Links of the Day (October 14, 2010)

• The NBA needs to get cheerleaders and photographers away from the baseline before this turns into something much worse. A few years ago, I was watching a Celtics-Rockets game from the '80s on NBATV, and one of the things that stuck out was how much room there was between the baseline and the photographers. At least a foot more than we have today. Given advances in camera technology, this seems unnecessary, and I can only assume that photogs and cheerleaders are squeezed so that the fans can get closer to the action. I'm afraid it's going to take a serious injury to an important player before this rules gets changed, though.
• Interesting post by Zach Harper (guest-editing TrueHoop) regarding building a team around point guards. I, of course, have an affinity for ones, but I agree that size trumps, at least where the size in question's "greatness" is more or less equal (relative to other size) to a point guard's "greatness" (relative to other point guards). In other words, yeah, I'd take a a great pivot over a great point. But, especially in today's NBA, there are a bunch of good-to-great point guards, and not so many great posts. (Just ask Shaq.) Not that I think that Harper was saying any differently, but I would never pass up a great point guard for a less-great big man.
• I think the above is one of the more incoherent paragraphs I've ever written. Fortunately, someone named Joe Gerrity over at Hornets 24/7 has a more eloquent riposte to Harper. Of course, the Hornets have Chris Paul; I'll let you draw your own conclusions about what effect, if any, this has on Gerrity's opinion.

Preseason: Boston 104, New York 101

Paul Pierce, for the win. On his birthday. And Jermaine O'Neal's birthday. And Doc Rivers'. (Weirdish, right?)

[recap] [box score] [highlights from Red's Army]

Actually, as Red's Army points out, it was Pierce for the lead, and Rondo for the win. But Rondo was apparently the only Celtic not celebrating a birthday yesterday, so the lede goes to the Captain and the Truth.

Looking at the box score, one thing jumps out: 40 minutes for Rondo? 39-plus for Ray? 36 for Pierce?

Apparently, Pierce convinced Doc to play the starters the whole way. And since I pointed out the other night that our bench hung with Philly, I should point out that the Knicks bench hung with our first unit, or at least part of it. (30 points from Amare Stoudemire certainly helped).

I don't mind too much, just because these guys will need to be able to play those type of minutes at some point this year, and because they had all sat the night before, and because KG only got 11 minutes before getting ejected.

Only other thing worth noting from the box score is 16 and 12 from Luke Harangody.

Glen Davis, Shaquille O'Neal, and Delonte West sat out with nagging injuries.

Let's get to the regular season already.

Links of the Day (October 13, 2010)

• So, I thought Gilbert Arenas was just playing around when he said that he faked an injury so teammate Nick Young could some more burn. Apparently not.
• It's safe to say that Tommy Heinsohn is not a fan of the new technical foul rules. I tend to share Kelly Dwyer's view: It's annoying, but it'll be a non-issue once the regular season starts.
• Boston links: A conversation with Ray Allen about last season, and an article about a charge-taking competition between Glen Davis and Jermaine O'Neal.
• New blog on the blogroll: Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub has moved on to SI.com as the author of The Point Forward
• Finally, someone named Steve Gansey has been named as an assistant coach for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Why is this notable? His brother, Mike "Street" Gansey*, was a RwH favorite while at West Virginia.

*To my knowledge, I'm the only one who calls him "Street."

Preseason: Philadelphia 103, Boston 92

[recap] [box score]

Bullets gleaned from the box score and recaps around the Web:

• Pierce, KG, Ray, and Rondo all sat this game out to rest, and Shaq and Delonte were out to rest some nagging injuries. Even so, the Cs hung in until the fourth quarter, despite the fact that Philly played their starters most of the game.
• Jermaine O'Neal had a poor shooting night (1-of-6) but grabbed 12 rebounds in 19 minutes. I still think he's gotta run with the first team while Perk is out.
• First run for rookie Avery Bradley. An inauspicious start offensively (two points on 1-of-6 shooting and three turnovers), but reportedly a good showing defensively against Sixers starting point guard Jrue Holiday. Good to see the kid get his feet wet.
• Doc seems to be giving Von Wafer every opportunity to win a job. Wafer got the start and played 39 minutes, but his stat line isn't impressive, and neither are the reviews from Celtics bloggers who were able to watch the game. Stephane Lasme, on the other hand, seems to have made the most of his 28 minutes. He didn't put up gaudy numbers, either, but is being praised for his strong defense on Andre Iguodala.
• Mario West seems to be the odd man out of the battle for the last spot, playing just seven minutes. Oddly, I randomly came upon a two-year-old link earlier today, which indicates that this shouldn't be a surprise.
• Luke Harangody had 11 points, including eight in a row in the second quarter. He also went 2-of-2 from deep, his three-point shot being a surprise development from Summer League.

Recaps from other bloggers: Celtics Town, Celtics Hub

Links of the Day (October 12, 2010)

• SB Nation ranks NBA coaches. Not that SB Nation is any sort of authority on these things, but it's a fairly detailed treatment. What I like most about it is Minnesota's Kurt Rambis being ranked 26th, ahead only of four first-year head coaches. The front office takes a lot of heat for the Wolves' terrible situation, and rightfully so, but Rambis made it worse last year with his impatience and refusal to use his personnel in a way that made sense, given their strengths.
• I love seeing stuff like Wizards assistant Sam Cassell playing one-on-one with John Wall.
• Cool video of Lamar Odom back in the day. As an aside, the streetball culture is something that I don't profess to understand, even a little, but it fascinates me nonetheless and is one of the things I really like about the game.
• Here's the first of what seems to be monthly journal entries from Delonte West. Delonte's an interesting, insightful guy; this should be a good regular read.

Links of the Day (Media Overkill Edition)

• Today marked the launch of the Heat Index, an obnoxious, all-Miami, all-the-time Web page that only ESPN has the hubris to pull off. I haven't yet weighed in on the Heat in these pages, and I will in advance of the season-opener against them in Boston, but for now, it suffices to say that both the basketball fan and the journalist in me are fairly disgusted by this development.
• I'll check in on the Heat Index from time to time, but I'd much rather read intelligent, non-self-interested commentary on the team.
• Spurs blog 48 Minutes of Hell suggests (indirectly, anyway) that Boston's 3-0 preseason record portends well for the regular season.
• Cool video of Kevin Garnett instructing the Celtics' young bigs on defending the pick-and-roll.
• Poignant story on NBA Fanhouse about former NBA player Ray Williams (who did his best work with the Knicks but also was on the Celtics roster for the 1984-85 season). Every so often you hear about guys having these sorts of financial problems, but a lack of financial sophistication is probably more pervasive than most people realize. Through the grapevine, I've heard a number of stories about NBA players that I simply could not believe.
• The closing quote of that Williams story is the stuff journalists dream of.

Preseason: Boston 91, Toronto 87

[recap] [box score] [highlights at Red's Army]

This one wasn't televised here in Los Angeles (shocking), so just a bullet or two based on what I can glean from what I've read.

• Jermaine O'Neal made his Celtics debut on Sunday, recording three rebounds and two blocked shots in about seven-and-a-half minutes. He did not attempt a shot. With Doc resting Shaq on Tuesday, JON should get some reps with the first team.
• It's only preseason, and it's only Toronto, but I can't help but point out that our bench closed this one out against what is more or less the Raptors' first team. The Celtics were up three heading into the fourth quarter, and didn't play a single starter for the final 12 minutes. Toronto, on the other hand, brought in Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, and Joey Dorsey with 6:20 remaining and the score 79-78, Boston. That trio finished the game alongside Jarrett Jack and Leandro Barbosa, who came in later for Jose Calderon and Sonny Weems, respectively. Our second unit is pretty good, folks.
• Continuing the 15th man watch: Mario West got the DNP-CD, Von Wafer did nothing notable in 4:12 of playing time, and Stephane Lasme's only real contribution in 9:35 was this jam over Bargnani.
• More on the 15th man: Jay King over at Celtics Town proposes cutting Luke Harangody to make room for Lasme in addition to Wafer or West. As King himself acknowledges, it's highly unlikely for financial reasons (Harangody's salary is guaranteed). That aside, I don't really agree with the idea. Sure, Harangody's been unimpressive in camp and in preseason and his Summer League performance may have been meaningless, but he's inexperienced. The other guys aren't exactly hardened vets, but Wafer and West have played full NBA seasons, and Lasme's kicked around in a few training camps. I haven't seen anything that suggests that those three are more likely to improve than Harangody is. Moreover, Doc has shown time and again that he's not going to play guys he doesn't trust. I recognize that Wafer and West "fill a need" and they and Lasme may be more ready to contribute now than Harangody is, but the likelihood that any of them play meaningful minutes is so small that it would be foolish to make room for them by cutting a rookie who has shown some potential, however short-lived that potential was.

Celtics Blog has some more bullets, if you're interested.