Last minute news and notes on some of last night's and tonight's games:
Thing's to Watch
The T-wolves were upset by a dreadful cavs team last night, and the main reason the cavs got the win? The new zone defense gave the T-pups fits and clogged up all the lanes leaving only the jump shot available. May want to keep an eye on the T-wolves going up against a team that will play zone. Also give the edge to the cavs tonight as I like to play a team that won outright as a dog, and have the next game at home.
Not Looking past
The celtics remember the pacers from last year, as they basically booted them from the playoffs.
While tonight's Celtics-Pacers game lacks the late-season implications of that matchup, Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce & Co. do not forget or forgive easily. After practice at the Sports Authority training center yesterday, it sounded as if the Celtics were back fighting for a playoff spot, the regular season winding down instead of revving up.
''To me, it's extra motivation,'' said Pierce. ''I don't know how the other guys are really taking it. This is a team that I felt was our roadblock last year and could be a roadblock to us this year.
''But we've got to take care of business. We've got to understand that we've got take advantage of these opportunities. In the East, it's going to come down to the last few weeks, and we know that with how bunched up the teams are at this point.
This is a must-win situation for us.''
Actually, it's barely two weeks into the season and the Celtics and Pacers stand second in their divisions. The schedule is the one obvious advantage for Boston tonight. The Celtics have not played since Friday, while the Pacers lost, 91-82, to the Nets in Indianapolis last night. No doubt several Celtics tuned in to the game, trying to see how certain strategies work. After all, Indiana is a somewhat different team from the one that blocked Boston from the playoffs last year.
Walker planned to watch at least the first half and expected to see a lot of zone defense from Indiana.I wanted to pull the trigger on this one but decided to wait for some line movement. I have it know at 5.5 and that is too much to lay against a team that can hit free's and three's.
Bullish Returns?
The bulls have at least played a little better in the last couple of games and you may want to give credit to the ass whipping they got by the T-wolves, but I think the credit goes elsewhere. Two things of changed in the last two games. 1) Robinson has returned to the lineup and has added some scoring punch to the lineup, and two rookies, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry have been benched for both games and it has cut back on turnovers.
Just some notes I thought I would share...
JT
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