Save the date: March 31st

Let's put a smirk on that face, shall we?

A while ago, I wrote a post about the universe's weird plans for us this season. Our expectations and hopes had been completely reversed not once, not twice, not thrice... for a total of 13 times up to then. Injuries, streaks, player performances, you name it. Whoever made a prediction about the Celtics could only expect to be proven wrong so far. So as the Celtics keep pushing for a home court advantage and a 4th seed at best, things might take an interesting turn.

What lies ahead of the Celtics for the rest of March is a relatively easy schedule. We will play teams with a winning record 3 times this month given the condition that they're not from New York: Miami, Atlanta, Memphis. It's quite possible that we get to win at least one of them, so optimistically (with a hint of realism), we'll end the month having lost a total of 30 games (not counting the games against the Knicks).

Lets' look at the Knicks' schedule now: They;'re currently on a road trip where they will play with the Playoff caliber teams of the West. If their blowout loss against the Warriors, who by the way have suffered bad losses recently, last night is any indication, this will not be an easy trip. To top that, they're missing Amar'e, Carmelo is day-to-day at best and the soreness in his knee is still there, their defensive ranking is worse than it was under Mike D'Antoni's coaching, their awesome-o offense in the beginning of the season is nowhere to be found.

After their road trip ends, the Knicks will play an unpredictable Raptors team twice on a back-to-back (in which wins are usually shared between each team) and will face the Grizzlies as well. Let's just say that it's not an easy month for them, and it's quite likely that they will have about 28 losses by the end (not counting the games with us)

This brings me to my title: March 31st. That game against the Knicks in MSG might be the most important game of the season because, and I know this sounds like a joke, it might be the game that puts the Atlantic Division title in our reach. I know this is not the likeliest scenario, but think about the way this season has played out for us so far. Wouldn't it be awesome? Don't we deserve that prank?

So yeah, it is quite probable that we'll be addicted to our calculators come April. Don't stop believing. But don't over-believe so that the universe won't be pissed. Let's just pretend that we're happy with the 6th seed until then.