Over........and Out?

LeBron  James .......had a triple double last night.

And still......his Cleveland team lost.....thus ...out of the play-offs.

King James tried.....he scored....he passed....he rebounded.

But he is .......just one man.

Just one superstar........on his team.   Boston has......3 legitimate future "Hall of Famers"  in Kevin Garnett,  Paul Peirce,  and  Ray Allen.

Last night.....it showed.

Is it ..."over and out".......for the King?

85

Final 1 2 3 4 Tot Cleveland 22 27 18 18 85 Boston 25 26 25 18 94

94

Preview | Box | Play-by-Play | H2H | Recap

Shocker......In ...Beantown

It did......indeed.......happen.

The New Jersey Nets.........the NBA's  worst team.....by a mile.....beat one of the league's best....as in the Boston Celtics last night.

Ouch!!

New Jersey Nets vs. Boston Celtics

Team 1 2 3 4 Score New Jersey 29 20 25 30 104 Boston 27 15 22 32 96

 For the Boston faithful.....well....let's just say.....They are not amused....

 

Welcome Back.........NBA!

It's.........opening night.....

Game on

For the game in which we.........created. America's own sport.....invented in a gym.....with a peach basket and a round ball.

It has indeed evolved........The best athletes on the planet ........play this game....

It's international........and growing stronger by each year. The NBA is thriving .......and there have been changes........the 24 second clock.......the 3 point shot........a dress code for players entering an arena.......even a new ball (introduced last year, only to be thrown out).....

But that's our NBA.......and oh how we love it.

Five Questions......we hope will be answered after 82 regular season games.....and a the marathon post season:

1. Will the LA Lakers........repeat?

2. Can Shaq lead King James and the Cavs'.......to the promise land?

3. Will Boston's "big 3" let Rasheed Wallace ....play with their ball?

4. Will the Orlando Magic.....prove that last year .....was no fluke?

5. Will my beloved Atlanta Hawks........get to the next level?

Come April.......no wait.....I forgot.......the NBA play-offs last forever.....so....

Come July........all of our questions......should be answered......

Until then.........enjoy opening night......and the rest of this NBA season!

An Early Season Statement?

Rarely...........

Do I watch an NBA game from tip-off to finish. But last night was an exception. The undefeated Atlanta Hawks with their talented array of young studs took on the defending world champions.....

You remember these guys. Led by former Hawk player and now Celtics' head coach, Doc Rivers........Led by the "big three"....as in Kevin Garnett , Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.

Yes..........the Boston Celtics.

This was a great game. The Hawks came out playing the way they have played thus far in the young season. Defense.......Ball movement..........unselfish play.

Atlanta was up by as many as 16 points in the 2nd quarter......but........Boston fought back to tie it up at 51 all at the half.

The 2nd half had more lead changes than a NASCAR race at Daytona.

And in the end ..........with about 7 seconds left......Marvin Williams hit a corner three pointer to put the Hawks up 102-100.

And then .........it was "Pierce Time"..........Paul Pierce calmly ..........fearlessly..........connected on a 20 foot jumper with 0.5 seconds left to give the Celtics a 103-102 win.

Statement?

Yes........but .......by whom?

Sure, the Celtics won the game..........but the statement was made.......by Atlanta.

They out-played the world champions for 47 minutes and 59.5 seconds.

But an NBA game is a full 48........and they will learn from this.

Point is ...........the Celtics now know.......Atlanta is for real....The Hawks know.......and now...the rest of the NBA knows.