Report by Brendan Sullivan
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: After dropping a close game to the Cleveland Cavaliers in which Drew Gooden played like Kevin Garnett and Kevin Garnett played like Drew Gooden, the Celtics roared back with a 45-point slaughtering of the embattled New York Knicks. They closed out the week with mediocre, but ultimately victorious performances against the Miami Heat and the Cavaliers. The bright spot, or possibly more like a bright blob for the Celtics was the inspired hustle of rookie Glenn "Big Baby" Davis, who shut down opposing big men and seems to come up with an impressive up-and-under in traffic every time the Celtics need a hoop in the second half. Over the past three games (in which he has made it off the bench), Davis has put up 10 points, 5 rebounds per game. He is also the Celtics' resident enforcer along with Kendrick Perkins, fouling out twice already this year, the first time in only 17 minutes and the second time in 21.
Notable News: Celtics boasts the best record in the league, but the easy schedule delights doubters.
The Celtics have been one of the hot topics of the NBA since the beginning of the offseason, when they lost out on Greg Oden, and last year's 24-win season seemed indicative of years to come. Since then, the Celtics consistently fueled the sports talk fire: First, they acquired Ray Allen and Garnett. Then came the question: would the Big Three be enough? After winning nine of their first 10, the focus shifted to the renewed dominance in Boston. Nevertheless, this week many fans are wondering if the Celtics fairly easy schedule so far has inflated their record a bit (they have only played six teams who are currently over .500).
Fast Forward: The Celtics have a trio of winnable games this week, at the Philadelphia 76ers, at home against the Toronto Raptors, and at the Chicago Bulls. Look for the C's to further deconstruct the "Big Three" tag by continuing consistent play from their bench.