Pierceless Celtics Fall Short in Miami

Normally, if the Celtics were winless on December 27th, there'd be cause for concern. But with the abbreviated season and the lack of Paul Pierce, I'm not terribly worried. The C's were a few key plays from beating Miami in Miami. All without Pierce.

Then again, they needed outstanding nights from Allen and Rondo to even be close. Allen was 6/8 with his 3 pointers, and Rondo scored 22. Rondo was the only Celtic who seemed capable of playing with speed. They also got 18 from Kevin Dooling.

What they didn't get was much production from Garnett. I hardly noticed when he was on or off the court. He scored 12. O'Neal didn't score at all and Pavlovic only scored 5. Without Pierce, KG needs to be more of a factor. And guys like O'Neal need to do something.

I don't think the C's will struggle to beat the mediocre teams of the NBA, even without Pierce for 2 more games. So while they're 0-2, I doubt they'll struggle to win games. However, they do need to improve in a few areas if they want to do anything memorable in the playoffs.

They're in New Orleans tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo