By Jim Cain 3-18-14
This may sound odd, but this season is playing out the way many Celtics fans had hoped.
The Celtics have been competitive and have shown an unwillingness to quit. This fiery bunch has been relentless every night, making them fun to watch. Yet, the Celtics are the little engine that could, trying their absolute best, but always just falling a little bit short.
In the end, most of these games go down as losses, and that may not be a bad thing. Each loss is another win as far as the Celtics’ chances of winning the NBA Draft Lottery are concerned.
The Celtics sit at 22-45, good for last in the Atlantic Division and the fourth worst mark in the league.
Boston has dropped 12 of its last 16 games, but only five of those losses came by more than double digits.
The C’s played a close game with the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers, twice in the span of 11 days. The Celtics trailed by as little as four points in the fourth quarter of both matchups.
The Celtics last two games have been thrilling to say the least. They went down to the wire with the Dallas Mavericks and topped the defending NBA champion Miami Heat for the second time this season.
Things do not get any easier for this team. Their next six games come against teams over .500.
With that in mind, these next two weeks may not be pretty. However, keeping the bigger picture in mind, they may not be so bad after all.