The Celtics have won the Atlantic Division five years in a row, but a sixth straight title could be a tall order, as the rest of the division made strides in the offseason. There's news about pickups from each of the four challengers to Boston's throne tonight.
- Raptors coach Dwane Casey is a fan of Dominic McGuire and is glad his team fought off the Nets and the Warriors for the defensive-minded wing, who's in camp on a partially guaranteed deal, as Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun details.
- The Raptors' focus is starting to shift away from player development and toward competing, so that means Terrence Ross, the eighth overall pick in the draft, is behind DeMar DeRozan on the depth chart, Ganter reports.
- Kwame Brown figured to start at center for the Sixers when he signed his two-year, $6MM deal earlier this summer, but now he appears to be out of the team's rotation plans, as Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com writes.
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal shares insight from returning Knicks on the team's offseason acquisitions, including Carmelo Anthony's praise of Ronnie Brewer, who came over from the Bulls on a minimum-salary deal.
- Newsday's Roderick Boone examines the dynamic between the new Nets backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson.