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16 hours ago

Rondo Replacing Johnson on All-Star Team

The Herald got it right from Rondo’s agent. According to his agent, Bill Duffy, the Celtics point guard has been named to the Eastern Conference All-star roster, presumably to replace Joe Johnson, the injured Atlanta Hawks guard. This would be Rondo’s third all-star appearance. Nice birthday present for RR, who probably should have been selected [...]

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3 days ago

Comments Deleting?

We apologize if your comments are being deleted (provided that they are not offensive). We are looking into why this is happening. We also want to apologize for the lack of a game thread for last night’s game.  We had a premonition that the Celtics would play that poorly and thought if we pretended the [...]

2
7 days ago

5 Questions With Greg Monroe

I talked with Detroit star forward Greg Monroe prior to the Celtics-Pistons game on Wednesday night.  Here is what the 2nd year big man out of Georgetown, who is averaging 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game had to say. 1. Just your 2nd year in the league, but playing so well, were you disappointed [...]

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8 days ago

Call for Responses: 5-on-5

Readers! Last week’s responses to the 5-on-5 questions were really, really great. We had way more qualified answers than we were able to use. So we’re going to keep doing it! FOREVER. Here are this week’s questions: 1. Are you concerned about Rondo’s media boycott this week? 2. The trade deadline is less than a [...]

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11 days ago

5 Questions With Ronnie Brewer

I talked with Chicago starting guard Ronnie Brewer prior to the Celtics-Bulls game on Sunday.  Here is what the 6th year man out of Arkansas who is averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists had to say. 1. You guys have a lot of the same players back from last year’s team which was [...]

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13 days 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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Game 8/82: Celtics (6-1) @ Mavericks (3-2) Open Thread:

Boston at Dallas
American Airlines Center
8:30 PM EST

TV: CSN

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 103.9 points/100 possessions (14th)
Dallas: 101.9 points/100 possessions (18th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 95.6 points allowed/100 possessions (3rd)
Dallas: 97.4 points allowed/100 possessions (5th)

Probable Dallas starters: Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler

Thumbnail: Known for early season winning streaks, the Celtics look to extend this one to 6 games against a Mavs team that is coming off a home-and-home split with Denver.

WHAT THE MAVERICKS DO WELL:

  • Depth and balance: The Mavs have a good player at all five starting spots, plus are able to bring Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood off the bench. Dirk, Butler and Terry are a very formidable “Big Three” (at least on the offensive end) that can beat you in a number of ways. The Celtics usually have an edge with their bench in every game, but tonight should be a good battle of the second units.

WHAT THE MAVERICKS DO POORLY:

  • Turn the ball over. The Mavericks are tied for 4th most turnovers per game with 17.2. Like the C’s, this is a veteran team that likes to play in the half-court. Turnovers leading to easy fast break points will be important for the Celtics.

PLAYER(S) WHO MAKE ME WORRY:

  • Nowitzki: Surprisingly, Dirk has only taken four 3-pointers this entire season, but he’s still averaging 25.8 ppg. How is this possible? He’s taken more shots from the 16-23 foot range than anywhere else on the court, where he’s averaging 59% shooting (HoopData.com).
  • Terry: Off to a fast start, averaging 19.2 ppg on 50% 3-point shooting.

PLAYER(S) WHO DON’T MAKE ME WORRY:

  • Kidd: His early season numbers are solid: 9 ppg, 5 rebounds, 11 assists. But at the level that Rondo is playing, tonight could be a tough one for Kidd. He isn’t getting any younger, and I don’t see him chasing Rondo around all night, so we might see more minutes for Northeastern product Jose Juan Barea.

WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM BOSTON TONIGHT: With an ailing left knee, can Jermaine O’Neal have another good night rebounding the basketball?  He improved on his zero-rebound game against Chicago with 9 boards last night against OKC. With KG tasked with guarding Nowitzki tonight, the C’s could use another strong performance on the glass from Jermaine.

Prediction: Dallas 105, Boston 99. It seems like every time I turn around the Celtics are playing the second leg of a back-to-back. This time it might be asking a little much. Expect a huge game from Dirk.

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