Home -
NBA - Numbers say Celtics, Trail Blazers on the rise
Numbers say Celtics, Trail Blazers on the rise
Thursday, April 24, 2008 12:51 PM ET
The Celtics and the Trail Blazers have gone from being two of the worst teams in the NBA last season to the best team in the Eastern Conference and the biggest surprise in the Western Conference respectively. The teams used different paths to improvement, with the Celtics going for the Big Ticket and the Blazers going with youth. These two clubs have an interesting matchup Wednesday.
Last year, the Boston Celtics were in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Portland Trail Blazers were 12th in the West. That’s already ancient history; Boston has the best record in the entire NBA, while Portland has won 17 of its last 19 games to challenge Denver and Utah for the Northwest Division lead.
Two more divergent paths to success would be hard to find. The Celtics went for broke, pulling the plug on their youth movement to bring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the East Coast. Young Portland was expected to have issues after trading Zach Randolph and losing Greg Oden to injury, but the Blazers have blossomed under coach Nate McMillan’s sage guidance. Check out the numbers (and see below) for more info on these exciting teams.
Boston Celtics
30-5 SU
22-12-1 ATS
Under: 20-14
106.4 points per 100 possessions (No. 8 in the league)
92.9 points allowed per 100 possessions (No. 1)
Injuries
Rajon Rondo (sore back); Jan. 11, day-to-day
Portland Trail Blazers
22-14 SU
23-13 ATS
Under: 21-15
105.2 points per 100 possessions (No. 12)
103.5 points allowed per 100 possessions (No. 19)
Injuries
Steve Blake (calf); Jan. 9, day-to-day
Tuesday: Denver at Atlanta
Nuggets supporters dream about how good their team would be with a full frontcourt. Dreams are all they have; Nene left the club for undisclosed personal reasons, apparently medical in nature. More details were expected out of Denver by midweek. Denver also saw Chucky Atkins go back on the injured list for the next couple of months after surgery for a sports hernia.
Denver’s depth on the frontline, and the capable play of backup point guard Anthony Carter (check out the career high 50.9-percent shooting percentage), have kept the Nuggets in the Northwest lead at 22-13 SU and 18-17 ATS. Atlanta is playing refreshingly competent basketball at 17-17 SU and 28-16 ATS. But in a very rare decision by the NBA, that record is due for a revision.
The league has decided to grant the Miami Heat a replay of the last 51.9 seconds of their Dec. 19 loss to the Hawks. Shaquille O’Neal picked up what was actually his fifth foul, but the official scorers thought it was No. 6. Atlanta went on to win the game 117-111 in overtime as a 2-point chalk. Consult your bookkeeper to see what their rules are regarding this unusual matter – the last time the NBA ordered a replay was 1982.
Wednesday: Portland at Boston
The Blazers began a gruelling seven-game, 10-day Eastern road swing with an unwelcome assignment: a 12:30 p.m. Sunday matinee in Toronto. The Raptors took advantage of the sleepy Blazers with a 116-109 double-OT victory and stole the cash as 5.5-point home faves. Brandon Roy showed few ill effects from his various injuries, scoring 33 points and adding 10 assists in a losing cause.
Toronto is a tough customer, but the Raptors have some injury problems and a lack of beef in the middle. Boston’s one substandard position – at least, when Glen “Big Baby” Davis isn’t patrolling the floor – is also center, where Kendrick Perkins has a minus-2.7 Roland Rating. This is Portland’s first game against Boston this season, but they already have wins over such giants as Dallas and Detroit.
With Rajon Rondo battling a sore back, Roy has an opportunity to make some noise in a game that, unfortunately, has no television coverage to raise his profile. Roy will probably miss out on an NBA All-Star vote; he has a Player Efficiency Rating of 19.59, ranking No. 37 in the league and comparing favourably to Paul Pierce (19.82 PER). This should be an excellent matchup.