Boston Celtics: 10 Reasons They Don't Need To Worry About a Loss To the Lakers
All of a sudden, the Boston Celtics look like an average team. They dropped games to their West Coast rivals, the Lakers, and to an unspectacular Charlotte team. Is it time to start worrying about rust building up on the Green Machine?
Not really. Every team goes through a midseason slump at some point in time. Don’t let this cluster of losses get you down. After all, the team isn’t playing terrible, just facing some midseason adversity.
Here are 10 reasons why the recent loss to the Lakers shouldn’t get fans worrying.
Ray Got the Monkey Off His Back
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Now that Ray Allen is the career leader in three-pointers made, he can go back to focusing on basketball and not records.
Allen’s percentages have come down slightly over the past 10 games, but he should go back to hitting over 50 percent of his shots every night soon.
They Beat the Heat
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Nothing avenges a loss to the Lakers like a victory against the Miami Heat.
Given, the Celtics almost let their lead slip away, but the team held on and recaptured the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics Have An Easy Schedule Coming Up
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The Celtics have the luxury of facing teams like New Jersey, Golden State, Milwaukee and the Clippers, multiple times, over the next couple of weeks.
Sure, there’s Blake Griffin in L.A. and the Bucks' Andrew Bogut has unfinished business with Kevin Garnett, but the Celtics only play three over .500 teams from now until March 19. Not a bad stretch.
The All-Star Break Is Here
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The All-Star break is this week. Even though the “Big 3+1” will be in action, it’s a couple days off from serious competition.
Sure Allen and Pierce will be gunning for each other in the Three-Point Shootout, but don’t worry about any intense on-court wars being waged.
Garnett’s Getting His Groove Back
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KG did not rebound well in January. His 7.1 average was two rebounds below his season average.
Granted, the scoring was up, but the Celtics are in desperate need of inside help with so many centers missing in action.
Garnett is back on track in February, pulling down over nine boards per contest.
The Team Continues To Be Drama Free
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Kevin Garnett may not have many friends on other teams, but he has plenty on the Celtics.
And despite having four All-Stars, the Celtics continue to play ego-free basketball and respect one another as teammates.
There is some concern about Delonte West when comes back into the mix, but hopefully his time off has allowed him to gain some perspective on what it means to be a part of this Celtics team.
The Celtics Won’t Finish Worse Than a Three-Seed
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No matter what, the New York Knicks and Amare Stoudemrie are not going to catch the Celtics in the East, so the three-seed, at the very least, has been locked up.
The Team Will Eventually Get Healthy
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The Celtics are banged up right now. Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels, Shaquille O’Neal, Semih Erden, Delonte West and Jermaine O’Neal are all playing below 100 percent.
Anytime a team has over half of their team not playing to their full potential, it can be tough to sit through those games, but better now than later, right?
The Magic Just Beat Up the Lakers
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After the drubbing the Orlando Magic put on the Lakers yesterday, you can’t be too concerned with L.A.
Sure, L.A. beat the Celtics, but losing to the Magic? Please!
Next Time, Beat the Lakers in Boston
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Hey, if the Celtics faceoff against the Lakers in the NBA Finals again this season, they should just win the series in five.
Then they won’t have to worry about playing the final two games in Los Angeles.
