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9 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 [...]

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9 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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10 days ago

Danny Ainge Expects Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett To Return, Unsure About Paul Pierce

A long, challenging offseason awaits Danny Ainge this summer. Before he dives in head first, he joined Salk and Holley on WEEI-FM 93.7 to discuss the multitude of decisions facing him this offseason, as well as the progress of Rajon Rondo in his rehab from ACL surgery. A few of the notable highlights from the interview. Ainge [...]

11
10 days ago

Suns Hire Away Celtics’ Assistant GM Ryan McDonough

In one way or another, there will be change this offseason in Boston. That process started in the past couple days, with the first piece moving out coming as a name most C’s fans might not be familiar with. Yet, it was Celtics’ assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, one of Danny Ainge’s top lieutenants, who [...]

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11 days ago

Doc Rivers Finishes 13th in Coach of the Year Voting

It was a tough season for the Boston Celtics, and that includes for head coach Doc Rivers. The long-time coach battled to find the right fit for a lot of new pieces that were both underperforming and/or failed to pick up his schemes on both ends of the floor. Naturally, an unfortunate plethora of injuries [...]

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12 days ago

Overconfident Answers To Offseason Questions (Part 1)

It seems like every offseason since 2010 we’ve been through this: a myriad of questions and concerns about the Celtics’ roster that usually involve the possibility of the core of the team being dismantled. As we head into the summer of 2013, we’ve got a whole batch of questions, many of which will be familiar.  [...]

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Game 18/66: Pacers (12-5) @ Celtics (8-9) Open Thread

Indiana at Boston
7:30 P.M. ET
TD Garden
CSNNE

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 98.9 points/100 possessions (19th)
Indiana: 98.7 points/100 possessions (20th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 95.8 points allowed/100 possessions (4th)
Indiana: 96.0 points allowed/100 possessions (5th)

Key Injuries:
Boston: Sherrod Blakely says Ray Allen “looks like a go.” Rajon Rondo, Jermaine O’Neal, and Keyon Dooling are all questionable.
Indiana: Jeff Foster is out. A.J. Price is questionable.

Probable Indiana Starters: Darren Collison (PG), Paul George (SG), Danny Granger (SF), David West (PF), Roy Hibbert (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Eight Points, Nine Seconds

THUMBNAIL

Roy Hibbert has come a looooong way since his Georgetown days, although he still can’t get a contract extension before free agency. Too bad for him but it could be a nice consolation prize for a team with a lot of cap room and no Dwight Howard. It’s almost impossible for teams not to overpay for a guy like Hibbert because almost any fair offer will be instantly matched by the Pacers. Such is life under a salary cap.

But that is next year and there are plenty of things to discuss between now and then. Most importantly, the game tonight!

Did anyone happen to catch last night’s game? I turned it off after the first quarter. Man, this team isn’t going anywhere, huh? How much did they end up losing by?

Tonight, the Celtics will have to get off the schneid by facing the Pacers, a team they have yet to beat this season. Despite being on the SEGABABA, this could be the Celtics’ best chance of beating the Pacers. They may have a 3-2 record since beating Boston, but the Pace-Setters have lost to the Kings and to the Magic, badly. Even in some of their wins, they’re either turning the ball over (around 18 times a game) or shooting in the low 40 percent range.

I wrote that the Pacers haven’t been playing their best basketball lately in today’s Three on Three and have been catching some heat from Pacer fans. What they don’t realize is that I’m actually complimenting the Pacers. I think they can player better than how they’re playing now, which makes a prospective playoff series scary. But alas, sports fans are dumb.

The Celtics will have their work cut out for them tonight as the Pacers can really score the basketball. Luckily, the C’s defense has not only proven that they can lock a team down, but they have also shown immense resilience over the past two games. Doc Rivers will have to go deep into his bench tonight given the game last night and the travel time from Orlando to Boston, but he appears to have that luxury for the time being.

I can’t wait to find out what happens!

PREDICTION
Pacers 99, Celtics 99

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