I like the nine and one Celtics on a string.

Boston has slipped to 12th in points allowed per possession, and it was reasonable to expect some slippage.

With Gordon Hayward out and then his candor back, Boston's benches wobbly in their core lineups.

Ask a lot of an undersized point guard, Kemba Walker, and a patchwork of backup center types.

But those core lineups they've been stingy all season.

Jayson Tatum is growing into a really good defender, smart, rangy, with a knack for disrupting stuff away from the ball.

Marcus Smart doesn't even have a position on defense anymore.

He guards everyone.

He's also shooting 39% from deep on, by far a career high attempt rate.

Uh oh.

Offensive rebound towns brings it down, rises back up and flushes with the right hand.

I like the Minnesota Wings hanging up.

Karl Anthony towns.

MPP level play drew the early attention, and now the focus is on the beleaguered Andrew Wiggins, shooting nine of 14 in the last three minutes of close games and flashing some new playmaking craft Ryan Saunders decision to play smaller around towns has been a boon for both stars.

They've managed so far, thanks in large part to their wings, especially Robert Covington and Joshua Kogi, rebounding at levels way above expectations for their size and traditional positions.

Minnesota ranks 20th and defensive rebound, and it's not great.

But it's just good enough to get away with playing.

Small hearts drifted from touchdown pass Westbrook, and he will dump it down.

The jury's out on the Russell Westbrook James Harden fit.

The partnership of starry thunder Castoffs is working well enough.

That's about what we tepid optimists expected.

Despite the glaring overlap, impairing literally the two most ball dominant players in history, the Rockets are eight and three with the league's fourth best offense.

Westbrook has reignited a doorman transition game and brought hard in some on Fort Rest.

But Houston is outscored opponents by only four points per 100 possessions.

Would Harden and Westbrook share the floor that margin when the two of them around the floor.

That probably needs to be a little beef here for Houston to get through the West, Westbrook is attempting only 2.3 catch and shoot threes per game.

That's just his usual average.

That number should spike playing next to a passer like heart and for Houston to hit its ceiling, he's gonna have to take and make a threshold amount of those shots.

For more.

Check out my column.

10 things I like and don't like on ESPN dot com.

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