Celtics guard Tony Allen has been cleared of charges from being involved in a fight in a Chicago restaurant roughly 19 months ago. According to sources, Allen shouted for one of his friends to beat another man up, but the issue escalated into a much bigger situation, as it resulted in a shootout. Allen was cleared of all charges at 2:15 this afternoon.

Thank God. Too bad we have another young ballplayer to deal with due to his off-court stupidity.

We all know how rough this past season was, but no matter how many wins are in the loss column, nobody can deny the fact that each and every player on this team wants to improve and is willing to work. As of right now, it’s only natural for them to go home and see their families for a few weeks, but when they get back it’s all about working hard and striving to become a better player. Here’s my take on what everybody should be working on this summer:

• Do not speak to anybody involved with the media until May 23rd.
• Work on that 3-point shot and develop consistency with it.
• Work on ball handling.
• Work on agility and quickness, in order to be able to defend most NBA SF’s.

• Work on low-post defense.
• Add a little upper-body muscle, not much though. He needs to make sure he adds muscle, but not to the point where he loses his quickness.
• Continue to add consistency, and maybe some range, on that short jumper.
• Work on going left a bit more.

• Good luck getting on someone else’s roster.

• Lose about 15 lbs.
• Work on post game.
• Don’t over-do it, make sure that foot is alright.

• Get healthy and come back in good shape, ready to go.
• As hard as it may be to pass up the opportunity, it would be best for him and the Celtics if he elected not to go out to play for team USA.
• Improve defensively.

• Improve footwork immensely.
• Relax. Continue to go up strong, but with a much softer touch.
• Work on 10-12 foot jumper.

• Get healthy.

• Work on verything that doesn’t have to do with shooting the ball.

• Take 1,000 shots a day, my friend. 1,000 shots a day.

• Continue to gain consistency in that jumper.
• Improve rebounding. Scal boxes out well, but doesn’t actually grab the basketball.

• Rest, get healthy, and be ready to go next season.

• He MUST improve his right hand! He should tie left hand behind his back and strictly work on using that right hand.
• Work on 1-on-1 perimeter defense.
• Learn to take all open shots, don’t hesitate.

• Improve this team, bring in a veteran or two, and deal some of the young guys.
• If the decision does end up being that Doc will be offered an extension, which I do not support, go no further than a 1-year deal.

On the youtube link, the timing is about a half second off, for some reason. That has never happened to me before, but for some reason youtube messed it up by about a half second. If you download it, the timing is right and the quality is better, when it plays through Media Player. Oh well, enjoy anyway.

Watch It: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMoUXZxVipQ

Download It (timing is right): http://www.sendspace.com/file/kwdzd8

Really no explanation needed. He’s the best player on this team and has been since 2000. This team is completely lost without him, and he is our leader. There is no question he is the team MVP.

After years of searching, it seems as though the Celtics have finally found their point guard of the future. He’s got a very high basketball IQ and he is a good decision maker (he makes the right decisions quickly as well, which is the more promising aspect of it all). He is very quick and athletic, he can get to the rim and either finish with a runner or a loud/unexpected slam. He’s a terrific playmaker that turns nothing into something quite often. To add on, he is also a tenacious defender who comes up with loads of steals and also looks like he’s going to be a lock-down defender for years to come. If this kid ever develops a semi-respectable jumper, he’s going to be unbelievable.

This was tough, considering our best defender went down in January (Tony Allen). He would have easily gotten this, but I give it to Rondo. Here’s why: First off, he obviously has great quickness and anticipation skills, so he’s able to get a lot of steals without “cheating” too much. Secondly, he’s one of the best rebounding guards I’ve seen in a very long time. Thirdly, he doesn’t get “burned” all that often. Finally, notice how we have been running a hell of a lot more this past month or two? That’s all because of Rondo’s ability to get every single loose ball around him and get stops for us to ignite the break.

This was by far the most clear-cut award. “Big Al” went from an injury plagued young guy who half the fans wanted traded (not me!) to half the city’s favorite player, a consistent double-double guy, and a legit low-post scoring option with a jaw-dropping array of post moves. Al has even been much more of a vocal leader as of late. Big Al gets this award easily, nobody else is in contention.

I just can’t give this award away. We have had far too many injuries to ever establish a set rotation, especially in the second half of the season, and everybody has gotten their chance to start. Everybody has switched off, the rotation changes on a nightly basis, for the most part. I can’t give this award to anyone, that’s how bad the injuries were. However, had we been healthy, it looked as though Wally Szczerbiak was on his way to get this one.

Cliffy has clearly made a giant impact on Al Jefferson this year, and you can see the quick progression with Leon Powe as well. Ray came over from Orlando, where he worked with Dwight Howard. He has come to Boston and he has done everything the media was talking about when he signed his contract. He has helped Al’s mental game, offensive game, and his defensive game a lot. Perk, Al, and Powe have praised Cliffy numerous times in interviews. He clearly has made a big impact on our bigs and he has helped them improve their games at a quick pace. They respect him, he can relate to them (since he was a big man in the NBA), and he makes them work. Way to go, Cliff!

Last year, absolutely everybody booed and yelled cusses every time he entered the game (including me, I admit it). This year, after he lost some weight and improved his jumper a ton, he has played his role very nicely. He has come up huge for us on the defensive end on a number of occasions, he has brought the hustle everybody was talking about when he first got here, he has knocked down the open 3 very nicely (he improved a ton in that area), and he never hurts us when he’s on the floor anymore. I have truthfully grown to really like Scal, his personality, and what he brings to the team whether he plays 25 minutes or 10 minutes.

Though I have defended him in the past and I am still sticking by him as a solid backup point guard in the future, he has been a big disappointment for this team. He’s a horrible defender, he doesn’t have a great jumper, and he is not aggressive offensively 90% of the time he’s put out on the floor. I don’t get it. If Bassy’s confidence isn’t at all all-time high, he just doesn’t even bother trying to attack offensively. That is a big problem. He has the tools to be a good player in this league, I don’t understand why he isn’t attacking. He’s very quick, he is a good playmaker, he’s a good ballhandler who doesn’t turn it over a whole lot, and he can get to the rack with his quickness. Even in the first 2 months of the season, he was knocking down that pull-up 15-17 foot jumper at a very high rate, now he’s ice cold from there. He’s only 21, and I still have faith he won’t be overseas in 2 years, but if he doesn’t correct this aggression issue, he will be overseas. He also has to get his act together mentally. Driving with a suspended license at 4 am, going 77 mph in a 45 mph zone, and driving with a convicted felon who had a gun on him isn’t really the best way to get yourself on track. Management has reportedly already clarified that Telfair will not be playing in Boston, but I do wish him luck wherever he ends up.

Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair, who was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle - a misdemeanor - and issued summonses for speeding and driving without a license, has reportedly played his last game as a Boston Celtic. According to the Boston Herald, a team source was asked about the Telfair situation last night at the Red Sox game, and he replied by saying “Believe me, he’s not going to wear green again.”

I guess we won’t be having that Sebastian Telfair night at the “Gah-en” after all.

Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair was arrested on gun charges today after being pulled over for speeding in Yonkers. Telfair was reportedly going 77 mph in a 45 mph zone, and he was also charged with possession of a .45 caliber handgun in the front passengers seat. Telfair was reportedly very cooperative and polite with the police.

Back in 2006, when Telfair was with the Portland Trail Blazers, he also was caught carrying a gun on the team plane. He claimed it was his girlfriend’s gun, and he was issued a short suspension from the team.

My thoughts: this could cost him his spot on the Celtics. In my opinion, there is a good chance Telfair gets waived by the club this summer. When Tony Allen had his legal troubles last year, the team strongly considered the motion of declining to pick up Allen’s third year option. However, Allen means more to this team than Telfair ever will, so we’ll see how this plays out. Telfair’s career has gone down the crapshoot in his first 3 years in the league. He needs to shape up this summer.

The Celtics 2006-2007 finale was a good hard-fought game, just like we all expected and wanted. The kids showed a lot of heart, displayed great effort, but once again they came up short as the final buzzer sounded off. It’s something we’re somewhat used to by now, but it was still disappointing to see our season end on a note like that (Flip Murray hitting the game winner in our own building). It was, however, nice to see Rondo come up and excel in the clutch with his weakest attribute, his shooting. It was great to see him nail those two big free throws.

Rajon Rondo was great, once again. He was playing outstanding defense, making beautiful plays in transition and in a halfcourt set, he was getting to the basket at will, and he knocked down his free throws and a couple jumpers from mid-range. He’s a playmaker, he’s a game changer, and he’s a workhorse. The kid does absolutely everything, he’s clearly the point guard of the future. If we don’t go out and get a good veteran point guard this summer, I won’t necessarily be “mad.”

Big Al Jefferson had another productive night. He started off really hitting those short jumpers, he was an animal on the glass on both ends of the floor, and he really worked hard. Why he wasn’t in the game in the closing minutes is beyond me, that has to do with poor coaching. I guess you could make a case that “you don’t want to risk injury,” but I say let the kid play and make sure we end with a win. Regardless of the win/loss column this season, Al Jefferson is the real deal.

Ryan Gomes had himself a nice offensive outing, after shooting pretty poorly in the previous three games. Since he is playing more at the 3 lately, he hasn’t been as productive in the rebounding column as he has been before, but I’m not concerned about that (especially when Jefferson/Perkins combine for 23 rebounds). I’m concerned with the solidity and consistency of his game, which has been great this season.

Allan Ray put on a very nice shooting display in the first half of the ballgame. That’s his job, and he did it well in this one. Will he be doing that job in a green uniform next year? Only time will tell.

It was very nice to see Perk do his job, yet again. His job is to go out there and play tough, rebound, play defense, and make smart passes. He did all of that in this game, and that’s what I like to see. I know this has been said plenty of times lately, but Kendrick Perkins really turned it on the last couple months of the season. Hopefully he can put that plantar fasciitis behind him and continue next season where he left off this year, and keep building from there.

Leon Powe was yet again the only effective player off the bench in this game. He did the usual (hustle, rebound, play aggressive), nothing spectacular. Gerald Green had his fourth straight horrid shooting display. That is most certainly not a good way to end this season, whether he was feeling a little ill or not. Sebastian Telfair just didn’t do anything impressive. In fact, his decision making was horrid.

• Rajon Rondo: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals on 7-11 FG, 5-5 FT

• Al Jefferson: 17 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block on 7-17 FG, 3-7 FT

• Ryan Gomes: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block on 7-15 FG, 2-5 3FG, 3-3 FT

• Allan Ray: 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists on 7-15 FG, 4-6 3FG

• Kendrick Perkins: 4 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal on 2-3 FG

• Leon Powe: 5 points, 6 rebounds on 1-4 FG, 3-3 FT

• Gerald Green: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist on 2-10 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-2 FT

• Sebastian Telfair: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist on 1-4 FG

Boston Celtics 06-07 Final Record: 24-58

It was a dreadful year, for the most part, but we also saw a lot of good things and saw a lot of young players make big strides. The front office has a lot of work to do this summer, but I’m more confident about the future of this team than I thought I would have been three months ago.

Tonight, the Celtics will end their long, injury-plagued season at the Garden as they will take on the best team in the Eastern Conference, the 52-29 Detroit Pistons. This has been a tough year for everybody associated with the Celtics as well as the true Celtic fans. The Celtics have been killed this season with big injuries to basically every key player on the team, they posted the worst losing streak in franchise history (18 games), we lose both Red Auerbach and Dennis Johnson, they clinched the 2nd worst record in the league, and the fans are emotionally confused.

While it has been a very tough year, there have been a lot of bright spots as well. Al Jefferson had a break-out year and has been a consistent double-double threat. Rajon Rondo was one of the best rookies of the 06-07 season, and he has convinced the majority of the fan base that he is surely the point guard of the future in Boston. Gerald Green, though inconsistent, has shown a lot of flashes and has progressed a bit faster than most expected. Hey, he even brought some joy to the city of Boston when he took home the dunk trophy. Ryan Gomes has extended his range and become arguably the most consistent player on the team, for what he does. Kendrick Perkins has been exceptional the past two months. Also, look at the bright side: we now have a chance at getting one of the top 2 picks in the 2007 NBA draft, both slots consisting of serious franchise players.

Aside from all the individual progression and flashes, this team has left their hearts on the court every single night they were out there. From Paul Pierce to Kevinn Pinkney, every player on this team played hard every single night. They may be young, they may be raw, and they may have a lot to work on, but I’ll tell ya - they lay their hearts on the line for this organization every night and the chemistry level has actually increased much more than you’d think.

Yes, the season was dreadful for the most part, but I still support this team 100% (I haven’t missed a single game this season) and I can’t wait to see what tricks the front office has up their sleeve for this summer (like they promised us).

In closing, instead of sulking about how rough this season has been, let’s hang our heads high and do this one for Red: Let’s go Celtics!

“Big Al for the game… got it!” You gotta love those Mike Gorman’s calls, huh? It has been a while since we’ve been able to hear calls like that, so it’s even sweeter. People from the outside looking in will look at this game and say “It meant nothing, Miami had their 3rd string in and the game was meaningless.” That’s not the case with this team. A win is a win. We’ve lost the last 7, we need to end this season on a high note and get a win or two to close out the year. Like Donny Marshall said in the post game show: “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who was on the floor in crunch time, it’s all about the W or the L next to our name.” The kids came up big (especially Big Al, Delonte, and Rondo) and it was great to see this team get another victory.

One complaint: Why did Doc keep Telfair out on the court for so long in that 4th quarter? It was to the point where he missed about 3 three’s in a row and he obviously wasn’t gonna help us defensively, why was he in there for extended minutes at the end of the game? Telfair did an ok job before the 4th started, but Doc played him too much there. There is no reason why we should ever have Delonte, Rondo, and Telfair on the court at the same time, especially in crunch time.

Big Al Jefferson was an absolute monster, once again. He was great in the post offensively, he was controlling the boards as usual, he made some huge/key blocks, and he ended up nailing the game winning hook shot with 0.1 seconds left. The enthusiasm he showed after he hit that shot was awesome to see, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that pumped up/animated on the court. He does get pumped, but never like that. It was great to see, and once again, I’m incredibly grateful that we have Al.

Delonte West started off very poorly. In fact, 2 of his first 5 shots attempted were airballs. That didn’t do anything to his confidence, because he kept shooting. He eventually got into a groove and he was dynamite in the 2nd half. He hit a ton of big shots that cut into Miami’s lead and eventually added to our lead. Excellent night for D-West.

Rajon Rondo had a nice night as well. He got caught behind a couple screens and J-Will nailed some three’s, but hey… can you blame Rondo for getting caught behind a screen by Shaq? Speaking of Shaq, Rondo must have hit the deck about 5 times by running into Shaq alone. The kid is fearless, he didn’t stop going at Shaq at all. I’m sure he needed a hot bath when he got home, but he didn’t stop being aggressive at any point in the game. He made some great passes, especially in transition, and he was getting to the hoop nicely. He got to the line, made some “tweener shots,” and it was nice to see him take a couple jumpers again. Nice night for Rondo.

Ryan Gomes’ shot was off again, like it was in Orlando, but he was still effective. He helped out on the glass, he hit a big 3 and got a big offensive rebound, and he still played solid all-around fundamental basketball. That’s why he’s so valuable, he doesn’t need to hit his jumpers to be considered effective for that particular game. Not his best night offensively, but he played solid basketball and he helped the team out.

Perk handled the assignment of Shaq fairly well tonight. He didn’t get frustrated and lose his confidence, he didn’t get into foul trouble, he put his body on Shaq every possession and didn’t allow him to dominate when he was out there (although Shaq did have a very solid night), and he still rebounded the ball. Solid job from Perk, he did better than I thought he would.

The bench, as a whole, was pretty bad tonight. Powe was alright, he was aggressive, but Gerald was completely off for the second straight night in a row, Bassy couldn’t hit his open shots, and Ray barely played. Gerald needs to stop going for 20-30 for 2-3 straight games, then playing like this for 2 in a row. That’s just horrible. Also, Bassy did make a few nice kickouts, I’ll give him that (2 to Delonte, 1 to Gomes in the corner, I believe), but he needs to knock down those open opportunities! And once again, Bassy didn’t attack at all. All 5 of his shots were three’s, he didn’t take it to the basket once. That’s terrible.

• Al Jefferson: 20 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks, the GW hook on 9-13 FG, 2-2 FT

• Delonte West: 28 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block on 10-19 FG, 3-8 3FG, 5-5 FT

• Rajon Rondo: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists on 5-10 FG, 7-8 FT

• Ryan Gomes: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists on 2-9 FG, 1-3 3FG, 6-8 FT

• Kendrick Perkins: 2 points, 9 rebounds on 1-2 FG

• Leon Powe: 7 points, 1 rebound on 2-3 FG, 3-3 FT

• Sebastian Telfair: 3 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 1-5 FG (all 3’s)

• Gerald Green: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal on 1-9 FG, 1-7 3FG

• Allan Ray: 4 minutes

Next Game: Wednesday night (4/18/07) at home vs. Detroit. This is the last one, folks. It’s sad, but true. The Celtics’ season is officially over tomorrow night.

Interesting, after the Celtics lock up the 2nd worst spot, suddenly Al Jefferson is alright. Hmmm… Regardless, it was great to see the big fella back on the floor. He was dominant in the post, Orlando couldn’t do anything with him. Overall, this was a very solid effort from the team. It was a blow-out in the making, Orlando eventually build up an 18 point lead, but it isn’t over until Big Al sings. The Celtics just went on a surge in the 4th quarter, and we actually almost ran away with a victory. The Celtics played excellent help defense in that fourth quarter, as they did in the first quarter (Perkins/West, anyway), and they converted those stops into quick buckets. Had it not been for a couple mental mistakes late in the game (Delonte losing the ball out of bounds a broken play at the end of the game) mixed with hustle defense by Orlando and questionable officiating, the Celtics could have played spoiler. It was nice to see a great effort by the young guys, to say the least. That’s all we can ask for at this point.

Back to the broken play coming out of a timeout, I’m not quite sure what happened. It didn’t look like much of a play to begin with. Now, I’m sure half of the reason is the young players failed to execute the play, but at the same time you have to wonder if Doc sincerely drew up a good play to begin with. There was no movement. Allan Ray ran around in a circle while Rondo caught the inbounds pass. Rondo then dribbled over to the top right corner, and due to no movement by the rest of the Celtics on the floor, Rondo was forced to make a last resort drive to the basket. His shot was blocked, the play was completely unsuccessful. Was is more Doc’s fault for not drawing up a good play or was it more the players’ fault for not executing? My take: the Celtics never run a successful play in that situation this season, take that for what it’s worth.

Side Note: Congratulations to the Orlando Magic for clinching a playoff berth.

Well, Big Al Jefferson is back. He was absolutely dominant in the low post. Darko, Battie, or even Howard couldn’t stop him. Al proved right there why there is buzz around the league of people thinking Al Jefferson is right there with Dwight Howard. Jefferson’s post game is unreal, and he displayed pretty much all of it last night. Up-and-under’s, reverse layups, quick jab steps, hook shots, floaters, shot jumpers, you name it. Get used to it, folks, because he’s going to be doing this for a long time. Did I mention that he’s only 22?

Delonte West had himself a pretty solid night as well. He shot the ball fairly well, he picked his spots nicely, and he was aggressive going to the rim. Delonte isn’t intimidated by anybody, he’ll still take it strong to the basket if Dwight Howard is standing underneath it. Delonte did, however, make a very costly mistake in the rear end of the 4th quarter. A ball was passed to him, but he tried to “turn on the jets” before he actually gained control of the basketball. Therefore, the pass went behind him and out of bounds. Other than that play, Delonte had a very solid night. His help defense, grit, and attack mentality was huge for the C’s in this game.

Rajon Rondo had himself a nice night. He was aggressive as usual and he was disruptive on the defensive end as usual, but that’s not what was the most promising aspect of it. It was how he got into the lane at will and had the floater and the short jumper going for him. Rondo wasn’t hesitant with his shot tonight, and that’s big. He actually hit 3 or 4 pull-up jumpers. It’s all about confidence with Rondo’s jumper, and he had the confidence going for him in this one.

Perk did well at times, but not consistently throughout the whole game. In the first quarter, he was an animal defensively. He must have had 2 or 3 of his 4 blocks in the first 7 minutes of the game. He was moving well, he was bailing the perimeter players out when they got beat off the dribble by Hill/Nelson, and he was rebounding. In the 2nd and 3rd quarter, that kind of died down. In the 4th quarter, mainly in the last 4 minutes of the game, Perk really locked down again and gobbled up every loose ball that came his way. He came up big, and without the big fella dictating the defense down low, the Celtics would have lost by more than just 2 points.

Leon Powe did a good job off the bench. He was extremely active on the glass and he pulled down a couple “man’s rebounds” that really got my attention. The effort Leon brings on a day in and day out basis is phenomenal, and that alone will keep him in this league.

Ryan “Mr. Consistent” Gomes was pretty quiet in this one. His shot wasn’t falling and he lost confidence after he saw himself draw nothing but iron early on. Don’t be alarmed, I expect him to bounce back in Miami.

Gerald Green had an awful game. Gerald did have a stomach issue, so I’m sure he wasn’t as effective due to his illness, but there is still no excuse for him to pass up that many wide open shots. Tommy Heinsohn grunted every time Gerald passed a shot up, and that was a good 6-7 times. He caught the ball and waited for the defense to commit until he actually made his move. By that time, it was too late. He was also burned a few times on the defensive end, as he had trouble with both Ariza and Turkoglu. Gerald finally ended up heading to the locker room with roughly 30 seconds remaining in the game, let’s hope he feels better and is ready to go in Miami.

Allan Ray and Sebastian Telfair had terrible games as well. Ray’s blatant “rookie mistakes” in this past week have been very noticeable, especially the past 2 games. On Friday, we all know how he made two horrible decisions to close out the game; tonight was no different. There was one possession that sticks out, where the shot clock was winding down and Allan was just dribbling in place on the left corner for about 7-8 straight seconds. In the meantime, Sebastian Telfair was shouting and literally jumping around calling for the ball (the closest defender in front of Telfair was about 10 feet away, mind you). Ray decided not to swing the ball, and he decided the wait until the last second to throw up a shot. Result: air ball.

Sebastian Telfair, on the other hand, wasn’t aggressive enough, once again. It baffles me that this kid fails to be aggressive offensively, especially after he had a great game in Indiana due to his aggressiveness. You’d think that that night would have triggered something to click in his head, but it hasn’t happened. He’s aggressive one night, and he’s not for the next 3, then he’s somewhat aggressive one more night, and not the next 2-3 games. He needs to play attack basketball every night if he wants to make it in this league.

• Al Jefferson: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block on 14-20 FG, 0-2 FT

• Delonte West: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals on 7-17 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-5 FT

• Rajon Rondo: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals on 5-9 FG, 6-7 FT

• Kendrick Perkins: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 blocks on 3-4 FG

• Ryan Gomes: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal on 3-10 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-2 FT

• Leon Powe: 3 points, 5 rebounds (4 offensive) on 1-4 FG, 1-1 FT

• Gerald Green: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist on 1-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-3 FT

• Allan Ray: 3 points, 3 assists, 1 steal on 1-4 FG, 1-2 3FG

• Sebastian Telfair: 0-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 7 minutes[/color]

Next Game: Tonight (4/16/07) @ Miami at 7:30 pm ET.