The Celtics had big time injury issues and they are getting older by the day, so 51-year old head coach Doc Rivers did the best he could.  Rivers led the Celtics to a 41-40 (50.6%) record during the regular season and then they were knocked out in six games in the first round of the playoffs for the Knicks.  Rivers is now 416-305 (57.7%) for the Celtics in his first 9 regular seasons for the Celtics and he is also 59-47 (55.7%) during the playoffs.  The Celtics were the 2007-08 NBA Champs under Doc Rivers.  Rivers now has a 587-473 record during the regular season (55.4%) and he is 64-57 (52.9%) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career.

21-year old power forward Jared Sullinger slid in the 2012 NBA Draft due to back issues.  Sullinger played in 45 games (5 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 6.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game before blowing out his back and having his season end.  Sullinger had 4 double-doubles last year.  He also had 10 games with at least 10 points and 6 games with at least 10 rebounds.  If he can stay healthy, Sullinger will be a big part of the Celtics’ future.  22-year old center Fab Melo played most of last season in the D-League.  He played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 6.0 minutes, 1.2 points and 0.5 rebounds per game.  Melo needs to start showing something for the Celtics in the near future if he wants to stick around with them for a big longer.

The Celtics had a rough season in 2012-13.  Their leader at both ends of the court blew out his knee in the middle of the season and they weren’t the same team after it happened.  The Celtics finished up the regular season in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division with a 41-40 record, 12.5 games behind the Knicks.  Then the Celtics got knocked out by the Knicks in six games in the first round of the playoffs.  Here is a look at the players who I thought had the biggest impacts for the Celtics in 2012-13, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  Paul Pierce:  35-year old SF/SG Paul Pierce is still the best player on the Celtics.  He played in 77 games (all starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Pierce had 12 double-doubles and he had 1 triple-double for the Celtics in 2012-13.  Pierce had 31 games of at least 20 points, 12 games of at least 10 rebounds and 4 games of at least 10 assists in 2012-13 for the Celtics.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Jeff Green:  26-year old small forward Jeff Green missed the entire 2011-12 season due to heart surgery.  The Celtics wanted to take things slowly with Green in 2012-13, but he played in every game for them and his playing time increased as the season went along.  Green played in 81 games (17 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 12.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  Green had 52 games with at least 10 points and he had 29 games with at least 5 rebounds for the Celtics last year.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  Rajon Rondo:  27-year old point guard Rajon Rondo’s blown out knee was the disappointment here, as he was his usual outstanding self earlier this year.  Rondo played in 38 games (all starts) for the Celtics in 2012-13 and he averaged 37.4 minutes, 13.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 11.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game.  He had 20 double-doubles and 3 triple-doubles in 2012-13.  He had 7 games in which he scored at least 20 points, 6 games of 10 or more rebounds, 27 games of 10 or more assists and 13 games of 3 or more steals in 2012-13.

The Celtics only shot 38.1% from the floor and they were out-rebounded 42-35 last night, which did them in.  Jeff Green (21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) and Kevin Garnett (15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) led the way for the Celtics in this game.  Paul Pierce only shot 4 of 18 from the floor last night, but he still finished up with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Jason Terry (14 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes) and Avery Bradley (10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals) also pitched in for the Celtics last night.  The Celtics are now done for the 2012-13 as the Knicks knocked them out 4-2.

Center Kevin Garnett has been on fire lately for the Celtics as he is willing his team to win.  In his last three games against the Knicks, Garnett is averaging 36.7 minutes, 13.7 points, 17.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Garnett has now played in 5 games (all starts) overall against the Knicks and he is averaging 34.2 minutes, 12.2 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  The Celtics hope that K.G. keeps up the good work as they are going to need all hands on the deck to come all the way back and beat the Knicks.

The Boston Celtics were all business last night as they only played 7 players and they played excellent defense in holding the Knicks to a paltry 39.5% shooting from the floor.  Jeff Green led the way for the Celtics last night with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  Brandon Bass (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal), Jason Terry (17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 35 minutes off the bench), Paul Pierce (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Kevin Garnett (16 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocked shots) also pitched in.  The Celtics gave a very impressive team effort last night and they are now down 3-2 to the Knicks in this series.

The Celtics came alive yesterday, especially defensively as they held the Knicks to 34.4% shooting from the floor.  Paul Pierce (29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Jeff Green (26 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Celtics yesterday.  Jason Terry (18 points, 0 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in 41 minutes off the bench) and Kevin Garnett (13 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games for the Celtics yesterday.  The Celtics have stayed alive, but they are still down 3-1 to the Knicks in this series.

The Knicks shot 50% from the floor and the Celtics couldn’t get anything going offensively last night and it did them in.  Jeff Green (21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) and Paul Pierce (17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Celtics last night.  Jason Terry (14 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals) and Kevin Garnett (12 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) also had solid games for the Celtics.  The Celtics are in desperation mode now as they are down 3-0 in this series against the Knicks.

The Celtics need more production out of the bench soon, as they only are averaging a combined 10.5 points per game in the playoffs.  Veteran guard Jason Terry usually steps up in the playoffs, but he has been awful so far against the Knicks.  He has played in both games for the Celtics in this series and he is averaging 27.0 minutes, 4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  Guard Jordan Crawford has also been so-so at best for the Celtics.  He has played in both games of this series and he is averaging 18.0 minutes, 5.0 points, 0.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game.  SG/SF Courtney Lee has not got to play too much in this series yet.  He has played in both games for the Celtics so far in this series and he is averaging 12.0 minutes, 2.0 points and 1.0 rebound per game.  Power forward Chris Wilcox played in 1 game so far in his series and he has yet to score and has 2 rebounds in six minutes on the floor.  The Celtics really need Terry, Crawford, Lee and Wilcox to pick up the pace if they want to get competitive in this series.

SG Paul Pierce and SF Jeff Green are the only two players on the Celtics that are playing really well offensively against the Knicks so far in their playoff series.  Pierce has started both games of this series for the Celtics and he is averaging 38.5 minutes, 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.  Green has started both games for the Celtics so far in this series and he is averaging 40.0 minutes, 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game.  That being said, Pierce and Green need to pick up their defense and try to slow down Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith this weekend in Boston, or the Celtics can start planning for 2013-14.