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8 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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8 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
9 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 [...]

93
10 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
13 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
13 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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Ainge: No deals on the horizon

On the eve of the 2009 NBA draft, amidst one of the most rumor filled weeks involving the Celtics in recent memory, the C’s top dog is still denying the likelihood of any deals going down iinvolving the C’s on Thursday night. Here is the latest report by Marc Spears of Boston.com:

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge acknowledged via text message tonight that he doesn’t expect his franchise to make any trades to get into the first round, acquire a second round pick or to get a player. Boston currently only has the 58th overall pick in the second round.

Despite the denial, I still like the odds of Danny making an under the radar move for Thursday’s draft given his sharp eye for college talent and the success he has had in buying picks over the years. The slowing economy combined with one of weakest talent pools the draft has seen in years, should result in a buyer’s market out there. I look for numerous teams to look to unload late 1st round and 2nd round picks for bargain prices, just to free up the roster spot and money they would owe any player signed in those slots.

Ainge can play coy all he wants regarding a deal, but you know there are a few likely seasoned college prospects that he has his eye on to fulfill a need on this team’s bench for next year. This team needs help right now, and despite Doc’s reputation among some Celtics fans for not giving the young guns a fair shake, one has to remember the minutes and meaningful minutes the Glen Davises and Leon Powe’s of the world earned under Doc during their rookie seasons.

There are places for rookies in Doc Rivers’ rotation. The players just have to be the right fit for Doc’s scheme. Danny has struck gold in the 2nd round finding these players in years past. Here’s hoping he will do so again Thursday night, if the right players fall far enough.

So what does everyone think? Is Ainge’s plan of standing pat just a smoke screen for impending moves or will we see a uncharacteristically quiet draft night for Boston?

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