Though the All-Star break is officially upon us, we at the Houdini are still heavily invested in all things Boston Celtics.
Despite having a rough stretch through the middle part of the first half schedule, with some going as far as deeming them the most disappointing team at that point in the season, the Cs managed to rattle off four straight wins to head into All-Star Weekend.
NBC Sports bullish on moving up the Boston Celtics too high in latest rankings
Even with the resurfacing of their winning ways, there are some who have yet to be swayed entirely, with NBC Sports moving them up just one spot from their previous ranking.
"The only direction to go from “rock bottom” is up. The C’s rallied to win four straight heading into the break and more importantly showed signs of life after looking listless for most of February. Boston still could use reinforcement(s) ahead of the trade deadline, but if Kemba Walker continues to play like the Kemba of old and Robert Williams continues to develop, this team could land a top-four seed in the East."
To be frank, we aren’t totally opposed to NBC’s bullish attitude towards the shamrocks, even with their current streak.
On the surface, their current winning streak is quite impressive, having beaten both the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors most recently.
However, delve a little deeper and you’ll find that both teams were slightly undermanned with both Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam sitting out during each of their respective games.
With the way the C’s season has gone, even to just be knocking on the door of the top-10 is a good place to be.
With the idea that Boston’s front office could be making some moves to better their roster moving forward, coupled with the impending return of Marcus Smart, their second half of the schedule could very easily turn out to be more successful than their first.
For now, however, NBC Sports views them as the 11th best team in the association.