If Richard Hamilton and/or Troy Murphy get bought out this season, the Boston Celtics are expected to show interest. (Yahoo! Sports)

The Hornets will likely be in pursuit of New Jersey Nets forward Troy Murphy once the Nets reach a buyout agreement with him after the trade deadline. Nets coach Avery Johnson made clear he didn’t want Murphy after the three-team trade that brought him from the Indiana Pacers. Trade talks have gone nowhere for Murphy, who has an expiring contract. Nets GM Billy King will ultimately work a buyout to free Murphy to sign elsewhere.

In addition to the Hornets, several other teams are expected to show interest in Murphy, including the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, sources said. …

Richard Hamilton will have to be willing to give back a significant portion of the two years, $25 million owed him to get a buyout on his contract. Sources said the Celtics still remain intrigued with Hamilton as a scorer off the bench.

Based on everything I’ve read, Hamilton has maintained that he won’t accept a small buyout. He wants to receive a large portion of the remaining two years and $25 million he is owed, which could complicate matters when it comes to a buyout. That said, if Hamilton wants to leave Detroit, a buyout could become his only option. There aren’t too many teams desperate to trade for a 33-year old (his birthday was actually on Valentine’s Day) shooting guard with many miles on his legs and many, many dollars remaining on his contract.

Moving on to Troy Murphy: umm, Troy Murphy? Even when he was posting double-doubles left and right, I always wondered whether Murphy was actually helping his team or hurting it. “Defense” isn’t exactly in his vocabulary, although “nearly 7-foot gunner with three-point range” is. Maybe signing Murphy would work out for the Celtics; beggars can’t be choosers, and if all the C’s big men stay injured the C’s will be beggars. But in Ireland, Troy Murphy actually means “Mikki Moore with shooting range.” Okay, so maybe the Mikki Moore comparison isn’t fair (or at all close). But if the C’s are looking for a quick fix to their currently thin frontcourt, Murphy’s not the answer.

(h/t CelticsBlog)

Do yourself a favor: go back to the 16-second mark and watch the ensuing dunk. I know that defense makes Mikki Moore look like Bill Russell, but YOU try completing that dunk. Even with nobody on you. I didn’t think so.

But seriously, where in the world was the defense? I’m pretty sure every player on the court made a pact to allow wide open dunks. Almost like the pact Don Nelson makes his Warriors sign before every season.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Its on in Game 2.

Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “Had he thought about it for a moment, Gasol also could have counted on that when his words got to Garnett they would be a.) not be well-received and b.) not be fully translated. Gasol was not trying to insult Garnett. He was simply trying to explain how time and the wear and tear of so many seasons in the NBA had changed his game. Yet not long after he had spoken, a gaggle of reporters relayed to a smoldering Garnett what his Lakers adversary had said. Maybe he did say it, but not that way. Garnett was already in a dark mood after having twice watched the videotape of the Lakers’ 102-89 victory in Game 1. ‘I played like horse-bleep,’ Garnett said. Yet while happy to be hard on himself, it was evident from the tightness in his jaw as he heard Gasol’s talent assessment that he was not too happy to hear from his longtime rival, nor was he ready to respond. That will come, Rajon Rondo [stats] assumes, tomorrow night in Game 2. ‘Every man is entitled to his own opinion,’ a smirking Rondo said after being told of Gasol’s take on Garnett’s fading skills. ‘You know, Kevin is fine. It’s just one game. We’ll see in Game 2. I mean, hey, obviously he knows what he’s saying, so I don’t have anything to say. I just can’t wait. I didn’t know he said that, but I’ll be excited to see how it goes in Game 2.’”

Peter May, ESPN Boston – “Not quite the same thing as Cedric Maxwell mocking Bernard King in 1984, adding that in no way was ‘the b—- going to score 40 on me.’ But in the politically correct era in which we live, an honest assessment of an opponent, warts and all, amounts to calumny or slander. What made Gasol/Garnett a storyline after Game 1 was the former’s total dominance of the latter. Gasol was fluid, active and aggressive, the unquestioned star of the game, with 23 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots in the Lakers’ 102-89 whuppin’ of the Celtics on Thursday night. Garnett? He was Mikki Moore. Through three quarters, the 6-foot-11 Garnett had one rebound. One. He finished with four, but two of those were off his own misses, one of which was an uncontested dunk/layup that he bungled. He looked like the Kevin Garnett we saw a lot of in the regular season, the one who got faked out by Ersan Ilyasova or beaten off the dribble by Andray Blatche. He looked nothing like the Kevin Garnett who averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds against the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The big unknown — and for the Celtics, it is a big unknown — is whether the Game 1 Garnett is, for whatever reason, the real Garnett. If it is, the Celtics are doomed. He really didn’t have a great series in the conference finals against Orlando — 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Game 4 loss was his high point — and he was, like many of his teammates, awful in Game 1 against L.A. But to hear the talk Friday, both sides expect the terrifying, menacing, lane-clogging, constantly talking and more effective Garnett to make his NBA Finals debut in Game 2. He had better.”

Marc Berman, New York Post – “Kobe Bryant’s reward for winning his fifth championship could be right knee surgery, according to Colangelo. Colangelo said he’s not counting on Bryant for the World Championships this summer because he has been told surgery is a major option. ‘He could very well have surgery after the playoffs,’ Colangelo said. Bryant, who has played with a broken finger much of the season, hardly has practiced in recent weeks, resting his right knee that was drained in April. In the Western Conference Finals victory over Phoenix, Bryant was at his best, averaging 33.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.2 rebounds.”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “‘You can’t play mad, you can’t play angry, you just have to go out there and be an instigator,’’ Glen Davis said. “You have to play under control and at the same time have a sense of urgency. Everybody gets punched. Everybody gets knocked out. It’s all about how you get up the next day and how you react to it. Our reality is that we got punched. We got dazed. We’ve got to go out there and keep fighting. This is the Finals, you have to bring your hard hat. You have to bring everything to this, every inch of focus and inch of rest, you have to bring it.’ The Celtics didn’t like themselves much yesterday. They regretted their belief that their ‘B’ game would be good enough to compete with the league’s best. They have one day to sharpen the fundamentals and principles they have mastered — and also forgotten — on several occasions this season.”

Mark Heisler, LA Times – “‘I’m going to guess that you know Phil’s record when he wins Game 1,’ someone asked Coach Doc Rivers. ‘Uh-huh,’ Rivers said, without enthusiasm. ‘Do you know what it is?’ ‘I don’t know the record,’ Rivers said. ‘I’ve just heard about it. . . . The last time we were in the Finals, no team had ever come down from 24 in the second half. At some point, it happened.’ For Lakers fans who have repressed the memory of that point, the Celtics came from 24 down in Game 4 in 2008 when the Lakers, who were about to tie the Finals, 2-2, then found themselves down, 3-1, instead. If a 1-0 lead is preferable to an 0-1 deficit, no Laker with a memory can feel safe, even if it goes back only two years. Remember Game 1 in 2008 when the favored Lakers led, 51-46, at halftime, having just gone on a 27-17 run, and jumped around excitedly in the locker room when players asked: Is that all they’ve got? Remember the Lakers’ bemused reaction to Paul Pierce’s wheelchair ride and dramatic return, after which Pierce got 28 in Game 2 and the Celtics stomped them, leading by 22 after three quarters? Then, of course, there was Game 4 of that series. (And, for older Lakers and fans, Frank Selvy’s miss in 1962, the balloons in 1969, Game 2 in 1984, Game 4 in 1984, Game 5 in 1984, et al.)”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘It says a little bit about us, the fact that we were able to gather ourselves after that shellacking, and it was the nature of the game,’ said Rivers. ‘It’s rare that your team shows up not to play. It happens sometimes for whatever reason. It just happens. No matter how much you prepare it can happen sometimes,’ he added. ‘I thought we had tremendous practices leading up to the game. I thought the day before was one of our best practices in some ways, with our effort and how alert we were. And for whatever reason we didn’t show up with that same stuff, and it happens.’ As evidenced by their response in both the Cleveland and Orlando series, the Celtics also know how to get that edge back. ‘It’s not my job to figure out what they’re going to do. It is my job to make amends for the physical aggression that we lacked,’ said Ray Allen. ‘I think we, tendency wise, got early fouls, and it put us on our heels a little bit more than we would like. But those fouls, we just play through it, but we’ve got to keep our aggressive nature. It was frustrating,’ Allen continued. ‘I’ve anticipated this moment since the last time we were here. So you figure, last year losing in the second round, wanting to get back here, thinking about the summertime and then playing the whole season and having a great playoffs as a team. But I always have faith in my teammates knowing they’ll get the job done when they get out on the floor. I knew a long time ago you get in foul trouble, minutes get added onto the game, and you just have to find a way to have an impact.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “‘I expect the whole team to be more physical because they felt like (Thursday) night we were the more physical team out there and they take pride in being the physical team,’ Gasol said. ‘We’ve just got to be ready for it.’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson expects the Celtics to try to get Ray Allen more involved. Allen had 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting and was limited by foul trouble in Game 1. ‘They started off right away trying to exploit the Allen-(Derek) Fisher matchup and got Fisher out of the game in a matter of two minutes (with foul trouble),’ Jackson said. ‘That may be something they want to go back to and work on again.’”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “The Lakers dominated all the power categories, winning points in the paint, rebounds and second-chance opportunities with ease, though they didn’t think it would be as simple in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Sunday at Staples Center. Their thinking: There’s no chance Kevin Garnett again takes only one rebound through three quarters, no way Kendrick Perkins has three rebounds in 24 minutes, little chance Kobe Bryant drives in and out of the teeth of the Celtics’ defense with such freedom. ‘I think they’ll make it much more difficult for us to get to the basket,’ Jackson said. The Celtics will need to do something if they don’t want to go back to Boston with a two-game deficit. Pau Gasol was unstoppable Thursday, taking eight offensive rebounds and scoring on three put-backs against Garnett. Andrew Bynum played a surprising number of minutes (28) and was efficient enough with 10 points and six rebounds. Some observers characterized the Celtics as being passive, even soft. ‘They would be right,’ Rivers said. ‘We were.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Even Garnett agrees that he’s not the same player he was a couple years ago in large part because of the knee injury that sidelined him for the last 25 regular season games last season as well as the playoffs. ‘Certain things that he’s done before he’s probably not doing now or he’s getting back to doing those things,’ said Paul Pierce. Added Glen Davis: ‘Kevin Garnett is Kevin Garnett. He’s one of the best power forwards to ever play the game.’ Told of Gasol’s comments, Garnett essentially dismissed them. ‘I’m just not getting caught up in what Pau is talking about and what they’re talking about,’ Garnett said. ‘It’s going to be what it is. I’m not going to play these games. I’m going to stick to my guns, make the proper adjustments and move on and not get into this bullshit that’s going on, know what I mean?’”

Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “The image of the Celtics turned from experienced and physical to old and passive after their 102-89 loss to the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday. But that was not Paul Pierce’s take. ‘You get good praise when you win, negative praise when you lose,’ Pierce said yesterday. ‘That’s just the nature of the business in anything you do. I really don’t pay attention to it. We’ve made it to the final round with this team with the guys we’ve got, regardless of their age or regardless of their experience. But I don’t buy into the fact of being too old, or whatever you guys are talking about. You know, we’re playing for a championship here. The loss definitely inspires us, but just being in the NBA Finals should inspire us. We don’t need anything to inspire us at this point of the season. It’s the Finals and we have a spark to go on and try to add on to it, but the inspiration is already there.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “‘All year when we play bad, we’re old; when we play well, we have great experience,’ said Rivers. ‘That’s just who we are. I think our guys accept that now. It doesn’t bother them. Kevin works so hard on his game, I just thought — I made a comment to our coaches, I wish we could have played the day before. He probably had the best practice that he had in five days. He was unguardable. And then the next day the human part of the game shows up, and for whatever reason — I think part of it, you’ve got to give the Lakers credit, they did a nice job — I just thought he lost his rhythm.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “In the first 13 games of the postseason, Allen averaged 18 minutes, 7.1 points and 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals for the C’s. He always looked comfortable with the ball, under control in transition, and, of course, his defense on the opposition’s best weapons was a game-changer. But in the five games since the injury those numbers have plummeted. He’s averaged 14 minutes, 2.4 points and .8 boards and .4 steals a game. His turnovers are about the same, but, while earlier in the playoffs, those turnovers were a product of the general flow of the game, lately they’ve been more of the unforced variety, the result of indecision rather than aggression. His defense has taken a hit, as well. On Thursday night in Los Angeles, with Ray Allen in early foul trouble, Doc Rivers turned to TA to match-up with Kobe Bryant, and Allen responded by picking up three fouls of his own within five minutes. ‘It’s affected him, there’s no doubt about it,’ Rivers told CSNNE.com before Friday’s practice. ‘And he’s a confidence player, so we’ve got to figure out a way to just let him know that he’s all right. He does what he does, and if he does that, that’s good, but it clearly bothers him.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter

I wanted to hide under a towel, too. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The final score, 106-96,will tell you about the Boston Celtics’ embarrassing loss to the Washington Wizards.  But – please believe me on this – the score cannot begin to describe the dose of humiliation the Wizards forced down Boston’s throat.  Ladies and gentlemen, Celtics fans of all ages, we have a new contender for the lowest moment of the 2009-2010 season. 

If you thought losing to the godawful New Jersey Nets, at home, was embarrassing, you should have seen tonight’s performance at the Boston Garden.  For most of the first half, it looked like the Washington Wizards were playing five second-graders.  The game was 20-17 in Washington’s favor with 2:40 left in the first quarter.  By the time 7:15 remained in the second quarter, the score was 38-17.  Just your regular old 18 to zip run.  A 15-15 tie became a 47-19 deficit.  A 32-4 run.  By one of the NBA’s worst teams. No big deal.

The game wasn’t just painful to watch, it made me want to go all Eminem on myself.  You know, stick nine-inch nails through each one of my eyelids.  If I didn’t have an obligation to write a recap, I would have switched the channel in the second quarter, and never thought about the game again.  If I don’t have nightmares about this game, it’s only because the memory of the loss left me unable to sleep.

If I do have nightmares, they’ll be about Andray Blatche scoring every which way.  They’ll be about JaVale McGee skying for blocked shots and hustling for boards, and Shaun Livingston (yes, the same Shaun Livingston everyone left for dead) scoring and dishing at will.  They’ll be about Wizards frolicking unharmed through the lane, and athletic big men.  Oh, so many athletic big men.  I’ll have nightmares about Kevin Garnett playing like Mikki Moore, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen missing jumpers.  And a 42-point fourth quarter that still couldn’t get the Celtics to the century mark.  And about the scoreboard: Big Three–27, Blatche–31. 

My nightmares will be about anything, and everything, I saw tonight.  Except the comeback.  I won’t remember the comeback, not even a little.  It isn’t exactly valiant to start trying only after spotting an opponent 28 points.  In fact, the sight of Nate Robinson drilling three-pointers in an already-decided game almost made me lose my lunch.  That the Celtics needed a barrage of three-pointers and a barrel of Wizards turnovers just to make the final score respectable is not cause for cheer.  Actually, the only thing about tonight’s game that brought a smile to my face — and I mean THE ONLY thing — was the final buzzer.  It was over.  Finally.

Oh yeah, and Rajon Rondo was honored with the 2010 Red Auerbach Award before the game, then notched 17 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds.  What, exactly, is the Red Auerbach Award?  According to the Celtics press release, it is given to a Celtics player who best exemplifies the spirit of what it means to be a Celtic.  After tonight, it’s surprising that exemplifying the spirit of a Celtic is a good thing.

Box Score

I always laugh when I see Gabe Pruitt.

With 13 players on the roster (excluding Marcus Landry, assigned to the Maine Red Claws) and only 12 allowed to play, there has to be an odd man out.  So far, it’s been Brian Scalabrine.

While Doc Rivers has told Scal to stay ready, that his time may come, there was a jarring paragraph from Steve Bulpett’s piece in yesterday’s Boston Herald.

Translated, that means that with 15 games left in the season, Scalabrine will play only if: A) Rivers wants an extra forward active; B) a teammate is injured; C) the Celtics decide to rest regulars at the end of the regular season. It is, thus, entirely possible that Scalabrine has played his last game as a Celtic, but he sincerely hopes that is not the case.

Wow. Scal might have played his final game as a Celtic.  It’s hard to believe.

Some may see Scal as nothing more than a towel-waving Human Victory Cigar or Human White Flag, but not me.  I see Scal for what he is: a professional, someone who’s always ready to play even though he knows he probably won’t.

Before last season, Scal had done little to earn his any of his $15 million contract.  He’d been largely a disappointment, becoming the butt of jokes more often than a difference-maker in games.  I made jokes about him, too.  It was tough not to: He’s as goofy, lumpy and, well, white as NBA players come.  He was making $3 million a year to sit at the end of the bench, and once in a while play in a blowout.

But something weird happened last year: Jokes about Scal stopped being funny.  He became a valuable member of the team, and played — *gasp* — well.  With Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe out for the playoffs, and Mikki Moore struggling to find a pulse, Scal became the first big man off the bench.  For anyone who’d seen Scal play in Boston, that would seem to spell disaster.  But he was solid.  Good, even.

He gave the Celtics 20 legitimate minutes per game, made 45% of his three-pointers, and even somehow found it inside that rounded body of his to defend Hedo Turkoglu and defend him well.  The Celtics didn’t end up beating Orlando, but Scal wasn’t at all the reason why.  He had proven his worth.

But it’s a new year, and Scal has been ice-cold.  His touch has eluded him, and with Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, Michael Finley, Rasheed Wallace and Shelden Williams added to the mix, Scal is again on the outside looking in.  Even with Scal nursing a shooting percentage even Rasheed frowns upon, there aren’t as many Scal jokes going around.  We remember how he stepped up when the Celtics needed him, shouldering a load he’d never been faced with in Boston.

A year after proving himself, Scal might have already played his last game as a Celtic.  Still, he hopes to be back in Boston next season.

You know what’s weird?

I hope he is, too.

I think the guy on the right would have no trouble posting up Nate Robinson.

Just a brief preview of tonight’s game. It IS St. Paddy’s Day, after all. Actually, it’s not really a preview at all.

Instead, I’ll give you a couple links that I find St. Paddy-ish.

1. First is a list of one man’s top ten favorite Celtics of the past 25 years. I’m pretty skeptical the author is actually a Celtics fan: While leaving Paul Pierce off the list, he includes Dino Radja, Gerald Green, Joe Johnson, and Chauncey Billups, Andrew DeClerq and Vitaly Potapenko. I guess he really has a spot in his heart for guys who never panned out as Celtics. I was surprised he didn’t include Mikki Moore. (Dime Mag)

2. No matter what you think of Rasheed Wallace, these are some pretty sick kicks. (Ball Don’t Lie) There are more Celtics kicks, too.

3. Rajon Rondo still doesn’t think the Celtics can be beat.  (Celtics Hub) Funny, I remember the C’s saying the same thing last year, even when KG was down.

4. Happy St. Patrick’s Day from The Basketball Jones.  You might remember the first guy on the list.  In fact, you probably despise him.

5. This has nothing to do with basketball, but everything to do with crackheads, amateur sketches, and leprechauns.

On another note, there actually will be a game tonight. But it’s against the Knicks, and I’m thinking that not even all the luck of the Irish in the world could help the Knicks tumble the Celtics. Well, I hope.