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Boston Celtics News

After rough start, Allen takes - and makes - big shots
May 27
CSN New England
 
"Call it the re-run that never gets old; at least not for Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. It's the fourth quarter, the score is close, the ball is in Ray Allen's hands and … swish! "Ray Allen for 3!!!!" is soon heard throughout the TD Garden. For a player who has made a career out of delivering fourth quarter daggers, there was plenty of reason to believe that on Saturday night, it just wasn't going to happen. But there was Allen, gimpy ankle and all, coming up with one of the biggest shots of the night as Boston held on for an 85-75 Game 7 victory over Philadelphia to advance to the Conference finals where they'll meet Miami."
Celtics know the Miami Heat will be a difficult challenge
May 27
Boston Globe
 
"There were no guarantees made, and there were no questions about the loyalty of other team's fan base asked. The Celtics didn't fire shots at their Eastern Conference opponent, the Miami Heat, but they didn't back down from the challenge, either. Celtics players said they were confident heading into the series which starts Monday. "Last year is in the past," said Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. "This year we are a totally different team. We feel we can beat Miami. Obviously we got to this point. There is no doubt in my mind that we can." Rondo's statement was probably the most boastful of all the Celtics' comments about the Heat, but the Celtics have every reason to be confident. They"
Kevin Garnett makes point about defense
May 27
Boston Globe
 
"Kevin Garnett reasserted himself offensively in the Celtics' 85-75 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday night at TD Garden. Garnett finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, abandoning his unselfish offensive tendencies long enough to go 7 for 17 from the field. He finished the series with a team-leading 115 field goal attempts and 50.4 shooting percentage, best among the starters. But Garnett was talking defense after the contest. "Any time you close out a Game 7, it's good,'' Garnett said. "Any time you get a win, it's satisfying. Tomorrow is not an option - play with a sense of urgency, win or go home. "I was more focused on 'D' –"
From bench, Pierce sees true team effort
May 27
Boston Herald
 
"When Doc Rivers left Paul Pierce on the floor in the fourth quarter, with five fouls and 5:15 remaining, it, at first, looked like the risk paid off. On the next possession Pierce ripped off a screen, collected the ball and gently kissed a 4-foot floater off the glass for two. But just like that, a minute following his fifth foul, the 34-year-old fouled out trying to make a move at the offensive end. Pierce admitted he was upset as he collected himself on the bench and Mickael Pietrus entered the game. But the longtime Celtic was all smiles as he watched Rajon Rondo score seven straight points following his exit. And as the Celtics persevered over the Philadelphia 76ers, 85-75, last night"
Collins' ode to Big 3+1
May 27
Boston Herald
 
"Doug Collins, asked to talk about the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, quickly amended the question. He wanted his ode to cover four Celtics [team stats], not three. "I look at them as a championship four," the Philadelphia coach said after Rajon Rondo took the leading role in the Celtics' 85-75 win over the 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last night. "If you leave Rondo out you're making a huge mistake, because the guy has become the motor that drives this team. Ray Allen is the all-time greatest 3-point shooter in the NBA. Absolutely one of the classiest human beings you would ever want to be around. He works as hard as any athlete I've ever"
That old beat goes on
May 27
Boston Herald
 
"The Celtics have added some dates to their farewell tour. Like a classic band from a decade past, their original members struggled at times with their harmonies. But in the end they were saved when the youngest member of the main quartet played a mean solo. Rajon Rondo sent the Celts to Miami for the Eastern Conference finals with an 85-75 Game 7 victory over the 76ers last night. He had another triple-double, with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he needed just a few minutes to keep the Celtics season — and this era — alive. "Tomorrow was not an option," said Kevin Garnett. "I think we played like it. We played with a sense of urgency, understood what the repercussions were. And"
Rajon Rondo dazzles on and off floor
May 27
Boston Herald
 
"Rajon Rondo won the most important battle he faced last night late in what was an oddly difficult evening. He won the one over himself and because he did, his Boston Celtics won the most important battle they faced on an equally oddly difficult evening — the one over the Philadelphia 76ers. If ever there was a case of mind over what's the matter, this Game 7 victory was it. Shoddily played for much of the evening, the Celtics' 85-75 victory really was as simple as that. Rondo fought off self-doubt and righteous anger at his own erratic performance early in the game and put up nine straight points in a mini-run late in the final period that turned a tantalizingly thin three-point lead into"
Ray Allen aches to help out
May 27
Boston Herald
 
"There were times last night when Ray Allen looked like Bill Buckner, circa 1986, hobbling around in the old black high-tops. You didn't need Doris Burke on the sideline to tell you Allen was hurt. You didn't need a tweet, or a whisper from a blog, or an official, Celtics-issued press release. You only needed your eyes. And there, right in front of you, for all the world to see right along with you, was the hurt. That old saying, "I can feel your pain," is what you'd have said to Ray Allen had you bumped into him on Causeway Street late last night after the Celtics had survived — and survived is the only word that applies here — the Philadelphia 76ers with an 85-75 victory in Game 7 of the"
Rajon Rondo's late burst seals deal as C's finish Philly
May 27
Boston Herald
 
"This series was like flypaper. By the time the Celtics extracted themselves from the last sticky sheet of 76ers coverage last night, they needed soap and a warm towel. They also got rewarded with a flight to Miami for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals tomorrow night. But after nearly fading from sheer attrition to their younger, more athletic, self-assured opponent, the Celtics took last night's 85-75 Game 7 win on the scoring power of their oft-reluctant point guard. Rajon Rondo, with an 18-point, 10-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, filled a sudden vacuum with nine points in a 1:54 stretch late in the fourth quarter, and 11 in the last 3:39. Paul Pierce had fouled out. As coach Doc"
Celtics advance to face Miami in conference finals
May 27
Boston Globe
 
"Surviving the 76ers was a strenuous, energy-sapping struggle. But the Celtics endured, serenaded off the TD Garden court by "Beat the Heat'' chants after an 85-75 win over Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday night. Rajon Rondo (18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) clinched the victory with 9 points in a 1:45 span as the Celtics survived the final four-plus minutes without Paul Pierce, who fouled out with Boston holding a 3-point lead. "I felt I owed him one,'' Rondo said of Pierce. "He got me back in Game 2 of Atlanta [in the first round of the playoffs]. We played together as a team. No one played great, but we got the win.'' The Celtics, who now have an"
Shoulder surgery for Bradley
May 26
Boston Globe
 
"Celtics guard Avery Bradley was scheduled to undergo surgery on his left shoulder at New England Baptist Hospital Friday. "He's out for the playoffs,'' coach Doc Rivers said before practice in preparation for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series with Philadelphia Saturday. "It's disappointing whenever a player goes down, especially what Avery has given us this year. His growth has been terrific. He's become a very valuable piece to our team. "His ability to guard the best guard has really taken so much pressure off of [Rajon] Rondo, in particular, and not having him means Rondo has to go back to that role, and run the team. And that's hard, especially against the team we're"
Assist needed from Rondo
May 26
Boston Globe
 
"Rajon Rondo is full of surprises. In his line of work, this unpredictable quality is sometimes good, sometimes bad. The good: It gives his point guard play a mad-genius edge, the kind that produces fake behind-the-back passes and prompts "M-V-P'' chants at TD Garden. With the ball in his hands, he teases opponents and mesmerizes fans. The bad: An unpredictable personality manifests in maddeningly inconsistent play. He disappears sometimes rather than dominates with a style that seemingly yields triple-doubles at will. Game 6 in Philadelphia is the most recent example of Rondo gone awry, a 9-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist effort that ranks as substandard for the point guard who's averaging 13.5"
Won or done
May 26
Boston Globe
 
"Game 7 at home used to be an advantage for the Celtics, virtually a guaranteed victory. That was before electronically programmed prompting of crowds and other virtual advancements. The Celtics had a 13-2 record in Game 7s at Boston Garden. Since TD Garden opened in 1995, the Celtics have a 4-2 mark in Game 7s at home, and only one Celtic player - Paul Pierce - has participated in all six of those games. Coach Doc Rivers knows his team should not count on fan enthusiasm, institutional memory, or even tradition when it meets the 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday night. "I think our crowd is terrific, but you can't rely on that,'' Rivers said before Friday's"
Like it or not, Rondo needs to be the man
May 26
Boston Herald
 
"Rajon Rondo is often viewed as the Celtics catalyst. "Oh man, that's a lot of pressure," Rondo said yesterday. But the statement's spot on. When the 26-year-old point guard is on his game, the Celtics are a different team and capable of putting up 100 points. When he's not, like in Wednesday's 82-75 loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics offense usually falters. And after his nine-point and six-assist performance in Game 6, the Celts will need Rondo to be on point for tonight's Game 7. "I've heard it before. I don't know if it's true," said Rondo. "We're a team. I think we're one of the few teams in the NBA that all five guys can contribute. We're not just a one- or two-man show."
Bradley has surgery
May 26
Boston Herald
 
"Whatever thin hopes the Celtics had that Avery Bradley would be able to return this postseason were dashed yesterday when the starting shooting guard underwent surgery on his left shoulder. Bradley dislocated the shoulder a number of times during the postseason and missed Games 5 and 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers. Celtics coach Doc Rivers announced that Bradley would have season-ending surgery performed by team physician Brian McKeon. "It's disappointing," Rivers said. "Obviously when a player goes down that's disappointing and especially on what Avery has given us this year. His growth this year has been terrific. He's become a very valuable piece"
C's must dream big
May 26
Boston Herald
 
"It won't just be a game for the Celtics tonight. It will be a referendum. Beating the 76ers in Game 7 will require a reintroduction of Kevin Garnett to the painted area of the floor, the kind of performance from Rajon Rondo that made him the best point guard in the league over the last two months, another flashback effort from Paul Pierce, and a defense that not only covers people but is used as a weapon to generate easy baskets. But something more is required. To win, the Celtics must also believe they can succeed in the conference finals against Miami. That may seem off point, and one would be correct to think the focus has to be squarely on the Sixers and these 48 minutes. But if deep"
Garden ghosts won't help Celtics
May 26
Boston Herald
 
"Tonight's Game 7 between the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will not be decided by experience or the ghosts of the Garden or the notion that this could be the last hurrah for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. While all of those make for nice storylines and could have some tangential effect, none have made a difference in the first six games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics' experience didn't seem to be much of an asset when they came out flat in their 82-75 loss at Philadelphia in Game 6 on Wednesday. While the stakes are higher tonight, the wise old Celtics certainly had to recognize the benefit of closing the series then and having a chance to spend the last two"
Slowing KG is the top focus
May 25
Courier-Post
 
"Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett finished with 20 points Wednesday in Game 6, the fourth time he has scored at least that many in this Eastern Conference semifinal. The 76ers didn't mind that at all after their 82-75 win forced a decisive Game 7 Saturday at TD Garden. That's because Garnett needed 20 shots to get that total. That is the objective for Sixers coach Doug Collins, who would like to see top opposing scorers average one point per shot, or worse."
Young 76ers rely on endless confidence
May 25
Boston Herald
 
"Elton Brand stood tall against a 76ers logo painted on the wall outside the team's locker room after Philadelphia's 82-75 win over the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was unintentional, but the elder statesman on a team of young pups was providing a fitting visual demonstration of the words he delivered as he looked forward to tomorrow's Game 7 at the Garden. "Our backs have been against the wall various times this season and we always bounce back and find a way to win," Brand said. "This Game 7 is going to be a lot of fun.""
Hobbled Ray Allen has to step up
May 25
Boston Herald
 
"It's like turning from the blind man to the one-eyed man, from the debilitated Avery Bradley to Ray Allen, who is now attempting to help guard one of the NBA's quickest backcourts — on two bad ankles. Philadelphia's guards built an express line through the paint during the 76ers' Game 6 win over the Celtics on Wednesday night, and they will have their placards out and ready again in Game 7 tomorrow. Who, beyond the people who drafted him, could have imagined Bradley's elevated importance at the start of the season? Replacing him on the defensive end of the floor is an impossibility."
Rivalry places focus on Dr. J
May 25
Boston Herald
 
"On Tuesday, 76ers coach Doug Collins showed his young team footage of the 1982 Eastern Conference finals, complete with images of Celtics fans adorned in white sheets to represent the ghosts of Boston Garden. While many of the players had never seen anything like it, the image was all too familiar to Hall of Famer Julius Erving, who starred for the Sixers from 1976-87. The teams met in five playoff series during Erving's career, with Philly prevailing three times. With the current editions of the Celtics and Sixers reviving the rivalry with Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals tomorrow at TD Garden, memories have come flooding back to Erving."
Celtics feel better at home closing out series
May 25
Boston Herald
 
"At least the Celtics will have the math working for them tomorrow. Though Wednesday night's Game 6 loss to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals dropped their record to 2-11 in the last five years in close out playoff games on the road, their home closeout number is very different. The Celts are 8-2 when given that opportunity at the Garden. "We're going to go home," Kevin Garnett said with some relief. "Confidence is very high. We're very experienced. Nothing more, nothing less.""
76ers' defense keeps Celtics out of the lane
May 25
Boston Herald
 
"Zero. 0 for 20. Nada. Those are numbers that hung around the neck of Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett after the 76ers' 82-75, series-tying win Wednesday night at the raucous Wells Fargo Center. Garnett scored 20 points and made nine field goals. But none of them was from inside the lane, nor were any of his 20 attempts. It was a concerted effort by the Sixers' defense, orchestrated by coach Doug Collins and associate head coach Michael Curry. The plan was to have the big bodies — Spencer Hawes, Elton Brand and Lavoy Allen — push Garnett off the low blocks as much as possible. If he should get the ball there, double him and force him to throw it out to the non-shooters on the Celtics."
Still tough to get a read on this Sixers-Celtics series
May 25
Boston Herald
 columnist John Smallwood
"OK, I concede that the next 20-plus inches of copy will be irrelevant come Saturday, when the Sixers and Boston Celtics tip off for the decisive Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Anyone who tells you they know what will happen in Boston is making things up as they go along. This could be the most confounding series I have ever covered. Nothing has gone to script and little has made any practical sense."
Sixers ready for atmosphere of a Game 7
May 25
CSN Philly
 
"For the first time since 1986, the Sixers will be trying to win a Game 7 on the road and what better place to do that than in front of the hostile Celtics' faithful. Boston is 17-4 all-time at home in Game 7s, though the last time the Celtics played host in this situation in 2009 they lost convincingly to the Magic, 101-82. The Sixers are bracing for a crazy atmosphere. "We have built our experiences to the point where we'll be prepared for the game," Lou Williams said. "Obviously it is going to be a madhouse in Boston, but it is one game and whoever wins, wins and the loser goes home, so we feel we have the same chance they have.""
Kevin Garnett must get down low for Celtics to win
May 25
Boston Herald
 
"For all the talk about what Rajon Rondo didn't do in Game 6 and what he must do in Game 7 for the Celtics to move on to the Eastern Conference finals, one could say the same things about Kevin Garnett. Garnett is at least as critical in his own way to the Celtics as Rondo, because not only how he plays but where he plays dictates much of how the night goes for their offense. This has been especially true against the feisty Philadelphia 76ers, who have no solutions for Garnett when he is squatting on the low block, demanding the ball and creating proper spacing for his teammates and shots for himself — for which the Sixers have no answer but, "Nice shot, Kevin.""
Source: Avery Bradley needs shoulder surgery
May 24
ESPN.com
 
"Boston Celtics second-year shooting guard Avery Bradley is expected to soon undergo season-ending surgery to repair small tears that have compromised the structure of his ailing left shoulder, according to a league source. Bradley has endured a number of dislocations during the 2011-12 season, including three in the postseason. After the shoulder came out in a Game 4 loss in Philadelphia, doctors made the determination that it's simply too risky to put him back on the court with the potential for a more serious injury, according to the source. The team has not yet ruled him out for the rest of the postseason, but that decision could come soon."
Sixers stifle Celtics to force dramatic Game 7
May 24
CSN Philly
 
"And so we'll go to a Game 7. It's the Celtics vs. the Sixers at the Garden for a do-or-die game to determine which team gets to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Of all the classic matchups in sports, none rivals the Sixers and the Celtics when it comes to a one-and-done finale. Saturday will be the seventh postseason finale (six Game 7s, one Game 5) between the two franchises because the Sixers, "muddied it up with their defense," as explained by Celtics coach Doc Rivers. So with the 82-75 victory on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 6, the Sixers and Celtics will muddy up the parquet at the Garden one more time."
Sixers down Boston, Force a decisive Game 7
May 24
Courier-Post
 
"For two days, 76ers coach Doug Collins kept asking his players, how badly did they want to go back to Boston for a decisive Game 7? Collins got his answer: A lot. Jrue Holiday made sure of it with his fearless drives through the lane, taking the ball at the Boston Celtics front line every chance he got. He scored 20 points to lead the Sixers to an 82-75 win over the Celtics on Wednesday. That tied this best-of-seven series at 3-3. Game 7 will be played Saturday at TD Garden. The Sixers haven't played in a Game 7 since the 2001 Eastern Conference final."
Celtics forced to go 7
May 24
Boston Herald
 
"There's a good reason why handicappers want nothing to do with this series. The Celtics have become so mercurial, they are oozing silver liquid. They went from a laser-like comeback in the second half of a Game 5 win over Philadelphia to last night's ham-handed 82-75 Game 6 loss. The Celtics flew home for Saturday's Game 7 with some odious numbers, but none worse than those turned in by the architect of that win in Game 5. Rajon Rondo, who for long stretches had as many turnovers as assists, finished with perhaps his worst night of the postseason — nine points on 4-for-14 shooting, six assists, four turnovers and his one redeeming stat of nine rebounds."
Game 6 muddies outlook
May 24
Boston Herald
 
"You know those games where it's said that it's a shame one team had to lose? Well, this wasn't one of them. The Celtics had a chance to end the Eastern Conference semifinal series and get at least one extra day of rest before the conference finals, but they couldn't get out of their own way. The Philadelphia 76ers took an 82-75 victory, but it'd be hard to say with much conviction they were the better team. It's more that they were less bad. Which was good enough on a night that was neither pretty nor gritty. There were too many missed open shots and unforced turnovers and overall bad bucketry."
Rajon Rondo's play goes bad
May 24
Boston Herald
 columnist Ron Borges
"Bad news for the Celtics last night. Bad Rondo showed up at the Wells Fargo Center. And he wasn't alone. Along with him came Bad Kevin, Bad Ray and colossally bad Brandon, but Rajon Rondo had one of his worst games of the playoffs when the Celtics needed him most, so a brutal fact of life continued for Doc Rivers. Rondo giveth and Rondo taketh away. The Celtics point guard wasn't the only one playing as if it had been a pointless exercise to make the trip to Philadelphia for what could have been a close out game in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Other than Paul Pierce (24 points, 13-of-13 from the line), it was difficult to fathom who played well in a dismal 82-75 loss to the"
76ers live to tell lie
May 24
Boston Herald
 
"Doug Collins told a lie last night before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics. The Philadelphia 76ers coach said there was no advantage for his team to exploit with Celtics defensive wizard Avery Bradley sidelined with a shoulder injury. The way the Sixers attacked in their 82-75 win made a liar of their coach. Philly's trio of guards — Jrue Holiday (20 points), Evan Turner (12) and Lou Williams (11) — blew past the Celtics perimeter defenders all night."
Avery Bradley may be all done for playoffs
May 24
Boston Herald
 
"Avery Bradley has done for this team, because there's a good chance the Celtics guard has played his last game of the season. According to a source, Bradley will definitely need surgery to repair his damaged left shoulder, and there's a good chance he won't play again in the playoffs. He has missed the last two games, including last night's 82-75 Game 6 loss to the Sixers. "It's frustrating," Bradley said yesterday morning. "All I can do is try to get stronger." In the meantime, the Celtics' perimeter is clearly getting weaker."
Sixers shrug off pressure to secure Game 6 win
May 24
CSN Philly
 
"A quick but thorough check of the Sixers' lockers revealed no earplugs or noise canceling headphones. No blindfolds or blackout sleeping masks, either. Impressive. Somehow, they still managed to tune out all the noise around them. Wednesday night marked the first time the Sixers faced elimination during the playoffs. In the run up to Game 6, the team answered eleventy jabillion (accurate stat) questions about being as close to heading for vacation as they were to heading back to Boston for Game 7."
Avery Bradley out for Game 6
May 23
ESPN.com
 
"Boston Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley is out for Game 6 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Ray Allen remains in his place in the starting lineup. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Bradley's status moving forward remains uncertain, noting the dislocated shoulder is a "tough injury." Avery had said he didn't not expect to play in Wednesday's Game 6 due to the shoulder issues that sidelined him from Game 5."
Celtics' Avery Bradley expects to miss game
May 23
ESPN.com
 
"Boston Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley said he does not expect to play in Wednesday's Game 6 of the team's Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers due to the shoulder issues that sidelined him from Game 5. Bradley has dislocated his left shoulder three times during the playoffs, including twice in this series against the 76ers. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before Monday's Game 5 that both of Bradley's shoulders were now sore and he simply wasn't in position to be on the floor."
Keys to a Sixer win: Stop Rondo, never say die
May 23
CSN Philly
 columnist Dei Lynam
"Rajon Rondo led the NBA with nearly 12 assists per game during the regular season. In this Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Sixers, that number has jumped to 14.6. Rondo is a true facilitator and on the floor he gets where he wants to go. At times, he gambles, but opponents have a difficult time impeding his play. He is just a special player. "We know he doesn't want to shoot the jump shot too much," said Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday at the team's practice at PCOM Tuesday. "He is dangerous going to the basket, how he kind of weaves through crowds and how he just makes plays for people. He is definitely their playmaker on that team.""
Sixers hoping history repeats itself against C's
May 23
CSN Philly
 columnist Dei Lynam
"The Sixers have not necessarily played beautiful basketball in their 11 postseason games. Still, they are still playing when 24 other teams have already gone fishing. To win this second-round series against Boston, the Sixers will now have to force a Game 7, something they have done only seven times in 16 tries when trailing a series 3-2. In addition to that, Doug Collins' squad would have to overcome unbelievable odds. In the history of the NBA, the home team has won 87 of 109 Game 7s. However, the 1982 Sixers were among those who did the improbable and they did so against the Celtics."
Sixers hope to spoil the networks' preferences
May 23
Courier-Post
 
"The TV networks don't want any part of the 76ers, and neither do the Boston Celtics. To the networks, the Sixers are the poor stepchild to the superstar-laden teams. On a good night, the Sixers can't shoot straight. On a bad night, they can't defend, they turn the ball over and they can't shoot straight. To the Celtics, the Sixers seem like a mosquito buzzing around their heads. At times, like in the third quarter of Game 5 Monday, the Celtics were able to swat the Sixers away on their way to a 101-85 win that gave them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series."
76ers/Celtics - Series' outcome surely a guessing game
May 23
Boston Herald
 columnist Ron Borges
"So now what? At this stage of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Celtics and 76ers, that about sums up everyone's perception of what is likely to happen tonight at Wells Fargo Center. Succinctly put, nobody knows. Certainly not Doc Rivers and Doug Collins, the poor souls assigned to coach these mystery teams into the next round of the playoffs. Every time one of them thinks he knows his team, he looks up and sees his players chasing their tails or, worse, not chasing anybody's tails."
Celtics raise plenty of questions
May 23
Boston Herald
 
"There's an old song by Chicago called "Questions 67 and 68" (Google the band, kids; check under "groups that should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on their first album alone"). And if we had enough space here, surely we would have at least that many queries when it comes to the Celtics and Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight. This much we know for certain: There will be another playoff game at the Garden. Whether that will be Game 7 of this series or Game 3 of the conference finals is anyone's guess."
Masterful coach at core of Celtics success
May 23
Boston Herald
 columnist Gerry Callahan
"He was supposed to walk away a year ago and take all this with him. This Celtics team would carry on without him, of course, but it would be like "The Office" without Steve Carell. Just wouldn't be the same. Doc Rivers would be gone and so would the Celtics' last hope of planting one more championship banner at the top of the NBA mountain. With a win in Philadelphia tonight, the Celtics will earn a spot in the Eastern Conference finals and a rematch with Miami, the team that eliminated them a year ago and then celebrated like it was a changing of the guard in the East. And you know what we said then? Miami was right. The C's were old, they were hurt, they were operating on guts and guile"
Doc knows winning's not easy
May 23
Boston Herald
 
"The abrupt nature of this Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers — the inability of either side to build momentum — is a prognosticator's nightmare. "It would be nice to win two in a row," C's coach Doc Rivers said. "That would be terrific." The Celtics, up 3-2 in the series, have yet another chance to reach that goal tonight in Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center, when they can close out the Sixers and perhaps even get a little rest while waiting to play the winner of the Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers series."
Opting for rest, not practice, pays off big for Celtics
May 23
Boston Herald
 
"In the case of practice, less isn't necessarily more, but Doc Rivers has often made the choice for off day inactivity this season. In this sardine can of a season, veteran teams generally find that fresh bodies are preferable to freshly tutored ones. "We (didn't) have the luxury to practice (yesterday)," Rivers said after the Celtics' Game 5 win over Philadelphia on Monday night. "We couldn't if we wanted to. So it's just what we've gone through. The good thing for this group, honestly, (is that) we've done this all year. We've kind of been a makeshift group all year. And so it's not a distraction, I will tell you that. Our guys, they're very professional about it. We'll go to shootaround"
Sixers are living on the edge
May 23
Courier-Post
 
"Although the Sixers haven't loss back-to-back playoff games this year, they really can't take any solace from losing in Boston Monday and playing tonight in Game 6 at the Wells Fargo Center. Really, just showing up and expecting to win because they haven't lost two games in a row against Chicago in the first round and now Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals — winning all four times — is just fool's gold. "We can't really take comfort in knowing we won four after a loss, we know we have to bring our 'A' game," forward Elton Brand said about being down 3-2. "We are on the edge right now, we are fighting for or playoff lives literally, there are no comfy feelings."
Sixers facing elimination after Game 5 defeat
May 22
CSN Philly
 
"All season long Doug Collins has been quick to point out the importance of the third quarter. The third quarter, he pointed out before the series began, was the frame in which the Celtics – statistically speaking – played their best basketball. Collins was at it again and talking about the importance of the third quarter about an hour before tipoff of Monday night's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the TD Garden. The winner of every game to that point in the series had won the third quarter. That did not change with the Celtics' 101-85 victory to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series."
Celtics have way too much Bass for Sixers in Game 5
May 22
Courier-Post
 
"It wasn't Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett or even Rajon Rondo who beat the 76ers. Rather, it was a player the Sixers didn't mind taking every shot. The problem for the Sixers was that Brandon Bass seemed to make them all because many of them were so easy, whether they were dunks under the basket or open jumpers. Bass finished with 27 points and outscored the Sixers by himself 18-16 in the third quarter. That sent the Sixers to a 101-85 loss in Game 5 of this Eastern Conference semifinal."
Brandon Bass, Celtics tip the scales
May 22
Boston Herald
 
"Doug Collins was merely stating the obvious prior to last night's game when he talked about the odd flow of this series — the fact that the team with the big early lead lost each time, and the team that won the third quarter won the game. Last night, as it turned out, the Philadelphia coach was talking about the Celtics. But even Collins couldn't have predicted that it would take Brandon Bass' greatest night as a Celtic to spark the Green to a 101-85 Game 5 win for a 3-2 conference semifinals edge over the 76ers."