Chicago Bulls (23-6) at Boston Celtics (14-12)
Time: 3:30 PM EST, Sunday, February 12, 2012
Game #'s: Game #27, Home Game #18
TV: ABC, TSN2 Radio: WEEI, WMVP, ESPNR
Venue: TD Garden
Officials: Greg Willard, John Goble, Olandis Poole
The Line: The Celtics have gone 2-2 against the Bulls
in each of the last 2 seasons. The Celtics dropped thier
matchup against Chicago earlier in the season. The Bulls
have won 5 straight, and posess the best record in the NBA.

Game Thread | Chat Room

Breaking news: Rose is out for the Bulls (via Paul Flanney and others), Bass is out (two weeks!), and so is Jermaine O'Neal. Wilcox to start.

This season, so far, the Celtics have been a team of extremes. Their record has hovered around .500 for most of the year, but its not like they've been just trading wins and losses. Only twice have they had a three-game stretch without successive losses or wins. The rest of the season is made up by losing streaks of 3 and 5 games, respectively, and winning streaks of 4, 4, and 5 games, respectively.

I don't have any issue with the winning streaks. I'm cool with those. We're friends, and sometimes we watch old episodes of Firefly together and talk about how we watch Castle just because Nathan Fillion is in it, even though we don't really like the frequent emasculation of Captain Malcom (Mal, to his friends) Reynolds.

The beef I have is with the losing streaks. It's those ruts they get in that can really bother a fan, because it just makes the team seem so...mediocre.

And make no mistake, that's what this team is. The Celtics, both by performance, by record, and increasing by expectation are middle of the pack. They're 2 games above .500, but that's mostly due to their 10-5 record against losing teams. Against teams over .500, they're 4-7, and against legitimate contenders, they're 0-5 (or 0-4, depending how you see the Lakers).

But even with a .500 record, you can still be a contender. You can make the playoffs and surprise nobody when you know out a favorite in the first round. Its far from a new formula. The thing is, in order to get onboard with that train, you gotta prove you can beat the best.

Well, guess what? Our boys are facing one of the best today. They're squaring off against the 23-6 Bulls, a team, while not the favorite to win the chip this year, that remains right at the top of the pecking order in the NBA.

I think the Celtics have got to get this one. They've got to get it to prove to their loyal fans that they're still good once, as they ever was. They've got to get it to prove to the rest of the NBA that on any given night (or late afternoon Sunday) they can still beat the best. And more than anything, they've got to get it to prove to themselves that they're still dangerous.

A loss today makes three in a row, making it the third losing streak in less than 30 games. Nobody will be surprised, and life will go on. A win today, particularly a big one, means a heck of a lot more.

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Both teams are dealing with unexpected injuries. One of Toronto's key players, Jerryd Bayless, left their game on Wednesday with an ankle injury and didn't participate in their Thursday practice. He is considered a game time decision. Avery Bradley missed last night's game for the Celtics with a sore shoulder and is questionable for tonight for the Celtics. Bradley was key in the Celtics last game with Rondo still out. Sasha Pavlovic is also questionable with a sore wrist.

This should be an easy game for the Celtics but with playing overtime last night and overnight travel, they are going to have to put out the effort, which hopefully they will give, after a poor effort last night. . The game isn't going to win itself, in spite of the Raptors' poor record.

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Memphis Grizzlies (12-11) at Boston Celtics (12-10)

Sunday, February 5, 2011

12:00 PM EST

Regular Season Game #23, Home Game #15

TD Garden

Looks like we're putting up a last-minute game thread today, so my apologies. Some things to look at today:

• Tony Allen returns to town. He's been on a tear lately, scoring 17+ in each of the last three games. Never mind, Tony is out today. Bummer, although I'm sure that Paul Pierce and Ray Allen won't miss seeing his defense.
  
• The Celts are 0-4 against Western Conference opponents. This should be a good measuring stick to determine whether their recent run of strong play has been a fluke.
• For the stats oriented, the Celtics are currently 3rd in the NBA in defensive rating, but only 19th in offense despite leading the league in 3-point percentage (42.7%).
  
• Can Rondo get back up to speed in his second game back from injury?
  
• Can Wilcox and JaJuan Johnson fill the void left by Brandon Bass?
• Jermaine O'Neal will be starting his first game after getting an MRI on his knee.
  

That's about all you're going to get from me. Enjoy the game today, before The Game tonight.

Referees: Monty McCutchen, Curtis Blair, Eric Dalen

Game Thread l Chat


This is the second meeting between these two division rivals (or maybe not, depending on who you listen to). They met for the first time for a wild game on Christmas Day. In that game, the Knicks overcame an 8 point deficit in the 4th quarter to beat the Celtics 106-104. However, the Celtics didn't have Paul Pierce in that game. Sasha Pavlovic had the honor of guarding Carmelo Anthony, who scored 37 points, 17 of which came in the 4th quarter.

With Pierce back in the lineup and playing well, hopefully Melo won't have quite as easy a time of it. Pierce always makes it a personal challenge to stop the overly hyped opponents like Carmelo Anthony. Also making it a little more difficult for the Knicks is the fact that they played Chicago on national TV last night and had to fight to the end of a close loss. Their starters all played heavy minutes in the game. The Celtics had last night off and a very easy game the night before. Another difference from the team that played on Christmas Day is the addition of Mickael Pietrus to the bench, which is a significant addition.

While Paul Pierce insists that the Knicks and Celtics aren't a rivalry, things certainly do get heated between these two teams when they play. The Christmas Day game had 6 technical fouls called and that's pretty much the norm when these two teams go at it. Expect another heated and hard fought battle in this game as well.

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Toronto Raptors (7-15) at Boston Celtics (10-10)
Wednesday, February 1
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #21, Home Game #13
TV: CSNNE, SNET1, NBA-LP 754
Radio: CJCL, WEEI
TD Garden

Game Thread | Chat Room

Hello, Americans! Also, a hearty 'Hockey, Molson, Robin Sparkles, and Toronto Maple Leafs' to all you wacky Canadians out there!

Its (mostly irrelevant) Basketball Night In America! The 'twice as many losses as wins' Toronto Raptors take on the 'exactly as many losses as wins' Boston Celtics!

I know, I know, I'm trivializing tonight's game. And that's fair to say, because to the outside eye, this game tonight should be pretty trivial. The Raptors haven't beaten the Celtics at in over four years. The last time the Celtics lost at home to the Raptors, some of you high school seniors out there were just high school freshmen. American pop music was still Bieber-less, and the Celtics were on their way to a championship season. Avery Bradley was wicked into Pokemon. It was a long time ago, are you guys getting that?

Although, I imagine Avery Bradley is still wicked into Pokemon.

Basically, if history is any indicator, the Celtics will win tonight, but if they for some reason lose, it means they'll go on to win the title. So, win-win, right?

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On the other side, the Cavs will be missing Daniel Gibson, who remains in a Boston hospital with an infection in his neck. Also out will be Anthony Parker who left Sunday's game with back spasms. The Cavs haven't indicated who will take his place in the starting lineup but possibilities are Gee, who usually plays small forward, or Mychel Thompson, who filled in most of the 4th quarter of Sunday's game.

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I really hate the term 'must win'. When you consider a team like the Celtics, who (dare I begin to hope again? No..I've been hurt before) have always said that winning the NBA Finals was the only victory that matters, and the only measure to which they decided a season is a success or failure, there is a necessity of perspective. Since (to these guys) the regular season is basically jockeying for seeding in the playoffs, and a glorified extended training camp, either there are no 'must win' games during the regular season, or they're all 'must win' games.

However, not to strike an equine creature bereft of life, but I have always believed that a good team is not necessarily measured during the regular season by its ability to beat other teams that are as good as they are. Truth be told, during the regular season there are just too many variables out there, from effort and motivation game in, game out, to health of the players in question. In the playoffs, if you're walking, generally you're playing, and everyone wants a win bad. That's not an issue in the playoffs. But during the regular season, its much more a potluck of effort and health that defines a win against two teams that are peers.No, the real measure of a 'good' team is its ability to consistently beat teams that are unequivocally 'worse' than they are.

The reason being, is that its those wins that act as a buffer when playoff seeding comes around. Its those wins that ensure there are no 'must win' games, because there is a steady, sizeable mountains of games you won that you 'should've won' to keep you from having a 'must win' game later.

So in a way, tonight is a 'must win' game. While the Cavaliers were somewhat hot early on in the season (there was a time when they were a few games up on the C's. I like to call those 'the dark times'), they've tapered off significantly in recent games, and just got done dropping a close one to the New Jersey Nyets. Their best player is a rookie who has been, while a pleasant surprise as a rookie, still a below-average starting point guard.

And the Celtics haven't done themselves too many favors in terms of assembling their pile of wins to guarantee playoff placement. In years past, they've always stormed out of the gate and racked up nearly enough wins for a playoff berth by late January alone. This time, they're standing resolute but vulnerable at .500 through the first quarter of the season, and the schedule gets way worse as this shindig goes on. There will be 'dark times' again.

And that's why tonight is a 'must win'. The Celtics have to take games like this one tonight, because later on in the season, when nagging injuries have manifested for everyone from the starters to Danny AInge to the ballboys, they're going to need the pile of wins. Right now, the pile is pretty meager.

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Indiana Pacers (12-5) at Boston Celtics (8-9)
Friday, January 27
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #18, Home Game #11
TV: CSNNE, FSI, NBA-LP 752/753
Radio: WEEI, WIBC
TD Garden
Referees: Bill Kennedy, Olandis Poole, Gary Zielinski


Game Thread l Chat

This is the 3rd meeting between these two teams. The Celtics were soundly beaten in both of their previous meetings, once in Indiana and once in Boston. This time, hopefully the outcome will be different. The Celtics are on a 3 game win streak, having beaten the Magic in dramatic fashion twice in a row, despite missing key players. I have to admit that at this time, I have no idea who will be playing and who won't. So, in line with my wishful thinking, I've included Ray, Rondo and JO in the starting lineups. However, we could see another game with Bradley, Bass and Pietrus, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm going to make a wild guess that Ray will be back but Rondo won't and I have no clue about JO.

The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games. The Pacers had the night before off but they are playing in the 3rd game in 4 nights. The Celtics expended a lot of energy in their comeback win over the Magic last night. Paul Pierce played a season high 44 minutes. KG played 34. It would be great if a rested Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo return for this game.

The Celtics got Keyon Dooling, Chris Wilcox, and Mickael Pietrus back from the injured list for last night's game. However, Dooling left last night's game with a hip pointer. He was out on the court shooting after the half but the trainers kept him from returning to the game. Not sure if he'll play tonight. Rondo wanted to play vs the Magic so it's possible he could come back for this one. He said that his wrist is about 45% so that could mean that he will be out a while yet. If he still can't go, both Avery and E'Twaun have played well in his absence. There hasn't been any news on Jermaine's knee so he could be playing or he could be sitting. Pietrus also took a hard fall onto his tailbone last night. He came back to play afterwards but who knows if that tightened up on him overnight.

After last night, it's safe to say that the Celtics will play with heart, but whether they have the strength and stamina to back up that heart, it's may not be so easy after expending so much energy on their come back win last night. When and if we get an update on who's in and who's out I'll update the thread. You know, it it's hard for us to do a game thread not knowing who's playing, imagine how hard it is for opposing coaches to make a game plan.

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