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Boston Celtics Can’t Let Bulls Loss Impact Difficult Stretch

By Joshua Bateman

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 11: Daniel Theis #27 of the Boston Celtics grabs a rebound next to Bobby Portis #5 and Denzel Valentine #45 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on December 11, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 11: Daniel Theis #27 of the Boston Celtics grabs a rebound next to Bobby Portis #5 and Denzel Valentine #45 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on December 11, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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With a difficult stretch coming up, the Boston Celtics need to bounce back from their loss to the Chicago Bulls

The Boston Celtics hit their lowest point on the court against the Chicago Bulls. They fielded one of their worst rosters of the season, and pretty much every player on the court had one of their worst performances of the year. It was the second of a back to back, and they fell apart in every way possible.

Fortunately, the Celtics have won enough to make sure that this should not have an impact on their season. The only way they really get hurt by this loss, is if this kind of play spills over into a difficult upcoming stretch. The Celtics have been great on back to backs under Brad Stevens, and they need to make sure they get back to that over the next couple of weeks.

The Celtics have two challenging sets of back to backs, but they are all games they know they should win. They go against the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies on the 15th and 16th, then the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks on the 20th and 21st. The Celtics get some rest in between, but these kind of stretches will be straining for any team.

The most important part is making sure the Celtics are at full strength. There is no reason to think that Kyrie Irving is going to miss more time, but the depth that Marcus Morris brings will be valuable during this stretch.

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The Celtics are not playing any top team, but they are all capable teams who are much better than the Bulls. These are the kinds of teams that have been able to keep it close against the Celtics in the past, and if that loss to the Bulls hurts their mentality at all, then they may not get that clutch play that bailed them out of a lot of sub par performances.

There really is no reason to question Brad Stevens’ ability to get his team to focus, and this is not a roster that is going to let up on the hustle and effort that makes so many of them so successful.

This game should be the biggest outlier of the season, but if anything spills over, this could be a back breaking stretch. LeBron James will not let up the pressure for that number one seed, and a bad stretch here could be the difference. The Celtics will have time to overcome it, but the Cleveland Cavaliers will make it far too difficult.

If the Celtics do the opposite, and take care of business properly on this stretch, then that Bulls loss will be the most irrelevant game of the season. The Celtics will be challenged during this stretch, but they have been better than anyone else at overcoming challenges this season.

They have gone through much worse adversity than a performance like that against the Bulls, and back to backs are no reason for this team to start dropping games they should win.

This is not a season determining stretch for the Celtics by any means, it is far too early for that. The Celtics, however, have set an incredibly high standard of winning this season. If they want to continue to prove that they are real contenders this season, they have to maintain that standard, especially when the schedule is not working in their favour.

Next: Boston Celtics Finally See Their Floor

The Celtics have kept the season interesting every step of that way, and they continue that trend by inserting this tiny bit of doubt. No one should dwell over one loss, but this was a spectacular loss to the worst team in the league. This feels like a massive outlier, but this coming stretch will prove how much of an outlier it actually is.

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