C’s look good in Garden debut
Celtics blow out Knicks in 101-61 in the much anticipated Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett preseason Boston debut. The Knicks shot a paltry 25.9% from the field including a combined 1 for 15 performance from Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson. Conversely, the Celtic wings Allen and Paul Pierce shot a combined 13 of 16 from the field finishing with 36 points between them.
KG contributed with 13 points and a team high eight rebounds.
Based on this performance below are the 2007-2008 predictions for the Atlantic Division.
1. Boston Celtic 55-27
The big three of Garnett, Pierce and Allen make them legitimate contenders for Eastern Conference supremacy. The big question mark is can Kendrick Perkins develop on the low block and will Rajon Rondo develop into a court general that can keep everyone happy.
Thus far, one excellent sign is Perkins is hitting his free throws which means tems will be far less apt to rotate off him and double team one of the big three. This means KG will get far more isolation opportunities.
2. Toronto Raptors 50-32
Toronto will improve by three games just from the continued growth of Bosh, Bargnani and TJ Ford. I still say when it’s all said and done Chris Bosh will have had a more productive NBA career than Carmelo Anthony. This is the year he becomes a full fledged superstar.
3. New Jersey Nets 47-35
Nets have a Hall of Fame point guard, one of the most exciting players ever to play the game in Vince Carter and silky smooth Richard Jefferson. Unfortunately, they had all these guys last year with the same mediocre results.
4. New York Knicks 43-39
Currently, quite possibly the most poorly managed franchise in sports. “Starbury” has become emblematic of the selfish athlete who cares more about individual statistics than the success of his teams. Eddie Curry? Jamal Crawford? Q Richardson? Yeah right. An abomination.
Alright, they did acquire Zach Randolph, this will propel them into the first round of the playoffs. That’s about it.
5. Philadelphia 76ers 23-59
Andre Miller is a solid point guard and Andre Iguodala is a spectacular finisher. Having only those two might make them a contender for the Pac 10 Championship, however, in the NBA it makes them a very bad team.
