Boston Celtics Looking for Edge against Big Game Opponents
The Boston Celtics picked up a road victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, but Boston’s record against teams with winning records leaves something to be desired.
The Celtics (25-15) used a barrage of early three-pointers and an Isaiah Thomas game-winner to beat the Hawks 103-101. The game marked Al Horford‘s first game against his former team since signing with Boston over the summer.
Horford finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the victory.
Taking care of business against teams in the lower part of the standings is a role Boston has nailed down. The Celtics are 16-4 in these games.
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The victory against Atlanta, however, was just the Celtics ninth this season against teams with a winning percentage of at least .500. A record of 9-11 in these games is decent, but not going to get the job done if Boston wants to be considered among the league’s elite.
Some of the struggles can be attributed to a stretch in the season’s first 20 games or so. The Celtics were battling injuries and stuck in a “win one, lose one” mode. Now (mostly) healthy–sans the ailing Avery Bradley–Boston is holding down a firm position on the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
A main culprit in big games continues to be Boston’s lack of rebounding. In the 11 losses to winning teams, the Celtics have faced a rebound differential of minus nine. And unless Boston can swing a trade for a big man, it may be a trend that continues.
The Eastern Conference Powers
Boston might be 6-5 against winning teams in the Eastern Conference, but there are two teams they can’t quite get over the hump with.
The culprits? The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors.
The Celtics are a combined 0-4 against them this season, losing the glass game by an average of nearly 12.
All of the losses have been single digits so the Celtics are on the edge of finding ways to win. Two of those games saw the Celtics lose the rebound advantage by 22 and 15. Using the magic of “wishful thinking”, if those numbers were cut in half, the Celtics might very well be 2-2 against the top tier of the East.
The Wild, Wild West
To truly be considered among the elite, the Celtics will need to step up their game out west. Boston is a combined 3-6 in games against Western Conference teams.
The good news: they are 3-0 against the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz.
The bad: They are 0-4 against the top three teams in the West (Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets). Boston also dropped both games against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Boston’s style of play matches up a little better with teams out west and the rebounding difference shows. In the nine games against these teams, Boston’s rebounding is only at minus six.
The Celtics still have a chance to show they can compete with the best. Games remain, of course, with Cleveland and Toronto, along with Golden State, Houston, and two with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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It will also help when Bradley, the team’s leading rebounding with seven per game, returns. And if Kelly Olynyk can put up similar lines to the one he put up against the Hawks (26 points, 8 reb), the Celtics will continue to fare better.
Until then, the Celtics might have a hard time breaking the glass ceiling that is the third seed in the Eastern Conference. A place that’s not bad, but a place they want to rise above.