Report by Brendan Sullivan
Brendan Sullivan takes a weekly look at the NBA teams in the Atlantic Division - Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors - and breaks down what happened the week before and what to expect in the week ahead, as well as injuries and trades.
Atlantic Division Team of the Week:
- Point Guard: T.J. Ford, Raptors - Ford single-handedly almost beat the undefeated C's.
- Shooting Guard: Ray Allen, Celtics - The third member of the Big Three has come up biggest of all.
- Small Forward: Antoine Wright, Nets - Wright has been better and more valuable than Vince Carter so far.
- Power Forward: Kevin Garnett, Celtics - 22.7 PPG, 15.8 RPG, 2.8 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 3.8 APG... are you kidding me?
- Center: Eddy Curry, Knicks - Shooting well, playing well with Zach Randolph, and his heart is still beating.
The Celtics have followed up a summer of hype by living up to often times unreasonable expectations, perhaps exceeding them. They have been playing with an offensive and defensive cohesion that is astounding considering only six players remain on the team from last year's roster.
The Celts started the season at home to a heinous green firework display that set a thick fog over the court for tipoff, and a poorly-received performance by the Celtics dancers on "Red Auerbach Court." From the first posession, all eyes were on Gilbert Arenas, following his preseason prediction that the Washington Wizards would crush the Celtics in the opener since the Celtics were only good "on paper." One-hundred and eight points later, the Celtics' offensive machine had awoken, and their stingy defense held the Wiz to 83 points. Arenas, held to a meaningless 21 points on 25% shooting, left the Garden with his head hung low. Meanwhile, new SuperCeltic Kevin Garnett brought greater Boston to tears, putting up 21 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and three steals. Paul Pierce had a spectacular offensive game, notching 28 points.
The Celtics went on to beat their next four opponents, including an overtime thriller against the Toronto Raptors in America's Hat (Canada), followed by three straight blowouts against the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, and New Jersey Nets.
While it may all seem to be good news in Beantown these days, the real surprise of the Celtics' young season is the balanced play of the TEAM. Considered by most as the third option on the team, Ray Allen has been arguably the most valuable Celtic. He has shot the lights out (a frightening 58% through FIVE games), hit huge baskets in the clutch (see Toronto win), and has spread the floor for cohorts Pierce and Garnett. Also impressive has been the play of Rajon Rondo and Eddie House, the two PGs that had haters drooling and have silenced their critics, chipping in a combined 20 points and seven assists per game. Not bad considering Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are putting up a combined 68 points per game on average.
