You could make a case that Avery Bradley did not deserve this season’s Most Improved Player Award. I would not agree with you, but the case can be made for a few different players. It’s more difficult to say that seven other players improved more than Bradley did, but that’s what the award’s voters determined.

Bradley finished eighth in the NBA’s Most Improved Player award voting, behind Ryan Anderson (the winner) and six others. The full results of the voting follow, per NBA.com.

2011-12 Kia Most Improved Player of the Year Results

So for an award voted on by 121 sportswriters, only 12 of them even put Bradley on the ballot. Can I remind the other 109 how far Bradley has traveled?

He was so afraid last season that he literally didn’t even want to participate in practice drills. He averaged 5.2 minutes per game last season, made just 34 percent of his field goals, scored just 1.7 points, didn’t make a single three-pointer all year and did not play a single second in Boston’s lone playoff series. His offense was so bad that a friend went to one of Boston’s games, called me while the game was still going on, and told me Danny Ainge should be fired for drafting Bradley in the first round. Bradley did tie a league record with nine steals — during his time in the D-League with the Maine Red Claws. Bradley spent a week at Doc Rivers’ house in Orlando this offseason just because he wanted Rivers to start trusting him. I remember ridiculing Bradley, thinking that if he wanted Rivers to trust him, he should probably learn how to run an NBA offense instead.

Now, Bradley has stolen Ray Allen’s starting spot, improved his three-point shooting from zero percent to 40.7 percent, emerged as arguably the league’s best individual defender, and become an x-factor for Boston’s playoff run, not to mention a huge reason the Celtics finished the regular season with the best post-All Star break record.

Yet Ryan Anderson won the award mostly because he played a lot more minutes this season, and Jeremy Lin, who played just 35 games, also finished ahead of Bradley.

Again, I’m not saying Bradley deserved the award in a landslide. I’m not even necessarily saying he deserved the award. I would have to spend more time looking at everyone else’s seasons before determining that. But Bradley went from being the very worst player on the Boston Celtics to a crucial reason why they succeed. The fact that 109 writers left Bradley off their ballots entirely is a joke.

It now becomes a question of whether Allen’s swelling returns at some points today or tomorrow.

I am not at all a religious man, but prayers very well could be on the agenda tonight.

“Ray Allen, whose jump shot art in heaven, hallowed be thy perfect form. Thy playoffs come, thy will be done in Boston as it was in 2008. Give us this win our daily bread and forgive us, Ray, for trading you and then un-trading you earlier this season. And lead us not into the ugly spiral of bad news which Shaq led us into last season, but deliver us from 3 for 25 three-point shooting. For the kingdom, the power and the sixth man position are yours, now and forever.

“Amen.”

Paul Pierce turned the ball over eight times, took his foot off the pedal for the middle two quarters, and still found the time to turn in an epic performance just when the Celtics needed one. All hail The Truth.

(video via Red’s Army and @MrTrpleDouble10)

And the red carpet rolling out for the Boston Celtics to reach the Eastern Conference continues to get longer. I’m not saying the Celtics will definitely make the ECF — the Hawks aren’t done yet and the Bulls would still be tough — but their path just keeps getting easier. Even if Smith returns in this series, one would have to think his impact will be diminished by this injury. When someone who relies largely on his athleticism gets “jumper’s knee,” it can’t help.

The Celtics shot oh fer 11 from the arc against the Hawks in Game 1 and Boston’s bench scored a total of four points. Ray Allen would clearly help both of those troublesome statistics, but his damn ankle just doesn’t seem to get any better.

The thought of Paul Pierce leaving basketball after this season — a productive one by any measure — provides yours truly with a headache that feels like Jonathan Papelbon riverdanced on my temples, and eyes that resemble Niagara Falls.

But Pierce recently, for the second time this season, called retirement an option when this season concludes. (ESPN Boston)

“It’s crossed my mind,” Pierce told MacMullan. “I’ve played a lot of years, ran a lot of miles. You just gotta wait and see what’s going to happen this year. You never know what direction this team is going to head in. You don’t know what Kevin is going to do, don’t know what Ray is going to do. This team could be in a rebuilding situation starting this summer. Like I said I always wanted to retire a Celtic, so who knows.”

This is a ridiculously long shot (think Jason McElwain overcoming autism to hit for 20 points in four minutes of a high school game despite functioning primarily as a team manager), but it’s the only way to swallow retirement thoughts: If the Celtics win a title and the Big Three walk off into the sunset together as champions, that would be the coolest thing to happen since I left my window open last night and my room nearly gave me frostbite this morning.