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GameDay Boston

3 Keys vs Bucks

By Matt Davis | No Comments
Published on 5:33 pm

Tonight the Celtics have their home opener at the Garden as they host the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30PM Eastern. The Celtics endured a rough game against the Heat in the season opener, falling 120-107. In that loss, the Celtics looked just how a team that added several new faces in the offseason should look: Dysfunctional and Inconsistent. There were several miscues on both sides of the floor. The offense, although looked incredible in transition, looked stagnant at times. The C’s have undeniably gotten deeper and arguably have more offensive weapons than ever before during this new era. However, against the Heat, it looked like they had trouble using those weapons and maximizing them to their full potential. This is a problem that will almost certainly be solved as the season goes on. On defense the Celtics suffered several breakdowns and missed rotations. It just didn’t look like the in-sync defense that the Celtics faithful have grown accustomed to watching over the past years. The key right now is patience, as these problems will resolve themselves as the season goes on. Doc Rivers will have this team ready, and don’t forget, the first game was against the Miami Heat.

Nevertheless, here are 3 keys to watch for during the Celtics home opener against the Milwaukee Bucks

1. Jeff Green

Let’s be honest, Jeff Green looked like a lost player against Miami. He was tentative on offense and got dominated on defense. He looked like a shell of the aggressive player we all saw in the preseason. Giving Green some benefit of the doubt, it was his first meaningful game in over a year, and that matchup did come against the best player in the world in LeBron James. However, Green did sign a 4-year $36 million deal this offseason. He has to live up to that contract and posting 3pts and 3rebs over 23 minutes without registering a field goal is not acceptable.

Tonight against the Bucks poses a much more favorable matchup for Green, which sets a great stage for him to breakout. If he doesn’t produce, it’s not the end of the world, but if he continues to underproduce, it might be time to hit the panic button.

 

2. Defense

The Celtics defense was atrocious versus the Heat. In the past, defense has been Boston’s identity and pillar of success. On Tuesday, the defense was on their heels throughout the whole game. As written above, defensive continuity will take time, but it is definitely something to keep an eye out for tonight. It will be interesting to see how the defense bottles up the dynamic duo of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. The outcome of that matchup could serve as a great building block.

 

3. KG’s Offense

Last year against the Heat in the playoffs, KG was the focal point of the offense. In the season opener, it seemed as though KG was never a first scoring option and that really threw the Celtics off. Last season and in the playoffs, KG thrived running the pick-n-pop with Rondo, consistently knocking down the mid-range to long jump shot. I can’t remember that play being ran one time on Tuesday night. Tonight against the Bucks, look for the Celtics to get back to that and try to get KG back in his groove. When KG’s jumper is falling, the Celtics offense becomes deadly, this year especially because of all the new additions.

 

There should be a lot of energy in the arena tonight. It’s early in the season but it will be very interesting to see how this team progresses and comes together throughout the season. It definitely hurt to drop the opener to the Heat, but Celtics Nation knows that the C’s will be much more ready for that matchup the next time around. My faith is in Doc Rivers.

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Celtics Fall to Heat 120-107

By Shannon Brown | No Comments
Published on 3:37 am

Well, luckily its only one game and there’s 81 more to go, that look on Doc Rivers face about sums up tonight’s season openers loss.  The Celtics fell to the Heat in the season opener 120-107 with most of the damage coming from ex Celtics player Ray Allen.  Allen struck first blood in game 1 of 4 against his former team; off the bench Allen had 19 points in 30 mins of play.  Ray Allen who entered to a standing ovation from the Miami fans received hugs and hi fives from former teammates except for one person…KG.  As Ray made his way over to KG, Ray was served with a big plate of cold shoulder and a glare from Garnett.  He then went and hit his first 3 for the Heat and was praised with chants of “We Love Ray” from the Heat fans.

It was an emotional game for both sides as the Celtics were facing a man they once called brother who went and signed with the team that knocked them from the playoffs the last two season.  Ray spent the weeks leading up to the season taking shots at his former team saying he was pushed out.  For the Heat they got to raise their championship banner and receive their rings the Celtics however didn’t feel like celebrating as they stayed in the locker room.  Boston came in with new players in Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Jared Sullinger, Leandro Barbosa and Jeff Green who was coming off heart surgery.  And while they looked good at times, they also looked bad at times.  Now like I said before it was just one game and it will take some time to get chemistry and everyone on the same page.  When players get comfortable in their roles and adjust to mixing with the first team and second team offense, Boston will be a dangerous team this year.  Jason Terry and Jeff Green had forgettable performances but that to will change as the season progress, for Terry when he adjusts to his new teammates he will be the sixth man that the Celtics have wanted for a long time.  For Green he looked more like the scared Jeff Green from two years ago then the player who had a great preseason who showed a lot of promise.

The Celtics were mainly decimated on the defensive side as bad transition defense and lack of help defense lead to the Heat leading by as many as 19 points. Also the one thing that has plagued Boston over the years reared its ugly head again and that was turnovers Boston had 10 at the end of the first half and 15 overall which is one thing you don’t want to do against the Heat.  When Boston was able to lock down their defense in the 4th they were able to cut the lead down to 6 but it was too little to late by then.  Leandro Barbosa was a monster in the 4th quarter which led to Boston mini attempt at a comeback, Barbosa scored all of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.  That’s one thing you can be happy with cause last year the Celtics bench averaged less than 16 points a game.  Courtney Lee looked good in his debut aside from picking up 5 fouls, but he looks like a good replacement for Ray Allen also keep in mind Bradley is still hurt as well but once he is back Boston will be the team it wants to be and then some.

Rajon Rondo picked up where he left off getting another double double with 20 points and 13 assists (he had 8 in the first half), Paul Pierce led the way with 23 points.  Pierce who last year suffered a MCL sprain looked really good as he was driving to the basket and getting to the line like the Pierce of old instead of settling for jump shots.  Lebron and Dwayne Wade led the way for the Heat, Lebron who left in the fourth and didn’t return cause of leg cramps had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Wade added 29 points of his own.  Over all Miami’s big 3 outplayed Boston’s big 3.  The trio of James/Wade/Bosh had 74 points and 23 rebounds while the trio of Rondo/Pierce/Garnett had 52 points and 24 rebounds, add in Ray Allen’s 19 and Rashard Lewis 10 points and you see why Boston had a very un-Boston like performance.  Very rarely do the Celtics give up over 100 points in a game, actually a typical Celtics vs. Heat game score would be in the low 80′s. The Celtics will have the next two days off to stew over this loss and then it’s their home opener on Friday against the Bucks.  Expect a much improved and motivated Boston team to show up and be ready to put this loss behind them.

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