In spite of the Celtics standing last in the Atlantic Division with a 3-6 record, the door is wide open in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland and Orlando have gotten off to a good start with 7 and 6 wins respectively. Both of these teams should continue to play well. LeBron won't settle for less from his team and Orlando has a talented young team and Howard should help them to continue winning. However, an injury to either star could plummet these teams quickly since they depend very heavily on their stars.

Everyone else is having their own struggles and leaving the door open for the Celtics to make a move. Philadelphia, NY, Atlanta and Indiana all have 4 wins. And you know that Philadelphia will slip eventually as they already have a problem with Webber requesting a trade. Iverson can't hold up for the entire season playing the way he has to begin the season, shouldering the entire load for the team. New York will eventually self destruct... for no other reason than they are the Knicks and Isaiah is their coach. I don't expect Atlanta to continue playing well over the season. Indiana doesn't seem to have the heart to win. O'Neal and Carlisle having heated discussions, players who aren't living up to expectations, this team is heading for a rebuild if ever one was.

Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Washington and Miami all have 3 wins. While this is the tier that I expect to eventually rise to the top, right now, they are right there with the Celtics. All of these teams have strong rosters and should pull away, but currently, because of injuries and other problems, they are struggling, leaving the door open for the Celtics to stay with them.

So, in spite of a 3-6 start, the Celtics are still right in the middle of the mix in the Eastern Conference. Add this to the fact that we have seen some improvement in each of the Celtics games so far. We are also seeing improvement in individual performances including Perk, Powe, Green, Telfair, Rondo, and West. Al was also improving and becoming that player that we always knew he could be, and I expect him to pick up right where he left off when he comes back to the team. And the biggest reason for hope is that they seem to have discovered defense.

I fully expect the team to continue to improve, in spite of having Doc as a coach. We are not far behind the pack right now. Some of the teams that got off to a good start will slow down. Others, like the Celtics are going to pull it together and play strong down the stretch. The door is wide open for the Celtics to make a run. Now if they can just win 3 in a row, we will take a huge step forward.

The Herald reports that the MRI showed a small tear in an abdominal muscle. He will be out 2-4 weeks. Leon Powe will be Perk's back up at center until Al can come back. Scal and Gomes are also in the mix of bigs available. Doc jokingly said that Perk would have to go 48 minutes. Somehow, if Perk stays out of foul trouble, I can see Doc doing that.

Speaking of Al, he was seen behind Dickerson tonight working with Brian Doo. Hopefully he will be back closer to the 3 weeks than the 6 weeks that they originally gave as recovery time.

Celtics have a very good chance to put together two good games in a row tonight. This would be a big step toward confidence and consistency. I'm ready, I just hope the team is. In the meantime, here is what is going on around the Celtics Nation today:

Steve Bulpett has a piece on Telfair and his attitude as he approaches tonight's game against his former teammates. Good for him that he didn't say anything bad about the organization to give them fodder for a grudge match. Telfair has improved over the past couple of games and his defense is improving as well. I still think that Rondo is the better PG but both are playing very well. I do expect Rondo to move into the starting lineup eventually.

The Celtics Notebook begins with a tongue in cheek piece that correlates Perk's defense of his coach with increased playing time and plays being called for him inside. I know that Perk's defense of his coach came from the heart because that's the kind of kid he is. His increased playing time and his larger part in the game plan is the result of his improved play and ability to avoid fouls. I love Perk! Also mentioned in this article is the fact that Gerald has passed Tony on the depth chart. Doc gives better shooting and fewer turnovers as reasons for the move.

The Globe Notebook begins with the news that Kandi probably won't be available for tonight's game. This puts even more pressure on Perk to stay out of foul trouble. I think the big guy is up to the challenge.

Celtics.com has an article that discusses the same topics: Bassy is ready to face his former team and he won't be baited into saying anything bad about them. Kandi is out with an injury. Green is moving ahead of Tony.

Celtics17 discusses the merits of exploring a trade for Pierce at this time. The first 6 games, I would have agreed 100% after watching Pierce turn the ball over at an alarming rate, taking bad shots and seeming to be oblivious to the rest of the team. But in the Indy game, he played team ball. I was very surprised to see that he had scored 32 points in that game because they were all within team play and not Pierce against the world. If he can continue to play like this, he will be very valuable to the team. The key is in the if because if he returns to the old no defense do it on my own Pierce, he hurts the team more than he helps it.


Celtics Nation has the Celtics vying for the privelege of taking Gred Oden in next year's draft. I still expect this team to turn it around this season and therefore don't expect to be in the lottery. Tanking never got the Celtics anything and even if we have the worst record in the league, it doesn't guarantee that we would get the #1 pick. The author suggests that Red is pulling the strings to get the Celtics into the lottery. I couldn't agree less. Red was all about winning and he would never settle for losing, even if the prize is Oden. This team is going to finish strong and make the playoffs this season. Yes, Oden is going to be a dominant player in this league and whatever team gets him will be a force. But it won't be worth a tank job because we all know how the last one worked out.

I am ready to watch the Celtics take that next step tonight as they put together two good games in a row. Join us on Celtics Green for the play by play and for Q's ever insightful commentary. Let's hope the team remembers that defense wins games and picks up where they left off on Wednesday.

Tonight we have yet another chance to right the ship and get this team on track. It doesn't get easier, though as the Pacers are playing very well this season. But we are at home and I do believe that this team has what it takes to win every game. They just need to put it all together. Here is what is going on around the Celtics Nation today:

Mark Murphy tells us that the players have Doc's back. Perk at least has been outspoken in support of his coach. While I don't like Doc's in game decisions and at times he seems completely clueless, if the players are behind him, I hope he can pull it together along with the players. I just love Perk. He is loyal on top of being a hard worker, a tough player and a good kid.

Peter May reports that Doc isn't fazed by the slow start. He still believes that this team is going to get it and will turn it around. I agree with him. Doc also defense his decision to go small when we desperately needed a defensive rebound at the end of the Orlando game. This was one of his in game decisions that make me frustrated wit him.

The Globe also has a piece on the emergence of Leon Powe. It too 7 games for Doc to give the kid a chance and he made the most of it. He brings everything to this team that we need and I hope to see him get more playing time as he is only going to get better. True Hoop also has a piece on Leon. You just have to love this kid.

There are several negative articles on the Celtics but I prefer to ignore them but if you want to read a few, check out SI.com, Hoopsworld, and Enterprise.

I personally don't think things are as bad as some articles point out. I like Jeff's article on CelticsBlog today that points out some of the more positive things from this season so far.

Join us on Celtics Green tonight for the play by play as the Celtics face the Indiana Pacers in the Garden. As always Q will add his great insights as well.

Celticsstuff Live airs again tonight from 7-9pm EST featuring special guest Steve Bulpett from the Boston Herald. Steve Bulpett is in his 22nd season covering the Celtics. In addition to being the dean of NBA beat writers in continuous service with a team, he’s also followed the Celtics as a home and away beat longer than anyone in franchise history. The native of Lynn and Swampscott is a graduate of the University of Dayton, where he pursued dreams of playing basketball and becoming a lawyer. Reality intervened on the court, but he found a way to stay involved in the game. He left UD with an intramural hoop championship (teammates with ESPN’s Dan Patrick) and a journalism degree.

As always they will be taking your calls while listeners chat away in The Pit. You can call the toll free number at any time up to one hour prior to the show to leave a question on their voicemail for possible use during the interview with Steve. See you there!!!

Last night's loss was a heartbreaker. But it also should give hope to Celtics fans. We saw what this team is capable of for 3 quarters. Now they just have to learn to sustain it for 4 quarters instead of 3 and learn to finish games. I don't know if Doc is on the hot seat or not. I don't know if we would do better with another coach, but I think we would. Some of Doc's decisions are just so baffling. But I still think this team will come around this season, even with Doc. It is only a matter of time. In the meantime, here is what is going on around the Celtics Nation today:

The Herald, The Globe and Projo all have reports on last night's game. Every one says that in the fourth quarter we stopped attacking. We did it on the offensive end, and on the defensive end. That may be our youth showing through or it could be Doc playing our bench players against their starters to start the 4th and letting them gain the momentum. After that, the Celtics were just scrambling and never did get back to being the aggressor. I believe that the consistency will come in time.

Mark Murphy tells us that Doc laments the lost art of passing. I also miss the days of the Celtics of old that used passing instead of dribbling to advance the ball. If our team could get back to that, it would make them a much better team. But it takes committment from every player on the team to make it work. This article also mentions that Ricky is still making waves in Minny. I still love Ricky. He just seems like a big kid who is out there having fun.

Bulpett's Notebook reports on the latest injuries on the Celtics. Telfair was back in the starting lineup after going to the hospital the previous night. But Ratliff and Wally were out of last night's game. Hopefully Wally will return for Monday's game but Ratliff could be out for an extended period with his back. I would love to see the starting unit from last night continue and Wally to come off the bench. We could really use his veteran leadership with that second unit. And last night's starters seemed to play well together.

Scott Souza tells us that we will see inconsistency this season because of the inexperience of this team. We will see improvement as the team grows together and gets more experience. Hopefully it will all come together at some time this season.

Shira's Notebook reports that the cause of Telfair's breathing problems is unknown. But they didn't find anything that would keep him from playing. She also gives us more detail on Wally and Theo's injuries. Powe and Ray were activated for last night's game but didn't see any playing time. You would think when nothing else was working to get the momentum back in that 4th quarter, Powe at least deserved a try. Perk is working hard to find the cause of his frequent fouls and trying very hard to work on it. He is doing much better and playing very well. He can only improve.

Peter May uses the Chicago team that started out 0 and 9 to point out that our slow start doesn't necessarily mean that we won't come around and finish strong. That was a young team that started out poorly but pulled together and won the 4th seed in the East. I expect that this team will come around as well and finish strong. At least I hope so.

Hoopsworld asks the question What would Red do? That is a good question. Red would say keep it simple. Red would say to emphasize defense and rebounding. And Red would say do what you do best. Play to your strengths. Bigs play under the basket. Al wouldn't be finding the open man but would be putting the ball in the basket. Rondo would be running, not playing a half court game. Pierce would not be dribbling and driving into double teams. Telfair and Scal woudln't be shooting 3's. It does seem at times that Doc plays to the players' weaknesses and not their strengths.

The Worcester Telegram has a piece on Ratliff and how his shot blocking can help us. It was obviously written before last night's revelation that Theo would be out for awhile again with his back. I agree that a healthy Theo would help us. I hope they give him plenty of time to heal so that he can come back and help us in the stretch run at the end of the season. Perk is becoming a good shot blocker also, averaging 1.7 per game and racking up 6 in his last two games.