Apropos of nothing, via Red's Army.

I receive a lot of press releases via email, and I hardly ever post them. Why not? Because most of them suck, and I figure they’d be of no interest to anyone. But today, one press release actually sounds pretty cool. I’m actually hesitant about posting it, because then I will have a lesser chance of winning a new home basketball court.

The Boston Celtics and RE/MAX of New England have announced the launch of the 2011 RE/MAX of New England Home Court Program. Now in its sixth year, the Home Court Program awards three deserving Celtics fans home court advantage with a driveway renovation featuring a new home basketball court, and a Celtics-themed bedroom makeover. Additionally, a Boston Celtics player and legend will visit each winner’s home for a dedication ceremony followed by a community basketball clinic in the winner’s home town.

Fans can enter the RE/MAX Home Court contest by logging onto www.celtics.com and submitting a 500-word essay along with photos explaining why they need a “home court makeover.” Three winners will be chosen based on their essay to receive a home court makeover featuring a driveway or court resealing, a brand new basket stanchion, backboard, electronic scoreboard, a ball rack, and other Celtics-themed items. Each winner will also receive a special visit from a Boston Celtics player and legend to their home for a dedication ceremony and a youth basketball clinic with other children in the community.

An electronic scoreboard for your home court? Sign me up. I’ve already written four 500-word essays, and plan to write at least five or six more. I need this court, and a Celtics player and legend visiting my house is just the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, I doubt the player will be Kevin Garnett. You’ve got a better chance of finding Osama Bin Laden.

I liked Glen Davis’ contributions last night. Loved them, even. Getting away from his “take the first open shot regardless of when it comes” mentality, Davis returned to efficient offense. 15 points on ten shots, two blocks, and — even if his rebounding work was (as usual) few and far between — I’ll subscribe to what Davis offered last night.

One of Davis’ first plays revealed the more mature mentality he displayed last night. He caught the ball underneath the hoop, and it would have been easy to force a tough, contested shot in the paint. The Davis we’ve seen for the last few weeks probably would have done just that. But instead he dished to a teammate. When Davis gives up the ball, just like Doc Rivers had said after the Charlotte game, he usually gets it back in better scoring position. He sprinted to the corner, and Rondo (or at least I think it was Rondo) found Davis open. Davis stepped into an in-rhythm jumper, and scored two points. Give it up to get it back.

But as much as I appreciated his play, Davis should shut his mouth when the subject is Dwight Howard. What follows is the transcript of a conversation Davis had with Bill Doyle from the Worcester Telegram. (Boston Globe)

GD: “Make [Howard] shoot over the top, put my body into him, contest. Just make him a finesse player.”

Reporter: “Is that the biggest challenge for you to guard anybody out of anybody around?”

GD: “No.”

Reporter: “He’s one of the best around. He’s like the top center in the league.”

GD: “He is? Oh. He’s a great player, you know, but he’s not the hardest to guard. I think it’s easy to guard him.”

Reporter: “Really? How so?”

GD: “Because he doesn’t — you know, he’s a finesse guy. It would be different if you didn’t know which way he was going. But if he’s just going one way or making one move, you know, it’s hard to power over big dudes who are just as strong as him.”

Rule number one: Stop your opponent from scoring 33 points. Rule number two: If you fail to stop an opponent from scoring 33 points, don’t talk shit about said opponent after the game. Even if the aforementioned opponent failed to score during the final 5:22 seconds of game time, or — in other words — from the time Davis re-entered the game during the fourth quarter.

Is Dwight Howard less difficult to defend as someone like Andrew Bogut? Maybe. Perk has called Bogut the toughest cover in the league, and Milwaukee’s Aussie certainly has more intriguing post moves than Howard. But even if you think that, Glen, just keep your mouth shut. Howard just scored 33 points against your team, Glen, as well as 13 rebounds. To give you a frame of reference, Glen, both those totals would be your career highs. Yes, your career highs.

To recap, Dwight Howard just produced what would have been (by far) the best game of Glen Davis’ career, and a fair share of those points and rebounds came against Davis himself. After the game, despite Howard’s individual brilliance, Davis said, “He’s not the hardest to guard. I think it’s easy to guard him.”

Anyone else confused?

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

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I mean, I said to somebody else that we look like a totally different team out there just with Kevin on the court,’ said Pierce. ‘You can’t replace what Kevin gives to a ball club. He doesn’t always show up with his numbers, but his presence and his feel for the game and everything he does for this team goes far beyond the numbers, and you see it tonight. We look like a team who is ready, who is energized, who is locked in, and, you know, that’s the culture he’s brought here since Day 1. He raises everybody’s level of play when he’s on the court.’”

Ben Rohrbach, WEEI – “After all the hullabaloo over who’s the real Superman, there’s no wonder Dwight Howard rolls his eyes when he’s asked about Shaquille O’Neal. Thinking for a moment, the Magic center made a bold prediction. ‘The matchup is awesome,’ said Howard, tongue firmly planted in cheek. ‘He won the victory tonight, but we will win the war.’”

Peter May, ESPN Boston – “I know. I know. I know. The Boston Celtics think of themselves as a defensive team. They pride themselves on being a defensive power and understand that stopping the other guy is the best and surest way to add another banner to the franchise collection. All of that is true. But oh my goodness, they are doing things at the other end of the floor that make you want to call the championship flag seamstress and tell her to start working. If these guys can continue to shoot the ball the way they have over the first 40 games and their defense, already pretty good, comes around when everyone is (hopefully) healthy, we have the makings of a hardwood leviathan.”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “While other clubs reconstruct themselves with trades, the Celtics are doing it with good health. To a man, every Celtic acknowledged Sunday’s practice was motivational because Perkins and Garnett were back, and the team was whole. Glen Davis came off the bench last night and took shots in rhythm, after uncharacteristically turning into World B. Free in Garnett’s absence. And Shaquille O’Neal didn’t have to defend Dwight Howard one-on-one for the entire night. Garnett offered help, especially in the fourth quarter. The Celtics are approaching their natural order and that gives coach Doc Rivers a feeling of comfort. He tends to harp on injuries too much, as every NBA coach does, but without Perkins as an option and injuries to Rajon Rondo and Garnett, the starting five has undergone more cast changes than ‘General Hospital.’”

Mike Petraglia, WEEI - “‘You get out of it what it what you put into it,’ Garnett said. ‘These two weeks have been dark days for me, trying to keep my morale up, be around the guys, travel. But being hurt is not one of my things I like to be a part of. I hate it. I don’t deal with it well. But as I get older, along with these knuckleheads here keeping it real light for me, keeping my spirits up, I just worked through it. Tonight, I just felt stronger and I’m going to continue to build on this and not have any mishaps.’”

Mike Petraglia, WEEI – “Rivers didn’t feel the two teams played very good defense in the first 45 minutes, the last three were what mattered in a 109-106 Celtics win Monday night over the team they eliminated in the Eastern Finals last year. So, Garnett yelling out defensive calls and making plays like a steal on Jameer Nelson with 10 seconds remaining to seal the win was music to Rivers’ ears. ‘Listen, they all talk, but no one talks like Kevin,’ Rivers said. ‘He’s the best talker in the league. When you’re talking defense. And I think Perk [Kendrick Perkins] may be the second best. So, it is clear tonight – and I didn’t think we had a great defensive night; I thought we were actually average – but it was clear the communication, especially those last four possessions, you could hear it. He was calling their sets out. He’s a defensive coach on the floor.’ Rivers had no doubt the energy would be there. His stamina and effectiveness were another thing altogether. ‘I knew he’d play with energy,’ Rivers said after Garnett scored 19 points and hauled in eight rebounds in 30 intensity-filled minutes. ‘You could see that. You could see it [Sunday], and I was telling guys that our practice was just crazy with energy. And so, you knew that. I was concerned about his wind; I wasn’t concerned about his health at all.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “But there’s something about the waning moments of games that wakes Pierce up. He dealt the Knicks a dagger last month, drilling the game-winner over Amare Stoudemire from the right elbow. Last night, he victimized Jason Richardson, getting to his sweet spot, drilling an 18-footer, getting the foul, and converting a 3-point play that helped the Celtics seal their 109-106 win. ‘I’ve been in those situations a number of times,’ Pierce said. ‘I really don’t get rattled. I try to keep cool and calm about myself especially in the last two minutes, when the crowd’s frantic and everybody’s going crazy. I just try to zone in at that point in the game and just keep my focus.’ Pierce acknowledges that in his younger days, he would have been calling for shots. ‘Even though I got all the shots,’ Pierce said jokingly.”

Steve Buckley, Boston Herald – “But wake up, Boston: As of right now, and with apologies to the Bruins, and with the Red Sox still a few weeks away from revving up the equipment truck for Fort Myers, the Celtics represent Boston’s best shot for the next championship. The Celtics still have their Big Three. They have Rajon Rondo. And they have Shaq, who the other day did what we all have done: He slipped on the ice, and then cursed, and then got up, and then went to work.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “Rivers confirmed that reserve center Jermaine O’Neal trekked to New York on Monday to receive another opinion on his ailing left knee, which has sidelined him for 22 games this season. ‘What I think will happen is he’ll get some information then bring it back,’ Rivers said. ‘And [team physician] Dr. [Brian] McKeon, [trainer] Eddie [Lacerte] and J.O. will talk and come to a conclusion.’ Rivers said Sunday he thinks that unless O’Neal can find a doctor that can operate and get him back on the court before the playoffs the 32-year-old center will elect to follow a non-surgery path and play with the pain and limitations of the sore knee the rest of the season.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

Jason Richardson couldn’t miss, and Jameer Nelson stopped to shovel his scorching-hot teammate a pass. Richardson’s primary defender was lost behind a screen, and a three-pointer would have tied the back-and-forth game at 107-107.

Except the ball never found Richardson. Before it could, there was Kevin Garnett’s spaghetti strand arm, reaching in to poke the pass away and ultimately steal it. Garnett floated a pass to Ray Allen, who was fouled and made two free throws to seal Boston’s 109-106 win.

Have you seen a better-played NBA game this season? This was Rocky vs. Apollo Creed, two heavyweights duking it out, throwing haymaker after haymaker while somehow managing to stand on their feet for a full 15 rounds — or, in this case, 48 minutes. If you look at the stats and never watched the game, you would expect two abysmal defenses forgetting rotations left and right, leaving shooters wide open and dunkers underneath the basket unimpeded. But for the majority of the night, this was just two efficient offenses getting the better of stiff defensive units.

Look at the fourth quarter. Every play was an adventure. Hedo Turkoglu would drain a fadeaway three-pointer, then Ray Allen would come back and drill one from the corner. Jameer Nelson would come off a pick-and-roll to hit an elbow jumper, then Paul Pierce would step back, up fake, and drill an and-one. Every shot had an answer, every great play was followed by its equal or better.

Think this game meant something special? Check Dwight Howard and KG, jawing at each other the whole game. Check Jason Richardson, killing himself — quite futilely — to fight over screens. Check Ray Allen, throwing out three fingers in front of the Orlando Magic bench, after a late three-point make. Check Paul Pierce, wild’ing out after his late and one. Check Stan Van Gundy, telling his players they need a little extra in a game like this. Check Doc Rivers, uncharacteristically losing his shit after Ryan Anderson — yes, Ryan Anderson — went off.

The way Boston plays with KG, you wonder how they get by when he’s not around. We talk about his defense a lot, because he’s one of the league’s best defenders and has been for 15 years. But what about the offense? These Celtics just shot 60% against the NBA’s fourth-most efficient defense. They moved the ball so splendidly, so gorgeously, so beautifully, that I almost wept tears of joy.

One play in the fourth quarter exhibited both the Garnett effect and the Celtics’ pristine offense. Ray Allen caught a pass on the right wing, outside the three-point arc. Since Ray’s hit 19 million straight jump shots since the New Year began (or something like that), Ryan Anderson decided to jump at Ray while Jason Richardson chased him to catch up. Allen, not looking to force offense despite the flames jumping from his right hand, rifled a pass to KG at the free throw line. A defender ran to stop KG, but the Celtics had numbers because Ray drew two defenders. KG mustered all his unselfishness and great court vision in his wiry body, sending a pass to the open Glen Davis underneath the hoop. Davis would not make the layup, but his free throws were a result of the C’s rare collective unselfishness.

Though the C’s gave up 106 points, I have few complaints about their defensive output. Intensity was high and, for the most part, the execution wasn’t bad. My one major qualm was this: If you single-team Dwight Howard, that’s fine. He can score 33 points and haul in 13 rebounds, and you can live with that because his teammates don’t get open for three. But when you single-team Dwight Howard and his teammates still get loose from behind the arc, there’s something wrong. You allow one to take away the other. If Howard has 33, his teammates should be tossing bricks with hands waving in their faces. If his teammates make 11 threes and shoot 41% from the land of Antoine Walker, Howard shouldn’t find scoring so easy.

But my complaints, after this night, are slim and few. The Celtics just won one of the season’s most well-played games, and they did it in a way I couldn’t have scripted any better. Garnett looked completely healthy in his return. Ray Allen continues to shoot the ball like it’s a net-seeking missile. Rondo posted yet another double-double. Glen Davis returned to his bench role with grace. Shaq continued to display a pulse. And Paul Pierce continues to be The Mother-Fucking Truth.

In the Celtics’ locker room on Friday night, Nate Robinson asked Marquis Daniels, “Who we playing on Monday?”

Daniels told him they were playing Orlando, and Robinson, who shot 2-15 against Orlando on Christmas Day, responded, “Good. I owe them [dudes].” (Note: The word Robinson actually used was one I can’t ever say, and especially not on Martin Luther King Day.)

Robinson didn’t do his part. He shot 2-8, and took a couple shots that probably had Red Auerbach rolling over in his grave.

But he and his team owed Orlando one, and, if you ask me, that debt’s been paid back. Mr. Garnett, it’s nice to have you back.

What did losing Kevin Garnett mean to the Boston Celtics? (ESPN Boston)

“It’s like losing your best defensive player, your best talker, your quarterback,” Rivers said Sunday before deadpanning that “outside of that, it’s not that big of a deal.”

In other words, losing Garnett meant everything. And getting him back tonight (hopefully) should solve many issues. It should push Glen Davis back into a more natural role, improve the C’s rebounding, improve the C’s defense, and solve the world’s recent shortage in sports-related cussing.

As John from Red’s Army noted, most arguments about the C’s MVP this season come down to two names: Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo. Though Rondo is piecing together one of the most prolific passing campaigns in NBA history, it’s difficult to look at everything Garnett provides — from on-court chatter, to pure heart, to voltage levels that exceed legal limits — and say Number Five is anything but the C’s most important player. I’m not saying I would choose Garnett in that “Celtics MVP” conversation, and I’m not saying otherwise. But his presence means so much to these Celtics. Even Stevie Wonder can see that.

When the C’s last played the Orlando Magic, on Christmas Day, what resulted was a 48-minute batch of ugliness that ended in Celtics defeat. Rondo’s absence hurt the C’s that day, but couldn’t explain all the shoddy play.

“We played horrible down the stretch,” Rivers admitted. “Listen, that game down there, I don’t think either team was proud of the way they played. I think both teams were proud of the way they competed; it just wasn’t played very well.

“Honestly, we got great possessions down the stretch. We showed [the players on film Sunday]. If we replayed that game and got the exact same shots, I guarantee our guys would take them. We missed great shots, but I think we were more upset that we gave up 29 points in [the fourth quarter of] a game [when] no one was scoring.”

I’m a basketball fiend, and thus enjoy watching games even when the Minnesota Timberwolves spar toe-to-toe with the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers. So when the Boston Celtics host the Orlando Magic, and Kevin Garnett returns on the same night (hopefully), my blood tends to boil like this guy’s skin.

The Eastern Conference championship won’t be won tonight. I know that, you know that, and both teams know that. But if you want to tell me this game’s just a normal regular season game, save your breath. When these two Eastern Conference titans meet each other, it means something more. Something better.

And if Garnett still doesn’t play tonight, three weeks after Danny Ainge set Garnett’s timetable as “two weeks, and I think that’s on a very conservative side”?

Maybe it’s time to worry.

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

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “With Rondo out with a sprained left ankle injury, Robinson has been a starter who has tried to balance what he does best — shooting the ball — with running the team. ‘It’s challenging, but at the same time, I’ve watched Rondo and how he handles it,’ Robinson told CSNNE.com when asked about directing the Celtics offensively. ‘He does a great job at it. Those are big shoes to fill.’ … ‘We want Nate to play to his strengths,’ said Pierce, who at times demands the ball from Robinson to initiate offensive sets. ‘That’s where he gives the most value to this team. We want him to be a scorer, a guy who can be electric shooting the ball. That’s what we need from him.’ Which is why none of the Celtics were bothered by his 2-for-15 shooting performance against the Magic. ‘Nate missed some shots he usually hits,’ Garnett said. ‘We had some breakdowns at times. It happens, man.’ And while some players may become gun-shy after struggling, don’t count Robinson among them. ‘You just have to be ready to play,’ Robinson said. ‘That’s something that Isiah Thomas used to tell me. No matter what, you don’t know how many minutes you’ll play or when you’ll play. As long as you bring your energy, they can’t take anything away from you. That’s your greatest asset to the game.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “In the past few weeks, Robinson’s gone from understudy to playing one of the more important roles in the offense, and he’s handled the change so well that it’s easy to overlook how difficult the task really is. Not only is he replacing Rondo. He’s essentially the Celtics’ only option at the point besides rookie Avery Bradley. At the same time, being a starter is relatively new territory for Robinson. In his career, he’s started just 68 games. Since his rookie season in 2005-06, when he started 26 times for the Knicks, Robinson never has started more than 17 games in a season. He’s started eight for the Celtics already, and with Rondo out for the foreseeable future resting the left ankle he sprained in New York Dec. 15, he’ll have to continue to adjust. The shots Robinson is used to seeing, when he would burn teams for going under screens because they had prepared so much for Rondo, aren’t there as often anymore. ‘You notice when Rondo was playing, Nate came in and he always got the early threes, the early shots,’ Rivers said. ‘But now teams are starting to gameplan for that.’ ‘He just has to get used to maybe playing a lot of minutes,’ said forward Paul Pierce. ‘We don’t know when Rondo is going to come back. He’s definitely filling in Rondo’s role, and it’s a different game when you start than coming off the bench. He has to have a different type of mentality at the start, and I try to tell him, you can’t ease into these games. When you’re starting the game, you have to have it from the start.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “But there is something else to take away from the game that could well make the defeat — ugly though it was — seem insignificant when push comes to playoffs. The lingering image here of Saturday afternoon was Kevin Garnett calling for the ball and willingly going into physical battle inside with Dwight Howard and Dwight Howard’s biceps. The more recent model KG has shied away from such confrontations, but he was different when he showed up this season. Christmas Day was just the latest giant step, and, for the Celtics, it was a gift that could give them so much more. Garnett made 10-of-14 shots on the way to 22 points against the Magic. He had four steals. He was the only Celt to shoot 50 percent or better; the rest of the lads were a combined 18-for-67 (26.9 percent). ‘His body’s feeling better,’ Ray Allen said. ‘He’s getting back to using power, and he has that confidence in going straight ahead. We’ve been going to him even more in the last month. I’d imagine he’s feeling better, but there’s a responsibility that comes with that. He’s getting his body prepared and he does everything he can to keep his muscles strong and keep his mind right.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “In five losses this season, the Celtics’ average margin of defeat is a mere 4.8 points. Boston is giving itself a chance to win every game thanks in large part to avoiding large deficits. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Celtics’ largest deficit in any game this season was 14 points (during an 89-87 loss to Dallas on Nov. 8). The only other NBA team that hasn’t trailed by as many as 15 points this season is the Mavericks (Dallas trailed the Nuggets by a season-high 13 points in a 103-92 loss).”

Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel – [Editor's note: It took 15 seconds before Dwight Howard was penalized for a 10-second violation. I agree with 0% of this piece, and may God have mercy on Brian Schmitz's soul.] “This is all Dwight Howard needs: Something else to think about when he’s shooting free throws. Everybody has given Howard home remedies and suggestions to help him cure his ills at the line. Now it’s his best friends — the refs. They insist he hurry it up, pressuring him by conducting a silent countdown. A little-known NBA rule states a player has 10 seconds to shoot a free throw once he receives the ball. Officials enforced the statue against Howard on Saturday when the Magic faced the Boston Celtics. Referee Bob Delaney said Howard took too long and wiped out the attempt. Frankly, if anybody should have been penalized for slow play, it ought to have been Shaquille O’Neal. Did you see how long it took Shaq to get up and down the floor? Howard leans toward conspiracies. Now I don’t think the NBA is out to get him. But I do wonder how many other superstars would be put on a clock during a national TV holiday game, and that’s what irks Howard. I timed two of LeBron James’ attempts when he toed the line in the fourth quarter against the Lakers on Saturday (thanks to DVR). LeBron held the ball on his hip, spun it, bounced it, recited the Gettysburg Address and then slowly released the shot….in 11 seconds by my clock. Another shot took about 12 seconds. No call. I’m just sayin.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “The Boston Celtics closed out practice Tuesday doing five-on-five half-court work and, on the final play, the green-clad starters cranked up their intensity a few notches and created a defensive stand that left the white-clad reserves, who had been competitive to that point, paralyzed offensively. ‘The first unit knows that, whenever they want to, if they up their pressure, they can take the second unit out of anything they want to run,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said later. And therein lay one of Boston’s secrets to success during its low-on-style-points 14-game winning streak — ramp up the defensive intensity late to salt away the win. Half of the 14 victories were decided by single digits, with the Celtics’ opponent often hanging around for 3½ quarters before the Boston starters clamped down defensively. But on Saturday, that formula fell apart as Boston’s defense couldn’t get it done, and instead the Orlando Magic tightened up, helping the home team snap Boston’s winning streak with an 86-78 triumph at the Amway Center.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.