Archive for November, 2010

What else can I say that that Gary Washburn didn’t in the Globe this morning? The Celtics were absolutely listless in this game, letting Oklahoma City dictate the game. Give credit to the Thunder for coming out with a renewed sense of energy on defense; Scott Brooks clearly made his team believe that the only way it would win this one was to focus on that side of the ball without its star in Kevin Durant. Brooks went deep into his bench—Royal Ivey played 16 minutes and D.J. White 12—but thanks to the offense of Russell Westbrook, the Thunder earned [...]

Well, we knew Jeff Green’s ankle would keep him out for another game. But now Kevin Durant will miss tonight’s game in Boston with an ankle injury of his own. The official prognosis is a rolled his ankle, an injury that Durant suffered in a game against Houston on Wednesday. He tried to play through it, but was held to a season-low 30 minutes. It is a big blow for a Thunder team that has struggled at times during its 7-4 start, as it now has to play without its leading scorer. It might be an even bigger blow for [...]

So soon? The Celtics barely got the memory of playing the Thunder out of their heads, but now they get a rematch with Kevin Durant and the gang in Boston. Since dropping that game to the C’s at home 92-83, the Thunder has reeled off wins in four of its last five games, including victories over Western Conference contenders Portland, Utah and Houston. But a stretch of good play can’t erase the fact that the Thunder let theCeltics jump out to a 22-point lead and could not catch up (thanks to some inspired play from Boston’s bench, which prevented an [...]

The word of the day for the green? Efficiency. Boston dominated the visiting Washington Wizards by shooting a season-high 66 percent from the floor while holding the Wizards to just 39 percent. The end result was an easy victory by more than 30 points for the C’s, their third straight win. The C’s went on an early running after trailing by three in the first quarter and never looked back. The starters were brilliant, with Paul Pierce’s 23 points (on 10-16 shooting) leading the way. That was the worst shooting night by any of the starting five, as the rest [...]

After a long road trip and what felt like an equally lengthy hiatus, the Celtics will be back in action tonight against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. This one was supposed to be about the matchup between the top pick in last June’s draft, John Wall, and Rajon Rondo, but Wall missed Washington’s 109-94 win over the Toronto Raptors last night with a sprained foot, making it unlikely that he will be ready to go tonight (though he did make the trip to Boston, so there is a shot he plays). In his place, Gilbert Arenas started and provided [...]

The Celtics (and Paul Pierce) will take their talents to Memphis tonight to take on the Grizzlies in the final game of a four-game road trip. The Grizzlies have dropped four of their last six and have started the season at 4-5, mostly thanks to the fact that they are near the bottom of the barrel in terms of defensive statistics. Here’s what to watch as the Celtics try to follow up the big win over Miami Thursday with another strong effort tonight. 1) Talking defense: This will be a test for Boston’s D, because the Grizzlies are a strong [...]

It was billed as “The Rematch.” It turned into a rehashing of opening night. The Celtics jumped out to a big lead and withstood a charge mounted by LeBron James and…LeBron James (OK, Udonis Haslem chipped in with a pretty efficient 10-11 night. Nothing special.) to earn the 112-107 victory in Miami. Thanks to a hot shooting night from Ray Allen, the Celtics’ lead was as high as 20 points. But James tried to take matters into his own hands, getting to the line 14 times in the second half to pull Miami back into the thick of the game. [...]

By the numbers, the Celtics dominated this game in almost every facet. But there was one mark that stands out in the box score: 50 percent shooting for Dallas. And that is why the Mavs came back to post the victory at home, 89-87, and end the Celtics’ winning streak. The Celtics got off to a slow start in this one, and that might have come back to bite them in the end as they had to play from behind in a back-to-back setting. But the truth is that Boston had this game in its grasp before losing the lead [...]

The Celtics will look for their sixth straight win tonight as they hop over the border and into Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks. It is kind of a bizarre schedule this year for Boston, as they travel to the southwest earlier than usual. Instead of seeing a trio of Texas teams, they will face Dallas and head to Miami for a rematch with the Heat on Thursday. Speaking of bizarre schedules, the Mavs have had a weird start to the season as well. After the requisit three games in five nights to open the year, the Mavs had just [...]

Jermaine O’Neal was brought in to help bridge the gap until Kendrick Perkins recovered from his devestating new injury. As it turns out, O’Neal is dealing with an injury of his own. According to A. Sherrod Blakely over at CSNNE.com, O’Neal had a “minor procedure” performed on his troublesome left knee. With Shaq also being plagued with a right knee injury that has caused him to miss the last few games, the Celtics troubles up front keep multiplying. “It’s just one of those situations, you’re going to be banged up,” O’Neal said. Even after the procedure, O’Neal said the knee [...]