More of the same. Another strong start, another mystifying, meek finish. Another disappointing loss.
I wish I had an explanation for what's going on, but I don't. In the second half, as the team was falling apart, I commented to a friend that we looked like a basketball team without any confidence. And yet we started the game very confidently, the same way we did against Dallas on Monday. You could make the excuse that our team isn't built to win without Kevin Garnett and Marquis Daniels, but with Paul Pierce (even though he's banged up), Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Rasheed Wallace, we should be able to beat a team that was without it's best scorer (Ben Gordon sat this one out) and started Ben Wallace, Chris Wilcox, and a Swedish rookie named Jonas Jerebko on their front line.
By no means is it time to panic. Unless we know for a fact that Garnett and/or Daniels won't be back, we're still the same team that started the season by winning in Cleveland and that won 11 straight games in November and December. When healthy, we've got the best starting five in the league and a bench that should be strong enough for a title run.
Most signs point to a Friday return for KG against Portland. I'm not expecting him to be 100%, but hopefully his presence will be enough of an emotional lift to keep the team focused for a full 48 minutes.
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