The NBA All-Star break is just around the corner and the Boston Celtics still find themselves in first place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference with a small lead over the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers. It will be a busy next few weeks around the NBA including the Boston Celtics as the NBA Trade Deadline is just over a week away while the NBA All-Star Game is three weeks away on February 19.
Heading into February, the Celtics are 36-15 on the season and were 10-5 in the month of January including winning nine straight from January 5 through January 21. That was only after losing their first two matchups of the new year. Following their nine-game winning streak, they would lose three straight to the Raptors, Magic, and Heat before finishing off the month with a controversial 125-121 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Celtics fans in Massachusetts can bet on the Celtics and more by finding their favorite sportsbook at Massachusetts .
Jayson Tatum was voted Celtics lone all-star starter
Despite leading the Eastern Conference, only one Celtic was voted to this year’s all-star game as a starter, that being star forward Jayson Tatum. The 24-year-old small forward is averaging 31.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. His 31.1 points is a career-high after averaging 26.9 points a season ago.
It’s the fourth straight year that Tatum has been selected to an all-star game. After averaging 13.9 and 15.7 points in his first two seasons, Tatum has significantly improved on the court and has averaged 23 points in each of the last three seasons including back-to-back years of averaging over 26.0 points per game.
The former third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft has averaged 22.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists for his career over 413 career games.
Among the notable snubs for the Celtics in this year’s All-Star Game is Jaylen Brown. Brown is averaging over 27 points per game this year for the Celtics but is a likely reserve selection for the game.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla also headed to Salt Lake City
While Tatum won’t be heading to Salt Lake City with any fellow players, he will be headed to the all-star game with his head coach Joe Mazzulla. The 34-year-old head coach is in his first season as the Celtics head coach replacing Ime Udoka in September after Udoka was suspended for the year, he would later be traded to the Brooklyn Nets. In his first two months as a head coach of the Celtics, he earned Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors in both October and November after the Celtics started the season off with an 18-4 record. While things have cooled down a bit for the Celtics, they remain at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Could Payton Pritchard be on his way out of Boston?
Third-year forward Payton Pritchard recently hinted that he could be in his last year in Boston, telling Andre Iguodala on his Point Forward podcast recently that “I’m done here, after this year, I’d like to look to be a part of a bigger role in a little bit.” The former Oregon Duck is averaging 4.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. If that stat line holds, it will be the worst of his short career after he averaged 7.7 points in his rookie season and 6.2 points last season. Pritchard is also playing a career-low 12.5 minutes per contest. Could Pritchard find his way out of Boston by this trade deadline?
The Celtics will return on February 1, on the road against the Eastern Conference’s third-place Brooklyn Nets. So far this season, the two teams have met twice with the Celtics winning both contests. Their first meeting in December was a 103-92 win while their second meeting in January was a 109-98 win for the Celtics. After their matchup on the first, the two teams will meet one more time on March 3 in Boston.
If the Celtics hope to hold onto the Eastern Conference, they’ll have to battle through a challenging but not terribly difficult schedule. With 31 games remaining, the Celtics remaining opponents have a .500 winning percentage. The good news for the Celtics, however, is the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks all on paper have more difficult schedules remaining this season.
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