Why the Celtics Secret Weapon Gives Them the Edge in the East
The Boston Celtics are not the popular pick this season. They’ve looked old and broken and as though their championship window had closed shut. And then, by staying the course, they managed to turn the tide and find their footing in the second half of the season.
The Celtics have figured things out—and found another offensive weapon in Avery Bradley—at just the right time. They’ve survived their injuries, they’ve got a rejuvenated Kevin Garnett, a coach everyone wants to play for and something that most other locker rooms don’t have: They genuinely play for one another as much as they play for themselves.
We talk about chemistry so often when it comes to professional sports, and so often, it’s something that’s been exaggerated, hyperbole meant to make us believe. With the Celtics, it’s real. They are different. Step inside their locker room and you’ll see it. Attend a shootaround and you’ll feel it. Listen to how they speak to one another, how they listen to their coaching staff.
The Celtics roster is a mix of disciplined players who know their roles and a fearless point guard who knows his role players. It works. It’s why I won’t be shocked to see them shock people this postseason.
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Heat top Bulls 83-72, tighten East race (Yahoo! Sports)
MIAMI (AP) The earliest Miami and Chicago could meet again is Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
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2012 NBA Playoffs: Chicago Bulls Stand Tall as Team to Beat in East
If you needed any more proof that the Chicago Bulls are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference this season, it was evident in their last two games against the Miami Heat.
On March 14, Derrick Rose didn’t even play for the Bulls, as he battled a groin injury. They won, 106-102, as backup John Lucas III went off for 24 points. In their latest affair, Rose shot 1-of-13 from the floor. The Bulls won that game too, 96-86, when backup C.J. Watson sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation.
The fact of the matter is, the Bulls have become a better team than last season, while the Heat have remained largely the same.
“Team” is the key word here. The Bulls have amazing depth and chemistry. Beyond Rose, Joakim Noah also struggled on April 12, posting just five points and four rebounds. But the Bulls’ well-oiled bench produced when called on, and that is what distances the Bulls from the Heat this season.
Kyle Korver scored 17 points. Watson posted 16 points and nine rebounds. And Taj Gibson recorded 11 points and five rebounds. The Bulls’ starters had a plus-minus of -63. The Bulls’ bench had a plus-minus of +113.
The Bulls are making the case this season that you can’t buy a championship. You must have chemistry, with multiple players contributing, to win a title. The Dallas Mavericks proved that against the Heat last season.
Very few teams can get away with their superstar playing poorly and still win a game against an elite team. But the Bulls proved that their superstar can be absent (both figuratively and literally) and it’s not the end-all. The result is the best points differential in the league this season.
The difference between the Bulls and the Heat is that the Bulls have grown better together and have had more time to grow. The Heat, though still an elite team, have yet to consistently play well together. That may come in time, but perhaps not as soon as people expected.
The Bulls have the makings of a team that will not only make it to the NBA Finals, but challenge for their first championship since 1998.
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Philadelphia 76ers Can’t Solve New Jersey Nets, Slide to 8th in the East
The phrase “home sweet home” doesn’t seem to apply when the 76ers square off with the New Jersey Nets at the Wells Fargo Center.
In two meetings at home against the Nets this season the Sixers are 0-2, and a crucial loss last night has set the Sixers back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
With just seven games to play, the Sixers currently hold a two-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth seed in the East. Although they are tied with the Knicks for the seventh seed (the Knicks hold the tie-breaker), the eighth seed would appear to be a more comfortable position for the Sixers if they can indeed hold on.
As I recently noted, a first-round matchup with the Bulls would be more favorable than one with last year’s playoff opponent, the Miami Heat.
On Friday night, the Sixers simply could not pull away from the Nets as they had done just three days earlier on New Jersey’s home floor.
Although the Sixers boasted balanced scoring once again with four players scoring in double-figures, they had no answer inside for Nets power forward Kris Humphries. Humphries posted 18 points and 13 rebounds in the nearly 40 minutes he was on the floor, punishing the Sixers on the glass on every available opportunity.
While the Sixers did maintain a balanced offense, only two starters (Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday) finished in double-figures. Elton Brand, who started the game 4-of-4 from the field for eight points, went scoreless in the second half.
Evan Turner, whose brief stint as a starter recently came to an end, actually posted one of his best lines of the season on Friday despite the loss. Turner dropped 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in about 27 minutes of work off of the bench.
It’s a disappointing loss for a Sixers team looking to hit their stride heading into the postseason, and unfortunately, things don’t get easier moving forward.
After a weekend off, the Sixers will head to Orlando on Monday night and return home Tuesday to face a hot Indiana Pacers squad in games that will certainly have playoff implications.
Once they’re through with the Magic and Pacers, the Sixers will finish the season on a five-game road trip. The Sixers are 12-15 on the road this season.
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Philadelphia 76ers Can’t Solve New Jersey Nets, Slide to Eighth in the East
The phrase “home sweet home” doesn’t seem to apply when the 76ers square off with the New Jersey Nets at the Wells Fargo Center.
In two meetings at home against the Nets this season the Sixers are 0-2, and a crucial loss last night has set the Sixers back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
With just seven games to play, the Sixers currently hold a two-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth seed in the East. Although they are tied with the Knicks for the seventh seed (the Knicks hold the tie-breaker), the eighth seed would appear to be a more comfortable position for the Sixers if they can indeed hold on.
As I recently noted, a first-round matchup with the Bulls would be more favorable than one with last year’s playoff opponent, the Miami Heat.
On Friday night, the Sixers simply could not pull away from the Nets as they had done just three days earlier on New Jersey’s home floor.
Although the Sixers boasted balanced scoring once again with four players scoring in double-figures, they had no answer inside for Nets power forward Kris Humphries. Humphries posted 18 points and 13 rebounds in the nearly 40 minutes he was on the floor, punishing the Sixers on the glass on every available opportunity.
While the Sixers did maintain a balanced offense, only two starters (Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday) finished in double-figures. Elton Brand, who started the game 4-of-4 from the field for eight points, went scoreless in the second half.
Evan Turner, whose brief stint as a starter recently came to an end, actually posted one of his best lines of the season on Friday despite the loss. Turner dropped 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in about 27 minutes of work off of the bench.
It’s a disappointing loss for a Sixers team looking to hit their stride heading into the postseason, and unfortunately, things don’t get easier moving forward.
After a weekend off, the Sixers will head to Orlando on Monday night and return home Tuesday to face a hot Indiana Pacers squad in games that will certainly have playoff implications.
Once they’re through with the Magic and Pacers, the Sixers will finish the season on a five-game road trip. The Sixers are 12-15 on the road this season.
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Miami Heat Beating Chicago Bulls for No. 1 Seed in East Vital to Playoff Success
With the big Eastern Conference showdown between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls, a win for the Heat would help them get that much closer to catching the Bulls for the No. 1 spot in the East that Miami will need to ensure a lengthy playoff run.
Chicago currently sits three games ahead Miami, with eight games left for the Bulls and nine games left for the Heat.
A win would close the Heat to within two games of the Bulls headed down the final stretch, with the Heat playing five teams above .500 and the Bulls paying four.
If the playoff picture goes on to stay the same as today, the Heat would get an easy first-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that Miami has handled easily, winning all four of the regular-season matchups.
The second round is where things could get dicey for the reigning Eastern Conference champs, as they should meet the Boston Celtics in the second round.
Boston is 2-1 against the Heat this season and the losing record against the Celtics can be attributed to Boston playing a zone defense the majority of the time, something that has given Miami problems.
Zone defense seems to get the Heat out of their comfort zone, slowing down their offense, which does not bode well for a team with the likes of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, players who love to run and gun.
Miami will get one more crack at Boston this season at the TD Garden, in a game the Heat can use to implement different tactics against the zone, to figure out one that gives them the best shot at winning.
Look for the Heat’s run to the NBA title to be in jeopardy this season, as they may not even make it to the Eastern Conference finals if they can’t heat up against the zone D.
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NCAA ban would keep Connecticut out of Big East tournament
Big East presidents have agreed on a policy that would bar Huskies school is not qualified academically for the NCAA tournament.
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Crowder leads East to 103-99 victory over West (Yahoo! Sports)
Jae Crowder found a way to balance fun with his competitive side. The Big East player of the year scored 25 points to lead the East team to a 103-99 victory over the West in the Reese’s College All-Star game Friday. “I’m competitive. I like to win, you know how that is. First half, just have fun.
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Big East leaders agree to conference academic ban (Yahoo! Sports)
Big East presidents have agreed on a policy that would bar Connecticut’s men’s basketball team from next season’s conference tournament because the Huskies haven’t qualified academically for the 2013 NCAA tournament. Spokesman John Paquette confirmed Friday that Big East presidents agreed in principal to the policy during a meeting on March 7 in New York.
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McDonald’s All-American Game 2012: West Team, Shabazz Muhammad Beat East 106-102
CHICAGO—The West Team, along with superstar Shabazz Muhammad, defeated the East Team 106-102 in the 2012 McDonald’s All-American Game Wednesday at the United Center.
The 6’6″, 215-pound Muhammad finished the game with 21 points and won the game’s MVP award. The last 14 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP’s went to the NBA.
“There are so many talented players here and it was just fun to play with everyone tonight,” said Muhammad, who had six rebounds and seven assists. “Winning the game MVP was great and our team played well.”
The undecided Muhammad, who is the nation’s No. 1 recruit, exploded for nine points in the game’s first three minutes and helped the West. Muhammad had two alley-oop jams with one over East point guard Tyler Lewis (North Carolina State). He also had a transition layup and a three.
“When you come to every event, you want to be known as the best player of the event,” Muhammad said. “Knowing these are the elite 24 guys in the country, going out to compete and having everyone competing at a high level is a beautiful thing.”
The East battled back to a 38-37 lead late in the first half off the stellar play of Alex Poythress and Tony Parker, who combined for 19 first half points. But the West went on a 21-8 run to close out the half.
After the West rebuilt their lead to double-digits, the team clogged the lane so the East had to settle for numerous far jumpers as they fell behind by 23. But the East came storming back on a big run, as undecided forward Amile Jefferson made a fastbreak jam for a 93-88 game with 3:29 remaining.
The West held on as Muhammad and company converted timely baskets.
Duke recruit Rasheed Sulaimon shot the ball well from the floor and showed good vision with 18 points and four assists. Sulaimon made some nifty jumpers and converted a reverse layup while being fouled late in the game.
Sulaimon told the media on Monday that he wanted Muhammad to join him at Duke.
Kentucky recruits Alex Poythress (East) and Archie Goodwin (West) showed that the Wildcats have found great replacements for likely NBA draftees Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Poythress (19 points, two rebounds) played like Richard Hamilton off the ball and Goodwin (14 points, three rebounds) had a killer jumper like Ray Allen.
“I could’ve played better,” Poythress said. “I had a tough matchup with Shabazz and the other players. Overall, I made some plays.”
Muhammad was asked what it would be like to play with Poythress and Goodwin at Kentucky.
“That is a great possibility,” Muhammad answered. “Alex was giving us a hard time on the boards with his big body and playing the perimeter at 6’8″ is really good. Archie can go down the floor and jump and dunk on somebody. That would be a really sick trio if I come to Kentucky.”
NC State should be happy with how Lewis and fellow Wolfpack recruits T.J. Warren and Rodney Purvis played together. Lewis (two points, three assists), Purvis (15 points, three assists) and Warren (10 points, five rebounds, two assists) kept the East in the game.
“It was definitely great playing together tonight,” Purvis said. “Tyler in the open court is very fun to watch. The crowd got a good look at him. T.J. and I put the ball in the basket and that’s what we did tonight.”
Other undecideds like the West’s Anthony Bennett (nine points, six rebounds) and the East’s Tony Parker (10 points, seven rebounds, one assist) and Amile Jefferson (eight points, four rebounds, one assist) had solid games.
Bob Bajek is a Chicago Bulls/NBA Featured Columnist. He is also covering the McDonald’s All-American Game on site in Chicago. He is a freelance reporter and can be followed on Patch.com and Twitter.
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