This is not "bait Celtics fans week" here at FanHouse -- promise. But this item filed by SI's Ian Thomsen caught my eye, so I thought I'd bring it to your attention. During halftime of the Celtics' shorthanded loss to the Magic on Sunday, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo apparently stood up and addressed the team before Doc Rivers had a chance to do so. Orlando had jumped on Boston to lead 51-33 at the break, and even though KG and Rondo were in street clothes due to injuries, they decided to voice their displeasure with the perceived lack of effort.
"All I know," said Boston coach Doc Rivers, who as a rule joins the players in the lockerroom after granting them a five-minute cooling off period at halftime, "is that when I came in, Rondo and Garnett were both standing in front of the chalkboard. So I guess they said something."I hate to break it to some of the more overconfident members of the Celtics, but here it is anyway: Without Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett, Boston isn't capable of beating the Orlando Magic. Ever.
"They were telling us we were a step too slow and they were telling us we weren't into the game," said Celtics big man Mikki Moore in a dispassionate and highly-edited translation. "They're our teammates, so they tell it like it is. It's a different kind of frustration: They see us not playing like we should; to us we're playing hard but it's just not going our way."
The team started Glen Davis and Stephon Marbury in their place, for God's sake. Let that sink in for a minute. Those two jokers combined to contribute a whopping four points, five turnovers, a single rebound, and two assists -- both of which came from Davis by the way, who does not in fact play the point guard position.
KG is the reigning defensive player of the year, and the undisputed emotional leader of the club on that end of the floor. Rondo -- while not the biggest offensive threat in the world -- is absolutely the one that runs things smoothly on the other end, and ensures that Paul Pierce and Ray Allen receive the ball in spots where they have the best chance to succeed.
The point, gentlemen, is this: instead of wasting your breath berating your teammates while you're in street clothes, how about spending that time in the training room or in the gym rehabbing those injuries? Because I assure you, no amount of passionate pleading is going to overcame Big Baby and Starbury sharing the starting lineup against one of the top three teams in the conference.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-10-2009 @ 2:07AM
cantstopdrinkin said...
Im not a Celtics, KG, or Pierce fan (i like Allen because i respect that perfect form jumper he has thats one of the prettiest things i have seen on a basketball court) so it really doesnt matter to me but considering the Celts were down by 15 goin into halftime and Allen missed a 3 to tie it with 41 seconds left whatever KG and Ronda had to say obviously works and therefore your article couldnt make less sense. Like i have said before i respect your work Brett but sometimes you dont do enough research or dont realize certain things before you post (or your boss posts) an article....
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3-10-2009 @ 11:36AM
GL said...
I know it's the internet and so you have to say things authoritatively, but yeah you're pretty much dead wrong to say Boston couldn't ever beat Orlando without KG and Rondo, considering how close they came.
Deeper than that, Boston was missing those two studs plus two legit bench options in Scalabrine and Tony Allen; Davis left the game partway through too.
They probably wouldn't beat Orlando in a 7 game series without KG and Rondo; but to say they'd never beat them is ridiculous. It just sounds like nerd internet talk.
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3-10-2009 @ 5:23PM
caninescreed said...
Okay guy, I guess you are entitled to your opinion. I say, good for Rondo and KG. The Celtics looked awful. That being said, Glen Davis has been playing great ball. Marbury has played 56 minutes in the last 13 months, so maybe you could cut him some slack. Timing is really bad to lose Rondo,as there is no depth at the point guard position, hence the aquiring of Marbury. I hope Marbury gets acclimated quickly and is able to play close to the level he was playing before his break. In the meantime, maybe you could stop with all the negative articles about the Celtics. Try keeping you boring opinions to yourself once in awhile. What exactly have you ever done that warrants us caring what you think?
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