Reasons for optimism

The Celtics will take the parquet floor tomorrow night for the first time
since April 10.

As much as I hate to admit it, Rick Pitino was right. The negativity in this town does suck.

For the past two days, I've heard and seen nothing but negativity with regards to the Celtics chances of getting back into the series and possibly advancing.

Granted, the Celtics haven't done anything to change anyone's opinion. Their play has been putrid thus far and has given no reason for any fan to be optimistic.

However, that's where I come in. I tend to look at the positive side of things, and that's exactly what I'm about to do. Before I present some silver linings, here's what I do know after the last two games.

Are the Celtics in trouble? Yes.

Do they look lost without Rajon Rondo? At times, yes.

Do Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce look old? Yes.

But if there's one thing I've learned about this team, it's to never count them out, even when they look like they're on their last leg. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers have proven us wrong before, and they have earned that respect. You cannot count this team out because they deserve that much.

So here are three reasons to be optimistic that the Celtics cant turn it around:

1. They're back in Boston: The Celtics returned home yesterday for the first time in exactly a week. A lot has happened since then, to say the least. They have not played at TD Garden since last Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon and the ensuing fiasco that was the rest of the week. Their final home game of the regular season was then canceled due to the incident. From there, the Celtics  headed north of the border and down to the Big Apple. This team is more than ready to play in front of what should be highly energized and emotional crowd. Not to mention the fact that the C's had a 27-13 home record this season, good for fourth-best in the Eastern Conference.

2. The bench is turning the corner: After scoring a mere 4 points -- all of which came on free throws -- in Game 1, the Celtics bench came to life in Game 2. The bench had 19 points on Tuesday night. With Boston's starting five struggling to score, it's vital for the bench to help in any way possible. Their bench consists of only two legitimate scorers: Jason Terry and Jordan Crawford. Those two looked good on Tuesday, and here's to hoping they can carry that momentum into tomorrow night's game.

3. Boston has not been a fun place for New York: Or any other team in the playoffs since 2008. Up until this season, the Knicks had not won a regular season game in Boston in twelve seasons. Twelve. Also, the Knicks have not won a road playoff game since 2001. In the Carmelo Anthony era, the Knicks are 2-4 in six games (including playoffs) at TD Garden. During his Knicks tenure, Anthony has struggled in Boston, shooting only 38.9% from the field and 27.8% from three-point land.



A few notes from today's practice:

* Coach Doc Rivers said today that Kevin Garnett is still nursing a hip pointer that he suffered during Tuesday night's game. Rivers told reporters before practice that he was going to limit Garnett during practice. "I'm not going to let him go through the entire practice even if he's feeling good," said Rivers. "You don't want somebody to bang into you or something. We have to be careful with that." Rivers insisted that Garnett will play tomorrow night.

* The NBA announced today that Doc Rivers has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing the officials after Game 2. "I thought the fouls on Kevin were horrendous, and had a huge effect on us,” Rivers said after the game.

* Rivers also told reporters that Jordan Crawford has taken Courtney Lee's spot in the rotation."I'm not playing him right now," Rivers said of Lee. "Honestly, Jordan [Crawford] has moved in front of him on the depth chart. But Courtney will have a say in this series. I believe that." Crawford scored 10 points on Tuesday night, while Lee has barely played in this series.

* Avery Bradley was late to today's practice. A Celtics spokesman offered no reason for his tardiness. Bradley was also seen leaving the medical area of the team's training center. Don't know what that means, but just figured I'd throw that out there.