Celtics News

"It is a simple basketball premise that even at the highest level is acutely true: You cannot win if you cannot score. Both the Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics believe in the matching inverse, which is to win by not letting the other guy score. Right now, the Celtics are doing it better and they are halfway to the next round of the playoffs because of it. Behind a masterful defensive performance and complementary offensive contributions from numerous players, the Celtics defeated the Cavs 89-73 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series Thursday."

"I enjoy this part of the year, playoff basketball. I understand what it takes to be successful during this part of the year. I didn't do anything major. It was just one game. There's a couple more games we got to win and go from there. It took a team effort from us. Cleveland is a tough team. They understand how to win. That's what we're trying to learn."

"Paul Pierce was right. After he and Ray Allen combined to make 2 of 18 shots in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he said neither one of them could play any worse. In Game 2, the two went 11-of-23 to help the Boston Celtics to a decisive 89-73 victory over the Cavaliers, who now trail in the best-of-seven series, 2-0. Game 3 will be Saturday night in Quicken Loans Arena. "

"Forget the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. There's really only one guy capable of sending the fans at TD Banknorth Garden into a frenzy. Gino. When a Celtics victory is assured, an old clip from "American Bandstand" plays on the video boards, featuring the Bee Gees disco hit, "You Should Be Dancing." Although there are a couple of dozen dancers - and I use that term loosely - the guy who has captured the fans' fancy has a mop of dark hair, a beard and mustache. "

"LeBron James fell to a new offensive low on Thursday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the TD Banknorth Garden. James often redeems himself after a poor shooting night like the one he had in Game 1 on Tuesday, but that was not the case this time. Poor offensive execution and another subpar offensive night from James led to an 89-73 loss to the Boston Celtics. The Cavs are down, 2-0, in this best-of-seven series, with Game 3 Saturday at The Q in Cleveland. "

"Paul Pierce and Ray Allen found their shooting touch. LeBron James can only hope he left his in Cleveland. more stories like this Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett added 13 with 12 rebounds, and Allen broke out of a seven-quarter scoring drought with 16 points to help the Boston Celtics beat the Cavaliers 89-73 on Thursday night and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals."

"Damon Jones’ memories of Boston are a bit of a blur, considering he joined the Celtics midway through a strike-shortened season nine years ago. The veteran Cleveland Cavaliers guard knows, however, that things at TD Banknorth Garden were hardly like they are now when he was trying to crack coach Rick Pitino’s rotation as a rookie in 1999. “The atmosphere is always going to be good when you’re winning,” Jones said last night prior to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals."

"The Celtics were well represented when the NBA announced its all-league teams yesterday, with Kevin Garnett on the first and Paul Pierce the third. With 118-of-127 first-team votes, Garnett had the third-highest overall point total. He was joined on the first team by unanimous choice Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, LeBron James and Dwight Howard."

"Even at the tensest moments, Danny Ainge has remained steadfast in his support for coach Doc Rivers. Now that the Celtics are in earnest pursuit of their 17th world title, that clearly is not about to change. “I think the whole talk and (analysis) of adjustments has more to do with the players, their mindset, what they see, what (someone like) LeBron sees about what we’re doing and what he’s going to do to adjust, more than what coaches are going to do,” Ainge said yesterday before the Celtics’ 89-73 win over Cleveland in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals."

"To the relief of the Celtics, Ray Allen and the basketball settled their differences last night. “I had to get the ball in the basket somehow because me and the basketball were having an argument,” he said. “I made sure I won the argument.” Allen, who went scoreless for the first time in 853 games dating back to 1997 in the Celtics’ Game 1 Eastern Conference semifinals victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night, rebounded to score 16 last night at the Garden as his team took a 2-0 series lead with a convincing, 89-73 win."

"Along the lines of the emperor having no clothes, the King currently has no clue. LeBron James retains the potential to convince us of otherwise, but what the Celtics are doing to the top scorer in the NBA at the moment is nothing short of a beat down. James is missing layups and airmailing jumpers, and most every shot he takes seems to hit the rim with the weight of a tenpin bowling ball. By late last night, James was talking to himself so much that you couldn’t help but wonder if he should have been pushing an empty shopping cart."

"Call it a pothole on the road to a long career, but Rajon Rondo is off to a rough start in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Though Rondo returned with some solid play in the second half of the Celtics’ 89-73 win over the Cavaliers in Game 2 last night, a frustrated Celtics coach Doc Rivers replaced Rondo with Sam Cassell late in the first quarter."

"They will leave town this afternoon with two straight wins and a cargo hold filled with confidence. But it’s the fact that the exact same sentence could have been written leading into Game 3 in Atlanta which has Celtics [team stats] followers more than a little leery as this series moves to Cleveland. The Celts are 6-0 at home in this postseason. They are 0-3 on the road. Kind of takes the edge off things, eh?"

"In the Celtics’ 89-73 Game 2 win, James again struggled, this time with 21 belabored, double-teamed points on 6-of-24 shooting. The Celtics took a 2-0 series lead behind a two-act attack - a first half fueled by the bench and a second led by 16 points from Ray Allen, who finally broke into the scoring column after six scoreless quarters in this series."

"Paul Pierce and Ray Allen found their shooting touch. LeBron James can only hope he left his in Cleveland. Pierce scored 19 points, Kevin Garnett added 13 with 12 rebounds, and Allen broke out of a seven-quarter scoring drought with 16 points to help the Boston Celtics beat the Cavaliers 89-73 on Thursday night and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals."

"Boston coach Doc Rivers knew he'd never win, but he was willing to make a case for James Posey as the NBA's top sixth man. "When they were asking about the Sixth Man Award, I brought up Pose," Rivers said Wednes day as the Cel tics prepared to host the Cava liers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight in TD Banknorth Garden. "You could never win the argument with his numbers, but you can with his value to our basketball team." This is a basketball team that led the NBA with a 66-16 record and owns a 1-0 record in this series against the Cavs. "

" Every NBA playoff game takes on its own character. Cavs-Celtics I was that of two dancers and four left feet. I can't remember an uglier playoff game between two good teams. Only some of the offensive malaise was born of championship defense. With Game 2 tonight, here's five reasons for each team to be concerned:"

"Sam Cassell is never shy when it comes to shooting the ball. He's the same way with his opinions. Cassell, who broke into the league during the rough-and-tumble mid-1990s, said the NBA is protecting Cavaliers star LeBron James in a way it never did with Michael Jordan. Cassell was assessed a flagrant-1 foul during the second quarter of Boston's 76-72 victory over Cleveland Tuesday night, when he stopped James on a fast break. "Wow. It's just different right now," said Cassell yesterday following practice "They gave me a flagrant-1 foul, and no way in the world was it a flagrant-1 foul. I'm going to call [NBA vice president] Stu [ Jackson] and see what he thinks about that. That's not a flagrant-1 foul at all. Back in the day, a flagrant-1 was bloodshed. Now, you can just grab somebody . . . It's the new NBA.""

"One of the reasons Kevin Garnett is a Celtic today is because too often during his 12 seasons with the Timberwolves, the All-Star forward was his team's lone option. Garnett may have experienced a Minnesota flashback Tuesday night during the Celtics' 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. While Garnett brought his "A" game offensively, scoring a game-high 28 points and beating Joe Smith for the decisive basket with 21.4 seconds left, the other two Celtics All-Stars, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, combined for 4 points - all belonging to Pierce - on a ghastly 2 for 18 from the field."

"In this game, a coach is better off when he has limited options. There's a lot less second-guessing. more stories like this For the first 61 games this season, Doc Rivers had no problems managing his point guard position. Rajon Rondo was the starter and Eddie House was the backup. They had complementary strengths, and you had to say things were working. The Celtics' record was 49-12. But in Game 62 the tinkering began. That's when Sam Cassell was activated."

"The Cleveland Cavaliers took pride in the fact that they held Ray Allen scoreless for the first time in 852 games dating back to 1997 and held Paul Pierce to only four points on 2-for-14 shooting in Tuesday night’s 76-72 Game 1 loss to the Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden. But they are still trying to figure out a way to stop Kevin Garnett."

"Part of what the Celtics worked on yesterday was predictably hopeless. Attempting to determine how Cleveland will change its use of LeBron James in the wake of a 2-for-18, 12-point performance is like trying to figure out where the next bomb will land. But the Celtics had to at least try heading into tonight’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. “You can assume changes based on what they’ve done in the past, but I think we just have to focus on what we do defensively,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Only one change appears to be guaranteed: The Game 1 LeBron is assuredly gone, just as the Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of that same night have probably checked out. Shots, or more specifically makes, are back on the itinerary."

"LeBron James shook his head when asked if on Tuesday night he played as poorly as he possibly could in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ sloppy, 76-72, loss to the Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden. The 23-year-old superstar said, however, that he has no intentions of letting Celtics fans catch a glimpse of the rarely-seen nadir of his game when the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals resume tonight. “Oh, no, it’s not the worst, but at the end of the day, we still had a chance to win the ballgame,” he said. “I wasn’t satisfied with the way I played but to say it was my worst game? No.”"

"Rajon Rondo continues to be a revelation, with the latest testimony coming in the form of a 15-point, six-assist, five-rebound performance in Game 1 against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Rondo’s been aggressive at both ends of the floor, seemingly impervious to the postseason pressure. “He really doesn’t know what to expect, so he doesn’t know what he’s got to be nervous about,” Celtics captain Paul Pierce said with a large smile yesterday. “He’s going in there kind of wide-eyed and just playing basketball. I think that’s the way I was in my first playoffs.”"

"The Celtics have met the enemy. And most often it has been themselves. If there is anything to be truly concerned about after eight playoff games, it is that the Celts seem far too willing to abandon their offense when push comes to crunch time. That was clearly a major issue against Atlanta, and there were also occasions in Game 1 against the Cavaliers when your heroes tried to be heroes instead of staying with the team concept. Coach Doc Rivers and his staff have instructed the lads to move the ball around (unless they’re on a fast break), knowing that at some point they will free up one of their talented shooters for a less contested shot."

"One man’s great defense can be another’s accident. When Cavaliers star LeBron James missed his last drive in Tuesday night’s 76-72 Celtics victory over Cleveland in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Garden, much was made of Kendrick Perkins’ ability to influence the play while also avoiding the foul. The Celtics center looked limber and controlled, imposing enough to discourage one of the game’s great shot-makers. But leave it to a coach to see the moment differently."

"The game couldn't have been uglier, but it also maybe couldn't have been more winnable for the Cavaliers. In part one of what could be a slugfest series, the Cavs scrapped with the favored Boston Celtics, keeping themselves in contention to steal a road victory until the end. But for as much as they did right to put themselves there, they couldn't finish. In the end, LeBron James ended a subpar night by faltering while the Celtics' veterans made some huge plays to take a 1-0 series lead with a 76-72 victory."

"Paul Pierce was able to laugh about it afterward. Pierce made just 2 of 14 shots and had six turnovers in the Celtics' 76-72 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night in TD Banknorth Garden. Ray Allen went 0-for-4, going scoreless in an NBA game for the first time since Feb. 26, 1997. "

" One more play and a swarming defense on James made the difference as the Cavs came up short in a 76-72 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Banknorth Garden. The Cavs are now 0-14 when they play Game 1 of a playoff series on the road. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is in Boston on Thursday. "

"One of the more memorable phone calls Doc Rivers received Sunday night came from his counterpart in Detroit, Flip Saunders. The two are close - Rivers assisted Saunders on the US Goodwill Games team in 2001 - and the Celtics coach had an idea what the call was all about. "Now, the monkey is off your back," Saunders told Rivers. A few laughs ensued. "Yeah," Rivers said, "but we're still not finished. We want one thing. The same thing you want." More laughs."

"From the moment they arrived for yesterday morning's shootaround at TD Banknorth Garden, it was apparent that Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West - a pair of former Celtics who were dealt from Seattle to Cleveland as part of a blockbuster three-team trade Feb. 21 - had checked their emotions at the door. While they have not forgotten all the good times they had in Boston - Szczerbiak for the 2006-07 season; West from 2004-07 - they returned last night fully intending to help the Cavaliers take care of business."

"He matched his playoff career high of 22 points, but it was of little consolation to Zydrunas Ilgauskas as he sat slouched in his stall in the visitors' locker room at TD Banknorth Garden, a pair of ice bags taped to his knees as he cooled his dog-tired feet in a large bucket of ice. With basketball god LeBron James looking like a mere mortal - he nearly posted the first quadruple-double of his career with 12 points, 10 turnovers, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds - Ilgauskas did his best to steady the Cleveland Cavaliers on his gangly 7-foot-3-inch frame."

"Kevin Garnett finished a respectable third in voting for the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant won his first MVP award, with 82 first-place votes (out of 126) and 1,100 points, while Hornets guard Chris Paul was second with 28 first-place votes and 894 points. Garnett finished with 670 points, getting 15 first-place votes. The 2004 NBA MVP averaged 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.25 blocks for the team with the best regular-season record."

"It was more of a question than a statement. "Ray Allen had zero points?" said Celtics rookie forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, talking to no one in particular, after the Celtics eked out a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Banknorth Garden last night. "Ray Allen had zero points and we win? I thought I'd never see that. That's weird."... No problem. Two other battle-tested veterans - point guard Sam Cassell and forward James Posey - picked up the slack. "

"The biggest basket of last night's game came down to Kevin Garnett doing one of his patented swooping moves across the lane, blowing past an overmatched Joe Smith, and curling the ball into the basket with 21.4 seconds to play. That snapped the game's final tie, and the Celtics hung on for a 76-72 victory in the series opener against the Cavaliers. It was a play that Garnett often has come under criticism for not making or, even worse, not wanting to make. But he showed absolutely no hesitation in taking the ball to the rim on this occasion."

"LeBron James sat in front of his locker, both feet settled into a rectangular gray tub of ice water. He read from the final box score. "A lot of shots I didn't make," James said. "Layups, pull-ups. The last one. The ball was all the way in, it just jumped out. It was a symbol of the type of night I had." What a night. LeBron made only 2 of 18 shots in a 4-point playoff loss to the Celtics. He committed 10 turnovers. He had 9 rebounds and 9 assists to go with his measly 12 points. Almost a dubious quadruple-dou ble."

"Anyone have the name of a good fumigator? They're going to need one before they allow anyone back inside the Garden for another basketball game. Whew. Eeeeeewww. Yuck. If that's what the Celtics and Cavaliers have in store for us, maybe it's time to resume work on that stamp collection. Missed shots. Turnovers. Just plain bad plays. Have I mentioned the turnovers? No one actually won this game. Someone had to not lose it. To the immense relief of the nightly sellout crowd of 18,624, the Celtics were the fortunate non-losers and thus lead this series, one game to none. "

"Imagine two heavyweight boxers, nose to nose, sweating profusely, throwing body blow after body blow until only one is barely left standing. Not the type of fight you want to watch over again or remember. No, not pretty in the least. more stories like this That's basically how Kevin Garnett described his Celtics' ugly 76-72 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series at TD Banknorth Garden last night."

"It’s no secret players relish an opportunity to stick it to a former employer. Former Celtic Joe Johnson nearly pulled off a miracle in the first round of the playoffs, his exploits carrying the underdog Atlanta Hawks to seven games against the heavily favored Celtics. Now it’s Delonte West’s turn to make the Celtics pay for trading him. West spent the first three years with the organization before getting sent to the Seattle SuperSonics in the Ray Allen deal on draft day last June. "

"The Celtics did not have a player finish among the top 15 in the NBA in scoring, rebounding or assists. Do you really think they were broken up that the 2007-08 NBA Most Valuable Player Award ended up in another city? Formalizing news that had been expected for days, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was named MVP yesterday, finishing first on 82 of the ballots cast. New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul finished second in the balloting with third place going to Kevin Garnett, the forward around whom this Celtics renaissance was built last offseason."

"Sam Cassell spied the media throng in front of his locker room and the eyes lit up. While he jokingly claimed his job isn’t to deal with the reporters, the reason there was an overflowing crowd in front of his locker was because he did exactly what the Celtics expected him to do when he signed a free agent contract in early March. Cassell scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-point baskets, as the Celtics took the first game of the best-of-seven series over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 76-72, last night at TD Banknorth Garden."

"Danny Ainge was just doing his due diligence last summer when he asked Wally Szczerbiak about Kevin Garnett. The Celtics had learned that Garnett could be available, and Ainge wanted to know as much as could about him. The message from Szczerbiak was fairly well to the point: Get him. Now."

"Whatever it is that Celtics coach Doc Rivers told Garnett after Game 6 of the Atlanta series, it’s working. In the last two games, Garnett has been a huge factor precisely where the Celtics need him to be: in the low post. All of this comes after a Game 6 vs. the Hawks in which Garnett seemed far too unselfish for his own good - and more importantly, for the good of the Celtics - particularly at a time of a year when the big shots inevitably end up in the hands of the best players."

"We may have to go to horror expert Stephen King for a ruling. Last night it was just too close to call. Were the Cleveland Cavaliers more frightened by the sight of LeBron James making just 2-of-18 shots? Or were the Celtics more alarmed that, in spite of that, they were able to win Game 1 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series by just four points, 76-72? In either case, nobody expects a sequel. No one can figure on James to author another version of his worst shooting night since . . . ever."

"Rarely, if ever, has a bad night felt so satisfying for Paul Pierce. The reason might have even been glorious. The Celtics captain scored only four points on 2-for-14 shooting in the Celtics’ 76-72 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, but along with James Posey, he also was the first line of defense in an effort that limited LeBron James to 2-for-18 shooting."

"There isn’t a defensive scheme that LeBron James hasn’t seen, according to Doc Rivers. No rotation, no player, no two players, nothing that can be designed on a clipboard. But the Celtics certainly did imitate and recycle until they turned virtually every drive into agony for the Cleveland star. They simply ran the house at James last night - with Paul Pierce, James Posey and even both Allens (Ray and Tony) up front and lots of help underneath - and walked off with a 76-72 win against the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals."

"The Cavaliers could end up sending the Atlanta Hawks thank-you cards and presents should the Cleveland team win its playoff series that begins tonight against the Boston Celtics in the TD Banknorth Garden. The would-be upstart Hawks stretched the boys from Boston to seven games in their opening-round series and might very well have left a blueprint for the Cavaliers to follow. ''We were able to watch and see how Atlanta defended some of their sets and some of their players, and we were able to use some of Atlanta's ideas and watch and say that's probably not the way we should do it,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said."

" When the Cavaliers and Celtics take the floor tonight in Boston, you can expect the same passionate play that fueled Cleveland past Washington in the first round of the playoffs. The major difference, though, will be the increased star power when the defending Eastern Conference champions visit the team with the NBA's best regular-season record. It starts with the highly competitive nature of Cavs veterans LeBron James, Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, and Celtics vets Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Players from both sides were a little chippy during their four-game split in the regular season. "

" It's not like it used to be, I tell myself. You went through an unmarked door on Causeway Street, climbed some steps, and turned left into the dark at the top of the stairs. But Boston Garden, a ramshackle tenement that squatted atop North Station in downtown Boston, is no more. Its vile aroma -- one part stale urine, one part sweat, one part smoke from Red Auerbach's infernal victory cigar, with a drop of leprechaun bile thrown in -- is gone. "

"The Cleveland Cavaliers are a different team now. Some would even say they underwent an extreme makeover in February, rearranging their roster in a three-team, 11-player deal. The changes not only bolstered the Cavs' sagging playoff hopes but left them vastly improved over last year's squad that upset the favored Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals and advanced to the NBA Finals, where they were swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs."