Running Diary: Vince Carter shoots just enough for Magic to down Celtics

This game reminded me of everything I already knew.

The C's are not the team they need to be, and the Magic are not as good as they were last season.

We'll start off with the Celtics. I was actually pretty happy with their effort level. While the C's have looked unengaged (to say the least) at times this season, they played a large portion of this game with playoff-like intensity. They were fighting for loose balls, scratching and clawing for rebounds, and acting like they really wanted to win this thing.

Unfortunately, their offense was very close to atrocious. Far too often, the Celtics resorted to one-on-one play. When Boston is at its best (really, when any team is at its best), the ball is moving from side to side, players are moving without the ball, and everyone is unselfish. Tonight, it was throw it to Paul Pierce and get out of his way, or get it to Ray and let him create something, or wait until the shot clock is down and fire up an ill-advised stepback jumper. The C's showed no cohesiveness, and no willingness to let the offense find them open shots. They were forcing tough drives to the hoop and playing far too much isolation basketball.

Still, they played far less isolation basketball than Orlando. Remember Orlando last season? They played beautiful basketball, spacing the floor and using Hedo Turkoglu as the facilitator getting the ball to all their perimeter options. Now, Vince Carter is the new facilitator, and we'll just say he didn't do a lot of "facilitating." Throughout the whole game, Carter was content to fire bad shots, fadeaways with a man in his face, and ended up taking 29 shots to score 26 points. The Magic's spacing is still there, but the ball movement is no longer anywhere near the level it was last year.

In the fourth quarter, the offense was "Get the ball to Vince and get the hell out of his way." They still call him "Vinsanity", but now it's for his insane shot selection, rather than his athleticism. He hit some tough shots, but missed a whole lot more. If the Celtics weren't ice-cold, they would have come away with the win, and most of the blame would have fallen squarely on the shoulders of Vince Carter. Shoulders that are likely sore from chucking so many shots.

Vince had a great stat line, at first glance at least, with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, but it's clear his affect on the rest of the team is negative. You could almost see Rashard Lewis frowning as he watched Vince fling up 27-foot jumpers while Lewis stood on the other side of the court with no hopes of ever touching the basketball. The Magic came away with the win, but they have a long ways to go to becoming a title contender.

And so do the Celtics. Their offensive execution needs to get a lot better, and selfless team basketball needs to make a quick return to Beantown. I liked the fight and tenacity Boston showed, but I didn't like their execution.

Not one bit.

Here's a running diary of my thoughts during the game, while it was happening.

First Quarter

The game hasn't started yet, and already we have some great news: According to ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg, Tony Allen -- despite practicing recently -- will not be playing in games any time soon. Amen.

The first shot for the Magic: A fadeaway twenty-foot jumper by Vince Carter. It went in, but the Celtics will certainly live with that one all game long.

Tweet of the night award goes to Ric Bucher:

"JWilliams tells me he played last year on a rec team w/ Tim + Penny Hardaway + Shaun Livingston. Imagine that coming at you, rec leaguers."

Now, I've played in some rec leagues in my life, and most of them are with old, balding guys with beer bellies and huge knee braces. I know Williams, Penny, and Livingston all have the knee braces, but they don't exactly fit the mold of rec leaguers that I'm used to.

Is it just me, or should Jason Williams have a whole heap of trouble guarding Rajon Rondo tonight? Please be aggressive, Rondo. Please. Make him remember he's not in the rec leagues anymore.

Orlando looks (at least) a step quicker than Boston in the early going. A 12-0 run puts it at 17-6, Magic. Doc Rivers, meanwhile, watched as the wheels fell off and waited until the car broke down before mercifully calling a timeout. I'm a fan of letting your team play through adversity, but that timeout could have come a lot, lot sooner.

Perk shoves a Magic player with two hands, yet still has the audacity to scowl after the call. You know how Perk should know he was wrong to argue the call? Even Tommy Heinsohn agreed with it.

Vince Carter has looked good in the early going, but he's dribbling around a lot without going anywhere. The Magic last year never had that stoppage in ball movement that they've had with Carter so far tonight. Hedo Turkoglu spent a lot of time handling the ball, but it was always with a purpose; he was always making plays when he dribbled. Carter just seems to hold the ball a second or two too long without doing anything with it.

Dwight Howard, according to CSNNE, has yet to score a single point outside the paint. Not just tonight, but for the ENTIRE SEASON. That's beyond incredible.

The Celtics are getting smacked around right now, 24-13, but I don't feel at all like this game is done. Boston is actually getting very good shots; they're just missing them. Garnett has missed a lot of easy ones, Pierce and Ray have missed open jump shots, and I just get the feeling this one will be very close before it's all said and done.

Kendrick Perkins is in early foul trouble (it's kind of tough to deal with Dwight Howard, even if he has yet to develop a real post move), and that would have spelled huge trouble for the C's last season. We would have seen either the undersized Big Baby or Powe coming into the game, and it would have spelled trouble against a team like the Magic with a legitimate big man. This year? Not such a problem, because Rasheed Wallace is there to back Perk up.

Mickael Pietrus is looking like playoff Mickael Pietrus, rather than regular season Mickael Pietrus. He's been ice-cold so far this season, shooting only 38.4% from the field, but drained his first three three-balls to remind everyone of his lethal shooting in last year's postseason. Tommy Heinsohn on Pietrus: "Man, if I were him I'd go to Mohegan Sun, or Foxwoods, or something."

It's 29-13, Magic. They are moving the ball beautifully (when Carter isn't holding it a dash too long) and are getting wide open threes. The Celtics, meanwhile, are shooting 5-24 from the field, and have missed at least their last six shots. You remember back when I said the C's would start to hit open shots? Well, they've shot even worse since then.

Second Quarter

I need Rondo to step his game up. He's being guarded by old, ragged White Chocolate, and still has yet to do anything.

The Celts finally have some energy, and it's because their point guard is running the ball down the floor and finding the open man. That point guard, though, is Marquis Daniels, not Rondo. 29-20, Magic.

Shelden Williams continues to surprise me and prove me wrong. This time, he's doing his normal rebounding and tough, gritty play, but none of that was what surprised me. I was shocked and stunned when Williams was matched up with Rashard Lewis and was able to move his feet well enough to cut him off and force him into a very tough, contested fadeaway. Last season, with KG down, nobody on the Celtics could come close to matching up with Lewis, but Shelden comes right in and has done a great job on him so far. Keep doing your thing, Shelden.

Ray Allen remembers the great job J.J. Redick did on him in the playoffs. The first play Ray was defended by Redick, he put him right on the low post, big-boy'ed him and drew the foul. Ray continues to show an improved post game this season.

Vince Carter just dribbled around for five or so seconds, got the ball poked away from him to about three feet behind the three-point line, went and retrieved it, then turned and fired the shot with plenty of time still remaining on the shot clock. Don't get me wrong, I recognize Vince has had a very good game so far. It's just always been evident he could be so much better if he just improved the little aspects of the game. Like not dribbling so much, and not firing up ill-advised shots, and not getting his pocket picked by Marquis Daniels twice in the same quarter.

Tommy Heinsohn on Vince Carter's defense: "I'd go at him all night long. You KNOW he doesn't want to play defense."

The C's are staging a big comeback in this second quarter, and have the Magic back on their heels. After the 19-9 Celtics run, the score is 38-32, Magic.

Remember when I said Carter was playing well? I was lying. It seemed like he was shooting well, and it seemed like he was doing some good things to go along with his sometimes bone-headed play, but he's actually 4-12 from the field for 8 points. If you're counting at home, that's 12 shots to score 8 points. He's also the only Magic starter right now to have a negative +/-. So my merciless Carter bashing has some merit.

Carter just picked up his third foul, so maybe I can stop bashing him. Heinsohn, though, can't. "That guy doesn't want to play defense, he can't move his feet on defense." Well said, Tommy. Well said.

Ray Allen is a man. An honest-to-goodness, two-balled man. And did I mention that those balls were very big? You'd never see me standing in front of a streaking Dwight Howard to take a charge dead in the chest. Not in a million years. But Ray did it and, surprisingly, he lived to tell the story.

The most impressive play of the first half happened after the half ended. Pietrus fired up a three-quarter shot and damn near made it. It wasn't so impressive that he almost made it, but that he was able to reach the basket from the opposite foul line WITH HIS LEFT HAND. That's right, he shot it lefty. Wow, it's his night. Tommy was right, he needs to head to a casino. Or buy a lottery ticket.

43-40 Magic at the half. The Celtics played a great second quarter to get back into this thing. The second unit continues to be the C's saving grace, especially after they continually get off to bad starts.

Shocking stat of the first half: The C's shot merely 32.6%. Look for that number to improve in the second half. I hope. Please. I'm begging now.

Third Quarter

Does Pietrus ever miss against the Celtics? It's unbelievable. He is NOT a deadeye shooter, yet every time he plays the Celtics he looks like the second coming of Jimmy Chitwood. It's unbelievable.

Uh-oh. Garnett gets kneed by the second coming of Jimmy Chitwood, then immediately started limping. He waved Rasheed back to the bench when Doc tried to sub 'Sheed in, so that's a good sign. But you don't want to see the big fella limping.

The C's just don't have the same energy this quarter as they did in the second. Orlando's getting open shots and Boston isn't working hard enough to get themselves some clean looks on offense.

Right as I wrote about the Celtics not having any energy, Garnett really got into it with Howard. They were mixing it up, and Garnett is fired up. I hope this lights a fire under Garnett and, in turn, the Celts.

Vince Carter is now 4-16 with 11 points. Something tells me Hedo's a better fit.

Perk has five fouls, and this would be a HUGE development... if it weren't for the presence of Rasheed on the bench. I don't care how many threes he chucks up, or how many technical fouls he'll accumulate; 'Sheed is an enormous addition to this team.

Vince just hit two shots in a row. I never said he wasn't talented, and I never said he wasn't a good player. Just that he's frustrating, even to me and I don't even like his team.

Scal's in the game! 'Nuff said. I don't know why Shelden isn't, but I guess Doc thinks he needs Scal spreading the floor.

Or maybe he needs Scal's defensive presence. Scal's first play, he took a charge. Scal is overpaid, and he's overweight, but he knows how to play basketball and is capable of giving the Celtics good minutes. And no, I'm not even kidding.

Bad stat of the night: Kevin Garnett passed the 40,000 minutes mark tonight. Only four other Celtics in history have ever played 40,000 career minutes. That is not a good sign for Garnett; he's getting old, and he's getting run down.

The Celtics are down seven to end the third, 66-59, but are lucky to be even that close. The offense has not been good so far; shots are contested, the balls not moving, and the C's have spent far too many possessions playing one-on-one basketball. Move that rock, fellas. Get it swinging, then attack when the defense is on its heels.

Fourth Quarter

Greg Dickerson reports that Kevin Garnett just ripped into his team for too many offensive isolations. Thank you, Kevin. You see the exact same thing I do.

Dwight Howard has taken only four shots so far. Part of that is getting fouled on a lot of his attempts (so they don't count), but another part of that is sound Celtics defense on Howard. He hasn't had any easy alley-oops or open dunks tonight.

A quick Celtics run puts the C's down three, and the Garden is bumping.

With all the lauded depth on Orlando's side (I know, I know, they're missing Jameer Nelson and Brandon Bass), their bench has scored a combined eight points, and every bench member except Matt Barnes has a negative +/-. For the C's, they've only scored 9 points off the bench, but 'Sheed has 9 rebounds and every single bench member has a positive +/-.

Vince Carter just took a horrendous shot with Marquis Daniels draped all over him. Alas, it went in. At this point, the Magic have taken 58 shots and Carter has taken 21 of them. I don't think that's exactly what Stan Van Gundy wants.

Carter again, with another bad shot, but he hits a fadeaway three. Does he ever take good shots? Is he even capable?

Next Magic possession: Carter misses a 29-foot three. It's unbelievable. His shot selection is like Tony Allen's, only if Tony Allen had just blown four lines of coke and downed six shots of Jack Daniels.

Every time it seems like the Celtics are finally ready to get back into this thing, the Magic make a big play. The C's are threatening to come back, but have yet to make the play to put them over the top.

My heart is racing, my chest is thumping, and the Celtics are down only one. 'Sheed has played unbelievable defense on Howard, stealing the last two entry passes, and Vince Carter's shot selection has, if anything, gotten even worse. He isn't just the Magic's go-to guy right now, he's their only guy. Mostly because he's taking a horrible shot before anyone else gets a chance to touch the ball.

Sheed, Dwight and Vince were all packed together coming out of a timeout, and if you can read lips you could see what Wallace told the Magic's stars. (Or even if you can't read lips. It was pretty easily noticeable.) What did he say? "Y'all bitches."

Sheed is only 3-14 from the field, but he's playing his best basketball of the season. He's doing a great job on Howard, he has grabbed two huge offensive rebounds, and he's more active than he's been all season.

Update: Sheed is now 4-15, and he just tied the game with a little 6-foot jumper off a beautiful Paul Pierce wraparound pass. 78-78. My heart is damn near out of my chest. I'm at severe risk of a heart attack right now, and I don't think I'm even exaggerating.

This game has been so exciting I haven't even noticed Rondo's been out for this whole fourth quarter. Eddie's been playing his minutes. And as I'm talking about this, Rondo gets put back in.

The Magic offense in the fourth quarter has been: Pass the ball to Vince Carter, everyone else run away, and watch as Vince Carter flings up whatever bad shot he can think of. Unfortunately, Vince just hit his last one to put the Magic up two, but you get the feeling Rashard Lewis and co. cannot at all enjoy playing with Vince.

Ray Allen overdribbles, then bounces one off his foot and loses it for a turnover. That was a microcosm of the Celtics' night. Overdribbling, one-on-one play, and bad results.

Doc is still furious with the ref two plays after Pierce was called for a ticky-tack foul on Rashard Lewis with only 3 seconds left on the shot clock. There was contact there, and it was a borderline call that could have gone either way, but not a call you normally see in the last couple minutes of a close game.

The Magic win, 83-78, and the Celtics have another disappointing home loss. I guess that's what happens when you run up against one of the NBA's better teams and shoot 34.5%. A bad loss for the Celtics, one they certainly could have won had they played unselfish basketball the whole way through.

NBA parity: Wasn't the NBA supposed to be top-heavy this season?

The top tier of NBA teams was supposed to be vastly superior to all other teams this season.
Right?

I would run down the offseason moves made to improve the NBA's elite, but you know them all. Shaq to the Cavs, Vince Carter to the Magic, Ron Artest to the Lakers, yada yada yada. You know what happened. You know the rich got richer and the poor, well, they stayed just as poor.

But did they really stay so poor? Suddenly, it seems as if the NBA has parity. Out of nowhere, the poor somehow got themselves a little money. It's very early still, but what in the hell is going on in the National Basketball Association?

With most teams only about ten games into the season, all the teams thought to be championship contenders have at least three losses. The Lakers, Cavs, Magic, Celtics, Nuggets and Spurs all have at least three L's. Not only are they losing, but each team has looked surprisingly vulnerable at times. The Celtics look old, the Lakers look soft, the Cavs look unable to adjust to Shaq's presence, the Magic miss their PED-abuser and Hedo Turkoglu, the Spurs defense is swiss cheese; the list goes on and on. The cream of the crop has not been rising as quickly or as often as most NBA observers thought it would.

At this point in the season, the only teams with two losses are Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. Huh??? If you told me today that you would have predicted those four teams as the teams that would have the least losses at this point, you'd be either a) a liar, b) a genius, or c) a dumbass. And there is no other option.

The Hawks and Heat were expected to be in the playoffs, but just as mediocre four or five seeds and maybe even worse. The Suns and Bucks, meanwhile, weren't supposed to earn a sniff of postseason play. To be honest, maybe neither team will. Maybe their hot starts are just that, hot starts, and not in any way indicative of how the teams will perform the rest of the season.

But does it really seem like that? The Hawks have had the best start of any team, and I'm not just talking about their record. They smacked Denver, took it to Boston (in Boston), and have the third-best point differential in the entire NBA (behind Boston and Portland). They not only look young, athletic and skilled, but they look like a hungry team ready to take the next step into the NBA's upper-echelon. Before the season, I would have disagreed vehemently (aka tell you that you were on crack) if you told me the Hawks would be the best team at this point in the season, but they have been. It's true.

And if Atlanta hasn't been the best team, it's been the Suns. They also beat Boston in Boston, have scored at least 100 points in every game so far this season, and their two losses are to Orlando and L.A. (The Lakers, not the Clippers.) The Suns seemed poised to enter another year of lottery ping-pong balls, but instead have regained the look of an offensive juggernaut that can compete with any team in the league.

The Heat and Bucks have surprised, too, but it doesn't just end there. Houston's a bunch of ragtag role players and bargain-basement bums, but they look like a playoff team. Dallas is looking better than expected, is suddenly a defensive-minded ballclub, and has done most of it with Josh Howard down to injury. Indiana looks at least formidable, the Kings have somehow, someway won four straight games, Oklahoma City looks like it might be a year ahead of schedule, and New Jersey looks like a viable playoff contender. (Just kidding about the last one. New Jersey is bad. Historically bad, perhaps.)

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is this: The top teams aren't as good as everyone thought they were. We thought there would be five or six teams battling to win 60-70 games, we thought those five or six teams would be far better than any other team, and we thought parity in the NBA was dead. From what's happened so far in this NBA season, we were all wrong. Almost dead wrong. Parity is back, and it's coming from unexpected places.

Of course, tomorrow the Lakers could go on a string of 30 straight wins, or Rashard Lewis' comeback could spur the Magic to greatness, or the Celtics could drink from the Phoenix Suns' fountain of youth and become the team they looked like during the season's first five games. Hell, maybe they'll all start to look like the teams we expected before the season.

But for now, at least, parity is back. And it's actually been pretty fun.

Boston Celtics return from three-day layoff tonight against Utah Jazz

Damn, it feels like forever since I’ve seen the Celtics play. After having played eight games in twelve days, it seems like the Celtics have had a second offseason with their three full days off. In fact, I keep waiting for talks of valuable free agents to pop up. (“Who should the Celtics sign – Grant Hill? Carlos Arroyo? Bobby Jackson? Fine, I guess they’ll settle for Marquis Daniels.”) Since the Celtics last played (about four months ago), I’ve been watching the poo-poo platter of games on NBA League Pass and wondering why in the hell they can’t have a premier matchup while the Celtics are off. Instead, Cleveland has to play Orlando at the same time as Boston takes on the Utah Jazz. Oy Vay.

Anyways, the Celtics looked unbelievable through their first five games. They were steam-rolling opponents, bashing them and battering them, and stating their case as the NBA’s top team.

Then, the Minnesota Timberwolves happened and, all of a sudden, things went a little downhill. During that T-Wolves game, it wasn’t a Celtic who was the best player on the court. Hell, it wasn’t even Al Jefferson. It was Oleksiy Pecherov. The Celtics escaped with a win, but started a trend of playing down to their opponent’s level. The next two games, against Phoenix and New Jersey, ended with a loss to the Suns and another slim escape from the grip of a big upset against New Jersey.

A lot of people will blame the recent poor play on the brutal schedule featuring eight games in twelve days. To be fair, the schedule was daunting. Not only did the Celtics play all those games in twelve days, but they had to travel for at least one absurd set of back-to-back games: The Celtics played in Philly one night, then in Minnesota the next. Doesn't the NBA realize how long that is to travel, then play the next day?

But not all the Celtics' problems can be blamed on the poor schedule. Only eight games and twelve days into their schedule, shouldn't the Celtics still be fresh? No matter how many games they played in the season's first two weeks, shouldn't the Celtics have rejuvenated legs after a longer-than-expected offseason?

Before the season, the biggest question mark surrounding the C's was their age. Now that Boston is showing its age and playing with old, tired legs, people are blaming it on the schedule. The truth is, the Celtics will struggle with older legs at times this year. There will be times when they won't play their best, and there will be times when their energy is lacking. Hell, there already have been. As a Celtics fan, you just have to hope they'll have enough in the tank to bring it every night come playoff time. I won’t get too down when they don’t play well during the regular season, especially when it’s obvious the only thing lacking is their energy. I trust them enough to know the Celtics will leave their hearts on the floor when it matters. I think.

People have said the C’s won’t face such a rigorous stretch of eight games in twelve days in the playoffs. They’d be right about that, but they’d also be forgetting that the Celts have yet to play a grueling game with playoff intensity. Those eight games were hardly played with that type of passion and grit characteristic of playoff games. The Celtics won’t play as many games in as short a time span during the palyoffs, but they will likely exert at least as much energy. In a long, seven game series, with each team battling for 48 minutes every game, will the Celtics have enough legs to battle through the nicks, aches and pains that accumulate over an NBA season? I don’t know, and we won’t find out until they try. For now, they failed the first test of the “old legs” exam, but are still 7-1 after the grueling eight-game stretch. It could be a lot worse.

Putting that eight-game stretch behind them, the Celtics face Utah tonight at the TD Garden, looking to turn things around at home after a rare home loss to the Suns. Here are some things to look for during tonight’s game:

1. Eric Maynor starting at point guard for the Jazz?

Backup Ronnie Price is already out, and Deron Williams is probably out too. That would leave rookie Eric Maynor, who’s played only 16 minutes on the entire season, as the only point guard. On behalf of the entire state of Utah, Yikes.

I actually liked Maynor coming out of college. He’s an intelligent player who changes speeds well and is always under control. He can shoot, score, and make plays -- or at least he could in college. Now, who knows? No matter how talented, a rookie point guard with only 16 minutes under his belt should truly struggle against the likes of Rajon Rondo. Especially when Rondo starts telling Maynor he’ll never win a ring.

2. Utah’s lack of wing scoring

With Ronnie Brewer, Andrei Kirilenko, and Wes Matthews (Wes Matthews??) playing the brunt of the wing minutes, the Jazz can really struggle to put the ball in the hole from the perimeter. If Deron Williams is out, too, the Jazz could be in for a tough time against Boston’s defense.

3. Boston’s frontcourt defense vs. Utah’s frontcourt scoring

With Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, and Mehmet Okur, the Jazz big men can score both inside and out. The Celtics have great interior defense, but will be tested by the scoring, toughness, and versatility of Utah’s big men. Look for this matchup to go a long way in determining who wins the game, although, if Deron Williams sits, the Jazz could be in for a looonnnggggggg night.

Marquis Daniels: The difference between Daniels and Allen Iverson

When Allen Iverson took a personal leave from the Memphis Grizzlies, the Grizz wondered if the angered Iverson would ever return.

When Marquis Daniels left the Boston Celtics for personal matters, they just hoped he’d come back soon.

While Iverson has become the poster boy for what not to do as a teammate, Daniels has proven to be the epitome of a selfless player. He made $6.86 million last year and set career highs in points and rebounds; nobody could have blamed Daniels if he took the biggest deal he could get and played for whatever team offered him the most money and a starting job. After all, Daniels is entering the prime of his career. He’s already made big money, but Daniels’ age is when a lot of guys aim for that one last big contract.

Instead, Daniels signed with the Celtics -- to come off the bench behind two All-Stars -- for less money than he would have gotten elsewhere. He signed a one-year deal, so Daniels has every incentive to play for next year’s contract. Despite being in a contract year, he’s content doing whatever the Celtics need him to, anything to help the C’s win games.

His stats (5.7 points, 2.9 assists, 2.1 rebounds) certainly don’t jump off the page. In fact, they scream out “Worthless bum!” But the way he affects the entire Boston second unit is easily noticeable for anybody who watches the Celtics play. For a Celtics fandom that spent so much time last season harping on Tony Allen’s shortcomings, Daniels is, well, the anti-Tony Allen. Allen is known for his boneheaded mistakes, stupid drives to the basket, and ill-advised shots. He fouls the opposing team at the worst possible times, often on jumpshots.

Daniels, on the other hand, does whatever it takes for the Celtics to win. His stats aren’t going to put him on the All-Star team (hell, they aren’t even better than Allen’s stats from last year), but Daniels does all the “little things” that make a big difference. He moves the ball, takes good shots, and penetrates into the teeth of the opposing team’s defense. He handles the ball, leaving Eddie House to roam the three-point arc rather than being harassed by the opposing PG. Daniels plays good defense on his man and great position defense when his man doesn’t have the ball. Doc Rivers raves about Daniels’ basketball IQ, and talks about how much better the second unit operates with Daniels on the floor.

After a year of Tony Allen, Daniels is a human sigh of relief. He won’t light up the scoreboard, he’s not going to drain threes, and he probably won’t play many crunch-time minutes at all. But when he’s in there, you can feel confident that 1) he won’t do anything destructive to the team, 2) he will do positive things, even when he isn’t scoring, and 3) he’s not Tony Allen.

Especially with Iverson’s tired act of refusing to come off the bench, everything Daniels has done for the Celtics, everything he’s sacrificed to help the team, makes him look like a great teammate. Iverson put up nice stats in his first three games with Memphis (maybe his ONLY three games in Memphis), but watching the way he put up those stats you realize he’s a selfish gunner who, at this stage of his career, doesn’t make his teammates better.

Iverson controlled the ball, isolating early and often, completely foregoing his teammates and never involving them in plays. He took contested pullup jumpers off one pass. He dribbled the ball excessively. He turned the ball over by trying to do too much. For those three games, Iverson averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds while shooting 57.7% from the floor. On the surface, those numbers look great, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find out that Iverson had a negative +/- in every game he played for the Grizzlies. By monopolizing the ball and turning it over frequently, Iverson completely limited any contributions his teammates would have made. He scored a lot, but Iverson did none of the little things to help the Grizzlies emerge victorious.

Contrasting Daniels and Iverson, you find one player who makes sacrifices to help his team win, who is fine with coming off the bench as long as he can contribute to “W’s”. The other player? Well, let’s just say he’s a malcontent who has never gotten the concept of team basketball.

Just in case it wasn’t painfully obvious, Marquis Daniels (not Iverson??) is the unselfish player who has foregone more money and a starting role for the chance to win a ring, then adapted his game to fit the Celtics’ needs.

Iverson is now said to be contemplating retirement, frustrated by his role as a sixth man.

And Daniels? He'll be back for the Celtics on Wednesday, willing to fulfill whatever role Doc requests.

Shelden Williams turning heads with his solid play

When he signed, people scratched their heads. The Celtics had already penned Rasheed Wallace to a deal and would soon resign Glen "Big Baby" Davis. What did they need Shelden Williams for?

To most NBA fans, Williams had already been labeled a bust. He had been the fifth pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, but had never lived up to his college reputation during brief stints in Atlanta and Sacramento. He was still a very good rebounder, but Williams couldn't find enough time on the court to produce anywhere near the rate a fifth pick is supposed to. Even playing for bad teams, Williams toiled on the bench.

Once upon a time, he had been a star for one of college basketball's darling programs, on national television every night and producing every game. He was the "Landlord", aptly named for owning the paint, and had won two Defensive Player of the Year awards during his time with the Duke Blue Devils. Four years after Shelden began his college basketball career, he ended it with 1,859 points and 1,217 rebounds.

Then he was drafted into the NBA, and all of a sudden everything changed. The bright lights of national television were traded for dull regional coverage, and Shelden's personal stardom was traded for a whole bunch of time on the bench. And his nickname? They might as well have changed it to "The Benchlord".

While everybody else was scratching their heads over the Williams signing, I didn't know what to think. With 'Sheed in the fold and Big Baby soon to be, I didn't see how the Celtics needed him. I didn't know how Williams fit into the Celtics' plans, and I certainly didn't expect him to see much playing time. After all, he couldn't find the court in Atlanta or Sacramento -- why would things be any different in Boston?

At the same time, I remembered Shelden from college. You see, I'm a Duke fan. And not just your run-of-the-mill Duke fan who might watch the Blue Devils when they're on T.V. I'm the type of Duke fan who watches Syracuse football this year just to see Greg Paulus play quarterback. You could say I'm a little bit obsessed.

So I remembered Shelden at his best. I remembered his game-changing blocks and tough rebounds. I remembered the way he was never afraid to throw his body around and, above all, his consistency. Shelden was always a guy you could count on to deliver, somewhere around 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks every single game.

When Shelden was a senior, he played his last college game against Glen Davis and the L.S.U. Tigers. I was in prep school at the time, and the game coincided with our dreaded study hall. During study hall, which happened every night of the week, we were locked in our rooms for two hours. We weren't allowed to watch T.V., we weren't allowed to play video games, we weren't allowed to leave our rooms, and there were no exceptions. But my Duke Blue Devils were playing in the NCAA tournament, so I had to figure out a way to make sure "no exceptions" didn't apply to me.

I snuck out of my room and into my dorm head's apartment. He was gone for the night, so I knew I'd be safe in his room. I might have been breaking and entering, but what did I care? There was a chance it was Shelden and J.J.'s final collegiate game.

As it turned out, it was, but not because of Shelden. While J.J. was compiling only 11 points on putrid 3-18 shooting, Williams was busy getting the best of a talented frontcourt consisting of Big Baby and Tyrus Thomas. Duke lost 62-54, but I wouldn't soon forget Williams' gigantic effort. When his team needed him the most, Shelden outplayed two highly-touted players and was the most dominant player on the court. It wasn't enough for the win, but it was enough for me to understand Shelden's importance in everything Duke did... as if I hadn't already.

Still, I didn't expect much when Shelden signed with Boston. I didn't expect his career to suddenly turn around just because he was wearing a new jersey. He was a bust, and that was that. I still loved him from his college days, but I never expected Williams to be of much help to my Celtics.

Then, a day before the season, Glen Davis went down with an injury, and Williams was pressed into service. I was still skeptical. If Williams couldn't perform for the Kings and Hawks, I didn't think he would for the Celtics either. He played 13 minutes the first game, and his stats were underwhelming; 4 points and 3 rebounds are nothing to write home about. But sometimes stats don't tell the whole story. Williams threw his body around that day, and did all the dirty work. He wasn't spectacular, but he was solid. And that's all the Celtics needed from him.

The next night, it was more of the same. This time, Williams ended up with better stats, but the way he played was the same. He was just solid. Nothing flashy, nothing spectacular, but as solid as it gets.

Now, five games into the season, we know what to expect from Shelden Williams. There will be some nights when his stats are better than others, but he'll provide the same effort every night. Just like he did in college, Shelden is playing with consistency, passion, and confidence. He bangs down low, gets to the line, and pulls in plenty of rebounds. Shelden won't ever be a star, but he sure has been dependable, hasn't he?

Williams may never live up to his billing coming out of college, as the fifth overall draft pick, and he may never reach the expectations certain people had for him after his storied Duke career. He might even be right back on the bench once Davis comes back.

But don't make the same mistake I made.

Don't doubt that Shelden Williams can still play.

Rajon Rondo contract extension sets Celtics up nicely for the future

I woke up this morning to 13 text messages. Now, I'm not a very popular guy, so 13 text messages is more or less a career high. Upon receiving the messages, my first thought was, "I hope everyone in my family's alright." My second thought was, "Uh-oh, I hope my girlfriend's not mad at me." My third thought was, "Damn, 13 text messages? I'm really blowing up."

Well, my family's alright, my girlfriend isn't mad at me, and I STILL don't have many friends. So what happened? The Rajon Rondo contract extension finally got done. Five years, $55 million for Rondo, and 13 text messages about the deal for me.

Out of everyone I know, I was probably the biggest advocate for the C's resigning Rondo. I'll just restate the facts, for those of you who haven't read any of my ramblings about Rondo before. Rondo is 23 years old. He's gotten immensely better each year, and has continued that trend into this season. He's as confident as players come, has already PG'ed a championship team, and seems to always rise to the occasion in big games. While there was some talk about Rondo being a pain in Doc Rivers' ass, there can be no denying that Rondo plays with unselfishness and poise rarely seen in the NBA... especially for a player so young.

As good as Rondo is now, he has the potential to be even better. Imagine him with a consistent jumper. If Rondo could consistently put it in the bucket from outside, nobody in the world would be able to guard him. He has the speed and handles to go by anybody, the vision to find open teammates, and the awareness to maintain a low turnover rate. With a jumper added to the mix? He could be scary, scary good. Already, his jumper looks way better. He finally has good form, and results might soon be on the way.

Another reason to wrap Rondo up: If they didn't, he would have been a restricted free agent. I know the market for restricted free agents this summer was mostly dry, but next summer, with teams prepping for the vaunted summer of '10, there will be a lot more money to go around. And if Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to stay with their own teams, that money will go to the next tier of free agents. In the NBA, teams with cap space rarely keep it for the following year. They spend it on the remaining free agents, whether they're worth the cap space or not. (See: Detroit Pistons and Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva.) If Rondo hadn't gotten his contract extension, then had had a good season this year (and he looks well on his way to his best season), he might have commanded a lot more on the free agent market than the Celtics got him for today. The Celtics would have been able to match any offer, but the offers might have been higher than they went today.

So rejoice, Celtics fans. The future doesn't look as bleak. Even after the Big Three are gone, a potential superstar will be in Green for the next five years, and the Celtics got him for the very reasonable price of $11 million a year.

And me? I'm not as popular as I thought I might have been when I received 13 text messages this morning. But I'd much rather have Rondo for five years than have a few more friends.

After all, friends don't help win championships.

Running Diary: Celtics don't bring 'A' game, still dispatch Hornets

This was supposed to be Rajon Rondo's measuring stick against Chris Paul. It was supposed to be the night he proved his worth among the NBA's top five point guards. People thought Rondo would be gunning to attack Paul's throne, looking to establish himself firmly among the elite NBA point guards.

Instead, Rondo was willing to do just what he's done the rest of the season. He facilitated the offense and found his teammates in spots where they could do damage. He didn't take many shots (only 7 FGA), but he accumulated 10 assists and played completely selfless basketball yet again.

On the night Rondo was supposed to be the story, the Big Three reminded everyone why they are still the Big Three. Paul Pierce was more or less unstoppable, scoring 27 points on 10-14 shooting and making sure the world knew Julian Wright and Peja Stojakovic will never, ever be able to stop him from scoring. Ray Allen had a great third quarter, keeping the Celtics in the lead while they struggled to bring any energy on a night where they came out lethargic and stayed that way for the rest of the night. And Kevin Garnett was Kevin Garnett; his stats (14 points and 7 rebounds) might not look great, but he did everything the Celtics needed him to do and was a big facilitator of the offense as the Celtics held off Charlotte's fourth-quarter charge.

The Celtics didn't play their best, but they'll come away with a win. To be honest, they should be happy there won't be videotape of this one in the standings. Boston was lethargic, lackadaisical, and -- searching for another L-word (just for the alliteration) -- lame. They allowed Peja Stojakovic to return to the form he displayed back when White Chocolate was his point guard and Chris Webber his post man. Chris Paul didn't do much in the first half, but ran a little wild in the second half and finished with 22 points and 8 assists, to go along with 9-13 shooting. The Hornets' bench, which had been outscored 91-43 combined in the first two games, outscored the C's bench 40-21.

All-in-all, it was a win. Rondo didn't beat Paul statistically, but he kept his basketball intelligence and never tried to get into a one-on-one battle with the Hornets' point guard.

Paul outscored Rondo, 22-6. But I think Rondo will take one stat in which Paul had nothing.

And that's the W.

For those of you who need more analysis and maybe a few laughs, here's a running diary of my thoughts during the game.

First Quarter

Flipped on the channel just in time to see the NBATV Keys to the game, which say that Boston must: "Control the head of the snake". I guess that one needs an explanation.

Steve Smith says Eddie House should be looked at as a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate. I love House as much as anyone, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, Steve. That's like calling Leandro Barbosa a threat to win MVP.

Rondo blows right by CP3 for a bucket to make it 4-2, Celtics. I hope Rondo comes to play, I expect him to come to play, and I believe he'll come to play.

It's really early on, but the atmosphere seems incredibly dead at the Garden. The C's have not come out with the same intensity we've seen from them in the first three games, and the crowd seems to be mirroring the team's energy.

Six minutes in, five rebounds for Emeka Okafor. He's only on pace for 40 rebounds.

I love when Kevin Garnett blocks shots that come after the whistle. He just sprinted from the foul line to swat one. He does it for no other reason but to aggravate and intimidate the other team.

I also love when Garnett sprints the floor and catches a pretty assist from Rondo for an easy dunk. 11-10, bad guys.

The ticker on the bottom of the NBATV screen is now broken. It just told me that Al Harrington had 42 points in the Chicago-Miami game. Which, by the way, had a score of 21-18 at the time.

Paul Pierce has two and-ones and 10 points so far, with 3 minutes left in the quarter. With Julian Wright and Mo Peterson guarding him (and even Posey off the bench -- too slow), Pierce should be able to get more or less whatever he wants tonight. Look for him to have a big, big game.

Perk just looked like Kevin McHale in the post. And no, I'm not trying to say that he's white and gangly. He actually just had a terrific up-and-under post move that looked like McHale in his prime.

The "Sixth Man of the Year" candidate Eddie House just canned a two with his foot on the line. If Eddie House is voted Six Man of the Year I'll shave Rasheed's bald spot into the back of my head.

Eddie had a great hustle play, though. He and Posey both chased after a ball all the way into the backcourt, but Eddie beat him to it and positioned his body in a perfect spot to draw the Posey foul. It reminded me of the huge hustle play Eddie made in the Cleveland series during the title run. And yes, I am definitely living way too much in the past.

A sloppy and somewhat dull first quarter ends, 22-20 Celtics. The Celtics might pull away early in the second quarter; as long as the two benches are in, the C's have a distinct advantage.

Second Quarter

Bobby Brown just made a three, and I swear I just heard "Kwame Brown for three" coming from the loudspeakers. It obviously wasn't really what I heard, but for a second I was very, very confused.

The Celtics are trying to abuse Chris Paul in the post. He's guarding Ray right now, as the Hornets are playing with a mini-backcourt of Bobby Brown and Paul. Ray, not especially known for his post game, scored an easy one the first possession and missed an easy turnaround the next time down. Look for the C's to go right down low as soon as the Hornets come with the small lineup.

The Hornets moved Peja onto Ray and Brown to the bench. Tommy Heinsohn, about Peja guarding Ray Allen: "Well, Peja's just going to run into screens and stay there." And later, "He'd be late for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Whatever the second quote means is beyond me. I think it's supposed to mean he's slow, but it could mean anything at all. After all, this is Tommy Heinsohn we're listening to.

Does Marquis Daniels ever show emotion? Does he even know how to smile or frown? I don't think I've ever seen him without a game face on.

Things getting a little chippy between Rondo and Paul. Just like we thought it might before the game, Rondo and Paul have begun to get into a little bit of a personal battle. Neither of them have done too much in the game, but a little bit of a shoving match that drew a double technical foul might light a fire under them both. I love Rondo for not backing down. He never backs down from anybody, no matter how big or how talented they are. You get the feeling he really feels he's the absolute best player in the NBA. Let's just hope he doesn't want to be paid like it.

Pierce stays on the bench for a long time, then comes right back and drills a three. He has 13 so far, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up with 30. Pierce and Ray Allen have such big mismatches, every time down the floor. They must feel so great to be able to look at the man guarding them and see Wright or Peterson. As I'm typing this, Pierce hits another three, and now has 16. I feel great for saying Wright couldn't guard Pierce. But it's tough to take credit for that prediction; after all, my dog Montana knew Wright couldn't possibly stop Pierce from scoring.

Rondo throws an alley-oop pass to Kevin Garnett, who catches it, crams it through the hoop and then tells Rondo, "Nice f---ing pass." You could see it on the screen. Is anyone surprised Garnett swore? Not me. I'd be more surprised to hear that C.C Sabathia doesn't have a good diet than I am to hear Kevin Garnett swear.

I keep waiting for Chris Paul to do something. I thought he'd have a huge game after Rondo mouthed off a little bit. But he has yet to do anything. Please do not wake the sleeping 6'1" giant.

Pierce with the jab step to the left, drive to the right, and easy dunk after the baseline drive. Did I mention Julian Wright can't guard him?

A pullup Pierce jumper (on -- who else? -- Julian Wright) gives him 20 points and ends the first-half scoring and puts the Celtics ahead 47-38. The C's have yet to play their best basketball, or even close, but still have a nice little cushion. Look for them to open up the third quarter with a bit of a run to pull this game away. Also look for Chris Paul to improve upon a first half where you barely knew he was on the court. Rondo has a game-high 6 assists, Okafor has a game-high 7 assists, and Wright has a game-high for times leaked on by an opposing player.

Third Quarter

NBATV switched the key from "Control the head of the snake" to "Control Chris Paul." Apparently, Chris Paul is the head of the snake. Whatever he is, the C's controlled him, holding him to only 5 points and 3 assists. Still, there's always the possibility he may completely take over this game.

On cue, Paul starts the second half with a jumper. Uh-oh.

Forget what I said about the C's coming out fired up in the third quarter. They came out with the same lack of effort they showed in the first. Just completely lackadaisical. Still, Boston is winning. I'm not sure whether that says more about Boston's talent or New Orleans' shortcomings.

Did anyone else love Perk giving up the ball on the fast break to Rondo, just so Rondo could pass it back to him and get an assist? 'Cause I did. Some might call it stat-stacking. I call it terrific.

Uh-oh. Paul starting to kill the C's. But it's good the C's haven't let him do much distributing. Even now, when he's starting to appear a little lively, almost everything he's gotten has been for himself. To me, he's far more dangerous making things happening for all his teammates.

The Hornets went small again, and immediately Ray went straight to the post and got another easy bucket. Ray's had a big third quarter. Unfortunately, the Celtics haven't. Another prediction for me that just didn't turn out well.

The Celtics lack of effort is finally catching up to them. The Hornets aren't playing well, either, but Chris Paul is quickly catching fire. He has risen from his slumber. And that is far from good for the Celtics. 72-69 Celtics at the end of the third.

Fourth Quarter

Interesting matchup between James Posey and Marquis Daniels, Posey's replacement. Daniels is a more talented player, but Posey is such a great glue guy.

Peja's getting hot. Reminding me of the Kings days when he was as good a shooter and scorer as just about anybody in the league. Hopefully they'll leave him in for crunch time. Peja on the Kings never failed to miss clutch shots.

Bobby Brown is a gunner. I kept thinking he would stop shooting, but he just never has. It seems he fires up a jumper every time he catches the rock. And, thankfully, he is now 3-12 from the field.

Eddie House with a great pass to Shelden Williams to extend the C's lead to 80-74. Last season's bench was lucky to keep games close, or even to lose by a little. With this year's bench, you are surprised when they don't extend a lead.

Can the Celtics put a motherf---ing hand up on Peja? He can't put the ball on the floor. Not even a little. Somehow, he's been open every single play, and is straight up murdering the C's. Put a hand up and get in his mug. For the love of Red Auerbach.

Three minutes left. 88-83, Celtics. If Peja is scoring a lot, that means Peja must be defending somebody, right? Can we just go straight to the person who's defending him, call a clear out, and get an easy bucket every time?

Pierce scores a bucket on Peja with the stepback in the lane. Thanks, Doc. You only went to that about a quarter too late. I guess it's better late than never.

A great play by Garnett, driving the middle and dumping off a little pass to a cutting Rondo, who finished with a 5-foot floater.

Pierce puts in a three from the top of the key to go ahead by 9. Peja may have scored a lot, but he was no match for Pierce defensively. Then again, neither was anyone else. Pierce ended up with 27 points on 10-14 shooting. Celtics win, 97-87, but never brought their 'A' game tonight. 'A' game or not, they're 4-0. The world is good.

After the game, it looked like Rondo and Paul shared words. I have no idea what was said, and no idea what happened between the two, but it's something to think about.