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
The NBA Playoffs officially began on April 17, but make no mistake, for the Celtics and Cavaliers the real postseason starts Saturday when the epic 2nd round series between the two Eastern Conference heavyweights tips off.
Both teams dispatched their first round opponents in 5 games.  While some thought the Heat would pose a challenge to the Celtics, a much better Team Green showed up for the series then the one that stumbled through the regular season.  The Celtics could have swept the series and were the much better team showing more balance, poise and depth then the Heat.  Meanwhile the Cavs were also far superior to the Bulls, where all they really needed was home court and LeBron James to have the obvious advantage.
But now these two contenders are facing off.  The Cavs are the East’s top seed and it’s championship or bust with James becoming a free agent after the season and his future a giant question mark.  The Celtics are the 4 seed but they still have the same starting 5 that won the title in 2008 and they appear to be peaking at the right time.
But who has the edge?  Two years [...]

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: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The NBA Playoffs are finally here.  After a long regular season of ups and downs for the Celtics, the real journey now begins.  It was a season that started with great promise.  A 23-5 start had fans thinking it was 2008 again.
But instead they went 27-27 the rest of the season.  Ouch.  50 wins for Team Green, a far cry from the 70 Rasheed Wallace thought they had a chance to win back.
No worries though Celtics fans.  It’s a new season now.  The Celtics will either turn their game on or continue their inconsistent play and get knocked out early.  Ok, I guess there is reason to worry.  Without further ado, lets break down this first round matchup with the Heat.
The Celtics beat Miami all three times they met this season.  One of those was a classic game that the Celts won in OT after forcing the extra session on a Rajon Rondo layup at the buzzer off a lob pass from Paul Pierce. The Celtics won the other two games by 5 and 7 and both were highly competitive into the final minute.  So while the [...]

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: Jess Lander, Yawkey Talkies Editor
Could Boston fans be any more ready for Red Sox season?
The Patriots were the most disappointing they’ve been since before winning their first Super Bowl. I know, they didn’t make playoffs in ‘08 but that was without our Golden Boy.
The Bruins, after an embarrassing 10 game losing streak, finally steered back onto the ice, winning four in a row. They had TWO weeks to rest up during the Olympics and prepare to turn their season around, starting with tonight’s game against Montreal. And then, they were the old Bruins, giving up a 1 goal lead, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period. Hello, ten game losing streak at home.
Does blowing a lead sound familiar? Well, that’s because the Celtics have perfected it. It’s been a problem all season, but more recently it’s been getting worse. The Celts were up on the Cavs by double digits before blowing the lead in the fourth so bad that they lost by 20 points. Then, our Celtics did the unthinkable. They lost to the worst team in the NBA, a team that is almost the worst team in the history of the NBA: the New Jersey Nets, giving [...]