We’ve reached a rather strange stretch of the NBA season for a team like the Celtics, whose playoff position is virtually guaranteed (six games clear of the third-place Knicks, but seven back of the first-place Cavaliers), making these next couple of weeks… a bit pointless?
I shouldn’t say pointless, not least of all because I’d like you all to keep opening this newsletter twice a week. But after two weeks of showdowns against the NBA’s best, with some of those games played at something approaching playoff intensity, we’re hitting a bit of a slowdown.
A trip to face the West’s second-best in Memphis not withstanding, Boston’s upcoming schedule is littered with teams tanking like crazy for Cooper Flagg (Utah, Charlotte, Washington), clubs playing out the string on lost seasons (San Antonio, Portland), star-studded disasters (Phoenix), New York (New York), and middling teams scrapping for play-in spots (everyone else).
This past weekend was a venture into that last category, with the Celtics following a lengthy homestand with back-to-back wins in Miami and Brooklyn. The highlight of the weekend was the return of Kristaps Porzingis, who suited up for the first time since Feb. 26 after a lengthy battle with an unclear viral illness (sick of the alternate jerseys? Can’t be ruled out!) that saw him miss the last eight games.
Porzingis looked just like his old self, going for 24 points in his return and looking sufficiently Unicorn-y at points in Saturday’s win in Brooklyn.
The Celtics, meanwhile, also looked just like their old selves, letting a 21-point lead dwindle down to just 2 points in final minutes before holding off the Nets, just for a bit of fun.
Also promising: A very strong night for Jrue Holiday in Friday night’s win over Miami, in which Holiday had a season-high 25 points and shot 5 of 8 from deep as he tries to get back on track following a lingering finger issue.
It’s been a bit of a struggle for Holiday this season, especially as far as his 3-point shooting goes. After shooting a career-best 42.9 percent from deep last season, Holiday has shot just 34.3 percent—one of the worst marks of his career—this season, limiting the threat he poses to opponents offensively.
Particularly worrying was Holiday’s struggles from the corners, where the veteran provided so much value last season. Holiday shot a scorching 60.4 percent from the corners last year, basically turning into that scene from Family Guy where Peter abuses the corner 3-pointer glitch in the Double Dribble video game.
Holiday’s efficiency in those spots has cratered to just 27.2 percent, an inexplicable drop for a guy still shooting 38.7 percent on more difficult above-the-break 3-pointers, which is actually an improvement on his shooting outside the corners.
So it was encouraging, then, to see Holiday get hot on Friday in Miami, hitting a couple of corner 3-pointers in a comfortable Celtics win. The do-it-all point guard provides so much value all over the floor, but if he can hit his clean looks from the corners when defenses collapse on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, that’s when Boston’s offence turns into a buzzsaw.
So the Celtics will make a quick pit stop in Boston tonight to finish off a home-and-home with Brooklyn before packing for a six-game road trip that starts out West.
That means some 10 p.m. (Boston time) tip-offs for contests that, ultimately, may just be a footnote. Hope you’ve got your coffee handy.
Let’s get into it.
ICYMI 🗞️
Taking a look at four possible first-round opponents for the Celtics in the playoffs
By Adam Himmelsbach
The Celtics are 49-19 and all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with 14 games remaining. Entering Monday night, they trailed the first-place Cavaliers by 7½ games and led the third-place Knicks by 6.
Due to holding one of the top two seeds, the Celtics will once again have little clarity regarding their first-round opponent until a few days before their series begins. The options have at least been narrowed.
As the No. 2 seed, Boston would face the winner of the first play-in tournament game between the seventh- and eighth-place teams, which will likely be one of Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, or Chicago.
The Celtics would be massive favorites against all four, but each opponent could present unique challenges.
Other top stories we’re watching…
- Payton Pritchard looks like a shoo-in for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, but his impact on the court isn’t just his 3-point shooting. Adam Himmelsbach has more.
- Kristaps Porzingis said he was sicker than he’s ever been, but it didn’t show against the Nets. Adam Himmelsbach has the recap from Brooklyn.
- You know who could use a little rest to make sure he’s ready for the playoffs? Jayson Tatum. You know who is very difficult about letting him get any rest? Jayson Tatum.
Trivia Tuesday 🧠
Each week, we’ll be asking a piece of Celtics trivia to test your knowledge on the 18-time champions.
Congratulations to James Pilcher of Kentucky (by way of Gloucester), the first person to correctly answer last week’s question. As a refresher, we asked you to name the Celtics’ leading scorer (by total points) of the 1990s.
The answer was Reggie Lewis, who took the mantle from Larry Bird as Boston’s primary scorer in the early 1990s before Lewis’s untimely death in the summer of 1993.
Here’s the top five, in case you’re wondering:
1. Reggie Lewis, 5,835 points
2. Dee Brown, 5,512
3. Robert Parish, 4,975
4. Rick Fox, 4,759
5. Antoine Walker, 4,613
Anyway, here’s this week’s question: Since 2000, which team have the Celtics faced the most in the playoffs?
(Either by number of playoff series or total number of games — the answer is the same!)
Up next ☘️
The Celtics are back home to face the Nets tonight (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Boston).
