Hardwood Houdini
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Boston Celtics Can Turn Around Bad Stretch With Final Back to Back

By Joshua Bateman

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 18: Brad Stevens the head coach of the Boston Celtics gives instructions to his team during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 18, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 18: Brad Stevens the head coach of the Boston Celtics gives instructions to his team during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 18, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Winning this last set of back to backs could transform how this awful stretch is looked at for the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics can barely remember the last day they practiced, and they are still dealing with the reality of their worst stretch of the season. They went a six game stretch where they rotated wins and loses, and that kind of inconsistency is on the fringe of costing them the top seed in the conference.

It is easy to see why this is the worst stretch of the season for the Celtics, because the leagues top defense has looked far from that. When you add on the strain of the schedule, with two stints of three games in four nights, and this still has an chance to be an absolute nightmare.

The Celtics currently find themselves at a bit of a crossroads with this stretch. Those six games are always going to be a blip on the season, but if they can close this out with two wins on back to backs, then it will be looked at as a lot differently.

The great win streak to start the season was built on overcoming adversity, and finding ways to win. They have not been doing that this entire stretch, but if they can win these last two games, then it could be looked at as one of the bigger challenges overcome this season, and will give the Celtics more confidence in what they are able to get past.

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The Celtics have every reason to fold during these games. The lack of practice and crazy schedule, along with clearly playing far from their best, points to them getting out of this stretch with a losing record. If, however, they capture these last two victories, then the worst stretch of the season will turn into six wins three loses, and given the circumstances, that could be a great source of motivation going forward.

The Celtics also get two winnable games to close out this stretch. The worry is that those other three loses were also winnable games. In fact, the Spurs is the only team you would consider better than the Heat or the Knicks.

The Celtics have struggled against inferior teams during this stretch, and the Heat are a capable team. The Celtics have not been able to blow out this level of team during this stretch, so these last two games will continue to be a great challenge.

The Celtics are fortunate enough to have most of their health, but now is the time when they need the depth of Marcus Morris the most. The Celtics have done a great job of overcoming injuries, but never while going through this kind of stretch.

Now is when the Celtics need to make sure they are back to what was happening during that winning streak, because two wins here gets the right back to where they were before these struggles started.

The bigger issue will always be the defense. Even if the Celtics win these games, they need their defense to get back to their best before they can be confident in their ability to be true title contenders.

Fixing that defense is going to be the main focus of the rest of the season, because we are starting to see how the offense is going to be great the rest of the way. That being said, they need to focus on right now, and they need to make sure they find a way to win these two games, no matter what their defense is like.

With the lack of practice time, the Celtics cannot expect their defense to carry them to close out this stretch, but that cannot stop them from winning.

Fortunately, the Celtics are at home against the Heat, so there will be some sort of comfort. The Celtics just barely got their last victory against the Pacers, but getting a third straight victory while playing their worst basketball of the season is not a terrible place to be.

It may take some time before they get back to their best at defense, but they cannot afford to take time to get back to winning. During that first stretch, the Celtics were using their defense to overcome everything else. During this stretch, it has felt like the opposite.

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After two straight victories, there is a lot more hope that the Celtics are figuring out the other ways they can win these games without their defense. These last two back to backs will end up being the measuring stick either way. Two wins to close this out and the Celtics will have proven they can win without a great defense. Two loses, however, and everyone will see how much they will struggle if the defense does not turn it around.

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