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13 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 [...]

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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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Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo Make All-Defensive First Team

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but two of the C’s top defensive cogs were selected to be a part of the league’s top defensive unit, as voted by the 30 NBA head coaches. The coaches were given two points for every first team vote and one point for every second team vote.

This was the second first-team honor for Rajon Rondo and the 9th overall for Kevin Garnett, which ties Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Gary Payton for the most in NBA history.

Here’s the full voting numbers via ESPNBoston.com

All-Defensive First Team
Position, Player, Team, 1st, 2nd — Total Points
Center, Dwight Howard, Orlando, 27, 2 — 56
Guard, Rajon Rondo, Boston, 16, 7 — 39
Forward, LeBron James, Miami, 17, 4 — 38
Guard, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, 13, 7 — 33
Forward, Kevin Garnett, Boston, 15, 3 — 33

All-Defensive Second Team
Position, Player, Team, 1st, 2nd — Total Points
Guard, Tony Allen, Memphis, 7, 9 — 23
Guard, Chris Paul, New Orleans, 6, 6 — 18
Center, Tyson Chandler, Dallas, 3, 11 — 17
Forward, Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia, 5, 5 — 15
Forward/Center, Joakim Noah, Chicago, 3, 9 — 15

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first team votes in parentheses): Derrick Rose, Chicago, 14 (4); Dwyane Wade, Miami, 13 (3); Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City, 13 (4); Gerald Wallace, Portland, 11 (1); Grant Hill, Phoenix 11 (4); Luol Deng, Chicago 11 (4); Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 11 (3); Chuck Hayes, Houston, 10 (2);

Quick Thoughts: Perk gets 3 votes while playing just 24 games? Talk about impact! Kobe probably doesn’t deserve first-team honors, relying on reputation a la Derek Jeter rather than performance. Instead of Bryant, TA probably deserved that honor, but other than that, not too much to quibble about on there.

In addition, this afternoon I took part in a 5-on-5 roundtable, with a few other terrific writers over at ESPN.com. Here’s a sample of my responses, while I encourage you to check out the full piece.

1. On a 1-to-10 scale, how amazing was Rajon Rondo’s return in Game 3?

Brian Robb, Celtics Hub: 10. Sometimes injuries are embellished for dramatic effect, but any fan has to give Rondo plenty of accolades here. When you go from wondering whether a player season’s is over, to watching him captain his team to victory over a game’s crucial closing moments, that takes guts. It also is worthy of a perfect score.

2. On a 1-to-10 scale, how much will Rondo give the Celtics in Game 4?

Brian Robb, Celtics Hub: 5. Physically, Rondo will be clearly affected, but his mere presence on the floor will be crucial in Boston’s attempt to tie the series. His tempo, defensive pressure and overall explosiveness should remain intact despite the limited use of one limb. We won’t see any triple-doubles, but he’ll give Boston a chance to win.

3. On a 1-to-10 scale, how well did the Celtics and Heat play in Game 3?

Brian Robb, Celtics Hub: Celtics, 8. There was a bump in the road during second quarter, so this wasn’t a no-hitter. After halftime, however, Boston couldn’t have excelled much more on both ends of the floor. Heat, 5: Mediocre outings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. A no-show by Chris Bosh. Lazy defensive rotations. Only sensational efforts from Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony kept things competitive.

4. On a 1-to-10 scale, how likely is it Boston will tie the series Monday?

Brian Robb, Celtics Hub: 8. Boston was rejuvenated Saturday night thanks to a throwback effort by Garnett and a gritty return by Rondo. Their biggest problems against the Heat (offense and turnovers) are eased in the friendly confines of the Garden. Miami will have a strong counter prepared, but the C’s will be ready for it.

5. On a 1-to-10 scale, how likely is it Boston will win the series?

Brian Robb, Celtics Hub: 3. Barring an unlikely four-game winning streak, the Celtics best chance of winning the series involve winning a Game 7 in hostile territory. The Celtics’ core is 1-9 in these potential road closeout games over the past three postseasons. A victory this year in such a scenario is still certainly possible, but far from probable.

Ryan’s back at you with the open thread in a bit.

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