Something can occur within the playoffs, however in all chance, the Celtics and Cavaliers are two-plus months away from assembly within the Japanese Convention Finals.
First, they’ll battle one ultimate time within the common season Friday night time at 7:30 p.m. at TD Backyard.
Listed below are three issues to search for as two of the very best groups within the NBA go head-to-head.
Can the Celtics ship a message?
Every of the three earlier conferences has been determined by single digits, with the Celtics successful 120-117 at residence in November, the Cavaliers successful 115-111 at residence in December and Boston successful 112-105 on the highway in early February.
That final sport despatched a message, however this one has an opportunity to have a good better ripple impact. The Cavaliers are a assured group proper now, and a blowout Celtics win might pay dividends for Boston come Might.
Any kind of win would assist, however a kind of signature Celtics massacres might instill a dose of concern right into a group that’s at present driving excessive. The Celtics have an opportunity to remind the Cavaliers that whereas, sure, they’re legit, it’s Boston’s Japanese Convention till additional discover.
Can Derrick White maintain it rolling?
The Celtics are at their most harmful when Derrick White is in assault mode and taking part in with out pondering.
White is capturing 49.6 p.c from the ground and 47.1 p.c from 3-point vary in February and has been one of many Celtics’ most constant and dynamic gamers of late.
He’ll have his palms full with Donovan Mitchell, but it surely’s a problem he’ll embrace with none questions requested.
Can they keep away from dropping back-to-back video games?
The Celtics are 15-1 following a loss this season. The one time they’ve misplaced back-to-back video games was in late December in opposition to Orlando and Philadelphia.
After the opposite 15 losses, they’ve received by 15, 4, 25, 19, 24, 25, 37, 54, 12, 1, 27, 40, 15, 22 and 27. That’s a mean margin of victory of 23.1 factors.
This can be a group that completely hates dropping. You’ve received to respect it. One thing tells me they’ll be prepared for this one. Only a hunch.
