If the Celtics want to give themselves a shot at recreating the magic of last spring, they’ll man up and knock the Knicks out tonight.
Beyond sending a message to the Knicks and the rest of the league, the Celtics need to come out and remind themselves how much better they are than New York and regain the swagger they’ve lost since “the deal.”
I have nothing to complain about and the Celtics shouldn’t be embarrassed over being up 2-0, despite some Knicks fans thinking that coming close in each game has put them up 2-0. After looking at film, I’m absolutely positive the Knicks won’t own the offensive boards again. Once the Celtics start actually boxing out and grabbing rebounds, the fast breaks will follow and the offense will be effective again.
With that in mind, it’s time for Rajon Rondo to start distributing the ball Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett while creating some continuity on offense. What’s happened to the great ball movement that used to be so common on this team? It’s inexcusable that the Celtics aren’t dropping 110+ points on this porous Knicks defense (one game with 9 blocks doesn’t change that). You can’t use the Kendrick Perkins excuse here. We all know the man had hands of granite.
Paul Pierce is right about the Celtic bench not playing well enough (I’m looking at you, Jeff Green). But shooting 6-16 for 18 points and 8-18 for 20 points over the opening two games is not enough for a volume scorer of Pierce’s stature. He should destroy Bill Walker and be going to the line 15 times. Also, I’m going to assume Doc has given Boston a simple message: Get the ball to Ray! Going 6-8 for 18 points and 9-15 for 24 points from the field won’t get it done either if you’re the greatest shooter of all time. It’s on every Celtic starter to ensure Ray takes 20+ shots tonight and Rondo doesn’t take end-of-clock three-pointers anymore.
Celtics 105, Knicks 93
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