Rajon Rondo's season-ending ACL injury was expected to leave an opening for the ninth-seeded 76ers to make a move in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers have held up their end of the bargain so far, winning three of their last four games, but the Celtics have been playing well without their All-Star point guard, winning four in a row. With Boston off tonight, the Sixers will look to gain a half-game in the standings by handing the Magic their 10th straight loss. Here are a few other updates out of the Atlantic:
- A pair of sources tell NetsDaily (Twitter link) that there's no truth to an earlier report about the Nets making Andray Blatche available.
- Agent David Falk says the Celtics recognized that his client, Jared Sullinger, would eventually require surgery on his back, but that the team and player were hoping it could be delayed until the summer. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe has the details.
- ESPN.com's 5-on-5 panelists, including Sean Highkin of Hoops Rumors, put forth a number of hypothetical deals for trade candidates. Among their proposals are suggestions for how the Celtics could maximize their return on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
- The efforts of Jason Collins, who signed with the Celtics last summer on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, aren't going unnoticed, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star believes it makes sense for the Raptors to explore trading Alan Anderson for a backup point guard.