As ironic as it sounds, the Boston Celtics “Funeral Game” loss to the Washington Wizards last week might have truly revived their season. After dropping three consecutive games, and frankly, getting embarrassed by the Wizards, the Celtics responded with three straight wins, including two of their most impressive games this season.
As reported by Yahoo Sports’ ‘Ball Don’t Lie’:
Wizards to wear all black against Boston to signify ‘a funeral’ game vs. their ‘dirty’ rivals – https://t.co/Ib0W5ZqFa9 pic.twitter.com/b0gXWp9RSo
— Ball Don’t Lie (@YahooBDL) January 24, 2017
The Next Three Games:
The very next night, Boston hosted the Houston Rockets. The last time they met, Boston lost by 1 after Al Horford missed a possible game-winning layup. From the get-go, it was clear Boston was focusing on defense and hustling the way we’re accustomed to.
The key to this game was the way Boston responded after Jonas Jerebko got whacked in the face. After James Harden took his free throws, the Celtics followed with an 11-0 run which just about sealed the win. Even without Avery Bradley, the Celtics were able to grab their first signature win of the season.
Against an inferior Orlando Magic team, the Celtics utterly dominated for just about the entire game. The Celtics beat Orlando in every stat category, and also recorded their highest scoring first half of the season. Boston eventually won by 30, with their largest leading being40 with about eight minutes left. Most impressively, they were able to have their way without Avery Bradley or Al Horford.
The first half against the Milwaukee Bucks was purely amazing basketball. The second half wasn’t quite as pretty, but they did pull out the win. A lack of playmakers caused a second half offensive struggle, which could’ve been quickly fixed if Bradley or Horford had been available. Not having quality depth could be a cause for concern if the Celtics continue to have injury problems once the postseason comes around.
It seems that getting embarrassed was exactly what Boston needed to turn around their season. Boston is stocked with prideful players, so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that they’ll play with a chip on their shoulder the rest of the year.
