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6 days ago

3-on-3: Will Doc Rivers Return Next Season?

With the Doc Rivers coaching watch heating up to a fever pitch in the past few days with a countless number of credible reports, we decided it’s time to get our crew back together and address the speculation. 1. On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you Doc Rivers will coach the Celtics next [...]

10
9 days ago

Rajon Rondo Reads Mean Tweets About Himself on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Despite all the rehab, Rajon Rondo is finding ways to keep busy this offseason. Just a couple weeks after appearing on E!’s Fashion Police show, the point guard was back on TV last night, in a fun segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live called Mean Tweets. In it, celebrities, or in this case NBA players, read [...]

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22 days ago

Why Are People So Eager To Trade Paul Pierce?

The whispers around Paul Pierce’s future with the Celtics continue to surface in the fourth week of Boston’s offseason. Unconfirmed report after unconfirmed report has circled in, stating anything from Pierce’s house being on the market, to the team being “likely” to buy him out. Locally, plenty of Celtics fans seem resigned to the fact [...]

51
24 days ago

Terrence Williams Tells His Side of the Story on Arrest

It was a tough start to the offseason last week for Terrence Williams. After standing out as one of the bright spots on the Celtics roster late last season, he was taken into custody last week with the disturbing allegation that he pulled a gun during a domestic dispute with his son’s mother and her [...]

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25 days ago

Video: Rajon Rondo on E! Fashion Police

What has Rajon Rondo been up to this offseason beyond rehabbing his ACL injury? Rubbing elbows with Joan Rivers, that’s what. Just one summer after spending some time showing off his fashion sense in an internship with GQ, Rondo went one-on-one with Rivers on E’s Fashion Police, since well he has some time on his [...]

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26 days ago

Jason Terry’s 2012-13 Final Grade

  Acquiring any player, whether it’s via trade, free agency, or the draft, comes with an air of uncertainty. The NBA has no guaranteed covenant and all sales are final, no matter how talented, proven, or productive the player may have been in year’s past. But these memories—especially recent ones—often clouds the judgment of a [...]

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Game 55: Celtics (28-26) @ Suns (18-37) Open Thread

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0318/nba_g_oneal_gb1_600.jpgBoston at Phoenix
9:00 P.M. ET
US Airways Center

CSNNE

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 100.1 points/100 possessions (23rd)
Phoenix:
99.0 points/100 possessions (27th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 99.7 points allowed/100 possessions (6th)
Phoenix:
 105.2 points allowed/100 possessions (24th)

Probable Suns Starters:
Goran Dragic (PG), P.J. Trucker (SG), Jared Dudley (SF), Luis Scola (PF), and Marcin Gortat (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Valley of the Suns

Thumbnail: The last time the Suns faced the Celtics, Jermaine O’Neal returned to TD Garden just to be posterized by Jeff Green. In addition, Boston held Phoenix to 79 points, tied for the Suns’ fourth-fewest points scored in a game this season. Green led the Celtics’ group effort that night with a team-high 14 points. Jared Sullinger accounted for 38 percent of Boston’s rebounds that night while Rajon Rondo had 35 percent of the team’s assists.

Unfortunately, now more than a month after that victory in early January, the Celtics look like a much different team due to injury. Speaking of looking different, Jordan Crawford is coming to Boston as a fill-in for Leandro Barbosa. Crawford will most likely be able to provide what Barbosa was able to before the ACL injury, but Crawford’s impressive per minute statistics could mean even more production from the Celtics bench. Crawford is one of seven players this season to average at least 18 points, four rebounds and five assists per 36 minutes, via ESPN Stats & Info. Those who are extremely high on the 24-year-old should remember he is a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer, so do not set your expectations too high on Crawford, who is expected to play on Friday.

However, Celtics fans hope that this trade with the Wizards as well as some free agent big men signings will turn around Boston’s road woes this season. Western Conference teams have especially magnified the Celtics’ terrible performance away from TD Garden. The Celtics are 0-7 on the road against the opposing conference in 2012-13, which is the second-worst record in the league. Moreover, Boston is the only current playoff team with fewer than 10 road victories. Luckily for the Celtics, they had a day off and play the Suns, who are on pace to finish below .500 at home for the first time since 2003-04.

Prediction: The Suns fair better against the Celtics this time around, but do not score more than 90 points. Phoenix’s record when scoring 90 or fewer points moves to 1-15 this season.

Celtics 96, Suns 90

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

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