Deep in the Heart of Texas...

Last night the Celtics completed a season sweep of the current 3, 6, and 7 seeds on a whirlwind road trip through the state of Texas with a win over the Dallas Mavericks. Defeating the Spurs in a tight game on Monday night and putting an end the Rockets' amazing 22-game win streak in blowout fashion on Tuesday the Celtics have seemingly answered the question about how they might fare against the superior competition offered from the Western Conference. The Celtics are 23-4 against the West, including 10-3 against the teams currently in the playoffs in the West. At this point they are clearly the best team in the NBA, possessing size, sharpshooting, great defense, and a very underrated bench. Sam I Am has started playing better after a dreadful start to his tenure as a Celtic, he had 17 points and a clutch three pointer in the game's waning moments in the win over the Spurs this week. Last night, he only had four points but had six assists while playing most of the fourth quarter. It seems that Doc Rivers will utilize the experience of Cassell and Posey with the big three in the fourth quarter of a close game. And now for my favorite past time senseless rankings, the NBA edition:

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1. Celtics
2. Lakers

3. San Antonio

4. Detroit

5. Phoenix

It is worth mentioning the play of the Philadelphia 76ers, a team's who's best players are Andre Miller and Andre Igoudala. This team should be in the lottery not in a position to potentially (but unlikely) host a playoff series in round one. They currently sit in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, one game behind Washington for fifth and 4.5 behind Cleveland for fourth. Andre Miller is playing like he belongs in the conversation about top 5 NBA point guards. This team is one star player away from being a strong team in a weak Eastern Conference. Mo Cheeks is the coach of the year at this point.

My current projection-Celtics over Lakers

Welcome Sam I Am

The Celtics have added an sometimes disgruntled, yet very veteran point guard. Sam Cassell is a proven commodity on good teams with a significant amount of playoff experience. In 2003-2004, his first year in Minnesota, Sam I Am teamed with Kevin Garnett (and Troy Hudson, remember him?) to lead that franchise out of the wilderness into the Western Conference Finals. While they were subsequently discarded by the Shaq-Kobe juggernaut, this seemed to mark a formative step in the development of a team that had been steadily getting better (the Timberwolves have not made the playoffs since and are currently one game behind Miami for the right to own the most ping pong balls in the silly draft lottery). In 2005-2006, his first year with the L.A. Clippers, Cassell teamed with Elton Brand to lead that lowly franchise further than it had ever been, within one game of reaching the Western Conference Finals. The mighty C's currently have one glaring hole, depth at the guard position. Currently, Eddie House and Gabe Pruitt are the only other point guards on the roster. House is not known for his deft passing ability and Pruitt plays less than six minutes a game. Rajon Rondo garners mixed reviews in my opinion. While he has proven to be a solid defender and a surprisingly good shooter (48% FG), he barely averages five assists a game on a team with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. His play has been very uneven, which is where Cassell enters the picture. He can teach young Rondo how to better play the position, provide a player who can handle the ball when Rondo is on the bench (Eddie House bringing the ball up-court can be quite unnerving), and be a seasoned playoff veteran to run the offense in the game's waning moments.