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.  Not even Rick Pitino brought with him the type of excitement that Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have.  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.

Garnett was dominant scoring 22 points, grabbing 20 boards and kicking in 5 assists and 3 blocked shots.  Allen added 17, doing his job of knocking down open jumpers and generally benefiting from the presence of Garnett.  Paul Pierce, who still hasn't wiped the smile off his face, led all scorers with 28 points, rounding out a stellar night for Boston's superstars.

The questions surrounding this team heading into the season, however, did not revolve around their three stars but around the rest of the team.  Could Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins contribute enough to keep defenses honest?  Could this team play defense?  Was the bench even adequate? 

Though it's only one game, and one game against a mediocre Eastern Conference team at that, last night's win provided some early answers to those questions.  Rondo finished with 15 points on 7-10 shooting from the field with 4 steals and 2 assists.  The C' will take that line from him any night.  Perkins meanwhile got the rare chance to look at his future, going head-to-head with Wahsington's immobile, foul-prone big-man, Brendan Haywood. Perkins didn't dazzle but offered the team what it wants from him--a big body who can bang down low and protect Garnett.  If Rondo and Perkins can duplicate last night's outings 82-times, the C's will 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. None of the Wizards top scorers was able to get on track, and say what you will about 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 he did it on 5-20 shooting.  Those are Iverson numbers.

The Wizards also set 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.  But, the bottom line is the the C's defense may not be the weak link many expected.

The bench remains a question mark for the C's, though.  They got just 16 points from their subs and Tony Allen still looks tentative coming back from a knee injury.  Despite all this, the bench gave the C's solid minutes, especially defensively and at one point even extended the lead a bit.  Considering James Posey, who is expected to be big part of this team's bench, was a DNP, the C's should feel okay 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. 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 entirely ruling it out. But last night showed exactly why they will win 55 games and barring any major injuries, should enjoy a lengthy run in the playoffs. The Wizards, meanwhile, could be in for a long season.