I am by no means a Miami or Lebron fan, but Granger is always trying to pick a fight with James. In tonites game I saw Granger pull James shirt and then like a fool getting in his face, to me it just looks like the guy is mad cause is just average. Garnett has earned the right to pick on players, But Granger? what do you guys think.

+James can op out of his contract in 2 more years, if Danny Ainge plays his cards right and gets lots of talent here maybe Bron can wear green in the future. You hate him, but tell me you wouldn't want him here?

After banner 18 the big 3 should Retire Ray Allen,Paul Pierce,kevin Garnet we would have a good Salary Cap i think they would be happy with Two rings some good players dont even have one

Free agents:Greg Stiesma,Brandon Bass,Mickeal pietrus,Dooling,ryan hollins,Sasha Pavlovic,marquis daniels

Ray allen:$10,000,000

kevin Garnet: $21,247,044

Paul Pierce$15,333,334

C: Dwight Howard or Roy Hibbert
PF: Josh Smith
SF: Jeff Green
SG: Eric Gordon/Avery Bradley
PG: Rajon Rondo

i know this proably wont happen but we should Rebuild Strong next Year Danny Ainge What you Think Doc Rivers would have this team Rolling

I believe the next two games for the Celtics are going to be very important for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

These guys haven't turned their switch on Yet. I understand they do have injuries but I also know that we have no other information on it other than Pierce(knee) and Allen(ankle/bone spur) aren't 100%. This is the time to turn it on if you've been in playoff situations before. Anyone can do it at home when the crowds completely on your side. It takes real skill for a player to do it on the road. I think that's what we've been seeing from these 2 games. KG and Rondo have been doing most of it in both home games. Now its time for Pierce and Allen to start doing their thing.

I'm not saying KG and Rondo won't play because they will, I'm just saying they won't score more than 15pts each. Simply because Allen and Pierce will be in their zone draining 3's and taking it to the hoop. To me this is why I like to call them the BIG4. If this actually plays out and works, it will be one of the most skilled coaching strategies in this playoffs since they won the title on 07'.

There is also another point I would like to make, the crowd in Philly. I believe there will be enough GREEN fans to give the C's enough strength and get through these games. I hope by game 5 the series will be Boston Leading 3-1.

I haven't watched ST. Bonnaventure more than 2 or 3 times, but in the those couple games I liked what I saw from Andrew Nicholson, he is a straight scorer, he is 6'9 but is very long. The important factor is that he would compliment Rondo with his shooting, in addition to the points in the paint which he is very capable. One thing clear about Rondo to keep him at a all star level he needs to be surrounded by shooters.

Promoted FanPost

We all know the Celtics have been inconsistent all season, but the playoffs is where this veteran Celtics team thrives. Unfortunately that has not been the case thus far. The Hawks/Celtics series was an ugly six game series based mostly on defense. Now, this series between the Sixers/Celtics has a mirror image.

The Celtics, inconsistent all season have now made life more difficult for themselves. In one of the ugliest playoffs games ever displayed the Celtics came up, but too short and too late. The Sixers/Celtics series is now even, with the Sixers now in the driver's seat. It's a series now, folks!

The Celtics will play games 3 and 4 in Philly, with all the momentum on the Sixers side. It's possible the Sixers can or will take the series 3-1 back to Boston. The past 2 seasons the Celtics have played close, but poorly games in Philly. We've seen inconsistency throughout the regular season and partly during the post-season. I don't know what to expect from this Celtics team heading into Philly.

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PO = Player Option: player is still under contract, but can opt out and become a free agent

Free Agents

Deron Williams
Goran Dragic
Kirk Hinrich
Ray Allen
Mickael Pietrus
Kevin Garnett
Brandon Bass (PO)
Jason Kidd
Jason Terry
Delonte West
Andre Miller
Marcus Camby
Leandro Barbosa
Chauncey Billups
Randy Foye
Mo Williams (PO)
Ersan Ilyasova
Carlos Delfino
Kris Humphries
Chris Kaman
Carl Landry
Steve Novak
JR Smith (PO)
Jameer Nelson (PO)
Lou Williams (PO)
Steve Nash
Grant Hill
Michael Redd
Shannon Brown
Jamal Crawford
Raymond Felton
Jonny Flynn
Tim Duncan
Greg Oden
Jordan Farmar (PO)
Beno Udrih (PO)
Gerald Wallace (PO)
Jeff Green

Restricted Free Agents

DJ Augustin
Omer Asik
JaVale McGee
Brandon Rush
Roy Hibbert
George Hill
OJ Mayo (Has a large qualifying offer, so Memphis may not offer and let him become unrestricted)
Michael Beasley (Has a large qualifying offer, so Minnesota may not offer and let him become unrestricted)
Jason Thompson
Anthony Randolph
Nic Batum
JJ Hickson
Brook Lopez
Ryan Anderson
Aaron Brooks
Robin Lopez
Jerryd Bayless
Rudy Fernandez
Jeremy Lin
Landry Fields
Eric Gordon

Hey Guys!

I want to introduce myself. My name is Daniel--- I am a LONG TIME avid Celticsblog reader and follower (seriously, for years I am constantly checking Celticsblog throughout the day hoping for some new articles). I always greatly enjoy reading all of the articles AND I thoroughly enjoy all of the comments as well; the passion and basketball knowledge that is discussed on this blog truly is amazing. This my first of what I hope to be many posts... for now I am just trying to procrastinate and avoid studying, even though I got like 5 more days left of college. WHATEVER, that is neither here nor there. I just wanted to introduce myself... but now I'll get to my point.

We can all agree that Rondo, at this point in his career is NOT what most what would consider a great or even good shooter. While we love and are in awe of virtually every other aspect of his game, this is time and time again pointed to as the biggest short coming in his game. Its why we've had to endure had to endure trade rondo rumors every off season and leading up to the trade deadline for the past 5 years. [To quickly digress and address this issue, as much as I LOVE rondo and truly believe that he is one of the most fascinating and uniquely talented players the NBA has ever seen, I also think the question of whether we can build the Celtics in the post big 3 era around him is a very valid question. I would HATE to see him go, but he still has a lot he needs to be prove and improve upon in order to be the cornerstone of our franchise moving forward. After all, this is Boston, where Championship banner is the ONLY currency by which greatness is measured, and I am not sure that a below-average shooing point guard, when he isn't surrounded by 3 hall of fame bound players who, in spite of their age continue to be great shooters, is enough to lead us to the promised land. However, that is another discussion for another day.]

And while we all hope that Rondo's career trajectory is similar to that of Jason Kidd, another great point guard who, when he came into the league was not a great shooter, but has worked tirelessly and diligently throughout his career to improve his shooting immensely, to the point that he is currently number 3 (did I get that right??) all time in 3-pointers, we can all agree that at least at this point, Rondo is NOWHERE close to that. However, after watching Rondo closely for the last 6 years, one thing that we can't dispute in that Rondo is tough as nails, and he routinely plays best when during the playoffs, when the lights are brightest, when the whole world is watching, and when the stakes get BIG (I'm sorry, I couldn't using that NBA playoff promotional tagline).

Now, I am only 25 years, and being that (relatively) young, I didn't have the honor and privilege of watching those

great Celtics teams of the 1980's, led by the original big three of Larry Bird, the Chief, and Kevin McHale. However, I

am a student of the game, I love learning about the great and illustrious history of our Celtics, and after watching

Rondo swish not 1 but 2 mid range jumpers late in the 4th quarter of game 1 of this series to help us come back and

win andgame that we really had no business winning, I couldn't help but think of another great Celtics point guard

who had a knack for coming up in big in the clutch... DJ. I am sure that many of us are familiar with Larry Bird's

famous line about DJ, calling him the best player he ever played with. Taking nothing away from DJ and all of his

great accomplishments during in his Hall of Fame Career, given that Larry Legend also played with two other Hall of

Famers who are Universally regarded as 2 of the 50 greatest players to ever play the game, this statement is truly remarkable.

Now like I said, I never watched DJ live, but from all that I read and heard about him, he, like Rondo, was a moody player, and sort of an enigma. I remember reading about how Larry would sometimes get frustrated with DJ as he didn't necessarily always "bring it" during practice, and he didn't always play hard for 48 minutes (sound familiar??), especially during the regular season. But like all great players, DJ had a knack for elevating his game when it mattered most. From all I that I've heard and read about DJ, he wasn't considered a great shooter... But even if he was 1 for 8, or 1-10, or 2-12, time and again he would hit the big shots in the 4th quarter. He wanted the ball in his hands, and over the years his teammates began to appreciate this quality around him-- he grittiness and his ability to step up and hit the shot when his team needed it, even if he wasn't the greatest shooter. Watching the Celtics this past Saturday night, that quality stood out about Rondo. Despite his triple double statline (which as this point has become so routine, especially during the playoffs, that it really doesn't even impress me much anymore... I've sort of come to expect it from him), I would argue that for the most part Rondo played like crap for the first 3 quarters. He looked lazy on defense, routinely getting blown past by Lou Williams, Dru Holliday, and Evan Turner. And unlike game 4 of the Hawks series, his jumper was NOT falling for most of the night. But like all great players, Rondo stepped up big in the 4th quarter, and drilled two clutch shots that helped us come back and a steal a game we had no business winning. Strangely (or maybe not, I don't know), as poor of a shooter as Rondo is, I EXPECTED him to hit those shots, and wasn't the least bit surprised to see those clutch jump shots go in. So all you older Celtics fans, I ask you, what do you think of this Rondo to DJ comparison?? Am I wrong??Is there anything you'd like to add or disagree with? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the comparison and this article! Thanks so much!

Yet again another injury due to photographers under the hoop (I think it was Thadeus, wasn't bad though). But still how many multi million dollar players do we need to see get hurt just so reporters can sit within 3 effin feet of the baseline. Something needs to be done about this. These guys have no where to go after sprinting down the court. God forbid they get a hard foul too and have try and land themselves on people and equipment. Geez!

While they are at it how bout giving the players chairs actually made for large athletes. These 7 foot 260lb men have to try and squeeze. Rondo sits on the floor half the time! It's ludicrous.

The reason I say yes is because they are playing incredible basketball right now and have a better supporting cast should they meet next round. Who checks Rondo? Chalmers? Please. Who checks K.G? Bosh or Haslem? Please. Bradley should be able to check Wade to some degree. I expect a committee approach with Pierce and Pietrus on Lebron. Holding him to less than 30 would be a huge victory in my opinion. But if you really think about it Rondo and K.G. may not just outplay Lebron and Wade, they might do so statisically as well. Garnett has been a beast lately and we all know Rondo is aiming for redemption.

Promoted FanPost

Two Avery Bradley plays stood out for me in Game 1 vs. Philly, both in the 2nd half:

1) Long rebound. Rajon is on the fast break, right side. Avery starts running to catch up and passes Rondo like RR's STANDING STILL... grabs the ball in mid-dribble flying right by everybody, gets to the rim and WAM, reverse layup for 2. Beautiful.

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