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1 hour ago

5-on-5: Predicting All-Star Reserves

I was a panelist on the 5-on-5 today at ESPN, choosing reserves for the Eastern and Western Conference all-star teams. I took two Celtics, as noted below. Hit the link to read the rest. 1. Which East and West point guards should be chosen as All-Star reserves? Ryan DeGama, CelticsHub: East: Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo [...]

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1 day 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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2 days 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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3 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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3 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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4 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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This is not last year: enter the bench

As I wrote here last week, at least one member of the Big Three was on the court for every second of every competitive game during last season’s playoffs. Only at the end of seven blowouts (among 26 games) did Doc leave five back-ups on the floor. 

That coaching style is out the door immediately here in Game 1. 

With 2:02 left in the first quarter and the C’s up 23-19, Doc subbed Eddie House in for Paul Pierce. For the next 1:44, Rajon Rondo played with a rotating cast of Mikki Moore, Leon Powe, Kendrick Perkins, Tony Allen and House. 

The Bulls tied the game at 26-26 in that span. (Doc brought Pierce and Allen back in for the last :18 of the first quarter).

Doc started the second qurater with an all-bench line-up–unthinkable last season–of House, TA, Moore, Powe and Marbury. He stuck with that line-up for a full 4:49, and the bench played the Bulls exactly even over that span. (The score was 36-36 when it ended).

Ray Allen and Big Baby re-entered with 7:11 left to go in Q2 (replacing TA and Mikki Moore), and the Bulls outscored that line-up 6-2 over the next 1:53. 

The rest of the starters (Pierce, Perk and Rondo) re-entered at the 5:18 mark with the Bulls leading 42-38 and got outscored 11-6 through the remainder of the quarter. 

So you can’t solely blame the bench for the 53-44 halftime deficit, though they did fail to sustain some early momentum.

In any case, this is yet another consequence of the KG injury–a deeper rotation, with more responsibility for less experienced players. Something to watch as the playoffs move on.

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