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12 hours 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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1 day 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!

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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

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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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2009-10 Celtics: Not the favorites

ESPN.com continued their look ahead at the 2009-10 season by releasing the predictions of their 53 NBA experts on who will win the 2010 Championship.

Only 5 teams received votes from the panelists and the Celtics earned five votes from the experts, which was good for only less than 10 percent of the overall vote. Here’s what those that did end up picking the C’s said in explaining their picks:

  • I pick them to win the NBA title because it really is their last stand. Much like the 1968-69 Celtics, who won the 11th title in Bill Russell’s career, this team is primarily a group of proud veterans who want to achieve a special place in franchise history. They won it once and may have won it last year had not Kevin Garnett been hurt. With Rasheed Wallace in the mix, Danny Ainge went all-in to win it in 2010.
  • Maybe Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace aren’t what they once were, but the Celtics should get a pretty dynamic season out of the combination of the two.
  • The emergence of Rajon Rondo was the dose of youth and energy the Celtics will need to get them back to the top of the mountain.
  • The Celtics have the best starting five in the NBA and added terrific depth in Marquis Daniels and Rasheed Wallace. With KG healthy, they may not be the best team in the regular season, but they will be in the postseason.

The Lakers lead the way in the overall votes. Here are the overall tallies:

Lakers: 19 votes (36%)
Cavs: 18 votes (34%)
Spurs: 8 votes (15%)
Celtics: 5 votes (10%)
Magic: 3 votes (5%)

Looking at this, it’s clear the Celtics will not be considered the favorites entering this season. My question is whether the result of this poll surprises anyone? I personally thought the C’s would get a few more votes and more respect than this given all of their upgrades to the bench. What is everyone’s else take on this? Are the experts selling the C’s short or should the Lakers and Cavs still be rightfully considered the favorites?

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