Claws Jam Bakersfield

The Maine Red Claws, as expected, destroyed the league's worst team tonight in front of another sellout crowd in the Portland Expo. Despite Bill Walker being sent back up to the Celtics, Alexis Ajinca not at his best, and Lester Hudson only arriving for the second half, it was no contest. At various times the Jam tried to turn it into a contest. While it looked like they might get it going and make it a game, their rally never quite materialized. After the first quarter it was never closer than nine points.

Bakersfield started strong, to be sure. With less than three minutes left in the first quarter, they were only behind by a point. Initially, it seemed that they might be competitive. Perhaps their recent roster moves had been effective, or perhaps this would into a surprise challenge for the Claws, much like their first home loss. Then the Red Claws went on an 11-3 run, and by the end of the quarter the home team was ahead by nine points. That run would be indicative of the rest of the game. Maine never looked back, defeating the visitors by a final of 105-82.

It took Bakersfield the first three minutes of the second before they were able to score. While the Claws scored five more points in the second than they had in the third, the Jam scored the same. At halftime the Claws were in full command with an impressive 23-point lead - identical to the final margin.

Although a brief rally materialized for the visitors as they pushed from being down almost twenty points to finishing the third with an eleven-point deficit, they only barely got it into single digits when the rally fizzled. This was the only quarter where the Jam outscored than the Claws (35-27). For a while there the Jam looked impressive, but then the Claws dominated the fourth quarter.

It wasn't the NBA assignees who stood out, but Trey Gilder and Noel Felix. Gilder notched 18, leading the team in points, while Felix had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Although Hudson didn't see much time, he played well in 13 minutes and Ajinca was impressive despite a slow start, with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

Maine played a strong game, despite losing Walker and with Hudson only notching 3 points in 13 minutes. The Red Claws showed why they're one of the best teams in the D-League. They also proved they could dominate without their NBA assignees, and that they'll be competitive with or without help from the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats.

NOTES: Celtics GM Danny Ainge attended the game...the first-place Iowa Energy face the 3-7 Eerie BayHawks later tonight; an Iowa loss would leave Maine and Iowa tied for first place...Lester Hudson arrived late & only played in the second half.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Noel Felix; Honorable Mention to Trey Gilder

Lester Hudson sent back to Maine Red Claws

Via the Red Claws' Facebook page:

The Red Claws face the Bakersfield Jam today at 1:00 in front of another sell out crowd. Did we mention that Celtics have sent Lester Hudson to us again?!

The move makes sense; with Paul Pierce out with an injury, it's more pressing for the Celtics to have Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens with the big club than it is to have Hudson.

Maine vs. Bakersfield Preview

Maine Red Claws (7-2) vs. Bakersfield Jam (2-10)

1:00PM Saturday December 26;

5:00PM Sunday December 27, Portland Expo, Portland, Maine

This afternoon and tomorrow evening, the Red Claws square off against the Bakersfield Jam, the worst team in the D-League. Like the Armor, the Jam have the benefit of no NBA assignees. Like the Armor, they're associated with thoroughly mediocre NBA teams: the 7-21 Golden State Warriors and the 12-17 LA's Other Team. In fact, last spring the Jam almost ceased operations entirely.

The team leader so far this season for Bakersfield has been 6'11" C Brian Butch from the University of Wisconsin. While his high school career was notable, and Wisconsin made strides during his collegiate career, he has yet to receive a serious look from an NBA team. 6'6" G Reece Gaines has the most NBA experience on the Jam roster. He played for Louisville in college, then was drafted and signed by the Orlando Magic in 2003, where he sat on the bench. He's played with the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks since then, seeing his playing time decrease steadily, and hasn't been in the NBA since the 2005-2006 season.

These two games should be good opportunities for the Red Claws. While they just lost Bill Walker after Paul Pierce was sidelined for a few games, that shouldn't be too much of a concern. He'll likely be back, and the Claws still have an NBA assignee in 7'0" Forward-Center Alexis Ajinca, from the Bobcats. Ajinca has been steadily improving over the course of his time in Maine, which should please Michael Jordon and Larry Brown as well as Maine fans.

Even apart from the assignees, the Claws have plenty of NBA talent and should continue to be a top-notch team. This organization has a lot of talent, which is reflected by their relatively balanced offense. The Jam, too, have a fairly balanced offense - just for the opposite reason. The difference between the two on defense couldn't be more obvious; if that continues over the weekend, Maine fans won't have much to worry about.

Update: According to the Red Claws Facebook page, Lester Hudson has been sent back down to the Red Claws.  At this point, it is unsure whether he'll play in today's game.

Doc: Yesterday's win ugly ball, not bad ball

Yesterday's win wasn't pretty. The Celtics had 20 turnovers. They shot only 42.5%. They hit only four out of 15 threes. No, the game wasn't pretty at all.

But it sure was a win Doc Rivers could be proud of.

Via the Boston Globe:

“A lot of good things happened for us. Our defense won the game. We talked about it for two days - the only way we’re going to win this game is in a defensive game. We’re not going to come in without Paul Pierce and shoot them out of the game, that wasn’t going to happen. We were going to have a great defensive team and we were. It was not the prettiest ball - I can tell you both teams played tremendous defense, by the way. We didn’t lose points in that stretch - no one was scoring. It was ugly ball. But I don’t necessarily think that’s bad basketball, I think that’s two teams playing extremely hard and playing great defense.’’

I'm not like a lot of people. I'd rather see a low-scoring, grind-it-out game, as long as both teams are giving it their all. I want to see players hitting the floor after loose balls, hard box-outs on missed shots, and contested jumpers rather than open ones.

And by those parameters, yesterday was certainly satisfying.

'It's a Wonderful Life', starring Paul Pierce

Every Christmas Eve, my family and I sit down and watch "It's a Wonderful Life," the timeless Christmas movie released in 1947.  Every Christmas Eve -- without fail -- I claim it's an overrated movie, then get suckered into its heart-warming story.  By the end of the movie, I'm without a doubt holding back tears, or attempting to secretly wipe them away from my eyes.  I can't let my family detect me tearing up... it's an overrated movie, remember?

Anyways, I will now admit it's one of the best movies ever made, and then hope beyond hope my family doesn't read this post.  After all, next year I'll have to make my claim that it's an overrated movie; it's become a Christmas tradition, like opening presents, singing carols, or drinking egg nog.  (Of course, an hour or so later I'll be weeping like Adam Morrison in the NCAA tournament; yet another King family Christmas tradition.)

If you don't know the premise of "It's a Wonderful Life", it's this: (Note: I promise there is a point to this.  Bear with me.)  A businessman named George Bailey runs an exceedingly moral Building and Loan and successfully battles the local tyrant (Mr. Potter) who wants to take over the town and run it down, in the process almost single-handedly saving his town from the clutches of despair.  But then he runs into enormous bad luck; his uncle Billy accidentally gives $8,000 to Mr. Potter, and the bank is suddenly short money and in trouble with the police.  As George thinks suicidal thoughts, he prays for some help, and it comes... in the form of his guardian angel Clarence.

Long story short, Clarence takes George into an alternate reality and shows him what his life would have been like if he were never born, essentially proving how many lives George has touched.

So why the hell am I talking about It's a "Wonderful Life"?  I'm supposed to be discussing the Celtics, aren't I?

And I will, by putting Paul Pierce into the shoes of George Bailey and showing him what the Celtics would have been like had he never been born....

Cue the smoke, bring on Clarence, and let's take Pierce back to the 1998 NBA Draft...

As the future Pierce watches and thinks to himself, "I'm about to get drafted," David Stern comes to the podium to announce the 10th pick of the NBA Draft:

"And with the 10th pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics select... Bonzi Wells."

The crowd murmurs for awhile, wondering 1) who the hell Bonzi Wells is [after all, he went to Ball State, and wasn't exactly a known commodity], and 2) how the Celtics didn't use that pick to scoop up Michael Doleac.  Future Pierce, meanwhile, is puzzled. 

"But I was drafted with that pick.  Not Bonzi Wells."

"Keep watching," said Clarence. "It gets worse."
 
Future Pierce is whisked away to the following year, to a casino in Las Vegas, where  Antoine Walker and Bonzi Wells are playing craps.
 
Pierce walks up to Antoine, and yells, "'Toine, my man! What's going on?"
 
Walker looks at him questioningly, before deciding he doesn't know who the hell Pierce is. 
 
"It's me, 'Toine!  Paul.  The Truth.  We went to the conference finals together, 'Toine!  We beat the Nets in one of the most memorable comebacks ever.  We were the second-best team in the East, 'Toine, and it was almost all because of you and me!"
 
Walker shakes his head, looks at Wells and starts to laugh.  "The Celtics, in the conference finals?  This guy must be wild.  I've never seen him before in my life, and he's telling me we beat the Nets in one of the most memorable comebacks ever. Ha! Shit, we just went through a 5-45 season. (Editor's note: the lockout.)  We started Eric Riley at center half the time.  (Editor's note: Eric Riley is a real person, and he started 11 games for the '98-'99 Celtics.)  Our backcourt was Kenny Anderson and Ron Mercer, and we had Vitaly Potapenko in the starting lineup too, damnit.  Without a real scoring threat, we couldn't even stay in games, never mind win them.  And this guy's trying to talk about the Conference Finals?  Shit."
 
Pierce takes another look at Walker and realizes, Wow, he's pretty damn fat.  He wasn't that fat back then, was he?  How'd he get so big?
 
Then he takes one more look back at Walker and Wells, who are double-fisting cheeseburgers and losing money at a steady rate.  Oh....
 
Fast forward to the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals...
 
Future Pierce has seen enough to realize he won't be playing in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.  But what he doesn't realize is that the Detroit Pistons, starting Chucky Atkins, Ben Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Clifford Robinson and Michael Curry, would be in the Finals.
 
"Michael Curry?" Pierce asks.  "Starting in the Eastern Conference Finals?"
 
"I know," responds Clarence. "It surprised me, too.  He averaged a whopping four points per game, and it's not like he was surrounded by a ton of scorers to carry the load.  I would have you keep watching, but I can't handle watching basketball this bad.  You see, this series would have set basketball back a decade... if anyone in the country had actually been interested in watching Michael Curry battle Keith Van Horn. Without your comeback, your heart, and your passion, this was probably the worst Conference Finals series in NBA history."
 
A flabbergasted Future Pierce is transported through time back into 2009, Christmas Day.  Pierce opens his eyes to see a room full of people wearing Celtics gear and watching the Crhistmas Day games on t.v., only the Celtics aren't who he thought they would be...
 
Pierce looks to Clarence in shock: "Gerald Green?  Sebastian Telfair?  Brian Scalabrine?  Where are KG and Ray Allen?"
 
"Without you, neither of those guys wanted to play for Boston.  And, besides, the GM wouldn't have wanted them... what's the point of one star player around a roster full of scrubs?  The Celtics are committed to rebuilding."
 
"But with Gerald Green and Sebastian Telfiar?" Pierce wondered.  "And who's that 50-year old seven-footer walking around on crutches?"
 
"Why, that's no 50-year old," explained Clarence. "That's Greg Oden.  The Celtics traded away their first-round draft picks for the next five years to get him, and he's been hurt pretty much ever since."
 
Wow, thought Pierce. I never thought I was this valuable to the Celtics.  Just look at what would have happened to their organization if I'd never been born.
 
"See Paul," injected Clarence. "You're the richest man in town.  Remember, no man is a failure who has a ring."
 
"But Clarence," Pierce said.  "One last question... What in the world is Vinny Del Negro doing in here?"
 
"When Doc Rivers was fired, the Celtics hired him as their coach."

One more reason I love Kevin Garnett

There are so many reasons I love KG.  He never takes a play off, plays unselfishly, and is willing to sacrifice anything of his own to help his own team win.  (And yeah, that last reason sounds a lot like the second reason, but I couldn't just stop at "unselfish.")

Here's one more reason.

Via the Boston Herald:

Getting Garnett to take a break before exacerbating an injury has proven a difficult task for the Celtics.

“I only know one way to play,” he said. “And since I’ve been able to come into this league, I learned from some gritty veterans in Sam (Mitchell) and Terry Porter. Those guys pushed through a lot of things. I never want to sit or never try to sit during practice. I don’t believe in days off unless the coach gives them to you. So my thing is to work, and that’s what I do when I come to the gym.

“Sometimes you’ve got to listen to your body, and as I get older that’s probably the smarter thing to do. But when I come here, I don’t come here for social reasons. I don’t come here to lollygag or shoot the (expletive) or shoot the breeze. I come here to work. I come here to get something done.”

I don't care what you think about Garnett's on-court antics. I don't care what type of reaction you have when Garnett blocks a shot after the whistle, or when he constantly spews four-letter words in the direction of his opponent...

No matter what, you have to admire the effort, determination, and passion with which he plays every time he steps on that court.

Merry Christmas, everyone.  Or happy holidays.  No matter what you celebrate, enjoy your time at home and appreciate your families and everything you're blessed with.

More evidence Gilbert Arenas is a 'gunner'

As if taking almost 20 shots a game wasn't enough, Gilbert Arenas has now officially proven to everyone that he is a 'gunner'; he is under investigation for holding a firearm in the Washington Wizards locker room.

Via CSN Washington:

"The Washington Wizards have learned that Gilbert Arenas stored firearms in a locked container in his locker, unloaded and without ammunition. The Wizards organization and Arenas promptly notified the local authorities and the NBA and are cooperating fully with law enforcement during its review of this matter and will have no further comment at this time."

Gilbert had this to say to the Washington Times about the incident:

"It happened like December 10th. Right after my daughter was born. I decided I didn't want the guns in my house and around the kids anymore, so i took them to my lock box at Verizon Center. Then like a week later, I turned them over to team security and told them to hand them over to the police, because I don't want them anymore. I wouldn't have brought them to D.C. had I known the rules. After my daughter was born, I was just like, I don't need these anymore.”

Personally, I think he probably just wanted to hold a gun to Mike Miller's head and force him to get a haircut.  And you know what?  I don't blame him.

(h/t NBA FanHouse)