Training Camp Euroblog
Celtics.com's Peter Stringer is rolling with the Celtics in Europe. Despite slow internet connections, foreign languages and a few timezone differences, he'll be keeping a diary of the team's voyage to Rome and London. As always, opinions are those of the author exclusively and do not necessarily reflect those of the Boston Celtics. You can send him feedback on this blog.

More Chatter from Practice - Wednesday, 4:20 p.m.
With such a young team last year, Rivers talked a lot about trying to see separation, and that many times he wasn't seeing it between many of the young guys. But things have changed a bit this year.

"It's completely different. It is separation because you can clearly see who can play and who plays well together. Sometimes, individuals can play well but it's not playing well for the team and it doesn't help the team win, so that doesn't do a lot for you as a coach. To me, it's about what guys are doing to help their team win," Rivers said. "You can see that pretty easily [with a veteran team]. With the young guys, it takes a lot of time, if it ever develops."

We said earlier that Rivers called Wednesday Tony Allen's best practice and noted that TA didn't quite agree. Here's more from Tony...

"I did some things great, but I did a lot of bad things as well. I just feel like I picked today as a day to get better, and that's how I am going to take each and every practice."

Regarding his chemistry with Eddie House on the second unit, Allen thinks that's coming along nicely. "Some days he wants it, some days I want it. We're both out there trying to get better," Allen said.

As for the white team beating out the green team and going 2-0 in scrimmages for the afternoon, Allen didn't think there was much significance. "I just think when you step between the white lines you've got to be ready to play. We took advantage of that today and got the victories. Hopefully we'll come back tomorrow with the same intensity."

Seated next to Allen while I interviewed him was Brian Scalabrine, and Scal weighed in on the second unit as well. "We had good chemistry today. Eddie knows I can go left wing, I can go reverse, I can go to the post, and now he has options. I think he felt limited at first, but once we started getting into the offense, [House] is a big time threat and [Tony] Allen coming through on the post, it gives us more options. As good as the Green team is, we need to have options to win, and that's what we had today."

Yesterday I talked to KG, Pierce and Garnett about the new guys learning the Celtics system, but what might be even more important in the long haul is how quickly the guys learn each other, the stuff that Scalabrine characterized as "unteachable." Scal thinks it takes about a month for guys to learn each other's tendencies and preferences.

"To learn, 'Yo Kevin, if I do this, then you do that,' and then BOOM! When they start getting [to the point where] when Kevin goes into his move and he knows where Ray Allen is, and he hits him, BOOM, shot. That stuff takes like a month to happen. We're putting stuff in right now. People in the NBA who know how to score, they look at a system and say, 'OK, I got a chance to score right here.' We were running the same plays last year with different guys who could shoot it. Al [Jefferson] could score in the post, but Kevin Garnett can pass and score out of the post. So it's a big time difference."

Bald and the Beautiful? - Wednesday, 3:04 p.m.
Who cares about practice? The big story today: Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins all shaved their heads, matching Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the dome department. But follicles weren't the only thing that challenged the starters today; they dropped two scrimmage games, one to the white team and one to the gray team, while team white (second unit) won both of its scrimmages. Maybe hair isn't so bad after all.

Pierce won't say if he'll be staying bald just for training camp or if he'll go the entire season. "Maybe we should have a poll on Celtics.com," Pierce told reporters.

Would we ever deny The Truth? Ask and ye shall receive, Paul. Look for the poll on the homepage shortly and pictures are hopefully coming soon in this blog as well.

"I love that stuff. I think it's good when guys do that. But at the end of the day you've still got to play basketball. Nobody cares how we look," Rivers said.

According to Doc Rivers, Tony Allen had his best practice of the camp. TA didn't quite see it that way, and says he's still limited by the knee, but he did seem to be developing chemistry with Eddie House as two primary scoring options in the second unit. And he called James Posey "the glue" of the second unit. "He's saying the right things, telling them to do the right things. It's amazing to have veterans on your bench." Rivers has also been calling Tony and Leon Powe "bulldogs" most of the week.

We talked to TA, Doc, Scal, Posey and Paul today, so we'll have more from them later in the blog. Also of note, Gabe Pruitt returned to practice after missing yesterday with an ankle sprain and shot the ball well; Pollard did not participate but worked out with B-Doo and Nort.

Bald and the Beautiful? - Wednesday, 3:04 p.m.
Who cares about practice? The big story today: Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins all shaved their heads, matching Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the dome department. But follicles weren't the only thing that challenged the starters today; they dropped two scrimmage games, one to the white team and one to the gray team, while team white (second unit) won both of its scrimmages. Maybe hair isn't so bad after all.

Pierce won't say if he'll be staying bald just for training camp or if he'll go the entire season. "Maybe we should have a poll on Celtics.com," Pierce told reporters.

Would we ever deny The Truth? Ask and ye shall receive, Paul. Look for the poll on the homepage shortly and pictures are hopefully coming soon in this blog as well.

"I love that stuff. I think it's good when guys do that. But at the end of the day you've still got to play basketball. Nobody cares how we look," Rivers said.

According to Doc Rivers, Tony Allen had his best practice of the camp. TA didn't quite see it that way, and says he's still limited by the knee, but he did seem to be developing chemistry with Eddie House as two primary scoring options in the second unit. And he called James Posey "the glue" of the second unit. "He's saying the right things, telling them to do the right things. It's amazing to have veterans on your bench." Rivers has also been calling Tony and Leon Powe "bulldogs" most of the week.

We talked to TA, Doc, Scal, Posey and Paul today, so we'll have more from them later in the blog. Also of note, Gabe Pruitt returned to practice after missing yesterday with an ankle sprain and shot the ball well; Pollard did not participate but worked out with B-Doo and Nort.

Tuesday Evening - 12:25 a.m. - Tomorrow's Schedule
Time to tap out for the night here in Rome. The Celtics will be back at it tomorrow morning for a 10 a.m. practice at Palafonte. After a quick lunch they'll be headed to the Vatican for a team-only private, after-hours tour to be followed by a private team dinner.

Also, I meant to mention that between practice sessions, the team all hit the weights with Walt and B-Doo. So Tuesday was definitely the most exhausting day of camp thus far. We'll see if it takes a toll on the morning practice. And given the amount of walking that's involved in a Vatican tour, the boys should be pretty spent by tomorrow night.

Oh yeah...spent a few hours in Photoshop tonight and updated the Rome Photo Gallery with about 20 new shots from myself, PR gal Heather Walker and our friends at NBA Photos. Worth a look-see. Also, Strength and Conditioning Coach Bryan Doo has been snapping away when he's not busy working out the guys; he's been promising to share some pictures as well so I'll post those when they come in from B-Doo.

Tuesday Evening Practice - 9:38 p.m.
The Celtics returned to practice Tuesday night for more drills, a few more offensive offensive walkthroughs, and some individual skill development before calling it a day. The night session took place at PalaLottomattica, a brightly-lit arena where Saturday's game will be staged. And heck, I even caught the bus this time.

NBA Entertainment was also on the scene to mic up Doc for the practice, so you can look forward to seeing some of that footage in the not-to-distant future on NBA TV, and maybe even on Celtics.com as well. And since the arena was so bright, we even decided to snap a few action shots as well. Look for a photo gallery update in the next few hours with stuff from me and NBA shutterbug Jesse Garrabant. If you're wondering whose shots are whose, his stuff is the top drawer stuff. He's the real deal; I just play a photographer on a website from time to time.

Once again, Scot Pollard and Gabe Pruitt did not partake in the session and instead took treatment from Eddie Lacerte on their ankles. That said, just because he didn't practice doesn't mean Pollard isn't contributing. Since Sunday, he's taken it upon himself to let the team, staff, media and anyone else in the building when it's time to leave.

"Load up the bus! Time to roll!" or variations on that call have been heard every single day, in a loud, booming voice that would make Al Pacino proud. It's looking like a tradition at this point.

Posted by Solace:

Posted by Panos:

seriously hard not to be jealous of what the C's have pulled off this offseason.

Definitely. You can see the height of comedy when posters have the nerve to try to spin it into that the C's are an old, injury-riddled team with no present and no future. Face it, Ainge pulled off trades that both Layden and Isiah had tried to pull off for their entire tentures and failed to do in NY.

Posted by Marv:

yeah but we snagged jj3 and think about how PERFECT he would have been for bosotn.

Posted by NYK3:

29 days till opening night

Posted by BasketballJones:

"Basketball" is apparently a game enjoyed by humans on planet earth. My investigations have led me to discover the rules of the game, formulated by the human with the identifier "Dr. James Naismith"



The rules are:

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.

2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist).

3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball when running at a good speed if he tries to stop.

4. The ball must be held in or between the hands; the arms or body must not be used for holding it.

5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed.

6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violation of Rules 3,4, and such as described in Rule 5.

7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the mean time making a foul).

8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal.

9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side.

10. The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.

11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.

12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves, with five minutes' rest between.

13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made.

Posted by djsunyc:

ok, since you guys asked, andrea bargnani and the toronto raptors host the 76ers on wednesday 10/31.

Posted by Marv:

Posted by Allanfan20:

Posted by djsunyc:

ok, since you guys asked, andrea bargnani and the toronto raptors host the 76ers on wednesday 10/31.

Who cares about the Raptors??? This is a Celtics Countdown thread.

allan, reports out of camp on how chisled scalabrine came in?