Boston Celtics hope to reclaim the No. 2 seed against the lowly Washington Wizards – NBA preview
The Boston Celtics have failed to live up to their reputation in the last few weeks and are now standing at the third place in the top-heavy eastern Conference. They might be down at the moment, but they are certainly not out and
can still clinch the second spot in the East if they overtake the lowly Washington Wizards at Verizon Center on Monday night. The Celts lead the season series against the Wizards, 2-1.
The big boys of the East will be looking forward to win their remaining two games in the regular season to reclaim the second place from the Miami Heat. On the other hand, Washington will be looking to end a forgetful season on
brighter note.
In the last road meeting against the Heat, Boston were comprehensively crushed. LeBron James was absolutely magnificent on that night as he racked up a game-high 27 points and dished out 7 assists to snatch the No. 2 seed from
the Boston. Miami turned the heat in the second half of the game and romped to a 100-77 victory. Paul Pierce landed a team-high 24 while the prolific forward Kevin Garnett ended the night with 21 points, however they failed to overshadow the big-3 of Miami.
Garnett said after the Celtics defeat. "What else do you expect? It's Boston-Miami. Supposedly it's two of, if not the top two, teams in the East. You have to expect that. You have to expect that coming in here you're not going
to get the call. You had to expect their passion -- a team you have beaten three times."
The Boston Celtics now hold the third spot in the East with 55 victories and 25 defeats. The team carries a good record on the road though and has managed to win 23 games this season. In the last 10 however, the team has performed
below its winning percentage and has won five games only.
Washington Wizards on the other hand, have nothing to lose. They are standing at the 13th spot in the same Conference with 22 wins and 58 defeats. The Wizards have won only 3 games playing on the road this season. However,
they have managed 19 wins at the Verizon centre.
The Wizards displayed tremendous of teamwork in their last victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Seven players from Washington landed double figures to utterly dominate the Hawks for a comprehensive 115-83 win. Andray Blatche spearheaded
the Wizards with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds to outplay the duo of Al Horford and Joe Johnson.
The Wizards carry the kind of players who can turn the things around on a given day as they did comprehensively against Atlanta. Whereas, the Boston needs to alter their line of attack after losing out to their two biggest rivals,
Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, in their last two encounters.
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