Ultimate Trolling: The Celtics Are Actually Going to Make the Playoffs This Season, Aren't They?

At this point, I would sound like an idiot to ignore the truth that jumps off the screen anytime you tune in: Isaiah Thomas (28 points, 7 assists) has brought so much life to the Celtics that now it looks likely that they'll make the playoffs this season. Boston (23-33 overall, 14-15 home) beat Charlotte (23-33 overall, 10-17 away) 106-98 tonight at TD Garden. That leaves the two teams tied with Brooklyn, mere percentage points behind Indiana (24-34) who is barely hanging onto the eighth spot in the dogshit Eastern Conference.

All season long, I've bitched and complained when the Celtics have won so let me get one thing straight: I'm not changing my tune. It still helps them more to lose and miss out on the postseason this spring but then again, they are unlikely to get a top pick (in a weak draft) since they are so many teams dedicated to tanking so how could it hurt to give head coach Brad Stevens not to mention all these young, inexperienced players a little taste of the playoffs before they get swept by the Hawks, Raptors, Bulls or Cavaliers?

Boston's bench outscored its starters 60-46 led by Thomas and Jonas Jerebko (16 points, 10 rebounds) who has to be the best Swedish basketball player that I've ever seen. Their other recent acquisition Jae Crowder added 14 points and six rebounds while proving to be a versatile defender able to guard all different size guys. Avery Bradley had 19 points and five rebounds including two putback dunks that sealed it. Marcus Smart (10 points) was the only other Celtics starter to score in double-figures.

The Hornets still have some good players but they are lost right now without former UConn star point guard Kemba Walker. Mo Williams had a game-high 31 points and seven rebounds which sounds great but he took 23 shots and only contributed four assists (with three turnovers). Former Celtic Al Jefferson was held in check (14 points, 8 rebounds), Gerald Henderson added 14 points, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) while Tyler's (7 points, 9 rebounds) little brother Cody Zeller notched 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

The Celtics were up 27-21 after the first quarter but the Hornets pulled ahead 49-45 by halftime. Charlotte increased its lead to six going into the fourth (75-69) but Boston scored a season-high 37 points in the final frame and held their opponents to 23.

For the game, Boston hit four more 3-pointers (14-10), dished out five more assists (24-19), scored nine more fast break points (19-10), 10 more points in the paint (38-28) and 13 more points off turnovers (21-8). Charlotte had twice as many turnovers (16-8) as Boston which ultimately killed them.

Sunday night (6, CSN) at the Garden should be fun as the Celtics welcome the best team in the NBA-the Warriors (45-11)-to town. I give Boston a better chance to win than you'd probably expect since that will be Golden State's fifth stop on a six-game road trip (granted they humiliated Toronto 113-89 this evening) and also the fact that the C's nearly shocked them in Golden State a month ago (114-111 loss on Jan. 25). I never thought I'd say this during the Celtics' 2014-15 season but I'm actually really looking forward to that matchup.

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Celtics Beat Bobcats 106-103, Sigh

I must admit two things up front before this quick post: 1) there is nothing I hate more in sports right now than watching the Celtics win; 2) I can't remember when was the last time I watched so much of a C's (24-55 overall, 16-24 home) game this season. Boston outlasted Charlotte (40-39 overall, 17-23 away) 106-103 at TD Garden. The Celtics snapped a beautiful nine-game losing streak and the Bobcats dropped their first game in the last six contests.

Pregame, things looked all lined up for another Celtics loss. Rajon Rondo sat with a "bruised left shin" (oh NBA/tanking) but on the other side, former UConn legend Kemba Walker was also out. Former Celtic Al Jefferson (32 points, 10 rebounds) was basically unstoppable which playoff-bound Charlotte didn't seem to figure out until it was too late in the fourth quarter.

During that long losing streak, the C's had perfected the art of completely crumbling in the fourth quarter after usually being competitive up until then. This was a different story since it was back and forth (29-28 Bobcats after one quarter and 57-55 Celtics at halftime). Boston opened that up to 84-75 heading into the fourth.

All five Celtics starters were in double figures led by Phil Pressey (10 points, 13 assists, 3 steals). Avery Bradley had 22 points, Jared Sullinger added 20 points and seven rebounds while Brandon Bass (9 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Jeff Green (6 turnovers) both scored 18. The loss dropped the Bobcats back to seventh in the Eastern Conference (they've already clinched a spot) and proved how much they need Kemba to have a chance to beat anyone even in the weak East.

The next highest scorer for Charlotte was Gary Neal who put up 13 points off the bench. Chris Douglas-Roberts added 12 points while Gerald Henderson (11 points) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) each snuck into double figures.

Boston hit four more 3-pointers (11-7) and five more free throws (13-8). Charlotte hung around by dishing out 11 more assists (33-22), they had eight less turnovers (20-12) and scored 14 more points in the paint (50-36). The Celts also took advantage of nine more points off turnovers (23-14).

Only three more games left in 2013-14 for the Celtics, beginning with tomorrow night (7:30, CSN) in Cleveland (32-48). Right now, Boston is tied with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the NBA. The only teams that the Celtics have a chance to drop past are Utah and Orlando (23-56). Every loss counts guys, make it happen!

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Without KG, Celtics Roll Over Bobcats 105-88

After they basically forfeited on Tuesday in Charlotte against the Bobcats (a 100-74 loss), the Celtics (36-29, 24-9 home) still sat a key player (Kevin Garnett this time instead of Paul Pierce) tonight but it didn't matter as they blew out the NBA's worst team 105-88 at TD Garden.

All five starters were in double-figures for the Celts: Paul Pierce (14 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds), Avery Bradley (13 points), Courtney Lee (12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks), Brandon Bass (10 points, 6 rebounds) and Jeff Green (10 points, 5 rebounds). Jason Terry added 15 points off the bench and all 11 Celtics that played scored at least five points. It was such a joke that even Shavlik Randolph (6 points, 8 rebounds) and D.J. White (6 points) got to pretend they were NBA players for a few minutes.

Charlotte (14-52, 6-28 away) were paced by Jannero Pargo who scored 18 points off the bench. Gerald Henderson (16 points) and UConn's Kemba Walker (14 points) were the only other guys to reach double digits.

After three games in a row against Charlotte and Toronto, Boston gets to play a real team again on Monday night (8 p.m., CSN). Assuming they win tomorrow in Toronto, the Miami Heat (50-14, 1st in Southeast Division) will enter the Garden with a 22-game win streak. Their last loss was February 1 to Indiana and two games before that, they fell 100-98 in OT against the Celtics (the day they learned Rajon Rondo was done for the season). As a Celts fan, obviously I want the Heat to have that win streak since it would only add to the intensity and drama of one of the NBA's best new rivalries.

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Celtics Tank It To The Max: Get Blown Out By The Bobcats

The Celtics chose to sit Paul Pierce tonight in Charlotte which made sense in the first game of a back-to-back. The rest of the team proceeded to mail it in from there as they lost 100-74 at Time Warner Cable Arena to the Bobcats (14-50, 8-24 home) aka the worst team in the NBA that came in with 10 straight losses. All I can assume is that Boston (34-29, 12-20 away) couldn't be bothered to put up an effort as they delicately try to have some momentum going into the playoffs yet not get the fourth, fifth or eighth seed so they can avoid Miami for as long as possible.

Gerald Henderson had a career-high 35 points for Charlotte, it was that kind of night. Josh McRoberts had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while UConn's Kemba Walker added 10 points. Another UConn product-Ben Gordon-scored 17 points off the bench.

Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford led Boston with 14 points apiece. Brandon Bass had 10 points and seven rebounds while Avery Bradley scored 10 points. Kevin Garnett only played 21 minutes as head coach Doc Rivers waved the white flag/threw in the towel early.

The C's return to TD Garden tomorrow night (7:30 p.m., CSN) to face the Raptors (25-39, 4th in Atlantic Division). And don't worry, if you didn't get your fill of the Bobcats tonight, Charlotte comes to Boston on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., CSN) to close this epic four-game season series. Haha the Bobcats have won the last two games against the Celtics. Bye.

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Nothing Says Excitement Like A Visit From The Bobcats

Like a solar eclipse or an episode of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," games against the Bobcats require that you don't look too closely at them or else you risk potential serious harm.

Tonight at TD Garden, Boston (20-17, 13-6 home) beat Charlotte (9-28, 4-14 away) 100-89 in what will undoubtedly be the Celtics' most boring victory of the season. Boston has won six games in a row and this one was all thanks to Rajon Rondo's 26th career triple-double (3rd this season): 17 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds. He has 13 triple-doubles (regular season and playoffs) since the start of last season, nobody else in the NBA has more than two.

Paul Pierce was the high scorer in this emotionless contest with 19 points and six assists. Avery Bradley scored 16 points (including four 3-pointers), Kevin Garnett grabbed 11 rebounds and Jeff Green added 11 points off the bench.

Charlotte is still a complete mess that can't figure out what they want to be. Journeymen Hakim Warrick (16 points) and Ramon Sessions (16 points) led them in scoring while talented young guys like Kemba Walker (12 points) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (10 points, 8 rebounds) waste away on one of the worst teams in professional sports. Gerald Henderson had 10 points and former UConn star Ben Gordon notched 12 points off the bench.

The Celts led by as much as 18 (50-32) in the second quarter but the Bobcats stuck around for a while, tied it at 58 in the third quarter and cut it to four in the fourth (78-74) before Boston decided to save themselves a world of embarrassment.

Boston shot 7.0% better from the field (48.8-41.8), hit two more 3-pointers (8-6), hauled in eight more rebounds (42-34), dished out 12 more assists (27-15) and blocked four more shots (8-4).

In Dan Shaughnessy parlance, another tomato can-the New Orleans Hornets (11-26, 5th in Southwest Division)-comes to the Garden on Wednesday night (8 p.m., CSN). It's the first time Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has faced his son, Hornets rookie guard Austin Rivers, in an NBA game. On paper that sounds like a swell idea but the reality is that Austin has been awful and he barely plays at the moment while his team is similarly terrible. Fun times! Tune in for another Celtics romp.

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The Boston Celtics' Future Doesn't Look So Grim After All

As I predicted late last night, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers mercifully gave his aging Big 3 the night off tonight and yet Boston was still able to win.

The Celts (36-25, 15-16 away) completed their back-to-back-to-back 2-1 this weekend with a 94-82 win vs. the Charlotte Bobcats (7-52, 4-24 home) 94-82 at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Most Celtics fans are scared to death of the great unknown that is life after KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen either retire or move on. Well a future with Rajon Rondo (20 points, 16 assists), Avery Bradley (22 points), Brandon Bass (22 points, 9 rebounds) and Greg Stiemsma (8 points, 6 blocks, 5 steals, 4 rebounds) doesn't look so bad, does it?

Without his usual crew, Rondo took more of a leadership role (yes I said that) and he did a nice job as he recorded double-digit assists for the 22nd straight game.

The Bobcats are winding down what will statistically end up as one of the worst in NBA history regardless of season length. Gerald Henderson led Charlotte with 22 points, Derrick Brown had 15 points and seven rebounds, D.J. White scored 13 points and D.J. Augustin handed out 10 assists.

Boston swept the season series 3-0 and best of all, they only have five games left in the regular season. After the NHL playoffs started last week, these NBA games just don't have the same pop (not that Celtics-Bobcats ever makes you take notice). The NBA playoffs start two weeks from yesterday, with Boston's final regular season game a week from Thursday. Those can't come soon enough as far as any NBA fan is concerned.

The Green and White close out this bizarre four-game road trip on Tuesday night (8:00 p.m., CSNE) at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. Any game there is always special but the Celtics and Knicks have developed a nice, albeit one-sided rivalry, the last few seasons. Boston is 2-1 against their Atlantic Division foe.

Garnett and Pierce will be back, I'm not sure about Allen but it doesn't get much better than Boston vs. New York in any sport. Am I right rest of the America? (ducks)

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Improbably, The Sixers & Celtics Are Now Tied Atop The Atlantic Division

If I told you that on March 27, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers would possess the same record, you would probably take it assuming you were a Celts fan.

This weird season is starting to get interesting for Boston since winning the Atlantic Division would ensure a No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. That would give them a puncher's chance in the playoffs because they would have home-court for the first round.

That's big picture but tonight in Charlotte, the C's (27-20, 10-14 road) did enough to beat the Bobcats (7-40, 4-18 home), 102-95 at Time Warner Cable Arena.

By winning their second game in two nights and vanquishing the NBA's worst team, the Celtics pulled into a deadlock with the 76ers (who still own the tiebreaker since they're 2-0 against Boston so far this season).

Paul Pierce wouldn't let his team lose as he poured in a season-high 36 points plus 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. Did I mention that he was 15 of 18 from the free throw line? Kevin Garnett did his part as well with 24 points.

Brandon Bass scored 15 points, Rajon Rondo notched 13 assists and Avery Bradley had 11 points. Ray Allen missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, he's expected back in the lineup for the next game.

I don't think I've ever heard of this but leave it to the Bobcats to do something wacky: their bench outscored the starters 59-36. If not for Gerald Henderson's 21 points, the other four starters accounted for a pathetic 15 points. I don't know how Bobcats head coach Paul Silas does it; he must drink heavily and cry himself to sleep every night.

Byron Mullens had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench along with Derrick Brown who put up 16 points and seven assists. D.J. White and Reggie Williams both scored nine points while former UConn star (how much things can change in a year) Kemba Walker had seven points and seven assists.

Boston looked like they might roll as they jumped out to a 33-15 lead but as they usually have this season, they almost immediately gave it back. The C's were only up 52-50 at halftime. A solid third quarter (30-25) and enough plays in the fourth (20-20) allowed the Celtics to survive a game that they led from start to finish.

It being Charlotte, the quietest and most funeral home like NBA arena, it only makes sense that the stats prove it was also bizarro world stuff. Boston attempted 10 more free throws (45-35) and made nine more (34-25). They also had four more rebounds (37-33), six more steals (8-2), eight more fast break points (17-9) and 14 more points in the paint (44-30).

More good news is that the Celtics face the Bobcats one more time, on April 15 back in Charlotte. I wouldn't guarantee a win against almost anybody but that's a W staring them in the face, Boston will be 3-0 against Charlotte.

After one game at the Garden, then this, the C's return home again for one contest. Al Jefferson and the Utah Jazz make their only appearance of the season on Wednesday. The Jazz are right in the thick of the last few seeds in the Western Conference playoffs; at least this meeting isn't in Utah where they possess perhaps the best home-court advantage in the NBA (Mormon power!). The Jazz are a quality team and Wednesday should be much more entertaining than the two dull exhibitions (Wizards, Bobcats) that Boston has played in the last two nights.

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The Boston Celtics really don't want the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference

All season, the Boston Celtics hadn't lost back-to-back home games. Well I guess it took the heavyweight duo of the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Bobcats to end that impressive streak.

Both Ray Allen (14 points) and Kevin Garnett (12 points, 9 rebounds) had chances to win it with wide-open 3-pointers at the end of regulation but it wasn't to be as Charlotte hung on for a 83-81 win last night at TD Garden.

Even without Stephen Jackson, the Bobcats (29-42) won their second straight against the Celtics (50-21), to split the season series (2-2). Charlotte is still two games behind Indiana for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Speaking of being two games back, Boston is now two games behind the Bulls (who are on fire) and only half a game in front of the Heat.

Needless to say, facing the Pacers is much more appealing that the Sixers (6th) or Knicks (7th) in the first round of the playoffs. Not to mention that if the Celtics and Bulls meet in the playoffs-which seems likely-home court could certainly mean the difference in a seven-game series.

What made this meltdown so strange for the Celtics was that they led by 13 points heading into the fourth quarter (66-53) but proceeded to get doubled up in the fourth (30-15) by the Bobcats.

D.J. White led Charlotte with a team-high 17 points off the bench. Yes the same D.J. White that starred at Indiana but has bounced around the NBA. Gerald Henderson added 15 points, D.J. Augustin scored 14 points and Kwame Brown had 12 points and seven rebounds. When you look at that list of bums, you have to ask yourself: how did the Celtics lose?

Paul Pierce led Boston with 18 points and Rajon Rondo added 10 points. Glen Davis put up nine points and six rebounds off the bench and Nenad Krstic had seven points and eight rebounds.

Boston travels to Minnesota tomorrow night to face the Timberwolves. With any luck, double-double machine Kevin Love will be out nursing his groin injury. Regardless, the Celtics have to smoke the Timberwolves, no excuses.

The Boston Celtics would probably lose to your high school team on the 2nd night of a back-to-back

Ok, I'll stop pretending that the Boston Celtics will ever win the second game of a back-to-back this season particularly if it's on the road.

It couldn't be more clear that the Celts (38-13) could care less since there's no back-to-back games in the playoffs. They lost their seventh back-to-back of the season last night in Charlotte, 94-89 to the Bobcats (22-29).

It was under special circumstances since Boston dressed only 10 healthy players (including Avery Bradley who they just brought back from the D-League). Still, there's no excuse to lose to a team that they continually embarrass.

The only good news to come out of the night was that Ray Allen (game-high 25 points) now sits just two 3-pointers from breaking Reggie Miller's all-time NBA record. The fact that the Cs host the Lakers on Thursday in a primetime contest is a better script than Adam Sandler has worked with in years.

Paul Pierce added 22 points, Rajon Rondo put up 10 points and 14 assists while Kevin Garnett (9 points, 14 rebounds) and Kendrick Perkins (8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) had decent performances.

The NBA just announced today that both Pierce (defending champ) and Allen will compete in the 3-point shooting contest at the 2011 All-Star weekend.

Losing to Charlotte is always surprising but last night was particularly bizarre since their best player-Stephen Jackson (11 points)-was ejected in the second quarter due to overzealous refs.

Gerald Wallace had 19 points and 16 rebounds but believe it or not Shaun Livingston (18 points) and Gerald Henderson-who both came off the bench-were the main reasons why the Bobcats won.

The Celts led 29-25 after the first quarter but Charlotte was up one (51-50) at halftime. Boston won an ugly third quarter (19-14) but ran out of energy in the fourth (29-20).

Bottom line is that as frustrating as this loss appears on the surface, it doesn't mean anything. Charlotte might squeeze into the 7th or 8th seed in the Eastern Conference but is there any doubt the Celtics would crush them? Nope.

Onto the next one and oh mama, it's going to be a star-studded game full of all the Boston C and D-list celebs. It's LA's only regular season visit to the TD Garden so let's make it a good one. You never have to worry about this team showing up when the bright lights come on.