Halftime thoughts: Timberwolves 51, Celtics 47

We've got a good one from the TD Garden as the Timberwolves are up by 4 at the half, 51-47. Some positives and negatives from the Celtics so far. They started off white-hot, which was to be expected considering the time off they had. Then they followed their usual pattern and digressed in the second quarter and into halftime.

Nonetheless, it's a tight one. Here are my thoughts after one half:

* So do you think Kevin Garnett gets up for the games against his old team? Garnett has been force-fed the basketball all night long, and rightfully so. He had a phenomenal half, scoring 12 points on 6-of-10 from the floor. He looks re-energized tonight. Playing Minnesota definitely has something to do with it.

* Some aspects of the defense need to improve: communication, perimeter defense, and transition defense. Let's start with communication. During a timeout in the second quarter, coach Doc Rivers told his squad that the communication needed to improve. The Wolves were moving the ball quickly off the pick-and-roll, leading to open shots. The Celtics need to talk in order to prevent those open looks. Second, the perimeter defense is pitiful. Minnesota has gotten a ton of wide open looks from beyond the arc. They have taken 12 three-pointers to Boston's 7, and considering they were 13-of-25 for 52% from three last night, it would be vital for Boston to take away these looks. Lastly, the transition defense needs improvement. Minnesota has snuck behind the defense (particularly Josh Howard) and gotten easy layups in transition. These are areas Boston can control, and if they do, they'll be in good shape.

* The other two members of the AARP, 35 and older club, or whatever you want to call them, are also having solid games so far. Jason Terry has 9 points on 4-of-6 from the field, while Paul Pierce has 10 points on an efficient 4-of-8 from the field. This is clearly a result of the time off -- maybe now they'll beg Doc for more practices off like they got on Monday.

* As color analyst Tommy Heinsohn put it perfectly, "Jeff Green is doing what he should've been doing from the start, and that's look for his shot." Green looks good so far. He has 8 points on 4-of-7 from the field, and only two of those shots were beyond 18 feet, and he hit one of them.