By Herald staff | Thursday, May 27, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
In an email received at the Herald this afternoon, the NBA has announced that the technical foul slapped on Celtics [team stats] center Kendrick Perkins [stats] in the final moments of the second quarter of last night’s Game 5 against the Magic in Orlando’s Amway Arena has been rescinded.
As a result of the NBA’s review of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Perkins will now be eligible to play in tomorrow’s Game 6 at TD Garden as the Celtics try to close out the series and earn a spot in the Finals, scheduled to begin June 3. Perkins was facing a game suspension for going over the NBA’s six technical foul postseason limit.
Perkins entered the game with five technicals in the playoffs. He got his sixth when he jostled with Orlando’s Marcin Gortat with 2:15 left in the first half.
The second technical foul was whistled by Ed F. Rush with 36.1 seconds remaining in the half. After Perkins was called for a foul against Dwight Howard, he bolted from the scene. But Rush apparently thought he did so in too demonstrative a fashion.
Perkins was sent to the showers at that point and the Celts went on to lose Game 5, 113-92, forcing tomorrow’s game 6.
The second tech called against Perkins last night was the one rescinded by the league.
As second ruling was handed down yesterday by the league, upgrading a foul called against Celts captain Paul Pierce [stats] with 8:12 remaining in the fourth quarter to a Flagrant Foul 1.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1257749
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Napier Here to Help Kemba Shoot Better
Video Link: http://fwix.com/new_haven/share/7b4b163771/napier_video
Friday, April 23, 2010
David Borges
Location: Southington, CT, United States
Went up to Shabazz Napier's "press conference" at the Tobin Community Center in Boston's Mission Hill this afternoon. Napier's announcement was supposed to come at 3 p.m., but had to wait until after a 3 p.m. youth hoops game inside the gym was finished. Wouldn't you know, that game went to overtime.
Anyway, we finally got to chat a bit with Napier after he unveiled his UConn hat. Seems a good, personable kid. Definitely think he'll help the Huskies on the court -- and we're talking right off the bat.
Some tidbits:
Napier, who will make his official visit to UConn this weekend, was blown away on his unofficial in February:
“I felt like this is the place I want to be,” he said. “It’s not too far away, my mother can come see every game like she always does. I just felt like I can make a life there.”
Napier grew up in the tough Mission Hill neighborhood of Roxbury, and by age 5, had fallen in love with basketball. He frequently played at the Tobin Community Center, where Friday’s brief press conference was held, tagging along with Will Blalock, the future Iowa State player, and Steve Hailey, who later played at Boston College.
Napier has emerged as a top-notch scoring point guard.
“When I went to the Reebok All-America camp, I showed everybody that I’m a true point guard,” he noted. “Teams I’ve been on, I have to score. But if you want me to be a passer, or if you want me to be a role player, I’ll do that. I’m so competitive, I want to win each game, no matter what. If I have to score 50 points or get 50 steals, that’s how I am.”
Napier knew current Huskies Alex Oriakhi, of Lowell, and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel of Boston through playing together in community center leagues and against each other in AAU ball. The two didn’t reallly influence Napier’s decision to go to UConn. He is, however, relishing the opportunity to share a backcourt with Kemba Walker.
“He’s a great player. He’s fast, I’m fast. We’ve played against each other, it’s hard. I think it’s going to be good, because he can teach me some certain things, and I guess I can teach him how to shoot better.”
Gotta love that.
Napier is in the process of re-classifying from a Class of 2011 recruit to 2010. The process won’t likely be complete until May, but he’s confident it will get squared away.
“I decided I’d rather go to college and be a better person, than stay in high school and be the same person I am,” he said. “Competitive-wise, (high school’s) not good anymore.”
Napier will take his SAT’s again in May. He hopes to be in Storrs over the summer to start working out and getting ready for the season. Napier was offered scholarships by schools like West Virginia, Florida, Miami and Memphis.
“But it really came down to Connecticut,” he said. “I felt like that was a special place. I think I can learn there, academically and on the court. Tough coach, (Jim) Calhoun, he’ll be screaming and yelling at me.”
Oh, and don't say he's only 5-foot-10 or 5-11.
"I’m going to clear that up. I’m not 5-11. I’m 6-feet and 170. I’m not 160, I’m 170. About to be 175 in a few minutes," Napier said, apparently on his way to an early dinner.
Standing next to him, I'm on board with him being 6 feet tall.
Former NJCAA DII Player of the Year Oliver Lafayette to Suit Up for Celtics Tuesday Night
Former NJCAA DII Player of the Year Oliver Lafayette to Suit Up for Celtics Tuesday Night
April 20, 2010
Due to the one-game suspension handed down by the NBA on Kevin Garnett, former Brown Mackie College (Kan.) basketball player Oliver Lafayette will suit up for the Boston Celtics against the Miami Heat Tuesday night in Game 2 of their NBA Playoff series.
Lafayette played on Brown Mackie's 2005 (35-1) NJCAA Division II Championship team. He was signed last week by the Celtics and saw action against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.
After being named a First-Team All-American and DII Player of the Year in 2005, Oliver then played at the University of Houston.
Read more at ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/news/story?id=5119156
April 20, 2010
Due to the one-game suspension handed down by the NBA on Kevin Garnett, former Brown Mackie College (Kan.) basketball player Oliver Lafayette will suit up for the Boston Celtics against the Miami Heat Tuesday night in Game 2 of their NBA Playoff series.
Lafayette played on Brown Mackie's 2005 (35-1) NJCAA Division II Championship team. He was signed last week by the Celtics and saw action against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.
After being named a First-Team All-American and DII Player of the Year in 2005, Oliver then played at the University of Houston.
Read more at ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/news/story?id=5119156
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
In Walpole, Rebels’ pride still sparks a fight
Confederate symbol near school is a divisive link
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | May 25, 2010
WALPOLE — Past clapboard houses with white fences, in a tree-filled yard next to the local high school is an unusual sight: a large sign painted to look like a Confederate flag.
In most other parts of the country the flag is a searingly divisive symbol of racial segregation. But here, it is also a display of pride for the Walpole High School Rebels.
For years, Confederate flags filled the bleachers at football games while fans sang “Dixie,’’ the Old South anthem. Yearbooks were emblazoned with the flag, and a celebrated coach went by the nickname General Lee.
Most of that ended in 1994, when school officials declared the flag an inappropriate symbol and eliminated it as an unofficial team emblem. But affection for the flag has lingered, and in the fall it appeared in the neighboring yard, resurrecting what some say is an uncomfortable era in the school’s history. Games at cozy Turco Memorial Field now come with a disclaimer, read to the crowd to preempt tension and distance the school from the controversial display.
“The Walpole School Committee apologizes to anyone who may be offended by the private citizen who chooses to display a Confederate flag in close proximity to the Walpole High School field,’’ the message goes. “It in no way reflects values that we support.’’
School officials rue the flag’s presence, but say the neighbor who hung the flag from a tree in his backyard, a Walpole High School student in the 1960s, has the right to display it on his property. The owner of the house where the sign is displayed could not be reached for comment.
“We wish this proud Rebel would take it down,’’ said John Desmond, chairman of the school board. “It’s unfortunate it was ever used.’’
Many in town say fondness for the flag, which for years was emblazoned on the team’s uniforms, runs far deeper than one defiant graduate. From the 1960s, when a coach named John Lee came from Tennessee to lift the team to prominence, until the school dropped the symbol in 1994, Confederate flags were flown openly at games, and team photos were taken in front of a large mural of a flag near the field.
Even today, when the blue-crossed Confederate flag is widely seen as a painful reminder of the nation’s history of racial injustice, the occasional fan will wave the banner from the stands, as they did at a 2008 championship game at Gillette Stadium.
“The cover of my yearbook was a Confederate flag,’’ recalled Mike Amaral, a 1971 graduate who laments the school’s strong affiliation with the flag and has urged the school to choose a new mascot. “Some people can’t seem to let that go.’’
For supporters, the Rebel nickname and the flag symbolize school spirit, and serve as an important link to the school’s past. Walpole could hardly be less Southern, but some interpret the flag as some white Southerners do, as an expression of pride, valor, and determination.
That has been especially true for the football team, which has won an impressive 20 league championships and seven Super Bowls, and had numerous undefeated seasons in the past four decades.
“It’s pride, not prejudice,’’ said Dylan Murphy, a junior, and one of a number of students who support the Rebel nickname and flag. “That’s what it means to us.’’
Murphy said some students waved a Confederate flag at a football game last fall, but a coach quickly spotted it and stormed into the stands to take it away.
One black student at Walpole High, quoted in a video report by the school newspaper, The Rebellion, said she is not bothered by the flag’s use at games because “I know people in the school are not using it against me.’’ But another said, “As a man of color, I find it offensive.’’
Others agree the flag is offensive, at least to some. But they regard the Rebel nickname as sacrosanct and view efforts to discard it as mere political correctness. That is especially true among students.
“It’s Rebel pride,’’ said Will Krumpholz, 15, who added that “players like it more than their parents.’’
Walpole High adopted the Rebels’ moniker — replacing its old mascot, the Hilltoppers — in the mid-1960s, at the centennial of the Civil War and amid the bitter strife of the civil rights movement. At first the nickname carried no connection to the Confederacy. But when John Lee took over as coach in 1968, the Rebels fandom took on a distinctly Old South tone. Newspapers called the team “General Lee’s Rebels,’’ and Confederate flags became popular. In yearbook pictures from the era, flags fill the stands. Such images continued well into the 1980s.
“To speak against it was to speak against the team,’’ said Charles Hardy, a longtime social studies teacher at the high school who retired in 2002. “It always seemed pretty insensitive, but people just persisted with it.’’
In the latter part of that decade, a group from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges expressed concern about the use of Confederate flags, saying the banners “may be inappropriate due to its historical ramifications.’’ That led to the end of its official use as a symbol.
But debate over the nickname persists. When asked about the flag, school officials barely deviate from prewritten statements.
Amaral, a member of the town’s historical commission, said the nickname trivializes Civil War history, romanticizes the Confederacy, and dishonors the sacrifice of Union soldiers, particularly those from Walpole who died for their country.
“This isn’t our history, it’s somebody else’s,’’ he said. “And these are heroes that deserve better.’’
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Rajon Rondo stands witness to Big Three
By Ron Borges | Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
CLEVELAND - While Cleveland spent two days trying to figure out how to stop Rajon Rondo [stats], Doc Rivers came up with an old-fashioned way to stop the Cavaliers last night. He let the Big Three do it.
For 48 hours, speculation in Cleveland was that the Cavs would put LeBron James on Rondo to create a difficult matchup that might limit the Celtics [team stats] point guard’s speed advantage. At the least, it would inhibit Rondo’s rebounding, which killed the Cavs in Sunday’s Game 4.
So what did Rivers do in Game 5? He came up with one way to keep James off Rondo at Quicken Loans Arena. He kept his guy on the bench for a long stretch in the first half, a strategy that seemed to baffle the Cavaliers while enflaming the Big Three, who went on a personal 16-0 run in the second quarter that began the unraveling process.
Rondo eventually came off the bench and delivered a 16-point second half on 7-of-10 shooting with seven assists to top off a remarkable 120-88 rout that sent the Celts back home leading the series, 3-2. They can eliminate Cleveland tomorrow night.
While the Cavaliers fretted for two days about what to do with Rondo, the Celtics found a way to do without him in the first half by doing things the old-fashioned way during a stretch that saw them go from eight down (29-21) to eight up (37-29), a run entirely fueled by Paul Pierce [stats], Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
“Rondo was tired,” Rivers said. “You could see it. For whatever reason, he got tired early. After that I substituted by score. The lead was increasing. If Tony Allen didn’t get tired, Rondo would have sat a couple more minutes.”
As Rondo sat, Allen and Garnett each scored six points while Pierce (who finally went off for 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists after struggling the first four games, and gave a suffocating effort on James) had four plus an assist. Their effort allowed the Celtics to take a 50-44 halftime lead, but you can only hold Rondo down so long.
The Cavs can’t hold him down at all, without an assist from Rivers.
After a scoreless first half, Rondo was let loose from the bench in the third quarter and torched the Cavs like it was Game 4 all over again, scoring 12 points with four assists, an explosion for which Cleveland again had no answer.
Not that they didn’t try to find one. They put Mo Williams on him. Bad idea. They put Anthony Parker on him. So-so idea. They put Delonte West on him. Not that it mattered. They put Daniel Gibson on him. Who?
They even put James on him a time or two, but when they did, Rondo just took him so far from the basket he was unable to rebound, thus allowing the Celtics to get a series of critical offensive boards that kept the Cavaliers on the defensive longer than they would have liked as their deficit swelled to 21, 73-52. The C’s finished with 23 second-chance points to Cleveland’s seven.
At that point, the Cavaliers seemed stunned. They were being beaten up by the Big Three and beaten down by the Little One. What do you do against such an attack?
Unravel, which is what the Cavs did as the crowd of 20,562 at first booed and finally grew stone silent. With five minutes left, there were more wine-colored seats visible than towel-waving fans. Or was that whine colored?
Before the game, Rivers predicted that in one of these games, both teams would play to their optimum and one would triumph despite the other’s best effort. This was not that game, because while the Celts defense was dominating, the Cavs played at first as if they felt entitled to something because, after all, they had the best record in the regular season. And, they were armed with the best player in the league. Later, they played like a team that couldn’t care less about the embarrassment being thrust in their faces.
James might be the best player in basketball, but witness this: He didn’t do any more with Rondo than anyone else, and he didn’t lift his team once the Celts began to squeeze the life out of it. His 15 points were topped by all of the Big Three as well as the Little One, and for the final few minutes, he sat where Rondo had been much of the first half, on the bench.
Maybe instead of publicly volunteering to play Rondo, he should have been more concerned with playing his own game, especially during a stretch when the Cavs didn’t score for nearly six minutes. Then again, even if he had, what would it have mattered?
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1254218
CLEVELAND - While Cleveland spent two days trying to figure out how to stop Rajon Rondo [stats], Doc Rivers came up with an old-fashioned way to stop the Cavaliers last night. He let the Big Three do it.
For 48 hours, speculation in Cleveland was that the Cavs would put LeBron James on Rondo to create a difficult matchup that might limit the Celtics [team stats] point guard’s speed advantage. At the least, it would inhibit Rondo’s rebounding, which killed the Cavs in Sunday’s Game 4.
So what did Rivers do in Game 5? He came up with one way to keep James off Rondo at Quicken Loans Arena. He kept his guy on the bench for a long stretch in the first half, a strategy that seemed to baffle the Cavaliers while enflaming the Big Three, who went on a personal 16-0 run in the second quarter that began the unraveling process.
Rondo eventually came off the bench and delivered a 16-point second half on 7-of-10 shooting with seven assists to top off a remarkable 120-88 rout that sent the Celts back home leading the series, 3-2. They can eliminate Cleveland tomorrow night.
While the Cavaliers fretted for two days about what to do with Rondo, the Celtics found a way to do without him in the first half by doing things the old-fashioned way during a stretch that saw them go from eight down (29-21) to eight up (37-29), a run entirely fueled by Paul Pierce [stats], Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
“Rondo was tired,” Rivers said. “You could see it. For whatever reason, he got tired early. After that I substituted by score. The lead was increasing. If Tony Allen didn’t get tired, Rondo would have sat a couple more minutes.”
As Rondo sat, Allen and Garnett each scored six points while Pierce (who finally went off for 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists after struggling the first four games, and gave a suffocating effort on James) had four plus an assist. Their effort allowed the Celtics to take a 50-44 halftime lead, but you can only hold Rondo down so long.
The Cavs can’t hold him down at all, without an assist from Rivers.
After a scoreless first half, Rondo was let loose from the bench in the third quarter and torched the Cavs like it was Game 4 all over again, scoring 12 points with four assists, an explosion for which Cleveland again had no answer.
Not that they didn’t try to find one. They put Mo Williams on him. Bad idea. They put Anthony Parker on him. So-so idea. They put Delonte West on him. Not that it mattered. They put Daniel Gibson on him. Who?
They even put James on him a time or two, but when they did, Rondo just took him so far from the basket he was unable to rebound, thus allowing the Celtics to get a series of critical offensive boards that kept the Cavaliers on the defensive longer than they would have liked as their deficit swelled to 21, 73-52. The C’s finished with 23 second-chance points to Cleveland’s seven.
At that point, the Cavaliers seemed stunned. They were being beaten up by the Big Three and beaten down by the Little One. What do you do against such an attack?
Unravel, which is what the Cavs did as the crowd of 20,562 at first booed and finally grew stone silent. With five minutes left, there were more wine-colored seats visible than towel-waving fans. Or was that whine colored?
Before the game, Rivers predicted that in one of these games, both teams would play to their optimum and one would triumph despite the other’s best effort. This was not that game, because while the Celts defense was dominating, the Cavs played at first as if they felt entitled to something because, after all, they had the best record in the regular season. And, they were armed with the best player in the league. Later, they played like a team that couldn’t care less about the embarrassment being thrust in their faces.
James might be the best player in basketball, but witness this: He didn’t do any more with Rondo than anyone else, and he didn’t lift his team once the Celts began to squeeze the life out of it. His 15 points were topped by all of the Big Three as well as the Little One, and for the final few minutes, he sat where Rondo had been much of the first half, on the bench.
Maybe instead of publicly volunteering to play Rondo, he should have been more concerned with playing his own game, especially during a stretch when the Cavs didn’t score for nearly six minutes. Then again, even if he had, what would it have mattered?
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1254218
Police: Star athlete at ‘Friday Night Lights’ school really 22
By Associated Press | Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com
ODESSA, Texas - A West Texas student who led his high school basketball team to the state playoffs last season was actually a 22-year-old man, police said Tuesday.
Police say the basketball star was really Guerdwich Montimere, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti who school officials say was recognized last month by Florida coaches as having been a star high school player in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a few years ago.
Ector County school district officials said the man posed as 16-year-old Jerry Joseph and enrolled at Permian High School in Odessa for the 2009-2010 academic year. He also presented himself as homeless to the school’s basketball coach, Danny Wright, who took the boy in last summer, the coach said.
Montimere was arrested at Permian High on Tuesday and booked into Ector County jail on a charge of presenting false identification to a peace officer.
Officials said Jerry Joseph originally enrolled at the local junior high as a 15-year-old in February 2009, then moved on to high school.
Permian High officials say suspicions about the player’s identity first arose when three Florida basketball coaches familiar with Montimere recognized him last month at an amateur tournament in Little Rock, Ark. The Odessa American reported that the coaches recognized him as Montimere, who graduated from Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale in 2007.
School district officials said they grew more suspicious after contacting U.S. immigration officials.
Police said they arrested Montimere after confronting him about his identity.
"I feel like I was hit by a ton of bricks," district athletic director Leon Fuller said. "In my 50 years in education, I’ve never heard of anything like this."
Wright told The American that the player was like a family member.
"This affected a lot of people. The whole school of Permian embraced that kid. He deceived us and played on everyone’s emotions," Wright said.
Montimere was being held on $500 bond Tuesday night, according to jail records. Jail officials said no attorney was listed for Montimere.
If convicted of the misdemeanor, Montimere could face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
The revelation means Permian likely will have to forfeit the 2009 basketball season in which the 6-foot-5 player known as Jerry Joseph led the team to District 2-5A state playoffs and earned newcomer of the year accolades.
"I feel sick, but now that we’ve gotten the truth we can move on from here," said Permian principal Roy Garcia.
Permian High School’s football program and the community support for it inspired the book "Friday Night Lights."
___
Information from: The Odessa American, http://www.oaoa.com
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1254291
ODESSA, Texas - A West Texas student who led his high school basketball team to the state playoffs last season was actually a 22-year-old man, police said Tuesday.
Police say the basketball star was really Guerdwich Montimere, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti who school officials say was recognized last month by Florida coaches as having been a star high school player in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a few years ago.
Ector County school district officials said the man posed as 16-year-old Jerry Joseph and enrolled at Permian High School in Odessa for the 2009-2010 academic year. He also presented himself as homeless to the school’s basketball coach, Danny Wright, who took the boy in last summer, the coach said.
Montimere was arrested at Permian High on Tuesday and booked into Ector County jail on a charge of presenting false identification to a peace officer.
Officials said Jerry Joseph originally enrolled at the local junior high as a 15-year-old in February 2009, then moved on to high school.
Permian High officials say suspicions about the player’s identity first arose when three Florida basketball coaches familiar with Montimere recognized him last month at an amateur tournament in Little Rock, Ark. The Odessa American reported that the coaches recognized him as Montimere, who graduated from Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale in 2007.
School district officials said they grew more suspicious after contacting U.S. immigration officials.
Police said they arrested Montimere after confronting him about his identity.
"I feel like I was hit by a ton of bricks," district athletic director Leon Fuller said. "In my 50 years in education, I’ve never heard of anything like this."
Wright told The American that the player was like a family member.
"This affected a lot of people. The whole school of Permian embraced that kid. He deceived us and played on everyone’s emotions," Wright said.
Montimere was being held on $500 bond Tuesday night, according to jail records. Jail officials said no attorney was listed for Montimere.
If convicted of the misdemeanor, Montimere could face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
The revelation means Permian likely will have to forfeit the 2009 basketball season in which the 6-foot-5 player known as Jerry Joseph led the team to District 2-5A state playoffs and earned newcomer of the year accolades.
"I feel sick, but now that we’ve gotten the truth we can move on from here," said Permian principal Roy Garcia.
Permian High School’s football program and the community support for it inspired the book "Friday Night Lights."
___
Information from: The Odessa American, http://www.oaoa.com
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1254291
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
James may guard Rondo
CLEVELAND -- This Eastern Conference semifinal is the lone playoff series with any extended drama, and Game 5 here Tuesday is shaping up to resemble a graphic novel showdown -- LeBron vs. Rondo.
As in LeBron James of the Cavaliers, the two-time MVP and best player on the planet, vs. Rajon Rondo, the Celtics' 6-foot-1 point guard who has overwhelmed all expectations since he was acquired with the No. 21 pick in the draft four short years ago.
Rondo's magnificent showing of 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists Sunday was accompanied by a full-court defensive performance to lift Boston to a 97-87 victory and even the series 2-2. While the Celtics can't expect more of the same, Rondo has renewed their confidence by proving that he can establish and maintain a triumphant pace of play. The visiting Cavaliers had amped up their intensity to blow out the Celtics by 29 points in Game 3, but Rondo showed his teammates they can thrive on the same high level as the East's No. 1 seed and presumptive NBA finalist.
"I thought we played well [Sunday],'' said James, who did not view the loss as a letdown following Game 3. "They came out with a lot of energy, and then they turned it up and we were able to weather the storm late in the third quarter going into the fourth. I don't feel like as a team our aggression was down."
By outrebounding Cleveland, taking care of the ball and refusing to create easy field goals in transition, Rondo's Celtics kept James bottled up and forced him into seven turnovers and 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting. That's why James has offered to guard Rondo, and why coach Mike Brown may take him up on it: He needs to personally limit Rondo in order to create a style in which he can flourish.
"You've got to be a fan of the game, and what we call in the urban world, you can't be a hater,'' Cavs point guard Mo Williams said. "When a guy has a game like that, you've got to tip your hat to him, but at the same time we'll see him in Game 5 in Cleveland. ... He's a good player so give credit where credit is due, but one player can't beat us.''
That's true, and it's why Williams and Paul Pierce figure to play crucial roles in Game 5. While foul trouble and James' defense have combined to limit Pierce to 11.8 points on 32 percent shooting, Williams has also been held to 12.3 points over the series. "I haven't had an open look all series from the three-point line,'' said Williams, who is 2-for-13 from long range against Boston. "That's why I've been attacking the rim.''
As much as the Celtics would like to build off their latest victory and turn the remaining two or three games into a recreation of their 2008 defensive triumph over Cleveland on their way to the championship, the lesson of this series is that no two games are quite the same. Neither team has been able to maintain positive trends from day to day. James dominated Game 3, Rondo ruled in Game 4 and what happens next is anyone's guess.
What is known is that a) the current playoffs would be hopelessly dull if not for Rondo's rejuvenation of the Celtics, and b) no one is enjoying the show more than the Orlando Magic, who will be hoping for extended rest as Cleveland and Boston continue to beat each other down over the week ahead.
(CNNSI) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ian_thomsen/05/10/cavaliers.celtics.game5/index.html
As in LeBron James of the Cavaliers, the two-time MVP and best player on the planet, vs. Rajon Rondo, the Celtics' 6-foot-1 point guard who has overwhelmed all expectations since he was acquired with the No. 21 pick in the draft four short years ago.
Rondo's magnificent showing of 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists Sunday was accompanied by a full-court defensive performance to lift Boston to a 97-87 victory and even the series 2-2. While the Celtics can't expect more of the same, Rondo has renewed their confidence by proving that he can establish and maintain a triumphant pace of play. The visiting Cavaliers had amped up their intensity to blow out the Celtics by 29 points in Game 3, but Rondo showed his teammates they can thrive on the same high level as the East's No. 1 seed and presumptive NBA finalist.
"I thought we played well [Sunday],'' said James, who did not view the loss as a letdown following Game 3. "They came out with a lot of energy, and then they turned it up and we were able to weather the storm late in the third quarter going into the fourth. I don't feel like as a team our aggression was down."
By outrebounding Cleveland, taking care of the ball and refusing to create easy field goals in transition, Rondo's Celtics kept James bottled up and forced him into seven turnovers and 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting. That's why James has offered to guard Rondo, and why coach Mike Brown may take him up on it: He needs to personally limit Rondo in order to create a style in which he can flourish.
"You've got to be a fan of the game, and what we call in the urban world, you can't be a hater,'' Cavs point guard Mo Williams said. "When a guy has a game like that, you've got to tip your hat to him, but at the same time we'll see him in Game 5 in Cleveland. ... He's a good player so give credit where credit is due, but one player can't beat us.''
That's true, and it's why Williams and Paul Pierce figure to play crucial roles in Game 5. While foul trouble and James' defense have combined to limit Pierce to 11.8 points on 32 percent shooting, Williams has also been held to 12.3 points over the series. "I haven't had an open look all series from the three-point line,'' said Williams, who is 2-for-13 from long range against Boston. "That's why I've been attacking the rim.''
As much as the Celtics would like to build off their latest victory and turn the remaining two or three games into a recreation of their 2008 defensive triumph over Cleveland on their way to the championship, the lesson of this series is that no two games are quite the same. Neither team has been able to maintain positive trends from day to day. James dominated Game 3, Rondo ruled in Game 4 and what happens next is anyone's guess.
What is known is that a) the current playoffs would be hopelessly dull if not for Rondo's rejuvenation of the Celtics, and b) no one is enjoying the show more than the Orlando Magic, who will be hoping for extended rest as Cleveland and Boston continue to beat each other down over the week ahead.
(CNNSI) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ian_thomsen/05/10/cavaliers.celtics.game5/index.html
Rajon Rondo takes control
Little One’s big
By Ron Borges | Monday, May 10, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
The Big Three owe The Little One big time because yesterday he was Big Time.
Were it not for the peerless four quarters played by Rajon Rondo [stats] at the Garden, the Cleveland Cavaliers might well be at home tomorrow night holding a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal playoffs. They are not because the smallest man on the floor was the biggest man in the game, a fact the biggest man in the league grudgingly acknowledged after Rondo finished off his Cavs.
“He does everything for them,” LeBron James said after Rondo had 29 points, a playoff career-high 18 rebounds and 13 assists in a 97-87 Celtics [team stats] victory that evened the series at 2-2. “They may be one of the oldest teams but Rondo is one of the youngest players in the playoffs. His quickness and his speed get them out on the break and he creates for himself and creates for others. It doesn’t matter if those guys are running with him or not, I think it starts with Rondo. He’s kind of their energy.
“His performance was unbelievable. Rondo was definitely the difference maker. He plays much bigger than what he looks.”
Yesterday he looked like Magic Johnson and played like Oscar Robertson. He scored like LeBron James and rebounded like Wilt Chamberlain. He passed like Bob Cousy and ran the team like Gen. Patton.
Rondo was like a shot of adrenalin to a failing heart. He lifted his team after it fell behind by seven in the game’s opening minutes, directing them back out to a nine-point lead by halftime. He then took over the floor in the fourth after the Cavs got within two, scoring or assisting on six of the next seven baskets.
By the time he was finished, Rondo had done something accomplished by only Robertson and Chamberlain - scoring at least 29 points, hauling down at least 18 boards and having 13 assists in a playoff game. The last time it was done was 43 years ago, which may help you understand what really went on yesterday.
“He did impose his will on the game,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.
Much of the reason he was able to was that the Celtics defense cooled off Cleveland’s shooting. The Cavaliers were held to 40 percent on the day. That allowed Rondo to use his quickness, not only to push the ball up the floor but to get into open space where he has an uncanny knack of grabbing rebounds while men twice his size stand around looking like elephants petrified at the sight of a mouse.
“Obviously what he’s doing is absolutely unbelievable,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after playing Rondo for all but one minute and 12 seconds and watching him grab 14 defensive rebounds. “The rebounding, the energy he’s playing with. But the stat that doesn’t show was his ball pressure. Unfortunately for Rondo that’s his job. I thought that was the biggest difference because they didn’t get into their stuff as quickly as they did in Game 3 and it allowed us to help and do other things and that was Rondo. Then to go out and do the rebounding and the passing and the scoring. It was just an amazing effort.”
It was an offense in which Rondo was slashing to the middle, not only getting him to the foul line 16 times but creating the kind of space that allowed him to make a series of sensational passes, the highlight a bomb that hit Glen Davis in stride three quarters of the way down the floor as if Tom Brady [stats] was passing to Randy Moss.
“When a guy has a game like that, you have to tip your hat to him,” said Cleveland point guard Mo Williams. “It was major.”
If the Celtics hope to survive this series, they will need The Big Three, to be sure. But more than anything, they need The Little One to come up big again and again - because, Toto, it’s not 2008 anymore.
“He’s a point guard now that runs our team and has complete control of our team,” Rivers said. “When we won it, he was still learning how to be a point guard. He was still trying to figure out how to help a team win. Now we rely on him to win.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1253612
By Ron Borges | Monday, May 10, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com |
The Big Three owe The Little One big time because yesterday he was Big Time.
Were it not for the peerless four quarters played by Rajon Rondo [stats] at the Garden, the Cleveland Cavaliers might well be at home tomorrow night holding a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal playoffs. They are not because the smallest man on the floor was the biggest man in the game, a fact the biggest man in the league grudgingly acknowledged after Rondo finished off his Cavs.
“He does everything for them,” LeBron James said after Rondo had 29 points, a playoff career-high 18 rebounds and 13 assists in a 97-87 Celtics [team stats] victory that evened the series at 2-2. “They may be one of the oldest teams but Rondo is one of the youngest players in the playoffs. His quickness and his speed get them out on the break and he creates for himself and creates for others. It doesn’t matter if those guys are running with him or not, I think it starts with Rondo. He’s kind of their energy.
“His performance was unbelievable. Rondo was definitely the difference maker. He plays much bigger than what he looks.”
Yesterday he looked like Magic Johnson and played like Oscar Robertson. He scored like LeBron James and rebounded like Wilt Chamberlain. He passed like Bob Cousy and ran the team like Gen. Patton.
Rondo was like a shot of adrenalin to a failing heart. He lifted his team after it fell behind by seven in the game’s opening minutes, directing them back out to a nine-point lead by halftime. He then took over the floor in the fourth after the Cavs got within two, scoring or assisting on six of the next seven baskets.
By the time he was finished, Rondo had done something accomplished by only Robertson and Chamberlain - scoring at least 29 points, hauling down at least 18 boards and having 13 assists in a playoff game. The last time it was done was 43 years ago, which may help you understand what really went on yesterday.
“He did impose his will on the game,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.
Much of the reason he was able to was that the Celtics defense cooled off Cleveland’s shooting. The Cavaliers were held to 40 percent on the day. That allowed Rondo to use his quickness, not only to push the ball up the floor but to get into open space where he has an uncanny knack of grabbing rebounds while men twice his size stand around looking like elephants petrified at the sight of a mouse.
“Obviously what he’s doing is absolutely unbelievable,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after playing Rondo for all but one minute and 12 seconds and watching him grab 14 defensive rebounds. “The rebounding, the energy he’s playing with. But the stat that doesn’t show was his ball pressure. Unfortunately for Rondo that’s his job. I thought that was the biggest difference because they didn’t get into their stuff as quickly as they did in Game 3 and it allowed us to help and do other things and that was Rondo. Then to go out and do the rebounding and the passing and the scoring. It was just an amazing effort.”
It was an offense in which Rondo was slashing to the middle, not only getting him to the foul line 16 times but creating the kind of space that allowed him to make a series of sensational passes, the highlight a bomb that hit Glen Davis in stride three quarters of the way down the floor as if Tom Brady [stats] was passing to Randy Moss.
“When a guy has a game like that, you have to tip your hat to him,” said Cleveland point guard Mo Williams. “It was major.”
If the Celtics hope to survive this series, they will need The Big Three, to be sure. But more than anything, they need The Little One to come up big again and again - because, Toto, it’s not 2008 anymore.
“He’s a point guard now that runs our team and has complete control of our team,” Rivers said. “When we won it, he was still learning how to be a point guard. He was still trying to figure out how to help a team win. Now we rely on him to win.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1253612
Friday, May 7, 2010
Boswell tackles English job
By Dan Ventura | Friday, May 7, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com
With school administrators and current players surrounding the table, Keith Parker passed the football onto Chris Boswell, ushering in a new generation of football at Boston English.
Boswell was officially named the head football coach at English yesterday afternoon, replacing Parker, who retired following 34 years at the school. A Roxbury native, Boswell attended Marblehead High, then played at the University of Maine, before spending the past 14 years as an assistant coach at Thayer Academy.
“I’m not one who does a lot of talking,” Boswell said as he took the microphone. “I’m looking for kids who are hitters. I want kids who will work hard, be disciplined and take care of academics.”
Parker urged patience while Boswell puts his stamp on the program.
“It’s going to take a lot of time, there is a lot of rebuilding which needs to be done,” Parker said. “This is not going to change overnight, it’s got to be rebuilt brick by brick.”
Joining Boswell will be Larry Merritt, who was named the team’s academic coach. A two-sport All-Scholastic while at Cathedral, Merritt founded Merritting Attention in 1997, a youth development organization that uses sports as a vehicle to connect with young people in order to teach the importance of education.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1253075
With school administrators and current players surrounding the table, Keith Parker passed the football onto Chris Boswell, ushering in a new generation of football at Boston English.
Boswell was officially named the head football coach at English yesterday afternoon, replacing Parker, who retired following 34 years at the school. A Roxbury native, Boswell attended Marblehead High, then played at the University of Maine, before spending the past 14 years as an assistant coach at Thayer Academy.
“I’m not one who does a lot of talking,” Boswell said as he took the microphone. “I’m looking for kids who are hitters. I want kids who will work hard, be disciplined and take care of academics.”
Parker urged patience while Boswell puts his stamp on the program.
“It’s going to take a lot of time, there is a lot of rebuilding which needs to be done,” Parker said. “This is not going to change overnight, it’s got to be rebuilt brick by brick.”
Joining Boswell will be Larry Merritt, who was named the team’s academic coach. A two-sport All-Scholastic while at Cathedral, Merritt founded Merritting Attention in 1997, a youth development organization that uses sports as a vehicle to connect with young people in order to teach the importance of education.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1253075
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