Boston Celtics have earned their way to the play-in round
If the NBA season ended today, your Boston Celtics would be headed to the play-in round as the seventh seed. A win would earn the team a first-round matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Following a 121-99 loss to the 28-39 Chicago Bulls on Friday night, that is exactly the situation the Celtics find themselves with just 5 regular season games left in the 2020-21 regular season.
With all the remaining games winnable, including two games against the No. 6 seed Miami Heat, the Celtics can get themselves out of that spot. But how can anyone trust a consistently inconsistent team to do that.
Sure, injuries are a major part of that inconsistency as Kemba Walker hasn’t played in the tail end of back-to-back games all season long and entering Friday night’s game, Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams sat out with injuries, but this team still has the talent to beat all the non-playoff teams they have not only lost to but got waxed by in those defeats.
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Play-in round should humble the Boston Celtics
So, as great as this team looks when they are healthy can clicking, they are a team that could easily lose in the playoff team. Yes, imagine a team with two blooming All-Stars in Jayson and Jaylen Brown sitting home and watching the New York Knicks in the playoff.
Yes, imagine a team with scorers like Walker and Evan Fournier serving the embarrassment in even participating in the play-in round?
As fans and critics have become frustrated with this team all season long, the Boston Celtics have brought this all upon themselves.
No sense of urgency, saying the right things, but not translating those things on the court is what this Celtics team has become.
"“We have to compete hard. We have to play smart. We have to do our jobs. That’s it,” Fournier said following the game."
Maybe the Celtics need to have their backs against the wall to play the basketball they should’ve been playing all year long. The good news is they have the talent to beat anyone. The bad news is that they have the mental incapacity to lose to anyone.
Boston Celtics star Kemba Walker heating up
The other silver lining, if there is any, is that Kemba Walker has been looking like Kemba Walker the last couple of games.
With back-to-back 30-plus scoring performances, Walker will certainly be one of the keys down the stretch and going into the playoffs.
Another key will be having their top 4 players all healthy and hitting their stride at the same time. By the top 4, I mean Kemba, Tatum, Brown and Fournier. Those are the reliable scores and those players getting hot could carry the Celtics to at least take one of those top teams to the brink in the first round.
Next. The Kemba Walker we need vs the Kemba Walker we want. dark
They will also need players like Marcus Smart, Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams to do all the dirty work. Provide the hustle, deliver the attitude and make an impact by dissing out assists, battling on the boards and just getting dirty out there.
Play-in round or not, the Boston Celtics still have a chance at redemption. It’s just a matter of if they actually care.