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Gameday Dish: Celtics vs. Nets

The five-time defending Atlantic Division Champion Boston Celtics come to Brooklyn tonight to take on the Nets in the first regular season game between these two franchises.

Coach Doc Rivers’ guys beat the Utah Jazz in Boston last night, 98-93, taking their record to 5-3. PG Rajon Rondo left the contest in the third quarter with a right ankle injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Rondo still managed to dish 10 dimes in his 32^nd straight game with at least 10 or more assists, and he currently leads the NBA with 12.5 apg.

First-year Celtic and 2007 6^th Man of The Year combo-guard Leandro Barbosa stepped in for Rondo and scored 16 points in the victory. Both the Celts’ and Nets’ coaching staffs are still trying to figure out their starting units and how to use the bench players in their rotations.

Boston has a deep, veteran roster including Jeff Green, who’s back from heart surgery and added 16 points in Wednesday’s win. Bench play will have a significant impact on tonight’s results as well.

The 4-2 Brooklyn squad last played on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They prevailed 114-101 with Joe Johnson and Deron Williams both scoring season highs of 25 and 26 respectively. First-year Net Johnson had his best game yet of the early season and will continue to improve as he adjusts to his new teammates, especially D-Will.

The C’s beat the Nets in all three matchups last season and have won 18 of the last 20 games. However, this Brooklyn incarnation is very different than the 2011-2012 NJ version.

Fifth-year center Brook Lopez is healthy, and he’s averaging 17.5 ppg and 2.3 bpg so far after missing 61 of 66 games last year due to various injuries. Unfortunately, do-everything forward Gerald Wallace will miss his sixth straight game due to a sprained left ankle.

Though it’s early in the season, tonight’s matchup could be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. Join me, Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager at 8PM ET on TNT to watch two top teams in the East ignite what is sure to be a long rivalry between these division foes.

Filed Under: Gameday Dish Tagged With: Boston Celtics, Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets, Doc Rivers, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett, Leandro Barbosa, NBA on TNT, Rajon Rondo

Czar’s Playoff Preview: Heat vs. Celtics Game 6

June 7 by Mike Fratello Leave a Comment

When the 2012 ECF started, the feeling around the basketball buzz yard was that this would be the last series for the Celtics ‘Big 3’ in Green and White. GM Danny Ainge’s ageing, banged-up veteran core took seven games to beat the young, 8^th-seed 76ers in the previous series.

Now speculation has turned to what will happen if the Heat’s two-year-old triumvirate of James, Wade and Bosh are eliminated tonight in Boston, where they are 1-7 since coming together last season.

After Miami took the first two contests of the series at home, it appeared as if coach Erik Spoelstra’s squad was headed back to the NBA Finals to silence their global critics and naysayers once and for all.

The battle-hardened Celtics did take the Heat to OT in an epic Game 2 before succumbing, but to many hoops analysts this was merely the last gasp of a proud, championship warrior group.

However, when coach Doc Rivers’ guys got back to the famed parquet, they evened things up with one fairly easy victory in Game 3 and one OT white-knuckler in Game 4.

Then in Game 5, the C’s, led by KG and Paul Pierce, bested the Heat in Miami, 94-90, in a back-and-forth 48 that was broken open with 53 seconds left by a Pierce 3-bomb over LeBron James’ extended arm.

The crowd was stunned and silenced on a night that began with the joyful return of All-Star big man Chris Bosh after missing the previous nine playoff games with a lower abdominal strain.

If the 17-banner Celtics win tonight they will return to the NBA Finals for the third time in five years to compete for a second Larry O’Brien trophy. If 2012 NBA MVP James and 8X All-Star Wade can will their side to victory, then Game 7 will be back in Florida on Saturday night.

All who follow the NBA will have their eyes on what promises to be a thrilling Game 6.

Filed Under: Czar's Playoff Preview Tagged With: Boston Celtics, Eastern Conference Finals, Miami Heat

Czar Star: Kevin Garnett

June 6 by Mike Fratello Leave a Comment

The Celtics stole Game 5 in Miami and will return to Beantown with a chance to close out the ECF on Thursday. Their anchor, on the floor and emotionally, has been the 17^th-year ‘Big Ticket’ Kevin Garnett. Through a rough, up-and-down regular season and 18 postseason games thus far, future HOF’er Garnett has provided increased production on both ends of the court as well as the leadership that few in the NBA posses.

36-year-old KG is averaging 19.9 ppg, 10.8 rpg and 1.6 apg in 37.3 grueling minutes of competition each night. His intensity and consistency allow him to affect the game on almost every play. On Sunday in Boston, Garnett had 17 points, 14 boards, 5 blocks, 3 dimes and 2 steals in a game that the Celtics had to win in order to avoid going down 3-1 before heading to Miami for Game 5. After helping his teammates tie the series, Garnett followed up with a 26-point performance and 11 rebounds in Tuesday’s thrilling 94–90 coup on the Heat’s home turf, giving the Celts a 3-2 lead.

Garnett has surpassed his regular season high of 25 points four times in he playoffs, and he only failed to score in double digits once. In addition, his rebounding, shot-blocking and steals have all increased in the postseason, and Garnett is shooting 80% from the line and 50% from the field. While playing out of position at the 5, KG has yet to foul out in the playoffs. This is especially impressive in the Miami series considering two of the games went to OT.

The Boston fandom felt that there was a three-year championship window when C’s GM Danny Ainge traded to get Garnett in 2007. Well, this is year 5 of the new ‘Big 3’ + Rondo era, and the Celtics are one victory away from reaching the Finals for the third time (2008, 2010) with KG in the Green & White. His mental toughness, savvy and amazing athleticism have Boston in a position that few hoopsheads predicted at the start of the 2011-2012 season or when the playoffs began. If this is Garnett’s last year with the C’s (his contract is up) then he’s determined to leave it all on the floor and to hang another banner from the rafters before the end of his legendary career as a Celtic.

Filed Under: Czar Star Tagged With: Boston Celtics, Eastern Conference Finals, Kevin Garnett, Miami Heat

Czar’s Playoff Preview: Heat vs. Celtics Game 3

June 1 by Mike Fratello Leave a Comment

The ECF resume tonight in Boston for Game 3, and the one certainty is that the 17-banner Celtics must win. No NBA team has ever come back to capture a playoff series after being down 0-3.

On Wednesday night in Miami the Heat bested the C’s 115-111 in OT. PG Rajon Rondo had perhaps the best game of his career going for 44 points, 10 dimes and 8 boards while playing every second of the 53-minute playoff classic. He also scored all of the Celtics’ 12 points in overtime.

Boston’s Big 4 combined for 96 points (the most they’ve ever totaled as a group), but it still wasn’t enough to overcome the Heat. 2012 MVP LeBron James had 34, 10 and 7 and got to the charity stripe 24 times. Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, and PG Mario Chalmers chipped in 22 points including several lethal 3-point daggers.

A lot of the postgame talk centered on the officiating. The Heat took 47 free throws to the C’s 29 attempts. Notable were two instances in the extra period. First, Rondo drove to the basket hard with a mismatched Udonis Haslem checking him, and when Wade came over to help he clearly hit the Boston 1-guard in the head. At that point the score was tied at 105 and the no-call made Rondo furious.

Then with 59 seconds to go, Wade attacked the rim, scored and drew a foul from Kevin Garnett. It appeared on the replay that Wade actually kicked KG while in the air to create space for his shot. The Green Team fandom was upset and felt the zebras affected the outcome of the pivotal contest.

However, the Celts find themselves down 0-2 due to multiple other factors. The Heat grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and made ten 3-bombs, while their bench outscored Boston’s 28 to 7. In addition, the Miami subs had 17 boards and 6 assists to the C’s 5 and 1. The Heat totaled 24 assists to Boston’s 15 and also tallied more blocks and steals.

Both Miami and Boston will look to improve on areas of weakness tonight. The Heat missed 16 of their 47 free throw attempts on Wednesday. The Celtics have had trouble in these playoffs protecting big leads. They led by 15 in the first half in Game 2 and let Miami erase that hole rather quickly.

These two sides know one another well and are very familiar with each other’s sets and objectives. So the winner of tonight’s game will be determined by poise and execution. Doc Rivers’ guys have their backs against the wall, and Erik Spoelstra’s squad would love to get this game to effectively secure a return trip to the Finals. The Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics Game 3 will tip off at 8:30 PM ET on TNT.

Filed Under: Czar's Playoff Preview Tagged With: Boston Celtics, Eastern Conference Finals, Miami Heat, NBA Playoffs, Rajon Rondo