All five members of the Boston Celtics starting lineup will be named to the 2009 All-Star ballot today, presented by T-Mobile. The ballot will be unveiled today during a special kick-off ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins are all up for spots on the Eastern Conference team. The Big Three participated in last year’s game (Allen was a replacement for Caron Butler) while Rondo and Perkins have never been named to the team.

The All-Star Game will be held February 15 at the US Airways Center. Voting will begin on Thursday, November 13 and run through mid-January. This season fans will be able to cast their votes in every NBA arena, online at NBA.com in several different languages, and via cell phone.

Monday night had all the makings of a back-to-back letdown. And for all the world in the first half, it looked like an emotional and dominant win in Detroit 24 hours earlier had taken its toll, as the C’s trailed by as many as 16 in the second quarter and 48-36 at halftime. Then the Celtics woke up in the third before Paul Pierce took over in the final 15 minutes, scoring 25 of his game-high 36, including 22 in the final quarter to match the ENTIRE Raptors team.

The end result was a stunning win for the Green and a demoralizing, head-scratcher for Toronto.

Paul Pierce said he was feeling it in the fourth.

Pierce had an ice pack on his sore right hand in the postgame presser.

Kevin Garnett said Pierce was Superman.

Doc Rivers realizes what kind of player Pierce is.

Leon Powe could see a special look in Pierce’s eyes.

What they said about it…

Jason Kapono: “We felt we could have had them down a tad bit further, especially at the end of the second quarter. They made a couple of shots there and they got to the free throw line. It’s our job to keep it going and build a lead, but obviously they are a quality team, a world championship team, and you know that their best run (of the game) is still coming.”

Jermaine O’Neal: “Those guys in the third quarter shot a lot of free throws. In the fourth quarter, they did a good job of making shots. Ray (Allen), Paul and the others have an incredible comfort level with each other. We’ve got to figure a way to keep those guys down, especially  when we’re up 15 or 16 points in a game, especially in the second half.”

Once down by as many as 16 points, the Boston Celtics staged a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Toronto Raptors 94-87 on Monday night at the TD BankNorth Garden. Paul Pierce scored 22 points in the final 12 minutes alone and finished the night with 36 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Kevin Garnett added 21 points and 10 boards. Jermaine O’Neal posted 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors.

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Ok so that wasn’t pretty. The Celtics are down 48-36 at the end of the first half and are basically getting beat by one player … Jermaine O’Neal. JO has 19 points and eight rebounds in just 17 minutes. Next in line is Joey Graham with eight points and Chris Bosh has six. The Celtics have not had an answer for JO on either end of the court. Kevin Garnett has 11 points and 4 defensive rebounds while Perk is scoreless with one board. If the Celtics are going to get back into this game, they are going to have to step up their low post game to counter JO’s assault. Adding insult to injury, the Celtics are shooting 32%.

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We are live at the Garden for tonight’s game between the Celtics and Raptors. This is an intriguing matchup for a number of reasons. The Celtics, as we know, play great defense. The Raptors are a very efficient offensive team. Something shall give tonight. Also to watch, the point guard duel between Rajon Rondo and Jose Calderon and the big man matchup between Kevin Garnett and Chris Bosh.

Jess and I will be bringing you all the action, so click through for all the off-the-cuff observations, intentional and unintentional comedy and a few insightful points, as well. Read the rest of this entry »

As the Celtics sit in Indianapolis standing 2-0 on the infantile season, let’s take a look back a defensive shutdown performance that had every fan of the Green seeing visions of last year’s title run dancing in their heads more than Gino on Halloween. (Great call, Jessica!)

Paul Pierce said the Celtics just took the heart out of the young Bulls early on.

Kevin Garnett told his teammates that this one was on him after going 5-for-15 in the opener.

Doc Rivers loved his team’s energy from the get-go.

Doc Rivers on playing with momentum going on the road.

Kendrick Perkins said it’s important to get the roadtrip off to a good start.

The banner is up, the rings have been delivered and Paul Pierce won’t be thanking his extended family before the game. (We kid, Paul. We kid). It’s Game 2 of the NBA season for the Celtics who welcome the Chicago Bulls to town for their second-straight nationally televised game. You can catch it all on Comcast, of course, with plenty of Mike and Tommy goodness.

It’s Halloween night, or as friend of ‘eei Ian Browne called it: Grown-ups without kids night at the Garden. After the jump, five things to watch for while trying not be scared of Drew Gooden’s new look. Read the rest of this entry »