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All-Star Blog 2010
Note: Opinions expressed herein are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Boston Celtics.
Sunday, February 14 - All-Star Game
12:39 a.m. - East holds of West in a nail-biter
In front of a record crowd of more than 108,000 people, the Eastern Conference All-Stars held off their Western Conference counterparts for a 141-139 win in the 59th annual All-Star game.
The record crowd packed into Cowboys Stadium and watched a game that came down to the very last shot, a failed 3-point attempt by Carmelo Anthony that would have given the West squad a win.
The C's had three players in the game, the most of any team in the league, but two of them requested minimal minutes to help them rest for the second half of the season. Kevin Garnett played only 13 minutes and scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists. One night after winning the 3-Point Shootout, Paul Pierce scored eight points in only 12 minutes of playing time. Pierce was one of only two East reserves to have a positive plus/minus rating in the game, along with Derrick Rose.
The one Celtic who did get substantial playing time tonight was Rajon Rondo. He played 20 minutes and scored four points to go along with five assists and a steal in 20 minutes.
The C's will reconvene in Sacramento to begin the second half of the season at 10 p.m. Tuesday night against the Kings. That game will be the first of four consecutive West Coast contests that will wrap up Boston's season long five-game road trip.
- Marc D'Amico
4:34 p.m. - Dallas Shakes Off the Hangover
With All-Star Saturday Night over with, All-Star Sunday only has really one event, and that's the Main Event - The All-Star Game. And it's a good thing, because after the Saturday Night's on the court fesitivies wrap up, it turns over to the party scene at All-Star. The result? A hungover crowd at the game Sunday night usually doesn't get into the game until the 4th quarter, and only if it's a tight game.
That said, crowd size alone should have Sunday's game buzzing, with over 90,000 expected in attendance. No word on what the capacity will be tonight but a number north of 100,000 can't be ruled out. We'll see what the final tally is later tonight.
In the meantime, it's about time to make the voyage to the new stadium, so we'll check in with you from Cowboy Stadium once we get situated.
- Peter Stringer
Saturday, February 13 - Jam Session, Practice and All-Star Saturday Night
11:29 p.m. - Pierce Wins 3-Point Shootout
Larry Bird made the original Long Distance Shootout famous in Dallas in 1986. Paul Pierce reclaimed the event for the Celtics tonight with his victory 24 years later.
Pierce posted a 17 in the first round (placing him in a tie with Chauncey Billups) and a contest-high 20 in the final round to claim the trophy, and then spent the next half-hour crowing to anyone who would listen to the same line he's been using after practice for weeks. He feels like he's one of the best shooters in NBA history. And he's only half-joking.
Pierce has certainly hit some big shots in his career, and is known as a clutch scorer, but doesn't typically come up in the conversation when you're talking about the top shooters in the league. The Truth wanted to make a point of changing that this year. He openly campaigned to team personnel and in the media to get a spot in the contest, and based on his impressive three-point shooting percentage this year, earned a well-deserved spot.
He then backed up all the talk by taking home the trophy. And we'll probably never hear the end of it... But even moments after winnning the contest, on the way to his press conference, Pierce told me, "I want the gold ball next," referring to another Larry O'Brien NBA Championship tropy.
- Peter Stringer
7:15 p.m. - Rondo falls in H.O.R.S.E.
Rajon Rondo didn't win the H.O.R.S.E competition on Saturday evening, but he did accomplish one thing: he put on an impressive outside shooting display that fans have yet to see from him. Sure, they were unguarded shots, but for all those who questioned that his fundamentals or considered his technique flawed, it was hard to argue with him as he drained shot after shot from downtown.
The contest itself, though, fell a bit flat, as it lacked the creativity that we've come to expect in recent years given what the dunk contest has provided over the last few All-Stars.
2:36 p.m. - Practice/Access Recap
Saturday's practice was brief, as expected, with East Coach Stan Van Gundy running the team through some basic sets of "dummy offense" as Doc would call it (running plays without defenders) just to have a few plays to call when he gets bored on the sideline tomorrow night.
With the practice over, media stormed the court, and the Celtics' three players took seats at center court on the courtside table and were swarmed in short order. We barely heard anything from Rondo and KG as they were pretty well engulfed by journalists and assorted hangers-on with credentials.
And then, out of nowhere, McLovin showed up.
Decked out in Celtics green, McLovin's been to a few games over the last few years and seems to be something of a Celtics fan. Anyway, he jumped in on David Aldridge's interview with Pierce, Garnett and Rondo, and talked about who he would give the ball to at the end of the game. He referenced Rondo's ball fake move and seemed to be at least reasonably knowledgeable about the team.
After that, it was about time for media access to wrap up, and our boys skipped out early, so we checked in on some other All-Stars. We asked Kevin Durant about his chances of winning the scoring title, and he said he doesn't think he's got a shot. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade was talking about his impending free agency, and what it means to himself and LeBron James. As for James, he's apparently still talking about switching his number to #6 next season. That should move a few jerseys at the NBA Store, huh?
9:31 a.m. - Practice and More Media Access
Saturday is jam-packed with events. Today starts with open practices and an additional media availability for each All-Star Team, so we'll be heading out to cover that momentarily. Today's session is the closest thing the NBA offers to Super Bowl Media Day when there's just a scrum of reporters from all over the globe dumped onto a basketball court with 25 or so of the best basketball players in the world.
And much like Super Bowl Media Day (or whatever the NFL actually calls it), you get questions that range anywhere from ridiculous to the sublime, and everywhere in between. Makes for some uncomfortable moments when the language barrier create misunderstandings and awkward moments, not to mention some genuine moments of unadulterated comedy.
So yeah, it's something to look forward to. We'll of course be tweeting this morning and then will check in with a blog update later on.
As for the schedule of events tonight, here's the breakdown: Rondo will be the first Celtic to show off his skills when he takes part in the H.O.R.S.E. competition at 7 p.m. tonight on TNT. That event will be followed by All-Star Saturday night at 8 p.m., where Paul Pierce will look to take home the crown in the Foot Locker 3-Point Shootout. Finally, all three players will be set to take the court at 8 p.m. Sunday night in the NBA's 59th All-Star game, which will also be televised on TNT.
Friday, February 12 - Arrival and Media Day
All-Star 2010 is already a little different than the last three we've been to, with snow on the ground making for a decidedly different atmosphere. Things are moving a little slower, everyone seems a little behind schedule (OK, maybe that's not out of the ordinary for All-Star Weekend) and there seems to be less media here. Perhaps travel difficulties kept some media from arriving in town. For those who had Thursday flights to Dallas, they may never make it here at all.
Celtics.com arrived on Friday morning just in time for the Eastern Conference media day, and with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo all holding court, there was a bit of jumping around. We started with KG, who took the standard questions about his health (and made it clear that he had better things to talk about, like rooting for Paul Pierce in the 3-Point Shootout, seeing his All-Star peers, etc.), and he was also grilled on the recent trade rumors that have been floating around in the media concerning teammate Ray Allen.
Garnett told reporters that he learned at an early age that trade rumors are part of the business, and to that end, he added that he's not a G.M., and that he likes the team the way it is. "I don't like change," Garnett said bluntly, dismissing ideas that the Celtics need a shakeup before the trade deadline.
Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo had some fun with some out-of-town reporters, telling them that he plans to release a rap CD in the coming weeks that he's been working on for the last six years. (Who does he think he is, Axl Rose? That's about as long as Chinese Democracy...) Afterward, Rondo had a laugh with the Boston reporters, telling us, "People think I don't like talking to the media..."
As for Pierce, he said that he's been playing through injuries like the ones he's battled this season throughout most of his career, and joked that Danny Ainge never wants his guys to play in the All-Star Game. But he also told reporters that he thinks that the Celtics are still a "major threat" in the Eastern Conference despite the injuries and third-quarter woes in the games leading up into the All-Star Break.
- Peter Stringer
