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The Ticker
6 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 [...]

19
7 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
8 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 [...]

93
9 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
12 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
12 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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Pleasantly Surprised: Celtics 85, Heat 82

ESPN Box Score • The Heat Index • Hot Hot Hoops • Peninsula is Mightier

The Celtics have officially won the season series with the Miami Heat despite being dealt some interesting cards.  The Celtics were forced to play today’s game with only eight semi-healthy bodies.  Adding insult to injury, Paul Pierce failed to get it going on the offensive end.  He may be suffering from an unknown injury, still feeling the effects of his reported bout with the flu, or perhaps he just had a bad game.  Still I cannot remember a game in which Paul Pierce was so ineffective on the offensive end.  In 40 minutes, Paul Pierce was 0-10 from the field and scored a total of one point.  Scary Bad.  On the flip side, Pierce played a masterful defensive game against LeBron James.

On the surface it seems odd that the Celtics can win a game against the Miami Heat when one of their big three is not playing well.  If you dig a little deeper, you’ll see why the Celtics were able to win.  Kudos go to the Miami Deep Threats James Jones, Mike Miller, and Eddie House as they shot a  combined 1-for-12 from distance.  That is not a figure you will see often, but then again, neither is Paul Pierce’s box score entry.

One last thing to note before Mike gets you caught up with some more substantial analysis:  the officiating was grotesquely bad today.  The flagrant foul call on Dwyane Wade, the numerous times LeBron James got hit on his way to the basket, and phantom calls on Kevin Garnett all make a strong case for league review.  I don’t think I want any of these guys officiating in the playoffs aside from Ken Mauer.  He’s not great, but he still had an emphatic “No Call” signal on the Garnett lean-in screen that precipitated Wade’s “flagrant” foul.  This type of differentiation from officials is necessary for the playoffs, especially when things get a lot more physical.

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