The Celtics owned the Atlantic Division bragging rights going into Wednesday night’s game vs. New Jersey. That quickly changed, as New Jersey stole the throne back, beating Boston 106-103.

The first three quarters were gravy for Boston. They were out-running New Jersey, making shots, coming up with defensive stops, moving the ball well, and going on runs. New Jersey started to creep back in the fourth, then the Celtics collapsed at the end of the game.

You ask, what went wrong? Let’s break it down:

• Doc played the starters practically the entire fourth quarter with no rests, therefore translating into them dying down come mid-fourth quarter. (Yes, this happens nightly).
• The Celtics turned the ball over at a very high rate.
• They let New Jersey (especially Krstic) get too many offensive rebounds.
• They left shooters open.
• With around 33 seconds left, Doc draws up a play where Pierce comes off a screen off the inbound pass to shoot a quick three. Why? Who knows. Result: brick.
• Down three, Pierce almost throws the ball out of bounds. Lucky, Telfair saves it. It eventually swings over to Wally Szczerbiak in the left corner with 3 seconds left (down 3). Wally decided to move inside the 3-point line. That’s bad enough right? Considering we need a three. Nope, it gets worse: Wally loses the ball and it goes out of bounds. New Jersey ball with 0.6 seconds left. Game over.

Other things that left me shaking my head in disgust:

• Rajon Rondo: DNP (coaches decision). Apparently, Rondo is out of the lineup. Delonte is now the backup PG with Rondo left rotting on the bench. So much for this promising rookie…
• Small ball!!!
• Gerald Green played great in the 2nd quarter. Scored 6 points, grabbed rebounds, ran, played ok defense and blocked a shot. Doesn’t play any more than 2 minutes the rest of the game. WHY Doc? Because he’s playing well?
• Brian Scalabrine: 12 minutes. Leon Powe: DNP (coaches decision).
• Tony Allen: 11 minutes. Did not do anything productive.
• Al Jefferson: 18 minutes - 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks on 5-6 shooting. Why did he not play more, and why did Doc not tell them to get him the ball more?
• We are down 3 on the final possession of the game. Doc puts Perkins and Telfair out there, no shooters like Delonte West. Why?

Enough about the negatives, before I drive myself into the ground. Let’s at least talk about some of the positives from tonight’s game:

• Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak were hot all night long, especially the 3rd quarter. The duo combined for 56 points.
• Sebastian Telfair played an excellent game. He penetrated, made some great hustle plays, and ran an excellent drive-and-kick game.
• Kendrick Perkins blocked 5 shots and was all over the place.
• Al Jefferson looked excellent in the time he was out there. He had 9 points and 6 rebounds at halftime, he ended up with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks (on 5-6 shooting) in 18 total minutes. Excellent game from Big Al.
• Ryan Gomes really hustled hard. He made nice passes to the open man, grabbed a lot of rebounds, and played scrappy.
• Gerald Green looked good out there. He scored 6 points, grabbed 3 boards, blocked 2 shots, and was very active on both ends of the floor. He did all this in 10 minutes.
• Scalabrine hit two 3’s!

Boston now stands at 5-9, tied with Philadelphia for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division.

Next Game: Friday (12/1/06) @ Toronto (7:00 pm).

Last year, Ainge elected to boost Gerald Green’s confidence and let him get playing time in the D-League. It helped. It boosted his confidence, gave him actual playing time in games, and improved his game. If it were up to me, Allan Ray would be the only Celtic going down there this year.

Ray, undrafted, is an excellent shooter, he can play both guard positions, and he plays with intensity. However, he’s not going to get any playing time in Boston behind the likes of Paul Pierce, Delonte West, Sebastian Telfair, Rajon Rondo, and Tony Allen. I think shipping him down south to Austin would benefit his game. It would be better for him to get some playing time rather than just observing daily on the bench.

Ship Ray from Boston to Austin!

 Yup, you heard it right: Gerald Green. If you watch a game, pay attention to the bench after we score, or after we make a hustle play, etc. Gerald Green is the first one up off the bench, and he’s screaming, clapping, and getting pumped. Even during timeouts, as soon as the whistle blows he walks on the court talking (saying stuff like “thats what I’m talkin about! lets go!”) and slappin fives or giving people a pat on the ass. Even if he barely plays, he’s doing this.

Does this make him a better player? No. But this is a step towards maturity. Sometimes last year when Gerald didn’t play (or only played a couple minutes), he would sometimes hang his head on the bench and look frustrated. He doesn’t do that anymore. He’s always energetic on the sidelines. This is one step towards Gerald’s maturity.

Fans at the TD BankNorth Garden started to chant “Fire Doc! Fire Doc!” during the 101-77 blowout home loss to the New York Knicks. Fans across the net have been chanting this themselves, but this time people in the Garden said it loud and clear for all the players, fans, and Doc himself to hear.

I love Doc Rivers the person, I really do. He’s a classy guy, a good guy, and he’s very charismatic. However, when it comes to coaching, he’s not exactly your favorite. He has to offensive sets/plays, he makes horrible in-game decisions, he’s obsessed with small-ball (which does NOT work), and he’s not very good with developing young players.

In my opinion, Doc needs to go. Danny Ainge needs to grow some genitals and get rid of Doc, no matter how strong the friendship between them is. Danny is a smart guy, he knows deep down that Doc is not the right guy. He needs to get it done, this team is never going to win under Doc Rivers, and we will never see a young player truly blossom in Boston under Doc Rivers.

Let me join the hometown crowd: “Fire Doc!”