The Boston Celtics continue to rise in the standings as they have won five of their last six games. Their win Wednesday night against the Heat came from an unsung hero, Payton Pritchard. Pritchard who only scored 6 points the entire game, but his final two points came with 0.2 seconds left of the game to seal the win. For the last couple of years, all I hear is that Danny Ainge can’t draft players that aren’t named Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Last night Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard, Robert Williams, and Carsen Edwards all had a say in the game last night.
One game doesn’t prove Danny Ainge is good at drafting outside the top 3 picks. I get that, but that is a glimpse into the future of the Boston Celtics. The future looks bright, and these young studs can only get better.
Let’s look into the future schedule of the Celtics, shall we? Their toughest games will be against the Heat, the 76ers (twice), and to end the month with the Lakers. If the Celtics split the two games against the 76ers and beat the heat again, I believe they will finish the month 10-2. That sits them at 16-5 on the season by the time February rolls around. Pacers, Knicks, and Magic will come back down to earth, and the 76ers will collapse because it is the tradition in the City of Brotherly Love. Who do the Celtics need to watch out for? The obvious answer is the Bucks, who they beat opening night. A lot of people are high on the Nets, and how could you not be? Kevin Durrant is at full health and should be in the conversation for MVP by season’s end. It will be hard for Kyrie to not turn a locker room upside though, still, I would rather not see them in the playoffs. What should be the expectations of the Celtics this season? That all depends on how healthy Kemba Walker’s knee is when he returns to the court.
If the Celtics can have Smart and Pritchard coming off the bench with a 100% healthy Kemba, they should be in the finals, and anything less will be a waste of a season. Jaylen Brown has made yet another leap this year, and his contract extension is looking like a steal for the type of player he is. Tatum continues to impress and looks to grow his game. He does need to get to the free throw line more in-game to get two easy buckets. I’m not saying it’s championship or bust the Celtics, but if they continue to rise like they have these past five games, they should have no problem strolling to the finals this year.
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