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James Posey talks Kobe

The Orange County Register (Janis Carr) reports — James Posey: “You can’t stop Kobe because he does so much. He scores, he shoots the 3-ball well, he has a nice in-between game, he knows how to get to the free-throw line, he attacks the basket. It’s tough. He’s one of the guys who has the ball a lot, and a lot of attention needs to be directed toward him. You can’t stop him, you just try to control him, just try to make him work for everything,” Posey said. “Sometimes even that isn’t enough.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: I could shut Kobe down. He knows it. He’s scared. Same with LeBron. None of these dues could score on me. But I like them and don’t want to hurt their feelings, so instead of signing with an NBA team and doing it, I’ll just continue to run InsideHoops.com.

Perkins and JO have beef

The Boston Herald (Steve Buckley) reports: According to Kendrick Perkins, these confrontations with Jermaine O’Neal are getting serious. “There’s always words exchanged,” he said. “We do have something personal. That’s how we’ve been since we’ve been matching up. But you know, it is what it is.” Don’t worry, though, Perkins and O’Neal won’t be meeting out on Causeway Street to settle whatever differences they may have. “He’s out there competing,” Perkins said. “It’s nothing personal off the court, but it’s personal when we get on the court.

Nov 10: Celtics 94, Raptors 87

The AP reports: Paul Pierce walked into the postgame interview room with his right hand wrapped in ice, cooling down after a hot shooting final quarter. “We’re cooling it down,” Kevin Garnett joked after Pierce scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to lead Boston’s 94-87 comeback win over the Raptors on Monday night… Pierce made 7-of-9 shots in the final quarter—including a pair of 3s just 40 seconds apart midway into the period—as Boston overcame an eight-point deficit en route to its fifth straight win… Garnett added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 19 points for the Celtics (7-1). Boston scored 58 points in the second half after getting just 36 in the opening 24 minutes… Jermaine O’Neal recovered from a rough night in Sunday’s win over Charlotte, leading the Raptors (4-3) with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Parker scored 15 and Jason Kapono 14 for Toronto.

InsideHoops.com Notes: Chris Bosh shot just 3-of-8 for 9 points and 7 rebounds. Jason Kapono shot 6-of-10 for 14 points. Andrea Bargnani did almost nothing in 11 minutes.

Nov 9: Celtics 88, Pistons 76

The AP reports: Tony Allen scored 12 of his 23 points in the pivotal second quarter, lifting Boston to an 88-76 win on Sunday night… Allen Iverson finished with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting with four assists and four turnovers… Ray Allen had 17 points, Kevin Garnett scored eight on 4-of-15 shooting and Paul Pierce added seven on 3-of-10 shooting. Rajon Rondo scored 13 points and Eddie House had eight points as one of four reserves with at least six points for the Celtics… Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince had 23 points and eight rebounds… Rasheed Wallace had 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting and 11 rebounds. Reserve Will Bynum added 11 points. Richard Hamilton, who was 0-for-8, scored just three points on free throws.

Nov 7: Celtics 101, Bucks 89

The AP reports: For the second straight game, the defending NBA champions trailed early then won by a big margin, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 101-89 behind 18 points and 10 rebounds from Paul Pierce on Friday night… Richard Jefferson scored 20 points and Charlie Villanueva added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee. Garnett had 16 points for Boston and Kendrick Perkins had seven blocks in 24 minutes. The last Celtic to get more in a game was Kevin McHale, who had eight against Sacramento on Jan. 9, 1987… Boston had 28 assists, 17 turnovers and 13 steals. Milwaukee finished with 22 turnovers and 17 assists.

Nov 5: Celtics 96, Thunder 83

The AP reports: Paul Pierce had 20 points and nine rebounds, Ray Allen scored 18 points and the defending NBA champions clamped down on Oklahoma City after the Thunder’s fast start to run away with a 96-83 victory Wednesday night… Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Perkins had 10 points and nine rebounds. Allen also had nine rebounds as four of Boston’s starting five had eight or more. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 17 points, but had another poor shooting night in his team’s new gym. He went only 6-for-15 and is 18-for-50 this season at the Ford Center. Jeff Green added 14 points for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook finished with 13 after two late 3-pointers.

Nov 4: Celtics 103, Rockets 99

The AP reports: Ray Allen scored 29 points, Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 11 rebounds and the Celtics shut down Ron Artest and Yao Ming to hand Houston its first loss of the season. Tracy McGrady scored 26 points, but couldn’t rally the Rockets down the stretch… Paul Pierce added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics. Yao went 4-for-14 from the field and scored eight points for Houston. “Probably one of my worst games of all time,” Yao said… Aaron Brooks scored 12 for the Rockets, but starting point guard Rafer Alston had an off night, going 1-for-6 from the field and scoring four points.

Nov 1: Pacers 95, Celtics 79

The AP reports: Danny Granger scored 20 points, new point guard T.J. Ford added 19, and a sellout crowd watched the Pacers beat the defending champion Boston Celtics 95-79 on Saturday night in their home opener… Ford, the key acquisition in the trade that sent Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto, also had four assists. Backup point guard Jarrett Jack, picked up in a trade with Portland, added 11 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Pierce scored 15 points, but shot 3-for-15 from the field. Ray Allen finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting… The Celtics had 24 turnovers and shot 21-for-35 from the free-throw line on Saturday.

Oct 31: Celtics 96, Bulls 80

The AP reports: Kevin Garnett played much better in the 1,000th game of his career than in his first of this season. Boston’s intense leader had 18 points and 10 rebounds three days after a mediocre season opener and became the youngest player in NBA history to play in 1,000 regular-season games when the Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 96-80 Friday night… Rookie point guard Derrick Rose, the top pick in the NBA draft, led the Bulls with 18 points and made six of their 25 field goals. He also learned a lesson from the champs… Tyrus Thomas, on 2-for-17 shooting, and Ben Gordon, who went 3-for-10, scored 11 each. Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo scored 14 each for Boston.

Celtics exercise Rondo option

The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has exercised the fourth year option on guard Rajon Rondo. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The third-year product out of Kentucky averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.68 steals last season. Rondo also averaged 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.73 steals during the Celtics run to their 17th NBA Championship last spring. During the 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend, Rondo started for the Sophomore team in the Rookie Challenge scoring six points and had six assists in 18 minutes. The former Wildcat was originally acquired in a draft night trade from the Phoenix Suns along with Brian Grant and cash considerations in exchange for a future first round pick on June 28, 2006.