On a day where the biggest story so far has been whether Kevin Garnett’s playing time will increase tonight against the Clippers, I think I speak for many Celtics fans in welcoming the lack of news. It has been a tumultuous 9-7 stretch for this team since the All Star Break. In fact calling the last few weeks eventful would probably be an understatement. Let’s take a look at the sequence of major stories since that fateful February 19th when KG went down with a knee injury in Utah
February 25th: Mikki Moore plays first game for C’s in loss to Clippers. Paul Pierce dislocates finger twice during game but plays through it, missing potential game winning jumper.
February 27th: Stephon Marbury debuts in Green with a strong performance against the Pacers.
March 6th: C’s beat Cavs convincingly without KG, Rondo sprains ankle which keeps him out for next two games.
March 8th: Celts fall short in 2nd half comeback effort against Orlando, playing with 11 healthy bodies on roster, including 2 rookies. That number goes down to 10 once Big Baby sprains ankle in third quarter, keeping him out for the next four games and leaves team with one healthy backup PF/C (Mikki Moore) on roster.
March 13th: Rondo returns from ankle injury in win against Memphis, led by Leon Powe’s career high 30 points.
March 17th: Where do I start with this one? Powe sprains his right knee in a collision in the first quarter, leaving the team with only two active big men on the roster. Someone fails to tell Mikki Moore he is one of those two big men and he proceeds to foul out with 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
This forces Doc to play Perk for the entire 4th quarter, causing him to be completely gassed by the end of the frame and burned repeatedly by Brad Miller in closing moments. Paul Pierce also got to play some center in the final few possessions. But wait there’s more.
Rondo sprained his ankle again in the 3rd quarter but returns a few minutes later after getting it retaped. Ray Allen hyperextends his elbow which he plays through for rest of game. Oh and Doc was goaded by Bill Kennedy into a tech with 30 seconds left, which leads to his ejection and calling out Kennedy after the game to reporters. Despite all of this, the C’s somehow led by 13 in the 2nd half of this game and had multiple chances to win it.
March 18th: Big Baby comes back from his sprained ankle a little bit ahead of schedule due to Powe’s injury. Ray sits out with his elbow injury. Paul Pierce wills C’s to a win over a Wade less Heat team in overtime.
March 20th: Kevin Garnett makes a triumphant return for 15 minutes in dramatic win over San Antonio.
So all in all, I guess you could say this has been a pretty active last month for this squad. To be honest, I probably even overlooked a couple things over that span. There were enough events in that span to carry a news cycle for an entire season, much less one month.
It is clear that this team ship’s has taken on some water recently but I give credit to Doc for having kept the ship afloat despite it all. And with the sight of land in the distance in the form of a Kevin Garnett and an overall healthier roster, I am glad that Doc Rivers and his staff will be able to take a deep collective breath for a few days here before gearing up for the playoffs.
So to reiterate, there is no real news today surrounding this team. And that my friends is good news.
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maybe another couple of highlights (?) could be gabe pruitt pulling a vin baker and billy walker playing some center?