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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 [...]

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6 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
7 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
8 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
11 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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Game 39/66: Trail Blazers (19-20) @ Celtics (20-18) Open Thread

Portland @ Boston
TD Garden
7:30 PM EST
CSNNE

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 97.7 points/100 possessions (25th)
Portland: 102.6 points/100 possessions (8th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 96.2 points allowed/100 possessions (3rd)
Portland: 99.1 points allowed/100 possessions (11th)

Probable Blazers starters: Raymond Felton (PG), Nicolas Batum (SG), Gerald Wallce (SF), LaMarcus Aldridge (PF), Marcus Camby (C)

View from the Opposing Bench: Portland Roundball Society

In what may be the last home game for this current roster together, with a long road trip and the trade deadline looming next week, the C’s host another reeling opponent in Portland. Per usual, I got together with the guys over at ESPNBoston to throw around some thoughts about the Blazers and C’s. You can check out the full post at  ESPNBoston.com

1. What should scare the Celtics most about the Trail Blazers?

Greg Payne: Getting into a run-and-gun style shootout. Portland has too many offensive weapons for the Celtics to overcome if they try and get by tonight without playing any real defense. The Blazers have a legitimate (and still underrated) All-Star in Lamarcus Aldridge, athletic wing players in Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews, a point guard capable of pushing the pace in Raymond Felton, and a true offensive force off the bench in Jamal Crawford, who has made some of the most ridiculous shots the league has seen over the last several years. An offensive-oriented game won’t favor the Celtics tonight. Defense has to be the main priority, even more than usual.

Robb: Just like Philadelphia, they are a desperate team right now having dropped four of their last five games. There are plenty of trade rumors swirling in the Pacific Northwest as the Blazers have dropped out of the top 8 spot in the Western Conference, making this pit stop in Boston even more crucial than normal. This roster has plenty to prove if they want to stay together and plenty of athletic talent as well which could give Boston fits. Look for Portland to come out hungry Friday night.

Chris Forsberg: Portland’s in last place in the Northwest Division. They’d be a playoff team in the East. They truly are one of those sneakily deceptive teams. Look at their stats and you’ll wonder how they’re not five wins better than their record reflects. About the only thing the Blazers don’t do better than average is rebound and that shouldn’t exactly be a concern against Boston. Not that past success matters much, but the Blazers haven’t won in Boston since 2004 and have been one of the league’s worst road teams this season. That said, the Celtics know how daunting a desperate team could be. If the Blazers are clicking offensively, this one will be a grind for Boston.

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