After crushing the Orlando Magic by a score of 104-88 on Sunday, Nov. 5, the Boston Celtics have extended their NBA-best win streak to eight.
When this stretch first started following a 0-2 start to the season, many were concerned with the lack of tests Boston had faced. Now, those uneasy feelings can be put to rest as Kyrie Irving and the Celtics have taken down the Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and most notably the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Two of those wins came in hostile environments, but their most impressive accomplishment featured an 18-point comeback in Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The C’s have a relatively easy upcoming schedule, where they start with the 2-8 Atlanta Hawks on the road. Following that affair, they will stay in TD Garden for a 3-game homestand to face the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, and Toronto Raptors.
While I think Boston is the better team for all of those contests, Toronto will be the group that finally cuts off what will be 11 straight wins.
Although the Raptors currently shoot a league-worst 30.5 percent from downtown, they rank in the top 10 for steals, field goal percentage, and blocks per game. The two-headed monster in the backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan will be yet another test of the incredible defense that the Celtics have managed so far this season.
Forward Serge Ibaka is surely another factor that will lead to the first loss for Beantown since Oct. 18 which was just their second game of this year. The 28-year-old veteran is posting averages of 13.7 points on 52.2 percent shooting so far in his first full season in a Raptors jersey.
Obviously, I hope to be proven wrong and see the Green Team enter the postseason with an 80-2 record, but overall I predict Toronto taking down a young, confident team to reset their streak.
