The Celtics have been one of the bigger surprises in the East as they’ve soared close to the top of the standings. They’re currently 19-11, good for third place, and on a four-game winning streak. When the C’s started 0-3, the detractors started to circle, but C’s coach Joe Mazzulla and his roster have steadied the operation significantly.
Boston has a crucial chance to keep momentum up on this current five-game road trip. The Celtics started it by beating the Pacers, the current worst team in the East. Then the next four games are against West teams — and they’re all at the bottom of the standings.
The Celtics face the Blazers (12-19, 10th in the West) on Sunday. Then they get the Jazz (12-19, 10th) on Tuesday, the Kings (8-23, 14th) on Thursday then, finally, the Clippers (9-21, 13th) on Saturday. So, the Celtics face four teams that are still trying to find their footing this season.
Of course, that doesn’t mean these are gimmes. The C’s needed to put together a 20-point comeback against the Pacers last week, boosted by their bench players. So even though all these West teams are struggling, these aren’t easy victories for the Celtics.
The Jazz, for example, are much better offensively at home than what they’ve done on the road — plus, they’ve already downed the C’s this year. There’s also the travel factor for the Celtics as they bounce around the country. The air travel adds up as the C’s look to stack together more victories.
The Celtics have leaned on their depth at different points this season. Nearly everyone on the roster has had their moments to help the C’s to victory. Luka Garza has been a recent step-up guy as the reserve big man’s rebounding gives Boston an edge. Sam Hauser has started to heat up from 3-point land after a slow November.
Boston is only 2.5 games behind the second-place Knicks, who are 22-9 on the season. It didn’t seem like the C’s were going to be this competitive, but their wealth of wings have stepped up. It’s unclear yet if Jayson Tatum is going to play this season, though his rehab has fans optimistic of a return sooner rather than later.