There were two lingering questions for the Celtics coming into this, a season where they are widely expected to contend for a championship. The first was the status of Kevin Garnett's knee which appears to be just fine. You can notice a very slight hobble by Garnett after an ill-advised dunk, but that could just be reverberations from the accompanying unnecessary screaming.
The other was the contract status of Rajon Rondo, who was working on an extension to avoid entering restricted free agency by remaining with the Celtics. Talks had slowed, and Rondo was making comments to the effect that it was possible he wouldn't end up in Boston.
Bad news for the rest of the league: he will end up in Boston. Early Monday after a fortunate extension from the league for all teams in negotiations, the Celtics and Rondo reached an agreement on a 5-year, $55 million extension, according to ESPN.
The Celtics are a good team. This is, by most accounts, an understatement.
Boston finished with a record of 62-20 last season, despite the fact that the heart and soul of its defense, Kevin Garnett, missed 22 of the team's final 26 games with a knee injury.
Garnett missed the playoffs as well, but that didn't stop the Celtics from taking the eventual Eastern Conference champions to seven games in the second round, before their title defense ended two rounds earlier than they had expected for most of the season.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
NBA All-Star Paul Pierce and legendary basketball coach John Wooden are two names every basketball fan knows -- each have made their mark on the game in their own way. The two greats recently received high honors from the HAX Gym in Hawthorne during a fund-raising dinner, which helped generate much needed funds for programs that help inner-city kids with academic and athletic scholarships.
In this video we talk to the Pierce, the 2008 Finals MVP, as well as Arron Afflalo about his recent trade to the Nuggets, Lamond Murray on what it takes to make the NBA, and Leila Ali on the state of boxing.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
For the past nine years the Harold Pump Foundation, created by David and Dana Pump (known as the gurus of high school and college basketball) has raised over $3.5 million dollars to fight cancer. The foundation's efforts have not gone unnoticed. Major stars such as Magic Johnson, Paul Pierce, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pete Sampras and Denzel Washington have all joined the Pump brothers. In this report we also hear from young NBA stars like Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, and Blake Griffin.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
The Hangar Athletic Exchange is the most advanced basketball gym in Los Angeles, with six full-size courts under one roof. It's a gym where NBA stars like Elton Brand and Paul Pierce rub elbows with up-and-coming players of all ages. But HAX is much more than a place to shoot hoops, it's the place where kids can get academic assistance. So it's no surprise the Wizard of Westwood John Wooden has teamed up with HAX to help them raise money for their foundation. On Sept. 12 Coach Wooden will be honored in a special gala, with proceeds going to the HAX foundation. In this FanHouse exclusive, we talk to coach Wooden about his success and what advice he has for young players.
On Friday here on FanHouse, Tim Povtak reported that the Celtics were hot on the trail for free-agent swingman Marquis Daniels to bolster their team as they reload in the OK Corral the Eastern Conference has become this summer.
Looks like the C's have their man.
Daniels' agent confirmed to Yahoo! Sports that the Celtics are in the final stages of working out a sign-and-trade for Daniels with his former club, the Pacers. If that fails, the biannual exception is in the Celtics' back pocket, with Daniels ready to accept.
Not many free agents in any sport elect to play in New York because of "family reasons.''
According to a source, it looks like Grant Hill will.
Hill, the 36-year-old small forward, is leaning toward accepting an offer from the Knicks instead of the Boston Celtics or Phoenix Suns on Thursday, and a major reason is his wife Tamia, a national recording artist who would benefit greatly from him playing in New York.
(Quick aside: Is it just me or is the NBA offseason easily the most fun of any sport?) Anyway, it appears, based on Woj's sources, that this rumor is likely to gain very little steam, primarily because Danny Ainge is dealing with "Bring in Rasheed Wallace to win a championship" Joe Dumars, as opposed to "Draft Darko, Trade Chauncey for Iverson" Joe Dumars.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
The Drew League in the heart of Watts is the longest, and most competitive, running summer league in the world, going strong for over 30 years. It's also where NBA stars like Nick Young, Baron Davis, Paul Peirce, Bobby Brown, Gabe Pruitt and many others show up to display their skills.
In this exclusive FanHouse video we visit the league and find out which NBA players have been dunked on and never returned. The Drew, as it's known, is much more than a basketball league; it's the only entertainment for a community that has no bowling alleys, theaters, or arcades.
There have been many debates over the MVP award over the last few years -- from Kobe v. LeBron to the merits of Steve Nash's back-to-back awards. You can debate all you want about who should have won each year's MVP, but it is clear that a particular season's MVP is no longer likely to have playoff success.
With LeBron James' elimination at the hands of the Orlando Magic, this season marks the eighth time this decade that the MVP hasn't won the championship, and the sixth time that the MVP hasn't even made it to the NBA Finals. Compare those numbers to the 1990s, when the winner of the MVP award made the NBA Finals seven times and the won the championship five times.
There were two lingering questions for the Celtics coming into this, a season where they are widely expected to contend for a championship. The first was the status of Kevin Garnett's knee which appears to be just fine. You can notice a very slight hobble by Garnett after an ill-advised dunk, but that could just be reverberations from the accompanying unnecessary screaming. 
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NBA All-Star 
For the past nine years the Harold Pump Foundation, created by David and Dana Pump (known as the gurus of high school and college basketball) has raised over $3.5 million dollars to fight cancer. The foundation's efforts have not gone unnoticed. Major stars such as Magic Johnson, Paul Pierce, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pete Sampras and Denzel Washington have all joined the Pump brothers. In this report we also hear from young NBA stars like Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, and Blake Griffin. 
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to 
On Friday here on FanHouse, 
Not many free agents in any sport elect to play in New York because of "family reasons.''
There's a little NBA trading spice coming out of 
The Drew League in the heart of Watts is the longest, and most competitive, running summer league in the world, going strong for over 30 years. It's also where NBA stars like 
There have been many debates over the MVP award over the last few years -- from Kobe v. LeBron to the merits of 
