Hello SBG fans and welcome to a tour of the Atlantic... Division of the NBA.

Boston Celtics: 5-7, tied for second (1-2 this week, lost at Cleveland, at Atlanta!, won against Bobcats)

Winless (0-4) on the road, the Celtics got a last second Paul Pierce layup Friday night to beat the expansion Bobcats. The Celtics blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter but hung on to win. Said Pierce, "It was a much-needed win, regardless of how we got it. We just needed a win after not playing very well over the last five games. We just needed to somehow come out here and get a win, and we did."

You know, it's been 20 years since the Celtics have won the title. Somehow, I don't hear that kind of talk coming out of the mouth of Larry Joe Bird after beating an expansion team.

Doc Rivers and Mark Blount aren't seeing eye-to-eye. Blount took a DNP-CD against the Bobcats. It seems that not all is right with this situation.

Here's Rivers' take:

Rivers did not elaborate on what the future holds for Blount. He did not know when or how Blount would work his way back into the rotation, though he had no plans of benching the 7-footer for the entire game when the contest started.

"We'll just see," said Rivers. "I told him, 'I don't know [what will happen].' I didn't make a conscientious effort to sit him, to be honest. I thought about it. The coaching staff went back and forth on it. I told my coaches, 'You'll see.' As the game went on, I just thought, you know what, these guys are playing hard and they're playing together. I liked our energy. So, I decided I was going to stay that way."

Raef LaFrentz sees a feud between player and coach that could impact the team's success.

If we're going to make waves, if we're going to go in the right direction, Mark Blount needs to be a part of it. There are certain things that need to be taken care of, without a doubt. It's not fair to pinpoint any real good things or any real bad things on one person. You replaced him with guys [Perkins, Al Jefferson, Justin Reed, Brian Scalabrine] who their game is energy. That's what they bring. That's what they're expected to do. They did that tonight. But we were very close to losing this game. I feel lucky to have won. But as far as Mark is concerned, it's just a tough time between two people that hopefully we can work through.

Somehow, it seems that title number 17 is still a ways away.

New Jersey Nets: 5-7, tied for second (0-3 last week, lost at Golden State, Sacramento, and Phoenix)

The Nets lost the first three games of their five game West Coast trip. They play the Lakers on Sunday and Denver on Monday. The Nets have lost 12 straight in Phoenix. It must suck being the Nets. Even in their own market, they are ignored by the press in favor of the Knicks.

The Newark Star Ledger has this as its first side story about the Phoenix game.

As for the team he left behind, that's probably another matter. [Kurt] Thomas says he peeks at a box score now and then, but he is in agreement with Tim Thomas that the best thing about being out of New York is playing with a point guard who passes.

"Total agreement. Total agreement," he said. "Totally, totally."

Thomas' problems with Stephon Marbury became public knowledge last February, when MSG cameras caught a profane exchange between the two on the bench, with Thomas shouting the point guard down with, "Everyone in this organization is afraid of you, but I'm not, and I will beat your (butt)."

Of course, Starbury played in New Jersey, too (and was traded to Phoenix for Kidd), so I suppose they enjoy hearing anti-Stevie shots, too.

New York Knicks: 3-8, fourth (1-1 this week, def. Portland, lost at Charlotte)
The Knickerdoodles are hosting the 76ers Saturday night and the bookmakers have the game even. The Knicks are 3-8, but have played eight road games already, going 2-6. They may start to improve with more home games and with LB in charge. I wonder how long the Most Impatient City in the World will put up with losing under LB and IT, especially. This weeks 108-95 blowout loss to Charlotte (it was a 21-point game after three) had to cause some wailing and gnashing of teeth.

With the 76ers in town, the Iverson/Marbury/Brown angle is being played up. The Times, subdued as ever, discusses moving Marbury to the two.

Despite all the tough times with Iverson, Brown has only praise for him now.

"I saw him grow as a player; I benefited a lot," Brown said of Iverson, whose 76ers play the Knicks on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. "I admire the heck out of him."

Brown said that coaching Iverson had been "an amazing challenge," and although he also had challenges coaching Detroit's Chauncey Billups and now struggles with Marbury, he drew no analogies between the relationships. When it comes to coaching a great player, "you want to maximize what he can do," Brown said.

"I've never seen anybody like Allen," he added.

The Post reports a surprising statement about Iverson made by a former Brown assistant in Philly.

Knicks assistant Dave Hanners, who spent three years on the Sixers bench with Brown, says the coaching staff may have overreacted to Iverson's practice habits.

"He plays so hard and gets fouled a lot and gets knocked on the floor a lot; I think the guy was beat up a lot and didn't always feel like practicing because his body took such a beating," Hanners said. "He was so beat up he didn't always have the energy to practice everyday.

Iverson's "I'm talking 'bout practice, man" press conference rates right up there as one of the all-time greats. I like AI and I think he plays extremely hard. I'm sure he's a handful, though.

Philadelphia 76ers: 7-6, first (1-1 this week, def. NOK, lost at Milwaukee)
Mo Cheeks isn't happy with his team's effort on defense.

We've got to get some guys to just go after it. Rebounding and defense are just work; that's all it is. It's like when some guys come in shooting 300 shots if they haven't made a shot. Well, defense and rebounding are work, and that's what we're going to do; we're going to work at it 'til we get it right.

AI has some new legal problems.

A July 20 incident at Eyebar, a Washington, D.C., nightclub, has Allen Iverson back in off-the-court news.

A suit by four men claims that Iverson joined members of his security detail in attacking staff and patrons at the club. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said Iverson can be deposed in the suit.

Various reports said that one of the men suffered a concussion and a perforated eardrum, and that another suffered an eye injury. The suit seeks $20 million in damages.

Stephanie Moran, identified in the Washington Post as an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the newspaper it was Iverson who is "responsible for the actions of his employees and agents," but that others could be added as defendants.

Of the suit, Alan Milstein, Iverson's attorney, told the Daily News, "I don't think it has any merit." He said, "It was about a 3-minute incident."

He also said: "There were a lot of witnesses. There were two off-duty police officers who happened to be there, and both said Mr. Iverson was not directly involved."

Got to like the quotes by the lawyers. Let me interpret. Plaintiff's lawyer: "We ain't got a thing on Iverson, but those guys worked for him and he has a lot of money." Defendant's lawyer: "The plaintiffs definitely got beat up. And fast. But, AI is smart enough now not to throw any punches himself."

Toronto Raptors: 1-12, fifth (1-3 this week. Def. Miami!, Lost at Phoenix, LA Clippers, Sacratmento)
Ugh. Well, at least they are competing. A three point loss in LA and a two point loss in Sacramento shows that the team isn't giving up. In addition, a 13-point win over the Heat is a good sign. Or a bad one. Dwyane Wade, are you a superstar? Because superstars don't lose games like that. (Actually, they can... look at KG's team last year.) But, make no mistake SBG fans. It is O'Neal who makes that ship sail.