April 16, 2015
The Boston Celtics clinched a playoff spot as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference after one of their new mid-season acquisitions, Jae Crowder, hit a game winning jumper over the Toronto Raptors. The win handed the Celtics their fifth straight win and a first round date with the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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This Boston team was coming off a horrendous 25-win season last year in Brad Stevens’ first year on the job as head coach. However, the Celtics didn’t turn their season around until the trade deadline this year with the acquisition of Isaiah Thomas and few other players who helped a rebuilding squad play some solid basketball over the past couple months. The Celtics have a record of 23-12 since February 1 and have been competitive in their losses due to their improved defense.
The Celtics have been the second best Eastern Conference team during this impressive stretch since early February with Thomas averaging a team best 19 points per game with 5.4 assists to help space the floor to find sharpshooters like Jonas Jerebko who is shooting 39.3 percent from three point range.
While Boston‘s offense is receiving more attention, it’s their defense that has vastly improved over the past two months and is ranked in the top eight in defensive efficiency over the past 35 games. The Celtics end their season on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Bradley Center before starting their first round playoff series with the Cavs.
On TicketIQ, when the series shifts to Boston for Game 3 of this series at the TD Garden, Celtics playoff tickets are going for a current average price of $255.68 on the secondary market, with the least expensive ticket to get in priced at $68.
The Celtics have impressed many throughout the league with their final two month stretch of the regular season, as the players on this squad are playing with confidence. However, it is still going to take an unbelievable effort by Boston to upset the clear favorite Cleveland Cavaliers who have also been playing very good basketball.
Understandably, no one is expecting the Celtics to get out of the first round, but the Celtics have won the past two meetings against the Cavaliers which took place this month. Those were back-to-back games, which should give Boston some much needed confidence heading into this series that could make them a tough out for LeBron James and Co. in the first round considering how the Celtics have been playing.
