Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday that the Celtics were embarassing the overrated Lakers in game 6 of the NBA Finals at the Garden and capturing their 17th NBA Championship.
Fast forward four and a half months to the Garden and the Celtics fittingly opened the 2008-2009 NBA season with the banner raising and ring ceremony.
From all reports and highlights, the presentation was top-notch. The viewers at home wouldn't have much idea of that though since for some reason TNT chose to show only small clips of it while also muting some of captain Paul Pierce's emotional address to the crowd.
Oh yeah, there was a game to be played too as King James and the Cavaliers were in the building. The teams memorably went seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals before Pierce outdueled James in the deciding game.
No surprise that the game lacked the excitement and buzz of the pre-game festivities. Even more predictable, the V.I.P. corporate suits at the game failed to make any noise. What is this, Fenway in the playoffs?
Anywho, the Celts (1-0) started out slowly but eventually wore down the Cavs (0-1) with team defense and clutch shooting from Pierce (game-high 27 points) to take a 90-85 win.
Much like in the Eastern Conference Finals and for all of his young career, James didn't get enough help from his mostly average teammates. James had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Veteran center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 points and eight rebounds while new point guard Mo Williams added 12 points.
Little has changed for the Cavs, they still rely on one player (James) more than any other team. It helps that he's one of the top two or three players in the league but I still doubt that they have the horses to win a title as currently constructed.
After really waking up late in the playoffs, Rajon Rondo continued his strong play with 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals on opening night. Kevin Garnett was held to 11 points and six rebounds. The keys for Boston, outside of Pierce, were Tony Allen (11 points) and Leon Powe (13 points) who were great in big minutes off the bench.
James Posey is the only notable missing part from last season's championship team. Without question, the C's hope Tony Allen can fill Posey's role, with some help from rookies J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker. Nobody thinks Tony Allen is the player that Posey is but if he can regain his pre-knee injury form, Boston will be in good shape.
Cleveland was up 28-22 and 50-43 as the Celts' shooting started out uglier than Craig Sager's typical clown suit.
In the third quarter, Boston took over with a 24-13 frame followed by a 23-22 fourth. It wasn't a work of art but it was a win on a night filled with distractions.
Neither team could shoot from the outside (the Cavs were 3 of 14 while the Celts were 3 of 15). Cleveland had five more rebounds (41-36) but five more turnovers (21-16).
Let me get this out of the way early in the season: the Boston Celtics are the team to beat. As I said, they return everything but Posey and they have the championship experience that the Big Three famously lacked. Rondo and Kendrick Perkins will only continue to get better. The chemistry of the team is apparent in every game.
The Pistons and Sixers (with Elton Brand) will be up there with the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference but it's the Celtics' to lose. In the West, everyone is picking the Hornets and Lakers (who have a healthy Andrew Bynum) to be the two best teams.
Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls come to the Garden Friday night (Halloween).
No comments:
Post a Comment