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NBA Sunday: Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic
In the beginning of the season when the Boston Celtics were red hot, the Orlando Magic was able to bring them back down to earth. The Celtics have gone on to the better record to this point in the season, but the Magic are chompin’ at the bit for another chance at the NBA front runners. Never has a big man caused so much attention since the Magic had a man called “Shaq” on their team. Dwight Howard is doing his best to fill those large shoes, averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds a game. In their last ten games they are only 4-6. Interestingly enough their away record is a nice 16-9, but at home they are only 9-8.
The Celtics are owners of the best record in the league, coming in at 32 and 6. In terms of Boston, it may be considered a mini-losing slump, having only won seven out of ten, after starting the season on a pace of that of the 72-10 Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. While that record may appear out of reach, the trio of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett all want to reach their first NBA title. The three of them are arguably on the list of the best players of this generation, and amazingly enough none of them have a championship ring.
Every team gets up to play the Celtics, and the Magic will want to prove their other victory wasn’t a fluke. However, because of Orlando’s tough luck at home, and the Celtics starting to come back together after a few injury scares, I’ll pick Boston to take care of this one.
NBA Sunday: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. LA Lakers
The reemerging Los Angeles Lakers took a devastating hit this past week when they learned that their up and coming center, Andrew Bynum, will miss a minimum with a serious injury to his left knee. Not only does it take away his 13 points and 10 rebounds a game, but it takes away a defensive center presence that the Lakers have lacked since Shaq left for the east coast. The Lakers had one of the best records in the west, but by most NBA expert accounts it will be a miracle if they are able to keep it up through the next eight week. Kobe Bryant will try his best to keep his team afloat with his 27.7 points a game, but the task may even be too much for him.
The NBA eastern conference representatives of the NBA championships last year, have started a bit slow, but that can also be attributed to injuries. The Cavs have suffered through injuries of their own with Larry Hughes, and LeBron James. However, they are healthy now, and have won eight of their last ten games. James is averaging just less than 30 points a game. He also leads his team in assists (7.5) and steals (2) per game. Right now the Cavs are about six games behind the Detroit Pistons in the central division, but at this rate Rasheed Wallace and company may be starting to watch their backs.
It’s really a shame what happened to the Lakers. They were really playing well against all the tough teams in the league, and were even garnering some attention as the best team in the league. Because of the injury I will favor Cleveland in this one, but I would enjoy seeing this game with both teams at full strength.
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