The Clover Report: Week Five
Week 5 continued the biggest trends of the year so far for the Celtics; wins and injuries. As the Celtics headed into their game against the Charlotte Hornets, they put their 10 game winning streak on the line and were still without Al Horford from his concussion. Then in the first 2 minutes of the game, Kyrie Irving was hit in the face and was knocked out for the rest of the game. The Hornets proceeded to jump out to a 26—11 lead and it looked the streak was going to end. BUT, if there’s one thing I have learned; it’s that you never count out this team. The Celtics crawled their way back into the game through fantastic defense. Led by Shane Larkin (not a typo), Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Morris; the Celtics somehow pulled out a win 90—87. Larkin and Tatum led the way with 16 points each and Morris played fantastic defense downed the stretch.
The next day, the Celtics reported that Kyrie Irving broke a bone in his face and would miss Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. However, Al Horford returned to the lineup for Boston to take on the division rival. Despite not having Kyrie, the Celtics somehow were pull this game out and win 95—94. The Celtics had a very balanced attack 5 players scored double figures for the team. Al Horford led the team with 21 points and Terry Rozier scored 16 off of the bench. Marcus Smart who replaced Irving in the starting lineup scored 14 points and dished out 9 assists. It was another impressive win from a team that was undermanned.
For the final game this week, the traveled to Brooklyn to take on the Nets. Kyrie Irving returned to the team but he had to wear a protective mask with the fracture in his face. I was nervous going into this as this had “trap game” written all over it as the Warriors were coming into town on Thursday. As for the game itself, this was all about the starters as the Celtics won again 109—102. Every starter scored double digits as Kyrie Irving led the way with 25 points. Other than him, Marcus Morris had a fantastic game with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Al Horford had a typical game with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Well what can I say, life is good if you are a Celtic fan. This is now my 4 straight Clover Report that I have written since the Celtics have lost a game. Now with the streak at 13 wins in a row, the Celtics will now have their game of the as they host the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Words cannot describe how excited I am for this game and the world will be watching this potential Finals preview.
Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)
