My thoughts on last night.
- Ring Ceremony/Banner Raising gave me goosebumps. I took at least 20 pictures of it all. The handoff of the trophy from Hondo to Pierce was emotional. Great job by the organization putting it all together. Also, extremely classy gesture giving a ring to Red's daughter.
-Echoing Nick's post, Pierce looks like he did 5-6 years ago weightwise. Noticable difference. I think its going to be a huge positive this season. Great game by Paul to start the season. Was able to attack the rim and his jumper was close to mid-season form. A couple of questionable decisions on offense but nothing too ouf of the sort.
-O'Bryant must really be in the doghouse because last night was a perfect situation for him to get in considering the foul situation. Instead, Doc went long spurts with Big Baby and Powe. Mixed results there. Powe was great on the offensive end while Big Baby looked out of it. Some awkward jump shots by him. Defensively, Varajao seemed to be effective on them and Ilgauskas had some good opportunities. We were able to get away with the size mismatch last night but I have concerns down the road when we face some of the bigger front lines in the league.
-Tony Allen is an enigma. I still don't know what to make of him. I thought he did alright on defense last night. His offensive game? I don't know. I still don't feel comfortable when the ball is in his hands. He made some shots but I just don't think he's on the same page as everyone else. Also, I didn't see the postgame press conference but why was he bringing the ball up instead of House when Rondo was out? Doc just experimenting there.
-Offensively, the team struggled for much of the night. A lot of missed shots and our 3 pt % was horrible. I think some of it can be chalked up to first game jitters but if the outside shot isn't falling, I'd like to see the ball run inside more often. More penetration rather than sitting around on the perimeter. I also don't know what was up with that play call at the end of one of the quarters where KG ended up with a 3 pt attempt. Ugly. I think the kinks will be worked out and the offense will get more in sync. KG couldn't have played much worse offensively. We KNOW he'll bounce back.