Buzzer-Beaters and Chicken Eaters of the Boston Celtics
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Lets admit it now. Unfortunately, Celtics posts here on 4SB are few and far between. Seriously. And sadly to report, I do watch every game and they are on of my favorite teams to watch but I just can’t find enough time in my day to put my words together on it. UNTIL NOW!
How’s that for hype?! Now, back to the show.
I am thoroughly impressed by this Boston Celtics club as we stand right now. Dealing with injuries, much like their black and gold headed sister, the Celtics have been able to push through and continue on with their savvy play and sharp shooting. Whether it be two losses against Atlanta or an easy win over the three win New Jersey Nets, this team has looked pretty good all around.
Most impressive to me over the past couple weeks have been two players in particular, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins (surprise, I know as they are two of the three starters that remained on the court – but these guys have impressed). Of course, most of the team deserves credit, especially those guys who filled wholes in the roster while Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were out with ailing something-or-others.
We are going to completely negate the NJ win since the opposing team had just taken the court after seventh period algebra.
- Rajon Rondo: This kid is really coming into his prime early. Hopefully he will hang onto it for the long haul and not let it fizzle like so many stars before him. Rondo’s almost 44 minutes per game in the past week has been an athletic feat in itself but he is up to the challenge. His triple-double on Sunday was the third of his career and certainly not the last. Rondo has been all over the floor shooting 3-3 from downtown and picking up five steals between Sunday and Monday. Seriously the future of this franchise. Also, huge props to Doc Rivers for making this buzzer beater happen in Miami:
- Kendrick Perkins: Perk is a Beast. We know this. But what makes him a beast? Is it his double digit technical foul calls in early January? Is it his presence on the boards? Is hit his perma-scoul? Is it the awesome new line of “Perk-Wear” (DING!)? The answer is a definitive “HELL YES” to all four. Averaging almost 14 points per game in the past week, Perk put on a show with 14 rebounds against the Hawks on Monday. I have honestly believed this from day one but Perk’s biggest asset is his size in this league that just keeps getting more and more athletic and his shot and power are starting to come together nicely.
Looking ahead on the schedule, the Celtics have the 16-20 Chicago Bulls in town tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST so look for a “hum-dinger” of an event at the Garden. Still bad blood between these two teams after last year’s epic battle in the playoffs. You can certainly expect plenty of Tommy Heinsohn personal attacks on the pride of Purdue, Brad Miller… he really loves that guy! Expect some excitement in this game no matter what the Bulls record shows.
The Celtics will then have the weekend off to prepare for the arrival of Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. Best case scenario, we can hope that we will see the return of both Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace in this game but at the very least, you hope for ‘Sheed that he can return for next week’s game in Detroit as a homecoming of sorts.
Speaking of KG, he was recently awarded with a branding that is all to familiar in Boston (see: Harrison, Rodney) as the NBA’s best trash talker as voted on by his peers. But how far ahead was he in the vote?
Garnett received 62 percent of the vote in a Sports Illustrated poll of 173 league players who were asked to name the worst trash talker in the league.
Kobe Bryant (notes) (7%) was second, followed by Rasheed Wallace(notes) (5%). Fourth on the list was ‘Lil Him Nate Robinson (3%), who tied with Paul Pierce (notes).
Kind of funny to see Pierce’s name in there as fans don’t generally think of him as a trash talker but also interesting not to see Perk in there as his audible curse-words ring over the airwaves numerous times a game (fans – this means don’t get seats in the Loge if you have children under 10).
A solid effort for the Green through these injuries can only mean a return to glory once all of the pieces are back together. In the meantime, we as fans need to start getting the Garden rocking as it was in 2007 and help push this team through it in the only way we can.
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