It's not often that all five teams from one division are favorites on a given night, but that's exactly the case for the Atlantic's clubs this evening. Even the 3-13 Raptors are slight favorites at home against a Suns team coming off a 40-point loss in Detroit. While we wait to see if the Atlantic squads can go five-for-five tonight, let's round up a few Friday afternoon items out of the division:
- Danny Ainge believes the Celtics could use a big man more than a point guard, but says the team isn't pressed to fill its 15th roster spot, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
- For a Raptors team in need of a change, the "most potentially impactful way" to do so would be trading Andrea Bargnani, writes Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star. Raps president Bryan Colangelo didn't engage on the subject, telling Kelly, "We don’t discuss our intentions concerning player movement or acquisition."
- Compared to a few other NBA lottery teams, the Raptors' future doesn't look so bad, opines Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
- Mid-December is no longer a realistic return date for Amare Stoudemire, who is now targeting Christmas instead, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post.