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7 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 [...]

9
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Game 82/82: Knicks (42-39) @ Celtics (55-26)

Is It Finally Avery's Turn To Shine?

New York at Boston
TD Garden
8:00 PM EST
CSNNE

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 103.9 points/100 possessions (19th)
New York: 108.4 points/100 possessions (5th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 97.7 points allowed/100 possessions (2nd)
New York: 106.9 points allowed/100 possessions (21st)

Probable NY starters: Chauncey Billups (PG), Landry Fields (SG), Carmelo Anthony (SF), Shawne Williams (PF), Ronny Turiaf (C)

Probable BOS starters: Carlos Arroyo (PG), Von Wafer (SG), Jeff Green (SF), Glen Davis (PF), Jermaine O’Neal (C)

View from the opposing bench: Knickerblogger

Thumbnail: It took the Celtics until game 82 to finally find meaninglessness. During Monday’s game with Washington, the second seed was still undecided. But nothing’s on the line tonight in this glorified exhibition game that also serves as an unrepresentative playoff preview. Doc Rivers will rest his starters, Amare Stoudamire and Delonte West will sit with injuries, and defense will likely be played in passing, if at all.

So why watch? Let’s see if we can’t find a few reasons.

Reason #1: Avery Bradley. Conditions are perfect for the C’s rookie PG tonight. Rajon Rondo has the night off. West is hurt. Arroyo can’t play the whole game. Bradley may break his season high in minutes, 15, which he set back in December against the Nets. It would almost be cruel for Doc to anchor him to the bench tonight, wouldn’t it? This is his last chance at game action until next fall.

Reason #2: Jeff Green. The fleet forward tore up the Wizards on Monday night for 20 points and 15 rebounds in 47 long minutes. You can read little into the specific numbers but the extended run and improved rhythm can only help him going into a playoff season that may serve as a referendum on his time in Boston. He got up 20 shots Monday. Let’s hope for that many again tonight.

Reason #3: Jermaine O’Neal. JO put up a 15 and 13 line on Monday and tagged on 5 blocks, all impressive totals. But even more striking are the 37 minutes he logged. He hadn’t played that many minutes since March 18, 2010. Back in the lineup now for 7 games, is it possible that O’Neal really will live up to his Feb 5 tweet where he promised “I know I haven’t been out there much this year, but I promise I will be there when the Cs need me the most! That I guarantee!”? ‘Cause that time is now.

Reason #4: Mike and Tommy. The NBA knows you hate listening to your local announcers and will shuttle Mike and Tommy off the air at the conclusion of the first round. So, this is your last chance to listen to Tommy in his relaxed state. By Sunday night, he should be practically volcanic.

Reason #5: Your blood pressure. Of course, the tension rises for all Celtics fans this weekend. Tonight is the last game where you can laugh off a bad call or a subpar Boston effort. Speaking of which…

WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM BOSTON TONIGHT

  • Avery Bradley logging 25 minutes and drawing more iron or mesh than air on his jumpers. A career-high in points (6) is not out of the question.
  • Jeff Green dominating offensively against a small New York front line and containing Anthony, like we hope he’ll do come Sunday night.
  • A JO performance, circa 2001.
  • No more #%@#% injuries.
  • Gino.

PREDICTION:

Boston 108 New York 104

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