Afternoon Delight: Celtics 101, Raptors 82

Posted by Brian Robb on Oct 18, 2009 36320 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F10%2F18%2Fafternoon-delight-celtics-101-raptors-82%2FAfternoon+Delight%3A+Celtics+101%2C+Raptors+82+2009-10-18+22%3A10%3A10Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D3632

A few quick notes on this one as we enjoy a Nor’Easter and early arrival of winter on this Sunday afternoon in Boston.

In the immortal words of George Constanza, you could almost hear Kevin Garnett proudly proclaiming to the NBA, “I’m back baby!” with his performance in this one. KG has shown flashes here of his old form, during the team’s first five preseason games but appeared to put all the pieces together today in Toronto, culminating in his best offensive performance of the preseason.

21 points on 8 of 14 shooting was The Big Ticket’s line in 28 minutes of floor time. It was a little bit of everything from KG scoring the ball. He knocked down a few jumpers, some uncontested and some under duress, including one or two that had no business going down.

Even more encouraging was the fact that KG went strong to the hoop, several times against a uninspired Toronto defense, which allowed for some easy hoops and even some rare trips to the charity stripe for number 5. Garnett beat his man down the floor with regularity on the break, off of both made and missed baskets and even was active on the offensive glass with a tip in. 

Garnett appeared more confident and comfortable as the game progressed, setting the tone for the rest of the C’s in his effort and hustle all over the floor. He still appears a bit hesitant on the defensive end, as he regains his bearings but the progress is notable.

More on the rest of this one, after the Patriots game ends, but this overall was as close to a regular season contest you are going to see in the preseason. The C’s still have kinks to work out but the body of work looked good with 8 days until the opener in Cleveland.

A complete recap to come in a couple hours, once Tom Brady finishes setting some TD records in the 2nd half against Tennessee.
Box Score