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<b>SteemSports Presenter:</b>@mateonav53
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<b>SteemSports Editor:</b>@scottybuckets
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With less than 30 games left in the NBA regular season, once-foolproof narratives conjured up in the preseason have been flipped on their heads like a 1980's B-boy on a firm piece of cardboard. The Boston Celtics once seemed like a lock for 65-plus wins given their success in the postseason and incumbent returns of star players Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. If the NBA season has reminded us of anything, it's that re-adding two strong pieces to an already potent NBA squad doesn't guarantee a clean, exponential increase in success. 
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The Boston Celtics have experienced many a funk since coming out of the gate with lofty expectations. They opened up their season with an 87-105 beatdown of Philly, which seemed right in tune with their off-season barometer of dominance. Since then, Gordon Hayward hasn't looked like the player he once was, Kyrie has experienced leadership growing pains, Jaylen Brown has struggled to fit alongside new talent, and Jayson Tatum hasn't played like the potential All-Star force he was pegged to be in the playoffs. 
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It has been a season of inconsistencies for the Boston Celtics.  In recent days, it all came to a head when Marcus Morris publicly complained about his team to the media, citing their lack of "attitude and toughness" coming off two bad losses to the Lakers and Clippers. He also remarked that the team lacked joy in the way they've played as of late.
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Against the Lakers, they were ahead by as much as eighteen in the second quarter, but the Lakeshow mounted an incredible second-half rally capped off by a buzzer beater from former Celtic Rajon Rondo. Against the Clippers, they were even up by 26 before blowing the game! Kyrie Irving exited that one early with a knee injury, and he isn't expected to play Tuesday against the Sixers. Things truly feel like they're in a dire state of affairs in Celtic land, but a win against a stacked Sixers team would really see the team morale improve. 
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While the Celts have been reeling, the title of Eastern Conference Team That May Have a Chance Against The Warriors has shifted from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers. In the preseason, people were expecting a regression from the Sixers as the league had obtained a blueprint from Brad Stevens on how to defend them, particularly Ben Simmons. They also hadn't made any big off-season free agent signings to bolster their rotation, which amounted to them basically running back their old lineup that got manhandled by the stout defense of the Celtics.
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Fast forward a few months. Philadelphia GM Elton Brandon has done a hell of a job beefing up his team for a deep postseason run in the wide-open East. He added Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster mid-season trade, and now he looks even better coming off the trade deadline acquisition of Tobias Harris. If you're counting at home, that's now four All-Star level talents on the starting roster in Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and Tobias Harris. 
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Harris' deadeye three-point shooting has assuaged the spacing issues that were present earlier in the Sixers offensive gameplan. He's shooting a blazing 62.5% from three in two brief games with the Sixers. You can't expect him to maintain that average, but if he nails them at a 43.4% clip as he did in 55 games with the Clippers, it'll keep the paint open for Embiid and Simmons to wreak havoc on hapless defenders. 
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Boston will have their work cut out for them against the 76ers in Philly on Tuesday night. With Kyrie Irving out we are going to have to see the version of the Celtics we witnessed in the 2018 Eastern Conference playoffs. Only this time, Gordon Hayward will be in the lineup. It's a real test for people who swear by the potential of the Celtics assets in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier. The Sixers have just been rolling though. I think they're going to make quick work of the Celts in a fifteen point home victory,117-102. 
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Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @mateonav53
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