Over the last few years, the main problem for the Celtics was falling behind in games. It seemed that they wouldn’t start playing until they were down by 10 points. It was beyond frustrating. As of late, the Celtics have been playing great basketball. They cruised into the All-Star break going 9-1 in their last 10 games, which could have been a 10-game win streak if they had boxed out a few more times. But it hasn’t just been these last few games. Ever since the calendar flipped to 2022, the Celtics have been the best team in basketball.
Now, this doesn’t mean they have the best record in that time span. The Phoenix Suns are 21-2. But Boston leads in the NBA in Net Rating with a 12.6 rating. Just ahead of those Suns who are at 10.4. Net Rating measures a team’s total point differential per 100 possessions. (Thanks NBA Stats) Don’t worry I’m not that much of a homer. I know the Celtics aren’t the best team in the NBA. They’re not the best team in the East. They aren’t one of the best two teams in the Atlantic Division. Yet here I am watching every game.
What has brought about the change are things you would have expected and some surprises. First of all the Jays are playing amazingly together. Jayson Tatum, who is about to play in his 3rd All-Star game at the age of 23, is averaging 25/4/8, and Jaylen Brown, who was an All-Star snub but that ended up saving the Celtics money so not the worst thing, is averaging 24/3/7. If you listen to Boston drive-time radio you might be surprised by this but having two All-Star caliber guys is actually a good thing.
An unexpected surprise has been the play of the Williams brothers. No, they aren’t actually brothers. Jaylen Brown isn’t my cousin but I am still going to call him cousin Jaylen. Robert Williams III has been the high upside guy for a while now. He has ridiculous athleticism and has played like a defensive force. He has stayed moderately healthy which is the biggest concern with him. He even made a defensive stop at the three-point line to win a game one night! If he stays healthy they have a rim protector in the middle that they have lacked since they traded away Kendrick Perkins. Grant Williams may be the biggest surprise of the season. In his rookie season, he was a 25% shooter from beyond the arc. Last year he was a 37% shooter. This year he has the 2nd best three-point shooting percentage in the NBA and he is lethal from the corner. Not to mention he is a versatile defensive player that can handle guys bigger than him, which most of his assignments are.
Now it is time for me to eat a little crow. Marcus Smart has been great recently as the main ball handler and decision-maker for the offense. I have wanted – and still want – him to be traded but he really has played well as of late. He is leading the team with 5.1 assists, he is only shooting 5 threes a game and, most importantly, he is getting the balls to the Jays when he needs to and the offense is flourishing while he does it. The addition of Derrick White seems to point to a move coming in the summer but as of right now there isn’t a lot of complaining that can be done about Smart.
The defense has been incredible. Even when they were struggling to get above .500 the defense was good. The only team with a better defensive rating for the season is Golden State. The Warriors sit at 104.6 while the Celtics have a rating of 104.9. So essentially it is a tie between those two teams. With Al Horford directing traffic and Robert Williams guarding the rim, the defense has become formidable.
The most pleasant surprise has been the Celtics are not only not falling behind but they are blitzing teams in the first quarter. They are coming out putting pressure on teams on both ends of the court. Here are the first quarter scores of the last 10 games leading up to the break:
| Opponent | Score |
| New Orleans | 27-15 |
| Miami | 27-14 |
| Charolette | 27-22 |
| Detroit | 28-16 |
| Orlando | 21-15 |
| Brooklyn | 35-16 |
| Denver | 30-32 |
| Atlanta | 17-28 |
| Philadelphia | 32-22 |
| Detroit | 25-23 |
| Total | 269-203 |
| Net | 66 |
As the table shows the first quarter has been a strength for the Celtics. Only once did a first-quarter lead end up in a loss. The last game on the list and the last game before the All-Star break against Detroit.
The Celtics are probably not going to go on a run all the way to the NBA Finals. More than likely they will be in one of the play-in games but the games are no longer incredibly frustrating as they let leads slip away with stagnant offense. I know the season will end in disappointment but for the moment the team has been exciting to watch and that’s a hell of a lot better than what was happening to start the season.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
The Never Weres 
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