The Portland Trail Blazers have their work cut for them today, facing a Boston Celtics team that fancies themselves as competitors for a title. With Jayson Tatum presumably back, nothing less than an emphatic win for the Celtics will be good enough for Boston fans who have had their faith shaken by recent losses.
The Celtics have lost three in a row and are a pedestrian 10-9 since January 23rd. Discontent is starting to rumble in the press with performances not living up to expectations, and a loss to the Blazers would be seen in Beantown as a disaster of epic proportions.