It's Zero Hour In The NBA: Do You Know Where Your Celtics Are?

 

 “…No Matter Where You Go, There You Are.”

-- Buckaroo Banzai

 

So, where exactly is it that our beloved Boston Celtics find themselves as General Manager Danny Ainge ushers in season #1 of “The Causeway Construction Project?”

Short recap: Coach Doc Rivers? Gone. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry? Gone, gone, gone.  Era of Ubuntu and Championship aspirations? Gone.  Anything better than a weak puncher’s chance of even making the Playoffs? Gone.

The sole surviving member of the five who famously “never lost a playoff series together?” Gone – at least until December, but I’m hedging on Rajon Rondo returning at or after the All-Star break, if you must know.

After witnessing the tail end of the “New Big Three” era during last year’s Playoff series against the Knicks as the Celtics were dispatched in the first round, prompting their Championship window to slam shut so hard that the glass shattered, Ainge made the unpopular but inevitable and intelligent decision to take a keg to the team and blow things to kingdom come.
 

With the trade that sent 15-year veteran, All-Star and Celtic original Pierce – along with the iconic Garnett and Terry – down to the Brooklyn Nets, Ainge signaled the beginning of a reconstruction project that will take, at minimum, three years to begin bearing fruit.    

Returning as the only holdovers from last year are Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Jared Sullinger, Courtney Lee, and Jordan Crawford who join draft pick Kelly Olynyk, rookie Phil Pressey, free agent signee center from Brazil Vitor Faverani, and the members of other end of the Brooklyn Nets trade Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Marshon Brooks and Keith Bogans. Not necessarily what you would call a “Championship Driven” lot, right?  

The team is now comprised of more
youth than age (only two players – Wallace and Bogans – have ten or more years in the League) and new coach Brad Stevens has approximately zero experience in the pro ranks, so any hopes by Greenheadz for a winning season or even an 8th Playoff seed should be of the faintest variety. This is not a team built to win, nor should it be. In possession of six first-round draft picks over the next five years, the goal of Danny and Co. should be to assess current talent for cultivating in either a new Championship core or trade value, develop a winning culture (even though actual winning may prove to be elusive at first), and make savvy moves that improve the team and add to that “Championship core.”

So, to answer the opening question, “where do the Celtics find themselves?” Talent-wise, this team will actually be able to compete with anyone on a strictly night-to-night basis. What it won’t be able to do is sustain any kind of consistency to speak of from night-to-night and certainly not enough make, let alone win, the Playoffs. Record–wise? I always shy away from this kind of prediction, mainly because there is no way to project things like the return of Rondo and other injuries to key players. But, if I were a gambling man, I’d place their wins in the high 20’s. Kind of an upper-middle of the bottom tier of the NBA.  I hesitate to use the label “mediocre” because for me, it implies a sustained level of lackluster play over more than one season. No, the Celtics will be a scrappy, never-say-die running basketball team that can take the New York's, Houston's, Golden State's and even (on occasion) the Oklahoma Cities and Miami's by surprise for a game.

What should we look for in this team? Commitment, measurable improvement and the building of bonds that are forged in the leaner times between players with character. For me, watching the development of Kelly “The K.O. Kid” Olynyk, Brooks, Pressey, Faverani and even Sullinger and Green, as well as the steady return to form of a healthy Rondo should provide me with enough entertainment to deal with the losses.  Wallace and Humphries have proven to be proud competitors as well as veteran leaders alongside Bogans, so any reports about tanking should be met with a portion of skepticism. Unless, of course, any two or all of these players happen to be shipped out of town by the trade deadline in February.

A suggestion that I would like to make to Greenheadz everywhere, if I might be so bold and yet humble: Just sit back and watch this young team without any expectations or frustration. Enjoy every learning moment for the players as much as you will their inevitable moments of success – however fleeting. You are now on the ground floor of a project that will ultimately lead to our #18th and maybe even #19th and #20th banner.
 
While the road may be bumpy and fraught with wrong turns and steep curves, when they finally arrive at their planned destination, you’ll be thrilled that you decided to come along for the ride.

Game #1…Hoo Rahhh!

Conjunction Dunktion: Jay-Gee On A Spree; KG Charges Bulls; Paul Pierces Warriors Hearts

Hookin' Up Facials & Rimshots & Throwdowns

 

 

Gettin' It Started As Always With One Of The Game's Most Emphatic Dunkers

Here, for your viewing pleasure, are a few throwdowns from the end of the regular season that you just might want to see again as we wait for Round 2 between the Celtics and Knicks tomorrow night...


 Mean J-Green Makin' A Scene Against ATL

 

KG On A Dunking Spree VS Chicago 

 

The Truth On The Loose Puts Down The Deuce

 

Mean J-Green Throws It Down In The Bean

Putting Tragedy Behind, Boston Ready For Rumble With New York

 

Between the abject horror of Monday and the chaos and confusion of Friday, it was determined that as far as the Boston Celtics and NBA Playoffs are concerned, the show will go on.

And well it should. As many have already explained, if at all possible, we should return to as normal an existence as we are capable of as both a sign of resilience and defiance to any- and everyone who would seek to threaten our way of life and the freedoms that so many have given their lives to sustain.
 
With that said, I wish the victims and their families healing and want to give unlimited praise and thanks to the first responders and investigators for their very hard earned success.

Moving on…

____________________

Celtics vs. Knicks. MAN, this is gonna be good. 

Boston vs. New York…KG vs. Carmelo…Paul Pierce vs. Every Damn Thing In A Knicks Jersey.  THIS is what Playoff basketball is all about. The drama…the competitiveness…the legitimate and palpable dislike that these two teams feel for each other = epic watchableness (Yeah. It IS a word. I wrote it, didn’t I?!)  

Get ready to hear The Truth, put The Jet on the runway and get your pollen-based product-sweetened oat-grain cereal ready!

So…how can we expect our green giants to do this year as the underdogs? Well, if you listen to the so-called experts over at SportsIllustrated, ESPN and CBS Sports, Boston is going to get beat like punching bags as nothing more than sparring partners to the allegedly Eastern Conference-bound Carmelodrones New York Knicks.
 

See?

Now, I know I am probably not the most objective writer out there when it comes to assessing the Celtics (I’m known in some circles as the Tommy of the Typewriter, which I think is really a bad analogy because I neither announce for the Celtics as a former player named Heinsohn nor do I even have anything more than a vague recollection of what a typewriter is in this era of unswallowable tablets and smartiepants phones), but I do make an honest effort to separate my love of the Green from the realities of their sometimes-greater-than-a-care-to-admit limitations.  

But, we as Celtics fans also know how many “shock the world” moments it's taken for some of the non-believers to realize – you can never sleep on a playoff team led by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers. NEVER.

 

And with that, let me launch into my prediction about the Celtics beating the Knicks in six games.

Sure, the Celtics have lost Rondo for the year and lost the season series, but two of those losses have had asterisks in the box score – a really tall, intense #5 jersey-wearing asterisk named Kevin Garnett, who happened to be sitting for the final two matchups. As everyone knows, you can take the season series stuff and throw it out the window for the Playoffs. Or, to put it more succinctly – “What happens in the regular season, STAYS in the regular season. History, though? History’s a whole different story.

What do we already know about the Celtics, Knicks and the Playoffs? Well, we know that anytime they’ve met up in the KG-Paul Pierce era, the Celtics proved to be the young father playing ball in the backyard with the Knicks as their 6-year-old son. In fact, the last time the Celtics played the Knicks in the Playoffs, the C’s looked like giant green atomic dinosaurs smashing their way through a well-known but helpless cosmopolitan city.  
 

Look, we KNOW The Captain LOVES playing in MSG.

 

 

 Actually, he LOVES playing against the Knicks ANYWHERE...

 

And we know that KG owns a luxury condo unit inside Carmelo's head.

 
But, this game is going to come down to the Celtics defense on the three-point line and each team’s wild cards stepping up to become heroes.

The C’s wild cards? The defensive dominance of Avery Bradley; A decidedly more aggressive (both on offense AND defense – Melo HATES playing on this guy!) Jeff Green; a new and improved (in just about every facet of the game) Brandon Bass, a sweeter-shooting C-Lee; a Jet that’s made-for-the-playoffs; and that wildest of wildcards, Jordan Crawford.  He may never find himself on the same planet of the country with the city where the building has the office in which people are talking about the Defensive Player of the Year, but he can definitely provide a major scoring lift during those confounding draughts the C’s are famous for, and that’s why the Celtics brought him in.

 

I still believe we’re going to see the best from Jason Terry in these Playoffs. As many a savvy veteran has done before him, he saves an extra gear for the “season that counts,” and I think back a few years when Doc invented his quote: “This guy’s gonna win a Playoff game for us. I guarantee you that,” he was looking into his crystal ball and thinking about Terry.

There’s also the great possibility that unsung heroes suddenly start hearing the sweet music of success like Shavlik Randolph, Terrence Williams, Chris Wilcox and others. Any one of or all of these guys can come in and turn a game with their hustle and scrappiness alone. The Playoffs are where legends are made (yeah, I LOVE that cliché!) and the Celtics are a bubbling cauldron of flying fish just waiting to leap out of the pot and make their mark. And, no, I have absolutely no idea what the hell that sentence actually means, but I am certain that is has something to do with the fact that someone, somewhere on the bench is going to help us out before it’s all over.

Ultimately, what it all comes down to is (All hands on deck! Prepare to fire Cliché # 3) which team wants it more. Effort will trump talent in this series and veteran savvy will win out over flamboyant scoring.

Celtics in six. And Melo has another meltdown in a New York minute.

Beware Brooklyn...The Green Goblins Await!

Fans...this COULD conceivably be a playoff series at some point this year...granted, we're about to start The Big Sleep resting our players for The Big Show, but still...

 

LET'S GO, C'S!!!

 

THE BUZZ: TONIGHT!!!

Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets

@ 8:00 p.m.

Boston Garden, Boston, MA

NEW!! GreenHeadz Wrap-Up

As the one or two of you who frequent this site might possibly have realized (keep hangin' in there, Mom & Dad!), a couple of tiny, nearly imperceptible shifts have taken place over the first hundred posts of this here GreenHeadz blog. The first and more obvious of these "shifts" would be that I no longer post every day as most of the more-than-one-person-writer blogs do. This a natural by-product of the site's next subtle alteration -- I don't do traditional recaps anymore, either. Part of my decision to dunk the recaps was, admittedly, due to time constraints that can best be summed up in a monologue. Ferris? A little help?

The other reason is that everybody and their next-door neighbor's plumber's accountant's sons do recaps and, with few exceptions, they're most often either of the usual rote, boring glorified box score-type or they just give you insights that you've already heard the Tommy Heinshon's of the broadcast world deliver during the game that's being recapped. And you, loyal readers, deserve better than last night's canned coverage, right? No? Okay!

In any case, what this new section, "GreenHeadz: It's A Wrap" aims to deliver is a unique perspective based on an assessment of a collection of games rather than a game-to-game rehash. And, if you'd like to catch action clips from each game, you can click the links for NBA.com video recaps.

I hope you enjoy this first edition, and even if you don't, I can always come over and rake the yard to make up for it (right, Mom & Dad?).

Ahem...

So...have these past eight games have been a crazy cluster or what?

Well, get ready, Peeps...we're about to do this "ye-olde serial recap" style:

 

When last we saw our heroes, they marched into Oklahoma City with a five-game win streak in tow, hoping to slay the giants of the West once more, as they did on November 23rd. Alas, a win was not to be, though the team played valiantly in the 79-91 loss. The weary and disappointed Men of Boston then wandered aimlessly into the lair of the Charlotte Bobcats and were mauled sufficiently, bringing their new streak to two losses and fouling the air behind them as they made for home.

Upon arrival to their familiar confines, they found the Dainty Dinosaurs from the Province of Toronto waiting to be joined by the Green at the table for a spot of tea. Instead, the Men of Boston transformed into the Green Goblins of Causeway St. and kicked the table over on the Raptors, trouncing them to the tune of 24 points (112-88) and spilling tea everywhere. The Goblins continued their rampage against their next opponent, exacting revenge from the Bobcats for even daring to slink into the home of the Goblins after showing them such inhospitality in Charlotte.

The Celtics had blazed a path through two of the lesser-lights in the Land of the Association of National Basketball, but still, they yearned for the opportunity to test their mettle once again against the iron of the League.

Enter the Heat of Miami and their Goliath, Sir LeBrawn.

The battle was joined at Boston's Garden and the inhabitants fought like a team of Emerald Davids, armed with enough stones to fell Team Goliath. The combatants scratched and clawed each other with the Davids gaining the upper hand on several occasions, and a Green Knight rising above all others in an attempt to level the greatest team in the land. Sir Jeff Green launched a barrage against LeBrawn and his Heat scoring 43 points with a series of whirling, slashing shooting attacks that LeBrawn could barely answer. But, answer he did, with 37 points

of his own and, though the two
teams rested at a standstill as the time for the contest had nearly run its course, LeBrawn levitated magically and sent a wish skyward that was answered with the final basket of the night. The Davids would fell no giant on this night and the Heat were allowed to escape their fate for the 23rd time in as many straight games, this time with only two points separating the victors from the defeated.

Possibly dejected, perhaps tired, the Green traveled to the City of New Orleans to trifle with Hornets. Though clearly the superior participants, the Green were unable to grow distance between their foes and consequently, the battle would hinge on a single second and a single shot. For the second time in two contests, the Celtics would fall in a joust that could as easily have fallen to their side of the ledger.

Sadly, the road grew no less treacherous as the Men of Boston arrived deep in the heart of Texas to face the Mavericks of Dallas, a collection of ornery fighters once defeated in this very season by the Celtics of Boston. The thrill of a victory twice would be nice, thought the Celtics. Though one of the Green warriors would carry an ember of fight onto the floor of his former home, the Celtics of Boston found themselves locked in mortal combat, woefully outgunned by the un-guardable Sir Dirk of Nowitzki and Sir Brandan of Wright. Alas, that spark which had been dimmed in their battle with LeBrawn and the Heat of Miami and eluded them in their struggles against the Hornets remained dormant, and the Men of Boston were sent in search of that flame that once burned brightly in honor of their fallen field general, Sir Rajon of Rondo.

The Green next entered the den of the bold bears of Memphis, a formidable pack of Grizzlies even without their most massive bear, Marc de Gasol. Enhancing their troubles was the absence of their own ferocious beast, His Highness KG and tenacious combatant Sir Lee of Courtney. As one might expect, the Boston battlers found themselves at the mercy of the fangs and claws of their opponents as they were mauled for much of the game. They would kindle a fire, however, stoked by the pride and indomitability of their Greatest Green Knight Sir Pierce, who lofted his mates on his broad shoulders and scored 26 as the Celtics of Boston stormed back from a deficit of 21 points, nearly absconding with the contest but falling at last by four and completing their road quest with nothing but dust and frustration to show.

The Celtics now stand before the Crossroads -- the precipice beneath them, the heavens above them -- notched firmly between the bottom portion of the race for Playoffs and mere games distant from the upper echelon of the truest combatants. They have amassed their final army with which they will join the battle -- most recently securing for the duration the services of White Knight "D.J.," and Sir Randolph of Shavilik to bolster the efforts of the newly recruited Sir Terrence of Williams and Sir Jordan of Crawford as they ride in earnest with Ticket in hand and Truth as their currency.

On the horizon for this team -- the vaunted Knickerbockers of New York. The team of Green will face the assassin Carmelo come Tuesday and two times before the fighting season begins with ample opportunity to better their standings and, thus, bring the battle to their own arena where the advantage lies. Was their rally at the end of their contest against the Grizzlies the beginning of that ember that will grow into the flame that blazes their path to glory -- much as it was the last time they jousted with Memphis and lost -- or will the streak of four losses grow, placing their ranking...nay!...their very season in jeopardy?

Methinks the former. These men carry chests full of pride, skill and the desire to prove that they were sorely miscounted when others were heaped with praise and expectation.

So, go...go, Celtics of Boston...go, and continue on your quest to announce before the Association of National Basketball that the loss of a single knight (or three...) is of no consequence to a band of brothers united as such are the Celtics of Boston. Go forth and return to us the Holy Grail...

Indeed...

 

THE BUZZ:

 

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

@ 7:00 p.m.

Boston Garden, Boston, MA

 

Celtics Future Shines Bright Against Suns As KG-Free Boston Blasts Phoenix: 113-88

Call Springfield and tell 'em to add another spot next to the markers for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett...Jeff Green's comin', Baby!!

Okay, I really am just kidding, so stop typing and calm down.

Still, Green -- stepping up and starting in the absence of a resting KG -- had the breakout game we've all been waiting for, scoring a season high 31 points and swatting a career-high 5 shots to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

This game against the Phoenix Suns -- who still happen to be an NBA team despite what their record (18 wins, 38 losses) and casual fans would have you believe -- was a blowout for the Celtics thanks to continued emphasis on running the ball in the passing game.

As a byproduct of the pace of this game, a newly aggressive and hard-running Chris Wilcox -- perhaps still feeling the heat from his brush with the trade deadline and his near-exile to Washington in the Jordan Crawford trade (more on him later!) -- scored a season-high 14 points (including this SWEET reverse jam to go with an even SWEETER put-back layup), grabbed 8 boards and registered 1 block.

And, speaking of the trade that sent the ACL-challenged Leandro Barbosa and his expiring contract along with Jason Collins to Washington for guard Jordan Crawford, J-Crawf and the equally green man-in-green Terrence Williams served each and every negative know-it-all a tall, bubbly glass of STFU -- at least for one game, anyway. T-Will looked steady as he showcased his versatility, dropping 9 points on 4-8 shooting with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 23 minutes while J-Crawf scored 10 on 4-9 shooting in addition to his 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes.

I won't get into it too deeply in this post, but the nattering nabobs of negativism who have criticized Danny Ainge for "only" trading for Crawford at the much overhyped trade dudline deadline instead of running Pierce and KG out of town and are speaking ill of the two new additions are most likely either fly-by-night fans or very casual observers of the sport. Any issue with Williams and Crawford was NEVER connected to a lack of talent. Each has had maturity issues in the past, but both are extremely gifted athletes who possess the kind of skill that the Celtics have been yearning for. And the fact that they're both on the young side of their 20's speaks to the tremendous upside each has if Doc Rivers and the Celtics' veterans can help to guide them. Many of the "fans" who are doubting T-Will and J-Crawf were cheering for the equally immature and impetuous Nate Robinson by the time he left town.

Time will tell with these two, but lets give them the time to be able to tell, 'kay guys?

In fact, the newbies were so effective in their abbreviated court time that Captain Pierce was treated to a relatively short night of 23 minutes, and was able to keep his shoulders light scoring 8 points on 3-5 shooting snaring 5 rebounds, passing out 3 assists and grabbing 1 steal. Instead, other Celtics like Jason Terry (13 points), Avery Bradley (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals), Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee carried the burden for the team.

The future is indeed bright for the immediate stretch-run and, potentially, years to come. Time will tell, but it's great to know that the clock is still running.

Speaking of running clock, it's only a matter of time before the Celtics fill in the rest of the open slots on the team with a couple of large bodies, and the most recent report floating around from League sources has the C's signing D.J. White to a 10-day contract. White is a 26-year-old 6' 9" forward who was drafted in 2009 by the Detroit Pistons. With career averages of 6.3 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game, White has spread his ultra-limited 124 NBA games over 3 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and 2 with the Charlotte Bobcats, but most recently, he played with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball League where he averaged 21.6 points and 9.7 rebounds. At this point, he may just be a placeholder for one of the bigs expected to be available in the coming weeks as teams look to perfect their rosters heading into the playoffs. There have also been rumors of the Celtics' interest in hair band member 6' 9" forward Louis Amundson, among others.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape

Fairweathers: You...Must...Chill!

Listen up, Fairweathers...as has been said in this space numerous times, there is no need to panic.

 

With the possible exception of location, situation and number of people in the room, this is a nearly flawless reenactment of what you have sounded like more or less, since the season began for the Celtics that fateful night in Miami.

 

But, as has also been stated here in times almost too numerous to list (almost), if you are the Bill Paxton circa the movie "Aliens" of your circle of friends (if you don't recognize this behavior in any of your co-C's fans, then...BINGO! He is you), then you should sit down, take a deep breath...hug close your favorite teddy bear, stuffed rabbit or Linus blanket and read the entirety of ESPN's Chris Forsberg as he posts the final Mailbag of the year 2012.

Though I'm the kind of guy who hates to give away surprise endings to movies and books, I feel that it is my duty as one of the true GreenHeadz of the world to prevent you from doing something you might horribly regret in the very near future (like declaring your allegiance to the Miami Heat or claiming that you were a New York Knicks fan all along).

Among the many excellent, wonderful, insightful pithy, intelligent points that Mr. Forsberg makes in response to some of the clammy, hyperventilating C's fans sending emails from their sweat-soaked mobile devices:

Q: Well, should the panic button be pressed? -- @RRP88 (via Twitter)

A: You guys know me by now; I'm not a panic-button guy. Are there concerning signs with this team? Absolutely. Is there any reason to believe Boston can't achieve its ultimate goal because of a 14-14 start? Absolutely not. What leaves me incredulous is how fast we forget recent history. The Celtics were 15-17 in a shortened season last year and ended up minutes from a trip to the NBA Finals. Boston went 27-27 down the stretch in 2010 and came within minutes of topping the Lakers in Game 7.

 And then there's:

Q: Do you think the Celtics can win a championship as they are constructed now? I don't think they're even close. -- @FrenchLickNick (via Twitter)

A: I do. Maybe I'm swimming in a vat of green Kool-Aid over here, but there's enough pure talent that Boston absolutely can compete for a title.

So, do yourselves a favor, my sweaty friends...check out the entire column. It should help you sleep a little bit more soundly. At least until the next game.

With 11-9 Season Thus Far, C's Hope For December To Remember

"Long December And There's Reason To Believe, Maybe This Year Will Be Better Than The Last."

   -- Adam Duritz, Counting Crows

 

Of course, last December didn’t officially start until Christmas Day because of the lockout, but the C’s were still a dismal 1 and 3 for the month anyway.  

This December, however, the deck is stacked with some fairly stiff challenges that should provide a good barometer as to how far along this current crop of Green has come and what categories, if any, they continue to lag in.  And, while it’s not a “make or break” month for the season, it will allow Doc Rivers and the players themselves to see how well the team’s 10 fresh faces are integrating with the core 5 as they continue to make their push towards Banner #18 in earnest.

The good news? The Boyz from Boston are 11-9 (2-2 in December) and only four spots out of first place in the Atlantic Division heading into the rest of their schedule for December. The not-so-good news? The Celtics have two road trips -- one three-game and another four-game stretch on the road.
 
The C's will kick off the first day of the rest of the month by facing a Nowitzki-free but dangerous Dallas Mavericks team tonight at the Garden before hitting the road against the Jeremy Lin/James Harden-led Houston Rockets (9-10), League-leading San Antonio Spurs (17-4), and the always-tough if Rose-less Chicago Bulls before returning home to host a better-than-their-record Cleveland Cavaliers with a fresh Kyrie Irving, who just returned to the lineup after sitting for the past 11 games with an injured finger. The C's end their 2-game home stand against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that has won two-out-of-three games against the C's already.
 
The Celtics will then embark upon their road show with the "Christmastime In Brooklyn Spectacular" and then take a California swing against the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and the Sacramento Kings to end the month.

While the C's appear to be heading in the right direction by flexing a beefier defense and an offense that features a more consistent and comfortable Jeff Green and Jason Terry, it remains to be seen whether the C's have it completely figured out. My guess is that they'll end the "Holiday Month" with more gifts under the tree than lumps of coal in their stockings. 

The Future begins tonight, GreenHeadz! Dallas Mavericks at the Garden! 8:00 pm!
LET'S GO, C'S!!!

A Tale Of Two Cities: C's Passed In Philly, Sixers Bombarded In Boston

If turnabout is fair play, then after winning the game by a single point last night in Philadelphia, the Sixers got fairly played and turned about as the Celtics came back with Gino time at home in the Garden in the second night of this back-to-back home and home series.

Last night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the Celtics played the 76ers to a standstill all game long to the point that they had to settle things in overtime. Though the C's had several chances to take control of the game, Celtic-killer Wayne Turner hit a cold-blooded go-ahead jumper with 3.9 left on the game clock and a play drawn up for Kevin Garnett wound up a Rondo jumper launched awkwardly as his foot slid out from under him, throwing him off balance. Miss and a loss: 94-95.

Several great performances went for naught including a phenomenal game from Rajon Rondo who scored a triple-double with 16 points, 14 assists, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and an incredible 3 blocks; a 27-point, 5 assist, 4 rebound night from Captain Paul Pierce; 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal from Kevin Garnett; and the continued emergence of Mean Jeff Green who tallied 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. Unfortunately, Green was the only bench player to make any kind of impact, and so...

 

Box Score

 

And, here's the Tale Of The Tape.
 

But, no matter...in less than 24-hours, the Celtics flipped the script and showed Philly how lucky they were that they saved the total team effort for the back half of the series. 

 

Kevin Garnett continued to dip into the pod-pool from Cocoon and delivered yet another youthful, superhuman effort, scoring 19 points 2 assists and one steal. Though he also achieved an extremely rare feat for his career, failing to grab so much as a single rebound for the game, his offense was devastating to the Sixers' hopes as they tried to mount a comeback against the Big Ticket's lights-out performance in the 3rd quarter in which he scored 11 points on 5-5 shooting with a series of smooth-as-glass jumpers and shake-you-out-of-your-shorts upfakes. Jeff Green stayed mean, going for 16 points on 7-12 shooting with some emphatic throw-downs thrown-in. Paul Pierce was an all-around problem for Philly, dropping 13 points, 9 assists, 3 boards and 1 steal. Rajon Rondo? Only more excellence, with 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 7 points and 3 steals.

Chris Wilcox and Jared Sullinger subbed in for critical stretches, allowing for a garden-fresh Garnett to come in and stick it to the Sixers. Sullinger was particularly impressive in 22 minutes, snaring 9 rebounds to go along with 7 points.

Thaddeus Young's 22 and Evan Turner's 13 just weren't good enough against an energetic, defense-oriented Celtics team that (I know, the CD's skipping again, but...) continues to improve.

 

The C's are now tied with the 76ers at 11-9 on the season.

 

Box Score

 

And, here's the Tale of the Tape.

 

Next up: The Dallas Mavericks.

THE BUZZ:

Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
8:00 p.m.
@ Boston Garden

Who Will Be The Center Of Attention If Darko Days Are Over For The C's?

Over the past few days, a lot of the Celtics blogs and basketball sites have been all atwitter (literally, since the news came via Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter) about the possibility of Darko Milicic leaving the Celtics to be with his ailing mother in Serbia and also to escape the Hell that apparently is the end of the Boston bench.

In leaving the Celtics for Serbia, Darko would also, presumably, find a squad to play on (man’s gotta eat, right?), thus rendering his services to the Celtics null and void for the current season and beyond. While it is understood that the health of his mother would be the primary reason for Darko's return home, he was reportedly unhappy with his role (if you can call checking the bench for termites and modeling team warmups a "role") with the Celtics, which helped to crystalize his intended defection (or, since he’s actually from there, reinfection?) to his home town.

In any case, much has been written and rewritten about the “hows” and “whos” the C’s would replace his substantial 7’ 0” 275-pound frame with on the bench.  Scenarios about the “who” have ranged from willfully deranged -- “Anderson Verajao!!” -- to the blindly hopeful – “Marcin Gortat!” -- To the optimistically cautious  -- “Kenyon Martin?” to the abjectly underwhelmed -- Ben Wallace?!? Kyrylo Fesenko??!? Erick Dampier??!!?!!?     

But, of all the names being churned out of the rumor mill, "Gortat to the Celtics" has gone the most viral. Stories with quotes from Gortat that serve to illustrate his displeasure with the way in which the Phoenix Suns are utilizing him (or should I say underutilizing him?) have led folks to speculate about Gortat's imminent arrival to the Emerald City (uh, that's Boston, in case you didn't get the whole "green" reference...) to save the day with is rebounding, shot-blocking, scoring and general big guy-ness.

And you know, I would fully support such a trade, granted that the pieces that we exchange for him are reasonable. One of the many scenarios about what the C's could offer to the Suns for "The Polish Hammer" had the Celtics giving up Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger and a pick to get him. Let me say right here, right now that any trade package that includes Bradley in it at this point in the season better yield more than a 28-year old slightly-above journeyman center with career averages of 8 points and 6 rebounds. Yes, I know in the past four years he's picked up his scoring and rebounding averages (thanks, Steve Nash!), and yes, I realize that playing with Rajon Rondo feeding him alongside Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and company might lead him to a career year, but before we overvalue Gortat and undervalue Bradley, let's understand what the Celtics are getting from each.

Gortat is a 6' 11" big-body who can score effectively inside and from midrange, bang on the boards -- occasionally rebounding into the double digits -- and is one of the better shot-blockers in the League, which he is currently leading by rejecting 3 shots a game. That said, he's not the second coming of The Chief or even Big Al, though an argument could be made about whether his offensive skills and shot-blocking ability would finally allow people to lay the ghost of Kendrick Perkins to rest (if only after getting Banner # 18 under the Gortat regime). 

Avery Bradley is the kind of defender that only comes along once in a very blue and very full moon. When NBA talking heads and coaches refer to him as "an elite defender" they're not just blowing smoke. He's the real deal. The kind of defender that may someday be lumped in with the Bobby Jonses, the Dennis Rodmans and the Joe Dumarses (Dumarses? Oh, what the Hell...) as defenders who could, at their respective positions, change the game as surely as a great offensive player could. Scoff at this comparison if you will, but we've already seen what he can do to some of those great offensive players (Dwyane Wade...take a seat) and decent ball-handlers (Jameer Nelson had to wash his jersey three times after this game just to make sure that Bradley wasn't still in it!), and on this particular team, with this particular point guard on it, Bradley becomes essential. I could explain this point more, but John Karalis of Redsarmy.com has already done it exquisitely.

Now, if I heard something along the lines of, say, perhaps “Sullinger and Courtney Lee for Gortat” I MIGHT be tempted to at least get in the car and check out the interior package while listening to the satellite radio. If that offer turned into Sullinger and a pick for Gortat, I MIGHT just have to reach across to the other seat and shake hands on the deal. In my completely unprofessional opinion, losing Sullinger would be a difficult proposition to swallow because there is great potential written all over him. In just his 10th and 11th games, he's gone for 12 points and 11 rebounds in one game and then 16 points on 7-12 shooting in the next. Granted, he's an undersized non-leaper, but he still finds a way through positioning and sheer will to rebound and get his points, either by maneuvering under the hoop, upfaking and getting to the line for foul shots or stepping out and shooting at near three-ball range.

But, as much as it would pain me to see Sullinger come back at us in another uniform like Big Al, Perk and even Tony Allen before him, if you're Danny Ainge, you make this move for one simple reason: Banner # 18. Do the Celtics have the personnel to get it done this year without making a move? I actually believe that they do, once the team really gels with each other and the defensive/offensive game plan. Landing Gortat for a commodity that we have somewhat in abundance -- Brandon Bass, Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox, and KG, once he slides back to his natural position -- could potentially be the kind of player that tilts the scales against the centerless Miami’s and the centerfull LA Lakers, Pacers and Sixers (once they can get Andrew Bynum to stop bowling) of the league. Jason Collins can come in and capably fill in as a defensive center, and the C's can still ball with smalls if Doc wants KG in the middle for matchup issues. And, for added protection at the power forward slot, we can still go grab K-Mart as insurance (even with his chronic knee issues, he's not a bad gamble for a 15th roster spot).

 

Of course, none of this talk becomes relevant until late December/early January because league rules prohibit recently signed free agents from being traded until then, and a trade for Gortat would likely require at least one of the C's new signees with whomever else the Suns would covet (Bradley? Step off, Sun!) in exchange for their disenchanted center.

By then, though, the Celtics might already be lounging back atop the Atlantic Division, blowing bad teams out and manhandling the good ones as they strike fear into hearts of fan and player alike from South Beach through Oklahoma City and out to Los Angeles.