The Celts have run out to a quick lead, not surprising with all of their
veteran star players. They beat the Nets last night, but I still pick the
Nets to win the division and the Celts to fall back to earth as the season
progresses. The boxscore in last night's Celtics win over the Nets
provides
a clue why this will happen. Pierce played 40 minutes. Garnett played 43
minutes. Ray Allen played 48 minutes, never leaving the floor the whole
game!
These guys are all in their 30's. They have to play minutes like this
because the Boston bench stinks to high heaven, most of it having been
gutted in the off-season to acquire Garnett. Can they all play 40+
minutes
a game in February? Seems dubious here. The oldsters are going to wear
down as the season moves forward, with risk of injury increasing
commensurate with all the minutes played. Even if all three manage to
stay
healthy, which has to be unlikely, they are going to get just plain tired
and productivity will suffer accordingly.
----- Kurt Straub
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