It was a year ago today that my father left this earth for a better place. It seems like just yesterday. My father is the reason I'm a huge Celtics fan, the reason I will be a huge fan for the rest of my life, and hopefully why my daughter will be a huge fan. Born just 4 weeks ago, she was already wearing a Celtics cheerleading outfit for game 3!

So, I just wanted to say thanks to the Celtics for winning this series and allowing me to enjoy watching them for at least one more series, while I think about my dad and all the times we watched games together. Hopefully, I will have many memories of watching games with my daughter to come.

I know my dad is looking down with a huge smile on his face at his beautiful grandaughter that his son helped create, and he is proud, very proud!!

So Celtics, let's keep this train going all the way to the finals and banner 18!!!

With the schedule the Celtics have the last 18 games, along with Philly's fairly soft schedule their last 17, we can realistically expect to finish with the 7th or 8th seed. Philly plays 10 of their last 17 against below .500 teams, while the C's only play 6 games against teams below .500, and 10 of those 18 are on the road. Not to mention, we have a stretch of 7 games in a row where play Miami, San Antonio, @Chicago, @Indiana, Philly, @Miami and Atlanta. I have a feeling that will be the stretch that either does us in, and we get the 8th or miss the playoffs, or we are able to survive for the 7th.

Let's say the Bulls get the 1st seed, and Miami gets the 2nd, would it be better to have the 8th spot and play Chicago, who really doesn't have much of a post presence like us (although they are the best in the league rebounding at 46 p/game), or would it be better to be in the 7th spot and play the Heat, who don't really have a post presence either, and we match up with them better cause they don't really have that good of a point guard, but they have Wade and James?

I would personally like to see the Heat in the first round because I think we could catch them off guard in an early series, but either way, it's gonna be tough.

Poll

What seed do you think the Celtics will get?

13%

8th

30 votes

23%

7th

51 votes

50%

4th

112 votes

12%

They will be lucky to make it!

28 votes

221 votes | Poll has closed

I watched him when the Celtics played the Bucks a week or so ago, and he impressed me. He's averaging 12 pts and 9 rbs a night, and we all know that rebounding isn't a strong point on this team.

I know he's a power forward, but with KG playing the 5 right now, and Wilcox having to back him up with JO out, I think this guy could come off the bench and help us out a lot. He's only 24, and has a cheap $2.5 mil. salary. Plus, his contract expires at the end of the season, so if he doesn't pan out, we let him walk. if he blows up, we have plenty of salray to sign him.

The Bucks might be looking to move him at the deadline since he might not re-sign with them, and they want to get something for him. Would you offer them say Dooling and one of our 1st rd picks for him? The salaries work out via the trade machine. http://espn.go.com/nba/trademachine

If we were able to sign Peyton to a 2 year contract at let's just say $8 million per year, with some incentives included to bulk it up some, could we also still trade our first this year and next, and maybe a 2nd or 3rd this year to St. Louis to move up and get RGIII?

I have been reading we have anywhere from $44-$48 million in salary cap to play with this offseason, so I would assume we could do this with the new CBA lowering rookie salaries, and still fill some other holes like OL, WR and DB. Then we get the best of both worlds, try to win now, while still building for the future.

Not to mention, RGIII getting to learn from one of the best QB's ever for a couple years is a great situation, and if Peyton can't make it back to his elite status, we already have his replacement. I have no idea if this would be possible financially, so I'm just throwing it out there for discussion.

Poll

What's the chances we get Peyton Manning and RGIII?

7%

100% chance - We are going to the Superbowl!!

8 votes

44%

It's possible depending on what we have to pay Peyton

45 votes

48%

No chance - You are smoking something

49 votes

102 votes | Poll has closed

Would we be able to then swap our 6th pick for the Vikings 3rd and possibly only have to give up our second round pick this year? Pulled the below excerpt from Fox Sports, and Ross Jones is reporting it from the combine.

I don't see the Rams drafting either Luck or RGIII, and I know the Vikings GM is saying that they would look at those two if one of them slipped, but I can't see that happening since they used their 1st pick last year on Ponder. They could easily get Kalil with the 6th pick, and pick up another 2nd rounder as well.

Vikings flexible with No. 3 pick The Vikings sit third overall in the first round of the NFL Draft, but general manager Rick Spielman has interest in trading down.

"We are definitely open to moving," said Spielman who faced a crowd of media in Indianapolis Thursday afternoon. "We will look to take advantage and it will be very beneficial to our franchise." Although the Vikings selected quarterback Christian Ponder with the 12th overall pick last year, if either of the top two quarterbacks slip to the third spot Spielman noted that they would do their "due diligence on Andrew Luck and RG3."

Another option at the No. 3 spot for the Vikings would be addressing their offensive line woes. Spielman was asked about USC left tackle Matt Kalil: "He’s a very good left tackle with lengthy arms and a nasty demeanor."

Kalil comes from an NFL bloodline where his older brother Ryan was selected a few years back and has been a mainstay for the Carolina Panthers offensive line. "(Ryan Kalil) has turned out to be a great player in the NFL."

A source from ESPN that is apparently very trust worthy to Bram Weinstein thinks so!

http://bostinno.com/2012/01/13/could-peyton-manning-be-headed-to-the-washington-redskins/

If the Redskins were able to pick up both Manning and Saturday, draft a QB in the third or fourth round, say Cousins, Foles, Tannehill, etc., would you be ok with it? They could use some of the other picks to solidify the line, and grab a big time receiver in FA. The QB we draft can sit behind Peyton for a couple years and learn, like Rodgers did at Green Bay. I think it's a win win situation, as long as Peyton is healthy, and we don't have to give up a ton of draft picks.

This guy is huge at 7'1" 280 lbs and is a free agent. Apparently both Golden State and Miami are looking at signing him. In four seasons with Utah he has averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes p/game. Is he worth a look at back-up center? We will probably have one more roster spot open after today, and I know there will be several buy-outs likely, but we need some bigs. He was an 8th pick in the second round by Philly back in 2007, so he obviously has some talent, and he's still young.

via upload.wikimedia.org

I know this has been talked about for awhile now, but I don't think I have seen any in-depth discussions about it yet, unless I just missed them.  So, I figured I would throw it out there again and see if it has any legs so to speak.

If, and this is a big IF, Dwight Howard goes to Otis Smith and Orlando this summer and says he doesn't want to come back after next year, I would think they would start fielding calls for him immediately.  Otherwise they are going to end up like Cleveland and get nothing in return.  Obviously there would be several teams that would come calling - Lakers, Nets, Clippers and Bobcats to name a few.  But, could one of those teams be the Celtics??

Obviously the new CBA will determine if this would actually be possible (Especially if they add a franchise tag into the mix), and even if it stays the same, or similar, I'm not even sure this would work, so go ahead and shoot it down if you know for sure it just couldn't happen.

Here's what I was thinking.  Orlando is about $32 mil over the cap for next season.  The Celtics are about $20 mil over.  So, would it be possible to do a sign and trade with Kristic and Davis and/or Green, and throw in the top ten lottery protected pick we got from the Clippers this year, for Dwight Howard?

It would give Orlando a center back, and front court help, which they sorely need, and significantly reduce their payroll for next season, and the C's would only add about $7 mil on to their's for next season.  Sounds like a win-win for both teams.

Not to mention, it gives Howard a shot at winning a title now, along with signing a huge contract after next season when KG and Ray's contracts expire.  Additionally, he knows it would be a good possibilty that if both those two are healthy, and want to continue to play, that they would probably re-sign at a hometown discount in order to have a chance to win a couple more titles in beantown!

I think this is a good possibility with Howard growing increasingly frustrated with his team.  This year's first round exit didn't help the situation for Orlando either.  It looks like someone else is in agreement with me as I just found this on Yahoo! - http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ycn-8534683.

What do you think???

Poll

What's the chances Boston lands Dwight Howard this offseason?

14%

It's a no brainer, he will be waering #12 for the green next season

72 votes

25%

It's a good possibility

127 votes

27%

He will stay with the Magic this season, but I could see them signing him next year

137 votes

31%

No way! He's not coming to beantown ever.

158 votes

494 votes | Poll has closed

I know we have glaring holes at several positions, so WR might not be a priority, but we do need some help there too. After his unbelievable senior year where he broke single season records for receptions (72), receiving yards (1,156) and touchdowns (13), I think we have to seriously take a hard look at this beast from "The U"!  After all, he will go down as one of the all-time great WR's at Miami, and with the likes of Michael Irvin, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, and Andre Johnson as alum, that's pretty damn good.

Some positives and negatives after the jump.

Poll

Should the Redskins draft Leonard Hankerson in the second round?

41%

Yes, this guy would be a perfect fit!

157 votes

30%

Maybe, if we don't plan on going after a WR in free agency

116 votes

27%

No way, we have too many more important holes to fill!

106 votes

379 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

via celticshub.com

As everyone probably already knows, oh being at the bottom of the league might give us a hint, rebounding has been a problem this year, and has contributed to why the Celtics are losing so many games.  I didn't realize how big of an issue it was until I looked a little closer.  I decided to break down the numbers a little to see if it was the main reason, which I think it is, and it's not getting better, it's getting increasingly worse.  We all know defense wins titles, and while there offense seams stagnet at times, being out rebounded can make it worse and lead to several issues, like fast break and second chance points.  Below are the rebounding numbers for the Celtics, and there opponents, for the 22 losses they have this season.  I have broken them down in 3, 6 game increments, and then the last 4.  I will explain why later.

Celtics    Opp. (first 6)   Celtics    Opp. (next 6)        Celtics      Opp. (third 6)     Celtics     Opp. (last 4)

42             39                 44                43                   32               47                  40              43     

29             47                 36                39                   35               39                  41              35

29             28                 35                30                   39               36                  34              41

43             42                 39                50                   40               38                  29              48

46             45                 32                35                   37               47

37             33                 35                45                   37               41

---------------------------          ----------------------------            -----------------------------           -------------------------------

226         234    (-8)         221          242    (-21)         220        248    (-28)            144     167   (-23)

-1.33 p/game difference   -3.5 p/game difference        -4.66 p/game difference       -5.75 p/game difference

Anyone see a pattern here!?!?!  I would bet money that we get out rebounded by about a total of 12 the next two loses.

Now the reason I did it in 6 game increments is this.  The first 6 loses were before KG got hurt.  Ok, not bad.  We only got out rebounded in one game, which was a huge one, and that's why the difference was -8.  The next 6 losses were way worse, but that's probably because KG was out, and Rasheed's lazy (sorry, he's terrible), so the diffrence was -21.  But, the glaring one is the third 6, and the last 4, where KG has been playing.  It's gotten even worse with a -28 and -23 difference.

Is it because he doesn't want to mix it up down low, get tangled up, and hurt his knee again?  Is it because he doesn't have that bounce anymore?  Is it because he and Perk aren't inticipating where each other is going to be after a shot.  Or is it because he just doesn't have anything left in the tank? 

Poll

Are the Celtics rebounding woes directly related to KG

30%

Absolutely

7 votes

8%

No way, he's still got it

2 votes

60%

It's probably some of the problem

14 votes

23 votes | Poll has closed

via www.fox8live.com

Jammal Brown | #70 | T

Height: 6-6   Weight: 313   Age: 28

Born: 3/30/1981 Waxahachie , TX

College: Oklahoma

Experience: 6th season

Before his sports hernia injury last year that caused him to miss the year, he had started 58 straight games.  His rookie seasn in 2005 he played right tackle, but then slid over to the left tackle position, so he can play both.  He's still young, and as far as I know, a sports hernia is not something that would affect him down the road.  He's made the Pro Bowl twice in his five year careeer, and is equally good at pass-blocking, as well as opening up holes for the run.  With the emergence of Jermon Bushrod last year when Brown went down, and the fact the Saints have more then 20 players facing some form of free agency, maybe it's possible we can land him.  He is a RFA though, so we may have to give up a draft pick to get him.  Stats over his five year career are below.

Season		Team		G	GS
2009		New Orleans Saints		0	0
2008		New Orleans Saints		15	15
2007		New Orleans Saints		15	15
2006		New Orleans Saints		15	15
2005		New Orleans Saints		13	13
TOTAL				58	58

 

 

I just heard the Bulger is out for tomorrow's game with a dislocated pinkie.  Is this true, and did anyone else know about this, or am I just way late?  If that's the case, we need to stick 7 and 8 guys in the box to stop Jackson (Which I think we should do anywyays whether Bulger is in or not), and make Kyle Boller beat us......Bring Orakpo around the end all day and maybe throw a couple safety blitz's in there.  Thoughts??