Fear The Sword: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
New Blog: Sounder At Heart for Seattle Sounders Fans!

We've Seen This Before -- Celtics Beat Cavaliers 90-85 In Opener


Final - 10.28.2008 1 2 3 4 Total
Cleveland Cavaliers 28 22 13 22 85
Boston Celtics 22 21 24 23 90

Complete Coverage >


 

 FIELD GOALS REBOUNDS 
 POSMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-A+/-OFFDEFTOTASTPFSTTOBSBAPTS
D.West G 35:29 2-4 0-1 2-2 -10 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 6
M.Williams G 31:18 4-10 3-5 1-1 +3 0 3 3 2 5 1 4 0 0 12
L.James F 36:00 9-21 0-4 4-8 -3 1 6 7 6 4 2 3 1 0 22
B.Wallace F 19:03 1-1 0-0 0-0 -1 0 4 4 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
Z.Ilgauskas C 30:24 3-5 0-0 9-10 +7 3 5 8 1 3 0 4 0 0 15
A.Varejao 26:09 3-6 0-0 3-5 -7 4 5 9 1 2 3 2 0 0 9
D.Gibson 22:38 2-8 0-2 2-3 -8 0 3 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 6
W.Szczerbiak 15:56 1-4 0-1 2-2 -3 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 0 0 4
A.Pavlovic 12:34 3-6 0-2 1-2 -3 0 3 3 0 1 0 3 0 0 7
L.Wright 10:29 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 2 1 4 1 1 0 0 2
J.Hickson - - -
T.Kinsey - - -
TOTAL 24029-683-1524-33 8334116268212085
 42.6%20.0%72.7%TEAM REBS: 14TOTAL TO: 22

CAVALIERS THOUGHTS

  • The Cavs went with a 10-man rotation, and all 10 players scored.  That was nice to see from a team that all too often saw little production after the top 6 or 7 lat season.
  • After hittin 9 of their first 10 free throws, the Cavaliers struggled from the line, going 15/23 the rest of the way.  The Celtics weren't much better, but Cleveland has been poor from the stripe the past several years and teams know it.  They are going to send the Cavs to the line in the 4th quarter and force the Cavaliers to earn it.  Last night was no exception as the Cavs were in the bonus with 8 minutes to go in the game.  The result?  The Cavaliers go 5/11 from the line in the 4th quarter.
  • Mo Williams showed flashes of what fans are so excited about, but he also looked a bit lost at times.  His turnover midway through the 4th quarter, when Rajon Rondo simply poked the ball away, was a huge moment and one that Williams has to avoid.  He knows it, and he will get more comfortable as time goes on.  Williams did miss several open jump shots he will make as the season goes on, so that isn't much of a concern.  One concern is Williams' defense, which left a little to be desired and was perhaps the reason Williams saw only 31 minutes.
  • Hats off to Anderson Varejao, who what the only one that seemed to match the intensity of the Celtics i the second half.  He kept numerous possessions alive after perimeter misses, and was extremely active at both sides of the floor.  Time will tell if Andy is on the team come February, but if he gives this type of effort every night with will quickly endear himself to Cavaliers once again.
  • I'll be keeping track of just how the Cavaliers play in 3rd quarters this season and last night was not a good start.  After leading by 7 at halftime, the Cavaliers came out flat and were outscored by 11 in the 3rd quarter.  What took the Cavaliers 24 minutes to build, the Celtics tore down in just over 2.  This has been a disturbing trend in the Mike Brown/LeBron James era, and demonstrates what many of us already know - Mike Brown does not do a good job of making in game adjustments.
  • 22 Turnovers.....Enough said

Star-divide

BOSTON CELTICS (1-0)
 FIELD GOALS REBOUNDS 
 POSMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-A+/-OFFDEFTOTASTPFSTTOBSBAPTS
R.Allen G 40:39 2-9 1-4 3-4 -1 1 3 4 1 1 1 4 0 1 8
R.Rondo G 29:57 4-5 0-0 6-10 +4 1 4 5 6 5 3 2 0 0 14
P.Pierce F 38:13 10-19 2-4 5-8 +12 1 2 3 4 4 1 2 0 0 27
K.Garnett F 36:09 5-15 0-0 1-4 +5 1 5 6 2 1 2 2 0 1 11
K.Perkins C 20:50 1-2 0-0 0-0 -7 4 4 8 0 6 0 2 0 0 2
L.Powe 23:07 5-7 0-0 3-4 +12 1 1 2 0 4 0 1 0 0 13
E.House 18:03 1-5 0-4 0-0 +1 0 1 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 2
T.Allen 17:17 4-9 0-2 3-4 -2 1 2 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 11
G.Davis 15:45 1-3 0-0 0-0 +1 0 4 4 2 2 1 2 0 0 2
P.O'Bryant - - -
G.Pruitt - - -
B.Scalabrine - - -
TOTAL 24033-743-1421-34 102636162810160290
 44.6%21.4%61.8%TEAM REBS: 11TOTAL TO: 17

CELTICS THOUGHTS

 

  • As was the case in the playoffs, the Celtics were able to overcome mediocre games by 2 of the Big 3 and win a tough game.  Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett combined to shoot 7-24 from the field, scoring 19 points.  Paul Pierce, on the other hand, had a huge game, scoring 27 points on 10/19 shooting.  
  • Rajon Rondo is quickly becoming a thorn in the side of the Cavaliers.  He was able to get to the rim at will, save a couple of times when the Cavaliers sent him hard to the deck, and he dished out 6 assists.  If Rondo isn't the fastest player in the NBA, with the ball, baseline to baseline then he is definitely up there.
  • Leon Powe is becoming a force off the bench.  Coming out of Cal, Powe was an injury risk despite all the talent.  Powe has put all those concerns to rest.  Whenever the Cavaliers went small, playing LeBron or Wally at PF, the Celtics responded with Powe and took advantage of the mismatch.  
  • Credit to the Celtics for turning up the pressure.  They won a game they "should" win, on a night when all the mojo is in their favor.  Unlike the Miami Heat, who came into their Championship celebration with no hunger, the Celtics look like a team that has had a taste and craves more.  

 

That puts Game #1 to bed.  The Cavaliers have Wednesday off before opening their home schedule against the Carolina Bobcats Thursday Night.

0 recs  |  Comment 2 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Around SB Nation

Daily Links  11/7

Nov 2009 from CelticsBlog - 0 comments

Kevin Garnett Can Still Score

Nov 2009 from CelticsBlog - 6 comments

Don't Mess With Darko

Nov 2009 from Front Office Fans - 0 comments

Daily Links  11/6

Nov 2009 from CelticsBlog - 0 comments

Comments

Display:

What exactly does Mike Brown do at halftime? 3rd quarters have been a problem for several YEARS now.

by JulioBernazard on Oct 29, 2008 11:45 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

great first half last night. atrocious 3rd Q that left too much to be done in what turned out to be a mediocre 4th. enough with the “who can dribble the most and accomplish the least” contests that break out on offense with this team.

the +/- numbers for the bench players are going to be important to watch, as MB’s stated goal is to keep LBJ under 40 mpg this year. all negatives from last night’s bench crew is not a good start.

one other measure that i think bears watching for entirely different reasons is LBJ’s offensive rebounding rate. he’s not been much on the o glass to this point in his career, but we’re supposed to see much more of him in the post this season, which should theoretically lead to more o boards.

MB, i cringe to say it, it’s your move, homey. don’t suck.

by DontCallMeJoey on Oct 29, 2008 8:27 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

FearTheSword(FTS) is the ultimate independent resource for the Cleveland Cavaliers on the web. We look to provide hardcore Cavaliers fans positive, independent insight about the Cavs, 24/7/365!
Start posting about the Cavaliers »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Small
Would you trade Varejao for Al Jefferson?
Kryptonite02_small
(Very) Early Observations
Maxme_small
Big Z & Delonte for Capn Jack & Turiaf?
Small
no more mike brown, PLEASE!
840-beer-holder_small
Shaq's last chance?
The_lantern_small_small
THE BEST HE EVER HAD?????
Being-manny_small
Stats Expert on the ORL Series, West
Small
Why Delonte
Picture_010_small
Most amazing dunk I have seen in some time!
Popeye_small
Lebron at the PF? starting Moon and Parker?

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Socialize With FearTheSword

Facebook_badge_medium_medium_medium
Black_generated_button
Fts_email_medium




Owner/General Manager/Head Coach

Fts_small_small John Bena (aka CavsBlogger)

Asst. Coach

Pryor_small Buckeye Brad

Jay_mariotti_resigns_2_cropped_small Turkmenbashi