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By Jeff Clark | Celtics
March 19th, 2008 |
The Celtics once again exceeded expectations and beat both the Spurs and Rockets to begin a brutal West coast trip. Here are some assorted thoughts from the last week or so.
De-Fense
As usual, the secret to the Celtics’ success has been defense. Tracy McGrady was impressed. “I’ve never seen defense like that. If they play defense like that night in and night out, then the NBA is in trouble because that defense was at its finest.” (Boston Globe)
Most of the credit has gone to Kevin Garnett, but don’t overlook the man with the plan, Assistant Coach Tom Thibodeau. Doc has given him free reign on the defensive side of the ball and the players have all bought in to the system and the team concept. Tom’s contract is up at the end of the year, and we can only hope that he doesn’t get a head coaching position somewhere. I’d like to see him patrolling the sidelines in Boston for quite some time.
March Madness?
I can’t remember a time when I was so tuned out for March Madness. I couldn’t care less how the top prospects do because barring unforeseen circumstances the Celtics will be picking 30th. I just can’t sort through that many prospects so I’ve decided to check back in May or June when the “experts” have things a little more solidified.
I’m sure Ainge will be paying close attention because he’ll need to find some good, young (ie. Cheap) talent to continue to fill out the roster around the big three. On the other hand, if we can cherry pick the best aging free agents like Sam Cassell and PJ Brown in the next couple of years, maybe that won’t be as big of an issue. Still, there will be life after the big three and I hope Ainge can once again find gold at the bottom of the draft.
Glen Taylor Is Just Bitter
For those that missed it, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor accused KG of “tanking it” at the end of last year. Do I really need to waste time on this? Taylor is obviously very bitter that he squandered his many, many chances to win with Garnett. KG was loyal to a fault for that organization and this is how he’s repaid? It is a shame you can’t fire owners. Minnesota fans deserve better.
Old Friends
Just some quick updates on some old friends:
Gerald Green – still out of work after being cut. Ouch.
Daryl Morey – former Assistant GM in Boston, now the head GM for the Rockets. So far so good.
The Heat (Blount, Davis, Banks) and TWolves (too many to name) have a combined 28 wins. At least Wally and Delonte got out of Seattle.
Larry Bird is not certain he will be back with the Pacers next season. I don’t know what he would want to do, but I hope Wyc and company find a place for him in Boston, if only to atone for prior regime’s mistakes.
Jeff Clark is the CEO of CelticsBlog.com, the top Celtics fan site on the web.
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One Response to “Celtics Notes”
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March 19th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
great post by Dwyer on the Glen Taylor stuff
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/bl.....=nba,72536