Opening Day....

Opening day is finally upon us, and I couldn't be happier (I'm sweating like a farm animal). I had recurring nightmares all off-season that I arrived to the Garden on opening night only to find that Paul Pierce had let himself go to the point that he looked like Fat Albert in a green headband. Luckily the Truth looks great, and I have high hopes for the 08-09 season. Like me, I'm sure that Kevin Garnett has not been sleeping well. Maybe he hasn't been sleeping at all. But, much like game 7 against the Hawks (after what Garnett described as a completely sleepless night), I expect that the energy release that takes place within the Garden tonight will be felt by all that are present. For those of us who find spirituality from the roundball, this is one of the best nights of the year. Christmas, Thanksgiving, nothing else compares. It's going to be sick.

I'm not going to talk at all about the Big Three. Nobody in the media seems to be either. In fact, the only thing I have heard from NBA experts is the question of how the Celtics will be able to replace James Posey. I'd like to address this question now:




The tangibles, they’re easy. Eddie House is a great outside shooter. Tony Allen can lock down opposing scorers. Leon Powe gets tough buckets. To be honest, I’m not concerned at all about Posey’s absence from a production standpoint. The intangibles that Posey brought, however, are not so easy to replace. His pre-game man hugs, his championship experience, his hard-nose mentality; this guy knew, down to the smallest detail, exactly what it would take to win a championship. He indoctrinated his teammates with the championship mentality, and he picked up the slack whenever they started to waver. Always dialed-in, he epitomized the term “energy off the bench.” The guy was intense, and he was the ultimate team player. With so many new faces and no championship experience, could the Celtics have won last year without James Posey’s contributions? I don’t think so.

James Posey has left his imprint on this team. They've now been to the top of the mountain (as they say), and I expect that we will see much of Posey's influence on the play of this year's bench. I love the skills and the moxie of these guys. Leon Powe is the ultimate lunch-pail player. He won me over in the spring of ’07, at the height of tankapalooza. Hustling on defense, diving for loose balls, pulling down rebounds right and left, Powe was the constant bright spot in games that were borderline unwatchable. His motor never seems to run out and, as Rod Benson said, he gets buckets. Eddie House is a sparkplug off the bench, and he has the ability to completely change a game with his outside shooting. Glen Davis stood out the most last season against some of the league’s most hard-nosed and physical teams (especially Detroit). I couldn’t be happier that Tony Allen is back. He was really coming on strong before his knee injury, and I think that we need to just consider last year a throw-away season for him. The guy is a great one-on-one defender with the ability to penetrate and get to the rim on offense. Like Davis, I think consistent minutes are the key for Allen. I expect big things from these four. They not only have the ability to replace James Posey, but after spending a year under his watchful eye they now have the right mindset.


I am, however, extremely concerned about the absence of PJ Brown. This void will not be felt during the regular season, but it could be a huge problem once the playoffs start. The more I look back on last season’s championship run, the more I appreciate Brown's impact. Perk would go to the bench, and somehow the Celtics would manage to hold things together on defense. Brown was a master of body positioning on the defensive end, and he made things very difficult on opposing offenses because of his ability to widen his body and not give up any ground in the paint. In game 5 of the Finals, when Perk was out and Powe started at Center, the Lakers got to the rim with ease. It wasn't until Brown entered the game that the Celtics were able to defend the paint. It would be nice if Patrick O’Bryant can grow into this role, but I’m not hopeful. He looked somewhat promising early in the pre-season, but seemed to decline. Babcock and I agreed that he looked completely lost in the final pre-season game against the Knicks. The nice part here is that Brown is not playing for anybody, and would could conceivably see the Celtics try to bring him in at the end of the season again. I'm telling you right now that I'm all over that plan. Something will get down, whether or not it is Brown who comes on board remains to be seen. But, Danny Ainge will not let this team head into post-season play without bringing in another big man.

I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself. What's important right now is that this is the best team in the NBA. Kendrick Perkins has blown me away in the pre-season. He looks much more trim, and he has been moving around on the offensive end with an almost swan like grace. Last Sunday, the Nets had no choice but to unleash the hack-a-perk defense to stop his dominance (note: hopefully this doesn't become a trend, I don't think he made both of his free throws on any of the trips). Hopefully, this visible progress will also help Perk to play more minutes because he won't log early fouls against opponents that choose to go right at him. With Perkins and Rondo another year better, I don't think this starting 5 can be stopped. The Roomofzen will be at the Garden tonight taking in the ring ceremony, the banner raising, Kevin Garnett's live sacrifice of a baby cow, and the first game of what will undoubtedly be an outstanding NBA season. The East is back!