Written by Ryan McNeill, HoopsAddict.com
BOSTON CELTICS
Recap Rewind: Wasn’t the return of Paul Pierce supposed to stop the bleeding? This past week was another painful one for Celtics fans as their team lost games to the Kings, Suns, Lakers and Jazz.
Notable News: Paul Pierce needs 16 points to become the seventh player to score at least 15,000 in a Celtics uniform... Leon Powe started his first game of the season Saturday and scored 10 points while snagging 9 boards in just 25 minutes of playing time... Al Jefferson has been on a real tear over the past three months and should receive some consideration as a possible candidate for Most Improved Player Award. He’s averaging a double-dip over the past three months and has been one of the few bright spots for Celtics fans this season... Wally Szczerbiak sustained his fourth ankle injury of the season during Tuesday’s game against Sacramento... Gerald Green managed to accumulate four fouls in just three minutes of playing time in the first half of Tuesday’s game... Kobe Bryant scored 22 of his 38 points against Boston in the first quarter... Gerald Green scored a team high 21 points against the Lakers... Former Celtics great Dennis Johnson passed away this week due to a heart attack. Johnson was only 52 years-old and unfortunately is the second Celtics legend to pass away within the last six months.
Fast Forward: Boston has a game early in the week against a surging Rockets team and then finish off the week with two winnable games against New York and New Jersey.
NEW JERSEY NETS
Recap Rewind: The big news this week was Rod Thorn’s decision to keep Jason Kidd and Vince Carter in the fold. This could be a costly blunder if Carter decides to blot via free agency this summer and Kidd is left on a Nets team that would be stuck in rebuilding mode.
Notable News: Vince Carter scored a season high 46 points against the Hornets... Kidd recorded the 84th triple double of his career Friday against the Kings while playing with a cracked rib... Carter is averaging 37.3 points per game over the Nets last three games.
Fast Forward: The Nets have a relatively light week with games against Washington and Boston.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Recap Rewind: The Knicks soiled what had been a solid week with a loss to the Nets Sunday evening. If they had been able to pull out that win they would have pulled even with the Nets in the standings and to within one game of the eight seed in the Eastern Conference.
Notable News: Steve Francis has missed the Knicks last two games because he has been sick with the flu... David Lee is on pace to become the fifth player in NBA history have shot 60 percent from the floor while averaging at least 10 rebounds per game in the same season. The only players to accomplish this feat are Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Artis Gilmore and Shaquille O'Neal... Jerome James has started nine straight games for the Knicks. Why does Isiah Thomas insist on starting James only to bench him by halftime?
Fast Forward: With games against Miami, Boston, Golden State and Atlanta there’s plenty of reason for optimism among Knicks fans. If the team can win at least three of their games this week there’s a strong chance they could find themselves ahead of Orlando or New Jersey in the standings.
