CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: I Love This Game

by FLCeltsFan 11:10 PM

It was a good day today. After all the hooplah and all the waiting and all the buildup, today's game didn't disappoint. Just seeing KG in a Celtics uniform for real was pretty incredible in itself and he didn't disappoint in the game either. The game was pretty exciting and featured 6 lead changes and 7 ties. After a sloppy start, the Celtics surged in the 3rd quarter behind the play of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and never trailed in the 4th. The Celtics shared the ball and had great ball movement with 20 assists on 35 field goals.

Kevin Garnett was very impressive. He finished with 19 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal and when he was on the bench you could see him yelling encouragement and instructions to his teammates on the floor. Perk played very well in spite of picking up 3 quick fouls. He finished with 8 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 7 rebounds and 1 block. Perk and KG played well together and complemented each other. When Perk went out with the fouls, Powe was the first big off the bench and played good defense while scoring 3 points with 1 rebound and 1 steal.

Rondo did a good job of running the team and didn't hesitate to shoot the jumper when he was open. He finished with 4 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Behind him Eddie House seemed to handle the back up PG duties quite well and shot the ball very well. He has a very quick release and is going to be a fan favorite because he can heat up very quickly. He finishes with 14 points on 6-10 shooting. Pruitt played just over 5 minutes and did a good job but struggled when doubled or pressured on defense. He finished with 1 point and 2 rebounds.

Pierce played very well and drove to the basket over and over, getting to the free throw line and scoring 21 points to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He played very well. Ray Allen couldn't seem to find his shot and finished with 10 points on 4-13 shooting to go with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. It is nice to know that all three of our stars don't have to score 20 points for this team to win.

Posey played great defense and finished with 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Scal also played good defense finishing with 1 rebound and 2 assists. It was good to see Tony Allen come into the game. In an article last week he said that when he could dunk against someone, he would know he was back. Well, Tony had a monster dunk tonight. Afterward, he limped a bit and they immediately called a time out, but he came back on the court and was fine. A very good sign for the Celtics.

Big Baby, Jones, and Wallace all played just over 3 minutes and all contributed. Big Baby had 2 points and 1 rebound. Jones finished with 1 point and 3 rebounds. Wallace pitched in 2 points and 2 rebounds. Manuel played just 23 seconds and pulled down 1 rebound. Batista was the only player who didn't get into the game.

It was an exciting game to watch. The Celtics struggled to find chemistry at first but by the third quarter, things came together very well. The Raptors are a very good team and they are deep so we can feel good about the win against some tough competition. The Celtics are going to be very dangerous once they have played together for awhile. We are in for a fun season so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

I can't help but keep track of our former players who also won today. Big Al had a very good first outing as a Timberwolf with 11 points and 17 rebounds. Ryan Gomes was also impressive with 13 points and 12 rebounds. I am excited about the team we have, but do miss these guys. Gerald Green had a rough shooting start with 10 points on 4-15 shooting to go with 5 rebounds. Telfair had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Mark Blount hasn't changed much with 6 points and 3 rebounds. To no one's surprise, Theo Ratliff did not play because of a sore back. All in all, a very good day. Now, I absolutely can't wait until Wednesday's game against the Wolves.

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