A perfect off-night for the Celtics would be to see the Lakers, Spurs, Magic, and Heat all lose. But since two of those teams were playing against the other two, we'll just have to live with 2 losses and 2 wins.
The Lakers loss seems to have the vultures circling again. I'm pretty sure this is just speculation on JA Adande's part, but I guess you never know.
Better and closer wasn't good enough. ...The question now is if better and closer will be enough to alter the increasingly unusual activity in Lakerland, starting with general manager Mitch Kupchak's public proclamation that the Lakers might need to make a trade and continuing with the presence of owner Jerry Buss at Thursday's morning shootaround. Both moves were out of character. The most extreme outcome would be to use Andrew Bynum in an attempt to lure Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets.
And the Magic loss has at least one writer wondering how the East will shake out.
For Heat, top-heavy East is a puzzle - Heat Index Blog - ESPN
As things now stand, there's a round-robin like routine among the top five teams in the East. Consider yourself warned, because it's about to get dizzy. With impressive wins in two of three matchups with their intrastate rival, the Heat have the Magic's number. Yet Miami can't beat Boston. The Celtics have dominated the Heat in two meetings this season, but have struggled in their two-game split against the Magic. Atlanta can't do a thing with Boston, but has closed the gap on Orlando. Meanwhile, the Bulls are the only team among the top six in the East with victories this season against the Celtics, Heat and Magic.
I really like our chances against any and all of those teams in the playoffs, but what else would you expect me to say?