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| Photo by: Matt Stone, Boston Herald |
Point 1: How about
those Boston Celtics?
Pegged as a sure lottery team coming into the season, the
Celtics made a statement on opening night in a dominating win over the Brooklyn
Nets, 121-105. Even with the 16-point victory, the game wasn’t even that close,
as the Celtics led by 29 after the third quarter.
While it is never a good idea to
overreact, and I hesitate to change any predictions without seeing at least
10-15 games, the Celtics looked genuinely good. They won’t shoot 55 percent
every night but there were other positives. Rajon Rondo was clearly the best
player on the floor. He was active on defense and initiated the offense from
the start. He still passes up more open shots to try to get assists than I
would like to see, but overall he played a great game.
Another big positive from this game
was the play of Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk. The two combined for 32
points and each made a three-pointer. Because of Rondo’s limitations shooting
the ball, it is vital that at least one of the Celtics big men is capable of
shooting from the outside in order to keep the floor spaced. However, both
Sullinger and Olynyk look adept at making the three-point shot, which adds an
entire new dynamic into any offense.
The third positive I saw from the
Celtics was the defense. The trio of Rondo, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart is absolutely
ferocious on the defensive end. Bradley is a small shooting guard but uses his
positioning and lateral quickness to stay in front of others, and has quick
hands to be able to get deflections and steals.
The key question for the Celtics
is, if they are borderline playoff contenders, do they stay the course of their
rebuilding process and deal Rondo? Or do they keep him in a fight to snag one
of the East’s final playoff spots, which are very much up for grabs.
Point 2: Don't write the Heat off
In addition
to the Celtics, the other team that looked good on opening night was the Miami
Heat. Sans LeBron James, a lot of people expected a letdown from this Heat
squad. However, they got a big win over a good Washington Wizards team 107-95.
I’ve been singing his praises for a
few years, but I think this season will cement Eric Spoelstra’s spot among the
top coaches in the league. He did not get his due credit when winning
championships because of the talent on the roster.
Without LeBron another big 3
emerged in this game for the Heat, as Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Norris Cole
combined for 70 points. This is Cole’s fourth season in the league, and he was
known as a terrific scorer at Cleveland State in college. If Cole can build on
this performance, he could stick as the Heat’s starting point guard. (Shabazz
Napier watch: 2 points, 2 assists in 15 minutes)
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| Photo by: USA Today |
Point 3: Kobe Bryant is going to have a long season
He can score
all the points he wants, but wins are going to be extremely hard to come by.
Kobe is like the captain of a sinking ship, hoisting jumper after jumper in a
futile attempt to save the Lakers season. He took 25 shots last night (scoring
31 points) but no one else in the Laker starting lineup took more than 7. I’d
be surprised if the Lakers reached 30 wins this season.
Point 4: Kemba Walker is still the GOAT
Walker secured a 4-year,
$48 million deal on Tuesday and then showed why he was worth the money on
Wednesday, making the game-tying three-pointer with less than two seconds
remaining in regulation and then the game-winning step back (a favorite of Kemba’s) with five second remaining in overtime.
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