With 11-9 Season Thus Far, C's Hope For December To Remember

"Long December And There's Reason To Believe, Maybe This Year Will Be Better Than The Last."

   -- Adam Duritz, Counting Crows

 

Of course, last December didn’t officially start until Christmas Day because of the lockout, but the C’s were still a dismal 1 and 3 for the month anyway.  

This December, however, the deck is stacked with some fairly stiff challenges that should provide a good barometer as to how far along this current crop of Green has come and what categories, if any, they continue to lag in.  And, while it’s not a “make or break” month for the season, it will allow Doc Rivers and the players themselves to see how well the team’s 10 fresh faces are integrating with the core 5 as they continue to make their push towards Banner #18 in earnest.

The good news? The Boyz from Boston are 11-9 (2-2 in December) and only four spots out of first place in the Atlantic Division heading into the rest of their schedule for December. The not-so-good news? The Celtics have two road trips -- one three-game and another four-game stretch on the road.
 
The C's will kick off the first day of the rest of the month by facing a Nowitzki-free but dangerous Dallas Mavericks team tonight at the Garden before hitting the road against the Jeremy Lin/James Harden-led Houston Rockets (9-10), League-leading San Antonio Spurs (17-4), and the always-tough if Rose-less Chicago Bulls before returning home to host a better-than-their-record Cleveland Cavaliers with a fresh Kyrie Irving, who just returned to the lineup after sitting for the past 11 games with an injured finger. The C's end their 2-game home stand against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that has won two-out-of-three games against the C's already.
 
The Celtics will then embark upon their road show with the "Christmastime In Brooklyn Spectacular" and then take a California swing against the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and the Sacramento Kings to end the month.

While the C's appear to be heading in the right direction by flexing a beefier defense and an offense that features a more consistent and comfortable Jeff Green and Jason Terry, it remains to be seen whether the C's have it completely figured out. My guess is that they'll end the "Holiday Month" with more gifts under the tree than lumps of coal in their stockings. 

The Future begins tonight, GreenHeadz! Dallas Mavericks at the Garden! 8:00 pm!
LET'S GO, C'S!!!