Never underestimate the heart of a champion. It doesn't look good... but that's just when the Celtics start to thrive. If we can make it through game 7 without Bradley and the Miami-Indy series goes seven, we still have a shot.

I'm shocked Pierce isn't getting more recognition for last night... the only dude on the floor who was trying last night.

Rondo was too busy wondering what kind of flowers Jon Barry was gonna get him after the game to try in the second half.

I haven't seen a list before this that Doc was absent of. Marc Stein has Doc third behind Thibs (2nd) and Pop, and JVG mentioned Doc among a select number of others behind Pop (his winner). To me it goes Thibs, Doc, Pop. Thibs dealt with a number of injuries just like Doc did, especially in his devastating backcourt where Derrick Rose was supposed to have a shot at defending his MVP title (no chance given his injuries) and Rip Hamilton was supposed to be an overwhelming upgrade over Keith Bogans but has had a shaky season as well due to his own injuries. Doc, no need for an explanation amongst fellow Celts fans. And finally, Pop may have not had to deal with as many injuries but his brilliance with Timmy Duncan and the Spurs unprecedentedly having the best record in the league have to land him in the top three.

Agree 110%. Aside from factors that worked out well that we couldn't predict like Stiemer's emergence, KG's revival, etc., I've always thought the Perkins trade was for the best for a number of reasons. Without a backup perimeter defender, we were in just as bad if not a worse position heading into the playoff position by keeping Perk. His knee was questionable and still is. I can guarantee if he went on the FA market as an RFA with the Celts, he would have been wayyy overpaid, maybe even more than he already was. And lastly, I think Perk had been so underrated he became overrated. Let's face it: in the playoffs, if KG is not at his absolute best, the front court is a liability on the offensive end. And it's likely he would have been -- KG looked cooked before making the move to center this season. Perk can't shoot free throws, he gets a lot of techs, and as good of a defensive player as he was he was no blocking machine and I think in some ways some of the touting he receives is in part of the great system he was part of. He was decent, not even good in my mind. I just always defended him because for a while he was dumped on as a liability all-around, which isn't true. But seeing how tired Pierce was even with two backups in last year's second round against the Heat, I would absolutely do the Perk trade over again.

I agree. And as for the argument that we don't have enough depth to go into the playoffs... isn't a traditional playoff rotation only eight guys anyway? With Pietrus looking more and more likely that he'll return before or at least in time for the playoffs, Stiemsma, Ray Allen and Pietrus is a VERY solid eight man rotation. If the guards need a break, Dooling will be ready to spell them five-seven minute stretches a couple of games in each series. If the bigs need a break, Hollins is athletic enough to run for a few minutes as well. Wilcox, Ray Allen and Green sounds a little bit better but Stiemsma is looking as effective if not more than Wilcox in these last 10 games or so and Pietrus is no slouch, even in comparison to Jeff Green. Also let's not forget that if fully rested, the Cs have the ability to blow a few teams out of the water early, allowing them to possibly rest their stars a few games in the first round and maybe even in the second.

They know we're going to stomp on them in the playoffs so they're preparing to act like they don't care.

Agreed. Also, don't underestimate his ability to deny them the ball and wear them out on the perimeter before they get into the post. He's one of the best rhythm disruptors in terms of dribbling and facing up the game has today. Avery could be a very good SG. He has a silky smooth jumper that is equipped with a relatively quick release, and the basketball IQ he has shown through his cutting skills at this age is very promising. Him and Rondo could pair to make one of the most tenacious backcourts in the league. What I would like to see preferably? If the Clips end up falling out of the playoff race, we may have the chance to pair the Clips pick (if it's 11-14) and ours for a pick in the 8-10 range and possibly snatch Bradley Beal. If not, we could pair both picks+a future pick+cash for a pick in the 8-10 range and snatch the same player. If you make Beal your starting shooting guard next year (which I do regardless of whether Ray Allen stays or not), you could develop Bradley into the defensive version of Jason Terry. As a combo guard he could be a nightmare for opposing teams coming off the bench as one of the game's premier defenders already and a pretty good offensive arsenal as well.

What NBA player DOES know what he's doing when it comes to PR these days? Respectable superstars are hard to find. Amar'e Stoudemire, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love... am I missing anybody? There's a lot just below the superstar level like the Big Four, a few washed up superstars, etc. But there's not a lot of players truly on that level that have good PR sense (and sources say Dwight specifically said he didn't want to turn into LeBron!)

"... that's why they run there mouths on da computer" Sentence before that: "Celtics fans are big Pussys" 1) Learn English 2) Yes because we're definitely gonna take a flight out to Los Angeles to argue with you in person 3) STFU, you're a hypocrite

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself.

Everyone in LA in pathetic. Don't think for one second that if Derek Caracter or some shit player on the end of LA's bench was injured and we won ESPN wouldn't have pointed that out. As if it matters. Pietrus was questionable and with Wilcox AND Jermaine out we still came within three points. Don't forget Joey Crawford was lights out in that game for the Lakers. Yet Bynum "dominates" and I'm sure there will be title talk in LA for the next couple days until they lose to some shit team like NOH.

You only see Johnson as being able to stick with the C's? Really? I see all three. Moore is having probably triple the effect on the floor as Dooling is and Doc is only sitting Moore because Dooling is checking in close to three million a year. Maybe it'd be accurate to point out more of the free agency blunders Danny has made, but the trio of Bradley, Moore, and Johnson have all shown the talent to stick with the Celtics. If anything, Bradley and Moore have shown more to me and Johnson's numbers are just the result of some undeserving playing time. He's played well for stretches but he disappears for portions of the game and it's hard to play good defense in the post when most good post players have quite a bit of beef on you. Bradley is finally sliding into his bench role nicely -- JVG even called him "one of the premier guard defenders in the league" on Sunday and ensuing that comment he showed his offensive talent by knocking down a corner jumper with a hand in his face. He's an excellent cutter, has good shooting skills and obviously great defensive prowess. If it wasn't for Dooling's poor play Doc could focus on shifting him to his more natural two spot, despite being undersized, and we could get a jumpstart on furthering his effectiveness on the court. He has the athletic tools to be fairly close to stardom in this league, it would be nice if that came sooner rather than later. You can blame Danny all you want but hindsight is always 20/20. For half a season last year we were easily considered by any major sports network as the East's best team and maybe even the best team in the league. Shaq gave Cleveland a pretty solid season before and an even better season to Phoenix just two years before that. Even if he goes down 20 games last year, which was basically the expectation, we knew we would have Perkins sometime around the All-Star break, Jermaine could be counted on for a few games and we had Semih as a stopgap who actually turned out to be a pretty good center. Both Jermaine and Shaq were atrocious once we hit the midseason mark injury-wise and once Marquis went down -- which was the real reason for Perk being traded -- we HAD to trade Perk and the season was basically over after that. His knee was questionable, sure. We weren't sure if we could retain him, sure. But the real factor was it was absolutely certain that we would have ended up in the same spot we ultimately did had Pierce gone into the playoffs without a legitimate backup, and why not take the risk when you have nothing to lose? Even if we only spend one to two years rebuilding -- which doesn't even have to happen given Danny put us in unbelievable position with solid picks the last two years, two first round picks this year and loads of cap space -- Danny gave us a championship. We KNEW when we traded for Ray and Garnett that we weren't going to experience a dynasty. They just seemed too old and took up too much cap. So why are we complaining now when all of a sudden we have the opportunity to maintain one? It's possible if not for injuries that we could have won four championships in four years -- we were talented enough every year except this one. And now we have the chance to bridge that era to the new era immediately and we're bitching? I just don't understand.

Weak, you said the same thing a few days ago and no one gave a shit then either.

Quit sucking on your own douchebag, Red's Army kills it.

TypePad is pissing me off, lol, Graham is Celticsfanatic but for some reason it signed me out.

Maybe he just doesn't want Rondo to look like an emotional pile of shit for the two weeks he's trying to deal him.

Pretty positive Rivers is right in our drafting range right about now, he's slipped out of top 10 and probably even lottery at this point. Still doesn't mean we shouldn't take him, if he gets to us I hope Danny is smart enough to take him. I never understood the beef with Danny's drafting record. His second round selections these past few years have been pretty fuggin awesome and he hasn't exactly been expected to draft a superstar out of the first round these past couple of years.

Pierce also posted a picture of him chatting with Deron Williams and ESPN's all star headline is Dwight and Rondo laughing in some sort of drill... Nice to know future teammates are getting along already.

Why? The logic is no different here than it is in a Rondo for Gasol deal. With the shape Allen keeps himself in he has probably two years left of the same production he's giving now (15 points with great shooting percentages, exempting of course his recent slump)and a few years after that of solid production. Simmons in my mind is wrong to say Gasol has four or five of good years left. Good years compared to the average NBA forward, but no more than two years of equal production in comparison to what he's doing now. The Warriors have been desperate to deal Monta Ellis for the past two years now and unless I'm missing any reports of some sort of rekindling between him and management that won't change. Ray Allen's new contract is due to go down and renegotiation with Monta is likely to involve a higher deal especially with his recent play. Cap relief, professionalism, and even at age 35 a pretty damn good player. Next to Steph Curry they could be dangerous if they play their cards right. Of course the 1st rounder and cash isn't too promising but that's the first offer. More realistically you'd have to through in Avery Bradley to make the cap work but with the offense Ellis is bringing to the table I do that deal.

Normally I love Simmons but this is garbage. Mo Williams 2-16 last night from the floor... off the bench... about sums up the rest of his analysis. Ray+1st rounder+cash for Monta Ellis anybody?

Let's hope this doesn't mean P2 will give up shots in the process.

WE HAD TO MAKE THE TRADE. Goddammit I'm getting sick of it. Perkins is so overrated, and this is coming from a guy who fervently defended him during his most immature of basketball days.

Factor #1) Marquis gets injured and we have NO backup small forward. It's not like it was even a situation where we had a Bill Walker-type guy we were unsure of. We didn't have anybody. This is a risk we discussed earlier in the season and the majority was in agreement that if any of the small forwards went down, it was going to be tough. Worst case scenario I thought preseason? One of them goes down or is out around playoff time. And that happened. To me, we're in the same situation with a worn out Pierce and Allen if we don't trade Perk and sign either a crappy SF or no one at all. Factor #2) I know Perk was loyal to this team, was part of a family here, and expressed a deep love for this organization... but with all this said, he still also expressed that he desired to be closer to home. So it's not like within the first couple offers the Celtics would make to him a deal would be locked up. If Perk was still here, I'm sure there would be debate on whether or not it was too much of a risk to give Perk the money he wanted to stay here. Factor #2)b. Perk wanted more money than Ainge clearly was willing to give up. With Dwight Howard definitely on the market either via trade or free agency, Perk's injury history, and the two major factors above already mulling, it's hard for any GM to take that risk. Especially with this core group's timetable wrapping up very soon. Very soon being an optimistic way of putting things. Factor #3) Jeff Green is exactly the type of backup we've dreamed up since losing James Posey. He's athletic, has KD/LBJ length, has a great shot and is willing to learn and buy into the system. Oh, and there's a possibility that he can still bloom into an All-Star on a championship level team. I know we gave up some pieces that didn't hold just technical importance to this team, but given the circumstances, it's hard for a gambler like Ainge to say no. Which brings me to my last point... Ainge has ALWAYS been a gambler. He's always rolled the dice. I think fans have started to forget that because the big three have made it to the Finals two out of the last three seasons and we have another run in us. We know what we're getting with DA. Some could legitimately argue that even conservative GMs would peg this trade as a necessary risk. All that said, we still have a big chance here. After last year, I won't ever doubt THIS Celtics team. Go Celts.

"Usually when I have something to say; I say it to that person face. Keep that in mind 'Player X.'" -- comment from CelticsBlog.