Do You Remember that the Celtics are Still a Thing?

Since they have made a million trades in the last few months and seemingly lost about every game in between, you are forgiven if like me you have totally tuned out the Celtics this miserable campaign. However, with the NHL All-Star break starting and over a week before Super Bowl 49, we were forced to turn our lonely eyes to the C's tonight as they visited the Blazers at Moda Center.

LaMarcus Aldridge is out for 6-8 weeks with torn ligaments in his thumb and Portland (31-13 overall, 19-5 home) clearly misses him as they lost a heartbreaker 90-89 to Boston (14-26 overall, 5-13 away) on Evan Turner's (10 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) last-second three-pointer. Normally I would be mad at the C's for winning since that is totally irrelevant to their tanking cause this season but honestly, for once it was nice to be treated to a totally unexpected and exciting win against one of the best teams in the NBA.

Brandon Bass (13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) started for the first time in ages and made the most of it. Avery Bradley led the Celts with 18 points while Jared Sullinger added 17 points and nine rebounds. Old man Tayshaun Prince and Marcus Thornton each scored nine points off the bench for Boston. Did I mention this was their first road win against a Western Conference team since Nov. 2013? Haha how is that even possible?

Damian Lillard (21 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds) has quickly become one of the top players in the league but he struggled with his shot (8 for 23) against that vaunted Celtics defense. Free-Agent-to-be Wesley Matthews scored 18 points while caveman Chris Kaman had 13 points and nine rebounds. Former Brewster Academy star Thomas Robinson got the rare start in Aldridge's place (Sideshow Bob, I mean Robin Lopez was also out with an injury) and put up nine points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals with C.J. McCollum scoring 10 points off Portland's bench.

Boston led 23-19 after the first quarter which was cute enough then it started to get a bit more real with a 44-42 halftime lead. Portland outscored the C's 30-23 in the third quarter so naturally, I thought well that's it. That's when the Celts proceeded to grind out a 23-17 fourth quarter. This result has to be especially gratifying for head coach Brad Stevens since it proves that his team is still playing hard and listening to him even though they have so little talent. Again, it's one game but this also shows positive traits about many of these players who are fighting for their NBA futures either here or somewhere else.

Portland came in with the best home record in the NBA but Boston shot 45.3% from the field and held them to 37.1%. The Celtics grabbed two more rebounds (47-45) and dished out seven more assists (23-16).

This was the beginning of an insane four games in five nights stretch for Boston. Their season-long six-game road trip started with a loss to the Clippers on Monday (102-93) and it continues tomorrow (9, CSN) in Denver (18-24 overall, 3rd in Northwest Division). From there, the Celtics go to Golden State on Sunday (8, CSN), Utah on Monday (9, CSN) and they wrap things up on Wednesday in Minnesota (8, CSN).

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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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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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