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51 mins ago

5 Questions With Josh McRoberts

I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden.  Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, had to say. 1. How have you guys been able to deal [...]

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2 hours 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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Friday Notebook: Optimism

It’s Friday, and everyone’s happy. 

• There is optimism about Kevin Garnett’s health, according to Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston.com:

“Everybody is picking their play up, I am no different from that,” said Garnett. “I told you, I wanted to be a lot more aggressive the second half of the year. I am, personally, going to have a nice rhythm going into the playoffs. I am taking it one game at a time, as we get healthy. I think you will start to see a better team.”

And Doc:

“I think he’s just getting better step by step. I’ve been watching him so closely all year — I just think he’s improving, slowly. Even when he’s on his bad nights, you can see some of the good things he’s doing that he couldn’t do earlier”

The Charlotte game was encouraging. But we’ve seen encouraging games before. Which scenario represents KG’s new reality: the one where he works himself back to health, or the one where we see flashes of the old KG within a broader narrative of decline? 

• It’s not just internal optimism, either. A two-game win streak, some flashes of health and an energizing trade has league observers thinking the C’s might be on the right path.

Here’s Larry Brown (a noted Doc fan and ally, by the way) in Julian Benbow’s Globe story:

“I don’t buy all this stuff that they’re in trouble,’’ Brown said. “They’ve had some injuries. They’re just starting to get healthy. They got some new players like [Marquis] Daniels and Nate [Robinson] now, Rasheed [Wallace].

“They’re going to be fine. They’ve got a great coach. They’ve got great chemistry. I think everybody has bad periods, but when you have the injuries they faced, all that’s done is develop depth. So they’re going to be all right.’’

And Pistons coach John Kuester:

“If you stay healthy, with the type of people you have with Ray and Paul and Kevin, there’s a reason why they win,’’ Kuester said. “They’re so focused. They’re not only talented, they’re very good leaders.’’

Mike Finley’s agent sure sounds optimistic, according to Gary Washburn’s piece in the Globe:

“The opportunity to earn minutes in the rotation. And the chance to seek a ring and the chance to play for Doc [Rivers] and with [Kevin Garnett] and some of the other guys. All of those things made Boston attractive,’’ Thomas said.

A ring? Is it really still possible? 

Happy Friday.

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