After a 109-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, the Boston Celtics are in sole possession of the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings and only 2.5 games back of the #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who just hosted Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich, Lance Stephenson, and Jordan Farmar for a workout earlier in the day according to ESPN.
After speculating of as to whether or not the Celtics need to make another move to contend, it appears as though this Celtics team is making the case that it might be smart to not shake things up and see what this current roster can do. Isaiah Thomas continues to be the major catalyst for the Celtics' success, averaging 29.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 6.4 assists while going off for 40+ points on a fairly regular basis. Al Horford is playing solid ball with his 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while Jae Crowder is likewise stepping up with his 14.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
This Celtics team is very good and what's scary is that they are getting better. Rookie small forward Jaylen Brown is starting to come into his own more and more as the season goes on and other guys like Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk are doing well in their supportive roles, too. As an added bonus of sorts, Avery Bradley, who averages 17.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, is scheduled to be back soon. Once he comes back, the Celtics' offense and perimeter defense will get a really nice boost.
I know I said earlier that a trade is something the Celtics should consider, but so long as they play like this, they need to ride this wave out and see where this roster can take them. Making a serious trade midseason shakes things up and this is certainly not a team in need of a shakeup. This is just a team in need of more experience and confidence boosting wins like the one they got on Wednesday.
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