“I want to say out of nowhere, but he came from somewhere.” – Donny Marshall

After the jump, what Jason Kidd would have done once upon a time. Read more »

With 7:24 remaining in last night’s game, Kevin Garnett hit a jumper to cap a 9-0 Celtics run and give Boston an 80-74 lead. I hate to rehash bad memories, but I detailed every Celtics possession that came after. Just how poor was the C’s execution? Read more »

Another night, another chance for a quality road win. The Boston Celtics travel to Texas tonight to play Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.

Last night’s win against the Thunder, though nice, wasn’t completely satisfying. The Celtics beat a very good team, on the road. They pummeled Oklahoma City in the first half, turned the ball over only 11 times all game, and were carried at times by the second unit. Life as a Celtics fan was, for the most part, good. But there was also the inevitable second-half near-collapse, the post-halftime meltdown that has already plagued Boston a handful of times this season. For whatever reason, the Celtics have gotten into a habit of coughing up leads. It hasn’t hurt them too much (Cleveland aside), but the C’s don’t put teams away when they have them down.

The Celtics are saying this:

Oh, we’re embarrassing you? We don’t mean to! We’re SO sorry! How would you like to come back? To make a real game out of this? Who knows, maybe we’ll even let you into overtime! Want a hug?

When they should be saying this:

[Bleep] you, you [bleeping] [bleepers]! We’re winning by [bleeping] 22 right now? Let’s make it mother[bleeping] 40! We don’t just want to [bleeping] beat you, we want to [bleeping] humiliate you! We [bleeping] want to reach into your insides and tear out your [bleeping] heart! And then spit on it!

At some point, I’d love to see the Celtics show some killer instinct. It’s nice that they’re winning, but extending leads instead of handing them over would be nice.

With that, three keys for tonight’s game.

1. Stop Brendan Haywood - He’s seven feet tall! He’s as strong as an ox! He earned a $55 million contract! He can build large buildings with his bare hands! Wait a second. This is Brendan Haywood? THE Brendan Haywood? Ha! The one who is averaging 2.8 points and 4.8 rebounds? Carry on then, Brendan. Enjoy your money, thief.

In all seriousness, the Celtics should probably give Dirk Nowitzki a lot of attention.

2. Transition points – The Celtics need to take some advice from Forrest Gump and just keep running. The Mavericks — this will shock certain Celtics fans — actually turn the ball over more frequently than Boston. Those turnovers will create fast break opportunities for Boston, which should lead to transition points. Even if the Mavs take good care of the ball for a change, the Celtics should look to run at any opportunity. The thought of Jason Kidd defending Rajon Rondo in the full court makes me giddy. Plus, the Mavericks are playing stingy defense so far, giving up just 97.4 points per 100 possessions. The Celtics should push the pace to find any easy looks they can get.

3. Bench Mob – When the C’s bench gets going, it changes games. Just look at last night. Nate Robinson (finally) wasn’t terrible, Glen Davis kept doing his thing, Semih Erden had the best game of his young career, Marquis Daniels provided some solid minutes, and Jermaine O’Neal actually grabbed a rebound (!). In fact, he grabbed nine of them! When the Celtics get that many contributions from the bench, they’ll be almost impossible to beat. Even on the road. Even against good teams. So be a mob, bench. Help win games.

Don't let Garnett get ahold of Blinebury. Please.

When a team misses a championship ring by six minutes, then significantly improves its depth (not to mention its insanity), NBA.com’s Fran Blinebury decides it isn’t a true contender.

Yet even in these earliest days there are the teams — Lakers, Heat, Magic, Mavericks, Spurs — that certainly will be contending in the championship mix and others — Timberwolves, Pistons, Raptors, Warriors — that just as surely will have representatives in Secaucus, N.J. for the 2011 Draft Lottery.

He just forgot the Boston Celtics, right? He couldn’t possibly think the Mavericks — the Mavericks! — are a contender but the Celtics aren’t. Nope, Blinebury didn’t forget. He considers the Celtics to be one of the “tightrope teams” — teams that will either be “performing breathtaking feats at a high level or going splat.”

Boston Celtics

How does a team that made a stirring playoff run last spring and won the Eastern Conference title get onto this list? Simply by growing a year older and then adding a 38-year-old center in Shaquille O’Neal. Age was the great leveler of the court for the Celtics all through the 2009-10 regular season as Kevin Garnett struggled to get back to full strength and without his defensive edge Boston lost its spark. With Miami’s significant upgrade and Orlando’s abundance of talent, can the aging Celtics afford to give up too much ground over the regular season and then turn on the playoff fireworks again? And with underappreciated Kendrick Perkins likely missing the first half of the season, there’s going to be a great deal of pressure on the aging Shaq. Can Ray Allen and Paul Pierce stay healthy? Can Rajon Rondo keep taking his game to new heights? We know the Celtics’ Big Three Plus One can cause havoc in the playoffs. But can they get there in one piece?

So let me get this straight: a team that made a stirring playoff run last spring and won the Eastern Conference title earned a spot on the “tightrope” list by growing a year older, but the Spurs — a team that didn’t make a stirring playoff run last spring, gets injured more often than Evel Knievel in his prime, and also added one year of age — made the contender list. Ah, that makes perfect sense.

Nothing to see here, folks. Just another NBA writer outdoing himself with sheer genius.

West may have some issues, but the man can play.

The names just keep coming. This time it’s Delonte West. Danny Ainge wants to make the Celtics bench the deepest, most talented bench in the league. By the time this offseason is all said and done, he might do just that. (Sam Amico)

Delonte West officially waived by Wolves. Early word is he could end up with Celtics, Bulls or Mavs.

I’d bet my left kidney the Celtics end up with either West or Rudy Fernandez. One or the other. West is a more complete player, but Rudy doesn’t have as many issues. Then they’ll still have Sheed’s contract to play with, but the bench will already be so stacked at every position I don’t even know what they’ll use it for. Probably a small forward in case Marquis shits the bed again and/or Vonilla Wafer and Rudy Fernandez/Delonte West can’t defend bigger small forwards. Either way, no matter what way you look at it, the thought of next season’s bench is making me leap for joy. Only problem with leaping for joy is, I can barely leap over a credit card.

Buckets galore. Coachability? Not so much.

The Boston Celtics have shown interest in Von Wafer, according to Hoopsworld’s Alex Kennedy.

The Boston Celtics have shown interest in Jarvis Hayes and Von Wafer, source confirms. @SherrodbCSN first reported team’s interest in Hayes.

I don’t know what to think about Wafer. On the one hand, he can score buckets during his sleep. On the other, he couldn’t pass a physicalfor two separate NBA teams last season after he bought himself out of the contract he signed with Olympiakos. On the one hand, he averaged 10 points in only 19 minutes during his final season in Houston. On the other, he verbally battled with Rick Adelman, who seems like a dream to play for. On the one hand, he’s not Adam Morrison, Jarvis Hayes, or Larry Hughes. On the other, he’s only had one good year in the NBA.

Damn, that’s a lot of muh-fucking hands. If you put a gun to my head, I think I’d like Wafer on the team. He’s kind of like a poor man’s J.R. Smith. He can fill it up in a hurry or he can take a few stupid shots and make you want to give him the Stone Cold Stunner. But he can score. Oh, he can most definitely score.

P.S. – I pride myself on knowing everything that happens in the NBA. Every trade, every signing, everything. If Shaq sneezes I know about it. But I never knew Wafer got signed and then subsequently released by the Mavericks last season. I don’t know how they got that one by me. Sly bastards.