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The Boston Celtics currently own a record of 37-21 and have gone 27-11 over their last 38 games. They are in a position that most other teams in the league would find enviable, and yet, they have still been a bit of a disappointment this season.
Expected by many to win in excess of 60 games during the 2018-19 campaign, the Celtics are on a 52-win pace and, at the moment, sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Now, to be fair, Boston got off to a 10-10 start this season largely due to injuries and an acclimation period, and since then, the C's have played at a 58-win pace, which is much more what we thought they would be this year. Also, the Celtics have gone 7-3 against the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, so they have been beating up on their top competition in the conference.
Still, Boston has some puzzling losses on its resume, including a pair of defeats to the Orlando Magic and home losses to the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns.
All of that being said, the C's still have a great chance of making it to the finals, and one can make a legitimate argument that they are still the team to beat in the East given their wealth of talent up and down the roster.
However, in order for the Celtics to do that, they will need to be on top of their game from here on out.
Here are three big questions for Boston coming out of the All-Star break:
3. Can Terry Rozier find his groove?
Early on in the season, two of the Celtics' biggest problems were Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier.
Brown struggled mightily over the first month, perhaps adjusting to his role change with the addition of Gordon Hayward into the lineup. However, since the end of November, Brown has much more closely resembled his 2018 playoff form, as he has been making shots, playing good defense and making much better decisions on both ends of the floor.
The same can't be said for Rozier, who has been struggling all season long.
Clearly, Rozier is having difficulty re-adjusting to a bench role, as his effectiveness when he starts in place of an injured Kyrie Irving as opposed to coming off the pine is like day and night.
Here is the problem, though: Rozier is not going to be starting so long as Irving is healthy, so he needs to find a way to consistently produce off the bench.
Basically, Rozier needs to just play his game. Basketball is basketball whether you are starting or coming in six minutes into the contest. There is no reason why he can't do the same things off the bench that he did last year in the playoffs when he put himself on the map.
The Celtics will need a productive Rozier off the pine in the postseason.
2. Can Gordon Hayward keep progressing?
After a nightmarish start to the season, Hayward has slowly but surely begun to progress.
This month, Hayward is averaging 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and four assists over 27.3 minutes per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor, 52.4 percent from three-point range and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line.
It's clear that the 28-year-old now has a bounce in his step that simply was not there in November or even December, and he is getting more aggressive as a result.
I think people tend to forget just how good Hayward is when he is healthy, so if he can keep improving throughout the remainder of the season and carry that into the playoffs, the Celtics are going to be pretty lethal come May.
It's not just Hayward's scoring that makes Boston better, either. It's his ability to see the floor and facilitate, and the more of a threat he becomes in terms of putting the ball in the hoop, the more defenses are going to have to respect his scoring, which will open up the rest of the offense.
Sure, the C's made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals without Irving and Hayward last season, but imagine how far they can go with both guys hitting on all cylinders?
1. Can they stay healthy?
One of the Celtics' biggest issues this season has been health.
Whether it's Irving, Hayward, Al Horford, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes or even Daniel Theis, Boston has been littered with injuries up and down the roster this season, much like last year.
Boston's biggest strength is its depth, and that is what is going to propel the C's through a deep playoff run. It is also what makes them arguable favorites in the Eastern Conference, as the rest of the competition just does not have as much depth as the Celtics do.
Remember the 2014 San Antonio Spurs? What made them so great was that they hit you in waves, but they would not have been able to do that if they didn't stay healthy.
Plain and simple, Boston needs to keep its injury report clear for the remainder of the year. Now, obviously, that is pretty much out of the Celtics' control and is more luck and good fortune than anything else, but teams that win titles generally have good fortune along the way.
