Boston Celtics Week 8 power rankings: West coast road tripping

The Boston Celtics had a mixed bag of a week last week, and find the results reflected in their assessments in a number of popular power rankings.

It started with a hard-fought, 111 – 107 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, only to see the Celtics drop their second game of the annual west coast road trip to the Sacramento Kings 116 – 11 the following day. Boston made up for it in a big way with 119 – 115 a signature victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, but then stumbled yet again, falling to the Phoenix Suns 100 – 91 on Sunday afternoon.

That they have managed to go 2 – 2 on the road trip without Marcus Smart and sans Jaylen Brown for most of their trip is impressive — but how did other analysts see the split ticket of a week for the Celtics?

No. 11 - CBS Sports

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

"It's hard to even remember a time when the Celtics had all their key players fully healthy at the same time, and that trend continued this week with Jaylen Brown missing two games," notes CBS' Colin Ward-Henninger. "Jayson Tatum averaged 27.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, but Kemba Walker has yet to find his offensive stride."

No. 10 - NBA

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

"With injuries to Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, with Kemba Walker working his way back from knee rehab, and with the ups and downs of both young guards and veteran bigs, the Celtics are still searching for consistency and continuity," shares the NBA's John Schumann. "But the Celtics got good wins over the Warriors and Clippers last week after losing the first quarter by double-digits in both games."

No. 9 - ESPN

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

"Boston, hit hard by injuries, has now lost four out of six after falling to the Suns on Sunday in Phoenix," relates ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "Things won't get any easier, with a trip to Salt Lake City for a game against the league-leading Utah Jazz to end this five-game West swing."

No. 8 - The Rookie Wire

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"As teams across the league deal with injuries, Boston is certainly one team that has dealt with players in and out of the lineup," observes the Rookie Wire's Cody Taylor. "Marcus Smart is out for another week or two while Jaylen Brown is dealing with an injury, but the team received a boost when Payton Pritchard returned following an MCL sprain."

No. 8 - The Athletic

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

"Grabbing two All-Stars in the East will be an easy enough feat for the Celtics because they’ve both been so good," pens the Athletic's Zach Harper. "Add in the stellar defense for Brown, and a healthy rest of the season won’t just result in an All-Star selection. He’ll end up on an All-NBA team too."

No. 8 - The Ringer

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

"The Celtics are a good team, but they feel incomplete," shares The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, hinting at trade rumblings. "With both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown performing at an All-NBA level, Danny Ainge should be aggressive in increasing his team’s Finals odds."

No. 7 - Bleacher Report

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

"The Boston Celtics headed out West last week, and each game came down to the final few possessions," relates B/R's Mo Dakhil. "The trip started with a win over the Golden State Warriors before Boston dropped a close one to the Sacramento Kings." "Then it took a Kemba Walker mid-range pull-up to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers before a matinee loss against the Phoenix Suns." This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=46382,46376,46371,46353] [listicle id=46380]