I know it’s easy to overreact to last night’s loss. (“Losing to the Cavaliers? They’re going to do THIS again?? They don’t give a damn about the regular season!! NOOO!!!”) I even cautioned before the game that it would be a nice measuring stick to determine the Celtics’ collective attitude this year. But there are a couple reasons why you shouldn’t be too concerned… yet, at least.

1. It was just one game – I know last night felt like deja-vu, like last year all over again. But it was just one game, people. Last year wasn’t concerning because the Celtics lost a single bad game. It was concerning because the Celtics made a habit of losing to bad teams, a habit of getting outworked by inferior opponents. They went .500 for the final two-thirds of last season, for God’s sake. They lost to the Nets. They lost to the Wizards. They lost to the Grizzlies by 20. And they lost all those games at home, and two of them with one day of rest in between games. I remind you, last night was only one game. Until the Celtics make losing ugly games the norm, I won’t be too worried. After all, as Greg Payne points out, the ’08-’09 Celtics lost to the Pacers in just the season’s third game. They went on to start the season 27-2.

2. It was a classic trap game – I know last year is clouding your vision right now. You see one bad early loss and think, “AHHH!! It’s happening again!!!!” But last night was a classic trap game. It was the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, and it followed the most historic NBA season-opener ever. I’m not condoning excuses, but… if there was ever a time for the Celtics to take a game off, it was last night.

Which is why last night was different from last season. It was a game the Celtics were supposed to struggle with, rather than a night the Celtics were supposed to take care of business. When Doc Rivers first looked at the schedule, I guarantee he circled the game against the Cavaliers and thought, “Shit, I’d better come up with one hell of a pre-game speech on that night. It’s going to be tough to motivate the troops for that one.”

At home, with a day of rest, the Celtics are supposed to blow out the Cavs. But on the road, with no rest, arriving in Cleveland late on the night before the game, coming down from the emotional high of opening night, and playing against a team attempting to prove the world wrong, the Celtics were supposed to struggle.

Maybe I’m offering the Celtics too many excuses. Maybe I should expect them to take care of business wherever, whenever, no matter how tired and weary they happen to be. But where I’m sitting, a win last night wasn’t just to be expected. It would have been one of the most impressive, mentally-strong wins the Celtics would have all season. So take it easy on them, for now.

But if  they lose to the Knicks on Friday: PANIC!!!!!!!

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “‘I know at times we make it look easy; it’s not,’ said Kevin Garnett, who had 9 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. ‘[The Cavs'] true strength is playing together. They don’t have that one or two, go-to guys. They do play well together. They do play hard.’ And it is that latter point about playing hard that the Celtics have to be on guard about this season. The C’s have just two games under their belt, so there’s no need to panic or be overly concerned. But Wednesday’s loss was the second game in as many nights that the C’s had a commanding lead that was significantly cut into in the fourth quarter. Blaming the fact that it was a back-to-back for the Celtics and the season opener for Cleveland is too easy of an excuse. The Celtics believe they are a championship-caliber team that can beat any team, anywhere, regardless of the circumstances. Losses like the one they suffered on Wednesday, at the very least, gives reason to pause. ‘It’s more the mental-toughness part,’ Rivers said. ‘We got a lead, and you could see us relax.’”

Pat McManamon, NBA FanHouse – “‘I think we’re the most popular team in Cleveland right now,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘Beating Miami and losing to the Cavs.’ … Rivers was having none of the back-to-back-following-an-emotional win excuse. He merely said the Cavs were up to the challenge and his team was not. O’Neal and the rest of his teammates admitted they did not match the effort given by the Cavs. ’That’s got to be our signature,’ said Gibson, who saw an 0 for 8 shooting start turn into a 16-point finish. ‘You have to understand,’ said Boston’s Paul Pierce, ‘this team is hungry. Everybody is against them and everybody is writing them off.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “For failing to bring the requisite energy and focus against a team that will struggle to be mediocre this season, the Celtics are now a .500 team. The Celts turned the ball over 19 times and gave up 16 second-chance points in absorbing a 95-87 loss to the Cavaliers. ‘I didn’t like the way we played a lot of the game, honestly,’ Rivers said. ‘I thought we were very loose on defense, very loose on offense. You know, the turnovers again. Nineteen turnovers (after 20 in the season opener). They’re killing us. They’re absolutely killing us. And we got away from the post game. I thought we established the post early on, and I thought we got away from it. Just too much one-on-one dribbling. We’re a better team than that. It was a mental-toughness game for us to try to match their energy.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “In a play that capped the Celtics’ collapse, Anthony Parker caught an inbounds pass, pivoted, dribbled, and released a shot, all in one second according to the clock operator. He drained a 3-pointer for an 89-84 lead. ’That was the longest second in NBA history,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘Somebody didn’t push that button quick enough.’ Said Ray Allen: ‘I just assumed the horn was going to go off.’ The Celtics were done after that. They missed open shots. They couldn’t make an entry pass. Their frustration mounted. Afterward, the Celtics realized they had been burned by their own delusions of grandeur. They took a team minus its franchise player lightly, and the same exaggerated self-opinion that plagued them last season against lesser teams returned. ‘You have to play four quarters,’ Allen said. ‘It’s opening night for them. I just think we took them too lightly. We didn’t continue to execute and do the things we’re capable of doing for the entirety of the game. A call doesn’t go our way and then the game was tight and ended up going in their favor.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “The shooting numbers for Jermaine O’Neal, in a word, suck. The shooting woes he experienced with the Miami Heat in the playoffs last season have apparently followed him to Boston. O’Neal has missed four of his five shots from the field with the Celtics this season. Yes, it’s a small sample of shot attempts to work from, obviously. But it’s a sample size that reflects to a large degree how O’Neal shot the ball prior to signing with the Celtics. The six-time All-Star is coming off a season in which he shot a career-best 52.9 percent from the field. However, O’Neal’s hot-hand cooled off considerably in the playoffs when he shot just 20.5 percent from the field.”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Referee Bob Delaney whistled Nate Robinson for a technical when he kneed Ryan Hollins in the groin area on a drive to the basket with the Celtics leading, 77-76, with 8:32 left. O’Neal was then whistled for an additional technical for arguing the call. Television replays showed that Robinson, who is 5 feet 9 inches, tried to clear space to convert a layup against the 7-foot Hollins. After the game, Robinson claimed the contact was accidental. ‘Bob said I made an overt act,’ O’Neal said. ‘But I was just trying to explain why Nate kicked [Hollins]. I’ve gotta go and get my Bob Delaney jersey when I get home. I am going to go and order that.’ Daniel Gibson hit both technical free throws for a 78-77 lead, Antawn Jamison followed with a runner, and Cleveland would never relinquish the momentum. ‘I don’t really know what the rule is. I didn’t have an angry voice, I didn’t have an angry face or a loud voice,’ O’Neal said. ‘I was just explaining, but who knows?’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “The lift seems back in his legs and his defense is returning to previous levels. Where Garnett still needs to make his mark is on offense. There were opportunities for him to go to work on the block against the Cavs, just as there were throughout the playoffs, but he remained mostly on the perimeter. Still, that part of his game will come in time. If the Celtics can continue to get double-digit rebounding games from Garnett consistently, they will be more than happy with the 2010-11 version.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

I’m pretty sure the NBA scheduled tonight’s game as a practical joke. Here’s a scene that probably happened the day the schedule was made:

“Ha! The Celtics play the Heat in the first game, right? So if they play the Cavs the next day, it will show everyone how badly it sucks to be from Cleveland!”

“Brilliant! The 500 credentialed media members will be down to double digits, the crowd will have one tenth the frenzy, and nobody outside of Boston or Cleveland will even care about the game. And that’s assuming that Clevelanders still care about the Cavs.”

“Even better, Mo Williams is a game-time decision. Everyone outside of Cleveland laughs because a Cav was mentioned in the same sentence as the word Decision, while all the Clevelanders cry silently into their pillows and try to talk themselves into the J.J. Hickson era.”

“You mean the Anderson Varejao era?”

“No, the J.J. Hickson era.”

“Either way, that sucks, huh? From Lebron to Anderson Varejao, the torch has been passed.”

“You mean from Lebron to J.J. Hickson.”

“Whatever. At least Clevelanders can say they live in a beautiful city.”

(Awkward pause.)

“Just kidding! Ha!”

“Phew. You had me there for a second. I thought you were insane.”

“But hey, you can’t be entirely down on Cleveland’s future. I mean, Dan Gilbert promised a title BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE.”

“Yeah, and then Gilbert’s most important acquisition this summer was signing Ramon Sessions. You know, unless you’re really high on Manny Harris or Samardo Samuels.”

“Yeah. Maybe Gilbert’s promise was an empty one.”

“Yup. Which is why it will be even funnier when we schedule the Cavs to play the Celtics right after the Heat do. Bwahahaha!”

On a more serious note

Tonight’s game could tell us a lot about the Celtics’ mind state at this stage of the season. After coming down from such an emotional high, playing Cleveland halfway across the country the next day isn’t like playing a basketball game: it’s like having to complete a chore, or get your tooth pulled, or… well, you get the point.

I think about what last year’s team (at least the team we saw during the second half of the regular season) would have done with tonight’s game, and I’m pretty sure they would have mailed it in, lost by 10 points or so, and in the process caused me to smash my television set into a million pieces. Then again, they never would have beaten the Heat (or any team?) at home.

We already know this year’s Celtics are deep, and we know they can perform when the stakes are high. But can they win the trap games this year? Games like tonight’s could be the difference between the third seed and the first seed.

The season is approaching (but not quickly enough), so that means it’s NBA preview time. Starting with the league’s worst team and working our way to the top, we’ll preview one team per day.

Mo Williams has Mo' problems this year.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Last year’s record: 61-21
Head Coach: Byron Scott
Projected Starters: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao

Outlook:

My cousin played basketball at Boston University a few years ago, and opposing fan bases had a great chant whenever they played his team. “Sucks to B.U.! Sucks to B.U.!” Get it? Well, that chant applies to all Cleveland fans. It really, beyond belief, sucks to B.U.

Suckers.

X-Factor:

I’ve got a real “Decision” to make here. I could choose Leon Powe, who averaged a whopping 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds last year but should be better after a season of recovery; Mo Williams, who barely decided not to retire (how admirable of him!) after Lebron James bolted, but should now be the team’s star; Daniel Gibson, who stands to see more playing time in the post-Lebron stage; Jamario Moon, who could be the starting small forward by default; Antawn Jamison, who loves compiling impressive stats on bad teams; or Anderson Varejao, who should have started last year but had to wait for Shaq to depart. Whoever I pick, I doubt it will bring comfort to Cavs fans. Lebron James is not walking through that door.

Biggest Question Mark:

It sounds almost cruel to say it, but who will be the Cavs’ starting small forward: Joey Graham or Jamario Moon? Either way, they’re in great hands.

Just kidding.

Most important newcomer:

Ramon Sessions. I’ll be honest, though: he didn’t have very much competition, and I don’t know how he’ll fit in with Mo Williams. The other most important newcomer? Joey Graham. Let’s just say Joey probably won’t completely fill the shoes of his predecessor.

Key loss:

Duh. Lebron. Who did you think I was going to say, Sebastian Telfair?

Most compelling storyline:

Dan Gilbert’s comical guarantee. “I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE.” Clock’s ticking, Dan. I’ve got a feeling you’ll be proven a liar.

Player to watch:

J.J. Hickson. The one Cavalier to truly get excited about, Hickson’s the player the Cavs refused to part with in a potential trade for Amare Stoudemire. Hickson’s also the player who has never averaged more than 8.5 points or 4.9 rebounds per game and posted only 3.5 ppg and 0.8 ppg in last year’s playoffs. Is he ready to take the keys to the franchise? Nope. But, at least for now, Byron Scott doesn’t really have a choice. God knows Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison can’t lead a team to the promised land.

Descriptive movie quote:

“You know, in the ten years that I coached, I never met anybody who wanted to win as badly as I did. I’d do anything I had to do to increase my advantage. Anybody who tried to block the pursuit of that advantage, I’d just push ‘em out of the way. Didn’t matter who they were, or what they were doing. But that was then. You have special talent, a gift. Not the school’s, not the townspeople, not the team’s, not Myra Fleener’s, not mine. It’s yours, to do with what you choose. Because that’s what I believe, I can tell you this: I don’t care if you play on the team or not.” – Norman Dale, Hoosiers

I’m pretty sure that Norman Dale line isn’t what Byron Scott said to Lebron James. But you can imagine what it would have been like if it was.

Projected record: 27-55. In his letter to fans after The Decision, Dan Gilbert wrote, “Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day.” Too bad tomorrow, tomorrow, is always a day away.

Cue the fans: “We should have kept Leon!” Which might be true…

But I’m pretty content with a frontcourt of Perk, Shaq, JO, KG and Big Baby.

I’m shocked – shocked! – that Shaq took a shot at Mo Williams yesterday. I’m not so stunned that he took a shot at Mo as I am that he waited until yesterday. The over/under on Shaq firing an unceremonious shot at one of his former teammates was a week after signing somewhere else. It took him a full month. If I were a betting man, I would have lost a fair amount of money. (Wait, I AM a betting man? I DID lose a fair amount of money? Here comes the computer toss…)

Anyway, here’s what Shaq had to say about his former teammate. (New Orleans Times Picayune)

O’Neal said what sold him on the Celtics is the unselfish play of the veteran group.

“I like that they play together and nobody really worries about shots, ” O’Neal said. “When I was with Cleveland, guys who couldn’t even play were worried about shots. Why was Mo (Williams) taking 15 shots, and I’m only taking four? If LeBron takes 20 shots, that’s cool.

“So I said, let me get with a good team for the last two years. I don’t mind people calling me a journeyman. I’ve been programmed to move around every three years.”

As for Mo, still stuck in Lebron-less Cleveland? Mo’ losses, mo’ problems. But mo’ shots, too.

Click the jump for Shaq quotes about himself and the Celtics.

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