Reactions to Boston Celtics blowout win over Utah Jazz Wednesday
This 2021-22 Boston Celtics season has gone from also-ran status to possible contention in a short amount of time.
The Cs are somehow sitting just 1.5 games back of the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
On Wednesday night at the T.D. Garden, the Utah Jazz were hapless as an underdog against a Celtics squad that has now won five straight games…with the last three coming against the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, and Jazz by a combined 70 points.
It’s hard to put the 125-97 victory and the wins that preceded it into words, but Boston Celtics players, coach Ime Udoka, and pundits all tried to:
Jaylen Brown just laughed when informed the Celtics have pulled within 1.5 games of the top seed in the Eastern Conference: “That’s crazy, right?”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 24, 2022
Coach Udoka: “I think we all feel there’s another level we can take it to.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 24, 2022
I don't even know how to explain this Celtics team anymore.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 24, 2022
I wrote that same sentence earlier this season with a VERY different meaning behind it.
The #Celtics are incredible
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) March 24, 2022
It’s hard not to see the Cs as the odds-on NBA title favorites right now, though WynnBet still has six teams with better NBA Championship odds.
Boston has gone 23-5 since a 23-23 start, and has proven capable of beating mostly everyone in the NBA along the way, including the league-leader in wins (by a good margin), the Phoenix Suns.
Of course, the Brooklyn Nets could end up being a low-seeded team that threatens Boston in a postseason rematch from a year ago. Kyrie Irving’s full-time return due to the easing of COVID-19 vaccine requirements in New York City makes them a dangerous possible #7 or #8 seed.
Regardless of the opponent, the Cs have the second best point-differential in the league for the 2021-22 campaign, and that’s mostly because of the season’s second half.
All of this recent dominance makes it highly unlikely any team in either conference will be excited to see them from April-June.