The Celtics Pulled Off A Sneaky Good Deal By Flipping Moses Brown For Josh Richardson

 

    While we wait for the three team trade between Boston, Atlanta and Sacramento to hopefully go through sometime soon, the Celtics did make another notable move over the weekend by trading center Moses Brown (we hardly knew ya!) to the Mavericks for guard Josh Richardson. It beats me if Brown is any good since he was here for a little over a month (dealt from Oklahoma City in the Al Horford/Kemba Walker trade) and finished his glorious Celtics career with a grand total of zero games played. Richardson on the other hand is a much more known commodity since he's played in the NBA for six seasons: four with Miami, one with Philadelphia and one with Dallas. In five of those six years including the last five in a row, he's averaged at least 10.2 points per game which doesn't sound like much but it's nothing to sniff at. 

    In many ways, Richardson has already exceeded any outside expectations for what he would do in the NBA since he was a second-round pick (40th overall) by the Heat in 2015 out of the University of Tennessee. His career averages are pretty solid across the board: 12.3 points per game, 1.1 steals per game, 42.7% field goal percentage, 35.8% 3-pointer percentage and 83.2% free throw percentage. He's definitely used to being a starter in the league since he has started in 299 of 373 possible games and averaged 30.6 minutes per game so it'll be interesting to see what role he carves out for the C's. His best season in a pro was in 2018-19-his last in Miami-when he averaged a career-high 16.6 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, 1.1 steals per game and shot 86.1% on free throws as he started all 73 games that he appeared in.

    Brad Stevens and the Celts still have plenty of work to do with free agency officially opening in the NBA on Monday night at 6 pm. Free agent swingman Evan Fournier-who is currently tearing it up at the Olympics with France-is the main internal question facing Boston: do they bring him back after they traded for him last season or do they let him walk? The aforementioned three-way trade would reportedly culminate with them acquiring former legendary Providence College point guard Kris Dunn and center Bruno Fernando from the Hawks while center Tristan Thompson will get sent to basketball Siberia aka the Kings. I'll save my thoughts on that move until it actually occurs (or sadly doesn't). Until then, let's hope that by whatever means necessary, Stevens & Co. can pick up some more quality players because the Celtics still need plenty of them to improve on their lackluster seventh-place finish in the Eastern Conference last season.

Things Just Aren't Getting Any Better For The Celtics As They Lose To The Kings Once Again

 

    The Celtics (20-21 overall, 12-7 home) are in a really dark place right now as the losses continue to pile up. The scary part is there seems to be no end in sight as they can't find a way to beat some of the worst teams in the NBA. Tonight at the TD Garden, on a day when head coach Brad Stevens had to fend off more rumors that he's going to bolt to be the head coach at Indiana University any second now, his team once again came out flat and had to pay for it as they fell 107-96 to the Kings (17-24 overall, 8-12 away). Sacramento swept the two-game season series and you have to wonder what it will take to get through to these Celtics? This is simply not acceptable and no matter what the team's flaws are, they should not be in eighth-place in the Eastern Conference and a game under .500 this far into the season. 

    The Kings are in 11th place in the Western Conference but they looked like a playoff team the two times that they've met the Celts in this doomed campaign. Sacramento point guard De'Aaron Fox (game-high 29 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) was the best player on the court and he was followed closely by center Richaun Holmes (25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) who put together one of his best games as a pro. Small forward Harrison Barnes (15 points, 13 rebounds) another rumored trade target for the C's probably doesn't even want to come here at this juncture. Finally, shooting guard Buddy Hield (22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) added his requisite solid outing whenever he plays the Celtics.

    Shooting guard Jaylen Brown (19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals) led the C's in scoring despite not even reaching 20 points. Point guard Kemba Walker added 16 points and seven assists while swingman Jayson Tatum (15 points, 7 rebounds) is playing like he's still battling Covid-19 (and I don't say that to make light of the situation, only to point out how bad he's been lately for him). Center Daniel Theis put up 14 points and eight rebounds while center Robert Williams (12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks) continues to be one of the only bright spots for this underachieving group. 

    If it's a big game and or one that they should win, you can bet that the Celtics will probably get off to a poor start. The Kings outscored them 28-22 in the first quarter and it was 55-45 Sacramento at halftime. Boston's one real push came in the third quarter as they took that 36-27 but nobody will ever remember that since they closed with a whimper (25-15 Kings in the 4th quarter). Gross. Sacramento shot 2.8% better from the field (45.7%-42.9%) than Boston, they attempted 19 more free throws (26-7) and hit 15 more of them (21-6) which is really hard to do in the NBA on the road. The Kings also blocked more than twice (9-4) as many shots as the Celtics. 

        The C's will try to snap this three-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon (3:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they host another non-playoff team-the Magic (14-27 overall, 5-14 road). Boston has three games between now and Thursday-the NBA Trade Deadline. Not for the sake of this season but at least for the future, I have to hope that GM Danny Ainge will do something to improve this painfully mismatched team. Tatum and Brown are too good to be having such a mediocre season, maybe bring in a veteran leader that they can lean on? Otherwise, what are we doing here? A small number of fans will be able to return to the Garden a week from Monday but honestly, who wants to watch these losers in the middle of a pandemic? Talk about wasting your money, you can definitely find a better activity than that without even trying that hard.

As Currently Constructed, The Reality Is That The Celtics Are Just Not A Very Good Basketball Team

 

    Save the excuses, like every other team in the NBA doesn't face the exact same obstacles that the Celtics (11-9 overall, 6-6 away) dealt with tonight at the Golden 1 Center against the Kings (10-11 overall, 6-6 home) who beat them 116-111. It was the second night of a back-to-back for Boston and they were missing guards Marcus Smart (calf), Kemba Walker (load management) and Payton Pritchard (knee). Still, no matter who they put out on the floor, they should find a way to beat a nothing team like Sacramento. Instead, they are left to ponder what went wrong as they got outscored 35-29 in the fourth quarter when point guard De'Aaron Fox (team-high 26 points, 11 assists, 2 steals) took over the game in favor of the home team with 13 points in the final frame.

    In the back of my mind, I knew that this was going to happen because for whatever weird reason, Sacramento has always given them tough games for the last few years even though they usually stink. Small forward Harrison Barnes (24 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) played about as well as he ever does, shooting guard Buddy Hield (15 points, 11 rebounds) had a rare double-double and rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton (career-high 21 points, 2 steals) was awesome off the bench in 30 minutes. For the Celtics, swingman Jayson Tatum (game-high 27 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) just missed his first career triple-double and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (21 points) showed up too. Power forward Tristan Thompson (17 points, 10 rebounds in 22 minutes) put together his best game as a Celtic but oddly enough barely played at all in the fourth quarter. Center Daniel Theis (11 points) was the only other player on Boston to score in double figures. 

    Jeff Teague (7 points on 1-of-6 shooting) flopped in his spot start at point guard and Tremont Waters (3 points, 5 assists) wasn't much better at spelling him off the bench. Thanks mostly to Haliburton, Sacramento's bench outscored Boston's 35-28 which was predictable given who was in street clothes for the C's. Power forward Grant Williams made an important 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and center Robert Williams (9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals) was good in limited minutes but Boston has too many borderline G-League guys taking up space on their roster. Unless you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis like the Lakers do, every other top NBA team needs a Big 3. With Kemba in his hobbled state (not to mention how up and down he's been when he has played), the Celts don't really have that much outside of Tatum and Brown who are both fantastic (Charles Barkley voice). 

    Boston led 26-22 after the first quarter but Sacramento answered to take a one-point (52-51) advantage into halftime. The Celtics outscored the Kings by a single basket (31-29) in the third quarter so it all came down to the fourth quarter where the Celtics typically wilt under pressure. As you can probably guess, most of the stats were very similar. Sacramento hit two more 3-pointers (13-11), they had three less turnovers (13-10) and they scored five more second chance points (16-11) than Boston. It certainly doesn't get any easier for the Celtics on this five-game West Coast road trip as they visit the Clippers (17-6) on Friday (10, ESPN) at the Staples Center. LA is one of the best teams in the league and their duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is a better and more experienced version of Tatum and Brown. Walker will be back and hopefully Pritchard will be available too, since the C's can use all the help that they can get at the moment.

Mercifully, Our Regional Nightmare is Over: Fab Melo Traded to Memphis

Look it up, I was never a Fab Melo fan dating back to his brief time at Syracuse so you can imagine my frustration when the Celtics drafted him in the first round (22nd overall) in 2011. I predicted he'd never have an impact in Boston and despite being a beast in the D-League (hold your laughter), Melo couldn't find a place on an NBA team that basically played without a true center for two years. What does that tell you how they viewed him? As far as I'm concerned, his most memorable pro moment so far is bumping his head in a hotel which gave him a concussion.

Today, he was traded for another bust from Syracuse-forward Donte Greene-that was on the Grizzlies last season but never actually played a game. He was a first round pick (28th overall) by Sacramento where he toiled for four seasons, averaging a forgettable 6.1 points per game. This was a chance for Boston to trim salary and get under the luxury tax line next season assuming that they waive him before the regular season starts in October. Also, it's another step in the rebuilding process as they admitted (with this move) that drafting Melo was a mistake from the start.

Oh well, at least now we don't have to watch that big goof painfully try to play basketball. So we've got that going for us.

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Clearly Rajon Rondo Was Holding The Celtics Back, Haha Just Kidding!

Nobody really knows what to expect from the Celtics without Rondo for the rest of this season but in the meantime, they won their second straight game since his injury. Boston (22-23, 15-9 home) rolled 99-81 over lifeless Sacramento (17-30, 5-18 away) tonight at TD Garden. Six Celtics scored in double figures as they avenged an inexplicable 22-point loss (118-96) to the Kings on December 30 in Sacramento.

The only downside is that rookie Jared Sullinger left after only four minutes (he started) with back spasms. Trouble with his back is supposedly one of the main reasons why he dropped to No. 21 in last summer's NBA draft. Apparently, it wasn't too serious though and he's listed as day-to-day. The C's won because of an incredible second quarter where they outscored the Kings 37-14. It was Boston's highest scoring frame of the season thus far and it made up for Sacramento outscoring them 67-62 in the other three quarters.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Kevin Garnett had 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks, Avery Bradley put up 11 points, five rebounds and three steals while Brandon Bass (3 steals), Jeff Green and Jason Terry each notched 12 points off the bench.

Tyreke Evans is healthy for the moment and he paced the Kings with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. DeMarcus Cousins had 13 points and six rebounds while Thomas Robinson scored 11 points off the bench. You gotta love the dimwit Celtics writers that saw Cousins play only twice this season and said the exact opposite thing each time: in December, "get him!" Now, "they don't need/want him." Haha ok then.

The Celts have a great opportunity to get back to .500 and gain more confidence on Friday (7:30 p.m., CSN) as they host the Magic (14-31, 3rd in Southeast Division). Orlando lost 113-97 tonight in New York and even worse, former Celtic Glen Davis (15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) broke his foot. Boston won at Orlando 116-110 in overtime back on November 25.

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The Celtics Hit A New Low In The Kevin Garnett Era: Lose To Kings By 22 Points

So what stage of grief are you in with the Celtics these days? I find that the current most common ones are either anger at seeing them repeatedly blown out or acceptance that they are just a bad team so what can you do?

Getting rolled by quality opponents like the Clippers or Warriors is one thing but Boston (14-16, 5-11 away) was embarrassed by Sacramento (11-19, 10-7 home) tonight, 118-96 at the Sleep Train Arena (haha yes that's really what it's called). The Celts went 1-3 on their nightmarish road trip, capped off by three straight humbling defeats in California.

The Kings hit 10 3-pointers and scored 30+ points in the last three quarters. Six guys scored double figures including three who had 20+. Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 27 points and five rebounds, Celtics killer John Salmons added 23 points and six rebounds, Jason Thompson put up 20 points and six rebounds while DeMarcus Cousins notched a triple double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).

James Johnson had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks off the bench for Sacramento while folk hero Jimmer Fredette checked in with 10 points and five assists.

Rajon Rondo returned and had 10 assists with five rebounds but only two points. Jason Terry and Paul Pierce both scored 20 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Jeff Green tallied 16 points off the bench and Jared Sullinger completed his fine road trip with 10 points and six rebounds.

Perhaps a new year will bring Boston some better fortune. They are off until Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CSN) when they host Memphis (19-8, 2nd Southwest Division) at TD Garden and Avery Bradley is expected to make his season debut. It is a very tough week as the Celts play the Pacers on Friday then go to Atlanta on Saturday to face the Hawks, three teams that are all well over .500 and in either first or second-place in their respective divisions.

UPDATE 1/2: The Celtics recalled Fab Melo but it was only to have their medical staff treat his concussion that he suffered over the weekend with the Red Claws. Apparently it's a weird rule that guys in the D-League have to be treated by the NBA teams.

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Shorthanded Celtics Drop Their First Game In Las Vegas, To Jimmer & The Kings

Apparently, there are bigger things in the NBA than a summer league game in mid-July. Shocking, I know. Especially when the Boston Celtics are the only insane team to appear in both Orlando and Las Vegas this summer.

With the Courtney Lee deal going down before tip-off, the Celts were down three players as JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore and Sean Williams packed up and left for Houston (their new NBA home). With nine players, the C's (2-1) hung around for longer than expected (tied 38-38 at halftime) before losing 91-82 to the Kings (2-3) tonight at the Thomas and Mack Center.

In their final summer league contest, Jimmer Fredette led Sacramento with 19 points (9 for 10 on free throws) and five assists. Rookie Thomas Robinson was a beast on the boards with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Tony Mitchell scored 13 points, Yancy Gates had 11 points and Dominique Johnson added 10.

Speaking with the NBA TV commentators during the first half, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers admitted that Boston's brass loves Dionte Christmas (19 points) so it looks like he'll get an invite to their training camp in the fall. Jamar Smith and Craig Brackins both notched 14 points while Jonathan Gibson (another guy singled out by Rivers) had 12 points. Jared Sullinger grabbed 10 rebounds.

Boston has two games left in the summer: Saturday (10:30 p.m. vs. 2-1 Milwaukee) and Sunday (6:00 p.m. vs. 1-2 Clippers). Expect them to add a few healthy bodies since I doubt they can go through another 40 minutes with nine players. If Danny Ainge is reading this, I'm available and I'd love a business trip to Vegas.

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The NBA Trade Deadline is Danny Ainge's favorite day of the year

Just like any other normal day, I went to Planet Fitness this afternoon. Thinking that with very few tradeable assets and a true championship contender roster (when healthy) the Celtics wouldn't make much noise before the trade deadline (3pm today) proved to be one of my worst predictions in a while.

In a series of three separate moves, the Celts shipped away five players and got only two in return. Wait what?

At first blush, seeing Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson go to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, cash and the Clippers 2012 first round pick was shocking and I have to say that I didn't like it. However, upon further review I feel like you have to trust Ainge since he's been able to make other solid (albeit not as big) deals before and after (buyouts) the trade deadline in past seasons.

In addition, Luke Harangody and Semih Erden were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2013 second round pick. And finally, Marquis Daniels (who probably won't play this season due to his spinal injury) was sent to the Sacramento Kings for cash considerations and a protected second round pick in 2017 (haha really).

Whew and I thought the Bruins were the ones making moves before their trade deadline (next Monday).

Perkins is by far the biggest loss for Boston. He's their defensive stopper who's capable of guarding Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, etc. It makes you scratch your head since now the Cs will have to rely on Shaq or Jermaine O'Neal (don't hold your breath on that) along with Krstic who's not known for his defense.

For the time being, they called up Chris Johnson (2nd year 6-11 center from LSU) from the D-League since they only had eight players in Denver for their game vs. the Nuggets.

You always want to get the best player in a trade, not giving him up and it's obvious that in Jeff Green, the Celtics did so. He was drafted by Boston with the fifth pick in 2007 but then quickly shipped to Seattle for Ray Allen. We all know how that story ended up.

Green is young (24), big (6-9) and versatile. This was a move with the future in mind, a tough balance when you're trying to get Banner 18 this season. As my friend said, having Rondo and Green in a few years is much better than just Rondo and Perk. Plus, Perk's contract was going to be up after this season and I have to assume that the Celtics tried to re-sign him but couldn't so they wanted to get something in return while they could.

Losing Robinson isn't a big deal. Aside from a few playoff games last season, he never really had any consistent play. He's fun to watch but if they made a deal, you knew he would be involved. I'm also bummed to see Erden and Harangody go since they're both young players who could turn out pretty good but again, who else could they trade?

Daniels might still return next season. With two roster spots left, what does Ainge do? Troy Murphy, Leon Powe, James Posey and Richard Hamilton are names that have all been mentioned for buyouts. Murphy seems most likely and he would be a good fit: he averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds last season so he can't be completely washed up. Who knows how much Powe or Posey have left? Rip can still play but I don't see how Boston can afford him.

Got all that? It's going to take some time to digest these moves but one thing's for sure: Danny Ainge has the biggest balls in the world. The anti-Peter Chiarelli if you will. Rather than hemming or hawing for years about minor players, Ainge completely surprises you. Let's hope the Mormon is right again.

We'll miss you Perk.

Remember when the Sacramento Kings were one of the NBA's model franchises?

It seems like only yesterday that the Sacramento Kings played one of the NBA's most exciting styles of basketball and the Maloof brothers were loving life. Haha, I think one of them even dated Britney Spears for a second before she got prego and crazy.

For much of the last decade though, the Kings have been an afterthought. Since they're in one of the NBA's worst markets, it makes sense that once the product went downhill so did the profits.

The Boston Celtics toyed with the Kings last night in Sacramento but ultimately pulled out a 95-90 win which gave them a satisfactory 3-1 West Coast trip.

Sacramento (12-34) is still awful but at least now they have two potential franchise players: Tyreke Evans (20 points) and DeMarcus Cousins (20 points).

The Celts (37-11) are a much better TEAM and this was the typical game against a young team where they look good for the first two or three quarters and then they self-destruct in winning time.

Ray Allen led Boston with 22 points (he's having his best season yet with the Green, dude is ageless), Rajon Rondo had 17 points, 10 assists and four steals, Paul Pierce scored 15 and Kevin Garnett added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Off the bench for the Cs, Glen Davis (14 points), Kendrick Perkins (8 points, 10 rebounds)-who will be starting any day now-and Nate Robinson (5 steals) stood out.

Donte Greene had 15 points off the bench for the Kings and Beno Udrih added 12 points. Evans and Cousins are both intriguing prospects. Evans is a great athlete and so big but he can't really shoot. Cousins has all the ability in the world but he seems like he doesn't work hard at all and doesn't want to play in the post.

Boston led 27-20 after the first quarter and it looked like it would be a laugher. Of course, the Kings followed that with what had to be one of the their best quarters of the season (34-18) to take a 54-45 halftime lead. The Celts flexed their muscles in the third quarter (29-17) and held on in the fourth (21-19). With that, they earned another night in Sacramento since we're getting more Snowpocalypse in New England.

Things will heat up whenever they get home since the Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday and the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Should be two great games.

Without Tyreke Evans, the Sacramento Kings might as well fold

Since I didn't have to work last night (thanks snowpocalypse), it was the first time in ages (outside of attending) that I was able to watch a Boston Celtics game from start to finish. My usual routine of catching the game on DVR later that night or the next morning wasn't necessary.

I can't say that it was a classic or particularly memorable contest since the Sacramento Kings came to the TD Garden without star point guard Tyreke Evans in the lineup. Kevin Garnett is still out but it didn't matter as the Celtics (29-9) rolled to an easy 119-95 victory.

Paul Pierce had 25 points in 27 minutes, Ray Allen had 14 points, Rajon Rondo posted 10 points and 13 assists and Glen Davis scored 12 points but the story was the bench which got ample minutes.

For the first time I can ever remember, four subs scored in double-figures. Nate Robinson finally had a good shooting night with 16 points, Von Wafer and Marquis Daniels had 12 points while Semih Erden dusted off the cobwebs and notched 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Kings (8-28) were led by sub Carl Landry (17 points), no idea why he doesn't start. Beno Udrih had 16 points while Samuel Dalembert scored 12 points and Eugene Jeter notched 10 points.

This one was close in the first half but there was never any doubt that Sacramento would fade at some point. Boston was up 28-22 after one quarter and 57-49 at halftime.

The Celts outscored the Kings 33-18 in the third quarter and 29-28 in the fourth quarter.

Both teams shot well: Boston 52.1% and Sacramento 51.4%. The Cs made a season-high 12 3-pointers (10 more than the Kings) but Sacramento made 14 more free throws (21-7). Boston had one more rebound (38-37) and ten more assists (29-19). Nine more steals (16-7) led to easy buckets for the Celtics while the Kings had twice as many blocks (6-3). It's completely predictable that a young, bad team had more turnovers (23-14) and the Celts had 14 more points in the paint (56-42).

Boston will try to get a win streak started tomorrow night as they host the Charlotte Bobcats. The Celtics typically own the Bobcats but Charlotte has been playing well since head coach Larry Brown left and Paul Silas took over.

The bench comes alive for the Celtics

There was an endless amount of story lines surrounding the Boston Celtics as they began the last 30 games of the season last night in Sacramento.

Most pertinent, it was the last game before the trade deadline (which is tomorrow afternoon) so was this the last time we'll see Ray Allen, Eddie House, Tony Allen or Glen Davis in a Celtics uniform?

Will the C's improve or continue to struggle against good teams, building up to the inevitable second round loss in the playoffs this spring?

The good news for one night was that they won 95-92 against a very green Kings (18-35) team featuring the favored rookie of the year, Tyreke Evans (17 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists).

Paul Pierce had 17 points for the Celts (33-18) and Ray Allen scored 15 points but Rajon Rondo (4 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), Kevin Garnett (9 points, 9 rebounds) and Kendrick Perkins (6 points, 5 rebounds) were all invisible.

So how did they win you ask? Boston's bench had perhaps its finest performance of the season as they 44 points, led by Rasheed Wallace (17 points), Eddie House (12 points), Marquis Daniels (7 points, 6 rebounds) and Glen Davis (6 points, 8 rebounds).

Games like that will be rare but if the Celtics stand still at the trade deadline, those bench players will need to all bring their games up to gloss over KG, Ray and Perk.

Omri Casspi led the Kings with 19 points, Jason Thompson added 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks off the bench while Kevin Martin (another constant trade rumor) was held to 11 points.

The game was tight throughout, with the teams tied at 30 after one quarter and the Celts holding a slim 57-52 halftime lead.

Boston didn't fall apart in the third (19-17) and made enough free throws down the stretch to offset the 3-pointers Sacramento kept hitting.

The four game West Coast trip gets real for the next three games as Boston goes to the Staples Center tomorrow night for a TNT game with the Lakers, Portland on Friday and Denver on Sunday afternoon. Honestly, two wins out of those three would be a miracle considering LA and Denver are the West's two best teams and the Blazers are fighting for a playoff spot.

Eddie House will tell you when he's had enough

I don't think I've ever seen a shooter in the NBA as hot as Eddie House is right now.

He had a season-high 28 points last night, including a blistering 8-of-9 on 3-pointers as the Boston Celtics put away the Sacramento Kings, 119-100 at the Garden for its ninth straight win.

In three of his last four games, he's combined to shoot 22-of-31 on threes. He's making a late case to be included in the 3-point shootout at the All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.

The Celts (38-9) actually started out slowly as the Kings (10-37) hit 10 of its first 11 shots from the field. No problem though as Sacramento led 30-28 after the first and Boston came back with a 40-19 second quarter sparked by House's in the zone shooting.

The third quarter (29-24 Kings) and fourth, 27-22 Celtics were just semantics as the second quarter was enough to put away the NBA's second-worst team (I'm looking at you Wizards).

Besides House, the other revelation during the win streak has been the much-improved play of the Boston bench. Tony Allen returned last night and had 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists. Glen Davis also added 14 points.

Rajon Rondo also stated his case for a spot in Phoenix, in the All-Star game, by scoring 24 points and dishing out nine assists. Kevin Garnett had 14 points, eight boards and five assists while Ray Allen notched 12 points. Paul Pierce was held to eight points and eight assists.

John Salmons led the Kings with 22 points while impressive rookie Jason Thompson had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Martin scored 18 points, Bobby Brown (the other one) had 13 points off the bench and Brad Miller posted 11 points in the loss.

For the game, the C's shot 55.0% to Sacramento's 44.0%. They also had seven more rebounds (40-33) and 12 more assists (30-18). Finally, the Celts had nine steals to the Kings' two.

Boston hits the road tomorrow night to face the struggling Detroit Pistons.

Was there any doubt?

After consecutive losses for the first time this season, what NBA fan didn't know the Boston Celtics would make quick work of the Sacramento Kings last night at Arco Arena?

A 108-63 humiliation was just what the doctor (Rivers) ordered as the C's put the bad taste out of their collective mouths.

Boston (28-4) got solid production throughout the lineup and was able to sit the starting five for much of the second half.

KG continued his hot shooting (10 of 11) as he led the Celts with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Ray Allen had 19 points and Eddie House added 15 off the bench. Paul Pierce scored 13 and Kendrick Perkins looked good in his return (7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks) after missing the Warrriors game.

The Kings (7-24) are a complete mess as John Salmons was the only double-digit scorer with 11 points.

Boston figures to have much more of a challenge as they travel to Portland tomorrow night in their West Coast finale to take on Brandon Roy and the improving Blazers.

A Tale of Two Quarters

Let's face facts people, the Sacramento Kings (without Kevin Martin or Mike Bibby) could play the Boston Celtics 100 times this season and they might lose 99 of them.

Without those two guys, Boston just has way too much talent for the Kings. This was illustrated by last night's ugly 89-69 win by the Celtics in Sacramento. The C's only had to play two good quarters (the second quarter was exceptional) to beat the Kings by 20.

The win was Boston's first in over 11 years in Sac-town and also a great way to kick off its four games in five nights West Coast trip.

Both teams struggled to find the basket in the first quarter as the Celts held a tight 18-16 lead after one. In the second quarter, the theme of crazy runs began. Boston had an 11-0 spurt to start the quarter and eventually found themselves in the midst of a 33-5 run before halftime. As a reward, Boston (23-3) carried its largest lead of the season-24-into the half (53-29).

Roles reversed in the third quarter as the Kings kept scoring and Boston couldn't buy a bucket. The Kings (11-16) valiantly cut it to five early in the fourth but it takes way too much energy to come back from a hole that big. NBA announcers like to say ad nauseum that in the NBA everybody makes a run but you have to admit it's true. Of course it also helps when you're up as much as Boston was, therefore you can play like garbage for a quarter and change and still roll.

Ray Allen led the way for Boston with 17 points, three steals and three rebounds. Paul Pierce added 16 points, six assists and four rebounds while Kevin Garnett (14 points, 10 boards), Rajon Rondo (13 points, 4 boards, 4 steals, 3 assists) and James Posey (11 points, 6 rebounds) all played well at times. Eddie House notched nine points off the bench.

Three-pointers were one of the main reasons for the big margin of victory since the Celtics hit 11 of 22 while the Kings mustered 2 of 15. The Celts only shot 40.8% overall but they held the Kings to their lowest point total of the season, as they were 38.2%. The Celts continued to exhibit many staples of winning teams-outrebounding Sacramento 45-36- and sharing the basketball-19 assists.

Ron Artest was the high-scorer for the Kings with 15 points while John Salmons (13) and Francisco Garcia (12) were the only other players in double figures. Brad Miller had seven points and 11 rebounds as he's quickly fallen off the NBA map.

Tonight Ray Allen returns to Seattle as the Celtics take on the Sonics, in a 10:30 game on TNT. It should be an emotional night for Sugar Ray as he returns to the team where he became a star, albeit in anonymity. It'll be strange to see Wally and Delonte West in Seattle uniforms since they were big parts of the disaster that was the Celtics the last few seasons.

The Sonics are extremely young and they give up 105 points a game so look for the Celtics to put up a three digit number and coast to a win.

Big Baby eats two Kings and helps Celts stay unbeaten at home

A sign that this Celtics team is good: you already expect wins most nights they play. Boston improved to 18-2 (best record in the NBA) last night with a 90-78 win over the Sacramento Kings at the Garden. The Celts also saw their home record go to 11-0.

Paul Pierce led the way with a game-high 26 points, six boards, four assists and two steals. Kendrick Perkins was out because he dropped his bed on his toe the other day. Uh OK. Anyways, in his place rookie Glen Davis got his first NBA start and didn't disappoint as he notched 16 points (including 10 of 10 from the free throw line) and nine rebounds. Ray Allen is still struggling to find his shot but he added 15 points, including two key back-to-back threes in the third when the Celts started to put the Kings away. Kevin Garnett had a very quiet night with 11 points and six rebounds while James Posey and Eddie House both scored eight.

The Kings are nowhere near the halcyon days of C-Webb, Bibby, Christie and Vlade. Their top scorer is Kevin Martin but he's currently out with a groin problem. Bibby is also out with an ankle injury. In their place, Ron Artest is the leader which quite obviously is never a winning formula (in either basketball or the music industry).

Ron Ron and point guard Beno Udrih led the Kings with 16 points each. Brad Miller added 14 points and seven boards.

The Celts jumped out a 25-17 lead after the first quarter and all things pointed to a blowout. The Kings though played well in the second quarter and actually led the C's by one (45-44) going into the half.

The teams reverted back to form in the second half as the assorted bums on the Kings (Mikki Moore, Francisco Garcia, John Salmons) started to brick shots while the Celts played good defense and made their shots.

The story of the game was the free throw line. The C's made a ridiculous 30-32 at the line to the Kings meager 11-12 total. Sacramento was content to take jumpers and the Celtics kept driving to the hole. It wasn't a classic game by any means but Boston did enough to overcome a sluggish start and a bad overall shooting night (39.1% as a team).

Boston looks to stay hot as they host the Bucks tomorrow night. Outside of Michael Redd there is nobody on the Bucks that scares you in the least bit.