Will the Boston Celtics Play Better in Game Two After Forgettable Game One?
The Boston Celtics absolutely stole a 87-85 victory from the New York Knicks on Sunday. But that's what happens when you have a team loaded with veterans that have played together for years.
Ray Allen saved the day when he hit a cold-blooded three with 12 seconds to go that gave Boston their first lead since early in the second quarter.
This has been a banner season for Allen in the shooting department as described by Yahoo! Sports writer Taurus Londono:
In the 2010-11 season, Allen had a .491 shooting percentage, the best per-game average of his career. Three-pointers tell the same story. Allen averaged .444 from behind the the three-point line, making this past season his single best in terms of shooting percentage. His .881 free throw percentage currently has him raked 9th in the NBA for the season, while his career percentage of .8934 places him 6th on the league's all-time list.
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He is a future Hall of Famer and a guy that has bailed out the Celtics countless times in his career. He will have his game's where he can't hit the broad side of a barn, but overall you can't argue with the stats.
Aside from Allen's 24 points and Jermaine O'Neal's 6-of-6 12 point performance, the Celtics shot the ball like it was a shot put.
Kevin Garnett was 5-of-14, Paul Pierce is 6-of-16 and Rajon Rondo was 5-of-14.
I think it's safe to say that KG and Pierce will bounce back. Rondo's play is troubling because it has become a trend since losing teammate/best friend Kendrick Perkins. He will be an X-factor in the series going forward as he will likely be playing against Anthony Carter since Chancey Billups is doubtful in Game Two.
I fully expect Rondo to be more aggressive against Carter and control the pace of the game. Pierce will play better offensively, but is going to need some help against an angry Carmelo on defense.
Without Billups, the Knicks offense has no direction and it turns into a "give me the damn ball cuz I'm Melo" situation.
It doomed the Knicks at the end of game Game One and in Game Two the Celtics are going to win with ease because of it.
Natalie Imbruglia Patricia Velásquez Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti
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