While some NBA players who are assigned to their NBA team's D-League affiliate may be upset, discouraged and even difficult, there are others who look at their time in the D-League as a chance to improve and work on specific parts of their game -- which will help them have a successful career in the NBA.

The Utah Flash, affiliates of the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics, have a player on assignment from the Celtics in J.R. Giddens who sees his chance in the D-League as a positive opportunity to get game experience, rather than sit behind the Celtics bench in a suit.

"When you are up there, you're playing with Paul (Pierce) and Ray (Allen), and they practice the majority of the time and get the majority of the minutes," said Giddens, Boston's first-round draft pick in the 2008 NBA draft. "They have their rotation and they are the defending World Champions -- it's kind of hard to crack that lineup."

As with most players who spend more game time in a suit than they do in a uniform, falling out of game shape is easy to do. The D-League provides an opportunity for players like Giddens to get the minutes they need and prepare for the time they get their chance with the parent team.

"I just need to get some games under my belt," Giddens said. "I'm more excited to come down here and be able to work on things and get in game shape so when they (the Celtics) do give me the chance, I will be fully prepared to take full advantage of it."

The 6-foo-5 guard out of New Mexico may seem familiar to followers of the Mountain West Conference, as he averaged 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game last season with the Lobos, good enough to earn him MWC Co-Player of the Year honors with BYU's Lee Cummard.

His high-energy and athletic style of play is something that allows Giddens to use his versatility on the floor to rack up statistics and feel up a box score -- something that initially attracted the Celtics to him prior to the '08 NBA draft.

"The thing that J.R. can do, and Danny Ainge (Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations and General Manager) told me, is that he can really fill up a stat sheet," Flash head coach Brad Jones said. "In my opinion, that's a star in this league and I think that what the Celtics are hoping to see is that he can do that on a consistent level."

Giddens' style of play and ability to register league-leading type statistics saw him earn top 10 rankings in the MWC last season in nearly all statistical categories.

Along with ranking fourth in scoring in the MWC last season (16.3) and leading the league in rebounding last year (8.8), Giddens found himself among conference leaders in field goal percentage (.516, fourth in league), steals (1.4, eighth), and blocks (1.2, third).

With his numbers and performances, Giddens has proven to the Celtics that he has the ability to become a valuable asset and a player in the NBA. And while it may be frustrating for the former MWC superstar to head to the NBA's minor league, Giddens knows that those in Boston are pulling for him to succeed with the Flash.

"As a competitor and as an athlete, you feel frustrated (being with the Flash and not the Celtics). I wouldn't say disappointed, though, because I know that I need this," Giddens said. "I'd be disappointed if I was down here and wasn't capable of getting the job done. I feel like they (the Celtics) think I'm capable, I just need to get some games under my belt."

Giddens hit the game-winning jumper and had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the Flash's season-opening win over Austin on Friday and scored 15 points in a loss to Rio Grande Valley the following night. And with direction from the Celtics to the Flash to get Giddens minutes and plenty of time on the court, Flash fans are sure to have plenty of time to see the energetic guard continue to work on his game in the NBA's minor league -- with a positive attitude.

"Overall," Giddens said, "I am just happy to come down and get a chance to knock some of this rust off of me."