Report by Brendan Sullivan and Benjamin Peisch
Brendan Sullivan takes a weekly look at the NBA teams in the Atlantic Division - Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors - and breaks down what happened the week before and what to expect in the week ahead, as well as injuries and trades.
Recap Rewind: The three games that the Celtics played this week were decided by a combined total of six points. Unfortunately for them, they lost two of them. The first loss came on a night that the Toronto Raptors could do absolutely no wrong. Shooting 60% from the field, 71% from 3-point land, and 100% from the foul line, the Raptors could not miss. Even Keon Clark chipped in with a fade away three while sitting on a motor scooter in prison. Elsewhere, the Celtics held off the suddenly competitive Minnesota Timberwolves, thanks to the rediculous hustle of Kevin Garnett. On the last play of the game, Garnett inexplicably jumped out to guard Sebastian Telfair on the perimeter, and slapped the ball away from Coney Island's second-finest as time expired. Nevertheless Garnett strained his abdomon in the Celtics' effort, and sat out a heartbreaking buzzer-beating loss to the Magic.
Notable News: The Celtics played their first game this season without Kevin Garnett on Sunday, and discouragingly, lost. Nevertheless it was against a good team playing to the best of its ability, as it took the Orlando Magic Hedo Turkoglu's miraculous, buzzer-beating three to settle the game, 96-93. Reports have described Garnett's injury as mild, and Coach Doc Rivers said Sunday in an interview that Garnett could have easily played in Sunday's game. You actually have to give Rivers kudos for this move, as it allowed him to give pleasant surprise Leon Powe nearly 30 minutes of playing time matched up against one of the game's premeire big men in Dwight Howard. Powe had 9 points and 9 rebounds - 6 offensive - in another impressive performance.
Fast Forward: The Celtics face the lowly Heat in Miami on Tuesday before returning home for their first matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. As long as Garnett's injuries are as mild as reported and Eric Dampier plays like Eric Dampier, the Celtics should be able to take 'em both.
