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The Boston Celtics have had a fascinating couple of weeks. They’re coming off a bad loss to the Atlanta Hawks, and in general, haven’t had much success against the top teams in the East. Al Horford’s play has been up and down, and the Celtics struggle to score when Isaiah Thomas isn’t lighting teams up. He’s done a lot of lighting teams up this year, and is an offensive force. What happens when he is limited or can’t get it going, though?
The answer might have come in the form of Paul George or Jimmy Butler. The Celtics were rumored to be in the mix for both, but neither deal came to fruition. Perhaps they’ll re-examine things this summer. With draft ammunition coming from the Brooklyn Nets, they probably have the ability to get something done. In the meantime, the current roster seems to be in a bit of limbo. It’s not a bad place to be stuck; 38-22 is a fine record, and the Celtics are a fine team. We will see tonight if they can start to recover from the lack of shockwaves.
Who? Cleveland Cavaliers (41-17) vs. Boston Celtics (38-22
When? 8: 00 PM ET
Where? TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Where on my eyeballs? ESPN
Music to get me ready:
The Cavs will have new point guard Deron Williams ready to go for this one. J.R. Smith traveled with the team to Boston, and it seems he might be inching closer to a return. If he could be playing by the middle of March it would give him a full month to get ready before the playoffs start. Williams will come off the bench, and it’ll be interesting to see just what kind of minutes coach Tyronn Lue is looking to give him. We won’t get a full picture tonight, but perhaps some clues will emerge.
We also might start to figure out just how good he still is.
Kevin Love remains out, but Kyrie Irving and LeBron James have just kept chugging along. James is re-entering the MVP race, and Irving’s all-around game has never been better. They’ve been getting help from all over the roster, but most of all from Kyle Korver and Tristan Thompson. Thinking about how differently Korver and Thompson play the game while still excelling is but another reason why basketball is so much fun. This one is on ESPN and has two marquee teams. I’ll see you in the game thread.