Celtics Continue to Roll, Break Cleveland's 18 Game Home Winning Streak
ALLLLL ABBBOOAAARDDDD!! Can we take a quick second and appreciate what we are watching? Winners of 6 straight on the road, winners of 6 of their last 8 including 3 in a row, snapped an 18 game home winning streak, third most wins in the East since the All Star break. Let that sink in while more and more haters are starting to get a little bit worried. Here is what we learned last night with another HUGE win…
First of all, I don’t want to hear the “ohhhh Lebron and Kevin Love didn’t even play the fourth” or “Kyrie didn’t even play this game meant nothing to the Cavs who cares”. Shut the fuck up, you are an idiot. Not the Celtics fault Kyrie is soft, and if they truly didn’t care, everyone would have been rested so I will not accept that argument. Lebron did play about 10 min under his avg, but Klove was right on pace with his normal 31 min.
In reality, the Celtics wanted this game more from the opening jump, and that was great to see. Last time the Celts were in this building they lost by about 30, and the effort was abysmal. On Friday? We saw a team that not only wants to make the playoffs, but truly belongs. Much like they have during their current mini streak, the Celts played the right way on both ends of the floor. Their defense in the first quarter was about as perfect as you can play against Lebron. They would hold him to just 2 points on 1-3 shooting, and as a whole the Cavs would only shoot 33% and finish with 4 turnovers and just 17 points. Again, GREAT defensive energy.
As for the offense, well, if Wednesday night was all about Isaiah, the first quarter of Friday’s game was all about Marcus fucking Smart. Already an NBA ready defender, if he can continue to shoot the ball like this, with this amount of confidence, watch out. Often times you see rookies be hesitant once they get the ball, but Smart literally does not have a hesitant bone in his body, just look (ignore the glare)
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As a team the Celts would open the game with a 28-17 lead, and the tone was set. I must say I was a bit relieved to see this is how they would start, because as we have become accustomed to, each one of these remaining games are wildly important in our pursuit of Banner 18.
Things would get interesting late in the third quarter, as the Cavs would take their first lead of the game (but they weren’t trying right?!) and once again the Celts stepped up to the challenge. They essentially would lead the entire game, and even though Lebron would play every minute in the 3rd, the Celts held him to just 1-5 shooting. It was no shock that a run was coming from the Cavs and their 14 pt halftime deficit, but the Celts did enough.
In the fourth, a lot will be said by those who are unwilling to accept the Celts are playing legit basketball that the Cavs mailed in this quarter, and thus the game. Well, guess what assholes, the Celtics rested their starters too. For about 80 percent of the fourth we saw Isaiah/Jae/Jerebko/Olynyk/Sully and pulled it out.
THIS is why I am not afraid to play the Cavs in the playoffs. Yes, Lebron is the best player in the world, but Klove and Kyrie literally have never played one second of playoff basketball, and the rest of their team is fucking terrible. All of the sudden I am supposed to be afraid of JR Smith? Or Mike Miller or James Jones? On any given night Lebron can mask a lot of your weaknesses, but a 7 game series is a whole different ballgame.
Brooklyn and Indiana would also win, so things pretty much stayed the same in terms of the standings. The good news is the Celtics have about an 80% chance to make the playoffs based on ESPN’s prediction model so if you haven’t already, start to get excited. Three more games left till the fun begins, and this is how things look
Pacers are playing well, but don’t forget kids, Celts own the season series 3-1. Next up comes a rematch with Lebron and the Cavs at the Garden, and because they will without a doubt be looking for excuses don’t be surprised if everyone on their team sits. If you ask me the Celts have shown since the All Star break that they are one of the better teams in the East, and it doesn’t matter who they play, Stevens has this team peaking at the right time.
Go Celtics.