The Celtics are the better team. They're deeper, they're better defensively, and they're loaded with playoff experience. They expect to go deep in the playoffs again in 2011, and that confidence will take them a long way.

But they can't get overconfident. The Knicks have three proven winners and a few decent role players surrounding the star nucleus, and if the Celtics overlook them, they'll be sorry.

The temptation is there to look ahead to future rounds, where Miami, Chicago and the Lakers may await. But first the Celtics need to focus on dispatching New York in round one.

Here are six ways how.

Don't get caught up in their pace.
When you go up against Amare Stoudemire and Mike D'Antoni, you've got to be quick on your feet. The "seven seconds or less" attack will be in full force against the Celtics. But the C's don't want to get caught up in matching Amare shot for shot — rather, they should look to slow the game down and control the flow. Playoff basketball is a game of superior execution, one possession at a time. The C's are the superior team defensively, and the smarter team on the offensive end. They don't want to get too reckless and lose sight of those advantages.

Everyone must rebound.
One of the Knicks' strengths is that everyone can rebound. It's not just the bigs. For a point guard, Chauncey Billups is one of the best. For a shooting guard, Landry Fields may be the absolute best in the game, right up there with Kobe Bryant. Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are also solid. The C's need to close out possessions by crashing the boards, and they can't rely on Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal to do all the work themselves. The effort on the glass will be vital.

Attack Chauncey Billups.
Billups is one of the best. He's a Finals MVP. He's also 34 years old. Rajon Rondo has a tremendous advantage athletically, and he needs to exploit it. Every time Rondo gets a defensive rebound or a steal, he can outrun Billups. Every time Billups is caught off-balance for a millisecond, Rondo can pounce. The Knicks are a young, athletic team for the most part, but point guard is the one exception, and it's the one area where the C's can really push their edge. There's a chance for Rondo to take over this series.

Get Ray Allen going.
Ray's numbers in April have been really underwhelming. In the six games he's played, he's averaged only 11.7 points, on only 8.7 shot attempts per game. He's 7-of-20 from 3-point range, or 35 percent. He's capable of being way better than this, but it's got to be a complete team effort. He needs good screens to get him open, and he needs perfect passes to hit him in the right spots at the right times. Ray's 3-point shooting can be a tremendous difference-maker in this series, but only if his teammates enable him.

Get quality minutes from the bench.
This might be the Celtics' biggest advantage of all. Their bench is way deeper and way better than the Knicks'. Doc Rivers has Glen Davis, Jeff Green and Delonte West at his disposal — D'Antoni has Toney Douglas, Jared Jeffries and Shelden Williams. Remember Shelden Williams? He barely even cracked Doc's rotation in Boston last year. There will be stretches in this series of "second unit versus second unit," and it's imperative that Boston totally dominate these stretches. If they do, it'll translate to wins.

Step up in the fourth quarter.
Once the Knicks send in their crunch-time five for the final minutes, they're capable of beating anyone. Chauncey has ice in his veins, and Carmelo is arguably the game's best closer. The Celtics need perfect execution if the game is close in the late minutes — they can't put themselves in a vulnerable spot for the Knicks' stars to beat one. They need a cohesive team effort on the defensive end, and they can't jack up any "hero ball" shots on offense.

The Celtics got here by being smarter and more composed than anyone else. That's also how they can move on.

Deron Williams

The All-Star point guard is going through hectic times, but good ones. He's now part of a Nets franchise that's up and coming under new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, and there's hope for his career prospects long-term. D-Will has a big, happy family and an interesting little basketball team in Newark — or perhaps in the future, in Brooklyn.

The Celtics will get their first look at Williams' Nets on Monday night, when they visit the Prudential Center for the second game of a back-to-back. They're curious to see the new-look ballclub has to offer.

"I think Deron really gives them hope going forward," Paul Pierce said. "You're talking about a franchise that's constantly battling with New York for popularity, so you know it's going to be hard. But when you get a guy like Deron Williams who's a proven All-Star, known as one of the best point guards in the world, it gives you hope for the future.

"That's a core guy, someone you can build around. I think the future is definitely bright for Deron. It can go nowhere but up for him."

The future is bright for Williams and the Nets — and in fact, so is the present. They closed February on an ugly streak of seven straight losses, but they've since opened with March with four straight wins. From out of nowhere, they've become one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

We'll see what the Celtics have to say about that.

Glen Davis is on the comeback trail, and there’s a good chance he plays Sunday when the Celtics take on the Milwaukee Bucks at the TD Garden.

Big Baby went down on March 2, when the Celtics played the Suns at home, succumbing to left knee pain and missing the final seconds of the C’s win. He admitted after the game that he’d been battling patellar tendinitis all season, and he needed time to rest the injury.

He’s gotten that time. It’s been a week and a half, and the Celtics have survived four games with a disappointing 2-2 record against four beatable opponents. The C’s need their Baby back.

With Baby back in the rotation, everything will fall into place. Everything will be just right on the second unit. Jeff Green will return to his natural position, small forward, enabling him to use his size and post up smaller defenders for easier scoring. Troy Murphy will see a reduced role, helping him to ease back into the rotation after months of rust in New Jersey. The C’s will regain their energy guy, their emotional leader off the bench, and their crunch-time post scorer.

Davis played all of the Celtics’ first 59 games. He was one of only three players to do so. But a little rest has done the guy some good, and he should be back now better than ever.

The C’s take on the Bucks at 6 p.m. at the Garden.

Rivers was asked Tuesday about Blake Griffin, the rookie sensation who's taken the NBA by storm this season. He had nothing but praise for the L.A. Clippers' phenom — and when talking about him, Rivers was reminded of his own playing days, playing alongside Hawks superstar scorer Dominique Wilkins.

"He's just an amazing athlete," Rivers said of Griffin. "You know, I was the worst alley-oop passer in history, but no one knew it, because I had Dominique. You could throw the ball anywhere. With Blake Griffin, it's even more of that. All bad passes are good passes. You just throw it."

Griffin is the same way. He's playing with a ragtag group of aging veterans and raw youngsters in Los Angeles this season. The group around him is less than impressive, as evidenced by the Clips' 24-40 record. Griffin has played with every point guard from Baron Davis, to Eric Bledsoe, to Mo Williams.

Doesn't matter. He just keeps throwing down big dunks and putting up big numbers.

"He's just a freak," Rivers said. "I don't know who he'd remind me of. When I first saw him, I said David Robinson because of the athleticism. But he's David Robinson to the second power. I don't know what he is. He's just an unbelievable athlete."

Wednesday night will bring a clash between two polar opposites — the Clippers, with their single solitary dazzling star, and the Celtics, the consummate team.

The C's and Clips tip off at 7:30 p.m. at the TD Garden.

He was five years removed from being a No. 1 draft pick, he was throwing down double-doubles with ease, he was on his way to his first All-NBA selection, and he had led the Milwaukee Bucks back to at least relevance, if not quite greatness, in the Eastern Conference.

Things have taken a bit of a downturn since. It was April 3, 2010, when the Bucks hosted the Phoenix Suns, that Bogut fell hard on his right arm finishing a dunk against Amare Stoudemire. He broke his hand, dislocated his elbow, and put not only the Bucks' season, but his entire career in doubt.

Bogut hasn't been the same since, and neither has his team. The Bucks were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last spring, coming up short in a seven-game thriller with the Hawks. Bogut has turned from one of the game's most reliable young big men into a ticking time bomb of injuries.

He's missed games this year with back spasms, with a bruised knee, and now he's got a muscle strain near his ribcage that should keep him out of action a little longer.

Bogut missed Friday night, when the Bucks got their rematch with the Suns. They lost, 102-88. He's likely to miss Sunday against the Celtics as well.

It's sad, because Bogut's Bucks were beginning to emerge late last season as somewhat of a Boston rival. They were physical, they were chippy, and they didn't back down from the Celtics. It was entertaining basketball.

Will the Bucks give the Celtics a game even without Bogut? Maybe. But it just won't be the same.

The 30-year-old Murphy has a long history with the Golden State Warriors. They were the club who originally drafted him, taking the Notre Dame product at No. 14 overall back in 2001. They were the team who crafted him into an impact NBA player — a defensive rebounder, a rangy scorer, an energetic player on both ends.

Murphy spent five and a half seasons with the Warriors. He never made the playoffs with Golden State, but his stint there was a learning process alongside quality young teammates like Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy was among the comrades who went with him to Indiana in 2007.

It wasn't until last week that Murphy found himself back with Golden State. On Feb. 23, the Wednesday before the NBA trade deadline, the New Jersey Nets unloaded Murphy from the end of their bench, packaging him with a second-round pick to bring in Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric. Murphy was back with the Warriors, and this time he wanted out.

Now he's a Celtic, and he's getting a chance to bite the hand that fed him for years.

Murphy will see an increased role in his first week on the job — with both O'Neals on the shelf and now Glen Davis out with a sore knee, he's likely to be the first big man off of Doc Rivers' bench.

Murphy and his new team take on his old club at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

One, obviously, is Troy Murphy, who agreed to sign with the Celtics on Tuesday after securing a buyout from Golden State. The other? Shaquille O'Neal.

Shaq has been out for a month with an inflamed Achilles, a rather long absence for a rather benign injury. The Celtics are playing it safe with the 38-year-old center, as they don't want to risk any minor ailment developing into anything more serious.

Doc Rivers has hinted that Shaq will rejoin the Celtics this week as they return home from four games out West. That means there's a chance, although no one knows how big, that he plays Wednesday at the TD Garden against the Suns, his former team.

The Celtics have been remarkably tight-lipped about the specifics of Shaq's injury. That's sort of the Celtic way. Every year, it seems, they pick a guy to be cryptic about. Back in the old days before the Big Three came together, it was Paul Pierce. Then, in recent years, it was Kevin Garnett. Now, it's Shaq.

The C's don't want to show their hand at this stage in the game. They want to keep Shaq's status under wraps until the playoffs, when they make their push to win it all and get the Diesel his fifth ring.

But it sure would be nice if he played a game or two before then.

On Jan. 21, the C's secured an impressive win over the Jazz at the TD Garden, beating them 110-86 behind spirited performances from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. On Monday night, they play the Jazz again, this time at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Their opponent this time around will be dramatically different.

On Feb. 10, coach Jerry Sloan resigned, walking away after 23 years. He was the longest-tenured head coach in American pro sports.

On Wednesday, Deron Williams packed his bags for New Jersey after a shocking deadline trade sent him away.

The Jazz are now without their longtime coach and without their longtime best player. They've got Tyrone Corbin calling the shots from the sidelines, and Devin Harris running the point, and they're not handling it well.

They're 1-5 since Corbin stepped in. The grinding, hardworking mentality that Sloan channeled into 19 playoff berths and two West titles is gone.

They hit rock bottom on Saturday night, surrendering 120 points and losing on the road to the lowly Pistons.

Seeing the Jazz on Monday night should help Celtics fans put things into perspective. They may have lost an important player in Kendrick Perkins, their enforcer and defensive backbone, but life could be a lot worse.

Come May, the Celtics will be right in the thick of things, competing for another championship. The Jazz probably won't be so lucky.

"I have unbelievable respect for him as a player and a person," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said of Green at his Friday news conference to discuss the trade. "He's a selfless person, and he's incredibly talented. We're thankful for what he's contributed this organization.

"But by the same token, I have to make really tough decisions in this job. That's part of my responsibility that I carry every day for this organization. As tough of a decision as it was, I felt like it was something that we had to do based on the information that we had, with the opportunity to bring in a player like Perkins that can address a need and fit with our timeline going forward."

Presti became emotional during his meeting with the media, at one point nearly breaking down into tears.

For a Celtics fan still mourning over Perk, Presti's sentiments come as food for thought — losing Perk is obviously tough, but the guy they're getting back has also proven his worth to a successful franchise. Jeff Green is no slouch.

Green, Nenad Krstic and the Celtics take on the L.A. Clippers on Saturday night. They'll have the chance to earn the respect of a new franchise now.

Their first game post-Melodrama was anything but a letdown. Despite only having eight men in their rotation, the Nuggets rolled to an easy victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.

It sure looked pretty easy. The Nuggets led by 26 points after three quarters. J.R. Smith played over 42 minutes, finishing with 26 points (on 22 shots), eight rebounds and five assists. Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Gary Forbes and Nene all got plenty of good looks.

These are the new Nuggets — no longer does one guy dominate. Everyone gets their touches, everyone gets their shot attempts, and everyone gets a chance to contribute.

And not only is Carmelo's domination of the ball a thing of the past, but so is the off-court distraction he's generated all season. Finally, the Nuggets have their freedom.

But now the Nuggets bring Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov into the fold. How will things change? Will one ego rise to the top and assume Carmelo's old role as the alpha male in the room, or will a true team identity begin to form?

We'll begin to find that out on Thursday night, as the Nuggets host the Celtics. The C's have been a cohesive team for years now; the Nuggets are just now beginning to learn. It's a new era, and the Celtics will be right in the thick of it.

But forget about his potential for the future. Check out his skills right now.

“Skills” being the operative word — on Saturday night in Los Angeles, the Golden State Warriors’ second-year point guard took down an impressive field in the All-Star Skills Challenge, beating four of the league’s best.

Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, John Wall and Russell Westbrook tried to match the crafty youngster, but they all failed. Curry’s combination of speed, agility, scoring and passing ability were too much. Curry completed the point guard obstacle course in 28.2 seconds in the final round, walloping Westbrook’s time of 44.2.

It’s a silly exhibition, sure. Ultimately, no one really cares about your knack for running around metal posts or throwing a ball through a tire. But Curry exhibited poise and grace in beating out the stellar field of guards at the Staples Center this weekend. It’s yet another indicator that the Warriors’ guard might be ready to break into the league’s upper echelon of point men.

On Tuesday night, Curry will open the season’s second half against a guy who’s already in that echelon. That would be Rajon Rondo, whose Celtics visit the Warriors for game one of a four-game West road trip.

We’ve never seen Rondo in the skills contest before, and Rondo said last week that he’d never want to compete as long as he’s still playing in the All-Star Game itself. But nevertheless, we’ve already witnessed Rondo’s repertoire as a ball-handler, a scorer and a playmaker.

In a modern NBA climate where elite point guards are popping up seemingly every week, Curry has emerged as yet another one. On Tuesday night, we’ll see him and Rondo go head-to-head at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Saturday night in Los Angeles, he'll take part in his sixth contest, in search of his second win. He's confident, he's composed and he's ready.
 
"My first one, I guess I was probably more worried about what to expect," he said. "But now I'm just laid back, period."
 
Allen, who won the event for the first time in 2001, has been going up against the game's best pure shooters throughout the last decade. He's taken on Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Gilbert Arenas and Chauncey Billups.
 
Oh, and teammate Paul Pierce, who is itching to get another crack at the NBA's all-time record holder on Saturday night.
 
"Paul's been talking all week," Allen said. "If you asked Paul, he'll tell you that when I won, it was 10 years ago, and everything's changed since then. I'm the dinosaur in the game, so I don't stand a chance. I don't know the formula now. But it's just shooting."
 
All of Allen's teammates are steering clear of picking a winner, saying simply that they're pulling for him and Pierce. They're rooting for an all-green final round. But the four other competitors in this year's event – Kevin Durant, James Jones, Daniel Gibson and Dorell Wright – are sure to put up a fight. Allen respects them all.
 
"James Jones is one of the best shooters in the league, obviously Paul is, and Gibson, he's been a dead-eye shooter too," Allen said. "So you can go in any direction. It's not like because I have the 3-point record, or because Paul won last year, it doesn't mean that we're guaranteed to win it. We've proven that we can win on that stage, but between those guys, they all have ice in their veins. They can all knock down shots on the big stage."
 
The oddsmakers all have Allen as the favorite, generally at around 2:1, followed by Pierce and Durant. But the C's star isn't putting much stock in that.
 
"Vegas?" he asked. "What do they know?"

But that's fine with him. Because if you know anything about Paul Pierce, you know he's made a career out of epic, unforgettable clashes with LBJ.

It's the King versus the captain, and it's been going on for eight years now. Here's a snapshot of some of the great moments:

Dec. 13, 2003: Back when both small forwards were virtual one-man teams with lackluster teammates (remember Mark Blount?), we witnessed an amazing one-on-one battle between the 25-year-old Pierce and the 18-year-old rookie James. The eventual Rookie of the Year went off for 37 points, including 16-for-18 on free throws; the veteran Celtic countered with 41 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. The C's won, 105-98.

Feb. 15, 2006: The Celtics and Cavaliers went to double overtime at the TD Garden. James played 54 of the game's 58 minutes, finishing with a triple-double (43 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists), while Pierce became the first Celtic since Larry Bird to score 50 in a single game. James fouled Pierce in the final second to give the Celtics captain two free throws and force OT — but in the end, the Cavs outlasted the C's to win 113-109.

May 18, 2008: The Celtics met LeBron in the playoffs for the first time in the spring of '08; they blew a 2-0 lead and let the Cavs fight back to force a seventh game, but the Celtics meant business for Game 7 in Boston. James scored 45 points, Pierce scored 41, and the C's survived a 97-92 bloodbath to advance to the East finals. They eventually hoisted Banner 17 after taking down Detroit and finally L.A. in June.

May 13, 2010: The second time they met in the playoffs, of course, was LeBron's final game as a Cavalier. Individually, King James was brilliant, with his 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists dwarfing the 13, 5 and 3 for Pierce. But the Celtics won the battle of the supporting casts — it was a 94-85 final, sending Pierce to the East finals and LeBron to free agency. You know how that story ends.

Oct. 26, 2010: Yep, that's right — James' very next game. His career with the Cavaliers ended at the TD Garden; his career with the Heat began there, too. James went off for a game-high 31 on opening night this season, picking up the slack while Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh struggled. Pierce shined as well, with 19 points and nine boards to lead the C's, but it was again the supporting cast that made the difference. Rajon Rondo's 17 assists, Kevin Garnett's 10 rebounds and Ray Allen's five 3s paved the way for an 88-80 Celtics win.

The next chapter in the rivalry will be written Sunday, as the C's host the Heat for the second time this season at the TD Garden. Will we see the next unforgettable Pierce-LeBron showdown? Check it out at 1 p.m. and find out

So when you call KG out and it makes waves in the national media, yeah, that's probably going to raise red flags for the Celtics' forward. Phil Jackson knows this, and there were definitely ulterior motives at play when the Lakers coach took a little jab at KG earlier this week.

"He is who he is," the Zen Master said of his own power forward, Pau Gasol. "We're not going to make him into Garnett. He's not going to go around and punch guys in the [groin]. He's too nice of a guy.

"This is an intelligent person who understands what this game is about. We've been to the Finals three years in a row, so that's part of it."

Jackson manages to cram quite a few cheap shots all into a couple of sentences — he implies that KG is a cheap-shot artist, that he's unintelligent, and that, oh yeah, by the way, he's only been to two Finals. He knows he's got a good chance of getting KG riled up. Typical Zen Master.

How will KG respond? Will he come out like a man possessed on Thursday night, telling Jackson where he can stick his Finals experience? Or will he remain composed and focused, unmoved by the Lakers' coach and his gamesmanship?

We'll find out Thursday night at the Garden.

After 39,711 minutes in 1,072 games over 15 seasons, the Celtics’ guard finally has history within his reach.

Entering Monday night’s road tilt with the Charlotte Bobcats with a total of 2,557 3-point field goals in his career, Allen is three 3s away from tying Reggie Miller and entering his name into the record books. With four more, he’ll erase the Pacer great altogether.

There’s a decent chance Allen takes down Miller on Monday night. He’s made four 3-pointers or more 239 times in his career, roughly a quarter of his games. Against a sub-par Charlotte team with an iffy perimeter defense, Allen could go off for four in the Queen City.

And while it would be a great moment for Allen, a historic one in fact, it would also be a little disappointing. The Celtics are in the midst of a six-game stretch leading up to the All-Star break with only one on the road, and it happens to be Monday against the Bobcats.

Allen has said he wants to break the record at home. He wants to have his fans behind him, and he wants to fly friends and family into Boston for the occasion.

So what will happen Monday night if the game gets close, Allen’s already knocked down a couple treys, and the Celtics need his big-shot acumen to net them a win? What if history competes with the C’s real goal — winning the game?

Because there's been plenty.

On one hand, Celtics forward Glen Davis had plenty of condescension for Magic star Dwight Howard last month, shortly after the C's had held on in the fourth quarter for a 109-106 win at the TD Garden on Jan. 17.

"I think it's easy to guard him," Big Baby said of Howard. "He's a finesse guy. It would be different if you didn’t know which way he was going, but if he's just going one way or making one move, it's hard for him to power over big dudes who are just as strong as him."

Strong words, right? Except Howard's play was much stronger. The Orlando big man went off for 33 points on 10-of-19 shooting, with Davis "easily" guarding him for most of the night.

The Magic got in plenty of smack talk, too. Shortly after the loss, Magic general manager Otis Smith ripped into the Celtics for their "toughness," saying the C's act was all bravado.

"They act tough," Smith said of the C's. "They're not really tough. They act tough."

Apparently all the hard fouls, aggressive scoring drives and intense physical play on both ends didn't send Smith the message. The Celtics aren't tough? What first-place Eastern Conference team is he watching?

Both teams have said their piece, but come Sunday, it's time to shut up and play basketball. The time for talking is over, and it's time to see who walks the walk. The Celtics and Magic tip off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the TD Garden.

That date is now here, and oh, by the way, Perk's already been back for five games.

Perkins exceeded all expectations by returning early on Jan. 25, leaving his mark on a blowout Celtics win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. He's been a major factor for the C's off the bench ever since — he's averaged 5.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in just 22.2 minutes per. He's far exceeded all expectations the Celtics had for him, and even those that Perk had for himself.

When Perkins went down seven-plus months ago with a torn ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers, it was unknown when he'd ever be able to come back. A serious knee injury like that and the ensuing surgery, don't exactly scream "speedy recovery." For some, it takes six months; for others, a year or even two.

But Perkins isn't only back now — he's back and he's contributing major minutes. He played almost 28 in the Celtics' dramatic win over the Lakers on Sunday, and this was just days after coach Doc Rivers said he'd only see 12 to 15 minutes for the immediate future.

Perk's role is getting bigger every day. And with the constant nagging injuries to the rest of the Celtics' bigs, there's a chance that the 26-year-old big man could crack the starting five soon.

In the long run, that's where he belongs.

Perk said all along he was planning for Friday night against Dallas to be his first game back. Instead, it'll be his sixth. Perk and the C's tip off against the Mavs at 8 p.m.

When they drafted him last summer, as the No. 5 overall pick in a questionable draft class, the Kings had visions of Cousins being a rising All-Star at the pro level, but Cousins has meandered on the path to greatness, getting easily sidetracked by issues on and off the court. For this and many other reasons, the Kings are 12-33, hopelessly out of the race for a playoff spot out West.

Cousins is the Kings' greatest source of potential, but he's also their biggest question mark. You can't debate his talent — he's big, athletically gifted and for a 20-year-old kid, impressively skilled as a post scorer — but his character and his leadership abilities have come into question both this season in Sacramento and last year at the University of Kentucky. He's fought with opponents, teammates, coaches, officials and everyone in between. There are reasons to wonder if Cousins has what it takes mentally.

Being a hothead can be a blessing and a curse. It can make your play more intense, more physical; it can also ruin your chemistry with your team and your favor with the refs. Can Cousins walk that tightrope? If not now, at 20, perhaps down the line?

Cousins' production is as inconsistent as his character. Some nights, he looks like an automatic 20-and-10 guy; he dropped an impressive 27 points and 10 rebounds Friday night on the Lakers in an upset Kings win. Other nights, he's a no-show.

There's still plenty of time for the new kid to figure things out. One way to grow is to build up experience playing against great veterans, and Cousins will get that chance on Tuesday night. The Celtics are coming to town, and the budding rookie will clash with Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett and the rest of the league's best veteran team.

Nash and the Suns are at a crossroads in their time together. A year ago, they were in the mix for a Western Conference title and Nash's first career trip to the NBA Finals; they're now on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Don't expect the Suns to bounce back anytime soon, either — no, this is sadly a team moving in the other direction.

Amare Stoudemire left last summer, and he took the Suns' viability as title contenders with him. The Suns are now battling it out for a spot somewhere between ninth and 12th in the West, though they were playing the Lakers for a spot in the Finals less than a year ago.

Now they're selling off pieces. Their blockbuster with the Magic was a nice way to unload the unwieldy contract of Hedo Turkoglu; slowly, the Suns are gaining flexibility.

Nash might be the next piece to go. The Suns have to commit to rebuilding, and what's more, they owe their longtime point guard a chance at finally reaching the Finals. If they care about him, they'll send him to a contender.

It'll happen sometime soon. If not before next month's trading deadline, then it'll happen over the summer. Eventually, Nash and the Suns will have to cut ties.

So until then, be sure to enjoy the glory days of a Hall of Fame point guard in his iconic purple threads.

Yes, LeBron James was gone, but the Cavs had a secret weapon — the proverbial chip-on-the-shoulder element was driving them to prove they could still win without King James. Their leader was gone, but they still had a half-dozen solid, professional basketball players that were all sick and tired of being told what they couldn't do.

They had nothing to lose, and yet everything to prove. Through 16 games, they were alive and well. They opened the season 7-9, a perfectly respectable record, all things considered. They were in the race for the eighth and final seed in the East, duking it out with Charlotte and Toronto in the early going.

At the time, people were actually speculating that the Cavs were better than LeBron's new team, the Miami Heat. Then the Heat actually arrived in Cleveland on  Dec. 2, and LeBron dropped 38 points and demolished his former franchise. So much for that.

Ever since then, it's been bad. Really bad.

Since that 7-9 start, the Cavs are 1-27, with their lone win coming at home in overtime over the Knicks. They haven't won a game in regulation time since Nov. 27.

So what happened? A couple of things.

First and foremost, injuries. Anderson Varejao was the team's heart and soul, and he's now out for the season with a torn ankle tendon. Mo Williams has a hip injury and is out indefinitely. Anthony Parker has back pain. Leon Powe had yet another knee surgery. Ramon Sessions and Daniel Gibson have each had their bumps and bruises. The Cavs were surviving the loss of one guy, but they can't handle six more. Few teams can.

But what's more, the shoulder chip is now gone, and the Cavaliers have fizzled out. They were fired up for their first game of the season, when they stifled the visiting Celtics and pulled off a shocking upset. But the emotion has died down in the months since. It's a long season, and eventually the Cavs found themselves trying to win on talent alone, with that extra spark gone. It hasn't worked out.

Back on July 8, when LeBron made his "Decision" and left the Cavs behind, owner Dan Gilbert proclaimed that his team would win an NBA championship before LeBron's Heat. These days, that doesn't appear likely.

The Cavs won't be winning much in the near future, but one piece at a time, they can try to win back their dignity. They'll give it a shot Tuesday against the Celtics.