Brian Scalabrine On Toucher & Rich: Can Celtics Catch Knicks In Atlantic?
BOSTON (CBS)- For the second time this season, the Boston Celtics fell to the lowly Bobcats in Charlotte.
With Paul Pierce resting and Kevin Garnett struggling from the floor in the 20 minutes he played, the Celtics were embarrassed by Charlotte to the tune of 100-74 on Tuesday night.
CSNNE play-by-play man and former Celtic Brian Scalabrine joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Wednesday morning, and said a loss like Tuesday night's -- even without Pierce on the floor -- is inexcusable with the playoffs just over a month away.
"That's no excuse for not getting it going defensively or bringing more energy. It's one of the games where the guys did that," he said. "Now with the playoff hunt, I don't see why that happens. But it does; it's the NBA."
Can Boston just toss the loss out the window?
"I disagree with that because that loss could be the difference between being a four or a five and having home court in the first round," said Scal. "At the end of the day, every win counts and I think that could come back to haunt them."
"It doesn't matter they lost by 20 to the Bobcats, it matters that they lost to the Bobcats"
The Celtics can put the loss behind them with a strong performance Wednesday night at home when they host the Toronto Raptors. Despite their loss to the Bobcats, the Celtics are still sitting in the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference, just a game behind fifth-seeded Chicago, two back of fourth-seeded Brooklyn, and five back of the New York Knicks for the lead in the Atlantic Division.
Stats: NBA Standings
With a strong showing over the next month, could the Celtics catch the Knicks and earn the two or three-seed in the playoffs?
"That's going to be tough with (19) games to go to make up that many games," said Scal. "Another thing is Doc Rivers, down the stretch, isn't going to push to win a division championship at the expense of his players being not-fresh and injured. I would say to get home court advantage against Brooklyn in the first round would be the ideal scenario, and I think they can do that."
Also, Scal talks about Dwight Howard's big game in Orlando last night, and if the talented but headache-inducing center will get a max-contract after this season.
