Despite the Guarantee, Delonte is Sidelined with Flu in C’s Loss
Delonte West was limited in tonight’s loss to the Pacers, and ended up playing just 12 minutes as a result of flu like symptoms. After coming out of the locker room at halftime, Delonte was shown on the bench in his warm ups wearing an expression of discomfort for those used to seeing the third year guard committed to the game at hand.
Unfortunately, Delonte was limited after essentially guaranteeing a win for the Celtics tonight. After the game, Jermaine O’Neal commented on Delonte’s guarantee:
“When players like Delonte come in and guarantee wins, it’s a motivator,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t really see him at all in the second half. It’s a hard way to guarantee a victory when you have the flu. Don’t put your team out there bad if you’re not going to be out there to help them.”
While I understand where Jermaine is coming from on this, I think it’s tough to forecast when you’ll end up feeling nauseous. It’d be one thing if Delonte’s character or commitment were ever questioned — but clearly West brings an enormous amount of pride and determination into every game he plays.
While I’m sure that sounds like I’m being a homer, I’m sure many Pacers’ fans could say the same about O’Neal’s commitment to the team, to the game, and to his nightly contributions.
With the 103-96 loss to the Pacers, the Celtics have now lost twelve straight games. The C’s will return home tomorrow night to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a 7:30PM game at the TD BankNorth Garden.
Celtics Take on the Pacers Tonight in Indiana
Delonte West and the Boston Celtics are on the road tonight to take on the new-look Indiana Pacers. Back on January 17th, the Indiana Pacers entered an eight-player deal with the Golden State Warriors. The Pacers received from the Warriors forwards Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and guard Keith McLeod in exchange for forwards Al Harrington and Josh Powell and guards Stephen Jackson and Sarunas Jasikevicius.
The Celtics are hoping that tonight is the night they snap their now 11 game skid. Coach Doc Rivers is not pulling any punches either, telling the fans and media exactly how it is…
“At some point, we’re going to win a game,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Losing has to bother you enough that you get so (angry) that you do something about it. I understand they’ve got talent and all that stuff. But at some point, we have to demonstrate it.”
A large part of tonight’s success will depend on how well Delonte West plays for the Celtics. In the past six games, West is averaging 20 points and 6.7 assists. Unfortunately, the Celtics will need key contributions for others tonight — most notably Al Jefferson, who will have to contend with the familiar foe of Jermaine O’Neal.
Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00PM, so tune in a half hour earlier than normal. For more on tonight’s game, be sure to check out the Celtics.com preview, the Yahoo! Sports preview, and our own game thread here on the Delonte.com forum.
Delonte West Logs Double Double in Celtics 11th Straight Loss
Delonte West played a team high 41 minutes, led the team in scoring and assists and only committed one turnover — but the Celtics still went on to lose their 11th straight game.
Shooting 7 for 14 from the floor and 7 for 8 from the freethrow line, Delonte West scored 22 points in tonight’s 105-91 home loss to the Washington Wizards. West logged his first double double of the season when he added in his 11 assists, four rebounds and three steals. Having an 11:1 assist to turnover ratio from your starting point guard is a great thing — but the Celtics still managed to lose the turnover battle by 3.
For the Celtics, Wally Szczerbiak returned to action with 9 points scored in his 20 minutes of play. While Szczerbiak did hustle and play well for the Celtics, he struggled shooting the ball as he hit just 3 of his 12 attempts. Every player that dressed for head coach Doc Rivers played in the game.
The Celtics, who have now lost a franchise high nine straight home games — will be on the road again on Tursday night as they head to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers.
Celtics Head Home to Battle Wizards
Despite losing their tenth game in a row, the Boston Celtics are heading home and looking for a win in today’s game against the Washington Wizards. The Wizards have won five of their last six, and are now the best team in the entire Eastern Conference. The Celtics, despite playing great team basketball recently, are the worst.
Friday night the Celtics battled with the Raptors down the stretch, but failed to close in when it counted — and the result was their tenth straight loss. Tonight, the Celtics hope to avoid losing 11 straight games — a feat that last took place when the Celtics lost 13 straight (a franchise worst) back in 1997.
In Friday’s loss to the Raptors, Delonte West scored 15 points, grabbed 6 boards, dished 4 assists, had 2 steals and 1 block. Tonight, the Celtics will need both he and Al Jefferson to step up big and score lots of points if they hope to contain Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards.
Arenas, the NBA’s second-leading scorer at 29.6 PPG, is averaging 33 PPG in two outings vs. the Celtics this year; he scored 22 in the January 20 contest and had 44 points in the November game in Washington.
For more on tonight’s game, be sure to check out the Celtics.com game preview, as well as our official game thread for the night.
Celtics Travel to Toronto to Battle the Raptors
The Celtics are on the road tonight to take on the division leading Toronto Raptors. At 21-22, the Raptors are without a winning record — but here in the Atlantic Division — it’s good enough to get the job done.
The Celtics are heading into tonight’s game having lost nine straight and are in danger of making it ten in a row against a Raptors team that is red hot. Back on December 11th, the Raptors were just 7-14 on the year. Since then, they’ve bounced back though and have won four of their last five games.
Tonight’s game at the Air Canada Centre will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net New England at 7:00PM, a half hour earlier than most nights. That means the Celtics Tonight show should begin at 6:30PM.
For more on tonight’s game, be sure to check out the following previews…
Finally, be sure to share your thoughts on tonight’s game with other members here on Delonte.com by participating in tonight’s game thread.