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10 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 [...]

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10 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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11 days ago

Danny Ainge Expects Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett To Return, Unsure About Paul Pierce

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 [...]

11
11 days ago

Suns Hire Away Celtics’ Assistant GM Ryan McDonough

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 [...]

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12 days ago

Doc Rivers Finishes 13th in Coach of the Year Voting

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 [...]

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13 days ago

Overconfident Answers To Offseason Questions (Part 1)

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.  [...]

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Game 57: Celtics (29-27) @ Jazz (31-25) Open Thread

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2007/0411/nba_g_jeffersonpierce_275.jpgBoston at Utah
9:00 P.M. ET
EnergySolutions Arena

CSNNE/NBATV

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 100.3 points/100 possessions (23rd)
Utah:
103.6 points/100 possessions (11th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 99.6 points allowed/100 possessions (5th)
Utah:
 104.4 points allowed/100 possessions (21st)

Probable Jazz Starters:
Jamaal Tinsley (PG), Randy Foye (SG), Marvin Williams (SF), Paul Milsap (PF), and Al Jefferson (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Salt City Hoops

Thumbnail: On Sunday night, the Celtics traveled from one Northwest divisional city to another. Monday’s game in Utah will be the end of a season-long five-game road trip for Boston. The men in green will hope to continue their success against Al Jefferson, who was drafted 15th overall by the Celtics in 2004.

After playing 206 regular season and postseason games for Boston from 2004 to 2007, Jefferson has yet to beat his former team. Although he has scored double-digit points in nine of his 10 career contests against the Celtics, Jefferson’s Timberwolves went 0-6 and his Jazz have had a 0-4 record. Jefferson will hope to defeat his old friend, Paul Pierce, while also trying to advance his current streak of scoring at least 10 points to 29 consecutive games.

In order for the Celtics to avoid losing on back-to-back nights, they will have to shoot well. Boston’s field goal percentage typically determines the outcome. On Sunday, the Celtics shot 42.4% from the field. When the Celtics have a field goal percentage as low as they did against Portland, they are 4-12 this season. However, when they shoot at least 50% in a game, they are 13-2 in 2012-13. Boston also cannot afford to struggle from three-point range against Utah, one of the worst teams in the NBA at defending it this season.

Another area that the Celtics have to improve is their rebounding. They have had fewer offensive rebounds than their opponent in 15 consecutive games, the longest streak of any team this season and tied for the second-longest streak in the NBA since 2004-05. Even though Doc Rivers stresses for his players to get back on defense instead of trying for offensive rebounds, this phenomenon is still very troublesome for the Celtics. Boston will hope to improve their rebounding on Monday at Utah, so that the team will be able to get their 10th road victory of the season. The Celtics are the only current playoff team to still have fewer than 10 road wins in 2012-13.

Prediction: Jefferson has a strong performance and notches his first career victory against the Celtics.

Jazz 98, Celtics 95

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

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