And just as fast as the Celtics thought that it was going to be another long disappointing season, right when the Blazers thought that things were finally looking up for the first time since Clyde was gliding.
The Celtics got the best news since they heard Larry Bird was entering the NBA draft. Kevin Garnett had come to an agreement that would put him in Celtic green. The Blazers however lost hope once again losing their number one pick Greg Oden for the season due to a very serious injury.
Now the Celtics whom were one of the worst teams in basketball last year have just as much of a chance to win the NBA title as anyone else. They have also added shooting guard/small forward Ray Allen who has been an All-Star caliber player for a not so talented Seattle Supersonic franchise. When you mix those two ingredients with the talent and leadership of Boston Celtic captain Paul Pierce it makes one whale of a championship stew.
The new “Big Three” showed exactly that in their debut together in Rome on Sunday night. Just like the born again Boston fans the Celtic players were amped up to a level they haven't seen in years. They were so excited about what they were doing on the hardwood that the new big man in town Kevin Garnett got a Technical foul for hanging on the rim after a two handed smash over the Toronto Raptor All-Star Chris Bosh. Kevin Garnett added up 19 points and 16 rebounds in just 33 minutes.
In the same amount of time Paul Pierce scored 21 points and Ray Allen recorded 10. Not a bad performance for the three stars in less than 35 minutes if you ask me. When Kevin Garnett was asked about the lack of minutes he replied “Doc told us that we weren't going to play many minutes but he wanted them played hard so that is what we did”. Paul Pierce told reporters “It felt good to get their feet wet” and added “that was probably the best first game I've had with the Celtics and I'm very excited about the upcoming season”.
If the “Big Three” can consistently put up numbers like that then all of New England has a very good reason to be excited. And Celtic fans should be ready for an exciting and outstanding season.
