The Chicago Bulls had won the past 8 games with the Celtics. Over the past two years it seemed as through they were building much quicker than the Celtics and were rising to the top while the Celtics were mired in mediocrity. But this isn't the same team that lost those last 8 games and tonight they proved it. While the Bulls made a game of it, the Celtics pulled away in the third and held onto the lead to win the game 92-81.
At the half, the Celtics were up 47-43. The Celtics shot 51.5% in the first half while the Bulls shot 40.5%. The Celtics were fairly consistent over the entire game, shooting 51.6% for the game while shutting down the Bulls in the second half, allowing them to shoot only 37% for the game. The Bulls are one of the top rebounding teams in the league but the Celtics won the battle of the boards in this game 45-37.
Rondo had an excellent offensive night, hitting jumpers when he was open and finishing at the hoop. He finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 42 minutes of play. When the season started, there were doubts as to whether Rondo could handle the point guard duties on this team, but game by game, those doubts are being erased. Eddie House played 12 minutes and finished with 3 points and 1 assist.
Ray Allen scored 21 points but is still struggling with his shot going only 6-16 and finishing with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in 44 minutes. Pierce had a tough match up with Deng playing solid defense on him but Pierce also defended Deng well, holding him to 6-17 shooting. Pierce finished with 10 points on 1-8 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in 38 minutes.
KG blocked an incredible 7 shots in the game to go with his 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 37 minutes. Down the stretch, KG hit some very clutch shots to seal the win. Perk got into early foul trouble, picking up 2 quick fouls in the first minute or so. Big Baby came in and played so well, Doc kept him in for 26 quality minutes. He finished with 8 points and 12 rebounds. Perk played only 11 minutes but played well in spite of the foul trouble and limited minutes. He had 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
Posey heard some boos from the crowd, but it didn't affect his game. He finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in 21 minutes. Tony played only 7 minutes and finished with 1 point, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Pollard, Scal, and Powe did not play.
This was a good win for the Celtics in spite of the Bulls 6-12 record, they shouldn't be taken for granted. They beat the Pistons the previous night and have basically the same players as last year's 49 win team. The Celtics are 5-0 in the second of back to back games now and a league best 17-2 overall. Now, the Celtics have off until Wednesday to rest up and work on getting even better in practice. Scary thought. [Box Score] [Play by Play ] [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
When the Celtics visit the Bulls tonight, it will be the first time James Posey plays them as a Celtic. Bulls fans hate James Posey and we can expect to hear boos whenever he touches the ball. The Bulls should be fired up to play the Celtics because of their record, but even more, Posey's presence in the lineup tonight should make that fire even higher.
Posey was involved in 4 incidents with the Bulls when he was a member of the Heat that dates back to the 2006 playoffs. The first incident was in Game 3 of the Bulls-Heat 2006 first round match up. Kirk Hinrich was running down the court when Posey hit him with a hard shoulder block, knocking Hinrich to the floor Posey was called for a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game and suspended for the next game. Posey defended himself by saying, "I was just trying to get back on defense and cut the ball off." "He didn't see me and that's how collisons happen. That's all it was."
In the first game of the 2006-2007 season, Posey was involved with another incident with Bulls. This time, rookie Tyrus Thomas, who was going for a rebound, was hit in the face by Posey which led to Thomas having his nose broken.
In a December 27 game against the Bulls, Posey was ejected for tackling Luol Deng who was going for a layup. Posey was once again called for a flagrant 2 foul and ejected along with being suspended for the next game.
In Game 2 of the 2007 first round playoff series between the Heat and Bulls, Posey fouled Tyrus Thomas away from the ball on a play that looked very similar to the play on opening night when Posey broke Thomas' nose. I wonder if Thomas will be trying to stay away from Posey tonight or looking for revenge? It is odd that all the incidents involved the Bulls. Does Posey have it in for the Bulls, or possibly after the first incident, they go at him and when they push him, he pushes back.
Either way, this will be an interesting sub-plot in tonight's game. The Bulls fans, and I am sure a few of the Bulls as well, feel that Posey is a dirty player and will be motivated to beat his team as revenge for these incidents. Hopefully the Celtics will be just as motivated to come away with a win. Watch for Posey to get some "special attention" from both the Bulls and the Bulls Fans.
The Raptors came into the TD Banknorth Garden without their two big men. Bargnani and Bosh didn't make the trip to Boston and the Raptors struggled without them. The Raptors took their only lead at 12-11 in the first quarter. After that, it was all Celtics, building a 46 point lead at one point. The bench once again came on strong for the Celtics proving that the team is much more than their 3 stars. The most important thing about this win is that the Celtics starters all played 28 minutes or less and that is important with the team playing back to back games, facing the Bulls in Chicago in the second game.
Rondo finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes. Eddie House came in and did a very good job on TJ Ford defensively and finished with 13 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes. He hit some big 3's but shot only 4-10 for the game. Ray Allen is still struggling to find his shooting touch again, shooting only 4-11 from the field and finishing with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes.
The player of the game and Tommy Award winner was Kevin Garnett. He came out with a purpose and played with intensity that spread to the rest of the team. He finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in just 25 minutes. Pierce continued to do whatever the team needs from him with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in 28 minutes. Perk played only 15 minutes even though he was playing well, finishing with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. With the Raptors playing small, Perk's size wasn't needed in this game and he definitely will be needed tomorrow, so Doc was wise to rest him.
Posey again came off the bench with a big game, notching a double double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in 27 minutes. Tony Allen continued his comeback with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists in 27 minutes.
Big Baby finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 17 minutes. Scal hasn't been getting much play lately but logged 16 minutes in this game finishing with 5 points and 1 rebound in 16 minutes. At one point he hit a 3 and was greeted with a chorus of "Scal-a-brine" chants from the crowd. Powe made the most of his minutes with 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in just 8 minutes. Pollard did not play.
The Celtics shot 53% from the floor while holding the Raptors to 43%. The Celtics, facing one of the top 3 point shooting teams in the league, shot 43% from beyond the arc while the Raptors shot just 35% from 3 point territory. The Celtics won the rebounding battle 44-32. Although the Celtics had just 3 turnovers at the half, they coughed up the ball 17 times in the second half to finish with 20 for the game. The ball movement was very good, racking up 29 assists on 39 baskets. The Celtics were wearing their road retro jerseys while the Raptors were wearing the home whites. We can be thankful that they didn't go with the retro shorts although Tommy did mention that Scal's shorts were shorter than normal.
The easy win should pay benefits in the second of back to back games against the Bulls who also played but won a tough game against the Pistons with Hinrich playing 42 minutes, Deng playing 38 minutes and Wallace playing 36 minutes. The Celtics are 10-0 at home and are keeping pace with the 1985-86 Celtics who won the last championship and lost only 1 home game the entire season. These sure are exciting times for Celtics fans. [Box Score] [Play by Play ] [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
The Celtics are sitting atop the NBA with a 15-2 record, but of the 17 games they have played so far, only 6 were against teams that now have a .500 record or greater. Also, of the top 6 teams in the league, who should be considered to be contenders for the title, the Celtics have played only 1 of them, and that resulted in a loss. They have yet to face Detroit, San Antonio, Phoenix, Utah, or New Orleans.
The month of December will be a tougher road than November was. In December, the Celtics have to face Toronto (10-9) twice, Detroit (13,5), and Orlando (16-4), along with the first West Coast swing where they will face Sacramento (7-10), Seattle (4-15), Utah (13-6)and the Lakers (11-8). Next up is the rematch with the Raptors who, in spite of battling injuries, are still playing very well and present tough matchups for us. They are the top 3 point shooting team in the league and take very good care of the ball. If the Celtics play defense in this game like they did in the Philly game, it could get very ugly.
So far, it seems that the Celtics are playing to the level of their competition, putting out lackluster performances against the LeBron-less Cavs and against the Sixers. Their trademark defense was nowhere to be found in the game against Philly, allowing them to shoot 71% in the first quarter and 56% for the game. Against a better team, defense like this would have meant a loss. But then again, against a better team, the Celtics may have put out a better effort from the start.
There are still some concerns with this team in spite of their 15-2 record. They have not yet faced any of the elite teams other than Orlando. Even though they are capable of playing lock down defense on teams, they play it in spurts and some games, like Philly look as bad on defense as last year's team. Ray Allen has struggled much of the season so far and over the last 12 games has shot only 35%. Ray needs to find his touch in order to beat the upper echelon of the NBA. Rondo has struggled from time to time. KG and Pierce have both struggled in games as well. As a team, they still turn the ball over too much. All these things can be turned around but until they do turn them around, they are concerns. So far, they have been able to put in lackluster games against teams like Philly and a depleted Cleveland team and come away with a win by turning it on at the end. But, they won't be able to do that against teams like Orlando, Detroit, Utah or the Lakers. They also seem to struggle against teams that play great defense and need to figure out how to beat hustle defenses.
The biggest challenges for this team are yet to come. They face a tough December that ends with a trip out West where Utah and the Lakers will be gunning for them for sure. They also face Toronto twice, Detroit and Orlando. The game in Seattle will be an emotional one with Ray returning to his former home and Delonte and Wally will certainly want to beat their former team. In spite of their struggles and 4-15 record, expect Seattle to give the Celtics a tough game. Whether the Celtics can sustain getting up for every game every night will be a big gauge of how they will do in the month of December. It isn't a matter of talent, but of being mentally in every game and putting out the effort game in and game out that will make the difference. The Celtics' record at the end of December will be a better gauge of where they stand in the league than the 15-2 record they hold now.
The Sixers started out this game very strong and played well. They shot a sizzling 71% in the first quarter and dropped to 60% for the first half. They finished the game shooting 56% from the floor. This should tell you something about the Celtics defense. For much of the game, it was non-existent.
In the first half, the Sixers got whatever shot they wanted as the Celtics were playing sluggishly and not playing defense at all. At half time, the only Celtic in double figures was KG with 12 points. Also, the Celtics were out rebounded 19-11 in the first half. The energy just wasn't there. But, the Celtics picked it up in the second half to pull out a 113-103 win.
The story tonight was the bench. The Celtics got 46 points and 14 rebounds off the bench tonight with Posey and House coming up big down the stretch. Big Baby was the first player off the bench and played a solid 15 minutes, scoring 6 points and pulling down 2 rebounds. Posey was huge in this game, scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting along with 5 rebounds and 1 assist. House finished with 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 15 minutes.
Tony Allen continued his come back with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block in 16 minutes off the bench. Like the team, he had a slow first half but played much better in the second half. Scal played just under 2 minutes and didn't show up on the stat sheet. Pollard and Powe did not play.
Rondo seemed to struggle in this game. His trademark defense seemed to be lacking as Andre Miller scored time after time. Doc went with Eddie House down the stretch as Rondo played only 28 minutes and filled up the stat sheet with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Ray Allen is still struggling with his shot going only 3-12 and finishing with 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 35 minutes
Pierce did a little bit of everything, playing a game high 44 minutes. He finished with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists, and 1 steal. He passed up several shots he would have taken last season to pass off to teammates for a better shot. KG had a very solid game with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block in 35 minutes. Perk was playing very well until Doc sat him with 4 fouls in the 3rd quarter and he didn't return. He finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 20 minutes.
The Celtics shot 53% for the game but allowed the Sixers to shoot 56%. The Celtics came back from a poor rebounding first half to gain a 3 rebound edge for the game. The Celtics also did a good job limiting turnovers, finishing with only 11. The Celtics were wearing their throw-back jerseys. Thankfully they didn't go to the throw back shorts.
I remember last season, when we played the Pistons or the Spurs, we would be able to hang with them through a half or three quarters or even up until the last 5 minutes and then they would flip the switch and put us away. It seems as though the Celtics team this season is like that. They come out with poor energy and let teams hang with them for awhile and then flip the switch and turn it on. The Sixers played as hard as they could play and hung with us for 3 quarters but at the end of the game it is like they turned on the defense and pulled away. After being on the receiving end of those kinds of games for so long, it sure is nice to finally be on the giving end. 15 and 2 sure has a nice ring to it.
Several media sources have speculated that Kevin Garnett is an early favorite for MVP this season. One of the reports included Pierce among the early candidates. I would enter Ray Allen's name into the mix as well. Ray has played a huge part in the Celtics success so far and could be considered the Celtics MVP to this point.
First and foremost, without Ray Allen, there wouldn't be any Kevin Garnett. The trade almost went down the week before the draft but KG came out and said that he didn't want to go to Boston. Then, after the draft, when the trade talks once again got serious, KG was suddenly not only willing, but anxious to go to Boston. So, what was the difference? The draft day trade for Ray Allen. Without Ray Allen, even with Paul Pierce there, Boston wasn't a desirable location but once Ray Allen came on board, Boston was suddenly a great place.
Second, Ray Allen is averaging 39.4 minutes per game. More than Pierce, more than KG, and more than anyone on the team. This means that Ray's presence on the court is the most important of the big 3. His presence with the second team gives leadership beyond just his stats and his presence with the starters helps to spread the floor and provides more leadership in the back court along with Rondo.
Third, speaking of Rondo, Ray has worked hour upon hour with Rondo in the off season and before and after practices on his jumper. We can see his work paying off with Rondo's 53.5% shooting percentage this season. He is taking, and hitting, the mid range jumper this season and for that we can thank Ray Allen.
Finally, he has already hit the game winner in two different games. When the game is on the line, Ray Allen is willing and very able to take the final shot of the game. And, in spite of going through a shooting slump of sorts, he never hesitated to take those shots and even better, he hit them.
When Ray gets his rhythm back and his shots start falling, which they will, he will be even more important to this team. Ray Allen gives our young players an example to follow as far as work ethic and he is willing to mentor them. His work with Rajon Rondo has been invaluable to this team aleady. Ray Allen is overshadowed by the other two thirds of the Big Three for the most part, and he doesn't get the recognition by the media types that the other two do, but make no mistake, his contributions to this team are most valuable.
Hey Greeniacs! Just wanted to let you all know about a cool Celtics Social Networking site called CeltsHeads.com! It's like MySpace for Celtics fans!! It has great features like message sending, commenting, pics etc. There is also your own personal blog with a bunch of great fans! If you want to join, it is of course free, click on the banner above or the link below or just go to celtsheads.com
The Celtics have championship aspirations for the first time since Larry Bird retired. It has been 21 years since our last banner was hung from the rafters but until Larry Legend retired, there was always hope we could pull out another championship.
I have been thinking about that last championship team that featured the original Big Three and how different, yet similar the two teams are. That team won 67 games and went 40-1 at home. They lost their first game and then won the next 8 games and lost the 10th game so that like this year's edition they were 14-2 after the first 16 games. Their only loss at home that year was the 20th game of the season. They lost to the Portland Trailblazers who finished the season at 40-42. This year's Celtics are working to establish that kind of home court advantage with victories in their first 9 home games.
That last championship season, Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Bill Walton won the 6th Man award. At this point of the season, Kevin Garnett is being considered one of the top candidates for the 6th man award and Paul Pierce has been also mentioned. And after winning two game winners already this season, Ray Allen should also be considered. I doubt we will have any candidates for 6th man. James Posey contributes enough to win it, but he isn't always first off the bench. Doc doesn't have a set 6th man and sometimes brings Posey in first, sometimes House and sometimes other players.
In 1986, the starting five averaged 18.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 34 minutes per game. This year's version of the Celtics are averaging 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 34.4 minutes per game. The original Big Three averaged 35 minutes per game. The New Big Three is averaging 37.9 minutes per game.
The last Championship team averaged 114.1 points per game while allowing 104.7 points per game, a differential of 9.4 points. They weren't exactly a defensive juggernaut, but could stop teams when they needed to and definitely had the firepower to outscore just about any team in the league. This year's team is averaging 100.9 points while allowing 87.4 points, a differential of 13.5 points. This year's team is developing a defensive personality and even when they aren't shooting well, are able to shut down the opposing team.
The salaries of our starting five this season add up to a whopping $61,963,327. Back in 1985-86, the salaries of the starting five was a grand total of $4,832,500. In other words, the entire starting five including Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge made just over what Perk is making this season.
It will be hard not to compare these two teams as the season wears on. After 16 games, they had identical records. Both started out undefeated at home through the first 9 games. Both teams include a "Big Three" of all stars. The difference would be that other two fifths of the starting five in 1986 were stars in their own right while this year's other two starters are unproven and still learning. Dennis Johnson had already won a championship in Seattle and was a veteran at the point. Rajon Rondo is a second year player who is very talented, but lacking in experience.
Could this be the year that we finally get that 17th banner? The team that won the last banner got off to an identical start as this year's team. Both teams were 14-2 after 16 games and both teams were undefeated at home after 16 games. It is something worth keeping an eye on. Green 17.
Doc Rivers was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. Doc coached the Celtics to a 13-2 (.867) record in the month of November, including eight straight wins to open the season. Boston outscored opponents by 13.7 points per game during the stretch, while holding teams to shooting 41 percent.
The Celtics were a perfect 8-0 at TD Banknorth Garden, beating teams by an average of 21.6 points at home over that stretch. This was the best start for a Celtics team since the 1985-86 season when they went 13-1 in the month of November.
This is the first time in Doc's career that he has won the Coach of the Month award. Chris Ford was the last Celtics coach to win Coach of the Month when he guided the Celtics to a 9-1 record in April of 1992. Jimmy Rodgers and K.C. Jones are the only other Celtics coaches to to be named Coach of the Month.
In other Celtics News, Gabe Pruitt has been reassigned to the Utah Flash, the Celtics D-League affiliate. Pruitt was recalled after 2 games with the Flash due to injury concerns with Ray Allen and Tony Allen. Pruitt scored two points, had one rebound and four assists against the New York Knicks on Nov. 29, three days after he was recalled from Utah. With Tony and Ray getting healthy, playing opportunities would be fewer for the 6'4" Pruitt.
From outward appearances, you wouldn't think the Celtics won this one. They shot only 38% from the field and committed 15 turnovers. Paul Pierce scored only 7 points, Kevin Garnett scored only 9 points. They finished with only 80 points as a team. So, how in the world did they win?
The key to the second half and thus the win was defense and hustle. They filled the lanes and racked up 11 steals. They out rebounded the Cavs 51-47. And they held the Cavs to 33% shooting and only 70 points. The Celtics took their biggest lead at 77-56 and then with the starters on the bench, the Cavs were able to cut into the lead in the last five minutes of the game, but the result was never in doubt.
Paul Pierce came out after the half with energy, intercepting passes, poking away the ball, diving for loose balls, flying out of bounds to save the possession, taking charges, and generally playing hard defensively. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but he hustled and played defense and did the little things that got his team energized and because of that, he won the Tommy Award. He finished with 7 points on 2-7 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 29 minutes. KG also struggled offensively with only 9 points on 2-12 shooting and 5-7 at the line along with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in 26 minutes. KG started out the game with a huge block and played solid defense, despite the offensive struggles.
Rondo had a slow start and when he sat down the first time, had nothing but 1 foul on the stat sheet. He quickly turned that around when he came back in, finishing with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block. Ray Allen had the hot hand among the starters and finished with 20 points on 8-16 shooting along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 34 minutes. Perk had a solid game, playing good defense inside and rebounding well. He finished with 4 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
James Posey was again a key player off the bench playing with energy and defense and finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal. Big Baby played very well in 20 minutes, taking charges, getting into the passing lanes and just bringing energy to a team that very much needed it. He finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block before fouling out in 20 minutes. He is definitely making a case for more playing time. Eddie House played finished with 6 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
Tony played his first game since suffering a bruised thigh. He finished with 3 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes. He missed several layups and appeared that he didn't have much lift. Scal played only 8 minutes and went scoreless with 3 rebounds. Powe played the last 5 minutes and had 3 points and 1 rebound.
LeBron didn't play and so that will put an asterisk next to this win. Defense was the game plan on both sides and resulted in a rather ugly 80-70 win for the Celtics. They stayed perfect at home and in spite of both Pierce and KG struggling offensively pulled out the win. one of these days, all 3 of the stars will have a good game at the same time and it could get very ugly for the other team.
The Celtics are looking for revenge against the Cavs. They almost won in Cleveland and played very poorly for most of the game. They were out-rebounded by the Cavs and the only reason for this team being out-rebounded is if they don't put out the effort to get the rebounds. The Celtics are also a better rebounding team when Perk is in the game. Even if he doesn't grab the rebound himself, he is excellent at boxing out, thus allowing his teammates to get the rebounds.
LeBron is a game time decision as to whether he will play. The Cleveland game notes have Devin Brown starting and LeBron as a game time decision. According to the Cleveland papers he was going to practice yesterday. Unless he did something to re-injure the finger in practice, I expect him to start today. For the Celtics this is for revenge of one of their 2 losses in which they didn't play well. For the Cavs, it is about making a statement that they are the defending Eastern Conference champions and worthy of it. I expect to see a well rested LeBron on the court today. I am sure the Celtics would rather that he plays so that when they win there won't be any asterisks on the W.
I am puzzled by the Top 10 Plays on NBA TV. The Celtics rarely get picked in spite of some very nice plays in every game that make you say "wow". On Thursday night, the Celtics played the Knicks and there were plenty of great plays that could have been included in the top 10 of the night as they methodically dismantled the Knicks. Add to that there were only 3 games that night. You would think that the top 10 plays of the night would have had plenty of Celtics highlights. They had one highlight from the Celtics/Knicks game and that was Nate Robinson's desperation heaved that saved them from entering the record books for futility. No other Celtics highlights. Even now, the Celtics aren't getting respect.
Injuries are always a concern and so much has been made of KG sporting a knee brace in the last game. When asked about it, he had this to say:
"We are good. Me included in that we. Wins always make the body feel better."
Not very committal. Also interesting that he didn't make it personal, but included himself in the we. I am sure he didn't want to draw any attention to it, but it is a concern when you see your best player suddenly start sporting a bulky knee brace out of the blue.
James Posey was a very good signing for the Celtics. Reading the piece on him in the Globe today just reminded me of what he brings to this team. When we first signed him, I liked the part where Miami, Cleveland and New Jersey had all gone after him and made offers and he chose Boston. We improved our team while preventing our competition from improving theirs. The fact that he brings championship experience is also a plus. The fact that he stands at mid court and hugs every starter with words of encouragement to get them fired up before every game is unique and it is a great thing. Unity on a team between teammates is important and what better way to foster it.
Of the top 8 teams in the league right now, the Celtics have played only 2 of them, Cleveland and Orlando, and they have lost to both. The Celtics also haven't played their best basketball as yet. Ray Allen has struggled in most of the games and has yet to really find his stroke. KG and Pierce have both struggled at times and the Celtics are still trying to build chemistry. The Celtics have played some very good defense, but from time to time forget to play defense, like against both Cleveland and Orlando, and in the 4th quarter against the Heat. The Celtics are 13-2 but have only played the top 8 teams twice and lost to them both. When opposing teams play tough defense on the Celtics, it seems to rattle them. So, there are still plenty of questions for this team to answer.
Today should be a good game. They have the loss to avenge and this is one of the top teams they need to beat to start to answer some of those questions. I hope they are up for it.