Off to a good start ...

[The Celtics] are a great team 1 through 12. Against a team put together like this, you almost have to do everything right, especially here in this building. You have to do everything right.

-- Shaquille O'Neal, 3/27/08

Isn't one of Shaq's nicknames "The Big Nostradamus"? Well, he certainly foretold the Celtics' postseason future, as their Game One victory over the Detroit Pistons leaves them at a perfect 9-0 in the Garden (sports.espn.go.com).

Of course, once Thursday's Game Two is over (no matter what the outcome), there's still the little matter of going oh-for-six everywhere BUT Boston ... We've come this far, the team needs to finally bring some of that defensive intensity with them on the road; I really am not looking forward to a Game Seven against this Pistons club, I'll be honest with you.

Another person who probably isn't looking forward to the Eastern Conference Finals going to a Game Seven is Ray Allen, since it would just give him one more game to not hit the rim (38 MIN, 9 PTS, 3-10 FG, 0-1 3PTer) ... Really, I don't want to dump on the guy, but did you see that airball he hoisted up at the start of the game? It's not looking good for Teh Jesus right now (and yet, the Pistons must be shaking in their boots at the possibility of Ray catching fire before all is said and done).

Still, even if Allen continues to struggle, we always have KG to pick up the slack ... Amidst continued criticism (including from yours truly) about playing tentative basketball during these playoffs, Garnett whipped up a brilliant performance in this game (26 PTS, 11-17 FG, 9 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK); despite a continued reliance on the outside jumper, Kevin did take the ball inside against Rasheed a number of times, while helping to keep Detroit's big mouth man largely ineffective (11 PTS, 3-12 FG, 0-3 3PTers).

So far so good, now let's see what happens in Game Two!