It began with the Knicks inbounding the ball with 0.5 seconds left near the Nets basket. New Jersey wasn't pressuring the play and when Robinson caught the pass, instead of handing it to the referee he turned toward the Nets basket and threw up a shot. Time had already expired when the shot went in but Robinson got an earful from D'Antoni when the quarter ended.
"Don't mess with the game," D'Antoni says he told Robinson, or Lil' Him. "A lot of guys need minutes. You shouldn't do that."
Since I'm fed up with the Celtics recent play, and tired with all the negative talk, I figured I'd make myself feel better by poking some fun at our next opponent - the Knicks. I know, it's akin to making fun of the disabled, but I really needed a pick-me-up. Thank you Nate Robinson for shooting at the wrong hoop and disrespecting the game.
On to the Celtics, where Doc Rivers sums up the Celtics offensive problems:
“You start a play and then the next thing you know you’re out of a play. But you want your players to be free to see something. But a player can be absolutely right - ‘we should do this’ - but if the other four don’t know what ‘this’ is, then it can’t work. Even if he’s right. And I think that’s where we are, at times.
“They’re a high basketball IQ team and those are the type of teams that do that. Then you just have to get them back to being a disciplined group, too. And that’s why I’m not that concerned.’’
Globe - Celtics Aren't Losing FaithOn Page 2, more talk about Kevin Garnett's knee.
Rivers admitted the real Kevin Garnett may not become apparent until sometime in April, as the Celtics forward continues his recovery from knee surgery.
“I have no idea,” the Celtics coach said after practice. “I think it will take all year. By playoff time he will be fine, but he’ll have a great stretch, then a tired stretch. That’s just my opinion. I don’t know how long it will take.”
Rivers admitted his heart skipped at the sight of Garnett painfully flexing his left knee following a collision in the first half of Friday’s loss to Orlando.
Herald - Mark Murphy's Celtics Notebook
The rest of the links:
Globe - Gary Washburn on Rashard Lewis Suspension, Most Improved Player Award | Herald - Murphy on Eddie House, Dahntay Jones, Pau Gasol | Dancing At Ray's Bash | Newsday - Knicks After T-Mac | Clev. Plain Dealer - Okafor Back on Trade Block? | CBS - Celts/Knicks Preview |
