Seems like every time Rajon Rondo has one of his otherworldly games, the talk rises again of the Big 3 passing the torch to the star point guard. Then Rondo will take a half step or two back to earth (or merely have a great game instead of a jaw dropping one) and one of the other stars will step up and take the limelight for a bit. But that's what stars do, they shine.

There's a little something different about this time around. There seems to be a finality about things going on now. The clock is ticking and while the Big 3 still have plenty of fight in them, everyone seems to agree that Rondo is the engine that drives this team now.

Celtics tradition passed to Rondo -Celtics blog - Boston Globe basketball news

Rondo's emergence signals the final stages of the Celtics' changing of the guard. It's clear now more than ever that Rondo is ready to lead the franchise into the future. "He put the whole team on his shoulders," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "It's tough to have him play that way and not win the game, because he did everything right."

Allen was asked if the championship experience of the veterans had rubbed off on Rondo. He flipped the question. "We feed off what he's doing now," said Allen.

Well said. And it isn't just the present. The future appears to be in his hands as well...

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Some of the mock drafts are still focused on the lottery picks, but some are going out to the end of the first round. Sam Amick picks a couple of interesting choices for the Celtics.

Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist lead way - Sam Amick - SI.com

21 - Fab Melo: Big men tend to crawl up teams' boards as draft day nears, and Melo could be a prime candidate. His size and defensive instincts are legitimate, even if his offensive game is nearly nonexistent. The Celtics aren't nearly as formidable in the frontcourt as they used to be and could use a player like Melo.

22 - Royce White: The well-chronicled anxiety disorder that has hurt White's stock is a real factor, but it will be interesting to see if he can dispel some of those concerns during workouts and interviews with teams at the draft combine. There aren't many players with his all-around skill set.

I can't decide if I'm excited or scared to death of both of these guys.

And that's about all I can handle about the offseason right now. Bring on Game 3!

It isn't clear if Bosh will play in this series, but it does sound like he's getting closer to getting on the court.

Report: Chris Bosh cleared to travel with Miami Heat, will be in Boston for Game 3 | SI Tracking Blog

Chris Bosh, the starting power forward for the Miami Heat, has been cleared to travel with the team, according to a tweet from Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel on Thursday afternoon, and will be present for Game 3 against the Boston Celtics on Friday. This is the first time Bosh has been cleared to travel with the team since he suffered a lower abdominal strain May 13.

A beat writer's tweet was quoted in that article stating that the plan was for him to travel and work with the team but not to play. Still, these things change and always seem to be day to day. Obviously that would be a whole different wrinkle to consider for Doc Rivers and the Celtics.

Doc sounds a lot more optimistic than most fans today.

Doc Rivers says Celtics are 'encouraged' after Game 2 effort -Celtics blog - Boston Globe basketball news

"We played very hard like I said in the press conference last night. But there were times when we didn't play smart on our defensive rotations. I thought there were a lot of things that we did that we shouldn't have done and we should have been in spots to prevent some of the drives late in the game. I thought our transition (defense) at times broke down with our discipline, so as well as we played offensively and at times as well as we played defensively, I just thought there were a lot of things guys will see on film that they won't be happy with. That's a good thing too because they are very fixable."

Of course, what else is he going to say? "Nope, we played about as well as we could and still couldn't beat them. We should just pack it up and go home for the summer." No, he's going to look for the positives on a night when his team is feeling down.

If the team had showed up with a half-hearted effort, that would have required a different kind of attitude. But they gave it their all, so the only thing he can fix is some mental lapses and execution issues. Hopefully that will be enough for a few wins in Boston.

The Celtics played their hearts out and gave every last ounce of effort in game 2. They had a historic performance from Rajon Rondo and still walked away with defeat. That hurts, ...a whole lot.

Celtics devastated over wasting Rajon Rondo's 44-point outing, falling 0-2 to Heat - Yahoo! Sports

For the Heat, it was so easy to be gracious and complimentary, because they took the game of the Celtics' best player's life – Boston's best shot – and still beat them. The Celtics don't back down to the Heat, and Miami respects them for it. Boston does demand that out of teams, but in the past two years James and Wade have beaten the Celtics six of seven times in the playoffs. They've figured out the formula, and now they go to Boston for Games 3 and 4 to put them away once and for all. The Celtics were livid with the officials, yes, but mostly they were so, so angry with themselves. All those second and third chances they gave the Heat, when they needed a defensive rebound, a loose ball. "Demoralizing," Pierce said.

Demoralizing? Yes. Devastating? I don't think so. Call me crazy, but I refuse to believe that this team is done.

The Heat took care of business on their home court. Good for them. Now the Celtics have a chance at home to even up the series and turn it into a best of 3. Every game that passes gives the coaching staff (and Rondo who might as well be a coach) more information to dissect and pick apart. Gameplans will be tweaked and execution will be honed.

But most of all I can't count out this team because they have shown so much resilience in the past. Sure, this could be the end and it might not be enough this year, but time and time again they've proven that they cannot be counted out until the final buzzer sounds.

This team still has Paul Pierce, the king of comebacks. They still have Kevin Garnett who will not die quietly. They still have Ray Allen, greatest shooter alive. And they have Rajon Rondo, triple double machine who's best is as good as anyone's in the game.

They have too much pride, too much savvy, too much mental toughness to go quietly into that dark night. They are down, but you can never truly count them out. And if they go down, you can bet that they will go down swinging. And that's just one reason why I'm so proud of this team and feel lucky to be a fan.

If you had told me before the game that Rajon Rondo would score 44 points and the Celtics as a team would score 111 (overtime or not, that's impressive for this group), you would not have had great success telling me that they ended up losing. Then again, if you had told me that LeBron would get to the line 24 times to the Celtics 29, that would have made the outcome more believable.

As much as I hate talking about it, the officiating was part of the story last night. Obviously there were a number of reasons why the Heat were able to get calls. They attacked the lane. The Celtics did their fair share of reaching, grabbing and bumping, as they always do. The Heat are athletic enough to force the issue. And superstar calls or not, James and Wade know how to initiate and create contact.

With all of that said, the discrepancy in the number of calls was stark and yes, the officials blew a few big calls down the stretch.

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The Heat overcame a historic night by Rajon Rondo and now hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. I will still refuse to count this team out, but this feels like a huge blow to the Celtics chances.

Amazing, remarkable, inspiring performance by Rajon Rondo who finished with a career high 44 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. Might have been his best game ever.

Good solid games by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Super-clutch 3 pointer to force overtime by Ray Allen.

And the Heat STILL won the game.

I don't know how much better the Celtics can play.

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After game 1 Rajon Rondo made a comment "Nothing dirty, but they have to hit the deck, too" which had a lot of people thinking about McHale-Rambis clotheslines and Bad Boy elbows. But the key part of his phrase is the "nothing dirty" part. He clarified yesterday.

Rondo defends turf - The Boston Globe

"You go to the hole, you’re going to get fouled,’’ Rondo said Tuesday. "You’re going to hit the deck. I didn’t say flagrant these guys, I didn’t say undercut, take them out, play dirty. It’s just basketball, you know? "I don’t think nobody’s going to punk anybody. You can’t; you’ll get fined. There’s only so much you can do as far as acting like a tough guy. We’ve just got to play smart basketball and try to find a way to win a game.’’

The important thing is limiting the Heat's comfortable looks at the basket.

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The last time there was a lockout, the Spurs won the title. This year they have yet to lose a game in the playoffs and last lost a game in April. J.A. Adande wonders if anyone can stop them.

Daily Dime - ESPN

They can win six games. In a row. A clean sweep through the playoffs and to the top of the NBA history books. No NBA team has ever gone undefeated in the postseason. Perhaps no other team has been blessed with such a perfect alignment: a well-balanced squad that won't see a team properly equipped to beat it.

On the other side of the Western Conference ledger, the Thunder are hoping for a big comeback, starting with game 3.

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Rajon Rondo sees a lot of gimmicky defenses because of his unique skillset and widely critiqued limitations. The trick is that on any given night - or even any given quarter, you never know what will work against him and what won't. Whatever they were doing in the first quarter worked but didn't in the 2nd quarter. So they had to switch it up.

The Heat Finally Slow Rajon Rondo, But He'll Bounce Back - SBNation.com

On the one hand, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a beautiful adjustment midway through the third quarter. As discussed in our series preview, the Heat have often switched their coverage on Rondo throughout the regular season. In this game, Spoelstra took point guard Mario Chalmers out of the game and made Dwyane Wade the point guard, sticking him on Rondo, but letting him play way off him to act as a roamer defensively.

Of course this isn't anything Rondo hasn't seen before. He just met some opposition at the rim that he couldn't outfox and his teammates didn't find openings when he drove the lane. But I wouldn't count out Rondo for too long.

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The Celtics, much like their fans, are seething mad over the first game blowout loss. Aside from a good 2nd quarter, everything went the Heat's way last night and by the end of the game Miami was just toying with them. At one point, LeBron James literally laughed in the face of a growling Kevin Garnett. That's not going to sit well.

LeBron James laughs at Celtics' theatrics during Heat's dominance in Game 1 - Yahoo! Sports

Outside his locker late Monday, someone asked Garnett: Had the Heat been "showboating" at the end of Game 1? "A little bit, a little bit," Garnett grumbled. "They're comfortable, and when you're comfortable, you do things like that." Too comfortable is code for: No one laid a body on James and Wade, no one made them think twice about driving the ball right through our manhood.

Rajon Rondo seethed, and said simply: "Nothing dirty, but they have to hit the deck too."

I fully expect to see a more physical group on Wednesday. I expect things to get chippy quickly. And if that means more quick technicals, well, at least they will have been earned.

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One of the key things that Doc Rivers stresses to Rajon Rondo is to be aggressive and attack the basket. He tried last night but was off the mark on 9 of his layup attempts (8 of 20 overall).

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics fall to Miami Heat in Game 1 - Ian Thomsen - SI.com

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are both playing through injuries and altogether went 6-of-25 from the field, which left Rondo with no threatening option apart from Kevin Garnett and his 23 points (on 16 shots) to go with 10 rebounds. For lack of any better choices, Rondo repeatedly drove the lane like a surfer vanishing under a wave. The Heat lack size in the absence of Chris Bosh, but they compensated with aggressive energy. By the time Rondo was near the basket he would find himself having to toss up impossibly spun layups that looked more difficult than the long three-pointer he made two nights earlier to finish off Game 7 against the 76ers.

I think Rondo needs to keep attacking the basket, but the other Celtics need to hit their shots to give Rondo a little more breathing room.

Far be it for me to presume that anyone would listen to what I have to say about the Celtics offense. I've reminded you time and again that I'm no scout or coach. However, it doesn't take a scout or a coach to see that the Boston Celtics need to move the ball on offense to be successful.

Some teams can get by for stretches with one-on-one or relying on their first or second options every time down the court. Not the Celtics and certainly not against the Heat.

Rondo can't be slow to get into his sets. Pierce can't catch and wait for the play to develop. Bass can't be a black hole. The ball has to move like a hot potato. It has to fly around the horn like a baseball drill. The offense needs to execute and look for open shots.

But don't take my word for it. Listen to Doc. In fact, I'm hoping the team does too.

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A lot of people are going to want to make excuses for this game. Not me.

So the refs called a few ticky-tac technicals. So what? The Heat missed 2 of those free throws (ball don't lie).

So the Celtics are banged up. Chris Bosh. Enough said.

The Celtics lost this game because the Heat executed and the Celtics did not. The Heat made baskets, the Celtics did not.

Even the Celtics trademark defense let them down tonight. Letting Wade waltz into the lane for an uncontested layup is inexcusable. Letting James beat everyone up the court for a cherrypick bucket is terrible. I get that you have to help and respect James and Wade, but leaving Mike Miller and James Jones wide, wide, wide open is a good way to lose.

And on offense, well, excluding the 2nd quarter where they hit a few 3 pointers, what was there to like? Spoelstra said he got sick watching game tape of the Celtics executing their sets. He must have had a happy buzz watching this game.

Bottom line, the Celtics have to do a lot better than that. Otherwise the Heat will prove that they are the better team right now.

A nice read by Brian Windhorst on the Paul Pierce and LeBron James rivalry.

The long history of the James-Pierce rivalry - Heat Index Blog - ESPN

When the Eastern Conference finals open tonight, James will play his 19th career playoff game against Boston Celtics future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce. For the 19th time they will likely be each other’s primary defender. For the 19th time there’s probably going to be some hard stares, complaints to the officials about the other and perhaps even a few borderline dirty plays. "Oh, we know each other," James said. "More than any other matchup in the league. We know each other’s likes and dislikes."

As the author states, there have been manufactured "rivalries" between James and Carmelo Anthony or Kobe Bryant, but the one with Pierce developed over time naturally. And when James finally got past the Celtics last year, he and his mates celebrated joyously. It was as if James thought he was playing the role of his own personal Pistons getting past the Celtics of the 80's.

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Peter May goes against the ESPN grain and astoundingly picks the Celtics to beat the Heat. One of the reasons he gives is that the Heat have nobody to guard Rondo and Garnett. That is very true. But you could say the same about the Celtics guarding James and Wade. Well, maybe and maybe not.

2012 NBA Playoffs -- Don't count Boston Celtics out vs. Miami Heat in Eastern Conference Finals - ESPN Boston

OK, so who is going to guard Dwyane Wade and LeBron? The short answer is anyone and everyone. You have to think Doc Rivers finally is going to utilize both Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic in this series. He has to, if for no other reason than to give Wade and James a different look. Don't forget Mickael Pietrus, either. While he continues to struggle offensively, he can defend. None of the above is going to stop these guys, but they are all capable of at least getting in their way. And don't be surprised to see the Celtics go to a zone defense. It has worked before against Miami.

One of my main reasons for optimism is this: The Celtics are experts at taking away what another team does best. The Heat are very one dimensional - they rely on their two stars to get them points. They are going to get points, no doubt about it, but the Celtics are going to (as a team) make that harder on them than other teams might.

If the Celtics can execute on offense, maybe, just maybe, the defense can frustrate and flummox Wade and James long enough to get the wins.

The Celtics have already faced two excellent defensive teams in the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers. That isn't a cop out, the Celtics also are a team that struggles with their offense. None of that, obviously, makes the Celtics all that happy to have to face a team in the Miami Heat that are also known for their defense. In fact, they were second only to the Celtics in points allowed this year. (Rounding out the top 5 were the Bulls, Hawks, and Sixers - methinks this playoffs run was destined to be difficult from the start)

Still, the Heat do have some noticeable chinks in the armor that the Celtics could (when properly focused on the task at hand) in theory exploit. Let's let someone smarter than me explain.

Via Zach Lowe of SI

The Pacers just weren't crisp enough to figure out Miami's aggressive defense. It's a defense that leaves gaps as Miami players trap and scoot around the court, but the Heat close those gaps more quickly than any other team. To beat Miami, an opponent has to make quick and accurate reads, throw precise passes and make a fair number shots. Waiting a beat can be fatal, and Indiana was caught too often waiting that extra beat.

In other words, no pounding the ball into the hardwood till 5 seconds are left on the shot clock - looking at you Random Rondo. No lazy picks, no half-hearted cuts, no broken plays and pray for teardrop buckets. The offense has to execute, execute, execute.

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So, the Celtics have been banged up and hurt for a while now. But you could make the case that they are in the Eastern Conference Finals in part because Derrick Rose got hurt. If the Celtics make it back to the Finals, it might have a little to do with the fact that Chris Bosh is hurt.

LeBron James faces a familiar foe in Boston Celtics - BostonHerald.com

Good luck finding any Heat player shedding a tear about the Celtics’ injury woes. Guard Avery Bradley (shoulder) is out for the season, while Allen has battled bone spurs in his ankles recently. "No excuses," Wade said. "Not getting into it. We don’t have Chris Bosh."

2012 NBA playoffs -- Miami Heat prepare for Eastern Conference finals as if Chris Bosh won't be available - ESPN

The Miami Heat will prepare for the Eastern Conference finals as if forward Chris Bosh won't be available for the series, coach Erik Spoelstra said Saturday. "He's doing a little bit more, [but] he's still indefinite," Spoelstra said of Bosh. "For me, it's my responsibility right now to prepare this team without him. If and when we get to a point when he starts to emerge into the picture, we'll gladly deal with that. For our mental state of health -- and I'd love to [get] Chris -- but our preparation is without him."

Bonus Link: Bosh might not play (and it's not necessarily a good thing) - RedsArmy.com

The Celtics locker room has a name for Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett. They are called the Two Divos - which I believe must be the masculine form of the word "divas." It fits too. They are super talented and incredibly odd to the point of coming off as prima donnas. Yet, when the lights are on, they usually shine the brightest.

Random Rajon Rondo is never going to be typecast. Just when you think you've got him figured out, he'll defiantly go the other direction.

Rajon Rondo helps Celtics survive Game 7 by turning weakness into strength - Ian Thomsen - SI.com

These were not midrange jumpers, and they were made by a guard who has shot 24.1 percent from the three-point line across six regular seasons. After finishing a layup while driving under a Garnett screen (73-68), Rondo swished a jumper at the end of the shot clock that looked like a three before a video review ruled it a two-pointer (75-68). Then, as if to avoid further scrutiny, he stepped into a shovel pass from Brandon Bass to launch a three from at least a yard behind the arc (78-68). The shot may have been atypical, but its audacity was routine for Rondo.

As for Kevin Garnett, he has more miles on his tires than just about anyone else in the game and they've all been hard, intense miles. So you would understand if he just didn't have enough left. But he keeps fighting through and fighting on.

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It is almost fitting that Ray Allen once played a character named Jesus, because his jumper was dead and buried last night. Yet it miraculously came back to life at exactly the right time to save his teammates. Please forgive the borderline sacrilegious analogy, I'm still feeling a little giddy.

It was to the point last night where I really thought it might be a good idea to just let him sit the rest of the game out and take our chances with Pietrus or Dooling or even Marquis Daniels. But thankfully Doc and Ray's teammates had more faith in him than that.

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I'll do my best to wrap up this series with this recap, but when I'm done I'd like to ask that you never make me talk about it ever again. To say this series was ugly would be an insult to the word ugly. But all that matters is the fact that the Celtics are moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals again. Survive and advance, survive and advance.

Nothing makes sense anymore. We'll start there. Pierce fouls out and Rajon Rondo becomes the closer? Ray Allen can't buy a bucket all night but hits 2 critical 3 pointers? I don't care. I'll take it.

• Rondo was mostly quiet the whole night but kept plugging and plugging and when his team needed him the most, he exploded and finished with a triple double. Of course he did. Random Rondo.
• Through 3 quarters Kevin Garnett was the MVP. He played killer defense, rebounded, and scored. He just did not let this team lose.
• Ray was oh-fer-forever from 3 point land, looking hesitant, and just not looking like the Ray that we all know and love. But Doc stuck with him and he delivered. That's huge headed into the next series.
• Huge, huge respect to the Sixers that never let themselves get knocked out until the very, very end. Like a zombie they just kept getting up and coming back for more. Celtics finally delivered the double tap and ended it.

Bring on Miami.

I'm really tired of this series and I'm pretty sick of the Sixers, but I have to admit, I still really like the Sixers bloggers. Including Michael Levin of Liberty Ballers, who once again was kind enough to engage in one last back and forth before game 7. Cheers to them and their fans.

Michael Levin:
Hey so you want to do another one of these back-and-forths for our sites pre-Game 7?

Jeff Clark:
Yeah I'm game for one more. Then I don't want to talk to you for another three months. At least we know this series will be done by Saturday. I think.

ML
I'm offended. OFFENDED!

So. How's it going? Still have your eyesight? I'm down to just a torso from how many appendages this series has forced me to cut off. Makes it a bit harder to blog. Although my nickname Torso Boy finally makes sense.

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All athletes are confident. The Sixers are confident (and young and athletic). But there's just a little something about veterans who've been there and done that before. At the end of the day these are just words and the actions will do all the talking we need, but for the time being, I like the way these guys sound.

Green Street " Paul Pierce on Game 7: ‘I like our chances’

"I like challenges," Pierce said Friday. "I like being in pressure situations. It’s Game 7. I’ve been there before. I understand what it takes and I’m ready for it.

Green Street " Ray Allen: Game 7 ‘just another opportunity to go out and be who we are’

"I think I’ve in that situation many times before where that question has been posed to me so many times. We’ve been so fortunate to do what we’ve done here. It seems like we’ve been ruled out so many times before, so many years before. This is just another opportunity to go out and be who we are. We’re not worried about what’s beyond today. We’re more worried about what we have present day."

Also, it is good to see Ray still has his sense of humor.

More hilarity. "Ray, what's it like playing on basically one leg?" Ray: "I have two legs."

— Paul Flannery (@Pflanns) May 25, 2012

Zing!

Brian Windhorst, covers the Heat for ESPN, thinks that the Heat are probably rooting against the Celtics in game 7. (via PBT)

Why Heat are rooting for Sixers in Game 7 - Heat Index Blog - ESPN

But honestly, the Heat will not be rooting for the Celtics on Saturday. It may have less poetry and glamour, but the Heat most likely would much rather see the 76ers pull the upset. It is true that the 76ers are younger, more athletic, deeper and healthier than the Celtics at this point. But the Heat have dominated Philadelphia like no other team in the East over the past two seasons; the two teams have played 12 times, including the first round of last year’s playoffs. Eleven times the Heat have won, including sweeping this season's series 4-0. The Heat haven’t beaten Boston since the first week of the season back in late December in their home opener.

I don't blame them really. I wouldn't want to have to play the Celtics either. And frankly, I was more concerned about the Pacers than the Heat. If we advance we might still yet lose to the Heat, but call me a fanboy if you like, but I like our chances.

I love the community of this blog. Love it. In fact, one of the most important goals I have every day is to initiate conversation. I know I'm not the best writer ever, so I never set out to recite poetry to you or preach at you. I just want to get you all started on a topic and let you enjoy the conversation. So it makes me happy to see that this community is so rich with dynamic and respectful conversation.

But there are a lot (a whole lot) of you that are just passively reading. That's fine, that's your choice and I'm happy to have you here. But I just wish I could hear more from you because I'll bet you have more to offer than you might think. So I'm calling out the lurkers (a term that refers to someone who reads a blog or forum regularly without commenting much at all). I want to hear your voice.

Even if it is just to say "hi" or introduce yourself and tell us how long you've been a fan or what you are doing for the game on Saturday, I'd like to hear from you. Don't be shy. Even if the only thing you say is "Go Celtics!" that would be pretty cool.

If you don't have an account yet, then by all means sign up for one! Come on! Do it, do it, do it.

Also, a note from Roy: If you're willing to make two leaps in one day, sign up for our forums!

As Steve Bulpett notes, some credit goes to the Sixers for playing good defense in the paint, but at some point the Celtics simply have to force the issue and get their hands dirty in there anyway.

Celtics know thy enemy well - BostonHerald.com

The numbers bear repeating, people. The same team that scored 50 points in the paint and brutalized the 76ers with precision in Game 3 produced just 16 interior points in the Game 6 loss — just four of them in the second half. The Celtics took 23 shots in the lane and 55 from beyond that border. Garnett, who had been a revelation with his willingness to play inside in this postseason, didn’t take a single shot from the paint. He was fouled once while trying and hit both free throws.

As I mentioned earlier this morning, it has to start with Rajon Rondo. He has to attack the basket himself. He has to look to get the ball to KG on the block. He has to call the right plays and execute the right options within those plays without being careless with the ball.

But it goes on everyone's shoulders. Garnett has to fight for position. Bass has to stay aggressive (despite getting turned away with blocks on a couple of occasions in game 6). Pierce has to keep forcing the Sixers to put him on the line. The Celtics shooters can't hesitate on their jumpers, but they can't look for them on every trip down the court either.

I expect they will too. With a little rest and their backs against the wall, they have the Sixers right where they want them. They just have to get off to a good start and establish themselves as owners of the paint.

The Celtics have been terrible at closing teams out when they have an advantage. However, for the most part they've had success finishing things off in Boston.

Celtics feel better at home closing out series - BostonHerald.com

Though Wednesday night’s Game 6 loss to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals dropped their record to 2-11 in the last five years in close out playoff games on the road, their home closeout number is very different. The Celts are 8-2 when given that opportunity at the Garden.

With that said, the last two game 7's the Celtics have had (one of which was on the road) didn't go so well. Read on if you can stomach it.

Continue reading this post »

The Celtics need Rajon Rondo to be a dictator in game 7, not a democrat. It has to be his show for good or bad. He can't just float in random mode for half the night and hope something or someone starts clicking. He has to look for his own shot (the closer to the rim the better) and he has to put people in position to score. But perhaps most importantly, he has to set the pace. Don't take my word for it, listen to Doc.

Celtics must make good use of their time - The Boston Globe

"Basically, we walked the ball up the floor the entire game, so we didn’t get any pace into it. We have to get Rondo running. We keep saying we don’t want Philly to run, but we need to run, and the best way for us is to have a running game offensively and a slowdown game for them at the other end. In the games we’ve won we’ve been able to do that and the games we’ve lost we haven’t been able to do it.

Somewhere Tommy is nodding his head in agreement. "Run, run, run!"

Danny Ainge confirmed that Avery Bradley is most likely done for the season.

"I think these reports are accurate -- at least the reports I've read. Someone said it was a 90 percent chance that he's done for the season, and it's looking that way."

I don't know about you, but I've already written off any chance of return for him. He'd be foolish to push his luck any further and risk permanent damage or at least making it much worse.

2012 NBA playoffs -- Boston Celtics SG Avery Bradley could miss playoffs, have surgery - ESPN Boston

The surgery is needed to repair small tears that have compromised the structure of his left shoulder, according to a league source. With surgery unavoidable, Bradley is expected to undergo the procedure as soon as the team determines he's able.

According to the source, Bradley is looking at a four-month recovery process, but the hope is he will be ready in time for training camp in October.

Definitely sad that he's out for the year but getting him back in time for training camp would be great for next year.