Suns Scorch the Celtics

The Celtics lost their first game of the season yesterday, but there were definitely some positives to take out of the night. First off, credit the Suns for playing one hell of a game. I guess if the Celtics are going to lose to anyone, it might as well be Phoenix. They have likeable players in Nash and Grant Hill, are in the Western Conference, and barring something extremely unusual, won't be facing the C's in the playoffs.

The Suns won this game because of lights out shooting, most notably by Jason Richardson. This guy is the definition of an X factor. If he is on, this Suns team could be scary in the playoffs. If not, they don't have many other weapons to turn to. For the Celtics, Garnett had his best game of the season, which is probably more important than us losing. Everyone has to be patient and realize it will take him some time to return to the Garnett we know he can be.

Rasheed Wallace needs to take better shots. I know he can hit the long ball, but he took some terrible threes that were totally out of the offensive set last night. Most notably, that last one that would have tied it. Even if he had made it I would've criticized him. I don't get this guy. He is 6"11 with a deadly fade away jumper. No one can guard Sheed in the post, yet he bails defenders out by settling for threes. On a positive note, "Nasty Daniels" played another solid game. Keep playing this guy big minutes and you will get production.

This loss means nothing in the big picture. Sure, a home loss early in the season is a hard pill to swallow, but I'll take November losses over April losses any day of the week. The Celtics are still the best team in the East, and are only going to improve. If Boston can get Rasheed to stop taking so many threes and start limiting the starter’s minutes, this team is going to be a juggernaut. I'm looking forward to a bounce back road victory tonight in New Jersey.