Boston Celtics Blog – Page 152 – NBA Blog

Celtics waive Brandon Wallace

The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has requested waivers on forward Brandon Wallace. The Celtics roster now stands at 13.

Wallace signed as an undrafted free agent on July 10, 2007. The 6’9” forward out of the University of South Carolina did not appear in any regular season games for the Celtics. He averaged 1.2 points in 4.7 minutes per game during the preseason and was assigned to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League on November 13, 2007. He averaged 12.5 points and 9.2 rebounds in six games for the Flash.

Celtics playing great defense

NBA.com reports: The Celtics are grooving on defense, and it’s got them riding a nine-game streak. The Celts lead the NBA in points allowed, FG and TP percentage allowed, and rebounding differential. Boston’s PPG differential is +14.2; the diff for the second-best stoppers, the Pistons, is +7.9. The C’s sit at No. 2 and 3 in SPG and steal differential, and are the No. 1 Scrooge with dimes, allowing 17.3 per game – exactly how many they let Toronto have Sunday. The Raptors normally dish 23 APG. “The plays we usually make just weren’t there,” Chris Bosh said after the C’s 90-77 clampdown. Boston is 20-2 because it believes “stop” means “go”: “We’re trying to have the defense fuel the offense,” said Kevin Garnett, “and it’s been working.”

Celtics, Magic, Spurs and Suns in rare air

NBA News – Boston (15-2), Orlando (16-4), San Antonio (16-3) and Phoenix (15-4) each have a chance of winning at least 20 of their first 25 games. The last time four teams started the season with at least 20 wins in their first 25 games was 1996: Chicago (22-3), Houston (21-4), Detroit (20-5) and Utah (20-5). The last time three teams established the feat was 2004: San Antonio (20-5), Phoenix (22-3) and Seattle (20-5).

Coaches of Month: Rivers, Popovich

The Boston Celtics’ Doc Rivers and the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in October and November.

Rivers guided the Celtics to a 13-2 (.867) record last month, including eight straight wins to open the season. Boston outscored opponents by a 13.7 ppg margin while holding teams to a .410 field goal percentage. The Celtics recorded a perfect 8-0 mark at TD Banknorth Garden, besting the opposition at home by 21.6 points over that stretch. Owners of the NBA’s top record at month’s end, the Celtics enjoyed the franchise’s best November since 1985-86 when Boston opened 13-1.

Popovich led the Spurs to a 14-3 (.824) record in October and November, tying the franchise record for best start after 17 games, last accomplished in 2005-06. San Antonio, which won five straight from Nov. 16 through Nov. 25, was a perfect 9-0 at AT&T Center. The Spurs committed a league-low 12.0 turnovers per game, including setting a franchise record low with three turnovers in a 128-110 win over Orlando on Nov. 21.

Other nominees for the Coach of the Month were Dallas’ Avery Johnson, Detroit’s Flip Saunders, Houston’s Rick Adelman, Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy, Phoenix’s Mike D’Antoni and Utah’s Jerry Sloan.

Gabe Pruitt back to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned rookie guard Gabe Pruitt to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash. Pruitt is the team’s third assignment to the NBA Development League this season and the second time for Pruitt.

Pruitt was averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 assists in 6.0 minutes per game at the time of the assignment. The 6’4 guard had appeared in one game since his recall from the Flash on November 26, 2007. Pruitt played in 13 minutes against the New York Knicks on November 29 scoring two points, grabbing one rebound and recording four assists.

Celtics domination at home

NBA News: At an NBA-best 11-2, the Boston Celtics are off to one of the best starts in franchise history. They opened the season 8-0 — the fourth best start for this storied organization — and have yet to lose at TD Banknorth Garden, where they are 7-0. The Celtics, not only will look to remain perfect at home tonight when they host the New Knicks on national TV (8 p.m. ET, TNT), they’ll go for a knockout punch.

Boston has outscored its opponents at home by an average of 18.3 points, the highest point-differential in the league. The Utah Jazz ranks second in that category (16.7), followed by the San Antonio Spurs (14.1), the Denver Nuggets (13.5), and the Detroit Pistons (11.2).

At home, the Celtics are out-rebounding teams by an average of 6.4; dishing out 10.6 more assists; recording 10.6 steals per game compared to 7.9 for the opposition; and shooting .525 from the field, while holding teams to under 40 percent (.398).

Perhaps the most significant reason for the Celtics’ dominance at home has been how seamlessly Kevin Garnett has acclimated to his new surroundings. His averages at home include 22.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists, and he’s shooting a blistering .604 from the field and .871 from the free throw line. His road averages are 19.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists, and his percentages from the field and charity stripe are .511 and .806, respectively.

Celtics recall Gabe Pruitt from D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled rookie guard Gabe Pruitt from their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash.

Pruitt averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 37.0 minutes per game for the Flash in two games. Pruitt hit the game-winner in the season opener for the Flash as they defeated the Anaheim Arsenal 110-109 on November 24 in which he scored 31 points and had eight assists. Pruitt has appeared in two games this season for the Celtics and has averaged 2.0 points per game.

Celtics assign Gabe Pruitt to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned rookie guard Gabe Pruitt to their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash. Pruitt is the team’s second assignment to the NBA Development League this season.

Pruitt was averaging 2.0 points and 0.5 assists in 3.0 minutes per game at the time of the assignment. Pruitt appeared in two games this season for the Celtics and was on the inactive list for six games. Pruitt appeared in six preseason games for the Celtics averaging 2.6 points while shooting .444 percent from the field. Pruitt averaged 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22.4 minutes per game during the 2007 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Magic hand Celtics first loss of season

The Boston Celtics had been a perfect 8-0 and the league’s only remaining undefeated team but Sunday evening they lost 102-104 in Orlando to the Magic. Hedo Turkoglu stepped up in the 4th quarter, especially from three-point range.

Orlando got 44 free throw attempts in the game, while Boston had just 26. Both teams struggled from the charity stripe, however. Dwight Howard alone had 20 free throws, making just 10.

Boston dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 41-28. Aside from Kevin Garnett’s 11 rebounds it was a total team effort on the boards.

For Orlando, Dwight Howard shot 7-of-9 for 24 points and 3 blocks. He had just 6 rebounds. Rashard Lewis shot 6-of-11 for 22 points and 3 assists, but just 2 rebounds. Jameer Nelson took 15 shots to get 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Hedo Turkoglu took 13 shots for 16 points and 6 rebounds. And Keith Bogans needed 10 shots to get 10 points.

For Boston, Paul Pierce shot 10-of-17 for 28 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Ray Allen needed 17 shots to get 19 points, plus 5 rebounds. Rajon Rondo, a bright spot for the Celtics today, shot 8-of-9 for 18 points and 5 rebounds, though he dished just 3 assists. Kevin Garnett was quiet offensively, shooting 7-of-13 and not getting a single free throw attempt for 14 points, 11 rebounds and 1 assist. He fouled out.

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Celtics off to their best start since 1972-73 season

At 7-0, and with four of the seven wins coming by 20 points or more, the Celtics are off to their best start since the 1972-73 season when they opened 10-0. The franchise’s best start of all time came in 1957-58 when Boston reeled off 14 straight victories to open the season.

Paul Pierce is leading the team in scoring at 23.4 points plus 5.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. But Kevin Garnett is truly dominating and has averaged 21.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. And Ray Allen is putting up 20.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Allen and Pierce are shooting 49.0% or better, and KG is hitting 54.6% of his shots.

Eddie House, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and James Posey add scoring. Perkins is averaging just 5.1 rebounds per game in 26 minutes. He needs to raise that number.

The Celtics as a team are shooting a fantastic 50.1% from the field.