Boston is not appealing, it is historic in its own ways but it’s not big enough of a city to showcase themselves. So here comes the question we would all like to have answered: What is it going to take to convince a Dwight Howard to come and join the Celtics if he reaches free agency? I never had faith in Danny pulling off what he did when he got the big 3. Once I heard Paul Pierce basically say” make us a contender or trade me,” my first thought was well if the Celtics weren’t already bad enough we are in trouble.

What Danny did back then is clearly impossible now because every NBA player for some reason has the choice to dictate where he ends up even through trades. The NBA allows this and in general it’s a problem. It’s one thing for them to choose with free agency, but now they can make a list to where they want to get traded to and the teams abide to it.

Chris Paul got away with it and now the clippers are up and coming, so these super teams will not stop and now the Celtics are in trouble. But the Celtics were the ones who started this “big 3″ teams a long time ago. All the fans can hope and pray for is Danny has something up his sleeve or the Celtics will be back to number 4 when it comes to Boston sports AGAIN.

I haven’t seen KG smile like that in awhile!!!

The Celtics beat the Raptors 64-100 yesterday at home without Rajon Rondo and back-up Keyon Dooling.  This was the Celtics best margin of victory since 2009.  This moves the celtics to 11-10, finally getting over .500.  None of this sounds that impressive, considering the celts were playing a improved, but by no means, decent Raptors team.  What I was impressed with was the improvement by guard Avery Bradley.

The Celtics are 7-2 since Rondo came down with an injury January 18th, against the Raptors.  In this 7-2 stretch Paul Pierce has stepped up and become the player we all know and love, aka “the truth”.  He has put up Lebronesque type numbers, averaging close to a triple double.  KG has stepped up during this stretch as well with his low post presence and rebounding.  Pietrus has shown glimpses of a James Posey, version 2008, type roll on the team.  But once again, who am I really impressed with? The young man of our team, Avery Bradley.

I will admit it, I have not been a Bradley fan.  The guy looked awkward and shy every time he stepped up on the court last year.  He didn’t show me any of that potential of a guy who was once ranked above John Wall in high school.   I am starting to realize that the lack of potential I saw last year was because he wasn’t given much playing time to prove himself.  Well, he’s getting the playing time now and he has shown me that potential this year, especially during this stretch without Rondo.  During this stretch he has averaged 7ppg, 2apg, 2rpg, and .6spg. Not exactly great numbers right? Those numbers do not reflect the way he has been playing lately.  He doesn’t turn it over as much, he has played GREAT! not good defense, and he looks much more comfortable handling the ball.  The injury Rondo suffered January 18th will turn out to be a win-win for the celtics.  Rondo gets rest and Bradley gets playing experience.  Here is a video of Bradley playin in last night’s game:

Props to RedsArmy for posting this!

“Always. Always,” Howard told the Herald. “I’d always listen to a team like that.

“My thing is I want to win. It’s not something like I’m doing this for money. I win. I want to do it my way.”

“The first thing is basketball,” he said. “I want to win a championship, and it takes a certain type of team to win a championship. You know, there’s a lot of teams who are great during the regular season. They play well, but it’s different once you play in those playoffs, you know? It’s gut-check time.

“Like I told the Magic, I just want to win. I don’t want a team that doesn’t know how you have to win in the playoffs. I want a team that’s going to go out every night and forget about stats, forget about who scores the most points or who is the fan favorite. Just go out and play, play for each other and play to win. That’s the only thing.”

“You know,” said Howard, “you look at a team like Boston and look at a team like LA who’s won . . . especially Boston. Man, those guys came together and they didn’t care who scored all the points. They had done all the individual stuff.

“You know, for me, I’ve done a lot of things individually, but I want a championship. All those accolades that I’ve got over the years, they mean a lot, but it’s just different watching teams hold up that trophy and knowing how hard you have to work to get it.

“They have the championship mentality,” he said of the Celts. “It means a lot. Like I said, I like the team. They play hard and they go after it, and that’s what I like.”

“I want to win, and I want to do it different from how everybody else did it or how everybody expects me to do it. I work extremely hard to be the best.”

I’m a fan of that last Howard statement. He wants to win and he wants to win different from everybody else. So does that mean he’d rather be apart of a “team” instead of flocking to the first city with two other superstars? Would he consider letting Ainge build around himself and Rondo? Highly doubtful, but all we need as Celtics fans is a little hope that Boston will have their very own “lob city” tandem to watch for the next 10 years.

So to recap, tough loss for the C’s, off game for Ray and Pierce, and overall decline of Kevin Garnett seems to be more and more apparent. But there are some other things to consider that are just as troubling. First the front office. Watching Delonte West hustle up and down the floor last night not only made me think of what we missed out on last season with his injuries, but also what we’re missing this season. I like Dooling, but is he really an upgrade or even an equal talent to West? I don’t think so. Also there is a huge lack of confidence in the rookies. Moore and Johnson have seen such limited playing time, with Johnson I’m not surprised. He doesn’t have the size to play the power forward in the NBA. But with Moore, I don’t understand why Doc isn’t giving him more minutes. If those two continue to ride the bench we’re going to wish we hadn’t traded away MarShon Brooks (some of us already do).

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Davis, 32, has played in 736 NBA games in a career that began in 1999 as the first round selection (21st overall) of the Charlotte Bobcats. His 12-year NBA career saw him play for six NBA teams, including three seasons with the Boston Celtics. The Celtics traded the high-scoring swingman on January 26, 2006 to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, Justin Reed, a 2006 2nd round draft pick (Craig Smith) and a 2008 2nd round draft pick (Nikola Pekovic) for Dwayne Jones, Michael Olowokandi, Wally Szczerbiak and a 2009 1st round draft pick (Jonny Flynn). He scored a career-high 20.6 ppg in 2002-03 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Davis last played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2009-10 and has spent the last season and a half playing abroad in France, Turkey and China. Once considered a one-dimensional yet prolific player, Davis has developed into a formidable rebounder and steady mid-range jump shooter over the years.

“Ricky Davis brings a veteran element to the Red Claws and will undoubtedly become an instant fan favorite at the Portland Expo where many of our fans will remember him from his days with the Celtics,” said Red Claws President and General Manager Jon Jennings. “Ricky is someone who knows what it takes to get to and stay in the NBA and is someone who is hungry to return there. We are all excited to welcome him to Maine.”

Davis is expected to join the team in Canton, Ohio where they will face the Canton Charge tomorrow night in the second game on a two-game set. He will make his Maine debut this weekend as the Red Claws host the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Saturday, December 31 at 1 PM and Sunday, January 1 at 5 PM. Great seats remain for both games and may be purchased by calling (207) 210-6655, in person at the Red Claws Team Store located at 413 Congress Street in Portland, or online at www.MaineRedClaws.com.