Boston 100, Milwaukee 91

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The NCAA Tournament precludes the NBA regular season for me, so I didn't watch more than a few minutes of this game. It's really a huge win, though. The Bucks had a six-game winning streak going and a new weapon in Monta Ellis, acquired from Golden State for the injured Andrew Bogut. And the Celtics were in the seventh game of an eight-game road trip. Boston is now four games clear of Milwaukee for the playoffs.

Even more importantly, thanks to Philly's home loss to the Knicks on Wednesday, the Cs are just half a game back of the Sixers for the Atlantic lead (and the #4 seed in the playoffs that would come with it). So a win in Philadelphia on Friday would put Boston in the division lead. Our schedule down the stretch is quite a bit tougher than Philly's, and so there's no guarantee that we'd hang on to the lead. But a win Friday would be huge -- it might even rattle the young Sixers, which could give us an edge down the stretch. You can watch the game on ESPN at 8 p.m. Eastern.

One personnel note: We're reportedly on the verge of signing Ryan Hollins, recently waived by Cleveland, to replace Chris Wilcox on our roster. Wilcox is out for the year with a heart ailment -- yes, another heart problem -- and with Jermaine O'Neal also done for the year, Boston's been using Kevin Garnett as the starting center with Brandon Bass at power forward, with Greg Stiemsma really the only available big off the bench. (Stiemsma had a great game Thursday in his return to his native Wisconsin, where he also played college ball, doing a little bit of everything with six points, four rebounds, three assists, and -- here's where it gets good -- five blocks and four steals.)

KG and Bass have thrived in the roles, and Doc Rivers has said that he intends to keep the starting lineup the same. No longer having Bass has made the second unit significantly less effective on offense, but playing Garnett has been getting more time with the second unit this season, thanks to Doc's plan to only play him for five minutes at a time until the fourth quarter. Hollins is long and athletic, though maybe a little too lean, but in that respect he's kind of a good replacement for Wilcox; Doc had said that he planned on playing Wilcox in uptempo games and Stiemsma in slower-paced games, and Hollins certainly can get up and down. I'm not sure he's got much of a shot, but Hollins is also a pretty good shotblocker. Word is we're after one more big, though a lot of the buyout guys have been snapped up already and I'm not sure who is left.

Boston 79, Atlanta 76

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The Celtics were bad tonight. The Hawks were worse. The officials were atrocious. No one who had anything to do with this game should be satisfied with their performance. And yet the Celtics walked out of Philips Arena with a win, and an end, albeit an ugly one, to an even uglier two-game losing streak.

Almost from the beginning, you could tell it was going to be a low-level game. The Celtics' legs seemed understandably road-weary. Rajon R-ndo made quick work of Jeff Teague on a few early drives and cuts to the basket, but missed the layups. Paul Pierce left his early jumpers well short off the front rim. Kevin Garnett couldn't seem to get his feet underneath him operating in the post.

Fortunately, the Hawks didn't look any better, perhaps tired from the previous night's win over Cleveland. In addition to looking flat-footed on defense, Teague -- who has enjoyed something of a breakout year as Atlanta's starting point guard -- showed no interest in penetrating the Boston D. Former Celtic Joe Johnson, the team's best offensive player, was so quiet that I was surprised to look up at the start of the fourth quarter and see that he had scored even 11 points. The only Hawk interested in doing anything seemed to be Josh Smith, who hit three long jumpers in the game's opening minutes. That turned out to be a bad thing for Atlanta, as Smith fell in love with the jumper, which has been a valid criticism of his game for years now. Smith started the game 3-for-4 from the field; he finished it 5-for-20.

Atlanta is one of those teams that reacts to Boston's bullying in kind, and Zaza Pachulia is a known agitator who really seems to get under Garnett's skin, in particular. So I was expecting a chippy game. The pace was so slow in the first half, though, the intensity level so low, that it looked like it might not materialize. But a hard foul -- nothing dirty, but a clear flagrant 1 -- by Brandon Bass on Pachulia early in the third quarter seemed to get the blood boiling a bit, and the rest of the game was dotted with cheap fouls and quick whistles.

Midway through the third, Teague dunked on the break to give Atlanta a 47-39 lead, and had words for Ray Allen. That earned him a technical foul, but even after Allen nailed the free throw, the Hawks had a chance to blow the game open. In the last few weeks, Boston opponents had taken control of close games in the third quarter, and the Celtics seemed ripe for it to happen once again: Boston was really struggling offensively and Paul Pierce was on the bench with foul trouble. But given three opportunities to extend the lead, the Hawks came up empty, with two turnovers and an empty trip to the free throw line.

Fully two minutes after the Teague tech, Allen drilled a three-pointer to keep Boston in striking distance. He hit another at the end of the quarter, on a nifty inbounds pass from Rondo; there was but a second left on the clock, and Rondo faked as though he was going to throw a lob to Garnett. Allen's defender reacted to the fake, and Ray's lightning quick release got the shot off in plenty of time. Boston trailed 51-50 after three quarters (if not for Orlando's 59-point performance tonight against Derrick Rose-less Chicago, Boston and Atlanta's offensive futility would be a big talking point among NBA types today).

The Celtics scored six straight points to start the fourth, but Atlanta got five on consecutive possession to tie the score at 76. And then, for whatever reason, Boston got hot. A 17-2 run, including 13 in a row at the end, the last nine coming on two three-pointers by Allen (one from like 26 feet at the top of the key, moving noticeably left, with Kirk Hinrich's hand right in his face) and one from Mickael Pietrus.

If you're paying attention, you know that Boston scored only six points over the final 4:30. The culprit was the usual; the Celtics stopped running their stuff, took the air out of the ball, and settled for contested jumpers at the end of the shot clock. Atlanta finally woke up, and Johnson's second three-pointer of the final minutes cut the Boston lead to 75-71 with a minute left. The Celtics got nothing on the ensuing possession and it really looked they might let this one slip away.

Enter Josh Smith, who found himself with the ball on the wing, with no Celtics defender nearby. Apparently not realizing that there was a reason he was left open, Smith launched his third and final three-pointer of the game. Like the other two, it missed, and a golden opportunity was wasted. A missed free throw by Pierce and another Johnson three gave the Hawks a chance to tie it up. Doc Rivers made a mistake, I thought, by ordering a little full-court pressure with 10 seconds left. The pressure left Teague wide open in transition for the potential game-tying three-pointer, but the young fella pulled it left and didn't even catch the rim.

The Hawks, at least without Al Horford (who's been out for months with a torn pectoral muscle), are actually a decent matchup for Boston, as long as Smith decides to stay outside (something he's generally been a lot better about during the last two seasons). Pachulia is a nuisance and with 16 points and 13 rebounds he was probably the only Hawk who played a good full game, but he had no real help on the offensive glass, where Boston opponents have been exploiting the Cs lately. And the bench -- another vulnerable area for Boston now that Brandon Bass has moved into the starting lineup for Jermaine O'Neal (whose season is over, it was confirmed today) -- features Tracy McGrady and Jerry Stackhouse -- a formidable duo a decade ago, maybe, but not now.

Anyway, good matchup or not, Boston got a huge win. They kept pace with the Sixers, who win Charlotte; they gained a full game on the Hawks for the six-seed; and they put the pressure on the Knicks and Bucks. As importantly, they rid themselves of some of the disappointment of the losses in Sacramento and Denver. The road trip can still be a success.

Boston 87, Orlando 56

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Raise your hand if you predicted a 30-point game Monday night.

:Raises hand:

Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I predicted an even larger margin of victory.

"Darn," I said to my girlfriend when we I saw all the Celtics who were inactive for the game, using a word that is a bit stronger than "darn."

"We're going to lose by 100."

I was exaggerating, of course, but not by much. A blowout seemed imminent. Rajon R-ndo, Ray Allen, Keyon Dooling, and Mickael Pietrus were all in civilian clothes with various maladies. That's our starting point guard, our starting shooting guard, and the two men who back them up, all out of commission. In addition, Chris Wilcox, one of just three big bodies on the Boston roster, was down with an injury -- with the league's most dominant center since Shaq's heyday coming into town. How could the Celtics keep it competitive, never mind win?

The answer, of course, is that I have no idea. I can't explain why Kevin Garnett looked better than he has all season, why Marquis Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal played with more energy than they have in weeks, or why Sasha Pavlovic was flying around the court, making steals and blocking shots. And I certainly have no explanation for why the now 11-5 Magic played as poorly as they did, setting a franchise record for offensive futility.

I'd like to say that the Celtics turned a corner tonight, but Orlando was so bad that this game is probably best described as an anomaly, just another funny night in an NBA season that promises to be even more full of surprising results than usual. The win is significant, sure, and could be a big confidence boost moving forward, but as fans, I would caution against reading much into the margin of victory and the dominating nature of the performance.

With that heaping spoonful of salt served, I'd be remiss to not mention that the defense, almost from the beginning, was excellent. Garnett and Pavlovic each had steals on one of Orlando's first three possessions. O'Neal blocked two shots and drew a charge in the first seven minutes. Howard had 12 points in the first quarter, but went 0-10 the rest of the way. Boston doesn't double Howard much, and O'Neal and Greg Stiemsma did a good job, as Kendrick Perkins did before them, of pushing Howard a bit farther from the basket than he likes, forcing him into a number of tough running hooks.

No one was better defensively than Avery Bradley, however. He had three steals and one block, and hounded Jameer Nelson into at least two other turnovers with the kind of hounding, full-court defense you don't often see in the NBA. His only two baskets came early in the first quarter, and his offensive limitations will probably limit his role considerably once the regulars heal, but he didn't turn it over once on Monday, a major plus after he coughed it up six times against Washington on Sunday.

Honestly, you could go down the roster tonight and say nothing but good things about everyone who suited up. Garnett had a double with 14 points and ten rebounds, adding five steals and two blocks for good measure. Paul Pierce with a 19/5/7. Brandon Bass burning his old team, tying Pierce for game-high honors with 19 points. Even JaJuan Johnson, the only one of ten Celtics in uniform who didn't play until garbage time, had a thunderous jam and a nice baseline turnaround. (His other two shot attempts were blocked, however -- so much for nothing but good things.)

A few non-game related notes:

* Glen Davis got a nice acknowledgement from the team and the crowd, in recognition of his four years of service in green. He then went out and made two of nine shots, making the Celtics fans even more appreciative of Bass than they already were. Von Wafer got no such recognition, and took out his aggression with five quick points in the final seconds.

* As they do a few times a year, Tommy Heinsohn and Mike Gorman brought Celtics CEO and co-owner Wyc Grousbeck to the broadcast table for the second quarter. I love it when they do this; I don't know if other teams do it, but they should. Grousbeck didn't sugarcoat the team's early season struggles, noting that the team wasn't ready (read: was out of shape) when they tipped off in December. He didn't speak entirely frankly about the potential of blowing up the Big Three, but he didn't talk with blind optimism about the team, either. He's less caustic than Danny -- I don't know, but listening to him talk makes me more confident that whatever decisions the front-office makes will be good ones.

* Line of the night, from Grousbeck, on Kendrick Perkins: "He's a great guy. He told us he wasn't gonna re-sign here, but he's a great guy."

Orlando will look to work out its frustation against Indiana on Tuesday night. They won't have to wait long for revenge, either; Boston travels to Florida on Thursday for the rematch. The Celtics are off until then, which hopefully will some of Boston's injured players a chance to get healthy. I've got a feeling we'll need them next time around.

Catching Up On The Preseason Moves

I generally don't like to post about rumored moves, because I can't keep up with the news and you're better off getting your information somewhere else. This year, especially, has been difficult to follow, with the whole offseason and preseason condensed into like three weeks. I think the below information is accurate, but I'm seeing all sorts of conflicting reports and can't be sure.

Let me start with the moves we didn't make:

We didn't trade for Chris Paul. I laid out how I felt about trading Rajon Rondo for Paul in this post, but it really turned out to be a moot point: If what the Lakers and Clippers were willing to give up wasn't enough to satisfy David Stern, then no package the Celtics put together would have. Rondo reportedly has been upbeat at camp thus far, so it appears we've avoided the whole mess and kept everyone reasonably happy.

We didn't trade for David West. Before he signed with the Pacers, we were rumored to be sending Jermaine O'Neal and an unnamed player to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade for West. It ultimately fell through, and I know a few people are a little bummed out that it did. I'm glad we couldn't get it to work, though. I've always liked West, but he's 31 and had ACL surgery in April, and his preferred mid-range game doesn't make him a good fit alongside Kevin Garnett. That meant that at best, we would have been getting a sixth-starter type who poses some lineup challenges for Doc. At worst, we'd have been getting a veteran who needed more than eight months to recover from a knee injury and was more or less useless in perhaps our last push for a championship. Not the kind of guy you want to throw $20 million at, especially at the expense of the only decent center on our roster, as unreliable as his health may be.

We didn't sign Delonte West. This is the one that bugs me a little bit. A wrist injury derailed his return to Boston last season, but the guy is a proven combo guard who can help at both ends of the floor. I don't exactly know what went down, but I'm guessing Delonte wanted more money or more years than we were willing to give him. I'll be interested to see, when he does sign (the Lakers are a possibility, by the way), how much it's for, because I think we're going to regret not ponying up for him.

Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jermaine O'Neal were under contract and are back, as is Avery Bradley. We also signed our two draft picks, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore. Here's how we've filled out the rest of the roster:

We traded Glen Davis to Orlando for Brandon Bass. I like this move. Baby is a likable guy and a serviceable player, but his love affair with his inconsistent jumper was infuriating. In Bass, the Celtics get a similar player (Bass loves the mid-range game, too), but one who shoots a bit better and can score at the rim -- where Baby would get his shot blocked inside because he lacked the athleticism to get off the ground and explode through defenders, Bass should be able to finish those plays. Bass is also a more consistent offensive rebounder than Davis, and better on the defensive glass, as well. If I have one reservation about this trade, it's that Bass was highly-coveted by the Magic, who signed him to a four-year, $18 million contract in 2009, then almost immediately soured on him. He averaged just 13 minutes per game in his first year in Orlando, averaging twice that last year when the Magic shook up their team with various trades. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is a defense-oriented guy, and so it's hard for me to imagine that he'd sign off on this swap if unless he thought he was getting an upgrade on that end of the floor. The defensive metrics seem to point to Bass being a downgrade from Davis, whose major contribution on defense was taking charges in help defense situations. So I guess we'll see how Bass holds up on D, though a good scheme can do a lot to hide deficiencies in that area.

We signed Jeff Green to a one-year deal. Jeff Clark over at Celtics Blog has some good insight as to what this specific contract means for Boston's financial future (though I don't know where he gets the $9 million figure -- I haven't seen it confirmed anywhere), but here's what it means to me: Danny blew up the core of the 2008 title team, the team with the best record in the East at the time, for a guy who is going to be an unrestricted free agent after this season. I know I shouldn't live in the past and that you shouldn't throw good money after bad, but it just doesn't make sense to me. What could Danny have seen during Green's three-month tenure with Boston last season that made him second-guess his opinion? Don't get me wrong; I'm not a huge fan of Green's. But it's unreasonable to expect a guy to come to Doc River's Celtics in the middle of the season and expect him to integrate in right away. It hasn't happened at all in the past four seasons. Either you believe in the guy or you don't. To me, this contract is just another sign of how bad the Perk trade was, even if the contract is actually fine for the Celtics.

We signed Chris Wilcox, Marquis Daniels, Sasha Pavlovic, Keyon Dooling, and Greg Stiemsma. Along with Bass and Green, this is the crew that's going to make up the second unit. Wilcox is a journeyman center who is capable of decent numbers when he's healthy, but his 57 games with Detroit last year were the most he's played in a season since 2007-08. In his prime, he was putting up like a 13/7, but it's unlikely he's capable of that now. Daniels was finding his rhythm as a Celtic last year before a spine injury in early February ended his season and led to a trade to Sacramento. Especially with Delonte gone, it'll be good to have him back to spell Ray Allen. Pavlovic signed at the trade deadline last year to fill one of the roster spots left open by Daniels' move to the Kings. He played 17 games for the Celtics last year, and through the first 16, he made exactly four shots. In the 17th, the regular season finale against the Knicks, with all of Boston's starters resting, he came off the bench to make seven of ten shots (including four of five threes). I wouldn't expect him to play a lot of minutes, but he's the best shooter on the bench. Dooling is another journeyman, a point guard who excels on the defensive end but shoots too much, given how bad he is at it. His career three-point percentage is decent (35 percent), but his overall shooting percentage has been below 40 in each of the last two seasons. He's also the one new guy I know I'm going to have trouble rooting for, and that's especially true since we apparently chose him over Delonte. Stiemsma is a big body who was the D League defensive player of the year last season. I saw him on the USA team that won a bronze medal at the Pan-Am Games in October, and he did little to stand out.

Boston 119, Sacramento 95

It took a whole half, but a game that should have been an easy win finally became an easy win.

[recap] [box score]

The Kings aren't very good to begin with, didn't have Tyreke Evans, had lost to the Wizards in overtime the night before, and arrived in Boston around 4 a.m. thanks to the winter storm in the Northeast. Even so, despite a quick 8-0 Boston start, Sacramento hung around during the first 24 minutes.

The Celtics shot well, plain and simple, which they should do against a bad team like the Kings. They hit 12 of 20 three-point attempts, shot 52 percent overall, and with the exception of Glen Davis (who wasn't horrible, at 6 of 14), knocked down more or less every open jumper they got. All eleven Celtics who played scored, and with the starters resting the entire forth quarter, eight Celtics reached double figures. (The ones who didn't were Luke Harangody, Avery Bradley, and Shaquille O'Neal, who, according to Mike Gorman, predicted before the game that he'd get into foul trouble, which he did. Apparently, Bob Delaney has it out for him.)

Jermaine O'Neal didn't play because his knee swelled up right before the game. This is a concern; as well as Semih Erden played in extended minutes last night, we'd rather have JON ot there.

Boston 96, Minnesota 93

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I caught this one with my cousin and a good friend at the Dominion Brew Pub in DC, over many Oak Barrel Stouts. I was watching the game, but also talking and eating and drinking, so I have only a few thoughts:

• As expected, Kevin Love was a handful, scoring 12 points to go with 24 rebounds. I couldn't hear the sound at the bar, but I checked the stats on my phone at halftime and at the break, Love had 15 rebounds. Boston as a team had 14.
• Rajon Rondo had 16 assists against just three turnovers, but even bigger was the 14-foot jumper he hit to put the Celtics by three with 44 seconds left. It's not a shot we want him taking all the time (indeed, he missed a 17-footer with 11 ticks left on the next possession after Michael Beasley had cut it to one), but I do like to see him growing more and more confident with the jumper.
• Von Wafer played really well, scoring ten points and tying for the team lead in boards (with Paul Pierce) with six. I still don't see where he fits into the healthy rotation, but the least I can do is give the man his due when he comes up big in the interim. With Delonte West out and Nate Robinson continuing to struggle, Wafer's contributions on Monday were invaluable.
• Shaquille O'Neal scored nine points in 30 minutes, but also grabbed just two rebounds (though to be fair, Love made it so that no Celtic's rebounding numbers were impressive). Jermaine O'Neal looked decent off the bench and blocked four shots. So far, it seems clear that he's better at protecting the rim than Shaq, when healthy.
• Glen Davis continued to emerge from a shooting slump, making seven of 15 shots. A little more consistency would be nice, but at least he's got a somewhat reliable offensive weapon in his arsenal now.

Boston 93, Toronto 79

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Bullets tonight (and lots of 'em):

• Rajon Rondo returned from his ankle injury. He picked up two fouls in the first six minutes, and didn't really have too big of a direct impact on the game. Jose Calderon got the better of him on both ends of the court, but it was good to see number 9 back in action.
• Rondo's return freed Paul Pierce to move out of the facilitator role he's been playing the last several games and into the cold-blooded assassin role he's more accustomed to on offense. Pierce led the way with 30 points, including 20 in a first half in which all of his fellow starters struggled. His second-half buckets included a ferocious dunk on the entire Raptors frontcourt and a breakaway jam inside the final two minutes in which he appeared to tweak his ankle when he landed. We can't afford an injury to another starter, even with Rondo back, so hopefully it's not serious and The Truth will be in uniform Monday night against Minnesota.
• Glen Davis had a fairly miserable first half shooting the ball, which is in line with his last several games, in which (it goes without saying) he's been fairly miserable shooting the ball. He picked it up in the second half, however, and was just two assists shy of logging one of the more unlikely triple doubles in NBA history.
• Shaquille O'Neal had a subpar game, two days after a subpar game against New Orleans, four days after a subpar game against Detroit, five days after a subpar game against Indiana, and eight days after a subpar game against Orlando. Actually, compared to the previous four, Sunday was a pretty good game for Shaq: he had six rebounds, compared to five combined against the Magic, Pacers, Pistons, and Hornets. And yet Joey Dorsey kicked his butt most of the game. I thought at first that O'Neal might have been dogging it, but he challenged shots when they were in his area and even dove for a loose ball at one point. Dorsey is young, athletic, and energetic, the kind of guy who is going to make Shaq look bad, but I wonder if Shaq isn't completely healthy.
• Fortunately, Jermaine O'Neal looks healthy enough to fill in, should he need to. This was Jermaine's fifth game back. He didn't do much against Orlando and I hadn't seen any of the three games previous to Sunday's, but I was encouraged by the way he moved around. I hope he gets a bit stronger on the boards and finishes better on offense as the season progresses, but the good sign is that he's not moving cautiously or with an obvious limp.
• Marquis Daniels was basically a complete no-show, which I could have predicted because he'd had a couple of good games in a row. If Daniels could be consistent, he'd be such a valuable player, but right now, I just don't trust him as much as I would like.
• Von Wafer actually did a couple of nice things in 14 minutes of action. What I liked most was that both of his shot attempts were at the rim, and I remember at least one nice wraparound pass on another drive that I think led to a foul. He's a good three-point shooter and I don't mind it if he takes those shots when he's in the game, but it's good to see flashes of a more complete player. He'll hopefully be mostly irrelevant when Delonte West gets back, but as an insurance policy, any development is good.
• Luke Harangody works hard, hustles, and isn't afraid to bang, but he is just overmatched against other NBA post players right now. Even fellow rookie Ed Davis, who has gotten burn of late with the Raps' frontcourt injuries and is thus slightly less green than Harangody, pushed him around quite a bit. When he was drafted, everyone thought that Harangody, a power forward in college, would need to become a small forward to crack the rotation this year, because Boston had so much depth in the pivot. Now, it seems that he may need to play the wing because he's not big or strong enough to play inside. It will be interesting to see which way his career goes.
• DeMar DeRozan again led the Raptors, this time with 27 points. His explosion (recall that he had 37 Friday night against the Rockets) coincides with Andrea Bargnani's absence from the lineup, and can be attributed to the offense now running through him, and not Il Mago. I assume this is a temporary state of affairs, and things will go back to the way they were when Bargs gets healthy, but DeRozan is showing that he is capable of carrying more of a load offensively. This development surprises me: I saw DeRozan in person a couple of times when he was at USC, and have followed his brief career somewhat closely, and while he's always good for a couple drives and/or jumpers per game, he lacked the aggressive disposition and consistency you need to be a real scorer at this level. Frankly, he just didn't seem good enough to get "hot" and take over a game the way he took over in the second half against Houston and for stretches against Boston. But he apparently is. What's interesting about DeRozan is that he's the rare NBA shooting guard for whom the three-pointer isn't really a weapon; he does almost all of his scoring at the rim, at the line, and with the mid-range jumper. Fortunately, he hits that mid-range J at a good enough rate that his efficiency isn't terrible, and he knows the limit of his range (that is, he doesn't take a bunch of threes even though he can't hit them). Anyway, it will be interesting to keep an eye on DeRozan when Bargnani returns. Can he emerge as a consistent second banana, or is he an all-or-nothing guy who needs to be the first option?

Orlando 86, Boston 78

Caught the first quarter and second half of this one sandwiched around Christmas dinner.

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Saturday's game was an ugly, low-scoring affair, which was a pattern when the Magic and Celtics met last year -- during the regular season, anyway. I could say that the Cs would have won had they made a bunch of shots they usually make, but the same is true of Orlando. It was one of those games where both teams played pretty good defense, and the effort on that end was magnified from some pretty poor shooting from both sides.

From a Boston perspective, we lost this game because we didn't have Rajon Rondo, plain and simple. Nate Robinson had his worst game as Rondo's understudy, making just two of 15 shots, the majority of which were good looks. The Magic basically could leave Robinson alone on offense, the same way opponents do against Rondo -- but Rondo provides much more playmaking and doesn't use as many possessions as Nate does shooting jumpers. And while Robinson did a nice job keeping Jameer Nelson in check for most of the game, he lost him on a screen on a key possession late, as Nelson hit a three that I believe gave the Magic the lead for good.

While the Celtics probably would have won with Rondo, Robinson wasn't the only Celtic who had a bad game. Ray Allen mad just three of 13 shots, and Shaquille O'Neal had just two points and fouled out despite playing fewer than 13 minutes.

Of course, the Magic have some "we would have won easily ifs" of their own, most notably the fact that Dwight Howard scored just six points against a depleted Celtics frontline (Kendrick Perkins is of course out, and Jermaine O'Neal made his first appearance since November 8). More disturbing is the fact that Howard took just four shots. He was in a bit of foul trouble for most of the game, but his teammates weren't looking for him much even when he was on the floor.

This will be something to watch with Orlando's new look. While some of the departed Magic players -- guys like Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus -- weren't exactly shy about hoisting shots, they were mostly spot up guys (or run off of screen guys). On the other hand, the new Magic players -- guys like Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas -- tend to pound the ball a bit more and look for their own shot.

Howard is a really important offensive weapon. He's improved his arsenal this year, and because he's a poor free throw shooter, teams send him to the line a ton -- so he gets the opposition into foul trouble and helps put his team in the bonus situation fairly early in the quarter. But he's not so polished as to consistently demand the ball in the post, and the new additions may make it easier, in a sense, to forget about him on offense. That wasn't the case leading up to the Boston game (Howard had big offensive nights in those) but the Celtics have been very good over the past few seasons at taking away one part of your offense and forcing you to rely on another part (usually outside shots). It will be interesting to see if the Magic make Howard a focal point against the Celtics in future meetings (including, potentially, the playoffs). While the Celtics have generally done a decent job on Howard the past couple of seasons, I'm sure they'd rather have Brandon Bass (21 points on Sunday) try to beat them.

The Next Lamb: The Chicago Bulls

Game 19: Chicago (9-7) at Boston (14-4)

Friday, December 3

8 p.m. Eastern

TV: ESPN

Last meeting: @Boston 110, Chicago 105 (OT) (11/6/2010)

Last time we played Chicago, we blew a 16-point lead, sweated out a potential game-winning possession for the Bulls at the end of regulation, and then won in overtime.

The big difference between the Bulls team we'll see Friday night and the one we saw last month is that power forward Carlos Boozer, Chicago's big offseason acquisition from Utah, will be in the lineup. Boozer broke his hand before the season and returned to game action on Wednesday, logging five points in 22 minutes in a 107-78 throttling by Orlando. While Boozer is a good player, it's safe to assume he won't have found his groove by Friday, given that he's just now returning from injury and is playing with a new team. Moreover, Taj Gibson, who started in Boozer's absence, had a very strong game against Boston the first time around, so the Celtics might not be too upset to see Boozer back in the lineup. His return does give a boost to the bench (since Gibson has moved back to the second unit), which was pretty non-existent in the first meeting between the two teams.

Last time out, Boston held Derrick Rose and Luol Deng more or less in check -- each shot 8-for-19 from the field -- but gave up 26 points to center Joakim Noah. Jermaine O'Neal played that night and Shaquille O'Neal didn't, and the reverse will be true on Friday; JON's out, Shaq's in. What effect this will have on Noah's production, I'm not sure. I seem to recall Noah getting a fair number of points with his screwball jumper, and I doubt very much that Shaq is going to bother Noah 15 feet from the basket. Shaq's size, however, should be able to keep Noah off the boards a bit better than Jermaine could. (Odd stat of the day: Noah was held without a rebound in last night's loss to the Magic).

Chicago had been playing well before Wednesday night, and I wouldn't be surprised to see coach Tom Thibodeau pull Boozer early if he's ineffective, delaying Boozer's integration into the team by a game for a chance to beat the defending conference champions (and his old team) in their barn. Chicago always plays us tough, and Thibodeau knows a lot of what we do, so this should be a good game.

Toronto 102, Boston 101

Ugh.

[recap] [box score]

Normally, I wouldn't be too upset losing a game on the kind of freak play the Celtics lost this one on. Up three with 21 seconds left is a pretty good spot to be in, even when the other team has the ball. Toronto's Sonny Weems drove for a quick two, but Boston quickly inbounded the ball to Ray Allen, who is as automatic as it gets from the free throw line. So far, so good.

But Toronto didn't foul right away, and Allen -- a shaky ballhander in the open court -- evaded Leandro Barbosa and headed up court. Barbosa reached around from behind and either flicked the ball away or flicked Allen's arm -- I couldn't tell. No whistle, though, and the ball came loose and bounded to one of the Raptors. Paul Pierce blocked Barbosa at the rim, but the Celtics were in scramble mode, and the ball found its way to Amir Johnson, who was fouled with 2.7 seconds left. Johnson, a career 68.5 percent free throw shooter who is somehow shooting 87.5 percent from the line this season, hit both freebies (he was 9-for-9 from the charity stripe on the day) to put the Raptors up one. Pierce had a great look at the game-winner -- a 15-footer fading to his right that we've seen him hit time after time in his career -- but couldn't get it to go down.

So, yeah, we're not going to lose too many games that way.

But the truth is, Boston didn't deserve to win this game. Playing without Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O'Neal, the Celtics waited until the fourth quarter to turn on its defensive intensity. It looked like that would be enough as they turned a 90-79 deficit into a 97-94 lead, but you can't throw up your hands and curse your bad luck or look to the officials for a foul call when you don't show up to play for most of the game.

The game perhaps underscored the importance of Rondo -- though Nate Robinson had a huge first quarter and led the team with 22 points in Rondo's absence -- but it definitely solidified Boston's need for another big man. Shaquille O'Neal struggled offensively, but it was his defense that really killed us. It's not just that Shaq doesn't block shots anymore and can't move quickly enough to get into proper defensive position when the opposition drives. Guys aren't blowing by Shaq, but he continues to bail them out with fouls. Instead of forcing them to make a very diffcult shot over him on the move, he just hammers them and sends them to the line. He fouled out in 20 minutes today, and was part of a defense that took entirely too many fouls. Toronto, a good offensive team but one that nonetheless doesn't attack the basket all that much, shot 39 free throws -- and I don't remember thinking we got the short end of the stick from the officials very often. (Indeed, Boston shot 38 free throws and I think there were more questionable calls on them than on us.)

Semih Erden, after a promising start to the season, lately seems similarly incapable of staying out the court -- I believe this was the second straight game in which he picked up four fouls in the first half. If Jermaine O'Neal is going to miss a bunch of time with his balky knees, then the Celtics need to look for a solution on the interior or teams are going to continue the parade to the free throw line against us. As I've said previously, I'm not sure what, if any, solutions are out there, but Boston needs to be looking for them.

The Celtics Should Be Talking to Erick Dampier

There's been an interesting discussion over at Celtics Hub regarding whether the Celtics should release Von Wafer (who has done nothing so far and is unlikey to do anything moving forward) and sign another big. The pros for such a move are summed up here; the cons are here.

I have no idea if the team has reached out to Erick Dampier, nor do I know if Dampier is even remotely interested in joining the team as an insurance policy. And make no mistake, that's all Dampier would be -- an insurance policy. The offseason signings of Jermaine O'Neal and Shaquille O'Neal were supposed to make center a position of strength for the Celtics, especially when Kendrick Perkins returns from ACL surgery, which presumably will be some time in February. If any two of those three guys are healthy, whatever big the Celtics may add is superfluous and won't see the floor much.

But Shaq has already missed six of the team's first ten games, and Jermaine is having some problems with his knees and may miss the next few weeks. It's irrational to think that the O'Neals' nagging injuries will just disappear as the season goes on. Plus, even when Perk gets back, it's not like he'll be his old self right away.

Dampier, the 14-year veteran who was cut by the Bobcats after going to Charlotte from Dallas in the Tyson Chandler trade, is the option that makes the most sense.

One option that has been suggested is that Boston bring back Stephane Lasme, the journeyman who came oh-so-close to making the team out of training camp. But at 6-8, Lasme isn't big enough to play center. While big minutes for Kevin Garnett (35 mpg) and Glen Davis (31 mpg) are an ancillary concern about the lack of center depth, Davis also isn't big enough to play center. Signing Lasme would thus only cut into Davis' minutes, and Davis is both young enough to handle his increased workload and effective enough that his being on the court a lot is not a major problem. With Lasme, KG would still have to play big minutes, and would still have to play out of position at center.

Adding a guy like Magnum Rolle isn't an attractive option because he's a rookie and lacks the experience to be a major contributor, even if Doc trusts him with substantial playing time, which he won't. The other D-League possibility being bandied about, Tiny Gallon, is both too small to play center (like Lasme) and too raw to be a contributor (like Rolle). The Celtics already have a young big man on their roster, Semih Erden. While Erden hasn't been spectacular, he's shown that he's capable enough to play an emergency role, and he has the size to play center. It's unreasonable to expect that Rolle or Lasme or Gallon would be even as effective as Erden has been in the early going.

I don't think rookie Luke Harangody, already on the Celtics roster, is the answer, either. He suffers from the same inexperience and size issues that the young guys listed above have. While he was something of a rebounding machine in college, he's shown a preference for playing the wing -- though perhaps that's in part because it looked like he might need to be able to play small forward in order to get minutes with the team.

To be sure, Dampier has his limitations. He's close to a non-factor offensively and turns the ball over a lot for a player with those limitations. But he's a decent defender, and has NBA size and experience. If the Celtics are going to cut Wafer (their last non-guaranteed contract) and thus hamper their roster flexibility, then Dampier is the only guy who makes sense.

And time is of the essence. Dampier's situation is kind of curious; he was rumored to be signing with the Rockets, but didn't, and it's unclear to me why he hasn't hooked up with Miami, where he'd be an obvious improvement over Joel Anthony. As the Heat continue to struggle on the interior, I imagine they'll make another, stronger push for Dampier, and I don't expect that Dampier will be on the market too much longer.

As far as roster flexibility goes, while it's true that Danny and Doc would be hamstrung by cutting Wafer and giving Dampier a guaranteed contract, I'm not sure for what the team would need that roster flexibility, other than another big. Delonte West's return gives the Celtics three solid backup wing players (West, Marquis Daniels, and Nate Robinson), and rookie Avery Bradley, if forced into duty due to injury, would probably be at least as effective as the young project bigs mentioned earlier. And I haven't heard of any veteran centers that are likely to become available via trade later in the season -- at least not any that could be had for Wafer's modest contract.

A bigger concern for me, if the Celtics signed Dampier, would be what happens if the O'Neals and Perkins do stay (read: get) healthy late into the season. Then they'd have a situation where they'd have four veteran centers and not nearly enough minutes to go around. For that reason, as mentioned above, I'm not sure Dampier is interested in signing with Boston. But it's a conversation worth having. It appears that center is a position that needs to be addressed, and the time for addressing it is now.

Boston 105, Milwaukee 102 (Overtime)

Last season, we lose this game.

[recap] [box score]

Second night of a back-to-back; a stubborn, hard-nosed defensive opponent that won't give up; an offense that wasn't clicking all evening; some questionable calls down the stretch -- all of these factors would have caused Boston to pack it in for the night. But this Celtic team is supposed to be different than the one that held back during the last regular season and waited for the playoffs to give a full effort. And so, down six with three minutes to go, a Glen Davis offensive rebound led to a three-pointer from Ray Allen. A Kevin Garnett dunk over Andrew Bogut was punctuated by a forearm to the big Aussie's chest, resulting not just in a double technical foul, but a reinvigorated crowd and team. A Paul Pierce three-point play gave Boston the lead, and another three-point play by Garnett got it back after a Milwaukee basket. A Rajon Rondo steal led to another Pierce layup, and a Glen Davis steal on the subsequent Buck possession resulted in a pair of made free throws. In just 100 seconds, Boston had gone from down six to up six, completely turning the evening around in just a few possessions.

They didn't close the game smoothly, coughing up that six-point lead in regulation thanks to a turnover, a missed free throw, and a blown defensive possession. But they regrouped in overtime and came away with the victory. If you were looking for proof that this year's regular season would be different than the last, this was a good first step.

Bullets:

• Boston's defensive effort was strong throughout most of the evening. But they got killed on the offensive glass, giving up 13 offensive rebounds, including six by Bogut. Many of the offensive boards were tap-ins or tap-backs, the latter perhaps a reflection of Bogut's size relative to Jermaine O'Neal and Glen Davis. The team didn't do a bad job on the boards, especially when you consider that Shaq was out, but this game would have been in the bag had Milwaukee not had so many second chances.
• The offense looked stagnant for most of the evening. Gone was the pace and flow from the night before against the Pistons. Give the Bucks credit; they're a strong defensive team. But the Cs allowed themselves to be slowed down. They lacked purpose, even in the way they ran upcourt.
• WIth some free throws in overtime, Pierce passed 20,000 points for his career -- every minute of which has been spent in Celtic green.
• Rondo had 15 assists, giving him the most in NBA history through five games. (He also has the record through four games). He also had six turnovers, though a big chunk of those came early in the game. Most importantly, he showed that he can score when the situation warrants it, with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The baskets came at particularly opportune times, too. Twice in the fourth quarter, with Milwaukee looking like it might pull away, Rondo came up with a deuce to keep his team within striking distance.
• Jermaine blocked three shots, all in the first half (I think).
• Doc played Davis down the stretch alongside KG (until Davis fouled out).
• The bench (save Davis) was pretty bad tonight, for the second straight game.
• Semih Erden was the only Celtics big I saw boxing out consistently.
• In terms of end of quarter plays, Pierce ran a nice pick-and-pop with Nate Robinson that resulted in a corner three for Allen. The nice thing about the play is that the team initiated it with enough time to go to the second or third option off the play, a big improvement over last year. Boston also had the ball at the end of the third quarter, but some good full-court pressure from Milwaukee prevented them from getting a good look.
• Bogut had a strong game for Milwaukee, but really seemed to be coddling his injured right arm.

The Celtics are back on TV Friday night against the Bulls.

Boston 109, Detroit 86

For the first time in this young season, Boston played pretty well on both ends of the court.

[recap] [box score]

Shaquille O'Neal didn't play tonight, which means we got our first extended look at two Celtics newcomers in the post: veteran Jermaine O'Neal and rookie Semih Erden.

Offensively, Jermaine is a known quantity. He got a couple dunks rolling to the basket -- a good sign the Celtics offense was clicking -- but at this point in his career, he's a jump shooter. His shot wasn't falling at first, but came around in the second half. His line, 5-for-8 for 12 points, is probably around what we can hope for from him.

It was at the defensive end where I noticed Jermaine the most, probably because he's such an improvement over Shaq at that end. Twice in the first quarter, JON helped as Austin Daye blew past Kevin Garnett. On the first, Daye crashed into Jermaine, getting away with the charge while scoring, but on the second, JON registered the block.

I still think that Jermaine should (and will) start at center even when Shaq is healthy. His help defense is a much better fit with what the starting unit is used to playing alongside Kendrick Perkins. Even if he doesn't start, however, I'd expect to see him on the floor in crunch time a fair amount -- mostly because of his defense, but also because he's not a liability at the free throw line. He needs to rebound better than he did against the Pistons, but that's my only real criticism.

The defensive end is also where I most noticed Erden. The Turkish rookie wasn't always in the right spot, but often recovered in time to challenge the shot. The best example came at the end of the first quarter, just a few minutes after Erden entered the game and blocked a Jason Maxiell shot on his very first defensive possession. On this trip, the Pistons ran a pick-and-roll with Rodney Stuckey dribbling left over the screen at the top of the key. Erden jumped out to hedge, but jumped too far, giving Stuckey the daylight he needed to cross over and drive to the basket. But Erden stuck out his long left arm and jarred the ball loose momentarily. Stuckey recovered and continued his drive, but Erden recovered and blocked the shot out of bounds.

Offensively, Erden showed flashes of his ability. His lone basket -- his lone attempt -- came on a breakaway dunk after a Von Wafer steal (the first positive thing Wafer has done as a Celtic, by the way). Erden took off down the court as soon as Wafer had the ball, corralled a long pass, took one dribble, and dunked relatively smoothly. Then, late in the game, Erden was in the left corner when an offense rebound came to him. He turned to back his man down, but saw Marquis Daniels cutting toward the basket. Erden fired a quick pass over his right shoulder that hit Daniels in the perfect spot, a spot where only he could catch the ball. Layup.

On the whole, I thought Erden acquitted himself well. He certainly looked less lost than you'd expect from a foreign rookie center playing his first NBA game. All he needs to do is get rid of those white sneakers he was wearing, and he'll be on his way.

Bullets:

• Not only did Wafer assist on the first basket of Erden's career, he also assisted on the first basket of Luke Harangody's career, a fast break layup that came after Daniels stripped Daye on the other end. Wafer also assisted on Harangody's other basket, a 17-foot jumper.
• Seventeen more assists for Rajon Rondo, and a much smarter floor game this time out: He had zero turnovers. As a team, Boston coughed it up only eight times, and assisted on 33 of its 42 field goals.
• Boston had the ball at the end of the second and third quarters, and I don't have too much of a problem with either play, though neither was spectacular. At the end of the first half, Rondo fed Pierce posting up at the foul line. Pierce drew the double and kicked to Rondo for the three at the horn. That's not necessarily the shot we're looking for, but Rondo nailed it. At the end of the third quarter, Pierce took a three. Not the best shot in the world, but we didn't have a lot of time to develop anything and I think the Captain was feeling it a little bit.
• Speaking of Rondo and shooting, on one first-half possession, he dribbled upcourt, casually went around a screen on the wing, and buried a soft 17-footer that looked oh-so-comfortable. There's a decent shot hiding in that kid somewhere, I know it.
• The one downside about this game was that Doc Rivers had to play the starters a bit more than could have been necessary had the second team taken care of business to start the fourth quarter. Boston was ahead by 20 after three, but a quick 8-2 Piston run brought Ray Allen and Garnett off the bench. (Pierce and Rondo followed shortly thereafter.) The minutes weren't out of control -- 36 for Rondo, 34 for Allen, 33 for Garnett, 32 for Pierce -- but the Celtics play again Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday and the fourth quarter added 3-5 minutes on the starters' odometers.
• Part of the reason Doc had to re-insert the starters was because the second team lacked organization on offense. When Nate Robinson tries to take on that role, he subordinates his offense too much, and the bench mob needs Nate's scoring ability. Marquis Daniels tried to do it against Detroit, but he forced a bunch of shots. Hopefully, when Delonte West gets back, we'll see the second unit really gel.

Boston 105, New York 101

[recap] [box score]

Rajon Rondo stole the headlines with his gaudy stat line, so we might as well start by talking about him. Ten points, ten boards, and a personal-best 24 assists is certainly an active night. But he's played better games in his NBA career. I've never been shy about showering praise on Boston's fifth-year point guard, but he turned it over seven times, made just four of 12 shots, and was just two-for-six from the foul line.

Just throwing out stats is probably a little harsh. He started out shaky, with five turnovers in the first 19 minutes of the game. He then went about 22 minutes of game action without coughing it up again, during which time he had no fewer than 13 assists. The two turnovers he had in the fourth quarter don't really bug me, but his decision to challenge Amar'e Stoudemire at the rim with an 11-point lead, 1:45 to go, and 18 on the shot clock was a terrible one. (Stoudemire easily blocked the attempt and Landry Fields hit a three on the other end to start the Knicks' comeback.)

Additionally, with Boston up four and about 30 seconds left, Ray Allen threw a high pass to Rondo in an attempt to break the Knicks' full-court pressure. Rather than go up and secure the ball, Rondo tried to grab it and move quickly. It went through his hands and the Knicks had a chance to cut the lead to two or one. I understand the thought; Rondo's not a good free throw shooter and I'm sure he was eager to find a teammate, either for an easy bucket or to get the ball to someone more solid from the stripe. But ball security was the more important concern given the game situation. While Allen was charged with the turnover on this play, I thought Rondo could have saved it.

Look, there's a pretty good chance that Rondo leads the league in assists this season. He's going to play a ton of minutes, and he's going to play the majority of them joined by one teammate, at most, who is capable of consistently creating his own shot. He also plays 41 games in front of a scorekeeper who thinks that tossing the ball into Kevin Garnett in the post and watching KG pause, face up, pause, drive right, and then throw in a short jump hook counts as an assist (which Rondo did for his 21st assist against the Knicks). And there's no doubt that Rondo's an elite playmaker. But stats don't always tell the whole story, and tonight, despite 24 assists, the story was that Rondo wasn't brilliant.

Bullets:

• Paul Pierce was really good tonight, with a pretty gaudy stat line of his own: 25 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists. He's been shooting the three-pointer very well to start the season, and he hit four of six shots from behind the arc against the Knicks.
• Garnett also had a double-double with 24 points and ten boards. His 12-for-17 shooting night is particularly encouraging.
• Glen Davis had a third straight outstanding game to start the season. He's really been terrific on both ends of the floor. Particularly noteworthy tonight was his on-ball defense of Stoudemire, which called to memory the defense he played on Miami's Chris Bosh in the opener. Baby seems like he's really dedicated himself to defense; after fouling out while trying to stop a Raymond Felton drive late in the fourth quarter, he could be seen chastising teammates for not getting back on D.
• Twice in the first half, Boston ran a nice little set I'm not sure I had seen them run before. It's a staggered screen for Rondo on the wing, with the first screener waiting until the second screener rolls to the bucket before popping out. The first time they ran it, Davis was the first screener and Shaq the second; Rondo found Davis for a 15-foot jumper (and probably could have hit Shaq for a dunk. The second time they ran it, Pierce was the initial screener and Davis set the second one; Rondo looked at Pierce just long enough to get the Knick defender leaning that way, then zipped a pass to Baby underneath for a bucket. If I have time, I'm going to try and find some video of it over the weekend.
• Shaquille O'Neal hurt his knee in an awkward collision with Stoudemire in what I thought was the third quarter but what the play-by-play suggests was the fourth. The wire story says it's a bruise and isn't serious. Even so, it's probably a good thing the Celtics don't play again until Tuesday.
• Doc ran out a few small lineups tonight, in part because the Knicks played pretty small, and in part out of necessity -- Jermaine O'Neal was inactive with soreness in his left knee, the same injury that bothered him at the end of last year. I don't think it's serious and hopefully JON will be ready by Tuesday. If either O'Neal isn't ready for that game against Detroit, we'll probably get our first regular season look at rookie Semih Erden.
• I'm going to try to track our end-of-quarter plays all season. We only had one real possession to end a quarter against New York, and it went okay. The set wasn't anything special, just Pierce beating someone off the dribble. That made a Knick defender leave Rondo open on the perimeter, and Pierce found him. The key was that Pierce started his move early enough that Rondo -- not a great three-point shooter -- had time to shovel the ball to Von Wafer, who is allegedly a three-point marksman. Wafer was open as the defense had rotated to Rondo, but alas, he took far too much club from the corner and his shot sailed over the rim.

The First Lamb: The Miami Heat

Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Time: 7:30 pm (Eastern)

TV: TNT

(Editor's Note: Historically, I haven't talked very much on RwH about upcoming opponents. This season, it's my intention to change that, and to try to preview each game, not in the sense of making predictions or anything like that, but to give more casual fans some idea of what to expect from the opposition. Future editions of "The Next Lamb" will be a lot shorter and may be in a "data dump" sort of format. However, given that Miami was the story of the offseason and I haven't given my thoughts on the new-look Heat yet, I figured I'd take this opportunity to do so.)

The last time we saw the Heat, the Celtics were shrugging off upset talk in dispatching Miami in five relatively easy games in the first round of last year's playoffs. Of course, this year's Heat bear little resemblance to last year's Heat; the team gutted its roster in the offseason, brought in Lebron James and Chris Bosh to play alongside Dwyane Wade, then supplemented its new "Big Three" by signing role players to small contracts.

On the one hand, this development disappointed me. Surveying the landscape of the league, it appeared we were headed for widespread parity. Sure, the Lakers are the two-time defending champs, but the Celtics showed that they were title contenders for at least another year, and Orlando won 59 games a year after reaching the Finals. We also had Kevin Durant leading the young Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony on the Nuggets, Amare' Stoudemire making the Knicks relevant again, and the cagey Spurs still lurking. If James stayed in Cleveland (or went to Chicago, or New York) and Bosh joined Wade in Miami, the league would have been in great shape for years to come.

Instead, we're looking at a league where the talent looks like it may be concentrated in just a few cities for the foreseeable future. If the Miami experiment works, other superstars will try to join forces the way James and Wade and Bosh did, figuring it would be their only shot at a ring as long as the Miami Big Three were around. (You may recall that soon after LeBron and Bosh announced they'd be joining Wade in South Beach, there was talk about Anthony and Chris Paul joining Stoudemire in New York after the season -- and now Anthony seems sure to leave Denver, either via trade or free agency). As much fun as it is to watch a really talented basketball team -- and the Heat are certainly that, at least at the very top end -- I'd rather watch teams fight for home court advantage than see one or two trying to steamroll its way to the league record for most wins in a season. (For the record, I don't think this year's Heat are going to be a serious threat to the Bulls' mark of 72-10.)

It occurred to me, as I was contemplating writing this, that it may appear a bit hypocritical of me to feel this way. After all, the Celtics arguably started this trend by bringing in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to join Paul Pierce prior to the 2007-08 season. The difference, I think, is that Boston's front office orchestrated that team via trade, whereas the Heat came together on the impetus of the players. It almost feels like an antitrust violation, like the Heat shouldn't be able to have a monopoly on all the good free agents.

On the other hand, while the Heat have me worried about the long-term future of the league, the short-term is extremely enticing. We've never really seen anything like this, and I'll admit that I'm fascinated to see how it turns out. Will James defer to Wade since Miami has always been Wade's city, or will Wade defer to Lebron because, well, because he's Lebron? Will the moody Bosh really be cool with being the third option -- and if he's not, how far will James and Wade go to placate him? How good can a team really be with two dead spots in the starting lineup? How many games can a team win without much of a bench? How will the role players react to all the attention showered on their far more famous teammates? Really, the questions go on and on and on.

We got answers to precious few of those questions in the preseason. Wade hurt a leg muscle within the first three minutes of the first preseason game, and hasn't played in a game since. He'll be back for Tuesday's opener, but he hasn't had much chance to gel with James and Wade, and we haven't been able to see any progress they may have made since Wade returned to practice.

Additionally, Mike Miller -- a sharpshooting wing who does everything that you'd want from a bench player -- broke his thumb in practice last week and won't be available for the next couple of months. Many think that Wade-James-Bosh-Miller-Udonis Haslem is Miami's best unit, and would be the Heat's crunch-time lineup in many circumstances. James Jones, Eddie House, and the newly-signed Jerry Stackhouse will cover Miller's minutes, but with Miller out until January, we won't know what the Heat are capable of until at least then.

With that said, there are still several storylines I'm very interested in tracking during the opening weeks of the regular season, some of which are more applicable to Tuesday night against Boston than others:

• Chemistry. Boston's "Big Three" gelled extremely quickly, at least in part because Pierce, Allen, and Garnett each played different positions. While Wade is technically a shooting guard and James is technically a small forward, both have always been responsible for generating the bulk of their teams' offenses. They are both ball-dominating wings who historically have initiated the offense and set up their teammates, in addition to looking for their own shot. Whether one emerges as the leader or they alternate depending on how the opposition defends them, at least one of them -- and most likely both -- will have to make some pretty major adjustments.
• Point guard. On paper at least, third-year point Mario Chalmers is the perfect complement to Wade/James/Bosh; he's a good three-point shooter with a reputation as a great defender. However, he's been something of a disappointment in his first two seasons in the league. The other option, Carlos Arroyo, is more accomplished as a floor general, but his skill set isn't necessarily a great fit; with defenses keying so heavily on Wade and James (and to a lesser extent, Bosh), the other players will need to be able to knock down shots form the outside, which isn't Arroyo's strong suit. Regardless, the Heat will need to get something out of the point guard position. Boston wouldn't have had the success it has had over the last few seasons without the development of Rajon Rondo, and while Wade/James/Bosh trump Pierce/Allen/Garnett given that the latter trio is so far along in their careers, three guys cannot win a championship on their own.
• Bosh. It's easy to forget about this guy, since he's overshadowed by his two superstar teammates. But Bosh is a very effective player in his own right, a decent rebounder with a deadly mid-range jumper. Defenses will likely focus on Bosh and Wade, which means that their will be opportunities for Bosh. However, he doesn't seem to like playing in the post, which is where he seems to "fit" best with this team, especially since his running mates up front either are non-factors offensively (Anthony) or thrive on high-post play (Haslem and Zydrunas Ilgauskas). Bosh also is a bit of a headcase who has always been "the man," and while he surely knew what he was signing up for, he could bristle at being the third offensive option.
• Center. In 95 minutes over six preseason games, Joel Anthony grabbed just 16 rebounds. Anthony is not an offensive threat and is best described as a shotblocking specialist, so expectations are low for him. And while Wade and James both rebound well for their positions, Anthony will need to clear the glass better than he did in preseason to make his presence on the court anything more than a liability.
• Defense. Like most superstars, Wade and James are most effective playing a "free safety" role on defense. Their athleticism and understanding of basketball allow them to disrupt the other team's offense by leaving their man and roaming around on D. Moreover, not having big on-ball defensive responsibilities allows them to conserve energy for the offensive end. However, I'm not sure the Heat can beat good teams with both wings ignoring their man-to-man responsibilities. I watched a few minutes of the Heat's preseason opener against the Pistons, and saw James lose track of his man twice on defense, resulting in easy baskets.
• Rotations. To me, Miami's bench is so weak, and James and Wade are so duplicative of each other, that it makes sense to split them up a bit more than you typically would split up a starting lineup. I'm not suggesting that coach Erik Spoelstra do something radical like bring James or Wade off the bench. But I do think he should give serious thought to sitting one of them after about six minutes, and having that guy start the second quarter with the second unit while the other rests. Otherwise, I think the Heat will spend a ton of time playing from behind, especially at the beginning of the season, and that's going to wear on them over the course of 82 games.
• Officiating. One thing that really worries me, looking forward to a potential matchup with the Heat in the playoffs, is that Miami now has two guys who are among the officials' favorites. James shot ten free throws per game last year, Wade nine, and Bosh more than eight. While those individual numbers might go down a touch simply because the ball will be spread around a bit more, there's a real danger that they'll win games -- and possibly entire playoff series' -- because of the protection they get from the officials. Additionally, I'm not terribly excited at the prospect of watching a team shoot 40 free throws a game.
• Chasing history. There's been a ton of talk about this team possibly being the greatest in NBA history. As I've said, I think this talk is premature. However, there's no denying that the Heat are capable of winning a ton of games. To do so, however, Wade, James, and Bosh are going to have to play a ton of minutes. If Spoelstra decides to go after the record, those guys will have a lot of mileage on them by the time the playoffs roll around. With that said, the Heat have not only Boston, but also Orlando, on their schedule during the seasons first week. I'm sure they don't want to start the season with losses to both of their main competitors for the East crown, so we may see more minutes from the stars this week than we will later in the season.

And a few quick notes on the Celtics:

• Shaq's the starting center, at least for now. I've said before that I'd prefer Jermaine, but he's been banged up this preseason and I guess he hasn't had enough reps yet. As mentioned above, Anthony isn't someone to worry about on offense, but I imagine the Heat will try to use him as a screener and attack Shaq via the pick and roll. The only other thing that bothers me about this is that it means Garnett has to play Bosh, whereas Jermaine probably could have handled that assignment if Doc had so chosen, allowing KG to anchor the defense.
• As a reminder, Delonte West is not available for this game -- nor the next nine after that -- due to the suspension he's serving for the gun possession incident last year. Apparently, the Celtics must keep him on their active roster -- effectively giving us 11 active guys for the first few weeks of the season.
• In addition to Delonte, Avery Bradley and Kendrick Perkins are unavailable, due to injury. Rumor is that Semih Erden has a sore shoulder and may be inactive; if he can go, the other guy in street clothes will almost certainly be Luke Harangody.

I've been waiting for this day for months. Here's to a great NBA season, and hopefully championship banner number 18 at the end.

Preseason: Boston 104, New York 101

Paul Pierce, for the win. On his birthday. And Jermaine O'Neal's birthday. And Doc Rivers'. (Weirdish, right?)

[recap] [box score] [highlights from Red's Army]

Actually, as Red's Army points out, it was Pierce for the lead, and Rondo for the win. But Rondo was apparently the only Celtic not celebrating a birthday yesterday, so the lede goes to the Captain and the Truth.

Looking at the box score, one thing jumps out: 40 minutes for Rondo? 39-plus for Ray? 36 for Pierce?

Apparently, Pierce convinced Doc to play the starters the whole way. And since I pointed out the other night that our bench hung with Philly, I should point out that the Knicks bench hung with our first unit, or at least part of it. (30 points from Amare Stoudemire certainly helped).

I don't mind too much, just because these guys will need to be able to play those type of minutes at some point this year, and because they had all sat the night before, and because KG only got 11 minutes before getting ejected.

Only other thing worth noting from the box score is 16 and 12 from Luke Harangody.

Glen Davis, Shaquille O'Neal, and Delonte West sat out with nagging injuries.

Let's get to the regular season already.

Links of the Day (October 13, 2010)

• So, I thought Gilbert Arenas was just playing around when he said that he faked an injury so teammate Nick Young could some more burn. Apparently not.
• It's safe to say that Tommy Heinsohn is not a fan of the new technical foul rules. I tend to share Kelly Dwyer's view: It's annoying, but it'll be a non-issue once the regular season starts.
• Boston links: A conversation with Ray Allen about last season, and an article about a charge-taking competition between Glen Davis and Jermaine O'Neal.
• New blog on the blogroll: Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub has moved on to SI.com as the author of The Point Forward
• Finally, someone named Steve Gansey has been named as an assistant coach for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Why is this notable? His brother, Mike "Street" Gansey*, was a RwH favorite while at West Virginia.

*To my knowledge, I'm the only one who calls him "Street."

Preseason: Philadelphia 103, Boston 92

[recap] [box score]

Bullets gleaned from the box score and recaps around the Web:

• Pierce, KG, Ray, and Rondo all sat this game out to rest, and Shaq and Delonte were out to rest some nagging injuries. Even so, the Cs hung in until the fourth quarter, despite the fact that Philly played their starters most of the game.
• Jermaine O'Neal had a poor shooting night (1-of-6) but grabbed 12 rebounds in 19 minutes. I still think he's gotta run with the first team while Perk is out.
• First run for rookie Avery Bradley. An inauspicious start offensively (two points on 1-of-6 shooting and three turnovers), but reportedly a good showing defensively against Sixers starting point guard Jrue Holiday. Good to see the kid get his feet wet.
• Doc seems to be giving Von Wafer every opportunity to win a job. Wafer got the start and played 39 minutes, but his stat line isn't impressive, and neither are the reviews from Celtics bloggers who were able to watch the game. Stephane Lasme, on the other hand, seems to have made the most of his 28 minutes. He didn't put up gaudy numbers, either, but is being praised for his strong defense on Andre Iguodala.
• Mario West seems to be the odd man out of the battle for the last spot, playing just seven minutes. Oddly, I randomly came upon a two-year-old link earlier today, which indicates that this shouldn't be a surprise.
• Luke Harangody had 11 points, including eight in a row in the second quarter. He also went 2-of-2 from deep, his three-point shot being a surprise development from Summer League.

Recaps from other bloggers: Celtics Town, Celtics Hub

Preseason: Boston 91, Toronto 87

[recap] [box score] [highlights at Red's Army]

This one wasn't televised here in Los Angeles (shocking), so just a bullet or two based on what I can glean from what I've read.

• Jermaine O'Neal made his Celtics debut on Sunday, recording three rebounds and two blocked shots in about seven-and-a-half minutes. He did not attempt a shot. With Doc resting Shaq on Tuesday, JON should get some reps with the first team.
• It's only preseason, and it's only Toronto, but I can't help but point out that our bench closed this one out against what is more or less the Raptors' first team. The Celtics were up three heading into the fourth quarter, and didn't play a single starter for the final 12 minutes. Toronto, on the other hand, brought in Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, and Joey Dorsey with 6:20 remaining and the score 79-78, Boston. That trio finished the game alongside Jarrett Jack and Leandro Barbosa, who came in later for Jose Calderon and Sonny Weems, respectively. Our second unit is pretty good, folks.
• Continuing the 15th man watch: Mario West got the DNP-CD, Von Wafer did nothing notable in 4:12 of playing time, and Stephane Lasme's only real contribution in 9:35 was this jam over Bargnani.
• More on the 15th man: Jay King over at Celtics Town proposes cutting Luke Harangody to make room for Lasme in addition to Wafer or West. As King himself acknowledges, it's highly unlikely for financial reasons (Harangody's salary is guaranteed). That aside, I don't really agree with the idea. Sure, Harangody's been unimpressive in camp and in preseason and his Summer League performance may have been meaningless, but he's inexperienced. The other guys aren't exactly hardened vets, but Wafer and West have played full NBA seasons, and Lasme's kicked around in a few training camps. I haven't seen anything that suggests that those three are more likely to improve than Harangody is. Moreover, Doc has shown time and again that he's not going to play guys he doesn't trust. I recognize that Wafer and West "fill a need" and they and Lasme may be more ready to contribute now than Harangody is, but the likelihood that any of them play meaningful minutes is so small that it would be foolish to make room for them by cutting a rookie who has shown some potential, however short-lived that potential was.

Celtics Blog has some more bullets, if you're interested.

Celtics 94, Raptors 87

In his NBA preview column from October 28, ESPN's Bill Simmons -- the Sports Guy -- predicted that "[t]he Celtics will put the word 'defending' back into 'defending champs.'" Down 15 to Toronto midway through the third quarter Monday night in Boston, the Celtics proved him right. Paul Pierce reprised the fourth-quarter cold-blooded assasin role we've become accustomed to over the past year-plus, and a big nod to Kevin Garnett for keeping the team and crowd emotionally involved.

[recap] [box score]

A friend of mine who's a Lakers fan -- I know, I know -- sent me an email after the game. It read, in part, "Doc is hell-bent on killing the Celts [sic] repeat chances," illustrated by him playing Pierce/KG/Ray a combined 117 minutes tonight. His point is completely legit: The season's long, this one seemed out of hand, we just beat Detroit last night, we've got Atlanta on Wednesday. Plenty of coaches would have packed it up for the night and played the bench the rest of the way. Indeed, that's what Doc did in Indiana earlier this year.

There's something to be said, however, for sending a message, even this early in the season. Toronto's on the short list of Eastern Conference contenders. If we face them in the playoffs, they're surely going to remember this game, and how difficult it is to win in Boston.

That's a good thing for us. I don't expect Doc to pull out all the stops every time we put ourselves in this spot (and here's hoping it's not that often), but I do think he's tuned in to which teams are worth fighting against.

A couple of general thoughts about the game:

-Even in the first half, our defense wasn't that bad. Jermaine O'Neal had 19 at halftime -- he finished with just 23 and Kendrick Perkins ate his lunch on a few key possessions in the fourth -- but Chris Bosh was held in check, scoring just nine points in 40 minutes. Bosh came into this game with the third-highest scoring average in the league, at 26.7 per game.

Most of the damage was done by the Raps role players from the outside; Jason Kapono, Anthony Parker, and Joey Graham. Those three combined for 37 points.

Remember, though, our defensive success has been predicated around keeping people out of the lane and forcing the other team to make jumpers -- a lot of jumpers -- if they want to beat us. Graham scored eight points in the second quarter on a free throw and about 64 feet worth of jump shots. I guarantee that if you had told Doc and Tom Thibodeau that Joey Graham was going to be shooting 20-footers, they'd have been fine with it.

-71-70 Raps, eight minutes and change to go. We had three possessions to take the lead, and we got a contested three from Eddie House (blocked); an open three from Tony Allen (which he missed, rebounded, and committed an offensive foul trying to get to the basket); and a 19-footer from Glen Davis (predictably missed).

Garnett and Ray Allen weren't in the game and therefore were unavailable as options, but these can't be the guys taking the shots for us in those moments, at least not those specific shots. If Eddie gets a clean look, that's one thing, but Tony and Baby need to remember why the defense has left them open in those situations.

Next game is Wednesday night, 7:30 p.m. Eastern, in Boston against Atlanta. The Hawks -- the same Hawks who pushed us to seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year -- are 5-0, the last undefeated team in the East as of this writing (they are playing in Chicago Tuesday night). Atlanta's already won in Orlando and New Orleans this year, so they're a formidable opponent. However, they'll be without Josh Smith, who sprained his ankle Friday against Toronto and is expected to miss two to four weeks.

Atlanta, like Toronto, is one of these teams that will be gunning for Boston, and in turn, Boston will want to keep them from winning in the Garden. Boston will need to come out of the gate a lot faster than they did against the Raps.