I go way back with J.A. Sherman of the Thunder blog Welcome to Loud City, so it only made sense for us to do a Q&A prior to tonight's game. You can find my answers to his questions on WTLC. Here are my questions to him.

1) So, if you had to do it over and had the first pick in the draft, would you pick Durant or Oden? Seriously though, how different would your team look if Portland had picked Jordan, errr, Durant and you got Bowie, errr, Oden? (I've been struck by how important luck is, even to great teams/GMs)

You and I have both been following this NBA game for a long, long time, so we know that luck can be unmercifully cruel (Hi, Tim Duncan). Even worse, sometimes it seems like some franchises receive an inordinate amount of luck over time, such as when Shaq and Penny Hardaway were drafted in consecutive years by the Magic. The Thunder too fall into that category. Despite being relocated from Seattle to OKC under the most dubious ways, the Thunder were still able to draft four of their five current starters within the span of three years (Durant in '07, Westbrook in '08, and Harden & Ibaka in '09).

On the other side of the coin, you have teams like the Trail Blazers. Whether it was Jordan vs Bowie, Durant vs Oden, or the rash of injuries that have befallen that organization like with Brandon Roy, it just seems like bad luck seems to find that team. So if they had taken Durant over Oden, perhaps things might have turned out differently for both franchises, with Durant, Roy, and Aldridge forming a nucleus for the future in Portland and OKC ending up lost in the morass with a new fanbase wondering why their centerpiece in Oden never actually plays. Or...we might be discussing today the unbelievable bad luck of finding out that Portland star-to-be Kevin Durant is missing two toes and a knee and that Thunder big man Greg Oden is an actual Benjamin Button.

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Boston Celtics (15-16) at Oklahoma City Thunder (25-7)
Wednesday, February 22
7:00 PM ET
Game #32 Road Game #13
TV: ESPN, CSNNE, FSOK, NBAC
Radio: WEEI, WWLS
Chesapeake Energy Arena
Referees: Marc Davis, Mark Ayotte, Nick Buchart


Game Thread l Chat


What's left of the Celtics continue their road trip in Oklahoma City where they will face my very favorite player, Kendrick Perkins. The Celtics are going to be shorthanded with Rondo missing his second game in a row due to suspension, JO and Chris Wilcox have also been ruled out for tonight with injuries they sustained against the Mavs, and Bass still being out. The good news is that Kevin Garnett will return for this game.

To say that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have been clicking on all cylinders would be an understatement. Over their last 2 games, they have combined for 154 points between them. The Celtics on the other hand, as a team, have combined for 153 points over their last two games. Since the majority of OKC's points come from Durant and Westbrook, if Avery Bradley can manage to slow down Westbrook, they may have a chance. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.

These two teams have been going in opposite directions recently. The Thunder lead the West with a 25-7 record while the Celtics have once again slipped below .500 with a 15-16 record. The Celtics are 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Thunder are 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Celtics have fallen to 4-8 on the road while the Thunder are an impressive 13-1 at home. The Celtics have lost 4 in a row and the Thunder have won 3 in a row.

When Rondo received his suspension, Doc told him he could go back home but he stuck around with the team for this game. This game happens to be on his 26th birthday and Perk has planned a birthday party for him in OKC. He may be out of the game, but the party is still on. And now, they can celebrate Rondo's selection to the All Star game as well.

This is the final game before the All Star break for both teams. Unless the very shorthanded Celtics can somehow pull this one out, they will be going into the break on a 5 game skid. . Let's hope the second half of the season goes much better than the first half did.

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A. Sherrod Blakely and Gary Washburn are both reporting that Rajon Rondo has been selected to replace Joe Johnson for the All Star Game this Sunday in Orlando. He joins Paul Pierce for his third straight appearance. Hawks fans will argue that Josh Smith should have been the logical replacement for his Atlanta teammate, but Rondo has been a beast since coming back from injury. We can argue whether or not he's a top-5 point guard, but numbers don't lie. He's second in the league in assists and a potential triple-double threat every night.

And let's be clear: this is the All Star Game. Whenever I think about this weekend, I always recall something Isiah Thomas said about playing in the ASG: "I don't want to be remembered for my scoring. I want to be remembered for my passing." An exhibition game like this is tailor made for Rondo. There is no other player in the league better at finding angles, fitting a bounce pass between two defenders, and putting enough English on it so it gets there.

Congrats and happy birthday, Rajon. Tear it up.

Via Chris Forsberg of ESPN

Already down Rajon Rondo due to suspension and with Jermaine O'Neal (sprained left wrist) and Chris Wilcox (right adductor strain) nursing day-to-day injuries, the Celtics might be forced to use a 13th variation of their starting lineup Wednesday night during the pre-All-Star finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

A glance at the 12 other lineups used this season, with their record (with help from numbers maintained by Celtics' media relations):

CELTICS 2011-12 STARTING LINEUPS WITH RECORD

What's startling to me is that we are only 31 games in and we've seen this many lineups for a team with four definite starters. The only spot in question may be the center spot, but it has remained clear that Jermaine O'Neal is Doc's starter when healthy. From my standpoint for a completely healthy roster, I'd like to see Chris Wilcox start games with the Big-4. Having someone to run with Rondo is a necessity and this lineup would also give the second unit a bonafide defending big man in O'Neal. They haven't lost with this starting lineup yet (1-0 baby!) although it was against the D-Roseless Bulls. Wilcox needs a playmaker on the floor with him to maximize his efficiency getting to the rim and Rondo fits this bill perfectly. Why not give it a shot Doc? What do you guys think?

Promoted FanPost

On March 8 2010, the Celtics were well in the midst of a mid-late season swoon that would drop them to their worst season to date in the new Big Three era. Celtics fans were distraught, arguing back and forth about the window being closed, about who was a "real fan", who was too polyanna optimistic vs. who was too gloom-and-doom pessimistic. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce had both been in-and-out of the line-up with injuries, and after a fast start it seemed that the team had lost whatever magic they once had.

In the midst of this, I pointed out what was (to me) incredibly obvious: Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are the two best players on the team, and through age/injury neither were enough on their own to carry things like they once had. But TOGETHER, they still made this team as formidable as any team in the NBA. Here was the money section of my post, which I called Sanity Check: The Elephants in the Room

In 2010:

When KG and/or Pierce don't play: Celtics are 9 - 10 with a scoring margin of -0.8.

When KG and Pierce both play: Celtics are 31 - 11 with a scoring margin of +7.1.

Just to complete the sanity check, that win percentage and scoring margin with both KG and Pierce playing would currently be second in the NBA, just behind the Cavs and ahead of the Lakers.

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Herald Kevin Garnett returns at right time
Ties to Knicks’ Jeremy Lin peck at Taiwan bookishness
Grizzlies prolong Sixers skid
NBA roundup: Heat streak at 7 after beating Kings 120-108
Globe Boston athletes share natural bond
Thunder thumbnails
Celtics feeling the pain of their injuries
Two-game suspension one to grow on for Rajon Rondo

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I've been beating this drum for a while, but it is nice to hear someone else say it so I know I'm not (overly) crazy. Paul Flannery makes the following points.

As Celtics falter, Danny Ainge's test begins - WEEI | Paul Flannery

It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating again because the calls are getting louder for Ainge to do something – anything – after the depleted Celtics were blown out by the Mavericks, 89-73 on Monday night. They have lost four straight and six of seven to fall below .500, scuttling what had been a modest revival. But here it is again: Ainge doesn’t have to blow up the Celtics because he already did. He’s dragged as much as he can out of this run while timing almost everything to end when the extension Garnett signed upon his arrival is completed. He will have ample cap space, two All-Stars including a 25-year-old point guard, a respected coach locked up on a long-term contract and at least two picks in what will be a loaded draft. There are teams who spend years wandering in the NBA abyss trying to get themselves into this position with half the assets that Ainge will possess if he simply lets the season play out and does nothing at the trade deadline.

He follows up with a detailed look at what the Celtics would look like next year if they make no trades this season (and don't land Dwight Howard in the offseason). They won't be contenders out of the gate, but they'll have a very solid start to the rebuilding process.

One interesting note: If the season ended today, the Celtics would have the 15th and 23rd picks in the draft. Guess who's being ranked right around the 15 spot... Duke guard (and a certain coach's son) Austin Rivers.

Defense may win Championships, but if your offense is pitiful, there's only so much you can do. Take these stats that Ben Rohrbach put together.

Irish Coffee: 5 awful Celtics statistics, 1 good one

Dropping to 26th among 30 NBA teams in points scored, the Celtics haven’t scored more than 95 points in eight straight games. In the shot clock era (since the 1954-55 season), the Celtics have had only three other streaks of such woeful offense: From Dec. 30, 2000 to Jan. 12, 2001 (8 games), from Jan. 21 to Feb. 4, 2006 (9 games) and from Oct. 31 to Nov. 26, 2003 (13 games). Two of those teams failed to make the playoffs, and the other got swept in the first round of the 2003 NBA playoffs.

Ouch. Can this team turn things around and become at least more respectable on offense? Sure. But it would help a lot if they could rebound.

The good news? The 2003-04 Pistons owned the league's best defense, ranked 24th in points scored and won the NBA championship. Of course, that team ranked in the top half of the league in rebounding.

Did I mention that the Celtics are dead last in rebounding? (Facepalm)