Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics Power Rankings - 2012-13

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 2441-3915Remember when Rajon Rondo announced that the Celts were one of five teams capable of winning it all? They'll surely be a nuisance to the Knicks even without Rondo, but don't forget that the No. 7 seed has upset No. 2 in the first round only five times in 58 tries. And only twice since 1991.
Week 2340-3714No matter how mortal Boston has looked lately, no matter how hot Melo is, I can't shake the suspicion that the Knicks secretly hold out hope that Kevin Garnett plays enough of the last five games for the Celts to finish sixth in the East. New York can't be wanting to see these guys in Round 1.
Week 2238-3517The Celts lead the league in triple-doubles with eight: Rajon Rondo's five and Paul Pierce's three. We pass this novelty along -- two teammates with three triple-doubles each for the first time since Hakeem and Clyde in 1995-96 -- because we increasingly fear it'll be the highlight of Boston's season.
Week 2136-3314Might be time to scrap the whole Not Better But Happier Without Rondo mantra. Radio play-by-play man Sean Grande clued the committee in to the fact that the Celts are 12-1 at home sans Rondo with an average nightly margin of plus-10.2 ... but only 6-12 on the road and a lowly minus-3.4.
Week 2036-299Monday, amazingly, marks exactly five years to the day that the Celtics, on the road, snapped Houston's 22-game winning streak. And Miami, eerily, hasn't won a regular-season game in Boston since April 6, 2007. But the Celtics' chances presumably hinge on whether KG (leg) plays.
Week 1934-289The Rondo-less Celts have won seven of their past eight games decided by five points or fewer. They've also got Kevin Garnett in peak quote form before we even get to the playoffs judging by KG's latest gem scolding the media for ever doubting them: "We haven't given in to the bulls--- a-- critics."
Week 1831-2711Grateful that the Celts always seem to have at least one home game during Sloan conference weekend for the committee (of one) to drop into the Garden, soak up one more dose of Pierce and KG old-schooling while Avery Bradley harasses folks all over the floor, then grab a postgame slice.
Week 1729-2713Ugh: Only Charlotte, Phoenix and Philly have fewer road wins since Dec. 1 than Boston's five. But the recent Jeff Green revival, coupled with Jordan Crawford's arrival, suggest that the Celts could still climb a spot or two even minus Rajon Rondo. Which presumably wouldn't bother Miami.
Week 1628-2410Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have demonstrated their commitment to staying in Boston by leading the undermanned C's to an 8-1 mark sans Rajon Rondo. Now it's up to Danny Ainge to find the loyal duo some useful help for a roster with just 10 healthy bodies. (Brian Robb, CelticsHub)
Week 1527-2312The mood is lighter and happier. The ball movement backs up both claims. Boston is bound to miss Rajon Rondo (and Jared Sullinger) eventually, but there's no denying that the Celts have found their team spirit without their All-Star PG in their first win streak this long since early in 2010-11.
Week 1424-2317The Clips could use Paul Pierce's late-game fearlessness. They could likewise use an enforcer with KG's pedigree on D. Yet I still suspect Boston makes it past the deadline with both greats still wearing green. The Celts would surely seek more in return than Eric Bledsoe in either case.
Week 1321-2319Not sure we can call it the costliest L in franchise history -- since I haven't memorized every plot line, Sports Guy-style, from every Celtics game ever -- but it has got to be up there. The unfathomable squandering of a 27-point lead and Rondo's blown-out ACL both happened Friday night in Atlanta.
Week 1220-2015Uh-oh. Just when all of New England needs a pick-me-up after the Pats' failure to reach the Super Bowl, Doc Rivers' Celtics lose three in a row to (A) bring an abrupt halt to all that Avery Bradley savior talk and (B) force Danny Ainge to resume those should-I-just-blow-this-team-up ruminations.
Week 1119-1713Never really bought the idea that defensive ace Avery Bradley could be Boston's walking-through-that-door savior. Yet it's getting harder and harder to question the notion when Bradley's return has coincided with the best ball we've seen all season from the Celts. By far.
Week 1016-1717Something about seeing the Hawks, who used to give the Celts such fits in the early days of the KG era, gets Boston back online nowadays. Rallying to win in Atlanta qualifies as legit breakthrough stuff for the struggling C's after those four straight losses by an average of 19.8 ppg.
Week 914-1620Has anyone gone to go check on the Sports Guy? You're not seeing things: Boston really just did tour the West Coast and lose games by 29 (Clippers), 18 (Warriors) and -- gulp -- 22 (Kings). Gotta rewind to the pre-Larry Legend darkness of December 1977 for the last time that happened.
Week 813-1318Good thing Paul Pierce erupted offensively when he did. If banged-up Boston didn't at least manage a split of its weekend at home against the Cavs and Bucks, this would have been the first time since 1993 that both the Celtics and Lakers dragged into Christmas with sub-.500 records.
Week 712-1118The Celts were a possession away from going 0-3 against last week's three straight foes from Texas but will gratefully accept their double-OT escape at home against the Dirk-less Mavs before the L's in Houston and San Antonio. Still hard to process seeing 'em only 12th in defensive efficiency.
Week 611-914The Thunder's revenge for losing in Boston on the night after Thanksgiving: OKC's second straight 16-4 start reminded Elias that the last team to do that in back-to-back seasons was the Celtics ... with four such (seemingly forever ago) starts in a row in the first four seasons of the KG era.
Week 59-813When Pop publicly brands the Spurs as "soft," they usually respond. Doc Rivers went there after the scrap that got Rajon Rondo suspended ... only for the Rondo-less Celts to fall apart in Milwaukee after jumping out to a 17-zip lead. Another uh-oh: Paul Pierce is shooting .418 from the field.
Week 48-610Remember when the Celtics, in the first four years of the Kevin Garnett era, seemed borderline unbeatable before Christmas? Let the record show that these Celts, with their suspect D, couldn't manufacture a W worthy of a complimentary Bill Simmons tweet until the night after Thanksgiving.
Week 36-510You have to go back to 1991-92 for the last time someone -- John Stockton was his name -- did what Rajon Rondo is doing now with that sparkly average of 13.1 apg. And you are justifiably curious to wonder how long it'll take for the creaky-so-far Celts to give us something else to discuss.
Week 23-311Rajon Rondo has posted 30 straight games with at least 10 assists. No other active player, not even Steve Nash, has enjoyed a similar assist streak that's lasted as many as 15 games. How many more Rondo superlatives do I need to distract you from Boston's otherwise shaky start?
Week 11-210You have to rewind to the first lockout-shortened season for the last time the Celts lost a home opener as badly as they did Friday night, when Milwaukee showed up and, as noted by the Elias Sports Bureau, equaled the 11-point win Toronto produced on Boston's floor in 1999.
Preseason0-04Open to suggestions on who else you think we should tack onto the short list of teams capable of actually beating the Heat and winning the East. For the Celts to even be on that list -- though they got undeniably deeper over the summer -- everything has to go right.
Training Camp39-276Whether or not you agree with Rondo's claim that the Celts are still on the short list of five teams that can win it all, there's no denying they'll have a bench this time with JET Terry, Courtney Lee, Jeff Green and Darko arriving to succeed the departed Ray Allen and Stiemsma.

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