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6 days ago

Painful Reminders (Part I): The Celtics Drafted JaJuan Johnson Instead of Jimmy Butler

On June 23rd, 2011, Brian Robb and I stood around a high top bar table in Tommy Doyle’s in Kendall Square.  Before us lay one of the biggest mounds of buffalo chicken wings I had ever endeavor to make disappear.  These 25 cent flappers- one of the few indulgences afforded to the participants of our [...]

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6 days ago

Chris Wilcox: 2012-13 Final Grade

There are a number of contextually-appropriate ways to craft this post. One would be to forgo words entirely, and represent Chris Wilcox’s entire season with a series of videos. That would involve one part of this: For every eight parts of this: Note the headline on that second clip. Someone was so amused/enraged by Wilcox’s [...]

12
7 days ago

Rajon Rondo’s 2012-13 Final Grade

Here’s a sweeping general statement involving super specific statistics that may or may not mean anything: In the 1423 minutes Rajon Rondo played this season, the Boston Celtics were outscored by 1.3 points per 100 possessions. When he sat (including all contests after he tore his ACL), Boston was better than their opponents by 1.8 [...]

92
8 days ago

Avery Bradley Elected to NBA All-Defense Second Team

Avery Bradley has been a standout defender for the past couple seasons…in the regular season anyway. Now he has a trophy to prove it. The NBA announced this afternoon that the third-year guard has been elected by coaches around the league to the second-team all-NBA defensive team for the first time in his career. Bradley [...]

13
11 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

42
11 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

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Preview: Celtics vs. Bulls, Game 4

AP

AP

Today, the Celtics look to get out of the windy city and not have to come back until next year.

“Personally, I don’t want to come back to Chicago, I’m treating this game like we lost Game 3. So it’s going to be my mind-set to go out here and win Game 4 and, hopefully, put it away at home.

“We’ve got the opportunity, definitely. We can’t get any more banged up, hopefully, knock on wood. We’ve got an opportunity to stick a fork in them this next game, and hopefully go back home and finish them off.

“We didn’t come up here and say by winning Game 3 we’ve got home-court advantage back, we can take it easy. That’s definitely not our mind-set – our mind-set is to come up here and win and go home and win one more.”

Words spoken by a veteran leader on a veteran team that knows how to win. Paul Pierce knows that even after trouncing Chicago in game 3, there are no guarantees. By focusing on this game as just one game they have to win, not only will his and others’ killer instincts be in full effect today, but they’ll also be in position to avoid any “winner’s hangover.”

What to watch for…

No limping from Rondo. Who can forget Bill Walker helping Rondo off the floor after game three? I think I heard a collective “what!?” from outside my apartment window as Boston seemed poised for another injured player. Have no fear Celtics fans. Rondo will be fine. He’s had extra time to rest his tired and hurt feet. Look for him to stay aggressive on both ends of the floor. He has either matched or surpassed the play of Derrick Rose this series, so there’s no reason to expect anything else.

Strong play from the Celtics’ bench. Due to the Celtics garnering that big lead by the fourth quarter, the Celtics’ bench got some extended minutes. What’s inspiring about this is that the bench played well and didn’t let the Bulls get anywhere close. Marbury had the best game of the playoffs scoring 13 points and dishing out five dimes. Mikki Moore also had a good game (for him) by not fouling out in 20 minutes. I also look forward to Eddie House heating up and Tony Allen playing through this crazy off-court situation.

The Bulls to step their game up. The Bulls got a gut check the other night when the Celtics took it to them, beating them by 21 points. Look for the Bulls to come out firing. Ben Gordon will attempt a repeat of his game 2 performance by shooting the ball aggressively. Rose will attempt a repeat of his game 1 and slash through the lane whenever an opportunity arises. Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah will play with extremely high energy and hit the glass hard.

What I think will happen. I expect the Celtics to win this game. In the first three games of this series, it’s safe to say we’ve seen each team at their best and the Celtics have the edge in experience. Still, look for the Bulls to play extremely hard, as they are an up-and-coming team that has showed a lot of guts and promise.

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