Note-First things first.  I was WRONG about Lebron James (at least for one night).  The big guy turned it on and turned it up.  Last night the whole package (scoring, rebounds, assists, defense) was there for all 48 minutes.

Last night the Boston Celtics looked like the basketball equivalent of one of Charlie Brown's little league teams.  Just put Doc Rivers in one of those sweaters with the zig-zag patterns.

Boston 69 Cleveland 74.

How does a team hyped as a title contender end up scoring just 69 points?

Let me count the ways:

Let 36 of your 69 shots come from two players (Garnett 21, Pierce 15).

Get only 13 chances at the free throw line.

Four shots each from two starters (Rondo and Perkins).

Do what most good NBA teams can't (hold Ray Allen to 8 shots and 9 points).

Get just 12 points and 16 shots from the bench (most of which seemed to come from Glenn Davis missing after offensive rebounds).

Accumulate just 19 assists in 48 minutes.

Put up just 37 rebounds, with no player in double figures.

Shoot 39.7% from the floor.

Home court-road game talk aside, this was just bad basketball.  I've seen Garnett within the context of the Timberwolves generating offense and lifting everyone else up with him.  Last night was different.  Last night it was Garnett and the Invisible Men.

No ball movement.  Nobody hitting the open shot.  Very little open floor basketball.  Just alot of standing around waiting for Garnett to do the work.

The NBA game continues to drift in the direction of low scoring.  Possibly salaries play a part.  You pay mega salaries to star players and they expect, and so does management, the offense will run through them.  The fashionable thing to do is bring in "complimentary players" who know their job is to do one thing well (defense, rebounding, passing).

What you end up with is nobody who can hit a shot after your third option (or, in Cleveland's case maybe not even a second option).  Each possession uses most of the shot clock, giving defenses time to adjust.  And the running game never gets going.

Watching the Celtics offense last night was like watching paint dry.  They played defensive offense and never attacked, never took a chance at a shot early in the clock.  Tired old men playing a tired old game.

Will Boston beat Cleveland at home in Game 7?  Don't know.  Lebron James could make me eat my words (again). 

I do know this.  I've seen alot of NBA title teams over the years.

This season's Celtics won't be one of them.