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The Boston Celtics announced today that they have requested waivers on forward Marcus Landry.
Landry, a 6’7 forward, was acquired by the Celtics along with guard Nate Robinson on February 18. Landry appeared in one game for the Celtics after he was acquired from New York and played three minutes. In 18 combined games for New York and Boston this season Landry averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game.
Tuesday night in New York, the Boston Celtics visited the Knicks in Madison Square Garden and left with a loss. The highlights of the evening were the scoring of Danilo Gallinari, the fantastic play of Earl Barron, and the amazing, electric atmosphere in MSG.
Although the Knicks leading scorer was Gallinari, who shot 10-of-15, and hit 10-of-11 free throws for 31 points and five rebounds, the real surprise of the evening came from Barron, a random free agent center the Knicks recently picked up to help them close out the season.
Starting alongside David Lee, Barron was fantastic, shooting 8-of-13 for 17 points and 18 rebounds in over 44 minutes of play. There was no reason to consider taking Barron out. He constantly set screens, moved without the ball, created passing lanes, and helped the team virtually every minute he was on the floor.
Barron is auditioning for a real NBA contract, but yesterday’s play showed he belongs on a roster. He showed a high basketball IQ in almost everything he did.
The Knicks can also be proud of their fans and home arena. The Garden was simply electric. And in the 4th quarter, as it became apparent the Knicks really might win, fans were going bonkers. Fans gave up home long ago that the team would make the playoffs. Yet they continue to pack MSG and provide very loud support.
For the Celtics, no one really stepped up. They were led by Ray Allen’s 17 points (6-of-9), but the shooting guard had no rebounds and just one assist. Kendrick Perkins (6-of-8) had 14 points and eight rebounds. Kevin Garnett was disappointing with 14 points on 12 shots, just four rebounds and four assists. Paul Pierce was underwhelming as well, with 13 points on 10 shots, six rebounds and more turnovers than assists. Rajon Rondo had just six points and six assists.
The bright spots for the Celtics were 54.8% shooting, and the fact that they almost won despite almost everyone on the roster having an off night.
To keep perspective, Boston is mainly focused on staying healthy for the playoffs, while New York will miss the post-season and has a roster is filled with players who will be free agent this summer.
But fans in Madison Square Garden last night enjoyed a real thrill.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports:
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Doc Rivers said Nate Robinson, who will return to New York tonight for the first time since being traded by the Knicks, and Marquis Daniels, are out of the playing rotation. Neither played Sunday against Cleveland.
Robinson has shot fewer than 39 percent as a Celtic and hasn’t scored in double figures since March 12. The club expected scoring punch off the bench and solid point guard play but Robinson has been tentative offensively. Rivers said he was upset that Robinson attempted a 3-point shot with 19.9 seconds left in the first quarter Friday against Houston with 19 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Daniels has struggled since returning to the lineup in February after recovering from a torn left thumb ligament. He was signed to spell Rajon Rondo and provide solid defense, but he has gradually lost Rivers’s confidence. He averaged 9.4 points in nine games after returning from injury, but has averaged 3.7 in 18 games since.
The Boston Celtics announced today that forward Marcus Landry has been recalled from the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. Landry appeared in 13 games for the Red Claws and posted averages of 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.9 minutes per game.
The 47-28 Celtics are currently 4th in the Eastern conference, behind the no.3 Atlanta Hawks and ahead of the no.5 Miami Heat.
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports:
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Rajon Rondo collected his third franchise record of the season last night, smashing Bob Cousy’s single-season assists mark with his first two in the Celtics’ 119-114 overtime loss to the Rockets.
Rondo, thanks to a 10-assist, 21-point, five-steal, five-rebound performance, now has 724 assists with seven games left. Cousy’s mark of 715 had stood since the 1959-60 season.
Over the last month Rondo also became the only Celtic to hit the 650-assist mark in two different seasons, and also set the single-season steals record.
Kendrick Perkins said the Big Three is clearly “passing the torch” to the young point guard.
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Regarding Garnett being fined by the league for mouthing off, the entire Celtics team seemed angry at how many fouls Kevin Durant managed to draw. The next obvious step for NBA observers is to see how true that is. The next Thunder game you catch, see if Durant earns the fouls he gets or not. And report on it, on the InsideHoops.com message board.
Kobe Bryant signed a 3-year extension with the Lakers today. No one should be too shocked. It wasn’t out there that this was going to happen, but in general it’s assumed that Bryant would keep re-signing. And now he has.
In equally huge news, according to multiple media outlets the Knicks will sign center Earl Barron to a 10-day contract. There could be another 10-day deal or two signed in the next 48 hours.
The NBA regular season ends on Wednesday, April 14. The playoffs start three days later.
While it’s true that the Warriors are good at finding D-League talent, it’ll be more interesting to see which of those players stick around in the league and become rotation players on good teams. Because everyone who joins the Warriors usually scores 30 on some wild night, but the team loses by 19, and the player is gone a few weeks, months or a season later.
I think Darko Milicic bulked up too much, over the years. I’d like to see him drop 20 or 25 pounds and be handed the rock regularly down around the low post, and see what he can do.
The Wolves should draft 29 more point guards. And then urge Ricky Rubio to come over. Yeah.
Rooting for Tracy McGrady to become an All-Star type player again is fun and all, but there’s no reason to think it’ll happen.
ESPN has about 49 LeBron James stories today. Rather than give you my take on them, I’ll simply share the bottom line on LeBron in general. Here goes:
LeBron is great. The Cavs are a very good team. He’s very comfortable in Cleveland. Chances are he stays there. And if he did come to the Knicks I think it would only be if he convinces some other top superstar to come with him.
Everything went wrong for the Pistons this season. Pretty much every player other than a rookie and maybe one other were disappointing. Other than that, everything went great!
If Monta Ellis feels he still doesn’t get full respect, he needs to win more games. It’s probably that simple.
I’m back to updating this every day. Talk to you Saturday.
This feature is an editorialized take on the day’s hot NBA rumors stories.
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Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials and for using inappropriate language during a postgame interview, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Garnett was fined for comments he made following the Celtics’ 109-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, March 31.
The Boston Globe on April 3 reported:
After watching the Thunder go to the free throw line 34 times to 17 for the Celtics, and seeing Kevin Durant make more free throws by himself than the Celtics (15 to 13), Garnett told reporters, “I thought we were playing Michael [expletive] Jordan tonight the way he was getting the whistle. Durant damn near shot more free throws than our whole team. That’s game.’’ Asked if he thought it was fair that players are fined for speaking their minds, Celtics coach Doc Rivers joked, “I’m not going to give an opinion, because I want to keep my money.’’
Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:
“What’s missing now is we don’t have great rivalries,” Magic Johnson said. “L.A.-Boston, people stayed home on Sundays. They couldn’t wait to see the games. We had all these great names playing against each other. And then we played the game the right way…So we need rivalries back in the game, because that’s what people come out to see. That’s what they’re passionate about.”
The only way to rekindle relevant rivalries like the Lakers-Celtics matchups in the ’80s or the Chicago-Detroit series’ in the ’90s, Johnson said, is through the playoffs.
“You got to get in the playoffs and those teams got to be consistent,” Johnson said. “Right now, when you think about Dallas and San Antonio, they don’t like each other. I like that. I want to see you scratching and clawing and fighting. Phoenix and San Antonio, they don’t like each other. That’s what we need. We see some of it going on, but we need more of it.”
Reuters reports:
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Former NBA All Star Stephon Marbury, the highest profile American import to China’s domestic league, said he would return to the country after a hugely popular stint with Shanxi.
The 33-year-old former Minnesota, New Jersey, Phoenix, New York Knicks and Boston point guard finished his two-month spell on a high with an MVP performance in China’s All Star Game last Sunday.
The New Yorker’s average of 22.9 points and 9.5 assists in his 15 regular season games failed to drag Shanxi into the playoffs, however, and he has yet to agree a new deal with the Taiyuan-based team.
George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:
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They’ve rebuilt him — or at least his knee — and it’s paying off for the Cavs during the playoff run.
Coach Mike Brown will have some tough decisions when it comes to his playoff rotation and Leon Powe, who sparkled in the postseason during his career with the Boston Celtics, isn’t making it easier.
Powe had his best game (16 points, seven rebounds) against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
”I’ve worked hard on my leg to try and get back to this point,” Powe said, ”but it’s moving a little bit faster than I thought, which is a sign of my dedication to [rehab] and that is a tribute to me.”
He still isn’t very fast. He doesn’t jump very high, but somehow he was able to even get a dunk in against the Pistons.
”My family keeps asking me to get them a dunk,” he said, ”but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it. When I saw the opportunity, I went and tried it and I dunked it. I was happy about it.”