<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A good half-hour after Wednesday's 94-90 win over the New Jersey Nets, Leon Powe sat in a chair in the middle of the Celtics locker room with his uniform still on, chit-chatting it up with reporters. It was surprising to hear Powe so loquacious, because he really hasn't had much to talk about to the media during training camp. That certainly didn't stop him from "writing home" and keeping in touch with his family, but he did that mostly for support, because doubt was starting to creep into his head. Would he ever get a chance? Despite playing well in the Toshiba Vegas Summer League, Powe has struggled at times during training camp to get his shots off in the paint, and he hadn't seen the court during the preseason since a brief four-minute stint in the first exhibition game in Cleveland. And that outing, in which he grabbed one offensive rebound, committed one turnover and a foul, wasn't exactly the indelible impression a rookie hopes to make in his first professional game. With 18 players still in camp and talk of roster cuts this Friday swirling, Powe was seemingly running out of opportunities to audition for a roster spot. To his credit, on Wednesday night he talked like a man who hadn't even considered the possibility of not making the team. Thankfully, Wednesday night, Coach Doc Rivers had finally called his name again, and Powe responded with an impressive double-double in just under 29 minutes. He scored 11 points mostly on hard work and hustle, and you can't grab 15 rebounds, including five offensive boards, without "getting your nose dirty" as Rivers would say afterward. "I was really happy for him. He plays hard," Rivers said. "We needed a guy in the first half to just come in and play hard and play physical and be a man." Powe's waited patiently for his opportunity to log some major minutes in an exhibition game. He said it was tough at times to keep his head in the game while sitting at the end of a very long bench, and caught himself "zoning out" once or twice before quickly snapping back out of it. He wanted to be sure that when his name was called, he'd be ready for his moment, however long it may be. "Yeah, you know at first it was tough," Powe said. "I talked to my family, my coach, my high school coach and my college coach. It's all about timing and keeping your head in the game, and you just got to stay focused and be ready." Rivers concern in the past was that while Powe always plays tough, he seemed to be having difficulty learning his role in the Celtics' system. A go-to guy in college, Powe's role is drastically reduced as a rookie on a team with plenty of bigs in camp. And while no one doubts that he can score and rebound when called upon - Powe was a 20-10 guy in his senior year at Cal - there was some question if he'd ever get the chance to show his skills in a game situation because he hadn't shown mastery of the playbook in practice. "That's where he's really struggled, just getting the system, the stuff down," said Rivers, who noted that Powe was in the right place at the right time and executed plays properly in several situations. "[Tonight] he did a great job." Powe also showed that he can execute when the game is on the line. He played the last 19 minutes of the game as the C's erased a 21-point deficit against New Jersey's reserves; the C's trailed 65-44 when Powe entered the game with 7:18 left in the third. The only question is, will he get another shot to prove his worth, and if not, was Wednesday's effort enough to earn him a job past October? </div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Rivers concern in the past was that while Powe always plays tough, he seemed to be having difficulty learning his role in the Celtics' system. </div> This was one of the issues I felt Powe would struggle with coming into the draft. It's hard to adjust from being Mr. Everything, to playing a specific role on a team. His entire basketball career he's been comfortable getting the ball in certain areas of the court and having people play off of him in the post. Learning how to move around without the ball and find open areas in the seem takes time before you get comfortable. I think it's a big mistake for Boston to waive him, because he's a productive player and likes physical contact in the post.
Without a doubt this kid is talented, I am praying the Celtics hold on to him. He is such an aggressive rebounder and he plays with energy and passion that everyone in the NBA should have. Its simple-he needs to be on this team come opening day, he has a lot of potential!
If he doesn't catch on here, he will somewhere else, but truthfully, I still want the C's hold onto him in case of emergency. He won't get a lot of first team experience, but Theo hangs from a thread, Al is constantly hurt, and Perk can't go it alone. Hang onto him and make him work for you.
<div class="quote_poster">Squishface Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">If he doesn't catch on here, he will somewhere else, but truthfully, I still want the C's hold onto him in case of emergency. He won't get a lot of first team experience, but Theo hangs from a thread, Al is constantly hurt, and Perk can't go it alone. Hang onto him and make him work for you.</div> Sounds good, I think he could really work out well here. Like you said Theo hangs from a thread, al is constantly injured and while Perk is maturing nicely, he cant do it all by himself. So in my mind it would be absolutely absurd if the C's let this kid go.
<div class="quote_poster">CeltixQueen Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Sounds good, I think he could really work out well here. Like you said Theo hangs from a thread, al is constantly injured and while Perk is maturing nicely, he cant do it all by himself. So in my mind it would be absolutely absurd if the C's let this kid go.</div> Makes you wonder why Akingbala was given all of no minutes this preseason. I know he's not the next great showing at the big man spots, but at least he's a body. I also know Scal is a body too, but he is actually worse than nothing, so I don't think it's fair to measure him up to real basketball player standards.
<div class="quote_poster">Squishface Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Makes you wonder why Akingbala was given all of no minutes this preseason. I know he's not the next great showing at the big man spots, but at least he's a body. I also know Scal is a body too, but he is actually worse than nothing, so I don't think it's fair to measure him up to real basketball player standards.</div> As far as Scal goes, I dont even consider him to be on this team. No offense to him, I am sure he could be somewhat of an effective player on another team, but he is deffinately not fit for the celtics mold, poor redhead.
<div class="quote_poster">CeltixQueen Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">As far as Scal goes, I dont even consider him to be on this team. No offense to him, I am sure he could be somewhat of an effective player on another team, but he is deffinately not fit for the celtics mold, poor redhead.</div> I mean every offense to him when I say, he is NOT an NBA player. He's not effective in any way, he's not intelligent, has no court sense, has no natural ability, and he's fat too. I'm a redhead too, but I have absolutely no love lost for this pathetic cheeseburger-lookin' retard.
<div class="quote_poster">Squishface Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">pathetic cheeseburger-lookin' retard.</div> haha, nice way to put it. I was trying to be nice, but you came right out and said it. way to go!
<div class="quote_poster">CeltixQueen Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">haha, nice way to put it. I was trying to be nice, but you came right out and said it. way to go! </div> We all know the truth here, we can dispense with pleasantries. Especially when it comes to Scal. I wouldn't mind waking up to find this little tidbit in the paper tomorrow morning:
