On this day, former Boston Celtics center “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison was born in 1967.
A native of Savannah, Georgia, Ellison would play his college ball at Louisville, and would be drafted first overall in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
He would also play for the Washington Bullets after an injury-plagued rookie season, and would then sign with the Celtics in free agency in 1994.
Injuries continued to limit his playing time for the duration of his career with Boston, including an off-court toe fracture damaged while moving furniture that cost him most of two seasons with the team.
After only two-and-a-half season’s worth of games spread across five seasons with the Celtics, Ellison would sign with the Seattle Supersonics at the end of his time in Boston. He averaged 4.7 points, 5 boards and a block per game over that stretch.
"First Blue Edwards. then Dominique Wilkins. Now Pervis Ellison? The Celtics are racing back toward respectability…" http://t.co/Pe6GJSoGO0
— Rich Levine (@rich_levine) November 25, 2013
It is also the birthday of former Boston forward Phil Farbman, who played just one season with the team in its Basketball Association of America (BAA – an NBA precursor league) days.
A native of Brooklyn born in 1924, Farbman played just 21 games for the Celtics, the City College of New York graduate averaged 3.4 points per game in that stint.
Phil Farbman was a 6-1 forward who played just one season in the #NBA (then BAA) in 1948-49, for the @celtics and @warriors.
See more on Farbman's career ➡️ https://t.co/c3pD2VGX3R pic.twitter.com/kuedVfyuji
— Random NBA Player of the Day (@RandomNBAPOTD) January 26, 2018
Thomas Hamilton, a center who played for Boston in 1996, was born today in 1975, and did not play professionally before being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Celtics.
At 7-foot-2, he was a gamble on size for Boston that ultimately didn’t work out, with injuries and suspensions derailing his career with the team almost as soon as it started.
The Celtics would waive Hamilton after just 11 games, over which he averaged 2.3 points, 2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.
It is the anniversary of five victories for Boston since the season of their last championship, the first being a 104-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks in 2009.
Paul Pierce led Boston with 21 points, 6 boards and 5 assists, and point guard Rajon Rondo added 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 6 assists.
Center Glen Davis chipped 19 points in the stead of a resting Kevin Garnett, which set up the team for a rare four-day break late in the season.
“I’ll just take two days off; I think my body needs it,” Pierce said at the time via the Associated Press. “That’s just growing as a player, getting older, getting smarter. We still feel like it’s a long season, potentially two more months to play. So it’s important to get our rest right now.”
The Celtics also beat the Detroit Pistons 101-90 in 2011 on this date, but the win came at the cost of center Shaquille O’Neal’s health.
Shaq strained his right calf just minutes into a months-long absence, calling into question his availability for the postseason; when asked how long he might be out, head coach Doc Rivers said, “I don’t know, is the answer,” via the AP, “I don’t think very long.”
Garnett scored 23 points and 8 boards in the win, Pierce added 22 more plus 6 rebounds, and Rondo 14 assists.
Boston clinched a playoff spot in 2013 with another win over Detroit — this time 98-93 — with a 34-point, 6-board, 4-block performance by forward Jeff Green.
The victory came sans both Rondo and Garnett, both injured and the former out for the season, while big man Brandon Bass added 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Pierce 17 points as well.
26 points from point guard Isaiah Thomas on this date in 2016 gave the Celtics a 107-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston again clinching a playoff berth with the triumph.
It was Kobe Bryant’s last game against his longtime rivals, and he scored 34 points in the loss. “It’s weird, the last time I’m facing that green,” Bryant said courtesy of the Associated Press. “It’s been a joy to go against them, to be a part of a rivalry that I’ve watched for so long.”
Finally, it is one year from the day veteran forward Gordon Hayward scored 25 points off the bench in a 112-win over the Miami Heat.
Point guard Kyrie Irving added 23 points, forward Al Horford 21 points and 8 rebounds to pull away in the final frame. “Everyone made big-time plays for us,” Hayward related via the AP. “We want to be playing the best we can be going into the playoffs.”
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