News and Notes

With no Patriots game today, I decided to focus on the latest Boston Celtics news as they closed out camp (I know, I know -- Big Surprise).

I don't know about anyone else -- but I am feeling really good about this Celtics team this year. As I have previously mentioned, I love the Delonte West signing (and that seems to be paying dividends) -- This from Celticsblog.com:

All accounts are that Delonte West is making the most of his second chance. He's been the last one out of the gym and has the full backing of his teammates. Peter May has a good article on him with the following quote from Delonte himself.

In return engagement with the Boston Celtics, Delonte West finds peace on the parquet - ESPN Boston

"That's what happens when you make bad decisions off the court," he said. "It should be a lesson to a lot of younger players because that's how it is. You're judged by the decisions you make. It's up to me to prove that maybe everything you read isn't true. It's a day-at-a-time process. That's what it is. It's on me to prove I am a good person and a great guy, and if that's true, it shouldn't be that hard. I feel blessed to have this opportunity and I want to make the best of it.

The Herald's Mark Murphy also had this nice piece on Delonte trying to turn everything around, and proving it on the court.

And Shaq has reportedly had his best camp in years according to this ESPN.com report:

• Robinson, Shaq earn high praise: As further indication that their joking stops when the whistle blows, Rivers singled out both Shaquille O'Neal and Nate Robinson for their strong camps. In regards to the latter, Rivers noted, "We joke about it, but he knows when to be Nate, and he knows when to be a Celtic. That's really important for him and it's important for our team."
• Shaq runs with the first team: While Shaq appears indifferent about whether he ultimately starts the season on the bench (he actually seems to be embracing that thought) or whether he gets the starting nod over Jermaine O'Neal, he actually spent most of the final two days with the first unit. "I know he's playing his butt off. The last two days, [Shaq has] been with the first team. Just watching what he's doing, he doesn't care, he just wants to play and help the team. You can see, he really wants to prove he can still play, No. 1. And he just wants to win."

Also, along those lines, the team seems to be having fun together, which is not always easy when you have this many Alpha Dogs on one team. Throughout camp, Shaq and Neo-Nate -- the biggest and smallest guys on the team, seem to be leading the good feelings in camp as evidenced by these two videos Nate posted on Twitter:

Here Nate wins a bet by dunking on Shaq:

Winning a bet

Next, check out Nate trying to guard Delonte West while wearing Shaq's size 25 sneakers as Pierce eggs him on

Guarding Delonte

But it's not all fun and games. While Nate seems to enjoy poking fun, he reportedly has also seen the light, and knows when it is business, and when it is OK to screw around.

Another good sign has been the play of KG, who apparently is playing back down in the post -- a place he seemed to shun most of last year. This is a call out from the previously liked article from the Boston Herald:

“If we had that post game that he gave us today last year, we would have been a remarkable basketball team,” said Rivers. “That’s where you can see it’s the confidence part. Last year, I don’t think he ever had the confidence to go to the post. He didn’t like it down there. This year he wants it down there and he’s being a factor. We thought about trapping him today, which we never do. But it just got to a point where, if he can have a practice game like he did today, we’ll be very good.

“He’s rested, he’s more confident,” he said. “I thought last year he was never confident in his play because of his body. It was great for us. He’s leading the floor, he’s aggressive in the post, he’s calling post plays for himself now, so that’s good for us.”

“I wish he would take some breaks, honestly, and I told him that today, that I wish he would take a minute. But he looks great. Today, at one point he was unguardable.”

Oh, and just in case you were wondering...Rondo is still very confident in his abilities. Here is the Globe's take as well.

In a really stupid piece ... Mazz has the Celtics as the most likely Boston team to win a title. So why link to it? Well I like to share.

That's it for tonight. As pre-season kicks off...I should be more diligent with the Angle. Look for more consistent posting in the coming days and weeks.

One last note: While I know I have been slacking in all aspects of the blog lately...check out the new quote of note (for those who know my Mom...you will find it funny) as well as Getty's Link. It may be a little bit late, but Seth Meyers at the ESPYs this year was tremendous.