Friday, October 29, 2010

24,10 and 10..

You can't stop him. You can only hope to contain him.


Celtics pull off a win against a spunky Knicks team tonight 105-101 at the Garden. Paul Pierce hit 2 free-throws and Marquis Daniels had a huge block in the final minute to seal the victory. But the real story tonight was the passing of Rajon Rondo. He finishes with a triple-double: 10 points, 10 boards & 24 assists-4 short of the all-time Celtics record of 28 held by Bob Cousy.

Rajon's excellent passing also helped Kevin Garnett to have a huge game, scoring 24 points before fouling-out late in the 4th. Glen Davis was once again tremendous off the bench, putting in 16 points to go along with 6 boards. Amare Stoudamire led the Knicks (and all-scorers) with 27 points.
The Truth. 'Nuff said.

A little concerned that the Celtics turned the ball over quite a bit again tonight-17 times.
Rajon Rondo told Greg Dickerson after the game that the responsibility falls on him and he plans on "slowing-down".

C's are now off until Tuesday when they travel to Detroit to face the Pistons. Tip-off is at 7:30pm...
(video courtesy of Chris Forsberg)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

1-1..

Thank God there are 82 games in a season. C's fall to a pumped-up Cavs team tonight in Cleveland 95-87. Celtics turned the ball over 19 times, which was also a huge issue last year. Let's hope they find a way to not make turnovers a constant this season as well. But it is way to early to make anymore of this than just a loss to an excited young team on the road, on the second-night of a back-to-back. If you'd like to see all of tonight's statistics, you can do so here: C's-Cavs boxscore via Yahoo Sports.

C's are now off until Friday when they face the new-look Knicks back at the TD Garden. Tip-off is at 7:30pm. I may be at the game myself, but not sure yet.

C's triumph on Opening Night 88-80..

UBUNTU
Not tonight fellas

This is OUR house
Here's some odds and ends, two of them courtesy of Chris Forsberg and MrTripleDouble10. Check RedsArmy.com tomorrow for another story from me on my entire Opening Night "experience."





Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The wait is almost over....

6.5 more hours, and the wait will be over. There will only be one thing left to do. Play ball.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Final preparations..

 Opening_heat_190200
(image courtesy of Celtics.com)
With just over 72 hours before the 2010-11 campaign kicks off, Doc Rivers' squad went through a pretty grueling 48-hour period. From Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston:

After calling Friday's three-hour session a bit of a mess, Rivers emerged far more pleased with his team's effort while putting in a two-and-a-half-hour session Saturday. With that in mind, the Celtics will drop down a gear Sunday and practice only an hour as they prepare for Tuesday's blockbuster against the Heat.


I think many fans, including myself, will be very happy when that 1st jump ball is finally thrown on Tuesday night. Many just for the fact that all the hype will finally be over. In my 30+ years of being a sports fan, I can't remember too many other sporting events that have garnered the attention that NBA Opening Night 2010 has. And of course every member of CelticNation was left with a bad taste in our mouths at the end of last June's Game 7. It's good to know the quest for Banner18 will once again be upon us shortly.

This is simply a great time to be a Celtics fan or a fan of any NBA team. There is a chill in the air, a spring in my step and a sense of anticipation that NBA basketball is back!

So to hold us over until Tuesday night, here's some video from Chris Forsberg's story on today's Celtics workout.

But that's not all. Tonight at 7pm, NBAtv is premiering their new show, "Unscripted".
I couldn't dig up too much information about the show, but from what I do know, it's a reality-based program that follows the Celtics and Heat as they prepare for Opening Night on 10/26/10. You can catch it at 7pm EST tonight on NBAtv.

Friday, October 22, 2010

18..

It's All About 18:

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Separated at birth?

Big Baby and SF Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval. Separated at birth...?
Glen Davis/Boston Celtics
Pablo Sandoval/San Francisco Giants


Our boy Aztec...

Our boy Aztec Gino got some quick face time during a short feature during the Celtics game tonight. Greg Dickerson, while doing a segment on last night's Open Practice, said "and what would a Celtics event be without the ever-present Aztec Gino.." Speaking of which, please be sure to sign the petition on the top right of my blog to get Aztec hired by the Boston Celtics. Thanks.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Be there..


Hey Lebron....

Sunday, October 17, 2010

It's official...

As some of you may or may not know, RedsArmy.com is my favorite Celtics website. I have contributed to it in different aspects quite a bit over the last couple of years, and have also become good friends with the sites' founders. Last night I found out that I have been made an official contributor to the site. You can't believe how excited and proud that makes me feel. I have always loved the honesty, integrity and devotion to the fans that Red's implores. The Boston Celtics are a huge part of my life, and RedsArmy has enabled me to meet alot of great people, debate, complain, celebrate and relate to and with other C's fans from all over the world. 

I am going to keep this site up for now, as I really enjoy posting some of my personal experiences involving my Celtics fandom here. This blog also is important to me because it is the first "real" website that I ever produced, maintained and kept going on my own. Anytime someone posts a comment, or otherwise tells me they enjoyed something they saw or read here really means alot to me. Half the enjoyment of being a sports fan is being able to share exciting and special moments with other fans and friends. This blog has really enabled me to do that. 

So check out my first post on RedsArmy here: Kwapt 10-17-10  and be sure to check them out throughout the season-they always have the latest Celtics happenings and other great Celtics stuff on the site.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Ticket and Baby lead the way..


A spry KG scored 20 points in 19 minutes and Glen Davis came off the bench for 15 of his own to help Boston beat the Knicks 97-84 in Hartford tonight. The Big Ticket has looked absolutely fantastic since training camp and tonight was no different. Kevin hit his first 5 shots and went 9 for 11 from the field and grabbed 4 boards. Rondo dazzled the XL Center crowd with his usual array of nasty dribbling and sick passes-including one he threw with his left hand behind his head to Semih Erden for a layup. See the complete boxscore here via ESPN:

The Celts now have a few days off before they play the final preseason game of the year. They will face the Nets on Wednesday night at the Garden.Tip-off will be at 7:30pm.

Well, I bought my ticket for Opening Night today. It was expensive, but there is no doubt in my mind it will be worth every penny. This Celtics team has fans like myself very excited. They are all pretty healthy, they are deep and the chemistry is good, and will only get better... 
(video courtesy of ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Quisy does it...


Behind a great performance by Marquis Daniels, starting in Paul Pierce's place, the Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors in Canada tonight 117-112. Without Shaq, Pierce, Delonte or Lasme, the C's still manhandled the Raps for most of this game. It got very interesting in the 4th as Toronto went on a 24-2 run, but the C's reserves held on for the win.

Marquis continued to delight CelticNation with excellent all-around play. In 28 minutes on the floor, Marquis tallied 14 points, 7 boards, 3 helpers and 2 thefts. He also continued to hit from long-range, going 2 for 2 from beyond the arc, including a halfcourt heave at the end of the 2nd quarter. Rondo also played very well- probably the best I've seen from him this preseason. Rajon finished with 21 points, including 12 of 15 from the charity stripe. Von Wafer, who many Celtics fans and members of the media think is on the wrong side of the bubble, had his best performance as a C putting in 14 points on 100% shooting including 3 buckets from downtown. He took advantage of the abcense of both Paul Pierce (night off) and Delonte West (back spasms). Nate Robinson continued his solid play with 23 points to lead the C's.

The Celtics will now fly to Hartford where they will face the Knicks tomorrow night. Tip-off is at 7:30pm.
On a personal note, I made the decision today that I am in fact going to attend Opening Night at the Garden. It's going to cost a pretty penny, but I have not missed an Opening Night in a few years, and this year's is going to be electric. 11 more days until Celtics-Heat at the Garden.....

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

"The Truth" beats the refs...


(video courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/user/NBARauf )


I was on Twitter (as usual) tonight during the Celts game with the Knicks, and fans are not happy with the refs. Tonight's game was just chock full o' bad calls. KG got ejected late in the 2nd quarter (see video below) for basically nothing, yet the Knicks seemed to whine and complain all night with impunity. From the few preseason games I've seen so far, seems to me the refs all have itchy trigger-fingers. But moving on, there was a game played tonight...

The C's hung around all of the 4th quarter to escape MSG with a 104-101 win. Paul Pierce hit a clutch jumper from the top of the key with 8 seconds left to secure the victory. P-Dub finished with 20 points on his birthday. It was also the Luke Harngody show though as the rookie scored 16 points, hit 2 of 5 three's and hauled down 12 boards in an impressive outing. Ray Allen found his groove tonight to lead the C's with 24. The C's are now off until Friday when they travel to Toronto to once again face the Raptors. Tip-off is at 7:30pm....
(video courtesy of www.Twitter.com/giancasimiro)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Too many turnovers...

Celtics lose their first preseason game in Philly tonight, falling to the Sixers 103-92. Doc gave all 5 starters the night off, and also rested Delonte due to back spasms. The C's seemed to be cruising, even started pulling away early in the 3rd quarter, but turnovers simply did them in tonight. The Celts turned the ball over 24 times tonight which simply handed the Sixers the win. Nate Robinson had a very impressive night in the loss, scoring 26 points to go with 5 boards and 8 assists. Glen Davis added 14 points and Marquis Daniels scored 12, pulled down 4 rebounds and handed out 3 assists. Avery Bradley saw his first NBA action ever, spending about 11 minutes out on the floor tonight. ESPN's Chris Forsberg posted some postgame conversation with Bradley.

The Celts now travel to NYC where they will face Amar'e Stoudamire, Ray Felton and the rest of the new look Knicks tomorrow night. Tip-off at The Mecca is at 7:30pm...

Monday, October 11, 2010

Mentor..

Last night, I had a chance to sit very close to the Celtics bench. At one point in the 2nd half, KG got very vocal and animated with rookies Luke Harangody & Semih Erden. I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying, but you could tell he was upset one of them did not fight through a pick on defense. I was talking last night with the guys from "Celtics Stuff Live" about how fortunate the C's rookies are. They will be mentored and coached by future hall-of-famers, NBA MVP's and NBA Champions all season. Who wouldn't want to learn everyday from the likes of KG, Shaq, SugarRay and Paul Pierce-just to name a few. Here is a great clip from today's practice of KG continuing his coaching from last night. As always, thanks to Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston for the great video. And don't forget to catch the guys from Celtics Stuff Live tonight on Celtics Late Night Show at 9pm EST. You can listen to the show live here at 9: CLNS

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Bench comes through big...

Just got in from watching the Celtics beat the Raptors 91-87 at the Garden. Saw Kendrick Perkins on my way in and he seemed very upbeat. He was as cool and humble as always, stopping to shake my hand and tell me he had a great summer.

Now on to the game: Nate Robinson led the C's with 13 points to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, a steal and 3 of 5 shooting from beyond the arc. Jermaine O'Neal had 3 blocks and 2 boards but did not score in his Celtic debut. He looked solid on defense though and had a ferocious block on Amir Johnson (pic above) that really got the crowd up. But in my eyes the key guy tonight was Marquis Daniels. He dropped in 11 points had 3 boards an assist and a steal. He really got into a good rhythm and worked well with the 2nd unit. Two of his baskets were set-up beautifully by clean, crisp passes from Semih Erden who continues to amaze me with his skill-set. The starters all played roughly 20 minutes tonight, with the exception of Shaq who played about 16. He had another solid night with 11 points, 5 boards & 2 blocks.

It was great to get back to the Garden and see alot of friends that I had not seen since last season's playoffs. Here is some video and a pic I snapped from my seats. C's next play on Tuesday at Philly. Tip-off is at 7pm.




Saturday, October 9, 2010

J.O. game-time decision tomorrow..

I'll be at the Garden tomorrow for the C's first "real" home preseason game. It'll be great to get back inside the place where I've enjoyed some great times over the last few seasons. If anyone is interested in going, both  and any of the major ticket resellers have plenty of cheap tickets. At today's practice, Doc was quoted as saying that Jermaine O'Neal, who C's fans haven't seen suit up yet, will be a game-time decision tomorrow. Here's some video of J.O. and Doc chatting with reporters about his health at today's practice. Video is courtesy of my man Chris Forsberg who you can follow on Twitter here: Forsberg'sTwitter

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The BenchMob...

Glen Davis, Marquis Daniels & the rest of the Celtics bench lead the Green to their 2nd straight preseason victory tonight in New Jersey, as they win 96-92. Davis was all over the place; scoring, rebounding, blocking shots & wreaking havoc. He finished with an impressive 20 points, 5 boards a block & 2 steals. Just as the Nets looked like they were going to send the game into OT, Marquis Daniels buried a corner 3 with 35.4 seconds left. That and some free-throw shooting sealed the victory. The C's started off looking a bit flat tonight, but hankered down on defense and got it done.

Paul Pierce played the best of all the starters, scoring 15 points in 17 minutes. Shaq put in 8 points in about 11 minutes of play to go with 5 rebounds in his 2nd game in green. Delonte West looked great off the bench also as he had a nice all-around night: 12 points, 3 assists, 6 boards and 2 of 3 from downtown. Nate also chipped in 14 points and 3 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc. He also hit some key foul shots in the final minute.

The Celts now come back home to Boston and have 2 days off before facing Toronto at the Garden on Sunday. Tip-off vs the Raptors will be at 6pm. Myself and Brandon from Ginos Jungle will be there, so check back here Sunday as well as his site for some pics and video...


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

C's roll...


                                                                      
Without Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, the Sixers were no match for the C's in New Hampshire tonight. Led by Ray Allen's 14 and rookie Semih Erden's 13, the C's destroy the Sixers 93-65 tonight. Shaquille O'Neal looked good in his first game as a Celtic, scoring 8 points and pulling down 2 boards in 15 minutes of play. But it was Semih Erden who really wowed and surprised tonight. The rookie from Turkey scored 13 points, blocked 2 shots and hauled down 5 boards. Marquis Daniels added 10 and 5 and Glen Davis 13 and 5 for a bench that looked pretty damn good. The C's now travel to Newark to face the Nets tomorrow night at the brand new Prudential Center. Tip-off is at 7pm. Here is a link to see the entire box score from tonight: C's-Sixers box









Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Greg Minor stops by Celtics Late Night Show..

Former Boston Celtic Greg Minor stopped by the Celtics Late Night Show last night. Nick and Brandon had an absolute blast talking all things NBA and Celtic with the former green-teamer. Greg is a very humble, down-to-earth dude. Check the inteview out here:

C's prepare for 1st preseason tilt..

Good evening C's fans. Long day at work today. No real C's news-they continue to prepare for their 1st preseason game tomorrow vs the Sixers. The more I look at Opening Night ticket prices, the more I consider possibly watching it at home. Don't get me wrong, I really want to be there, but $200 for a nosebleed seat...? We'll see how prices look in a couple of weeks. For now, here's a few videos from my man Chris Forsberg at ESPN Boston. Tomorrow night's preseason match-up with Philly tips off at 7:30pm on Comcast Sports Net.

Monday, October 4, 2010

More from today's practice..

ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg was there when Doc talked about the recent injuries and his feelings on this summer's many entertaining moments with Nate, Shaq etc:

The Monster Mash...

C's held their first practice in Waltham today. ESPN's Chris Forsberg reported that Delonte and J.O. both sat out with back spasms and a hamstring issue respectively. But any concern was quickly replaced by joy when watching Nate's latest video masterpiece:

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Preseason play creeps closer..

Not much news on the Celtics front today-camp ended, and now the guys will start preparing for preseason action. The first match-up will be with the Sixers this Wednesday night in N.H. One thing that has been getting myself and other C's fans guardedly optimistic is Doc's raving about KG. Here is what he had to say about Ticket today via Celtics.com:


Today he was, at one point, unguardable. We were laughing with him today – if we had that post game that he gave us today all year last year, we would have been just a remarkable basketball team. But that’s where you can see it’s finally – the confidence part; last year I don’t think he ever had the confidence to go [post up], we didn’t go to the post to him much anymore because he just didn’t like it down there. This year he wants it down there, and he’s being effective.” 

The only real siginificant news of the day was that the C's cut local kid Tony Gaffney right before practice. Gaffney is a hard-working kid with alot of heart, and I'm sure he will find his way on at the very least an NBDL roster this upcoming season.

Here are a couple of clips from Chris Forsberg's YouTube page. KG and Doc talking about the end of another training camp and more..

Friday, October 1, 2010

Camp rolls on...

Wow-has it already been 4 days? C's are now through 4 full sessions of camp. From what I've seen and heard, this is a very loose, comfortable, yet focused group of guys. I remember last year at this time things just did not seem to be going as smoothly. Expectations were high, but I really believe that through no fault of his own, 'Sheed brought a bit of uncertainty to camp. Fans were really concerned just how he'd fit in. I see this team as alot more comfortable together. But enough about last season. Today, I've posted a couple of short clips from camp. One of them, a Q&A with Paul Pierce from ESPN's Chris Forsberg, features some very encouraging words. Listen as Pierce calls this year's squad "the most talented team I've played on since I've been in the NBA." He also gives his opinion on how just having "talent" doesn't cut it. Granted, these guys haven't faced adversity yet, but when they do, I believe they'll be ready. Only 5 more days until they first take the floor together in the preseason. Oh and remember how Nate's been basically terrorizing Shaq? Shaq finally got some payback...