I have said that we would not learn a lot about the Celtics from Game 1 against the Cavs. There is a large part of me that feels I was very wrong. It is not that the Celtics won Game One, it was the fashion in which they did. If I was to be told that the Celtics would win a game in which Paul Pierce had just 4 points and Ray Allen was held scoreless, I would have laughed until I cried. But that is exactly what happened in the Celtics 76-72 win over Cleveland.
The Celtics outgritted that Cavs and held LeBron to just 2-18 shooting for 12 points. Paul Pierce played excellent defense on LeBron and the help defense forced LeBron to hoist 6 threes, all of which he missed. The Celtics were led by the man whom I have been criticizing all during the playoffs, Kevin Garnett. Garnett had 28 points and 8 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins chipped in with 12 rebounds and 7 points. Rajon Rondo reverted back to playing the way he did early in the Atlanta series with 15 points 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
Although I am very happy that the Celtics got off on the right foot in this series, I know that LeBron is going to go off for 50 at some point in this series. What is refreshing is that I only have to worry about LeBron going off. Cavs fans will have to worry about Pierce and Allen exploding at some point in this series. The defense Boston displayed tonight showed that they aren't happy with critics (like myself) trashing them after the Atlanta series. If Boston keeps this up, this could be a rather short series.
Game 2 is Thursday night. Stay tuned.
-Scottie
1 comment:
If I remeber last year the Cavs had some guys that stepped up and hit some big shots from the outside that helped LeBron out. I think the C's need to keep LeBron under 42 pts a game, becauase they are not going to keep him 2-18 every game. They need to limit the big shots from outside from guys like Daniel Gibson. The former longhorn was lights out at the beginning of the year. They also have Damon Jones who helped LeBron out last year and picking up Delonte West. Celts need to domiate the glass too.
Also it has been nice to actually watch the Sox play and handing it to the Tigers the past 2 days.
Post a Comment