The Celtics (32-14) are back on the parquet on Monday when they host the Houston Rockets (30-14). This will be the second time this month that Houston and Boston will meet. Boston took the first game back on January 3, 109-86 down in Houston. Despite the double-digit win, the Celtics were without Al Horford and Jaylen Brown in that game.
There are a few questions that I have leading into this game:
How will Boston react after the road trip?
The Celtics are coming off of a successful west coast road trip with three games being played in California and then the fourth and final game being played in Dallas. It was an impressive showing (despite the loss to the Lakers and overtime win to the Clippers) for the C’s going 3-1 while on the road. After dropping the game against the Lakers, Boston responded with a deserved win over the Dallas Mavericks. Boston took care of the ball and consistently found the open man leading to open shots and mismatches throughout the evening.
However, despite having a positive road trip, the attention is now back at TD Garden. The last time Boston went on a road trip, their next game at home, they got thumped by the Sacramento Kings 114-97. Before hosting the Kings back on January 10, the Celtics were on the road and also went 3-1 on the road trip with the lone loss coming from the Oklahoma City Thunder. When the Celtics returned to Boston, they were welcomed with a Domantas Sabonis 23 points and 28 rebounds career performance and a loss.
The Celtics can’t afford to get out of the gates slow against this Houston Rockets side who is led by head coach Ime Udoka. The Rockets find themselves second in the Western Conference and have won eight out of their last ten games.
Can Boston slow down Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet?
The Houston Rockets are having a great season and there’s no coincidence that two of their better scorers are their guards. Jalen Green is leading the team in scoring with 21.4 points per game while VanVleet is third on the team with 15.4 points per game. When the two teams faced off last, Green scored 27 points while VanVleet struggled with just eight points. It’s hard to imagine VanVleet has another quiet scoring night, but if Boston wants to leave with a win, they’ll need to make sure VanVleet doesn’t get it going early.
Jalen Green has been putting the league on notice this season. With his ability to jump through the roof and his shot-making ability, Green has been a must-watch talent. Not only can Green score in the paint, but he’s having his best shooting career beyond the arc averaging 36%.
After being out a few games with a shoulder injury, Jrue Holiday struggled mightily on offense against the Los Angeles Lakers, but looked like his old self in Dallas. Derrick White who has struggled lately, had himself a second half against the Dallas Mavericks too, and hopefully, he’ll be able to continue off that performance as we head towards the All-Star Game weekend. Holiday and White will have their hands full against Houston’s backcourt.
Can the Celtics use this game to go on a run before they face Cleveland?
Let me start off by saying Boston can’t take the Rockets for granted. However, if they want a chance to catch up to the Cavs, they need to put together a winning streak and the next block of games is very winnable.
The Cavs recently lost three games in a row, two to Houston and one to Philadelphia. Boston is still 4.5 games back, but they can make up ground over the next few games.
If Boston can get by Houston, they face the Bulls at home before traveling to New Orleans and then they have a quick pit stop in Philadelphia before returning to Boston. If Boston is able to get through those games, they would be on a five-game win streak heading into the big game against the Cavs.
There are still a lot of games to be played, but if Boston wants a chance to obtain the one seed for the playoffs, they need to start chipping away and there’s no better time to start than now. One game at a time, but this mini stretch of games could be significant in the long run.
