<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:24pt;line-height:100%">@</span> January 1, 2007 - 10:00 pm ET</div> <span style="color:#009900">Boston Celtics</span> <span style="color:#000000">(10-19)</span> <span style="color:#000000">PG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Delonte West</span> <span style="color:#000000">SG</span> <span style="color:#009900">Tony Allen</span> <span style="color:#000000">SF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak</span> <span style="color:#000000">PF</span> <span style="color:#009900">Ryan Gomes</span> <span style="color:#000000">C</span> <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Brian Scalabrine</span> <span style="color:#000000">Portland Trail Blazers</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">(13-18)</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">PG</span> <span style="color:#000000">Jarrett Jack</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">SG</span> <span style="color:#000000">Brandon Roy</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">SF</span> <span style="color:#000000">Ime Udoka</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">PF</span> <span style="color:#000000">Zach Randolph</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">C</span> <span style="color:#000000">Joel Przybilla</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Key Bench Players:</span> <span style="color:#000000">Juan Dixon, Travis Outlaw, Jamaal Magloire, Sergio Rodriguez, Martell Webster, LaMarcus Aldridge</span> Injury Report <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Paul Pierce will not play (stress reaction in left foot)</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Theo Ratliff will not play (lower back)</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">POR:</span> <span style="color:#000000">Darius Miles will not play (out for season)</span> Who To Watch Out For <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 13.5 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.5 bpg As A Starter: 16.1 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Wally Szczerbiak</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 16.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Tony Allen</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 9.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg As A Starter: 14.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 spg</span> <span style="color:#000000">Zach Randolph</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 24.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">Brandon Roy</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 12.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#000000">Jarrett Jack</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 13.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.5 apg</span> Rookie Watch <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Rajon Rondo</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 21</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Leon Powe</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 49</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">3.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.6 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">BOS:</span> <span style="color:#009900">Allan Ray</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: Undrafted</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#009900">2.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">POR:</span> <span style="color:#000000">Brandon Roy</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 6</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#000000">12.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">POR:</span> <span style="color:#000000">LaMarcus Aldridge</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 2</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#000000">6.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.7 bpg</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">POR:</span> <span style="color:#000000">Sergio Rodriguez</span> <span style="color:#000000">Overall Selection: 27</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats:</span> <span style="color:#000000">2.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 3.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Boston's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#009900">Sebastian Telfair</span> <span style="color:#000000">Season Stats: 8.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.0 apg</span> <span style="color:#009900">Bassy has not been playing well lately, and tonight is the perfect night to do it: against his old team that gave up on him after just 2 years. He had an excellent game vs. Portland in the beginning of the season, let's hope he does it again.</span> <span style="color:#000000">Portland's X-Factor</span> <span style="color:#000000">Joel Przybilla</span> <span style="color:#FF0000">Season Stats: 2.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 bpg</span> <span style="color:#000000">Przy needs to come in and play tough defense and rebound the ball, like usual. Al Jefferson is a tough assignment. He may be smaller, but he's also a lot quicker, and he is a very skilled post player and rebounder.</span> <div align="center">Key Matchup vs. <span style="color:#009900">Al Jefferson</span> <span style="color:#000000">vs.</span> <span style="color:#000000">Zach Randolph</span></div> <span style="color:#000000">These two won't be guarding each other at all times, but they'll get nice runs at one another. Randolph is a more established offensive player in the NBA, but Al Jefferson is getting there, and he's doing so a lot quicker than Randolph did. This should be a matchup to watch out for.</span> CelticBalla's Extra Thoughts/Notes Finally, this god damn road trip can come to an end. Let's get ONE WIN HERE!!! CelticBalla's Prediction I see us winning. For some reason, I don't see us losing all 5 games on the road trip. I see is taking this one in a close one, but I could also see it go the other way. I'm going to stay optimistic and I'm going to say we win. GO C's! Give us a win to start the new year... please!
I'm pretty anxious to see Jack and Roy play together. I also wanna see Udoka play. I haven't seen him play before and I wanna see what the kids got.DOC. GIVE RONDO MINUTES.
that preview thing is pretty cool, whered u get it??I dont think the c's are gonna win this game, if only for the reason of the new (old) leather ball. they're the only team w/o a day in between the switch. back to back games are hard in the first place, add that w/ a different ball and the rose garden, I think the blazers are gonna win this one.plus im a blazers fan & I want em to win.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blazerspwnu @ Jan 1 2007, 11:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>that preview thing is pretty cool, whered u get it?? I dont think the c's are gonna win this game, if only for the reason of the new (old) leather ball. they're the only team w/o a day in between the switch. back to back games are hard in the first place, add that w/ a different ball and the rose garden, I think the blazers are gonna win this one. plus im a blazers fan & I want em to win.</div> I made this preview. I make them all myself. Yeah the new ball is going to have a major effect tonight, and like you said, we didn't get any real practice time (except a little bit today). But, oh well. Maybe this ball will help Wally get it IN the basket lol.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Jan 1 2007, 10:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>West starts again... hopefully he doesn't hurt anything tonight.. he could have used the rest.</div> Danny Ainge also said, during the game, that both he and Doc told Delonte that they thought he shouldn't play. Then Delonte just showed up and said "I'm playing. My team needs me." I love that from Delonte, but at the same time, he shouldn't have played. He played 31 minutes and moved well, but we are fortunate. He should have sat it out and rested the back. But hey, Doc and Danny need to take initiative in this situation. They should have told Delonte "no" when he said he wanted to play. Speaking of injuries, Perk hurt his ankle late in the game. He came back to the bench, but I'm glad they didn't play him. I hope he's OK, jesus. All we need is another injury, huh? And Perk again. Ugh. But I am SO HAPPY that we got the win tonight. I predicted it too. But this is awesome for the team, we really needed this victory. 1-4 is obviously not good, but I'm happy we at least got one. We made some excellent key defensive stops, EVERYBODY made tremendous hustle plays, Gomes played very good defense on Randolph, and we contested and bothered every shot. The defensive pressure tonight near the end of the game was what I loved the most, mainly key plays by Tony Allen (who made good defensive plays all night long) and Ryan Gomes. Excellent win! Tony Allen <u>22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals on 9-13 shooting</u> TA AGAIN!!! I love him. He's bringing it every single night, and he has stepped up a GREAT DEAL over the past month on both ends of the floor. TA is back, and better than ever. He snuck in there and got key steals, he played strong, he showed his excellent slasher skills, and he even knocked down some long jumpers. He was very active, as usual, and he brought a ton of energy and heart (as usual). GO TA! Ryan Gomes <u>18 points, 10 rebounds on 7-9 shooting</u> Overall outstanding game tonight on both ends of the floor by Ryan Gomes. He did a phenomenal job on Zach Randolph (who is much bigger and better than him), he was very aggressive on the glass and around the basket offensively, he hit a couple of his mid-range jumpers, and he fought all night long. Gomes played great ball tonight. Al Jefferson <u>14 points, 11 rebounds, 1 block on 5-13 shooting</u> Well, he missed a few bunnies, but he did a solid job. I thought he had a great first half, no question about it. Then, like Danny said, Al started to kind of pace himself in the 3rd quarter offensively and he wasn't calling for the ball like he usually does. But he did a good job with Przybilla, who is a good shot blocker and who is much bigger than him, but he just missed a few bunny shots. He did a solid job tonight. Wally Szczerbiak <u>15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists on 4-14 shooting, 7-10 FT</u> Wally had a terrible shooting night, once again. He had a tough time on Brandon Roy defensively when they were matched up at times, and he missed SO many wide open looks. He got some great looks, he just didn't knock them down. Hopefully when Pierce comes back, some of the pressure will be relieved off Wally, and maybe he'll get into a little rhythm. But until then, jesus, he's our best shooter and he really needs to get something going. Delonte West <u>8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists on 2-8 shooting</u> D-West was playing hurt, and I don't like that, but we won't get into that again. For having a hurt back, he did move pretty well out there. You could tell he's not 100%, but he looked OK out there. He missed a few shots, but he still had an affective game. He played real hard as usual, he moved the ball well, and he got good looks (but, like Wally, not a whole lot went down for him). Hopefully this new ball will bring Delonte's shot from 2005-2006 back. We need it. Gerald Green <u>6 points, 4 rebounds on 3-7 shooting in 16 minutes</u> Gerald didn't do a bad job. He did get lost on a couple plays defensively, and he passed up two wide open shots, but he did alright. He had two dunks, one of them was a real nice alley-oop off a halfcourt pass from Bassy. He could have maybe been a little bit more aggressive, and he should not have passed up those 2 shots he did, but he had a solid game. He fought through the screens excellently and he helped on the glass. Sebastian Telfair <u>2 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists on 1-4 shooting in 17 minutes</u> Bassy was not aggressive offensively tonight, which he should be. I don't understand why he is not aggressive offensively like he was in October and November (when he was playing very well). It just makes no sense to me. But, he did make a few very nice passes and he actually made one key defensive play in the 4th quarter. But again, he NEEDS to be more aggressive offensively or he's going to stay in this slump for a long time. Rajon Rondo <u>2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist on 0-1 shooting, 2-2 FT in 12 minutes</u> Rondo didn't get as much run, but that's because Delonte was really playing well within the flow of the game. But when he was out there, he didn't do a bad job. The defense is what I cared about the most, and he did an excellent job on Rodriguez, and Jack on a couple possessions. Kendrick Perkins <u>2 points, 1 rebound on 1-3 shooting in 12 minutes</u> Perk took a couple post shots, so I'm happy he wasn't passive. He did an OK job defensively, but nothing bad or spectacular. He rolled his ankle late in the game, and that scared the hell out of me. He was holding it and he got some help getting back to the locker room. He came back to the bench, but I'm happy Doc didn't play him the rest of the game. I hope Perk is alright, another setback for him would just be terrible. Brian Scalabrine <u>1 steal, 0-1 shooting in 10 minutes</u> Scal rotated well on defense in the time he was out there, and that's what I like to see. Michael Olowokandi <u>18 seconds</u> O played the last 18 seconds of the first half, nothing happened. Whatever. Next Game Wednesday (1/3/07) at home vs. Cleveland at 7:30 pm ET.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Jan 2 2007, 01:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Danny Ainge also said, during the game, that both he and Doc told Delonte that they thought he shouldn't play. Then Delonte just showed up and said "I'm playing. My team needs me." I love that from Delonte, but at the same time, he shouldn't have played. He played 31 minutes and moved well, but we are fortunate. He should have sat it out and rested the back. But hey, Doc and Danny need to take initiative in this situation. They should have told Delonte "no" when he said he wanted to play.</div>This just shows that Delonte is a player we REALLY need to keep on this team. Seems like his level of passion for the team ranks up there with Pierce's.This also shows we need to sack Doc, but hey, what can we do, right?
IMO He's been playing awful for most of the season. His defense has been next to nonexistant, and his shots haven't been falling. His FG% is falling which is also no good. IMO He's much better served as a 3rd option or 6th man on this team, but Doc can't see that, especially with Pierce out.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ Jan 2 2007, 06:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>IMO He's been playing awful for most of the season. His defense has been next to nonexistant, and his shots haven't been falling. His FG% is falling which is also no good. IMO He's much better served as a 3rd option or 6th man on this team, but Doc can't see that, especially with Pierce out.</div> I agree that Wally is best suited to be a 3rd option or 6th man. He can't create his own shot, he's slow, other than shooting he really doesn't have much else to talk about, and his defense is equivalent to the average 7th grade girl. When healthy, our first option should be Pierce (obviously), Big Al #2, Wally #3, TA #4, and everyone else scores within their role. I say Tony Allen because he's an excellent slasher and he can finish plays around the basket. I think the team rushed guys back way too early. Wally, Delonte, and Perk are noticeably not their normal selves, they should not be out there playing hurt. I'd even say Gomes hasn't been himself lately since that calf injury either. It's not like we are going to win more games if they play anyway, just rest the hurt players until they are close to 100% and let the young kids play until they get back. A prime example of why we should rest the hurt players is last night, when Perk hurt his ankle. Say he's out a little with a sprained ankle or something, then that's 2 setbacks at the same time for Perk. That's NOT good at all. Let him rest, let Delonte rest (we can manage, we have two young and energetic backup PG's in Bassy/Rondo), and let Wally rest for god's sake. Wally has been playing terribly, and it's clear he's not back to full strength.
I actually got to see this one! I was grounded. TA is playing out of his mind. really kind of dominated the game. He was hitting from outside, pushing the ball well, driving, playing great D as usual. I was surprised to see Bassy get so little minutes. Alhad a great first half, so-so second. Good all-around game from Gomes, pretty quiet tho.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (playaofthegame @ Jan 2 2007, 02:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>someone up those GG dunks!!!!!!!</div> http://youtube.com/watch?v=FkWe2bgBMhY Credit to high54life from CelticsBlog for putting them up.
seeing it in person, I can say that it was the absolute worst effort I have seen from the blazers this season. zach didnt do a darn thing, jarret airballed three shots, outlaw had one of those horrid nights... and lamarcus aldridge didnt even play at all! that made me mad more than anything. and seeing that terrible jamaal magloire play in front of him. pretty much all of his points are from free throws, and hes barely above .500 at shooting em.still, I have to give some credit to the celtics. they played great defense on zach, and controlled the game from the starting whistle. Id rather have watched the whole fiesta bowl though
