Credit the Los Angeles Clippers. Let’s tip our hats to the Lakers, too. After both LA teams demolished the Celtics on the parquet floor, they’ve since gone on their longest win streak of seven games.
Let’s get the qualifier out of the way first: they haven’t been the biggest competition. Memphis, Atlanta, Washington, Miami (without Jimmy Butler), Brooklyn twice, and Chicago aren’t exactly the cream of the NBA crop, but considering the wins came during the doldrums of the season heading into the All-Star break, they didn’t lose a game to boredom and/or fatigue. Per Celtics Stats, they’re 22-1 against under-.500 teams.
Here are some other numbers on the Celtics’ impressive stretch:
Jayson Tatum is averaging 28-9-7
For whatever reason, after the All-Star Game, Jayson Tatum has been shoved into the spotlight. Sure, he thinks he’s the best player in the league, and during this stretch, it’s hard to disagree with him. Most Valuable Player is not just about scoring a bunch points anymore (he’s 5th with 1436). With current candidates acting as offensive hubs for their teams (think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic), creating offense for your teammates has become just as important. The award might as well be renamed Most Valuable Playmaker. To that point, Tatum has become an excellent point forward by weaponizing his scoring gravity by driving and posting more, collapsing the defense, making the pass out of double teams.
42% from behind the arc
In a word, “fire.” Over the last seven games, they’re still leading the NBA in three-point attempts (43.1 3FGA per game) and making them at the third highest clip (40.7%).
24 stocks
Through these seven wins, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have wiped out 24 opposing teams’ possessions with fifteen steals and nine blocks. Those plays aren’t just good defensive plays — they’re energy shifters.
Dominating the third quarter
Remember when the team would crater after halftime? In January, the Celtics were a -10.8(!) net rating, getting outscored by 51 points. So far in February, they’re crushing teams by nearly 27 points per 100 possessions. That hints to a more focused approached.
7-game lead in the East
Coming down the stretch of 82 games, this is where it matters. With a seven-game lead on the two-seed Cleveland Cavaliers with 26 games to go, they’ve got room to rest up before the playoffs. To put that into perspective, that cushion is larger than the 6.5-game lead that the Cavs have over the 8-seeded Miami Heat.
With four back-to-backs remaining in the regular season (and the addition of Xavier Tillman Sr.), that means ample rest for Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. It won’t be easy, though. After playing in New York on Saturday, the team returns home for a three-game homestand, but after that, the Celtics play 12 of their next 15 games away from TD Garden.
19.1 net rating
That’s, well, crazy. If Boston can maintain this level of Mazzulla Ball through the end of the year, they’ll finish as the greatest offense of all time. Having a nasty defense helps, too. They’re a top-10 defensive rebounding team and with Horford and Porzingis on the floor at the same time, the Celtics boast a 100.0 defensive rating in their double big look. Don’t be surprised if we see a lot of that look in April, May, and June.
Seven down, seven up
As mentioned, the last seven games haven’t come against playoff competition exactly. However, the next seven will prove to be another difficult stretch:
@ New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Dallas Mavericks
Golden State Warriors
@ Cleveland Cavaliers
@ Denver Nuggets
@ Phoenix Suns
Realistically, we’re probably not looking at a 14-game winning streak when March 10th rolls around. As much as winning matters, it’ll be more about habits. Can Tatum continue to be this well-rounded? Can the team carry this hot shooting into the spring? Will they be as good on defense as they are on offense? Time will tell.
