It might be time to call the “We’re Back Department” because the Boston Celtics have won four straight games. It’s the first time since mid-November that they’ve done so and their most recent win over the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers makes them winners of eight of their last eleven.
This recent surge has also sadly convinced me to re-establish my expectations for the Cs.
They’d just spent the last two months making me a skeptic. I was beaten down, broken, and unwilling to draw any rash conclusions after watching them invent new ways to lose games in head-scratching fashion. Now I have been completely roped back in.
(The Jaden Springer trade broke as I was writing this. I’m feeling a little less thrilled, but we move nonetheless.)
For what feels like the first time in forever, we’ve seen Boston win games without everything seemingly going right for them. Over the past couple of months, it’s been pretty rare to see the Cs claim victory without mercilessly sinking three after three.
Typically, if they’ve had a cold shooting night, they’ve been unable to take control of the game in other areas. For example, head coach Joe Mazzulla explained that his team’s offensive inefficiencies put added pressure on their defense in a disappointing loss to the Sacramento Kings last month.
This has been a common theme in press conferences this season. When things haven’t gone right for the Celtics, they’ve just chalked it up to having a rough offensive night. There is absolutely truth to what Mazzulla is saying. When you’re missing a bunch of threes, there are going to be long rebounds which will make it more difficult to defend in transition.
While this is true, it doesn’t mean it’s IMPOSSIBLE to win a basketball game if you’re not shooting the lights out. It’s felt like there’s been a whole lot of “what do you want out of us? Our shots just aren’t going in” coming from the Cs since early December. That sentiment has been part of what’s made it so frustrating to watch them during this span.
It’s also what’s made the last two wins in particular so sweet.
On Sunday, the Celtics were doing the whole “we can’t win if we don’t make all of our threes” thing in Philadelphia. They were ice cold from the floor and struggled to find any way to stop 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.
It got so bad that they found themselves down 26 points late in the third quarter. Fortunately, this game was different. Boston showed a tremendous amount of grit and fought their way back, stealing a win from the rival Sixers.
Of course, they did it by making almost every shot in the fourth quarter. There was a point where the Cs had sank 10 straight attempts en route to a 20-1 run.
At the same time, they were getting it done on defense. They took control of their intensity and effort which helped them to slow Philly’s offense to a halt.
If this was solely a question of the threes dropping or not, then they wouldn’t have been able to improve on that side of the ball.
Let’s move on to Tuesday’s win over the Cavs. What a great win this was. Boston and Cleveland reminded everyone what a thrill it is to watch an absolute rock fight.
The two teams combined to score just 10 points during the game’s opening six minutes and it was clear that whoever was going to win, was either going to get hot, or find a way to take control of the game.
Boston did both.
Once they took a 7-6 lead, they never trailed again.
How?
Well, they put the Cavs in hell. Just about every look that Cleveland got was one that they had to earn, and most of them were still difficult shots. On top of that, the Cs logged 16 total stocks (steals and blocks) on the night. They were consistently pressuring the first-place Cavaliers and forcing them to turn the ball over.
Boston not only used this to fuel their offense but also to keep Cleveland from finding a rhythm.
It was a prime example of controlling the controllable.
In addition to the Celtics remembering how to win games when they’re shooting like mere mortals, they’ve also enjoyed a shooting revival.
Over the aforementioned 11-game span, where they are 8-3, Boston has been the sixth-best three-point shooting team in the NBA at 38.3%. That number is right around their efficiency from last season.
So that helps.
It also helps that Derrick White has refound his stroke. Over his last five games, White is shooting 52.1% from the field and 48.6% from deep. for 18.8 points per game. He’s been oozing with confidence as well.
Just look at this brass balls pull.
White has been like a barometer for the Celtics this season. When he’s been cold, their offense simply doesn’t work as well. As a tertiary scoring option, White is able to alleviate pressure from Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and even Kristaps Porzingis. When he’s not sinking his shots, defenses are able to get away with blitzing those guys on drives.
Not to mention how much they’ve missed his scoring in the clutch. The numbers are still good overall, but he’s obviously not firing up as many attempts at the end of games when he’s been cold.
Derrick White in the clutch this season:
14-20 (70%) FG – 2nd-best among players with at least 20 shot attempts behind Amen Thompson (71.4%)
12-18 (66.7%) 3PT – His 12 threes are 2nd behind Trae Young and his % is best in the league among players with at least 15 3-PT attempts pic.twitter.com/RJUgmoLOyc
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) February 5, 2025
White, and the team as a whole, have looked much more reminiscent of what we all watched last season. It’s been a refreshing span of hoops to say the very least.
