Our nightly look ahead to the schedule with a couple of notes and story lines so you can plan out your NBA viewing. All Times Eastern.
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Boston Celtics @ Milwaukee Bucks (NBA TV)
This is not a great night in the NBA. Celtics-Bucks isn’t exactly “must see TV” unless you’re a Celtics or a Bucks fan… even that might be debatable after the first quarter. But this is still an important game for both teams. The Celtics, for all their troubles, have an opportunity to vault into the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, switching places with Philadelphia and leaving the Sixers to fight their way out of a first round matchup with Miami or Chicago. But the Celtics need a win tonight against the new-look Bucks and then a win tomorrow against the Sixers to make that happen.
That won’t be easy. The Bucks, winners of six-straight, are the hottest team in the Association at the moment… although they’ve beaten six teams with losing records (New York, Toronto, New Jersey, Cleveland, Golden State and Portland). It’s their longest win streak since 2002, even though Monta Ellis hasn’t gone off like he’s capable of yet. Tonight might be the night, as Boston’s porous perimeter defense and weakened front line (Jermaine O’Neal (wrist) and Chris Wilcox (heart condition) are done for the year) could be what Ellis needs for huge scoring night.
Couple of notes:
- Since moving to the center position, Kevin Garnett’s scoring and rebounding average have each gone up two, and he’s averaging more steals, blocks and shooting a higher percentage.
- Mike Dunleavy is averaging 19.8 points and 4.7 assists off the bench over his last six games (all Bucks wins) while shooting 44-for-74 (.595) from the field and 15-for-31 (.483) from behind the arc.
Other story lines for tonight
7:00 Indiana-Washington: Indiana looks for its fourth straight win over the Wizards.
8:00 LA Clippers-New Orleans: Chris Paul makes his return to New Orleans.
8:00 Golden State-Houston: Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry may miss their sixth straight game.
10:00 Utah-Sacramento: Utah has won four straight going into tonight, but Sacramento is on a three game winning streak.
10:00 Memphis-Portland: Gilbert Arenas is expected to make his Grizzlies debut tonight
John’s Picks:
Boston, Indiana, LA Clippers, Golden State, Utah, Memphis
Last night: 6-4
Season: 113-97
