Celtics lose 2nd straight to feisty Pacers squad

The Celtics lost their second game in as many nights Saturday to an impressive Indiana Pacers team.  I think the Pacers won this game more than the Celtics lost it.  Danny Granger showed he is fast becoming a super star in this league with 29 points, including 22 in the first half.  Dahntay Jones added 25 points in an impressive offensive showing by the Pacers.  This Indiana team could sneak in as a 7 or 8 seed if they keep this up.

The Celtics played solid for most of the game, but didn't put away the Pacers in the 3rd quarter when they had the chance.  Sheldon Williams had another stellar game, and has become one of the Celtics's most reliable rebounders.  Ray Allen had his best game of the year, and Garnett continued to look more and more like his old self, going 7-11 from the field. I really think the Celtics need to feed KG more in the post instead of settling for threes. 

The key to this game was three point shooting.  The Pacers made 50% of their attempts, while the Celtics were just 3 for 12.  Rasheed continued his poor play, which is very disappointing.  We need Wallace to perform every night, and lately he has looked disinterested.  Defensively, the Celtics did not get out on shooters quick enough.  The 3rd quarter they let up 32 points, which is unacceptable for a defensive minded team like Boston.

Like I said before, let's not get too distraught about a loss in November.  At the same time, the Celtics have struggled in their past 6 games, and need to stop taking quarters off.  I think what we are seeing throughout the league, is that there are more good teams than we thought.  This goes for the East especially, where it looks like the road to the Finals will be a tougher road than ever before.  The Celtics should not hit the panic button yet, but need to realize that this is the NBA and you cannot take any team lightly.