Back-to-back games can be a killer, especially when it's the first one of the season and the Big 3 haven't yet played 2 games in a row. And more especially when you've got KG who's still working on getting his stamina back. Well last night's game was a big "eff you" to that notion.
Sure, we were playing the Charlotte Bobcats who mysteriously traded Emeka Okafor for a struggling (and I mean struggling) Tyson Chandler. Still, when you hold a team to a franchise-low in points and also a record for fewest points allowed in a season opening game (for the Bobcats), that's something that certainly holds some weight as to how good the team is. After playing a tough buzzer-to-buzzer, heavyweight battle against Cleveland the night before (and not landing in Boston until 2 am), I'm sure I wasn't alone in my fears that this game certainly had the possibility of being a trap game. Those fears quickly went away as we ran out to and early 8-0 lead and didn't look back.
KG and Perk combine to give Boston the best defensive team in the NBA
Garnett put in another very solid performance on his return to Boston, once again showing no ill effects from the knee surgery that everyone and his mother has been worried about. 10 points on 5-9 shooting and 7 boards in 25 minutes. Definitely respectable. Not dominant, but we don't need dominant from really anybody because of the scoring distribution and defense our team has. We had 5 players score in double figures: KG, Ray Allen (18), Pierce (15), Rondo (10), and Shelden Williams (12). Speaking of Williams, I know the guy played basically garbage minutes, but he was pretty damn good. He was scrappy and continued to attack the paint and draw fouls well into the fourth quarter. Not to jinx anything, but he reminds me a little bit of Leon Powe. We'll see how the season goes with him, so we'll be able to get a better sample size. But so far so good.
KG was his usual aggressive self, showing no signs of hesitancy with his knee
Oh, hey. You gotta love Perk, don't you? He's improved so much over these 6 (?) years. The guy is BIG. Not necessarily tall, but freakin' muscular and defensively-minded. I've noticed that he falls for upfakes less and less. How could you not love that play were Raymond Felton drove into the lane and Perk rejected him ("Get that shit outta here!). Felton got the rejection on the baseline and Perk was left to guard him. Felton used his speed advantage to get past him and tried for another layup. Perk (from behind!) swatted another one away. He and Tyson Chandler (really, why did the Bobcats get this guy?) were chippy throughout the game. Perk let his defense speak for itself. Chandler tried a turn around fadeaway at the free throw line, which Perk calmly blocked back in his face. Chandler ended up getting a technical foul for yapping at Perk back up the court. Needless to say, Perk got one also, but only to show Chandler that he was in his territory. Way to be. Those t's are fine with me.
Rondo was busy as hell, too. He scored efficiently (5-6 shooting for 10 points), passed to everyone and everything (11 assists), and used his ginormous hands to make 3 steals. Here's a crazy stat: in the third quarter, Rondo had twice as many assists as the entire Bobcats team. In the THIRD QUARTER. Insane.
KG goes through his ritual pre-game routine in his first game back in Boston
Ray Allen showed some early struggles shooting from the field, but he continued to shoot the ball, and his teammates trusted him enough to keep feeding him. He ended up as the game's high scorer with 18 points (6-17 shooting, but 4-10 from deep). The best thing about tonight's game was that Doc was able to rest all of his starters (although Ray played 38 minutes). KG only played 25, Pierce played 24, Rondo played 29, and Perk played 27. This type of play bodes well in the long run, as it saves our legs for down the road.
The Celtics' solid play allowed the Big 3 to rest for the entire 4th quarter...
One point of contention, not directed at the Celtics play, but at the refs. This happened on more than one occasion, so it's totally worth mentioning and something that should get fixed (I'm talking to you, Mr. Stern). Pierce was often guarding the out-of-control Gerald Wallace and at least 2 times drove his shoulder into Pierce in an attempt to get around him and to the hoop. Both times Pierce guessed correctly which way Wallace would drive, causing him to slam directly into his chest. Each time the ref called a blocking foul. First of all, I don't care what position the defender is in, the offensive player cannot put his head down and drive his shoulder into him. Automatic offensive foul. Second, if the guy runs square into the chest of his defender, who is standing straight up and down, that's a charge. Automatic. Plain and simple. I understand that charges/blocking fouls are among the hardest calls in the game, but in those cases, they are easy.
...while the bench players continued to dominate
In all, it was another great display of defensive prowess and sharing the scoring load (see: 20-0 run to start the 2nd half). As Doc and the players have said so many times, the offense will always be there; the focus has to be on the defense. That's the equation for success and, so far this young season, it's worked to a "t".
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