Not That There Was Any Doubt but Doc Rivers Picked the Right Time To Leave Boston

I'll never understand how anyone could blame Doc Rivers for leaving the Celtics for the Clippers. With Boston rebuilding and LA a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, who wouldn't take off on a new adventure in a warm climate with more money and power? Doc's first game back to TD Garden with his new team was tonight and the Clippers (15-8 overall, 7-6 away) held off the Celtics (10-14 overall, 5-6 home) 96-88.

The C's did a nice job honoring Rivers between the first and second quarter with a highlight video although their taste in music wasn't the best. As most expected, he was widely cheered when he got introduced before the game (as he should have been). Now we can all move on with our lives, PS thanks for the memories Doc. Oh that's right, they'll meet one more time-January 8 in Los Angeles. I'll assume that won't be nearly as emotional.

Chris Paul is what makes the Clippers a contender, for my money he's still the best point guard in the NBA (sorry Russell Westbrook). He flirted with a triple-double (22 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals). Blake Griffin was the only other LA starter in double-figures with 18 points (which I'm assuming all came via dunks) and seven rebounds. Ageless Jamal Crawford scored 21 points off the bench and Darren Collison had 10 points.

Boston was playing the second half of a back-to-back and it showed as they led 23-20 after one quarter and 45-39 at halftime before they faded in the last two quarters. Los Angeles took over in the third (27-19) and put it away in the fourth (30-24).

Jeff Green scored a game-high 29 points but in typical fashion didn't do anything else. Jordan Crawford nearly had a double-double with 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Brandon Bass put up a great line if you had him in Fantasy Basketball: 17 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Jared Sullinger added 10 points and nine assists.

LA hit six more free throws (22-16), made four more steals (9-5), scored six more fast break points (15-9) and 18 more points in the paint (42-24). Oh and the Clippers bench outscored the Celtics 34-4 so there's that.

It was a taxing couple nights so I'm sure Boston will be happy to rest tomorrow (assuming they don't have more than a light practice at most) before they host the Knicks (6-15, 4th in Atlantic Division) on Friday (7:30, CSN). You might remember that Boston whipped New York 114-73 on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. I'd say the Knicks can't possibly play any worse but then I look at their record and am not quite sure.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Celtics Complete A 4-0 Week Post-Rondo With 106-104 Win Vs. Clippers

Thoughts of the Celtics just forfeiting (slight exaggeration) the rest of this season after Rajon Rondo went down with a torn ACL last weekend seem a bit silly now that Boston (24-23, 17-9 home) has won four games in a row (during a very favorable 4-game homestand) and gone over .500. This afternoon, they built up a 19-point lead before hanging on by the skin of their teeth 106-104 against the Chris Paul-less Clippers (34-15, 14-10 away) at TD Garden.

Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro made the curious decision not to foul when his team was down only two 103-101 with the shot clock and game clock only two seconds apart. That awful coaching blunder cost LA dearly as Pierce nailed a 3-pointer for good measure. Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer as the game ended, haha not sure what the line was either way but I feel like that could have made many people very happy or upset.

Pierce led the C's with a team-high 22 points, five rebounds and two steals, Kevin Garnett was the only other starter in double figures with 12 points and five rebounds. The real story of the win was Boston's bench outscoring Los Angeles' 52-29. Jeff Green (2 blocks) and Leandro Barbosa had 14 points each while Jason Terry added 13 points and six assists.

Eric Bledsoe had a game-high 23 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and two steals while Blake Griffin added 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. UConn's Caron Butler put up 18 points and five rebounds and DeAndre Jordan notched 12 points and five rebounds. Crawford has a broken nose so he started the game with a ghetto mask but ditched it on the way to 23 points and six assists, he might as well clear his trophy case at home for another Sixth Man of the Year award.

The Celts tied a season-high with a 33-point first quarter as they led 33-30 then 59-40 at halftime. Boston slowly lost steam in the third quarter (37-33 LA) before the wheels really came off in the fourth quarter (27-14 LA). Boston hit two more 3-pointers (11-9) and eight more free throws (23-15) than the Clippers.

A trip to Toronto (17-31, 5th in Atlantic Division) on Wednesday (7 p.m., CSN) is the first road test in the post-Rondo portion of the season. Former UConn star Rudy Gay was traded to the Raptors last week from the Grizzlies, a move that makes them believe they can be a playoff contender. Haha keep dreaming Canadians. The teams have only met once so far, a 107-89 Celtics win at the Garden on Saturday, November 17. After Wednesday, they play twice more. Oh joy.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Apparently The Clippers' 15-Game Win Streak & Best Record In The NBA Is No Fluke

After a beating like the one just handed to the Celtics tonight, there is very little to say. The Clippers (23-6, 14-3 home) extended their win streak to an eye-popping 15 games with a 106-77 win at Staples Center against Boston (14-14, 5-9 away).

Los Angeles has the best record in the NBA and seeing them up close, it is easy to see why they are a legitimate title contender this season. Chris Paul had eight points and 11 assists while Blake Griffin posted 15 points and eight rebounds and Caron Butler added 14 points. The real story was Matt Barnes, who had a game-high 21 points off the bench, and Jamal Crawford (17 points), who should be in the 2013 All-Star game if he continues to play like this.

After their best game of the season on Christmas in Brooklyn, a team that saw their head coach-Avery Johnson-get fired today, the Celtics came back with their worst effort. Kevin Garnett led the C's with 16 points, Paul Pierce had 12 points, Rajon Rondo put up 10 points, six assists and five rebounds while Jason Terry notched 10 points. Courtney Lee had 12 points off the bench, Brandon Bass grabbed nine rebounds and Jeff Green scored eight.

Afterwards on Inside the NBA, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley suggested that Doc Rivers start Green in order to get his confidence going. At this juncture, it's worth a shot since nothing else seems to make much of a difference. They pointed out that there is too much pressure on him playing with the second unit and being with Rondo would get him easy buckets.

I think numbers in blowout games (win or lose) can be meaningless but you have to admit that some of these are horrifying if you consider yourself a Celtics fan: Los Angeles shot 7.9% better from the field (48.2%-40.3%), hit six more 3-pointers (12-6), handed out 11 more assists (31-20), had seven more steals (12-5), four more blocks (7-3) and 10 less turnovers (18-8). The Clippers produced 16 more points in the paint (42-26).

Since Oklahoma City vs. Dallas went into overtime on TNT, we didn't get sent to LA until midway through the first quarter with the Clippers up 18-6. It honestly didn't get any better for the rest of the game. At one point, the Celts cut it to a four point deficit in the second quarter (32-28) but the Clippers responded with an 8-0 run and that was basically it.

Los Angeles outscored Boston in every quarter, including 24-10 in the fourth quarter which is beyond depressing. The Celts are at Golden State (19-10, 2nd in Pacific Division) on Saturday night (10:30 p.m., CSN) and there is a decent chance that it'll end up just like this blowout. The Warriors are one of the hottest teams in the NBA (7-3 in their last 10) and they play great at home (8-4 this season). If Boston doesn't bring a much more respectable effort, they'll find themselves on the wrong end of another embarrassing scoreline.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Kevin Garnett Returns, Signs 3-Year Extension With The Boston Celtics

Off the court, Kevin Garnett is a man of mystery. He's not on Twitter, he is rarely seen in public so when he's not playing basketball it's hard to know what he's doing or thinking. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I think we all respect his privacy.

I was confident that KG would return to the Celtics but I was more than pleasantly surprised that they have reportedly re-signed him to a three-year deal worth $34 million according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

This is wonderful news for the Celtics and their fans since it all but guarantees that Garnett will rightfully end his career in Boston and they will be a title contender the whole time. He is 36-years-old so obviously his health is the biggest issue but he proved last season (15.8 points, 8.2 rebounds) and even more so in the playoffs (19.2 points, 10.3 rebounds) that he is not washed up yet by any means.

Rajon Rondo is the best player on the C's these days but everybody recognizes that KG is still the heart and soul of the team. He's the main leader and the most consistent performer while Rondo can be very unpredictable in many ways. As it turned out, Boston might have been the second best team in the NBA last season since they went seven games with the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals (after leading 3-2). Miami ended up beating Oklahoma City in five games in the NBA Finals so that makes you think that the Celtics were painfully close to Banner 18 if they just could have closed out the Heat.

With KG locked up, the next piece for the Celts is Ray Allen. Many have speculated that the Heat and Suns (what?) are also trying to sign him when free agency begins tonight at 12:01 a.m. (free agents can't officially sign until July 11). I can't take the Phoenix rumors seriously since they don't make any sense but Miami would be a logical spot for Allen. However, they wouldn't be able to offer him nearly as much money as Boston plus with Garnett back in the fold, would Ray really want to leave now?

It has already been an interesting summer with the Celtics selecting Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph in the 2012 NBA Draft on Thursday night. For the time being, this isn't a rebuilding project at all with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo not to mention Doc Rivers still employed by the C's.

The other free agents that played for Boston last season include Brandon Bass, Marquis Daniels, Keyon Dooling, Jeff Green (who missed all the games with a heart ailment), Ryan Hollins, Sasha Pavlovic and Mickael Pietrus. Of that group, Bass and Green are clearly the most important. The rest are very replaceable and nobody will notice if they are gone. Also, the C's made a qualifying offer to center Greg Stiemsma (1-year, $1.05 million) last night so I expect him to take it and return.

The most attractive (and realistic) free agent target in my mind is Jamal Crawford. I've read that the Celtics are one of the teams trying to get the veteran guard who is a great scorer off the bench. He would seemingly be a perfect fit and give Boston something they've lacked in recent years: a guy that can put up double-digits routinely off the bench. He's never won a championship and barely played in the postseason during his long NBA career so I'm sure at this point, winning is even more important to him than ever.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

You know it's bad when Zaza Pachulia is unstoppable

Last night in Atlanta, it was a battle of who cared less (apologies to Ben Folds): the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks.

Neither team was into it (as evidenced by the numerous easy baskets and layups) but the Hawks (44-32) eventually made enough plays to come away with a depressing 88-83 win over the Celtics (52-23) at the Philips Arena.

I say depressing because the main reason that Atlanta was victorious had to do with the energy provided by goofball big man Zaza Pachulia. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes off the bench. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 20 points off the bench but that's at least forgivable since he's a good NBA player. There is absolutely no reason that Zaza should be dropping double-doubles in your eyeball.

Paul Pierce led Boston with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds but he couldn't do it alone in the second night of the back-to-back road games. Rajon Rondo had 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds while Ray Allen (11 points), Kevin Garnett (10 points) and Delonte West (10 points, 5 assists off the bench) all barely reached double figures.

The terrible pro sports fans in Atlanta were treated to a real snoozefest in the first half as the Hawks led 23-21 after the first quarter but the Celtics woke up for a 52-44 advantage.

The third quarter was another dud (18-16 Atlanta) and then the Hawks started looking like a playoff team in the fourth quarter (26-15 Hawks) while the Celtics were content to take hopeless 3-pointers and long jumpers.

Boston shot 44.6% to 36.7% for Atlanta. The Celtics made two more 3-pointers (6-4) but Atlanta lived at the free throw line (26-11 free throws made). Atlanta had 14 more rebounds (52-38) but Boston had eight more assists (22-14), four more blocks (5-1) and three more steals (5-2).

With the loss, the Cs fell half a game behind the Miami Heat (with a game in hand for Boston) into the third spot in the Eastern Conference. Only seven more games left, Boston hosts the Detroit Pistons tomorrow night at TD Garden.

Cupid's Got Nothing On Isiah Thomas

With Isiah Thomas and his train-wreck team-the New York Knicks-in town, what better way to get Valentine's Day started for all the lovers out there? Zeke didn't stay around for the whole thing (I'm guessing he had some last-minute shopping to do), but his Knicks stubbornly came back from down 27 but ultimately couldn't take the lead as Boston won its fifth in a row, 111-103, in the last game before the All-Star break.

The Celts (41-9) continue to pile up wins but unfortunately they've been accumulating the injuries lately at almost the same clip. Last night, Glen Davis left with a quad injury that looked serious and Brian Scalabrine hurt his groin (no joke needed, too easy). Boston was led by its two healthy all-stars, Paul Pierce (24 points, 7 assists, 6 turnovers, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and Ray Allen (21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers). Yes, Caron Butler is sitting out the All-Star game and therefore Ray got the call (instead of the more deserving Hedo Turkoglu, who also plays the same position). Whatever, hopefully Ray enjoys his time in the Crescent City and doesn't drink too many Hurricanes before the game.

Jamal Crawford (game-high 26 points, 7 assists, 6 steals) shined despite still sporting that big bandage on his shoulder. I bet Eddy Curry tried to take a bite out of Crawford, just one man's take. Zach Randolph had his typical useless double-double, 20 points and 13 rebounds. David Lee had 18 points and eight boards while Nate Robinson (11 points, 5 assists) and Fred Jones (10 points, 6 assists) made their three fantasy owners happy.

New York took the first quarter, 24-21 but Boston effectively clinched it in the second (you don't say that everyday) by outscoring the Knicks, 32-16. The aforementioned lead became 27 in the third quarter before New York decided to earn a fraction of their paychecks. The funny part about Thomas getting two technicals in the third quarter was that it was in the middle of his team coming back (it was 11 at the time of the second). What a bozo.

Leon Powe (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo (18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks) continued to piss excellence as the Celtics started with only nine guys and ended it with seven. Yikes. Tony Allen (14 points) and James Posey (5 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) were other standouts. Powe (38 minutes) and Posey (40 minutes) both had season-high minutes on the court so they had to be gassed by the end.

Boston shot 50.7% for the game and New York shot 44.3%. The Celts led in assists (29-20) and blocks (6-0). It wasn't pretty but it was a win and that's all you can ask from such a depleted team. Now, most of the C's (other than Doc, Pierce, Ray and Rondo) get to enjoy the short break before going to Denver on Tuesday night.