Can Anything Go Right For the Celtics These Days?

When the sobering news came out on Friday night that Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo had broken his left hand, it felt like a cruel joke to a team that currently has no good luck whatsoever. It was dutifully reported by Celtics reporters that he slipped in the shower at his house, haha yeah OK. Regardless of how it happened (as long as it wasn't a domestic issue, who cares?), it casts an even deeper depression over what already promised to be another Lottery-bound season for the Green and White.

Training camp opens on Monday with their first preseason game scheduled for a week after that vs. Philadelphia. PS did you know there are eight preseason games, why exactly? Their regular season opener is October 29 vs. Brooklyn (who no longer has Paul Pierce) at TD Garden.

The ripple effects of this injury to Boston's best player are large: Rondo had surgery today but he's expected to miss between six and eight weeks so he could be out until Thanksgiving. Can the Celtics just skip this sure-to-be miserable campaign? Ugh, what a mess. I'm sure plenty of know-it-alls will fault the C's for not trading him last season (or earlier) when they had a chance. They stubbornly stuck by him as they try to rebuild one of the NBA's marquee franchises that has become completely irrelevant the last few years.

Rondo was misleadingly durable his first few seasons but I guess it makes sense that injuries are starting to pile up now (elbow, ACL, hand) since he's tiny by the NBA's cartoonish standards. He missed 95 games in the past two seasons so that total will only increase. This also means that Phil Pressey and rookie Marcus Smart (Rondo's understudy) will get much more playing time from day one which is slightly horrifying especially if your name is Brad Stevens and you'd like to win in the NBA at some point.

There just is no positive way to spin this for the Celtics. To make matters worse for all parties involved, Rondo is an unrestricted free agent after 2014-15 so his value will be even lower and I doubt there would be a real market for him. So neither he nor the team can really cash in on his unique talents. As if it hadn't already begun, I guess it's officially time to start the countdown for Tankapalooza Part 2. Haha Boston is bound to win the draft lottery at some point, right? Actually, don't answer that.

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Celtics Beat Bobcats 106-103, Sigh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Unfortunately, Even the Celtics Can't Lose Every Game This Season

I pretty much only write about Celtics wins so needless to say, other than their two recent trades, I have been quiet lately regarding the Green and White. I had to break my silence tonight as Boston (15-29 overall, 6-17 away) held off Washington (20-21 overall, 10-11 home) 113-111 in overtime at Verizon Center.

With the rare victory, the Celts snapped a 10-game road losing streak and also won for only the third time in their last 18 games. Nothing from Boston's side can compare to this insane stat that I saw after the contest: John Wall (28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals) has never been over .500 in his four years in the NBA. Wait, what? How is that even possible?

Playing on the road, in the second night of a back-to-back without Rajon Rondo (rest) and Avery Bradley (ankle), the C's shouldn't have been difficult at all for the Wizards to beat. So naturally, Boston got out to a 10-point lead after the first quarter (32-22) and 18-point advantage at halftime (61-43).

Clearly, Washington woke up in the second half-particularly in the third quarter when they outscored Boston 30-15. The Wizards also took the fourth quarter (26-23) and had a chance to win but Nene Hilario's (17 points, 9 reboudns) long jumper at the buzzer was a brick. Bradley Beal and Trevor Ariza both scored 14 points while Marcin Gortat added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Martell Webster scored 10 points off the bench.

Jeff Green had one of the best games of his career with a game-high 39 points (8 3-pointers!), nine rebounds and three steals. Rookie Phil Pressey had 20 points (5 3-pointers) before he fouled out in OT, Jared Sullinger put up another double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Gerald Wallace (9 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals) filled the stat sheet but most importantly made the last-second driving layup to clinch it for Boston. In his second game with the C's, rookie Chris Johnson (9 points, 4 steals) showed how much he doesn't want to return to the D-League.

Boston hit eight more 3-pointers (15-7) than Washington, made five more steals (15-10) and blocked twice as many shots (8-4). They also scored seven more fast break points (21-14) and 10 more points off turnovers (20-10).

The Celtics' reward for this hard-fought win is a day off before they return to TD Garden on Friday (7:30, CSN) to host Kevin Durant-MVP, MVP-and the Thunder (33-10, 1st in Northwest Division). Durant has scored 30+ points in nine straight games which is the main reason why this is the first Celtics game all season that I've had any interest in attending.

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I'll Permit 1 Win Every 10 Games for the Celtics

If I had my way, the Celtics would lose every game for the rest of this pointless season. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. They are bound to stumble into a win at least every once in a while. Like tonight for instance, Boston (14-26 overall, 9-11 home) snapped its nine-game losing streak with a 88-83 win over Toronto (19-18 overall, 10-10 away) at TD Garden.

The Raptors had actually been playing very well (12-4) since they shipped Rudy Gay to hell, I mean Sacramento. Still, what does it tell you about the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference in general that the train wreck Celts could handle them?

Jared Sullinger was the star for Boston, he had a game-high 25 points, career-high 20 rebounds and two steals (his first 20-20 game and first for a Celtic since Kevin Garnett's debut in Boston-November 2007). Any rebuilding project with the C's should involve Sullinger. His style isn't pretty but damn if it isn't effective. Unlike many of the jokers that come in the NBA too early, he knows how to play. He's not going to be a Hall of Famer due to his limited athleticism but that doesn't mean he can't be an All-Star someday.

In a brief cameo with Rajon Rondo ready to be unleashed on Friday vs. Lakers, Phil Pressey made his first NBA start a good one with 10 assists and zero turnovers. Avery Bradley had 20 points, five rebounds and two steals; Jeff Green added 13 points and five rebounds while Kris Humphries also made the most of his rare start with 12 points and eight rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 23 points and eight rebounds. Without Gay, he desperately needs more help around him. No offense Kyle Lowry (18 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds). 90-year-old John Salmons was the only other Raptor in double-figures with 13 points off the bench.

Trailing 73-56 entering the fourth quarter, this had no business being a game but Boston is physically incapable of closing out any team. Toronto made it a three-point game a couple times but they couldn't get any closer than that.

This oughta make Tommy Heinsohn happy: Boston shot 11 more free throws (36-25) and hit 14 more (26-12) than bricklaying Toronto. Thanks to Sullinger's dominance, the Celtics grabbed 14 more rebounds (58-44) as a team. The C's also had seven more fast break points (13-6), eight more points in the paint (32-24) and eight more points off turnovers (15-7).

I can't recall a less anticipated Celtics-Lakers (14-25 overall, 5th in Pacific Division) than the one on Friday (7:30, CSN) at the Garden. However, with Rondo's expected return, there at least is a valid reason to tune in for a few minutes. Who knows what to expect from him basically a year removed from tearing his ACL?

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Celtics Sign The Perfect Guys To Build Around, I Mean Tank With Next Season

It's long been established that the only way for the Celtics to rebuild quickly is to get into next season's draft lottery. They need to pretend like they are going to win but then rack up the losses (sit Rondo Derrick Rose style) like there's no tomorrow to give themselves the best chance to get an incredible player like Andrew Wiggins.

Today Boston took care of a couple additions that had been rumored since last week: they signed rookie point guard Phil Pressey (who tore it up for them in the Orlando Pro Summer League) and Brazilian center Vitor Faverani. Terms of both deals weren't disclosed but Pressey reportedly will get a three-year deal worth the league minimum while Faverani is expected to get three years and $6 million.

Since he played at Missouri (who were on TV all the time) and I caught a couple of the Summer League games, I can say that Pressey should be a nice fit at backup point guard. And yes, teams are allowed to have two point guards on the same squad, something the C's have seemed oblivious to for years with Rajon Rondo.

I'm not up on Brazilian basketball or teams in Spain-where Faverani played last season-but I do know that most foreigners that come over to the NBA struggle mightily unless they are a freak like Dirk Nowitzki. The leagues in Europe can't compete with the NBA which has almost all the best players in the world in one spot.

This gives Boston 16 signed guys at the moment including Shavlik Randolph whose deal would become guaranteed on August 1.

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