The 2013 NBA playoffs are set to continue, and today at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be keeping a close eye on the series between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. These two should be going at it in a great set of battles, and we are going to have our NBA playoffs predictions and scores update on a nightly basis for this and all of the great series throughout the playoffs. Check back to this page often, as we will be updating our final scores and our series analysis so you can make the most informed NBA picks every step of the way in this series.

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks NBA Playoff Schedule

Pacers Win Series 4-2

Game 1: Indiana Pacers 102 – New York Knicks 95
Game 2: Indiana Pacers 79 – New York Knicks 105
Game 3: New York Knicks 71 – Indiana Pacers 82
Game 4: New York Knicks 82 – Indiana Pacers 93
Game 5: Indiana Pacers 75 – New York Knicks 85
Game 6: New York Knicks 99 – Indiana Pacers 106

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks Series Odds at
5Dimes Sportsbook
Indiana Pacers -400
New York Knicks +300
Click Here to Bet Your Pacers vs. Knicks Picks!

Pacers vs. Knicks Series Update
Game 1: Home court advantage has already flipped hands. The Pacers outscored New York 59-38 in the second and third quarters combined, and the Knicks simply had no answer whatsoever. G DJ Augustin came off the bench and knocked down four threes, scoring 16 points. The five starters for Indiana also scored at least 11 points apiece. Not surprisingly, when the Knicks lose, F Carmelo Anthony and G JR Smith just didn’t shoot the ball well. These two went just 14-of-43 between them. That won’t cut it against this Indiana team, which is a heck of a lot better than the recently banished Celtics. Pacers 102 – Knicks 95 (Pacers Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: Believe it or not, Game 2 was a relatively close game until the Knicks went on a 30-2 run to put things away in the fourth quarter. New York ended up outscoring the Pacers by 20 in the final stanza, and things could have been a heck of a lot worse had that run come earlier in the game. F Carmelo Anthony played an efficient game, as he shot 13-of-26 from the field and scored 32 points. G JR Smith still struggled, but Indiana just couldn’t get things going. The team uncharacteristically only pulled down 35 boards (largely thanks to New York shooting 49.4% from the field), and it turned it over 21 times. The telling stat of the game? Indiana had 66 shots. The Knicks had 89 shots. You’re not going to win games when you don’t shoot the basketball as many times as your opponents. Knicks 105 – Pacers 79 (Series Tied 1-1)

Game 3: If you didn’t believe in how good the Pacers were defensively before, you certainly do now. It feels like the whole shot chart has been littered with bad shot selection for New York, but the Knicks are only taking what the Pacers are giving them looks at. New York shot just 35.2 percent from the field, and though Indiana didn’t do any better at 35.0 percent, it had 13 more rebounds, thus nine more shots from the floor. C Roy Hibbert scored 24 and pulled down 12 boards to lead the way for Indiana. The Knicks only had one double digit point scorer, and that was F Carmelo Anthony with 21. Pacers 82 – Knicks 71 (Pacers Lead Series 2-1)

Game 4: It’s more of the same story for the Knicks and the Pacers in this one. Indiana has figured out how to dominate on the defensive side of the court, and New York hasn’t figured out how to counter that. G JR Smith only scored 19 points, and it took 22 shots for him to do that. F Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points, but that took 23 shots to accomplish. G Iman Shumpert, F Kenyon Martin, and G Jason Kidd combined to shoot 0-for-11 from the field. Meanwhile, the Pacers weren’t fantastic offensively, but they won because they dominated on the boards, they only turned the ball over 12 times, and they took advantage of their opportunities. Getting 26 points from G George Hill didn’t hurt either. Indiana is on the verge of a date with the Heat. Pacers 93 – Knicks 82 (Pacers Lead Series 3-1)

Game 5: At least for one more night, the Knicks have survived. With G George Hill out with a concussion, G DJ Augustin was forced into the starting lineup for the Pacers, and though he knocked down three triples in the game, he wasn’t the most effective player in the world. Instead, F Paul George led the way with 23 points, but he didn’t get a heck of a lot of help from anyone else on his team. F Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points on 12-of-28 shooting, and though that was far too many shots for that many points, the team picked up the slack on the defensive side of the court by forcing 19 turnovers. The Pacers were just a mess offensively, and they are going to have to play better ball than this if they want to win this series still. Knicks 85 – Pacers 75 (Pacers Lead Series 3-2)

Game 6: The Knicks had one of their best quarters of basketball in the third quarter when they really needed it, scoring 34 points and drawing level in a game that they had to win. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t end up capitalizing on it. G Raymond Felton didn’t hit a single shot from the field, and G JR Smith hit just 4-of-15 to kill New York’s chances. G George Hill was back in the lineup, and even though he only shot 2-of-10 from the field, the game looked a lot more normal for the Pacers. G Lance Stephenson led the way with 25 points, while F Paul George had 23, and C Roy Hibbert scored 21 with 12 boards and five blocks. Indiana hit 34 foul shots in the game and turned the ball over just nine times. New York didn’t have a single fast break point in what turned out to be its last game of the season. Pacers 106 – Knicks 99 (Pacers Win Series 4-2)

2013 Pacers vs. Knicks Series Preview

The Knicks and the Pacers both struggled just a bit in their opening round series against the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks respectively. Both took big series leads. New York was up 3-0 and ended up needing six games to finish off the Celtics, while the Pacers were up 2-0 on the Hawks before ultimately needing six games to get the job done.

New York played some fantastic defensive ball in this opening round series against Boston, particularly early on. The team held the Celtics down to just a total of 54 points in a span of four quarters of basketball from the third period of Game 2 through the second quarter of Game 3. However, when the defense started to slip, the offense started to get a bit more erratic. F Carmelo Anthony and G JR Smith tried to literally do everything, and the end result is that both ended up shooting just 38 percent from the field for the series. Both put up good scoring numbers, especially Anthony and his 29.2 points per game. However, it all isn’t going to mean anything if the rest of the supporting cast can’t help out. G Raymond Felton had a good first series, averaging 17.2 points per game, but aside from him, there wasn’t another supporting player that averaged more than the 9.0 points per game of G Iman Shumpert and the 6.0 points per game of G Pablo Prigioni. Look for F Amare Stoudemire to come back in this series at some point, perhaps as early as Game 3 in Indianapolis.

The Pacers didn’t play all that well on the road all season long, and that stayed the case in the postseason as well. The team was beaten badly in the first two games at Phillips Arena before finally figuring out how to finish the deal in Game 6 on the road. F Paul George had himself a great opening series, averaging 18.7 points, 9.5 boards, and 5.0 assists per game, and he started off with a triple-double in the opening game of the set. Four players averaged at least 14.7 points per game, but more importantly, three averaged at least 8.0 rebounds per game as well. Indiana continued to move the basketball all over the court, and if it keeps that up here in the second round, it will have a shot of winning this series.

The home team won the last five games in this series dating back to last year, and it is 4-1 ATS in that stretch as well. The Pacers have come up with some huge efforts at Bankers Life Fieldhouse over the years, and we think they will ultimately find a way to win this series in six games. There will be too much of “I before Team” basketball in the Big Apple, and Melo and Smith will ultimately be the death of this team once the Pacers figure things out.

Knicks vs. Pacers Series Prediction: Indiana Pacers in 6

Purchase Via Credit Card	Purchase By Paypal

The 2013 NBA playoffs are set to begin, and today at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be keeping a close eye on the series between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. These two should be going at it in a great set of battles, and we are going to have our NBA playoffs predictions and scores update on a nightly basis for this and all of the great series throughout the playoffs. Check back to this page often, as we will be updating our final scores and our series analysis so you can make the most informed NBA picks every step of the way in this series.

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks NBA Playoff Schedule

Knicks Win Series 4-2

Game 1: Boston Celtics 78 – New York Knicks 85
Game 2: Boston Celtics 71 – New York Knicks 87
Game 3: New York Knicks 90 – Boston Celtics 76
Game 4: New York Knicks 90 – Boston Celtics 97 (OT)
Game 5: Boston Celtics 92 – New York Knicks 86
Game 6: New York Knicks 88 @ Boston Celtics 80

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks Series Odds at
5Dimes Sportsbook
Boston Celtics +650
New York Knicks -1000
Click Here to Bet Your Celtics vs. Knicks Picks!

Celtics vs. Knicks Series Updates
Game 1: The Celtics only scored eight points in the entire fourth quarter on Saturday, and that really took the wind out of the sails of a game that was very close and very winnable going into the final stanza. F Paul Pierce, G Avery Bradley, and F Jeff Green combined to score 63 points, but the rest of the Boston team only had 15 for the whole game. F Carmelo Anthony started off his postseason in style, shooting 13-of-29 from the floor and scoring 36 points to lead New York to a ‘W’. Knicks 85 – Celtics 78 (Knicks Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: The Celtics scored just 23 total points in the second half against the Knicks in Game 2, including getting outscored 32-11 in the third quarter. The team shot just 37.1 percent from the field, while the Knicks got 34 more points out of F Carmelo Anothny. Four of the five starters for New York were +21 or better in the point scoring department against the C’s, and that was clearly the difference in this one. Knicks 87 – Celtics 71 (Knicks Lead Series 2-0)

Game 3: The C’s had to think that they were going to get this series back to Madison Square Garden level, but absolutely nothing happened that was good in Beantown. In the first game that the Celtics played at home since the Boston Marathon bombings, the host team came out of the blocks flat, scoring just 31 points in the first two quarters. At halftime, over the course of the last four quarters, Boston had scored just 54 points. Wow. Boston’s bench was outscored 30-10, and that clearly wasn’t good enough to win a game against the Knicks. Knicks 90 – Celtics 76 (Knicks Lead Series 3-0)

Game 4: Give the Celtics this… At least they have a little bit of fight left in them. They came out of the gate in the first half and put together a solid performance over the weekend, outscoring New York 54-35 in the 24 minute stretch. However, from that point forward, it was all New York, especially in the third quarter when the team went on a quarter-long 30-14 run. G JR Smith was suspended for the game for the Knicks, but G Raymond Felton stepped up and scored 27 points to make up for the fact that the bench scored just seven in total. In overtime though, the Celtics were able to muster up one last bit of fight, and they scored a healthy 13 points in the period to ultimately go on to victory behind 29 points from F Paul Pierce and 26 from F Jeff Green. The C’s lived to fight another day. Celtics 97 – Knicks 90 (Knicks Lead Series 3-1)

Game 5: The Celtics got the toughest game that they simply had to get. They beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and they did it as a team. Boston picked up at least 16 points from five different players, and though Head Coach Doc Rivers only used a total of seven men, those seven were good enough to get the job done. G JR Smith and F Carmelo Anthony got shot happy from the outside, and as a result, the two didn’t even shoot a combined 30% from the field. The rest of the team did just fine for the Knicks, but as we have learned over the course of this season, when Smith and Anthony aren’t scoring, they hit the panic button and the rest of the team has to pay the price. Now, the pressure is really on in the Big Apple. Celtics 92 – Knicks 86 (Knicks Lead Series 3-2)

Game 6: F Carmelo Anthony knew that he was going to have to close this series out if he was ever going to want to keep his reputation as one of the superstars of the game. Melo only shot 7-of-23 from the field, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, but he was picked up by his teammates. The Knicks got back to their game defensively, holding the Celtics down to just 27 points in the first half. Boston was down 24 points at one point in the fourth, but the team went on one last push, a remarkable 20-0 run. It just wasn’t enough though, as the Celtics’ season comes to a close. Knicks 88 – Celtics 80 (Knicks Win Series 4-2)

2013 Celtics vs. Knicks Series Preview

The Knicks and the Celtics know all about each other, as they met four times this season and played in a bitter rivalry against one another. There was a point that the two teams nearly warred both on and off the court after games on the campaign, and that should make this a great series. The Knicks are going to need to knock down some shots and make sure that they continue to hammer the paint if they are going to win this series. We know that Boston is going to bring a very hardnosed defense to the table that is going to hack and claw with the Knicks for the full seven games if need be. There will never be a point that the C’s give up, nor will there be a point that the team stops fighting.

This is something that really could frustrate New York when push comes to shove. Neither G JR Smith nor F Carmelo Anthony were really great shooters this year, as the two only combined to shoot around 43% from the floor, and though they can both be fantastic shooters both inside and outside, they can both end up getting sloppy with the basketball, which could ultimately be the Knicks’ downfall.

Boston though, has to prove that it is in playoff shape. The team really hasn’t played all that hard for most of the season, and we think the last time that this team took a game seriously was sometime back in March. That being said, we know that F Paul Pierce and F Kevin Garnett are going to have to prove that they are the kings of the court, and they’re both going to have to be good for 35-40 minutes per night and probably at least 35 points and 20 rebounds per game between them to win this series.

The boys from Beantown are surely going to be emotional in this one, as Game 3 and Game 4 of this series will be the first games played at the TD Garden since the Boston Marathon Bombings. We think that this is a series that could go to Boston in spite of the fact that the Knicks did a great job in this series. Don’t be surprised if this one goes the distance, which is where the C’s might shine.

Knicks vs. Celtics Series Prediction: Boston Celtics in 7

Purchase Via Credit Card	Purchase By Paypal

Bovada.lv has a plethora of NBA props posted about the phenom that is Jeremy Lin with the New York Knicks. Today, we join in the fun of Linsanity and make our Jeremy Lin predictions for the rest of the 2012 season.

Of course, we know that the first prop that is offered by Bovada Sportsbook is a bit absurd. Lin is listed at +3000 to win the MVP Award this year. Sure, if the Knicks continue to win virtually every single game that they play with the Harvard grad running the point guard spot, Lin would all of a sudden become an MVP candidate. In the end though, this is still a team in which at best, he is going to finish third in scoring behind Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. Linsanity is big… but it’s not quite that big.

More realistic is the prop that asks the question whether Lin will hit another game-winning shot with all zeroes on the clock like he did against the Toronto Raptors earlier this week. The odds of +350 aren’t all that great, but we definitely could see it happening. It is clear that Lin, assuming that he can keep this up, is going to have the ball in his hands in some crucial situations. There is a big question though, as to where Melo falls into place in this situation. It’s obvious to say that there aren’t that many games that come down to the wire that require a last shot to win a game. Anthony is one of the best closers that the game has had over the course of the last decade though, and if he wants the ball in his hands, he is probably going to get it. We could see this happening, but in the end, it would take a lot more luck than anything else just to get Lin in that situation for a second time this year with the ball in his hands to win a game at the gun.

And of course, the question still exists as to whether or not the Knicks are going to make the playoffs. They clearly weren’t all that great of a team before Lin came into the fold, and they haven’t lost since that point. Bovada is offering -500 on the fact that the Knicks are going to make the postseason, and we actually think that those are tremendous NBA odds.

Look at the East. The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls are obviously fantastic teams. The Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks have gotten off to great starts. The Boston Celtics should at least be a competent team the rest of the way. That still leaves one more spot to be filled by the rest of the garbage that is the Eastern Conference. It is clear that the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons are going absolutely nowhere, which really just leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks to contend with the Knicks. We really don’t even need to factor in the fact that the Sixers are playing above their means, as are the Hawks, and the Magic are clearly going to be trading Dwight Howard before the end of the season as long as GM Otis Smith doesn’t fall asleep at the wheel. The Knicks virtually have to make the playoffs, and it really doesn’t even have all that much to do with Lin calling the shots. They are too talented with Melo and Amare Stoudemire to not make the postseason as long as both of these men stay healthy.

The NBA Trade Deadline is now here, as teams have less than 12 hours to make their final moves for the rest of the season. The action has been hot and heavy over the course of the last day and change, and here is a recap of what we have seen, plus what we might see in the closing hours today…

The biggest blockbuster deal that we have all been waiting for has finally gone done. The New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets have finally agreed on a deal that will send Carmelo Anthony to the Big Apple, his desired destination. New York is expected to give Anthony a three year, $65M extension that will keep him playing at MSG through 2015. The Knicks also received back Chauncey Billups, who will immediately start at the point guard spot, along with Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, and Anthony Carter. In exchange, Denver will be getting Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, a first round draft choice, two second round draft choices, and $3M in cash. Melo scored 27 points and had 10 boards in his first game playing with the Knicks, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

The wheeling and dealing wasn’t done there, though. New York also sent off Eddy Curry’s expiring contract and Anthony Randolph for Corey Brewer. Brewer didn’t make it into the lineup on Wednesday.

For Denver, the trades are almost certainly not complete. Gallinari and Felton might never suit up for the Nuggs by the time this is said and done. Felton is now the second former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard on the team, joining Ty Lawson. Rumors also have it that Nene could be sent off in a deal before Thursday’s deadline as well, and he is now the leading point scorer still left on the team at 15.0 per game. Al Harrington, who was signed last summer to a huge free agent deal, now could also be traded. The Nuggets play their first game since the trade tonight against the Boston Celtics at home.

The New Jersey Nets were figured to be the biggest losers of the trading deadline, as they once again seemed to miss out on acquiring all of the superstars that were available, just like what happened in the offseason. However, we have learned to never count out Mikhail Prokhorov and company, as New Jersey got its man, and it arguably got a better deal than it would’ve gotten had it picked up ‘Melo. In a late breaking deal on Wednesday, the Nets acquired Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz. Jersey sent packing Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, and two draft choices to Utah.

Meanwhile, the Jazz are now absolutely ripe as could be, as they have a ton of pieces to the puzzle that could, but probably won’t be moved by the 3:00 ET deadline today. Favors is a man that a lot of teams are still asking about, especially on a team in which he may never crack the rotation. Remember that Utah still has Al Jefferson, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, and Paul Millsap, essentially all of which have the same type of skill set as Favors does. The Jazz still need a two guard and would be wise to try to send one of these bigs off to make that happen.

Williams won’t necessarily resign with the Nets, as he is reportedly unhappy with the trade. However, he still has a full season under his belt with his current contract and cannot get out until 2012. New Jersey could always turn around and trade him off next year if things don’t work out, but the hope is that Williams becomes the cornerstone to the franchise as it tries to turn around its misery.

We mentioned two days ago that the Atlanta Hawks were looking for a point guard, and they finally found their man, though it came at a hefty price tag. Atlanta traded Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a first round draft choice to the Washington Wizards for Hilton Armstrong and Kirk Hinrich. If you’re the Wiz, you have to love this deal, as it rids you of Hinrich, who is only standing in the way of the growth of John Wall, and it gives you yet another draft pick to try to build around. Atlanta gets its point guard, but it takes three key players out of its rotation to do so.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a nice move in the middle of the night on Wednesday as well, picking up Baron Davis and a lottery draft pick this coming year to the Los Angeles Clippers for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Davis is clearly at the tail end of his career, and it is clear that the team just wanted to move him for the sake of moving him. It essentially cost a first round pick to do so, but this might not be the end of the world for an LA team that does have a ton of players under the age of 25 on its team. It might also be a nice switch for Williams, who has just seemed to be totally lost since losing LeBron James to the Miami Heat this past offseason.

Speaking of the Heat, they could be in on a minor move as well, though teams don’t seem to be all that interested in their most tradeable asset, Mike Miller. Still, keep an eye on this situation, as Miami is trying to bring in another veteran big to help out Chris Bosh on the inside.

Up the road, the Orlando Magic are surely looking to make a move, especially after losing to the Sacramento Kings last night. General Manager Otis Smith knows that he really needs to make a major move sooner than later, or he’ll probably end up losing Dwight Howard in two seasons to free agency, a la LeBron James, something that would seal his fate and cost him his job for sure. The problem is finding the pieces to the puzzle to deal since Orlando already made the big time trade with the Phoenix Suns earlier this season. Could Steve Nash be coming to Orlando? What about Zach Randolph? The Randolph deal makes some sense, though it would require reportedly sending back at least Brandon Bass and Jason Richardson to do so, a heavy price to pay.

Teams are also contacted the Memphis Grizzlies about the availability of Hasheem Thabeet, who has largely been a tremendous bust in his career after being a high draft choice two seasons ago.

The Portland Trail Blazers are still trying to make a move, but it’s a question as to what they’re looking for. There are plenty of bigs to trade on this team, and it seems like the only names that aren’t being bantered around just a bit are those of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. Aside from that though, it all seems to be fair game, and anyone coming to the table with the right asking price can seemingly get anyone else they want off of this team. One of those talks are with the Charlotte Bobcats, who have had inquiries about Gerald Wallace. That deal doesn’t seem to be in the makings though, as Wallace is still looked at as the cornerstone of Charlotte’s team.

We’ll keep you up to date here at Bankroll Sports with all of the ins and outs of the 2011 NBA Trade Deadline rumors!

Oddsmaker is offering a 100% Signup Bonus For Bankroll Sports Visitors; Click Here!
New Oddsmaker Players Only: Must Mention Bankroll Sports & Use This Link!
(Must Use Above Links – $100 Min. / $1000 Max. – 20% Bonus For All Future Redeposits)

Even though the 2010 NBA trade deadline wasn’t as active as some might’ve thought, there is still plenty of room for discussion. Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re issuing our grades for how teams did under the pressure of Thursday’s deadline.

New York Knicks: A+: There weren’t any teams that did a better job at the deadline than the Knicks. New York knew that it wasn’t competing for a championship this year, but it did successfully dump the salaries of Jordan Hill, Jordan Jeffries, Larry Hughes, Nate Robinson, and Darko Milicic in exchange for a couple first rounders and having to deal with Tracy McGrady’s garbage for the next couple months. Add G Sergio Rodriguez to the mix from Sacramento, and New York knows that these prudent deals can set it up nicely for a run at both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the offseason.

Houston Rockets: A: The Rockets really answered the trade by the Mavericks by adding a host of talent from the Knicks and Kings in that three-way deal. Plus, they’re rid of Tracy McGrady now as well and will pick up a couple of picks from New York in the future. The biggest question for HC Rick Adelman is whether he’ll be able to find roles for all of his new starts.

Dallas Mavericks: B+: Any time you can pick up an All-Star, you tend to pull out the stops, but did the Mavs give up a little too much by dealing Josh Howard and Drew Gooden to DC? Caron Butler had better push Dallas into the playoffs an give F Dirk Nowitzki a good counterpart, or Mark Cuban may be regretting this move. All in all though, the Mavericks are probably a better team now than they were before the All-Star Break.

Cleveland Cavaliers: B: The question here isn’t whether GM Danny Ferry would’ve preferred Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire coming to town or not. The question is whether LeBron James would’ve rather have Stoudemire over Antawn Jamison. Still, as we suggested in our article a couple days ago, Cleveland needed to do something to make sure that The King stayed happy, and this move only made things a heck of a lot harder for the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference. If the Cavs don’t win the East now, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Utah Jazz: B-: The Jazz get a decent grade for not making a move that they might’ve regretted. Utah is probably going to make the playoffs, and had it dealt Carlos Boozer, that might not have ultimately been the case.

Miami Heat: C: Kudos to the Heat for not giving up too much to get either Amare Stoudemire, Antawn Jamison, or Carlos Boozer. Miami just needs to convince Dwyane Wade that it is really in it to win him another championship, and it might take a big free agent signing to do just that.

Sacramento Kings: D: Who knows what the Kings were thinking by trading away Kevin Martin and Sergio Rodriguez. There wasn’t a heck of a lot that came back Sacramento’s way. It’s pretty clear that the Kings came out as the butt of that three-team deal with the Rockets and Knicks.

Washington Wizards: D-: If you’re a Washington fan, what reasons do you have to show up to the games anymore? No more Gilbert Arenas, no more Antawn Jamison, and no more Caron Butler. The only good news is that this team couldn’t get much worse than it already was, so it may as well try to start over again.

Phoenix Suns: F: No one deserves a worse grade than the Suns at the trade deadline. How on earth can you sit there and shop Amare Stoudemire for weeks and weeks and ultimately do nothing? Take a box of basketballs for him for crying out loud! Now, their leading scorer is disgruntled and probably will be for the rest of the year. Phoenix may not make the postseason, and if that’s the case, heads should role in the desert.

Kobe Bryant has been known for outstanding performances of the past and for his ability to take control over in games over the best the NBA has to offer. Last night was not any different as Bryant lit up the scoreboards again posting a 61 point performance in Madison Square Garden. The Los Angeles Lakers had a solid night as they held of a New York Knicks team who had won 6 of their last 7 by a score of 126-117. Lakers power forward Pau Gasol had an excellent night in a double-double performance knocking down 31 points and pulling down 14 boards. However, it was Bryant that stole the spotlight as he dropped 60 plus points for the 5th time in his career.

Kobe Bryant is no stranger to huge performances as he quite possibly is the best scorer of the modern era. Of course Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points back in 1962 is a feat that will likely never be broken considering how evolved and competitive the NBA has become. However, Bryant has made a few runs and big performances that rank as high as Wilt’s 100 point performance. Last night, the Lakers franchise player posted 50 or more points for the 25th time in his career. The performance took place in the historic and majestic Madison Square Garden where Kobe surpassed Michael Jordan as the highest scoring game ever for an opponent ever at the Garden. The 61 points also ranked 1st all time at Madison Square Garden for any player as Bryant edged out Bernard King’s 60 points back in 1984.

Kobe’s 25 50 point games ranks 3rd all-time behind Wilt Chamberlain who had 118 50 point nights back before there was a shot clock and the great Michael Jordan who posted 31 50 point games. The miraculous night still fell short of Kobe Bryant’s career best when he drained 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in January of 2006. Bryant performance last night was led by a 61% shooting performance from the floor (19-31), 50% shooting from behind the arc (3-6), and Bryant capped all of it off by not missing a single free throw in 20 attempts from the stripe. The performance along with the 31 points from Pau Gasol marked the highest scoring game all-season by two teammates as they nearly got to the century mark between the two as they ended up with 92 points combined.

The Lakers win moved them to a 38-9 record on the year that ranks the 2nd best in the NBA. Los Angeles has now won their last 3 games including the last 6 of 7. The game was the 3rd of six straight road games. Los Angeles will now get one night off before two hectic back to back games with Toronto and the highly anticipated showdown with the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The Celtics own the best record in the NBA at 40-9 barely ahead of the Lakers and the showdown will represent last year’s Finals re-match and also represents the two best teams in the NBA at this point in the season. The Lakers won the first meeting this season inside the Staples Center when Bryant led the team with 27 points as they took down the Celtics 92-83. However, the Celtics will likely be in better position to get some revenge this time around. Boston not only will host the meeting which is huge considering Boston owns a 24-2 home record after sporting the best home record in the league last season at 34-6 in the NBA. The Celtics will also get the slight advantage heading into the contest considering they will be on a little fresher legs as the Lakers battle the Raptors on Wednesday night. However, Bryant has a tendency to have some of his biggest nights on the biggest stages and the Lakers will look for him to have another big performance when they travel to Boston on Thursday.

The Boston Celtics are off to one of the best starts in NBA history at a record of 27-2. While it is still very early in the season, the Celtics can see a glimpse of history in the making. The Celtics are on pace to challenge the 1996 Chicago Bulls for the best record ever in a season. The 1996 Bulls finished their brilliant campaign with a final record of 72-10 and capped it off with an NBA Championship as well. Boston is off to a mind blowing pace through the early half of the season. The Celtics have 53 games remaining this season and the competition will likely pick up. However, if Boston could keep up similar pace they could quite possibly achieve the best season ever in the history of the NBA.

Boston is one of the most historical franchises in NBA history. The Celtics have an amazing 17 NBA Championships that is by far more than any other franchise in NBA history. Boston has established the best start in NBA history at a mark of 27-2. Only two other teams can compare to that kind of start. Both the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and 1969-70 New York Knicks started their seasons 26-2. They also both went on to win NBA Championships. With last nights 110-91 victory over the 76ers, the Celtics have now won 19 straight games which equals a team record. Boston is making their claim as one of the best teams to ever take the floor in professional basketball.

Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers has done a fabulous job getting his guys to play premier defense. Despite all the offensive weapons, the Boston defensive schemes have been major reason for their success. This season the Celtics are only allowing 91.4 points per game which ranks them as the 2^nd best scoring defense in the NBA. Boston also ranks first in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage. The Celtics are only allowing opposing teams to shoot 41% from the floor on average which is by far the best in the league. The Celtics have only allowed teams to score over 100 points 7 times this season in the 30 games played. That statistic alone is pretty remarkable considering how high scoring the entire NBA has become. However, Boston has stayed with an old school type of basketball that focuses on defense first and it has paid off big time.

Offensively the Celtics are as talented as any team in the league. Unlike the Los Angeles Lakers or Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston seldom has one player stand out game in and game out. Unlike other top teams that are led by star players such as Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, the Celtics can have any of their starting five post a big night. Other teams have the stress of worrying how their start performer will play every night. When those players are off a lot of times the entire team struggles. The Celtics do not have those worries because they have a number of players who can pick up the slack on any given night. Boston is led by a trio of stars in Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics average 50 points per game just between those 3 standouts. Boston benefits from having this type of talent considering when one player is off his game others will pick it up. Many teams can not afford there star players to struggle. However, Boston can play at a top level every night despite individual performances. This reason alone is why they are the most consistent team in the NBA.

Boston is on their way to accomplishing probably one of the most prestigious records a team could capture in the regular season. Boston remaining schedule will most certainly wear down the players and they are likely to lose this blistering early season pace. However, if the Celtics do stay on path they could legitimately challenge the 76’ Bulls for the best record of all-time. Boston has a huge match-up with the Los Angeles Lakers on the horizon to take place on Christmas Day. The game will mark a battle between powerhouses in effort to gain NBA supremacy. Each team will be trying to prove they are the best in the NBA and a win will go along way for each team’s confidence about where they stand in the league. If the Celtics could escape Los Angeles with a victory, the momentum could definitely last the rest of the season.

The Celtics simply have to keep similar pace in tact. Even if Boston were to lose twice as many games in their next 29 games, they would still be on pace to end the season with around 9 losses. This means that every game could be one loss or one win away from breaking the record at season’s end. So far this season Boston has faired well against the best competition in the NBA. Orlando, Cleveland, and Los Angeles have the best records in the NBA behind Boston by 5 games or more. Boston is 2-0 against these teams this season with convincing wins in both games against Orlando and Cleveland. The Celtics will get the Lakers next up the Thursday night and will try to stay perfect against the elite teams in the NBA. The Celtics appear to be headed for a probable chance at history. Unless some drastic things change, Boston will get their chance to stake claim as the best team in the history of professional basketball. Record or no record, for now sit back and watch one of the best teams to ever take the floor and applaud their strive at greatness.