Welcome to volume one of "This Week in the NBA", which is part of our expanded coverage of sports beyond college football. Here is our look ahead to what is coming up this week:
Eastern Division
The Celtics need to be concerned right now. They are coming off of a three game losing streak, and while they have the second best scoring defense in the league, they are struggling to score themselves, and struggled to score 95 points in a 103-95 loss to Orlando, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics hold just a two game lead going into the week in the division over Toronto, who is scoring an Eastern Conference best 7.3 points per game over their opponents. The Celtics will be on the road this week, and will be on the west coast, with games coming up against the Lakers, Clippers, and finally will have a showdown with Golden State next week.
Toronto is scoring an Eastern Conference high 111.3 points per game, and is 17-3 at home. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and are coming off a 115-109 loss to Minnesota on the road. The Raptors should be favored Wednesday, as they play on the road with Atlanta, before returning home to face the Lakers and the Timberwolves. A 2-1 week would be a solid week by any standards, but the Raptors should be favored all week.
The Sixers are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and are winners of seven of eight heading into the week. Joel Embiid scored 29 points against Milwaukee, and is becoming the dominant star the Sixers felt he would be. The Sixers are 9.5 games out heading into the new week, but they could start chipping away at that lead, having beaten Boston last week. Philly plays three of their next four on the road, starting with Memphis on Monday. The Bulls come to Philly on Wednesday, and then they travel to San Antonio and Oklahoma City to close out the week.
The Knicks road struggles continued against the Lakers today, and the road trip continues all this week, with expected losses against Golden State and Denver. The Knicks also will travel to Phoenix by the end of the coming week.
Brooklyn has been showing signs of life this week with wins over Miami and Detroit, with Spencer Dinwiddie hitting a buzzer beater to knock off the Pistons on the road. Before those wins, the Nets had lost six of seven. Injuries have plagued the back court, with DeAngelo Russell and Jeremy Lin missing major time. Dinwiddie has been a major find. The Nets will continue on the road this coming week, which is seriously bad news, as they will hit Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, and Minnesota in the coming week, which are all likely playoff teams.
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