There is only room for ONE Big 3 in the NBA.

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Celtics vs. Lakers, it just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? The signature basketball event will again have its signature matchup.  It’s east coast vs. west coast.  Defensive toughness vs. offensive firepower.  Blue collar vs. Hollywood.  The two greatest franchises in basketball are facing off again in the NBA Finals. The Celtics have won 17 titles to the Lakers’ 15.  Both teams have had countless Hall of Famers and memorable moments to savor in their histories.  Another chapter is about to be written in the saga that is Celtics vs. Lakers.
Historically this has been a one sided rivalry. This is the 12th time they have met up with the NBA Championship on the line.  The Celtics are 9-2 against the Lakers in their previous 11 Finals matchups.  The Lakers finally broke through against the Celtics in the 1985 NBA Finals; a year after Boston beat LA in a tough 7 game series.  They also beat Bird’s Celtics in the 1987 Finals.  The Celtics dominated the Lakers in the 60’s, went 1-2 against them in the 80’s and are now 1-0 against them in the New Big Three vs. Kobe era.  So much more then the [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
For three games and 3 quarters of Game 4 the Celtics switch was flipped on.  But then the 4th quarter on Sunday came and the Celtics reverted back to regular season mode and let a sweep slip away in Miami.  The Celtics were up 6 going into the 4th Quarter.  They were 12 minutes away from finishing off the Heat and getting some extra rest before a potential second round matchup with LeBron James and the Cavs.  Make no mistake, the Celtics should still win this series, most likely Tuesday night at The Garden they will wrap it up.  But there’s no doubt they let a golden opportunity slip away.
The Heat outscored the Celtics by 15 in the 4th Quarter.  The Celtics missed 5 free throws in a row at the end of the game when they had a chance to come back.  Dwyane Wade had a dominant offensive performance.  He poured in 46 points, including 30 in the second half, both are franchise records.  Finally Wade took over a game.  The Celtics had no answer for him.  Of course the question now is can the rest of the Heat show in game 5 in [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
What do you say about a game that doesn’t matter?
It was the last regular season game for the Celts and it was no different from many of the past regular season games. They kept it close through much of the game before giving way to a double digit lead, losing to the Bucks 106-95.
What was different was that they didn’t use their starters. KG, Pierce, Allen, and Perkins were sitting out while Rondo lead the Celtics bench to an eventual loss. Why? Because this game didn’t matter. Win or lose, the Celts would remain the fourth seed heading into playoffs. What matters is every single game after this. It would have been nice to go into playoffs off a win, but worse than going in off a loss, or three for that matter, is to go into playoffs without your starters because they were injured in the last game that meant nothing.
And as we all know, our started are aged, and have repeatedly lost steam every few games this season. So, I will not argue with giving our older players a rest. They can’t afford to burn out now.
Rondo did play and did awesome per usual [...]

By: Gabe Souza, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
It started off so promising.
A clutch opening day win over Cleveland had analysts abuzz on whether they had misjudged the Celtics’ power in the East.
A few easy wins here mixed with very few loses there had C’s fans flaunting their bragging rights up and down Mass. Ave. They could even throw it back in the face of Lakers’ fanatics – World Champion Laker fanatics. And it was all merited.
The green demolished the likes of Philadelphia, Utah, Chicago, Golden State and even Oklahoma City. With only four losses up to Christmas Day, things looked good in the Garden.
But as the yuletide spirit began to grow, so did the anxiety that the Celtics would get coal in their stocking like the had the year before against the Los Angeles Lakers, a loss that ended up derailing their postseason hopes.
Turns out the knots in fans’ stomachs were for not.
By the time Santa finished his rounds on December 25, five Celtic players had scored in double figures – including a near triple-double from Rajon Rondo – and the C’s defeated Superman’s Magic, 86-77.
A solid win. Things looked good. Championship run: still intact.
Then they lost to the perennial cellar-dweller, the Clippers. [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Was Saturday’s loss to the Nets the worst in franchise history for the Celtics?  Channel 5 sports anchor Bob Halloran said on the air following the loss that an argument could be made that it was.  There’s no argument that it was one of the worst losses of the Pierce-Garnett-Allen era.  (I refuse to call them the Big Three anymore, that title belongs to the Bird-McHale-Parish trio that won 3 titles in the 80’s).  The Nets came into the game with a 5-52 record, by far the worst record in the league and it puts them in position to potentially become the worst team ever, the 1972-73’ 76ers hold the mark at 9-73.
But just how bad was it?  Pierce didn’t play, but the Celts still had two All Stars on the floor in Rondo and Garnett and a former All Star in Allen.  This was an embarrassing loss.  The Celtics had just been beaten by 20 by the Cavaliers on Thursday in a game they led by double digits.  Danny Ainge called the team out before the Nets game.  He especially went after the starters saying to reporters, “I think the onus is on the [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor in Chief
The Big Three outdid the highly anticipated Duo of LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neil on the Cavs’ turf in the NBA season opener Tuesday night. The Celts put an end to their 11-game losing streak in Cleveland by defeating them 95-89, a big difference from the 31-point Boston massacre on their last meeting.
What could possibly be the reason for the turn around?
Sorry Shaq, but there was someone more important than you on your Cleveland debut because KG is back.
All hints of a season-ending injury gone. Celtics fan’s biggest worry, gone. If last night’s game against a fellow title contender indicated anything, it’s that 2010 can very likely be the 2008 remix.
Garnett added 13 points and ten rebounds to the mix behind the other two musketeers, Paul Pierce with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen with 16 points and ten assists. The possible new inductee to make the power three into an unstoppable four, is Rasheed Wallace who put up 12 points on his own debut.
Superhuman James outscored each with 38 points of his own, including sinking four from outside the three, and eight assists. But just like last season, his effort alone [...]