C's Let Another Big Personality Leave As Grant Williams Goes To Dallas In A Sign-And-Trade

 

    If you watched the Celtics over these past few seasons, the amount of endless talking to the referees, opponents and coaches was frankly exhausting. After shipping Marcus Smart-who was the worst offender of that nonsense-to Memphis a few weeks back, Boston followed that up by having mouthy forward Grant Williams go to the Mavericks in a three-team sign-and-trade deal which will give the restricted free agent what he wanted: a four-year deal worth $53 million. San Antonio receives forward Reggie Bullock from Dallas as well as an unprotected first-round pick swap in 2030 with the Mavericks. Dallas and the Celts will both receive two second-round picks and Boston also gets a $6.2 million trade exception. 

    This deal took awhile to come together since from all that we heard-Boston wanting a first-round pick for Williams-never seemed to materialize. The former first-round pick (22nd overall) of the Celtics in 2019 is a solid role player who will likely never be more than that in the NBA. His scoring and rebounding averages went up all four years in Boston though, culminating with 8.1 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game in 2022-23. He is also a good three-point shooter (37.9% for his career with a high of 41.1% in the 2021-22 season). Head coach Joe Mazzulla began this past postseason by burying Grant which was a mistake since he had been a valuable part of head coach Ime Udoka's rotation the previous season when they reached the NBA Finals with Williams averaging 8.6 points per game in the playoffs. 

    I appreciated Williams' toughness, he was very dependable-appearing in 77 regular season games then 79 regular season games in the past two seasons-and he was not afraid to take on much bigger guys. He will always be remembered for talking trash to Heat star Jimmy Butler in the Eastern Conference Finals a few months ago which did not end so well but at least he showed a pulse which could not be said for most of his teammates. With that said, like Smart this seemed to be another Celtic who was completely delusional as to how important he truly was to the team. Couple that with the non-stop talking (and you can only imagine what he was like in the locker room, on the planes, buses, etc) and you can see how the Celts were probably ready to move on from him.

    This also shows (as if there was any remaining doubt), that Boston is putting all the onus on its two stars-Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown-to take over the main leadership roles on this team moving forward. Subtracting Smart and Williams from the equation means that there will be two less loud voices and big personalities to have to constantly deal with. Additionally, this frees up some money that can hopefully go towards that infamous supermax extension that Brown is eligible for but has not gotten yet from the C's. We wish Grant well in Dallas, Luka Doncic should be awesome to play with but good luck dealing with Kyrie Irving. 

Boston Sweeps Brooklyn In A 116-112 Game 4 Win & Rolls To The Second Round Of The Playoffs

 

    Who had the Celtics being the only team to sweep their opponent (the Nets) in the first round of the NBA playoffs this postseason? What seemed hard to believe came true tonight at Barclays Center as Boston held off Brooklyn 116-112 to abruptly end the series 4-0 in favor of the C's. If you were worried about how the Celts would do in close games, this was the fourth time already this postseason that the contest was decided by single-digits. The Nets knew that it was over before this one had even started but they made it interesting in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Celtics 34-26. Boston advances to the second round for the fifth time in the last six seasons where they will likely face the Bucks who lead the Bulls 3-1 with Game 5 in Milwaukee on Wednesday night (7:30, TNT).  

    Just like Nets point guard Kyrie Irving (20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) in Game 1, power forward Kevin Durant exploded for 39 points along with nine assists and seven rebounds. It took Durant 31 shots to get 39 points and he was 3-for-11 on three-pointers but it was still by far his best performance of the series. Likewise, Brooklyn's shooting guard Seth Curry added 23 points in his top outing in the four games. Power forward Nic Claxton had 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals but he broke Shaq's infamous playoff record by missing his first 10 (!!!) free throws of the night. Point guard Goran Dragic (10 points, 8 rebounds) was also good off of Brooklyn's bench one last time. 

    For Boston, shooting guard Jaylen Brown notched 22 points and eight rebounds while point guard Marcus Smart was great with 20 points, 11 assists and five rebounds and ageless center Al Horford added 13 points and six rebounds. Boston's bench was led by power forward Grant Williams (14 points, 3 blocks) and point guard Derrick White (9 points, 6 rebounds). The Nets certainly didn't want to go back to Boston for pointless Game 5 and for the first three quarters, the Celtics made sure of that. The C's led 30-26 after the first quarter and 58-50 at halftime. The C's were up double-digits going into the fourth quarter, as they led 90-78. Boston scored 12 more points in the paint than Brooklyn (44-32) and they grabbed seven more rebounds overall (45-38) including five more defensive boards (35-30) and two more offensive boards (10-8). 

    Considering that Milwaukee has blown out Chicago in the last two games, I fully expect them to beat the Bulls on Wednesday but it would be nice to see Chicago extend the series (don't count on that) and give Boston a little more rest not that they really need it after a sweep. Regardless whenever it starts, a Celtics-Bucks playoff series would be epic. Giannis is the best player in the world right now and even with shooting guard Khris Middleton-their other All-Star-out, Milwaukee is still the defending champ and a team that has given the Celts problems for years. This is why Boston pushed for that two-seed though, they will have home court for the next series which as we all know is typically a huge factor in the NBA playoffs.

The Celtics Have Officially Broken The Nets, Taking A 3-0 Series Lead With A 109-103 Game 3 Victory

 

    So it turns out that we should not have feared the Nets at all this postseason. They are complete frauds as proven by Boston's 109-103 win tonight in Game 3 of the first round at the Barclays Center to take a 3-0 series lead. Boston's superstar swingman Jayson Tatum (game-high 39 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, career-high 6 steals) was absolutely brilliant, shooting guard Jaylen Brown added 23 points, five assists and two steals while point guard Marcus Smart notched 14 points, six assists and two steals. Both of Brooklyn's stars were nowhere to be found as power forward Kevin Durant was held to 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and point guard Kyrie Irving had a similarly uninspiring performance of 16 points, nine assists and three steals in a must-win situation. Game 4 is Monday (7, NBC Sports Boston) at Barclays, you can hear the Nets mumbling "1-2-3 Cancun" already while head coach Steve Nash prepares to return to broadcasting Champions League soccer or some other random gig. 

    Given that no NBA team has ever rallied to win a playoff series when they have trailed 0-3, you figured that Brooklyn would show at least a little pride and play with some urgency from the start tonight. Not so much as Boston led 30-25 after the first quarter and 53-50 at halftime. The C's owned the third quarter (28-22) and hung on in the fourth quarter as the Nets made some three-pointers in garbage time to outscore them 31-28 in the final frame. One of the big storylines of this contest was the juxtaposition of Celts center Robert Williams returning less than a month after arthroscopic surgery on his knee while Ben Simmons continues to appear exclusively on Brooklyn's bench in his cartoonish outfits. Haha we'll see if he still returns in Game 4, what's the point? 

    Boston didn't get as much from their role players in Game 3 but those guys still made some valuable contributions: power forward Daniel Theis had nine points and six rebounds, center Al Horford's (2 blocks) lone basket was a clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter, point guard Payton Pritchard notched 10 points off the bench for the second game in a row and power forward Grant Williams put up seven points and five rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. Dorchester native and Nets small forward Bruce Brown was great yet again as he submitted a career-high for the second straight game with a team-high 26 points, eight rebounds and two steals, shooting guard Seth Curry had 10 points, center Nic Claxton (who should be starting!) added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench while veteran point guard Patty Mills notched 12 points as a substitute. 

    Celtics head coach Ime Udoka has made Nash look like a fool in these first three games. I loved Nash as a player but he is so overmatched in this situation, he rolled with the same lineup in Game 3 and he appears incapable of making any type of in-game adjustments. Then again, what do you expect from a guy that had never been a head coach before this? Boston's defense was really good as they had six more steals than Brooklyn (13-7) and four less turnovers (18-14). The Celtics just outworked and outhustled the Nets, as they posted eight more points in the paint (50-42), 16 more fast break points (25-9) and 12 more points off turnovers (37-25). All three games in this series have been decided by single-digits but there has been no doubt who the better team is. Monday should be fun as I fully expect Brooklyn to fold like you read about.

Instant Classic: Celtics Beat The Nets 115-114 In Game 1 On Jayson Tatum's Buzzer-Beating Layup

 

    For the Celtics, the 2022 NBA playoffs began this afternoon at TD Garden vs. the Nets and when it was over, we were all treated to an Easter miracle. Boston had led by as much as 15 points (84-69) in the third quarter before unraveling in the fourth quarter as Brooklyn outscored them 29-19. Thankfully, the C's made one final winning play to escape with a thrilling 115-114 victory (their first playoff buzzer-beater since Paul Pierce vs. Miami in 2010!) in Game 1 of the first round. Celts shooting guard Jaylen Brown (23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks) started the sequence by driving to the basket before finding point guard Marcus Smart (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) who surprisingly passed up a hero three-pointer and threaded a pass to Boston's superstar small forward Jayson Tatum (team-high 31 points, 8 assists, 2 blocks) for a spinning layup as time expired. 

    This would have been a crushing loss for the home team and we all know in the NBA how important home court is along with the outcome of Game 1s. We got the full Kyrie Irving experience as the Nets mercurial point guard dropped a game-high 39 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals while he also made fun of the TD Garden crowd and flipped them off on multiple occasions. Happy Ramadan everybody! Kyrie probably won't have a better game in this series while conversely his fellow star Kevin Durant (23 points, 6 turnovers) could never really get things going. What are the odds that Brooklyn's normally unstoppable power forward shoots 9-of-24 from the field again vs. Boston? Answer: highly unlikely. 

    The unexpected star for the Celtics in Game 1 was center Al Horford (20 points, 15 rebounds) who was forced to play 41 minutes at age 35 with Robert Williams likely out for this series. The Nets bench is not one of the strengths of their team but they outscored the Celtics 30-17. Boston killer and ageless point guard Goran Dragic had 14 points and five rebounds while bouncy power forward Nic Claxton added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks (while he went 1-for-5 on free throws). One of the main reasons that the C's were able to survive this contest was their dominance on the glass: they had 14 more total rebounds (43-29) including nine more offensive boards (14-5). Boston is not the biggest team in the league but against Brooklyn, they have to take advantage of their size around the basket. 

    Boston led 29-28 after the first quarter and it was tied at 61 at halftime. The Celtics got rolling in the third quarter (35-24) before their offense mostly disappeared in the fourth quarter. This being the NBA, Game 2 won't happen until Wednesday (7, NBC Sports Boston). After losing in five games last season to Brooklyn in the first round (the Nets are 3-0 all-time in playoff series vs. the C's), Boston will have to flush this result and get focused on the next matchup. Durant and Irving are spectacular talents but let's be honest, the rest of the Nets (including first-time head coach Steve Nash) are much less impressive. The Celts are deeper, play better team basketball and have a legitimately qualified head coach in Ime Udoka. Then again, the league has always been and will always be superstar driven so we have to hope that Tatum and Brown at least play Durant and Irving to a draw. PS is there any chance that Kyrie leaves his Four Seasons (I'm assuming Brooklyn is staying there) hotel suite for anything but practice these next few days? Haha he will be booed non-stop no matter where he shows up around the city this week.

I've Never Been More Excited In My Life For A Celtics Season To Mercifully Come To An End

 

    The Celtics have suffered through many terrible seasons (and I'm sure that there will be plenty more of those in the future) in my lifetime but I have to be honest: I can't ever remember wanting a season to end as much as I needed this group to go away. Thankfully the Nets were there to help us as they blew out the Celts one last time: 123-109 tonight at the Barclays Center in Game 5 of their pointless first round playoff series which Brooklyn took four games to one. With that, Boston heads into the off-season with a boatload of questions that they'll need to figure out. Point guard Kemba Walker (knee) and center Robert Williams (ankle) were inactive for the second game in a row, couple that with All-Star Jaylen Brown's absence and you can understand why the C's had no shot in this game or in the series for that matter. 

    As always, the Nets were led by their big three: shooting guard James Harden had a triple-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists with two blocks and two steals; point guard Kyrie Irving added 25 points and power forward Kevin Durant notched 24 points and three blocks. Brooklyn also got solid contributions from small forward Joe Harris (10 points, 6 assists) and Boston native Bruce Brown put up 10 points, five rebounds and four steals off the bench in the win. For Boston, superstar Jayson Tatum's fourth season in the NBA ended with a team-high 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Shooting guard Evan Fournier had 18 points and six rebounds, shooting guard Romeo Langford got a rare start and he made the most of it with 17 points, two blocks and two steals.  Guard Marcus Smart added 14 points and seven rebounds and the forgotten man Jabari Parker put up 13 points off the bench for the Celts. 

    Boston hung around for longer than they should have as Brooklyn led 31-24 after the first quarter and 59-51 at halftime. The Celtics actually outscored the Nets 28-27 in the third quarter before they predictably collapsed in the fourth quarter (27-20) which allowed the home team to lead by as much as 22 points. Brooklyn advances to the second round where they'll meet Milwaukee which should be a way more competitive and interesting series. For Celts GM Danny Ainge (who should be on the hot seat but probably won't be), his summer starts right now as the C's have three pending free agents: Fournier, power forward Semi Ojeleye and center Luke Kornet. Of those three, I'd hope that Fournier is the only one that they are inclined to re-sign (assuming that they don't wildly overpay him). The scary part is that the Celtics are always so reluctant to make big moves. That's why Ainge and head coach Brad Stevens probably won't be fired this summer not that they are the sole reasons why this team underachieved so drastically. Tatum and Brown are obviously everything to Boston's hopefully much brighter days ahead. Other than them-as far as I'm concerned-they are all tradeable in the right deal. 

    The Celts head into the long break with so many issues surrounding them that it's hard to know just where to begin. A) They have to keep Tatum and Brown healthy and happy together; B) They need to surround those two with more talented guys all around them; C) They should get creative to sell the city to perspective free agents. This gentleman's sweep of a series proved yet again how far away they actually are from Brooklyn (who combined in the regular season and playoffs went 7-1 against them in 2020-21) not to mention Philadelphia and Milwaukee-and that's just in the Eastern Conference! I will always love the Celtics and cheer for them but there really was very little to enjoy in this doomed campaign: they endlessly battled Covid-19 with a bunch of guys, injuries to key players, the countless losses to awful teams and they had a bunch of younger players that did not seem to get better as they rotted away on the bench. Here is to some honest conversations in the Celtics' front office starting tomorrow that eventually lead to major changes-whatever that entails. That franchise is too rich in history (namely winning championships) and they have too many fans all around the world to accept another useless campaign like that.  

Friday Was Fun, Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming: The Nets Owning The C's

 

    I thoroughly enjoyed Game 3 on Friday and I hope that you did too because now the Celtics-Nets first-round playoff series is all but over after Brooklyn gave Boston another reality check tonight at the TD Garden with a 141-126 beating that wasn't nearly that close. The Nets' big three of Kevin Durant (game-high 42 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks), Kyrie Irving (39 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals) and James Harden (23 points, playoff career-high 18 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals) combined for an absurd 104 points as Brooklyn took a commanding 3-1 series lead. Only 13 teams in NBA history have ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit so yeah, Game 5 on Tuesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) at the Barclays Center will be the last time that you thankfully see these woefully overmatched Celts for a long time. Let's just hope that Celtics GM Danny Ainge has the guts to make some real moves this summer for the first time in a while since this team is in desperate need of some major tinkering.  

     A tall task for Boston to even the series at two games apiece got even more unlikely right before tip-off as point guard Kemba Walker (left knee medial bone bruise) and center Robert Williams (left ankle sprain) were both ruled out. Williams is sadly made of glass so that wasn't a surprise by any means but it was a bummer that Kemba couldn't play either as bad as he's been in this series. That meant more pressure fell on Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum (team-high 40 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) and he met the challenge about as well as you could possibly imagine given the impossible deck stacked against him. Point guard Marcus Smart (16 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) and shooting guard Evan Fournier (16 points) were both predictably ice cold after they were each really good in Game 3's shocking win by the Celts. 

    The Nets also received 14 points from small forward Joe Harris while Boston native Bruce Brown added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Boston had three bench guys in double-figures, only because there was so much garbage time after Brooklyn led by as many as 27 points. Rookie point guard Payton Pritchard scored 12 points, rookie small forward Aaron Nesmith added 11 points and the ghost of Jabari Parker notched 10 points and six rebounds in front of a sold-out Garden (for the first time at a Celtics game in 14+ months). The Nets improved to 6-1 against the Celtics this season so let's not kid ourselves into thinking that all this dominance is just because of Boston's current injuries. Brooklyn can put the C's and their fans out of their collective misery on Tuesday in what will undoubtedly be another blowout. Haha good times!

Jayson Tatum Drops 50+ Points For The Fourth Time In 49 Days As C's Avoid A Sweep By The Nets

 

    Well tonight Kyrie Irving (16 points on 6-of-17 shooting, 6 rebounds) returned to the TD Garden with a decent amount of fans in the building and thankfully, there was nothing but a playoff basketball game to talk about after it was all over. In Game 3 of their first round series, Brooklyn jumped out to a 19-4 lead and at that point, I would have bet anything that they would cruise to another easy win. Not so fast my friends as Boston fought back and eventually held on for a pretty thrilling 125-119 victory behind star Jayson Tatum's latest postseason career-high 50-point, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals masterpiece. This being the predictable NBA, the Celts probably will not win another game in the series since the Nets have way more top-end talent than them but hey, at least they showed some life and were not swept away like a bunch of lifeless scrubs.

    If Kyrie had been a shell of his usual self, Brooklyn could have walked away with a 3-0 series lead (reminder: no team in NBA history has ever recovered from an 0-3 hole). Shooting guard James Harden (team-high 41 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds) and power forward Kevin Durant (39 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals) were both fantastic but with Jeff Green (planter fasciitis) out for the rest of the series, no other Net scored more than eight points. Despite what you might think, Tatum was not a one-man show as guard Marcus Smart added 23 points and six assists, center Tristan Thompson had his best game as a Celtic with 19 points and 13 rebounds then shooting guard Evan Fournier notched 17 points and five rebounds. If you're wondering about center Robert Williams, he played six minutes before leaving with a left ankle injury. He never returned to action and he was seen afterwards in a walking boot. Ugh, other than Gordon Hayward, he is the most injury prone guy on the C's that I've ever seen. You can never count on him for any stretch of time because there is always some injury or issue waiting for him around every corner.  

Whenever the Nets advance past the Celtics (I'm thinking in a gentleman's sweep of 5 games now, right?), they are going to have serious trouble when they face better teams like the Sixers or Bucks in the East. Their big three is normally incredible but the lack of depth is an issue, rookie head coach Steve Nash is as green as he can be in that role and most importantly, Brooklyn refuses to play any sort of defense at all. Yes they have some amazing highlights every game on the offensive end but how do you give up 125 points to a team with one great player? Their lack of size inside is scary as well.  

    Boston shot 5.4% better from the field (50.6%-45.2%), they grabbed nine more rebounds (46-37), they dished out five more assists (21-16), they scored six more points in the paint (21-15) and they tallied eight more second chance points (13-5). The Celtics led 33-32 after the first quarter which expanded slightly to 61-57 at halftime. Unlike in Game 1, the Nets did not come storming back in the third quarter as the C's were up by as many as 17 points (96-79) late in the frame before Brooklyn cut it to 96-84 going into the fourth quarter. They outscored the Celts 35-29 in the final stanza but it was not enough to steal the win or even force overtime. 

    Game 4 is on Sunday night (7, NBC Sports Boston) back at the Garden and the cool footnote to that is that there will be a full capacity crowd for the first time in the 2020-21 season since many of the Massachusetts Covid-19 restrictions go away on Saturday. If 5000 people made that much noise and caused Kyrie to be so shook, imagine what more than three times that amount of loud Massholes on a long weekend bender could produce? Like most realistic Celtics fans-which is an oxymoron-I was shocked that they pulled Game 3 out so I would be completely dumbfounded if they can do it again in Game 4 (let's call that extremely unlikely at best). It had been an all-around nightmare week for the Celtics so it was nice to see them put all the drama and negative attention to the side and show a little heart against the Nets.

This C's-Nets Matchup Is Going To Be One Of The Least Competitive Playoff Series In NBA History

 

Has there ever been an NBA playoff series that was effectively over after only two miserable games? I ask because our Boston Celtics got embarrassed by the Brooklyn Nets 130-108 at the Barclays Center this evening in Game 2 of their opening round playoff series. Brooklyn is now up 2-0 in the best-of-7 with the series coming to the TD Garden on Friday (8:30, NBC Sports Boston) and Sunday night (7, NBC Sports Boston). The Nets didn't waste any time as they raced out to a double-digit lead (40-26) at the end of the first quarter. That ballooned to 71-47 at halftime so you get the point, there was no need to watch the second half since you already knew the outcome halfway through Game 2. To make matters worse, Celtics star Jayson Tatum (9 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks) got poked in the eye by Brooklyn star Kevin Durant (game-high 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks) in the third quarter and he never returned to action (granted it was a picture perfect blowout so there was no point anyway).

    Notably, the only two Celtics that seemed to take losing in such depressing fashion personally were guard Marcus Smart (team-high 19 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) and newcomer Evan Fournier (16 points, 2 steals). You can always count on Smart to give an honest effort but it was nice to see Fournier get in Durant's face after the latter got involved in Fournier's conversation with one of the referees. Brooklyn's sharp-shooting swingman Joe Harris (25 points, 2 steals) was unstoppable as he made a franchise playoff record 7-of-10 3-pointers. Shooting guard James Harden added 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds while point guard Kyrie Irving had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists. The ghost of Blake Griffin notched 11 points for the home team and nine guys appeared off the bench for Brooklyn with shooting guard Landry Shamet (10 points) the only one to score in double-figures. For the Celts, point guard Kemba Walker put up 17 points and seven assists while center Tristan Thompson had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. 

    Friday will be the first time that Kyrie returns to the Garden with actual live fans in attendance so he obviously couldn't help himself in his postgame press conference tonight as he alluded to Boston still being a racist city after all of these years. If you are dumb enough to spend however much money it takes to watch another blowout in this inevitable sweep, I suppose one of the only real fun aspects of it will be the chance to boo Kyrie in person as much as you want. Please don't do anything stupid and give more needless fuel to people that aren't from here to cling to the tired old stereotype that Boston is still a tough place to be for minorities. This fake series has already gone off the rails so there is absolutely no need to draw even more negative attention to the Celtics, their fanbase and our beloved home.

In Gm 1 Of Their Playoff Series Vs. Nets, C's Played About As Well As They Could But Still Lost By 11

 

    Under the current impossible circumstances, you could not dream of a better start than what the Celtics got in Game 1 of their first round playoff series with the Nets tonight at Barclays Center. Boston led 21-16 after the first quarter and 53-47 at halftime. As shocking as that was, the second half was basically paint by numbers as Brooklyn decided to try a little bit and they blew the C's out of the water-winning by double-digits (104-93) in a contest where they played kind of terrible. Not that we needed it but it served as a sobering reality check for the Celts that no matter what they do (save for an asteroid hitting the Earth in the next week), they are going to get swept by the Nets in four forgettable games and their really disappointing 2020-2021 season will mercifully be over by next Sunday night.

    One of the only interesting sub-plots of this foregone conclusion of a series is the fact that Brooklyn's big three of power forward Kevin Durant (game-high 32 points, 12 rebounds), point guard Kyrie Irving (29 points, 6 rebounds) and shooting guard James Harden (21 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals) had only played together for a grand total of 202 minutes in the regular season. How would it look when they face the pressure of the postseason against a quality opponent? Haha well obviously that question will have to wait until at least the next round since this series basically serves as Brooklyn's extended warmup to the playoffs. Swingman Jayson Tatum led Boston with 22 points and five assists but he was held to 6-for-20 shooting from the field and he turned the ball over four times as well. Guard Marcus Smart (17 points, 5 assists) actually played pretty well and center Robert Williams was able to suit up and he nearly put up a triple-double (11 points, 9 rebounds and a team playoff record 9 blocks) in 23 minutes off the bench. Point guard Kemba Walker scored 15 points while shooting guard Evan Fournier added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals in his Celtics playoff debut. Center Tristan Thompson grabbed 10 rebounds and had two steals in his first playoff game as a Celtic.

    Nets head coach Steve Nash's first playoff game was far from a masterpiece but honestly, how much does he have to do? Small forward Joe Harris (10 points) was the only other Net to score in double-figures and just nine guys on Brooklyn saw the floor but when you have the best trio in the league, you can cut many corners. Brooklyn came out in the third quarter and finally looked a little like the title contender that they are expected to be as they outscored Boston 31-20. The Celtics kept trying in the fourth quarter but they are extremely limited offensively without Jaylen Brown in there so they were outscored 26-20 in the final frame. Neither team shot well at all but Brooklyn at least was over 40% (41.7%) while Boston was 36.9% which is pathetic considering how terrible the Nets are defensively. Brooklyn made six more free throws (26-20) and grabbed 10 more rebounds (50-40). The Nets had twice as many points off turnovers (18-9) as the Celtics. 

    If the C's were ever going to surprise the Nets, this was the time for it. Now, Brooklyn will be more dialed in from the beginning of the game and as a result, Boston will get destroyed and lose by way bigger margins in Games 2-4. This being the NBA, they already get a needless extra day off between contests so Game 2 is on Tuesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) and I expect a much uglier blowout loss for the Celts. The Nets were 8-of-34 (23.5%) on 3-pointers in Game 1 and if you think that number will stay in the same area code for the rest of the series, you are completely delusional.

No Durant Or Harden But The Celtics Still Couldn't Beat The Nets Who Swept The Season Series 4-0

 

    As a Celtics (32-28 overall, 13-17 away) fan, if you weren't already scared to death of the Nets (40-20 overall, 24-7 home), you should be now because no matter who is playing for Brooklyn this season, Boston has proven over and over again that they have no clue how to beat them. With tonight's 109-104 victory by the Nets at the Barclays Center, they earned the four-game season sweep over the Celtics. Yes, Jaylen Brown (shoulder), Robert Williams (knee) and Kemba Walker (load management) were all out for Boston but Brooklyn was missing two future Hall of Famers in Kevin Durant and James Harden (and yes it makes me sick that Harden will be a Hall of Famer but get over it). The good news is that the C's would not see the Nets again until the playoffs but on the off chance that they do meet this postseason, how could you have any confidence that Boston will turn this one-sided matchup around? 

    Five different Nets scored at least 13 points, led by sharpshooting small forward Joe Harris (20 points, 2 blocks). You would have figured that point guard Kyrie Irving (15 points, 11 assists, 4 steals) must have carried Brooklyn but he was awful in terms of shooting: 4-for-19 from the field including 0-of-6 on 3-pointers. Former Celtics great Jeff Green added 19 points and two steals while Boston native Bruce Brown notched 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench plus the ghost of Blake Griffin posted 13 points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench as well. The Celtics' lack of depth has been a major issue all season and it really comes to the forefront against a top team like the Nets. 

    There was basically three Celtics that decided to show up for this game: swingman Jayson Tatum (38 points, 10 rebounds) was unstoppable except for the fact that he had five costly turnovers. Point guard Marcus Smart had 19 points, five rebounds and two steals while rookie guard Payton Pritchard added 22 points (in 24 minutes!) off the bench. With the aforementioned injuries, head coach Brad Stevens chose to start Semi Ojeleye (3 points) and Romeo Langford (0 points). I get that neither guy is expected to put up a ton of points but you can't have two black holes like that offensively in the lineup against a quality opponent.

    Boston played well in the first quarter and great in the fourth quarter but they were awful in the second quarter and bad in the third quarter which was enough to cost them the game. The C's were up 25-21 after the first quarter but the Nets ran circles around them in the second quarter (39-26) for a 60-51 halftime lead. Things didn't get better for the visitors in the third quarter (Nets outscored them 28-22) and they responded in the fourth quarter (31-21) but it was too late, no matter how many shots Kyrie missed. The Celts were also playing in the second game of a back-to-back which is not an excuse but just a fact in this crazy condensed schedule. 

    Some of these numbers were eye-opening as the Nets made 13 more free throws (24-11), dished out five more assists (26-21), had twice as many steals (12-6) and eight less turnovers than the Celtics. Brooklyn scored 10 more points in the paint (48-38) than them but the true nightmare fuel that will probably keep Stevens and his coaching staff up for days is the fact that the Nets somehow outscored them by 29 in fastbreak points (32-3). Haha have you ever heard something like that in an NBA game (that wasn't a 40-point blowout)? That's absurd. 

    Boston doesn't have much time to feel sorry for themselves as they go to Charlotte (29-30 overall, 15-12 home) on Sunday afternoon (1, NBC Sports Boston). The Hornets and Terry Rozier are clinging to eighth-place in the Eastern Conference but they are only two and a half games behind the sixth-place Celtics. You'll remember that when we last saw Charlotte, Boston embarrassed them 116-86 on Easter at the TD Garden. The two teams are about to meet twice in four days for a home-and-home set with Rookie of the Year favorite LaMelo Ball expected to return very soon from his wrist injury, in fact he could possibly play this weekend.

In Case You Forgot, The Celtics Are Nowhere Close To The Nets' Level (Even Without Kevin Durant)

 

    After a fraudulent four-game win streak heading into the All-Star break, it was back to reality for the Celtics (19-18 overall, 7-13 away) tonight as they began the second half of the season with a 121-109 loss at the Barclays Center vs. the Nets (25-13 overall, 14-6 home). It was their seventh straight loss on the road which seems like a sneaky major issue. The sad part for Boston is that with guard Marcus Smart's (19 points off the bench) return to action, they were as healthy as they've been in months while Brooklyn didn't even have Kevin Durant (hamstring) available. The Nets are one of the hottest teams in the entire league (9-1 in their last 10 games) and if they ever get Durant along with guards Kyrie Irving (game-high 40 points, 8 rebounds) and James Harden (22 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) together on the court for a sustained amount of time, yikes look out world. 

    Coming back from the All-Star game, we all wanted to see how the two All-Stars on the Boston would react and the early returns were mixed: swingman Jayson Tatum had a team-high 31 points and five rebounds while shooting guard Jaylen Brown (13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) struggled immensely shooting a woeful 5-of-23 from the floor including 3-for-12 on 3-pointers. As is usually the case these days, offense wasn't the main issue for the Celts, their defense continues to let them down time after time. Center Daniel Theis had 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals while point guard Kemba Walker scored 11 points and center Robert Williams blocked six shots off the bench in only 17 minutes of action.

    For Brooklyn, small forward Joe Harris scored 12 points while shooting guard Landry Shamet (18 points) hit six 3-pointers off the bench and former Celtic Jeff Green added 11 points. The Nets will never be a great defensive team (and really who is anymore in NBA?) but that hardly matters since they possess the most explosive offense in the league. This was the carbon copy of many losses this season for the Celtics as they were close all game long before they completely fell apart at the end where the Nets closed on a 13-3 run after Boston cut it to 108-106. The Celtics led 29-23 after the first quarter but trailed by three at halftime (58-55). Boston outscored Brooklyn 31-30 in the third quarter but they were no match for them in the fourth quarter (33-23).

    The Nets shot 2.6% better from the floor (47.7%-45.1%), hit six more 3-pointers (19-13), made four more free throws (18-14), grabbed six more rebounds (45-39) including six more defensive boards (34-28) while Brooklyn had eight more second chance points (28-20) than the Celtics. From the marquee lights of a primetime game on TNT to the anonymity of a Sunday night (8, NBC Sports Boston) visit to lowly Houston (11-24 overall, 5-10 home), the C's next game is against one of the worst teams in the NBA. Losers of their last 14 games (!!!!!), the Rockets are tanking like you read about: haha they lost by 20 points this evening to the Kings (15-22 overall, 9-12 home) 125-105. These days, I wouldn't bet anything on the C's with your money let alone my money but good lord, if they lose to the Rockets, I might be rendered speechless. No pressure guys.

It Was Not A Merry Pandemic Christmas For The C's Who Got Blown Out At The Garden By The Nets

 

    When the NBA's most sensitive superstar (small forward Kevin Durant) teamed up with the league's most insufferable superstar (point guard Kyrie Irving), you knew that no matter what the dramatic end result would be, the Brooklyn Nets (2-0 overall, 1-0 road) just got way more interesting than they ever have been since they moved from New Jersey into New York City. Now that they're both healthy and motivated, the outcomes in their first two games of the '20-'21 regular season have been downright scary to fans of any other team in the Eastern Conference. On opening night, they crushed the Warriors (0-2)-without Draymond Green or Klay Thompson-125-99 and they followed that up with an even more impressive result: they came to TD Garden tonight and utterly destroyed the Celtics (1-1 overall, 1-1 home) 123-95. Irving was brilliant with a game-high 37 points and eight assists while Durant added 28 points and two steals. 

    For the Celts, it was an embarrassing loss on national TV in front of no doubt a massive Christmas audience. This afternoon, word came that former Celtics standout player and head coach K.C. Jones had passed away at the age of 88. Coming on the heels of Tommy Heinsohn dying pretty recently as well and having the wonderful tribute to him on Wednesday night, it's been a really sad period for the franchise. You would hope that something like that coupled with the fact that the Nets had come to the Garden last Friday in the second and final preseason game (granted it meant absolutely nothing) and destroyed them in similar fashion would serve as a little extra fuel for the home team. 

    It turns out not so much as the Celtics really only played well in the second quarter. They got off to a slow start getting outscored 26-22 in the first quarter but heating up in the second quarter to take a slight 54-51 lead at halftime. The wheels quickly started to fall off in the second half though as Kyrie and KD took over and Boston had no answers for either guy. Brooklyn outscored them 35-23 which is bad enough and the C's officially gave up in the fourth as they were more than doubled up (37-18) which is pathetic. As you can guess, nobody on the Celts played well: shooting guard Jaylen Brown (27 points, 8 rebounds) had nice numbers but he was a game-low minus-25. Forward Jayson Tatum (20 points, 8 rebounds) shot 9-of-22 from the field and even worse, he hasn't attempted a single free throw in two games while point guard Marcus Smart (13 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) was the only other Celtic to score in double-figures. 

    Boston's bench was so good in their crazy 122-121 win against Milwaukee (1-1) but predictably tonight they flopped as the Nets outscored them 38-25. Point guard Kemba Walker is at best the third best player on the Celtics right now when he is fully himself but his absence proves just how badly the team is missing a consistent third option offensively. So much pressure falls on Tatum and Brown every game and no matter how well they play, they need other guys to help them out. Durant and Irving is the best duo in the East and other than LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it's tough to think of any other ones that are better in the entire NBA. 

    The Nets look like the team to beat in the Atlantic Division and they figure to be at the top of the conference along with the Bucks and Heat (1-1). This is also where Boston's quiet off-season did them no favors: center Tristan Thompson and backup point guard Jeff Teague were quality veteran additions but you simply cannot count on them to produce as much as they did in the opener every night. They combined for 31 points vs. Milwaukee but only eight this evening as Teague was held scoreless after scoring 19 in his Celtics debut. Losing Gordon Hayward in free agency wasn't a huge deal on the surface but C's GM Danny Ainge did nothing to replace him. The Nets, Bucks and Heat all seemingly improved while it feels like the Celts will be lucky to tread water in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. 

    Boston hits the road for their first two road games of this bizarre regular season and in fitting fashion, they are both at Indiana (1-0). Not a home-and-home, two straight games in the Hoosier State. Thanks Coronavirus! They take on the Pacers on Sunday night (8, NBC Sports Boston) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse followed by another meeting on Tuesday night (7, NBC Sports Boston) at the same boring, empty place. The last game of 2020 for the Celtics is on Wednesday night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they host Memphis (0-1) and its young superstar point guard Ja Morant (who dropped 44 points in their season-opening loss to San Antonio). I suppose that you can't expect the Celtics to sweep the Pacers at home but conversely, they have to win at least one of those. Going 0-2 against the Pacers these next few days would be a bad sign since Indiana is nothing more than another middler in the East that should be at Boston's level if not hopefully a step or two below them.

NBA Playoffs Reality Check: It Will Be a Miracle if the Celtics Win a Single Game vs. Cavaliers

I am not a delusional person so I never thought for a second that the Celtics could actually beat the Cavaliers in a seven-game series, let alone win a few games and make it somewhat competitive. The first-round playoff series opened this afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena and Boston actually played about as well as they could (on the road at least) but still lost 113-100 to Cleveland. Haha would you believe that Vegas had the Celts as a 12-point underdog? How do those gambling magicians do it?

Anyways, Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 30 points in his playoff debut, LeBron James had 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals while Kevin Love put up 19 points and 12 rebounds in his first taste of the NBA playoffs. Forget the Celtics for a second, what other team in the Eastern Conference can beat this collection of All-Stars? For most of the regular season, I openly rooted against the C's because making the playoffs seemed so pointless to their mission of acquiring talent and assets. Near the end, I changed my mind since truly tanking was impossible and this group is extremely likable under one of the best head coaches-Brad Stevens-in basketball.

The sad reality of the NBA playoffs (and one of the many reasons that the NHL playoffs are better) is that upsets are few and far between, especially with top seeds and championship contenders. Anyone with half a brain realizes that Boston has essentially no chance to win this series. All we want is some relatively close games and maybe a win at the Garden, that'd be nice and something to build on for next season. Plus, with no Bruins playoff games this spring, we are just trying to delay what looks to be a mediocre Red Sox campaign.

Talent usually wins out in the NBA and even though the Celtics had six guys score in double-figures, led by Isaiah Thomas' 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds off the bench, they predictably had no answer for the Cavs' big three. Evan Turner had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists but he struggled with his shot (4 of 12 from the field). Brandon Bass and Marcus Smart were both pretty quiet, each guy was held to 10 points. Boston's bench kept them in it for a while as Kelly Olynyk scored 12 points and Jae Crowder added 10 points and five rebounds.

The Celtics couldn't have asked for a better start as they led 31-27 after the first quarter and 37-29 early in the second which was their biggest advantage of the game. Cleveland finally woke up from there and led by eight points at halftime (62-54) thanks to Irving's buzzer beating 3-pointer. The Cavaliers continued to steamroll the Celtics in the third quarter, opening up a 20-point lead (82-62) but Boston countered with a 14-0 run. Cleveland was up 91-76 heading into the fourth after another buzzer-beater 3-pointer, this time by J.R. Smith.

When you are so overmatched physically, I honestly don't know what Brad Stevens can tell his guys with a straight face. They won't suddenly wake up bigger, stronger or faster. I'm guessing that he points out how the Cavaliers made five more 3-pointers (13-8), eight more free throws (26-18) and grabbed 12 more rebounds (46-34) including eight on the offensive glass (15-7) in Game 1. I have a feeling that Game 2 on Tuesday (7, CSN) could be ugly much sooner if Cleveland decides to show up from the opening tip-off.

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Celtics Push Closer to a Playoff Spot With 99-90 Road Win at Cavaliers

The Cavaliers truly had absolutely nothing to play for tonight at Quicken Loans Arena against the Celtics so it was surprising that they even gave it much effort for a while. Cleveland (51-28 overall, 29-10 home) is locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and they can't move up or down so they eventually conceded a 99-90 road win to Boston (37-42 overall, 18-22 away). The Cavs sat Kyrie Irving (hip) for the entire game while LeBron James (14 points, 7 assists), Kevin Love (19 points, 6 rebounds), Timofey Mozgov (13 points) and J.R. Smith did not get off the bench in the fourth quarter.

Every win matters to the Celts so they obviously were happy to snap Cleveland's 18-game home winning streak, even if it was under shady circumstances. With the victory, Boston held onto the seventh spot in the East. Hopefully they can get out of that position and let Brooklyn (who has the same record) slide in while Boston drops to No. 8 to face Atlanta.

Five Celtics scored at least 12 points and Evan Turner dished out 13 assists. Rookie Marcus Smart led Boston with 19 points, Isaiah Thomas put up 17 points and five assists off the bench, Avery Bradley had 15 points, former Cav Tyler Zeller notched 13 points and five rebounds while Brandon Bass scored 12 points with five rebounds and three assists.

The only other Cavalier to score in double-figures was the ghost of Mike Miller (11 points). Tristan Thompson grabbed an impressive 12 rebounds in only 16 minutes off the bench for Cleveland. The Cavs had won the first two meetings of the season including a 110-79 beating in their most recent matchup on March 3 so I really wouldn't read much into this outcome. Plus, these same teams face each other again on Sunday (3, CSN) at TD Garden in another game that means everything to the Celts.

Boston cruised in the first half: up 28-17 after the first quarter and 54-40 at halftime. Cleveland made it interesting with a strong third quarter (37-25) before they packed it in during the fourth (outscored 20-13). As a team, the C's had five more assists (30-25), seven more steals (11-4) and eight more fast break points (9-1).

With the Celtics' triumph, Charlotte was eliminated from playoff contention (sorry MJ). That leaves only Indiana (36-43) and Miami (35-44) with a chance to make it but right now, Boston and Brooklyn are in the driver's seat for those last two berths with three games left to play for all those clubs.

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Kyrie Irving Must Be Counting the Days Until He Can Get out of Hell, I mean Cleveland

The less said about the pile of monkey shit known as the Cavaliers the better. The Celtics had another forgettable Saturday afternoon game at TD Garden and this time, they made it a positive memory with a 103-100 win over Cleveland. In typical Celts (13-17 overall, 8-8 home) fashion, it became way more difficult than it had to be: they were up 19 heading into the fourth quarter but had to hang on for dear life as the Cavaliers (10-19 overall, 2-13 away) outscored them 34-18 in the final frame.

Luckily for Boston, they have that defensive force aka Brandon Bass (15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) who stuffed Dion Waiters (17 points, 2 steals) on Cleveland's last official shot. Of course, the Cavs had a chance to tie it after that but Earl Clark's (12 points) 3-pointer was an airball, oh and it came after time expired. Other than that, great attempt Earl.

As always, Kyrie Irving (game-high 32 points) was brilliant while his teammates were mediocre at best. Clark was the only other starter in double figures and Jarrett Jack put up 14 points off the bench.

It was all about balance for the C's with four starters and two bench players in double figures. Jordan Crawford (5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Jeff Green (8 rebounds, 2 steals) both led Boston with 19 points while Avery Bradley added 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Courtney Lee scored 11 and Kris Humphries notched 10 points off the bench.

The Celtics slowly built up their lead, 24-22 after one quarter, 59-44 at halftime and 85-66 heading into the fourth. Does Boston play night games anymore? Their next contest is another afternoon game at TD Garden: New Year's Eve (1, CSN) vs. Atlanta (17-13, 2nd in Southeast Division), who just lost Al Horford for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

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The Cavaliers Are A Disgrace, No Wonder LeBron Left that Loser City

There are so many hopeless teams in the NBA, the Celtics really have their hands full if they want to finish with one of the worst records this season. One of those miserable squads slinked into TD Garden tonight and took a beating as Boston (7-11 overall, 3-5 home) beat Cleveland (4-12 overall, 1-9 away) 103-86.

Two things tell you all that you need to know about this game incase you hopefully had better things to do than watch it like me. Jordan Crawford notched his third career triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while the Cavs managed to only score 10 points in the first quarter. The C's started the game on an 18-2 run and basically this outcome was never even in question. Woo!

Each Celtics starter had at least 11 points led by Jeff Green's season-high 31 points and five rebounds. Avery Bradley defied logic by shooting 9 of 11 from the field for 21 points, Brandon Bass had 12 points and eight rebounds and Jared Sullinger added 12 points.

Honestly, you have to feel for Kyrie Irving-one of the best players in the league. He has never been able to stay healthy for long stretches but now that he is feeling good, his team blows. Irving had 17 points while Dion Waiters had the definition of a stats padding night with 21 points and six assists.

I'm not going to write off a guy 16 games into his NBA career but I have absolutely no clue what Cleveland saw in Anthony Bennett (4 points, 3 turnovers in 20 minutes) to make him the No. 1 pick in June. He seems to have bust written all over him.

Boston has a sneaky easy back-to-back as they travel to Milwaukee (2-13, 5th in Central Division) tomorrow (9, CSN). The bad news for astute fans is that the Bucks are the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Oh and the game after that for both teams is Tuesday in Boston. Ahh!

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I Know The Celts Like To Sleepwalk Thru The Regular Season But This Is Getting Ridiculous

Hey gang, remember that time the Celtics won six games in a row a few weeks ago, wasn't that wonderful? It seems like so long ago since Boston (20-21, 7-13 away) has followed that up with a four-game losing streak that seems to get worse each time they take the floor.

Cleveland (11-32, 5-12 home) has to be the low point of this debacle, yes even more depressing than the Hornets and Pistons-two other garbage teams that somehow have beaten the C's in the last week. The Cavs hung around and outscored the Celts 25-17 in the fourth quarter to win 95-90 tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.

Don't get me wrong, Kyrie Irving (40 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) is a great player (he should be an All-Star in February) but if you saw just his games against Boston, you would confuse him with Michael Jordan. They make him look like the greatest player in NBA history.

Tristan Thompson had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists and I'm pretty sure it was almost all on dunks. The amount of layups and dunks that Cleveland (Cleveland!) got tonight was appalling. The immortal Alonzo Gee (10 points, 6 rebounds) was the only other Cavalier in double-figures.

It was actually very entertaining, except for the part where the Celtics blew a lead against a truly awful opponent. Rajon Rondo just missed another triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Kevin Garnett had 16 points, five rebounds and five blocks, Paul Pierce struggled (3 for 15) to get 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals while Jared Sullinger had 12 points and 10 rebounds in his home state, in front of his parents.

The good news, I guess, is that Boston has two more games against Cleveland. They beat them by 12 in December so hopefully they remember what that feels like when they meet again.

The Celtics will try to get back to the .500 mark as they unofficially begin the second half of the regular season on Thursday night (8 p.m., TNT) vs. the Knicks (25-14, 1st in Atlantic Division) at TD Garden. Ironically, the first time they played also got Boston back to .500 (17-17) while simultaneously delivering their best win of the season (102-96 at MSG on Jan. 7). It should be a great atmosphere with all the Honey Nut Cheerios references that Carmelo Anthony and LaLa can handle.

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Reports Of Paul Pierce's Demise Were Quite Premature As He Drops 40 On Cleveland

If it wasn't for one of the greatest games of Paul Pierce's soon-to-be NBA Hall of Fame career (statistically speaking at least), the Celtics very well could have lost to the Cavaliers. Instead after 40 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block from The Truth, the C's (13-12, 9-4 home) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 103-91 win over Cleveland (5-22, 2-14 away) tonight at TD Garden.

Boston led from start to finish and seemed to be cruising to a rare blowout when somehow they let up on Cleveland since the C's were up 20 (80-60). The Cavaliers hit them with a 20-2 run to make it pretty scary. This was coming from a team that might be the worst in the NBA (the Raptors are riding a four-game win streak) and didn't have Anderson Varejao. There is no excuse for Boston playing a back-to-back since Cleveland was in the same miserable boat.

He has obviously played in a million bigger games in terms of stakes but it's hard to figure out how Pierce could have cobbled together better numbers: 13 of 16 from the field, six of seven on 3-pointers and eight of eight on free throws. Rajon Rondo added 20 points and eight assists, Jason Terry scored 15 and Kevin Garnett notched 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 22 points, rookie Tyler Zeller scored a career-high 20 points, another rookie Dion Waiters had 13 points while Tristan Thompson (11 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) and Alonzo Gee both put up 11 points.

Along with Pierce's special output, you should frame some of these other amazing numbers by the Celts: they shot 59.7% to 40.9% for the Cavaliers; they made four more 3-pointers (9-5), six more free throws (20-14), handed out seven more assists (23-16), had two more steals (9-7), five more blocks (7-2) and 12 more points in the paint (18-6).

For the fourth time in a month and a half, Boston will meet Milwaukee (13-11, 2nd in Central Division) on Friday (7:30 p.m., CSN) at the Garden. The Bucks are 2-1 so far against the Celtics with two more contests remaining (including Friday). Most recently they beat Boston 91-88 on December 1 in Milwaukee.

UPDATE 12/21: Kris Joseph was recalled from Maine since Chris Wilcox (thumb) and Leandro Barbosa (personal matter) are both out tonight vs. Milwaukee.

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Celtics Finally Win On The Road & Snap A 5-Game Losing Streak In The Process

It wasn't pretty but what else would you expect for the Boston Celtics in 2011-12?

They finally snapped their five-game losing streak and won their first road game in nearly a month as the C's (16-17) held on for a 86-83 win over the Cavaliers (13-19) at Quicken Loans Arena.

Anthony Parker had a chance to send it to overtime but his 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the front rim. Let's be honest, I'll take my chances with Parker (the second best basketball player in his family) any day.

Boston has to be happy to say goodbye to Cleveland (who isn't?) since the three games they played this season were decided by a total of seven points. The Celts were lucky enough to go 2-1 against the up and coming Cavs with the one loss being a game they totally gagged away at the Garden.

The first game after the All-Star break and official halfway mark of the season (33) was a success for Boston who saw the return of Brandon Bass (injury) and Rajon Rondo (suspension). With zombie Jermaine O'Neal the only Celtic out, Bass started and put up his usual 12 points and seven rebounds. Rondo was held scoreless (can't remember the last time that happened) but he managed to hand out 11 assists.

It was a good team win for Boston as nearly everybody that stepped on the court made a contribution. Ray Allen led the Celts with 22 points, Kevin Garnett had 18 points and eight rebounds while Paul Pierce slogged through a tough shooting night (4 of 11) to get 12 points and six assists.

Mickael Pietrus (9 points) and Chris Wilcox (5 points, 11 rebounds) were both excellent off Boston's bench as well.

Is it too early to hand in my ballot for rookie of the year? What's that, bloggers like me don't get to vote? Kyrie Irving (24 points in 27 minutes) is a stud and he's going to put the Cavaliers back on the NBA map soon. He's only 19 and played a handful of games at Duke but he has a polished all-around game. It's too bad he's surrounded by a bunch of stiffs, albeit hardworking ones.

Omri Casspi was the only other Cav starter in double figures with 10 points. Rookie Tristan Thompson (13 points, 10 rebounds) and backup point guard Ramon Sessions (13 points) played well off the bench for Cleveland.

Boston actually started fast (for once) to start and even jumped out to a 16-point lead (28-12) before Cleveland started to wake up, trailing 28-15 after the first quarter. The Celtics led 43-38 at halftime but the Cavs went up 66-64 heading into the fourth.

The three reasons the Celts won: they shot better (44.6% to 39.7%), they hit more 3-pointers (10-4) and they were unselfish (27-18 assists).

Boston will try to get back to .500 tomorrow night as they host the Milwaukee Bucks, who also played tonight (winning 119-118 vs. the Wizards in Milwaukee). The Bucks (14-20) aren't good but neither are the Celtics so expect it to be a close one.

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Cavaliers Steal One From The Celtics 88-87 On Kyrie Irving's Basket With 2 Seconds Left

I wasn't alone in thinking that the Boston Celtics had a five-game win streak all but sealed tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.

The C's (9-10) were up 87-76 on the Cavs (8-11) with 4:26 left. To say the rest of the game was a disaster for Boston would be too kind; they went scoreless which allowed Cleveland to end on a 12-0 run, capped off by Kyrie Irving's (23 points, 6 assists) layup with two seconds left, for a humbling 88-87 loss.

This was the first game in 2011-12 that Boston had totally let slip through its hands. It was a sobering reminder that at this stage, they can't assume anything even against rather mediocre opposition.

The loss snapped the Celtics' four-game winning streak and dropped them under .500 while putting them at 6-6 in Boston.

Ray Allen was back after missing three games with an ankle injury and it was like he never left. He scored a team-high 22 points. Paul Pierce had 18 points but he missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer, he didn't get it off in time. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and Brandon Bass scored 13 as the Green went for the fifth straight game without Rajon Rondo. Jermaine O'Neal and Keyon Dooling were also still out.

Anderson Varejao had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers while the ancient Antawn Jamison scored 10. Alonzo Gee posted 14 points off the bench for Cleveland who will probably struggle until they can find a suitable running mate for the impressive Irving (2011 No. 1 overall pick).

Boston led 24-23 after one quarter but Cleveland went ahead 44-43 at halftime. The Celts opened it up in the third (70-62) but their offense went missing in the fourth (26-17).

The Celtics shot much better (52.2-43.0%) and hit two more 3-pointers (5-3) but the Cavs hit seven more free throws (17-10) and grabbed four more rebounds (37-33). Boston had nine more assists (21-12) which was a product of Cleveland going 1-on-1 almost exclusively but the Cavs made five more steals (11-6), scored 13 more fast break points (15-2) and dominated inside (54-32 points in the paint).

The best news for Boston is that they play Cleveland on two more occasions, including the next time that they suit up (on Tuesday in Cleveland). That's the beginning of a busy week for the C's since they host the Raptors on Wednesday, the Knicks come on Friday and they face the Grizzlies in a Super Bowl matinee on Sunday in Boston.

After Tuesday's game in Cleveland, Boston is home for five consecutive contests. It is a favorable schedule against mostly teams that they should beat so they need to take advantage.

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