25-year old starting center Kendrick Perkins will miss the next 5-6 months after having his ACL surgery yesterday. The Celtics don’t expect him back until December or January and that is a huge blow to them. Perkins really stepped up last season for the Celtics as he played in 78 games (all starts) in which he averaged 27.6 minutes, 10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 442 games (328 starts) in his 7 years with the Celtics and he has averaged 22.2 minutes, 6.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.4 blocked shots per game.

32-year old small forward Paul Pierce has opted out of the final year of his contract with the Celtics making him a unrestricted free agent. Pierce leaves $21 million bucks on the table as he attempts to get a nice multi-year deal. Pierce played in 71 games (all starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has played in 884 games (881 starts) in his career with the Celtics and he has averaged 37.3 minutes, 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Pierce is #8 all time in Celtics’ history in games played (884), #9 in rebounds (5,417), #7 in assists (3,401), #2 in steals (1,349), #5 in blocked shots (561) and he is #3 in points (19,899). The Celtics likely want to bring back Pierce but because of his age they have to be careful with how many years they would offer.

UPDATE: (7/3/2010) – The Celtics have reportedly re-signed Paul Pierce to a 4-year, $61 million dollar contract.

35-year old PF/C Rasheed Wallace has decided to call it a career. Wallace played in 79 games (13 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 9.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per game. Even though Wallace was on the downside of his career he did give the Celtics toughness and rebounding off the bench. They will need to find another veteran to replace him off the bench in 2010-11.

The Celtics have selected 22-year old forward Luke Harangody with the 52nd overall pick of the NBA Draft. Harangody played in 30 games (25 starts) for Notre Dame last season and he averaged 21.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He played in 129 games (108 starts) in his college career and he averaged 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. This was a solid pick for the Celtics as Harangody could help them off the bench next season.

The Celtics have picked 19-year old point guard Avery Bradley with the 19th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Bradley played in 34 games (32 starts) for Texas last season and he averaged 11.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Celtics will have Bradley learn behind Rajon Rondo for a while. Bradley is too small at 6’2″, 180 pounds to consider using him at shooting guard. Bradley has a nice upside so I like this pick for the Celtics even if it doesn’t fill a need.

The biggest question heading into this summer is if Paul Pierce with exercise his early termination option on his contract so that he can enter the free agent market. My gut feeling is that he won’t opt out as he has been a Celtic his whole NBA career and I think he feels comfortable there. Ray Allen wants to return but it will be interesting to see if the Celtics are willing to pay the going rate for an aging player like him. Tony Allen has been saying all of the right things about wanting to stay in Boston but what if another team offers him good money and a starting job? I would think he would leave in that situation. Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams are all players the Celtics would probably take back if they agree to take what Boston offers them. I don’t see them getting into bidding wars for any of those three guys. I don’t see Michael Finley and Brian Scalabrine wearing green uniforms next season. The Celtics have to decide if they are going to make a run of it again in 2010-11 or if they are going to try to shed some payroll.

Starting Celtics’ center Kendrick Perkins tore his MCL and ACL in his right knee which will cause him to miss the deciding game of the NBA Finals tomorrow night in L.A. Perkins has started all 23 of the Celtics’ playoff games to this point and he averaged 25.0 minutes, 5.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Celtics will miss Perkins’ size inside as Glen “Big Baby” Davis will likely replace him in the starting lineup. Davis has played in all 23 games (1 start) this post season for the Celtics and he is averaging 20.1 minutes, 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. I have little doubt that Davis can step up and have a big game for the Celtics and he is a better offensive player than Perkins so that will work in the Celtics’ advantage. Rasheed Wallace will also likely see a bump in playing time tomorrow night. He has played in 23 games (0 starts) for the Celtics this post season and he is averaging 16.3 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Wallace has always stepped up the bigger the games get and I think tomorrow night qualifies as a big one.

Paul Pierce did not play his best in the first round against the Miami Heat, averaging only 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while hitting 46% of his shots.  In round two against the Cleveland Cavaliers he was even worse, putting up only 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting only 35% from the field.  Thanks to Rajon Rondo’s great overall play in the first two rounds, along with Ray Allen’s shooting, the Celtics were able to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against an Orlando Magic team that had not even been challenged yet in the playoffs.  Pierce and the Celtics knew coming into this series that it would take more than Rondo filling up the stat sheet for the Celtics to knock off the defending Eastern Conference Champions.  The Celtics needed Pierce to step up his play in this series, and so far so good.  In the first two games (both Boston wins), Pierce is averaging 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and is hitting 58% of his shots on a very efficient 14-24 shooting.  He is also doing a good job of drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line, where he has hit 17-21 (81%) in the two games.  Pierce and the Celtics have a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, but that doesn’t mean they can let up.  Dwight Howard the rest of the Magic are hungry to get back to the NBA Finals, so Pierce and company need to continue to play like they have in the first two games and finish off the Magic in as few games as possible.

In Rajon Rondo’s short career with the Boston Celtics so far, he seems to always step up when it matters most.  Rondo, who has to be considered one of the top point guards in the game, brings out his best game every postseason.  He was a key reason the Celtics won the 2008 NBA Championship, although the “Big 3″ get most of the credit.  Remember, however, that many doubted the Celtics could win a title with the then inexperienced Rondo running the point.  He shut his critics up then, and he has continued to do so since.  He already puts up some great numbers in the regular season, but in each of the last three year’s Rondo has significantly improved his numbers in the playoffs.  This year he is having a monster postseason, averaging 17.7 points, 11.0 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals.  He is shooting 48% from the field and has added the three-pointer to his arsenal by hitting 43% (6/14) behind the arc.  During the regular season Rondo only averaged 13.7 points, 9.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals.  Rondo’s 29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, ans 2 steals in game four against the Cavaliers was one of the best postseason performances by a point guard ever.  It helped the Celtics tie the series 2-2 and it gave them the momentum leading into their game five blowout win over the Cavs on Tuesday night.  Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen may still be the “Big 3″, but if the Celtics make it back to the NBA Finals this season Rondo deserves most of the credit.

The NBA has suspended Kevin Garnett for game #2 against the Heat for elbowing Quentin Richardson in the face during an altercation in game #1. Garnett played 33 minutes in the first game of this series finishing with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Rasheed Wallace will likely start at power forward tomorrow night against the Heat. He played in 14 minutes in game #1 against the Heat and he had 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. This could be huge as the Heat will match up better against Wallace then they did against K.G. Rasheed Wallace will have to rise to the occasion like he has in the past tomorrow night for the Celtics.