Boston Celtics Facing Vital Home Stretch
The Boston Celtics have been a little underwhelming coming out of the all star break. They have lost two of their three games but have a great opportunity to cement themselves in the east over their next stretch of games. The Celtics play 7 of their next 8 games at home and now would be a great time for them to finally establish their home court advantage.
The Celtics have been a much better team at home this year, with a record of 17-10. The Celtics are looking like they have a good chance to have home court advantage for at least one round in the playoffs and they need to make sure that they get every advantage they can out of TD Garden.
The Celtics should have no problem improving their home record over this stretch but they have an opportunity to go on one of their best stretches of the season. As of right now, their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers is the only opponent that has a better record than them. The Celtics have proven that they can put together strong stretches of great play but now is not the time to go backwards.
As great it can be for the Celtics if they have a successful home stand, there is a great danger if they do not take advantage of their home court. The eastern conference is turning into an incredibly close race and the 8 seed is only 2.5 games behind the Celtics who are currently tied for the three seed. The Celtics could easily plummet down the standings and then tremendously hurt their chance at getting home court in the playoffs.
Having a bad home stand gets even worse considering what that does to the perception of their home court. 17-10 is a solid home court record but if the Celtics lose more games than they win over these next 8 games then teams will not be intimidated by what has long been the most feared home court in the NBA.
The timing of the home stand may not be ideal injury wise. The Celtics have no injuries that are too serious but they are gong to have to defend their home court without Kelly Olynyk. The Celtics have dealt with injuries to central players throughout the season but they have already missed Olynyk’s presence off the bench. It is not the only reason they have lost two of their last three but it has certainly contributed.
The Celtics simply do not have a player that can replicate what Olynyk has to offer but at least they have had some time to figure out their rotation heading into the home stretch. The Celtics have had an opportunity to feel out what things without Olynyk are going to be like and they will be in a better position to game plan around his absence.
The Celtics’ exact place in the eastern conference is still up in the air. The have done a great job so far to cement themselves as a playoff team but they still have a ways to go before they can climb up the top rankings. If the Celtics can put together a great stretch over these next 8 games then they will be able to get some separation in the standings, and add at least a bit more fear to playing in TD Garden.
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The Celtics have two days to prepare for their home stand but after losing to a lottery bound Minnesota Timberwolves team there is no doubting that they are itching to get back on the court. The Celtics need to get back to their consistent and balanced play and then they will be able to continue fighting for a top 3 position in the eastern conference.