If the Raptors are going to carry themselves this season like they're a playoff contender, they're gonna have to come stronger than they did tonight. They were soft on D (The C's scored 33 first quarter points, 101 for the game, and shot 50%) and they were sloppy on offense (21 turnovers/19 assists). That ain't gonna get the job done when you're playing the big guns, son (I wanted to make it rhyme a 3rd time). The Celtics cruised to an easy 101-82 win on an afternoon where the weather in Canada was better than the weather in Boston. Observations:
- KG was pulling some vintage stuff out of his bag in the first quarter. 1st quarter for him: 11pts on 5 of 7 shooting and 3 rebounds. He kept it up and finished with 21 points in 28 minutes.
- Not many people play the passing lanes like Rajon Rondo. On one play he stepped in to steal a pass from Bosh to Calderon and go in for the lay up. I ran it back on my DVR and Rajon was starting to make his break before Bosh even got his second hand on the ball to make that pass. He baited him the whole way. Rondo is a defensive menace.
- The first possession of the Sheed, KG, Quis, Ray and Paul lineup: Sheed rebound, outlet to Quis, up to Pierce, drive and dish to Ray... fastbreak layup. Giddyup
- Late in the second half, KG dumped a pass down to Shelden Williams who didn't expect it. Lesson: ALWAYS expect a pass from a Celtic.
- Cold start to the second half. Ray spoiled the "assault the rim with horribly off bricks" party by getting hot and getting the lead back to nearly double digits. He had 20 on 8/12 shooting through 3 quarters. He took and missed one more shot before sitting.
- Eddie House is the ultimate "kick you when you're down" guy. If you're down 9 when he comes in... he can double that in less than a minute.
- The Celtics scored 101 points and beat Toronto by 19 with Paul Pierce scoring 2 points. Deep team, anyone?
- The Celtics D, save for a couple of lapses, was spectacular. Guys were playing passing lanes, shots were contested, rotations were good.
That's that. I've got some Crown & Coke business to attend to while I watch Tom Brady treat the Titan's D like Vegas dealers treated me this week. I'll check back an update this post with any game photos that come out later. Game photos after the jump
Photos courtesy Getty Images