The Boston Herald announced this morning that guards Eddie House and Tony Allen will re-sign with the Celtics.

The contracts of House and Allen will both be two-year agreements, estimated around $2.5 million per year.

House made a splash off the bench for the NBA champions all year. Even during a stretch in which his playing-time was limited during the playoffs, House provided some much needed energy and quality shooting. Unfortunately, his kid never got whacked in the face by Luke Walton’s knee.

Let’s face the facts, Tony Allen looks putrid on the defensive side of the ball. That’s been the knock on him since the first day he wore a Celtics uniform. If somehow, magically, T. Allen finds a way to improve his defense, we might be able to categorize Tony as an important role player off the bench. Right now, it seems the Celtics are going to give J.R. Giddens a shot as being the main backup guard.

So two bench players are signed, but the Hornets’ signing of James Posey put a damper on what could of been the deepest bench in the NBA. The Celtics lost out on Posey, lost out on Corey Maggette, so what’s next? Maybe a Josh Childress or Josh Smith?

Hey! Ricky Davis is a free agent….

Who will the Celtics sign? Let’s hope Ainge can pull something off, quickly.

*the Ricky Davis thing was just a joke…don’t knock me for it*

All the waiting has finally come to an end as the Boston Herald reports that the New Orleans Hornets signed forward James Posey to a four-year, $25 million dollar deal earlier this afternoon.

About a month ago, Posey was making his presence felt in the playoffs as a Boston Celtic, a real spark plug off the bench for the 2008 NBA Champions. Posey came up with some clutch three-pointers and some stellar defense that certainly helped fortify his future. The Celtics were apprehensive about signing Posey for around 5 million for four years. (They made a big mistake by giving $1 million to Brian Scalibrine).

Posey stated in an interview with Comcast Sportsnet that the free agency negotiations has been “frustrating”. “It is what it is. I’m just taking things one day at a time.” Posey almost sounded like he knew he probably wouldn’t be back. Today proves that statement.

During an interview at the Boston Celtics Championship DVD premier, Posey stated his first choice was to stay with the Celtics. In this interview with Comcast Sportsnet, however, his demeanor makes it seem otherwise…

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J.R. Giddens???Apparently this guy has had some on and off the court problems….we wonder what Danny Ainge was thinking with this one. We’re not the Dallas Cowboys…..Boston is not a city that tolerates players like T.O., Pacman Jones, etc. Giddens was suspended from the New Mexico Lobos last year, which is an obvious case of immaturity (see: Michael Beasley). And why did Giddens leave Kansas to play for New Mexico? We have to wonder about character issues. The Boston Celtics don’t have the drafting ability like a New England Patriots team. Is Ainge trying to take the Belichick approach? Whatever the case, I think Mario Chalmers (the guy who hit the clutch three pointer to tie the NCAA Finals game vs. Memphis) or Chris Douglas-Roberts, a scoring machine, would of been a better choice.

Looks like we have another player drafted to the NBADL (ty for that one, Grubb).

When you think about bad drafts of the past 10 years, two teams come to mind. The Celtics and the Clippers. Now that the Green are basking in all kinds of championship glory and the Clips are back in the lottery, slotted at number 7 of tomorrow’s draft, let’s take a look at how each team could field a team of stiffs over the past 10 to 15 years.

Center: Eric Montross vs. Michael Olowokandi

The Red Flags were up on both of these guys coming into draft night. Montross, a big, plodding white guy came out of UNC with very limited athleticism. Olowokandi was a young man who played against inferior competition at Pacific, and had only played basketball for a few years before he was drafted. The Kandi Man’s 8+ points per game takes it to Montross in this game: Advantage Clippers.

Power Forward: Jerome Moiso vs. Melvin Ely

Pitino loved Moiso’s athletic ability, only problem was that ability blinded the fact that Moiso had no basketball skills or intelligence. Moiso, the 11th pick of the 2000 draft never made a mark on the NBA, finishing his ho-hum career with the Sixers in 2005. Melvin Ely, the 12th pick in 2002, is still a serviceable backup in the league. He has averaged only 6 points and 3 rebounds in a forgettable stint with the Clips, Bobcats, Spurs, and Hornets. Ely would pound Moiso’s fragile frame on the block: Advantage Clippers.

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I’m not going to beat around the bush, I did believe the Celts were down and out after the first quarter.  But then something struck me and I started to have faith…Why? Because we are Boston and we never lose the faith. The Celtics kept chipping away at the lead, cutting it to 13, then down by 20 again, but finally in the 4th quarter with about 8 minutes remaining the Celtics took the lead.

The Los Angeles Lakers had absolutely no idea what hit them, and the Celtics defense stepped in up late in the game, as Boston came back from 24 points down to win the game 97-91. This win was the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history after the 1st quarter.

Once the Celtics cut the lead to 5 it was almost like New England knew they would somehow pull it off. Basically, the win was a foregone conclusion.

This game has set the tone for the rest of the series as the Los Angeles Lakers now have to win the next 3 to secure another championship, two of those games are in Boston.

I’m loving our chances….and big up to every member of the Boston Celtics as everyone did what they had to do to pull this one off. Hats off to the Boston Celtics and coach Doc Rivers who made the right moves in the end.

The sweet smell of banner 17 is in the air..

(did anyone catch Sasha Vujacic crying on the bench or what? I told you he was a Hanson brother)

The Boston Celtics are on their way to banner 17, but first, they must go into the Staples Center with the glitz, the glam, and the glory of Los Angeles. The Celtics have a 2-0 edge in the series and are in firm control. In my opinion, we need to take at least 1 game against Kobe and his Euro-buddies. Here’s 5 things to look for when watching Game 3.

1. Kobe Bryant will score 30 plus, half of those points at the free throw line.
We’re in LA, and the feeling around the Sports world is the referees are going to make-up some calls in order for the Lakers to gain an advantage at the line. Bob Ryan said it best when it wasn’t so much the lack of calls by the referees, but more like the Lakers inability to drive to the hole and draw the contact. Tonight will be a different story as we have Joey Crawford and the oh-so-famous Bennett Salvatore. Just a little fact, in 2007-2008, opponents W/L record when Salvatore was the referee….52-25. Maybe that’s just coincidence, maybe he’s a home-team refereee.

2. Salvatore will make-up a call in Paul Pierce’s favor.
We all know Salvatore’s bogus “offensive foul” call against Paul Pierce during the Detroit Pistons series (which should of resulted in a 4-point play). Tonight I’m predicting Bennett will indeed cut Pierce a break and let him get away with a few things here and there.

3. Kendrick Perkins and Ray Allen will have 3 fouls at half.
Perkins is a beast, literally. He needs to learn how to stop giving ticky-tack fouls on his opponents. With the home crowd in LA and what seems to be a resurgence in Kobe Bryant(he was on a tear at the end of game 2), Perk is almost guaranteed to foul out in this game. Ray Allen is at a disadvantage too, he’s the guy who has to cover Bryant. Look for both men to be in foul trouble early.

4. Paul Pierce will pick up the Celtics and drop 30 plus.
The hometown boy who used to sneak into the LA Forum as a kid always plays well against the Lakers in the Staples Center. Pierce is the MVP of the playoffs and will undoubtedly be the go-to guy throughout the game. I said it last time and I will say it again, Boston fans should feel confident every time Paul Pierce touches the ball. He’s hungry and has been dreaming of this opportunity for years. Tonight he gets to show the LA crowd who “The Truth” really is.

5. Things start to get feisty.
I’m paying homage to McHale/Rambis on this one. Somebody has to give a hard foul to an opposing player tonight. Expect things to start getting feisty after the first quarter of play. Cedric Maxwell said of the infamous McHale/Rambis clothesline, “Before Kevin McHale hit Kurt Rambis, the Lakers were just running across the street whenever they wanted.” If one team is having their way with their opponent, look for somebody to step up as we see some more controversy develop between these two rivals.

I’ve been looking forward to this game in LA. The Celtics couldn’t seem to win a game 3 on the road vs. Atlanta and Cleveland, but finally took one in Detroit. Look for that winning trend to continue as the Celtics prove many naysayers wrong with a big win over the Lakers.

Bird, Parrish, McHale, Magic, Worthy, Kareem — the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers during the mid ’80s was probably the best rivalry in NBA history. These two teams have been clashing since the days when Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, and Bob Cousy were writing their own tickets to the Hall of Fame. The Celtics and Lakers combine for 30 of the NBA’s championships…30! It’s such an astounding number considering through the history of the NBA, their has been 58 championships, the Celtics and Lakers own 30 of them! Soon to be 31. So you can see, these two franchises have a lot of history between them. I mean, c’mon, I haven’t even mentioned the guy on the NBA logo, Mr. Clutch himself, Jerry West.

And now we come back to modern day. The Boston Celtics. The Los Angeles Lakers. The 2008 NBA Finals. All of this history that we’ve known and watched over the past fifty years continues tonight! The Boston Three Party, Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, take on the MVP of the league and a man many people have been comparing to Jordan, Mr. Kobe Bryant and his supporting cast of Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher. People around the world are amped up to watch this series. But then you have to sit back and ask yourself……why is the NBA Finals tipoff at 9:07 PM EST?

If the Super Bowl can start at 6 PM EST why not the NBA Finals? I understand it will be a little early for the West Coast, but 9 PM on the East Coast!? By the time the final buzzer is sound, Leno and Letterman will already be a half hour into their shows. This is bad news not only for the early-bird workers, but for the youth fans of the NBA. These days you see that the NBA aims to target their youth viewers through fund raisers, donations, and many other marketing schemes. And to be quite honest, it’s a shame for the kids.

If I were a kid and was forced to even be in bed by 11, the NBA Finals would be in the third quarter and therefore the Finals wouldn’t interest me. If I don’t get to see the whole game, I feel like I’ve missed out…a lot. I wouldn’t be able to see the intensity of KG, the swagger of Pierce, the finesse of Gasol, and the explosiveness of Kobe.

I don’t understand what the NBA was thinking and I’m sure I’m not alone. This is Celtics/Lakers…one more time, Celtics/Lakers. A dream NBA Finals. If the NBA wants promote their brand the right way, they better rethink the Finals for next year.