The Celtics Are Stumbling Into The All-Star Break
Last week I said that the Celtics had to prove a lot over their last four games, and they did not (won 1 of 4 games). Yes they played four games in six days, but that is inexcusable. Last night the new look Cavaliers came to Boston and wiped the floor with Celtic tears, winning 121-99. LeBron only played 28 minutes and put up 24 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. The C’s are now second in the East a half of a game behind the Raptors.
The @cavs four new acquisitions combine for 49 PTS to energize Cleveland, leading them over the @celtics 121-99!#LeBronJames: 24 PTS, 10 AST, 8 REB
Clarkson: 17 PTS
Rodney Hood: 15 PTS#AllForOne pic.twitter.com/rB9Snj6IfO— NBA (@NBA) February 11, 2018
Part of the Celtics poor performance does have to do with that the Celtics are tired. Most of the players after the game stated that they were just totally exhausted. Fortunately the All-Star break is just around the corner. There is only one game against the Clippers that stands in the way between the Celtics and a well needed rest. Fans should not be worried about how the C’s performed over the past week, but we should all be a little worried about the Cavaliers.
Again like I said last week, you can never count LeBron James out of anything. I am not going to jump ship on the Celtics just because of one bad week, but they are showing weakness. The first weakness is consistent scoring. I know I have been saying this since December, but if Kyrie Irving does not put up 20 plus points per game, then the Celtics have no shot. The second weakness is rebounding. The Celtics won the rebounding battle last night (43-41), but most of those rebounds came in garbage time. The Cavaliers absolutely smashed the Celtics on the glass early on in the game. The Pacers controlled the boards (53-38), and the Raptors/Wizards also won the rebounding battles in the three previous games. The Celtics have about 30 games left to figure everything out before the PlayOffs.
Written By: Connor Strayer (@Big_C19)