We Are Currently Watching A Level Of Celtics Dominance The World Has Not Seen For Over 57 Years

Andrew D. Bernstein. Getty Images.

In 2022, after the 21-5 Celtics got their asses handed to them by Steph Curry on the road in GS, it was the start of their first mini-spiral of the season. They lost 4 of their next 5, including ending that West Coast trip with LAC/LAL (the Lakers was the lone win of those 5).

In 2023 the 21-5 Celtics got their asses handed to them by Steph Curry on the road in GS. From that moment on, we were going to learn just how different this version of the team might actually be. They went right into a B2B against a playoff team that was 10-3 at home, and then followed that up with a long stay in LA against the hottest team in the NBA and then their biggest rival. It wasn't out the realm of possibility that this could have been another disaster slide. Especially when we learned Tatum was sitting against the Kings and Porzingis was sitting against the Clippers. So what happened?

144 in a win against the Kings

145 in a win against the Clippers

Congratulations, you witnessed something that hasn't happened in 57 years

What I would not recommend is googling who won the title that season (1966-67). Instead, let's focus on what the hell we just saw. I considered last night the swing game of the trip. To flip the momentum of the 4 game trip to now where the final game means 3-1 or 2-2 is a much better feeling than had they been going into Christmas 1-2 with the potential for 1-3. Before they left for GS I considered 2-2 a win for the trip, and now I have no reason to think they can't win their final 3 games. That's a MUCH different feeling than this was

There was no snowball this time around. It feels more and more like that loss in GS was really just one of those nights as opposed to some sort of fatal flaw. Sometimes open looks just don't fall, but it's more than that. The Celtics don't even need to shoot "well". That's not the bar. The bar is literally just don't miss the most 3s in franchise history

33%! That's it! That is why you shoot with confidence. All you have to do is beat 33% as a team and you become untouchable. That's not that hard to do for a team with this type of talent. 

Just look at these last two wins. The Celtics' style or approach didn't change. They played how they always play, only this time they didn't miss a franchise record of 3PA. Wouldn't you know it, they blew the fuck out of whoever they were playing. On the road. Undermanned. With those missing pieces being your best player and your cheat code player. 

It's not so much the immediate response after another kick to the dick via Steph Curry that impressed me as it is the fact that the Celts completely blew doors. I mean these are massacres on the road against good teams. The Kings were a top 4 seed who were 10-3 at home, the Clippers had won 9 of 10 and were 11-3 at home, did any of that matter? Sure didn't look like it.

So yes, while dropping the game in GS is annoying as shit, it's just as important to see how this version of the Celts responds to the same sort of adversity. So far, they're handling it like champs. One thing we can still say about this team is they remain tough to beat twice in a row. It's only happened once all season and that was in the first week of November. In case you were unaware, it's December 24th. 

A beautiful follow up to the blowout Kings win, yesterday's was just as fun. Let's talk about it.

The Good

- Given that he had a few days of extra rest by not playing against the Kings, combined with his history of always showing up big when playing in LA, as soon as we learned that Jayson Tatum was active I had no doubts we were going to witness another masterclass.

May I present to you, said masterclass

Best player on the floor type shit. Didn't need heavy minutes (30), finished with 30/4/2/1 on 9-16 (5-10) and a +19, even with another reckless closeout fucking up his already injured ankle again. Overall it was more of the same of what you should be used to seeing from Tatum in this building. Since 2019, Tatum has dropped at least 29 on the Clippers in their own building a total of 4 times. As a reminder, he only goes there once a year. 

While it may have felt like Tatum was more aggressive because he had some loud dunks coming on drives, 10 of his 16 FGA were still 3PA. Of his 9 FTA, 6 of them came via fouled 3PA. Tatum only had 4 drives per NBA tracking, and he finished with a total of 0 recorded post ups. His final two buckets were more turnaround fadeaways than "post ups", so the difference really was the fact that Tatum simply had his jumper working in this game. Fine by me, if he's going to shoot like this I don't need his body taking the hits. I still thought there was a good balance of drives combined with taking good looks. Nothing really felt stalled or forced, everything Tatum did was made with force. 

I thought his decision making was quick and when he committed to going strong to the rim, he fully committed. The type of performance you're hoping to get from your best player returning to the lineup knowing that Porzingis is out, this was one of those situations where they had to carry. Just like Jaylen had to do against the Kings, this was Tatum's turn.

He delivered.

- And just like he has been since the 11/22 win over the Bucks, so did Jaylen

I don't know if it feels right to call this the best stretch of basketball of Jaylen's career, but what I will say is it is fun as hell to watch him play basketball right now. The last month of the Jaylen Brown experience is really making it easy to get past his start. That level of player was nowhere near good enough. This guy? The guy we've been watching for over a month?

This is a championship #2. Efficient, consistent, versatile, and available every night. If you're looking for a bit of a recovery from three, Jaylen is shooting 42.9% from deep over his last 4 games. Slowly but surely that's coming back up to where it needs to be. 

It's not really a surprise that since Jaylen snapped back into his All NBA version, the Celts have felt like they've gone up another level. I will continue to say it until I am blue in the face. The best part about having Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on your favorite team is the fact that you have BOTH Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on your favorite team. Fuck that pitting one against the other bullshit that certain fans are obsessed with doing. Those weirdos are missing the point. What makes the Celtics contenders and one of the truly elite teams in the league is the reality that they have them BOTH. 

For Jaylen, he seems more comfortable in his new role with every passing game. The funny thing is the only real difference from how he's playing is now his shot is back to normal. He's still passing like he was to start the year, the defense has been great. That's why I didn't really get why so many were freaking out early. We knew the shooting would come back around, and here it is.

- We need to take a second and talk about how hard the Celts are Mazzulla Balling right now. All that crying about 58 3PA against GS and the Celts immediately come back with 97 3PA over the next two massive blowout wins. The ball movement? Spectacular. The confidence? Oozing out of everyone's skin. The pace? Fast. 

Then on the other end, we finally got to see what defense looked like. I'll take 108 points on 46/32% shooting. Finally, we saw the Celts be able to defend the 3P line, and here we are 28 games through the season with the toughest schedule in the league putting up the 4th ranked offense, 4th ranked defense, and 2nd best overall net rating.

Just accept it, Mazzulla Ball works. Joe knows what he's doing. Instead of talking like this is a .500 team and his approach is a disaster that doesn't work, maybe stop to take a look around and see what's actually happening. The Celtics are destroying teams on both ends of the floor since the second he took over. This year, they have more ways to beat you than ever. That is what this trip has shown us.

- As great as Jaylen and Porzingis have been this month, as awesome as the Celts have been shooting the ball, that's all fine and good. Those are important pieces to their puzzle. But so is the guard play. I would argue it's one of the most important determining factors of the Celts success. When they get elite guard play, you're cooked. 

This is what that looks like

Jrue: 20/6/7 on 8-12 (4-6) and a +22 in his 27 minutes

Bald Derrick: 18/3/2/0/3 on 5-12 (3-10) and a +27 in his 28 minutes. Oh, and some NBA history

Let's start with Holiday. Much like Jaylen, his shooting has been ROCK SOLID for almost a month now. Holiday is putting up 48/47% splits over his last 15 games, and is now up to 45/41% on the season. His TS% is already recovered from the low 50s to 56.6%. These last two games have required him to be a little more aggressive in terms of looking for his own offense, and I've felt like he's done it the right way. Open 3s, getting into the paint, nothing has felt forced or out of control. Add that to what he's already bringing defensively combined with his 17 AST/4 TOs in these last two wins, and Jrue Holiday has been damn near perfect.

But if we're going to talk perfect, we're going to reserve that for Derrick White, who is actually perfect. There's not much more to be said about Derrick that we haven't said already, so I will just say that watching him play as a Celtic is a true blessing. He's a special basketball player, I don't know how else to describe it. What he brings every night on both ends of the floor, his approach, his intelligence, his humble nature, it's all incredible. 

- With a largest lead of 39 points, you have to pretty much do everything well. The Celts dominated the glass 51-35, they had more 2nd chance points 23-8, more fastbreak points 21-13, more 3PM 25-11, more FTA 28-15, fewer TOs 9-10, and never gave up a quarter over 30 points. If you're winning the big stuff like rebounds and 3PM, and then you're also winning around the margins, that is exactly how you find yourself on the right side of a blowout. To do it in back to back games is impressive.

- A big reason why that rebounding number looks the way it does is because of that 51, 15 of them came on the offensive glass. That's a pretty big number, and of those 15 OREB, a total of 6 came from a single guy

That's it. It's time to convert Queta's 2 way into a full time deal. We have seen enough. I know he has negative touch around the rim, but I don't give a single fuck. For his role as a 4th big, he is thriving. Great on the glass, especially offensive, he makes his FTs at a good enough rate, and there's no denying that his energy just finds the ball. We're talking about a 3/4th big here, what are you going to find on the market that's better than this right now? If it's out there cool, but if not? Just convert Queta and give him some extended run when needed.

At some point I imagine he'll learn how to have soft hands on a jump hook. You can teach that. We once lived in a world where Rob didn't have the best touch in the world either around the rim. But the height and the offensive rebounding is already making an impact. For a depth piece, Queta has been MORE than good enough whenever he's been given his opportunity. He's going to stink in space defensively, he'll probably miss some bunnies, but look the facts remain that he's making the most of his minutes and giving this team double doubles off the bench. That has to matter.

- Oshae Brissett is finally starting to look like the Oshae Brissett that I believe Brad thought he was signing. It's great to see Joe reward him with actual meaningful minutes, and to his credit he's taken that trust and continued to show why it's deserving. He always played with great energy, but now we're seeing at least some resemblance of an offensive ability to put the ball in the basket. 

We all know the importance of that extra wing off the bench in addition to Hauser, and I think we all thought that's why Brissett was here. It's taken him a little while to get any sort of consistent run, mostly because energy can only take you so far. You also have to be a threat to score to play on this team, and so far over these last few games that's exactly what Brissett has shown. Another 12 points on 4-5 (3-4) shooting in this win, I don't think anyone expects that type of efficiency on a nightly basis with Brissett, but that's not the point.

The point is if he can just be passable on offense, he gives you enough in other places where Joe should feel comfortable giving him 10-12 minutes a night. Why not? Especially with guys nursing some ankle injuries, this is the time to utilize your depth pieces.

The Bad

- Absolutely no one should be concerned, but we are currently living through a Sam Hauser valley. Over his last 4 games, just a brutal 16.7% from deep on 4.5 3PA a night. Since the second ORL win, Hauser is only 3 for his last 18 from three, which is easily his worst stretch of the season. Even his awful first 3 games of the season weren't quite this bad (3-16), and we all know what happened next. He snapped out of it and shot 48% for like 2 months.

So while this isn't an area of panic, it certainly hasn't been good. 

- 6 missed FTs I suppose would qualify here. Not a disaster, but 22-28 was annoying, with Tatum again having a muti-miss FT game. At this point I've become numb to those. They happen way too frequently.

- What does the lead have to be for us to see some Jordan Walsh minutes? Apparently 39 wasn't enough so what is it? Can we please just see what he looks like at the NBA level? His highlights in Maine are only making my brain feel more and more dangerous things, so I need to see it at the next level. Even if it's only for 10 minutes. 

If possible, I would like to institute a rule. Call it the "35 Rule". If at any point the Celtics are up by 35 and Jordan Walsh is on the bench, he gets minutes. Why not let him develop with a mix of NBA speed/action? If it stinks, take him out. But what if it rules? 

The Ugly

- Again, the Celts won by a billion, so what do people really expect me to complain about? Really the only thing I deem worthy of this spot is no different from after the SAC game. We'll go with Tatum's ankle

Nothing makes your life flash before your eyes like watching your best player immediately go down after a reckless closeout. That could be anything from a minor tweak to a high ankle to potentially worse. Wyc nearly lost his shit on the broadcast about it and I think we all understand why. It's a season killer. I don't think it's anything intentional, those things just happen when you have a strong closeout. It sucks. For it to happen to the same ankle he tweaked a few days ago is absolutely terrifying, especially with the Lakers up tomorrow.

You just don't want these things to linger, and Tatum is sort of an important piece so it's not like you can just sit him for 3-4 games to let him heal. He probably wouldn't let it happen even if the team tried. So instead we all hold out collective breath for the foreseeable future, for both Tatum and KPs ankles. Fucking closeouts man, the absolute worst.

So now after this team is feeling good and has a chance to end the trip on a high note, let's see what happens. You know the Lakers will be up for the game, these two always seem to find a way to play close thrillers every time they meet, and now we might have an injured Tatum to add to the mix. Beating the Lakers and ending this trip 3-1 seems like the best possible way to spend Christmas, and even as more of a Hanukkah guy myself, I can't think of a better present.