“It protects me in the slight chance I get hit there,” Scalabrine said of the white headband. “One our trainers jimmy-rigged it together. It could blow up — stock options available.

“My head is not an issue. I’ve been allowed to work out and I feel good. I didn’t even breathe hard.

I can’t wait to see this thing.

Scalabrine wore a headband during practice – which drew plenty of comparisons to the Jackie Moon character in “Semi-Pro” – and said there is a slight protective band inside of the band to help protect him in case he gets hit again. …

You guys are awesome.  We, as 6 seed in the header challenge, have now won twice.

Let’s KEEP IT GOING!  Go here to vote.  Once again, we’re down big to start… but we’ve roared back twice now.  Let’s make it 3 in a row to get us into the finals.

Other practice notes:  Rajon Rondo and Brian Scalabrine practiced… and Scal was stylin

Scal is rockin’ a sweet white headband too. That’s a new look.

Scal doesn’t need a headband.  He needs a helmet.

Came across this article about Marbury in Newsday:

Marbury should be an effective player for the Celtics. He should give them more scoring off the bench, when Ray Allen needs a breather, and another penetrating guard for those drive-and-kicks that Rajon Rondo has mastered. But the most noticeable issue with Marbury is, after sitting out for over a year, his trademark first step isn’t what it used to be (and the second one is even less explosive). Perhaps more concerning for Rivers than anything Marbury is showing physically is what you see from him mentally. He looks like he’s trying too hard. Hesitating. Second-guessing.

I felt that Marbury was coming around. He had developed some chemistry with Eddie House and was starting to pile up the assists (averaging about 4.5 apg in his final six games).

The shot has not been there consistently. He’s just 1-6 from the field in the playoffs with a combined -19 +/-.

Maybe its rust, maybe its a problem establishing a rhythm off the bench. Your thoughts?

Other news: Derrick Rose will be named Rookie of the Year

The KG saga continues… but at least it’s continuing in a direction that gives me hope that he’ll return at some point.  KG has put off knee surgery.

“He’s not going to do it right now,” Rivers said of the procedure. “He was looking and searching for it and then he just decided to wait.”

Hey Doc… what happened to “Kevin Garnett ain’t playing in these playoffs”?

“All I’m saying is that we’re still looking at this the same way we did last week,” he said. “But if he can come back, then we’d obviously take that. I still don’t think he can, but why would you ever want to take away that possibility?”

So the door is still open.  I’m not going to analyze this anymore.  What the hell is there to say?

By the way, one note on Leon Powe and his torn ACL… he’s got to be the toughest bastard alive:

“He played three minutes with a torn ACL on the floor. He didn’t come out. He kept playing. It just says so much about Leon Powe the person”

Go ahead and look up video of what happens to people who tear an ACL.  They all hit the deck writhing in pain.  Leon just winced.  Probably something he picked up in his prior career as The Black Night.

Herald:  Injury ends Powe’s season |  Bad news for good guy in Powe |  Rondo a bit banged up |  Calhoun admires Allen and Gordon |  Globe:  Day old blues for Leon |  Rondo leading the way |  Scal cleared |   Del Negro locally grown product | Souza:  Now for something potentially more positive – Stephon Marbury |  WEEI:  Petraglia – Buckle in for a wild ride |  Celtics Hub:  America has no faith in Powe-less C’s |  CelticsBlog:  Giddens carries Flash to D-League Finals |  Roy drops 42, Blazers even series |  Lakers up 2-0 |  Cavs up 2-0

Anyone know what the hell KG said after Ray’s game winner? And how about that snarl?

(Courtesy SI.com’s Extra Mustard)

According to an NBA source, Celtics forward Leon Powe is expected to have surgery on his injured left knee and will miss the remainder of the playoffs.

Powe had an MRI after injuring the knee in the second quarter of the Celtics’ 118-115 victory over the Bulls in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Monday night. The injury was originally diagnosed as a sprain. It is uncertain whether further damage was found in the knee.

Awww…. dammit.

UPDATE from the Celtics:

Leon has acl tear and is out for playoffs

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Man, Joakim Noah is one really hate-able guy.  Part of it is because of his histrionics out on the court.  Part of it is, well, he’s REALLY ugly.  And part of it is his histrionics on the court (those REALLY bother me). I mean, what’s he doing here… is he really going after Kendrick Perkins?

It makes it easier to hate him when he plays well for Chicago… and he’s playing well.  He’s blocking shots and rebounding… making him very annoying for a Celtics fan.  There’s nothing more infuriating than playing good defense and then having someone like Noah come in and get the tip back.

The big talk for Chicago has been Derrick Rose’s game 1 and Ben Gordon’s game 2.  But it’s really been guys like Noah, and Tyrus Thomas, that have been killers for the C’s.  Every time the C’s started to make a little run, one of those guys would step up and do something that kept the Celtics from shaking the Bulls (Thomas and Noah combined for 10 blocks).

So some of this might be bitterness.  And maybe I’d like him if he played for me.  But right now, I hate Joakim Noah.

“And so when I walked to the locker room I told Rondo that he had the keys to the team – and just go play. And stop asking me questions.”

That’s Doc Rivers on our budding superstar point guard Rajon Rondo. He secured a triple double by the 3rd quarter. He had:

• More assists than Rose and Hinrich combined
• More rebounds than Joakim Noah
• More steals than the Bulls starting five

All this on a sprained, swollen ankle. He was every bit as important as Ray Allen in last night’s win.

Like a proud father, I feel like I can’t mention Rondo without including Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins. Big Baby firing up jumpers like Danny Ainge. And Perk playing with a controlled ferocity on the boards. I give Perk immense credit for not snapping Noah in half.

Let’s step outside the 2009 playoffs for a moment. Rondo, Davis and Perk showed me there will be life after the Big 3.

On the injury front, Leon sprained his left knee last night. I wouldn’t expect to see him the rest of this series. Fortunately Scal should be back for Thursday’s Game 3 in Chicago (Did I actually type that sentence?).

If you want proof that the Celtics bench play was hideous, check out the +/- in the box score.

The Truth has been anything but Superman in this series. But there’s a bright side to that:

“I think we feel very confident because we feel like we haven’t played good basketball yet,” Pierce said. “We win [Game 2] and we feel like we should have won Game 1 and we just say, ‘I feel like this is pretty much our ‘C’ game. We are not a team that gives up 100 points in consecutive games. I think our best is yet to come.”

Today’s Links: Globe – Bulls Had No Answer For Rondo | Allen Helps Bring C’s Even | More KG Speculation | Dual Went Down to Last Shot | Herald – C’s Dodge Bullet | Bulpett – Ray Stuck in Dream | Buckley – Rondo Makes His Point | Leon’s Other Knee Acts Up | Del Negro and Doc Good Friends |Shootout Marks Anniv. of Jordan Explosion | Fox – Allen to the Rescue |WEEI – 5 Things We Learned |

Check out Noah's reaction to Ray's game winner.

Ray’s three with 2 seconds left gives the Celtics a 118-115 win over the Bulls. It was the final shot in a magnificent duel between Ray (30 pts, 28 in the 2nd half) and Ben Gordon (42 pts, 6-11 3FG).

Ray’s three pointer with 25 seconds gave the Celtics a 115-113 lead, but a Gordon jumper tied it back up with :12 left.

What a ballsy effort/performance by the kids. Rajon Rondo (19 pts, 16 assists, 12 reb, 5 stls), Kendrick Perkins (16 pts, 12 reb, 2 blks and Big Baby Davis (26 pts, 9 reb) all played great games.

The Bulls blocked 14 shots and it seemed like 12 of those were on Paul Pierce. The Truth (18 pts, 8-19 FG, 8 reb) did not play well tonight. In the postgame presser, Doc said it appears as if Paul is looking for a double team that isn’t coming and that is making him tentative.

The Celtics just can’t shake the injury bug. Leon Powe sprained his left knee (it was the right knee that kept him out for several weeks) in the first half and did not return in the 2nd half. He went to the hospital for an MRI. Rondo took a nasty fall in the first half and sprained his ankle.

Perk and Noah (13 pts, 8 reb) mixed it up several times tonight. Noah caught a T for yapping at Perk in the 3rd quarter. It’s clear to me Noah is trying to make his bones as a “tough guy” in this series.

Box Score | Recap

More game photos after the jump…

No way we go down 2-0 to this Bulls team.

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1 @ 0
Monday, April 20, 2009
7:00 pm ET
TD BankNorth Garden (Boston, MA)

The Celtics didn’t begin the 2009 NBA Playoffs as well as they would’ve liked. Granted, Game 1 was extremely intense and showcased a marvelous head-to-head battle from point guards Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo, but you never want to allow the road team to steal Game 1 from you in your building. Especially in overtime, as the defending champions, at the expense of an unstoppable (at least on that day) rookie.

Boston wasn’t the only higher-seeded club to blow a Game 1, however. Portland got romped by Houston on Saturday night, while Dallas played tough in San Antonio and Philadelphia pulled off a late 18-point comeback to steal one from Orlando.

Regardless, what’s in the past stays in the past, and there is still plenty of basketball to be played. As Tyson Chandler said last night after New Orleans’ 113-84 Game 1 loss to Denver, you’ll take yourself out of a series quickly if you dwell on previous outings. If you lose a game, you lose a game. From there, you’ve got to move on and try to get the next one.

Tonight, the Celtics will look to redeem themselves back at the TD BankNorth Garden in Game 2. Should Chicago manage to somehow pull off back-to-back victories, the defending champs would be knee-deep in trouble. On the same note, this team is more than capable of taking care of business tonight and taking homecourt advantage back in either Game 3 or 4.

Get your popcorn ready.

Regular Season Record: 62-20
Eastern Conference Seed: 2

Projected Starters
G G F F C

Series Leaders
PPG: Rajon Rondo (29.0)
RPG: Rajon Rondo (9.0)
APG: Rajon Rondo (7.0)
SPG: Ray Allen (3.0)
BPG: Glen Davis/Kendrick Perkins (2.0)

Primary Focus: Play Celtics Basketball
Simply saying “play Celtics basketball” is very vague. There are two things we should look for our beloved Celtics to do tonight. First and foremost, they need to close off penetration and refuse to allow Derrick Rose to dominate the paint like he did in Game 1. One of the keys in doing this is Rajon Rondo making the mental decision to move his feet and stay in front of him (easier said than done), as opposed to gambling and hoping that he can poke the ball free from behind. Take away as many lanes as possible, and make the Bulls shoot as many jumpers as possible. Even Tyrus Thomas. Trust me, he will not go 8/12 every night.

On the other side of the floor, the Celtics need to do what they have done since 2008 training camp: play as a team. Move the basketball. In Game 1, Doc Rivers and the Celtics fan base were very disappointed with all of the one-on-one play and lack of ball reversals, swings, and draw-and-kicks. As Doc noted, it seemed as though everybody was trying to be “the man.” If the Celtics want to win games and advance in these playoffs, they’re going to have to move the ball and work for better shots.

Regular Season Record: 41-41
Eastern Conference Seed: 7

Projected Starters
G G F F C

Series Leaders
PPG: Derrick Rose (36.0)
RPG: Joakim Noah (17.0)
APG: Derrick Rose (11.0)
SPG: 5 Tied (1.0)
BPG: Joakim Noah/Tyrus Thomas (3.0)

Primary Focus: Own the Glass
Prior to Game 1, I noted that it was important for Chicago to make their presence felt on the glass. They did just that, as they held a 54-45 rebounding advantage and even got 17 out of Joakim Noah by his lonesome. If Chicago can continue to hit the boards like they did in Game 1, they’ll continue to give Boston problems.

Injury Report
Luol Deng (anterior right tibial stress fracture – out)
John Salmons (strained groin – will play)
Jerome James (ruptured achilles tendon – out)
Kevin Garnett (right knee – out)
Brian Scalabrine (post-concussion syndrome – out)

Keys to Victory

• Close Off Penetration, Protect the Paint
• Ball Movement
• Control the Defensive Glass
• Get Something Out of Ray Allen

The Globe has this update from the morning shoot around:

Celtics president Danny Ainge was at the team’s practice facility in Waltham during the team’s shootaround today and received a warm greeting from the players.

While Ainge was not available for comment, coach Doc Rivers said Ainge might attend Game 2 of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Bulls tonight.

Ainge suffered a minor heart attack last Thursday and wasn’t allowed to watch the Celtics’ Game 1 loss Saturday from his hospital room. He was released from the hospital last night.

Even though he said he wouldn’t speak about KG anymore, Doc had this to say:

While Rivers still seemed doubtful, he did hint there was a slight chance that injured Celtics forward Kevin Garnett could return to action in this postseason. Garnett, however, seemed a long way away as he walked with a noticeable limp at shootaround this morning.

“If he gets healthy, he gets healthy,” Rivers said. “But I don’t see it. If he does, it will be phenomenal. But that’s not anything I’m focused on at all.”