The Answers Fix Of The Celtics

It's been a while since I've posted but now is as good as a time as any. The C's
are in a bad spot. How do we fix them? Whats the best move?

Every end of the season and trade deadline for the last three years we've heard
the phrase, "blow it up." Well it sounds attractive and exciting but I ask the
same question I ask when teams fire their coach…are you making moves to make
moves or are you really improving your team? In the Celtic's case, blowing it up
makes no sense at all. The reason for this is, what's the end game? KG and Paul
Pierce make too much money for other teams to pay, the Celtics over pay just a
bit because of what they mean to the locker room and the city. However, any
contender would want KG, but at what price? This Blake Griffin nonsense isn't
even worth responding too.

In the case of Paul Pierce I say you keep him. The guy can still score the
basketball, but but he can't be your number one option. I say keep him because
of the loyalty factor, what he's done for the organization, and at a certain
point, a guy earns the right to stick with his team. (similar to Kobe in LA)
Having said that, I don't have to pay him. His contract calls for him to make 15
million next season, with only 5 million guaranteed. That 15 million really is
more 40 million because of the tax, and the Celtic's being repeat offenders.
Paul Pierce certainly isn't worth 40 million so I get the justification in
wanting to rid yourself of that massive bill. However, getting rid of Paul
Pierce gives you no more cap room to make any moves, you're really just shedding
15 million in cap room, 25 million in taxes, and getting the C's under the tax
line going into the 2014-15 season which brings the penalty back to a dollar for
dollar, as opposed to being over the tax for a third season and paying a two for
one rate on the tax….still with me? The tax shit can be confusing, but it breaks
down like this;

its a dollar for dollar tax
the second consecutive year you break the tax it goes to a two dollar per one
dollar you're over
and the third year year it goes to three to one.

Get it? Good.

So this ties Danny Ainge's hands big time here. So how do we improve the team.
Lets look at the options.

OPTION 1.

Well you can look at the glass half full, and say Rondo and Sully come back.
That improves the team greatly. Jason Terry will be more comfortable in the 6th
man roll. Jeff Green gets better by the day. Avery Bradley will actually get to
go through training camp. This is just the natural growth of the team and you
can honestly say given all that, your team will be much better. They are about a
5 seed with that roster unless Jeff Green becomes a super star, which is
doubtful. I think this makes the most sense, it's the lead risky, and this team
has proven that when healthy, in the playoffs, they can do some wild shit.

OPTION 2.

Make some minor trades. Courtney Lee makes about 5 million bucks. This makes him
very tradable although I'm not sure who would want him. I'f I'm Danny Ainge, I'm
gonna call up my good friend Rob who I just endorsed for the GM of the Suns and
say listen Rob, I'm gonna give you Courtney Lee, my first round pick for Beasly
and Kendell Marshall. WHY? Well I'll tell you. Michael Beasly can ball his ass
off. He can really do it all. His problem is off the court and in his head. The
Celtics are the perfect place for this type of player. If Doc and KG can get
this kid in line he can be huge for us now and down the road. It makes him the
backup to Jeff Green, and we can move Paul Pierce over to the 2 spot which takes
him off of the best athletes in the league. It;s a smart move all around.
Kendall Marshall is a poor mans Rondo. He's a passing wizard who can't shoot.
This gives us two young players who help for the future. What did we lose? Lee,
and a mid level pick in the worst draft in recent memory.

OPTION 3.

Trade Avery Bradley. I know, I love him too and defensively we wont get much
better. But His stock is high around the league and I don't see it getting any
higher. The guy will never be a scoring threat, and we need offense. He's
undersized at the 2 guard spot, and has proven he can't play point guard. So
what you have here is a guy who has value, but we can turn him into something
more. What we can turn him into remains to be seen. I'd live to see them bring
in some offense. Maybe make a trade with the Utah Jazz and try and get a
Millsap, Favors, or Jefferson. Any of those three guys will do. To make the
money match we'd need to throw in Lee, a draft pick will probably be needed to
make the deal, and possibly Fab Melo.

OPTION 4.

Try and get Cousins. To do this you'll have to wait for the dust to settle with
the Kings and where they'll be playing and who owns them. But once that happens,
they need just about everything. A package of Avery Bradley and Jeff Green would
be the minimum needed to get a player like this. It's a super risky move because
Demarcus Cousins is an asshole. Again, the Doc Rivers, KG, effect always applies
with the assholes of the league so thats not the worry, my worry is you trade
offense for defense and we lose the depth at the wing spot we really need. But
if this is an option, I say do it. The Celtics need to address the rebounding
issues badly and this would do it for sure. This move would require us to
acquire another wing player to play behind Paul, but thats not as hard to find
as you may think.

OPTION 5.

Trade Paul Pierce. Now, when people hear this they think Clippers. I'm not sure
that makes sense because I really don't want Eric Bledso. He's a baller, but
he's not Rondo. He need to be a starter somewhere else. In fact The Kings would
be a perfect spot for him so don't be surprised to see the Clippers make a run
at Cousins as well. Paul Pierce would need to bring back young players that can
help right now. This is the only way it works. Again, Utah comes to mind with a
Derrick Favors. But really it's a contender that would want Pierce and I just
don't see many of those around the league who have young assets besides Golden
State. With them, I don't see them parting with Harrison Barnes or Klay
Thompson, but both would do the trick. But assuming they would I'd take Barns
and Bogut for Pierce.

OPTION 6

Blow it up and try and get Andrew Wigins. Stupid idea and would never work.

OPTION 7

Trade Rondo. I think this would be so stupid. But it's always getting brought up
so lets discuss it First you have to ask yourself who replaces him at the PG
spot? Maybe with this thought you do the Pierce for Bledso and Jordan trade, so
now you have a PG. But who does Rondo bring back. First of all, Rondo is coming
off an ACL injury , so his stock is low. Secondly, I don't see a team that needs
that type of PG that has what we'd want in return. Maybe if the Celtics could
get Al Horford and Josh Smith from ATL for Rondo and a package of bull shit, you
could give that a shot. The problem is I think the Celtics value Rondo higher
than the rest of the league because of how he's grown here. When he needs to be
the number 1 scoring option I'm not sure how he'll be. I'm not sure this option
would work out in their favor at all. If you trade Rondo, you might as well
trade KG and Pierce too.

My vote is do some minor deals and keep the core in tact. If you can pull off a
heist of DeMarcus Cousins, you pull the trigger on that for sure.

What Do The Celtics Do Now?

The NBA cap is really confusing and I don't get it. However, everything I have heard is that if KG and PP are gone, the Celtics are still at the 60 million dollar cap. So I'm basing this post off that being true.

So before all of you get emotional and say blow it up we need to think of what the smartest thing the Celtics to do and remaining competitive.

First and foremost, I want to keep KG and Pierce. It's true, both are old and cannot play the minutes and do what they did in the past. However, nobody is going to give us anything for either. We aren't going to get a young star back for either, I would imagine that the KG for DeAndre Jordan/ Eric Bledsoe deal is off the table. Also, KG has a no trade clause and has made it very clear that his and Pierce's future are tied together. If Pierce is gone, KG will most likely go, but both Pierce and KG have also made it known they would rather stay with the Celtics. So the Celtics should do just that, keep them. We aren't going to get any better without them.

Secondly, Rondo is coming back. Nobody is going to trade a lot for a guy coming off a knee injury so it's worth it just to hold onto him. Rondo is the best PG in the league and I think they everyone can admit now that the Celtics are a much better team with him than without him (as the captain pointed out nicely yesterday). I guarantee that if Rondo played against the Knicks we wouldn't have only beat them, we would have swept them. The Celtics offense became stagnant, you were asking Avery Bradley to play out of position which he obviously wasn't great at doing and was a giant part of why the Celtics lost. Rondo would not only make Pierce and KG's life a lot easier out there, but Bradley would be a lot more effective offensively with being able to have off the ball cuts, Jeff Green would be able to run more, and I bet even Courtney Lee wouldn't have been as awful if he was playing with Rondo.

So I know this makes for a boring offseason, but why not stand pat and hope that with the return of Rondo, hopefully Jeff Green stays into the player he was turning into, Bass builds off his great post season, Bradley will get better, Jared Sullinger comes back and is back to his garbageman game, Fab Melo turns into a rotation player and the Celtics can grab someone like Dgieng out of Louisville at 16 and hopefully that works out.

I would rather be a 6 or 7 seed then out of the playoffs and completely rebuilding any day.

Captain's Thoughts: Why the Celtics Lost

I'm not the most astute observer of basketball, but I do think I know why the Celtics were eliminated by the Knicks.

#1: No Rondo
Everyone who once suggested that the Celtics were better without Rondo should be forced, for one year, to wear hats and shirts that quote that absurd theory. Rondo has been especially good in the playoffs, and his ability to run the offense was a stabilizing factor that would have prevented some of the runs that the Knicks went on in this series. Losing Rondo lost this series.

#2: Age
This is an old team. Small bumps and bruises become nagging injuries. Pierce and Garnett didn't have enough gas in their tanks to play 40 minutes of great basketball every night. And it won't be any better next season. If they come back next season.

#3: No Depth
When the Celtics won in 2008 they had a good supporting cast for The Big Three. When they made other deep playoff runs, they had guys who could score, guys who could play defense. This year they had no random 25+ point nights from Ray Allen. They had Avery Bradley in a role he's not suited for (again, the Rondo injury). In Game 6, only Jason Terry scored points off the bench. When Pierce and KG needed the most support, they received the least.

It might be difficult for the most optimistic Celtics fans to realize, but this team just wasn't that good. It was old, it wasn't deep, and even with a healthy Rondo I don't think the Celtics would be a match for the Heat. Not in a 7 game series. The C's were 41-40. They nearly pulled off an historic comeback in Game 6, but they lost this series in Game 1 when they scored 8 points in the 4th quarter. They lost this series in Game 2 when they scored 23 in the second half.

And now we enter a period of uncertainty for the C's. Rondo will be back. But what kind of team will be back with him? Pierce and Garnett can still play, however they can't be the centerpieces of this team anymore. And in the NBA, unless Rondo can become pals with other great players who decide to come here, or the Celtics get a #1 overall pick, it is very difficult to rebuild.

This might be the end of a mini-era for the Celtics.

-The Captain

Paul Pierce Rolls His Ankle, Will Miss Some Time

You can start calling me Nostradamike because another prediction of mine based on my Crackpot Celtics Theory has come to fruition. In my last post I said:

"I wouldn't be shocked to see Paul Pierce take some time off to tend to a vague injury either."

4 days later, there he is with a rolled ankle. They're saying it's nothing serious and he should only miss one game, but I think they'll keep him out longer than that. They're up 8 games on the 76ers with 9 games to play. At this point they're realistically only playing for a 7th or an 8th seed. Some people are saying they expect the Celtics to do the bare minimum to secure the 7th seed so they can at least dodge Miami in the first round and most likely get the Knicks instead. I guess I can see that, it gives more time for Lebron and Dwayne Wade to get hurt and pushes a potential meeting with the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals (As I mentioned in my Crackpot Celtics Theory the NBA doesn't reseed between rounds, so if you beat the 2 seed you follow the path that the 2 seed would and play the winner of the 3 seed v. 6 seed matchup). Maybe the Bucks/Nets/Bulls/etc. will shock the world and take out Miami for us before the Eastern Conference Finals, but I'm not holding my breath. Without an injury to Lebron or Wade or a surprising upset I don't see the Celtics getting further than that. With Rajon Rondo they might have had a fighting chance, but without him I think the talent gap is just too wide and the Celtics are just too old.

108 Knicks, 89 Celtics

It's all fun and games until the Knicks don't miss a 3 pointer.

The Knicks knocked in 14 3 points out of 27 and the Celtics just didn't have a response.

The only ones who were worth a damn last night were Paul Pierce and Jeff Green.

Pierce had 24 points and 15 boards and Jeff Green had 27 points. Everyone else was just terrible. Avery Bradley's offense has disappeared, JET is very inconsistent and the same can be said about Jordan Crawford. Well I guess you can say that about the whole Celtics team to be honest, everyone is inconsistent and if this KG injury lingers like it did in 09, they will be fucked.

Celtics Choke Against Miami

In case you missed it, the Celtics choked away a 13 point lead with 8 minutes to play in the 4th quarter. Regardless of how this game turned out, I was going to manipulate the facts in my mind to fit with my crackpot Celtics theory. If they came out and gave a great effort/won I could say that they had flipped the switch to see how they stacked up to the best in the East. If they had KG sit it out and phoned it in the whole game I'd say they were trying to limit his minutes and coasting into the playoffs and hoping to catch Miami by surprise. I don't know if I'm happy that the Celtics came out and put Miami's back against the wall despite missing Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, etc. or disappointed that they fell to pieces down the stretch and couldn't finish the job. The last few minutes were painful to watch and full of lazy defensive errors and bad shots, which let Miami back into the game. On the plus side, Jeff Green had, literally, the best game of his career. His stat line was amazing: 43 points, 40 minutes, 14 for 21 Shooting FGs, 5 for 7 from 3-point land, 10 for 13 on FTs, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists. I'm hoping this will be a great win for his confidence and he can be a more consistent producer on the floor.

Bring On The Heat

Pierce: We know we're going to be a tough out, regardless. I think we're going to be that team that nobody wants to play in the playoffs. Right now we're so unpredictable. You don't know what we're capable (of). You look up and we play teams, sometimes we lose to bad teams, and then we beat the better teams. We don't know which Boston team is going to show up, and at any given moment we can get hot and beat the best of the best in the NBA. We've shown that we can beat Miami; we've shown that we can beat Oklahoma City; we've shown we can beat New York. You're talking about some of the best teams in the NBA. We're just going to continue to fly under the radar and see what happens.

Me (Aldridge): You want Miami again, don't you?

PP: I always thrive on wanting to play against the best. Right now, Miami's the best. It would be nice to see them in the playoffs. Winning's not easy. In order to win, you've got to see the best. And I think it would be fun for the NBA.

So Pierce said this recently with an interview from David Aldridge and we share the same thoughts. Let's bring on the Heat. Last week I wrote how I would love to see them 1st round, however, with the Celtics probably not going to finish with an 8 seed, it looks as if we would have to see them down the line. I'm fine with that. The Heat are cruising and making it look so easy, but the Celtics aren't afraid of them and why should they be? Two years ago when the Heat beat them, cheapshot artist Dwayne Wade broke Rondo's elbow, Last year we were within 1 game of the finals and the refs gave the Heat the series because David Stern wanted to see LeBron get his 1st. This year we are without Rondo, we are without Sullinger and without Barbosa and I still think they can beat them. They are a really gritty team and just pull it out, it seems as if they have played a million overtime games since Rondo got hurt and have already beat the Heat once.

Pierce and KG find a way.

Mike's Crackpot Celtics Theory

It's sort of a slow news day for Boston Sports. The Celtics have Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off this week. The Bruins won last night, but I'm not informed enough about hockey where I feel like I have anything worthwhile to contribute. The Patriots restructured Tom Brady's deal, but that's been discussed at length and nothing of note has really happened since. The Red Sox are in the midst of spring training, but I've already bored you all to tears with my Spring Training thoughts. Maybe it's time to break out my crackpot Celtics theory!

The basic idea behind the theory is that after the Celtics lost in the conference semi-finals of the 2009 Playoffs a conscious decision was made to proactively preserve their aging superstars to reduce regular wear and tear on their bodies and minimize the risk of injury, at which time the Celtics would "flip the switch" and turn into a dark horse championship contender. Let's have a look at some of my crackpot evidence and reasoning.

The NBA regular season is a joke. Sixteen of the Thirty NBA Teams make the playoffs. That's 53%. That's more than half. It's identical to hockey, but compare that to the MLB and NFL Playoffs. In the NFL the regular season has a huge impact on the Playoffs. Only twelve of the thirty-two (37.5%) NFL teams make the playoffs. Add to this that in the NFL a first round bye for the top two seeds in each conference is a massive advantage in such a physically punishing sport. Also, consider that in the NFL only one game is played per round makes having home field advantage a MUCH larger incentive. By comparison, in the NBA having a higher playoff seed determines the location of a final deciding game IF such a game is even necessary. Prior to last season, baseball had the most competition for playoff spots with only eight of the thirty (26.7%) MLB teams making the playoffs. They augmented this number to ten teams last season, but that's still the lowest percentage of teams making the postseason of any of the major american sports (33.3%) and they simultaneously built in the advantage of the division winning teams being able to avoid a one-game elimination series. Despite having a very similar system, even hockey offers a greater incentive to get a higher seed as the bracket is reseeded after the first round to ensure that the highest seeds get to play against the weakest remaining seed. In basketball the bracket is followed without a reseeding. Essentially, of all the major american sports there is none where it is easier to qualify for the playoffs than the NBA and in no other sport does your seeding position matter less than it does in the NBA.

With this in mind, after Kevin Garnett went down in the 2009 season and an early exit from the playoffs in the second round Doc saw a missed opportunity. He saw a team that was very reliant on three aging Hall of Famers to be successful and he made a conscious decision to sacrifice regular season wins in the hopes of preserving his aging superstars until the games that really matter in the postseason. Let's look at how the season proceed from there:

2009-10 Season: the Celtics limp into the playoffs as a 4th seed with a disappointing 50-32 record, a full 12 games lower than their regular season record the previous season. They hit their worst 10 game stretch of the season at 3-7 and many assume they're too old and washed up.
2010 Playoffs: The Celtics flip the switch and turn it on in the playoffs. They cruise through 5 seed Miami 4-1, 1 seed Cleveland 4-2 and 2 seed Orlando 4-2. They lose to the Lakers in the finals by a slim margin in game 7.

2010-11 Season: the Celtics improve by six games on their previous season finishing 56-26 and go into the playoffs as a 3 seed. The Celtics again finish on a bad note going 5-5 in their last 10 games.
2011 Playoffs: The Celtics are able to sweep the Knicks, but can't stand up to the new big 3 in the next round and lose to Lebron and the Heat.

2011-12 Season: The Celtics finish the lockout shortened season with the lowest win% of the big 3 era at 39-27 and secure a 4th seed.
2012 Playoffs: The Celtics beat 5th seed Atlanta in 6 games (it's worth noting that Atlanta actually finished with a better record than the Celtics in the regular season) and catch a break in the second round as Derrick Rose is hurt and the 1st seeded Bulls fall apart without him. Because there is no reseed in the NBA the Celtics catch a break in the second round and play the 8th seeded Philadelphia. Finally, the Celtics lose in the conference finals to Lebron and the Heat when the Heat manage to win back to back games after going down 3-2

I think the Celtics that you see in the Regular season is just a watered down version of what this team is capable of as they seem to constantly perform better in the Playoffs than their regular season/playoff seeding would lead you to believe. It's been done subtly as throwing regular season games to rest starters is a punishable offense by the NBA (I believe it came up with the Spurs earlier this season). I think it also helps if you win enough to keep the fans/media from freaking out. There hasn't been a dramatic dropoff in the average minutes by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen or Paul Pierce, but I think it shines through in the win totals.

What does that suggest for this season? I think when Rondo went down it forced the Celtics to prematurely flip the switch. They needed to keep the fans on board that a championship was possible even without Rondo, get themselves back on pace for a playoff spot and keep Danny from breaking up the team to start a rebuilding cycle. Now that the trade deadline has passed I'd expect the Celtics to do the bare minimum to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, even when they go into playoff mode I still don't think they'll have what it takes to beat Miami when they meet them in either the first or second round.

110 Celtics, 107 Jazz

I don't get the Celtics this year at all.

They have a shit game against Portland, then have a gutsy game like this against Utah on the second night of a back to back. Just a real weird team. I guess that is what happens when you lose so many people to injuries and every win turns into a "gutsy" win.

Last night the old guys led the way again. Paul Pierce took over and finished with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, while KG put in 13 and 10 and Jason Terry put in 14.

The whole starting line up was in double figures Lee had 14, Bradley had 18 and Bass had 15.

Doc has been weird with the new guys, Jordan Crawford only played 5 min and Terrence Williams was a DNP. I don't get the inconsistency in playing time with these guys, during the Phoenix games they seemed as if they were going to be mainstays, now they they can't get on the court.

Even though the win was great, these OT games are really daunting and add more minutes to the guys we will need in the playoffs, that's why I don't get the lack of minutes for Crawford and Williams.

Al Jefferson has never beat the Celtics since being traded in 07.

Yup Changed My Mind

I love Paul Pierce, I love KG and I love Rondo. I have absolutely stuck by them through everything.

But I changed my mind and I am completely in YOLO mode this deadline.

Lets get Josh Smith, Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan. You only live once right.

Chances are we are going to have a tough time come playoff time. We have lost 3/4 and it seems as if the Rondo less thing has caught up to them. Funny, you don't hear the "WE ARE BETTER WITHOUT RONDO" shit anymore.

Paul Pierce will always be remembered as a Celtic, so will KG (for me anyways) their numbers will be retired here.

Fuck it, go for it Danny.

97 Nuggets, 90 Celtics

The Celtics were doing fine until the 4th quarter, where they just faded and couldn't get anything going.

For as much as Paul Pierce is captain clutch and will take over forth quarters I have to put last nights loss on him. He shot us out of the game and played selfish basketball, rather than team ball. With the score tied and with Jeff Green on fire, Pierce opted for an ill advised top of the key 3 on a fast break. The momentum was shifting our way and he completely killed it with that shot. Then we ran a couple more plays for Pierce who forced some shots and missed and that was all she wrote.

Pierce was 2-14 on the night with 10 points. Jason Terry also showed some all star rust with just 2 baskets as well.

This was a frustrating game to kick off the second half.

118 Celtics, 113 Nuggets

What an incredible game! It is truly amazing what the Celtics have been able to do without Rondo or Sully. Last night's win was exactly what the Celtics grit and balls team was about last year. Just the grittiest, ballsiest win of the season and ended the Nuggets 9 game win streak.

Everyone was saying that this will be the Celtics first real test, and Paul Pierce, KG, JET and Jeff Green answered that call:

Paul Pierce, there is nothing more you can say about the Truth right now other than he has elevated his game back to superstar status once again. He finished last nights game with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists, just incredible. He was just incredible, mostly clutch (I will forgive that missed free throw) and just pulling his weight. Pierce knocked a huge 3 down in the second overtime to extend the game. Dude is just clutch as shit.

Kevin Garnett chipped in with 20 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks with the typical KG, "Get that shit outta here nigga!" after the blocks, I wonder if someone gets fired everytime that gets played on the CSN or whether it's just a thing that they are used to at this point. KG went for 46 minutes yet started the 3rd overtime hitting three of his first four shots. He played big in the 3rd overtime after struggling from the field for a lot of the game. Incredible. The your not trading me tour for both of these players is still on.

JET played his best game as a Celtic. In regulation he dropped 21 points on 8 of 19 shooting being the guy we thought he was. However in OT he started off cold, missing seven straight 3′s but then he hit a HUGE 3 with 1:15 left in the 3rd OT. He also had a great defensive stop on Andre Miller too.

Now it's time to shout out Jeff Green who was as clutch as anyone. I still wish he would rebound more, but as long as he stays aggressive offensively and keeps improving on defense we will be alright. He hit a huge jumper in the 4th and an even bigger 3 in the first overtime to tie the game at 99. Jeff finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks in 42 big minutes. I like when they play him at the 4 a lot.

The Nuggets are a good team and although it took them 3 OT's to beat them this was the best win of the season.

116 Celtics, 95 Lakers

So the Celtics are either really good or the Lakers are just really bad. Right now, I'm going to cop out and say it's a little of both.

The Lakers lack of defense is amazing, they have guys like Ron Artest, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant who have all been on all defensive teams and you would never know it by any stretch especially after last night. It feels good to win, and especially 6 in a row without Rondo and Sullinger, but it feels even better to beat the shit out of the Lakers. There wasn't a bad thing to say about this game.

Paul Pierce played a flawless game he had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal in 30 minutes. Jeff Green had 19 points and KG was able to surpass 25,000 points with his 15 points.

The third quarter was amazing for the Celtics, they scored 37 points on a ridiculous 16-21 shooting.

Dwight Howard is no longer a good basketball player. He is a shell of himself, looks lost and just unhappy. He is totally leaving LA after this year.

Doc Rivers is an amazing coach, when he famously said, You can write the obituary, but I'm not, nobody believed him. He has rallied the troops around devastating losses to Rondo and Sully and having them play a really high level of basketball. It's one of the more amazing things I have ever seen. I am actually anxious about the All Star break because it make break up this momentum they have right now.

Paul Pierce Beginning To Think About Leaving Celtics?

“I want an opportunity to at least try to win another championship, simple and plain. And if that’s not going to be here -- if that’s going to be somewhere else -- so be it," said Pierce. "That’s what it has to be. I mean, even the greatest players played for other franchises."

It needs to be stated that he also said that he would consider retiring if the Celtics went into  rebuilding mode. Pierce is right, a lot of great players have gone out and ended up playing for other teams (Jordan), but I really hope he doesn't. You can see by how hard the Celtics are playing right now that they don't want to play elsewhere. They love Doc, they love playing with each other, and I think there is always this feeling of unfinished business.

If Paul goes then KG is gone too, so we will be in full rebuild mode. I just don't see this team rolling over. I don't know how far they can go, but I don't think they will put themselves in a position where Danny will blow it up.

"But as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!"

I Just Don't Want To Trade Anyone

Kevin Garnett will not waive no trade unless Pierce is dealt, and then only to LA. Lives in Malibu.

That just came from KG and as the deadline approaches, I really don't want the Celtics to blow it up. I would rather let Doc coach and see what he can do with this team then have the Celtics ship KG and Pierce. In the NBA "blowing it up" doesn't make it a guarantee the Celtics will be able to bounce back in 3-4 years. I mean look at the Kings, there is no way that team should be as bad as it is and if they ever get their shit together, they won't be able to afford all of those players. Their are only so many Oklahoma Thunder stories out there. So what I am trying to say is keep this squad together and remain competitive instead of shooting for Cody Zeller.

Kevin Garnett is going to cost a lot more than Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe, not only is he a defensive anchor and one of the best mid range jumpers in the game, he changed the WHOLE culture when he came to Boston. That means a lot. Also, he is still really good, he is starting the All Star game and is one of the best teammates you can have. I mentioned DeAndre Jordan yesterday when I was saying what it would take for KG, and a commenter pointed out correctly that as much a Jordan is a great shot blocker and defensive minded center, he NEVER plays in the 4th quarter due to his 42% free throw line. Bledsoe is a nice piece, but Jordan wouldn't be on the court in the 4th, we don't need that.

Now Paul Pierce. I have had a roller coaster ride with Paul during his career. At one point I despised him, he was selfish, immature, and so on, I seriously wanted to trade him for a first round pick and Kareem Rush. However the Captain proved me wrong the 24 win season actually, he started passing and being a team player, then once Judas and KG came to town he turned into a great teammate that looked to incorporate everyone.

I think this group even without Rondo and Sully, is special and can win. The scary thing is Paul and KG can't miss any time and are going to have to play 35ish minutes a game.

I love this team and I believed Doc when he said we aren't dead yet.

106 Celtics, 104 Clippers

Don't look now the Celtics are 4-0 without Rondo and 2-0 without Jared Sullinger. I told you all, they aren't dead after Rondo went down and I truly believe they aren't. With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and the depth Danny signed this offseason, they have enough people to pick up the slack for Rondo/ Sully.

Yesterday started great against the Chris Paul less Clippers, we were up 19 points on them, everyone who played was scoring, the ball movement was incredible and they were playing super aggressive defense.. Well like a lot of games this year it's a tale of two halves as the Clippers came roaring back and nearly won the game. In the second half the defense was sloppy, the offense stopped moving and if not for a clutch shot by Terry and of course Paul Pierce, who knows what the results would be. I need to call out Vinny Del Negro actually, what the hell was he thinking not fouling on that final play and being ok for Paul Pierce to dribble the ball and put up a shot with 2 seconds left, of course Pierce hit a step back three to kill any chance of comeback, but still weird call Vinny.

The Celtics bench had 52 points, and had 5 players that scoring in double digits. Jeff Green was amazing, Terry keeps improving and Barbosa was very effective as well.

Not Dead Yet!

Rajon Rondo Out For the Year

Rajon Rondo is out for the year with a torn ACL.

It happened during the Hawks game apparently, and for some reason he was able to practice the next day and shoot around yesterday. Then before the game we found out he was getting an MRI for a hyper extended knee, then later his ACL is torn.

So that happened, now what.

I know that I am a homer and bleed green, however, this team is not dead yet and the Celtics have showed against the Knicks earlier this year and Heat last night, there is still a lot left in this team.

This Rondo injury gives more opportunity for Courtney Lee, Jason Terry, Leandro Barbosa and even more minutes for Jeff Green. I believe in that. They have to and will step up like they did last night. They still have Paul Pierce, they still have Paul Pierce, they still have Avery Bradley, they still have an up and coming Jared Sullinger and Doc Rivers. This certainly hurt, but the next person needs to fall in line. Rondo is not only the best player on this team, a top 5 PG and a top 10 NBA player, but this team still has something left in it and I'm not ready to "blow it up". It's hard to replace 40% of your offense, but it's a good challenge.

I have got calls and texts all day yesterday from my friends and family saying, "It's over", "trade Pierce?", "well that was fun". I don't think Danny Ainge will blow it up because I don't think he can. In today's basketball no teams ever trade young pieces for aging stars aka we are getting nothing close to worth for Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett. Nobody will be giving us any young talent for them. Rondo can't be traded now, Jeff Green's contract is a lot for a team to take on and what is really the worth of Courtney Lee and Jason Terry right now? Nothing.

If that's the case Danny Ainge just should hang up the phone if somebody asks about Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger.

If anything I would think that Ainge is going to try and add to it rather than admit defeat. I know its a real tall task for the Celtics to win it, but if any team can show the type of Grit and Balls, it's these Boston Celtics.

100 Celtics, 98 Heat (2 OT)

I'm going to stick to the game and touch on the Rondo injury next, but last game shows me one thing. We aren't dead yet.

Last night was a grit and balls moment, and they rallied without the All Star PG.

Paul Pierce and KG stepped their game up immensely, Pierce finished with a triple double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and KG finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. They kept the heat at bay the whole game and was able to withstand the Lebron led Heat.

I love playing the Heat because for some reason the Celtics always make Dwayne Wade just another player. In my eyes Wade is enemy number 1 when we play the Heat. Lebron earned his respect, but Wade is such a bitch. He is cheap, dirty, and all he does is bitch to the officials over and over again.

Wade finished with 17 points on 6-20 shooting. Avery Bradley, Courtney Lee and others did a great job shutting him out and keeping him out of rhythm all game. Despite Lebrons 34 points and 17 boards I have to give Jeff Green his due for defending him (I know that sounds ridiculous) but Green made every shot really difficult for LeBron, LeBron just is LeBron, I will take that.

Now to Judas, I was a little disappointed the Celtics did a video tribute for him and a little disappointing that the crowd cheered for him during that. Ray is a dick and they shouldn't have showed him a minute of gratitude for his services here. Maybe after he retires, but not now. Ray did finish with 21 points.... dick. He was boo'd all game though, so I will give him the nod.

The Celtics showed amazing resilience last night in this double overtime game. Like Doc said last night, you all can write the obituary, but we aren't dead yet. And I believe that.