With their Nov. 18 win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics extended their win streak to 15 games, furthering their reign as the association’s supreme attraction. What gave way to their status as an “elite team” was their now-iconic fourteenth victory.
The Celtics were compared to the Houston Rockets, who were expected to compete for a conference title at best. The win against the Golden State Warriors was certainly a statement performance though, as the Celtics held their high-octane offense to 88 points on 40.2 percent from the field.
How long can the Celtics streak last though, and can this team further their streak into the history books? It certainly seems like it’s a possibility.
The Celtics square off against the Dallas Mavericks tonight and then they’ll end their short road trip in Miami, where they’ll battle for another W in south beach against a hungry Heat team. After that, they’ll take a short detour back to Boston for a rematch with the Orlando Magic, before flying out to Indiana to take on the surprisingly scrappy Pacers.
By that point, assuming they win all four of those games, they’ll have tied the 2008-09 Celtics for the longest win streak in franchise history. With 19 straight wins under their belt, the Celtics would return home to defend the Garden against the Detroit Pistons, a team who’s been surging through the East. While one can only imagine that their game against the Pistons would be the most difficult in that upcoming stretch, it would certainly be plausible for the Celtics to win all five, and further their win streak to 20.
Even looking further down the stretch, the Celtics won’t be playing another team of Golden State’s caliber until after Christmas, when they play the Houston Rockets. Not to imply that the Celtics are assured every win now that they’ve toppled Golden State, but to this point, they’ve routinely made the impossible possible thanks to their complementary brand of basketball. This streak so convincing, that it wouldn’t be too surprising if they only lost another game or two at most until their Christmas day rematch against the Washington Wizards.
Putting the team’s incredible win streak aside though, it’s important to keep in mind that the Celtics still have room for improvement.
In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving had the luxury of handling the ball for the entirety of a possession, isolating himself in the offense and creating his own rhythm. Under Brad Stevens’ watch, he hasn’t been afforded that luxury though, which is exemplified in his season averages of 21 points on 44.7 percent shooting from the field per game. As opposed to the 25.2 points on 47.3 percent from the field that he averaged last season. Once Irving can begin to maximize his scoring opportunities like Tatum and Brown have, finding his rhythm in spite of the Celtics free-flowing offense over the course of all four quarters, it’ll add another dimension to their offense.
The Celtics square off against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 20 at 8:30 p.m EST.
