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4 mins ago

Greg Stiemsma’s Contract To Become Fully Guaranteed

The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]

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16 hours ago

5 Questions With Kemba Walker

I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night.  Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]

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2 days ago

I Am Awesome!

Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]

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2 days ago

Pierce Wins Eastern Conference Player Of Week

One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]

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3 days ago

Garnett’s Wondrous 3-point Rant

Via ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who knows a great, playful rant when he hears one, here’s Kevin Garnett discussing his not-so-newfound aptitude for three-point shooting after the C’s took down the Grizzlies. “When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting like y’all shocked that I can shoot 3’s. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the [...]

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3 days ago

5 Questions With O.J. Mayo

I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden.  Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say. 1. You started every game your first two years in the league, [...]

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Critics be damned: An Ode to Paul Pierce

I feel like I’ve spent the last 10 years defending Paul Pierce in arguments with Celtics fans and non-Celtics fans. His sins, according to fans of other teams, include: selfishness, poor shot selection, an awkward game prone to turnovers and bouts of falling down, and, of course, the ridiculous notion that he faked a knee injury in Game 1 of the Finals last year — an argument so silly I never even bother with a rebuttal.

There are also a surprising number of C’s fans who have never forgiven Pierce for a few bad incidents that are, frankly, inevitable when you spend 10 years playing on a team that ranges from awful to mediocre for most of them.

These fans were permanently turned off by his ejection from Game 6 of the Pacers series in 2005 and the infamous gang sign incidents. These fans are happy to take his occasional 20-point fourth quarter, but they much prefer KG (ignoring his often out of line trash talk, of course) or the quiet, inoffensive Ray Allen.

To each his own, I guess. I’m a Pierce guy, and I’m tired of defending him. Luckily, Kelly Dwyer at BDL has done it for me in a few wonderful lines from his recap of last night’s comeback win at Dallas, keyed (of course) by an 18-point fourth quarter and a jumper-draw offensive foul on Dirk-jumper sequence that won the game. (Shades of Jordan’s score-steal-score in the 1998 Finals?). I may just print out copies of this and hand it out at bars:

“He didn’t do a damn thing in that fourth quarter that should have surprised us at all, but it’s still worth the standing O. He’s been working that magic for years, on teams hoping to make the playoffs, on teams hoping for a ring, or on teams desperate to get to 30 wins. Always coming through, either keeping it close, or putting it away. Laugh at the wheelchair and rip him for moping at times (like, all of 2003-04), but the man is just a stone cold winner.”

Yup. That’s about right.

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