The Boston Celtics haven’t looked like legitimate NBA Finals contenders for the bulk of the season, but that was far from the case Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.
The Celtics kicked off their four-game West Coast road trip with a 128-95 shellacking of the Golden State Warriors. Aside from being exceptionally efficient on both ends of the floor, Boston’s attitude, energy and effort were at a high, leading many to believe the C’s finally are beginning to turn things around.
While it was just one game, Stephen A. Smith was awfully impressed by the Celtics’ beatdown of the two-time defending NBA champions. In fact, the ESPN “First Take” co-host believes Boston presents the biggest challenge to Golden State’s quest of winning a third straight title.
The Celtics, obviously, possess more than enough talent to win the Eastern Conference. That said, it will be critical for the green to mount some type of momentum before the playoffs get underway. While some are of the belief Boston just will be able to “flip the switch” come spring, it likely will suffer an early exit if it walks into the postseason limping.
But if the C’s can build off Tuesday’s performance and string together wins over the course of their final 17 regular-season games, they likely will be a tough out in April, May and possibly June.
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