LeBron James and Cavs take on Boston Celtics
LeBron James and Cavs take on Boston Celtics
When LeBron James and his Cavaliers travel to Boston Friday night to meet the Celtics, the Cleveland Crew will be out to improve upon their 9-1 ATS run in the last 10 meetings between the two squads. The Cavs will also be out to break the stranglehold that the home team has had in the series currently sitting at 10 straight triumphs. ESPN has the broadcast of this Eastern Conference clash starting at 8:00 p.m. (ET).
The waiver wire isn’t the most glamorous way to find a new employer. But for Joe Smith and Drew Gooden, it’ll do. Smith was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers following his release from Oklahoma City, and Gooden is now a member of the San Antonio Spurs after a brief stay in Sacramento. Both men could end up guarding each other in the NBA Finals.
Proving that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, the Spurs waived Pops Mensah-Bonsu on Wednesday to make room for Gooden, and reports have the Toronto Raptors signing PMB for the rest of the season. Your chances of a wise-ass columnist linking Pops Mensah-Bonsu to Pape Sow: 100 percent.
Cleveland at Boston (-2, 184)
Friday, Mar 6, 8:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Apparently the Cavaliers (48-12 SU, 40-20 ATS) and the Celtics (48-14 SU, 33-29 ATS) are contractually obligated to make the locals happy whenever they meet. It’s been 10 straight wins for the home side – including all seven games of their epic 2008 Eastern Conference semifinal. Cleveland is 9-1 ATS during that span, covering both games they’ve played so far this season.
There will be a number of differences in this matchup. The Celtics still don’t know when Kevin Garnett (knee) is going to be back in the lineup. They’re 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS since the Big Ticket went down, dropping the cash in their last four games. Also missing in action: guard Tony Allen (thumb) and forward Brian Scalabrine (concussion). But those positions happen to be the same ones filled by recent waiver-wire pickups Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore.
The Cavs have a bit of a new look themselves, adding Smith to help shoulder the workload after Ben Wallace broke his leg. But Smith is hardly a stranger, having been dealt to the Cavs last year at the trade deadline along with Wallace. He’ll reportedly be in the lineup on Friday with the betting odds favoring Boston by two points. The total is 184.
Detroit at Atlanta
Saturday, Mar 7, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
The Pistons (30-29 SU, 24-35 ATS) should have Allen Iverson in the lineup sooner than expected – but not soon enough to face the Hawks (34-27 SU, 32-29 ATS). That’s just fine for Detroit supporters, as their team has gone 3-0 SU and ATS since their leading scorer was taken out of the lineup with a sore back.
You don’t need to be Dr. Jack Ramsay to figure this one out. Richard Hamilton (18.18 PER last year, 16.93 PER this year) is back in the starting rotation at shooting guard, scoring 35, 25 and 21 points in these last three games. The Pistons have also given Antonio McDyess another run as the starting power forward; in seven starts this year, McDyess has posted 13.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Even with Rodney Stuckey manning the point instead of Chauncey Billups, this is as close to the “real” Detroit Pistons as one could hope for.
Atlanta has hit a snag at 3-6 SU and 4-5 ATS over the last nine games – mostly on the road against the Western Conference, so that’s hardly a disaster. Atlanta was 2-0 SU and ATS against the Iverson version of Detroit this year.
Phoenix at San Antonio
Sunday, Mar 8, 3:30 p.m. (ET) ABC
Gooden declared himself fit to go for Friday’s matchup with the Wizards, even though he’s been on the sidelines in Sacramento (and Chicago before that) because of groin/abdominal issues for most of the past two months.
At least Gooden is well rested for the playoff drive. The Suns have joined the waiver wire craze by picking up Stromile Swift, who played a grand total of 64 minutes for the Nets before getting his release. Gooden and Swift are both capable players who never quite lived up to their hype; Swift could find himself in some useful situations with Phoenix considerably thinner in the frontcourt minus Amare Stoudemire.
The Suns are hanging in there at 4-4 SU and ATS since Stoudemire was lost to a detached retina. But if you take out the three games Steve Nash sat out, Phoenix is 2-3 SU and ATS. They beat the Lakers 118-111 as 4½-point home dogs without Nash, and they’ve since lost back-to-back games in Orlando (-7½) and Miami (-2½) with the former two-time MVP. Strange days indeed.
When LeBron James and his Cavaliers travel to Boston Friday night to meet the Celtics, the Cleveland Crew will be out to improve upon their 9-1 ATS run in the last 10 meetings between the two squads. The Cavs will also be out to break the stranglehold that the home team has had in the series currently sitting at 10 straight triumphs. ESPN has the broadcast of this Eastern Conference clash starting at 8:00 p.m. (ET).
The waiver wire isn’t the most glamorous way to find a new employer. But for Joe Smith and Drew Gooden, it’ll do. Smith was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers following his release from Oklahoma City, and Gooden is now a member of the San Antonio Spurs after a brief stay in Sacramento. Both men could end up guarding each other in the NBA Finals.
Proving that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, the Spurs waived Pops Mensah-Bonsu on Wednesday to make room for Gooden, and reports have the Toronto Raptors signing PMB for the rest of the season. Your chances of a wise-ass columnist linking Pops Mensah-Bonsu to Pape Sow: 100 percent.
Cleveland at Boston (-2, 184)
Friday, Mar 6, 8:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Apparently the Cavaliers (48-12 SU, 40-20 ATS) and the Celtics (48-14 SU, 33-29 ATS) are contractually obligated to make the locals happy whenever they meet. It’s been 10 straight wins for the home side – including all seven games of their epic 2008 Eastern Conference semifinal. Cleveland is 9-1 ATS during that span, covering both games they’ve played so far this season.
There will be a number of differences in this matchup. The Celtics still don’t know when Kevin Garnett (knee) is going to be back in the lineup. They’re 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS since the Big Ticket went down, dropping the cash in their last four games. Also missing in action: guard Tony Allen (thumb) and forward Brian Scalabrine (concussion). But those positions happen to be the same ones filled by recent waiver-wire pickups Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore.
The Cavs have a bit of a new look themselves, adding Smith to help shoulder the workload after Ben Wallace broke his leg. But Smith is hardly a stranger, having been dealt to the Cavs last year at the trade deadline along with Wallace. He’ll reportedly be in the lineup on Friday with the betting odds favoring Boston by two points. The total is 184.
Detroit at Atlanta
Saturday, Mar 7, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
The Pistons (30-29 SU, 24-35 ATS) should have Allen Iverson in the lineup sooner than expected – but not soon enough to face the Hawks (34-27 SU, 32-29 ATS). That’s just fine for Detroit supporters, as their team has gone 3-0 SU and ATS since their leading scorer was taken out of the lineup with a sore back.
You don’t need to be Dr. Jack Ramsay to figure this one out. Richard Hamilton (18.18 PER last year, 16.93 PER this year) is back in the starting rotation at shooting guard, scoring 35, 25 and 21 points in these last three games. The Pistons have also given Antonio McDyess another run as the starting power forward; in seven starts this year, McDyess has posted 13.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Even with Rodney Stuckey manning the point instead of Chauncey Billups, this is as close to the “real” Detroit Pistons as one could hope for.
Atlanta has hit a snag at 3-6 SU and 4-5 ATS over the last nine games – mostly on the road against the Western Conference, so that’s hardly a disaster. Atlanta was 2-0 SU and ATS against the Iverson version of Detroit this year.
Phoenix at San Antonio
Sunday, Mar 8, 3:30 p.m. (ET) ABC
Gooden declared himself fit to go for Friday’s matchup with the Wizards, even though he’s been on the sidelines in Sacramento (and Chicago before that) because of groin/abdominal issues for most of the past two months.
At least Gooden is well rested for the playoff drive. The Suns have joined the waiver wire craze by picking up Stromile Swift, who played a grand total of 64 minutes for the Nets before getting his release. Gooden and Swift are both capable players who never quite lived up to their hype; Swift could find himself in some useful situations with Phoenix considerably thinner in the frontcourt minus Amare Stoudemire.
The Suns are hanging in there at 4-4 SU and ATS since Stoudemire was lost to a detached retina. But if you take out the three games Steve Nash sat out, Phoenix is 2-3 SU and ATS. They beat the Lakers 118-111 as 4½-point home dogs without Nash, and they’ve since lost back-to-back games in Orlando (-7½) and Miami (-2½) with the former two-time MVP. Strange days indeed.
