Butch_Stearns's Blog

If your not happy with the Celtics win in game one against Cleveland on Tuesday night because of the way they played, then I have to say, you just don't get it. Winning is ALL that matters in the playoffs.

Yes there are many concerns from game one for the Celtics. Start with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. They were 2-18 combined, which by the way was the same line for Lebron James. He shot 2-18. It is a concern that Allen was held scoreless for the first time since his rookie year. In fact, I would come out and look to get him some shots and good looks early in game two to get him untracked. It is also a concern that Paul Pierce shot 2-14. A big part of the equation for Pierce and James is that they both are expending much energy on the defensive end guarding each other.

Monday night it was Kevin Garnett hitting the big shots for the Celtics and making the big plays. There are two main reasons I think all we should be concerned about is winning. One is because the Celtics did a good job defending Lebron. They made him work for everything he got in game one. The other reason is that the Celtics made more of the big plays than the other guys down the stretch in a playoff game. They didn't do this once in the series against Atlanta.

So again, lament all the bad things from game one all you want, but all we should really care about is the win. Winning ugly is just as good as winning pretty. And winning a close game is even better.

Your thoughts?

Butch