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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 [...]

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 43: Celtics (20-22) @ Hawks (24-18) Open Thread

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/img/photos/2012/08/10/e4/19/rondo-bump_1373293a.jpgBoston at Atlanta
7:30 P.M. ET
Philips Arena

CSNNE

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 99.8 points/100 possessions (22nd)
Atlanta:
101.4 points/100 possessions (16th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 100.3 points allowed/100 possessions (7th)
Atlanta:
 100.6 points allowed/100 possessions (9th)

Probable Hawks Starters:
Jeff Teague (PG), DeShawn Stevenson (SG), Kyle Korver (SF), Josh Smith (PF), and Ivan Johnson (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: HawksHoop

Thumbnail: It is plain and simple: Rajon Rondo needs help. On Thursday, he registered his 27th career triple-double, including the playoffs. However, the Celtics have now lost three out of the last five games in which Rondo has gone for a triple-double after having a 21-1 record in his first 22. Part of the problem is Boston’s inability to make open shots. As evidenced by their loss to the Knicks, the Celtics once again could not hit the broad side of a barn. They shot worse than 41% from the field for the third consecutive game, tying their worst three-game stretch in the Kevin Garnett era.

After Thursday’s loss at TD Garden, the Celtics then arrived in Atlanta very early on Friday morning. The last time they did this, January 5th, was after a 94-75 Boston victory over the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics were able to come back against the Hawks and win their second in a row, which then was a part of a season-best six-game winning streak. Now though, the Celtics are hoping to stop a season-worst five-game losing skid.

Fortunately for Boston, Atlanta’s roster is thin right now due to injuries. After losing Lou Williams, their third best scorer, to a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee, the Hawks also might be without Al Horford (calf, hamstring), Zaza Pachulia (Achilles), and Devin Harris (ankle) for Friday’s game. While the Celtics are 5-5 on the second night of back-to-backs this season, not many people can trust them because of their recent play. Boston’s offensive efficiency and three-point percentage continues to fall, which in turn has led to many losses.

Prediction: The Celtics do not have enough to beat the hobbled Hawks. Boston’s losing streak extends to six games, their longest since April 2007.

Hawks 96, Celtics 90

For more Celtics coverage and pertinent statistics, follow Celtics Hub and Stats Adam Lowenstein on Twitter: @CelticsHub and @StatsAdam

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