The Boston Celtics are home from Europe, but it is no rest for the weary. They continue their preseason schedule this weekend as they prepare for that all too important season-opener against the Miami Heat at the end of the month.
The Celtics split their two games overseas, losing to Fenerbahce Ulker in Turkey and beating EA7 Emporio Armani Milano in Italy.
Here’s what we learned about the Celtics in their first two preseason games:
Jared Sullinger is the real deal. The first-round pick proved his worth against Turkey, scoring 16 points and pulling down 8 rebounds. His first real performance in a Celtics uniform earned him a starting spot in Boston’s second game against Milan, where he posted 7 points and 9 rebounds. NBA teams were concerned about Sullinger’s injury potential, but the Celtics took their chances. It’s only been two preseason games, but this kid could definitely be a game-changer down the stretch.
Rajon Rondo is ready to lead, again. The Celtics’ point guard made it very clear this off-season this is his team, and he is the leader. He scored 17 points in the game against Milan, proving that last season’s offensive outpouring wasn’t a fluke. Rondo was never known for his outside shooting, but if he’s going to lead this team like he says he will, he must stay aggressive. If he can permanently add that short jumper to his game, he is a serious threat because no team can stop him if he has the ability to drive and knock down shots. » Continue reading “Celtics Return Home From European Excursion”
The young NBA players took post-game wardrobe to a whole new level this post season. From lensless glasses to crazy, patterned shirts, their outfits sometimes garnered more conversation than the actual games.
Rajon Rondo’s name was occasionally in the mix, but he definitely was not the leader of the pack in terms of trendsetting.
That is, until now. The Celtics point guard turned fashionista took an internship with GQ during New York Fashion Week.
Fashion Week is our busiest time of year–between the shows, presentations, and ya know, posing. We needed a little help, someone to run point back at home base and on the ground floor at Lincoln Center. Who better than NBA All-star-and all around stylish dude-Rajon Rondo? Rajon will be interning at GQ for the next few days, helping our game out and learning a thing or two about menswear and the magazine industry. You’ll see interviews, critiques, and blog post from the future hall-of-famer popping up all week. And from the tip-off of his time on our team, it doesn’t seem like he left his competitive instinct back in Beantown. Other interns, beware.
In honor of fashion week and Rondo’s new gig, here are his top 3 “most-fashionable” looks:
As Labor Day comes to a close, fall is unofficially upon us. That can only mean one thing…Celtics preseason is soon approaching and the NBA season will be ready to begin.
However, Boston’s players have been plenty busy this summer relaxing and taking time away from basketball.
Check out what some of the Celtics have been up to:
Paul Pierce hit the beach with his daughters, tweeting, “U kno I gotta have a couple girls with me while at the beach it’s the only way.”
Poor, Doc. As if losing one of his team’s best players to free agency was not enough, he feels responsible.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Doc Rivers takes the blame for Ray Allen’s decision to leave Boston and sign with Miami.
“People can use all the Rondo stuff – and it was there, no doubt about that – but it was me more than Rondo,” said Rivers, who is working as an NBC analyst during the Olympics. ”I’m the guy who gave Rondo the ball. I’m the guy who decided that Rondo needed to be more of the leader of the team. That doesn’t mean guys liked that – and Ray did not love that – because Rondo now had the ball all the time.”
Rivers further acknowledged the rift between Allen and Rondo, but what may have been most surprising is what else he said about Allen’s exit. If there was any doubt before this that Rivers cared about his players, this statement pretty much says it all. And if someone is going to cross him, then he is definitely going to be upset about it.
“I was pissed at him,” Rivers said. ”I was pissed at him for his reasons for leaving. But what people don’t get: I wasn’t pissed at him for leaving Miami. I could care less he went there. And that’s a fact. With the fans, I know it was: How could he go to Miami? But once he decided he didn’t want to stay with us, he has the right to go wherever he wants.”
If it was official last week, then it is even more official today.
Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra held a press conference this afternoon to introduce Ray Allen as the newest member of the Miami Heat. Allen, who will wear #34, left the Boston Celtics to sign a three-year deal with the 2011-2012 champions.
“It was maybe July 6,” Allen said. “I felt as though I contributed a great deal to the organization in Boston, and there was a moment where I talked to the people around me and they just said change is not bad and you have to consider this. It was that moment going forward where we said this is going to be a great opportunity for me.”
Two of the biggest factors reported as his reason for leaving Boston were his relationship with Rajon Rondo and his displeasure with coming off the bench.
Allen acknowledged there were differences between him and his former teammate and said the two did not speak during the signing process.
Reports broke last night that Allen intends to sign a three-year deal with the Heat, taking less money to play for the 2011-2012 champions instead of the team he spent the last five seasons with.
An unrestricted free agent, Allen turned down more money from the Celtics to play for the Heat. Miami is limited to giving Allen the taxpayers’ midlevel exception, worth $3.1 million annually, over three years. The Celtics were reportedly offering Allen about $6 million a season in a two-year deal.
Once Boston signed Kevin Garnett, Allen became their top prospect. However, as rumors began that Allen considered Miami as a potential destination, there were just signs pointing to the end of his time in Boston.
There was a lot of speculation over why Allen wanted to leave Boston, from his feud and poor relationship with Rajon Rondo, to his anger toward coming off the bench. Ultimately, Allen made his decision, and now the Celtics have to live with it and move on.
As a Celtics fan and Boston sports fan, this definitely hurts. Allen is not the first player to leave Boston and go to a rival team, but Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics organization are having a great offseason thus far. They will definitely make sure to put a championship-contending team out on that court every single night once the season starts.
It’s always good to look back on the good times and that is exactly what we will continue to do in Part 2 of the Remembering the Best of the Boston New Big Three Era from 2009 – 2012. During this time, Rondo emerged into one of the best point guards in the league. The Big Three emerged into the Big Four then the Big Four then turned into Rondo and the Big Three.
It’s been a long two plus weeks since the Boston Celtics last took the court in Miami for game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the fourth time in the Big Three Era that the Celtics season ended without a championship. However, when you think of the Big Three plan lasting 5 years with one championship title, another Eastern Conference championship, a game 7 loss in the ECF, a post season without KG, and another post season where Rajon Rondo injured his elbow, most will think of it as a success. Although seasons mostly ended in heartbreak, Celtics fans and players have a lot to be proud of.
Heading into the 2012-2013 the Big Three era is in question. Both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are free agents. It seems like KG maybe back in Boston, but the it doesn’t seem likely that Ray Allen will join him. Like they say, “All good things must come to an end.”
Below are some memorable moments since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce, a young PG, and Doc Rivers in Boston:
The NBA Finals are over. He-who-must-not-be-named won his first championship, but that thought is pushed to the back of my mind.
The Celtics quest for another championship already started after their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals, but with the Miami Heat crowned as the 2011-2012 champions, next season’s title is officially up for grabs.
This off-season already has many big question marks. The future of the Big Three is on the top of the list, and the decisions regarding free agents Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will affect every other move Boston makes.
Garnett becomes a free agent July 1, and while the Celtics hope to sign him before that, Danny Ainge said the Big Ticket is not quite ready to make a decision just yet.
“I think we’ll talk within the next week, but I’m not so sure that’s a decision day for him,” Ainge said. “He may want to wait and see what sort of team we have. I’m not sure. I know that he wants to come back, I know he likes Boston and I konw he loves playing for Doc [Rivers]. He loves everything about the team and the city and so forth. I think that his decision will be, ‘Do I really want to play? Or do I not want to play.’”
“I hope he wants to come back. That’s sort of been the indication that, if he’s going to play, that he would like to come back to Boston. That’s where we are right now.”
Game 4 of the NBA Finals took place last night, but there was another competition between two NBA stars that definitely steals the spotlight.
Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s Finals pre-game show to compete in the Skype Scavenger Hunt.
The two players virtually sat side-by-side and race through their prospective houses to find items on Kimmel’s list. Round 1 was to find the last book they read, and Rondo took a 1-0 lead.
That’s when things got a little weird…Rondo and Chandler then had to find something in their house that their teammates would make run of them for.
The Knicks’ star came back with a flying pig that he recently purchased at a flea market, and Rondo found a red old-fashioned telephone. Chandler took Round 2, but both items were definitely unexpected from both of these guys.
Poor, Doc. As if losing one of his team’s best players to free agency was not enough, he feels responsible.
Ray Allen is taking his talents to South Beach.
It’s always good to look back on the good times and that is exactly what we will continue to do in Part 2 of the Remembering the Best of the Boston New Big Three Era from 2009 – 2012. During this time, Rondo emerged into one of the best point guards in the league. The Big Three emerged into the Big Four then the Big Four then turned into Rondo and the Big Three.
It’s been a long two plus weeks since the Boston Celtics last took the court in Miami for game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the fourth time in the Big Three Era that the Celtics season ended without a championship. However, when you think of the Big Three plan lasting 5 years with one championship title, another Eastern Conference championship, a game 7 loss in the ECF, a post season without KG, and another post season where Rajon Rondo injured his elbow, most will think of it as a success. Although seasons mostly ended in heartbreak, Celtics fans and players have a lot to be proud of.
The NBA Finals are over. He-who-must-not-be-named won his first championship, but that thought is pushed to the back of my mind.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals took place last night, but there was another competition between two NBA stars that definitely steals the spotlight.