Celts Keep Rolling

November 2, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS - There's been nothing to suggest they've missed a beat.

Heading into last night's game against the Pacers, the Celtics had won their first two games by an average margin of 10.5 points.



The defense, the trademark of last season's championship run, has been solid.

The Cavaliers and Bulls - the former being everyone's favorite to get a shot at the Celtics in the conference finals - shot 35.5 percent from the floor against the C's. And if the locals have been slightly off their game down at the other end, their 44 percent clip from the floor still isn't that far off the mark.

That all points to another fast start for a Celtics team that led the NBA from wire to wire last season.

``Man, I don't know how to sum it up, but it's brought back a lot of memories,'' Leon Powe said of how quickly this team has been able to get back in last season's groove. ``All the hard work we put in last year, it all comes back.''

Of particular interest at this early juncture is the maturity of the Celtics bench now that James Posey and P.J. Brown aren't around to set the pace for their younger teammates. Tony Allen (8.5 points per game) and Leon Powe (13.5) have thus far done the job - the former as the first wing player off the bench and the latter as the primary relief for Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.

Powe's emergence as the first big man off the bench is a signal that the Celtics may be more willing to go small against opponents this season, with last night's foe, the Pacers, one of the best examples of how shallow the pool of quality big men has become in the league.

With starter 7-foot journeyman Rasho Nesterovic and raw rookie Roy Hibbert, the Pacers essentially depend on forwards like Troy Murphy and Danny Granger to make a difference up front. Those kind of matchups favor extended playing time for players like Powe and Glen Davis.

And the smaller and more mobile the Celtics become, the more sense it makes to keep an athlete like Allen on the floor. That, the Celtics coaching staff is convinced, is a necessity if the explosive Allen is to get the most out of himself this season.

``I thought last year for Tony was very difficult,'' coach Doc Rivers said. ``No. 1, when he plays more minutes he's a better player. Last year we had Paul (Pierce), Ray (Allen) and James (Posey), and because of that Tony didn't get minutes. No. 2, he was fighting, trying to come back from an injury. ``So it was almost set up for him to struggle last year. And now that he's a year out and healthy, and he's getting playing time, I think he'll be fine.''