<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"></p> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <font size="6" color="#339966">89</font> <font size="6" color="#ff0000">85</font></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After weeks of waiting, scrapping for daily training camp updates, and trying not to let the anxiety take over our train of thought, we finally got our first taste of the Garnett-Pierce-Allen era of Boston Celtics basketball. The trio made their illustrious debut in <st1:city><st1lace>Rome</st1lace></st1:city> earlier day against Atlantic Division rival, the Toronto Raptors. In preseason basketball, you usually don’t expect the starters to play a large sum of minutes, and you usually can never get too excited about the flashes you see from guys in exhibition games, but this year’s setting is a little different from what we’re used to. Doc said he didn’t plan on playing the starters for a significant amount of time, but with the way things were flowing, he couldn’t help it. Each Celtics star played over 30 minutes, while Rajon Rondo was on the floor for over 25 and the big fella, Kendrick Perkins, got 22 minutes of run.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>The team came out of the gate very energized, and unsurprisingly, that emotional push was led by Kevin Garnett. <st1:city><st1lace>Toronto</st1lace></st1:city> was shooting the ball lights out in the first quarter, and ended up taking a small three-point lead as the Celtics’ energy began to regress. At that point, the starters began to get a little passive, and while you love to see unselfish play, at times it was almost like there was too much ball movement. That’s expected, however, with this team suiting up together for the first time. Eventually, that will improve, and we should see much better spacing from the men in green once they get acclimated to their new system.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>Let’s stop beating around the bush, and let’s get talking about that you all want to read: how did “KG” do in his Celtics debut? He was phenomenal, no way around it. He was vocal, he lifted the team to an energetic high when things started to slow down, he was an absolute monster on both the offensive and defensive glass and gobbled up double-figure rebounds by halftime, he put on a show in the post, he finished strong, he made multiple beautiful passes, he played excellent defense, and if you had never watched these two teams play before, you would be able to tell that Kevin Garnett was clearly the best player in uniform. Fans were going bananas in the CelticsBlog.com chatroom during the game, praising Garnett on almost every play. You can tell he had a great night just by looking at the box score (which, by the way, says he only dished two assists when it was clearly more like four or five), but numbers don’t tell you the half of what Kevin Garnett brings to the table. What a lot of fans didn’t realize today is that Garnett will bring this every single night. He’ll never take a night off, he’ll always play his heart out and to the best of his abilities, which are nothing short of amazing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>Celtics captain Paul Pierce put on a show as well. As Donny Marshall stated throughout the game, nobody was quite sure how Paul Pierce would react with his new teammates right away. Questions arose on whether he’d be himself or too passive, but “The Truth” demolished those doubts as he was undoubtedly the best perimeter player on the floor tonight. It was nothing out of the ordinary. We’re used to seeing Paul Pierce dismantle opposing defenses with his remarkable inside-outside abilities, but it was certainly comforting to see it once again.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>The sometimes forgotten member of the super-talented trio, Ray Allen, had a rare cold shooting performance. Allen wasn’t able to knock many perimeter jumpers down today, but don’t be alarmed. He is known as one of the most consistent shooters in the game, and even though he wasn’t able to light it up in his Celtics preseason debut, Ray Allen will bounce back. He was still able to make himself effective, however, as he made a few beautiful-looking methodical slices to the basket and continued to space the floor and keep the defense honest. Doc Rivers mentioned that in the post-game interview. Even if Ray has an off night, which will happen at times, he still keeps the defense one him and spreads the floor. Expect a better shooting display from Allen on Wednesday.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>Rajon Rondo also played well today. He had trouble finishing those off-balance floaters he likes to drop over the top of the opposing big men in the lane, but the most comforting anecdote about Rondo tonight was that he wasn’t afraid to take shots. He was extremely aggressive right off the bat, and he was even able to knock down two of his three mid-range attempts. Seeing Rondo take shots is one thing, but seeing him knock down two in a row was great to see. Then, of course, he brought his usual hustle, scrappy defense, heady play, and made some pretty passes to open cutters underneath the basket. Rondo is a huge part of this team’s success, and if he can get the ball to the right guys in the right spots at the right times, he’s going to earn a lot more respect from people around the league. Sure, this was just preseason, but it was very comforting to see Rajon do a good job his first time on the floor with his new teammates.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>How about the big fella, Kendrick Perkins? There is no question that he’s much more mobile than he was a year ago with his 20-pound weight loss over the summer, and he really moved very well in this game. He didn’t begin the game on a positive note, however, as he did the same thing that has plagued him throughout his first four years in the league – he got into early foul trouble, picking up three quick ones. When he returned to action, though, he did a very solid job. As mentioned above, he was moving well, and that helped him get better position under the basket, and quicker than he ever could before. Perk was strong on the boards, was the beneficiary of some beautiful feeds inside from Rondo and Garnett (if you didn’t get a chance to see the game, be on the lookout for the highlight reel and pay attention to Garnett’s no-look wrap-around pass to Perkins under the basket), and he really played some excellent post defense alongside “The Big Ticket” in the second half.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>Eddie House was “the guy” off the bench tonight. We all know that he’s not shy about taking shots, but my goodness, can he shoot. House went through a stretch where he must have hit five jumpers in a row without a miss, and he brought a ton of energy to keep the second unit on their toes. The thing everybody was looking out for was his play at the point guard position. Everybody knows he can shoot, but could he really handle 15 minutes per game as this team’s backup point guard? He may not be a prototypical playmaker, but he did a very solid job tonight. He took care of the ball, got it across halfcourt without getting caught in any corners, and he made a couple beautiful heads-up lead-passes in transition. Having a stable veteran backup would be nice, but Eddie House may be able make do.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>The rest of the bench was fairly up-and-down, and really didn’t receive significant time on the court until they were ready for “garbage time.” James Posey looked a little lost at times, but he certainly brought a high intensity level on the defensive end and came up with a couple hustle plays. Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine were each in for 10-15 minutes each, didn’t do anything noticeably great, but at the same time they didn’t hurt us. Powe outworked the likes of Maceo Batson and Jamario Moon, as expected. The rookie trio of Gabe Pruitt, Glen Davis, and Brandon Wallace played a few minutes apiece, but <st1:city><st1lace>Davis</st1lace></st1:city> showed flashes of strong play with a man-like defensive rebound and a beautiful finger roll he converted off of a snazzy spin-move. The biggest surprise off the bench was that Tony Allen was able to give it a go. He played just 10 minutes, and while he looked sluggish at first and committed a few boneheaded turnovers, he raised some eyebrows with a one-handed flush in his first game back since January. When he came down, he tweaked his knee a little bit and looked to be in some minor pain, but it apparently wasn’t too serious as he was able to return to the game for an extra minute or two of action. Although it looked as though he still wasn’t 100%, watching him dunk the basketball in his first game back was not only comforting, but unexpected and surprising.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o>What a day this was, being able to watch this team play together for the first time. You thought this was fun, did you? Get you’re popcorn ready for Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, where we’ll get a look at some of our old friends as the two teams will go head-to-head in London at 2:30 pm ET.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o></o></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><strong style=""><font size="6">Celtics Player Stat Lines</font><o></o>[/b]</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"></p> <ul>[*]Paul Pierce: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists on 8-14 FG, 0-4 3FG, 5-7 FT [*]Kevin Garnett: 19 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal on 8-16 FG, 3-4 FT [*]Eddie House: 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal on 6-10 FG, 2-5 3FG [*]Ray Allen: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists on 4-13 FG, 1-6 3FG, 1-2 FT [*]Kendrick Perkins: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block on 2-2 FG, 4-4 FT [*]Rajon Rondo: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal on 2-7 FG [*]Tony Allen: 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 TO on 2-3 FG [*]Leon Powe: 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal on 1-4 FG, 1-2 FT [*]Brandon Wallace: 2 points, 2 rebounds on 1-2 FG [*]Glen Davis: 2 points, 1 rebound on 1-1 FG [*]Gabe Pruitt: 1 point, 2 rebounds on 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT [*]James Posey: 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block on 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG [*]Brian Scalabrine: 1 rebound, 2 assists on 0-1 FG [*]Jackie Manuel: 1 rebound in 23 seconds of playing time [*]Esteban Batista: DNP-CD [*]Scot Pollard: DNP (ankle injury)[/list] </p> </p> </p> <p align="center"><font size="6">Celtics Player of the Game</font></p> <p align="center"> <font size="4" color="#339966"><font size="5">Kevin Garnett</font> <font color="#000000">19 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 8-16 FG</font></font></p>
Great game for the Celtics. I can't wait for the season to start.</p> Well done CB32. (on the recap)</p>
