The first quarter saw the boys in green score only 13 points to Orlando’s 29.  The Magic shot with impunity beyond the arc; in fact the ‘French Connection’ Mickael Pietrus made 4-4 three pointers and missed only one of his six shots.

The rest of the NBA has caught Celtic-phobia and the boys in green seem to be the remedy for what ails them.  Three of the league’s top echelon teams have waltzed into the gah-den on a Friday night and beaten the Celtics all three times. 

Phoenix, Atlanta, and now Orlando now know what the rest of the NBA knows; the Boston Celtics cannot win a Friday night game.  For all the talk about resting the veteran players by having later practices and no shoot around is not working. 

The Celtics look confused, dazed, pick any adjective that you want, it all boils down to the fact that the Celtics as they are constituted now cannot compete with the elite.  Maybe that win in Cleveland was just a fluke, maybe they doubt themselves.  Whatever it is beating the hapless New York Knicks will not fix it. 

The smoke screen they threw up with a six and zero start has begun to unravel.  The offense is sputtering and several times during last night’s game Ray Allen and Rasheed Wallace collided on several occasions because of broken plays. 

Doc’s unwillingness to trust his younger players is putting undue pressure on the vets.

 As much as we all love Eddie House, he is not a point guard.  The Ray Allen or the Marquis Daniels experiment is not the answer either.  The Celtics need a backup guard with length or someone at the two or three who has the prerequisite length and athletic skills who can score.

We all raved about the Celtics new additions of Daniels and Wallace, but both play below the rim. The game has changed to accommodate those who think they can fly.  The commissioner has prohibitive rules which do not allow for hand checking and recently has changed the rules to allow two steps to make a layup.  All this was done in hope of take advantage of the quickness acrobatic skills of the new generation of players.

Somewhere along the line Doc must show some faith in JR Giddens, Bill Walker and Lester Hudson.  He cannot just hope the Celtics get enough of a lead where he can play them in garbage time.  Youth is needed and truth be told youth has been served in the NBA. 

Of all the contenders (except the Spurs), who have a legitimate chance at the NBA title Boston’s front line is the oldest.

The Lakers have Bynum, Gasol and Odom all in their 20’s.  Cleveland has Varajaeo, James and Hickson, all of them young and active bodies who will bang on the boards.  Glen Davis’ return will not be the elixir to halt this Celtic-phobia.

Let us hope the Celtics do not think that they have righted the ship if they beat their next three opponents.

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