Celtics prepare for stretch run

With the All Star break and all the festivities that come with it finally behind them, the Boston Celtics are ready for the stretch run.As hard to believe as it is, the NBA playoffs are less than eight weeks away, giving the Celtics very little time to prepare for their title defense. A lot has taken place in what has been a whirlwind ride for the defending champions ? and from October’s ring ceremony to Bill Russell’s 75th birthday, the players on the floor have shown a remarkable ability to block it all out, to focus on the task at hand, and to remain the best that the NBA has to offer.After playing what has been called the NBA’s most difficult schedule, the Celtics can finally breathe a bit. The Green, with a record of 44-11, have only 27 regular-season games remaining with very few back-to-back situations, giving the Celtics’ veterans plenty of time to rest their older legs, something not lost on coach Doc Rivers.”I didn’t like it before the season when I saw the schedule,” Rivers said. “We got through it, but I thought it’d be a brutal stretch and, honestly, I didn’t think our record would be near what it is because of the amount of games.”With the veteran players we have, I just thought, physically, it was going to be impossible to get through it. We’ve done it, and we’ve done it with injuries, even. So I’m really happy, record-wise, where we are. This second half is a good opportunity for us to make a run.”Record-wise, the Celtics are there; however, so are the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic. With just two games separating the four best teams in the National Basketball Association, the fight will certainly be on for the best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.That fight will continue for the Celtics Thursday night in Utah, where the Green continue their current 6-game West Coast road trip. As a matter of fact, the Celtics, winners of nine straight on the road, will play 12 of their next 20 in the opposition’s arenas. Celtics All-Star Ray Allen accepts the heavy road schedule, saying that one of the advantages of having a veteran team is that it knows how to best handle itself on the road.”Ground yourself,” Allen said. “Don’t get out there and just think, ‘I’m away from home. I get to run crazy. I’m going to eat whatever I want to eat, go to sleep at whatever time because I’m in a different city.'”No matter what cities the Celtics find themselves in during the next 7-8 weeks, the most important city for them to be in this spring is Boston, with home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The long trip back to Boston begins Thursday night in Utah.