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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Glen Davis Traded For His More Muscular, Slightly Older & More Mentally Stable Equivalent

In a lot of ways, it is amazing that Glen Davis lasted four seasons in Boston with the Celtics. The goofy big man always seemed in the middle of controversy (punching his friend and breaking his hand, crying on the bench), mostly of his own doing.

After threatening to leave in free agency but having no teams appear to be very interested, the Celts took matters into their own hands today by dealing Big Baby and Von Wafer to the Orlando Magic. It's a sign and trade deal for fellow LSU product Brandon Bass.

Like most people, I enjoyed Davis while he was here but with a guy so up and down like that, you had to wonder how much longer he was going to be effective given all his issues. It also didn't help that he seemed to believe he was an NBA first-team caliber player.

Davis won an NBA title in 2008 during his rookie season, since then he's been a capable fill-in starter and a great player (scoring and rebounding plus drawing charges) off the bench. His weight (6-foot-9, 289 pounds) and fitness will always be an issue while Bass is a much more sculpted 6-foot-8, 240 pounds.

The similarities between him and Bass are endless. Not only did they both go to LSU, play the same position but they're both natives of Louisiana, second round picks (Bass in 2005 and Davis in 2007) with eerily similar numbers and ages (Davis turns 26 on New Year's Day, Bass is 27 in late April).

Last season, Bass started 51 games and averaged a career-high 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over 26.1 minutes. Davis averaged a career-high 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds over 29.5 minutes.

Bass signed a four-year, $16 million contract with Orlando in July 2009. He is due to make $4 million this season with a player option for the same amount next year.

For his career (two in New Orleans, two in Dallas and the last two in Orlando), Bass has averaged 7.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. He has shot 49.8% from the field and 83% from the free throw line.

Best of all, Bass has only had three career technical fouls and he's never been ejected. That demonstrates his maturity and professionalism, two things which Davis sorely lacks. In conclusion, this is a solid move for the Celtics. Good work Danny Ainge.

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Von Wafer Goes To Italy

Von Wafer, who played for the Boston Celtics in 2010-11 but is currently an unrestricted free agent, is headed to Italy to play for Venoli Cremona.

Wafer received the opt-out clause, meaning he'll be able to return stateside as soon as the NBA lockout ends.

He was one of the last guys off the bench last season, averaging 3.2 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists over 9.8 minutes per game. In total, he played in 58 games and actually seemed to be gaining more of a role late in the regular season before a calf injury affected his minutes in the playoffs.

From ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg
Last month, Wafer's agent, Terrance Doyle of the Veritas Venture Group, suggested his client would be interested in a return engagement with the Celtics.

"Von would love to be back [with Boston]," Doyle said of the 6-foot-5 swingman who has played for seven teams since being drafted by the Lakers in the second round (35th overall) of the 2005 draft. "He's never gotten that opportunity to go back with a team."

Wafer signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Celtics last August and fended off numerous charges at his roster spot and endured a locker room dust-up with teammate Delonte West to stick for the entire campaign. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge often voiced praise for Wafer and he would seemingly be a candidate to fill out the end of the Boston bench next season should the team need a depth swingman.

This will be Wafer's second voyage overseas. He chased an international payday following a breakout season with the Houston Rockets in 2009, but soon parted ways with Greek squad Olympiakos. After earning $915,852 on a minimum contract last season (and roughly $3 million in NBA contracts over six seasons), this overseas opportunity allows Wafer to earn some cash and keep sharp while waiting for the owners and players to work out a new collective bargaining agreement.

Venoli Cremona competes in Italy's Lega Serie A, the same highly regarded league that Celtics second-round draft pick E'Twaun Moore is set to join (Moore signed with Benetton Treviso last month).

Playing in Europe seems like a no-brainer for someone with Wafer's boarder line NBA skills. He'll get way more minutes than he ever will here in the NBA, travel across a foreign land and maybe earn a bigger pay day whenever the NBA decides to start things rolling again. Former NCAA players often star in Europe so you'd have to think that an NBA veteran would have a distinct advantage over his European opponents. I guess we shall see.

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Celtics tank game against the Wizards, setting up showdown with Knicks in 1st round of the playoffs

By sitting the Big Four, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers waved the white flag and admitted (without saying it) that his team was resigned to the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

The starting five of Jeff Green, Glen Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Delonte West and Von Wafer actually played pretty well last night but they still lost 95-94 in overtime to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

With the loss and Miami's win, Boston (55-26) clinched the No. 3 seed and also a first round meeting with the No. 6 New York Knicks.

Green led the Celts with 20 points and 15 rebounds, Davis had 20 points, O'Neal had 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks while West and Wafer both scored 11 points.

The main reason that the Big Four sat was to save their legs and prevent from injury. Unfortunately, West sprained his ankle in the third quarter and didn't return. If anyone deserves a break health-wise, it's D West. Poor guy has had to deal with a million different injuries this season. Not to mention, that's he's one of the only bench players Rivers can count on in the playoffs.

The Wizards (23-58) were led by John Wall's 24 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Crawford scored 17 points, Andray Blatche added 16 points and JaVale McGee managed 13 points.

Ironically, Boston closes the regular season with a contest tomorrow night at TD Garden vs. the Knicks. Talk about a meaningless game. You honestly couldn't pay me to go to that one.

Taking a cue from Rivers, I'm going to recharge my Celtics batteries and I'll be back for the playoffs. Looks like Game 1 will be Sunday at TD Garden. Should be a very entertaining series and I think the big-name opponent will help the Celts focus.

The Boston Celtics still own the Miami Cavaliers

There will absolutely never be a better time for LeBron James and the Miami Heat to knock off the Boston Celtics than yesterday afternoon.

The Celts are losing players seemingly daily and are just trying to hang on (one more game) until the All-Star break next weekend.

It was very ugly but Boston (39-14) came through with perhaps its biggest victory of the regular season over Miami (39-15), 85-82.

With the win, the Cs moved to 3-0 against the Heat this season. Boston vaulted ahead of Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference and these teams will only meet one more time (April 10 in South Beach) in the regular season. Gee, do you think they'll play each other in the playoffs?

Rajon Rondo led the Celts with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had 19 points. Kendrick Perkins notched 15 points and Ray Allen had 13 points.

With only two players that played significant minutes off the bench, Glen Davis (16 points) and Von Wafer (10 points) showed up in a big spot.

Chris Bosh paced the Heat with 24 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron added 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Dwyane Wade was held to 16 points.

Miami led 20-15 after the first quarter and 43-39 at the half as it looked like injuries and old legs would be an easy out for a poor performance.

However, Boston played outstanding in the third quarter (35-18) which enabled them to hold on for a rocky fourth (21-11 Miami).

LeBron had a chance to tie it with two free throws with 12 seconds left but he bricked the first one and made the second. Finally, Mike Miller (who is a great shooter) had a wide-open look on a 3-pointer but he missed it as time ran out.

Paul Pierce was 0-for-10 and only had one point but an MRI on his left foot today was negative, meaning he'll play on Wednesday when the Celtics host the New Jersey Nets. Delonte West is expected to return and hopefully, Boston can hold the fort before the Big Four and Doc Rivers head to LA for the All-Star festivities.

Perk returns as the Celtics eviscerate hapless Cavaliers

As long as they took care of business last night at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers (a nightmare of a team that had lost 17 in a row), the Boston Celtics would be able to punch in and check out on time in one of the most pointless contests of the regular season.

However, this largely meaningless exhibition took on plenty of meaning as right before game-time Twitter blew up with the surprise announcement that Celtics center Kendrick Perkins would return to the TD Garden parquet.

Riding the wave of emotion and momentum with their true center back, the Celts (34-10) rolled to an easy 112-95 win over Cleveland (8-37).

Semih Erden (8 rebounds) started but a few minutes into the game, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers put in Perk and he rightfully received a standing ovation. He only played 17 minutes but Perkins put up a respectable seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

Everybody knows that Perk's game is about defense, toughness and presence inside, things that usually don't pop out on a box score or in stat sheets. One of the great unknowns in Boston sports from the last decade is whether the Celtics would have won Game 6 in last season's NBA Finals or Game 7 with a healthy Perk.

Whatever the case, it was great to see him back and contributing. It was the first time this season that Boston's starting five was intact and it was thanks to Kendrick's remarkable rehabilitation from a torn ACL.

Other than Rajon Rondo (11 points, 10 assists, 4 assists), the rest of the Celtics veterans got to sit for much of the second half. Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Ray Allen added 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 10 points.

The cumulative effect of having a healthy starting five was that Boston's bench suddenly looks much more versatile and deep (funny how that works). Nate Robinson and Glen Davis both scored 11 points while Von Wafer had 10 points and Luke Harangody notched eight points.

Marquis Daniels was out due to a family emergency but he's expected back tomorrow night.

I would never say this but you almost have to feel bad for the Cavaliers. Yes, LeBron had the right to leave their miserable city but he really left the franchise in a bad place that will be tough to crawl out of for years.

A guy named Christian Eyenga (that I'd never heard of) led Cleveland with 15 points. Ramon Sessions added 14 points and seven assists, J.J. Hickson had 12 points and 17 rebounds while Antawn Jamison put up 11 points.

Manny Harris scored 14 points off the bench for the Cavs while Joey Graham and Samardo Samuels each had 10 points.

The Celtics depart for a tricky four-game West Coast trip beginning tomorrow night at Portland. After that they go to Phoenix on Friday, face the Lakers for the first time since the Finals on Sunday then end it in Sacramento on Tuesday. 3-1 is my hope but 2-2 is definitely possible.

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.

Von Wafer helps Celtics win an actual game

If you ever thought that Von Wafer - the last man on the Boston Celtics' bench - would ever do anything that would help them win a regular season game, you're either related to him or you're a lunatic.

However, that was the story last night as Wafter brought energy off the bench and his 10 points and six rebounds were crucial as the Celts (26-7) stole a game from the Minnesota Timberwolves (9-26), 96-93 at the TD Garden.

Led by rebounding machine Kevin Love (12 points, 24 rebounds - a Garden record), the Timberwolves were in control for most of the contest but some fourth quarter heroics by Paul Pierce (23 points), Ray Allen (20 points) and Glen Davis (17 points) allowed Boston to escape with the win.

Rajon Rondo was back to his old tricks with six points and 16 assists. He actually had the two biggest baskets for the Cs as well: a floater and a jumper in the last few minutes.

Minnesota got 19 points from Michael Beasley, 15 points from Martell Webster off the bench, 14 from Darko Milicic and 13 from Luke Ridnour.

The Timberwolves led 25-17 after one quarter and 47-43 at halftime. Boston inched closer with a decent third quarter (27-26) then won it in the fourth (26-20).

For the game, the Celts shot 45.1% to Minnesota's 41.7%. Thanks to Love's prowess, the Timberwolves had 15 more rebounds (45-30) but it was the same story in the assist department thanks to Rondo (22-16). Boston also had five more blocks (7-2) since Jermaine O'Neal had four (he's still good defensively), five less turnovers (15-10) and 12 more points in the paint (38-26).

Wednesday night is one of the marquee games of the NBA regular season even though I'm sure it won't get much hype. It pits the Western Conference's best team: the San Antonio Spurs against the East's best - Boston - at the TD Garden. It's hard to get excited about a regular season game but these teams only meet once or twice a season and they always seem to be great games.