I was going to say that Rajon Rondo gave his best Derrick Rose imitation but that's not accurate. He was at his best tonight because he was aggressive and attacking. Looking for his shot as well as his teammates. This is the best of Rajon Rondo. When he plays like that, there's no stopping him. All of which is why I think trading him for anything other than a clear upgrade would be foolish.

I suppose it is nights like this that set the bar for him so high. People know he's capable of this and get frustrated when he doesn't reach these levels. But I'll take a few off nights in exchange for days like today (with a bunch of average but still facilitating nights on other days). But maybe that's just me. Don't trade this guy.

• Nice to see Good Wilcox show up tonight!
• Nice to see a solid game by JaJuan Johnson too. Doc will have to give him more time if he keeps performing.
• Jermaine who? (just kidding, we need all the help we can get)
• CJ Watson was the one doing his best Rose imitation. Hats off to him.
• Rondo even hit his end of game free throws! Still giddy about him.

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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Sorry, that's about the best dinosaur reference title that I could come up with but I'm tired after a long week and I could only muster up a half effort. Sound like a team you know and love?

Here's a confession: I didn't see the game tonight. Didn't watch it, didn't tape it, didn't even care. I don't think it matters either. In fact, I doubt you are even reading this. Wait, if you read that, you are reading this. My head hurts. Well, many people will skip right past this text and give their own comments because they like attention almost as much as I do. So if you took the time to read this, my apologies. I'll try to make up for it by giving you a preview of the comments below. You see, I don't even have to read the comments to know what people will say. For example:

• Blow up the team! We're doomed I tell you doomed!
• You aren't a true fan, have a little faith. It was just a flesh wound.
• Do you think we can get Jeremy Lin for Rondo? Maybe if we throw in the Clippers pick?
• Doc has to go, he's the worst coach ever.
• If Kevin Garnett and Perkins never got hurt and everything else in the world was perfect, we'd have 4 championships already. Is that a double rainbow?
• Do you think we can get Dwight Howard for Jermaine O'Neal and Avery Bradley?
• I told you we'd lose this game. I will give palm readings at midnight.
• When do pitchers and catchers report?
• Oh what a rouge and peasant slave am I.
• Don't taze me bro.
• Winter is coming.

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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Pierce missed the shot at the end but Ray Allen got the rebound and the chance to win the game but Gasol got the block and that was the game. Celtics fall to Lakers in overtime.

• Both teams shot the ball poorly (under .400) all night
• Kobe, as usual, seems to hit the difficult shots at a higher clip than the normal ones
• Hard not to get flashbacks to the Finals when Gasol and Bynum are getting tip-in baskets and there's nothing we can do about it
• Everyone played heavy minutes in this one, so it hurts that much more to get the loss
• Doc called up a good play at the end of regulation but for some reason Pierce didn't get the ball to Ray Allen - again, kind of reminds me of the broken play from the Finals (still hurts)
• The ghost of Derek Fischer shot 0-7 tonight, so there's that
• Bradley dressed but (apparently) couldn't play. We could have used him out there to hassle the Lakers point guards.
• So tired of seeing Garnett miss layups in traffic. I wish he was just more aggressive and finished with authority instead of trying to finesse it up there.
• Pierce had a below average night - which still happens against the Artest currently known as Metta more often than I'd like to admit
• Lakers only made 1 three pointer?
• Celtics only took 5 free throws?
• Now the C's have to fly to Toronto to play tomorrow night. Will they have enough energy to beat the Raptors again?

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Oh Captain, my Captain. Let us all pause and give the Truth a blogging ovation.

...

Now, for a quick word from the coach (pregame comments):

Pierce passes Bird on C's scoring list - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston

"Whenever you pass anybody in Boston, that means you’re old, No. 1," joked Celtics coach Doc Rivers before Tuesday's game. "That’s the only way you can get there. You’ve had to play a long time, because the history of this franchise and the numbers that are amassed. It’s just amazing -- his longevity and he’s been relatively injury free... and he’s been so consistent throughout his career. "Passing Larry Bird in anything is pretty impressive."

Here here. Well said (with his trademark humor).

In case anyone missed it this offseason, here's my personal tribute to Paul Pierce. Love that guy.

As far as some other notes from the game: Rondo got 10 points, 14 assists, and no turnovers. That's impressive. Garnett got 22, Ray got 17, Bass chipped in with 13. All in all a pretty typical night against a team like the Bobcats. So the story of the night was and is Paul Pierce.

Take a bow Captain.

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