Boston Celtics: 4 things Cs All-Stars need to do in season’s second half

The Boston Celtics All-Stars must be better against the east’s elite

So far, against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics are winless. While Jayson Tatum was missing against the Philadelphia 76ers during their two-games-in-three-nights series in late January, the duo was in attendance when the Brooklyn Nets came to town and blew out the Cs at the TD Garden on Christmas Day.

And that was before James Harden came to town.

Boston has the Nets on the schedule in their first game post-All-Star break before one more matchup in Brooklyn on April 23rd, while the 76ers come to town on April 6th. Being competitive in both games will give the team confidence in a prospective postseason matchup against the top dogs in the conference.

If Myles Turner isn’t going to be defending Joel Embiid in the paint, and an impact wing isn’t being brought in to defend the likes of Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, or Kevin Durant on the perimeter, it’s on the “Jays” to lead the way.

The Boston Celtics All-Stars must finish strong and improve postseason seed

As good as the C’s All-Star duo was in the season’s first half, clearly, it wasn’t enough to put the team in the conversation as a true contender.

Whether or not they are in that conversation isn’t actually that important. Nobody had the 1998-99 New York Knicks in the championship conversation (and nobody has had New York in it since).

What is important is the team winning as many games as possible with designs of improving their postseason seed. In this writer’s eyes, avoiding the Brooklyn Nets–my pick for the #1 overall seed at season’s end–for as long as possible in the playoffs is the best way to potentially beat them in a series.

The reality is, any #8 or #9 seed would be easy pickings for what should be a borderline unstoppable offensive machine, and facing them after a more competitive second-round matchup would likely give them an improved chance of overcoming a team led by a star trio that includes two players with somewhat extensive injury histories (Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant).

If Boston can once again claim a #2 or #3 seed, perhaps 2021 will resemble the 2020 and 2018 seasons…because this year is feeling a bit too much like 2019 again.

Tatum and Brown can single-handedly bring the good vibes back to Beantown with a strong stretch run to this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic-stricken season.