The Celtics have the best record in the league. They are 4 games ahead of the next closest team. They have not trailed in a game for the past 4 1/2 games. They have also won the past 4 games by an average of 20 points. And yet, they are ranked 2nd in Stein's Power Rankings on ESPN and on NBA.com's rankings. The Celtics just can't get any respect. Also, if you watch the top 10 plays on NBA-TV, they hardly ever show Celtics plays. Against the Sixers, Perk had 6 blocks. Perk had a block that was better than the 3 blocks that they featured in the top 10. They also mentioned KG's 20,000 points a couple of times but not once mentioned the fact that Ray Allen reached 18,000 points in the same game.
Leon Powe continues to impress. He had a very impressive play against the Sixers where the got a rebound, missed the put back and then got the rebound again and laid it in. On Sports Tonight, Donny said that he was in a room with just him and Tommy watching the game. When Tommy saw that play, he yelled "That's a Tommy Point and a half." One of the guys on Sports Tonight said that the league is lucky that Leon Powe is a nice guy because if he was a jerk, there would be bodies flying everywhere. I found this quote on SeattlePI, talking about the Pac 10's leading rebounder this season.
Brockman considers former California forward Leon Powe, now with the Boston Celtics, the toughest opposing rebounder he's tangled with, based on leaping quickness. Powe was the last player other than Brockman to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding, pulling down 10.1 per game in 2006.
Leon is such a tough player. With PJ Brown on the roster, Powe may lose some playing time but I hope Doc still uses him because he can help this team.
PJ Brown is going to be invaluable to this team, even if he doesn't play a game. The Post Ups Notebook on Celtics.com said that during one time out, PJ gave Leon Powe a brief tutorial on veteran boxing out techniques, showing him how to dig an elbow into a guy's midsection, and how to do it without being detected by the officials. Also, during one time out, the camera showed Sam Cassell with his arm around Rondo giving him instructions and another time doing the same with Eddie House. It is things like this that will be very important to the Celtics as they play for the championship. There was an article in the Chicago paper that said that PJ is still looking out for Tyrus Thomas, even though they are no longer teammates. This guy has class.
Rondo is such a tough player. Every game, he gets fouled hard and finds himself on the floor several times during the game. But, he always gets right back up and you don't see him arguing or complaining. He just does his job. In the Pistons game, there was a stark contrast. Rip Hamilton took an elbow to the chest and fell to the floor like a bullet had hit him and he was clutching his chest. Ray definitely stuck out his elbow, but it wasn't that hard. Not a single teammate rushed over to him to see if he was ok or to help him up. I had the feeling that they knew he wasn't really hurt because they had seen his act before. On the other hand, Rondo took such a hard foul from Maxiell that he fell to the ground like a rag doll and his head bounced off the floor. Big Baby and KG were there immediately to check on him and help him up. Maxiell should have gotten a flagrant called on that but didn't and Rondo didn't complain. He just quietly stepped to the line for his free throw. This kind of toughness and unflappable attitude is going to make Rondo one of the best point guards in the league. He is one tough kid. In case you missed Rondo's incredible dunk, here is is again.
Perk has been on a tear lately, playing like the beast he is. Some people were saying that the reason he hasn't played like this all along was that he has been lazy. Perk is definitely not lazy. Even KG has been praising Perk for how hard he works and with how hard KG works, that is some pretty good praise. The guy played hurt most of last season when many players would have sat out. He was in Boston all summer working on his game when he easily could have taken time off. I think that it is a combination of Perk being healthy and finally putting it all together. He is learning his role and playing it to perfection. What people forget is that Perk is still very young. If he had gone to college, this would have been just his rookie season. People point to the fact that he has been in the league 5 years, but he hasn't been exactly playing 5 years. His first season he got 30 minutes playing time the whole year. His second season, he didn't play much more. Finally, his third season right around mid season after the trade of Mark Blount, he started to get regular playing time and was playing very well and then he hurt his shoulder. His 4th season, he started out strong and then struggled most of the season with plantar fasciitis. He also was never in games in the 4th quarter and was only playing around 20 mpg and now Doc is finally keeping him in games at the end and giving him more minutes. He is finally healthy and is putting it all together and more importantly, he is gaining confidence in his game from increased minutes and that is making a difference.
I think Richard Jefferson is very frustrated in New Jersey. After their last loss, he had this to say in his press conference, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, cliche 1, cliche 2, sports cliche 4, sports cliche 7. We didn't give 100%." It was just too funny. I have a feeling that New Jersey is going to go into full force rebuilding mode in the offseason. It is pretty evident that their veterans are getting very frustrated.
I am confused as to where tonight's game will be broadcast. The NBA.com schedule doesn't have it listed for anything. Not NBA TV, not national TV, not League Pass. The DTV listings show it on channel 756 and the League Pass website shows it on channel 758. I am just hoping that it is somewhere so we can watch it, but finding it may prove interesting. Very odd that it doesn't have the League Pass logo on the schedule, though.
Finally, here is a look at a somewhat embarrassing moment for former Celtic Al Jefferson as he loses his shorts in a game against Portland. Thank goodness for spandex shorts underneath. And, he wasn't even playing Ron Artest.
They have not trailed in a game for the past 4 1/2 games.
Brockman considers former California forward Leon Powe, now with the Boston Celtics, the toughest opposing rebounder he's tangled with, based on leaping quickness. Powe was the last player other than Brockman to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding, pulling down 10.1 per game in 2006.
PJ Brown is going to be invaluable to this team, even if he doesn't play a game. The Post Ups Notebook on Celtics.com said that during one time out, PJ gave Leon Powe a brief tutorial on veteran boxing out techniques, showing him how to dig an elbow into a guy's midsection, and how to do it without being detected by the officials.
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