NBA to Boston: This One's On Us

The Boston Celtics better buy something nice for the NBA Scheduling Committee this Christmas.

Ok, I don't even know if there is a Scheduling Committee. I assume that some computer "randomly" generates the schedule and always has the wherewithal to select contenders/rivals to play on holidays. And of course the algorithm has the best interest of the networks in mind with the quality double- and triple-headers on almost all Sundays after the Super Bowl has been played.

As chance would have it, the top three teams in the East had their schedules collide this week.

First up was the Cleveland Cavaliers, who traveled to New Jersey on Tuesday to apply a serious beatdown on the same awful Nets team that LeBron James supposedly cannot wait to join in 2010 (I refuse to devote an article to the biased reporting of the New York-based Associated Press other than to say that it is extremely unprofessional.) Amidst the media distractions, the Cavs boarded a plane and flew to Detroit to prepare for a solid Pistons team the next night. The result? The Cavs hit the wall in the third quarter and blew a 13-point lead, ultimately losing to a fresh Pistons team by seven.

On Thursday ESPN writers were lauding Detroit for sending a message by beating a fatigued Cavs team. Detroit's celebrations were short-lived.

Like the Cavs before them, the Pistons had to travel to Boston to prepare for a game with a rested Celtics team the very next night. The same Pistons who beat the Cavs the night before were embarrassed at Boston, 98-80. In fact, at no time after the first quarter did Detroit resemble the team who couldn't miss on Wednesday.

Of course, the gods of scheduling have a back-to-back prepared for Boston as well. It isn't very fair, afterall, to make Cleveland and Detroit play road games against elite teams on the second night of a back-to-back and not have Boston do the same, right?

After their dominating win over Detroit, the Celtics travel to Minnesota to take on the 2-8 Timberwolves. The flight may be a bit longer, but the Celtics also gain an extra hour of rest due to the timezone change. Did I mention that they are playing the Minnesota Timberwolves?

So let's sum up...

- The Cavs played the second game of a back-to-back on the road at Detroit.

- The Piston played the second game of their back-to-back on the road at Boston.

- The Celtics play the second game of their back-to-back on the road at Minnesota.

Stranger things have happened, but if the Celtics lose this game then I will drive to the store and buy a Yankee's jersey and wear it every single day for the rest of the year.

Cue the reporting services, Boston is about to gain a game in the standings on both the Cavs and Pistons because they're simply the best that ever was. And they had a little help from the league.