The Boston Celtics won last night, great.  But where was Rajon Rondo?

On the bench.  The same place he has been for the past seven games after injuring his wrist on January 18.  It is now February, and the Celtics listing him as day-to-day is getting really old.

Doc Rivers and the members of Boston’s front office clearly studied Bill Belichick’s system for dealing with injured players: provide as little information as possible and keep everyone guessing.  Usually, the Patriots players end up playing, and it becomes some type of scheme to keep the opposing teams and the media off guard, but the Celtics are actually playing without their starting point guard.

» Continue reading “Boston Celtics: O Rondo, O Rondo, Wherefore Art Thou Rondo?”

Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH

Tip-Off: 7:00 P.M.

Injury Report:

Rajon Rondo (wrist) is out for the Celtics.  Jermaine O’Neal (knee) will play.

Projected Starters:

» Continue reading “Celtics Look For Redemption Against The Cavaliers”

The Boston Celtics erased a 27-point deficit last night to beat the Orlando Magic 91-83.  The Celtics mounted a serious comeback, led by Paul Pierce.

Pierce scored 19 points in the second half on 7 of 13 shooting, and he finished the game with 24 points.  Itappears the side effects of Pierce’s heel injury that kept him out of the first three games of the season are long gone.  He is back as the team’s leader, and he set the example for his teammates last night.

Rookie E’Twaun Moore followed suit, hitting five three-pointers in the second half to end the game with 16 points.  Moore struggled on offense during his minimal playing time thus far this season, but last night, everything seemed to click.

» Continue reading “Boston Celtics: Just Call Them The Comeback Kids”

There’s that old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Well, the Boston Celtics are broke right now and need some serious fixing.  They lost last night 88-79 at the hands of the Chicago Bulls.

Last night, it was a story of two halves.  The Celtics were down by 19 points at halftime, but managed to comeback and get within one point late in the game.  Despite the made baskets and stops, Boston was unable to pull ahead of Chicago when momentum was on their side.

The Celtics are flat out struggling.  Players and coaches can hide their concern as much as they want, saying it’s better they’re struggling now than at the end of the season, or they’ll find a way to fix their slow starts, whatever…

I completely support then notion that if things are working, don’t change them.  But something is not right with this Boston team.  They are off to a 4-6 start and riding a three-game losing streak in a shortened season that is all about fast starts.

» Continue reading “Celtics Lose Third Straight, Time For Some Changes”

The Boston Celtics are in a nice little stretch of what I like to call, game vacation.  The schedule gives them four days off, with no games since Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers until they face the defending NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks, Wednesday.

Here are some news and notes from the weekend:

• Players and coaches are trying to find answers to the slow starts in their games so far this season, including tying a franchise-low for points in the first half, with 24 against the Pacers.
• The slow starts to the games also stem from the lack of production from the bench, with some players searching for ways to improve.
• There are no imminent plans to send rookies JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to the D-League.

Boston Celtics training camp is underway, and the team is slowly but surely adding to their roster.

The Celtics had six players under contract when the lockout ended, but the front office managed to add bodies as the team prepares for its Christmas Day season opener against the New York Knicks.

Here are the links below about some recent signings:

• They officially signed Brandon Bass after the team acquired him in the trade that sent Glen Davis and Von Wafer to the Orlando Magic.
• JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore signed their rookie contracts.
• They re-signed Sasha Pavlovic.

Day 149: The NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement to end the lockout.

The two sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, and after coming to terms, all that is left is for the owner and players to cross the i’s and dot the t’s.  If everything goes according to plan, the season begins on Dec. 25.

In the past few years, the NBA turned Christmas day into a spectacle, scheduling the top matchups between famed teams and players.  After long and grueling negotiations that predicted no season at all, what better way to bring holiday spirit than with the season opener of the 2011-2012 season.

The Boston Celtics open in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks on Christmas, but there is plenty of work to be done in the 31 days prior to the game.

The Celtics have six players under contract: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal, and Avery Bradley.  They also have three unsigned rookies: JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore, and Gilbert Brown (they have no rights).

The biggest challenge for the Celtics in the short off-season is going to be who they decide to re-sign and who they let go to look for better options elsewhere.  Jeff Green is a restricted free agent and has expressed great interest in remaining with the Celtics, and the front office should keep him around and give him another opportunity to showcase what he has to offer.

Then there is Glen Davis, Delonte West, Nenad Krstic, Troy Murphy, Sasha Pavlovic, and Carlos Arroyo, who are all are unrestricted free agents.

The Celtics should look for a better option than Davis, whose play is inconsistent at best.  West should be resigned to come off the bench and provide support to Rondo and the other players in the backcourt.

Krstic signed with a team in Moscow and is not expected to be back in Boston.  Murphy, Pavlovic, and Arroyo probably will not return, and the Celtics can find much better players to fill their sport.

Hold on tight because this training camp period is going to go by very quickly, so stay tuned to see who goes and who stays as we anxiously await Dec. 25.