Boston Celtics Need Continuity for Playoffs

The Boston Celtics need to establish continuity over these next few games

The Boston Celtics just got their most impressive victory of the season, and it may have made these last regular season games relevant again. The Celtics play the Toronto Raptors one more time, and are just two games behind in the standings. It will still be difficult, but getting that top seed no longer seems impossible.

That being said, getting the number one seed still is not the priority in closing out this season. Even if they get that second win, they still do not control their destiny, and hoping the the Raptors to drop an extra game should not be the focus.

Right now, this is a team that needs to get as much continuity as possible. With both Marcus Morris and Al Horford returning against the Raptors, they finally get their full first round roster together.

Marcus Smart and Kyrie Irving will not be back until after the first round, so these players need as much continuity they can get. The first step is finally getting some consistent health. The Celtics have been getting different players in and out of the lineup throughout this entire streak. The inconsistency makes it that much more impressive, but is not what they need for the playoffs.

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A lot of the younger players, and particularly the bottom of the bench, have no real idea what their roles are. The team has been shooting phenomenally, and getting solid defense from players like Abdel Nader and Semi Ojeleye.

The Celtics are going to be fine when things go as well as they have over this stretch, but they need to be prepared for worse. They need to anticipate the inevitable shooting slump, and they have to expect opponents to find a way to exploit the bottom of their bench.

These players need to know exactly what they can do in order to contribute, and right now it still feels quite uncertain. The Celtics need this exact unit to improve together, but they do not have much time to do it.

The good news is that we are seeing the kind of potential they have when things work, but it is unrealistic to expect this to perfectly translate to the playoffs. The Celtics need to make sure they are focused on playing as effectively and functioning as well as they have to close out the season.

The more time these guys get playing well together, the more they will understand of what needs to be done in order to do it properly in the playoffs.

Especially with that top seed a minor consideration again, the Celtics are not going to hold anyone out, attempting to avoid any more injuries for the playoffs. The Celtics obviously need to keep all these players on the court, but these next few games can be the most important of the season, even if it does not get them the top seed.

Brad Stevens is seeing a lot of what happens when these pieces work as well as they have. He still needs to be able to know how to use them when things re working. What happens when some of these players start being the liability may were expecting, and how can the young talent make up for that.

The reality might be that the Celtics will not win unless the entire unit is coming together with positive contributions, similar to the way they have been doing it over this last stretch. That being said, Stevens will be as prepared as possible and that means using the time remaining to figure out how these players can establish the kind of continuity that will allow them to overcome a poor performance in a playoff situation.

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The Celtics need the continuity to figure things out, because there will not be much hope if Stevens is trying to figure out how to use players that cannot get on the court. This run has been the most impressive stretch of Steven’s career, but how they look in that first round will be the real difference, and continuity in these next games could make all the difference.