The Boston Celtics have been the NBA’s gold standard for nearly two decades. They’ve crashed the playoffs in 17 of the last 18 seasons, including doing it in the last 11 years. They’ve also cemented themselves as perennial contenders, punching two trips to the NBA Finals and six appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals in the last 9 seasons. But things took a major downturn when Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4 of last year’s semifinals against the Knicks. The situation worsened in the offseason when they lost several key players, with Kristaps Porzingis joining the Hawks, Jrue Holiday heading to the Blazers, and Al Horford signing with the Warriors. With these significant losses, many believe that the Celtics are off to a rough season and have already counted them out.
Early Season Collapse? Not Quite
Things were looking that way after a brutal start in the opening week, dropping their first three games. In their first eight games, their struggles were more obvious as the team ranks around the bottom of the league in 12 different categories, highlighted by a 29th rank in three-point percentage and a 28th rank in points per game. But despite all of that, the Celtics still turned a corner, storming back and winning 5 of their last 6 games. This run includes stopping the 13-game win streak of the No.1-seeded Detroit and rising to the #8 seed in the East.
Central to the team’s success is their franchise superstar and one-half of the Jay Duo. With Jayson Tatum sidelined for most of the year, Jaylen Brown has embraced the alpha role and absolutely delivered. Through his first 17 games, Brown is putting up 28 points per game on an incredible 50% shooting. He joined SGA, Giannis, Joker and Donovan Mitchell as the only players in the entire league to achieve those numbers. Against the Pistons, he once again led his team with his ninth 30-point game this season, already surpassing his performance last year with 8.
The team has also made major improvements across multiple areas in recent games. They now ranked in the top five in offensive rating, three-pointers made and second-chance points. They’ve also been the best team at taking care of the ball, leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. Both Pritchard and White struggled at the start of the season but have now found their rhythm from beyond the arc, shooting 47% and 41%, respectively, over their last six games. With Brown having a career season and the team’s key players stepping up, there’s no doubt this Celtics squad will remain a force come playoff time.
