Boston Celtics in Great Position to Battle Cleveland

The Boston Celtics should feel great heading into their showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers

When it was thought that Isaiah Thomas would be returning to Boston for the first time tonight for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was going to be the most anticipated game of the season. The story of the regular season is going to be how the point guard swap works out, TD Garden was going to celebrate everything Thomas did last season, and that is just the top stories.

You still have Kyrie Irving trying to show it to the team he wanted to get away from, and it is going to be fascinating to see how Jae Crowder is received. This is still going to be one of the most talked about games of the season for the Boston Celtics, but the absence of Thomas will allow everyone to focus more on the bottom line: adding to the lead in the Eastern Conference.

Now that the overwhelming distraction has been taken out of the game, the Celtics are the healthiest they have been since the first game of the season, and they are the most rested and well practiced they have been in over a month, the Celtics could not be in a better position to take on the Cavaliers right now.

When you take into account that the Cavaliers are on the second night of a back to back, then there really are no excuses whatsoever for the Celtics to be anything other than their best. They’ve had the time to address some of the bigger issues during their down stretch, and everyone that sees the court is going to be fresh.

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The only problem is that the Celtics still have not looked like their best in over a month. Everything is in place for the Celtics to finally put together a great complete game, but the reality is that we are too far gone to trust that.

The remarkable comeback against the Rockets was one of the most special games of the season, but they were hardly impressive for most of it. They beat the Nets, but there is no reason that matchup should ever be kept that close.

The Celtics still need to show us that these struggles that almost cost them the number one seed are behind them. The reason for optimism is all the additional obstacles are now out of their way. The injury situation is as good as you can expect right now, they are much more rested than their opponent, and they had a chance to get in practice to figure some things out for the toughest team they will play in the East.

This is not a must win game for the Celtics, because they will come out with a lead no matter what. That being said, you have to expect that the Cavaliers will hit another gear once Thomas is back at full strength, and there is a good chance they will have great stretches where they gain ground.

This is going to be one of the last opportunities for the Celtics to gain ground on the Cavaliers, but a win also gives them the kind of cushion that could be too much to overcome. The Celtics have an opportunity to open up a 4.5 game lead, with their next game against the Cavaliers.

Both the Raptors and the Cavaliers have the luxury of all those games in hand, leaving the door open to gain a lot of ground. If the Celtics take care of business tonight, then the Cavaliers would have to be perfect in those extra games to make up that kind of lead.

Next: Isaiah Thomas' Return to Boston Put on Hold

The Celtics love the position they are in right now, and how they feel about this current Cavaliers game makes a big difference. If, however, this opportunity is blown and the Cavaliers steal the game in Boston, then the race for the one seed will be as wide open as ever.

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