Celtics go 3-1 on Roadtrip out West

The Boston Celtics have been struggling but luckily have shown some life since the All-Star break. From January 14th to the All-Star break, February 10th, the Celtics won only five of their thirteen games. This is unacceptable for a team that was a favorite to win the championship this season and who boasts some of leagues top tier players; even if a few are on the down slope of their careers. However, coming out of the break the Celtic's have looked like there old selves, with mixes of struggles thrown in.
They began a four game road trip to the west coast after the break playing the Kings, Lakers, Trailblazers and wrapping it up with a visit to the Nuggets. They barely beat the Kings (95-92) and squeaked past a Kobe-less Lakers team (87-86). They trounced Portland, let them back in the game, but eventually closed the door on them and won 96-76. However, against the West's number two team, the Denver Nuggets, they struggled quite a bit and eventually lost 104-114. The only game I was personally able to watch was when they played the Portland Trailblazers and I believe that game exemplified the Celtic's season thus far.
Boston opened the game against the Trailblazers with youthful spirit and energized play on both ends of the court. The big three, Allen, Garnett, and Pierce were clicking and they had fantastic play from their young guard, Rajon Rondo. They played like the team who won the championship in 2007. They played how they were supposed to play the entire season; with heart, with energy, with passion. All of these things seemed to have been lacking when the Celtics struggles started back in December. The team is 13-13 since starting the season 22-5.
Rondo capped off a fantastic first half for the Celtics by hitting a turnaround fade away jumper over Portland's Brandan Roy as the buzzer sounded. The Celtics shot 21 of 38 from the floor in the first half and had 31 points in the paint; where they dominated all night. This domination allowed for Rondo to basically enact the infamous dribble drive offense. He torched the Trailblazers by beating them to the basket with his quickness and either kicking it out to the sharpshooters, Pierce and Allen, on the wings or else finishing strong with layups;some of which were even uncontested. Allen found his rhythm and ended with a game high 21 points and tacked on 5 boards and 3 assists. Rondo ended up with 11 assists and raised his season average to 9.7 assists per game; which is second only to the Phoenix Sun's Steve Nash. Garnett and Pierce each added 18 points and Kendrick Perkins had a team high 11 rebounds for the club.
The third quarter of the game was dismal for the Celtic's unfortunately. They let the Blazers back into the game by poor sloppy play that ended up in six turnovers which led to 15 Portland points. They were outscored and outplayed the entire fifteen minutes and showed signs of aging. The veterans, Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett, seemed to be beaten on many plays by the younger opposing guards. Eventually, they fixed the problems and locked down on defense in the fourth and final period. The three vets combined for 16 of their teams 24 fourth quarter points and had four blocks, and three steals. The game showed just how dominate the Celtic's can be but also exposed their weakness; quickness. While they are a fantastic team, they can't afford to take time off on the court and let teams back in the game because they are no longer the twenty five year olds they once were. They aren't shadows of their former selves, but they just aren't what they used to be.