Heart of A Champ, Bench of A Loser: Celts Can't Repeat

Our Great White Hope?

Now we're really screwed! First Kevin Garnett is declared out for the NBA play-offs and now we learn that Leon Powe tore the ACL on his 'good knee' and will need surgery.

That leaves the Celtics short on big men and fans hoping that Brian Scalabrine makes an impact when he returns from multiple concussion syndrome in Game 3 at Chicago.

No Foolin', KG and Ainge Out for the Playoffs

April is now the cruelest month for Celtics' fans. Not only is All-Star Kevin Garnett out for the Celtics' 2009 play-off run but word is that Celtics' General Manager Danny Ainge suffered a heart attack as well.

I'm really not sure which is more surreal. On one hand, Celtics' GM Danny Ainge is only 50 years old and a former 3-sport athlete who is still in great shape for his age. On top of that, he is a Mormon who doesn't smoke or drink alchohol, yet after falling ill the other night, they found out that his artery was 100% clogged!

On the other hand, we were told all along that Kevin Garnett was going to be fine. His injury was mild and he could have come back sooner but that the Celtics were just giving him more time to be safe. They said he was going to be back for the last week of the season but since the playoff seed was solidified they thought starting up again in the playoffs would be the best just to get a couple extra days of treatment. Now Coach Doc Rivers tells everyone that he saw KG in practice on Thursday and there is no way he can go in the playoffs and probably will need surgery after the season!

Much like last year's injury to Andrew Bynum, Laker players and their fans were told repeatedly that Bynum would be ready for the play-offs until it was finally declared that he was done for the rest of the season. Now Celtic fans are left with a lot of questions. With the best medical expertise at their disposal, how is it that Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge didn't know how serious KG's injury was and who really gained from this non-disclosure? Their players? The opponent? Certainly not the fans who have all year for another successful playoff run and now must pray for a Willis Reed-like apearance late in the play-offs by Kevin Garnett.

As Rick Pitino once said, "Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish aren't going to be walking through that door"...And now neither will Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, so it appears that the Celtics and their fans will need a lot more than the the luck of the Irish to repeat as World Champions this year.

UCLA's Secret Weapon for March Madness

Muchas Gracias Minnesota

As I watched Randy Moss taking in the Celtics victory and rooting on his buddy Kevin Garnett at the Garden the other night, I couldn't help but think how much Moss, KG, and David Ortiz have in common. They all began their professional careers and became famous in Minnesota, yet they are all ending their careers and achieving legendary status in Boston.

David Ortiz was 'David Arias' when he began his career with the Minnesota Twins in 1997. The affable First Baseman was a decent hitter and average fielder but he never could hit for power at the Metrodome, so the Twins released him. The Red Sox quickly claimed him off waivers and with a new name and a power swing suited for Fenway, 'Big Papi' has led the Sox to 2 World Series titles while becoming an ambassador for Boston baseball a long the way.

Kevin Garnett was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves out of High School in 1995 and achieved great personal success by winning the League MVP and numerous All Star appearances but he couldn't bring his team a Championship. He wanted to join a winner before his career was over but had no interest in going to Boston until they traded for Ray Allen. In his first season with Boston, he won the Defensive Player of the Year Award and led the Celtics to the biggest turnaround in NBA history and to the NBA Finals.

Before Randy Moss resurrected his career with the New England Patriots he was a young star drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1998. Under the tutelage of fellow Receiver Chris Carter he achieved success early in career only to go astray. He left the Vikings and then had more altercations with the Oakland Raiders before being traded to the Patriots. Now paired with Tom Brady, Moss has become a solid citizen and a team player all while breaking the single season TD record and leading the Patriots to the SuperBowl.

So as New Englanders enjoy the unprecedented success of our local sports teams, we should be thankful to our friends to the North for breaking in KG, Moss, and 'Big Papi'. For without their past growth experience in Minnesota, our sports stars may not be all that super for Boston fans today.

KG & Celts Advance! Now meet King James

Doctor's orders?

Celts' Coach Doc Rivers has decided to give the PGA tour (Pierce/Garnett/Allen) a rest before the NBA play-offs start. A couple of weeks ago Rivers said the team would practice less as the the grind of the season wore on the team. Then he said he would just alternate the practice routines to keep everyone fresh. Now Doc has decided to give his starters (other than Kendrick Perkins) games off during the last 6 games of the season.

True, chasing the best record all year long has been a grind, but the only player that probably needs the rest is Paul Pierce who has played every game this year. Both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have already missed time due to injury and are averaging less minutes per game than in previous years. Rajon Rondo is young and still needs his playing time to improve his game. At this point, any unnecessary rest could derail the team's momentum heading into the playoffs. Coach Rivers has done very little wrong this year, so let's hope he doesn't start now.

Tank This! Celts' Road Show rolls on

The Celtics blasted Houston 94-74 last night and ended the Rockets' 22 game winning streak. Now with a win against the Mavericks in Dallas tomorrow night, the Celtics could be the first team since the 2001 Sacramento Kings to sweep all the Texas teams on a road trip.

Round 3: Celts Beat Pistons, Clinch Play-offs

Finally, Sam's Our Man

The Celtics and Danny Ainge came through and signed two players before the March 1st play-off roster deadline. PJ Brown was signed as a free agent and at 6'11" provides some needed rebound and defensive support down low. While Sam Cassel was finally bought out by the Clippers so he could sign with the Celtics before the deadline.

Brown hasn't played all year and is expected to sit until he gets his wind back and even though Cassell has a wrist injury suffered on Feb. 20, he did pass his physical and is expected to play before the end of the week. Now with Cassell running the second unit, Eddie House will be free to set up his shot more. Also, Rajon Rondo and even older players like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen should benefit from Cassell's experience controlling the game's tempo.

Celts' West Coast Woes

So how good are these Celtics anyway? They were 16-0 against Western Conference teams before their West coast road trip after the All-Start break. During this recent trip the Celts went 2-3 against teams who, except for maybe the Nuggets, are currently not playing their best ball of the season. On top of that, the Celts' two victories were against teams who had or sustained major injuries to their top players. Brandon Roy got injured when the Celts were coming back from a 17 point first half deficit against the Blazers and the Clippers were without 4 of their top 6 players when the Celtics beat them to close out the trip. The three teams that beat the Celtics (Suns, Nuggets, and Warriors) all lost their next game and to make matters worse, the Suns were blown out at home on National TV by fellow Eastern Conference rival Detroit.

Now one can argue that these teams all brought their 'A' game against the team with the best record in NBA but you also can't deny that the Celts' defense and shooting is becoming more inconsistent as the year goes on. Also, it seems that if 2 of the 'Big 3' (Allen, Pierce, KG) have bad shooting nights, then it's nearly impossible for them to win. Even more discouraging is that the Celtics were 7-2 without Kevin Garnett and now only 2-3 with him back in the line-up. As the Celts return home to play the improved Cavs, I guess only time will tell if this trip was just a blip on the radar or a major turning point in the season.

NBA Finals preview?

The Celtics defeated the San Antonio Spurs yesterday for only the second time in the Tim Duncan era. What made it even more impressive was that both Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins did not play. If you include Scott Pollard who was a DNP, that is 3 ‘bigs’ out of the line-up for the Celtics against arguably the best big man in the game today. It was a great win but let’s not forget that the Spurs were without Tony Parker and Brent Barry yesterday. The Spurs are a much better team with Parker at the point, and with everyone healthy on both teams you would have to give the edge back to San Antonio.

That said the Celtics still need to make a move before the trading deadline on Feb. 23rd. The Lakers have improved themselves with Pau Gasol, the Spurs with Stoudamire, the Warriors with Chris Webber, the Suns have changed it up with the addition of Shaq, and both Dallas and Cleveland are hot after Jason Kidd. Even with KG, Perk, and Pollard coming back, Danny Ainge will still need to get some more support at the point and maybe another big man if the Celtics are to continue their success against the West and make a nice run in the NBA play-offs.

Notes from the Coast:

Johan Santana has finally found a new home and it’s in the National League, so now the Red Sox can move on. With Brandon Moss waiting in the wings and the recent signings of Bobby Kielty and Sean Casey, it looks like Coco Crisp’s days in a Sox uniform are numbered. I am still hoping for a deal to the Oakland A’s for reliever Huston Street but don’t expect anything until Spring Training when the Sox brass can make sure that Jacoby Ellbury is their everyday centerfielder.

• Reportedly, Tom Brady and Randy Moss pulled out of the Pro Bowl in Hawaii due to injury. After their disgraceful performance in the Super bowl, Matt Light and Dan Koppen should pull out of the Pro Bowl due to embarrassment.
• Can’t wait until after the NBA All-Star break when Kevin Garnett and Scott Pollard return to the line-up and Sam Cassell may finally be in a Celtics uniform.
• On that note, I got a little excited when I heard Cassell was pulled out of the Celts-Clippers game last night. I thought it was because a trade or buyout had been consummated by the two teams until I heard it was due to a flagrant foul ejection.
• Also, judging by his recent quotes, Cassell doesn’t seem as eager as Damon Stoudamire was to back-up Rajon Rondo saying it’s “who finishes the game not who starts that counts.”
• Finally, Red Sox equipment trucks leave for Fort Myers, Florida this Saturday; a ritual that has become a harbinger of spring more reliable than a Groundhog’s shadow or the appearance of a Red-breasted Robin.

Without KG, Celtics lose some Magic

The Celtics suffered their eighth loss of the season on National TV yesterday. This was their second loss to the Orlando Magic this year and the Celts' 5th loss in the the last 10 games but it wasn't necessarily a 'bad' loss. Even though the Celts were out of synch and Ray Allen shot poorly throughout the game, it still took a long distance 3-pointer from Hedo Turkoglu for Orlando to beat the Celts at the buzzer 96-93. However, the way the Celts have been playing lately and with KG out with a pulled stomach muscle, it could have been worse.

As the Celtics wind through January and the 'dog days' of the NBA schedule, it is evident that the team is struggling a bit. Without KG in the line-up, the low post defense suffers and Kendrick Perkins is not as effective on the offensive end. Rajon Rondo is not 100% and it looks as though all the minutes he's logged already this year has taken a toll on his small frame. He doesn't seem to take it to the rim as much and rarely finishes off with a basket when he does. Also, when Rondo is out, it falls on Paul Pierce to move the ball which takes away from his shooting consistency. Ray Allen is quietly having his worst year of shooting from both the field and the 3-point arch. Leon Powe and Glen Davis have been a pleasant surprise but their contributions have been sporadic and Scott Pollard has yet to log significant minutes.

The Celtics have had a great year thus far but will need to fix some of these shortcomings in order to compete with the teams like Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas, and San Antonio down the stretch. They currently have two open roster spots but who (or what) do you trade for a veteran point guard and/or low post player? Everyone on the Celtics bench has contributed this year and is either too valuable to the Celtics or not valuable enough to another team. On top of that, the Celts already traded many of their future draft choices and disposable salary to the Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett. I still feel Sam Cassell would be a great asset to this team, but it doesn't look like the LA Clippers will buy him out of his contract and I'm not sure if Damon Stoudemire is the answer although he's available now that the Memphis Grizzlies freed him up.

It is much easier to tweak a team than to change it, so as the February 22nd NBA Trade deadline gets closer and the Celts' weaknesses become more apparent, it will be interesting to see what GM Danny Ainge can or will do to reinforce the team.

Celtics Get Revenge- Beat Pistons in Round 2

Wow, what a game! Saturday night the two best teams in the NBA Eastern Conference squared-off in the second match-up of the season and this time the Boston Celtic beat the Detroit Pistons 92-85 at Auburn Hills, MI. First year player, Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis contributed 16 points down the stretch to defeat a Pistons team that won 11 straight games.

This game was not on National TV but too good to pass up, so I cancelled my HBO (luckily ‘Entourage’ doesn’t start up until June) and forked over the big bucks for the NBA Package. I never thought I would be spending any money on NBA entertainment but the 2007-08 Boston Celtics are a special team and on a record breaking pace, so every game is a must see event.

These games are fun to watch but also important for Boston GM Danny Ainge. With two open roster spots, Ainge must determine what assets are needed for the Celtics to compete for a title down the stretch. Before ‘Big Baby’ stepped up in the second half, the Celtics struggled when Kevin Garnett got into foul trouble. The challenge to back-up Garnett and to support Rajon Rondo at the point may be addressed January 10th when teams have to decide whether to guarantee contracts for the rest of the year. After that date, the Celtics may be able to pick-up a couple needed pieces that could lead to their first championship in 21 years. In the meantime, with a 29-3 record the entertainment value is well-worth the price.