Each month a standout Celtic will receive my Big Dawgg award. With his assault on the stat sheet to the tune of 20.1, 11.8, 4apg, 1.7 and 1.5bpg this months Big Dawgg is none other than:
The Celtics came out strong and over the first 3 quarters built an 83-61 lead over the first 3 quarters. The lead was as high as 28 points in the third. But in the fourth, their shots stopped falling and they let up on defense and the Heat got right back into the game, cutting the lead to 7 at one point. But the Celtics held on to win the game, in spite of being out scored 24-12 in the fourth quarter.
The officiating left a lot to be desired in this game. The worst call of the game was when the Heat had drawn to within 7 and Ray Allen had the ball and was literally tackled by Udonis Haslem and had another player hanging on his ankle. In spite of both players still hanging on Ray, they called a jump ball instead of a foul. The Celtics were lucky to escape this one with a win and it was a good thing they had built that big lead or they might not have won it.
Rondo did a good job of running the team but didn't shoot as well as he did in the last game. He finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and an incredible 5 steals in 35 minutes. Eddie House played 17 minutes and finished with 9 points, 1 rebound and 2 steals.
Ray Allen once again played over 40 minutes and at the end you could tell his legs were tired as his shots were all falling short. He finished with 17 points on 3-17 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in 43 minutes. Paul Pierce finished with a game high 27 points along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 37 minutes.
Kevin Garnett finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist in 38 minutes. Once again in this game, they stopped going to KG on offense. It didn't make sense in that none of their jumpers were falling. Perk had another solid game with 7 points, 5 rebounds and some solid defense in 26 minutes.
James Posey had a great game against his former team, winning the Tommy Award, and finishing with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 27 minutes. He had a big steal at the end of the game when he dove on the floor to break up the momentum of the Heat as they were making a run. With the lead at 7, Posey went for the steal and then hit 2 clutch free throws. Scot Pollard finished with 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 11 minutes. Scal played only 5 minutes and finished with 3 points and 1 rebound.
The Celtics out rebounded the Heat 40-39. They shot only 40% while allowing the Heat to shoot 46%. The Celtics had 15 steals in the game. They had 17 turnovers,which is too many, but forced the Heat into 24 turnovers. The passing wasn't there at the end of the game and the Celtics finished with 17 assists on 29 FG attempts. The Celtics are now 13-2 with the best record in the league. Who would have thunk it?
The Celtics embarrassed the Knicks 104-59. Yes, that score is correct. One hundred four to fifty nine. Tonight's game had as much to do with how poorly the Knicks played as it did how well the Celtics played. It seemed as though the Knicks just stopped playing. The Celtics played with energy from the start and never looked back while the Knicks looked like they were sleepwalking. Only a lucky heave at the buzzer by Nate Robinson prevented the Knicks from setting a record for lowest point total for a game prompting one Knicks fan to say "we can't even be the best at being bad."
The Knicks shot 30% while the Celtics shot 47% from the field. The Celtics had only 6 turnovers, which was more a sign of the Knicks playing absolutely no defense than of the Celtics having exceptional ball control. The Celtics outrebounded the Knicks 51-35. The best part of the blowout was that Doc was able to keep the starters playing time under 30 minutes. Rondo played 28 minutes, Ray Allen played 29 minutes, KG played 23 minutes, Pierce played 29 minutes, and Perk played 19 minutes. Scot Pollard sat out the game and Posey played only 13 minutes as both will be needed against the Heat. Only Big Baby played over 30 minutes.
Rondo scored 10 points in the first quarter, seemingly getting to the basket at will. He finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal. Eddie House had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 23 minutes and fouled out trying to prevent a layup with the Celtics up by 50. Gabe Pruitt played 13 minutes and finished with 2 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists.
KG scored only 8 points that ended his 400+ string of games in double figures. I am sure he would rather take the wins tnan the double figure games. He added 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Perk played only 19 minutes and will be needed more tonight against Shaq and the Heat. He finished with 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Big Baby had his second solid game in a row. He finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal in 31 minutes. It was quite a sight to watch him dive on the floor for a loose ball and fight for position on rebounds. Powe was the last player to get off the bench. I still don't understand Doc burying him on the bench. He finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 10 minutes.
Pierce finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Ray Allen also finished with 21 points on 8-14 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Scal finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 22 minutes. Posey was energized from the beginning. He was getting his hands on passes and being a pest on defense. At one point, he dove into the stands for a loose ball, landing on the radio announcers and only his feet were sticking up.
The Knicks looked as though they had given up early. Yes, the Celtics came out strong, but once the got behind, it didn't look like the Knicks were even trying. On the other hand, with the Celtics up by 50, KG was up off the bench and waving his towel and shouting encouragement to his teammates. I leave you with this gem from KG's post game interview.
The Celtics have a league best record of 11-2. That means they are ahead of the pack, but it also means that they have a bullseye on their backs. Every team is gunning for them. Teams like the Knicks who are at the bottom of the ratings will get up for the Celtics and will give this game all they've got to be able to say they beat the mighty Celtics. At the same time, the Celtics have to really work to get up for these teams.
Remember back to last season? The lowly Celtics beat San Antonio. We may have had a lousy year and finished second to last, but we beat San Antonio and that really meant something. Well, this season it is the Celtics who are the target and teams who have little hope for much more will hang their hats on a win over the Celtics. Let's hope that KG's intensity can lift this team night in and night out to play like they want every single game.
The Celtics are 11-2 but this may be a bit deceptive. They are only 2-2 against teams that are above .500. They also have struggled against every team that has played solid defense against them. We still have a lot of work to do and playing 40+ minutes in a game and then not practicing isn't going to get it done. With games tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, they probably won't get much practice in this week, or rest either.
The minutes played still bother me. It is very early. Getting off to an 11-2 start isn't near as important as being able to finish the season strong. Also, the bench has got to be able to sustain some momentum if we expect to win in the playoffs and playing the starters 40+ minutes isn't going to accomplish that. We should be letting the bench work together to build chemistry and that would give the starters more of a rest. I don't understand Doc's game plan at times. We should not be playing Pierce, Allen and KG so many minutes. Not only will they wear out, but when they get tired, there is a much greater chance of injury. I really hope Doc sacrifices a few wins now to build a better team for the end of the season.
It seems to me that the Celtics are getting away from the things that made them so effective early on. They played lock down defense and shut down the lane completely. The past few games we haven't seen that. We allowed the Cavs and Bobcats to get easy baskets and allowed way too many layups. Our defense has fallen off and that may also be a casualty of fatigue. It is much harder to play in your face defense when you are tired out. Also, early on the ball movement was a thing of beauty. The ball moved around the court and found the open man almost every time. The last couple of games we saw too much dribbling and one on one play rather than the passing game that was so successful early in the season.
KG should be getting the ball inside way more than 5 times in the 4th quarter of a game but yet, KG only got 5 touches in that 4th quarter over the Cavs. The first option should be to go to KG and then he can either score or find the open man if he is doubled. He took only 2 shots in the last 9 minutes of the 4th quarter and only 2 shots in OT against the Cavs. KG can score on almost anyone and if he is doubled, he is a very good passer to find the open man.
The Celtics are still undefeated in the Garden and it would be nice to keep that streak going as long as possible. The crowds have been giving the team a boost and could be considered the team's sixth man when they are home. Teams need to be intimidated when they come in to the Garden to play the Celtics at home.
Knicks game tonight. It would be easy to take them for granted. They are the laughing stock of the league right now, but they also have won their last two games and they have some very good players. Hopefully we will get back to doing the things that were so effective early. Until we beat teams with a +.500 record with regularity, we really haven't proved anything. Tonight's home game on TNT is the first time since 2003 that a Celtics home game has been featured on the TNT broadcasts.
The Celtics did not play well against the Cavs. They shot only 43% and allowed the Cavs to shoot 48%. They were out rebounded 47-40 and it seemed as though, for most of the game, the Cavs wanted the game more and got the win 109-104.
There were a couple of bright spots. Perk played well and played great defense. Ray Allen's shot seems to be on its way back to normal. And Big Baby played very well and made an impression with 8 points and 2 rebounds in just 6 minutes of play. He won the Tommy Award for his efforts.
There were also a few things that really bothered me. Doc went small with Ilgauskas and Gooden both in the game. Doc should have had either Pollard or Perk in the middle at all times when Z was in there. Also Ray Allen played 49 minutes on a sore ankle, Pierce played 44 minutes and KG played 43 minutes. Doc has got to stop over playing these guys. I would rather lose a couple more games early, give the bench more playing time to get more experience together and give these guys a break.
KG took only 2 shots in the last 9 minutes and 14 seconds of regulation and he took only 2 shots in OT. We should be getting the ball to KG every time down the floor. He had only 5 touches in the last 9+ minutes of the game. Especially with KG posted up on Gooden, he should have been getting the ball inside a lot more.
One of the keys to the game was to stop LeBron James, or at least contain him. He finished with 38 points, 4 rebounds, and 13 assists. Our defense just wasn't there tonight. The Cavs got way too many open looks and too many easy baskets. It was obvious that the Cavs were out to send a message right from the beginning. The Celtics seemed to turn their effort on and off. They can get away with that against lesser teams, but not the teams in the upper echelon of the league.
Rondo's shots weren't falling tonight and he finished with 3 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal in 43 minutes. Eddie House once again showed that his offense is very streaky, finishing with 3 points and 4 assists. Ray Allen finished with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 49 minutes. He seemed to be moving well on the court and he was shooting well, but when he went to the bench for his short rest, the trainer was working on his ankle. He missed 2 crucial free throws that would have put the Celtics up 2 and probably would have won the game in regulation.
KG finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. But, as I mentioned, he only took a combined 4 shots in the last 9 minutes of regulation and OT combined. Pierce finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. He still has the irritating habit of driving into a crowd and losing the ball. Sometimes he gets bailed out with a foul, but many times he does not and we turn the ball over.
Perk played very well on the defensive end and got some easy shots inside when they doubled off him. He finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Pollard played 5 minutes and finished with 2 points and 1 rebound. Big Baby did some nice things in 6 minutes and Scal had 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 block in 5 minutes. Posey finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal and drew several comments on the Cavs message boards about dirty play.
The Celtics didn't play well tonight. They didn't work favorable matchups to get the ball in to KG. They didn't rebound well. They didn't hit their free throws. They didn't defend. They are indeed mortal. But the loss doesn't bother me near as much as the minutes KG, RA and PP are playing early on. The Celtics face this Cavs team again on Sunday and the Celtics will be looking for some payback on their home turf.
When the final roster began to take shape over the summer, pundits and fans alike had some legitimate questions about what the Celtics could really do. Could the new look Celtics share the ball, could Allen, Pierce and Garnett put their collective egos aside for the sake of winning, is the bench deep enough, can Rondo run the point, will Perk stay out of foul trouble and make a meaningful contribution, can they improve on defense, will they struggle early? With twelve games in the books, we have some answers.
Let’s just start with the most obvious answer to a question that was a legitimate one to ask a dozen games ago. Will the Celtics record suffer because the team needs to develop chemistry? There is a simple equation to answer this question that I’m sure a former math teacher like FL will appreciate:
12 games – 1 loss = 11 WINS and no problems with chemistry.
There can be little doubt that the Grand Three are all too willing to share the ball, and that ego plays very little in to the equation that has yielded success thus far. A jaw dropping 65% of all Celtics field goals were products of assists, with Pierce, Garnett and Allen averaging 5.2, 4.2 and 3.5 assists respectively. If numbers aren’t your thing but court performance is, no problem; just reference Boston’s improbable win against Charlotte on Saturday. In recent Celtics history, Paul Pierce wasn’t just the first option to take a game winner, he was the only legitimate option. Pavlovian response would indicate that since this is a learned behavior engrained over several seasons, Pierce’s first thought would be to shoot, and would hesitate to find an open man. Against the Bobcats Pierce didn’t hesitate to hit an open Ray Allen despite the fact that Ray struggled shooting a paltry 3 for 14 from the field and 0 for 5 from the arc prior to his game winner. That one act…………that one pass from Pierce to Allen illustrated that egos aren’t part of the Celtics early success and displayed for all of Celtics Nation how much confidence these guys have in one another.
The bench was an enormous question mark, and for all intents and purposes the bench will remain a question mark unless they can maintain this level of production for the entire season. The Celtics bench hasn’t struck fear in the heart of opposing coaches, but they have done exactly what has been necessary. The Celtics bench has been very solid averaging 30 ppg, 6.1 apg, 13.8 rpg and 6.1 spg. Posey has been an excellent defensive option and a solid offensive contributor off the bench. Tony Allen has yet to find the explosiveness he had before the knee injury, yet has been a good defender and his legs are starting to show a little life. Offensively his greatest contribution has been not doing too much. He has been opportunistic and savvy on offense, and as such has been an asset instead of a liability. Eddie House has been a sniper from the perimeter, and has been a fair back up to Rondo. Exactly what the Celtics need from him.
Perk and Rondo have been more than just after thoughts on the floor. Both have made excellent contributions as the Celtics starting point and five man. The question with Rondo had been can he improve enough from the perimeter to be an asset and not a liability? His answer has been a resounding yes, averaging 9.1 ppg, 5.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 3.6 rpg, all while shooting an eye popping 55.6% from the field. These aren’t just lay ups and bunnies, Rondo is shooting with confidence from the perimeter and his shot has been falling regularly. With Perk the question has been can he limit his fouls and learn his role? He has answered the question by playing more minutes a game than he ever has in his career. He’s averaging just under 26 minutes a game, as a result he’s making a much more significant contribution not only on defense where he averages a team high 1.5 blocks a game to go with almost 2 offensive boards a game, but he’s averaging a career best 7.9 points per game. Is Perk a future All Star……..probably not, but he is a very solid starting center, and will be for years to come.
The Celtics have been many things over the last three years, but a defensive power house has never been one of them. No team under Doc Rivers has ever been solid on defense. Fortunately for Celtics Nation, no team under the watchful eye of Coach Thibodeau has ever been deficient on the defensive side of the ball. There are three categories I look at to evaluate how good a team is on defense, opponent points per game, opponent field goal percentage and forced turnovers. So how do the guys in Green size up against the rest of the NBA? Boston is limiting other teams to a leagues best 89.7 points per contest. The Celtics are also at the top of the league in opponent field goal percentage causing teams to shoot a meager 40.9%. Boston is fourth in the league in forcing turnovers, causing teams to cough it up 16.8 times a game. There is no question that the Celtics are a very good defensive team, and the scary thing is they will only get better.
Twelve games isn’t a massive body of work from which to evaluate a season, but it is a large enough sample to quell concerns shared by all about how this newly minted team would congeal. No matter the rough edges that still need to be knocked out you can’t argue with success and the best record in the league is pretty friggin’ successful.
Last season we had all of NO national TV appearances. This week alone, we will have not one, not two, but three national TV appearances.
On Tuesday the 27th, the Cleveland Cavaliers game is on NBA TV.
On Thursday the 29th, the New York Knicks game is on TNT.
On Friday the 30th, the Miami Heat game is on ESPN.
The Celtics are finally relevant again. They are gaining respect from our opponents and the media. But that respect comes with a price, the Celtics have become the team to beat and every team will be gunning for them. The Celtics have won their games in a variety of ways. There was the last second OT win against the Raptors, the 1 point win against the Heat, the last second win in regulation against the Bobcats, and assorted blowouts and easy wins. They have lost only one game and that was by only 2 points and we had a few chances to win that one but the shots didn't fall.
Before the season, the word was that the Celtics hadn't won anything. There were questions as to how long it would take for chemistry to build, whether the three stars could mesh and get enough shots between them, and if the bench was enough. And many questioned if Perk and Rondo could provide enough to supplement the 3 stars in the starting lineup. These questions have been answered in an emphatic way. They built chemistry surprisingly quickly and the three stars are meshing perfectly. They are unselfish and work together very well. The bench has been contributing and are improving with each game. Perk and Rondo have been playing great and complement the 3 stars very well. And, best of all, they are playing tough defense and that is key for any team.
It can be no longer said that they haven't won anything. It is still early, but so far they have answered every question and then some. The Celtics have won 11 out of 12 games with many more to come. Yes, the Celtics are finally getting some respect and 3 appearances in one week on national TV bears this out.
The Herald is reporting that both Tony Allen and Ray Allen sat out practice today.
T. Allen suffered his injury in the first half Saturday and didn’t play the rest of the way against the Bobcats. R. Allen got his ankle caught in the fourth quarter and played through it to hit the game-winning trey at the buzzer. He didn’t think there was any problem, but the ankle swelled on him Sunday.
Both are listed as day to day. Tony will probably miss tomorrow night's game against the Cavs while Ray is going to try to play.
Because of the injuries and uncertainty with the back court, Gabe Pruitt will be called up from the Utah Flash. He had a stellar first game with the Flash and then a not so stellar game the following night with 9 turnovers. In his two games for the Flash, Pruitt averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and .5 blocks.
After a stellar opening game performance, Game Pruitt wasn't quite as dominant in his second game. He admitted after the game in Anaheim that he was sore all over and tired from playing big minutes for the first time in his NBA career and that may have contributed to his 9 turnovers in this game. Other than the turnovers, he still played well in the other areas with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes.
Brandon Wallace had another solid game and notched the first double double in Flash franchise history with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 37 minutes. It is good to see both Wallace and Pruitt getting good playing time and doing well.
We had some very talented youth on the team last season. Al Jefferson may very well be a super star before his career is over. Ryan Gomes will have a solid career as will Delonte West. But, they were so young and inexperienced that they made mistakes because of it. We can see the difference between having talented youth with a ton of potential and having veterans who have been through the wars can be seen by taking a look at the Timberwolves vs the Celtics. Or, we could look at the Celtics last year vs the Celtics this season.
The biggest difference can be seen in close games and at the end of games. This is from Talkin T'Wolves:
It’d be easy to say that the Timberwolves are bad, but that simply isn‘t the case. At 1-10 on the season, it’s easy to make that assumption, but if you look closely, you’ll see that they aren’t bad, but simply a young team struggling to finish off games. They’ve been close in nearly every single game, and if games only went three quarters, they may be above the .500 mark. Unfortunately for them, games are played with four quarters, and each time the fourth quarter starts, the Wolves seem to fall apart. So far in eleven games, their average margin of defeat is nine points. But, even this number is a little deceiving. Take the Lakers game for example. The Wolves were leading, or down by a few baskets up until the last four or five minutes in the game. Then, they went on a slump, the Lakers built a bigger lead, and the Wolves ultimately gave them about six more points on free throws to cap off the game. This has been the story in more than a handful of games this season.
If you think back to the Celtics of last year, this might have been written about them. Of course, we are talking about many of the same players as well. The Celtics lost so many heart breakers at the very end of games. Many of us blamed Doc for not coming up with good strategy at the end of games and in some cases, that was true such as when he chose not to cover the inbound pass against the Pistons when Hamilton hit the game winner. But then too, if the team defense was better, Rip might not have gotten that open look. But last year, it often seemed as though teams such as the Pistons were just playing with us up until the end of the game, with the young Celtics keeping up and even building a lead, only to have them forge ahead at the very end. Now, we are seeing the same thing happen in Minnesota with their young players losing tight games, often in the last minutes of the game.
On the other side of the coin, we look at this year's Celtics. Most of the games have been blowouts. These have been the games when all parts of the team has been functioning and even if one player is playing poorly, the rest of the team makes up for it. Good teams, and veteran teams, can do this. They play strong from the opening tip until the end. On nights when they struggle as a team defensively as they did in Charlotte, and they have trailed most of the game, they still find a way to win it. They make the big plays down the stretch. It is instinct that takes over and gets the steal or hits the big shot.
Another area that you can see the difference between young teams and veteran teams, and this may be the most important, is on the defensive end. It takes time for most players coming into the league to learn to play NBA defense. Some players, like Rondo, who have made defense their calling card throughout their careers in high school and college take to it easier, but even Rondo has lapses and needs to still work on his defense to make it better. Most players coming into the NBA take years to finally figure out the nuances of the NBA defensive game. If you recall, that was always the question about Al Jefferson. He had a great offensive game but struggled to learn the defenses.
Looking at the Celtics this season, we can see the huge difference on the defensive end over the Celtics from last season. And that defense is what keys the offense. If it wasn't for Eddie House getting his hands on that inbounds pass, Ray Allen wouldn't have had the option to hit the game winner. Almost every game, we see the difference between youth and veterans. Danny drafted well and we had a lot of talent on our team, but winning was still a few years off until we grew those young players in to veterans. Danny's plan from the beginning was to gather chips that would allow him to trade for veterans. I'd say, looking at our 11-1 record, it was a very good plan.
The Celtics assigned Gabe Pruitt to the D-League on Friday and just barely had time to make the team flight to Anaheim for their game against the Anaheim Arsenal. Gabe Pruitt was the star of the game, scoring a game high 31 points, including the game-winning bucket with 3.9 second to go as the Utah Flash won the first game in Flash franchise history, 110-109.
"I came here to play, but I'm already a little sore because it's been a while since I've been up and down like that," said Pruitt, who played 37 minutes in his Flash debut. "I was feeling that last one (game-winner) though. They had been gambling all night and they did it again and gave me the shot I wanted."
Pruitt finished the game with 31 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot along with only 2 turnovers in 40 minutes of play. Pruitt will be a very suitable back up for Rondo if he keeps playing like that.
Fellow Celtic, Brandon Wallace also played will finishing with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block in 39 minutes.
It is good to see these guys getting good playing time and doing well as it will benefit the Celtics in the long run. If you look at the box score, you would see another familiar name as former Celtic Kedrick Brown had 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Arsenal. [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
Ray Allen had made just 3-of-14 shots. He’d missed four straight and 10 of his last 11, and was clanging louder than a church bell on Sunday. So in this sublime Celtics [team stats] season (thus far), of course he was the one to hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Green a 96-95 victory over the Bobcats last night. “He made it when it counted, and that’s all that matters,” said Kevin Garnett. “Killer Ray, as we call him. Killer Ray.”
That is how the Herald describes Ray Allen's performance last night. To day that Ray has been mired in a shooting slump is putting it mildly. His jumper used to be automatic. It went up and you knew it was going in!
In his first 5 games, Ray was shooting 57.5% After Doc played him the entire 48 minutes in his 5th game, his shooting percentage has been dropping rapidly. Here are his shooting performances in his past 7 games: 7-17 6-18 4-14 5-15 7-18 5-15 4-15 Over these seven games he is shooting 33% and this has lowered his overall percentage to 42%. Ray is averaging 39.6 minutes per game. He played 41 minutes 27 seconds in last night's game. It is great to be winning, but are we doing it at the expense of the future if we wear Ray down to the point where he has no legs under his jumper?
In a testament to Ray, though, when the game was on the line and he needed to hit the shot, it was money in the bank. The finish in last night's game is a testament to the difference between veterans and youth. I think back to the last two seasons and how many games we lost at the last second where either the other team made the big play or we failed to make the big play for the win. Veterans just find a way to win. They had missed the shot that would have tied it just seconds before and the Bobcats came up with the big rebound. Young players would still have been kicking themselves for the failure but House tipped the inbound pass, Pierce came up with it and got it to Ray who never hesitated to put up that 3, in spite of the shooting slump. A younger player would have hesitated on the shot. Let's not forget KG, who was under the basket just in case we needed a rebound and put back.
Killer Ray hits the game winner for the second time this season. I am sure we will lose a few of these this season, but the point is, we will also win some, something I never believed last season. What a difference a year, and a few veterans, makes. I just hope Doc doesn't wear them out before the playoffs.
