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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 47/66: Celtics (25-21) @ Sixers (26-21) Open Thread

Boston @ Philadelphia
Wells Fargo Center
8:00 PM
CSNNE/ESPN

Offensive Efficiency
Boston: 
98.2 points/100 possessions (25th)
Philadelphia: 
102.3 points/100 possessions (10th)

Defensive Efficiency
Boston: 
96.7 points allowed/100 possessions (3rd)
Philadelphia:
94.5 points allowed/100 possessions (1st)

Probable Philadelphia starters: Jrue Holiday (PG), Evan Turner (SG), Andre Iguodala (SF), Elton Brand (PF), Spencer Hawes (C)

View from opposing bench: Philadunkia

Thumbnail: Calling all optimists!  We have a game for you!

A few short days ago, I wrote a quick little post about a three game span that could have meant a lot in terms of how the season would play out for the C’s.  It seemed really foolish at the time, after all the Celtics had just suffered two embarrassing losses to very beatable teams, but I felt they had a real chance to make up ground on the Sixers before their March 23rd meeting.   All the C’s had to do was win their next two and hope the Sixers lost a game, and they would be playing for first place by the end of the week.

So here we are.  March 23rd.  The Celtics swoop into Philadelphia riding the momentum of two quality wins and the Sixers lost a tight one against New York.  If the C’s can make it three in a row, they will be in sole possession of first place.  It’s such a weird feeling that it bears repeating.  After starting the season so sluggish, the Celtics could actually find themselves looking down instead of up.

It won’t be easy.  The Sixers are the most efficient defensive team in the league.  They are young, athletic, and have multiple players who can step up at any given night.  It may sound strange, but the real x-factor may be how Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley can defend Lou Williams.  The undersized guard has been absolutely torching teams this year and the C’s will have to limit his effectiveness if they hope to pull out a win.  They cannot allow Williams to go off like they let Marcus Thornton do.

Prediction:

Celtics 95, Sixers 90

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