On Tuesday night, the Celtics overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Nets, 91-88, in Newark, N.J., during preseason action (recap here). With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen getting the night off, the Cs were propelled by Rajon Rondo and the reserves.

• Rondo led the Cs with 18 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds in 40 minutes. This is in contrast to Sunday’s game against the Nets when he posted eight points, three assists and two rebounds in 26 minutes.
• Rasheed Wallace (20 points, 9 rebounds, 25 minutes) was the Celtics’ driving force in the first half. However, he rolled his right ankle in the third quarter and eventually left the game. Doc Rivers told the media he considers the injury to be mild.
• Eddie House demonstrated his tenacious intensity by fighting for loose balls, forcing jump balls and hitting clutch shots, including a go-ahead jumper with 34 seconds left. He finished the night with 14 points.
• Glen Davis continued to knock down his mid-range jumper en route to 18 points. The Celtics were a game-high plus-12 with Davis on the court.
• J.R. Giddens, whose talent only had been showcased in the D-League, played his best NBA game. He grabbed 13 rebounds and scored seven points.
• Marquis Daniels started the game but left after 15 minutes with a stomach bug.

The Celtics will travel to Hartford to take on the Raptors on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday night, all eyes were on Kevin Garnett as he returned to the court for the first time in more than six months during the Celtics’ preseason opener against the Rockets in Hidalgo, Texas. Although Garnett’s playing time was limited, his knee injury looked out of mind when he drained the first shot of the game.

But Garnett was not the only player who returned to the Celtics looking to improve upon last season. Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis lost weight, Rajon Rondo bulked up, and Ray Allen claims to be in the best shape of his career. See how the members of the 2008-09 team fared as they began the 2009-10 season.

Kevin Garnett
Last game: March 25 vs. Orlando Magic
17 minutes, 4 points (2-5 FG), 8 rebounds, 1 assist
Preseason opener: 13 minutes, 6 points (2-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Paul Pierce
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
39 minutes, 16 points (4-13 FG), 7-10 FT, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Preseason opener: 16 minutes, 8 points (2-6 FG), 4-4 FT, 1 rebound, 0 assist

Ray Allen
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
41 minutes, 23 points (9-18 FG), 3-6 3PG, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Preseason opener: 17 minutes, 8 points (3-6 FG), 0-2 3PG, 2 rebounds, 1 assist

Rajon Rondo
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
37 minutes, 10 points (4-10 FG), 2-2 FT, 6 rebounds, 10 assists
Preseason opener: 17 minutes, 7 points (1-4 FG), 5-8 FT, 1 rebound, 3 assists

Kendrick Perkins
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
39 minutes, 8 points (3-11 FG), 15 rebounds, 2 blocks
Preseason opener: 14 minutes, 3 points (1-2 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 blocks

Glen Davis
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
31 minutes, 13 points (4-7 FG), 4 rebounds
Preseason opener: 23 minutes, 9 points (3-6 FG), 4 rebounds

Eddie House
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
17 minutes, 2 points (1-3 FG), 0-1 3PG, 0 assists
Preseason opener: 21 minutes, 9 points (3-6 FG), 1-2 3PG, 0 assists

Brian Scalabrine
Last game: May 17 vs. Orlando Magic
13 minutes, 2 points (1-5 FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists
Preaseason opener: 18 minutes, 4 points (1-2 FG), 2 rebounds, 0 assists

J.R. Giddens
Last game: March 6 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
1 minute, 0 points (0-0 FG), 1 rebound, 1 steal
Preseason opener: 13 minutes, 1 point (0-1 FG), 1 rebound, 0 steals

Tony Allen (ankle) did not play against the Rockets. Visit WEEI.com’s Green Street for live coverage from the TD Garden on Friday night as the Celtics take on the Knicks in their preseason home-opener.

This summer the Celtics organization has spent countless hours improving its team for the upcoming NBA season. Meanwhile many of its players have dedicated their time to improving the Boston community.

Last week Bill Walker spent the afternoon at the Reebok Youth Basketball Camp, held at Basketball City in Boston, to talk about the importance of hard work on and off the court. Walker served as spokesperson for the six-week camp, which was also held at the Celtics training facility in Waltham and their 2008 training camp facility at Salve Regina University.

Walker hooped it up at the Reebok Youth Basketball Camp in Boston

This month Eddie House and Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell dedicated a renovated basketball court to the Carter family of Waltham, winners of the RE/MAX of New England Home Court Program contest. The family also received a Celtics-themed bedroom makeover. House and Maxwell conducted a free basketball clinic for 100 children at the Waltham Boys & Girls Club following the dedication.

House and Maxwell dedicated a renovated court in Waltham

Walker, Lester Hudson, and J.R. Giddens teamed up with a group of 20 volunteers to help 400 families in need at the Feed the Children Event in Mattapan earlier this month. Together they handed out $45,000 worth of non-perishable food items and personal items at the Mildred Avenue School and Community Center. Walker and Hudson also signed autographs and took photos with the families.

Walker and Hudson helped unload 1,200 boxes at the Feed the Children event

Brian Scalabrine and Walker toured Washington D.C. in June with a group of students from the Harbor Middle School in Dorchester, winners of the tenth annual ASSISTS Community Service Contest. Contest creators Southwest Airlines and the Celtics flew the students for the field trip, where they toured other monuments and attractions in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.

Scalabrine and Walker spent the day touring Washington, D.C.

(Photos courtesy of the Boston Celtics)

Free agency officially began at 12:01am on Wednesday morning and there is already news surrounding the Celtics offseason moves:

• Eddie House will return to play out the remainder of his contract worth $2.86 million next season. “Eddie is staying in the contract,’’ his agent, Mark Bartelstein, told the Boston Globe. ‘‘It was a tough decision. We went back and forth the last couple of weeks. But, when it was all said and done, Eddie loved his time in Boston, he feels like he is on a championship contender, he really enjoys playing with his teammates and playing for Doc [Rivers], and the fans have been great to him.”
• The Celtics will not make a qualifying offer to Leon Powe, Danny Ainge told the Metrowest Daily News. After tearing his ACL in the first round of the playoffs, he is not expected to play return for the first half of next season.
• Ainge said earlier this week the Celtics do intend to make a qualifying offer to Glen Davis.

This week Celtics head coach Doc Rivers revealed Ray Allen played in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a hamstring injury. But the Celtics had a back up plan if another one of their stars was sidelined.

“Now if anything had happened to Ray, if Ray wasn’t able to go because of the hamstring injury, then Tony would have started and played,” Celtics president Danny Ainge told WEEI’s The Big Show.

Tony Allen has been waiting in the wings for an extended role his entire career. Like it has happened so many times before, his opportunity for playing time this season was cut short by injuries. Rather than replace the void left by James Posey, Allen suffered an ankle sprain, the flu, and torn ligaments in his thumb. He appeared in just 46 regular season games.

“Every time Tony had an opportunity to play significant minutes, he performed very well in that role over the last couple of years,” Ainge said of the five-year veteran. “In a more limited role, and I think Tony had expectations of playing a 20 to 25 minute a game role going into the season, and you know with the injuries, that just didn’t pan out that way.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Orlando guard Rafer Alston has been suspended for Friday night’s game against the Celtics for an open-hand slap to the head of Eddie House following a House three-pointer late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s 112-94 Boston win in Game 2.

Alston said afterward that his slap was in retaliation for an elbow that House threw to his stomach after hitting the three-pointer. House was not suspended. Alston’s suspension was one of two handed out by the NBA on Thursday at Lakers guard Derek Fisher was suspended for Game 3 against the Rockets for his hit on Houston Luis Scola.

WALTHAM – If you think that Celtics coach Doc Rivers thinks Orlando’s Rafer Alston should be suspended for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semis Friday night, think again.

While he believes Alston should be disciplined for the open-hand head slap that he gave Eddie House after his third three-pointer of the night, he doesn’t feel that Orlando should be put at a competitive disadvantage for Friday night’s game at Amway Arena.

“You can’t go around slapping people, otherwise all the players will no longer punch they’ll just start slapping,” Rivers began. “And if they say you can get away with it, they’ll just say, ‘I didn’t punch him, I just slapped him.’ I don’t believe in suspensions personally, I really don’t. I know that sounds nuts. I wish everyone got fined and suspended in the regular season. I really don’t like guys getting suspended during the playoffs.” Read the rest of this entry »