Celtics upcoming schedule...Beat the Heat! Then pedal to the floor.

[Assassin70]

We want home court advantage right?  Currently the Heat and Celtics are tied (even though they will most likely destroy Detroit tonight and take the lead) sure we own the tiebreaker for now, but we still have to play them again, not counting Sunday.

The quest for home court ladies and gentlemen starts this weekend.  We have to set the tone for the rest of the season.  We must act now if we want home court in the East. 

Unless the Spurs just fall off...there is likely no way we are catching them so I wont even bring that up.  But starting now is the most crucial stretch in the regular season for the C's

We must, under no circumstances lose to Miami on Sunday.  I don't want to split the season series...and I don't want them gaining any momentum or confidence against us.

That tie breaker must get wrapped up now. I want that last game against the Heat in April to not matter much.  In order for that to happen we MUST win Sunday!

Upcoming tough games for Celtics after the Heat until the end of March.  I will only list the ones I think we have a higher chance of losing the rest we should win.  We all know things happen...family issues, injuries, lesser team stepping up that night, laziness etc.

@Denver Feb 24. May be moot because of trade deadline and Melo.
@Utah Feb 28.  Jazz traditionally play tough at home.
@New Jersey Mar 14.  Don't laugh, back to back game.
@New Oreleans Mar 19.  Tough opponent plus back to back .
@New York Mar 21.  Knicks always play us tough might have Melo.
March 27 or 28 @Twolves & @Pacers one of them will come to play back to back low level opponent = bad things for us usually.
@San Antonio Mar 31. Nothing needs to be said here.

Now for the Heatless.  Again will only list the ones I think they have a higher chance of losing.  Again we all know the expected and unexpected...family issues, injuries, lesser team stepping up that night, laziness etc.

@Chicago Feb 24.  Chicago is no joke.  Real contender
Orlando @Miami Mar 3.  Orlando has something to prove.
@San Antonio Mar 4. Nothing needs to be said here.
Portland @Miami Mar 8.  Play Chicago right before @ home and should win that but Blazer are decent...trap game.
Los Angeles @ Miami Mar 10.  Lakers will really want this game after Heat dropped coal in Lakers stalkings.
San Antonio @ Miami Mar 14.  Going to be a good one.
Oklahoma City @ Miami Mar 16.  Durant will show Bosh who is tougher.
@Atlanta March 18.  Alt already beat heat should be dogfight.

So looking at this on paper (in my opinion of course) all things considered the Heat only have 1 more losable game then we do from Sunday until the end of March.

Buckle up boys and girls I hope we learned from last year and put our foot on the gas instead of driving the speed limit.

Now I know some will say the following.

1. We cant catch San Antonio

To that I say who cares doesn't mean we can finish stronger then last year.  If the Spurs do make it to the Finals (which they really could do) we will worry about that bridge when we get ready to cross it.

2.  We don't need home court against the Heat to beat them.

This may be true...but why ask why after the fact?  Let's not even have to worry about that.

3.  I am only worried about LA.

LA might not even make it to the Finals never assume anything.

We want to be the best, we not only have to beat the best, but the worst too.  All things considered if we win the title @ the end of the year I don't care how we do it.  But as you can tell, I really want us to play hard and finish not only the regular season strong.  But the playoffs even stronger!


LETS GO CELTICS!!!

[vinnie]

Celts will have 7 healthy, experienced players on Sunday. Simply not enough to beat the Heat. So sad what has happened to this roster. It is decimated with injuries. Now, with Nate out (having an MRI today on his knee), the Celtics are now down to 9 guys available, and only 7 with any true NBA experience. Their 7th man, Von Wafer, should be an 11th or 12th man. Their 8th and 9th guys should not be in the NBA. Going to be an ugly day Sunday, but I know the Celts will give their best effort for as long as they can.

[Assassin70]

Celts will have 7 healthy, experienced players on Sunday. Simply not enough to beat the Heat. So sad what has happened to this roster. It is decimated with injuries. Now, with Nate out (having an MRI today on his knee), the Celtics are now down to 9 guys available, and only 7 with any true NBA experience. Their 7th man, Von Wafer, should be an 11th or 12th man. Their 8th and 9th guys should not be in the NBA. Going to be an ugly day Sunday, but I know the Celts will give their best effort for as long as they can.

I hear you Vinnie...And I will give them a pass if they lose.

However you said it best...some people simply cannot play because they are hurt.  Nothing we can do about that it happens

However Wafer & Harangody aren't hurt and need to be used.  Also with Nate out Bradley needs minutes.  What fan of this team is going to be mad @ Doc if these guys (meaning Gody & AB he has no choice but to play Wafer big minutes Sunday) extended time to see what they can do against a title contender?

We are a team...if your not going to play guys even when you have no other choice then why are they even on the team?  I want to see what these guys can do.

[vinnie]

Celts will have 7 healthy, experienced players on Sunday. Simply not enough to beat the Heat. So sad what has happened to this roster. It is decimated with injuries. Now, with Nate out (having an MRI today on his knee), the Celtics are now down to 9 guys available, and only 7 with any true NBA experience. Their 7th man, Von Wafer, should be an 11th or 12th man. Their 8th and 9th guys should not be in the NBA. Going to be an ugly day Sunday, but I know the Celts will give their best effort for as long as they can.

I hear you Vinnie...And I will give them a pass if they lose.

However you said it best...some people simply cannot play because they are hurt.  Nothing we can do about that it happens

However Wafer & Harangody aren't hurt and need to be used.  Also with Nate out Bradley needs minutes.  What fan of this team is going to be mad @ Doc if these guys (meaning Gody & AB he has no choice but to play Wafer big minutes Sunday) extended time to see what they can do against a title contender?

We are a team...if your not going to play guys even when you have no other choice then why are they even on the team?  I want to see what these guys can do.

Honestly, Harangody and Bradley shouldn't be in the NBA. Bradley had a hard time getting the ball over halfcourt several times when he got some minutes earlier in the year. If they have to be depend on Gody and Bradley doing something on Sunday, it is going to be a long day. And, as I said, Wafer is an 11th or 12th guy and has not been in the NBA for a couple of years. All-in-all, it points to a tough day on Sunday.

[nba is the worst]

I still don't think the heatles can beat the Celtics in the garden - injuries or not!

Tough - yes, but this time a win!

[Greenbean]

Celts are vulnerable right now. Luckily there are only 2 more games then the break. I expect the pedal to hit the floor after the break.

Delonte back, Shaq back, newly added backup 3?

[StartOrien]

I'd love to see a 'Like A Bosh' chant get started.

[Assassin70]

I'd love to see a 'Like A Bosh' chant get started.

Hahaha if I was there I would start it!

[celticinorlando]

i do think boston matches up better with miami currently than LA,,,heat don't have 3 bigs they can throw at boston. key is PP being able to stay on the floor to cover lebron. other than that...they should be ok...von, baby and i think Gody can get some minutes...i won't be surprised to see delonte play

[Tayo]

In a perfect world, The Boston Celtics would somehow be able to leapfrog the San Antonio Spurs and have home court advantage throughout the playoffs this season...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjDmyW4RJ64

-however-

the likeliness of that happening is low since our team has been bothered by injuries this season and the Spurs don't look like they'll be slowing down anytime soon  

Right now the Celtics are tied for the second best record in the NBA and the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Bulls are 2.5 games behind the Celtics/Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers/Dallas Mavericks in the West are 1.5 games behind the top seed in the Eastern Conference so as far as the C's are concerned there isn't much margin for error heading into the next month-and-a-half, as the creator of this topic has so eloquently explained.

The Miami Heat game on Sunday will be big because the Celtics want to maintain a reputation for defeating teams, even playoff-level teams at home this season. Remember, the Boston Celtics still hold the NBA record for most home games won in a single season, so despite the team's problems with injuries I'm sure they will be ready for that game.

http://www.ecrater.com/p/9382504/michael-jordan-space-jam-custom

^(lols, at least our starting 5 are healthy right now)

[vinnie]

i do think boston matches up better with miami currently than LA,,,heat don't have 3 bigs they can throw at boston. key is PP being able to stay on the floor to cover lebron. other than that...they should be ok...von, baby and i think Gody can get some minutes...i won't be surprised to see delonte play

Wish I had your faith going into this game. Who is going to guard Lebron when Pierce is on the bench? You know Lebron is going to play more minutes than Pierce and that Spoelstra will make sure he is in the game when Pierce it out. If we have to really depend on anything from Von, they are not going to win. He had a nice game last night, but is he going to be able to guard Lebron? Is Gody going to be able to guard Lebron? This is a recipe for bad things. Celts will lose by 10-15 points and hopefully can get a win against New Jersey before the all star break.

[j804]

i do think boston matches up better with miami currently than LA,,,heat don't have 3 bigs they can throw at boston. key is PP being able to stay on the floor to cover lebron. other than that...they should be ok...von, baby and i think Gody can get some minutes...i won't be surprised to see delonte play

Wish I had your faith going into this game. Who is going to guard Lebron when Pierce is on the bench? You know Lebron is going to play more minutes than Pierce and that Spoelstra will make sure he is in the game when Pierce it out. If we have to really depend on anything from Von, they are not going to win. He had a nice game last night, but is he going to be able to guard Lebron? Is Gody going to be able to guard Lebron? This is a recipe for bad things. Celts will lose by 10-15 points and hopefully can get a win against New Jersey before the all star break.

Agreed losing Marquis is huge because he's so versatile, even against LA guarantee you we throw Quis on Kobe he doesn't fully have his way like he did with Von yesterday. His length would have bothered Kobe a bit instead as soon as Wafer was on him Kobe went off. Sadly I expect the same if Wafer is on James it's actually going to be worse you can bank on that.

[CelticG1]

i do think boston matches up better with miami currently than LA,,,heat don't have 3 bigs they can throw at boston. key is PP being able to stay on the floor to cover lebron. other than that...they should be ok...von, baby and i think Gody can get some minutes...i won't be surprised to see delonte play

Wish I had your faith going into this game. Who is going to guard Lebron when Pierce is on the bench? You know Lebron is going to play more minutes than Pierce and that Spoelstra will make sure he is in the game when Pierce it out. If we have to really depend on anything from Von, they are not going to win. He had a nice game last night, but is he going to be able to guard Lebron? Is Gody going to be able to guard Lebron? This is a recipe for bad things. Celts will lose by 10-15 points and hopefully can get a win against New Jersey before the all star break.

Agreed losing Marquis is huge because he's so versatile, even against LA guarantee you we throw Quis on Kobe he doesn't fully have his way like he did with Von yesterday. His length would have bothered Kobe a bit instead as soon as Wafer was on him Kobe went off. Sadly I expect the same if Wafer is on James it's actually going to be worse you can bank on that.

Gotta give Wafer some slack here though. He has not played big minutes at all and was just thrown into the fire to guard Kobe for an extended period of time. I think Von would improve on this as he gets more minutes in Marquis' absence.

[Assassin70]

i do think boston matches up better with miami currently than LA,,,heat don't have 3 bigs they can throw at boston. key is PP being able to stay on the floor to cover lebron. other than that...they should be ok...von, baby and i think Gody can get some minutes...i won't be surprised to see delonte play

Wish I had your faith going into this game. Who is going to guard Lebron when Pierce is on the bench? You know Lebron is going to play more minutes than Pierce and that Spoelstra will make sure he is in the game when Pierce it out. If we have to really depend on anything from Von, they are not going to win. He had a nice game last night, but is he going to be able to guard Lebron? Is Gody going to be able to guard Lebron? This is a recipe for bad things. Celts will lose by 10-15 points and hopefully can get a win against New Jersey before the all star break.

That is a possible outcome.  We are thin...we have to decide which person we are going to shut down Wade or James.  Then let the other go wild.  I say let James go wild and keep Wade under control and we can win.  We are really really going to need Rondo Baby and KG to have Monster games for us to win.