Farewell to the Captain of the Tanking Committee of the Celtics-Jordan Crawford

The fire sale of the Celtics picked up some steam this morning as guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks were dealt to the Golden State Warriors in a three-team trade. Guard Toney Douglas goes to Miami and center Joel Anthony comes to Boston along with two draft picks (a first-round pick of the 76ers that is lottery protected for the next two years and Miami's second-round pick in 2016).

Boston squeezed all the "talent" it could by showcasing Crawford since this season began. Now with Rajon Rondo reportedly returning on Friday vs. Lakers (if you believe his mysterious tweet), the Celts had no use for one of the biggest clowns in the NBA (which is saying something). Crawford is the poster child of everything that people rightfully hate about the NBA: huge ego, takes really dumb shots every game, not a team player, far less talented than he imagines, etc. Still, he was having a career-year averaging 13.7 points per game and 5.7 assists per game.

Will Crawford get minutes in Golden State, one of the deepest backcourts in the NBA? Who cares. He's not our problem now and unfortunately, it sounds like Brooks will be waived by the Warriors. I know that my fellow PC alum has the talent to play in the league, he just needs another opportunity after he played well his rookie season with the Nets.

In case you forgot, Anthony is the stiff that looks 60 years old who has lucked out by being on the Heat the last few seasons. For tanking purposes, I'd love to see him start for the rest of 2014. Boston has lost their last nine games in a row heading into tonight's meeting with Atlantic Division leading Toronto (weird to say, right?).

The big chip left in Danny Ainge's arsenal is Rondo. Many have speculated that he'll be traded since if he's healthy, he could bring plenty back in return as the Celtics attempt to start over and reboot from square one. As we all know, this next draft is supposed to be incredible and Boston has a plethora of picks the next few years. That's the best way to rebuild since marquee free agents don't want to come here-time to face that harsh reality folks.

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You Can't Stop Jonathan Gibson, You Can Only Hope To Contain Him

The Celtics (2-0) staged a nice rally from 17 points down in the first half and 9 points in the fourth quarter as they beat the Nets (0-2) 82-73 tonight in the 2012 Orlando Summer League.

Guard Jonathan Gibson (New Mexico State) went off in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his 17 points to help Boston take care of Brooklyn. He was 3-for-5 on 3-pointers overall and 4-for-4 from the field in the final frame. Most impressive, he did all his damage in only 14 minutes.

Three other Celtics scored in double-figures: E'Twaun Moore (15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), Kris Joseph (11 points, 5 rebounds) and Dionte Christmas (10 points). Jared Sullinger (8 points, 12 rebounds) didn't have quite the scoring output of Monday but he made up for it by owning the glass, including four offensive boards. JaJuan Johnson and Jamar Smith each scored eight points as well in the satisfying victory.

Al Thornton led the Nets with 16 points and eight rebounds, showing that his career could get back on track. Providence College alum MarShon Brooks added 13 points and four assists while former No. 3 pick in 2006 Adam Morrison had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) and rookie point guard Tyshawn Taylor put up 10 points but also seven turnovers.

Boston led 24-18 after one quarter but an extended drought in the second quarter gave Brooklyn a 45-31 advantage at halftime. The Celtics rolled 51-28 in the second half including 30-14 in the fourth quarter.

The C's hit five more 3-pointers (7-2) which made up for six less free throws made (23-17).

After playing in the final game of the day on Tuesday, Boston gets the first one on Wednesday. They'll meet Indiana (2-0), live at 11 a.m. on NBA TV.

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Celtics Decide To Show Up, Thereby Automatically Beating The Nets

The Celtics might occasionally fall on their face but I can guarantee that they won't do it twice in a row against inferior opponents because they have too much pride for that.

Boston (35-25, 14-16 away) put the loss in Toronto last night quickly behind them and they were able to get the job done this evening against the New Jersey Nets (22-39, 9-21 home).

The Celtics won 94-82 at the Prudential Center (the one in ghetto Newark, not downtown Boston) in the middle game of their back-to-back-to-back insanity weekend. They also swept the season series with the Nets (3-0).

I'm not sure what happened to these guys against the Raptors but at least they recovered tonight. It just gives me more reason to blindly hate Canada I guess. Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Brandon Bass had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Avery Bradley scored 18 (3 of 4 on 3-pointers!). Rajon Rondo reached double-digit assists (15) for the 21st straight game (it feels like that streak will last for the rest of his career) and Paul Pierce had 17 points.

Greg Stiemsma was the only guy off Boston's bench that really did anything: six points, nine rebounds, two blocks.

This was the final meeting between these teams in the Dirty Jerz since the Nets are moving to Brooklyn, NY (Where Brooklyn At?!) next season. Former Celtic Gerald Green led New Jersey with 15 points off the bench. If you have a minute, read up on his incredible journey just to make it back to the NBA this year. It's amazing and it is fun to have him around again. Former Providence College star MarShon Brooks added 13 points for the Nets while Deron Williams (12 points, 14 assists) and Jordan Williams-no relation-(12 points, 14 rebounds) both put up double-doubles.

This tour of the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery teams concludes tomorrow night in Charlotte (6 p.m., CSNE) as they get their final look at the worst team in the NBA: the Bobcats (7-51). I wouldn't blame Doc Rivers if he wants to sit the starters more than usual since they'll be exhausted; I really think that the bench could at least hold their own against Charlotte, they are that bad. The Celtics have already beaten the Bobcats twice, time to make it three.

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The Celtics Continue To Make Danny Ainge's Job Harder, Hope He Doesn't Have Another Heart Attack

For the time being, what transpires off the court-mainly in the Twitterverse, online, in newspapers, on the radio and television-is way more interesting with the Boston Celtics than their actual games.

The Celts (18-17) are the subject of non-stop trade rumors (the deadline is March 15) but they don't seem to be affected by it since they won their third straight tonight, 107-94 over the New Jersey Nets (11-26) at TD Garden.

This was the first time since the opening two games (at New York, at Miami which were both losses) that Boston has put together back-to-back 100-point performances. That's not much of a milestone in the NBA but for this time, it most certainly is. The Celtics improved to 17-2 against the Nets in their last 19 meetings.

Every day I go back and forth on whether Celtics GM Danny Ainge should just blow it all up or hope that Boston can stay relatively healthy, win the Atlantic Division and hope that somebody else knocks off the Heat and Bulls.

Jermaine O'Neal might be done for the season with a wrist injury and Ray Allen missed tonight's contest with the flu but the C's still managed to play one of the better games of the season. Duly noted that it also helps that New Jersey is awful.

Paul Pierce (27 points, 8 assists) was great and Kevin Garnett (20 points, 10 rebounds) continued to show plenty of pride in what could be his last season. KG has scored 18+ points in five straight games. Rajon Rondo (14 points, 13 assists, 5 steals)-the main subject of the trade rumors-had a solid game. Mickael Pietrus started for Allen and he added 11 points while Brandon Bass scored eight points. Chris Wilcox went for 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with a game-high 28 points yet he somehow had three rebounds in 35 minutes, way to hustle big guy. Deron Williams mailed it in with 12 points and eight assists and MarShon Brooks scored 11 points. Both Anthony Morrow and former Celtic Gerald Green each added 11 off the bench.

These teams only meet once more, April 14 in the Garden State.

The Bruins and Celtics face all New York and New Jersey teams this weekend. The Devils came to the Garden last night, Nets were in town tonight, the Islanders are here tomorrow afternoon, the Bruins go to New York Sunday afternoon to face the Rangers at the same time that Celtics host the Knicks.

I don't know if you've heard of him but this guy from Harvard named Jeremy Lin plays for the Knicks now. Boston and New York split their first two games this season but Lin only played a minor role in the last one, a 91-89 Celtics win on February 3. With all the Linsanity hype and the fact that the Knicks have been playing light years better since he was inserted into the starting lineup, Sunday's matchup-a national game on ABC-should be entertaining theater (the best kind of NBA action).

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When The Regular Season Looks Like The Preseason: Celtics Scrubs Beat Nets Bums

Even with a full lineup, the New Jersey Nets are not going to be good. With their three best players-Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries-all out with injuries, the Boston Celtics took advantage last night by winning the preseason-esque game 89-70 at TD Garden.

Boston's fourth win in a row was accomplished without Ray Allen, who sat out with the flu. I guess that proves that he's not a robot constructed by UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

New Jersey (1-6) is on another smooth path to a lottery pick which is a positive thing given next year's draft that should be loaded. Did I mention that they're moving to Brooklyn, NY?

The only two subplots that remotely interest me from this forgettable game were the performances of Nets rookie MarShon Brooks (17 points in his first NBA start) and Celtics second-year guard Avery Bradley (11 points, 2 steals, 1st NBA 3-pointer). Like myself, Brooks graduated from Providence College so it's extremely gratifying to see him make such an impact already coming out of a small school and a recently awful team.

I have hated on Bradley since the Celtics drafted him. He seems like a nice kid but I just wonder what dad, uncle or AAU coach was in his ear to leave Texas after one season. He simply wasn't ready for the rigors of the NBA. However, maybe after this game he'll gain some confidence and start to produce. Everybody knows how old the Celtics are so as their youngest player, he could have value.

Paul Pierce had a game-high 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 12 rebounds while Brandon Bass had 15 points and a career-high 13 points off the bench.

Jordan Farmer (11 points) was the only other Net to score in double-figures.

Boston's bench outscored New Jersey's 36-31 in what will likely be a high-water mark for the regular season.

In a truly putrid first half, Boston led 18-17 after the first quarter but thanks to Brooks' 15 points, New Jersey was up 35-34 at halftime. The Celtics rolled to a 29-12 third quarter and 26-23 fourth quarter.

Things figure to pick up as the Celtics end their five-game homestand with three matchups with quality opponents: Indiana, Dallas and Chicago.

The Pacers (4-2) are at TD Garden on Friday night and it's not hyperbole to say I think Indiana will be in the 4-6 range when the Eastern Conference playoffs are set. They are an unsung young team with some talent (Danny Granger, Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough). Who knows, maybe Larry Bird will grace us with his presence.

UPDATE 1/5: Allen didn't practice today and he's questionable for tomorrow night.

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Boston Celtics Draft A Pair Of Purdue Teammates

For about two minutes last night, my dream came true as the Boston Celtics drafted a player from my alma mater (Providence College) at No. 25 in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft: shooting guard Marshon Brooks (@marshon2).

PC's last first round pick was Austin Croshere in 1997 so these occasions don't exactly frequently occur. I had my Ryan Gomes Celtics jersey on (probably the only one in existence outside of Gomes' extended family and friends) and all was right in the world.

However, as soon as I started tweeting about it and receiving congratulatory text messages, I read on Twitter that Brooks would be dealt to the New Jersey Nets (at No. 27) and they would pick Purdue power forward JaJuan Johnson (6-10, 220 pounds) for the C's. FYI, his Twitter handle is @BoilerBaller25

The Celts made it two Boilermakers as they selected Johnson's teammate E'Twaun Moore (guard, 6-4, 191 pounds) at No. 55 in the late second round.

Putting aside my obvious bias towards Brooks (who is going to be a legitimate scorer off the bench in the NBA right away), I have to say that Johnson and Moore both seem like good fits for Boston, a team that has a championship window of only a year or two more.

I will admit that I never watch Big Ten basketball since it is the most boring league in college basketball but I heard both these names a ton and they put up good numbers and most importantly, went to school four years apiece. This was supposedly a bad draft class but Boston was smart to go for two players that have done all they can to get better on and off the court in college.

The Celtics don't need more projects like Avery Bradley (last year's first round pick, a guard from the University of Texas), who barely played last season and looks years away from making any sort of impact.

Around this time of year, everyone and their mother literally produces a mock draft and becomes an expert on all the NBA prospects. The site that I trust the most is nbadraft.net so therefore I was intrigued to see what they said about the two newest members of the Green and White.

This is their profile on Johnson.

This is their profiled on Moore.

It's tough to say how they will pan out and it's frustrating that there is no NBA Summer League this summer due to the probable NBA lockout. Still, grabbing a pair of teammates from a solid college program appears to be a smart move. They'll have a built in support system and hopefully be able to bring Boston two things they really lack: youthful energy and production off the bench.

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