Previewing The Celtics Four Game West Coast Swing

The Celtics have a treat coming out of All-Star break: a four-game west coast swing that includes games at the Warriors, Lakers, Suns and Nuggets and a back-to-back.

Boston is set to face four teams that if the playoffs started today, would all be participating.

They all present different issues. The Warriors will be without Stephen Curry, but teams without their best player are always tough to play because you are not always sure what to prepare for. The Lakers have a dynamic offense that we have not seen a lot of but Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves all present a lot of issues for any defense. Phoenix is one of the toughest teams in the NBA and has found ways to win games all season. Finally, Denver has a lot of injuries but they keep winning ball games and they have the dynamic Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray pick and roll which always gives the Celtics problems.

The Warriors and Lakers have some uncertainty around them.

As mentioned, Stephen Curry will not play in this game for Golden State due to a knee injury. Another guy who is on the injury report is former Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis, who was acquired by the Warriors at the deadline and has yet to play for the team. It is unclear whether or not he will play in the game but I am excited to see how Golden State will incorporate him into their lineup when he is back on the floor. It is his and Al Horford’s first game against their former team so there will be a lot of hugs postgame, I am sure.

For the Lakers, we just have not seen a lot of Doncic, James and Reaves this season with all three players missing time at different times. The trio has played just 152 minutes together this season. Of course, they can score but the Lakers can’t get a stop with those three guys on the floor, giving up 119.7 points per 100 possessions in the limited sample. How much will Lakers coach JJ Redick stagger them with having one or two of them on the bench?

The Phoenix Suns are one of the most unexpected storylines in the NBA this season and when push comes to shove, they just win ball games. 32-23 on the season, the Suns are currently 7th in the Western Conference. If the Suns are among the most unexpected stories in the NBA, Dillon Brooks is among the most shocking. He is still getting a lot of technical fouls but he has been the Suns 2nd best player this season. After being told he would not be brought back to the Grizzlies “under any circumstance” to see Brooks flourish with now his 3rd team is great. Phoenix is a tough team that will give Boston their best game.

Lastly, Boston heads to Denver on the 2nd leg of a back to back. This will be a tough one. In the altitude after traveling in late from playing the night before. The Celtics will face an uphill battle in this game. They won’t use that as an excuse, Joe Mazzulla teams are great on 2nd nights of back to backs, Boston is 36-13 in these instances since the 2022-23 season. Denver’s defense has been iffy to say the least. They give up a lot of shots at the rim and the Celtics don’t take many shots at the rim so it will be interesting to see if the C’s try and exploit that weakness.

West coast road trips are hard and even harder when you play four good teams in one trip. That doesn’t mean Boston is not up for the challenge. The goal, of course, is 4-0 but a 3-1 trip is something I would sign up for right now. It will be fun to see how the Celtics respond to this challenge coming out of the All-Star break.