It would be easy for the Boston Celtics to pack it in at this stage in the regular season.
The Celtics have been decimated with injuries throughout the campaign, but particularly of late. Jaylen Brown has missed a handful of games after suffering a concussion, and there’s a chance Marcus Smart will be lost for the season after undergoing thumb surgery.
To make matters worse, Boston announced Friday that Kyrie Irving will be undergoing a procedure on his injured knee Saturday. While there is no timetable for Irving’s return, one has to imagine that his season is in jeopardy as well. At this point, the Celtics’ top priority should be getting healthy ahead of the playoffs, especially considering their chances of landing the Eastern Conference’s top seed are small.
With these factors in mind, Friday night had all the makings of a defeat at the hands of a red-hot Portland Trail Blazers, a team that had won 15 of its last 17 games. Portland did, in fact, have Boston on the ropes at Moda Center, but the Celtics one again managed to defy the odds, this time earning a 105-100 comeback win in the first game of their West Coast road trip.
Above all else, it’s impossible not to admire the Celtics’ persistence and resiliency. With a number of key players out of action, a new hero seems to come to the rescue for Boston game in and game out. Friday night’s savior was Marcus Morris, who overcome an ankle injury in the first quarter to drop a game-high 30 points.
Boston only has 10 games remaining on its regular-season schedule, but its inspired play leads one to believe that the C’s have an actual shot at getting the No. 1 seed. Two of those games are against the East-leading Toronto Raptors, and five of the other eight are against teams currently out of the playoff picture. Achieving conference supremacy would be no easy task, but it’s certainly possible.
And considering the consistent theme of achieving the improbable this season, it only would be fitting for the Celtics to do just that heading into the playoffs.
Here are some other notes from Celtics-Trail Blazers:
— Irving’s procedure is considered to be “minimally invasive,” with the hope being to alleviate some of the pain in his knee.
— Boston could receive a lift this weekend in the form of Brown, who has targeted Sunday’s game in Sacramento against the Kings as his possible return to the court.
— The Celtics elevated their game when it mattered most, outscoring the Blazers 38-23 in the fourth quarter.
— Morris connected on five of his six 3-point shots.
— Boston now is 25-10 on the road.
