During the five-game losing streak leading up to the All-Star break, a break that saw the Celtics two games under .500, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single positive thing said or written about this team.

Heck, they didn't deserve one.

But nonetheless, here we are, April 19, 2012, and the Celtics -- now five years in a row -- are your Atlantic Division Champions.

No, it's not the goal, and won't mean much one way or the other, but there's something to be said of a team like this one to fight the way they did when nobody would have been too surprised if they rolled over and died. If they went 2-6 on the West Coast trip. If they lost twice to the Heat, and again to the Pacers, etc., etc.

Back then, we probably thought we'd be talking about ping pong balls at this time. Boy were we wrong.

"Never count us out," Kevin Garnett said when asked what it meant -- after everything -- to win the division. "You guys (the media) called us old; over. I read some of your pathetic articles and some of your lousy analysis (looks around the room). It's opinion. Obviously you don't know what drives us. We thank y'all for those articles, we appreciate it, because it lit a fire under us."

So what was all of that we-don't-pay-attention-to-the-media talk? Kidding, Kev. And thanks for reading (hopefully you read this and this too).

Garnett goes on.

"One of the hardest things I've always said in this league is to create chemistry," he said. "I knew at some point we all as a unit would get a rhythm and ride that rhythm out. I think that's what you've seen since the All-Star break. Come back refreshed, focused. Like I've said, we haven't had a lot of practice time to implement our system, our schemes, but we do have a core here. What you've seen up until this point to come to a point to win the division is not only confidence but believing in that system and believing in that rhythm, and riding that rhythm out.

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The Celtics had just beaten the Orlando Magic, 102-98.

They had just clinched the Atlantic Division for the fifth time in five years, too.

But after the win, and during his postgame press conference, there was something else on Doc Rivers' mind that had nothing to with the Celtics.

Earlier today, a coaching legend, Pat Summitt, announced her retirement as head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols due to health reasons -- early-onset Alzheimer's disease. That hit Rivers hard, and prompted him to close out the press conference with an emotional tribute to her.

Fighting back tears, Rivers had this to say:

"I want to finish with Pat Summitt. Retired. (long pause to gather himself) She's a neat lady. I got to know her a little bit. And I just think it's really sad, in a lot of ways. Not basketball, but everything. So, I didn't want to get emotional; I'm an emotional person. And when you see a giant like that leave the game, and leave the game because of health, it's just sad.

"But she is responsible for women's basketball. But she's not just a women's basketball coach, she's a great coach. And you know, I'm in this, and the longer I'm in this I just realize how much coaching means to all of us. You think about it today: Pat Summitt is retiring at her age, and Larry Brown is taking a job at his age. And it just tells you how much it's in your blood, how much you love it. And for her not to be able to do it, for me is very sad."

And that, more than tonight's win -- or any win -- sums up Doc Rivers.

Although Ray Allen has played just two games in the TD Garden since the trade deadline, that's two more than he almost would have played.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Allen was involved in a deal that sent him to Memphis for OJ Mayo and a pick, but the deal fell through in the last second.

Doc Rivers confirmed that report tonight.

How close was the deal to being done? Celtics GM Danny Ainge was already on the phone with Allen telling he had been traded. Nonetheless, Rivers downplayed it.

"I don't see it's a big deal, what was that, a month ago?" Rivers said. "I'm serious, I don't get the big deal of it. It was a scary moment for all of us."

"If you lose Ray, that's a scary moment. I wouldn't want to see Ray, Paul [Pierce], or Kevin [Garnett] ever moved. That's just how you are. Even if you got the best deal in the world, you're still losing guys you have an attachment with. That would be scary for me, or any of us."

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Celtics coach Doc Rivers confirmed prior to the Celtics-Magic game that Rajon Rondo (back), Ray Allen (ankle), and Mickael Pietrus (knee) will all miss the game.

Rondo fell hard on his back after a collision with the Knicks' Tyson Chandler under the basket. He was getting work done on his back during the Knicks game, and had it heavily wrapped after.

"Just bruise, whatever you want to call it," Rivers said. "He has spasms, which we thought would occur. I would guess probably out tonight for sure, and and maybe the next game."

This isn't one of those we'll-sit-them-to-be-safe type of DNP's either for all three of the players. If this was Game 1 of the playoffs, none of them would be able to play.

"Don't know the answer to that," he said. "I would say no tonight. I would say all three could not play tonight if there was playoffs."

The Allen news wasn't good either, as the ankle continues to be an issue.

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It was the type of game that on January 11^th or February 11^th the Celtics would have undoubtedly lost.

But not April 11^th.

Not with the way the team has somehow - someway - turned its season around 180-degrees since late February when they went into the All-Star Break losers of five in a row and seven of eight.

Once forgotten, and rightfully so, the Celtics are now *gasp* contenders. Make no mistake about it: no team wants to mess with them. No team wants to get nasty.

And why would they? Recent wins over the Heat (twice), 76ers, Pacers, and Hawks have teams taking notice. A one-point loss to one of the best teams in the NBA, the Spurs, is nothing to be ashamed of and a poorly played game in Chicago (followed by a Doc Rivers smack-down) may turn out to be a good thing.

Back-to-backs. Road. It hasn't mattered. They're 19-7 post-All Star break. That includes an eight-game west coast trip, games without Ray Allen, and a bench also known as the Greg Stiemsma pu pu platter.

All of a sudden, three wins in three nights seems realistic (kind of).

So how then could you sum up the 2012 Celtics? Resilient.

"This team has resolve, they do," Doc Rivers said after the Celtics' 88-86 overtime win over the Hawks. "Listen, on paper, all that stuff, we know who we are. But they figure it out, they like each other, and I think that allows us to win games that on certain nights we shouldn't win. I really believe it. I think this team has a resolve about them that allows them to stay in games that I think other teams would let go on the road."

It wasn't long ago that the Celtics were one of those "other teams" - a team that looked to be on its last beat up leg, limping to the offseason, that is if they could get there before Danny Ainge hit the big red button on his desk that says "BLOW UP".

He didn't (and really, everyone needs to thank him for that). He had no choice but to believe in the team he assembled, and with Doc Rivers almost publicly pleading for him to keep the family together, here we are.

"We have great character," Rivers said. "Tough-minded group, they really are. You can see they wanted to win that game [against Atlanta] so bad."

That attitude prompted Rivers to declare this Celtics team the most resilient one he's coached since coming over from Orlando in 2004. The real question is why? What happened? As well as the Celtics are playing, Rivers may have unveiled something they're now "suffering" from - Napoleon complex.

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Tim Duncan fielded questions at his locker after the Spurs' 87-86 win over the Celtics the same way he has for the last 15 seasons.

But unlike most of those years, the once spry Duncan is now - at least in the eyes of some - old. The white hairs that now sprout from his black beard make that apparent. But instead of going into denial about his age and shaving the beard, Duncan accepts it. After all, the soon-to-be 36-year-old and future Hall of Famer has never been one to go against the grain.

And that certainly holds true with his role on the Spurs. No longer the centerpiece of the Spurs success, Duncan has embraced his role on the team as his game has changed, and the Spurs are seeing positive results.

But while Duncan may make this change seem easy, he's quick to say that's not the case.

"I'm a competitor just like everybody else and you don't like to see your role change," Duncan told CelticsBlog. "But honestly, if things are affected and things are working, I'm happy to be a part of whatever we come up with."

Duncan, who realized he was no longer Option No. 1 "years ago", was unsure what type of player it takes to put the ego behind and let others step in, but his message rings true in all facets of life - "At some point you have to be realistic and accept it."

That doesn't mean rolling over and dying. It just means accepting change for what it is and making the best of it. New role, same give-it-your-all attitude.

Sound familiar? The Celtics' Kevin Garnett, now in his 17^th season, made that we-before-me transformation when he joined the Celtics. The result? A championship in his first season with the team. Garnett, who peaked at just under 20 shots per game with the Timberwolves during the 2003-04 season, is now averaging under 13 shots per game this season with the Celtics (although he took 19 Wednesday night).

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How easy is it to make a decision that guarantees you'll be a millionaire in just a couple months?

Harder than you think, actually.

But for Austin Rivers, becoming the latest one-and-done out of Duke is a no-brainer, although it is met with uncertainty from some. Rivers made it official though, as he and Duke publicly announced that he'll be entering the upcoming NBA Draft.

Rivers is far from a rarity in a one-and-done world. With recent players like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant becoming instant stars, it makes sense to think, "Hey, I can do that too."

Over the past two seasons, the Celtics have gone from drafting a one-and-done in Texas' Avery Bradley, to two four-year NCAA players in Purdue's JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore.

With that in mind, it's clear that age/class isn't first on the Celtics' scouting report.

"I've always said the one-and-dones who haven't made it would have been four-year players and hadn't made it," Doc Rivers said, fielding questions about his son's decision. "Usually it's the same way when you have guys that went two years and three years and don't do well in the league. It turns out whether you're a player or not. I don't think it's much more complicated than that."

Maybe not, but timing is everything, isn't it? Bradley's decision to enter the draft isn't one he regrets, but it's safe to say the NBA world was a major smack in the face upon arrival for the now second-year guard who is just starting to come into his own.

"I just felt like I was ready to learn more about the game," Bradley told CelticsBlog of his early-entrance decision. "So me and my family decided that it was best for me to enter my name into the draft. At least try it out, and I ended up keeping my name in."

Johnson was faced with the same decision as Bradley last season.

"I actually declared my junior year, worked out with a couple teams before the deadline," he told CelticsBlog. "And I decided to go back to school. I just thought the next year I could put myself in a better position to help myself, and also I wanted to finish up with the people I came with. So those were my biggest two things."

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For as long as Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have joined the Celtics, so has the idea of "Ubuntu" -- but it's one that looks to stay long past their time with team.

You may think it's cheesy, or a gimmick, but to a lot of the players on the Celtics, "Ubuntu" is real, and it's something they try to live by on and off the court.

Not sure what Ubuntu is? I wrote about it a couple years ago -- back on Nov. 5, 2009. By then, the entire team had been introduced to the meaning, with the rookies doing the research and presenting the findings.

With that in mind, I talked to a few rookies and Celtics newcomers a couple weeks ago about what they thought and learned about Ubuntu. But the response I got was one I didn't expect -- none of them had been formally introduced to it yet.

JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore were hesitant to talk about it, saying they know of it, but haven't had "the talk" yet. Ditto with Keyon Dooling, who said, "We aren't ready for it yet."

Interesting, I thought.

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Sometimes we get so wrapped up in a rumor that we forget about how we heard about it, or how it began.

Let’s take the Rajon Rondo for Pau Gasol rumor for example, a rumor that Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge flat out deny.

I get that GM's and coaches have to lie to the media and the public sometimes. It's understood. But personally, I believe them this time. Why? Pretty simple (other than the fact that how can they make this trade after both completely denied any part of it?). It all started with nothing more than a Hoopsworld.com article filled of speculation, deciphering, and a source that may or may not be in the know.

I don’t blame the writer for the article completely. He made it pretty clear that he was simply interpreting what Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said to another reporter (albeit a bit of a stretch).

Some of you already know the origin, and if so, keep reading, because I will get into quotes on trade rumors from Rajon Rondo and Doc Rivers. But for those who are unaware of how it all started, here’s a quick breakdown:

A reporter asked Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak what he would like to address at the trade deadline. His response was:

"Well, if there were a way for us to get a 25-year-old, All-Star, ball-handling guard we’d love to do it … but that’s not likely in February. So you look at other alternatives, and see if it’s better than what you have. That’s all."

There’s the quote that started it all. Hoopsworld took that quote and made that description of "Player X" into Rajon Rondo, comparing Kupchak's answer to a time he may have been describing Andrew Bynum while Bynum was still in high school before he eventually drafted him. It was an angle, something to think about at most.

(Read on...)

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"Point them out. Who said that?"

That was Kevin Garnett's deadpanned response when told by a reporter that people were expecting a drop-off in production this season from him.

Garnett was kidding.

Unless you're a teammate or family member, you're not worth his worries. And that's how it's always been.

You've heard it a million times - practically everybody in the NBA hates Garnett until they get the opportunity to play with him.

But the ones who have had that privilege talk about him as if he's changed the way they look at the game. There's just something contagious - in a good way - about him. What he brings to the game, the team.

And by all means he's bringing it this season, a season in which he's probably never had to will a group or himself as much as he has.

Garnett has started 30 games this season, tied for the team lead with Paul Pierce. He's poured blood, sweat, and (who knows?) maybe even tears into each game.

"I don't need much motivation, man," Garnett said. "Y'all don't know me. Y'all don't get to see me every day and my preparation and what I have to do to get ready to play."

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Joakim Noah is certainly not a player that Celtics fans have grown to love. In fact, it's quite the opposite. But as much as they may hate him, he hates the Celtics more.

After losing to the Celtics 95-91 on Sunday, bank on Noah and the Bulls to be ready for revenge in Chicago tonight.

When I walked into the locker room on Sunday, I wasn't surprised to see him as one of the only players left - just sitting in front of his locker staring off as a reporter talked his ear off in French.

"Can I see that box score?" he asked me.

I handed it to him and watched as he looked it over, shaking his head in disgust.

"We shot 38-percent tonight, that sucks," he said.

But doing against the Celtics makes it exponentially worse for Noah.

"Yeah no question I hate losing to the Celtics," Noah said. "I don't know. I'm from New York so I kind of grew up hating the Celtics too."

"It's that green... I don't know. I just don't like that color," he said.

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The Celtics are still searching. Whether it's against the Miami Heat or the Detroit Pistons - they are still searching.

For what, you ask?

Who they are on offense.

The players don't really know. Doc Rivers doesn't really know. And far be it from any one of us to have any clue.

Maybe the answer, if ever discovered, isn't one we want to hear anyways.

When it comes to straight up scoring points, the Celtics are ranked 26th in the NBA averaging just 90.2 per game. The four teams behind them? Raptors, Pistons, Hornets, and Bobcats.

The two teams ahead of them? Nets and Wizards.

Talk about a crap sandwich.

The difference though, is that the Celtics play defense - something none of those other teams that are listed do to the same extent. That's why when the C's lose it's on their defense, not their offense - so they say.

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Doc Rivers said prior to tip-off that Kevin Garnett (hip flexor) was a game-time decision, and now that the game has arrived Kevin Garnett is . . . (drumroll please) . . .

out.

Garnett was listed as doubtful by Rivers yesterday after not practicing, but was upgraded to probable today after the team shootaround. But probable wasn't good enough, because Chris Wilcox will start in place of KG.

Garnett walked into the locker room in a jacket about one hour prior to tipoff, went in the back room, and eventually walked out wearing his Celtics uniform. He didn't look to be in great spirits, and now we know why. This is the first game KG has missed -- a pleasant surprise to Rivers.

"It’s a great bright spot, I didn’t know health wise if he could or would, with the schedule I didn’t know if we were going to play him every night anyway," Rivers said. "And we still may not. The schedule is tough, but we kept his minutes down, and I think that’s been very important. He likes the 5-5-5 thing, pretty much, so that’s gone well for us, too."

JaJuan Johnson played a season-high 33 minutes in Sunday's win over the Bulls, and will most likely see a decent amount of time tonight.

With Garnett out and a banged up Jermaine O'Neal (knee) playing, Detroit's Greg Monroe could have a big game.

Mickael Pietrus (knee) will also play tonight.

When it comes to physical fitness and keeping the body healthy, Ray Allen is tops on the Celtics - maybe in the league.

Mickael Pietrus probably isn't too far behind though. But it hasn't always been that way for Pietrus.

Talking to him a couple years back when he was with the Magic, I can swear that he told me his pregame meal at the time was 20 McDonalds chicken McNuggets. I was appalled. I remember eventually mentioning it to Allen, to which he shook his head and said something along the lines of it giving him a huge advantage over guys like Pietrus on the court.

Pietrus is a jokester though, and maybe he was yanking my chain as a rookie reporter back then, but that's what he said.

But whether it was before a game, after, or an off-day, Pietrus was doing his fair share of snacking, even if it didn't necessarily show with his weight.

That's not the case anymore.

"That's what I used to do like two years ago, but I changed my diet," he said of the junk food. "I changed the way I eat now."

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The Celtics did two things last night that they haven't done much of this season: Score points, and score points from the paint.

Result? A win over a good team - their third one this week.

And if you've been watching much Celtics basketball this season - especially the two previous games against the Pacers - you know how hard it's been for the Celtics to establish any sort of low-post presence.

On the year, the C's average just 8.8 shots per game from 3-9 feet away from the basket. Their conversion of just 2.6 of those gives them a field goal percentage of 30-percent, second to last in the NBA behind the Knicks.

So yeah, it's bad.

And to top it all off, the Pacers are statistically one of the best in the NBA from the same area - ranking first in makes and attempts (7.0-16.2).

A quick look back at the two previous games before Friday night's win proves just how weak the C's were offensively in the paint.

January 6: Celtics points in the paint- 28 | Pacers points in the paint - 42
January 14: Celtics points in the paint - 24 | Pacers points in the paint - 42

Not a good look, and certainly not the trend they want to set. So Doc Rivers and his team of coaches made sure to do address it the third time.

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Larry Bird isn't walking through that door.

Unless, of course, you're the Indiana Pacers.

As we're all well aware, Bird has been a part of the Pacers organization for quite some time, as head coach from 1997-2000, and president of the organization since 2003.

For Celtics fans, Bird will always be remembered as truly one of the greatest Celtics to ever put on the jersey, and one of the greatest NBA players of all time. He was the definition of a Celtic, and embodied everything good about old school basketball.

But who is Bird to current Pacers? These are the guys who Bird has singlehandedly chosen to represent and play for his team.

After years of cellar dwelling, it looks like Bird has assembled a legitimate team, one that was certainly too much for the Celtics to handle Friday night.

And while Bird can take credit for assembling the team, by all accounts he's not trying to coach them too. Bird is much more of a very constant presence than voice.

"Larry's great. If I wanted to go the whole season without having a conversation with him I could do that," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said with a smile. "He believes in letting his coaches coach, but he's a heck of a resource and I call him frequently and he's got some great stories, great experience both as a player and as a coach, and he's a big part of what we're doing."

So how did Vogel explain Bird's role in the team's success?

"He's like Darth Vader. He walks in the room and he has a presence, everybody feels him. So they know he's there. And he grabs guys too individually and he says, ‘You're not pulling your weight.' ‘You are.' ‘Try this.' ‘Try that.' He'll work with guys. He sort of mentors them, he mentors me; he's a big part of what we're doing."

Bird's presence is clearly felt throughout, as each and every Pacers player talked about how he's at every practice. As Vogel said, Bird doesn't say much, but when he does you can bet it sticks.

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Paul Pierce will play, but just how much -- and how effective -- remains to be seen.

After missing the first three games of the season, and watching from the bench as the Celtics dropped the first three games of the season, Pierce will suit up and start in the home opener for the C's against the Pistons. But Doc Rivers wouldn't put a number on the minutes he'd play.

"Not a lot. I mean I don't know yet, we're just going to go by our eyes," Rivers said. "He's had one practice this year and that was three weeks ago, or whenever we started -- maybe last week. But you know what I'm saying.

We'll just go by our eyesight and what he knows offensively, defensively, his rhythm, and just build him up each game."

The last time Pierce played in an organized NBA game, the Celtics were bounced in the second round of last season's NBA playoffs. The team is a much different one since then, but the starting lineup remains the same. Pierce shouldn't have much trouble easing his way into the swing of things out on the court.

"We haven't changed much," Rivers said. Zone is the only thing that's different for him so, yeah, he can do that. Or we just won't play it. Hopefully man [-to-man defense], which we haven't done either very well."

But can we expect to see the same Paul Pierce that's lead the Celtics over the last decade? It's hard to believe he's 100-percent going into the game, but the Celtics wouldn't give him the go if he wasn't close.

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If it seems like just yesterday that the NBA was locked out, you aren't that far off.

The truth is - as we're all aware - the NBA really, really wanted to play on Christmas. That seemed to be the goal from the get-go, right? I mean, heck, they didn't have a serious meeting all summer. But as long as they could play on Christmas everything would be OK in NBA land.

Except it's not. It's borderline mayhem right now. It's Wall Street minutes before the final bell (for the adults) and it's Christmas Eve up in the North Pole (for the kids). Players don't know if they're coming or going - literally. "Training camp" starts with half a roster. And yet, coaches are supposed to put together players who have yet to play a scrimmage as a team and expect to win in under two weeks.

"I think what you see, we're in a rushed league right now," Kevin Garnett said. "Everybody is paying attention to the Chris Paul situation. I don't know why everybody is shocked. Stern has been pretty adamant about when he wants to do things and how he does things.

"Timing is everything and chemistry is something that you just don't throw in the frying pan and mix it up with another something and throw something on top of that and then fry it up, put it in a tortilla, put it in the microwave, heat it up and give it to you and expect it to taste good."

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There's one topic that may get lost in the fray after a Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge press conference that featured talk of trade rumors, Rajon Rondo, cap space, roster additions, and more.

That topic would be practice. Yes, we're talking about practice (see note at end of article with more on that).

One of the issues the Celtics had last year was finding time to practice. With a veteran core that the Celtics have, a lot off-days are just that - days off.

Not that any team can practice every day that there isn't a game, but the Celtics were far, far from that being the case.

OK, they barely practiced.

Doc Rivers said it numerous times last season: the team just hasn't had enough time to work on issues that need to be addressed.

So how the heck will they practice this season? Sure, it's only "two extra games per month" and that doesn't seem like much, but it will have a bigger affect in terms of getting in the gym for practice. Not only will the C's obviously not practice on those two days a month that there are games, but they're going to need more rest now most likely - and in months with less time for it.

Rivers expressed worry that practices would be few and far between, saying "yeah" when the question was raised.

"That again, we'll find that out with the scheduling.," he said. "I've done a lot of - not a lot but some research. I know in the last time this happened with the 50 game [season] there were some coaches that didn't have a practice at all during that season and there were some that did it another way. So we'll figure it out."

Wait, is Rivers throwing out the idea that they may never practice?

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Looks like Trey-J is going to stay in the states and work on building up his body strength.

h/t lockout hoops

One big criticism of Doc Rivers among many Celtics fans is that he's never been one to play the young guys and develop them. That may be so, but over the past four seasons, you can't really blame him.

The Celtics were built to win now, and well, rookies usually aren't a big part of the "winning now" mentality, especially the ones drafted in the later stages.

That notion was never more apparent last year when the C's drafted 19-year-old Avery Bradley. Bradley, one of the highest rated high school prospects entering college, had a solid year at Texas during his freshman season. Nevertheless, he opted to enter the draft, and ended up going 19^th overall.

But Ainge drafted the injured-at-the-time guard for much further down the line production, admitting yesterday that he didn't have high hopes for his rookie campaign.

"No, we did not think that he would [contribute] because he was hurt and very young and didn't play the position before," Ainge said. "So we didn't have much expectations for Avery last year. I hoped that he would have played more than he did last year but it just didn't work out that way. But we did not have high expectations for Avery last year."

Flash forward to the 2011 NBA Draft and we could be looking at a somewhat different situation. Sure, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore are still rookies and very young, but they come into the league both already older than Bradley, and maybe with an even greater level of competition under their belt (four years at a Division I school versus one year at a Division I school and an NBA year spent mostly on the bench).

Bradley didn't play in NBA games often, just 31 of them. And when he did play, he averaged just five minutes per game.

That's not to say that both Boilermakers are already ahead of Bradley, because they aren't, and it will take an amazing showing by Moore to move ahead of Bradley on the depth chart, assuming Ainge sees them at the same position. But Ainge does have higher expectations for Johnson and Moore going into their rookie season than he did for Bradley.

"Yeah, first of all they're four-year college players, both of them," he said. "Avery was 19 and injured when we drafted him and we knew that he would miss training camp."

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Some thought (hoped) they'd trade it away, and in a sense they did, but nonetheless, the Celtics ended up with Purdue's JaJuan Johnson as their first round pick (taken by the Nets at No. 27 and traded to the Celtics along with a 2014 2^nd round pick for MarShon Brooks).

A senior out of Purdue, Johnson averaged 20.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and shot 80.9% in 34 games this season. Since his freshman year, those numbers have gradually improved too.

The result? One of the best players to come out of the Big Ten this year.

"Big Ten player of the Year," Doc Rivers said when asked about the pick. "Athletic. Can shoot. I like it a lot. We didn't think he would be there and he was."

Johnson was a First-Team All-American as a senior and became the third player in conference history to win Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. But it doesn't end there. Johnson is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection (2009, 2011) and a three-time member of the Big Ten All-Defensive Team (2009, 2010, 2011).

But don't think of Johnson as one of those "me first" type of guys just trying to pad his stats. He, along with fellow Celtics draft pick and teammate E'Twaun Moore (more on him later), had much success during their four-year stint at Purdue.

In fact, the two players hold the record for most wins in school history (107) and total games (140). Winning games like that is important to Rivers.

"It tells you that he can play with the team and fit in and be a winner on that team and still play well," he said.

Johnson did enough over the course of the past two seasons at Purdue and during his workout for the Celtics to catch Danny Ainge's eye.

"Just his versatility." Ainge said of what drew Johnson to him. "I think he's a both ends of the court player. He can shoot, he can rebound, block shots, he's got some good energy, and good length. I think he fits a lot of parts that we need."

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UPDATE: Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Celtics are trading the pick (Brooks) to New Jersey

For the next month, Celticsblog.com is taking a look at potential Celtics draft picks in the 2011 NBA Draft. For a look at previously featured players, click on names: Markieff Morris, Klay Thompson, Justin Harper, and Kenneth Faried. Fifth up in the series, Providence's Marshon Brooks.

His measurements from the Draft Combine:

Birthday: 1/26/1989     Height: 6'5.25"     Weight: 194.6     Wingspan: 7'1"     Standing Reach: 8'5"     Max vert: 38.5"     ¾ Court Sprint: 3.09 

His per-game stats from his senior season at Morehead State:

Mins: 36.5     Pts: 24.6     FG: 8.6     FGA: 17.8     FG%: 48.3      3P%: 34.0     FT%: 77.2     Rebs: 7.0     Asts: 2.5     Steals: 1.9     Turnovers: 2.5

While UConn's Kemba Walker got most of the attention in the Big East and especially here in New England, another player coming out of the same two places looks to be a pretty good fit here in Boston, among other teams. I'm talking about Providence shooting guard Marshon Brooks - a prospect shooting up the draft charts.

That's right, Boston's potentially newest player was just a quick drive down I-95 from Boston's TD Garden for the past four years.

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For the next month, Celticsblog.com is taking a look at potential Celtics draft picks in the 2011 NBA Draft. For a look at previously featured players, click on names: Markieff Morris, Klay Thompson, and Justin Harper. Fourth up in the series, Morehead State's Kenneth Faried.

His measurements from the Draft Combine:

Birthday: 11/19/1989     Height: 6'7.5"     Weight: 225.0     Wingspan: 7'0"     Standing Reach: 9'0"     No Step Vertical Reach: 11’6.5" 

His per-game stats from his senior season at Morehead State:

Mins: 34.7     Pts: 17.3     FG: 6.7     FGA: 10.7     FG%: 62.3      FT%: 57.7     Rebs: 14.5     Blks: 2.3     Steals: 1.9     Turnovers: 2.6

For Celtics fans, there's been perhaps no more popular name in draft talks than Morehead State's Kenneth Faried.

Faried, a senior power forward, led the nation in rebounding this season, averaging a staggering 14.5 per game. But Faried isn't just a one-season wonder, and has actually exceeded his prior season in almost every statistical category. He averaged 8.0 rebounds his freshman season, and 13.0 rebounds his sophomore and junior season. Those numbers added on to this year have made him the all-time leading rebounder in NCAA history with 1,673. Not too shabby.

The Celtics, while their style of play keeps rebounding numbers relatively low, could definitely still use rebounding coming off the bench. But not only will the C's get rebounding, by all reports they'll get a guy who goes 110-percent when he's out there, obviously a valuable asset and something to be desired on every team.

We've seen countless times in the past (although not so much in the second half of last season) where Glen Davis was that guy who came in off the bench and provided the energy that boosted the rest of the team. Faried seems to have that quality, minus the somewhat more polished offensive game. And with Davis as a free agent, maybe the C's think to replace him with someone like Faried.

"A lot of teams say that my offensive skill could be a concern," Faried said at the recent draft combine. "I'm working at it and they accept me for that. And they say you could play a great role in just being on the team. And bringing hustle in practice or on the floor, you're going to want to play me."

His offensive game, unlike that of the previously featured Justin Harper, is not anywhere close to where it needs to be if Faried is to be counted on on the offensive end.

But maybe he won't be. There have been players in this league that have had much success just being pure defenders and scrappy guys out there.

"A lot of teams need a rebounder, a lot of players aren't going to make every shot," he said. "So I'm just going to get it and score, and that's the way my numbers speak that way.

"I have great confidence in that [I can be a great player without an all-star level offensive game]. Ben Wallace was definitely in the league because (some) things he did was block shots, rebounding, be a great defensive presence. And he started for the Pistons and won championships and made All-Star games. But it's going to take time and progress and I'm going to just keep getting better every day.

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For the next month, Celticsblog.com is taking a look at potential Celtics draft picks in the 2011 NBA Draft. For a look at previously featured players, click on names: Markieff Morris and Klay Thompson. Third up in the series, Richmond's Justin Harper.

His measurements from the Draft Combine:

Birthday: 8/30/1989     Height: 6'8.75"     Weight: 228.0     Wingspan: 6'11.75"     Standing Reach: 8'10"

His per-game stats from his junior season at Washington State:

Mins: 31.8     Pts: 17.9     FG: 6.6     FGA: 12.4     FG%: 53.4      3p%: 44.8     FT%: 79.7     Rebs: 6.9     Blks: 1.2     Turnovers: 1.5

As much as I hate spiders, I'd make an exception for Justin Harper (sorry). For a power forward - right now anyways - Harper has a much more polished offensive game than many of his "classmates" at the same position.

He's a spot up shooter who can hit 18+ footers consistently, and his quick feet allow him to come off screens and beat defenders.  Harper has also shown the ability to hit from the three-point range, shooting at a 45-percent clip over his senior season at Richmond.

That longer-range ability keeps him further away from the basket on the offensive end, as he's not much of a banger down low and his low-post moves aren't a big part of his game.

Dare we compare him to a Jeff Green type? It might be true. Their build is quite similar, and while Green may be more athletic, their styles of play seem somewhat similar, seeing as both are combo forwards who can stretch the floor.

Taking a look at all four years at Richmond, it's clear that Harper improved each and every season, with his junior year to senior year being his biggest difference in numbers.

"It was really just my mindset and just being more aggressive going into my senior year that helped me make that jump and kind of helped a lot more people recognize my game," Harper told DraftExpress.com at the recent combine. "Just the success of my team also, us being on a larger scale and a lot more people seeing us on television playing and making that run in the tournament. It really helped my stock and helped show a lot of people what I can do against better competition as well."

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For the next month, Celticsblog.com is taking a look at potential Celtics draft picks in the 2011 NBA Draft. Second up in the series, Washington State's Klay Thompson.

His measurements from the Draft Combine:

Birthday: 2/8/1990     Height: 6'7.25"     Weight: 205.6     Wingspan: 6'9"     Standing Reach: 8'7.5"

His per-game stats from his junior season at Washington State:

Mins: 34.7     Pts: 21.6     FG: 7.1     FGA: 16.2     FG%: 43.6      3p%: 39.8     FT%: 83.8     Rebs: 5.2     Asts: 3.7    Turnovers: 3.4

Great shooters like Ray Allen can stay in the NBA much longer than other players can (see: Reggie Miller), and with the peak physical condition of Allen, he's able to stay on the court for 40 minutes even at the age of 35.

Still, it can't last forever, and eventually the C's will need to look for another shooting guard to take over. Delonte West is a serviceable backup, but I don't think the Celtics see him as Ray Allen's permanent successor down the road.

Yes, the C's drafted Avery Bradley last season, but it's too early to determine what their plans are for him either. Is he simply Rondo's backup? His future in this league seems to be at the PG position. If the C's are interested in shooting guards, there are a handful of worthy candidates in this year's draft.

Two of them they'd have to trade up for - Colorado's Alec Burks and Washington State's Klay Thompson. One may slide - Texas' Jordan Hamilton (featured later in the series). And one is slated to go around the 25^th pick or later - Providence's Marshon Brooks (also featured later in the series).

But out of those four players, Thompson most resembles Allen, although he certainly has a ways to go. Thompson is one of the purest shooters in the draft, and has a pretty sweet stroke from beyond the arc. Even though Thompson was the go-to guy on his team, his game revolves a ton around off-the-ball movement, much like Allen does now with the C's.

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