Following a pair of road losses at New York and Minnesota, the Celtics’ chances of improving their playoff seeding faded to the point that they may find themselves in a battle for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Boston leads eighth-place Milwaukee by just 2.5 games, and the Bucks own the tie-breaker by virtue of having won the head-to-head series 3-1. The Celtics secured their playoff spot with a win in Detroit last night, but the battle for seeding rages on.

The Celtics, in turn, are 2 games behind the Chicago Bulls for sixth place, and will likely have one last chance to catch up as they take Cleveland and Washington at home over their next two games. The question now is whether they are really concerned about improving their seeding, particularly now that home-court advantage in the first round is out of the question. As has been the case in recent seasons, Doc Rivers seems more preoccupied with having his team healthy for when the playoffs start than about rising one or two places in the standings.

Continue reading Early Celtics’ Playoff Preview »

Just two weeks remain in the season. The Jazz and Lakers are still in a dead heat for the final spot, while the others are pretty safe, if not mathematically clinched. Still, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for. Avoiding Miami in the first round will certainly be a good race. The top spot in the West is still in play as well. The middle seeds are all working to give themselves any advantage over their competitors. With teams giving all they have in their last few games, let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Wednesday, April 3, before the day’s games: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 21 »

Nikola Pekovic erupted for 29 points and five rebounds, as the Timberwolves beat the Celtics, 110-100. Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 19 points, a night after scoring just two points and fouling out in a losing effort to the Knicks. Paul Pierce sat out Monday with what the team deemed, “Personal reasons.”

The key to this game was simple- the Timberwolves were the more aggressive team. The Timberwolves forced the Celtics to commit 9 more turnovers than them (17-8), and shot 27 free-throws to the Celtics’ 13.
Continue reading Pekovic, Wolves Blow By Pierce-less Celtics »

On Wednesday, the Chicago Bulls ended the Miami Heat’s franchise-record winning streak at 27 games with a 101-97 win, a game in which LeBron James recorded 32 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. James, however, was not about to graciously accept the end of the second-longest win streak in NBA history, instead choosing to go off on the officials. In his postgame comments, he focused on two hard fouls by Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson that he felt shoud have been called flagrant.

“Those are not basketball plays,” James said. “And it’s been happening all year. I’ve been able to keep my cool and tell [Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra], Let’s not worry about it too much. But it is getting to me a little bit.” James was himself correctly issued a flagrant after running into Carlos Boozer late in the game.

The following day, Celtics president Danny Ainge was asked about James’s comments during an interview with WEEI’s Salk & Holley and, after saying that the referees made the right calls, added, “I think that it’s almost embarrassing that LeBron would complain about officiating.”

That’s when the fun began. Continue reading “Shut the F— Up”: Riley, Ainge Exchange Pleasantries over LeBron’s Officiating Complaints »

Jeff Green struggled to hit shots and get calls all night for the Celtics, but that didn’t keep him from making the most important play of the game on Wednesday. Trailing 92-91 with 2.1 seconds remaining, Green took the inbounds pass from Avery Bradley, drove hard to the hoop, and scored as time expired to lift the Celtics over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-92.

The Celtics trailed by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter, but finished the game on a 21-6 run to steal the win. Paul Pierce and Green scored the last 11 points for the Celtics, and Pierce finished close to a triple-double, with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Continue reading Green Beats Buzzer to Lift Celtics Over Cavs »

20 weeks into the season, and things are starting to come down to the wire. There isn’t much time left at all to make a move, yet only five teams have been mathematically eliminated so far. The Heat have opened a sizable lead in the East, while even San Antonio isn’t out of the woods yet with OKC. The Lakers also have to be careful with their #8 seed, while the rest of the teams are busy trying to set up the first round match-ups. With many playoff implications still to be decided, let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Wednesday, March 27 at 8:00pm: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 20 »

The ‘good’ JR Smith showed up at the TD Banknorth Garden for the Knicks and erupted for 32 points and seven rebounds in a 100-85 win over the Garnett-less Celtics.

Not only was Kevin Garnett sidelined for the Celtics, but Courtney Lee also missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. One has to think that Lee’s defense and size could have helped the Celtics in slowing down Smith.
Continue reading JR Smith, Knicks Send Celtics to Fifth Straight Loss »