Everyone knew that when it came to April of 2015, there was going to be some sort of playoff series. No, I’m not talking about the Frozen Four, and sadly I am not talking about the Bruins. It’s the team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season. Yes, it is the Boston Celtics. With their current record at 38-42, the Celtics currently hold the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. And with the loss by the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics officially have a guaranteed playoff spot. They could finish at the 7th seed and have to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, or if we finish in the 8th spot we will have to face the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks.
Now I know what you’re thinking. “How the heck are the Celtics good enough to make the playoffs? They traded away Rondo, under .500 and have no big names on the team. How is this possible?” Well, luckily for the Celtics, the Eastern Conference is not as strong in the West, so there will be at least two teams in the playoffs that will be sub-.500 teams. And with Rondo, he was not the right fit for the team anymore. The Celtics were working on rebuilding the team and getting the young guys on the team more experience in games. With Rondo’s style of play, he and the coaching staff weren’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye. So they got rid of him, and trust me, it was for the better. And now we have no big player or superstar on the team, but this team together creates their own superstar.
With all the young guys on our team, no one person on the team is seen as a “go-to” player, but a lot of guys have had their nights. Acquired from the Phoenix Suns before the trade deadline, Isaiah Thomas has been a huge asset to the playoff push. Thomas,who comes off the bench, was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after leading the Celtics to 3 wins with a season-high of 34 points against the Pistons last Wednesday. Evan Turner has had 3 triple doubles this season, which is tied for second in the league. And then you also have Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart who can also put the ball in the basket. Then with a front court led by Brandon Bass, along with Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller, this team has the players ready to win basketball games.
And let’s not forget 2nd year coach Brad Stevens. He has played as big of a role as any player. Coming from Butler University and back-to-back national title games, he had a lot of skepticism coming into the NBA. But after a first rough season, he seems to have found a groove, especially with this young team. He has now found a good group of guys who come to play hard every day. And that’s all we expected this season. A young team, trying to get more experience, and hopefully end up with a decent draft pick. But the playoffs are a better place to be for this team right now. Any playoff experience will be good for this team, and hopefully make this team become strong come next season.
So get your TD Garden playoff tickets. No, not the Bruins. And don’t buy Frozen Four tickets unless you want to make yourself look stupid by buying tickets for games that happened a week ago.
The Beantown Buzz 