Oddly enough, the Celtics have not been that bad in back-to-backs this season. Coming into Friday’s game against the Raptors, they had won four of six on the second night and each of the last three.

However, all four of those wins had been at the Garden and their two losses — at New Orleans and Indiana — ranked as two of the worst losses of the season. You can add Friday night’s 86-74 loss in Toronto to the list as the Celtics looked not only old and tired, but disorganized and ineffective.

They scored 14 points in the first quarter and 17 in the third, placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the starting five.

WHAT WENT WRONG

– Rajon Rondo put together perhaps his most ineffective nine minutes as a Celtic, taking two shots, missing both and turning the ball over four times with no assists. He wasn’t much better in the second quarter, either. Or the third, or the fourth. In what was Rondo’s worst game of the season, he scored five points on 2-for-10 shooting, while allowing Jose Calderon to score 17 points and hand out 13 assists.

– It wasn’t just Rondo. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce combined to shoot 7-for-19. Rondo, Allen and Pierce were outscored by Calderon, DeMar DeRozan and James Johnson by a combined score of 52-23.

– Jermaine O’Neal joined Keyon Dooling and Sasha Pavlovic on the injured list. O’Neal has somewhat remarkably missed only five games this season and has already played 49 more regular season minutes than he did all of last season. Somehow, someway the Celtics have to get through the rest of the season with O’Neal playing 75 percent of the games.

– The Celtics switched to a zone to get more shooting on the floor, but they didn’t play it well. The Raptors made just 1-of-11 3-pointers through the first three quarters, but buried 4-of-8 in the fourth.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

– Avery Bradley, on the other hand, did what Avery Bradley does. He caused havoc on the defensive end, brought the ball up the court without incident on the offensive end and then got out of the way. Unfortunately, Bradley could only give them seven minutes because of an injured shoulder.

– Kevin Garnett scored 17 points and had eight rebounds, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce have made solid cases for inclusion on the All-Star team. (AP)

Through his first 11 games of the season, Paul Pierce averaged less than 15 points a game and shot 37 percent from the floor. He also averaged fewer than five rebounds and a little more than four assists.

The Celtics lost six of those 11 games, including the first-ever five-game losing streak in the new Big Three era, and when that was combined with an 0-3 start without Pierce while he was recovering from a bone bruise in his heel, there were naturally questions about whether it was all over for this group of Celtics.

Then Pierce scored 34 points against the Wizards to go with eight rebounds and 10 assists, and that kickstarted a remarkable renaissance. Over the next 10 games, Pierce averaged 22.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists and the Celtics went 9-1 with Pierce leading the way.

Are those 10 games enough to make Pierce an All-Star?

Through the first 13 games of the Celtics season, Rajon Rondo essentially carried the offense. With Pierce injured and then working his way back into game condition and Kevin Garnett off to a slow start, the Celtics asked Rondo to take on more of an aggressive role and he attempted almost 200 shots (making 52 percent of them) while handing out 122 assists.

The Celtics weren’t good, but Rondo was, rebuilding his reputation after a late-season swoon in 2011 and an offseason of trade rumors. Then Rondo fell awkwardly on his right wrist and missed eight games. The Celtics went 6-2 and when he came back he was able to return to his preferred playmaking role, racking up 28 assists in his last two games.

Are 16 games enough to make the All-Star team?

After the starters are chosen by the fans, the reserves are selected by the coaches who vote for two guards, two forwards, a center and two wild-card choices. They will be announced before the Celtics play the Lakers on TNT on Thursday night. There are roughly 20 players in the East who could be considered for the honor, but only a few truly stand out. Compare that to the West where the competition is tighter, but also much tougher.

It says more about the Eastern Conference than it does the seasons that Pierce and Rondo are having that the answer is yes — although there is more of a debate in Rondo’s case.

With the obvious exception of LeBron James — who is the clear front-runner for MVP — Pierce has been the most productive small forward in the East. Among players at his position in the Eastern Conference, Pierce ranks second in true shooting and assist percentage behind LeBron and he grabs rebounds at roughly the same rate as Andre Iguodala and Luol Deng.

That’s including the first 11 games when even considering Pierce for an All-Star berth would have been laughable. His last 10 make his selection an obvious choice.

Rondo’s competition among point guards comes from the trio of Brandon Jennings, Deron Williams and rookie Kyrie Irving. In Rondo’s favor he has the highest True Shooting, assist percentage and rebound rate among the four guards. Working against him is the simple fact that he’s missed a third of the team’s games in this condensed schedule.

It should also be noted that picking an All-Star team after 24 games of a season like this essentially comes down to subjective arguments. Does Rondo get credit for picking up his game when his team needed him, or penalized for not winning more games? Without Williams, are the Nets the Bobcats? The argument here is that Rondo has been statistically the second-best point guard in the East after Derrick Rose, but the margin is thin.

Here are my selections for both the East and Western Conference All-Stars.

EAST

Starters: Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard

Guards: Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson

Forwards: Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh

Center: Tyson Chandler (narrowly over Anderson Varejao)

Wild cards: Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith

Toughest omissions: Deron Williams, Greg Monroe, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Garnett, somebody from the Pacers

WEST

Starters: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Andrew Bynum

Guards: Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash

Forwards: Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge

Center: Marc Gasol

Wild cards: Tony Parker, Paul Millsap

Toughest omission by far: James Harden

Other omissions: Kyle Lowry, Pau Gasol, Monta Ellis, somebody from the Nuggets

It was during the preseason, just a handful of games into their partnership as the radio voices of the Celtics, when Sean Grande realized that working with Cedric Maxwell was going to click. The Celtics were on a road trip, playing exhibitions in a series of small towns. It was the kind of atmosphere that calls for something, anything, to break up the monotony and keep the listeners tuned in and entertained.

So, they started talking about music. Michael Jackson, hip-hop, whatever. It was there.

“I was like OK, we’ve got something here,” Grande said. “I do what I do and I’ve done it in many different venues and he does what he does, but it has to work together.”

On Friday, Grande and Max will worth their 1,000th game together. At first glance, it’s an odd pair: Grande, the smooth play-by-play man and Max, who is prone to say just about anything about any subject. But Grande loves to work in a mix of pop culture and current NBA events and Max has a keen eye for what’s happening on the parquet.

“It’s the longest relationship Max and I have ever had, either one of us, so we’re very proud of that,” Grande said. “It’s rare. You don’t plan to be with somebody for 1,000 games or whatever it is. Mike [Gorman] and Tommy [Heinsohn] have done something like 1,600 games. When you’re doing games you don’t think like that, the business is so transitional. That’s something that’s unique to the Celtics.”

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Avery Bradley

Avery Bradley scored his first points against Toronto on an awkward-looking pull-up jumper from just outside the lane. That is not his game. Bradley made four more shots, missing just once, and all of his shots were at the rim. That is his game and the fact the Bradley has something that can be called an identifiable offensive game is one of the most intriguing developments of this season for the Celtics.

“It’s something you can always hang your hat on,” said Ray Allen, who knows a thing or two about offense. “Coming into the game you know where you’re going to score, what you’re working on before the game. Knowing that when the game starts when we run certain plays this is where the ball may come in certain situations, so he’s always ready. His mind is ready and his body is ready.”

Bradley’s jump shot is shaky. He’s made just 30 percent of his jump shots beyond 16 feet this season. Both Doc Rivers and team president Danny Ainge believe that Bradley’s outside shot will come around when he gets more confidence and experience. But while that develops, they have found something that gives Bradley the chance to be a productive offense player so they can utilize his vast defensive potential as an on-the-ball defender.

Basically, they want him to be Andre Miller. Read the rest of this entry »

Avery Bradley

When Rajon Rondo went down with a sprained right wrist late in the third quarter against the Raptors, those that have been predicting the Celtics’ imminent demise sensed the end creeping ever closer. How would the Celtics survive without their only true shot-creator and undoubtedly their best player this season?

Amazingly, the Celtics have not only survived, they’ve prospered, winning five of seven games to reach the .500 mark and rattling off their three most impressive wins of the season: beating the Magic twice and the Pacers on a second night of a back-to-back.

The most obvious reason for their success has been the reinvigorated play of Paul Pierce. After dropping 20 points on the Cavs in a tighter-than-it-needed-to-be-but-still-a-win performance on Thursday, Pierce has scored 155 points in the seven games without Rondo and also has 52 assists. Pierce has taken over the playmaker role and his game returned from the lockout ether at just the right time.

Offensively, the Celtics have been winning games almost in spite of Rondo’s replacements at the point: Avery Bradley and E’Twaun Moore. The young guards often bring the ball up the floor and make the first pass, but it’s been either Pierce or Kevin Garnett in the high post who then initiate the offensive sets. That formula has worked well enough for the Celtics who have generally played to their offensive efficiency of 98.9 points per 100 possessions.

Bradley and Moore have also had their moments offensively. Over the last four games, Moore has made 11-of-18 shots and gone 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Moore has been steady, if unspectacular, at the point with 10 assists and eight turnovers and has quickly gained the trust of the coaching staff, as well as his teammates.

Like Moore, Bradley has mostly kept his turnovers down. Eleven of his 15 turnovers during this stretch of games came in two contests. Limiting turnovers is no small thing for a team that has struggled mightily throughout the season in that regard.

Bradley has had success scoring at the rim where he’s shooting 64 percent. Against the Cavs, Bradley was able to duck in for layups and also had a strong move working across the lane. He has the athleticism to finish inside and is starting to figure out that he can’t bull-rush taller defenders. Where Bradley has struggled is with his jump shot. He’s made just 10-of-28 shots from 16-23 feet this season and is just 1-for-11 from 3-point range.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Celtics had the game well in hand and then, everything fell apart. They went scoreless for the final four and a half minutes and rookie guard Kyrie Irving sliced through the defense for a layup with 2.6 seconds left to give the Cavaliers an 88-87 win. Paul Pierce missed a shot jumper at the buzzer.

The loss snapped the Celtics four-game winning streak and was easily one of their worst of the season. The two teams are back in action again on Tuesday in Cleveland.

WHAT WENT WRONG

– The Cavs took advantage of Jermaine O’Neal‘s absence by attacking the paint at every opportunity. Sixteen of their first 19 points were scored in the paint and they finished with 54 for the game. Anderson Varejao had his way with the Celtics’ bigs and Irving was able to penetrate at will.

– Irving took Avery Bradley apart, scoring 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting.

– At times the Celtics were careful with the ball. At others — such as in the second quarter when they turned it over seven times — they were careless. When they kept the turnovers at a minimum, the Cavs couldn’t stop them.

– The Celtics reserves were outscored 30-14.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

– Ray Allen returned to the lineup and the Big Three were once again whole. They scored 50 of the Celtics’ 70 points through the first three quarters and made 20-of-29 shots. Allen finished with 22 points, but missed a layup that would have given the Celtics a nine-point lead. That’s when the Cavs made their run.

– Paul Pierce had another strong all-around game with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists.

– The Celtics almost won this game with offense. They shot 52 percent and had assists on eight of their 10 made shots in the first quarter. They couldn’t keep up the pace, but it was one of their best extended stretches of passing this season.

– The bench didn’t have a strong game (see below), but they were able to maintain a lead in the fourth quarter while Pierce and Garnett were able to rest. Sasha Pavlovic made two big shots including a baseline dunk.

There was no reason to think that the Celtics had any chance of coming back in a game when they were down by 27 points and playing without three starters. But the Celtics slowly began to chip away at Orlando’s lead in the second half and late in the third quarter, E’Twaun Moore caught fire knocking down three 3-pointers as the Celtics rallied all the way back for a 91-83 win in Orlando.

Paul Pierce led the way with 24 points, 10 assists and six rebounds and Kevin Garnett added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics got a huge lift from Moore and Mickael Pietrus, who combined for 28 points and seven 3-pointers, making up for the absence of Ray Allen.

They were also missing Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O’Neal, which meant that Garnett had to play Dwight Howard and the veteran held the All-NBA center in check. Orlando did not score a field goal until more than halfway through the fourth quarter and picked up two fourth quarter technicals, which helped seal their fate.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

– Moore, the rookie from Purdue, simply played out of his mind, making all four of his 3-point shots and finishing with 16 points. The Celtics have loved his aggressiveness and on Thursday night that translated into much-needed points.

– Slowly but surely, Garnett’s game has been coming back together. He’s scored in double figures in seven straight games and his defense has been tremendous. Garnett played Howard as well as you could ask and was one of the few players who brought anything to the table offensively in the first half.

– Mickael Pietrus started for Allen and at least approximated Allen’s 3-point shooting, knocking down three of them and finishing with 12 points.

– Chris Wilcox didn’t do much in the box score but his activity and energy on defense was a huge lift in the fourth quarter.

WHAT WENT WRONG

– It was almost a gift for the Celtics when Howard got two quick fouls and jumped out to an 8-2 lead. But when Howard left, the Celtics didn’t attack the basket and instead were content to fire up off-target jumpers. The Magic outscored them 30-8 the rest of the first quarter and put them in a deep hole.

– Greg Stiemsma picked up four fouls in only seven minutes in the first half and he and Wilcox contributed no points and one rebound in 15 minutes. Since his breakout game against Washington on New Year’s Day, Stiemsma has made just two shots and scored only six points.