Celts' Remaining Schedule

[PhoSita]

20 games left.


MARCH

vs WAS
vs HOU


(Brutal roadtrip):

@GSW
@SAC
@LAL
@LAC

vs SAC
vs ATL
vs DEN

@PHI
@CHA

vs SAS
@CLE
vs IND
@BKN


APRIL

vs MIA
@MIA

@IND
vs ORL
@ WAS



This is a bad closing schedule for a team in disarray.  I did a quick run through these games and my impression is that the team will be lucky to go .500.  I think it's more likely they go something like 8-12.

Important to recall the Celts are a bad, bad road team.


Games that stand out:

West coast road trip that includes playing in Sacramento the night after playing in Oakland, then playing the LeBronkers in LA on Friday.

That is going to be a rough week.

Also notable -- the last 7 games are against teams that could be in the hunt for one of the last 3 playoff spots in the East.  That includes a home and away versus Indiana and against Miami.
 There's a solid chance both teams will be trying in those games.


45 wins looks like a very plausible end result for this team. 

Imagine that -- 15 wins lower than the pre-season expectation.  Usually it takes a season ending injury to star for that to become a possibility.

[slamtheking]

sad thing is, a few weeks ago I'd have looked at all those games as sure-wins or good-chance-wins except GSW on the road.  after how they've been playing since the trade deadline, I don't look at any of those games as sure-wins and a lot less good-chance wins.

[PhoSita]

sad thing is, a few weeks ago I'd have looked at all those games as sure-wins or good-chance-wins except GSW on the road.  after how they've been playing since the trade deadline, I don't look at any of those games as sure-wins and a lot less good-chance wins.

Yeah I mean, road games against the Clippers, Kings, Pacers, Heat.  Those will be tough.

[KGBirdBias]

Let's forget the seedings because it didn't help us the last two years anyway. 🤷🏾‍♂️

All it takes in one road win and homecourt advantage flips.

How is that for a positive spin.

[Phantom255x]

That 4-game West Coast trip is an absolute killer. 1-3 might literally be the best we can go there (ugh). The last 8 games of the season look alright and hopefully by then we have flipped the script (go on a hot stretch), but my fear is that by then we'll already be locked into a 5 seed or something. We may just have to pray at least one of IND/PHI start faltering soon as well.

[Green-18]

Let's forget the seedings because it didn't help us the last two years anyway. 🤷🏾‍♂️

All it takes in one road win and homecourt advantage flips.

How is that for a positive spin.

I'll take it!  It's ironic how the most talented incarnation of the past three years is also going to be the lowest seed.  The good news is that the playoffs have the potential to serve as a reset for the entire team. 

[PhoSita]

Let's forget the seedings because it didn't help us the last two years anyway. 🤷🏾‍♂️

All it takes in one road win and homecourt advantage flips.

How is that for a positive spin.

I appreciate the effort at positivity.

You're right that one road win can flip things, but of course that assumes they win every game at home.


Seems to me that in close series the team has been in recently, it's more often the case that if one team wins on the road, the other team will win at least one on the road as well.  These series so often seem to come down to who gets to play at home in the pivotal Game 5 and Game 7.


Of course, that didn't matter in Game 7 of the ECF last year.  But again ... this team doesn't have LeBron.

[KGBirdBias]

More spin questions

In the last 10 years how many #1 seeds have gone to the Finals?

What are the seeds of chip winners?

Has a #5 seed ever made the Finals?

[CptZoogs]

Let's forget the seedings because it didn't help us the last two years anyway. 🤷🏾‍♂️

All it takes in one road win and homecourt advantage flips.

How is that for a positive spin.

I appreciate the effort at positivity.

You're right that one road win can flip things, but of course that assumes they win every game at home.


Seems to me that in close series the team has been in recently, it's more often the case that if one team wins on the road, the other team will win at least one on the road as well.  These series so often seem to come down to who gets to play at home in the pivotal Game 5 and Game 7.


Of course, that didn't matter in Game 7 of the ECF last year.  But again ... this team doesn't have LeBron.

I think more than in any other sport, the better team wins a 7 game series in the NBA.  Sometimes it comes down to particular match-ups and HCA can certainly play a roll when 2 teams are evenly matched.  But throughout the course of the playoffs, you just have to be better than the other teams.

[PhoSita]

Let's forget the seedings because it didn't help us the last two years anyway. 🤷🏾‍♂️

All it takes in one road win and homecourt advantage flips.

How is that for a positive spin.

I appreciate the effort at positivity.

You're right that one road win can flip things, but of course that assumes they win every game at home.


Seems to me that in close series the team has been in recently, it's more often the case that if one team wins on the road, the other team will win at least one on the road as well.  These series so often seem to come down to who gets to play at home in the pivotal Game 5 and Game 7.


Of course, that didn't matter in Game 7 of the ECF last year.  But again ... this team doesn't have LeBron.

I think more than in any other sport, the better team wins a 7 game series in the NBA.  Sometimes it comes down to particular match-ups and HCA can certainly play a roll when 2 teams are evenly matched.  But throughout the course of the playoffs, you just have to be better than the other teams.

I tend to agree, but if the two teams are close, having that seventh game at home is huge.

[Phantom255x]

19 games to go. I'll say they finish the year either 12-7 or 13-6 (so 50-51 wins).

Will that be enough for a 4 seed, or even the 3 seed? No clue. But I think we're guaranteed a top-5 seed since the 6 seed (BKN) is about 7 games back of us. 

These next 5 games will be extremely brutal (HOU, then West Coast trip). I'll hope they can go 2-3 in that stretch, but going 1-4 or worse would be awful. We're going to have to dig deep here.

The last 8 games of the season are actually okay, including some battles with BKN/IND/MIA but that should be good playoff prep and hopefully we find a groove by then.

[SparzWizard]

The Warriors might blow out the Celtics in Oracle. They're due for a big one against them.

I suspect the only win they'll get out of it is probably @Lakers or @Clippers.

[Birdman]

i say they beat Clippers and thats it

[CptZoogs]

The Lakers are a mess and I wouldn't be surprised if they shut down Leborn soon.  I would be disappointed if Celts can't beat them.  I bet we play GS tight and then have a let down the next game.

[PAOBoston]

Might be a nice 4 game losing streak coming up