Boston Celtics Blog – Page 117 – NBA Blog

Rasheed Wallace mad at Hedo Turkoglu flopping

Friday night the Boston Celtics handled the Toronto Raptors, winning 116-103. And according to Rasheed Wallace, one Raptor provided some not-so-welcome acting during the matchup.

Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reports:

Rasheed Wallace was issued a technical foul 1:35 into the second quarter last night, but the Celtics big man believes the technical should have been called on Toronto’s Hedo Turkoglu – for flopping.

Wallace was whistled for a foul after clashing with Turkoglu, then referee Ed Malloy called the technical.

“I didn’t use no profanity, I just said, ‘He’s a flopper,’ ’’ Wallace said after Boston’s 116-113 victory at TD Garden. “And [Malloy] gave me a tech for that. The league should make that a rule – flopping.

“It’s not like I threw my shoulder into him, or it was a hard push, or real hard contact. Come on, now. Showing on a pick, I’m already there, he touches me – ‘Ohh,’ he acts like I shot him or something. ‘Ohh.’ That’s not basketball, man, that’s not defense, that’s garbage, that’s what it is.’’

Rasheed’s shot has been off (37.7% shooting, 29.0% three-pointers, 9.2 points per game) since joining the Celtics, but he was on target vs the Raptors and hit 6-of-11 for 15 points.

Garnett game-winner leads Celtics over Knicks

An overtime thriller in Madison Square Garden ended on a Kevin Garnett game-winning, buzzer-beating jumper from the top of the key as the Boston Celtics beat the Knicks 107-105 in overtime Sunday in New York.

The packed Garden crowd, loaded with a celebrity roster including Will Ferrell, Brooke Shields, Mark Wahlberg, Rosie Perez and Spike Lee, was treated to the most thrilling Knicks game so far this short season.

“He’s that type of player,” said Celtics forward Paul Pierce about Garnett, who shot badly all game until it counted most. “You’re talking about a Hall of Fame player.”

Boston had six players score double-digits. Their star today was Pierce, who delivered 33 points (9-of-17, 6-of-7 three-pointers), nine rebounds and six assists.

Also for Boston, center Kendrick Perkins shot 6-of-7 for 16 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Point guard Rajon Rondo was one rebound short of a triple-double: 14 points (just 5-of-13), 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals.

Struggling today for the winners were Ray Allen (just 3-of-13 for 13 points) and Garnett (just 4-of-15 for 10 points).

Off the bench, Rasheed Wallace had more technical fouls (1) than points (0, on 0-of-6 shooting), though his defense was solid and he finished with four steals.

The Knicks were led in scoring for the third consecutive game by Al Harrington, who came off the bench to contribute 30 points and 9 rebounds. David Lee was terrific with 22 points and 15 rebounds, though he had five turnovers. Nate Robinson was huge as a bench scorer, scoring 19. And to the delight of Mike D’Antoni and Knicks observers, all his shots were at the right basket today.

The starting Knicks backcourt couldn’t throw a rock into the ocean today. Chris Duhon and Larry Hughes combined to shoot 3-of-17 for 7 points, with 10 assists.

Madison Square Garden recorded its fifth sellout in eight home games. They entered the game ranked fifth in the league in home attendance with an average of 19,626 fans per game.

Celtics assign Bill Walker to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that forward Bill Walker has been assigned to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. Walker is the team’s first assignment to the NBA Development League this season.

Walker, a 6’6” forward, has appeared in one game for the Celtics this season and has logged two minutes of playing time. The Kansas State product has posted career averages of 2.9 points and 1.0 rebound in 7.2 minutes per game over 30 games with the Celtics.

Report: ESPN Suspends Bill Simmons from Twitter

Similar to regular websites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and other online destinations, Twitter is part of the Internet. The purpose of all of them is basically the same, to present online content.

So, if someone works for a company with rules dictating what type of content employees can post on the web, logically it applies to Twitter, too.

The rumor is that Bill Simmons is suspended from Twitter, except for posts involving his book tour.

Jay Yarow of Business Insider reports:

ESPN is suspending its hotshot writer Bill Simmons from Twitter for two weeks.

The reason: He started mouthing off at Boston sports station WEEI on Twitter. WEEI is an ESPN partner.

Steve Krakauer of MediaIte reports:

So here’s what did him in. On November 11, Simmons tweeted an angry message to Boston radio station WEEI: “Hey WEEI: You were wrong, I did a Boston interview today. With your competition. Rather give them ratings over deceitful scumbags like you.”

Harsh – and since WEEI and ESPN have a partnership, this apparently is a no-no when it comes to ESPN’s much-discussed social media guidelines.

Rob King of ESPN reports (via his blog):

While it’s unfortunate — and sometimes painful — that not everyone outside of ESPN chooses to play by such rules, we choose to hold ourselves to higher standards. Regardless of the provocation, Bill’s communication regarding WEEI fell short of those standards. So we’ve taken appropriate measures.

You have to follow your company’s rules. Even if you’re atop your field. Usually.

Brian Scalabrine angry at injury-causing cameraman

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports:

As you can imagine, “The People’s Choice” is more than a little frustrated. But he’s not cursing bad luck. He’s ticked at the person who began this entire mess. The ankle was sprained when he went to make an inbounds pass after a Knicks hoop and stepped on a cameraman whose foot was over the designated line at Madison Square Garden.

“This is the first time I’ve ever sprained my ankle in my entire life,” Scalabrine said. “I watched the film. He was 6 inches over the line, 6 inches that I needed to take the ball out of bounds.

“We’re trained to use the space that we are allowed. I’ve taken the ball out of bounds probably 10,000 times in my life, and as long as you’re behind that line I won’t hit you. But if you’re over that line, we’re trained to use that space. I went back to pivot and go, and as I went back, his foot was right there.”

That really is too bad, and I feel sorry for Scalabrine.

In general, I have always thought that basketball courts are too crowded. There’s very little space between three-point range on the sides and the out-of-bounds line. And near the basket, photographers and camermen are very close to to the players.

I’d be cool with about 3-5 feet being added on all sides, giving the players a bit more breathing room as they come close to the edges of the court.

No penalty on Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul

The AP reports: The NBA will not penalize Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo for an incident between them after a recent game in Boston. Paul pursued Rondo toward the Celtics’ locker room and was blocked by Boston assistant coaches after the Celtics’ 97-87 victory over New Orleans on Sunday night.

The Boston Globe reports (via blog): After egging each other on for much of Sunday’s game, Rondo and Paul got into a mixup as the teams were shaking hands and had to be separated by Paul Pierce among others. The details from that point are all over the place, with Chris Paul seen going back and forth with Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau and reports that Ray Allen went into the Hornets locker room to apologize to Paul (which Allen explained as him simply going to Paul for autographs).

Celtics sign Rajon Rondo to contract extension

The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has signed point guard Rajon Rondo to a multi-year contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Several media outlets had reported the deal to be five years and at least fifty five million.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to extend Rajon’s contract,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge. “We believe that he is one of the elite point guards in the NBA and has a tremendous future ahead of him.”

Rondo, a 6’1” guard, is currently leading the NBA in total assists (47) and is second in assists per game (11.8) through four games this season. The former Kentucky Wildcat is also leading the NBA in total steals (10). Last season, Rondo became the second Celtic to post three triple-doubles in a postseason joining Larry Bird when he posted three during the 1985-86 postseason. During the 2009 postseason, Rondo just missed averaging a triple-double when he finished with an average of 16.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 41.2 minutes per game.

“I would like to thank the Celtics ownership, Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, my teammates and the Celtics organization for all of their support over the years,” said Rondo. “I would also like to thank my family, friends and fans. I’m ready to do everything I can to bring banner 18 to Boston.”

During his second season as a professional Rondo helped the Celtics win their 17th NBA Championship with averages of 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.73 steals per game. Rondo became just the third starting point guard in the past 30 years to have won an NBA championship at the age of 22 or under joining Tony Parker and Magic Johnson.

Celtics will sign Rajon Rondo to extension

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports:

The Celtics and Rajon Rondo walked close to the edge of the bridge with their contract negotiations. But while each was confident it could pull off a successful dive, neither really wanted to jump.

By agreeing to an extension that will pay Rondo some $55 million over the five seasons after this, there was security for all. Or about as much as the rigors of the NBA and the global economy allow.

Indeed, the Celtics could have easily let the season play out, secure in the knowledge that they could make Rondo the qualifying offer after the year and thus render him a restricted free agent. They could then let the market do its thing and match any offer that came his way.

No matter the final numbers, Danny Ainge and the owners knew that Rondo would be a Boston Celtic next season if they so desired.

Once the deal is signed, it’ll be interesting to watch Rondo’s growth in the future. Lots of players, not by coincidence, seem to stop getting better starting the season after the one in which they sign a big contract extension. Hopefully Rondo keeps improving in years to come.

Eddie House featured in cartoon

Boston Celtics guard Eddie House and his son, Jaelen, will be featured in the short-form series from the Cartoon Network My Dad’s a Pro. The series is the first initiative in a multifaceted partnership between Cartoon Network and the NBA.

My Dad’s A Pro premieres Wednesday, November 4 at 7:55 p.m. ET/PT. Each of the 10 four-minute episodes features a day in the life of Jaelen House, 9-year-old son to 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics guard Eddie House. Each week, viewers get a glimpse of what Jaelen’s not-so-everyday life is like as the son of one of the key players on one of the most storied NBA franchises. Whether he’s courtside at a crucial playoff game or at home celebrating his dad’s record-breaking game, Jaelen provides a never-before seen point-of-view.

House and his wife Charlsie have three sons: Jaelen and twins, Kaden and Kalek. Jaelen, House’s biggest and most enthusiastic fan, can be seen sitting courtside at most Celtics home games cheering his dad on.

Oct 27: Celtics 95, Cavs 89

The AP reports: Boston’s Big Three—plus Rasheed—spoiled Cleveland’s overhyped season opener on Tuesday night with a 95-89 win over the new-look Cavaliers, who may have LeBron James and Shaq but appear to be a long way from true title contenders. Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Ray Allen 16 and Kevin Garnett 13 in his first regular-season game since last March as the Celtics, overlooked by some this preseason, ended an 11-game losing streak in Cleveland and snapped a 16-game skid by visiting teams in games between the Eastern powers who figure to meet again sometime in May or June… Pierce made two crucial jumpers and two free throws in the final 1:03 to pace the Celtics, whose drive to a second straight title was derailed when Garnett injured his knee late last season. Rasheed Wallace, added as a free agent during the offseason, had 12 points. James scored 38 and O’Neal added 10 points—just two after halftime—and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their first 23 home games last season but are already 0-1 on their floor.