Not known yet if trades did trick for Magic

Celtics’ new-look foe part of changing East

December 25, 2010|Julian Benbow, Globe Staff

ORLANDO, Fla. — What is one to make of the Eastern Conference when one of the best teams more or less guts its starting lineup in Orlando; the dark horse fires its coach in Charlotte; the newly formed superpower in Miami is still trying to figure out how to work all the gadgets; New York scores like the Suns but also plays defense like them, too; Milwaukee isn’t nearly as pesky without its point guard; and the Celtics, the conference’s best team, have put together 14 straight wins with nearly a third of their roster wearing gauze as winter fashion?

It’s a chaotic collage, with winning streaks and scoring streaks colliding with injuries and upsets. A third of the way through the season, coaches and players already have come and gone. No team in the league has more question marks than the Magic, whom the Celtics face today, and they’ll freely admit it.

“I think we’re a total unknown,’’ said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, not sounding sure if that’s a good or bad thing. “I think the most unknown is us right now because of the moves we’ve made. I don’t think anybody knows how we’re going to fit into that whole thing.’’

On Dec. 18, Orlando acquired Gilbert Arenas from Washington for Rashard Lewis. It also acquired Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark from Phoenix for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-rounder, and cash. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson remain, however.

Staring at the standings doesn’t make the East picture any clearer. The 23-4 Celtics are three games ahead of Miami.

The Heat, Bulls, Hawks, Magic, and Knicks are all clustered together with just four games separating them. The Bucks — the team no one wanted to face down the stretch last season — are nowhere in the mix, and Brandon Jennings is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot. Yet seeing them knock off the Lakers earlier this week made sure they will stay on every team’s radar.

“It’s hard,’’ said Celtics forward Paul Pierce. “When you look at two on down to six, a lot of the records are similar. So, that stuff can change every week.’’

The Heat couldn’t be a more fitting example. One week they dropped four of five and Chris Bosh was the fall guy for their small stretch of futility. The next week they were one of the most explosive teams in the league, pounding any and all comers by double figures.

The Bulls have won nine of 10 since losing to the Celtics at TD Garden earlier this month, but just as they got Carlos Boozer back from injury, Joakim Noah (thumb) and Taj Gibson (concussion) went down.