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Boston Celtics With Opportunity to get Comfortable at Home

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 21: the Boston Celtics look on during the game against the Orlando Magic on January 21, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 21: the Boston Celtics look on during the game against the Orlando Magic on January 21, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics have a great opportunity to start a great run at home

The Boston Celtics just finished a four game road trip, and a win against the Nuggets prevented it from being a disaster. The Celtics felt good after the Warriors loss, but have still lost five of their last seven games, and have let the Raptors shrink that lead in the East.

The Celtics still need to be better than they were against the Nuggets to start winning consistently, and they have a great opportunity to get on track at home. The Celtics have been a great road team, but it will be great for them get comfortable at home, and start another winning streak.

The most concerning part of their recent struggles has been their inability to beat much weaker teams. The Celtics have been playing down to their competition, and if they get caught doing that at home they could be in a lot of trouble.

The Celtics start up with the New York Knicks, and while this is a game they know they should win, they were losing to worse opponent on that four game losing streak. The Celtics need to prove that they can be fully trusted against the fringe teams again, and they should be able to stay focused and get things going against the Knicks.

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After the Knicks, it gets even easier with the Atlanta Hawks. After losing to the Magic, you really cannot take anything for granted. That being said, the Celtics know it is unacceptable to come out of these next two home games without that three game winning streak.

They appeared to get their confidence back against the Warriors, but they cannot take things for granted in these next two games. They know they should win but they are still in the midst of one of their worst stretches of the season, and they have a ways to go before getting back to where they were before that four game losing streak.

The Celtics need to take advantage of these next two home games because it is going to get a lot more difficult after that. The Celtics need to prove they are going to start playing in a way that will allow them to sustain winning.

They need to make sure they have no problem beating these two teams, because it is going to get a lot harder after that. They get one more at home against Portland, then they travel to Toronto, and to Washington. John Wall’s absence will make that game a lot easier, but we have seen what happens when they take things for granted. After that they get Indiana, then finish it off against Cleveland.

The Celtics have seen great success against teams above .500 this season, and this could be one of their defining stretches. We know they have to consistently play better than they have been over these last couple weeks if they are going to be winning these games.

The Celtics have chance to go on a solid winning streak, and cap it off against a Cavaliers team that is in shambles right now. This can be the stretch that puts the Celtics back in a commanding position in the Eastern Conference, but a bad stretch can lose home court for them.

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Teams always want to go into the All Star break on a good note, and the Celtics have an opportunity to be at their season high. Stevens has always done a great job of getting his teams to improve after the All Star break, and they can have a lot of momentum for that if they are successful over this next stretch,

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