Boston Sports Then and Now

Paul Pierce poured in 15 points during the rout of the Bobcats.

Last season, Boston displayed an aura that possessed the kind of arrogant strut that could be compared to the school yard bully. This “swagger”, a season ago, was over discusses and played out.  Injuries, opponents defiance and an early playoff exit– How things can change in a season.

Though the C’s still display the confidence of a champion, through two games of the 2009-10 season, they seem to have elevated their “swagger” from the school yard bully to the big brother brimming with confidence and poise after having walked the mile with the target on their backs.

The lofty expectations still exist as Paul Pierce told the Boston faithful during last night’s pregame speach,

“You see up there?”, pointing to the banners in the Boston Garden rafters, “There’s only 17 of them. I think we need another one”

Pierce didn’t make this declaration with boasting brovado, it was more of a public proclomation of the mission the Celtics players have committed to. Words such as “process”, “work in progress”, “chemistry”, “defense” and “ubunto” , that faded last season have made a furious come-back early in 2009.

Last night, in the team’s home opener against the Bobcats, the Celtics moved one tiny step further in continuing their “work in progress”.

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Paul Pierce and the C's pushed past LeBron and Cavs in the opener.

The Celtics finally broke a losing streak that loomed over their heads at the Qfor 5 years. In the opening quarter the C’s again seemed to be caught in the glare of the Q’s pregame pyrotechnics.

The Cavs ran out to an early 17-4 lead and the Cleveland crowd erupted into early MVP chants, seeming to release their pent up frustrations from last years, surprising playoff loss to the Magic.

As the teams settled down and the emotions of opening night faded away, the real matchup started. The Celtics exploited the weaknesses of the Cavs and LeBron’sfamiliar solo act  became apparant, showing that the addition of Shaquille O’Neal had not changed much early on for this team. Possibly more apparent then the addition of Shaq, was the subtraction of Delonte West — still out with depression issues.

It may be a new year and the Cavs may have added Shaquille O’Neal but LeBron was still on his own offensively. James’ 38 points led all scorers. The rest of the Cavs starters scored just 41 points combined, proving not much has changed for the Cavs in a season.

What was more impressive was the play of the Celtics second unit, out-scoring the Cavs reserves, 28-10. Doc Rivers went to his bench with 4:54 remaining in the first. Rasheed Wallace made his debut in green (white actually), nailing his first shot attempt. Wallace, one of the early candidates for sixth man of the year (is it too soon to discuss awards? lol), scored 12 points in 23 minutes. Sheed, sporting an afro, played excellent defense, grabbed 3 rebounds and his presence was most felt when teamed with Garnett on the defensive end as they talked with every squeak of the sneaker.

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KG and the Celtics had a strong preseason and are ready for the opener versus the Cavs.

We all know that normally the significance of the pre-season is minimal. However, the 2009-10 preseason held many notable components for the Boston Celtics. Many questions needed to be answered for the Celtics during training camp this year. These questions were integral to the success of the Celtics this season.

During this meaningful pre-season, the Celtics answered those queries with emphatic authority. This squad proved that cohesion and chemistry will be no issue. They showed that the ego’s of their superstars and role players will take a back seat to the team’s success. Kevin Garnett (averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds per game) proved that, though he is still improving daily, he will return to regular season action as the player we remember. Marquis Daniels can fill the empty shoes of James Posey. Rajon Rondo is putting W’s over his contract and Doc Rivers continues to earn the respect and admiration of his players.

All of the above were dire elements in question as the season approached.

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Ray Allen hopes his workout regiment will help him overcome nagging injuries.

A basketball fan is always concerned about his favorite team’s health and aging stars. In regards to the Los Angeles Lakers, fans have to start being concerned about Kobe Bryant’s (31) durability as he has logged a tremendous amount of minutes for a player in his early 30’s. Derek Fisher turned 35 years old in August.

We often hear references to the San Antonio Spurs aging stars. Tim Duncan will turn 34 this year and Manu Ginobili turned 32 in July.

The Cavs, though a relatively young team, have to be concerned about the amount of minutes (and pounding) Shaq can endure. Shaq will turn 38 in March. Cav’s fans will say they have the flexibility to just replace Shaq with Zyrdunas Ilgauskas if he were to get hurt. If I were a Cavs fan, I would not be so quick to spit out that rebuttal as Big Z turned 34 in June and has had a long history of injury problems, dating back to his early 20’s.

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The Big Ticket is back.

The media was back in Waltham. The players were in uniform, smiles on faces. They looked loose and excited to start their bid to reclaim championship glory.

At 4 pm the Celtics were scheduled to hop on a bus and head to Newport, R.I. for the start of training camp tomorrow.

So many questions were needing be answered. Lets highlight a few big subjects (in order) addressed today…

#1  -  KG’s Health

The greatest part about watching coverage of the Celtics Media Day was seeing KG, back in uniform, with a smile on his face and talking about his injury/recovery. Finally! Some comments from the man himself to put me at ease a bit.

First things first, Garnett admitted that the injury was more severe then initially thought. He told the media,

“No surprises, other then the severity of the injury”, Garnett told media. “I didn’t know it was that bad”.

Garnett was then asked to elaborate on his comment.

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Ray Allen, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce pictured with Celtics original champion, Bill Russell

After winning the title in 2008, the taste of championship glory is still on the tip of my nose. I can recall watching game 6 of the 2008 Finals in disbelief as the Celtics steam rolled over the Lakers before half time.

How sweet it was!

Raw emotions were displayed on the faces of players and fans alike. The Boston faithful had waited 22 years for this moment.

Players such as Kevin Garnett had spent a life time listening to doubters proclaiming he does not have what it takes to get it done. Watching Garnett drop to the floor and kiss the Celtics logo, penned by Red Auerbach’s brother, seemed to perfectly sum up the sixty years of championship glory and recent years of heart wrenching mediocrity, tragic deaths and untimely injuries with the flawless respect for the basketball legends that preceded him.

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