Tag: Gerald Green

Rockets organize basketball campaign to celebrate ‘713 Day’ in Houston

“Anytime I see 713, I think of Houston,” said native Houstonian and former #Rockets player Gerald Green, who teamed up with Steve Francis to lead #713Day basketball activites for children.

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To the average person living outside of Houston, July 13 is just another hot summer day.

To residents of Houston and surrounding areas, it is recognized as “713 Day”; the numbers are the initial area code created in 1947 for the city.

On Thursday, the Rockets partnered with Houston Parks and Recreation Department and launched a campaign called “713 Day of Basketball.” Former players hosted seven free youth basketball clinics at community centers around the city.

“Anytime I see 713, I think of Houston,” said native Houstonian and former Rockets player Gerald Green, who, along with Steve Francis and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews, led basketball-related activities for children at the Moody Community Center.

“It is a great day to go out and play basketball,” Green added. “The Houston Rockets are very big in the community, so why not go out on ‘713 Day,’ play some basketball and enjoy yourself.”

Also in attendance was the president of basketball operations for the Rockets, Gretchen Sheirr, who made the Moody Community Center her final stop of the “713 Day of Basketball” activities.

“I came to this location because two years ago, in partnership with Memorial Herman Hospital, it was one of the first courts we refurbished,” Sheirr told reporters. “We want to make sure that kids will have the resources to develop the skills they need to play the game of basketball.”

The Rockets also gave each child who participated at all seven locations a “713 Day of Basketball” T-shirt and a voucher for a special $7.13 ticket to select Rockets games during the season.

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Seven former Boston Celtics on the move in 2005 redraft

The 2005 class features a healthy cohort of players who would go on to play for the Boston Celtics,

Hoops Hype’s dynamic NBA redraft duo of Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon are back at their craft. This time they put the magnifying glass to the 2005 class that featured a healthy cohort of players who went on to play for the Boston Celtics, albeit a few only briefly.

With the 2023 NBA draft not far off now, the storied ball club’s front office is doing its best to assess talent in the incoming class of prospective players in the same sort of way Urbina and Barrigon have done with several such drafts, though of course with the invaluable benefit of hindsight.

Let’s take a look at which former Celtics landed where in this revisionist assessment.

On this day: Bird hits 1st All-Star 3; Edwards traded; Green debuted

On this day in Celtics history, Larry Bird hit the 1st 3 in All Star history, Blue Edwards was traded and Gerald Green debuted for Boston.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, a rookie and future Celtics Hall of Famer made history as legendary small forward Larry Bird scored the very first 3-point shot in the history of the All-Star Game, in a contest that was played at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland in 1979.

The Hick from French Lick (as Bird was sometimes called as a nickname by his fans with affection) hit the shot in the corner during the extra period of the Eastern Conference’s 144-136 overtime win over the West. It was all the sweeter as Bird managed to do it while facing off against his career-long rival, former Michigan State Spartan and then-Los Angeles Laker Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

The Indiana State product’s record-setting trey was part of his overall 7-point, 6-rebound, 7-assist performance in the first of a dozen All-Star appearances.

Who are the best dunkers in Boston Celtics history?

We took a look at the top dunkers in Boston Celtics history. Who made the cut?

Who are the best dunkers in the history of the Boston Celtics? It’s hard to say for sure. Dunking a basketball requires a bit of artistry, and beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. (It also doesn’t help that the NBA didn’t list dunks as an official stat until the mid-1990s.)

Still, some of Boston’s best players certainly knew how to take it to the house, including members of the current squad. From the menacing strength of players like Bill Russell and Robert Parish to the graceful athleticism of Dee Brown or Jaylen Brown (no relation), there’s been plenty of rim rockers to wear Celtics green.

The question remains — who are the all-time best dunkers to ever suit up for the Boston Celtics? Let’s lace ’em up and discuss.

On this day: Celtics deal for Olowokandi; Green, Brooks, Williams born

On this day in Celtics history, the team traded for Michael Olowokandi, and Sly Williams, MarShon Brooks, and Gerald Green were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise sent wing Ricky Davis, center Mark Blount, guard Marcus Banks, forward Justin Reed, and two second-round picks from the Celtics to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006.

In exchange for the package of player contracts and draft assets coming from the Celtics, Boston received forward Wally Szczerbiak, big man Michael Olowokandi, power forward Dwayne Jones, and a first-round draft pick. Relatively uneventful as far as impact on the organization in the short term, the trade would have been a footnote in team history except for the fact that it set the stage for the deal which would bring Ray Allen.

And through that move, Kevin Garnett, to Boston the following year.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 5

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 5 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years as of September 2022.

Lisfranc injury: How 5 players returned after the foot diagnosis

Rookie Wire went back and looked at how some basketball players recovered from a Lisfranc injury.

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren has been ruled out for the entire 2022-23 season due to a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, the team announced.

Holmgren suffered the injury playing in the annual CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle, Washington. He was seen attempting to defend a layup attempt by LeBron James, but came up limping after the play and eventually left the game.

Thunder executive vice president Sam Presti expressed his disappointment for Holmgren but is confident he will come back better than ever. The team expects him to make a full recovery from the injury, which will require surgery.

Lisfranc injuries occur if bones in the middle of the foot are broken or if ligaments in the area are torn. The ligament helps keep the midfoot in place and stabilizes the arch of the foot. It is relatively uncommon in basketball with it popping up more frequently in football.

The recovery time for the injury can vary depending on various factors, but players often return by the next season. It was once viewed as a career-ending injury, especially in football, but advances in medical treatment have allowed players to successfully return.

With that in mind, Rookie Wire went back over the years and took a look at how much time some basketball players needed to recover from the injury and how they played afterward.

Every Boston Celtics player appearance on ‘Shaqtin’a Fool’ since 2011

Watch the clip to see the worst (or at least the funniest) of the Celtics over the last decade and a year.

While it might not be an honor to appear on former Boston Celtics big man Shaquille O’Neal‘s “Shaqtin a Fool” segment on TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” a fair number of Boston players making a guest appearance over the years. The segment, for the uninitiated, is effectively the blooper reel of the dumbest, funniest or weirdest things Shaq and company caught on video that week.

Now, YouTuber and Celtics fan videographer Danielle Hobeika put together an all-time compilation of when Celtics players made the show. The list includes Rajon Rondo, Mikael Pietrus, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Kris Humphries, Vitor Faverani, Kelly Olynyk, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Al Horford, Gerald Green, Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

Watch the clip embedded below to see the worst of Boston over the last decade and a year — and try not to drink anything while you watch it.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Gerald Green sees Kevin Porter Jr. as potentially ‘next James Harden’ for Rockets

Recent Rockets coach Gerald Green is bullish on Houston’s emerging young core, and he even threw out a James Harden comparison for Kevin Porter Jr. in the coming years.

Kevin Porter Jr. is a crafty left-handed guard for the Rockets who can score and create offense in multiple ways. Sound familiar? It does to Gerald Green, who played in Houston alongside James Harden during the franchise’s best seasons of this century in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Porter’s production and efficiency isn’t anywhere near Harden in those years, of course, but the important context is that he’s only 21 years old. Harden himself was far from his current form at that age.

Green, who spent approximately a half-season coaching the Rockets in 2021-22 before unretiring to play in the G League (with hopes of an NBA return), addressed Houston’s emerging young core during a recent appearance on the “Inside Buzz With Mikey Domagala” podcast.

While Green offered glowing praise for many current players, it seemed that his highest praise was for Porter — and yes, he did make the Harden comparison for the first-round pick from the 2019 NBA draft.

Here’s some of Green’s comments from the episode:

I think they’re a really good young core. They still have to learn how to win games. That’s hard. But, they’ve got a great core to develop. I feel like Jalen Green can really be a star, if he stays locked in and focused. I think Christian Wood is pretty much there. I think he’s got to just keep on staying the course, and keep being consistent.

Scoot (Porter), the sky is the limit for him. If he keeps his head clear and keeps trying to lead the team like he’s been doing lately, I think the sky is the limit for him. You could be looking at the next James Harden. That’s just my opinion.

You’ve got so many young guys over there that can really grow, and they all love each other. When I was there, you could tell. They’re tight, they’re close. That’s what you want as a team. I really think Rafael (Stone) did a good job putting those guys together. He did a great job.

The record doesn’t reflect it just yet, since the Rockets have one of the NBA’s youngest teams among active rotation players. Entering February, Houston owns the Western Conference’s worst record. But Green is hopeful of a turnaround in the coming months and years.

“All they need is just a couple more years to let players develop, and I think the Rockets are going to be a team not to mess with,” he said.

The complete podcast episode can be listened to below.

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Gerald Green sees ‘easy’ title for 2018 Rockets, if Chris Paul stays healthy

“If Chris Paul doesn’t get hurt, we win a ring,” Gerald Green says of the 2018 Rockets. “Easy. We were the better team. We were special.”

Former Rockets guard Gerald Green, who now plays for Houston’s G League affiliate club while seeking an NBA return, recently took the time to revisit some painful history during an appearance on the “Inside Buzz With Mikey Domagala” podcast.

“If Chris Paul doesn’t get hurt (in the 2018 Western Conference finals), we win a ring,” said Green, a key shooter off Houston’s bench from 2017 through 2019. “Easy. We would’ve beat them. We were the better team. We was ready for them. We would’ve beat Cleveland pretty easy.”

“We were special,” Green said of Houston’s 2018 squad. The complete episode with the native Houstonian can be listened to below.

The 2017-18 Rockets finished 65-17 in the regular season, by far the best record in the NBA that season and in franchise history. But they did not win the title after falling to eventual champion Golden State in a dramatic seven-game series, with Paul limping off during the final seconds of Game 5 due to a Grade 2 hamstring injury. At the time, Houston was up 3-2 in the series, but the defending champion Warriors beat the Paul-less Rockets in each of the final two games to advance.

While the Rockets were not technically one victory from a championship — they would still have had to win the 2018 NBA Finals versus Cleveland, even had they won a Game 7 versus the Warriors at home — the reality is the 2017-18 Rockets were far better than those Cavaliers (50-32), on paper. Even if Paul had not been able to play, James Harden’s MVP presence would still have made Houston a substantial favorite.

Draymond Green, a star player for those Warriors alongside Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, said the same during a recent podcast of a hypothetical Rockets-Cavaliers matchup in 2018.

“I don’t think there was any other team that could have beaten that Rockets team,” said Golden State’s Green.

The Warriors’ defensive anchor did not go as far as Houston’s Green did with regards to a hypothetical Western Conference finals outcome, had Paul stayed on the court. That’s quite understandable, of course, since no one is interested in playing down their own team.

Either way, though, the sentiment holds: The 2018 Rockets were on the cusp of immortality, had Paul been able to stay healthy. Unfortunately, he did not, and that set off a chain of events that has led to Houston’s current rebuild and a hope of eventually scaling that mountain again.

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