Celtics Dominate In Opener
The Celitcs shined in their most anticipated season opener in a decade as they ran the Wizards out of the building last night by a final of 103-83.
The Celtics spent the off-season completely remaking their roster, going from one of the youngest teams in the league to a veteran squad with expectations not seen in these parts since the Bird era.ย Not even Rick Pitino brought with him the type of excitement that Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have.ย And they didn't disappoint, or trade for Kenny Anderson, sign Travis Knight or draft Jerome Moiso, so they're off to a good start.
Garnettย was dominant scoring 22 points, grabbing 20 boards and kicking in 5 assists andย 3 blocked shots.ย Allen addedย 17, doing his job of knocking downย open jumpers and generally benefiting from the presence of Garnett.ย Paul Pierce, who still hasn't wiped the smile off his face, led all scorers with 28 points, rounding out a stellar night forย Boston'sย superstars.
The questions surrounding this team heading intoย theย season, however, did not revolve around their three stars but around the rest of the team.ย ย Couldย Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins contribute enough to keep defenses honest?ย Could this team play defense?ย ย Was the benchย evenย adequate?ย
Though it's only one game, and one game against a mediocre Eastern Conference team at that, last night's win provided someย earlyย answers to those questions.ย Rondo finished with 15 points on 7-10 shooting from the fieldย with 4 steals and 2 assists.ย The C' will take that line from him any night.ย Perkins meanwhile gotย the rare chance to look at his future, going head-to-head with Wahsington's immobile, foul-prone big-man,ย Brendan Haywood. Perkins didn't dazzle but offered the team what it wants from him--a big bodyย who canย bangย down low and protectย Garnett.ย ย If Rondo andย Perkinsย can duplicateย last night's outings 82-times, the C's willย be in great shape.
The defense held the Wizards to 83 points and 35-percent shooting from the field so yes, they can play defense.ย None of theย Wizards top scorers was able to get on track, and say what you will aboutย Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, but they are proven scorers in this league and the C's shut them both down. Gilbert Arenas led the Wizards with 21 points, though he shouldn't be thumping his chest as heย did it on 5-20 shooting.ย Those are Iverson numbers.
Theย Wizards alsoย setย a new league mark for futility from beyond the arc by shooting 0-16--a fact that is equal parts good defense by the C's and bad shot selection by the Wizards.ย But, the bottom lineย is the the C's defense may not be the weak link many expected.
The bench remains aย question mark for the C's, though.ย Theyย gotย just 16 points fromย their subs and Tony Allen still looks tentative coming back fromย a knee injury.ย Despite all this, the benchย gave the C's solid minutes, especially defensively and at one point evenย extended the lead a bit.ย ย Considering James Posey, who is expected to beย bigย part of this team's bench, was a DNP, the C'sย should feel okayย about what they saw from their bench. On the bright side, Scalabrine finished with a better +/- rating than Gilbert Arenas--a fact that completely debunks that statistic as a legitimate barometer of anything.ย Don't borrow from the NHL, David Stern, that league has more problems than the judge that oversaw the Anna Nicole Smith trial.
The Celtics most likely won't go 82-0, though right now, I'm not entirelyย ruling it out.ย But last night showed exactly why they will win 55 games and barring any major injuries, should enjoy a lengthy run in the playoffs.ย The Wizards, meanwhile, could be in for a long season.
