A Yahoo! report from yesterday indicated that the Boston Celtics are on Josh Smith’s short list of preferred trade destinations. But the Celtics and Hawks have reportedly not discussed any potential deal, nor do the two teams plan to in the near future. (CSNNE)

A league source told CSNNE.com on Monday night that the Celtics have had “no discussions whatsoever” with the Atlanta Hawks about acquiring Smith. The same source added there were no plans to open up such dialogue any time in the near future.

“You can never say never,” the source said, “but there’s nothing going on there.”

Though the trade seems unlikely at best, A. Sherrod Blakely mentions Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen as potential trade bait. The Yahoo! report mentioned that the Hawks would look for veteran players near the end of their contracts and that Hawks GM Rick Sund covets both Garnett and Allen. Even so, trading either player would constitute a very bold move from Danny Ainge (who, of course, does not fear making bold moves).

Smith has not requested a trade yet, but the Hawks could look to cut payroll. Smith would presumably attract more suitors than Joe Johnson (and Joe Johnson’s outrageous contract) on the trading block.

The Atlanta Hawks have begun testing what they could acquire for Josh Smith on the trade market, and the pogo-stick forward reportedly would not mind a change of scenery. One of the teams on his short list of preferred trade destinations? The Boston Celtics. (Yahoo! Sports)

The Atlanta Hawks have started to gauge trade interest on forward Josh Smith, and Smith isn’t averse to ending his seven-year stay with his hometown team, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Monday.

Smith hasn’t requested a trade, but has privately told league friends that the Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic are his preferred destinations should the Hawks decide to move him.

“The relationship has run its course,” said a league source with knowledge of the dynamic. …

The Hawks have looked to identify veteran players near the end of their contracts, sources said, but have had no serious discussions on trading Smith.

“They’re looking for a change,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “They would die to be rid of Joe Johnson’s contract or move Smith, but they won’t give [Smith] away. They want something in return.” Read more »

Happy New Year’s, Serge Ibaka.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘We came into the game with a completely different mind-set,’ Rivers said. ‘Before the game I don’t even think I said the word ‘offense’. Our defensive disposition from the start was terrific. I felt that we were going to compete defensively, but the big question is, can we do this every night? We’re a veteran team and sometimes it seems like we’re counting how many games we have until the playoffs.’ Whether they can do it every night, Pierce said, shouldn’t depend on how angry they are. ‘That’s the way we should be every night,’ he said. ‘We shouldn’t ever have to use the losses to get us up for these teams. We should play like that every night and we’ll put together a great season if we do.’” Read more »

(AP Photo)

Avery Bradley to Luke Harangody. The next Stockton to Malone was born tonight.

Okay, I’m kidding. Though the two Celtics rookies did connect successfully on a pick-and-pop, comparing them to Stockton and Malone would be like comparing Air Bud to Hoosiers.  The fact that Bradley and Harangody even played should tell you a lot about the Celtics’ 99-76 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

While the rookies got some rare playing time, this win was all about the starters. Nate Robinson looked like Rajon Rondo with a jumper, with 16 points and 10 assists in 30 minutes. I thought Harangody would win the dunk contest before Robinson notched a double-double in a Celtics uniform, but clearly I was wrong. Robinson was spectacular yesterday, but today he looked so much more comfortable running the offense. And hey, who knows? Maybe this short stint in the starting lineup will be exactly what he needs to learn how to succeed in Boston. Until now, Robinson has been inconsistent — at best — as a Boston Celtic. But he’s strung together his two best games in place of Rondo.

Joining Rondo in the land of double-doubles were Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal. KG looked to score in the post more than usual, using a low base to have his way with Josh Smith. The strong balance (body balance) KG showed on the blocks was a great sign. Last year it was easy to knock him off the low block. Now, KG is digging in and standing his ground. He’s able to make stronger moves down low than he was last year.

And Shaq? What did he do? You mean besides eat Al Horford alive, right? This is going to sound weird, because Horford has been Atlanta’s best player, but I suspect he also holds them back from being a true contender. At least while he plays center. Horford can’t handle real size, and the league’s true contenders (Boston, LA, Orlando) all have dominant post men. You probably remember how Dwight Howard man-handled the Hawks last season, and Shaq did the same tonight.

The only two starters who didn’t register double-doubles were Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. But check out their plus/minus ratings: Pierce (+33), Allen (+35). Not bad, right?

While the first unit dominated, the bench was again a bit underwhelming. Maybe I shouldn’t even bother pointing that out, because it was already garbage time by the first time substitutes entered the game. But the bench hasn’t performed well this season, and tonight was no different. It wasn’t like the C’s needed anything more from the second unit. Not at all. It’s just that I would have loved to see the bench provide something — anything — more than mediocrity. Other than a couple Delonte West hammer-blocks (and his sweet shot, miss and put-back), nothing the bench did set it apart. The lack of bench production is easy to overlook — mostly because the Celtics were ahead by 30 points quicker than you could say “Eddie House sleeps with Mike Bibby’s sister” — but it was evident. I can’t overlook it… even if the cause might have been an early lead that would have been almost impossible to lose.

The Celtics kept piling onto their lead, but Tom Heinsohn wasn’t satisfied. He began complaining about the Hawks trying to lull the Celtics to sleep by putting their third-stringers in. Heinsohn cautioned the Celtics not to slow down:

“Now is the time to beat them by 50, so [the Hawks] have to put the first unit back out there.”

And yeah, that was in the first quarter. The Hawks already had third-stringers in. It beat having the starters in, I guess. Only one Hawks starter scored in double digits (Bibby with 11 points), and each starter finished with at least a -20 plus/minus.

Anything else to add? Semih Erden somehow made a swooping left-handed hook shot, off the wrong foot. Jason Collins couldn’t play for my summer league team, and our starting center is a 6-4 point guard. Paul Pierce made an and-one at some point, then let out a primal roar like an animal from “Jurassic Park.” Glen Davis tried to follow a miss with a tomahawk lefty slam, before missing it and realizing, “Shit, I’m not Blake Griffin.” And at one point, the Hawks’ PA announcer played the Mario Bros. 3 theme song… while a play was going on. Coincidentally, that was just about the loudest the arena was all night.

So much for last year’s season sweep, huh?

I would write more but, well, Lawrence Frank is screaming at me. Something about a missed defensive rotation.

I’m just a blogger, Lawrence. Take a chill pill, man.

My prescription for curing the Boston Celtics would definitely not include an away matchup with the Atlanta Hawks, sans Rajon Rondo. No, that would be just about the last thing I’d suggest. But the Hawks are what the schedule gods have prepared for Boston, even if it’s not the best time for the C’s to play a team that has their number.

A lot of things must change, tonight. Here are a few of them:

Unit Number Two

At the top of my long list of recommended changes would be the bench. Yes, it seemed like the whole team offered nothing more than a half-assed effort yesterday. But when you look a little more closely, the starters actually did a decent job.

Each starter finished with a positive plus/minus. Of the starting five, only Ray Allen’s +3 was in single digits. The rest spanned from Shaq (+11) to Nate Robinson (+20). So yes, as I said, the starters actually offered legitimate minutes. They started the game off splendidly, held their own at the beginning of the second half (yes, I know “holding their own” is no good against Toronto), then put the clamps on in the final nine minutes or so of the final stanza. Yes, they also fell apart in the last half minute. But the Ray Allen turnover was more fluke than reason for worry, no?

While the starters were decent, the bench was, in a word, horrendous. In two words, [bleeping] horrendous.

Semih Erden played 11 minutes without making a single meaningful contribution,Delonte West looked far from the hero we expect him to be, and Marquis Daniels was in “not really making any type of impact” mode. Only Glen Davis provided meaningful play off the bench, and he finished with a not-so-shining plus/minus of -19. Of course, that’s not all his fault. It’s tough to play with a unit that, so far, has drastically underachieved.

The bench was supposed to be “The Boston Bench Mob.” This was supposed to be the deepest bench the Celtics have had, maybe in the franchise’s history. Instead, the second unit has been “The Boston Bench Blah.”

Maybe that’s because of injuries. Maladies to Perk, Shaq, Jermaine O’Neal and, now, Rondo certainly haven’t helped. But this team was supposed to be deep enough to survive the inevitable rash of injuries. It hasn’t shown any evidence of that so far. The West addition could prove pivotal, even though the bench is now 1-for-3 in games he has played.

Rebounding

The C’s rebounding woes of last season were supposedly fixed. Umm, look again. The Celtics have now been outrebounded in four of their last five games. For the season, they have grabbed only 49.8% of all rebounds — or, in other words, the C’s have snagged fewer caroms than their opponents.

It’s time to box out, fellas. Even without Perk and Jermaine O’Neal, the Celtics have plenty of size. They should probably use it.

Effort

Why have the Celtics lost to the Thunder (without Durant) and the Raptors (without anyone important)? Because the C’s have been lollygaggers.

They lollygag around the paint. The lollygag to contest (or not contest) shooters. They lollygag until they’re down ten points and only a few minutes remain.

Do you know what that makes them?

Lollygaggers.

What’s their record? 9-4.

How’d they even win nine? It’s a miracle.

This is a simple game. You dribble the ball, you pass the ball, you rebound the ball, you score the ball, and you defend the ball. You got it?

So stop lollygagging, Celtics. The Hawks have a tendency of kicking your ass. I suggest you take your collective head out of your collective ass and start playing Celtics basketball again.

Kapeesh?