ESPN

Observations following the Boston Celtics' 100-94 victory over the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on Sunday.

All Pierce, all the time: Paul Pierce put forth a retro performance against the Wizards, finishing with a season-high 34 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 12-of-15 shooting from the free throw line. It was a monster effort from Pierce, in the first game in which he has truly looked comfortable, and, more importantly, like his old self. Pierce has been saying consistently ever since he returned from a heal injury at the start of the season that it would take him several games to revert back to form, and today might have finally been the breakthrough effort he's been talking about.

Pierce scored four points in the first, 14 in the second, two in the third, and another 14 in the final frame. His fourth quarter effort was perhaps the best sign from the captain, as the C's ran virtually their entire offense through him over the final 12 minutes. Going up against the helpless Nick Young and Chris Singleton, Pierce at one point scored 10 straight fourth quarter points for Boston from the 9:07 mark through the 5:43 mark. He followed that up with one of his finest plays of the night as he fed a cutting Brandon Bass on the left baseline, and Bass was able to absorb significant contact and still hit the shot while drawing the foul. Pierce then charged through Washington's defense and converted a strong layup of his own to put the C's up 93-86.

Pierce's comfort level on the floor Sunday can't be overstated. Sure, this performance came against a handful of players not known for their defense, but Pierce's classic mid-range game, which has been all but absent this season, was back in full form, and he utilized it expertly to repeatedly sink the Wizards. Hopefully this game wasn't a one-hit wonder for Pierce, and he'll be able to continue getting back into a comfortable flow offensively against the Magic tomorrow night.

Allen jams ankle, doesn't return: It was a feel-good win on a number of levels for Boston, but the obvious downside was the loss of Ray Allen. Allen jammed his left ankle midway through the second quarter when he collided with Washington forward Jan Vesely, who was attempting to set a screen. Allen immediately headed to the bench and then the locker room, where he was re-assessed at halftime and pronounced out for the final 24 minutes.

No injury bodes well for Boston right now, as they're still fighting for that ever-allusive consistently in their rotation. For Allen in particular, the injury came at a poor time, as he had already scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and, like Pierce, once again seemed comfortable with his own offensive rhythm. Allen had averaged just 7.75 field goal attempts in the four games prior to Sunday's bout, and he was well on his way past that mark before he got hurt. Getting Allen more involved had to be a point of emphasis for Boston going into Sunday's game, which is why it's that much more unfortunate he went down, given that they were succeeding so well in that area.

Allen is currently listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow night's tilt against the Magic, but given the quick turnaround, don't be shocked if head coach Doc Rivers decides to sit him for a game, just to be cautious.

Celtics clutch in final minutes: Pierce drove the Celtics' offensive vehicle for much of the game, including in the fourth quarter, but he had some help from Kevin Garnett in the final minutes. Garnett, who finished with 16 points and five rebounds, charged down the lane with 1:57 remaining and threw down a thunderous right-handed slam, that had extra meaning given it being arguably his most athletic play of the season. Garnett then followed that slam with a decisive jump shot from the left side with just over 30 seconds remaining. Caught with no one to pass to, Garnett composed himself and dribbled into the shot that gave Boston a 97-92 advantage.

After a string of games in which they couldn't hang on in the fourth quarter (a 90-85 loss to the Mavericks, an 88-79 loss to the Bulls, and a 97-88 bow to the Thunder), the Celtics will draw encouragement from closing out an opponent over the final 12 minutes. Sure, it was the Wizards, but it still counts as progress for this group, and you won't hear any complaints from the locker room about winning a close game against any foe.

(Read full post)

Editor’s note: Over the next 12 days, we’ll countdown to the Celtics’ Christmas matchup with the Knicks (Dec. 25 at 12 p.m. ET) by hitting on 12 big topics facing the Green this season.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- There’s been so much talk about “windows” since the Big Three were united in Boston that you’d think Bill Gates ran the team. When Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were united during the summer of 2007, most figured that window of opportunity was three years at best.

And ever since they won a title after less than 12 months together, the focus has been on whether they are too old to do it again. Few thought they’d still be together at this point, but one thing is certain: This is the last rodeo ... probably.

“It is [the last rodeo for the Big Three],” Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted. Allen and Garnett will be unrestricted free agents after the season, and the expectation is the Celtics will begin turning over their roster by using that cleared cap space to splurge on the next generation of superstars.

“I was very honest with them about that," Rivers said. "That doesn’t mean we won’t have some of them back next year or not, but there’s the chance that we will not. And this is most likely our last shot. And I was honest with them about that. This has to be a team that looks at ourselves like we have to do it this year because this is our only year that we can do it. We may never be in this position again, as a player or as a coach. We have to try to take advantage of it.”

Despite flirtations with trades that could have overhauled part of the core -- even if the Big Three never seemed in jeopardy of being split up -- the Celtics are set to bring back their same playoff starting five from last season, with alterations simply to the bench.

Some will wonder if it wasn’t good enough last season, why would it be good enough this season? Can the Celtics get enough out of that aging Big Three to still hang with the young guns of the Eastern Conference? Especially after the Heat -- and their vaunted Miami Thrice -- knocked Boston out of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

“We didn’t get enough out of our team [last season],” Rivers admitted. “We just watched some film of that [Heat series before the team’s first practice session of the new season Friday]. Just to refresh all of their memories. [The Heat] were the better team in that series, but we made mistakes. And I wanted to remind them of that. I thought that was important.”

(Read full post)

ESPN.com's 5-on-5 crew (featuring our own Chris Forsberg) weighs in on what lies ahead in for the Celtics in 2011-12.

1. For which Celtics player is the 2011-12 season most important?

Hayes Davenport, CelticsHub: Rajon Rondo. He's lived off potential for a long time, but probably not for much longer. If he doesn't emerge as the team's best player and cultural co-leader this season, he's unlikely to be capable of carrying the Celtics beyond a low playoff seed in the post-Garnett era.

Ryan DeGama, CelticsHub: Rajon Rondo. Last season, the league's view of Rondo seemed to shift away from his proficiencies as a defender and passer and toward his failings: consistency, willingness to attack the basket and free throw shooting. That's problematic for the self-styled "best PG in the game." Is he a franchise player or not? Time to sort that out.

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston: Kevin Garnett. He'll turn 36 this season and there's a ton of miles on those tires (the regular-season minutes odometer stands at 43,915, 15th-most in league history). Garnett has acknowledged the finish line might be near, but he's still vital to the Celtics' championship hopes, even as his body struggles to withstand the rigors.

Brendan Jackson, CelticsHub: Rajon Rondo. The Celtics' point guard is the heir apparent and the only future of this team. If he doesn't solidify himself as a top-tier player on his own (i.e., dishing to JaJuan Johnson and Jeff Green and not Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), then his legacy (and trade value) will plummet.

Brian Robb, CelticsHub: Rajon Rondo. With an aging Big Three that can struggle to create its own offense, the C's All-Star point guard will be instrumental in creating regular easy opportunities for his teammates. Consistency has always been the biggest issue for the up-and-down Rondo, and that problem must be overcome in order for the Celtics to remain a contender.

Click HERE to read the other four questions.

Ric Bucher talks on SportsCenter about Ray Allen breaking Reggie Miller's NBA record for career 3-pointers and the Lakers' win over the Celtics. He points out that Allen is known as "one of the classiest individuals in the history of the league" and how other NBA players, and especially his teammates, were genuinely happy for him on his historic night.

Bucher also discussed how Allen, after joining the Celtics, had to put his ego aside as a member of the celebrated "Big Three."

Said Bucher: Allen "was willing to change his game and essentially become a 3-point perfectionist in order to make this fit with the Celtics, and that's why they embrace him as they do."

Celtics guard Marquis Daniels was released from the hospital Monday morning with a bruised spinal cord and is in good spirits, according to the Celtics' Twitter account.

Daniels had been taken to New England Baptist Hospital after a second-quarter collision with guard Gilbert Arenas during Sunday's game with the Orlando Magic. Daniels fell face-first to the parquet after the initial injury. After being attended to by team doctors and arena paramedics, Daniels needed to be taken from the court on a stretcher in a scary scene that marred a nationally televised battle of rivals.

"Marquis is doing well," Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said at a news conference with team physician Brian McKeon after the game. "I was just with him at New England Baptist Hospital. He's moving, he's fine. His arms and his legs, everything is fine."

"I think he was scared when he was on the court, because he couldn't really move there for a short period of time, so that scared him," Ainge said. "But he's had some issues with this before and some tingling in his body -- his arms and things before."

Daniels is expected to miss at least a month.

Chris Forsberg checks in with SportsCenter to discuss why the Celtics' win over the Lakers on Sunday was so emotionally satisfying to the players, who took the loss to L.A. in the Finals last season extremely hard.

It didn't erase the pain, says Forsberg, but it helped them get over an emotional hurdle.

"To first get over that hurdle and then go out there and take care of business in the areas that really did them in in games 6 and 7 last year. I felt like they really wanted to assert themselves on the glass, [and] they did that, they were more physical. And then the final six minutes where they sort of let it slip away in game 7 they actually turned it up [on Sunday], they cranked it up, and by 1:29 left to go that arena had cleared out, and [the Celtics] took great pride in that."

Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon join Hannah Storm to break down the Celtics’ win over the Lakers. Both Barry and Wilbon call the Celtics the best team in league.

In the video above, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen break down the Celtics' impressive win over the Lakers.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- A collection of news and notes after the Boston Celtics practiced Monday at the Sports Authority Training Center at HealthPoint:

The rundown (a quick look at practice headlines)
* West says he has to earn playing time as he returns from suspension
* It looks like O’Neal could be out another 2-3 weeks
* Loose balls: Bradley returns; Daniels not present

--DELONTE READY FOR HIS DEBUT ON WEDNESDAY--

Delonte West will make his season debut on Wednesday against Washington after having missed the first 10 games of the season due to a suspension.

“He’ll play. I’m not sure how much,’’ coach Doc Rivers said. “We’ve still got to get all our stuff down so we may limit what we do when he’s out there.”

West was the last player off the practice floor Monday, taking extra shooting practice with assistant coach Lawrence Frank.

"It feels good [to have the suspension done]," said West. "Who knows where we go from here? I have to still earn my playing time. This is a talented team; guys that want to be out there, earn the right to be out there. So it starts here[on the practice court], just getting in here, showing the guys I’m committed to this, and hopefully they trust me enough to have me out there."

-- JERMAINE LIKELY OUT ANOTHER 2-3 WEEKS--



The news on Jermaine O'Neal is not good.

The Celtics’ center might miss another two to three weeks, Rivers said, due to ongoing left knee woes. O’Neal hasn’t played since last Monday, when he logged nearly 11 minutes in the Celtics’ 89-87 loss at Dallas. He had a second opinion while the Celtics were in Miami (he played for the Heat last year, so he was familiar with the doctors there) and was not with the team in Memphis on Saturday.

He was at the Celtics’ practice facility Monday, but did not go through the workout.

“He’s still going through a couple more evaluations,’’ Rivers said of O’Neal.

The coach said he had not heard the word “surgery” mentioned in conversations about O’Neal’s situation. Rivers said the team was not now looking for extra help at the position, adding, “there aren’t a lot of good, 7-footers walking the earth who aren’t signed.”

--LOOSE BALLS: BRADLEY RETURNS, DANIELS NOT AT PRACTICE--



* Rookie Avery Bradley, like West, is eager to make his season debut. Bradley has been recovering from a left ankle injury and has been on the inactive list for all 10 games of the regular season. (He did play a little in the exhibition season.) Bradley went through a certifiable practice session Monday -- “it’s the most he’s done in a long time,’’ Rivers said -- and said he felt great afterward.

“It feels good to finally be out there, getting a chance to practice with my teammates,’’ he said.

If the Celtics choose to make Jermaine O’Neal inactive for Wednesday’s game, Bradley might get to dress for the first time this season.

* Marquis Daniels was not at practice and will also likely miss Tuesday’s practice due to what Rivers said was a family matter. He did not elaborate.

* Rivers kept the practice short Monday because he said the team was still a little fatigued, having arrived in Boston at 4 a.m. Sunday following the overtime game Saturday night in Memphis. You could also have said the same thing of the head coach. He was in Gainesville, Fla., on Sunday, watching his daughter play her last regular season home game as a member of the University of Florida’s volleyball team. (It was Senior Day.) Florida won the match (3-0 over Alabama) and clinched a share of the Southeastern Conference title.

The Heat and Celtics face off tonight in one of the most widely anticipated games in recent memory. Between the Heat and Celtics current rosters, there are 13 current and former NBA All-Stars. Those players have combined for 75 All-Star selections.



The last time at least 13 players who each appeared in a previous All-Star Game, played in the same regular season game was January 29, 1969. It was a game between the Hawks and 76ers (won 119-96 by the 76ers).

As we get ready to tip off the 2010-11 NBA season, let's take one final look back at a historic offseason of movement. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Kevin Durant all talked to ESPN as part of this well-produced package:

ESPN was granted exclusive access Thursday as Shaquille O’Neal invaded Harvard Square and posed like a statue for hundreds of fans.

So how did he come up with the idea?

“The idea of the Shaq statue originated from watching TV one day,” Shaq told ESPN. “I was watching the royal British guards. If you know anything about those guys they have tremendous discipline. The other idea is I always wanted to tell people I went to Harvard.”

Check out the video above for a good laugh.

In an interview this morning on "First Take", Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo said he still considered the Celtics to be the team to beat in the East and said proclamations that the revamped Miami Heat would have an upper hand in the conference were "a slap in the face". Watch the full interview below:

WALTHAM -- Shaquille O'Neal was introduced as a member of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday morning, saying the sole reason he came to Boston was to try to add to his title haul and is willing to play any role Doc Rivers envisions for him.



"I've done everything individually that I've set out to do," O'Neal said. "Now, toward the latter part of my career, it's all about winning."

O'Neal, who was decked out in a pinstriped suit and a bow tie for the introduction, could start the season as the Celtics' backup center, with Jermaine O'Neal taking the starting spot while Kendrick Perkins works his way back from knee surgery. No matter the role, the 38-year-old Shaq insisted Tuesday that he still had the same fire.

"I still have hunger, I still can play, I still want to win," O'Neal said. "When I close my book at the end of the day it's all about winning, nothing else."

Shaq, who has won four NBA titles over the course of his career, told reporters he had hoped to end his career with five or six titles. He signed a two-year deal with the Celtics in what is likely his final NBA contract.

"This summer I had many options but I wanted to be with a team that was used to winning, with a team that was one or two pieces away," O'Neal said. "I think it's a good fit."

Rivers, who sat next to Shaq during the press conference, said the team had hoped to address a rebounding weakness in the offseason and that the addition of O'Neal went a long way toward doing that. He also noted that Shaq's ability to get opposing defenders into foul trouble will be an added benefit.

"You need size to win," Rivers said. "We think we've filled that void pretty well today."

O'Neal also thanked new teammate Kevin Garnett, who flew in from Hawaii to be at the press conference.

In terms of nicknames, O'Neal said he liked the Big Shamrock but was also partial to the Big Green Mile.

The team also announced that it had signed rookie Luke Harangody to a contract, leaving the roster at the maximum of 15 players. The number, however, includes Rasheed Wallace, who plans to retire.

Sports Guy Bill Simmons passed along his five-part prediction for the Celtics’ offseason via Twitter (@sportsguy33):

1) Doc Rivers comes back and hires Lawrence Frank as his lead assistant.

2) Paul Pierce opts out, then Boston re-signs him for 3 yrs, $51 million with a smaller cap figure in 2010-11 ($17m instead of $21.5m)

3) Knowing someone else is going to overpay Ray Allen, Celts make a July 1st play for J.J. Redick (full midlevel exception: 5 yrs, $33m).

4a) Celts shop Rasheed Wallace's '11 cap figure ($6.3m) for a big man from a team that needs cap/tax relief and can just buy out Sheed for 2-3m. (Until Sheed files retirement papers with the NBA, Celts can trade him. Totally legal.)

4b) Possible candidates for a Sheed deal: Andris Biedrins, Troy Murphy, Tyson Chandler, Darius Songaila, even (gulp) Eddy Curry (if NYC throws in an enticement).

5) Kurt Thomas for the lower veteran's exemption. I'm just feeling it.

So there you go. I'm on the record.