For Better or For Worse?

Let’s be honest. Right now, the Celtics are looking the best they have in a long time. They have won their last six games including an embarrassment of the Los Angeles Lakers. Why is this so significant? Because the Celtics are “Rondo-less”.

Some are suggesting that the Celtics should trade Rondo, that they are fine without him. To these people, I say, “No.”. Don’t get me wrong, I love the way the Celtics are playing right now. Their ball movement is next to none and everyone is scoring. In their past five games, the Celtics are third in their conference in points per game, and second in assists during that period. Why? The Celtics have been forced to spread the ball. With Rondo on the court, he was the one for the most part who decided when to pass and when to shoot, but now, each individual has to make that decision for themselves. Each player is having to make a conscious effort to move the ball. This movement of the ball is giving several players double digit figures in points. Trust me, this is a good thing.

The Celtics need to play as a team, not as a group that follows a superstar. However, I do not endorse the idea of trading Rajon Rondo. Rondo is too valuable to this team. When he comes back, the Celtics need to use what they’re learning right now and apply it to his game. Yes, one could argue that Rondo often tries to do a lot of things himself, but it’s because he can. He is an all around great player and the Celtics could really use him right now. Not only does Rondo provide assists for the team, but rebounds, and most importantly vision. Rondo can see things on the court that most other players could not. He is a vital part of this team and if he leaves, it will hurt in the long run, not having an elite point guard.

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Celtics Gelling as a Team: Win Six in a Row Including Beating the Lakers

The Celtics handily defeated the L.A. Lakers in Boston TD Garden Thursday night by a score of 116-95! A game that saw Celtics star Kevin Garnett reach the 25,000 Pt. level and be listed as the 16th top NBA scorer of all time.

However, even KG himself would say the more important story was that the Celtics gelled well, played tough defense, and maintained balanced team basketball!

Many players have been saying “we’ve been playing for Rondo” since he went down with an injury six games ago. Players like Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley knew this means they would get more playing time and needed to pick up the slack. So far they have been producing! Setting a tough defense and a steady offense anchored around capable veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Pierce even threw in some impressive triple-double and double-double stats including hitting key game winning last minute shots. Just ask the League leading Clippers who saw Pierce drop some last minute three pointers in their 106-104 defeat in Boston!!!

The Celtics took a side trip up to Toronto and defeated the Raptors on their home court 99-95! Showing their ability to win the next night they bounced back to embarrass the Lakers! Still bickering over who their team leader is… All the Lakers have to do is look at Kevin Garnett as a good example of a team player who always hustles, plays defense, and can rebound/score as well. KG does the hard work that leads to scoreboard wins and he does it unselfishly night in and night out. That’s why he will be one of the best to play the game!

Still Getting it Done

Imagine being Paul Pierce, finding out that your star point guard is out for the season. Shortly after, you find out that your rookie center, who’s been having a great year so far, is also out for the season. What do you do? Well in Paul Pierce’s case, you fight.

Last Sunday, the Celtics found out that Rajon Rondo would be out for the season. Yet, with both Rondo and Jared Sullinger gone, the Celtics are still getting it done. They have beaten the number one seed in the Eastern Conference (Heat) and the number three seed in the West (Clippers), along their four game winning streak. How is this possible? After all, Rondo was third in points, first in assists, and fourth in rebounds for the Celtics. He was arguably the most crucial piece of the team. Losing Sullinger at the five position (center) certainly didn’t help either. Yet the Celtics are still playing extremely well. How? Well it certainly helps to have “Da Truth”.

Paul Pierce in the past seven days, has averaged 15.7 points per game, 11.3 rebounds per game, and 7 assists. He is the captain of this ship and is proving it right now. Jeff Green has also stepped it up, while continually making the highlight reel, and Jason Terry has also shown signs of heating up. “The Jet”, as they call him, managed to score 13 points today and dish out 6 assists.

If the Celtics are going to make a successful playoff run, this is what they need. They are spreading the ball around well, as proven today with five Celtics scoring in double figures. They are also playing great defense; the Miami game was a perfect example, as well as the performance against Jamal Crawford today. The Celtics are looking good right now, and if they keep playing the way they are, they will certainly be contenders for a championship.

Rondo-less Celtics Looking to Remain Competitive: Win Three in a Row!

Perhaps team captain Paul Pierce said it best after last Sunday’s thrilling and gritty 102-100 2OT win over the defending champion Miami Heat on national TV…When told that Rondo had a torn ACL that would sideline him for the season Pierce expressed his frustration and then immediately stated…”Guys are gonna have to step up! That’s all I can say!”

Luckily, step up is exactly what the Boston Celtics team did! Winning the next two games by wide margins and in convincing fashion. Even though the Celtics learned they would also lose impressive rookie Jared Sullinger for the remainder of the season, they did not get dejected and even played some of their best defense winning 97-84 Friday night over the Orlando Magic. A few night’s before they had defeated the Sacramento Kings 99-81! Impressive defense got them the wins while important role players like Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, and Jeff Green played much harder in the absence of those important regular starting players! Paul Pierce backed up his statement with a pair of much needed triple doubles for the week!

All in all… the Celtics showed this week that although they are limping into the All-Star Break, they still have a balanced team and plenty of gas left in the tank! The Celtics may or may not be involved in a big trade but either way it looks like they will be fighting for a playoff spot until the end. With experienced and proven players like Garnett, Pierce, and Terry on your team that’s a nice position to be in!!

The Los Angeles Clippers roll into Boston on Super Bowl Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this Celtics squad does against a top, young up and coming team like them! It should be good playoff preparation before getting some much needed time off during the All-Star festivities! Go Celtics Go!!!!

Paul Pierce Gets Surprised Yesterday On ESPN

Paul Pierce led the Rondo-less Celtics to a big double OT win against the Miami Heat yesterday. Pierce had 17 points, 10 assists, and 13 rebounds…a Rondo type stat line that Pierce will probably have to keep up in order for the Celtics to contend this year now that we learn that Rondo is out for the year.

Apparently Doc Rivers was the only one who knew during the game that Rondo had been ruled out for the year, Pierce and his other teammates did not know. Unfortunately for The Truth, Doris Burke did not know that Pierce didn’t know about Rondo.

Check out Pierce’s priceless reaction to the news:

Betting on the Boston Celtics

Currently the National Basketball Association season is in the middle of their season. As fans of the game follow their favourite teams, so do sports bettors. Whether they like the sport or not, basketball is currently one of the hottest sports for sports betting. For instance, many follow the Boston Celtics and place wagers on the results of their games. Some people may not want to bet on sports for a variety of reasons though. Some may be a little worried about tempting fate by doing so and others may be short of confidence when placing money on something so unpredictable. For those that fall into this category there are alternatives; the internet has not only given rise to online bookmakers along with the benefits there, but also online casinos.

As with the bookmakers, these casinos have reaped many of the benefits that the internet has brought us. You can research odds alongside the games you are playing in another tab and you don’t have to dress up smart and head out like you would if you were heading to a land-based casino. The range of games is just as big as well – all the classic casino card games are there such as Poker, Baccarat and Blackjack and the range of online slots machines is staggering, which brings us onto the reason sports fans may find a good alternative here. Many sites such as Gaming Club online casino have started to develop sports-based slots games. These games allow for a bit of light fun and escapism from the game if your team aren’t doing so well, and can be played at any time from your smartphone. This provides a nice escape at half time if needed and you can’t predict any second half turnarounds to put on at the online bookies.

If you’re not looking for an alternative though hopefully we can help. When betting on Celtics basketball sportsbooks found at online bookmakers will offer different kinds of bets. For those new to basketball betting knowing the differences is key. After all, if you place a type of wager that you do not understand, then you could potentially lose money.

Single bets can be placed on the Boston Celtics. This kind of bet uses a point spread to encourage wagers to be placed not only on the favoured team but the underdog as well. Simply reading the spread established can indicate which team is the favourite and which team is the underdog.

Boston Celtics Trade Rumor Roundup

After a winning streak that was supposed to turn their season around the Celtics have reverted to their early season play and right now are looking as flat as any team in the NBA. With last night’s loss in Detroit coach Doc Rivers put his whole team on alert:

“[The start of game] was awful, we are playing awful. I’m clear not doing my job with this team. And I’m serious, I’m not trying to take a bullet for the team. And I told them that. I said, ‘We got to find something where every night, all 12 guys play the same way.’ We did it for three games in a stretch. I told them that games 4 and 5 in that [six-game] winning streak were garbage; We just won the game. I gotta figure that out. I told the guys that, I gotta figure it out. Because I don’t think the guys are honest with each other. I just don’t think we have committed to being a good basketball team.

“I think this team wants everything easy. They want the easy way out. They want to win easy. And I told them the only way you’re going to win easy is your going to have to play hard. The harder you play, the easier the games become. We’re taking the wrong approach. I gotta either find the right combination, the right guys, or we’re going to get some guys out of here. It’s the bottom line. Because this group right now, they are not playing right. It’s in them to play right. But right now they haven’t been — either because I’m not getting to them, or they are not getting to each other. But at the end of the day, either we gotta do that, or we gotta make changes.”

Are changes really coming? Here are some of the more recent trade rumors involving the Celtics.