The Celtics have had to use 35-year old power forward Kevin Garnett at center a lot so far this year, and that wasn’t the plan.  33-year old Jermaine O’Neal has been banged up quite a bit so far this year.  He has played in 18 games (17 starts) for the Celtics so far this year and he is averaging 22.3 minutes, 5.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  O’Neal still has some gas left in the tank, but it won’t matter if he can’t stay healthy.  26-year old rookie Greg Stiemsma has provided some help off the bench for the Celtics so far this year, but he’s not quite ready for prime time yet.  He has played in 18 games (1 start) for the Celtics so far this year and he is averaging 8.5 minutes, 1.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.

The Celtics outscored the Knicks 22-17 in the 4th quarter last night to pull away for a nice home win.  Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics in this game with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Kevin Garnett (15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists) and Ray Allen (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games last night for the Celtics.  Rajon Rondo returned to action and he pitched in with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes on the floor.  The Celtics are now 12-10 on the year.

The Celtics shot 52% from the floor and they outrebounded the Raptors 46-39 last night, which was outstanding.  But they also played eye popping defensively as they held the Raptors to 34.2% shooting from the floor!  Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics in this game with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Ray Allen (12 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Brandon Bass (12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists) also had solid games for the Celtics last night.  Avery Bradley (11 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) and JaJuan Johnson (11 points and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes on the floor) also pitched in for the Celtics last night.  The Celtics are now 11-10 on the year.

The Celtics shot 50.7% from the floor last night but they still had to hold off a pesky Cavs’ team that outscored them 32-17 in the 4th quarter.  Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics last night with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.  Kevin Garnett (13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal) and Brandon Bass (13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) also had solid games for the Celtics last night.  Jermaine O’Neal (12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) and Ray Allen (12 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals) also pitched in for the Celtics in this game.  The Celtics are now 10-10 on the year.

The Celtics shot 52.2% from the floor last night, but, they were outscored 26-17 in the 4th quarter and it did them in.  Ray Allen (22 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Paul Pierce (18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) led the way for the Celtics in this game.  Kevin Garnett (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Brandon Bass (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 38 minutes) also played decent basketball for the Celtics last night.  The Celtics are now 9-10 on the year.

Whispers are starting to circulate that Rajon Rondo could be out until the All-Star Break due to a wrist injury for the Celtics and that is bad news.  Rondo has played in 13 games (all starts) for the Celtics so far this year and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 15.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  21-year old Avery Bradley has stepped into the starting lineup at point guard, and he is no Rondo.  Bradley is averaging 5.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game in his five starts.  He is also shooting only 34.2% from the floor since being elevated to the starting lineup and that is putrid.  Bradley has played in 17 games (5 starts) so far for the Celtics and he is averaging 16.1 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  It’s likely only a matter of time until 31-year old Keyon Dooling bumps Bradley to the bench.  Dooling has played in 10 games (1 start) for the Celtics so far this year and he is averaging 17.5 minutes, 6.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

UPDATE:  (2/4/2012) – Rajon Rondo returned to action last night for the Celtics.  He finished up with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes on the floor.  This is outstanding news for the Celtics.

The Celtics held the Pacers to 35% shooting from the floor and it was a big reason for the win last night.  Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics in this game with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Chris Wilcox (14 points and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes), Kevin Garnett (13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots), Mickeal Pietrus (13 points and 8 rebounds) and Brandon Bass (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Celtics last night.  The Celtics are now 9-9 on the season.

The Celtics were down 27 points at one point last night but they came back and won by playing outstanding defense.  The Celtics held the Magic to only 38% shooting from the floor and they outscored them 54-25 in the second half to pull away last night!  Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics in this game with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Rookie E’Twaun Moore had a huge game off the bench for the Celtics with 16 points, 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in only 18 minutes on the floor.  Kevin Garnett was a force around the basket last night as he finished up with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocked shots in this game.  Mickeal Pietrus (12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists) and Brandon Bass (10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots) also pitched in for the Celtics last night.  The Celtics are now 8-9 on the year.

The Celtics need more production out of 31-year old SF/SG Marquis Daniels as he has been awful so far this year.  Daniels has played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Celtics so far this year and he is averaging 16.1 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  He is only shooting 21 of 72 (29.2%) from three point range so far this year as it looks like the basket has a lid on it when he’s shooting the ball.  The Celtics are likely going to cut his minutes big time if he doesn’t start shooting better soon.

26-year old power forward Brandon Bass has been playing outstanding basketball for the Celtics so far this year.  He has played in 16 games (1 start) for the Celtics so far this year and he is averaging 28.3 minutes, 11.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game so far this year.  Bass has been playing better basketball than the guy he was traded for (Glen “Big Baby” Davis) without all the off the court drama.  Bass is currently 5th in scoring and 2nd in rebounding on the Celtics.  He is going to keep getting a lot of work as the Celtics’ front line is starting to look really old and creaky all of a sudden.