Category: Boston Celtics Blog

Chris Wilcox was sitting comfortably before a television, attempting to contain his emotions, the last time the Celtics visited Miami. Wilcox has since recovered from heart surgery, and will be with the team for the season opener against the Heat Tuesday night.

This will be a fresh start for both Wilcox and the Celtics. Only four current Celtics competed in the team’s Game 7 loss to the Heat June 9 in the Eastern Conference finals. And Wilcox has not played in a game since March 7.

“Definitely, we’ve got to get this first game out of the way, and then we’ve just got to compete the rest of the season,” Wilcox said. “We’re not in it for one game, we’re in it for the long haul. We need that 18th banner, so we’re just doing whatever we can to get that. It’s not going to help us win the championship, but we’ll see where we’re at. At the end of the day, we want to be there when it’s time — at the end of the year.”

— Reported by Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe 

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived forwards Micah Downs and Rob Kurz.

Downs, a 6’8 forward, appeared in seven games for the Celtics during preseason and averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. Downs posted a high of six points in 14 minutes against New York on October 20. He also grabbed seven rebounds against New York on October 13.

Kurz, a 6’9 forward, appeared in six games for the Celtics during the preseason and averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. Kurz posted a high of five points in two separate games while recording a high of four rebounds against New York on October 20.

The Celtics roster now stands at 15.

“That’s my calling,” Green said of his defense. “I have to be a guy who can go out there and guard the best player on the opposite team. Whether it’s Carmelo (Anthony of the New York Knicks), LeBron (James of the Miami Heat), Kevin Durant (of Oklahoma City), Kobe Bryant (of the Los Angeles Lakers), whether it’s a big, doesn’t matter. I see myself as being one of the top defensive players in this league. I just have to go out there and prove it.”

Green’s versatility as a defender was on display Saturday night, as he took turns guarding smaller players like Mychel Thompson or bigs such as Chris Copeland.

“Jeff is so talented athletically, explosive,” said Boston’s Rajon Rondo. “We expect a lot out of Jeff, and he’s accepted the challenge.”

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived guards Jamar Smith and Dionte Christmas.

Smith, a 6’3 guard, appeared in four preseason games for the Celtics and averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 rebound. Christmas, a 6’5 guard, appeared in four preseason games for the Celtics and averaged 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

The Celtics roster now stands at 16.

If Brandon Bass is upset over potentially losing his spot in the Celtics starting lineup, he isn’t saying. Then again, Bass isn’t saying much on the topic at all.

“I have no comment on that question. No comment,” Bass responded when asked if he cared whether he started. “We have to keep getting better as a team. I think (coach Doc Rivers) will make the best decision for the team.”

Rivers raised eyebrows earlier in the week when he speculated about employing different starting lineups. The variations could send Bass to the bench in favor of rookie power forward Jared Sullinger or free agent center Darko Milicic.

“We may go to a transitional starting lineup, you know, have three different lineups,” Rivers said Wednesday. “We put a lot of thought into it. We just will figure it out.”

— Reported by Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald

First impressions can be varied when a player joins a team, but Jared Sullinger’s initial work has highlighted one very specific quality for his older teammates to see.

And it’s not his most obvious strength as a rebounder and post player, though those talents certainly stood out in Sullinger’s team-high 16-point, eight-rebound performance during the Celtics [team stats]’ 97-91 loss to Fenerbache Ulker last night in their exhibition opener.

“His IQ is very high,” Kevin Garnett said of the rookie power forward. “I watched him a couple of times while he was (at Ohio State), and we saw a little of what he can do skill-wise. When you play with him you can actually see the IQ.”

Paul Pierce landed on the same spot.

“I think he has a great basketball IQ,” he said.

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald