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That last loss was arguably the worst loss of the season..Finley and Parker combined to miss 6 free throws that would have iced the game, it defined the failure of our season IMO..
Former teammates to meet when Spurs face Celtics
Mike Monroe
When Rasheed Wallace answered the doorbell at his home in the suburbs north of Detroit on July 2, standing on his front porch were the most important members of the Boston Celtics organization.
If the Pistons power forward had any doubt that the archrival Celtics truly wanted him to accept the free-agent offer they were about to present, owner Wyc Grousbeck, general manager Danny Ainge, head coach Doc Rivers and the team’s “big three” — All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen — were there to erase them.
At about the same time, the phone was ringing in Antonio McDyess’ home in Houston. Spurs president of basketball operations Gregg Popovich was on the line, letting McDyess know the four-time NBA champions would love to put him alongside Tim Duncan on the Spurs’ frontline.
Boston’s over-the-top hard sell worked, and Wallace now wears Celtic green.
The Spurs’ low-key approach landed McDyess, Wallace’s Pistons teammate for five seasons. He has found a spot in the starting lineup and will be on the court at tipoff of tonight’s Spurs-Celtics game at the AT&T Center.
Tonight’s game offers the first chance for a head-to-head analysis of two of the more significant free-agent signings of the summer.
Thus far, both teams are getting similar contributions. Both average just over 21 minutes per game; Wallace averages 8.9 points, to McDyess’ 6.9; McDyess averages 6.0 rebounds to Wallace’s 4.0; McDyess has made 51.3 percent of his shots to Wallace’s 37.3 percent.
McDyess called Wallace’s decision to sign with the Celtics, a team Pistons fans loved to hate, a bit of a shock.
“The things (the Pistons) had going with Boston the last couple years, I was surprised he signed there, and not only me,” McDyess said. “A lot of the other guys on our team in Detroit were surprised.
“It wasn’t genuine dislike between us and the Celtics, but when you compete so hard against a team, well, it would have been like Reggie Miller going to New York from the Pacers. You know the guys on his team would have been saying, ‘Oh, you want to go to New York?’ ”
The Spurs’ low-key approach was perfect for McDyess, who said he would not have known what to make of a big Spurs contingent on his front lawn.
“I’m no Rasheed Wallace,” he said. “If I was a Rasheed Wallace, the Spurs’ approach might have been different. But the Spurs are low-key, and they wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m the type of player who fits in this organization. I’m a low-key type person. I ain’t all out there. That’s how I feel this team is — just low-key.”
McDyess is apt to be matched up against Wallace at some point tonight. He admits it will feel odd going against his old friend.
“He’s a great, great teammate, with a lot of enthusiasm on the court,” McDyess said. “I played with him so many years, and now having an opportunity to play against him is going to be weird. At this point, we’re just trying to get a win. I have to put all that friendship behind me.”
Wallace took an oblique shot at the Spurs during the news conference at which he was introduced to the Boston media.
“Not taking anything away from San Antonio,” he said then, “but I would have to say a few of the changes that they made on their bench and on their roster didn’t quite sit with me too well.”
Presumably, that meant Wallace didn’t care for the trade the Spurs made that sent Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto to Milwaukee and Detroit for Richard Jefferson. Or, perhaps he didn’t approve of the Spurs drafting DeJuan Blair.
McDyess promised to do some detective work to find out.
“I hadn’t heard he said all that,” McDyess said. “I’m going to have to ask him about that when I take him out to dinner (Wednesday night).”
********************
Test vs. the best
With the 14-4 Boston Celtics in town, the Spurs face one of the league’s elite. The Spurs are 1-2 against teams four games above .500 or better this year, splitting with the Mavericks (14-5) and losing to the Trail Blazers (12-8).
4-5: Record vs. teams .500 or better
5-1: Record vs. teams below .500
Records before games Wednesday
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Streaky series
The Celtics won 20 straight from 1980-90, and the Spurs won 18 straight from 1997-2007. Since snapping a 15-game skid in S.A., Boston has won the last three:
91-85, March 17, 2007: Tim Duncan suffers first loss to Celtics, who are led by Paul Pierce's 30 points.
93-91, March 17, 2008: Defending NBA champions drop their fourth straight, blowing a 22-point third-quarter lead to the eventual champs.
80-77, March 20, 2009: Spurs' Tony Parker misses four free throws in final 49.8 seconds.
Source: Express-News research
That last loss was arguably the worst loss of the season..Finley and Parker combined to miss 6 free throws that would have iced the game, it defined the failure of our season IMO..
yeah i remember that game, that was horrible
I guess this pretty much confirms that Dice was SA's priority instead of Wallace.
Mr. Wallace, you may shut the up now.Wallace took an oblique shot at the Spurs during the news conference at which he was introduced to the Boston media.
“Not taking anything away from San Antonio,” he said then, “but I would have to say a few of the changes that they made on their bench and on their roster didn’t quite sit with me too well.”
“Not taking anything away from San Antonio,” he said then, “but I would have to say a few of the changes that they made on their bench and on their roster didn’t quite sit with me too well.”
I'm guessing he was expecting the Spurs to be making a hard pitch to sign him and he had to come up with something to say when he wasn't getting the attention he expected. Everyone else seemed to think the Spurs FO made the right move with the RJ trade, if that was what he was referring to. I hope Dice manages to shed some light on this.
Monroe fact checking sucks... we won our last game in Boston last year, that makes it that we won the game before our last meeting with them... that was Bonner's HUGE night with RJ's three to tie it and Manu steal to seal it..
i think he's talking about games in SAMonroe fact checking sucks... we won our last game in Boston last year, that makes it that we won the game before our last meeting with them... that was Bonner's HUGE night with RJ's three to tie it and Manu steal to seal it..
The loss in 2007 was far worse, on St. Patrick's day IIRC. That Celtics team was awful.
Edit: just noticed the "of the season" part. The 2007 home loss vs. the Celtics was pretty bad, though.
He just can't be a real Spur fan. I mean who can forget that game. Bonner had one of the best games of his life in Boston. I bet there are several people who can do his job better than he can.Monroe fact checking sucks... we won our last game in Boston last year, that makes it that we won the game before our last meeting with them... that was Bonner's HUGE night with RJ's three to tie it and Manu steal to seal it..
"80-77, March 20, 2009: Spurs' Tony Parker misses four free throws in final 49.8 seconds".
That was a heartbreaking game given the opportunities at the FT line we had from Parker and Finley! 6 missed ft's at the end of the game
I think that's right Sonic21 at least I hope so
I don't think you can call that "getting similar contributions". One thing Sheed was brought to Boston to do is his three-point shooting, which stands at .283 % right now. I have no doubt that this percentage will go up, but right now, one could argue that Dice brings more to us than Sheed does to the Celtics - speaking from a statistical point of view, that is.
lol, I recall you saying the loss wasn't a big deal at the time, while the forum was having a meltdown.
Hindsight is always 20/20
where does it confirm that?
that wasn't me..lol, I recall you saying the loss wasn't a big deal at the time, while the forum was having a meltdown.
Hindsight is always 20/20
I wasn't melting down, but I was extremely angry and my comments reflected that..I'm usually one of the positive people though, so it would make sense..I just remember being angry as , as it's absolutely ridiculous to miss 6 straight free throws when making 1 probably wins the game..
Uh, it helps to read the article.
If the Pistons power forward had any doubt that the archrival Celtics truly wanted him to accept the free-agent offer they were about to present, owner Wyc Grousbeck, general manager Danny Ainge, head coach Doc Rivers and the team’s “big three” — All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen — were there to erase them.
At about the same time, the phone was ringing in Antonio McDyess’ home in Houston. Spurs president of basketball operations Gregg Popovich was on the line, letting McDyess know the four-time NBA champions would love to put him alongside Tim Duncan on the Spurs’ frontline.
I feel you on this HH. Actually, you brought me back to a very angry place. I, too, was highly pissed off that they lost a very winnable game at the FT line.
Games against the upper-echelon teams are signature games. When you play these games at home, you need not piss them away.
Signature games in December? Really?
Yeah really.
Uh, when these sports writers can't even get dates and scores right, it helps to not take everything you read at face value. You think they know that at the exact time the celtics were meeting with wallace that the spurs were calling mcdyess? The article doesn't even really presume to know that, but certain readers of that article, do. Maybe y'all should read it again.
I would say the one where they were up 22 and lost was even worse...it was a sign of things to come, i.e. being up by 20 pts twice in the West finals only to lose both games.
ooooo...I READ.
Agreed that the author has not checked whether or not Wallace was contacted before or after the Spurs talked to Dice. The story makes it seem like he did, but his factual mistakes make him seem less credible. I doubt him.
you mean RMJ's three to take the lead and manu's steal to seal itMonroe fact checking sucks... we won our last game in Boston last year, that makes it that we won the game before our last meeting with them... that was Bonner's HUGE night with RJ's three to tie it and Manu steal to seal it..
different season..
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