The Celtics Seem Destined For The 2021 Play-In Tournament & Frankly They Deserve To Be There

    I have lived long enough to have seen plenty of terrible Celtics teams so while this season's edition is nowhere close to the worst record-wise, they have to be the softest of any that I can remember. No matter how seemingly hopeless their opponent is, Boston can still find a way to not only lose to them but get blown out. This evening at the United Center, the Bulls (28-39 overall, 13-20 home) swept the season series with the Celtics (35-32 overall, 14-19 away) thanks to a breeze of a 121-99 victory. As always, two of Boston's top players were out: Jaylen Brown (ankle) and Robert Williams (turf toe?) missed the game but that is still no excuse for suffering the millionth embarrassing loss of this cursed season to a non-playoff club. It was a very costly loss for the C's too since coupled with Miami's (36-31) 121-112 win vs. Minnesota (20-47), it dropped Boston down to seventh-place (aka the start of the Play-In tournament range) in the Eastern Conference. 

    Chicago is in 11th place in the East but they look like a playoff team when they have run into the Celtics this season. Center Nikola Vucevic had a triple-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals while point guard Coby White (25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) and shooting guard Zach LaVine (25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) combined for 50 points. Our old German friend Daniel Theis added nine points and eight rebounds for the Bulls. In terms of margin of defeat, this was the biggest road loss of the season for the Celtics and they really drove that point home as they got outscored in every single quarter. Boston's point guard Kemba Walker had a game-high and completely useless 33 points while swingman Evan Fournier added 17 points and six rebounds in the depressing no-show. 

    There are only five games left in the regular season for the C's and their next two-both at TD Garden vs. the Heat-will go a long way to determining whether they have to slum it at the Play-In Tournament or they can sneak by and grab anywhere from the fourth to the sixth seed. The two most important contests of the year are Sunday afternoon (1, ABC) and Tuesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) against Miami who is .500 (16-16) on the road this season. Thanks to a postponed game, the only time that the Celtics and Heat have met this season was more than four months ago: a 107-105 road win by the Celts in Miami on January 6. I can't recall much from that matchup but looking back at it now, it was without a doubt one of Boston's best wins of the season. The Heat have been very up and down all season, much like the Celtics but as long as Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are all healthy and playing, it's hard to pick Boston over the team that wiped the floor with them in the Eastern Conference Final last season at the Orlando bubble.

The Celtics' Six-Game Winning Streak Ends With A Whimper As They Fell 102-96 To The Lowly Bulls

 

    The Celtics (31-27 overall, 18-11 home) had been playing so well lately-winning their last six games in a row-that we all started to forget the earlier problems that plagued them for much of this lackluster season. Unfortunately, their lack of depth, costly turnovers and brutal third quarters all came back in spades tonight at the TD Garden as they lost 102-96 to the Bulls (24-33 overall, 13-15 away). Swingman Evan Fournier (health and safety protocol) and center Robert Williams (left knee soreness) remained out for the C's while they were joined on the sidelines by guards Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart who both were out with illness (not Covid-19, apparently). Even with all those guys not playing, the Celtics should have still beaten a team that is clinging to 10th-place in the Eastern Conference and the final play-in spot. 

    Center Nikola Vucevic (game-high 29 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) was probably the best player to be moved at the trade deadline this year and he's shown no signs of slowing down since coming to Chicago from Orlando. Point guard Coby White added 19 points and seven assists while journeyman Garrett Temple scored 13 points (I can just hear Charles Barkley saying his name during Inside The NBA's hilarious "Who He Play For?" segment) and veteran big man Thaddeus Young added 13 points and two steals off the bench. Finally, former Celtic Daniel Theis (6 points and 6 rebounds in 29 minutes) was pretty quiet in his first return to the Garden. As you can imagine, it was a mixed bag for the Celts as shooting guard Jaylen Brown led the way with 23 points while swingman Jayson Tatum followed up his 44-point explosion in Saturday's heart-pounding win vs. Golden State (29-29) with his first career triple-double (14 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists). The only issue with Tatum's game was that he shot 3-of-17 from the field which seems impossible for a player with his immense skills. Center Tristan Thompson added 11 points and five rebounds while spot starting rookie point guard Payton Pritchard tossed in 14 points.

    It wasn't going to be pretty but Boston was in decent shape as they led 30-24 after the first quarter but both teams went ice cold in the second quarter which resulted in a 48-42 halftime advantage for the C's. The Bulls woke up in the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics by a wide margin-32-18. Boston rallied in the fourth quarter a bit (30-28) but it just wasn't enough. Chicago had three times as many offensive rebounds (9-3) which resulted in 14 more second chance points (18-4). The Bulls also recorded nine more assists (30-21), four times as many blocks (8-2) and three less turnovers (15-12) than the careless Celtics.

    For the first time in over a month-which is truly insane-the Celts have two days between now and their next game on Thursday (7, NBC Sports Boston) at the Garden against the Suns (41-16 overall, 18-7 road). Future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul has helped Phoenix exceed expectations in a major way, they have not only the second-best record in the Western Conference but in the whole league. The only other time that these clubs met this season was on Super Bowl Sunday (February 7) in Phoenix, won 100-91 by the home team. For once, the C's will be rested while the Suns figure to be tired after playing at Philadelphia (39-18)-still the top team in the East-on Wednesday night. Dare I say it could be an NBA Finals preview for this summer? Haha yeah right, that's not happening.