The Boston Celtics are looking set for a strong finish to the 2021-22 NBA regular season as the final 10 games of the season look set to begin for every team. The Celtics have 9 regular-season games left to try and push further up the Eastern Conference standings, as they are just 2 games behind conference leaders Miami Heat.
The Celtics resurgence has been one of the best stories of the second half of the season. The fans of the team have bought into this being yet another year of contention for Boston, and NBA analysts are now recognizing the threat Boston can present in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was highly complimentary of the Celtics and picked them as his favorite to be the best team in the East. He mightily praised the efforts of coach Ime Udoka, and then the star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
I think the CELTICS are the team to beat in the EAST right now! pic.twitter.com/kktYsv5zqb
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 22, 2022
“Udoka, what he has done, I can’t say enough. This guy is legitimately a top 2 coach of the year candidate. This team, look at them defensively. They’re like a bunch of piranhas. They switch everywhere. You have 5 guys that get out on shooters better than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
“Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have elevated their level of play. I want to see it be more consistent because you weren’t that way at the beginning of the season and are flowing now in the last 30+ games, the playoffs are a different beast. But when you come to the playoffs, the game slows down a little bit. You don’t get as many open-court opportunities, defenses are able to get back and set their defense right, we know this about playoff basketball. Nobody wants Boston to do that, because if Boston does that, it makes their defense even more formidable.”
Smith is putting adequate respect on the Celtics as they deserve. However, teams like Miami and Milwaukee are just as dangerous with their personnel and solid coaching foundations. Philadelphia has a new weapon in James Harden who is under immense pressure to win. Brooklyn has become a sleeper threat as well. It will be interesting to see how the Celtics fare through the playoffs.
