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15 hours 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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1 day 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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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

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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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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5 days ago

5 Questions With Landry Fields

I talked with New York starting guard Landry Fields prior to the Celtics-Knicks game at the TD Garden.  Here is what the 2nd year man out of Stanford, who is averaging 10 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists had to say. 1.  I’m sure you guys are frustrated with your record to this point of [...]

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Rondo’s Domination, In Numbers

Basketball-Reference’s database for individual player games goes back to the 1990-91 season. You might be wondering things like, gee, how often has an NBA player put up those sorts of numbers in an NBA playoff game. Let’s find out! 

Since the ’91 season, exactly one other guard has scored at least 25 points and grabbed at least 18 rebounds in a playoff game. I’ll give you one guess who that might be.

Yup, it’s Michael Jordan, who slapped up a 38-19-7 on Philadelphia in a 1991 playoff win. 

How about if we drop the rebounding criteria down to 15 boards? We’re left with this list of 25-15 games by guards in the playoffs:

So, yeah, four other players and Rondo. Not a bad group. That Bonzi Wells outburst in 2006—a multi-game outburst, by the way—was one of the most random stretches of elite play in NBA history. 

Oh, and how many times has a player (of any position) put up at least 29 points, 18 boards and 13 assists in a playoff game since ’91? 

None

Until Rajon Rondo did it Sunday. 

And the C’s needed it, in part because they could not get their perimeter game going. Boston made just 1 of 14 three-point attempts, prompting a commenter to ask how often Boston has won when making so few triples. 

Answer: Since the KG/Ray trades, the Celtics are 2-5 in the regular season in games in which they hit 0 or 1 three-pointers and 3-1 in the playoffs (including Sunday’s win against the Cavs). 

So that’s 11 games out of 295 total the C’s have played since KG/Ray got here, or one game out of every 27. 

Overall, NBA teams were 18-56 this season in games in which they hit 0 or 1 threes. So it’s unusual for teams to win such games in an era in which the three has become a crucial weapon for just about every good team. 

But the C’s got Sunday’s game, in large part because of their $55 million point guard.

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