Boston Celtics Face Trap Game Against the Nets

The Boston Celtics can’t slow down with a potential trap against the Nets up next on the schedule

At this point, it is getting real hard to try and doubt the Boston Celtics‘ ability to win any game under any circumstances. They are fresh off a one point victory against their biggest division rival, without their franchise player. Up next is some of the worst competition in the league, and with a good chance that Kyrie Irving will be coming back.

Given what the Celtics have overcome so far, they should have no problem getting by the Brooklyn Nets with ease, and that is exactly why it is a trap game. The Celtics still have not been shooting well, and they cannot expect this bench to keep up what they have been doing on a nightly basis.

The Celtics have been winning because of their determination, and ability to find anything they can to make up for their issues on the court. With Irving and, before him, Al Horford sidelined, the Celtics had the mentality that there was no room for error, allowing them to find every single edge they could get while playing miserably in some respects.

Against the Nets, the Celtics are not going to feel as though they need every edge. They may let up in some of the areas that have been allowing them to overcome so much, and that opens the door for a Nets team that has shown that they can be competitive this year.

More from Hardwood Houdini

The good news is that this Celtics roster looks like one of the last teams to ever fall into that trap. They have been playing with almost playoff like energy, and each and every player has embraced the mentality of playing with more intensity and more energy than whoever is against them.

The biggest protection the Celtics have against a trap game is their defense. We have already seen this team overcome terrible offensive performances. Against a team like the Nets, the defense alone could blow them out and will, at the very least, give them a chance to win late. The Celtics have also shown how comfortable they are in those close situations after ugly games.

The Nets can play at a fast pace that allows them to surprise defenses, but the Nets will not be successful on that end unless the Celtics have a disastrous performance. They have too many players that put on too much pressure, and that should force an inexperienced Nets team into a lot of mistakes.

Forcing those mistakes is all the Celtics need to win this game, but expecting an opponent to make mistakes is another way to fall into a trap game. It is possible that the Nets find that great rhythm, and are able to score in a way that no one else has been able to against this Celtics team. If that happens, the Celtics need to go to those other, effort and intensity advantages, that may not be as prominent against a weaker opponent.

The Celtics have already proven that they can overcome anything during this winning streak. Not until they play the Warriors on Thursday will they be getting a test that they have not previously blown away.

That being said, the longer the streak goes on the closer you get to the feeling that one of those utter disastrous performances will come on both ends. The Celtics have kept themselves alive under any circumstances, and they have yet to have a performance where nothing works, and the team just caves.

Next: Celtics Beat Raptors for 12th straight win

The Nets are no longer a team the Celtics really have to worry about when they play, but there is a great danger in having that attitude against any opponent.

Home/Celtics News