Five for Five

The Boston Celtics remain the only undefeated team in the NBA after. Five for five. The C’s held double-digit leads in the second half in each of the five games. Three of the games were legit blowouts, but the Celtics didn't treat them that way. The starters weren't laughing or goofing off on the bench. They were cheering teammates and swinging towels until the buzzer sounded. It hasn't been too long since they were the ones getting laughed at.

The Celtics gave up 100 points only once, allowing 101 to the Nets in a laugher that only seemed close at the end. The Celtics have only scored less than 100 once, scoring 98 at Toronto in an overtime victory on the road.

Boston has passed every conceivable test that could arise during the first week of the season, and has submitted early answers to the questions posed prior to the season.

They’ve won on the road. They’ve won in overtime. They even won on the road in overtime! They won both games of a home/away, back-to-back. They beat their division rival. They beat a playoff team from the West. They’ve won with injuries. They’ve won without their coach. They won in Canada.

The Celtics didn’t just answer questions; they learned a few things too.

They learned that Eddie House came as advertised, and probably a little better. Usually a pure shooter with that much energy and intensity doesn’t play for eight teams in eight seasons. Still kind of waiting for the other high-top to drop on Steady Eddie.

The C’s learned that they can win without two of their solid and consistent guys off the bench in Posey and Scalabrine. (I can’t believe I just wrote that.)

They also learned that Big Scal takes a punch like Glass Joe from Tyson’s punchout (ahh I feel better.)

Boston learned that they can win even when their young point guard struggles. Late in the game against New Jersey, with the Celtics up big, Rajon Rondo made some questionable decisions, taking the ball to the basket and getting blocked on at least two occasions where slowing it down would benefited the team and protecting the lead. Doc was seen ripping Rondo during a timeout. Most of the Boston players on the floor at the time walked over to Rondo to support him, which has been a theme so far season. Five for five.

Can the Celtics keep up the defensive intensity? Can the bench guys continue to step up when guys go down? Can Rondo keep it together in close games, (if they ever play any.)

There are going to be plenty more questions to answer and experiences this season. Plenty more tests to pass or fail. So far, though, the new-look Celtics are the ones handing out the lessons. Five for five.

Three things I learned while trying to pry the pins out of last year's Doc Rivers voodoo doll...

Kevin Garnett, he not we, received the NBA's Player of the Week award. I wonder how many of these things he has thrown in the trash, or sawed into twelve pieces and handed out to teammates.

Here' a nice little Story on Jim O'Brien. O'Brien, you may recall, had the Celtics shooting 152 3-pointers a game from 2001-2004. He made the likes of Walter McCarty and Rodney Rogers household names for Celtics fans. Thanks, beautiful.

It's nice to see that the officals from the Pats vs. Colts game found some work Saturday night when the Celtics played the Nets. The refs were absolutely atrocious. And speaking of the refs from the Colts/Pats game...Here's a litte joke I heard from my uncle...

Randy Moss was walking off the field after the game against Indy, when he saw a cell phone on the ground near the tunnel.

Moss picked it up, looked at it, and ran over to the referee walking off the field.

"You dropped your cell phone," Moss said to the ref.

"Thanks, Randy. By the way, how'd you know it was mine," the ref replied.

Randy smiled and said, "Easy. There was nine missed calls."