There just isn’t any way to get around it. At the time of writing this, we just beat the Nuggets and thwarted Jokic’s 43 points. On top of that, we’re the 4th seed in the East. Most people wouldn’t categorize us in the “suck” section, but I’ve devoted my entire life to watching the Celtics, and trust me, I know suck when I see it.
Right now, we’re just barely over .500 at 14-13, but I think it is fair to say that this team, with this roster, and this much potential, we shouldn’t be barely over .500. At absolute WORST we should be 22-5. Some of our losses have been dreadful. Careless turnovers, sloppy offense, playing zero defense, among other things. The thing that makes me the most angry about this awful season so far is that some games we just get ran out of the gym. It looks like we have no business being out on the floor sometimes. We got decimated by the Knicks, the Nets, and the Jazz just to name a few. On top of that, we lost TWICE to the Pistons.
We’ve had some hiccups to start the season on a personnel level. Jayson Tatum missed some time due to COVID-19 protocols, we didn’t start the season with Kemba Walker, and we lost Marcus Smart to a lower leg injury. The four pillars of our team- Tatum, Smart, Kemba, and Jaylen Brown, have only played like 4 games together. So there is an argument that would say that if we had all of our players at full strength the whole season, we could be closer to the 76ers in the Eastern Conference standings.
We have a favorable next few games before the All-Star break. By my best calculation, I have penciled us in for 7 wins out of 9 games at least. Of course we have to play the games to see who will win, but on paper, we should walk away with 7 wins, and only losing to the Mavericks and the Clippers. We’ll have to see how the NBA schedules the second half of the season before we go into full panic mode, but if water doesn’t start finding its level, it might be a season to forget.
With the trade deadline approaching, there are some obvious holes that the Celtics need to patch if they want to compete for a championship. They have to get past at least the Bucks, the 76ers, maybe the Heat, and possibly the Pacers, and that’s just in the Eastern Conference. Don’t get me started on what we’d have to face out West. The Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, or even the Trailblazers, at this stage for the Celtics, would be terrifying to go up against, and most certainly would result in us going home early.
I want to see my favorite team succeed. Is that so much to ask for? I don’t think so. It sucks to watch games and know, basically from the tip, that we’ll lose. We need to make some major changes, whether it is in philosophy, team chemistry, or in the roster. I hope that this year in particular, that we’ll have the courage to make the change, rather than wasting another season.
Round The Game 
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