Delonte West to Start at PG as Nuggets Host Celtics
Coming into tonight’s game, Sebastian Telfair had been the only Celtic to start all 25 games this season. That streak will be snapped tonight when Delonte West takes his place on the starting five, as the Celtics take on Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets. There are no health concerns with Telfair, rather disappointments and inconsistency.
Shira Springer reports tonight that…
“Doc Rivers decided to make a dramatic lineup change for tonight’s game against Denver, inserting Delonte West as the starting point guard in place of Sebastian Telfair. Rivers believes West will perform better at both ends, though he sounded particularly dissatisfied with Telfair’s defensive effort recently…. …‘‘It’s a disappointment to me because I was not expecting to play like this,’’ said Telfair. ‘‘I don’t have a reason why I’m playing like this ….. sometimes there were plays where you can look and say that’s bad defense. I look at tapes of the games and I feel I’m playing good on defense.’’….. I’m going to play through [my offensive troubles] and continue to take shots when I’ve got them. I hope it puts some fire to me.’’
That makes tonight’s lineup… Delonte West, Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and Al Jefferson.
Let’s hope this is enough to take advantage of an undermanned Nuggets team, who will be without League scoring leader Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith — both of whom are serving suspensions for their roles in a brawl with the New York Knicks last weekend. Marcus Camby is also sidelined with a fractured ring finger on his shooting hand.
For more on the game, please check out tonight’s game thread!
76ers Come to Boston to Take on the Celtics
The Philadelphia 76ers are coming into Boston tonight, hoping to take advantage of a Boston lineup that does not include Paul Pierce. Pierce will miss the next two to three weeks with what is described as a stress reaction in his foot.
Tonight’s game starts at 8PM, and can be seen on FSN New England — who will have Greg Dickerson for color commentary while Tommy Heinsohn nurses his ailing back through the holidays.
Pierce Out for a Two Weeks + with “Stress Reaction”
According to WEEI radio out of Boston, Paul Pierce will miss the “next few weeks” including the team’s difficult upcoming West Coast road trip with what is being described as a “stress reaction”. Pierce was seen at practice today with a boot on as well as with crutches.
According to Greg Lee of the Boston Globe…
“Frank Dell’Apa reports that Celtics captain Paul Pierce was diagnosed this morning with a stress reaction in his left foot and is expected to miss at least two weeks of games for the Celtics. Pierce observed practice while on crutches, his left foot in a black-colored protective boot.
“It has been bothering me the past week and I just couldn’t deal with it any more,” Pierce said. “I need to stay off it for a couple weeks and see how it feels. There is pretty much no treatment for it, so I just have to rest and see what happens.”
The injury affected Pierce as he failed to attempt a shot in the final seconds of the Celtics’ 96-95 loss to Golden State on Wednesday night, according to coach Doc Rivers. Pierce will miss Friday’s game against Philadelphia and will not accompany the team on a road trip scheduled to start next week in Denver. ”
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Delonte Wins Tommy Award, as Warriors Snap C’s Winning Streak
Delonte West turned up his efforts in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game against the Warriors, but it was the costly mistakes of Paul Pierce that cost the Celtics a chance for their sixth straight win.
The Celtics lacked the interior efforts that have been evident in the previous 5 games in the win streak. Perhaps more importantly, the team played sloppy as they turned the ball over 20 times… 17 in the first half alone.
Paul Pierce led the team with his 27 point effort, but also committed 4 turnovers. Delonte West pulled down 4 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, had 2 steals and 1 block while committing just 1 turnover. In his 33 minutes of play, Delonte West score 10 points off the bench while also hustling to make big plays to help the Celtics get back into the game in the second half.
The Golden State Warriors Come to Town
The last time Golden State and Boston played, it was the Warriors who won at home by the final score of 111 to 109. Celtics fans hope that the home team will win once again, as it means the Celtics would extend their winning streak to 6 games as well as increase their Atlantic Division lead.
Golden State comes into tonight’s game having lost three straight. They now have a 12-14 record, 7 games behind the division leading Phoenix Suns.
For more on tonight’s game, check out the following game previews…
Yahoo Sports Preview
Celtics.com Preview
And finally, be sure to swing by the discussion board for tonight’s game thread!