RedsArmy.com - The Voice Of Celtics Fans

January Edition of "The 8th Seed"

The latest edition of the 8th Seed is now up.  This month's month's edition is being hosted on TalkHoops.net.  Zach Harper was supposed to host the show... but...

This month, I was supposed to host it but fell ill to a cold so my voice sounded like Harvey Fierstein. Jeff and John were kind enough to take co-hosting duties. We recorded this early Sunday morning (January 31st). Here's what we discussed:

- The state of the Boston Celtics.
- Who is the better Gasol brother?
- Who was snubbed from the All-Star team?
- Mo Williams is out for a month or so. Luckily that doesn't make LeBron James any less great.
- Who is the best team in the East?
- Does the regular season matter?
- Are the Lakers okay?
- How well can Jeff cool off a heated Glenn and an agitating Zach?
- How much will John talk himself into Kevin Garnett's knee being just fine?
- Is Portland okay?
- Dream trade situations for our respective teams.

Check it out.

Your Morning Dump... We gotta get that look back

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

“Oh yeah, I get a lot of that,” Rivers said. “But enough with the talk, you know? I had a conga line in my office today. That’s great. Guys want to do the right thing. I don’t think we have bad guys on our team. I know we don’t. But we have to do them. And we keep talking about, ‘You’re right, and we’re going to do it.’ But we’re not doing it.”

“I think when you have a veteran team there’s several pitfalls,” Rivers said. “One, you’re a veteran team. Two, ‘We’ll turn it on.’ Well, I don’t buy into that. I never have.

“Three, leaning back on your past success. Your past success is no guarantee to future success, and I think this team leans back too far on what they’ve done. And we’ve got to get to work on what we’re going to do.”

“We have to get back to work. We have to get back to that workman’s mentality. We have to get back to wanting to be the best defensive team in the NBA. We have to get back to executing better.

“We can’t just keep relying on guys coming back off of injury. That has thrown us off a little bit because of lack of practice time and all that, but I think that’s become an excuse around here. We’re not going to allow that. We can’t allow that.”

Herald - Doc Done Being Nice

It's time for Apollo Creed. He's the only man that can save this team. Doc's quotes about "workman's mentality" and wanting to be the best defensive team equate to one thing - Eye of the Tiger. Out west, Doc needs to have the entire team run sprints on the beach and awkwardly hug one another when it's over.

On Page 2, the Lakers are so good, they can win without Kobe and Bynum.

Pierce Pulled from Practice

Via Chris Forsberg:

Coach Doc Rivers said the Boston Celtics pulled captain Paul Pierce out of practice Monday afternoon to rest his sprained left mid-foot injury, and that he is questionable to play Wednesday night when the team visits the New Orleans Hornets.

"Paul didn't do a lot today," said Rivers. "We actually pulled him out early. He practiced, but he wasn't moving well and we just took him out. He's questionable. I think he's going to play, but right now we'll wait and see."

On the bright side, Marquis Daniels went through a full practice and looks "great," and the guys worked hard.

"They responded with a great practice, so that's good. We have to get back to work, back to that workman mentality -- back to being the best defensive team in the NBA," Rivers said. "We have to get back to executing better. We can't just keep relying on guys coming back from injuries. That's thrown us off because of a lack of practice time, but that's become an excuse around here and we're not going to allow that. We can't allow that."

How do you say "shimmy" in Spanish?

Antoine Walker's need to find a way to pay off gambling debts... I mean... love for the game cannot be stopped. 

No one in the NBA wants him?  No problem... he'll just go somewhere else....

Like Puerto Rico.

Yep, Antoine will be shimmying his way up and down the floor with Marcus Fizer.

Welcome to Rock Bottom, Mr. Walker.  Party of two?

The Clinic invited to play HORSE

The word is spreading like wildfire, Rajon "The Clinic" Rondo is going to be in the All Star Weekend's HORSE competition.  Word came in today from Trags and Forsberg that Rondo's in.

Can't wait to see what the kids pulls out of his bag of tricks.

Other quick note:  Pierce was pulled from practice today and is questionable for Wednesday.  I say just sit him.  Don't be stupid.

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Larry Bird is still awesome

Aside from Betty White getting wrecked on a crossing route... this year's Super Bowl ads were mildly amusing at best.

But this one, obviously, stood out in our hearts. 

If you missed it, it's the McDonald's updated version of these classic Larry Bird/Michael Jordan ads:

Nice warmups, Mike.  Did you give them back to Bill Cosby when you were done?

Of course, the updated version is all crazy CGI dunks that only exist in NBA Jam... but whatever.  It's fine.  The crowning moment is when LB shows up at the end and takes LeBron's and Dwight's lunch. 

Fitting, cuz back in the day, Bird would have found a way to do that on the court.

Unfortunately... it looks like he's literally stolen people's lunches a little too much lately.  Sorry Larry... I love ya and all... but maybe you should try a salad.

(bracing myself for the lightning strike)

Enemy Chatter: We picked us to win

I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose of 'enemy chatter' from Orlando.

As important as the Magic's defense proved to be, we shouldn't overlook the job they did on the other end. In the second half, the Magic scored 56 points on 41 possessions for an offensive rating of 138.1, with an effective field goal percentage of 67.2%. The Celtics lead the NBA in defensive efficiency, but the Magic got whatever they wanted against them regardless. Orlando came up with three-point plays on four consecutive third-quarter possessions to demoralize the Celtics, or at least their fans.

Orlando PinStriped Post

"I'm quite sure a lot of people picked us to lose, but we picked us to win," Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said. "That's all that matters."

"A mirror image of what happened to us the other night at home: a big lead at the half, get absolutely annihilated in the third quarter," Van Gundy said. "Of course, people want to know how you can let that happen. Well, now you've got somebody else you can ask besides us. It happens. Teams get on a roll and then it's tough to stop them."

Orlando Sentinel

"It's been a long time coming," Carter said in the Magic locker room after the game. "I told the guys coming into this month. I said, 'It's a new me.' "

Carter also excelled in Orlando's 83-78 win in Boston on Nov. 20, scoring 26 points in that game.

"It's a nice place to shoot," Carter said smiling. "I'll say that."

Sentinel Magic Notebook

A nickname is born: Rondo is "The Clinic"

Yeah, yeah... last night's loss sucked.  But as Chuck just said, we can't walk around cutting ourselves all day.  Besides, there will be plenty of time for that later.

No... right now we're going to have some fun.  And of course, the way things are going right now, we can only have fun with one player on this team: Rajon Rondo.

In the first half of last night's game, he was unstoppable.  I made the comment on Twitter that Rondo was by far the best player on the floor, and that he was putting on a clinic.  Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPBasketball on Twitter) turned right around and suggested "The Clinic" as a nickname for Rondo. 

In that moment, the nickname was born.  It's gotten a fair amount of support so far... and we love it.  so we're going with it.

Rajon Rondo is "The Clinic"... because he could put one on at a moment's notice.

I'm sure some of you won't like it.  I've already heard the "he needs to shoot jumpers and free throws better" or "he needs to be more consistent before you can call him that."

Meh.  I don't care.  He can dominate games for long stretches without that... and he's only going to get better.  He's a walking basketball clinic... so that's what we're calling him from now on. 

If any of the Celtics happen to be reading... let's make this work!

Rumor: Danny is after Kevin Martin

Via CBS:

Though team president Danny Ainge has publicly ridiculed the Allen trade reports, several NBA executives told CBSSports.com that the Celtics have been actively trying to parlay Allen's $19.7 million expiring contract into an asset that could keep them in the mix during the upcoming playoffs and also help them for the next several seasons. The most recent inquiry, sources say, involved Sacramento sharpshooter Kevin Martin, who'd be a good fit with Boston's remaining core. Kings officials might be talked out of their reluctance to deal Martin if they could pry a prolific big man out of a third team brought into the discussions or in a separate transaction before the deadline....

If the Celtics kept Allen and let his contract come off the books, they'd still be over the cap this summer with no avenues besides sign-and-trades to acquire a starting shooting guard. That's why Boston also has expressed interest in the Bulls' Kirk Hinrich, an excellent defender and ball-handler who would give the Celtics a starting two guard next season at $9 million and in 2011-12 at $8 million. The Bulls' motivation would be cap relief.

The Kings, who are not planning to be big free-agent shoppers this summer, aren't seeking to acquire cap space alone. They want assets -- and the Celtics don't have a young big man to offer. The Bulls, who almost certainly will move Tyrus Thomas, might need to be invited into that conversation to satisfy everyone's needs.

Kevin Martin (27-years old, 6-7, 185 lbs) is an intriguing option. He can definitely score - 24 ppg the last two seasons. There are injury concerns. He missed 31 games last season due to an ankle injury, and another 32 this season with a wrist injury. His contract status (after this year): three years remaining and $36 million.

Your Morning Dump... where some Celtics are dilusional

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

"One of the guys said, ‘We're better than Orlando.' And I said, ‘No you're not. That's a bunch of crap. They beat you three games, two at your place. They're better. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year.' Orlando's better than us right now. Atlanta's better than us right now. L.A.'s better than us right now. Those are the teams that have beaten us. That doesn't mean that we can't be better than them at some point, but right now, those teams are better than us."

ESPN Boston:  Celtics not among the elite

I feel like I'm watching an episode of "Intervention."  Everyone but the subject knows they've go serious problems.

Honestly... how can any member of the Celtics sit there and say "we're better"?

During my frustrated Twitter ranting during and after yesterday's game, I kept getting messages that the Celtics are too old... and that age is responsible.  That's crap.  That's not the case at all.  That quote right there is the problem.

If it was age, the Celtics would have come out of halftime strong, then faded down the stretch.  But they came out like they had already won the game.  In the first half, we were all celebrating the return of "Celtics Basketball."  They were moving the ball, they were aggressive, they were playing defense.  In the second half, they stood around, they walked the ball up the floor, and they just stopped rotating out on the wings and let Orlando.... a team everyone KNOWS likes to shoot the 3... shoot uncontested 3's. 

The problem isn't that the Celtics are old.  It's that the Celtics are overconfident.  They're a great team... IF they play like a team.  They're a mediocre team if they just stand around and expect everyone to bow to their greatness. 

Some of these guys need to wake up.  You're not better than anyone until you accept the fact that it is going to take 48 minutes of effort to beat most teams.

It's odd... the only way the Celtics can get to the level of play that makes them this cocky... is to stop being this cocky. 

I hope they realize that soon.

Coming up, Page 2.... where there's nothing Doc can do about it

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images