Last night, the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics received their well deserved championship rings from the David Stern and the Celtics management. It was quite an emotional ceremony as The Three Kings (The Big Three is so 2008, I live in the future) finally got to raise banner number 17 into the rafters of TD Banknorth Garden, the only Garden (in basketball at least) that matters.
After taking out a little time to savor last season's grand accomplishment and acknowledge the fans and all the people that contributed to their championship season it was finally time to deal with the matter at hand. Namely defending their crown and beating the new look Cleveland Cavaliers who reloaded in hopes of toppling the Celtics this season. Good luck with that, LeBron!
The Boston Celtics started off the game slow as hell and the emotion of the night seemed to get a hold of them. It seemed that only Paul Pierce was able to contain himself on the court (although you'd think he wouldn't based on his pre game tears) as Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were largely ineffective. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers took control of the game and lead at the half.
The Celtics started out the second half on a tear as Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were supported by bench players like Leon Powe and Tony Allen. Once they finally stepped up their team defense and began moving the ball on offense the Cavaliers came unglued and began turning over the ball like crazy. Paul Pierce continued his dominance as LeBron made a huge mistake in not getting more involved in the offense and demanding the ball.
The Celtics took control of the game and while the Cavaliers made a run at the end they fell short as LeBron James couldn't knock down a few clutch free throws to keep his team in contention in the closing moments of the contest. The Celtics escape with a win opening night even though it was a less than impressive effort overall. Don't expect them to drop a subpar game any time soon. The NBA is now on notice, the champs are here!One.
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