KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were completely shut out in the fourth quarter as the Celtics lose at MSG. To make matters worse, Rajon Rondo had only one assist in thirty eight minutes although he did have ten points and six boards.

Hopefully, this is not a foretelling of things to come this season.

The good news is Kendrick Perkins did not play most likely contributing to David Lee’s fourteen rebounds including six offensive boards. No, that’s not a misprint and there’s no excuse for this under any circumstance.

That said, these are the road wins the Celtics need to make sure they get this season. Divisional and against a much inferior team talent wise.

This loss is also indicative of what Celtics fans have been worried about since the KG acquitision-the bench-which was a combined seven of twenty six (if you include Scalabrine who started in place of Perkins) for the game.

If the C’s are truly going to be title contenders they are going to need more of a contribution then that coming off the pine. I mean think about how deep Dallas (Stackhouse, Eddie Jones), San Antonio (Finley, Ginobli, and Brent Barry) and Phoenix (Barbosa, Grant Hill) all are.

They might be able to get through the East with their starting talent, but, if they make the finals they need much more depth.

My recommendation is for Garnett to worry more about winning titles then his obscene contract. As such, why not restructure take a pay cut and bring in some more players to help off the bench.

I mean I’m pretty sure Karl Malone would gladly have taken a pay cut in exchange for a couple titles and to be mentioned in the conversation with the all time greats.

Until Kevin Garnett does this he is more on the level of a Vince Carter and still on the outside looking in at MJ, Tim Duncan, Akeem and Dr. J amongst others. 

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.