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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Paul Pierce, SF41 MIN | 6-19 FG | 1-1 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 14 PTS | -9
Pierce’s DIY offense reared its head again at times late in this game. The defense swarmed him accordingly, and he rarely passed out of it. He made several weird choices on offense throughout the evening, but his defensive effort was appreciated and he played huge minutes for the second night in a row.
Brandon Bass, PF42 MIN | 10-17 FG | 1-2 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 21 PTS | +2
I feel better when Bass’s jumpers go up than any other jumpers on the team. He knows his spots and Rondo knows how to find him there. He also outrebounded Zaza Pachulia with a four-inch disadvantage and put down some sick dunks. Every day I like to remind myself that he was acquired straight up for Glen Davis (8.6 pts, 5.1 rebounds, 40% shooting).
Kevin Garnett, PF33 MIN | 9-20 FG | 4-4 FT | 12 REB | 2 AST | 22 PTS | 0
How DARE anyone tell Kevin Garnett he couldn’t play the end of that game. On a night when Allen sat and Pierce and Rondo couldn’t hit, Garnett carried the offense. He posted up when he got one matchup, and he took jumpers when he got the other matchup. His shot chart looks like a sawed-off shotgun blast. How could this guy ever have thought about retiring three months from now?
Rajon Rondo, PG47 MIN | 3-16 FG | 4-4 FT | 10 REB | 20 AST | 10 PTS | +6
A+ for the assists, rebounds, and defense. D+ for the shooting and turnovers. That averages out to an A somehow. It was a triple double! With 20 assists!!! He shouldn’t be punished too harshly for some bad luck at the rim.
Avery Bradley, SG31 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 7 PTS | -13
I love that Doc can now choose between Pietrus and Bradley to shut down the opposing team’s best scorer, depending on the size of the player. I also loved when Bradley flushed that three in the third.
Keyon Dooling, PG4 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | +1
Even without Ray, I’m not sure what he was “dooling” in the game.
Sasha Pavlovic, SF14 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 PTS | +12
Never has a player done so much while doing so little. Someone needs to come up with an “in the mix” quantification for Sasha. I guess his team-high +12 will suffice.
Mickael Pietrus, SF29 MIN | 3-5 FG | 1-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | +11
Pietrus got an A for his speedy recovery, his clutch shooting, and his defense on Joe Johnson tonight. Then he asked fans to follow him on Twitter in his postgame interview and that got him the bump to the A+.
Greg Stiemsma, C24 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS | 0
Ah, that flat-footed Stiemsma jumper. He’s reluctant to shoot it, but even more reluctant to miss it. Stiemsma got jobbed at the end of the game but had already given his team a monster night on defense and the boards. When he ascends to superstar status in two weeks he’ll stop getting those ticky-tack calls.
Three Things We Saw
Guts all over the floor. How this team won a SEGABABA when they turned the ball over 19 times, took ten fewer free throws, and terrible officiating that lost them their only two players taller than 6’7″ will forever be a mystery. I’m glad this team finally gets a day of rest, but I also wish I could watch them play every day.
The game within the game of Tommy Heinsohn’s fury vs. his own heart trying not to explode. And that game was probably closer than the basketball one. I tried to imagine what it would be like for a Hawks fan listening to Tommy on League Pass and got a brief glimpse of why so many people hate him so much.
I have a complaint about the Boston crowds: there were at least three instances of the Celtics running out of shot clock without realizing it tonight. That should never happen. Crowds are supposed to COUNT DOWN THE SHOT CLOCK when it gets close. Get involved, please.
The Ticker
