After Another Celtics Blowout, It's Getting Harder And Harder To Not Believe We're Witnessing Something Truly Special
As we all sit around and wait for the real games to actually start, I will once again reiterate something I blogged a few wins ago.
To not take the 2023-24 Boston Celtics for granted.
What we are watching isn't normal, and it certainly doesn't come around all that often. It's one thing to see the 62-16 record and be impressed, knowing that's something that hasn't happened for this team since the 2008-09 season. Given that it's currently 2024, that's nothing to sneeze at.
But sometimes you need to see things visually to truly appreciate them. At least that's how my brain has always worked. Remember that incredible 2022 Celts run over the second half of the season? You know the stretch where they basically never lost? At the time, I didn't think we'd ever see something like that again, mostly because teams don't exactly rip off 24-5 stretches all that often.
Well friends, what if I were to tell you we are currently in the middle of an even better stretch? See for yourself
Look at all those goddamn green Ws! Look at them!
When you take a step back and look at things this way, it makes it even funnier how much a singular Celtics loss breaks people's brains. A 25-4 stretch since February 1st is a 70.6 win pace. For the last 2 months, the Celts have been winning at a .862 clip. Do people understand how insane that is? Should they win only 1 more game, it will be the most games the Celts have won in a season since 2008, and we all know what happened there.
After their blowout last night, they have once again taken over the 4th best point differential to ever exist in the history of the NBA
and the fact that these wins are coming at a time when guys are sitting, Joe is playing the bench for the 4th quarter of games, and the team is experimenting with different defenses/sets/etc makes it even more impressive. They've been playing teams who are fighting for their playoff lives, and none of it has mattered. It truly has been one of the greatest regular seasons many of us have ever witnessed, and there are still 4 more winnable games to go.
We all know that ultimately, this team will be defined by what they do starting in 12 days, not the last 6 months. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't appreciate and acknowledge what we're seeing up until this point. Real games, fake end of season preseason games, it's all led to the same thing.
Wins.
And you want to know the crazy part? This team can still play even better. This doesn't feel like a case of peaking too early, because this is what we've seen since October. But what happens when they go up a level in the playoffs like every team in the NBA does? What the hell does that look like if this is what it looks like now? I'm giddy even thinking about it.
But before we look ahead, we first must talk about what we got last night.
The Good
- New blog rule. If you achieve something that only 15 other Celtics have done in the history of the franchise, you get the top spot to kick us off
We live in a world where it's only a matter of time before both Tatum and Brown find themselves in the top 10 all time in Celtics franchise history for points scored. Just like this team's success this season, that fact should not be overlooked or taken for granted. It feels like just yesterday Jaylen was a 20 year old rookie on the Isaiah 2016-17 Celts, and now here he is sandwiched around some all time Celtics greats. The fact that he improves every year, the way he's embraced his role, it's all been about as great as you could ask for ever since this moment
Is there even another player on the Celts roster that you could see getting to 10,000 points as a Celtic? For comparison, the other longest tenured Celtic (outside of Tatum) on the roster is Payton Pritchard, and he has 1,918 points in his age 26 season. Unless Brad did the impossible, I thinking Jordan Walsh most likely won't end up with 10,000 points as a Celtic either.
Given where the Celts are slated to be drafting for the foreseeable future, it could be a VERY LONG time before we see another Celtic hit 10K.
In terms of Jaylen's performance last night, it was about what you expect against a G-League roster that is just waiting for the season to end. He only played 29 minutes, finished with 26/4/2/1/1 on 10-17 (3-5), and while there was that one play where he got fouled on a dunk attempt and landed awkwardly on his left leg which made me legitimately throw up, the good news is he walked away healthy and we can forget it ever happened.
We're now 18 games after the ASB for Jaylen, and he's still as locked in as ever. His 26.8 points a night tie Tatum for the team lead, and Jaylen's shooting 52/40% with 2.6 3PM a night. Not only that, his TOs are still under 2.0 a game (1.9), and his +11.2 +/- is right in line with both Tatum (+11.6) and White (+11.5) during this stretch.
If this is the Jaylen the Celts get for 2 more months, it changes everything.
- You know who else has quietly been rounding into form? Our beautiful 7'3 basketball cheat code
Since he admitted to getting bitched by Capela, Porzingis has been fantastic. In the 4 game since those ATL losses, KP has double-digit rebounds in 4 of them. He's averaging 19.6/10.0/3.2/1.6/3.2 on 60/47% splits with 1.6 3PM a night.
In other words, he's been dominant.
The best part? KP is staying around 30 minutes or under, which in my opinion is the perfect amount as we close down the season. Granted I am terrified for every second he's on the court, every time he jumps, every time he falls etc, but while he's been on the court there is no denying that KP has been as locked in as we've seen all season.
KP's uptick in rebounding is probably the most noticeable part of how he's playing right now, and we all know how important rebounding is going to be for him in the playoffs. Prior to this 5 game stretch with 4 different 10+ rebound games, KP did that only once in his previous 7. Maybe this is all part of him ramping back up into shape, maybe this is him taking responsibility for playing soft against ATL, who knows. What I do know is that watching KP's two way impact has been one of the true joys of this season.
- No Tatum and this team still scores 124, shoots 52/42%, finishes with 34 AST and only 12 TOs, and also held a team to the low 100s.
Yes, that's a product of playing a depleted Blazers team that has only won 21 games this season, but let's not pretend like there aren't "contenders" in the league right now that can't beat these tanking lottery teams.
The result is whatever, no shit the Celts blew this game open. The more important part is the fact that even without their best player, mentally the entire team was still locked in. There was no letdown, no overlooking a bad team, none of the shit that always used to get this team in trouble, even in a game that's beyond meaningless.
30-3 against teams under .500 on the season. For a team that had double digit losses against bad teams in each of the last 2 seasons, that's a noticeable difference.
- Easily one of the best parts of all these fake games is the fact that we get to see a fully unleashed Pro Am Payton Pritchard. Talk about a guy taking advantage of his opportunity
21 points on 50/50% splits against the Kings the other night, and another 20/8 on 69/50% last night. Since the ASB, Pritchard is shooting 50/40% from the floor, and is averaging just 1.0 TO in his 25 minutes a night. The confidence he's playing with is going to be so important in a few weeks, and it's why these fake games to end the year are so important.
To win a title, or at least make a deep run, you need your depth to be ready for the moment. Payton Pritchard feels ready. He's having the best season of his life, his ball pressure is legit, the way he's seeing the floor is better than its ever been, as is his rim finishing. Then you add in 40% shooting from deep and you could make the case that Pritchard has been one of the best backup point guards in the league this season.
If there's one thing we know about Pritchard, it's that the moment will not be too big for him. He's shown no issues adapting to whatever role Joe gives him, and when playing the worst teams in the league in a blowout, that means it's time for Payton to empty the clip. When it's against good teams in tight games, Pritchard creates for others, plays good defense and knocks down his open looks. He could have regressed after signing his deal, and if anything it's been the exact opposite.
- Any concerns about Jrue's shoulder injury should be dead by now. He had that one 1-11 game, but outside of that? Holiday has filled his role to perfection. Overall in his 6 games back, he's shooting 45/32%, and he's hit at least 55% from the floor in 4 of his last 5 games. Nothing is forced, the defense is still as dominant as ever (even as he's been more careful navigating screens), and the beauty of his offense is all they really need from Holiday is an efficient 10-12 points. That's it.
During this stretch, he's putting up 5-8s and 5-9s with a couple of corner 3s and frankly that's all I need in the postseason. His big test will come when it's time to see his playoff TS%, but so far? I'd say Holiday has exceeded expectations and then some. The fact that we caught an injury prayer with his shoulder is such a relief, because for a second there googling "dead arm" had me losing sleep.
- Al Horford forever. You know the drill.
- Derrick White…..playmaker? Did you know over his last 9 games DWhite is putting up 7.0 AST with just 1.3 TOs a night? Sure that's also being paired with 45.8/39% shooting splits, but one of the most slept-on parts of White's season has to be his leap as a passer. After another 9 AST last night
His 5.2 AST on the season are easily the most of his career, and the way he's able to use his passing as a weapon the same way he's able to use his 46/40% shooting splits as a weapon is what makes this team so dangerous. He's a Swiss army knife-type player, willing to give the game whatever it needs in that moment. Lobs to Kornet? Sure. Huge late game 3s? No problem. All NBA Defense? You betcha.
Good on him for betting on himself and not signing that early extension, because there is no way Brad gets this guy to extend for a penny less than the max he's eligible for. And guess what? The Celts have to pay it.
- 52 total bench points where pretty much nobody could miss. Pritchard led the bench with 4 misses…..and he was 9-13. Outside of that, the rest of the 2nd unit combined to finish 14-23 (60.8%).
Please join me in thanking the dogshit Blazers defense!
The Bad
- He shot just 11-23 (3-9) but of course Dalano Banton had a breakout 28 points. You know, the guy who I don't think had 28 total points in all his appearances as a Celtic.
On one hand, I'm happy for the guy. He's on a team where he can get real run and develop and he's taking advantage of that opportunity. It's important to remember that the Banton we saw last night was not the Banton we saw or were going to see as a Celtic. Sometimes, you have to let guys go and they flourish in their new spot.
On the other hand, getting cooked to the tune of 28 points by Dalano Banton was annoying as hell. Where were all those drives and finishes at the rim as a Celtic? Then you also add in the 9 AST? I get being motivated against the team that traded you, but in my opinion Banton should be appreciative. Had he not been the one traded, he'd just be sitting on the Celts bench not playing. Now he's getting real NBA minutes, so it's a win for everyone.
I suppose it is now our destiny to add him to the random Celtics Killer list though. It's been a while since we've had an addition but it feels like this is going to be a thing now.
- Easily one of the most embarrassing rebounding performances we've seen all year. I'm always torn with this because I can understand not going balls to the wall with 4 games left. Being smart is more important than anything else.
At the same time, defensive rebounding and allowing opponents to feat on the offensive glass and rack up 2nd chance points is the biggest concern I have for the Celts playoff run. So, to see them give up 22 OREB for 21 2nd chance points is NOT what I want to see. That is an absurd amount of OREB that frankly should never happen while KP/Al/Kornet are all active.
It's not all that often we see the Celts get outrebounded 53-40, and while I'm willing to chalk this up to just an end of season fake game, let's not pretend like their OREB issues haven't been a thing since the ASB. This is something they absolutely CANNOT let snowball and still be a problem in 2 weeks.
- It was a bummer Jordan Walsh wasn't with the team this time around because he definitely would have seen the floor, but I guess he was a little busy
The Ugly
- You know the drill. This team wins 5 in a row and we get to skip this section.
In fact, we are now in the middle of the 7th separate 5 game winning streak of the season. That's normal…..said no one ever. This is easily the most I've been able to skip this section since I started this blog 9 years ago, and frankly I could get used to it.
So now we have to turn he page and pretend like Tuesday's game against the Bucks means anything. I will say it will be pretty embarrassing to lose that game to a team that can't beat anyone right now, but at the end of the day all that matters is coming out healthy. There hasn't been a game against MIL that has mattered in months, and tomorrow is no different.
With only 4 games to go, we're so goddamn close to real basketball again you can almost taste it. Another game or two and everyone should be held out for the rest of the year, and then the real fun starts. 12 more days, that's it.