Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

Boston Celtics Week in Review- 3/24

By Greg Cassoli

Mar 20, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) drives to the basket while Washington Wizards forward Jason Smith (14) defends during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) drives to the basket while Washington Wizards forward Jason Smith (14) defends during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Looking back at one of the most important weeks of the season for the Boston Celtics

A lot can happen to an NBA team in just seven days, and the Boston Celtics are no exception. That’s why we’re starting up a weekly column to capture their most interesting and entertaining happenings. We’ve attempted to rank them from most relevant to least.

A Big Win Over Washington

The Celtics improved their playoff positioning and avenged their loss in the so-called “funeral game” with a 110-102 victory over the Wizards on Monday. They built a healthy lead in the third quarter, and gave it back a bit more than is desirable in the fourth, but Boston was more or less in control throughout.

The victory ended the season series, and gave the Celtics a full 2.5 game lead over the Wizards for second place in the East. There is further playoff jostling still to take place, but this game may serve as a tasty appetizer to a second round series between two teams that genuinely don’t seem to like each other.

Only One Game Away

The Cavaliers dropped two of their three games in the past week. One was a semi-intentional loss against the Clippers, in which the defending champs rested all of their best players. The other was a surprise defeat at the hands of the Nuggets. The exact archetypes of the losses aren’t particularly important though.

What really matters is that, in tandem, the two losses allowed Boston to creep within one game of first place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics remaining schedule is a little lighter than the Cavs, who don’t seem overly concerned about maintaining the top spot anyways, but the two teams’ looming matchup on April fifth is likely what will ultimately determine who finishes as the number one seed. Cleveland will be playing the second game of a back-to-back that night. Boston will be coming off two full days of rest.

Mar 5, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) reacts after falling to the court against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Celtics 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) reacts after falling to the court against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Celtics 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Two Games Without IT

The Celtics used a minor injury to Isaiah Thomas to jump into the resting players controversy that is sweeping the NBA. Thomas’ knee trouble was more legitimate than a straight up “DNP-rest,” but it might not have prohibited him from playing had Boston not been going up against two of the league’s worst teams in consecutive games.

The Celtics fared about how you would imagine without their star player, finishing 1-1, including a win over Brooklyn and a fairly embarrassing loss to Philadelphia. Points were scarce, as Boston failed to top the 100 point mark in either affair. Their overall record without Thomas fell to a 2-4 for the season.

Next: Olynyk Could be Key in Playoffs

Jonas Jerebko Gets a Haircut

I’m pretty sure this happened before last week, but it deserves to be acknowledged. Jerebko finally got rid of his ridiculous gelled up swoop. The buzz cut that replaced it is a lot less bold, but in a good way. Props for good decision making to the Swedish Larry Bird. Maybe Olynyk could learn a thing or two.

Home/Celtics News