Celtics' Complete Guide, Preview for 2nd Half of 2021 NBA Season

The Boston Celtics are in a strange spot.

On the one hand, they have to be overjoyed about the growth of ascending All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum; on the other, joy might be hard to find when everything else is crashing and burning around the two building blocks.

Since sprinting out to an 8-3 start, the Celtics have gone just 7-13 since. Kemba Walker hasn't been himself. The injury bug has pestered this club, most recently knocking out emotional leader and dogged defender Marcus Smart. The center position is serviceable at best. The supporting cast has struggled to find consistency outside of rookie Payton Pritchard.

Can the Celtics, Eastern Conference finalists in three of the past four seasons, turn things around? Or has the club fallen out of the contender ranks for the 2020-21 campaign?

Those questions will be answered in the second half of the season, which is what we're focusing on here.

Schedule Breakdown

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

The Celtics received their roadmap for the season's second half on Wednesday.

They'll want to have their bags packed coming out of the All-Star break, as seven of their first 10 games will be away from TD Garden. That includes a visit to Brooklyn for a bout with the Nets and two games with the Bucks in Milwaukee, the second of which will immediately be followed by a trip to the Sooner State for a tussle with the Thunder.

Of course, the Celtics might not need to pack much more than their uniforms, as days off will be rare. Between March 14 and April 19, Boston will never have more than a one-day break between games and will play 21 games over those 37 days.

The Celtics at least get a bit of breathing room come May with a pair of two-day breaks within a two-week schedule. Saying that, though, the second one is sandwiched between a pair of back-to-backs, the later of which will close out the campaign with road games against the Timberwolves and Knicks.

Where the Shamrocks Stand

Sam Hodde/Associated Press

We won't try to sugarcoat things, because it's been pretty grim of late for the Shamrocks. However, we prefer to drink from cups that are at least half-full, so let's start with the good.

Tatum and Brown are all-caps AWESOME. Not potentially awesome in a few years, not en route to awesomeness, just outright awesome right now.

Tatum's production is up basically everywhere, and he's managed to balloon his assist percentage to 22.3 (previous best was 14.5) while almost setting a career mark in turnover percentage (9.9). Brown is creating more offense for himself and still hitting high marks in field-goal (50.1 percent) and three-point (40.2) shooting.

But the question marks with Walker are very real. He's a 30-year-old with knee trouble in his recent past, and his sagging offensive production (including an anemic 37.5 field-goal percentage) makes his defensive limitations harder to stomach.

The issues with the supporting cast are too numerous to mention, but Walker is the big concern anyway. It's hard to envision a championship ending for this club without its point guard getting back up to speed in a hurry.

Trade Deadline Approach

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge can only get so harsh in criticizing this roster, since he's the one who put it together.

So, it was notable when he was recently pressed on whether the club was good enough to win a title and could only reply, "I do not," via 98.5 The Sports Hub. The executive went on to say, "Depth is a problem and we're aware of that."

That sounds like someone who's ready to make a move, which Ainge hasn't always been in the past. (Patience helped him hold onto Tatum and Brown, but it also left Boston shouldering draft picks that haven't nearly delivered what was expected.)

Will Boston splurge at the deadline for a big-time acquisition? Does it have the trade ammunition to do so? The simple answer might be moving Walker, but unloading an undersized scoring guard with declining stats and a massive salary is no simple task. If the Celtics needed to use Smart as a money-matcher in a big exchange, is that a sacrifice they're willing to make?

Something seems bound to happen between now and the March 25 trade deadline. The size and scope of that swap could determine where the Celtics' campaign goes from here.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.