"Don't Cry for Me Slovenia"

The key move at the end of Game 4 by Celtic Ray Allen...


And the reaction by Faker Sasha Vujacic...

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.

Texas Swing

Just in time for St. Patrick's day, Boston will parade the Celtic green on the road for one of their toughest trips of the year. Beginning tonight, the Celts will play 5 games in 7 days against some of the best teams in the Western Conference and the NBA.

After opening in Milwaukee, the Celtics square-off against the defending champ San Antonio Spurs, a Houston Rockets team that has won 21 games in a row, the Dallas Mavericks with newly aquired Jason Kidd, and the upstart New Orleans Hornets with All-NBA point guard Chris Paul. Their last 4 opponents are all considered title contenders and have a combined record of 176-84.

The Celtics lost their last game to the Utah Jazz (another strong Western Conference team) at home 110-92 and in the process may have lost Ray Allen for a couple of games due to an ankle injury, so with only 18 games left in the season, this trip should be a true test for the team and good way to prepare for the upcoming play-offs.

Road Trip:

• @ Milwaukee Bucks (3/15)
• @ San Antonio Spurs (3/17)
• @ Houston Rockets (3/18)
• @ Dallas Mavericks (3/20)
• @ New Orleans Hornets (3/22)

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.