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Boston Celtics Catch Break against Houston Rockets

By Joshua Bateman

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 7: Chris Paul #3 and Clint Capela #15 of the Houston Rockets participate in the team's annual Fan Fest event on October 7, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 7: Chris Paul #3 and Clint Capela #15 of the Houston Rockets participate in the team's annual Fan Fest event on October 7, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics will be playig a shorthanded Houston Rockets team with Chris Paul and Clint Capela out

The Boston Celtics are playing yet another second game of a back to back, but this time it is against the top team in the NBA. The Houston Rockets are convincing everyone that they can contend for a title this year, and it has been near impossible for them to lose with Chris Paul in the lineup.

One problem has been that Paul has not been able to stay in the lineup. James Harden has done more than enough to carry the load in his absence, and Clint Capela has been right there with him, with a chance at the most improved player award.

The Celtics would have loved to beat a fully healthy Rockets team, but they are at a point where they probably needed both Paul and Capela to be sidelined, and the two of them are going to be missing the showdown between the top teams in each conference (Via NBA.com). They Rockets are also on their first skid of the year, making this a great opportunity for the Celtics.

The Rockets have made it clear that they are going to be tough to beat any time Harden is in the lineup, and with the Celtics on the back to back, dinged up themselves and at the end of the most cluttered start to a season ever, this could still be the toughest game of the season.

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With Paul and Capela in the lineup, the Celtics would have needed to be at their absolute best, and that simply is not happening right now. The Celtics are playing down to their competition, and have not played at a level that can keep up with the Rockets at their best.

Without Paul and Capela, it really will have to be the Harden show, with unbelievable three point shooting around him of course. No one in the league has any chance of slowing down Harden, but Marcus Smart will do as good of a job as anyone to try and disrupt something.

If Smart can do anything to disrupt Harden, then they could surprise some people and get one of their biggest victories of the season. With how good the Rockets have been, it will be a lot more than these individual battles. The Rockets have put a great team around Harden, and the Celtics will need balance in order to beat them even if they are shorthanded.

The Celtics will go into this game knowing they should have an advantage with the injuries, but they still need to be a lot better than any game during this stretch. They need the balanced scoring and they need to be at their absolute best on the perimeter.

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This is a vitally important game for the Celtics. They have gone through a brutal stretch that is about to end, and this is the toughest team during that stretch. If they can find a way to take advantage of the short handed Rockets, then they can escape this stretch with at least a two game lead on both the Raptors and the Cavaliers, and nobody can be complaining about that considering how poorly they have been playing.

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