His gross thinning hair could use a trim but Nenad Krstic can play for me any day

Listen, I love Kendrick Perkins but as I made abundantly clear in the aftermath of his trade to Oklahoma City, it was time to let the trade pan out before we make any conclusions.

That is still true, nothing will be settled until at least the playoffs when we see Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green play in games that really count. However, can we at least admit already that Krstic is way better than we all thought? Plus, Green's potential is huge with Rondo in his life and the unselfish ways of the Big Three.

The Celts (46-15) won their fifth straight, 89-83 over the Bucks (23-38) last night at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Krstic had 17 points and Green added 11 points off the bench as Boston continued to survive despite a severe lack of healthy bodies (nine players dressed last night).

The Bucks have injury problems of their own, most notably with Andrew Bogut's large frame parked on the bench. As currently constituted, they're not very good but Brandon Jennings (23 points, six rebounds, five assists) is never an easy matchup when his shot is falling.

Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Kevin Garnett posted 14 points, 11 rebounds and three steals while Ray Allen notched 13 points in his return to his first NBA home (which nobody remembers). Rajon Rondo was held in check by Jennings as he only managed six points, eight assists but eight turnovers. No problem, Pitbull, I mean Carlos Arroyo was signed over the weekend.

The game wasn't sealed until there was less than 30 seconds left in the fourth. KG swatted a layup by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (19 points), Paul Pierce converted an And-1 off an inbounds play (haha really) and that was it.

John Salmons (11 points) was the only other Buck in double figures for the offensively-challenged team.

Boston led 27-26 after the first quarter but Milwaukee found itself up 49-43 at halftime. The Celts woke up in the third quarter (26-16) and the defense won them this one with a strong fourth quarter (20-18).

Sasha Pavlovic memorably airballed his first shot as a Celtic but he made up for it with a big 3-pointer in the fourth. Troy Murphy is still looking for his first basket, all he's made is three free throws so far.

The Cs shot 51.5% to 41.3% for the Bucks. Milwaukee made three more 3-pointers (8-5) and grabbed six more rebounds (39-33). Boston dished out three more assists (23-20).

Delonte West could be back on Wednesday and Arroyo is expected in uniform when the Celtics host the Los Angeles Clippers at TD Garden.

All good things must come to an end, Bruins style

As much as I might dream about it, the Boston Bruins were bound to lose a game at some point after they had won seven straight entering last night vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The fact that they lost 3-2 to the scrappy Penguins (38-21-8) wasn't surprising in the least bit. However, it's the Bruins (38-19-8) so they have to remind you that they do losing like nobody else.

With goaltender Tim Thomas (36 saves; 29-8-7) pulled for an extra attacker, David Krejci tied it up with 33 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime. It was Krejci's 10th of the season and it was the result of beautiful triangular passing from Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton.

All that joy was quickly curtailed as Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg had an unforgivable giveaway in his own zone that led to Dustin Jeffrey's second goal of the game, unassisted and 1:52 into overtime.

The Bruins still got a point out of the game but they didn't really deserve it. With the Flyers loss yesterday, Boston had a chance to pull within one point of Philly.

Yet there seemed to be no urgency from the Black and Gold as they were continually pushed around by the Penguins who are without Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. The best way to describe Pittsburgh is that they're annoying to play against. They win all the one-on-one battles, they play with an edge and they seem content to do whatever it takes to win since they know they're missing their top-end talent at the moment.

Zdeno Chara gave the Bs a 1-0 lead in the second period, assists to Krejci and Lucic on the captain's 11th of the season. It came at 7:26 as he took a nifty backhand feed from Krejci, stepped into a soft part of the Pens' defense and snapped a shot over Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's (29 saves) shoulder.

The Penguins quickly responded as Jordan Staal tied it up at 10:09 with assists from Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke. The play started since Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk got caught too far up ice when he tried to keep the puck in Pittsburgh's zone.

Jeffrey made it 2-1 at 11:19 of the second period when his quick release got under Thomas' leg pads. Maxime Talbot and Zbynek Michalek had the assists.

Patrice Bergeron was home in Canada dealing with some family issues and his two-way game was missed although Rich Peverley looked solid in his spot. Steve Kampfer is expected out at least for the next week as he gets over his mild concussion and Andrew Ference is still shelved with a lower body injury. Matt Bartkowski got his third call up of the season, ironically all against his hometown Penguins. Haven't seen enough of him yet to form much of an opinion.

The Bruins will need to regroup ahead of what's always an emotional game: at Montreal on Tuesday. Last time those teams met, it was the 8-6 bonkers win for Boston. Who knows what will happen next with the ancient rivals?

Jeff Green shows why he was a steal in the Perkins trade, hope the haters were watching

It only took a few games for Jeff Green to prove why he'll be a big part of the Boston Celtics and that dreaded time when the Big Three are old and grey (retired).

Green had 21 points off the bench last night as the Celts (45-15) held off the Golden State Warriors (27-34) 107-103 at TD Garden.

Normally, an offensive explosion against the Warriors isn't newsworthy since I'm pretty sure I could drop like ten on them but even the haters had to be impressed by the variety of ways Green can score. He can get out and run on the fastbreak, he can pull up and hit jump shots and he's a good free throw shooter.

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen both scored 27 points while Rajon Rondo handed out 16 assists and had five steals. Nenad Krstic added 11 points.

Monta Ellis showed why he's the NBA's best pure scorer as he put up 41 points while David Lee added 26 points and 12 rebounds. It was pretty much a two-man game though since Dorell Wright (11 points) was the only other Warrior in double figures.

Boston was up 32-27 after the first quarter and 64-53 at halftime. Golden State never went away as they outscored the Cs 28-24 in the third 22-19 in the fourth.

For the game, the Celts shot 53.4% to 47.6% for the Warriors. Boston hit two more 3-pointers (7-5) thanks to Allen (5 3-pointers) and four more free throws (22-18). Golden State grabbed 11 more rebounds (39-28) but Boston had nine more assists (26-17).

The Cs hit the road to face the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night. I'm pretty sure those teams haven't played yet this season. The Bucks are not playing well and it looks like they'll miss the playoffs so the Celtics should handle them.

Bruins win seventh straight, vault to second in Eastern Conference

The Boston Bruins are clicking on all cylinders right now. It makes you wish that the regular season would fast forward and the playoffs could start like this weekend.

The Bs won their seventh straight game last night, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden, and with the two points they jumped over Tampa Bay into second place in the Eastern Conference.

Boston (38-19-7) is now only three points behind top-seed Philadelphia and they've proven that they can play any style of game and usually come out on top: high-scoring, low-scoring, chippy, filled with fights. It doesn't matter what you throw at them at the moment, the Bruins are the NHL's hottest team.

The Lightning (37-20-7) scored first as defenseman Eric Brewer found the back of the net at 4:04 of the second period, assisted by Blair Jones and Steve Downie.

However, it only took 2:02 for Bruins rookie defenseman Steve Kampfer to tie it up with a seeing-eye slap shot from the point. Kampfer's fifth goal of the season was assisted by Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley.

It doesn't seem to be their way at all since they're a finesse team but Tampa Bay tried to push the Bruins around which ended rather comically. Shawn Thornton and Downie got game misconducts in the second period and Milan Lucic dropped the gloves with Brewer.

Throughout the contest, the Lightning exhibited a Canadiens-like tendency to fall, trip, turtle and basically employ every cheap trick in the book. Even good guy Martin St. Louis stuck his skate out which propelled Mark Recchi into Tampa Bay's net. Strange.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (27 saves; 29-8-6) and Lightning backup Mike Smith (26 saves) both played well and it looked like we were headed to overtime.

That was until Lucic chipped in a bad-angle shot at 16:18 of the third period for the game-winner, his 28th of the season. Linemates David Krejci and Nathan Horton assisted and got in Smith's way on the goal. There was a pile of bodies in Tampa Bay's crease and the puck popped out. Lucic got to it first and threw the shot on net which turned out to be the difference.

Lucic deserved it after he had had the post earlier in the game. Lightning superstar Steve Stamkos also had a shot rattle off the post and then right to Thomas.

Kampfer left the game with a mild concussion so he'll probably miss a few games.

Boston hosts Pittsburgh tomorrow night as they try to grab their eighth consecutive win against the Penguins who will be without the injured Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

KG will punch you in the balls then a month later beat you on the scoreboard

I guess I've been hanging with Charlie Sheen too much lately (WINNING!) since I somehow forgot in my last Celtics blog post that the Suns had beaten them three out of the last four times they had played.

Oh well, last night was the same old Phoenix Suns that I remember as the Boston Celtics rolled them 115-103 in a chippy, weird game at the TD Garden.

It was Troy Murphy's debut for the Celts (44-15) but he only put up one point and two rebounds. Fear not though, Sasha Pavlovic is on the way!

Boston led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter before Phoenix (31-28) cut it to as few as eight points but that was as close as their bench could get them.

From their last meeting in late January (a Suns blowout), Kevin Garnett had some unsettled beef with Channing Frye. Don't ask me why since KG was the one that punched him in the balls and got tossed from that game. He might be old but if you get Garnett riled up like that and you're a marginal player, look out. He put up a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds, shooting 12 of 14 with three assists and two blocks.

Ray Allen had 19 points, Rajon Rondo put up 16 points and 15 assists with five rebounds and three steals. Paul Pierce scored 16 points with 13 rebounds and Nenad Krstic had 13 points as continues to prove his worth offensively.

Glen Davis had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench but he left the game with a minute left after coming down awkwardly on his left knee following a dunk. Boston can't afford another injury, especially to their best bench player.

The Suns' starters were awful as only Grant Hill and Vince Carter scored in double figures (both had 11 points). Phoenix's performance can be summed up by Carter and Frye knocking heads in the third quarter (down 29) and both being out for the rest of the game. What a mess.

Phoenix's bench looked great and it makes you wonder why Suns coach Alvin Gentry doesn't play some of these young guys more. Aaron Brooks scored 17 points with seven assists, former BC star Jared Dudley put up 15 points while Marcin Gortat had 13 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Why in the world does Robin Lopez (6 points, 4 rebounds) start over Gortat? Mickael Pietrus added 11 points.

It'll be another track meet tomorrow night as the Celtics host the Golden State Warriors. Boston tore apart Golden State last week on their West Coast trip and it promises to be more of the same tomorrow night at home where they play particularly well.

Bruins polish off 6-0-0 road trip by blanking the Senators

Seconds after the Boston Bruins had hung on for a 1-0 win last night at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place, a remarkable graphic popped up on the screen: the last time Boston went a perfect 6-0-0 on a road trip was in 1972.

As any true Black and Gold fan could tell you, that happened to be the last time this luckless franchise won a Stanley Cup. So yeah, last night's victory was rather important.

Boston (37-19-7) extended their season-high win streak to six games while goaltender Tuukka Rask (33 saves; 9-11-1) won his fourth start in a row. After struggling for much of the season and not being able to get a rhythm thanks to Tim Thomas' otherworldly play, Rask and the Bs have found a perfect balance for their two studs between the pipes.

Nathan Horton scored his 18th goal of the season (and third in three games) at 1:43 in the third period. Assists went to Brad Marchand and Adam McQuaid. Patrice Bergeron started the sequence by controlling the puck behind Ottawa's (21-33-9) net before dishing it back to McQuaid. Marchand tipped McQuaid's shot and Horton was able to win the scramble in front for the game-winner.

Predictably in the last game of a wildly successful road trip, the Bruins were largely outplayed by the Senators who fielded a team of AHL callups with frankly nothing to lose. Ottawa outshot Boston 33-21 for the game and in each period but in the end, it didn't matter.

The Senators had a flurry of near goals in the third period that had NESN's Kathryn Tappen going nuts in studio but Rask and his defense refused to allow the tying strike.

With the win, Boston moves into a tie for second in the Eastern Conference with Tampa Bay (five points behind the Flyers). Interestingly enough, the Bruins and Lightning face off tomorrow night at the TD Garden.

The second seed is vital cause it means the Bruins would face teams like the Rangers, Hurricanes or Sabres who are all a notch below the No. 6 team-Montreal.

Poor Big Al, he'll never be on a good team

You have to feel bad for former Celtics teenager Al Jefferson. He's had a nice NBA career but unfortunately he has bounced around from bad team (Minnesota Timberwolves) to now rebuilding team (Utah Jazz) and it appears like barring a trade or something drastic, he'll never be on a contender which is a shame.

The Boston Celtics finished their emotional West Coast trip 3-1 with a 107-102 win last night at EnergySolutions Arena over the Jazz.

Jefferson had a game-high 28 points and 19 rebounds with two blocks but it wasn't enough as Utah (32-29) missed its closer-Deron Williams-who is now rotting away (like everything else) in Newark, N.J.

New guy Devin Harris (19 points) was good but he's no Deron Williams. Andrei Kirilenko sporting his latest unique brand of a Eurotrash hairstyle added 18 points while Paul Millsap had 17 points.

The Jazz have great fans but you have to wonder if former coach Jerry Sloan is even watching this mess anymore or is he driving around aimlessly on a tractor somewhere in the sticks?

All five Celtics (43-15) starters scored in double figures led by Ray Allen (25 points). With Tommy Heinsohn sitting in the CSNE studios and Bill Walton riding his spaceship back in San Diego, Allen's BFF Donnie Marshall was left to fill in on play by play duties. I can't remember hearing a pro announcer getting more excited over a regular season game than Marshall was after Allen hit a clutch 3-pointer, "sniper!" It was pathetic and hilarious at the same time.

Paul Pierce had 21 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Garnett notched 16 points and 14 rebounds while Rajon Rondo put up 18 points and 11 assists. Oh and Nenad Krstic had 11 points and five rebounds.

Boston was up 30-21 after one quarter but Utah whittled it to 56-53 at halftime. The Celts held off the Jazz in the third quarter (23-22) and in the fourth (28-27) thanks to Allen's big shots.

One thing is clear which I never thought I'd say in a million years: the Celts desperately need Shaq in the lineup. With Perk gone, there is a huge void inside that can be taken advantage of by any decent post player.

Boston shot 47.6% to Utah's 44.9%. The Celtics made six more 3-pointers (7-1) but the Jazz hit nine more free throws (31-22) in the tightly called contest. Boston had one more rebound (42-41) and six more assists (22-16). The Cs made four more steals (9-5) but the Jazz had 12 more points in the paint (54-42) thanks to Jefferson and Millsap.

Some help is on the way as Troy Murphy has reportedly signed with Boston after getting bought out by the Golden State Warriors. He should provide size, rebounding and offense off the bench.

The Celtics return home (seems like they've been gone for months) tomorrow night when they host the Phoenix Suns. A team that they normally abuse but that they lost to in Phoenix a few weeks back in that weird KG punching Channing Frye in the balls game.