Celtics on the road...

[4THQTR]

Hi everyone!

I live in switzerland and i'm very passionate about basketball and have been rooting for the celtics ever since some of my favourite players have gotten together to play some of the best basketball i've ever seen and put the green back on top.



With all the discussions going on here about the race for homecourt advantage i just want to point out that that right now, the celtics are the best road team in the nba!

They are currently 23-9 on the road, which makes them the best road team in the league.

You might think to yourself, well they've been great in road games in last year's regular season too and then struggled in the playoffs!

Just rememeber though: They won on the road when it mattered!
they lost against detroit at home, and found themselves suddenly at a disadvantage (yes, it takes one loss at home to give away the homecourt advantage you've been fighting for for 82 games...) Well they made sure they got that first post-season road win and ended the series in game 6 with the second one.

And i'm quite sure no one who has bothered to read my post this far needs to be reminded of game 4 against the lakers...

So if the celtics don't come out of the east as the number one seed (which is a very realistic scenario given that they're trailing the cavs and have injuries piling up), they'll still have a good shot at banner 18, as long as the team can get healthy for the post-season.

I'd rather see a healthy celtics team on the road than a banged-up, shorthanded team at the garden.





Top 10 road teams: (Mar. 10)

1. Boston Celtics:   23-9   (.7188)
2. Los Angeles Lakers:   21-9   (.7000)
3. Orlando Magic:   22-10   (.6875)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers:   21-12   (.6364)
5. San Antonio Spurs:   20-12   (.6250)
6. New Orleans Hornets:   16-14   (.5333)
7. Denver Nuggets:   17-17   (.5000)
8. Detroit Pistons:   15-15   (.5000)
9. Houston Rockets:   15-17   (.4688)
10.New Jersey Nets:   14.16   (.4667)


Top 10 home teams: (Mar. 10)

1. Cleveland Cavaliers:   28-1   (.9655)
2. Los Angeles Lakers:   29-4   (.8788)
3. Portland Trailblazers:   27-5   (.8438)
4. Utah Jazz:   28-6   (.8235)
5. Houston Rockets:   27-6   (.8182)
6. Boston Celtics:   26-6   (.8125)
7. Orlando Magic:   24-7   (.7742)
8. Dallas Mavericks:   24-8   (.7500)
9. Denver Nuggets:   23-8   (.7419)
10.San Antonio Spurs:   22-8   (.7333)

[CelticsWhat35]

Welcome aboard, and a good first post.  As important as HCA is, health is much more important.  The national media usually glosses over that little fact that when the Celtics NEEDED a road win in the playoffs, they got it.

I'd be much more comfortable if the Finals had to go through Boston like last year, but not if we've got 4 or 5 guys limping into the playoffs.

Get rest, get the new guys acclimated, and go get #18.  Sounds easy enough, right? 

[Steve Weinman]

Welcome aboard, 4Q...looking forward to your contributions here...like the optimism...

-sw

[4THQTR]

Welcome aboard, 4Q...looking forward to your contributions here...like the optimism...

-sw

Thanks!

Really been enjoying your work on celticsblog for quite some time now and always look forward to the next pieces you write.

Let's hope the celtics somehow manage to beat the heat tomorrow so that they'll remain the number one road team!

[Tai]

I agree with your post completely, 4Q. TP!

The Cavs need homecourt much more than the Celtics do, and it's not even close. Maybe the C's needed it more last year, and that was fine, cause guess what? We had it last year!

But, the C's do have more experience this year, they've been through the grind of the playoffs last year, and that will help them this year, provided they can get healthy.

We almost beat the Magic short-handed, but had to wear out Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. I'd rather not see them with 40+ minutes in the box score, again. Give Giddens, Walker, and Pruitt some time. The Celtics need them now more than even, whether Doc realizes it or not. Playing with 7 or 8 guys will not get it done.