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5 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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5 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
6 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 [...]

92
7 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
10 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
10 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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Sunday Notebook: Ray’s Work, Health, Familiar Faces

• Ray Allen took exactly one day to relax at home after Game 7 before getting on his bike for a 31-mile ride, according to the Herald’s Mark Murphy, who catches up with Ray and picks his brain about age, injuries and the future of the C’s:

“We’re older than last year,” Allen said, shrugging his shoulders in “big deal” fashion. “That always was funny to me because I never felt older. I never felt out of shape or slower. We went through a bad stretch of not winning games (last season), but it never had to do with age.

“It had to do with getting together on the same page. It’s not going to change. But that’s always the challenge we’ve faced with every year, where people look at us and say we’re not capable. That’s the negativity that pushes all of us.”

The ladies in our readership might want to take note of this quote from Ray’s agent, Lon Babby, about the positive effects of Ray’s biking regimen:

“He has the best-looking calf muscles in the NBA.”

Watching Ray Allen over the next couple of years is going to be fascinating. As I’ve touched on before, shooting guards with games similar to Ray’s—lots of running, lots of threes—have almost universally washed out of the league by their 36th birthday. Ray turns 35 on Tuesday. The lone major exception is Reggie Miller, who remained productive until he retired at 39. Ray would seem to have the work ethic to buck the trend as Reggie did, but it’s going to be difficult, especially since a 100-game NBA season is going to bring nagging injuries such as the one Ray reportedly suffered during the Finals. 

• Speaking of which, Jeff Clark has a thoughtful take on injuries and the myth of “staying healthy.” 

• Also in that Mark Murphy piece: Ray is still on the horn with free agents selling them on Boston:

“You should come here next year because you’re a free agent. These guys are your friends. It’s not like signing checks and giving them money.

“You’re just having a conversation. I don’t know what you can and cannot do. But at this stage when everyone is a free agent, you can call around and push the envelope a little bit more.”

Ray played with Damien Wilkins in Seattle. Maybe they’re friends! Wouldn’t that be exciting! (Ugh).

• Evans Clinchy wonders if the Celtics might re-sign Brian Scalabrine. No. Just…no. 

Chris Forsberg wonders if Lawrence Frank is in position to take over the team should Doc Rivers leave after this season. 

That’s it for now. Quiet day in C’s news, as we’re nearing the NBA’s true dead time. 

Enjoy your Sundays.

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