... Oh wait... WE ALREADY DID!
Seriously, it makes me laugh when we have a good stretch of games and start winning (where the team evidently plays with better energy and confidence), but some people are like, "oh this doesn't matter, we still have to prove we can beat some of the best, I don't think we can, etc.".
Umm... we beat PHI on opening day, beat MIL back in November when MIL was hot (started the season 7-0), and so far we're 1-1 against TOR this season in 2 fairly close games with each side pulling away late and taking the home game. So where is this coming from?
We're also 2-1 against DET this season, and we are 0-1 against IND with a 1-point loss on the road.
Yes, PHI added Jimmy Butler (that's big), and yes, I'm not denying that the next 10 days will be tough tests (12/21 against MIL, Christmas Day against PHI), but it's also ridiculous to just "shove aside/ignore" this 8-1 stretch in the last 9 games because most of the teams were "mediocre/bad", though even that's not entirely true.Keep in mind we've also dealt with some injuries over the past few weeks (especially to Horford) but also to Kyrie, Baynes, Brown, etc. in some stretches.
The Celtics earlier in the year also had trouble putting away mediocre teams, but now they are taking care of business. And I mean, TOR/MIL/IND/PHI aren't just playing each other every single game, they are also playing these teams and taking advantage as well.
We lost last night, but overall this has been a fantastic stretch for the C's and they are in a good position to go into next Friday's clash with MIL with a 20-11 record and potentially the 2-3 seed on the line.
Anyways, that's my mini-Sunday rant, have a great day guys, and GO PATS! (Man we NEED to find a way and win @PIT. Last week was brutal).