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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 3: Celtics (2-0) @ Knicks (0-2) Open Thread

Boston @ New York
Madison Square Garden
7:00 PM
ESPN, CSN

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 104.0 points/100 possessions (t-17th)
New York: 108.3 points/100 possessions (5th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 97.8 points allowed/100 possessions (2nd)
New York: 106.9 points allowed/100 possessions (21st)

Probable NY starters: Toney Douglas(PG), Landry Fields (SG), Carmelo Anthony (SF), Amare Stoudemire/Shawne Williams (PF), Ronny Turiaf (C)

Probable BOS starters: Rajon Rondo (PG), Ray Allen (SG), Paul Pierce (SF), Kevin Garnett(PF), Jermaine O’Neal (C)

View from the opposing benchKnickerblogger

***UPDATE: Chauncey Billups will NOT play tonight

Game 3 thumbnail:

The Celtics look to go up 3-0 and take commanding control of this series. If you haven’t heard, this will be the first playoff basketball game played at Madison Square Garden since 2004. Apparently a lot of important people are supposed to be in attendance.

The update on Stoudemire and Billups: the Knicks are hopeful for Amare’s return, but they remain pessimistic that Billups can be ready by tip-off. Both will be game-time decisions. I’d be shocked if Amare doesn’t at least try to play, though. He’s been working toward this moment all season, and even if his back isn’t fully cooperating, I can’t see him sitting this one out completely. As for Billups, we saw the effect that his absence had on Game 2, as Rajon Rondo got to the rim whenever he wanted. If Billups isn’t able to play, Rondo’s scoring instantly becomes an important factor in this game.

And finally, the rebounding numbers from Tuesday’s game again: Knicks out-board the C’s 53-37, including 20 on the offensive glass. And that was without Amare for most of the game. Surely, the Celtics know they have rebounding concerns, but that hasn’t yet led to any dramatic improvements. So we’ll see if anything changes tonight. I wonder if Doc will call for double-teams against Carmelo down the stretch, because the Celtics showed they had a lot of trouble boxing-out when they abandoned their traditional defense.

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