It's been over a week since the Boston Celtics played basketball. But the last time their fans saw them, they were on a roll.
The Celtics entered the All-Star Break on fire, winning six of their last seven games and improving their record to 35-19. In their final game before the break, they demolished the Chicago Bulls at home in a rout that was over by halftime.
Now, they'll be looking to pick up where they left off as they open the second half with a four-game road trip that starts tonight against the Golden State Warriors.
The 29-26 Warriors have been up and down lately, and they'll be shorthanded without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. Boston will get to see old friends Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, however, the latter of whom is making his Golden State debut.
The Celtics are well-rested, so they should be able to take care of the depleted Warriors. They've also been great on the road lately, going 12-5 in their last 17 away games.
Boston's also excelled in the first game of road trips this season, going 8-4 in away games immediately following a home game.
The rest of the Celtics' road trip will be more challenging, however, with matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.
With four road games in seven days against four Western Conference teams with winning records, Boston may struggle to carry over its momentum from before the break. A split seems like a reasonable outcome, and going 3-1 would be a huge success.
This will be a good test for the Celtics, however, who are still without Jayson Tatum for the time being. They've made it this far without him, and while he appears to be nearing a return, he isn't back yet.
Boston is only half a game up on the New York Knicks for the second seed in the East, so every game counts. Joe Mazzulla's squad needs to keep pushing and finish the season strong, starting with tonight's game in San Francisco.
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