That's a wrap on the preseason

Last night at Madison Square Garden, Leon dropped a 19 point, 12 rebound spot on the Knicks in the last game of the preseason. That brings his 8 game average to:

10.6 points
3.9 rebounds
19.6 min

and

33-45 FT

The Celtics kick off the NBA's regular season Tuesday, October 28th against the Cavs and LeBron who they've already faced twice in the past few weeks and who figure to once again be a top team in the Eastern Conference. Also, with the release of Darius Miles, Boston has solidified their 15 man training camp roster. That sound you heard was everyone in the Trailblazers organization breathing a sigh of relief.

Getting Buckets... Even in the Preseason

The Celtics kicked off their pre-season schedule against the 76ers last night out in Amherst, and our boy Leon led the Green with 12 points in the 92-98 loss. His turnovers (5) and low rebounding output (2 in 23 minutes) will be something to work on... but Leon still did what Leon does best, and that's get to the line. He got to the stripe more than any other Celtic and shot 6/8. Nice to see some things don't change.

Another nice surprise in the stat line was from high-potential, low-output backup center Patrick O'Bryant. The big guy got the start with Perk sitting this one out, and he shot 4/6 on his way to 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal. Not bad when he's going up against bigs like Sam Dalembert and Elton Brand down in the post. If he can keep this up, O'Bryant and Powe backing up Perk and Garnett could look like one of the deepest front-courts in the league.

One more note: I love the idea on having pre-season games in smaller gyms and different locations. As a Pats season ticket holder, it's always bothered me that the NFL charges full-price for all their pre-season games when the on-field product isn't full-value. The C's will also be playing on-location in Providence on Friday night and in Manchester, NH on Saturday, and I like that they're bringing their games around New England. Not that tickets are cheap (prices are between $25 and $100), but it's more affordable than regular games and at least they're treating the exhibition season like what it actually is.

Leon update

No one ever said I was punctual. Here's an article written on hoopsworld.com about a month ago that a reader named Rick emailed me.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9953

Leon totally deserves a vacation in the Bahamas. Another quick note. The team's first preseason game is against the new look 76ers tomorrow night. Powe vs. Brand anyone?