The starting five

Sorry Chad, but Sam Cassell is a shooter plain and simple. Always has been, always will be. He will play an important role for the team as the playoffs progress. He has had a steller career doing what he does. As far as Cornbread goes, I am with you, still on the fence. Sometimes good, sometimes just Cornbread.

I just wish he wouldn't take so many bad, contested shots. I wouldn't be shocked if he hit a big one or two along the way, though, so long as Doc realizes Cassell is worth playing when the team needs a bucket, not to give Rondo an eight-minute breather in the fourth quarter.

I agree with your assesment of Posey, a great signing that went under the radar. The trouble with all Celtics colormen as I see it is that they seem locked in their own time zone. From Bill Walton to Cousy to Heinsohn and of course Maxwell, they all seem to think their decade was the best for Basketball. Their stars were the biggest stars, they played only unselfish fundamental basketball, nobody had more character etc. Does anyone else here remember turning off the sound to avoid Cousy and Heinsohn's negativity posing as fairness, to listen to Johnny Most on the radio? I love a homer calling a game.

Have to remember Rondo is still inexperienced in the playoffs and although improved, he is still not a very good shooter. Regarding your Pierce comments, he may be the most underrated player in the league. I put him in the top five at his position. Don't worry about Cassell/ Rondo, that will play itself out. Worry about getting Ray Ray heated up. I say if he starts scoring like the Ray of old, there will be no stopping the Celtics train. If not, Pierce will have to start scoring 40 a night and there will be trouble ahead.

It is going to be a treat to watch the greatness that is LEBRON JAMES for the next week or 2.I do believe the Celts will win,though they must prove to everyone that they can win on the road in the playoffs. It is unrealistic to think they will remain unbeaten at home during the playoffs. Cassel,he is a better shooter than Rondo(love the World B. reference) but he was not brought here to shoot! This will be a tough test for the Celts,the fact is the Cleveland Lebrons are the defending eastern conference champs.Cornbread,well i chuckle everytime he attemps to say facillitater,(?)weei says "quack quack" is areference to Larry Bird.

Couldn't agree more about Posey. In fact, as a journalist who shares a column space in Middlebury, VT, with some guy named Karl who once claimed to be related to you, I wrote the following on 8/30/07, as cut and pasted:
"The Boston Celtics’ weekend signing of forward James Posey may have flown under the radar, but that’s a great addition to the Big Three Redux of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
Posey, last noticed on the national stage mercilessly harassing all-star Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks when the Miami Heat won the NBA title two years ago, is exactly the kind of complimentary player the Celtics needed to add: a relentless defender who does have some scoring and rebounding skills."
I guess I'll stand by that, and say that at least someone out in the boonies noticed.

I understand what you're saying about Max's commentary, but from a fan's perspective the guy is fun, energetic, and accessible. Here's a local personality who knows his role and plays to it. Plus, how many other minor celebs will sit down at a $10/$20 hold'em game at Foxwoods and take as much abuse as Max? I've played with Max and his sidekick Kenny half a dozen times at FW, and it's always a blast!

sorry for double post on previous article,also if i may 1978 is that when Dewey started working with Walt Hriniak(?) "up on the front toe", worked great for Dewey not so much for Rich Gedmen

I am totally tired of Heinson and Maxwell, they come across as bafoons which is a shame because both know their stuff. Heinson is much better in the studio. I actually prefer the games on TNT because the color commentary is so much better. As for Cassell I could not agree more. The offense looks like it is in a state od confusion when he has the ball.

I couldn't agree more with you on MORE POSEY!!! . . was one of the best side moves outside of the "big 3", and lately he has barely had much playtime! I was at Game 2 and 5, and to watch him during shootaround go 13-14 from 3 point land is something we need during the game! As far as Cedric Maxwell, there are a few times he might "Quack" too much, but you got to love the excitement he does bring to the broadcast! I look forward to listening to his broadcast throughout the Celtics quest for Banner 17!. .I'm so excited for what's to come, in the words of Max. . . "someone get me a napkin, so i can wipe my mouth!"

Didn't Cedric Maxwell wear #31? I thought ML Carr had #30? When did Maxwell change from #30 to #31? These are things I care about.

I'm just glad Cousy hung 'em up - Heinsohn is better in a twosome rather than a threesome.

Paul Pierce is not a great player - he could never carry a team with his talent. Dont forget his rather slovenly play prior to this year. He had great games with tons of shots but he doesnt defend well and seems to be the big scorer in games his team is already winning. His act at the end of game six was a disgrace. Why the love?

When you see PP be the fire that ignites a big playoff comeback I may believe differently. He is an example of an overrated NBAer who needs to bust it a little more consistently.

The big three hasnt got a playoff resume - at all....we will see what they can do over what promises to be a tough, tough out for them. If they get by, the Pistons will likely handle them.

Cassell is doing what is expected of him when he is out there with the 2nd unit. Bottom line is if the defense is sagging he should shoot. He shouldn't shoot any 3's though early in the posession. That is bad. Now when at least 2 of the "Big 3" are on the court Doc needs to get Cassell OFF the court. Rondo should sub in with the 2nd of the "Big 3" whenever that takes place otherwise it results in lost posessions for the C's. Cassell plays way too much of the 2nd quarter.

Maxwell is great. He knows his basektball and I like his off the wall pronouncements. I think he does it on purpose to piss of the rabid Bird fans in Boston who themselves get out of control.

C's win in 5.

Great basketball card considering Max is wearing number 30 and not his 31 that's up in the rafters. I wonder when and why the switch happened?

I've been late in returning to the Celtics, for whatever reason--being in NY and not paying for an NBA package probably doesn't help--so my impressions are pretty new. But I was really taken aback by how bad the Celtics looked in the 4th quarter of game 6. There was no inside game, and Garnett was absolutely invisible. Just a lot of outside chucking. (Posey was the only one who made a good impression.) So my worry going forward would probably be KG in crunch time--not an original observation, I understand. But still. You can't win every game by 25.

Cassell has said in several interviews that he is here to score (shoot).

Totally agreed on Posey. This move did not get its due credit in the press, but Cs fans who have followed the league knew that this was a significant signing - not only in terms of what Posey brings to the table, but also in that the KG/R.Allen moves changed everything about the way Celtics basketball was perceived.

While the C's didn't play their best ball in ATL, I feel like no one is giving the Hawks credit for playing well above their heads in all three home games. You rarely, if ever, saw them play at that level during the season. And as you said, the matchup gave the C's problems as much as anything (young, athletic, don't know any better), but it's not like the Celts weren't trying. Maybe game 3 is the exception, but games 4 and 6 I felt like they were legitimately playing hard basketball and just got beat by a team playing well above its normal limitations. I find it hard to fault the C's, at least not as much as most "analysts" and talking heads. Thoughts?

Sam has always had a mechanical elbow, & I think the recently increased launch ratio is the direct result of a conversation in which Doc told Sam to be Sam. It was good to see him get back to the mid-range game that has kept in the league, but you're right - he seemed like he was trying out for the Phoenix Suns in the Atlanta series.
I agree with you about Pierce being underrated and unappreciated around here. It's been that way for a long time around here, and unfortunately it will take #17 to turn that around. Regardless of the pouting facial expressions and playoff meltdown of a few years ago, the guy's been taking the big shots, hitting the boards hard, drawing charges, and generally doing everything in his power to win for years. Now this year everyone talks like he'd never heard of defense until Garnett arrived.
Anyway, my biggest concern for the remainder of the playoffs is Doc. I can buy the hype that he's a great teacher and motivator, but tactically, he's the anti-Belichick. We all forgot about that this year because the C's had so few close games. There were many examples of that in the Atlanta series, with the most obvious being Joe Johnson's torching of Ray during his 20 point 4th quarter. Where were the in-game adjustments? Put Posey on him, sacrifice some offense & put Tony Allen on him, double team, etc.

I am one who noticed the off-season move in which the Celtics signed James Posey. I was excited about it then, and I'm more excited about it now. When the Celtics acquired Allen and Garnett, I was pleased, but I didn't think that the "Big 3" would be enough without someone like James Posey. Sometimes, when Posey is on the court, I just stop watching the ball and follow Posey's movements instead. More often than not, you can learn a lot about good fundamental basketball by watching his effort on defense. I hope he knows how much some Celtics fans notice and appreciate what he does for this team.

First Point: I like Maxwell for the most part. He's been there and so have Cousy and Heinsohn. Max has his goofy moments from time to time but he's got some good insights too. You have to remember all of these guys worked the trenches all the way to the championship, in Cousy and Heinsohn's cases, they did it multiple times. Give these guys their dues, they were on great Celtics teams. Maxwell was a good enough player to keep a young Kevin McHale on the bench and good enough to win an NBA Final's MVP in 1981. As far as I'm concerned, Max Tommy and Couz they can have their collective chips on their shoulders and I don't have a problem with it.

Doc Rivers is a much better coach than he's getting credit for. Defensively the Celts have bought into a system that translated into a 66 win season. I think Doc did a masterful job convincing people to leave their egos at the door and play team basketball. For 6 years I watched the Celtics play isolation offense where 1 player (Pierce) dribbled the ball while the other 4 stood around and watched. Today there's a nice crisp movement in the offense and an almost kamikaze approach to playing defense. It's fun to watch and the effort is astounding. For the first time in his career Paul Pierce is receiving kudos for his defense. I'm sure Doc had something to do with this development.

Posey is a treat to watch. His spirit and defensive effort were really apparent against Atlanta. I can see him matching up with "The Chosen One" in the next round. Posey won't stop Lebron, no one will, but he's big and strong enough to slow him down a little. Posey can throw that 3 point daggar too. He's been very accurate in the post season so far. With Ray Allen in a shooting slump in the Atlanta series, Posey and Pierce became the only 2 weapons beyond the arc. If Ray heats up against Cleveland it will be a very short series.

Sam Cassell will end up playing a key role in the post season. Yes, he's a little quick with the trigger at times, but in the end I believe bringing him in late in the season will pay big dividends. I see him being used a lot in this next series against Cleveland but he may see limited action against Detroit because of their physical guards. When the Celts reach the finals against either New Orleans or Los Angeles, that's when Sam will thrive. That's another area that I think Doc Rivers excels in as a coach, he knows how choose the right players for the right spot to get the best match ups.

Sam is an aging player who still thinks he has it (and he does if only for a minute). If he hits his 1st shot Doc should be prepared to snatch him because he thinks he'll hit the next five, which hasn't been the case (if we're talking on a consistent basis). Pierce will never be a leader ( he hasn't let go of the street mentality) and for some reason he has not got the respect of the NBA officials after all his seasons in the league. Wonder why?

I'm thinking Eddie House deserves his minutes back, particularly against teams that don't pressure the ball. Cassel is a good pick up for a match up with Detroit and probably whoever we would face if we make the finals but right now I want to see Eddie HOUSE!

Chad,
Agreed on Pierce.... while i love the 3s and the fade away jump shot, i want to see the Pierce that scores 23 points from the free throw line. He shoot be cutting to that basket more.

Doc TOLD Cassell to be Sam and do his thing. There are times that Doc should play House in place of Cassell, but I guarantee some night soon - Sam will have 20 points in a game when we really need them. Thats all he has to do, have a few good games along the way to a championship - and he was worth it.

You could not be more wrong about Sam vs Eddie House. In NBA box scores, they now have what is known as plus minus. Sam was a +23 for the first round series. While Eddie was -11 during a critical 6 minute stretch in the 4th quarter of game 4. When Sam is in the game, usually only 1 of the big 3 is out there with him, meaning he is the second option. I'm looking for Sam to have a big series as he will most likely be matched up with Daniel Gibson. This is a guy Sam should be able to take on the post.

I was surprised to see Cedric Maxwell wearing #30 on his uniform in the basketball card --my recollection is that he wore #31 for the Celts. Is my memory getting faulty or did he switch uniform numbers at some point?

Have never heard Maxwell, and plan on keeping it that way. As for Heinsohn, however, he is the biggest homer in the game of basketball announcing, ever. Johnny Most paled in comparison. And Chad, Tommy should have been fired long ago. His one saving grace is that he knows the game intimately and could still be coaching at the NBA level if he desired. I agree with The Kid, Ray is the key to it all. If he shoots well and is involved in the game, the floor opens up and the C's triumph handily. If he is quiet it becomes that much more difficult.

I've decided on Maxwell. I find him utterly unlistenable. I'm not sure what's worse: that he sounds like he's got a mouthful of paper towels, that he adds little to nothing of interest to the broadcast with his commentary, or that he has an ego just this side of Steve Jobs. I wish the powers-that-be would wake up and send him on his merry way. Until that time, the radio is off.

Maxwell was Number 30?

Interesting to note that Max wore #30 his first 2 seasons with Boston before giving it up to M.L. Carr and switching to #31.

Rondo is great on defense, but awful on offense. It's not just inexperience or nerves. He doesn't play like a point guard. Good point guards guys their teammates right as where they want the ball. Good point guards penetrate to draw the defense and put the ball into the hands of whichever of their teammates gets open. Rondo, on the other hand, frequently slashes to the basket only to dish to someone who's still guarded. It's maddening. So many of his passes simply don't do anything. They don't set anything up and they don't result in easy buckets. Rondo's 2.67 assist to turnover ratio was good for 27th in the NBA.

Also, Pierce is getting a pass on his out-of-control behavior because the Boston basketball universe was biting its collective tongue while holding its collective breath between games 6 and 7. We didn't raise a stink because we wanted the C's to win more than we wanted to hold Pierce accountable. And once they won, "Hooray!"

Pierce's lack of control is simply unacceptable. Much as most of would prefer to pretend it isn't there, it is.

Sam should sit.

This is Gagne all over again.

Reasonable move, just wrong outcome. With Sam on the court, Celts are -9 points per 48 minutes. While his jacking shots is your main complaint, what is worse is his weak D. Whomever he covers goes ape when Sam steps on the floor.

Back to Eddie. Celts are almost break-even with him on the court (-2 per 48).

Chad I couldn't agree with you more on this topic and I have been saying it all along
I
n retrospect, Atlanta was a terrible matchup for them, a young, live-wire of a team with a nothing-to-lose attitude

1) Why does it take Ray Allen 10 shots into the game to warm up? The guy has been shooting 200 shots a day since he was 11.

2) Please tell me the Celtics will be committed to clogging up the lanes with Perk, Powe, and Big Baby. The less room for Bron in the paint, the better I will sleep at night.

3) With 15 seconds left to the game and the Celtics down by 2, please tell me that Rondo will not bring the ball up. We need someone to bring it up who can dial their own number if necessary. Pierce or even Cassel. This is the one spot where Cassel would not be so bad. Dribble, dribble, dribble . . . look for open shooter . . . hesitation, shimmy-shake, and shoot it. That is not Rondo's job.

4) Please tell me that KG will realize that he can punish Big Ben and Side Show Bob beyond 3 quarters. Get the ball 8-10 feet from the rim. Dribble, dribble, fake right, fake left, and hit that sh!t off the glass from 5-6 feet away all day.

5) Please tell me we will win a game in Cleveland!

Forget Posey shadowing James.....where is Tony Allen? I thought he was our best defender!

Don't forget...Cleveland made it to the finals last year! They are much stronger then they were last year....and they are just getting their game on right now!
Should be a great series!

MB,
Rondo had an out of this world 7:1 assist to turnover ratio in round one and averaged about 8 dimes a game. He played incredible, particularly if you consider it was his first playoff series and his presence defensively. His shot needs work and he needs to finish better (way too many missed lay ups)...but R2 has a chance to be an all-star.

Just a guy from 26 miles south of Cleveland (Akron) reading all this. It is interesting that no matter who your team, everyone seems to see their home team in the light of seeing them day in and day out. Although we have not had the opportunity to see Paul Pierce day in /day out here in Cleveland - we feel he is a great player that up until this year just happened to be surrounded by little to no talent. We look forward to this series and think it will be great series - someone will need to figure out how to win on the other teams court. Hopefully that is where Lebron comes in - and when you see him day in / day out (I also got to see him for four years in high school), you are never amazed at what he can do. Doesn't mean he cannot be slowed down though.

Max is nearly as entertaining as Mike Adams, and I mean that as a compliment. They both bring a lighter style to this crazy Boston sports environment, and I enjoy them both quite a bit. :)

Bird championed the trade of Maxwell for Walton, so Cedric is prone to making such statements about players being better than Bird.

SAM = GAGNE. Classic!

Andy K - Spot on about Posey - you deserve to gloat about that one. And I'm vaguely aware of a Karl, though I'd need a picture to confirm. ;)

Some great stuff in these comments. I was at the office tonight and saw only snippets of the game - did Cassell actually play well?

Chad, you hit the nail on the head as far as the hawks matching up well against the Celts. It was the worst possible match up for them, young athletic guys who could play more than 1 positiion, slash, score and shoot the ball.

A lot of people forget this about Pierce, especially after last years debacle, but in 05-06 he was one of the top 5 players IN THE LEAGUE. Seriously, if you don't believe me, look up his stats. Defensively he's never gotten a lot of credit though, but when you're called on to do so much on offense you can't help but play a little matador defense. If you remember back to 02 and 03 when they actually had some teams capable of going deep into the playoffs, he was a pretty good defender. The problem was, as apparently is now he melted down in the clucth, (missed free-throws in 02). Great player though, completley underated. I hope his pairing with KG (another player who has had problems in the clutch) will bring out the beast in both of them during these playoffs. Not such a good sign after game 1 in round 2 for Pierce, but KG answered the call perffectly. I hope Pierce gets another shot at it on Thurday.

As for Max, I like him, not a lot but enough to think he's a good color guy. As for Heinsohn and Cousy, Heinsohn is the biggest homer ever, he's almost unlistenable. He knows the game better than anyone I've heard do the color but I can't take the fuming, berating the refs, calling for flagrants when there are none, the ridiculous comments, etc. Cousy, like Heinsohn knows the game better than just about anyone, but he's not animated at all and a lot of the time he is just too hard to understand.

Maxwell and Bird goes a lot deeper than just the trade. First of all, at least according to Bird and Red, Bird was in Red's office during the dealings when the asking price for Walton came up. Red asked Bird what he thought about Walton. Afterall, Bird was thge best player on the best team going for a title and he knew better than anyone who would fit into that team and make it better. Bird told Red to "get him (Walton)," supposedly without knowing they had to give up Max. Wether its true or not, Max desn't seem to think so.

More than that however, Max was an extremely good NBA player who needed the ball to be effective. He had a penchant for taking posessions off, even whole games and whole groups of games. That didn't fly too well with Larry who hustled every single play. Larry regulary chastised him for it. I've never heard of them not getting along personally but I can imagine that they did not. Bird didn't get a long with a lot of people. So when the opportunity to ship Max out of town for Bill Walton (I don't remember who or what other draft picks were involved in the deal) came along, Red barely though twice and Bird never looked back. To this day, Max hates him, he said so not more than a week ago on the radio, not during a game but on one of the WEEI talk shows. I kind of don't blame Max either, I love Bird and I thought that was a great trade but I'm glad Max has stuck to his guns all these years.

house is a better team player than cassell bottom line, sure cassell has made some big shots, but so can eddie. defense and execution, house is better, too bad rivers is still caught up in the hype. ray only took 4 shots in this game, i watched the whole game and he barely touched the ball, especially when cassell is on the floor. terrible

I like Max - a unique sound and accent during the games. Yes, there's a certain cockiness that comes through, but you have to remember what this guy did for the Celts in the golden years, and it begins to sound like assuredness rather than arrogance.

I've heard him talk about Bird and it seems like his whole deal is just that he doesn't like how people put Bird on a pedestal at the expense of the others (Max himself included, I'm sure) who played with him- he asks how great Larry would have been able to become without the other HOF-level players (McHale, Parish, DJ, etc) around him. It's an age-old, chicken & egg type question, and I'm sure some of it comes down to personalities clashing and professional pride at living in the shadow of one of the best ever.

It's true, Cassell did play well. He's no Eric Gag-Me, as one poster erroneously suggested. I spent the whole evening convinced the game was lost (my family was ready to murdur me for negative attitude) and probably would have been without Sam. A fake ball swing and huge three from the top of the key was especially killer. That's why they got the guy, for that one night when nothing much else was working. Still wish he'd shoot less at times, but he was needed to score points last night, and I sure didn't like Celts chances if they lost the first vs. Cavs with Lebron laying an egg.
Cheers.

Posey has flown under the radar all year. He gives the inspirational pregame hugs to all the starters and is the leader of the second unit. He does the things that don't show up on box scores and I trust him just as much as Paul or Ray for a 3 in crunch time. I think sometimes we take him for granted but we shouldn't.

I'm surprised Cassell hasn't run the offense better. He has hit some big game shots but so has Eddie House with deeper range plus Eddie plays a little tougher D and surprisingly can run the offense a little better than Sam I am at this point. It's still a tough call though as Sam can post up and brings some good intangibles. Still would like see Eddie get more PT such as end of the quarter situations. For example like the end of game 6 where Rondo was inexplicably attempting the game tying 3 point shot when we had Eddie on the bench!!!

As far as Paul (this is mostly responding to "Losts" post) he is not perfect but we are being too nitpicky with this guy and focus on the flaws. Sure he can carry team. Remember that 01-02 team when he carried a bunch of overachievers to the conference finals against the Nets and led the team to the biggest 4th quarter comeback in playoff history in 1 game. Speaking of clutch I'd rather look at a 10 year sample than 1 series. Look it up he's led the league in game winning shots defined by 4 seconds left on the game clock since he's been in the league. Plus at least 1 year maybe more led the league in 4th quarter points. He is always among the leaders in getting to the line. This guy takes a beating with his drives to the hoop and never shies away from posting up. For all his greatness we don't see Lebron post up nearly as much and he's built like a machine. I wouldn't be surprised if he's hurting more than he is letting on from the Atlanta series. Remember that bad fall he took when Smith landed on is head. Lets cut the guy some slack and give him some love.

I loved Max as a player. He was phenomenal against Dr. J. in the '81 conference series when the Celts came back from a 3 games to 1 deficit. He was a great low post player with a high shooting pct. He was strong from the line, always practicing his free throws right before he shot. I have memories of him faking an ankle injury in order to get a 20 second injury timeout. I was sad when he was traded. I don't get to hear him as a commentator though.