Boston Celtics: Looming west coast road trip could decide season

The Boston Celtics, for better or worse, will be embarking on their annual west coast road trip starting with a March 5th date with the Golden State Warriors. The outcome of the trip could very well be the deciding factor for the team amidst a turbulent season.

Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said it best when recapping the team’s play in the month of February. Boston finished the month with a 5-6 record after dropping four games in a row to round out the month. Luckily for the Celtics it’s March, right?

Not so fast. The team did start the month off with a solid win against the Washington Wizards, but followed it up with a performance against the Houston Rockets that ended in boos. A whole lot of boos. After a lackadaisical start Boston found themselves down twenty-two points by halftime and headed to the locker room as fans boisterously expressed their discontent. The group fell behind by as many as twenty-eight points before attempting a comeback that became a classic story of too little too late.

Up next is the infamous west coast road trip that sees the Celtics take on the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings in a four game stretch that spans a grand total of six days.

This is a stretch that has not been kind to the team in recent years. Last season Boston went 2-2 in these match-ups, which was actually an improvement over their 2-3 record the previous season (Phoenix was added to the trip in 2016).

The Celtics simply can not afford a sub par effort during this stretch. Due to their recent woes the team sits at 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 38-26 record and a whopping 10.5 games out of first place. While the dream of holding home court advantage through the playoffs is all but gone, earning the right to host four games in TD Garden through at least the early portion of the big dance could be the difference between an early exit and a long run.

In the aftermath of the group’s abysmal February run Boston sits 2.5 games back of Philadelphia for the 4th seed, and a full 3 games behind Indiana. They are relatively comfortably ahead of Brooklyn, who trail the Celtics by 6.5 games.

In years past the notion of earning home court advantage being a do or die scenario would draw the ire of many fans and analysts alike. Boston has typically performed very well on the road. Last season the team actually did better on the road than at home, going 28-13 away from the garden.

That simply just isn’t the case this season.

Heading into the west coast road trip the Celtics hold a 14-16 road record and losers of their last three away from the garden. The team averages 114.4 points per contest on 47.6% shooting at home. Those numbers dip to 109.2 points on 44.7% shooting on the road.

Let’s not forget what happened to the team during last season’s playoff run when on the road. Boston struggled mightily through three playoff series, mustering up one win in eight tries away from home against the Bucks, 76ers, and Cavaliers.

Perhaps it comes down to playoff experience. Maybe chemistry is the problem. Regardless of the why, this team’s performance has been night and day in regards to what area code the match takes place.

The path to a top three seed in the big dance is clear, but a big hill to climb. Given the team’s history in the playoffs on the road coupled with their performance thus far, nailing down one of those spots could make all the difference in the world between a long playoff run and a first round exit. It’s time to start climbing.