Boston Celtics holding steady in first place

Coming out of All-Star weekend, it's no secret that the Atlantic Division of the NBA's Eastern Conference is stocked with some of the worst teams in the league. When a Knick organization led by Isiah Thomas sits in third place with only two months left in the season, there is a serious problem with competitiveness in the division. Despite the abysmal records of its members, however, there is a beacon of hope for the division, and his name is Greg Oden.

This seven-foot, 280 lb man-child out of Ohio State is drawing comparisons to Patrick Ewing and even Bill Russell. He makes the baby-faced Joakim Noah, his talented counterpart out of Florida, look like a female version of Prince (not that Noah needs much help to pull this off).

Because of surgery last June to repair a ligament injury in his right wrist, Oden has been forced to develop his skills with his weaker left hand, and scouts are saying it might be the best thing that could have happened to him. Playing with a soft cast on his dominant right hand and forced to shoot with his left, he has still managed to average over 15 points per game while shooting 65 percent from the floor.

As much hype as Kevin Durant of Texas has received, Oden is the clear No. 1 pick in this June's NBA draft. With all his talent, it is easy to forget that this phenom was born in 1988, the same year that the Indiana Pacers selected legendary center Rik Smits with the second overall pick. Oden is certainly young, but he hides his youth behind an imposing beard, the kind of facial hair that Smits could only dream of growing. More importantly, unlike his predecessor on the Pacers, he has actual coordination which will let him leave his imprint on the basketball world for years to come.

In the quest for the first pick in the coming draft, the Boston Celtics sit atop the standings. Before winning their last game before the All-Star break on Valentine's Day, the Celtics were mired in a franchise-record 18-game losing streak, and they had not won a game since January 5th. Despite its win, Boston remains a game behind the Grizzlies in the overall NBA standings.

Putting the Celtics' slump in perspective, Peter May of the Boston Globe wrote: "The Celtics haven't won a home game since Dec. 15, or since the Republicans still controlled Congress and Jack Bauer was still in China." This is quite a downturn for a franchise that won a jaw-dropping 16 championships in the 30 years between 1956 and 1986.

Normally, fans in Boston are not the most forgiving in matters of mediocrity, but Celtics fans today are well aware of their team's lottery position. Accustomed to 15 years of lackluster play and poor management, they salivate over the prospect of Oden developing his skills for years to come alongside the likes of young Celtic stars-in-the-making Gerald Green and Al Jefferson.

Ten years ago, with a 15-67 record, the Celtics had the greatest chance at landing the consensus top pick in the draft in the form of Tim Duncan, but the lottery balls did not comply. (In the NBA's lottery draft system, the team with the worst record at season's end is given the greatest chance of landing the first selection, but the top pick is by no means guaranteed.)

After missing out on a franchise saver in 1997, Celtics fans want another chance to land their prize, and with no chance of salvaging the season, they are more than happy to see the losses accrue.

Indeed, in a Jan. 31 game against Los Angeles, fans in Boston had lost so much interest that, as they watched Kobe Bryant score 27 of his 43 points in the second half, they began chanting "MVP" in the direction of the Lakers star guard. For a team that has been bitter rivals with the Lakers since the days of Bill Russell and Jerry West in the 1960s, it was a dramatic departure from the "Beat L.A." cheer traditionally heard in Boston.

Is it blasphemous? Not at all. Fans are simply enjoying themselves in their quest for the worst record in basketball, and they are perhaps taking more pleasure in watching Oden in Ohio State games than they are in watching the Celtics. Besides, any game that sees Brian Scalabrine, the carrot-topped Celtics forward with the talent of Kevin Federline, receive enough playing time to score 17 points against a professional basketball team is not a game worth watching.

If Los Angeles, or any other team, is willing to do its part to help ensure Greg Oden's arrival in Boston come June, Celtics fans will certainly not object.

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Last place in the standings means first place in the Oden sweepstakes, but it also offers the security of obtaining no lower than the third pick in the draft if the lottery balls again do not fall in Boston's favor. Unlike the year Tim Duncan was selected, in this draft Kevin Durant provides a comforting consolation prize for the team with the second selection. Like Oden, this Texas freshman is two years younger than the Olsen twins, but scouts are in agreement that he is ready to step in immediately to help an NBA team. Greg Oden is the prize, but Durant provides a more-than-acceptable fallback.

The Celtics' quest for last place is not uncontested, however. The Memphis Grizzlies are in close pursuit for the honor of worst record, and the Celtics would not be pleased should they lose out on both players in this desperate competition.

With star swingmen Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak now returning to the lineup from injury, the team must attend to the slightest blister or toe injury to any of its players in order to hold its best players out of the lineup as much as possible in the second half of the season.

Fans are happy to see the losses accumulate, but they will not be so forgiving if the team ends up with the fourth or fifth pick in June due to unnecessary wins in April. Greg Oden, a man who is 10 months younger than the illustrious rapper Bow Wow, may have the talent to bring the franchise back to the glory days of the 1980s.

If the Celtics can continue their historic losing streak, the Atlantic Division may see a significant turnaround, and the days of Isiah Thomas managing a third-placeteam will be numbered.