is coming off a 118-111 loss in Seattle on Monday despite 43 points from Pierce, who shot 13-of-25 from the field and 16-of-21 from the foul line.

Ricky Davis chipped in 20 points and seven assists for the Celtics, who shot just 2-of-18 from 3-point range.

Boston posted a 109-98 triumph over Golden State on December 19 in the first meeting. Davis led six players in double figures with 21 points and Pierce added 19 and nine boards for the Celtics, who held a 49-37 rebounding advantage.

Probable starters



C: Kendrick Perkins
F: Mark Blount
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Adonal Foyle
F: Troy Murphy
F: Mike Dunleavy
G: Jason Richardson
G: Baron Davis

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Originally Posted by nba.com

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 28 (Ticker) -- Derek Fisher's driving layup and Jason Richardson's efforts on both ends allowed the Golden State Warriors to end their recent skid.
Fisher connected on the go-ahead basket with 6.2 seconds left before Richardson, who tied a season high with 36 points, preserved a 111-109 triumph over the Boston Celtics with a sparkling defensive play on Paul Pierce.


The game was deadlocked, 109-109, when Fisher, who scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, took the ball from beyond the 3-point line and charged toward the basket. He flew under the rim and flipped a lefthanded layup beyond the outstretched arms of Delonte West.

"I didn't want to force the three that we really didn't need so my initial thought was make something happen from here," Fisher said. "We knew they were going to switch, so we knew Baron was going to have an opportunity to make a play and I got into the middle of the lane and forced those guys to have to help a little bit."

Pierce, who scored 28 points, ignored the Celtics bench that wanted a timeout and drove the ball the length of the court but had the ball poked away by Richardson before he could attempt a shot.

"I was just trying to defend him," Richardson said. "Paul is their go-to guy on the team. ... Baron was coming around him and he left the ball in front of my face so I knocked it out of there. We knew he was going to take the last shot. He wasn't passing that ball so we tried to double-team him a little bit and luckily, we came away with the steal."

The Celtics star, who is one of the best last-second shooters in the league, admitted that he made a mistake by ignoring the timeout requests.

"I thought in the huddle we were going to get it out, make or a miss, but I guess the coach said, 'If he makes it, call a timeout,'" Pierce said. "If he misses, let's go with it. But I'm not the only guy out there on the court. We have four other guys out there also who could have called timeout so I don't know."

"That was the call but we didn't do it, so that's my fault, I guess," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We wanted a timeout and it wasn't called. I take the blame because if I didn't make it clear enough, then it's my fault. Our plan was on a miss, we were not going to call a timeout. But on a make, we wanted to call a timeout."

Golden State guard Baron Davis scooped up the loose ball, putting an end to the Warriors' season-high five-game losing streak.

"The guys were a little down but winning cures all that," Richardson said. "I'm glad we got this win tonight. We really wanted to get this one and we all played hard."

The Warriors held a 97-89 advantage with 8:21 left but the Celtics chipped away at the deficit behind Ricky Davis and Mark Blount, who finished with 24 and 21 points, respectively.

The Celtics eventually tied the contest, 107-107, with 1:55 left on a pair of free throws by Davis, who got the opportunity after he was fouled rebounding a missed free throw by Pierce.

Richardson responded with a baseline jumper but Blount answered with 1:13 to go. Both teams then missed opportunities to jump ahead before Fisher finally gave the Warriors the lead.

So it was an unlucky loss for the Celtics, falling just short of Jay-Rich and co.


Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----21
F: Kendrick Perkins----1
F: Paul Pierce----28
G: Ricky Davis----24
G: Delonte West----19


Bench

F: Raef LaFrentz----5
F: Al Jefferson----9
G: Marcus Banks----0
G: Orien Greene----2
F: Ryan Gomes----0
F: Justin Reed----0

Current Standings

New Jersey: 16-12
Philadelphia: 15-14
Boston: 11-16
New York: 7-20
Toronto: 7-22

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Originally Posted by nba.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 30 (Ticker) -- Mike Bibby and Kenny Thomas allowed the Sacramento Kings to close a tough month on a high note.

Bibby collected 33 points and 10 rebounds and Thomas added a season-high 29 points as the Kings posted a 116-112 victory over the struggling Boston Celtics.


Sacramento came in with a 4-9 record in December and saw starters Peja Stojakovic, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim all go down with injuries.

The loss of those players made Bibby the focal point of the offense. He responded with season-highs of 38 points and 10 rebounds in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Bibby continued it Friday as his 3-pointer gave the Kings a 71-56 advantage with 8:45 left in the third quarter.

However, the Celtics rallied behind Ricky Davis and seven 3-pointers. Davis netted three of the 3-pointers as he scored 14 of his 33 points in the third quarter as Boston grabbed an 82-81 edge with less than two minutes left in the period.

Sacramento built a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Boston shaved its deficit to 104-101 with 2:53 left on a pair of free throws by Paul Pierce, who collected 22 points and nine assists.

However, the Kings responded with a 9-2 burst, with Thomas scoring seven of them to hand the Celtics their third straight loss on their West Coast swing and drop them to 2-11 on the road overall.

Second loss in a row for the Celts.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----10
F: Kendrick Perkins----0
F: Paul Pierce----22
G: Ricky Davis----33
G: Delonte West----14

Bench

F: Raef LaFrentz----10
F: Al Jefferson----10
G: Marcus Banks----13
G: Orien Greene----0

Current Standings

New Jersey: 17-12
Philadelphia: 15-14
Boston: 11-17
Toronto: 8-22
New York: 7-21

Our next game is tonight against the LA Clippers, and is our last game of 2005. All I can say in assessment of the Celtics this year is that it has been a year of ups and downs. We reached the playoffs last season, but were knocked out in the first round by the Indiana Pacers. Our rookies came of age. Our more experienced pros led the way. Let's hope 2006 can be even better.....

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

Originally Posted by Matt Pinto

The Clippers look to ring out '05 with their second consecutive winning month to begin the season as they confront the road weary 11-17 Boston Celtics Saturday night (December 31 at 6:30 pm) at the Staples Center.

Despite suffering losses in six of their last eight games, the Clips can wrap up December with a solid 7-6 record with a triumph in this game. Not bad given the fact that they've played the most part of the season without three of their top eight players and will be without Zeljko Rebraca (irregular heartbeat), Corey Maggette (sprained left foot) and Quinton Ross (sore lower back) in this one.

While 16-11 Los Angeles is coming off of three detail intensive days of practice since suffering their worst home loss of the season (Tuesday's 110-93 loss to Sacramento), the Celts will be playing for the second consecutive night (falling in Sacramento on Friday 116-112) and will lace 'em up for their fourth game in five days as they play the fourth game of a five game Western road trip. Thus far they have nothing to show for their efforts being dealt close high scoring setbacks in Seattle, Golden Staten and Sacramento. This is a potent offensive team, with Paul Pierce (26ppg) and Ricky Davis (21ppg) leading the way, that struggles to stop opponents. Boston is the league's third best shooting outfit with six players averaging 8.5 or more points per game, but it's an outfit that's given up 100 or more points defensively no less than 16 times in 28 games. And on this road trip the Celtics have given up at least 111 points to each of their three foes. They also have a tough time protecting the ball, coughing it up 17 times per game.

The Clippers figure to come rested, ready and HUNGRY for this one given the time that they've had off to gear up for Boston's attack and the fact that they were embarrassed last time out at home by the Kings. L.A. has struggled to score the ball of late, going seven consecutive games without hitting the century mark. This opponent could be just what the doctor ordered to cure what ails the Clippers offense. As for how Mike Dunleavy's squad will contain the tandem of Pierce and Davis without the wing defensive presence of Maggette or Ross? He may opt to play zone more often than usual to force the Celts to fire from long distance. Boston is one of the league's youngest outfits. Should the Clippers come with a strong effort from the opening tip, this opponent, beaten down by close losses and a ton of travel recently, may be ready to pack it in and begin ringing in the new year a tad early. We'll see.

WATCH FOR:

:: The Clippers ability to handle the dribble penetration of Celtics reserve point guard Marcus Banks. Mike Bibby tore them up off the bounce on Tuesday night. I suspect Celtics head coach Doc Rivers to go to Banks early to sub for starting floor leader Delonte West to test L.A.'s perimeter defense. Banks is very quick and loves to attack opposing defenses in the lane. He'll test the Clippers defense from the time he steps foot on the floor.
:: The Clippers to vary their defensive looks against a suspect ball handling Celtics team. Los Angeles may change looks frequently in hopes of baffling Boston into clusters of turnovers. That strategy, if well executed, could allow the Clips the opportunity to generate a running game that's been a big stagnant of late. Easy baskets in bunches will get the New Year's eve STAPLES Center crowd into the game and the Clippers offense back on track in a hurry.
:: Sam Cassell to come back strong from a four game stretch in which he's made just 24% from the field. He missed 11 of the 12 shots that he attempted against the Kings on Tuesday night. Although his opposite numbers (Delonte West and Marcus Banks) are quick and capable defensively they are also very young. Sam I Am has made a habit of feasting on inexperienced opposing point men over the course of his stellar 13 season NBA career. West and Banks may be exposed in a big way by night's end.
:: Paul Pierce to look to dominate this game from the opening tip offensively. He was held in check in Sacramento on Friday (limited to 22 points on 7-18 shooting). That fact, plus his return home to Los Angeles figure to spur him on in an attempt to get the Celtics into the win column on this Western swing. James Singleton, Cuttino Mobley and Shaun Livingston beware: 'the Truth' will load up intent on unleashing a furious assault in this game.


DEFENSE will determine the winner of this game. The Clippers offered very little resistance against Sacramento on Tuesday, allowing the Kings to get comfortable in the first quarter and they were never contained. Los Angeles must contain the high octane Celtics in the game's early stages in order to curtail any hopes that Boston may have of an upset.

If the Clippers execute all that they've practiced over the past three days their aggressive, ever-shifting defensive looks figure to turn the young Celts over and generate offense aplenty for Los Angeles. Boston figures to be fatigued playing the fourth game in five days with key pieces Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis playing 40 plus minutes last night in Sacramento. Those factors could well have the Celtics playing a step slower at the defensive end of the floor allowing L.A. ample opportunity to take command.

In the absence of Corey Maggette and Quinton Ross it will be important that reserve James Singleton play smart defensively in this game. He possesses the athleticism to pester both Pierce and Davis when asked to guard either man on man. He could play a key defensive role in this game as the Clippers battle to swing the pendulum back in a positive direction entering the new year. With Phoenix having established a one and a half game lead over L.A. in the Pacific Division, the Clippers need a win at home in this game before hitting the road for a January first clash with the Blazers in Portland in an effort to get even with the Suns.

Probable Starters



C: Kendrick Perkins
F: Mark Blount
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Chris Kaman
F: Elton Brand
F: Cuttino Mobley
G: Shaun Livingston
G: Sam Cassell

Let's hope the Celtics can see out 2005 on a good note. See you next year!

[Aleksandr Hleb]

Pal,this thread is really good!!!I can't help waiting for your next update tealy.

[Tealey7]

@Aleksandr Hleb- Glad you like reading.

Game Review

So last night was our last game of 2005 against the LA Clippers. Let's see what happened:

Originally Posted by nba.com

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 31 (Ticker) -- After a difficult month, the Boston Celtics made sure they finished 2005 on a good note.

Ricky Davis scored 20 points and Paul Pierce added 19 as the Celtics snapped their three-game slide with a 111-92 triumph over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers, who have dropped seven of their last nine contests.


"We got that monkey off our back, we won this and if we play like we did tonight we'll win again," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought everyone played well."

Boston had struggled in the month of December, finishing with a 6-9 record and recording only two road wins overall before tonight. With the victory, the Celtics improved to 1-3 on their current five-game West Coast swing.

"We don't want to get over-excited with just one win," said Pierce, who made 8-of-12 shots. "We are just trying to be consistent. We have to sustain a group of wins and then I'll be able to say we are successful."

Boston led, 42-35, in the second quarter and extended its lead with an 8-0 run as Pierce scored four points during the stretch. The Celtics held a 64-46 advantage at intermission after outscoring the Clippers, 33-15, in the second.

"Our defense was good but I thought our energy was the key to the game," Rivers said. "We also wanted to focus on just giving them one shot at the basket and I thought we did a good job of that."

"(In the) second quarter, defensively, we were terrible," Los Angeles coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We made a lot of mistakes and the scoreboard showed it."

The Clippers made a late surge to get within 91-81 on Cuttino Mobley's jumper with 9:00 remaining, but Boston scored the next six points to create some breathing room.

"The second half, we came out and did a better job with our coverages, but they have some players who can just knock down shots," Dunleavy said.

Los Angeles received little help from its bench as it was outscored by the Celtics' reserves, 38-8.

"I knew this was going to be an energy game and Raef (LaFrentz) and Marcus (Banks) came off the bench and gave us some great relief," Rivers said.

Banks scored 14 points and Al Jefferson and LaFrentz added 13 for the Celtics, who shot 56 percent (47-of-83) from the field and collected six blocked shots.

"When we come into the game we have to come with energy and have focus," LaFrentz said. "Tonight, we had good runs with a good group on the floor which helped us pull out to a lead in the second quarter."

"A lot of guys were big for us tonight and we kept our turnovers down," Pierce said. "We wanted to end 2005 with a win that's what we did."

Mobley scored 27 points and Sam Cassell added 24 for the Clippers, who made 37-of-80 shots (46 percent) and 14-of-19 free throws.

"It's not going to get any easier with the schedule that way it is," said Cassell, who made 8-of-12 shots. Leading scorer Elton Brand had a silent game with 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

"We started but then fell into a lull in the second quarter with our defense," said Brand, who committed six turnovers. "We just kept giving up too many layups throughout that period."

After a four-game winning streak to start the month had Los Angeles (16-12) atop the Pacific Division, it has dropped seven of nine games and sits 2 1/2 games behind Phoenix entering January.

So it was a good win for the Celtics, a good way to close 2005.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----9
F: Al Jefferson----13
F: Paul Pierce----19
G: Ricky Davis----20
G: Delonte West----12

Bench

F: Kendrick Perkins----2
F: Raef LaFrentz----13
F: Justin Reed----4
F: Brian Scalabrine----5
F: Ryan Gomes----0
G: Marcus Banks----14
G: Orien Greene----0

Current Standings

New Jersey: 17-12
Philadelphia: 15-15
Boston: 12-17
Toronto: 8-22
New York: 7-21

Our next game is on Monday against the Denver Nuggets away. Thanks for reading.

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

Our next game is tonight against Denver Nuggets. Here's a preview....

Originally Posted by cnn.com

The Denver Nuggets are still looking for their first win on a six-game homestand as they host the Boston Celtics .

The Nuggets have lost three in a row to start the stand, including setbacks to Philadelphia, Seattle and defending NBA champion San Antonio.

After starting the season 6-1 at home, the Nuggets are 3-6 in their last nine at the Pepsi Center, allowing an average of 104.2 points per game over that span.

In Saturday's 98-88 loss to the Spurs, Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Kenyon Martin added 11 and 12 rebounds, but Denver shot a season-worst 34.2 percent from the floor and registered its lowest point total at home this season.

''We thought this was a time we could get well,'' said Martin, whose double-double was his first of the season after entering the campaign with 84 in 353 career games. ''Come home, got six straight home games. It's very frustrating.''

Adding to coach George Karl's frustration was a wasted effort by a defense that held the Spurs' second-leading scorer, Tony Parker , to just six points on 3 of 9 shooting.

''That's what happens when you're struggling,'' Karl said. ''We did a great job on Parker. Kenyon and our (big guys) did a great job battling and competing in the paint. Best rebounding game we've had in a long time. And someone told me we missed over 20 layups and we made free throws when it didn't count. We didn't make free throws when it did count.''

Anthony has scored 25 or more points in seven straight games, and has averaged 20.3 points in four games against Boston during his career. After the Celtics, the Nuggets will host Indiana and Dallas.

Boston is 1-3 on its five-game road trip and is looking to win consecutive games for just the second time this season.

The Celtics snapped a six-game road losing streak with a 111-92 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Ricky Davis had 20 points and Paul Pierce chipped in 19 to pace an offense that had six double-digit scorers and shot 56.6 percent from the field.

The Celtics are just 2-7 when they shoot better than 50 percent this season.

''We wanted to finish the year off right,'' Pierce said. ''We know we've been so close, and for us to get a win like this feels good - especially finishing 2005 off with a win. But we've won back-to-back games once this year, so I don't think we're going to get too high. I mean, we're still trying to build some consistency as a team. Hopefully, we got the monkey off our back.''

Pierce, averaging 26.2 points per game this season, has averaged 26.1 points in 13 games against the Nuggets during his career.

Boston holds a 40-23 advantage in the all-time series, but Denver has won the last two meetings and is 17-14 against the Celtics at home.

The Celtics won consecutive home games from Dec. 19-21, against Golden State and Utah, respectively.

Probable Starters



C: Mark Blount
F: Al Jefferson
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Francisco Elson
F: Kenyon Martin
F: Carmelo Anthony
G: Greg Buckner
G: Andre Miller

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Our latest game was last night against Denver Nuggets. Let's see what happened....

Originally Posted by nba.com

DENVER, Jan. 2 (Ticker) -- Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony had had enough losing.

Martin scored 24 points and Anthony added 23 as the Denver Nuggets ended their three-game slide with a 120-110 triumph over the Boston Celtics, who finished their five-game road trip.

Anthony was stellar in December averaging better than 29 points per game and pulling down 5.8 rebounds. He started 2006 right where he left off, connecting on 9-of-15 from the field and blocking a season-high three shots.

"I'm just glad we got the win," said Anthony, who has scored at least 20 points in 16 straight contests. "Hopefully we can start this year off right. We can take this game and gain a lot of confidence off of this."

Denver built a 58-53 lead at intermission and added to its advantage with an 11-4 surge to open the third quarter. Martin contributed four points during the stretch.

"I was just trying to be aggressive early," said Martin, who made 10-of-15 shots. "Hopefully I can keep it going. I'm going to keep working on my game and keep on doing the same things I've been doing to get to this point."

"We got a big-time game out of Kenyon tonight," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "His ability to score around the basket and power the ball to the basket gave us a great presence."

Anthony's layup with 10 minutes remaining gave the Nuggets a commanding 101-81 lead. The Celtics got no closer than 11 points thereafter.

Miller registered his 11th double-double with 20 points and 14 assists and Earl Boykins scored 18 points for Denver, which shot 52 percent (41-of-7 from the field.

"Andre had an incredibly good floor game," Karl said. "The pace and the aggressiveness had a great feel to it."

Paul Pierce scored 29 points and Delonte West added a career-high 20 for the Celtics, who shot 50 percent (40-of-79) but committed 18 turnovers.

"We're shooting over 50 percent but we need to keep our turnovers down," Pierce said. "I think we're allowing the most points off turnovers in the league. Our offense is good but it can be our worst enemy at times."

Boston, which has lost three in a row to the Nuggets, went 1-4 on its trip and dropped to just 3-12 away from home.

"It's a disappointing road trip but it's something we'll deal with," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought some of our guys came with a great effort and some of them had their luggage in their minds already on the plane. It's been a long trip."

Boykins' 3-pointer with 9:09 remaining in the second quarter gave the Nuggets the lead for good at 38-36 and was part of a 16-5 run that bridged the first and second quarters.

So it was a 120-110 loss for the Celtics.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----15
F: Al Jefferson----6
F: Paul Pierce----29
G: Ricky Davis----9
G: Delonte West----20

Bench

F: Kendrick Perkins----4
F: Justin Reed----11
F: Raef LaFrentz----3
F: Brian Scalabrine----7
G: Marcus Banks----6
G: Orien Greene----0

Current Standings

New Jersey: 17-12
Philadelphia: 15-15
Boston: 12-18
New York: 8-21
Toronto: 8-22

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

Our next game is at home, tonight against the 10-21 Charlotte Bobcats.

Originally Posted by cnn.com

The Boston Celtics have had no problem putting points on the scoreboard, but winning still hasn't come easy for them.

The Celtics look to score over 100 points for the eighth straight game when they return home to meet the Charlotte Bobcats .

Boston is averaging 109.0 points in its last seven games, but has only three wins during that span. The Celtics haven't scored more than 100 in eight consecutive games since Feb. 3-20, 1997, when they accomplished the feat in 10 straight but managed only one win.

The Celtics lost to the Denver Nuggets 120-110 on Monday night to complete a 1-4 road trip.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 29 points and Delonte West added a career-high 20 for Boston, which is averaging 98.9 points but allowing 100.9 a game.

''The difference was I thought some of our guys came with great effort. And I thought some of our guys had their luggage, in their minds, already on the plane,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ''That was the fear before the game. It was a long trip for some of our guys. I was worried about it before the game started and my concern was realized.''

Ricky Davis scored nine points on 3-for-16 shooting, and the Celtics had 18 turnovers against the Nuggets. Boston is among the league leaders with 17.2 turnovers a game.

''Turnovers just killed us,'' Rivers said. ''When we defend better we'll be a better team. When we stop our turnovers we'll be a better team. When we value shots we'll be a better team.''

Turnovers could be a problem again for Boston Wednesday with Charlotte leading the league with 321 steals.

Brevin Knight is in the top 3 in the NBA with an average of 2.4 steals a game, and is averaging 18.0 points in his last three contests against the Celtics.

The Bobcats' three-game road winning streak ended with a 103-86 loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night.

With four big men injured and 7-foot-1 center Primoz Brezec in foul trouble, the Bobcats resorted to a smaller lineup that gave the Hornets trouble throughout the first half. Charlotte trailed by one at halftime but was outscored 50-34 in the second half.

Knight had 19 points and Gerald Wallace scored 14 for the Bobcats, 1-5 all-time against the Celtics.

Probable Starters



C: Mark Blount
F: Al Jefferson
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Primoz Brezec
F: Gerald Wallace
F: Bernard Robinson
G: Kareem Rush
G: Brevin Knight

[Tealey7]

Game Review

The Celtics played the Bobcats on January 4th. Let's see what happened....

Originally Posted by nba.com

BOSTON, Jan. 4 (Ticker) -- All-Star Paul Pierce was glad to be at home and clearly was in an offensive state of mind.

Pierce scored 21 of his 31 points in the first half and the Boston Celtics overcame 24 turnovers to squeeze out a 109-106 triumph over the struggling Charlotte Bobcats.


Coming off a dismal 1-4 West Coast swing, Boston improved to a respectable 10-6 at the TD Banknorth Garden. Pierce, who averaged better than 28 points on the road trip, connected on 11-of-17 shots, including two 3-pointers, and added 10 assists and eight rebounds.

"A guy like Pierce, they put the ball in his hands and he makes plays," Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. That's the difference in the basketball game."

The Bobcats trailed, 75-59, midway through the third quarter but rallied with a 22-6 burst to forge an 81-81 tie entering the final period. Jumaine Jones and Gerald Wallace combined to score 14 points during the spurt.

Charlotte grabbed an 88-87 lead on a basket by Bernard Robinson with 9:43 to play. It still was tied, 100-100, on two free throws by Robinson with 2:39 left.

"We were very fortunate," Pierce said. "Obviously, there are a lot of things we have to work on. It gets frustrating when you know what your weaknesses are and you go in and you take care of one, but then the other one hurts you. I thought we played good defense today, we only allowed them to shoot 40 percent, but we turned the ball over 24 times. So, I'm waiting for the day we can get more consistent."

Pierce made a layup with 1:16 remaining before Brevin Knight sank two foul shots to tie the game for the last time.

An easy basket by rookie Orien Greene gave Boston the lead for good with 57 seconds left, and the Celtics made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

"I'm basically waiting on my name to get called, my number to get called, and just go out there and help the team win," said Greene, who scored six points. "The play was called and I knew everybody would be looking for me to just pass the ball to the man rolling (off a screen) so I just played and went to the basket."

Ricky Davis scored 23 points and Mark Blount added 18 and eight rebounds for Boston, which shot 57 percent (40-of-70) overall and 6-of-11 from behind the arc.

Wallace had 20 points and five blocked shots and Knight contributed 18 points and 12 assists for the Bobcats, who scored 35 points off turnovers but made just 1-of-8 3-pointers in their third straight loss.

"This one really hurts," said Wallace, who grabbed nine rebounds. "We played as hard as we could and we gave it all we could. There were just some key possessions and some calls and things that didn't go our way. Guys stepped in and did what they could do. We fought the game all the way down to maybe the last minute-and-a-half and things just got out of hand."

In addition to forcing turnovers, Charlotte outworked Boston on the boards all night, outrebounding the Celtics on the offensive glass, 17-5.

"We have to play perfectly offensively to win games right now," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "The number that stands out to me obviously is the 35 (Charlotte) points off the turnovers. It was also 17-5 in offensive rebounds. If you give up 35 points off turnovers and then get outrebounded (offensively) 17-5 and you win the game, that's an amazing feat. It really is, when you think about it just number-wise."

It was a good win for the Celtics, even if the margin was only 3 points.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----18
F: Al Jefferson----8
F: Paul Pierce----31
G: Ricky Davis----23
G: Delonte West----11

Bench

F: Brian Scalabrine----0
F: Justin Reed----6
F: Kendrick Perkins----0
F: Raef LaFrentz----5
G: Marcus Banks----1
G: Orien Greene----6

Our next match is tonight against Atlanta Hawks.

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

Our next game is tonight against Atlanta. Last time we played them, the Hawks ended a losing streak by beating us. They now look to do the same...

BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks ended a long losing streak to start the season by upending the Boston Celtics. They will try to snap another slide when they visit the Celtics on Friday.

Atlanta opened the season with nine straight losses and had yet to score more than 97 points before breaking out offensively in a 120-117 victory over Boston on November 23. Al Harrington scored 34 points for the Hawks, who have lost four straight games both on the road and overall entering Friday.

The latter of those slides was extended with Tuesday's 108-97 loss to Toronto. Harrington and two others scored 18 points but Atlanta was hurt by 18 turnovers and a 2-of-11 (18 percent) effort from the arc.

The Hawks had won five of seven before their current skid but are a league-worst 2-14 on the road.

The Celtics know all about struggling on the road, going 1-4 on a difficult trek before posting a 109-106 victory over Charlotte in a return home Wednesday.

Paul Pierce nearly recorded a triple-double with 31 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as Boston won its third straight at home. The Celtics overcame 23 turnovers by shooting 57 percent (40-of-70) from the floor.

Pierce had 33 points in Boston's loss in Atlanta in November.

Probable Starters



C: Al Jefferson
F: Mark Blount
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Zaza Pachulia
F: Al Harrington
F: Josh Smith
G: Joe Johnson
G: Royal Ivey

And because I didn't do them in the last post.......

Current Standings

New Jersey: 17-12
Philadelphia: 16-16
Boston: 13-18
Toronto: 10-22
New York: 8-21

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Let's see how we did against Atlanta in our latest game.



We lost 103-98.

Originally Posted by nba.com

BOSTON, Jan. 6 (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks love playing the Boston Celtics when they are on a losing streak.

Al Harrington scored 28 points and Joe Johnson added 20 as the Hawks ended their four-game skid with a 103-98 triumph over the Celtics.

Atlanta opened the season with a nine-game slide which it ended with a 120-117 home win over Boston on November 23. On Friday, the Celtics became the first team this season to lose twice to the Hawks.

"Obviously a home game against Atlanta, you hope you can win," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who briefly left the game during the third quarter after feeling dizzy. "We're not playing well right now. It's frustrating to lose this game."

Atlanta made a blistering 11-of-19 shots from 3-point range. Harrington and Tyronn Lue had three apiece.

"Our past four games we've had leads going into the fourth quarter and then we let it slip out of our hands," said Harrington, who made 10-of-16 shots. "We were more focused and more conscious of the things that we had to do."

Ricky Davis' layup with 2:13 remaining gave the Celtics a 98-96 lead. Harrington scored on a layup and Johnson made a jumper to give the Hawks a 100-98 lead with just over one minute left.

"When the game is on the line, I'm always the one who wants to take the shot," said Johnson, who added five assists. "I took that upon myself. Josh (Smith) set a nice pick, I came off the pick and hit the jumper."

Johnson split a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left, giving Boston a chance to tie. But Paul Pierce missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key five seconds later, and Lue made two free throws to seal the victory.

"I got a good look," said Pierce, who made 9-of-19 shots. "I sort of rushed it. I didn't know how wide open I was."

Lue scored 15 points and Smith added 11 for the Hawks, who shot 49 percent (36-of-73) overall.

"When we win close games, everyone comes up big for us," said Lue, who scored all his points in the second half. "Everyone made big shots and came up with key stops and key rebounds."

Pierce and Delonte West scored 23 points apiece and Al Jefferson contributed 17 for Boston, which shot 47 percent (38-of-80) in its first home game following a 1-4 road trip.

"We just couldn't get stops down the stretch," Pierce said. "We allowed them to shoot the three. They really hurt us down the stretch the way they shot the three-pointer and we allowed offensive rebounds."

Atlanta pulled down 10 offensive rebounds, the biggest by Josh Childress off a missed layup by Harrington with 24 seconds left and the Hawks holding a two-point lead.

The Celtics held a 50-43 advantage at intermission, but the Hawks rallied for a 79-76 lead late in the third quarter before Pierce drained a shot from the arc as time expired.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----4
F: Al Jefferson----17
F: Paul Pierce----23
G: Ricky Davis----11
G: Delonte West----23

Bench

F: Raef LaFrentz----4
F: Kendrick Perkins----0
F: Justin Reed----1
G: Tony Allen----9
G: Marcus Banks----0
G: Orien Greene----6

Current Standings

New Jersey: 18-12
Philadelphia: 16-17
Boston: 13-19
Toronto: 11-22
New York: 9-21

Our next game is tonight against Washington Wizards.

[Tealey7]

Green sent to D-League

Originally Posted by nba.com

Gerald Green has left the Celtics to play for the Patriots.

The Fayetteville Patriots, that is. Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge announced that the Celtics assigned Green to the NBA Developmental League just before tonight's game against Atlanta. And while the Celtics' NBDL affilliate is technically the Florida Flames, the C's got permission to send him to the Fayetteville, North Carolina team to avoid a logjam at the shooting guard spot on the Florida squad.

While the Celtics see tons of potential in the rookie, the upcoming schedule made finding minutes for Green a tall order. Since he wouldn't be able to find playing time in Boston, and practice time will be limited by the team's hectic travel schedule over the next few weeks, the club decided it was in Green's best interest to get the chance to earn some playing time in the D-League.

"Gerald's development remains one of our top priorities," said Ainge. "He's progressing just as we expected, and we think this is a step in the right direction. This allows Gerald more of an opportunity to continue developing his game."

Green, who's put on more than 18 pounds since arriving, has said in the past that he'd prefer to stay with the Celtics than take an assignment to the D-League, but now he says he feels playing time will be more beneficial.

"I think I've learned tremendously," said Green. "But I think that honestly, I can learn a little more about playing by actually playing instead of just sitting around looking at game tape."

Green has impressed the team's staff with the amount of work he's done off the court to prepare for the NBA, especially how he's added size and strength to his frame. Ainge will be accompanying Green for the first few days of his stay to get a sense of how the process works. Given how new the D-League is to the NBA, there's a bit of an unknown factor in figuring out exactly how an assignment will be handled, and when affiliates are shared by multiple NBA teams, playing time isn't guaranteed. So Green will have to earn his keep, so to speak.

While there's no timetable for how long Green will remain in Fayetteville, Ainge stressed that the move is an opportunity and not a demotion for Green.

"The most important thing is for Gerald to go down there with the right attitude," said Ainge. "It's an opportunity to develop and I think Gerald does have the right attitude about it. Go down there and earn your minutes and show that you belong."

Fans hoping to catch Green in action can checlalalaA TV, which is broadcatsing several D-League games throughout the year. The MLK Showcase tournament is being held in Fayetteville January 15-16 and Green figures to get in on the action.

Allen debuts in loss

Originally Posted by nba.com

Tony Allen made his season debut Friday night, but he certainly didn't expect to play nearly 30 minutes. While Allen's timing looked a bit off in the early goings -- he dribbled the ball off his leg on what would have been an apparent breakaway dunk in the first half -- he got better as the game wore on and finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds, impressive marks for a guy who's waited a long time -- and through many "false starts" -- to return to action.

"it was just all adrenaline. That's what I played on tonight," said Allen. "First day back after a lot of weeks off, I'm not looking back now. I just want to stay aggressive, play with intensity. I did a little bit, but I've still got to get better."

Allen was nearly activated for Wednesday night's game but ended up holding out for tonight. He plans to be ready to play tomorrow night in Washington but isn't sure how his knee will respond.

"We'll see how it reacts tomorrow after the flight," said Allen. "When I get up in the morning, if it doesn't swell, I'm good to go for tomorrow."

The Doc was out- and back in

Originally Posted by nba.com

The question flying around the FleetCenter in the third quarter: What happened to Doc?


Most of the team's front office staff around the building was wondering the same thing. Rivers had "flu-like symptoms" and commented after the game that he wasn't sick, but was getting dizzy late in the second quarter, and left the court because he was afraid he could faint.

"I didn’t want that distraction, so I figured I’d get on out of there," said Rivers.

Rivers returned to the bench to finish the game but he leaned on Assistant Coach Tony Brown, who guided the team during his brief absence from the sideline. Rivers said that he's fine and added that he will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Wizards in D.C.

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

We play Washington Wizards tonight away from home.

Originally Posted by nba.com

Boston (13-19) at Washington (12-1 7:00 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- One night after suffering embarrassing losses, the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics each hope to get back on track Saturday when they square off in the nation's capital.

The Wizards dropped their fourth straight game Friday, 113-92, to New York, which entered with only two wins in its previous 12 games.

Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison scored 22 points apiece for Washington, which also lost to last-place Houston, 123-111, on Tuesday night.

Boston is not playing much better, having dropped five of seven following Friday's disappointing 103-98 home defeat at the hands of league-worst Atlanta.

Paul Pierce and Delonte West each scored 23 points and Al Jefferson added 17 on 6-of-7 shooting for the Celtics, who have allowed 100 points in six of their last seven games.

Boston won three of four meetings with Washington last season with Pierce averaging 27.0 points over that stretch. The Celtics have won six of their last eight matchups against the Wizards.

Probable Starters



C: Mark Blount
F: Al Jefferson
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Bendan Haywood
F: Jared Jeffries
F: Antawn Jamison
G: Caron Butler
G: Gilbert Arenas

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Last night we played Wshington. Here's how it went....

Originally Posted by nba.com

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (Ticker) -- Gilbert Arenas rescued the Washington Wizards from a monumental collapse.

Arenas made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to give the Wizards a 103-102 victory over the Boston Celtics, who erased a seven-point deficit in the final 30 seconds.

Antawn Jamison added 24 points and eight rebounds for Washington, which ended a four-game losing streak in very shaky fashion. The Wizards trailed for most of the game, took the lead with a third-quarter surge and barely avoided one of the great giveaways in NBA history.

"They didn't say all wins in the NBA are all pretty," Arenas said.

"We will take them however we can get them," said Wizards forward Caron Butler, whose two free throws opened a 101-94 advantage with 29 seconds left.

However, Paul Pierce made a 3-pointer, the Wizards threw away an inbounds pass and Brian Scalabrine - who checked in for the first time just seconds earlier - drilled a 3-pointer to make it 101-100 with 21 seconds left.

"Before he took that 3, Scalabrine came over and said, 'Get ready, it's coming,'" Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. "And he made it, too."

Butler was immediately fouled and promptly missed both free throws. Ricky Davis raced upcourt and passed to Delonte West, who missed a 17-footer but corraled a back tap and sank a jumper to give Boston the lead with 9.7 seconds to play.

"People were walking out of the gym like the game was over," said West, who nearly gave the Celtics their fourth road victory of the season.

The Wizards called timeout and went to Arenas, their leading scorer who did not have a basket in the final period. Working against a fellow All-Star in Pierce, he drove right to left and initiated contact but drew a foul as Pierce had his left forearm on Arenas' ribs.

"I just wanted to go out and get a foul," Arenas said. "I am lighter than Paul Pierce."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers didn't like the call.

"I think my view was what everybody else's view was _ except for the right guy," Rivers said. "He lost control of the ball. He kind of flung himself into the guy. It was too bad for us, because it was a heck of a comeback."

As Pierce and Celtics Rivers protested, Arenas, who was 17-of-18 from the line, calmly made both free throws.

"I wasn't going to miss those two," Arenas said.

A rushed runner by Davis banged off the backboard at the buzzer as the Celtics were sent to their sixth loss in eight games. They fell to 3-13 on the road.

"It always hurts to lose, no matter how it happens," West said. "It is even worse when you have made a major comeback."

Butler had a pair of hoops in a 9-0 spurt that closed the third quarter and gave the Wizards an 82-76 lead. He had a 3-pointer and fed Michael Ruffin for a dunk that built the advantage to 90-80 with 6:55 to play.

Two free throws by Pierce cut the deficit to 92-91 with 3:37 left before Jamison made three clutch hoops, including a spinning move from the low post that gave Washington a 98-93 lead with 1:16 to go.

Pierce was fouled by Brendan Haywood while shooting a 3-pointer but made just 1-of-3 free throws. Arenas made a free throw off a dead-ball foul and Butler sank his pair, setting up the frantic finish.

"We shouldn't have put ourselves in that situation," Pierce said. "If we would have executed earlier in the game, we wouldn't have come to this. But I like how we didn't give in late in the game, when people were leaving the stands thinking the game was over."

Haywood had nine points and 12 rebounds for Washington, which again had problems on defense. The Wizards allowed the Celtics to shoot 49 percent (38-of-77) and were beaten on the boards, 48-37.

"We didn't have the right intensity early," Jordan said. "I thought we didn't have our legs, but in the second half we dug down deep."

Davis scored 24 points, Pierce added 23 and West 17 for Boston, which hurt itself with 19 turnovers, including six in 12 minutes by reserve guard Tony Allen.

So we lost 103-102.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Mark Blount----14
F: Al Jefferson----6
F: Paul Pierce----23
G: Ricky Davis----24
G: Delonte West----17

Bench

F: Raef LaFrentz----4
F: Brian Scalabrine----3
F: Kendrick Perkins----5
G: Tony Allen----4
G: Orien Greene----2
G: Marcus Banks----0

Current Standings

New Jersey: 18-12
Philadelphia: 16-17
Boston: 13-20
Toronto: 11-22
New York: 9-21

Our next game is on Monday against the Dallas Mavericks.

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

Tonight we play against the Dallas Mavericks. Here's a preview

Originally Posted by nba.com

BOSTON (Ticker) -- Fatigue has not had much affect on the Dallas Mavericks. Neither has playing on the road.

The Mavericks look to continue their success on the road Monday as they continue a grueling stretch against the Boston Celtics.

Playing for the fourth time in five games, Dallas shot just 35 percent (30-of-85) but used a late surge from Dirk Nowitzki and a solid rebounding performance from Erick Dampier to post an 83-79 victory Saturday over Minnesota.

Nowitzki, who scored 27 points in Friday's tough overtime triumph in Denver, scored nine of his 26 in the final 2:25 as the Mavericks closed the game with a 14-3 run.

Dampier helped the Mavs make up for their poor shooting, grabbing seven of his 10 rebounds on the offensive glass. Overall, Dallas recorded a season-high 19 offensive boards while holding Minnesota to just four and zero second-chance points.

Josh Howard added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which improved to 3-1 in a stretch in which it plays six times in nine days.

The Mavs have won three of their last four away from home and are tied with Detroit for the most road wins in the NBA with 12.

Boston is trying to bounce from Saturday's heartbreaking 103-102 setback to Washington. Ricky Davis scored 24 points for the Celtics, who erased a seven-point deficit in the final 30 seconds but still lost for the third time in four games.

Paul Pierce added 23 points but committed a key foul with 3.5 seconds left that allowed Gilbert Arenas to hit the game-winning free throws.

Probable Starters



C: Mark Blount
F: Al Jefferson
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Erick Dampier
F: Josh Howard
F: Dirk Nowitzki
G: Adrian Griffin
G: Jason Terry

Just looked at the records. Didn't realise that Dallas are 25-9. This game will be tough.....

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Our last game was last night against Dallas Mavericks. How did we do? We lost. By two points. 104-102.

Originally Posted by nba.com

BOSTON, Jan. 9 (Ticker) -- With his team in the middle of a grueling stretch, Jerry Stackhouse helped the Dallas Mavericks avoid any extra work against the Boston Celtics.

Stackhouse scored 20 points, including the go-ahead basket with one-tenth of a second remaining as the Mavericks posted a 104-102 victory over the slumping Boston Celtics, who dropped their third straight.


Jason Terry added 30 points for Dallas, which improved to 4-1 in a stretch in which it plays six times in nine days.

A 6-6 swingman, Stackhouse had his best game of the year, making 7-of-13 shots from the field and all five free throws off the bench. Overall, the Mavs got 40 points from their reserves.

Boston trailed, 102-99, with six seconds remaining when Paul Pierce nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game.

"We were up three and we should never give up a (3-pointer)," said Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. "That was my fault. We were switching and Paul made a good play and got me in the air and made the three."

However, Dallas ran down the clock before getting the ball to Stackhouse, who drained a jumper from the right baseline over the outstretched hand of Ricky Davis.

"I was able to make sure we got the last shot and I rose up and hit it," Stackhouse said. "I had a couple before that I thought were going down, but I'm glad I got the one that counted."

"I was there, guy just made a great shot," said Davis, who scored 17 points. "I put pressure on him a little bit. He drove right and made a great pull-up."

Dallas held an 88-84 lead with seven minutes left before Nowitzki and Terry each hit shots from the arc to fuel a 10-3 burst that pushed the edge to 98-87.

However, the Celtics responded with a 12-2 spurt to draw within 100-99 with 1:35 left. Nowitzki then hit a jumper to set the stage for the final sequence.

"Basketball is a game of runs," said Terry, who made 7-of-13 3-pointers. "They went on a good run on us, we came back with a run and they ended it off good with a run.

"But like I said all year long we have been involved with close games so we do not get nervous or paranoid at the end. We stick together, we've been here before."

Reserves Keith Van Horn scored 12 points and DeSagana Diop added seven rebounds and five steals for Dallas, which shot 54 percent (12-of-22) from the arc and collected seven blocked shots.

"We are a deep team and we rely on our depth a lot," Terry said.

Pierce had 32 points and eight rebounds and Tony Allen added 12 for the Celtics, who were coming of Saturday's 103-102 setback at Washington.

"Things are going to turn around, two heartbreaking games we had," Pierce said. "Hopefully we can just learn from these types of games as the season goes along."

We lost. But it was to one of the best teams around. So that's OK.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Raef LaFrentz----4
F: Al Jefferson----3
F: Paul Pierce----32
G: Ricky Davis----17
G: Delonte West----8

Bench

C: Mark Blount----12
F: Kendrick Perkins----8
F: Justin Reed----0
F: Brian Scalabrine----0
G: Tony Allen----12
G: Orien Greene----0
G: Marcus Banks----6

Current Standings

New Jersey: 19-12
Philadelphia: 17-17
Boston: 13-21
New York: 10-21
Toronto: 11-24

Our next game is tonight against the low flying (sorry for the pun) Atlanta Hawks. Hopefully we can actually win a game and stop getting in a flap.

[Tealey7]

Game Preview

We play Atlanta, who are aiming for a whitewash in their series of games against us.

Originally Posted by nba.com

Boston (13-21) at Atlanta (9-22) 7:00 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Boston Celtics entered the season with playoff aspirations. Their immediate goal, however, is simply to avoid being swept by the lowly Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks try to beat the Celtics for the third time this season when the teams square off Tuesday night.

Atlanta has gone 2-0 against Boston but 7-22 against the rest of the league. The Hawks posted a 120-117 triumph on November 23 and followed up with a 103-97 win in "Beantown" on Friday.

Al Harrington, who is averaging 31 points against the Celtics this season, is coming off a 24-point performance in Saturday's 110-98 victory against New Orleans.

Joe Johnson added 20 points and Tyronn Lue added 15 points for Atlanta, which has a chance for its first three-game winning streak since April 9-12, 2004.

Boston has dropped three straight contests following a 104-102 defeat to Dallas on Monday.

Paul Pierce scored 32 points and Ricky Davis contributed 17 for the Celtics, who surrendered the game-winning jumper to Jerry Stackhouse with one-tenth of a second left.

Probable Starters



C: Al Jefferson
F: Mark Blount
F: Paul Pierce
G: Ricky Davis
G: Delonte West



C: Zaza Pachulia
F: Al Harrington
F: Josh Smith
G: Joe Johnson
G: Royal Ivey

[Tealey7]

Game Review

Guess what? We won! We finally beat Atlanta! It really is a case of third time lucky. Let's see what happened.

Originally Posted by nba.com

ATLANTA, Jan. 10 (Ticker) -- The Boston Celtics were on their way to a third loss to the Atlanta Hawks before being rescued by Ricky Davis.

Davis scored eight of his 21 points in the final four minutes as the Celtics scrambled for a 98-94 victory over the Hawks to snap their three-game slide.


Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Delonte West added 15 and seven assists for Boston, which erased deficits of 16 points in the second quarter and nine in the final period as it avoided an embarrassing season-series sweep.

"They beat us twice," Davis said. "They've played us really good. (Tonight), guys just sucked it up and got stops."

The Hawks ended a season-opening nine-game losing streak by beating the Celtics here on November 23 and used a strong second half for a win in Boston on Friday. They appeared to be on their way to another win as they rode red-hot shooting to a 60-44 lead late in the first half.

Atlanta cooled off but still led by eight points with 5:20 left before Boston began its rally. Brian Scalabrine made a layup and Davis drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 90-87 with 3:59 to play.

"I'm just sitting on the wing (waiting for the ball)," Davis said. "They had matchup problems. We used big draws and kicked it out and found the open man.

Pierce made a reverse layup, Mark Blount sank two free throws and Davis got behind the defense for a fast-break layup, drawing a foul. His free throw gave Boston a 94-92 lead with 1:40 remaining.

Scalabrine added a big basket, tapping home Pierce's missed 3-pointer with 56 seconds left.

"(Pierce) was guarded on his elbow," Scalabrine said. "Paul had nowhere to go and the clock shot was running down. I had to take advantage of crashing the glass. The ball came my way. I was fortunate."

Tyronn Lue made a layup and Atlanta had a chance to tie after Pierce traveled. But Joe Johnson missed a jumper and Al Harrington was called for a charge. Atlanta's top two scorers combined for zero points in the final period.

Davis sealed it with two free throws with 5.6 seconds to play.

"We took a couple steps backwards," Harrington said. "The last couple of games we were focused in the fourth quarter and pretty much could get the job done. Tonight, we didn't do that."

Blount scored 15 points off the bench for Boston, which shot 52 percent (38-of-73) from the field. Scalabrine was the 12th Celtic off the bench but played 28 minutes.

"In the NBA, it's your job to be prepared," said Scalabrine, who was averaging just eight minutes per game prior to Tuesday. "This whole thing is not about getting numbers, but winning basketball games."

Zaza Pachulia scored 18 points for the Hawks, who shot 45 percent (36-of-80) and were denied their first three-game winning streak since April 9-12, 2004.

After its hot start, Atlanta continued to settle for jumpers. Boston ended the first half with a 9-0 surge to close to 62-53 and inched within 76-74 on two free throws by Tony Allen with 2:27 left in the third period.

"We got complacent," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "That's what happens in games like this. We did everything to get the lead right away by sharing the ball, cutting and setting screens. But when they stiffened up their defense, we just settled."

Boston avoided being swept by Atlanta for the first time since the 1998-1999 season, the last time the Hawks made the playoffs.

So it was a 98-94 win for the Celtics, even after trailing for most of the game. Finally we won.

Who got the points?

Starters

C: Al Jefferson----4
F: Raef LaFrentz----2
F: Paul Pierce----27
G: Ricky Davis----21
G: Delonte West----15

Bench

C: Mark Blount----15
F: Justin Reed----0
F: Brian Scalabrine----4
F: Kendrick Perkins----6
G: Tony Allen----4
G: Orien Greene----0
G: Marcus Banks----0

Current Standings

New Jersey: 19-13
Philadelphia: 17-17
Boston: 14-21
New York: 11-21
Toronto: 11-24

Our next game is on Friday night against Philadelphia. It's on telly in the USA on ESPN2 and FSNE. Just so you know.

[Tealey7]

Ainge awarded with prestigious NCAA award

Originally Posted by celtics.com

Ainge is the third former Cougar to be honored with NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
PROVO, Utah -- Former BYU basketball great Danny Ainge was one of six recipients of the 2006 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, presented Saturday at the NCAA Honors Celebration in Indianapolis. He was presented the award by former Cougar All-American quarterback Gifford Nielsen, who received the award in 2003.

Ainge becomes the third former BYU student-athlete to receive the prestigious award, joining current BYU Faculty Representative Larry Echohawk (Football, 1970), who was honored in 1995, and Nielsen (Football, 197.


The award recognizes former student-athletes who completed successful collegiate careers in various sports 25 years ago and went on to excel in their chosen professions. Silver Award winners are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which comprises eight athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.

Joining Ainge as 2006 recipients were Valerie B. Ackerman (University of Virginia, women's basketball); Charles E. Davis (Vanderbilt University, men's basketball); Dr. Terry Schroeder (Pepperdine University, men's water polo); Michael Singletary (Baylor University, football); and Susan D. Wellington (Yale University, women's swimming and softball).

The awards were presented at the NCAA Honors Celebration on Saturday during the annual NCAA Convention in Indianapolis. The Convention served as the kick-off to the NCAA's Centennial, with the theme "Celebrating the Student-Athlete."

A three-sport high school athlete, Ainge was drafted in the 15th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. While playing collegiate basketball at BYU, Ainge spent his first three years also playing professional baseball at Toronto.

Named both the 1981 John Wooden and Eastman Award winner, Ainge averaged 24.4 points per game during his senior season. BYU's all-time scoring leader, Ainge still holds several individual season and career records at BYU and is the only Cougar men's basketball player to have his jersey retired.

After completing his eligibility, Ainge was selected in the second round of the 1981 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft and spent 14 seasons playing for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trailblazers and Phoenix Suns. A member of two world championship teams with the Celtics (1984, 1986), Ainge is only one of three retired NBA players to make 1,000 three-point shots.

Hired as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns, Ainge was promoted to head coach eight games into the year. After leaving coaching, Ainge served as an NBA game and studio analyst for Turner Sports before being named to his current position as Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics in 2003.

Ainge has worked with several community and charitable organizations including the Children's Miracle Network, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Stay-In-School campaign and Special Olympics. He remains actively involved with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ainge and wife Michelle, have six children, including current BYU guard Austin Ainge, and two grandchildren.