Celtics at Cleveland, or "Ouchie!"

[snoopy1@pig.net]

Here's the world-famous Beagle Broadcaster, high above the parquet tray 
table laden with chocolate chip cookies and Pepsi, reporting on the 
methodical destruction of the Cleveland Cavaliers by the Boston Celtics.

Cleveland might have done better by sending in the Hong Kong 
Cavaliers.  (Free cookie to the first person to get the joke)

Remember all those things we hoped the Celtics would do?  Running, 
transition offense, lots of layups?  The  108-89 win was the result of the 
Good Guys doing exactly that.  The Cavs helped by forgetting how to put the 
ball in the hoop in those instances where they actually held onto the ball 
long enough to take a shot at the basket.  The competitive game ended 
halfway through the 1st quarter, when they were tied at 17.

Riddle:  What does Cleveland call a 20 point deficit at halftime?
Answer: An improvement over the 33 point deficit after 3 quarters.

It was that fast, that easy.  The C's played beautifully for the most part, 
the only problem being Walker's continuing insistence on forcing up 
three's.  They averaged over 30 points a quarter through three quarters, 
before formally accepting Cleveland's surrender in the fourth and letting 
all three rookies take the floor in the last quarter.

That last quarter became somewhat respectable, as Cleveland scored most of 
their points on outside shooting, and the C's stopped running, doubtless 
saving themselves for tomorrow night's home opener.  The C's revealed their 
need to work the rookies into the running game more, since they just didn't 
have the same defensive intensity as the starters--but when you start with 
a 30+ point lead, it's hard to take defense seriously.  Still, it's not 
good to foster bad habits.

Pierce found his shot and enjoyed demonstrating it to Cleveland at every 
opportunity.  Eric Williams gives the C's someone to take the ball upcourt 
quickly who actually passes to someone else when appropriate (ahem, 
Antoine...).

There was one play that really made it  concise--Pierce ripped down a 
rebound and heaved the pumpkin the length of the court to have the fast 
break running at warp speed.

Cleveland helped by leaving Pierce open under the basket a few times, or 
just letting him take outside jumpers, which was apparently fine with Paul.

There's not a whole lot to say--the score was 65-45 at HALFTIME.  If you 
have to have an away-and-home opener back to back, you can't ask for a 
better start.

And that's the view from the doghouse.

Snoopy the Celtics Beagle