The second half of the season is here, Boston Celtics fans. With it comes a hint of optimism with a general fear of the unknown. Simultaneously.
The Cs have caught up to the #4 seed after falling two games below .500 just a few weeks ago. They can get there again just as quickly if they aren’t careful.
Two of the first three games the Cs have are against two of the top five teams in the league record-wise, including a matchup against the league-leading Utah Jazz–who is currently pacing the association with the most wins (27) and single-digit losses (9), the only such team to have achieved such feat at the halfway mark.
Before that, though, a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets (and a Sunday night affair with the Houston Rockets) awaits. Brooklyn is a half-game behind the Philadelphia 76ers right now in the Eastern Conference for the top seed and could surpass Philly tonight if the Nets can get by Boston and Chicago beats a Sixers squad missing both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid due to COVID-19 protocols.
For the Cs, tonight’s game is a must-win. Here are 5 reasons that have brought the Houdini to that conclusion:
Reason tonight’s Boston Celtics game is must-win #1: Establishing a strong second half to the season
The first half of the season was…well, one to forget. To be fair, it’s one that NBA as a whole would likely want to put behind them, considering the almost weekly occurrence of several games being wiped off the schedule due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Cs were hit hard with health and safety protocol-related absences in addition to injuries to key players in Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart.
A win in Brooklyn tonight would help wipe that slate clean and begin the second half of the season free of the negative momentum of the season’s first act.