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18 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!

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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4 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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Optimism in Numbers

Jeremy Lundblad of ESPN Research has dug up some fun numbers at ESPNBoston on the dominance of the C’s starting five: 

In the past three seasons, the Celtics’ primary starting five — Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Rajon RondoKendrick Perkins – has started more games as a unit than any other in the NBA. When healthy, these guys are close to unbeatable

(snip) ™Rob Neyer

As a group, those starters are 94-25 together. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is easily the best record of any starting five with at least 50 starts over the past three years. The next best unit is the now-defunct Pistons five of Chauncey BillupsRip HamiltonTayshaun Prince,Antonio McDyess and the Celtics’ own Rasheed Wallace. In fact, this group is establishing itself among the best in franchise history. Need proof? When in the starting lineup together, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish went 138-38, according to Elias data. That’s a .784 win percentage — lower than the .790 percentage of the current group.

The central thrust of the piece is that if the C’s core unit stays healthy, there is no reason to consider them any less likely to win the title than the Lakers, Magic, Cavs or any other team.

The 2007-08 season ended with a parade. Last season ended in MRIs, disappointment and a commitment to replenish the bench.

So what was the difference? Quite simply, health. Specifically, the health of Garnett, who missed 25 games and the postseason.

These numbers nicely encapsulate the deal the Celtics made with themselves—and the one we enthusiastically accepted—when they made the KG/Allen trades. They accepted the potential for high-level greatness along with the risk that age and injuries could derail that greatness at any time. 

Does the 2008 title alone make the deal a success? After 22 years, I think it does.

 

One more interesting tidbit from the ESPN Boston piece: 

The highest winning percentage in games played before Christmas in the past three seasons combined (source: Elias Sports Bureau):

  W-L Pct.
Celtics 57-6 .905
Lakers 46-16 .742
Magic 46-20 .697
Suns 43-20   .683  

 

 

 

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