Fiddlin’ and Diddlin’ on Monday

The Celtics came out flat yesterday and after a very uninspired first half played some decent basketball in the second half. It was certainly not a pretty game to watch by any stretch of the imagination. I still can’t understand keeping Powe on the bench when we are being out rebounded by 20. Could he have done any worse than the players out there? Wally played terrible- couldn’t shoot and didn’t rebound and yet Doc keeps him out there because he gives veteran leadership. Unfortunately his leadership led us right down the tubes. You can find game reports in the Globe and the Herald.

In the Herald Notebook, Bulpett mentions that Doc is still planning on buying in Boston after this season when his daughter graduates from high school. In order to do that, he would have to be assured a contract extension because he only has 1 year on his contract and just about everyone in the Celtics Nation is hoping for less than that. Nestled in the middle of this article right after discussing Ryan Gomes’ flu, is this quote:

“I’m worried about (Kendrick Perkins [stats]) a little bit with his foot. You could see clearly he just couldn’t move at times.”. . .

This is coming a night after Perk seemed to move better than he has since before the injury and was active on both ends of the floor. Very curious.

In Shira’s piece in the Globe, she recall’s Doc’s dismay over the selfish play in the first half with no passing and no defense. It was just an ugly, ugly game.

The Globe Notebook starts by focusing on the play of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West and what they have done for St Joe’s reputation. Both players have worked hard to get to where they are. Also mentioned is the fact that Doc called out Al at halftime for giving up too many rebounds. I ask again, where was Leon Powe while we were getting out rebounded by 20? Finally, Doc gets to spend an extra day at home with his family and Wally returns to struggling after one game where he looked to be back on track. One thing about Wally, struggling with his shot in no way stops him from shooting.

Finally, Florida Today gives a game report from the Orlando viewpoint. This quote stands out:

Had the Magic not been playing the woefully inept Celtics, their 87-79 victory before 16,868 fans at Amway Arena almost certainly wouldn’t have been possible.

So now, in the view of the other teams, the Celtics are woefully inept. That really hurts.

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