Rajon Rondo

Rondo was 8-10 from the field, 2-2 from beyond the three point arc and 5-6 from the free throw line. That's twice now that he has been lights out about the Magic. A couple points about this:

1. Donny Marshall and Greg Dickerson were dead on about how confident Rondo is when he shoots. Good to see.

2. If Rondo continues to hit his mid range jumper and knock down a three pointer every now and then he will have one of the most diverse shot arsenals in the league. He already has the floater and all sorts of twisting lay ups.

Kevin Garnett

To be honest I thought KG's intensity hurt the team a bit when he picked up the technical foul. The team as a whole got out of rhythm and slumped for a bit. And yet Garnett's homicidal mentality lasted for such a long time that ultimately things turned around for the C's. I mean the guy was close to entering the Ron Artest zone. Bonus points because he loves to goal tend whenever there is a dead ball and an opposing player takes a shot just for kicks.

20 point scorers

KG, Ray Allen, Rondo and Paul Pierce all went for 20+ and combined for 90 points. The Magic scored 91. That's impressive.

Rocky IV

Is there any doubt that it's on TV right now? There shouldn't be.

The other side

Dwight Howard - I'll play Captain Obvious here and point out how bad Howard is from the free throw line. It's ugly.

Hedo Turkoglu - The more I see him play the more I like his game. I'm convinced he didn't play this way in the past. The shot was always there. But now he gets to the rim.

Carlos Arroyo - Did anyone else think he prevented a blow out? That guy is an enigma.

Final Thoughts

I feel like Bill Walton did on the 1986 Celtics when I watch this squad play. I'm not comparing the two teams. I'm just saying it is a joy to see this group in action.

With the much anticipated rematch against the Orlando Magic finally here I decided to exchange some questions with Ben Q Rock from Third Quarter Collapse. Don't hesitate to head over there for more information on the Magic in general and its recent struggles in particular. Go Celtics.

Green Bandwagon: Orlando has gone 9-8, including 6 losses in its last 8, since defeating the Celtics. However, the combination of quality opponents (Suns, Spurs, Hornets, Lakers and Mavericks to name several) and the amount of time spent on the road has to make you feel pretty good about the team's 18-10 record. What are your thoughts on the team's play thus far?

Third Quarter Collapse: At the beginning of the season, if you told me the Magic would be 18-10 after 28 games, I would have been pleased. But considering our hot 16-4 start, I'm disappointed in our effort over the past several weeks. 5-6 at home is inexcusable (0-4 in December), especially for a team that expects to contend for a title for the next several seasons. And it's not like we're losing at home to good teams; although the Pistons and Suns handed us our hats at Amway Arena, we've also lost to Atlanta, Memphis, and Indiana there. Most recently, we lost to Utah, a good team that had nonetheless been in a bad slump until it came to town. I mean, 18-10 and the division lead, I'll take it... but we should really 22-6, based on those awful home losses.

Green Bandwagon: Rashard Lewis recently received good news regarding his neck injury. That said, has his play suffered with the constant discomfort?

Third Quarter Collapse: Some Magic fans have joked, perhaps unfairly, that Lewis is suffering from -- how can I put this delicately? -- feminine issues rather than a sore neck. I can't tell whether his neck is affecting his shot or not, but it must be affecting his defense. He was assigned to guard Paul Millsap on Friday night and proceeded to allow the former second-round pick to score 28 points and grab 7 rebounds. He said earlier this week that he couldn't turn his head to the right. If the team weren't in such a bad slump, he'd probably take a few games off to get his neck back in shape. But I guess he feels like he needs to be out there. We'll see. Another 12-point stinker, which included just two points after halftime, like the one he put up against Utah and I'll advocate a trip to the inactive list.

Green Bandwagon: Some people think of Hedo Turkoglu as "the other foreign guy from the good Sacramento teams" with Vlade Divac as the more recognizable international player. And by some people I mean me. But Turkoglu is quietly putting up some big numbers - 19 points, 6 rebounds and a couple of three pointers a game. The last time these two teams met I came away impressed by his clutch shooting and willingness/ability to take it to the rack. And he's not even 30 yet. Are people around the league missing out on how well Turkoglu has played?

Third Quarter Collapse: Turk really has been great this year, hasn't he? There's no question that he's second only to Dwight Howard to Orlando's success. Before the season started, some people called for Turk to be traded because he was a poor-man's Rashard Lewis; they're both soft, sweet-shooting, 6'10" forwards who don't rebound or play much defense. But Turk has shown a willingness to attack the basket and get hammered, something that Lewis is loathe to do. He's also a great passer and has a good rapport with Howard, often finding the big fella for alley-oops. He's having a career year across the board. But as far as people missing out on him... I don't think so. Jemele Hill wrote that Turk, not Howard, is the team's MVP. While I don't agree with that assessment, I do think the fact that Hill picked up on it shows that people are noticing Turkoglu's fine season. I hope the coaches find a spot for him on this year's All-Star team. He's really putting it together.

Green Bandwagon: Have Maurice Evans and Brian Cook made an impact? More importantly are there any other moves you would like to see the Magic make?

Third Quarter Collapse: Evans and Cook really haven't done much since we acquired them. Cook has recorded DNP-CDs in each of the Magic's past 3 games, losing his spot in the rotation to Pat Garrity, whom he was supposed to replace. He's been disappointing, and expectations weren't even that high for him. Evans is playing more often, and playing hard... but he's just not shooting well at all: .396 from the field, .267 from three-point range, and .421 from the free throw line. His defense is okay, and he's good in transition, but his jump-shot is awful. I don't know if it'll ever get better. I can justify the trade by thinking that Evans is playing whereas Ariza wasn't, but Ariza was a better defender. I want to give the two new guys more time, but a month has past and it already looks like the trade was a lateral move at best and a blunder at worst. As far as other moves go, it's painfully obvious that we need a rebounding- and defense-oriented big to complement Dwight Howard -- someone like David Lee or Udonis Haslem -- but I can't think of anyone we could trade. Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling have expiring contracts, but they're both playing well this year. Pat Garrity also has an expiring contract, but he's not good enough to trade on his own. Turk is probably our only trade asset right now, and he's our second-best player. So as much as I'd like to get a good rebounder on the team, there's just no one left to trade. We're stuck with this roster unless Otis Smith wants to roll the dice and trade Hedo, whose value has never been higher.

Yesterday I looked at Tony Allen's roller coaster 2007 season up until his knee surgery. Today I'm picking the story up there and chronicling Allen's road back. Enjoy.

March 22, 2007 - Paul Pierce and Delonte West took over the FSN studio for a spirited back and forth that showcased West's comedic genius and touched on Tony Allen's style or lack thereof:

April 24, 2007 - Allen is acquitted of all charges from the White Palace incident. That was a major relief for Allen and his family.

May 22, 2007 - The Boston Celtics came in fifth in the 2007 draft lottery. This devastated Celtics fans and allowed people around the country to take shots at a franchise and its fan base that were viewed as strong tanking proponents. In no way did I think of Tony Allen.

June 6, 2007 - Peter F. Stringer wrote a column for Celtics.com about Allen's rehab. I remember being incredibly skeptical about his future. For the record no matter how many times I proclaim, "Allen is back" over the next few months, know that I believe it takes at least a year to come back from that type of injury, realistically longer.

June 28, 2007/July 31, 2007- The Celtics trade for Ray Allen and later Kevin Garnett.  For obvious reasons Allen is not included in either deal. But one has to wonder if that would have been the case had Allen not blown out his knee in such a horrific fashion.

October 2007 - Rampant talk about Tony Allen's health, or lack thereof, coincided with his frustration about his physical limitations and the Celtics' decision to not offer him a contract extension.

I was a little concerned when Allen sat out a preseason game against the Knicks that spiraled into a 40-point victory. Clearly he was not 100%, even for garbage time. Thankfully Allen sat out of the Worcester debacle. It turns out a slippery court can be bad for a reconstructed knee. Allen then played in the final three preseason games.

November 2007 - Predictably Allen did not storm out of the gates on fire. Instead he averaged 12 minutes per game. He also played five minutes or fewer in three games and put up a DNP in the final three games of the month.

December 2007 - By December 2007 Mike Gorman had told us numerous times that Allen had a clean bill of health but continued to struggle mentally and did not trust his athleticism. The mental block proved daunting as Allen had a poor showing against a LeBronless Cavs team at home and then played a poor first half on the road in Philly. However, as Mark Spears reported Rivers challenged Allen and stuck with him. Despite Allen's improved play in the second half of the 76ers game, the alleged clean bill of health, the big minutes in the two games Ray Allen sat out, both Celtics wins, and the 11 steals in the past 4 games, the former Oklahoma State star recently estimated that he is currently playing at 70%. Not cool. Can the Celtics rely on him against an elite team? I would say no. But check back in two months.

A while back I set my trusty DVR for a special on Larry Bird called "The Legend at 50", which actually turned out to be Bill Walton, pulling a borderline Chris Farley, in a 1-on-1 interview with Bird.

The highlights:

• Great Passers Bird saw or played with - Magic, Andrew Toney, John Stockton (upon Walton's suggestion).

• Bird on the best team he ever played for: "Not because you was on the team in '86. We probably would have been better without you. But that was probably the best team I played on."  

• Walton told a story about having Bird, Kevin McHale, Scott Wedman and their wives over to watch the Super Bowl. They actually watched a replay of one of their Celtics games prior to the Super Bowl. And Bird stormed out and left with his wife because Walton was named player of the game, despite inferior stats to Bird's that game.

• "The play that Kevin McHale made on Kurt Rambis was right on time. I mean it was something that needed to be done." - Bird on the time McHale did this .

• "He's been a winner all his life." - Bird on K.C. Jones.

• A classic exchange in the Celtics locker room between Red Auerbach, Bird and Bill Russell, with Russell acting as a reporter.

It has actually reached the point that it makes me uncomfortable to hear Walton talk about Bird. Keep that in mind the next time you hear Walton speak. I say that because there is at least a 33% chance of him praising Bird.