Welcome to the Garden
Welcome to the Garden, where the Boston Celtics (55-15) will take on the Phoenix Suns (47-23) at 7 p.m. (note the earlier start time for ESPN).
This game looked good on paper before the season, but it looks great now. The Suns added Shaquille O’Neal last month, and after some initial growing pains, Phoenix looks like a contender in the West. The Suns are 10-7 with Shaq in the lineup, but they won seven straight games before falling to the Pistons Monday night.
Maybe more importantly, the Suns can become the first Western Conference team to beat the Celtics twice this season. The Suns held the Celtics to 77 points in their meeting on Feb. 22 in Phoenix, and this is the last time the two teams play this season. A season sweep would give the Suns a psychological edge should these teams meet in the NBA Finals (The New Orleans Hornets can also sweep the Celtics this season with a win at the Garden on Friday).
For all the talk about the Suns struggling, they are a Western Conference best 22-5 against the East this season. They can hand the Celtics their second three-game losing streak of the season tonight, just as they handed them their first three-game losing streak back in February.
The schedule is a little screwy tonight with the early start time. We’ll get back to you with news from the locker rooms in a bit.
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