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Scal’s Headband Is Sort Of A Helmet

That headband thing Scal is wearing is also a piece of protective equipment.

“It protects me in the slight chance I get hit there,” Scalabrine said of the white headband. “One our trainers jimmy-rigged it together. It could blow up — stock options available.

“My head is not an issue. I’ve been allowed to work out and I feel good. I didn’t even breathe hard.

I can’t wait to see this thing.

Scalabrine wore a headband during practice – which drew plenty of comparisons to the Jackie Moon character in “Semi-Pro” – and said there is a slight protective band inside of the band to help protect him in case he gets hit again. …

Keep Voting For Us!!

You guys are awesome.  We, as 6 seed in the header challenge, have now won twice.

Let’s KEEP IT GOING!  Go here to vote.  Once again, we’re down big to start… but we’ve roared back twice now.  Let’s make it 3 in a row to get us into the finals.

Pierce Could Play The 4

The Celtics are down 2 bigs now… which leaves them in a bit of a lurch.  But after practice today, Paul Pierce said he’d be ready to step in and play the 4 if the Celtics need him to.

Other practice notes:  Rajon Rondo and Brian Scalabrine practiced… and Scal was stylin

Scal is rockin’ a sweet white headband too. That’s a new look.

Scal doesn’t need a headband.  He needs a helmet.

Surgery On Hold

The KG saga continues… but at least it’s continuing in a direction that gives me hope that he’ll return at some point.  KG has put off knee surgery.

“He’s not going to do it right now,” Rivers said of the procedure. “He was looking and searching for it and then he just decided to wait.”

Hey Doc… what happened to “Kevin Garnett ain’t playing in these playoffs”?

“All I’m saying is that we’re still looking at this the same way we did last week,” he said. “But if he can come back, then we’d obviously take that. I still don’t think he can, but why would you ever want to take away that possibility?”

So the door is still open.  I’m not going to analyze this anymore.  What the hell is there to say?

By the way, one note on Leon Powe and his torn ACL… he’s got to be the toughest bastard alive:

“He played three minutes with a torn ACL on the floor. He didn’t come out. He kept playing. It just says so much about Leon Powe the person”

Go ahead and look up video of what happens to people who tear an ACL.  They all hit the deck writhing in pain.  Leon just winced.  Probably something he picked up in his prior career as The Black Night.

Herald:  Injury ends Powe’s season |  Bad news for good guy in Powe |  Rondo a bit banged up |  Calhoun admires Allen and Gordon |  Globe:  Day old blues for Leon |  Rondo leading the way |  Scal cleared |   Del Negro locally grown product | Souza:  Now for something potentially more positive – Stephon Marbury |  WEEI:  Petraglia – Buckle in for a wild ride |  Celtics Hub:  America has no faith in Powe-less C’s |  CelticsBlog:  Giddens carries Flash to D-League Finals |  Roy drops 42, Blazers even series |  Lakers up 2-0 |  Cavs up 2-0

Powe Done For Season

Marc J. Spears reports

According to an NBA source, Celtics forward Leon Powe is expected to have surgery on his injured left knee and will miss the remainder of the playoffs.

Powe had an MRI after injuring the knee in the second quarter of the Celtics’ 118-115 victory over the Bulls in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Monday night. The injury was originally diagnosed as a sprain. It is uncertain whether further damage was found in the knee.

Awww…. dammit.

UPDATE from the Celtics:

Leon has acl tear and is out for playoffs

New Public Enemy #1

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Man, Joakim Noah is one really hate-able guy.  Part of it is because of his histrionics out on the court.  Part of it is, well, he’s REALLY ugly.  And part of it is his histrionics on the court (those REALLY bother me). I mean, what’s he doing here… is he really going after Kendrick Perkins?

It makes it easier to hate him when he plays well for Chicago… and he’s playing well.  He’s blocking shots and rebounding… making him very annoying for a Celtics fan.  There’s nothing more infuriating than playing good defense and then having someone like Noah come in and get the tip back.

The big talk for Chicago has been Derrick Rose’s game 1 and Ben Gordon’s game 2.  But it’s really been guys like Noah, and Tyrus Thomas, that have been killers for the C’s.  Every time the C’s started to make a little run, one of those guys would step up and do something that kept the Celtics from shaking the Bulls (Thomas and Noah combined for 10 blocks).

So some of this might be bitterness.  And maybe I’d like him if he played for me.  But right now, I hate Joakim Noah.

“We Want Tacos”

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Cs Eye Game 2 Redemption

1 @ 0
Monday, April 20, 2009
7:00 pm ET
TD BankNorth Garden (Boston, MA)

The Celtics didn’t begin the 2009 NBA Playoffs as well as they would’ve liked. Granted, Game 1 was extremely intense and showcased a marvelous head-to-head battle from point guards Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo, but you never want to allow the road team to steal Game 1 from you in your building. Especially in overtime, as the defending champions, at the expense of an unstoppable (at least on that day) rookie.

Boston wasn’t the only higher-seeded club to blow a Game 1, however. Portland got romped by Houston on Saturday night, while Dallas played tough in San Antonio and Philadelphia pulled off a late 18-point comeback to steal one from Orlando.

Regardless, what’s in the past stays in the past, and there is still plenty of basketball to be played. As Tyson Chandler said last night after New Orleans’ 113-84 Game 1 loss to Denver, you’ll take yourself out of a series quickly if you dwell on previous outings. If you lose a game, you lose a game. From there, you’ve got to move on and try to get the next one.

Tonight, the Celtics will look to redeem themselves back at the TD BankNorth Garden in Game 2. Should Chicago manage to somehow pull off back-to-back victories, the defending champs would be knee-deep in trouble. On the same note, this team is more than capable of taking care of business tonight and taking homecourt advantage back in either Game 3 or 4.

Get your popcorn ready.

Regular Season Record: 62-20
Eastern Conference Seed: 2

Projected Starters
G G F F C

Series Leaders
PPG: Rajon Rondo (29.0)
RPG: Rajon Rondo (9.0)
APG: Rajon Rondo (7.0)
SPG: Ray Allen (3.0)
BPG: Glen Davis/Kendrick Perkins (2.0)

Primary Focus: Play Celtics Basketball
Simply saying “play Celtics basketball” is very vague. There are two things we should look for our beloved Celtics to do tonight. First and foremost, they need to close off penetration and refuse to allow Derrick Rose to dominate the paint like he did in Game 1. One of the keys in doing this is Rajon Rondo making the mental decision to move his feet and stay in front of him (easier said than done), as opposed to gambling and hoping that he can poke the ball free from behind. Take away as many lanes as possible, and make the Bulls shoot as many jumpers as possible. Even Tyrus Thomas. Trust me, he will not go 8/12 every night.

On the other side of the floor, the Celtics need to do what they have done since 2008 training camp: play as a team. Move the basketball. In Game 1, Doc Rivers and the Celtics fan base were very disappointed with all of the one-on-one play and lack of ball reversals, swings, and draw-and-kicks. As Doc noted, it seemed as though everybody was trying to be “the man.” If the Celtics want to win games and advance in these playoffs, they’re going to have to move the ball and work for better shots.

Regular Season Record: 41-41
Eastern Conference Seed: 7

Projected Starters
G G F F C

Series Leaders
PPG: Derrick Rose (36.0)
RPG: Joakim Noah (17.0)
APG: Derrick Rose (11.0)
SPG: 5 Tied (1.0)
BPG: Joakim Noah/Tyrus Thomas (3.0)

Primary Focus: Own the Glass
Prior to Game 1, I noted that it was important for Chicago to make their presence felt on the glass. They did just that, as they held a 54-45 rebounding advantage and even got 17 out of Joakim Noah by his lonesome. If Chicago can continue to hit the boards like they did in Game 1, they’ll continue to give Boston problems.

Injury Report
Luol Deng (anterior right tibial stress fracture – out)
John Salmons (strained groin – will play)
Jerome James (ruptured achilles tendon – out)
Kevin Garnett (right knee – out)
Brian Scalabrine (post-concussion syndrome – out)

Keys to Victory

• Close Off Penetration, Protect the Paint
• Ball Movement
• Control the Defensive Glass
• Get Something Out of Ray Allen

Just Do What You Do

Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

It’s a very simple message to the Celtics if they’re going to shut everyone up and get back on track.

Aside from Rondo cutting back on the gambling on Derrick Rose (something he admits to) there’s no special defense to play on the Bulls rookie.  Just make the rotations.  Play defense like you’re used to playing defense.  On offense, you play like you’ve always played.  We’ve been saying since the final buzzer on Saturday… and the Celtics, and Paul Pierce, were saying it after practice yesterday

“After watching tape, we didn’t play well at all and still had a chance to win. I thought we had a real good practice and had a chance to clean up some things. Just really stick with our game plan, we aren’t going to change up our game plan.

Paul pretty much stuck to the same message when talking about getting Ray open

“Our job is to get him open.  He’s one of the deadliest shooters to ever play the game, so we have to do a better job of get him open. Despite all that, we still had our chances. The bigs and even myself have to set screens for him, because that’s what we’ve done for him all year. It has to come from all of us.”

Pretty simple stuff.  Do what you’ve done all year and you’ll beat the Bulls.  Then maybe all the people panicking can shut up.

Herald:  Doc’s orders: Wait, KG |  Celtics ready to rebound |  C’s hope help on the way with Rose |  Ainge out of the hospital |  Case closed, get Ray open |  Globe:  Little LeBron, big problem |  Offensive plan is to get Allen involved |  Bulls old college try successful |  Camerato:  They call him “Big Cuddly” |  Philly upsets Orlando |  Lakers win |  Nuggets beat Hornets |  Hawks destroy Heat