Horrible Celtics Lose Again

Paul Pierce crab dribbled his way out of bounds in overtime and Charlotte handed the putrid Boston Celtics their fifth loss in seven games. Why did anyone ever think this team was good?

Their second loss in a row last night drops Boston percentage points behind Cleveland for the number one spot in the East with only eight months to play in the regular season. So it's basically over. They should definitely consider trading all their marketable players to clear up cap space for Stephon Marbury and LeBron James. Now, that would be a dynamic duo. [NBA.com]

The equally terrible Los Angeles Lakers lost at home to the resurgent New Orleans Hornets, who may or many not be leading the Southwest Division. David West scored 40, which was one louder than Kobe Bryant, as L.A. snapped a 15-game home winning streak. Bryant went 1-for-6 in the fourth, after going 13-for-16 in the first three quarters. Then I'm guessing he went home and sent text messages to swimmers. [Yahoo]

Meanwhile, the only team that seems willing to bring any sanity to the NBA is the New York Knicks. They somehow tricked the once-mighty Celtics into losing on Sunday, which of course baffled everyone, but they managed to restore some order to things with a convincing loss to Oklahoma City (.143 winning percentage). I mean, it's been a wacky week in basketball, but let's not lose our heads. [Newsday]

In the end I think this picture, sent to us by a tipster, perfectly sums up everything you need to know about what it means to be a fan of the Knickerbockers organization. "But I really did meet Walt Frazier, you guys! Honest!"