Cavs v. Celts Game One: Closing Speed

In the third quarter, with his team down 11 at the half, in the middle of a game in which his opposing number more or less dominated, Mo Williams stopped the narrative cold. A 10 point run later, which included his first dunk ever as a Cav, followed, and the home team ended the third quarter with a lead and life. A few more points about an entertaining, if not entirely predictive, Game One...

> Only LeBron James can labor with an elbow, not look anything like himself for three quarters... and still wind up having 35 7 7, with 3 blocks and 2 steals. The man's a monster. But you knew that already, along with the fact that he's going to have to get his elbow loose for fourth quarters against good teams.

> Who's your choice for most annoying Celtic? I respect the Garnett choice, but Glen Davis is a comer. He's got that Antoine Walker vibe of thinking he's a lot better than he is. And Kendrick Perkins ain't exactly a bowl full of cherries, either. I am, of course, a lifelong Celtic Hater, but this team makes it very easy.

> If Rajon Rondo is going to shoot free throws well -- 12 of 14 tonight, with one of the misses coming after getting crushed like a bug by Shaq on a drive to the hoop -- he's just a consistent jump shot away from being the best point in the Association. Of course, it's not like he hasn't been trying to get one for years. Regardless, you can generally live with a 27 6 12 line from your point guard.

> By the late games in this series, some of these bigs are going to throw down. There's too many guys caring way too much for this to go any other way. Especially considering how many of these guys are as annoying as all get out to play against in the first place.

> JJ Hickson had 11 points in 11 minutes, which means that he nearly outscored the Celtic bench by himself. As much as I like this kid, I think he'd be exposed playing starter minutes. But getting him to 20 a game should happen, really.

> Shaquille O'Neal gave the Cavs what they needed -- some offense late, the clear your sinuses foul on Rondo with 4:30, and a volleyball tip-in to give the team a 5-point lead with just over a minute left. The final numbers say he played 20 minutes and posted 11 and 4, which isn't anything all that intense... except that he gave them exactly what they needed, exactly when they needed it. The most dominant big man of his generation has, it seemed, accepted the role player position. And the fact that the Celtics didn't foul him on that play was just the tip of the iceberg, which is the next point.

> Up five with 40 seconds left, the Celtics (a) didn't foul -- ridiculous since the Cavs are the worst free-throw shooting team in the league, (b) didn't deny James the ball, and (c) lost the MVP entirely on a simple pick and roll, giving James a clean look at a three, which he drained for the kill shot. Then, they ran a ton of clock before settling for an ice-cold Michael Finley (3 minutes of game time) three, which clanged, and let the clock run out without fouling. Was there something good on TV, gentlemen, or were you just in a hurry to enjoy that Cleveland nightlife?

> Add it all up, and it felt like a missed opportunity for Boston to steal the game that they need to win the series, and a game that the Celtics quit on. Telling. We'll see on Monday who makes the adjustment.