here's what BOSTON has to say about it http://www.boston.com/sports/articl...ssell_was_on_the_ball___and_he_was_on_target/ As usual, Cassell was on the ball - and he was on target By Julian Benbow Globe Staff / June 6, 2008 P.J. Brown isn't going to pretend that what everybody says about Sam Cassell isn't true. "He wants the ball," Brown said, hardly holding back a chuckle. "The ball and Sam have a great relationship." Leon Powe says it's one of those obsessive relationships. "Sam and the ball?" he said. "You know how it is when you get married like three, four times? He won't let that ball go. I'm telling you the truth. That's very true." If Cassell is on the court and the ball is in his hands, you can almost guarantee he's going to be the last person touching it. But sometimes, as Brown will tell you, it's not such a bad thing. Cassell gave the Celtics 8 points off the bench last night in their 98-88 victory over the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at TD Banknorth Garden. He played 13 minutes. He heaved up nine shots. By halftime, Kobe Bryant had put up more shots than anybody else - 10. Cassell put up almost as many shots in not even half as many minutes. Cassell is to the bench what Bryant is to everybody else. "I'd agree with that," Brown said. But he'll also point out that a lot of times, Cassell's shots are lethal. "I've played against Sam for a lot of years," Brown said. "And he can be deadly. He can hurt you with that basketball. And most of the time he takes a shot, it looks good." Of course, Brown will admit there are some things you must get used to when you're on the court with Cassell. For one, the fact that he's going to call for the ball on almost every possession. But you deal with it. Because every so often, there are moments like the one in the fourth quarter when Brown scooped up a loose ball and heard Cassell's voice before he could even set himself. "[Kevin Garnett] made a great hustle play," Brown said, "And I just went for it and grabbed it. Soon as I got it, I heard Sam yell, 'P.J.! P.J.!' I just gave it to him as soon as I could. That was a big emotional play; you could feel the momentum shift after that play." Cassell hit the shot. The Celtics went up by 5 and never looked back. "Every once in a while, you say, 'Hey, Sammy, kind of let that thing go, or pass it,' " Brown said. "But Sam, that's what he's here for. He's here to put the ball in the basket and he likes the pressure situation, and I'm glad I'm on his side." There was a juncture in the second quarter when Lakers point guard Derek Fisher was bullying Rajon Rondo. Cassell came off the bench, pulled up from 21 feet, and gave the Celtics a 27-24 lead. Rondo is easily the Celtics' best floor general, but having a scorer like Cassell to answer a player like Fisher is crucial. "I think it's a great matchup," Brown said. "I think Sam's going to be able to offset a lot of D-Fish's offense if he continues to put that pressure on him like he did. When Sam goes to that post and Fish is trying to be aggressive offensively, Sam puts a lot of pressure on him to make him go on the other end and put him on the post and make him play a little D." Powe said you know what you're getting with Cassell. "Sam, he's going to score," Powe said. "He's going to post you up. If you don't like it, hey, you've got to deal with it. But Sam is going to score. He's going to try to get everybody involved a little bit, but most likely, he's going to try to score." And if Brown again finds himself under the basket, and he hears a voice yelling his name, he knows where he'll throw the ball. "I told Sam, whenever I get it, I'm going to look for him," Brown said. "He can have it." Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.
My 1994 NBA Finals ticket stub shows the world I have made it to the Summit -- and it was good. From the Summit the lord said unto me ~ THOU SHALL NOT DISS ROCKET CHAMPIONS.
Good for Sam, I hope he gets another ring. BTW for my money he is the most dependable back-up PG in this series. Is he great, no, is he good, not really either, but he isn't as spastic as Farmar this playoffs and is steadier with the ball than House (who hasn't shot well either). So he isn't embarrasing himself at all. And unlike Horry, he hasn't become a thug to find a role to still be on an NBA playoff roster. And no he doesn't have much skills left, but he has some, and even more intangibles (calm, balls, lockeroom leader). Good pick-up by Boston.
I guess these guys saw the same game I saw, tigermission1 and friends were watching some other game http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cassell-game-team-2062051-celtics-second# Friday, June 6, 2008 Say it again, Sam: Cassell reflects on Game 1, facing Kobe By ART THOMPSON III The Orange County Register Comments 0 | Recommend 0 This is one of several conversations the Register plans to have during the NBA Finals with Clipper-turned-Celtic Sam Cassell, who is returning to the Finals for the first time since he was part of back-to-back championships in 1994-95 with the Houston Rockets. BOSTON -- The morning after the Boston Celtics' 98-88 victory over the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Celtics guard Sam Cassell discussed the impact of that victory and the second-quarter exchange he had with Lakers guard and reigning league MVP Kobe Bryant. Cassell was a catalyst in the victory, hitting his first three jump shots in the second quarter and forcing Lakers coach Phil Jackson to make a defensive adjustment by putting Bryant on the 38-year-old Cassell. Q:How critical was that Game 1 victory for your team? Cassell:"It was crucial for us. We knew that the Lakers would come out and try to steal Game 1. But we fought them off, got a little run for ourselves, and finished the game off." Q:How much of a factor was the home crowd for your team in Game 1? Cassell:"These fans are excited about this team. It's been a long time for the fans of Boston to be excited about basketball. And from what I have seen, it's been phenomenal every time we get on the floor. And in the games that we don't play well, they're still excited." Q:In the battle between the second unit of the Celtics and the second unit of the Lakers, which group came out on top? Cassell:"I think we did, because we won the game. But really, it doesn't matter if the small forward plays better than the other, it's all about who wins the game. So, last night we won the game, and the advantage goes to the Celtics." Q:What was going on verbally between you and Kobe? Cassell:"He was just telling me that he was going to get on me and that I can't post him up, which I knew was going to happen, eventually." Q:How did it feel to make your first three shots? Cassell:"I was just trying to give my team a lift and getting the opportunity to play, (Celtics coach) Doc (Rivers) put me in the position and in a situation to make a shot or two. So, it was good to get that going." Q:What's your feeling about starting the season with the Clippers and now being on a team that has a chance to win the NBA championship? Cassell:"It worked out well for me, because this team got back to the Finals. When I left L.A. and came here, it was with the idea of coming here to compete for a championship." Q:What do you need to do to help (Celtics starting point guard Rajon) Rondo? Cassell: "Listen to this ... Rajon is fine, man. Ya'll need to worry about some of the other guys on our team. Rajon is a guy that you don't have to worry about. He's battle tested. He's the starting point guard on the Boston Celtics. This is not November that we're playing in. This is June. He's been through the ups and downs. He'll find a way." Qid you ever believe that you'd be back on this sort of national stage? Cassell:"Well, I was playing with the Clippers and I knew we weren't going to the Finals. It's definitely special to me to compete on this level. I came into this league competing on this level. And it would be nice to go out of this league competing on this level.'' Q:Because your two championships with the Houston Rockets came so early in your career, do you appreciate it more now? Cassell:"No doubt about it. When I came out of college and won the first championship, it was cool. I celebrated, but I didn't celebrate it like some of the veteran guys. They were delighted. I was happy. There's a major difference in being happy and being delighted. My second year, we won another one and I was a little happier. But 12 years later, and finally reaching this again ... I remember seeing Shaq cry after his first championship. And I said, 'Why is he crying?' Then I realized why. The hard effort, the emotion that goes on to win the championship. I don't think that I'll cry, but I'll be ... delighted." Contact the writer: athompson@ocregister.com
waiting for one more performance like this <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3wgOgeGa12Q&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3wgOgeGa12Q&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
http://www.boston.com/sports/basket.../16/cassell_ready_to_point_the_way_in_game_6/ Cassell ready to point the way in Game 6 He believes Celtics need a quick start Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Frank Dell'Apa Globe Staff / June 16, 2008 LOS ANGELES - When Sam Cassell joined the Celtics, he said he wasn't interested in competing for a starting position, or even gaining significant playing time. But Cassell believed his NBA championship experience in Houston could give the Celtics an edge this time of the year. Cassell proved prophetic during a brief, but productive, fourth-quarter span that recalled his Rocket days, the Celtics rallying before falling, 103-98, to the Lakers last night at Staples Center. "I'm ready, I've been in that situation before," Cassell said. "We have three point guards, and who's got it going gets in. All three of us understand that." The Celtics have gone with the hot hand at the position after Rajon Rondo (ankle) was injured in Game 3. Eddie House helped ignite a Game 4 rally that moved the Celtics to the verge of clinching the series. And Cassell nearly matched House's performance in Game 5, scoring 7 points in a 91-second span during a game-tying rally. The Celtics went on a 16-2 run over 4:17 in the final quarter, tying the score at 90 when Kevin Garnett scored with 4:35 left. Cassell's baseline jumper started the run, cutting the deficit to 88-76 with 8:52 remaining. Seventeen seconds later, Cassell tangled with Sasha Vujacic, who went down hard after both players grabbed a rebound off a Laker miss. Cassell then cut the deficit to 88-79 with a 3-point play with 8:04 to go and 90-81 with 7:21 remaining with a second-chance drive, Garnett setting up the score by rebounding a Cassell miss. Though Cassell seemed to have his shooting rhythm, not everything had been going his way before the fourth-quarter success. Cassell's jumper had pulled the Celtics within 74-70 with 3:04 left in the third quarter. Then, he launched an off-target long-range shot early in the shot clock, the Lakers turning the long rebound into a mismatch, Pau Gasol against Cassell; Garnett retreated in time to commit his fourth foul and Gasol's foul shot gave the Lakers a 76-70 lead with 2:31 remaining. "We spent a lot of energy [in the fourth-quarter rally]," Cassell said. "Every play was crucial and we didn't make the crucial plays. "We've got to get off to a better start. It's concentration. You can't win when you are down that many points in the first quarter. It's just concentration. "But this team amazes me every time we play. Now it's Game 6 in Boston and our crowd will be pumped. They will be pumped, no doubt about it. The game starts at 9 o'clock and they will be there at 6 o'clock, ready. But the game is still played on the court and we'll prepare right and we should be all right." Cassell often says the NBA has become less physical in recent years, with fewer confrontations between players. The Cassell-Vujacic duel recalled the scraps of past playoff series, though it was much more tame than, say, the Kevin McHale clotheslining of Kurt Rambis in the 1984 Finals. "I just got the ball, it was a jump ball, and [Vujacic] was off balance," Cassell said. "I didn't throw him hard. "Down the stretch, it's a physical game. We did a good job stopping the 3-pointers, but you can't give up offensive rebounds and second shots in the fourth quarter. "The Lakers have been getting off to great starts and we've been playing catch-up ball. We've been catching up, but you can't do that all the time. Things didn't go our way. Give the Lakers credit, they live to fight another day." Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.
Didn't the Lakers win last night? And.. isn't Sam riding the coattails of other mega stars in the finals again? Oh yeah. Right. and Right. Like I said, good for him.
he's returning the favor for: 1. Ray Allen, who was riding Sam's coattails to the East Conference Finals with the Bucks. And Sam was #2 in the league in assists behind that overrated PG who can't shoot Jason Kidd. 2. Kevin Garnett, who rode Sam's coattails to the Western Conference Finals where KG had issues scoring so Sam had to take over and drop 40 points on that other overrated PG Mike Bibby. yes 40 points. They made to play the Lakers til Sam got hurt. They OWE SAM.
http://dimemag.com/2008/06/dime-smack-nba-finals-lakers-game-5-celtics/#more-2492 Weirdest coaching move of the game: With a little more than a minute remaining and Boston trailing by two, Doc Rivers pulled Sam Cassell in favor of Tony Allen for defensive purposes. Questionable one, considering Cassell (9 pts) had actually been getting buckets in the fourth quarter, and two because Tony checked in and proceeded to guard Jordan Farmar. What’s the point of putting a guy in strictly for defense when you’re having him stick someone who’s probably not going to touch the ball? Granted, Farmar was having a decent game (11 pts), but he wasn’t destroying the Celtics or anything …
