Takeaway No. 3) The playoffs are not out of reach
Yes, we are halfway through the NBA season, and playoff hopes were foreign in most Celtics fans’ eyes until a few weeks ago.
This is a different Boston Celtics team with a clear identity and path to the postseason.
This team now sits four games over .500 and passed the Charlotte Hornets for eighth seed Friday night.
The Nets are falling off, the Wizards and Knicks are not competitive, and the Raptors’ run may not be sustainable.
Toronto sits in the seventh spot by a finger’s length. We have a clear path to not being a play in tourney-bound team.
My horse in this track meet is the Boston Celtics with the number one defense over the last month.
This perpetually average C’s team of the past is breaking through that wall.
Marcus Smart has taken the reigns as our point guard, the Jays had a great month of January, The Williams boys are perfect complementary pieces to the Jays, and J-Rich has been an exceptional sixth man.
Notice how this writer left out the part of the kids nearly blowing the game at the end.
We will call that an honorable mention.
After months of underachieving play, let’s celebrate some positive trends in Celtics basketball.