NBA Fullcourt Report
By Steve Merril
Covers.com
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have one home game remaining versus Milwaukee on Thursday night after a 78-66 home win versus Miami on Tuesday. Boston is most concerned with its health heading into the playoffs.
The Celtics have played recent games without starters Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Pierce was the only one of the Big 4 that played Tuesday.
Ray Allen’s ankle injury is a major concern. The sharp-shooting guard has now missed eight consecutive games because of bone spurs in his ankle.
“They say they could be the size of a grain of sand, said Allen. “But they’re not supposed to be in there, so as they swell, they move around.”
Despite the absence of Allen, the Celtics have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Boston is 15-6 SU and 14-5-2 ATS over its last 21 games, including 6-2-2 ATS as an underdog.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City looked like one of the top two teams in the NBA for a large chunk of the season. The Thunder went 39-12 SU and 28-23 ATS from December through March.
But April has not been a good month, as their SU (8-6) and ATS (6-8) records show. Oklahoma City suffered an unfortunate injury to one of its key players in Los Angeles on Sunday when James Harden was elbowed in the head by Metta World Peace. Harden did not play Tuesday and will also miss Wednesday's game versus Denver as he must go through a rigorous series of concussion tests mandated by the NBA.
Harden, the Thunder's sixth man, is averaging 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game on 49.1% shooting this season, all career-highs. He is also expected to win the Sixth Man of the Year award in a rout.
San Antonio Spurs
There’s no team hotter in the league right now than the San Antonio Spurs. Coming into their Wednesday night game in Phoenix, the Spurs own a 48-16 SU record, including a 19-2 SU record over their last 21 games.
San Antonio clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after it pummeled Portland by 35 points (124-89) on Monday night in its home finale. The Spurs’ offense has been unstoppable as they’ve scored 105 points or more in eight straight games, while holding their opponents to 100 points or less in nine of their last ten games.
“We want to always come out with a lot more energy than the other team and get a jump,” said Danny Green. “Our philosophy is to get in the first punch.”
Since Manu Ginobili returned to the lineup in early March, San Antonio has been a pointspread machine. The Spurs are an incredible 18-2-2 ATS the past 22 games Ginobili has played.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards go into their game on Wednesday night at Cleveland with an abysmal 18-46 SU record. But Washington is quietly playing its best basketball of the season down the stretch, going 4-0 in its last four games with wins over the Bulls and Heat.
“Everybody is just clicking right now,” Jordan Crawford said. “Everybody is lifting each other up and getting victories out of it. I think we just playing good at this time. We got Nene back. We picked up a lot of great players that complement us well.”
The Wizards are on a 4-0 ATS run coming into Wednesday night, and they are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games overall.