Hope You're Taking Notes Because Danny Ainge Is Crushing It This Summer

I honestly don't think this summer could realistically be going much better for the Celtics.

With little money and few roster spots available, Boston has re-signed Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox and Jeff Green while also adding Jason Terry. The only notable player to leave has been Ray Allen so I think you have to say that the team has improved immeasurably thus far since Wilcox and Green didn't appear in the playoffs (in Green's case all season).

Today, the C's acquired guard Courtney Lee from the Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal; Houston gets guard E'Twaun Moore, forward JaJuan Johnson and forward Sean Williams. In addition, swingman Sasha Pavlovic was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers along with two second-round picks and cash considerations.

Lee gets a four-year deal worth $21.5 million according to Yahoo! Sports.

With Avery Bradley expected out for training camp and the beginning of next season, Lee will likely start at least until Bradley returns. That shouldn't be a problem since Lee has started nearly half (135 of 287) of the games he's played in his four NBA seasons.

A first-round pick in 2008 by Orlando (22nd overall) out of Western Kentucky, Lee went to the NBA Finals in his rookie season yet he was traded to the Nets before the next season. After one year with the Nets, he's spent the last two in Houston. I can't explain why he's been on three teams in four years since as far as I know, he's not a headcase or anything. All I can surmise is that it means he is coveted by other teams so for whatever reason, he keeps getting moved.

In 2011-12 with the Rockets, Lee averaged 11.4 points per game, 1.2 steals, 83% from the free throw line, 40% on 3-pointers and 43% from the field in 58 games (26 starts). His best individual season was 2009-10 with the Nets. In 71 games (66 starts), he put up 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 87% on free throws and 43% from the field.

Lee is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds so he's able to check the bigger shooting guards in the NBA without many problems. When you combine him with Bradley and Terry, you sense that will be one of the Celtics' biggest strengths next season.

Moore was having a good summer with Boston's summer league squad but he's not a true point guard so he faced an uphill battle to get any playing time behind Rajon Rondo. Johnson was a first-round pick in 2011 so he's the guy that could potentially do something in Houston or elsewhere (I read he'd request a trade from there). He barely played in his rookie season and he didn't do anything really this summer. Johnson is very skinny so he doesn't really have a position despite being 6-foot-10. He seems like a nice kid so hopefully he can find his game at some point, he was a great college player at Purdue.

As for Williams, there was no way he would return to the Celtics. He is awful and won't be in the NBA in a year. Ditto for Sasha, he wouldn't have made the team with this infusion of talent since he barely played last season.

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Celtics Beat The Heat For The Third Time In April

Hey, did you ever wonder how the Celtics (minus Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen & Rajon Rondo) would do against the Heat (without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh)? Me neither but that dumpster fire happened tonight at TD Garden with Boston (38-27, 23-9 home) prevailing 78-66 over Miami (46-19, 18-14 away).

All you need to know about this mostly meaningless game, the second to last one of the regular season, was that Sasha Pavlovic was the game's leading scorer with 16 points. Marquis Daniels (13 points) was the other Celtic to score in double figures. Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley all had eight points while Keyon Dooling and E'Twaun Moore scored seven apiece.

For the Heat, former blob Dexter Pittman had 12 points and James Jones put up 11 off the bench. Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers both scored eight points as well.

I could quibble with why Pierce played tonight (only 18 minutes) but that would make my head hurt too much. My only rationale is that he'll sit out the regular season finale on Thursday against Milwaukee while maybe KG and Rondo will get some run.

The only reason that the Bucks game deserves any mention is that the Celts are only one game behind Atlanta going into their final contests. The Hawks (39-36) host the Mavericks on Thursday night. If Boston wins and Atlanta loses, the C's will have home-court since they own the tiebreaker. Otherwise, they'll have to start their first round series in the ATL.

Tonight and Thursday will serve as a reminder why nobody pays attention to NBA preseason games, they're brutal. Bring on the playoffs!

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After Winning In Miami, The Celtics Are Absolutely A Contender In The Eastern Conference

For the second time in nine days, the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in convincing fashion.

What made tonight even better was that the Celts (33-24, 13-15 away) went down to American Airlines Arena-where the Heat (40-16) were 24-3-and topped them 115-107.

It's one thing to blow out a team on your home court (91-72 on April Fool's Day at TD Garden), a common occurrence in the NBA, but it's another to pick up your biggest win of the season on the road against a true NBA Finals contender and a team that lost in the Finals last season. Boston has won eight of its last 10 games and sports a 4-2 mark after an insanely difficult stretch of games.

For whatever reason, these teams appear to be going in opposite directions with the playoffs just a few weeks away. Boston is 18-7 since the All-Star break while Miami is 13-9 in that same time period. I can't explain why (maybe cause it's truly their last title push?) but Kevin Garnett (24 points, 9 rebounds) and Paul Pierce (27 points, 7 rebounds) have been particularly sharp during that run.

It also helps that Rajon Rondo (18 points, 15 assists) is racking up the assists. He reached double-figures in assists for the 18th straight game. Hell, he's even taking and making numerous jump shots now. Brandon Bass had the other double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Avery Bradley scored 11.

Only three guys played off the Celtics bench but they still combined to outscore Miami's five substitutes 23-16. Ray Allen had nine points, Greg Stiemsma put up eight points and seven rebounds while Sasha Pavlovic added six points.

LeBron James (36 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) was a beast for the Heat but Dwyane Wade (20 points) wasn't himself and Chris Bosh (13 points, 9 rebounds) continues to disappear against KG and/or in a meaningful contest. Mario Chalmers scored 18 points for Miami, who led by six early in the first quarter but were forced to play from behind the rest of the way.

The numbers in the box score tell the whole story: Boston shot 60.6% from the floor, 64.3% (9 of 14) on 3-pointers and 80% (20/25) from the free throw line. You'll never lose with a complete shooting performance like that. We all know that the Celtics can hit shots but they also pulled down six more rebounds than the Heat (40-34) and dished out four more assists (23-19).

Really the whole key to the game was that the C's got off to a hot start, leading 33-22 after the first quarter. However, unlike earlier in the season, they didn't let it get away. Sure, the Heat made the NBA-sanctioned comeback but every time it looked like Miami would take control, the Celts would hit a big shot or make a play. It was uncanny.

Boston was up by as much as 18 points in the second quarter before Miami cut it to 65-57 at halftime thanks to a LeBron 3-pointer at the buzzer. Still, it was the most points the Heat had given up in a first half all season. The two teams mirrored each other with 24 points in third quarter and 26 in the fourth quarter.

Miami will get one more chance to prove that Boston isn't in their heads (Celts lead the season series 2-1) as they face the Celtics in the penultimate regular season game on April 24 at the Garden. Until then, I will say that the Celts should have nothing to fear if they meet the Heat in the playoffs; they look like a better all-around team at the moment.

There's no time to celebrate this victory though as the C's are back at the Garden tomorrow night to face the Atlanta Hawks. Boston won 79-76 on March 19 in an ugly but satisfying win in Atlanta.

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Sam Bowie Must Be Rolling Over In His Grave

If you were lucky enough to score a ticket to tonight's Harlem Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals game at TD Garden, you must have had a blast.

Wait, that was an NBA game? After getting brutally pummeled in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the Boston Celtics (21-18) returned the favor by embarrassing the Portland Trail Blazers (19-21) 104-86.

The final score doesn't do it justice since the C's led by 43 (!) points midway through the third quarter (81-38). Boston scored its most first half points of the season (65) while holding an opponent to its lowest total (30).

It was the perfect way to send the Green out on their marathon eight-game road trip with a game that featured their most steals in a game (14) this season thanks to an NBA-high 28 turnovers by the Blazers.

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce each had 22 points in 26 minutes. Kevin Garnett had 10 points and eight rebounds. Avery Bradley had 12 points and five assists off the bench and Sasha Pavlovic had what has to be a season-high with 10 points. Did I mention that Boston's two top substitutes Mickael Pietrus and Chris Wilcox didn't even suit up?

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 22 points. Wesley Matthews and Luke Babbitt both scored 10 points off the bench.

When it comes to NBA teams, it's hard to top the Blazers' misfortune: drafting Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan, likely career-ending injuries to Greg Oden and Brandon Roy, etc. The biggest shame of all is that their fan base is probably the most dedicated in the NBA and they have the best home court advantage mostly due to them.

For the second game in a row, the C's ensured that we didn't have to watch much to know exactly what would happen. During championship week, I can't thank them enough for that.

I promise to come out of my NCAA Basketball cocoon for a few hours on Sunday as the Celtics begin their West Coast portion of their trip in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 88-87 Feb. 9 in overtime at the Garden so the Celts will be looking for revenge in their only other regular season meeting. Yes it's certainly not what it was a few years ago but Celtics-Lakers still means plenty.

Anything .500 or better on this trip, which overlaps with the trade deadline (March 15), would be a dream. The Celtics face the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Kings, Nuggets, Hawks, Bucks and Sixers. Their next home game isn't until March 25 vs. Washington. This could get very ugly, especially because Boston is 5-10 so far on the road.

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Orlando Celebrates Big Baby & Von Wafer's Return to Boston By Scoring A Franchise-Low 56 Points

The Boston Celtics only had 10 players available tonight as they hosted the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. A whopping five (Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling and Chris Wilcox) Celtics missed the game due to various injuries.

The Magic (11-5) came in as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conferences and an early surprise in the NBA. In Glen Davis and more importantly Von Wafer's return to Boston, the Celts (7-9) won 87-56 as the Magic did their best to spit on James Naismith's grave.

It was Boston's first win against a .500 team plus it was in the second night of a back-to-back, truly one of the most surprising results in recent Boston sports history.

Orlando set a new franchise record for fewest points in a game, worst shooting percentage (24.6%), fewest points in a half (20 in the 2nd) and total field goals (16). Dwight Howard (18 points, 14 rebounds) was 4 of 15 from the floor and 10 of 18 from the foul line. As far as I can tell, he still hasn't developed any kind of post game that doesn't involve dunks or awkward spin moves that don't work. Well at least he's cleaned up his free throws, oh wait.

Big Baby got a video montage dedicated to him and he proceeded to have a horrid game: six points (2 of 9 shooting) and 11 rebounds off the bench. Wafer had five points off the bench.

Avery Bradley and Sasha Pavlovic (9 points) will be able to tell their grandkids that not only did they start a game for the Celts but they also helped to beat one of the most overrated teams in not only the NBA but professional sports. Orlando hasn't changed their style at all the last few years: surround Howard with a bunch of one-dimensional 3-point shooters. The issue is that when those 3s aren't falling (4 of 16), they have nobody that can drive and get to the line (or in Howard's case, make free throws).

Paul Pierce had another solid game with 19 points and seven assists. Kevin Garnett added 14 points, 10 rebounds and five steals while Jermaine O'Neal had nine rebounds and took three charges. Ex-Magic forward Brandon Bass had 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Marquis Daniels finally looked like himself with eight points and five assists.

Boston shot 42.3% from the field and hit all 19 of its free throws. The Celts grabbed two more rebounds (46-44), had nine more assists (21-12), eight more steals (13-5), three more blocks (9-6) and eight less turnovers (23-15). The C's owned fast break points (11-4), points in the paint (34-16) and points off turnovers (24-6).

In a weird scheduling quirk, these same teams meet again on Thursday in Orlando. I'm going to guess that the Magic will score a few more points the second time around. There is absolutely no way that Orlando can play worse so I'll be impressed if Boston can beat them again in the second of three meetings this season.

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Celtics On The Verge Of A Big Move Involving A Hornet Not Named Chris Paul

As expected, it is hard to keep up with all the moves in the NBA now that training camps and free agency are officially underway for the shortened 2011-12 season.

Even the Boston Celtics are overhauling their roster when that appeared almost impossible as the Rajon Rondo for Chris Paul deal fell through. On the heels of the Glen Davis for Brandon Bass swap, the signings of Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling (which I wrote about yesterday), the C's also inked free agent forward Chris Wilcox along with forward/center Greg Stiemsma.

They resigned Jeff Green to a one-year deal ($5.9 million is what they offered before the lockout) while rookies JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore also got one-year contracts.

The big news broke late tonight though as Yahoo reported that the Celtics are very close to doing a sign-and-trade that would send Jermaine O'Neal and a second player to New Orleans for David West. Yes he's 31 and coming off ACL surgery but that would be a steal for Boston since the former All-Star would have been one of the top free agents on the market before suffering the injury.

If it happens, West could sign a three-year deal worth between $27-29 million with the Celts. All Boston would need was a half decent center and they will be a contender in the Eastern Conference once again.

Stay tuned, I'm sure much more developments will occur with the possible David West deal tomorrow.

Like Dooling, Wilcox is a former lottery pick (8th pick by the Clippers, 2002) that has been something close to a bust. He's played for five teams (Clippers, Sonics, Knicks, Thunder, Pistons) and strangely enough, the only time he averaged in double-figures was the three in Seattle (14.1 ppg, 13.5 and 13.4). Last season in Detroit, he put up 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. For his career, he averages 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field and 64% from the free throw line.

It should tell you something that I had never heard of this Stiemsma character before today. Haha he doesn't even have a player profile on ESPN.com. Free agent big guys Michael Sweetney and Jamal Sampson were also expected in camp with rookie guard Gilbert Brown but as of tonight, none of them had shown up yet.

UPDATE 12/10: Green's deal is reportedly for one-year, $9 million dollars (twice what he made last season). If he stays with Boston and doesn't get traded, he needs to show much more of the ability that he had in Oklahoma City. For most of his short time in Boston last season, he looked lost.

UPDATE 12/11: Ok well it turns out that getting David West was all a dream (with respect to Biggie). Today, he signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Indiana Pacers. Why? I'm not quite sure, they'll never be better than average in the next few seasons. Are they really an upgrade over New Orleans?

The Celtics will reportedly re-sign swingman Sasha Pavlovic. He basically didn't do anything in 17 games during the regular season last year and then didn't play in the playoffs. He'll be stuck behind Paul Pierce, Green and Daniels.

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