Trailing By 17 Points, The Celtics Rallied For A 114-107 Win In Game 2 Vs. Nets & 2-0 Series Lead

 

    It took them awhile to get started as they trailed by nine points after the first quarter (33-24) and by 10 points at halftime (65-55) but when the dust settled on Game 2 of the first round tonight at TD Garden, the Celtics came out on top of the Nets by a score of 114-107. With that result, Boston held serve to take a 2-0 lead in the series which heads to Brooklyn this weekend. As you can tell, this was not easy by any means for the Celts who were down by as much as 17 points (62-45) late in the second quarter but they stuck with it and eventually wore down the Nets. Game 3 at the Barclays Center on Saturday night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) is obviously a must-win for front-running Brooklyn since no NBA team has ever come back from a 0-3 series deficit. 

    Nets star power forward Kevin Durant scored a game-high 27 points but that is pretty misleading since he was once again ice cold from the floor (4-for-17) and had a game-high six turnovers but he made a living at the free throw line (18-of-20). Brooklyn's other star-point guard Kyrie Irving-was nowhere to be found as he put up a pathetic 10 points and eight rebounds in 40 minutes. Boston native and Nets small forward Bruce Brown opened the game on a personal 9-0 run and he parlayed that into an excellent performance: 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Shooting guard Seth Curry was good for Brooklyn with 16 points and off the bench point guard Goran Dragic remained lethal with 18 points. 

    I said after Game 1 that the Celtics have more depth than the Nets and they proved it this evening since all five starters scored at least 12+ points and two of the three bench guys also added double-figures. Boston's star shooting guard Jaylen Brown had a team-high 22 points, six assists and three steals while their other star-small forward Jayson Tatum-struggled with his shot (5-for-16) but still put up 19 points, a game-high 10 assists and six rebounds. Center Al Horford predictably wasn't as good as he was in Game 1 but he still managed to get 16 points, six rebounds and two steals while power forward Daniel Theis was better with 15 points and six rebounds. The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart notched 12 points and five assists. Given the stage, power forward Grant Williams had his best game as a Celtic with 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 32 very productive minutes off the bench and even second-year point guard Payton Pritchard gave them a lift with 10 points in 16 minutes as a substitute. 

    They had an extra day off between Games 1 and 2 but KD was still in a funk and Kyrie played like he couldn't wait to get the hell out of here. If both of those guys have off nights then the Nets have virtually no chance to win against the more focused and locked in Celtics. Head coach Ime Udoka (who should have been one of the three nominees for NBA Coach of the Year) must have made some good adjustments at halftime as the C's were a different club in the second half. They outscored the Nets 30-25 then knocked them out in the fourth quarter (29-17) in front of Coach K and McLovin among other random celebrities. 

    For the game, Boston shot nearly six percent better from the field (52%-46.1%) and they had 11 more assists (27-16) than Brooklyn. As we thought, the Celts are a true team while the Nets are just a collection of big name talent surrounded by the island of misfit toys. For many reasons, a Celtics win in Game 3 would be huge; I don't want to completely look past the Nets yet since both Games 1 & 2 were decided by single-digits and you have to believe that Durant at some point will look like one of the best players on the planet. With that said, Boston's defense is superior to Brooklyn's which gives you confidence even away from the friendly confines of the juiced up Garden. If Boston can go up 3-0 in the series, I can definitely see Brooklyn completely folding and getting swept like you read about. For now though, let's just be happy that the Celts are up 2-0 and they haven't even played a complete game against the Nets.

It Was A Tough Day For The Haters: Marcus Smart Named The NBA's Defensive Player Of The Year

 

    To quote Bill Belichick, "stats are for losers" and I will add to that my own flair by saying that "individual awards in sports are also mostly useless." That is until they are won by somebody on your favorite team and more importantly, they go against the grain in terms of who typically takes home said award. This afternoon, Celtics guard Marcus Smart was named the NBA's Defensive Player of The Year for the 2021-22 regular season. In doing so, he became the first guard to win the award-that is typically dominated by big men-since Hall of Famer and former Celtics legend Gary Payton in 1996. Another Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett is the only other Celtic to win the award (which has been around since 1982), way back in 2008. 

    If you follow the Celtics even casually, you probably know that Smart has been perhaps the most polarizing guy in Boston sports that I can ever remember in my lifetime. You either love him or you hate him, there really is no in between. He's the longest tenured Celtic-now in his eighth season here-and his journey has been nothing short of a roller coaster both on and off the court. He's had numerous tantrums, dumb plays and costly mistakes while also being the subject of near constant trade rumors but despite it all, he finally put together a complete season both physically and emotionally. He is the king of making an incredible play on one end of the floor (usually defensively) then making you scream in anger at the TV or in person at the game when he jacks up a ridiculous 3-pointer or flopping like a clown on the other end. 

    Smart has always possessed the ability to be a really good player in the league, after all he was the No. 6 pick out of Oklahoma State in 2014 for a reason. He will never be considered a great 3-point shooter or very polished offensive player in general but he makes (cliche alert!) winning plays that help Boston win basketball games. He dives on the floor and makes the hero plays that most of the millionaires in the NBA couldn't be bothered to attempt these days. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds he's big and strong enough to matchup with almost any other top offensive player in the game. This season he averaged 12.1 points per game, 5.9 assists per game, 3.8 rebounds per game and 1.7 steals per game in the regular season. All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will get most of the headlines but if the C's are going to make any real noise in the playoffs this spring, they'll need Smart to be at his annoying best. Haha if anything, this special recognition should only boost his already limitless and irrational confidence. 

Instant Classic: Celtics Beat The Nets 115-114 In Game 1 On Jayson Tatum's Buzzer-Beating Layup

 

    For the Celtics, the 2022 NBA playoffs began this afternoon at TD Garden vs. the Nets and when it was over, we were all treated to an Easter miracle. Boston had led by as much as 15 points (84-69) in the third quarter before unraveling in the fourth quarter as Brooklyn outscored them 29-19. Thankfully, the C's made one final winning play to escape with a thrilling 115-114 victory (their first playoff buzzer-beater since Paul Pierce vs. Miami in 2010!) in Game 1 of the first round. Celts shooting guard Jaylen Brown (23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks) started the sequence by driving to the basket before finding point guard Marcus Smart (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) who surprisingly passed up a hero three-pointer and threaded a pass to Boston's superstar small forward Jayson Tatum (team-high 31 points, 8 assists, 2 blocks) for a spinning layup as time expired. 

    This would have been a crushing loss for the home team and we all know in the NBA how important home court is along with the outcome of Game 1s. We got the full Kyrie Irving experience as the Nets mercurial point guard dropped a game-high 39 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals while he also made fun of the TD Garden crowd and flipped them off on multiple occasions. Happy Ramadan everybody! Kyrie probably won't have a better game in this series while conversely his fellow star Kevin Durant (23 points, 6 turnovers) could never really get things going. What are the odds that Brooklyn's normally unstoppable power forward shoots 9-of-24 from the field again vs. Boston? Answer: highly unlikely. 

    The unexpected star for the Celtics in Game 1 was center Al Horford (20 points, 15 rebounds) who was forced to play 41 minutes at age 35 with Robert Williams likely out for this series. The Nets bench is not one of the strengths of their team but they outscored the Celtics 30-17. Boston killer and ageless point guard Goran Dragic had 14 points and five rebounds while bouncy power forward Nic Claxton added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks (while he went 1-for-5 on free throws). One of the main reasons that the C's were able to survive this contest was their dominance on the glass: they had 14 more total rebounds (43-29) including nine more offensive boards (14-5). Boston is not the biggest team in the league but against Brooklyn, they have to take advantage of their size around the basket. 

    Boston led 29-28 after the first quarter and it was tied at 61 at halftime. The Celtics got rolling in the third quarter (35-24) before their offense mostly disappeared in the fourth quarter. This being the NBA, Game 2 won't happen until Wednesday (7, NBC Sports Boston). After losing in five games last season to Brooklyn in the first round (the Nets are 3-0 all-time in playoff series vs. the C's), Boston will have to flush this result and get focused on the next matchup. Durant and Irving are spectacular talents but let's be honest, the rest of the Nets (including first-time head coach Steve Nash) are much less impressive. The Celts are deeper, play better team basketball and have a legitimately qualified head coach in Ime Udoka. Then again, the league has always been and will always be superstar driven so we have to hope that Tatum and Brown at least play Durant and Irving to a draw. PS is there any chance that Kyrie leaves his Four Seasons (I'm assuming Brooklyn is staying there) hotel suite for anything but practice these next few days? Haha he will be booed non-stop no matter where he shows up around the city this week.

The Red Sox Finally Spent Some Money Once Again & Signed A Legit Free Agent In Trevor Story

 

    Between the Patriots and Red Sox, it had been a very frustrating few weeks for fans as neither club had done much of anything to improve their team in free agency or via trades while many other teams loaded up and spent tons of money to improve their rosters. Thankfully that all changed today-at least for the Sox-as they reportedly signed shortstop Trevor Story to a six-year, $140 million deal. In terms of both length and the amount of money, it's by far the most that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has given out since he came to Boston. It would also be the team's most years and money since they signed David Price. It always comes back to the Rays doesn't it whenever you mention Bloom? For a guy that I'm pretty sure should be reminded every day that he works for a big market club in the Red Sox and not the penny-pinching Rays, this was a welcome change from his usual habits of signing nobodies, injured and/or washed up guys because that best fits some goofy analytic models on his computer. 

    The obvious question with Story's signing is what happens with Xander Bogaerts? Both players have been exclusively shortstops in MLB so obviously one of them will have to try a new position (second base) starting now. It sounds like the newcomer will be the one to move over to his left in the infield which sounds scary except Story has been a Gold Glove finalist so unlike say Kyle Schwarber last season who had never played first base (and frankly shouldn't be allowed to play any position in the field), this transition figures to be much smoother. Boston's lineup was already pretty strong but the addition of a two-time All-Star and two-time slugger in the prime of his career (he's 29 years old) means that it will be even deeper and more powerful. 

    The only other major issue in my mind with this move is seeing how Story does outside of the Little League park that is known as Coors Field since he has only ever played for the Rockies in MLB. As you would expect, his numbers at home were much better than on the road: 95 HRs, 279 RBIs, .303 BA, .369 OBP & .603 SLG vs. 63 HRs, 171 RBIs, .241 BA, .310 OBP & .442 SLG. Then again, Fenway Park has always been known as a hitter's park as well particularly for right-handed guys with some pop in their bat. With that said, he should continue to be a star here because he's played on mostly crappy teams in Colorado (he's only appeared in five career playoff games) and for the Sox, he won't need to carry nearly as much of the load on a daily basis.

    Story has good size (6-foot-2, 213 pounds) and surprising speed with 100 career stolen bases. In six major league seasons, he has put together what I would count as two excellent campaigns-his All-Star years in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, he hit .291/.348/.567 (tied career-high) with a career-best 37 HRs, 108 RBIs and 27 stolen bases (career-high) in 157 games. He played in 12 fewer games the following season but still managed to record some stellar statistics: .294 (career-high)/.363 (career-high)/.554 with 35 HRs, 85 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. 

    With Boston coming off a playoff run to the ALCS last fall and not to mention his huge paychecks, much will be expected of Story from day one. We won't know how he will be in a tough market like this until he goes through the inevitable prolonged slump. Let's hope that he is not similar to Price in that way in terms of a fragile ego and that he can power through any struggles that he might have getting acclimated to a new league, team and city. Overall, today was a great day for the Red Sox and easily the best that they have made us felt since last season ended. With Opening Day coming up soon on April 7, Bloom's next task has to be to find some more starting pitching, that appears to be their biggest hole at this juncture.

Two Days Before The Trade Deadline, Bruins Help Their Defense By Trading For Hampus Lindholm

 

    After an uninspiring start to the 2021-22 regular season, the Bruins (38-19-5) have played some great hockey particularly in the last few months. With the NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching on Monday afternoon (3 pm EST), GM Don Sweeney was a little ahead of the rush as he made a significant move this evening: he traded three draft picks (2022 first-round, 2023 second-round and 2023 second-round) along with defensemen Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore to Anaheim (27-26-11) for defensemen Hampus Lindholm and minor leaguer Kodie Curran. To sweeten the deal, the Ducks will also retain 50% of Lindholm's salary. He is a free agent after this season so plenty hinges on whether Sweeney can retain him with a long-term deal (they are rumored to be working on an 8-year extension with an average annual value of $6.5 million) otherwise this move will be mostly a waste (except if the Bruins win the Stanley Cup this summer).

    Other than head coach Bruce Cassidy, the Bruins player that figures to benefit the most from this move (assuming that they are paired together) is their franchise defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Ever since Zdeno Chara left in free agency two seasons ago, McAvoy has yet to find a consistent defensive partner that can keep up with him on both ends of the ice. At age 28 and already in his ninth full season in the NHL, Lindholm profiles as just that type of guy that can be a top defenseman on a good team. He was the sixth overall pick by Anaheim in 2012 and if he played either not on the West Coast or for a better club, he would likely be more of a household name. 

    The Swede is that coveted left-shot defenseman and puck mover with prototypical size (6-foot-4 and 216 pounds). He probably won't win a Norris Trophy at this point and he won't be the top scoring defensemen in the league but he is on a tier just below those highest levels. His numbers won't wow you this season but keep in mind that the Ducks are basically a .500 team that isn't going to the playoffs: five goals, 17 assists, plus/minus of zero, 42 penalty minutes and four power play points (1 goal) in 61 games. His career-highs are 13 goals (in 2017-18), 27 assists (in 2014-15) and plus-29 in his rookie season (2012-13). For his career, he has 57 goals, 165 assists, 57 power play points (12 goals) and he is plus-74 in 582 regular season games. In 55 career playoff games, he has four goals, 17 assists, five power play points (1 goal) and he is plus-11.

    As for what they gave up, I really don't believe that it's that much. Vaakanainen was a first-round pick in 2017 (18th overall) but he's barely made an impact at the NHL level thus far, playing in just 31 games (only 15 this season that has been affected by injuries). Moore is a journeyman and the draft picks don't bother me that much considering how poorly Sweeney has drafted for most of his time in charge here. This is a win now move which is nice to see for an older team that is still led by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand while also hopefully building something for the future when those guys will be long gone and the team is led by McAvoy and possibly goaltender Jeremy Swayman who has firmly taken over as the No. 1 goalie for the B's. Lindholm's Bruins debut could come on Monday (7, NESN) when they visit lowly Montreal (17-36-9) at the Bell Centre.

UPDATE 3/20/22: Before he has even played a single game for the B's, this afternoon Lindholm signed that reported eight-year extension with the average annual value of $6.5 million per year). Wow! 

The Celtics Were Very Active At The Trade Deadline But Will Any Of Their Moves Matter?

 

    The NBA Trade Deadline was this afternoon and the Celtics (31-25) were quite busy. In total, new GM Brad Stevens shipped seven guys out of town and only brought back two which means that they have five open roster spots to fill (they technically only need to add two more players for tomorrow's game vs. Denver). Boston acquired point guard Derrick White from San Antonio for guards Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a protected 2022 first-round pick. They also reacquired center Daniel Theis from Houston for centers Enes Kanter and Bruno Fernando plus guard Dennis Schroder. Finally, they dumped center Bol Bol (we hardly knew ya!) and guard P.J. Dozier to Orlando in exchange for a swap of conditional second-round picks while the C's also gave the Magic cash considerations. 

    When I look at who the Celts lost, Richardson (9.7 ppg) and Schroder (14.4 ppg) are the ones worth noting while everyone else is either a bust (Langford) or mostly useless (Kanter and Fernando). Admittedly, I don't know a ton about White since the Spurs (20-35) have become an awful team these last few seasons. However, he was part of Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup along with Jayson Tatum so Boston's All-Star must have liked what he saw there with him. Head coach Ime Udoka also has to be very familiar with White since he was drafted by San Antonio in 2017 (29th overall) and has played there for his entire NBA career which is where Udoka started his coaching journey. Looking at his numbers, he seems like Marcus Smart Lite: 11.6 ppg for his career with 3.9 assists per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. He has decent size (6-foot-4 and 190 pounds) but he is not a good three-point shooter (.344 for his career). Thankfully, he is very solid at free throws (.836 for his career) so that shouldn't be an issue in close games. By most measures, he was having a career year for the lottery-bound Spurs: he's started 48 of 49 games and averaged 14.4 ppg, a career-best 5.6 assists per game, one steal per game and a career-best .869 from the free throw line. 

    If you are a Celtics fan, Theis needs no introduction because he was here for parts of four seasons before being traded to Chicago. Most recently, he was rotting away on the tanking Rockets (15-40) who are the worst team in the Western Conference. The C's have often been accused of falling in love with their own players and this is further proof of that. Still, Theis gives them some more quality depth at center/power forward behind budding star Robert Williams and veteran Al Horford who has been decent in his return to Boston but he can't have much left in his old legs. Based on their deals, we knew that Richardson and definitely Schroder weren't going to be Celtics for too long. Josh had actually come on lately off the bench and helped the C's on their season-high six game win streak that has brought them back from the dead. Predictably, Schroder has been more erratic and since he is going to be a free agent this summer, you could tell that he didn't care about anything but himself this season so good riddence to that clown. 

    Ultimately, all of these trades will be judged by how well White performs in Boston. Out of all the guys that were moved to and away from the Celtics today, he should be the best one of them all or at least very close to it. If he can mesh well with Tatum and Brown, he will be a Celtic for a long time. Likewise, if Udoka enjoys working with him then he can settle in and buy a house in the area rather than rent an apartment or condo. I assume that he'll be available tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as the Celts host the Nuggets (30-24) at TD Garden. Much like the Patriots last season, Boston has taken advantage of a soft portion of their schedule and Denver will represesnt their toughest test since they finally got untracked. 

After A Brief Comeback, Tuukka Rask Officially Retires With One Very Complicated Bruins Legacy

 

    In my time as a Boston sports fan, I cannot recall a more polarizing figure than Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. No matter if you thought he was great or if you believed he was a complete choke artist, odds are that you were pretty dug in with that particular opinion. I bring this up tonight since earlier this afternoon, Rask put a pin on his ill-fated comeback attempt (which lasted just four starts) and he retired from the B's after his surgically-repaired hip didn't respond like he wanted it to. There are a few things that we can at least all agree on when it comes to Rask's career: Boston's trade for him-flipping mediocre goaltender Andrew Raycroft to the Maple Leafs in 2006-was one of the great steals in franchise history and he was an outstanding goalie at least when it came to the regular season. 

    Tuukka had the tough task of backing up then following a legend-Tim Thomas-but over parts of 15 seasons (all with Boston), he put up some wonderful numbers in the regular season: 308-165-66 with 2.28 goals against average, .921 save percentage and 52 shutouts. He was a two-time All-Star (in 2014 and 2020), won the Vezina Trophy in 2014 and combined with Jaroslav Halak to capture the William M. Jennings Trophy (lowest combined GAA) in 2020. Still for many those stats and accolades feel rather hollow since he never won a Cup as a starter (he was Thomas' backup for Boston's last title in 2011 vs. Vancouver). It's tough to blame him for losing in six games to the better Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final but 2019 vs. the Blues was the one that will sting him and his teammates forever since they lost Game 7 at TD Garden to what should have been an inferior St. Louis club that played over its head all postseason long. 

    Being Finnish also probably helped Rask in some ways to survive here for so long but it also didn't help his cause after tough regular season or especially postseason losses. Other than a well-publicized freak out when he was with the Providence Bruins (AHL) and a few random little incidents in the NHL, Rask was pretty even-keeled on the ice and almost flat-line in postgame interviews immediately after some brutal results. This is another instance where following Thomas who was so emotional was a bit of a curse for Rask. He took his job seriously but unlike many other pro athletes, it was clear that it didn't keep him up at night after he left the rink. While that is a healthy lifestyle choice, it didn't lend itself to desparate Bruins fans that wanted to see a guy that they believed was as passionate about the team as they are, as goofy as that might sound to an outsider. 

    Reputation can be a strange thing since when you look at Rask's playoff numbers, they are way better than you probably remember: 57-46 with .925 save percentage, 2.22 goals against average and seven shutouts. The ironic part about the heartbreaking loss to the Blues is that he had been Boston's best player throughout that postseason and he seemed to be exorcising many personal demons that is until the entire club fell flat on its face in the worst possible moment. Another thing you must consider when you think about Rask's legacy is that he was here for so long and also during such unprecidented success for both the Patriots and Red Sox. Suddenly, championships were all that mattered and we dumped on any players and teams that couldn't get them, even though the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports. I feel like time away from Rask will make us appreciate him at least a little bit more. We are all excited about Jeremy Swayman's potential but he is unlikely to match what Rask did in his long journey with the B's. Thanks for all the good times Tuukka, we just wish that you had gotten it done against St. Louis and then your whole career in Black and Gold would have a completely different final grade to it.