# GAME 57: Celtics (28-28) at Phoenix (43-13)



## agoo (Jun 1, 2003)

Tonight is the first real test of the second Antoine Walker era as number 88 leads the Celtics into a game iwth the Phoenix Suns.

Discuss.


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

agoo101284 said:


> Tonight is the first real test of the second Antoine Walker era as number 88 leads the Celtics into a game iwth the Phoenix Suns.
> 
> Discuss.



Wow, this is about the same as your usual threads....or at least the part I read about it. Good job.


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

Nash is most likely out, so I think the Celts can take a close one. Antoine has another big game.


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## TONYALLEN42 (Jan 24, 2005)

predictions:
Pierce 24pts
Walker 20 pts
Raef 14pts
West 14pts
Allen 9pts

final score 115-105 celtics!!!!!!!!! 

anyone else have predictions?


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

aquaitious said:


> Wow, this is about the same as your usual threads....or at least the part I read about it. Good job.


Now we don't want to discourage him. 

Good job, agoo. :wink:


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

A win here in Phoenix would be HUGE for the Celtics. Nash or no Nash it would be a big win on the road.


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

looking good early, delonte w/ 6 ,18-8


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

This game will be won by Phoenix.. The Ref's are calling stupid calls right now.
Perk got a T from the bench lol..
Stoudemire just pulled Delonte down by the head while he was on his way down. They got Walker with a T lol .. This is crazy.

4 T's thus far .. With 4 mins left in the 1st

PdP


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

1) The refs are horrible, wtf is that?
2) If Blount plays another second tonight, I'll puke.


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

aquaitious said:


> 2) If Blount plays another second tonight, I'll puke.



LMAO .. I could've broken anything in my entire house when Blount was in the game. Every single time he touched the ball it was a TO.. Big Al done good while he was in there. Keep Blount in the BENCH DOC !

PdP


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## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

I have to say watching the Celtics after the trade, I have to say there's too almost too many talented offensive players on the Celts. The fact they're playing this well together already, is showing signs of a promising run down the stretch. As much as it pains me to say.. I'm liking what I'm seeing from the Celtics.


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

62-55 C's at the half


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## JRose5 (May 4, 2003)

Up 62-55 at the half, not bad at all.
Walker 13,5, and 3 on 5-8 shooting.

Delonte West with 11 first half points, thats pretty impressive.


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

This is amazing me lol.. 
This is the best the C's have played all year IMO.
Toine is really talented. I never saw he was this good when he was with Boston last.
If the C's pull out of AZ with a win. I'll be very impressed. 

I forgot to say, The connection with Toine and Paul brought me to my feet.
I love this !!

PdP


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## PatBateman (May 26, 2003)

Based on what I am seeing so far tonight, I am SO HAPPY we did not trade Marcus Banks. 

Another thought is that we have to make sure Perkins and AJ get a bit more minutes, each need about 15 a game.


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## PatBateman (May 26, 2003)

PhearDaPierce said:


> This is the best the C's have played all year IMO.
> 
> 
> PdP


agree 100%


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

The thing with West that was evident his last two years at Saint Joseph's is, that he has a killer mid-range game. He can just score and score some more when he gets into a spot. He's crafty too. I just love the kid.

I remember some A-10 fans telling me, he should return to Saint Joe's when I said he'd be a first round pick. Glad to see Boston made the right decision. Danny Ainge has an eye for talent.


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## JRose5 (May 4, 2003)

Agreed HKF, I'm a big West fan, it's good to see him getting some PT.
That said, I'm also a huge fan of Marcus Banks, so I love the look of the C's backcourt.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

JRose5 said:


> Agreed HKF, I'm a big West fan, it's good to see him getting some PT.
> That said, I'm also a huge fan of Marcus Banks, so I love the look of the C's backcourt.


Well Marcus Banks is my guy and I think Danny is going to keep Banks and West, because honestly they complement each other so well. Banks is the speed demon and West is the silent assassin picking his spots. Perfect change of pace PG combo. I like what they are doing, especially with Banks' improving perimeter shooting.

This Celtic team offensively is becoming something to watch. Oh and I can't forget, please someone fire Danny Ainge.


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## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

West is playing phenomenal, watching this is just proving that he's more of a PG than Jameer Nelson is, and when he's shooting (especially from the perimeter) expect that shot to drop. And then when they make a substitution Marcus Banks comes in and hounds Joe Johnson for 12 seconds, which lead to a Phoenix timeout.

The Celtics are going to be a tough out, watching this game makes me want to make some updated playoff predictions. What's standing out to me is how they're moving the ball, and how the Celts are attacking the glass.

Danny Ainge showed his vision by taking Marcus Banks back from the Lakers when Gary Payton didn't report initially, now after trading Payton they don't need him to come back.


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## ZWW (Jan 17, 2004)

Wow, Antoine's game tonight. I smell a triple-double.


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## ZWW (Jan 17, 2004)

Thanks for the insights guys, I can tell this game has been one of the Celtics best this year evident by the boxscore and reading about Walker and West's play. Ainge might make some big headscratching trades, but he has an eye for talent; both his drafts will come out great for Boston in the end.


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## schub (Jul 13, 2003)

Pierce hurt?


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

what a block by banks


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

Marcus Banks!!! What a freakin block, holy crap. 

And schub, Pierce just banged his knee he's back in now.


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## banner17 (Jun 28, 2003)

Marcus with the block of the year - Incredible. Tied 4 mins to go, hopefully we can pull this one out.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

A couple of costly mistakes from the Celtics young backcourt in the last 4 minutes of the game.

Walker has been great down the stretch.


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

schub said:


> Pierce hurt?



??? hes played 41 minz


edit: dint see lanteri's response


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## banner17 (Jun 28, 2003)

Overtime - toine' potential game winner rims out


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

banner17 said:


> Overtime - toine' potential game winner rims out



crap


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

tony allen zero minz? is that a misprint in the box score?


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

Tonny Allen is hurt. His ankle is still really bad. He's on day-to-day.


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## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

schub said:


> Pierce hurt?


He came back in and he's been playing pretty good down the stretch especially on the boards. The young Celtics guards have made some mistakes near the end of the fourth but that's expected with their youth.

Marcus Banks is plain evil on defense, that block on Steven Hunter was amazing, though you have to ask Steven Hunter why a 6'11 guy would go up that soft. This Celtics team has something, even if they lose this game proved a lot.


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

Ricky Davis w/ a huge steal!


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

I'm sorry for doubting Delonte West.

That is all.

A game-breaking three, a huge offensive rebound, and a great hustle play to secure the victory.

How about that Ricky Davis pass, then steal?


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

Hell F"n Yea Delonte U Da Man


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

Having Walker back to help Pierce and Ricky is amazing i am salivating


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## PatBateman (May 26, 2003)

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

Yes Walker is 12-32 but its everything else he has brought back to the table, i cant believe this im so happy


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## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

I'm updating my favorite player list, Delonte West (a player I've always liked) has just cemented himself as spot as one of my favorites on that play right there. He had the rebound lost it, and regained it.

Danny Ainge knows what he's doing, is all I can say.


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## JRose5 (May 4, 2003)

Monster game from Walker.


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

Is it just me or were Pierce and D'Antoni jawing about something at each other there? Seemed like Pierce said somethin to make him fly off the handle heh..

Nevertheless....

Great win for the Celtics. This game right here is the kind of basketball that we need to play every night. If we play like this every night there's no telling how the Celtics will do in the rest of the 2nd half. Delonte West is the man.


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## banner17 (Jun 28, 2003)

What a game!

Walker, Banks, Pierce, West, Davis all played huge!


I still can't get over that Marcus Banks Block!


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

The game was awesome all the way through.
The block and Defense by Marcus
The lights out shooting by West
The leading by Walker and Pierce
The brains of Ricky Davis.. 

Pierce and the coach of the suns were talking to each other during the free throws lol.. It's untelling what was said. Whatever it was, The guy just went CRAZY lol .. Good game C's..

No weak Celtics !!!

PdP


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

PhearDaPierce said:


> Pierce and the coach of the suns were talking to each other during the free throws lol.. It's untelling what was said. Whatever it was, The guy just went CRAZY lol .. Good game C's..
> 
> No weak Celtics !!!
> 
> PdP


LOL. I'm glad I wasn't the only one that saw that. I thought I was imagining things haha.


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

Play of the year:
BANKS BLOCKING A 7 FOOTER. UNBELIEVABLE. WOW, then he had a hand in Johnson's potential game winner, another block. He's been huge.

Walker had a horrible shooting night, but all of his misses came from 2 feet around the rim. Someone blow the wistle, the guy has been hit at least 10 times.

What a great game. 

I hope Pierce isn't seriously hurt, he was still limping in OT. The good thing is, we'll probably sign another guy soon, and Reed is comming off his miracle recovery from some knee injury. 

Should add some depth.


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

BTW, does West know how to miss? Not that I'm complaining, just asking.


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## ZWW (Jan 17, 2004)

Does anyone have a video of the Banks block!?!


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

Well my question now is, how do we feel about Gary Payton? I know it's just been a couple of games, but do we want to see Banks and West keep getting a big amount of minutes every night, or do we want to bring back the vet?


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## goNBAjayhawks (May 3, 2003)

not only was pierce jawing with there coach but him and Q were throwing in cheap shots after some whistles, and pierce also did the little head tap thing, the suns announcers said there is some history between the two. Awesome game, i liked the body language and performance of the players, what a block by banks.


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## banner17 (Jun 28, 2003)

Wow that's a tough question. I do know that I want to see both Banks and West get at least 25 mins a game. I miss Gary, but.....


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

Lanteri said:


> Well my question now is, how do we feel about Gary Payton? I know it's just been a couple of games, but do we want to see Banks and West keep getting a big amount of minutes every night, or do we want to bring back the vet?


They've played great, much better then I expected and I've been telling you guys that we need to get rid of Payton, BUT it's just too great a oppertunity to miss to have Payton, Ricky, Paul, Toine and Raef on the same team. Not to mention with Banks, West, Allen, Jefferson, Blount and Perkins backing them up.


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## ZWW (Jan 17, 2004)

Another notable: Blount had 8 boards in 14 minutes.


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

ZWW said:


> Another notable: Blount had 8 boards in 14 minutes.


He should have had at least 20, they all fell in his hand. lol.


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## ZWW (Jan 17, 2004)

aquaitious said:


> He should have had at least 20, they all fell in his hand. lol.


Hehe, that figures. I read the stat box anyway.

So does anyone have a video of that Banks block? I wanna see! I wanna see!


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## LuckyAC (Aug 12, 2004)

Wow, Walker with 24 shots in the half.


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

LuckyAC said:


> Wow, Walker with 24 shots in the half.



...


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## goNBAjayhawks (May 3, 2003)

But the shots he took you cant complain about, miss or make, and he made the ones he had too.


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

Yeah they were all good shots, a lot of the misses lead to putbacks. He was leading the fast break and getting into the post, his shots just werent dropping. Great job by Walker though.


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## Bsktbllplayr25 (Feb 10, 2005)

i think this is a really big win for the celtics against a very good suns team, and the fact that it came in overtime adds more to it. i was a little scared in the 4th quarter when the suns took the lead back for the first time since it was 52-51, but then amare fouled out and that helped a little bit. marcus had 2 huge blocks including the crazy one against the 7 footer, that was insane, delonte hit some big shots, and walker was clutch inside and driving to the hoops. i like the looks of this team now with antoine back and going into this big homestand hopefully we can pull away from the rest of the division. i'm also really looking forward to delonte playing more, he has shown some great stuff so far and i like where it's going.

on another note that shot by joe johnson at the end of the 3rd was crazy, and i'm suprised that it went it like that. but luckily the game come down to that deciding it.


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## goNBAjayhawks (May 3, 2003)

Agreed, his shots come off soft around the basket frequently, on top of him running, pierce also ran the floor well and didnt look like he jogged up behind the team at all, he even pushed it himself. I really enjoyed watching one of there rarely televised games (im in AZ). I think we should still try to pick up payton for the right price, West and Banks have been golden, but they are young and Gary would be the safe bet. Its not like gary was getting 40 min, he gives us more depth. Regardless the team looks like its clicking and preping to have a strong 2nd half and playoff run.


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## banner17 (Jun 28, 2003)

I really wish I could be at the Fleet Center (or whatever its going to be called on Wednesday) to welcome antoine back home. The guy just loves being a Celtic.


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## Fenway (Sep 3, 2004)

Nice win. Man that was exciting. Walker sure fought for those offensive rebounds. Marcus Banks should be the PG and they should use Delonte West to score.


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## agoo (Jun 1, 2003)

I unfortunately missed a lot of this game, but I did catch the end of the fourth and the overtime period. That was an amazing effort by our guys. I think we really saw what Antoine brings back to this roster and I really wonder what we would have done against the Kidd-Kenyon-RJ-Kittles Nets if we had the guys around Walker and Pierce like we have now. 

I also feel like this showed us that we don't need Gary Payton like most of us (myself included) thought we did. Banks and West can handle PG duties, but with two of Walker, Pierce, and Davis on the floor most of the time, there is no problem with releiving them of the pressure if need be. I also like that Doc has put Walker on the block and seems to be running a lot of the offense through Antoine down there.

This game, even without Nash for the game and Amare for most of it, was a huge victory for the young Celtics in a hostile environment.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I don't like getting too excited over a team's performance in one game in particular, but I was very impressed with Boston's effort tonight. It was a great team effort (Except when Pierce stepped in and took the Technical Foul free throw away from Ricky D), and the role players made big plays, and the stars made the even bigger plays. Pierce and Walker once again showed why they are a great duo, although there seems to be a bit of a power struggle late in games (Power struggle as in which one of them gets the ball in the clutch). 



Oh, and Marcus Banks and Delonte West each picked up a new fan. I loved the way they played.


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## Fenway (Sep 3, 2004)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> I don't like getting too excited over a team's performance in one game in particular, but I was very impressed with Boston's effort tonight. It was a great team effort (Except when Pierce stepped in and took the Technical Foul free throw away from Ricky D), and the role players made big plays, and the stars made the even bigger plays. Pierce and Walker once again showed why they are a great duo, although there seems to be a bit of a power struggle late in games (Power struggle as in which one of them gets the ball in the clutch).
> 
> Here we go again, don't people like you get bored trying to create trouble where it doesn't exist?
> 
> ...


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Fenway said:


> KokoTheMonkey said:
> 
> 
> > I don't like getting too excited over a team's performance in one game in particular, but I was very impressed with Boston's effort tonight. It was a great team effort (Except when Pierce stepped in and took the Technical Foul free throw away from Ricky D), and the role players made big plays, and the stars made the even bigger plays. Pierce and Walker once again showed why they are a great duo, although there seems to be a bit of a power struggle late in games (Power struggle as in which one of them gets the ball in the clutch).
> ...


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## Fenway (Sep 3, 2004)

It is obvious you can read a box score but why don't you learn to decipher it before you make comments?


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## Piston-PiercePower (Nov 20, 2004)

Maybe if we keep pulling down wins like this it will encourage Payton to come back... I mean not that we're going to be that title contender he's looking for, but it looks like we can win games now. 

Hope I'm not speaking too soon.


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> Fenway said:
> 
> 
> > Trying to cause trouble by commenting on how well your team played? Chill out guy.
> ...


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

Paul and Toine fighting over who takes the big shot ? lol..
Catch the replay on FSNNE @ 12....
looked to me as if Paul got it in Toines hands and backed away.


PdP


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## amd pwr (Jun 24, 2003)

I missed the game but how did Blount get 8 rebounds in 14 minutes


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

amd pwr said:


> I missed the game but how did Blount get 8 rebounds in 14 minutes


Guess he was in the right spot lol .. 
Doc needs to begin to decreasing Blounts PT and start getting Big Al in there.
He's done really good while in the game. Why is he watching Blount make mistakes from the bench ?

PdP


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## whiterhino (Jun 15, 2003)

THE GOOD: That was the most fun game I've watched this season, everyone was running and playing hard D and playing with intensity. The team really likes each other...and it was cool to see Toine already looking out for young guys like Delonte and Al...nice stuff, great win..fun basketball.

THE BAD: NOT being negative here but just some stuff to point out. Al & Perk are not playing :sad: Al got 6 minutes and Perk got 2 and that was with only 9 guys available and with Blount only playing what 14 minutes. Al & Perk have to get more minutes...I know it was the Suns but against the Jazz Perk didn't play at all and Al didn't play much. I think we are in a playoff push now but I still hope those guys can get some play. 

THE OTHER: Delonte and Marcus have done EXTREMELY well, I am very happy with the play of both of them HOWEVER, this is regular season...in the playoffs it's a different game. GP would still help us here, the Celts are going to add a vet point, I don't want Kenny Anderson, I want GP...a team with GP, Paul and Toine and a GREAT supporting cast could actually be scary come playoff time. 
Also, and before I say this I DO THINK WEST IS BETTER THAN THESE GUYS but lets not forget....Tony Delk, JR Bremer, and Mike James all had pretty sweet shots too.....I want to see the assists out of Delonte....I think that will come....but I don't want to annoint him the PG of the Century until I see that.....but I DO LOVE what I've seen so far.


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