Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked five shots, and recorded three steals in Boston’s 83-80 Game 6 elimination of the Atlanta Hawks.
Garnett opened his postgame press conference by taking aim at Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr., who had called Garnett a “dirty player”.
“First off, I want to say thank you to the owner for giving me some extra gas tonight,” Garnett said. “My only advice to him is next time he opens his mouth, actually know what he’s talking about — X’s and O’s versus checkbooks and bottom lines.
“We’re not dirty. We’re firm, we play aggressive, but we’re not dirty. You have to understand the word ‘dirty’ in this game is very defined: Trying to hurt guys, ill intent. That’s not how we play basketball. We play very, very respectable to the opponent, to the city. I play with a lot of passion and with force. It’s the playoffs.”
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Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley have more serious injuries than previously thought, but both players went through the morning shootaround Thursday and are expected to play in Game 6.
The team revealed that Pierce has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, while Bradley has a strained left rotator cuff.
Pierce suffered the MCL sprain during a shootaround before Game 4 Sunday in Boston and further aggravated it in a collision with Josh Smith that night. He looked hobbled at times in Game 5.
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Rajon Rondo
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended for Game 2 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Atlanta Hawks for making contact with a game official.
Rondo chest-bumped referee Marc Davis with 41 seconds remaining in Sunday’s 83-74 Game 1 loss at Philips Arena, earning his second technical and automatic ejection.
Rondo, who earned both technicals while vehemently protesting a foul call against teammate Brandon Bass, said after the game that the bump was unintentional, but the league apparently viewed it as otherwise.
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Ronny Turiaf
In a way, the Celtics are searching for the next P.J. Brown, who was signed by Boston in late February 2008 and played a small but important role for the NBA champs.
Having already endured its lumps, Boston has preached patience in its search for a big man. The team is eager to see who lands on the buyout scrapheap.
The first viable option may be Ronny Turiaf, who was waived by Denver after being received as part of the three-way deal involving JaVale McGee, Nene and Nick Young between the Nuggets, Clippers and Wizards.
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The Lakers and Celtics discussed a trade centered around Rajon Rondo last week, but nothing materialized.
Metta World Peace, Rajon Rondo
Los Angeles is unwilling to trade Gasol in a package for Rondo, making a deal before the deadline unlikely.
“Unless they give up Gasol, they’re not going to get a top-level point guard,” said a person familiar with the situation.
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Rajon Rondo
Mitch Kupchak recently talked openly about the Lakers’ desire to acquire a young and talented point guard.
“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,” said Kupchak to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. “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.”
Rajon Rondo is the player that fits that description, possibly the only one in the NBA. Sources say the Celtics have interest in acquiring Pau Gasol for Rondo.
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According to an NBA source, the Celtics would be interested in Hornets center Chris Kaman if the impending free agent is bought out of his contract.
Chris Kaman
The Hornets have told Kaman, 29, to stay home while they try to orchestrate a trade. They acquired Kaman in the trade for Chris Paul last month but have decided to go with younger players.
Kaman has averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game before the Hornets decided to put him on the block.
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Dwight Howard might be interested in signing with the Celtics this summer.
Paul Pierce, Dwight Howard
“Always. Always,” Howard said. “I’d always listen to a team like that.”
Howard said his primary goal is to win a championship.
“My thing is I want to win,” Howard said. “It’s not something like I’m doing this for money. I win. I want to do it my way.
“The first thing is basketball. I want to win a championship, and it takes a certain type of team to win a championship. You know, there’s a lot of teams who are great during the regular season. They play well, but it’s different once you play in those playoffs, you know? It’s gut-check time.
“Like I told the Magic, I just want to win. I don’t want a team that doesn’t know how you have to win in the playoffs. I want a team that’s going to go out every night and forget about stats, forget about who scores the most points or who is the fan favorite. Just go out and play, play for each other and play to win. That’s the only thing.”
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Danny Ainge
Danny Ainge does not want to see another decline in the franchise like the one that happened after the Boston Celtics’ original Big Three dried up, and he is reportedly willing to break up his current star trio to ensure that.
The only problem is that he is not seeing any worthwhile deals to make.
The Celtics have limped to a 5-8 start behind 34-year-old Paul Pierce, 35-year-old Kevin Garnett and 36-year-old Ray Allen. Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, told The Boston Globe that he would consider a trade if it would help the team get younger and be poised to be competitive in the next era.
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With the Celtics struggling to begin the 11-12 season, several teams have inquired about the availability of Paul Pierce.
Paul Pierce
One Eastern Conference official said, there are “lots of calls asking if [Boston] will blow it up.”
Pierce has two years and $32 million left on his contract through the 13-14 season. Trading Pierce would allow the Celtics to become players in free agency.
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