Friday 17 December 2010

NBA – Boston Celtics take 10th straight win against Charlotte Bobcats

The Boston Celtics manhandled the Charlotte Bobcats as Ray Allen and Glen Davis both scored 16 points towards a 93-62 rout of Michael Jordan’s Bobcats. Oh, if you didn’t get a chance to see it, Jordan was just a bit shy of furious. And truth be said, Jordan had reasons to be so upset. The Celtics held the Bobcats to 62 points. That’s a tie for the second-fewest points scored in the franchise history, and it is a record breaker for games played at home.

The Celtics are looking strong. As a matter of fact, they are my personal favorite team to win the Championship. I do realize that this is a veteran team, that three of its starting five can’t play for 40 minutes, because let’s face it, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are not getting younger. But the team is working well. Rajon Rondo is arguably the best point-guard in the NBA, and despite his young and restless game and his inextricable poker-face, he is as committed to the team as any coach could wish. The bench is strong. That’s a plus. And then, either Glen Davis or a renewed Shaquille O’Neal are there to provide the muscle and the power under the rim whenever the team needs it.

At the beginning of the season there where three favorite teams to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship. After the summer break, and LeBron James made the one-hour-long televised decision to move to Miami  Heat, the odds shifted and for the first time in a while, the Miami Heat where the favorite team in the odds to win the NBA Championship. The LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics then followed the Heat closely in the ML price.

As the season unfold, it seemed as if the Miami Heat was more hype then talent, losing twice to division rival the Boston Celtics and certainly struggling to find a way to get the new Big Three, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade all playing in the same tempo, and ultimately as a team. As a result the Heat lost three games in a row and had to receive a warning call before they got their act together and have now linked 9 consecutive wins for a 18-8 record so far this season.

The Lakers kept on been the dominant force on the Pacific Coast, and and at 17-7 they are currently the No. 1 team in the Pacific. The Lakers had a brilliant start, linking a series of wins before the team hit a 4 game slump, falling to the Utah Jazz, the Indiana Pacers, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets.

My main concern with the Celtics is their performance down the stretch. I would rather see the team struggling a bit right now, and perhaps having head coach Doc Rivers giving the Big Three a bit more of rest. At least the players are well aware of the situation. They are not here to bring in great winning streaks but rather been utterly brilliant in the postseason and working their way pass the playoffs and into the NBA Finals. This is the Celtics last chance, at least with this squad, to bring in another ring. They have what it takes. Boston fans probably hope that they can keep this rhythm once April is over and the Playoffs kick in.

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