On Friday night, the Celtics headed to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors for the third game of the 5 game West Coast trip. Celtics guard Delonte West returned to action, and started, after missing the past one and a half games due to back pains (after a hard fall in Denver on Tuesday night). The Celtics made some runs, but they weren’t at the right times. The Celtics ended up losing the game 110-100.

For Golden State, Andris Biedrins was outstanding. He scored 20 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, blocked 4 shots, and he played good defense around the basket. Baron Davis was the game’s highest scorer with 27, but he also had 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Mickael Pietrus also added 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jason Richardson and Matt Barnes scored 13 each, and Mike Dunleavy Jr. dished 8 assists off the bench.

Delonte West had an excellent game for the C’s. He finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and he shot the ball very well and brought a ton of energy. Tony Allen had yet another outstanding game, as he filled the stat sheet with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and he also made some great hustle plays. Ryan Gomes brought the aggressiveness back as he tallied 17 points and 8 boards. Al Jefferson struggled at first due to excellent positioning by Biedrins, but he caught on in the second half. Big Al finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Wally Szczerbiak really had a tough night, as he came off the bench to shoot 3-17 as well as play some pretty atrotious defense and commit some bad turnovers.

My heart goes out to Leon Powe, however. At the end of the game, when it was a sure Warriors win, the fans in Oakland started to chant “We want Powe!” Powe got to play 2:49 seconds, and he finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds in that little time. My heart goes out to Leon due to everything he has gone through in his life, to grow up and be a successful professional athlete who has 15,000 fans chanting his name in his hometown.

This was a tough loss for the C’s, but it was somewhat anticipated. The Warriors did an outstanding job with upholding the pace of the game, and converting off Boston’s turnovers.

Player of the Game: Delonte West

16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

Next Game: Sunday (12/31/06) @ Seattle at 10:00 pm ET. Note that this will be the last game the Celtics play with the “new” ball.

On Wednesday night, the Celtics lost their fourth straight game in Los Angeles to the underachieving Clippers in a 23 point blowout, 100-77. Wally Szczerbiak, Kendrick Perkins, and Michael Olowokandi did end up making returns to the lineup, though.

The reasons why the Celtics lost this game:

• They shot 32%
• They had 11 of their shots blocked
• Nobody, outside of Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins for a 4 minute stretch, played good defense
• No good contributions off the bench
• Foul trouble

For LA, Elton Brand and Tim Thomas led the way with 25 points each, as Brand also chipped in 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Chris Kaman had 4 blocks of his own, and Corey Maggette (the subject of trade rumors) posted a double double off the bench with 11 points and 11 rebounds. It was a Clippers block party at first, and Kaman/Brand really gobbled up everything around the basket.

For Boston, there were some good things going on alongside the bad. Tony Allen had a terrific game, and got to the basket strong and played good defense. Sebastian Telfair got out of that scoring slump, posting 18 points to go along with 3 assists. Gerald Green was bombing away, as he went 5-8 from 3-point land and finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds in his third consecutive start. Al Jefferson posted his 6th straight double-double, and despite the 4-16 shooting, he finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. After missing almost a week and a half of action, Wally Szczerbiak came off the bench and played 28 minutes, posting 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Player of the Game: Tony Allen

13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 11-13 FT

Next Game: Tomorrow (Friday, 12/29/06) @ Golden State at 10:30 pm ET.

Great news for the Celtics tonight! Forward Wally Szczerbiak, center Kendrick Perkins, and center Michael Olowokandi will all return to the lineup tonight! Maybe everybody can just relax and breate a little, huh?

• Wally Szczerbiak has missed the last three games with a sprained ankle.
• Kendrick Perkins has missed the last 10 games with a nagging foot injury: plantar fasciitis.
• Michael Olowokandi has missed the last 18 games with a strained abdominal muscle.

 Delonte West, however, will not play tonight due to back pains. He fell hard on his back last night late in the 2nd quarter, and he even tried to start the 2nd half. Doc pulled him back out 13 second into the 2nd half, because he was not looking good. West will not play tonight, he is listed as day-to-day.

 Last night (12/26/06), the Celtics lost the first game of the 5-game West Coast road trip to Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets. The Celtics got into foul trouble, turned over the ball, and struggled from the field. However, those weren’t the only problems for the Celtics tonight. Celtics guard Delonte West, who just won his starting job back yesterday, fell hard on his back in the 2nd quarter. He didn’t look so good, then he tried to come back into the game to start the second half. Doc pulled West out very quickly and it took him a long time to get back to the locker room. More updates on that injury later on, when more information is given out. He most likely will not play tonight in Los Angeles, though.

Despite the injuries and on-court mistakes, there were some good things. Al Jefferson and Tony Allen (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) played very well, Gerald Green (18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks) played a pretty good game, and Allan Ray came in to produce double figures (career highs: 12 points and 18 minutes). Rajon Rondo played a pretty solid game off the bench (6 points, 6 assists, 2 steals), and Brian Scalabrine played a solid all-around game (9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks).

For Denver, Allen Iverson was phenominal. Not only did he score the basketball from many different spots on the floor, he made some really outstanding passes. Iverson finished with 28 points, 13 assists, and 4 steals. Earl Boykins also came off the bench to score 28 of his own. Reggie Evans had a really nice game off the bench, and he went for a double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds).

Player of the Game: Al Jefferson

16 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks

Next Game: Tonight (12/27/06) @ LA Clippers at 10:30 pm ET. Kendrick Perkins is probable for the game.

Celtics third year guard Delonte West has won his starting point guard job back. He will start tonight in Denver, and it will be his job until Doc tells us otherwise. Hopefully this is the big confidence booster that brings Delonte back to last year’s status, where he was consistant, a fan favorite, and most likely the 3rd best player on the team.

This will, of course, moves Sebastian Telfair (who has started in all 25 games this year) to the bench with the second unit. Maybe that will turn out better as well, with the younger players alongside him running and bringing energy. That fits Sebastian’s style, so maybe when Pierce gets back, Sebastian will have a lot of success with Wally Szczerbiak and Gerald Green alongside him on the wing.

Good luck and congratulations, Delonte!

Starting Wednesday, the day after Christmas, the Boston Celtics will be going on a 5 game West Coast road trip. To begin the trip, the C’s will take on Allen Iverson and the shorthanded Denver Nuggets (Camby injured, Anthony and Smith suspended) on Tuesday, December 26th. The following night, Wednesday (December 27th), the green will head to Los Angeles to take on Elton Brand and the L.A. Clippers. After a day’s rest, they will head to Oakland on Friday (December 29th) to take on Baron Davis and the exciting Golden State Warriors. To close out the trip, the Celtics will have a back to back showdown on December 31st and January 1st to take on the injury plagued Seattle Sonics and the young Portland Trail Blazers.

Injury Notes

• Paul Pierce will not be traveling with the team for the trip due to a stress reaction in his foot, which is reported to keep him out 2-3 weeks.
• Wally Szczerbiak will travel with the team, and it is possible he will play on Wednesday. It’s not a definite, so don’t get your hopes up, but it is a possibility. Regardless if he plays Wednesday or not, Szczerbiak will play at some point on this road trip.
• Kendrick Perkins, who has been battling a nagging plantar fasciitis injury, will be practicing on Tuesday, and his goal is to be available for action by Wednesday in Los Angeles. If not, Friday is the updated plan.
• Michael Olowokandi will travel with the team, and it is likely that he will be ready to go by Wednesday.
• Brian Scalabrine has been a little under the weather with the flu, but he will be all set come Wednesday.

No Tommy Points on the Trip

Celtics long time announcer Tommy Heinsohn will not be traveling with the team for this road trip. He will have back surgery over the holiday weekend, and he is planning on being back in action when the Celtics return from the West Coast road trip on Wednesday, January 3rd, when the Celtics take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at home.

Taking Tommy’s place on the West Coast road trip will be Celtics sideline reporter and co-host of FSN’s Sports Tonight, Greg Dickerson.

The Schedule

• Tuesday, December 26th: @ Denver, 9:00 pm ET.
• Wednesday, December 27th: @ LA Clippers, 10:30 pm ET.
• Friday, December 29th: @ Golden State, 10:30 pm ET.
• Sunday, December 31st: @ Seattle, 10:00 pm ET.
• Monday, January 1st: @ Portland, 10:00 pm ET.

Go Celtics!

Celtics center Kendrick Perkins is set to make his return within the next week. Perkins has informed Celtics sideline reporter, Greg Dickerson, that he will practice on Tuesday and it is very possible that he will play Wednesday night in Los Angeles on the 5-game West Coast trip. If he doesnt’ play Wednesday, it is very likely that he will play Friday in Los Angeles against the Warriors. Perkins has been healing his plantar fasciitis, which is a nagging foot injury. Let’s hope his return is as soon as planned, the Celtics really need him down low.

The injury plagued Boston Celtics took a tough loss at home on Friday night to the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers, 98-83. There were, however, a lot of good things that came out of the this game. The team fought as hard as possible all night long, and they got some big-time contributions from some young players (Al Jefferson and Gerald Green).

Gerald Green started in place of the injured Paul Pierce, and he played very well. He played 38 minutes, scored 20 points (on 7-17 shooting, 3-6 from down town), grabbed 9 boards (ties his career high), and really made some excellent hustle plays. Green is going to be an excellent player in a couple years, and tonight (at age 20) he did an awesome job when the pressure was on.

Al Jefferson held down the middle, owned the boards, and played very effective offensive basketball. He had some trouble on the defensive end and he went for too many up-fakes, but his offensive production and rebounding production was outstanding. He finished with yet another double-double, and tied his career high in rebounds (14).

Also, some of the role players did a good job tonight as well. Delonte West played a good game off the bench. He finally seems to be finding a little bit of a rhythm with his shot, and he made some very nice passes. West finished with 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists on 5-9 shooting. Tony Allen also took it to the basket aggressively and played some nice defense in the first half. Allen finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds.

For Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala was really the man. He made some extremely clutch shots, and he had a stroke going all night long. Iguodala finished with 31 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. Kevin Ollie played a great all around and efficient game, and really ran the offense well. Ollie finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Samuel Dalembert also had himself a solid night, going for 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He was excellent offensively in the first half.

Players of the Game: Al Jefferson & Gerald Green

Jefferson: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists

Green: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3-6 3FG

I have never done multiple players of the game, but tonight was an exception due to both young studs stepping up in a big way when they needed to.

Next Game: Wednesday (12/26/06) @ Denver at 9:00 pm ET.

With Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak out of the lineup (each for 2-3 weeks), young Gerald Green will finally get a chance to prove himself in his young career. He is only 20 years old, and you can’t expect much from the average 20 year old in the NBA, but Gerald Green has shown flashes of the offensive star that he could be a couple years down the line.

He will get more playing time, more touches/shots, and he will probably start. It will be very interesting to see how this young offensive wizard steps up to the challenge. This will be a great test for Gerald Green (and all the other young players on the team), especially considering that after tonight’s game, the Celtics goes on a 5 game west coast road trip.

Another Note: In the last 3 games of the season last year, Gerald Green started. Over the span of those 3 games, Gerald (19 years old, rookie out of high school) posted averages of 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per contest. Let’s hope Gerald can bring something close to that in these upcoming games without our two stars (Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak).

Good luck, Gerald!

Paul Pierce will be out at least 3 weeks with a stress reaction in his left foot. This is terrible news for the Celtics, and it couldn’t come at a worse time (Wally Szczerbiak, Kendrick Perkins, Theo Ratliff, Brian Scalabrine, and Michael Olowokandi are all injured as well). The Celtics are going to need these young guys to really step up big time.

Gerald Green is the guy a lot of fans will have their eyes on the most. This is Green’s big chance to really show what he can do. We have seen flashes, no question, but we’ll get a real chance to see how he responds when he gets real minutes (and will probably end up starting) and touches.

These next few weeks are going to be real tough, but also extremely interesting.