Celtics 106 Hawks 83

Boxscore

Gameflow

I propose awarding a nice plaque to the first team to beat the Celtics in Boston. Hold a pre-game ceremony for the accomplishment and everything. Since that (CAUTION: overreaction ahead) may not happen, perhaps a Certificate of Achievement (signed by David Stern) should be awarded to the first team to make a game in Boston competitive for four quarters.

It became obvious in the first half last night that Kevin Garnett could score as many points as he wished. Al Horford didn't play bad defense against Garnett, he maintained good defensive position in most cases, but Garnett was able to shoot over Horford whenever he wished to do so. The Celtics look like they're going to win 25 to 30 more games than last year. If Garnett continues to play like Tim Duncan's big brother, he'll get the MVP trophy.

I only saw two positives on a night where the Hawks were completely outclassed:

1. Marvin Williams continued to score efficiently.
2. Mike Woodson yanked Josh Smith quickly in the fourth quarter once it became apparent that Smith was going to contribute to the comeback effort by launching jump shots in the general direction of the backboard. Smith is too talented to be allowed to pout through tough nights or be allowed to act out in any other way.

The currently hapless Wizards provide an excellent opportunity for the Hawks to bounce back on Sunday. Any reasonable fan would have taken a 3-3 start to the season 10 days ago. What might have been this opening week shouldn't change that. Rather, it should raise expectations for the easier stretches of the schedule.