I'm assuming most of the posters to this blog scanned Shira Springer's Basketball Notes column in Sunday's Globe. But for those who may have missed it, here's the latest on Mr. Apathy, the athlete formerly known as Mark Blount:
Celtics fans will be glad to know the 7-footer has returned to form, so to speak, with his new team in Minnesota. His 16 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes against the Celtics Jan. 30 represented, as many in Boston suspected, an aberration. These numbers are more like it: 1 rebound, no points in 13 minutes in a loss to Cleveland Feb. 8; 3 rebounds, 2 points in 7 minutes in a win over the Suns Feb. 6; 3 rebounds, 3 points in 17 minutes in a loss to the Warriors Feb. 4. This from someone who called himself the ''key player" in the deal. But Marcus Banks has been fairly consistent. After recording 20 points and 6 assists against the Celtics, he has a couple of 15-point performances and tallied 19 against the Suns, and had 5 assists each against the Trail Blazers and Warriors. If it makes you feel any better, the Timberwolves are 3-6 since the trade.
No, that doesn't make me feel much better, although our dip into lotteryland might change that, depending on who we get. But speaking of feeling better, at least one item in the column made me laugh. Actually, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Here are some excerpts, slightly edited, from the top feature on 2005 top draft pick Mr. Gerald Green:
The Celtics rookie was a noticeable no-show for practice last Thursday. He went back to Fayetteville, N.C., to fetch clothes he left behind during his development league stint there. Doc Rivers sounded more than a little annoyed when he tried to explain why Green needed to personally retrieve his belongings. Executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge couldn't quite understand it, either, even though he helped arrange the trip. ''I had a lot of valuables," said Green, ''so Danny was just like, 'Go down and go get it.' If I'd known it was going to happen like it did, I would have sent [director of player personnel] Mike Crotty to go get it. Now, I know. That's just a lesson I have to learn."
What lesson would that be? Taking your luggage with you? Speaking of luggage...
But the really funny part was when Green first traveled to Fayetteville accompanied by Ainge. At least the way Ainge tells it. ''When he showed up with these five humongous bags, I go, 'Gerald, you look like you're going to be gone for four months. This might be two weeks,' " said Ainge. ''I had to change my rental car to an SUV just to get his bags in it from the Raleigh airport. ''So I go, 'What do you have in there? I hope you have your [foam] roller [for stretching]. I hope you have your weighted ball.' He goes, 'I didn't have room.' And I said, 'What's in these bags?' And he goes, 'Well, I've got a lot of shoes?' I said, 'Your basketball shoes.' And he goes, 'No, they're shipping those to me.' So, I said, 'Gerald, you're down here to play basketball. All you need is about three pairs of sweats and a couple pair of running shoes.' "
But wait, there's more:
''While I'm down there, Gerald decided to get this [cornrow] hairstyle that he has," said Ainge. ''And I've got to stop at a beauty supply store to get him rubber bands for his hair. I'm sitting there in the car waiting and I feel like I have my teenage daughter with me. ''I'm stopping at a beauty supply store for rubber bands for his hair. And he's got five bags packed full of shoes."
That's not quite Bill Parcells calling Terry Glenn "she", but it's close. At least Springer raises the issue of Ainge trying to move Green (which he denies) and that Ainge might be regretting the decision to draft Green in the first place (which he also denies). She also mentions that Ainge praises Green as well (saying that he's added muscle and has developed more in the last month than in the previous 5 months), but that Ainge may just be talking him up for potential trade partners. Of course, Springer's article is not exactly what you'd want in the paper should you be trying to trade someone. Nor, for that matter, is this final thought:
Green is lucky that Ainge has a good sense of humor. Neither of Green's trips to Fayetteville have engendered much confidence in the youngster. But considering what Green knew of geography when the season started, there has been progress. Back in August, when asked why his love of fishing would not extend to a boat trip into the waters off New England, Green said, ''Did you see the movie 'Titanic'? That was a true story. Icebergs." ... No telling what will happen if Green makes another return trip to Fayetteville. For many reasons, Green hopes he stays with the Celtics the rest of the season.
Um, yeah. I guess.
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