As Expected, Josh Smith Is A Handful

Josh Smith is a matchup nightmare for any team, and when his shot is falling, even the great Kevin Garnett has trouble containing him.

Green Street " How did the Celtics lose Game 1? We’ll count the ways

Josh Smith was the best player on the floor: The enigmatic Smith crushed the Celtics in the first half with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Garnett cooled him off in the second, but he still put up monster numbers — 22 and 18 — and made a huge jumper after the Celtics had cut the lead to five late in the game. He also made a handful of nifty passes, including a kickout to Teague for a back-breaking 3-pointer. "I feel like Smooth, he played real, real good basketball today," Garnett said. It should also be noted that star swingman Joe Johnson had a miserable shooting game, firing up nine blanks from 3-point range and missing 12 of his 15 attempts, overall. Even with all their problems, Game 1 was there to be stolen.

So the good news is that might be the best that Smith can play and we were still in it. The bad news is that Joe Johnson hasn't showed up yet.