Boston Celtics

  The Boston Celtics are an old and battered up team right now.  Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger are out for the rest of the year, but the Celtics are still in the playoff hunt.  After an overtime thriller against the Atlanta Hawks last night, the Celtics have moved into the sixth spot.  Currently, the very famous players for the Celtics are Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.  The other player for the Celtics that is known around the NBA is Jason Terry.  These three players have managed to stay healthy and score.  Jason Terry is finally getting his form back and is draining three-pointers.  He is starting to consistently make threes, and that is helping the Celtics greatly.  Kevin Garnett is doing a great job of shooting and rebounding.  He is aging but is still scoring consistently.  Paul Pierce started the year  in a shooting slump, but is now coming out of it.  He used to take quick shots in traffic, forcing up shots.  Now, he is setting his feet and taking his time when he shoots.  These players have started to score and come out of their shooting slumps.  Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry have stepped up their game, resulting in more wins.  By Ameen I.

Major Trade Possibilities

  The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers have been involved in many trade talks.  The Clippers are looking to send DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe for Boston Celtics' center Kevin Garnett.  Garnett has been linked to many trade rumors this year and this one is the most publicized.  Also, Paul Pierce is linked to many trades, along with the injured Rajon Rondo.  Rondo might be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Dwight Howard.  Kevin Garnett doesn't like much change, so it seems like he wants to stay in Boston.  If the Clippers get Garnett, then they will be a very good team and a very fierce team.  If Paul Pierce goes to the Clippers, the Clippers would benefit greatly.  They would likely trade Lamar Odom for Pierce and the Clippers will have a strong front five.  The Clippers would have Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, and Chauncey Billups as possible point-guards.  Kevin Garnett has a rare trade clause, meaning he would have to waive it off.  Lamar Odom is currently signed with a one-year deal and hasn't been preforming well.  The head coach for the Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, only has one year left on his contract and needs to take the Clippers far this season to get an extension on his contract.  The Clippers have not extended his contract yet.  The trade that will most benefit the Clippers involves sending Paul Pierce to L.A. for Lamar Odom.  By Ameen I.

Injured Teams Facing Off

The Celtics and Lakers have suffered many losses, and are facing off tonight.  The Celtics have lost Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, but are still winning games.  Sullinger is a rookie and Rondo is a star point-guard who was selected as an All-Star.  With these both out it hurts their ability to score, pass, and rebound.  However, they still have their veterans, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  Garnett averages 15.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1 block per game.  He can still rebound, which is keeping this team in tact.  Paul Pierce is averaging 18.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.  His only problem is his shot: not many of his shots have been falling.  Meanwhile, the Lakers have lost Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol to injuries.  They still have Steve Nash and the new Kobe Bryant, the one who passes.  Steve Nash is averaging 11.9 points and 8 assists per game.  He can make difficult shots in traffic and he can pass to get other teammates to score.  Kobe has 27.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 5.2 rebounds.  With him passing, the Lakers have been winning more games, despite suffering injuries to star players.  Gasol is out for about 6 weeks with a foot injury.  Howard is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.  I am predicting that the Lakers will win because they are overcoming these injuries by winning games.

By Ameen I.

Celtics Over Heat

Today, in Ray Allen's return to Boston, the Celtics and Heat sent the game into double overtime.  In the first quarter the Heat outscored the Celtics 26-22.  Rajon Rondo wasn't there for the Celtics shoot around this morning, and later today was diagnosed with a torn ACL.  Now, I think the two best point-guards, Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose, are out with ACL injuries.  In the second quarter the Celtics had a huge surge, outscoring the Heat 23-19.  The halftime score would be tied, with a score of 45.  In the third quarter the Heat outscored the Celtics 23-19.  In the fourth quarter the Celtics scored more than the Heat, 23-19.  The game would go into overtime, and the score at the end of regulation would be 87 all.  With seven seconds left, LeBron James buried a three-pointer to tie the game.  Then, the game was sent into a second overtime.  The Celtics outscored the Heat 13-11 in the overtimes, and won 100-98.  Kevin Garnett led the Celtics in points with 24 and 11 rebounds.  He made some crucial baskets.  Paul Pierce had a monster game, a triple-double.  Paul had 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.  Jeff Green did a great job guarding LeBron James and had 11 points.  Green made very important baskets for the Celtics in critical moments.  However, LeBron James led the Miami Heat with 34 points, 16 boards, and 7 assists.  Dwayne Wade had 17 points and 7 assists, tied with James for team lead in assists.  Chris Bosh had 16 points and 16 rebounds, tied with James with a team lead in rebounds.  Bosh also had a double-double.  This game was intense, and if both teams play like this for at least  half of their games left, they will surely make the playoffs.  With Rajon Rondo out, the Celtics suffered a big loss, but I think they can pull it off.

By Ameen I.

Hornets vs. Celtics

Tonight the New Orleans Hornets are going up to Boston to play the Boston Celtics.  The Celtics lost Ray Allen in the summer and he went to the Miami Heat.  So now the top three performers for the Celtics are Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo.  Rajon Rondo leads the team in assists with 11.2 a game.  He also averages 13.2 points per game and 5.2 rebounds a game.  To average that many assists and still average that many points,  is very impressive.  Rondo is one of the smallest players in the NBA, so it is impressive to average 5.2 rebound a game.  Kevin Garnett averages 14.6 point a game and 7.1 rebounds per game.  Garnett has done this with the Minnesota Timberwolves early in his career.  The good thing about Kevin is that he has a long shooting range and he grabs hold of so many boards, offensively and defensively.  Paul Pierce averages 19.6 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per a game.  Pierce is in his fourteenth season in the NBA and he led this team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year and lost to the Heat in seven games.  Doc Rivers has a son named Austin Rivers.  Doc said, " I can't wait until this game is over."  Finally, Brandon Bass averages 7.8 points a game to go along with 5.1 rebounds.

On the other side of the court, the Hornets aren't having the season they expected to have by adding Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers.  The center, Anthony Davis, averages 13 points per game, 7.7 rebounds a game, and 1.8 blocks per a game.  Robin Lopez( brother of Brooklyn Nets, Brook Lopez) averages 11.4 points and 1.9 blocks a game.  Greivis Vasquez averages 14.3 points a game and 9.1 assists.  Finally, Eric Gordon averages 16.9 points a game.  The Hornets haven't been a good team since Chris Paul left to go to the Los Angeles Clippers.  If Austin Rivers could do better,  there is a chance that he and Anthony Davis could lead the Hornets into the playoffs.  By Ameen I.