On Wednesday night, then, Boston started the game on a 96-80 run, which is about the time I stopped paying close attention to the broadcast I was watching on my computer at school. Portland reeled of the next 15 points, however, and it took a Ray Allen three-pointer -- his first make in six attempts -- to seal the victory.
Allen's game-long struggles aside, Boston won by shooting extremely well, something that's becoming a trend. The Celtics' team field goal percentage of 50.7 percent leads the league, and by a lot: Atlanta's second at just under 48 percent. While it's nice to see this kind of execution on the offensive end, you do have to wonder what happens when the team's shooting comes back down to earth a bit, assuming it does. (It's not unheard of for a team to make half its shots on the season, and Boston's been in the top five in the category throughout the Big Three era, but have never shot better than 48.6 percent over a season during that time.) The defense is still pretty good, though not as good as it has been -- though to be fair, the extended absences of Jermaine O'Neal and Kendrick Perkins surely have something to do with that. It will be interesting to see how well Boston does moving forward on nights when the offense doesn't come easily.
I don't have time for a lot of notes on the game, but I do want to note that if I were a Portland fan, I'd be awfully frustrated at what a good look Ray got at the game-clincher. Allen was just hanging out in the corner, and Paul Pierce had the ball at the top of the key. The Blazers were in a zone, and Kevin Garnett (I think it was KG, anyway) came up to set a high screen. The entire Portland team reacted, and Pierce didn't even use the screen -- he fired a pass to a now-open Allen in the corner before the screener even got to the top of the key. I know Allen had been struggling, and Pierce was having a magnificent game, but Allen's about to become the most prolific three-point shooter in the history of the game. You can't lose him in that spot.
Next game is Friday on ESPN. I'm sorry for the short post -- this is the way it'll be for the next few weeks, until exams wrap up.
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