The Celtics Have Started The New Year Playing Some Of Their Best Basketball And It's Coming At The Perfect Time

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When the Celts went into Minnesota and had their way with the Wolves, it was largely looked at as the perfect start to the trip. It was a shorthanded road win where the Celts played to their standard and as it so often does, their standard came with success. In a normal West Coast trip, I'd say winning your first game is always a great way to set the tone. But when you have a trip that starts on a B2B, I've always considered that "start" both games. Winning the first game means jack shit if you immediately turn around and drop the second the next night. That's one of the challenges of this trip, navigating the B2B against some of the best teams in the West all while missing key pieces. 

Here's where the true character of this team presents itself. Moments like this are where champions find a way to win. Tired, injured, shorthanded, no excuses. The Celtics don't just win when they find themselves in this spot, they blow teams the fuck out.

Celts are now 5-1 on the 2nd night of a back to back. As a reminder, they were 12-2 last season. Those 5 wins?

1. A 10 point win on the road over CHA

2. A 25 point win on the road over BKN

3. A 32 point win over LAC

4. A 19 point win over MIA

5. A 23 point win on the road over HOU

After watching Joe Mazzulla coach circles around Ime (again), I think now we can say the start to the trip has been perfect. Sweeping the back to back the way they did and how they're playing on both ends of the floor is exactly what you're looking for in that spot. Suddenly, the Celts have won 4 of 5. That's right, the team that plays .800 basketball is once again playing .800 basketball. What a concept. 

It's a pretty good time for this team to start resembling their normal selves, especially with the showdown against OKC coming tomorrow afternoon. As we've known since Day 1, when the NBA Champions play to their standard, they are virtually unbeatable regardless of circumstance. This wasn't some sort of over achievement win. Where the Celts did anything insane that isn't sustainable. They just played to their level.

The thing is, their level is pretty damn good.

The Good

- In a bit of a twist to set us off, I'd like to begin with something that I think we can all agree is the most important part of the championship formula. The mark of every dynasty in the NBA starts on the defensive end of the court. Pick any one you want throughout history. They all have one thing in common, they were complete monsters on the defensive end. 

If the Celtics want to become a dynasty, or at the very least win another ring, they have to check the defensive box. It's non-negotiable really. Being "OK" defensively isn't going to cut it. To enter that realm of NBA lore, you need to be elite. That's the price of entry and you can either afford it or you can't.

The Celtics just won a title on the backbone of their defense. Yes, as we saw in 2022 you also need offense once you get to that stage, which is how we got here in the first place. But without the defense, nothing else matters. When the Celts lock in defensively, that is when they become overwhelming. It's the stops immediately followed by death via 3PM that really deflate the opponent. This is what that looks like

Tough night for Ime on both ends of the floor. Didn't have a single answer for Mazzulla Ball and this was a version missing 2 of the top 6. Granted, HOU was also missed 3 of their best defenders, but even from a strategy perspective, Joe had Ime in hell.

Back to the defense though. It should come as no surprise that when the Celts show up defensively that the game ends in a blowout. In fact, all you have to do is look at their last 8 wins. 

Almost like defense leads to winning! Woah, we may have discovered something here. You're telling me that if you prevent your opponent from putting the ball in the basket and then you go out on the other and and score…..you'll win?

If it feels like the Celtics defense has been looking more familiar and back to their elite standard, there are a few things at play. First, is the return of Jrue Holiday. He's a guy who has been defending his ass off ever since returning from injury and his impact is undeniable. Completely changed the entire dynamic of the Celts' defense.

Next, there's this moment in time

What you just watched is championship-caliber leadership. This is what a franchise player does. Accountable, honest, and determined to turn things around knowing that it starts with him.

Since this moment? Not only has Tatum been awesome defensively, but the Celtics as a team have drastically improved from what we saw take place in December

DRTG: 107.3 (6th)

Opponent PPG: 100.0 (2nd)

Opponent FG%: 42.3% (2nd)

Opponent 3PM: 12.2 (10th)

Opponent 3P%: 34.5% (13th)

Record: 4-1 (t-2nd most wins)

The reason I think we all get frustrated when the Celts take their foot off the gas defensively is because we know what it looks like when they don't. We know what they're capable of and what their standard on this end of the floor is. When they play up to it, good things happen. When they don't, you get losses that should never have happened. 

To defend like this on a B2B on the road without two of your best defenders is special stuff from a special team.

- When Brad Stevens traded for Derrick White back in 2022, I was excited because 2022 Derrick White was an awesome basketball player who showed right away that he was put on this earth to become a Boston Celtic. 

Now in 2024, Derrick White has changed my life in ways I did not know were possible.

I don't want to be dramatic, but this is a perfect basketball player. I understand that sounds crazy, but think about it. 

1. He's an elite 3 level scorer

2. He's an All NBA 1st Team Defender and best rim protecting guard maybe ever

3. He can handle and initiate offense

4. He plays with an insane motor at all times

5. He's clutch

6. He's unselfish

7. He shows up in the playoffs

8. He has an extremely high basketball IQ

9. He puts in the work

10. He makes a delicious beer

Is this not the description of what someone would call a perfect basketball player? When you think of what that guy looks like in your head, he has all of those characteristics. So when you actually write it out, it's not crazy to say. Derrick White is a perfect basketball player. 

You could make the case that the trade for Derrick White trails only the KG/Ray trade in terms of impact in modern Celtics history. He's been that good and that impactful to this entire operation.

There's more good news too. You know how it was brutal to get through the handful of games where Derrick couldn't make an open C&S 3PA to save his life? The good news is those days are over. He's back and he's better than ever.

Over his last 7 games, White is back up to 50/45.9% splits with 4.0 3PM a night. In terms of C&S 3PA over that stretch, he's shooting 50%. No surprise the Celts offense looks a lot better right? White's ability to consistently bury his open C&S 3PA once defenses key in on the Jays is such an important piece of the puzzle. Putting the pressure on the defense via White's gravity as a shooter both on and off ball is how everything else becomes unlocked. 

With no Jaylen available for White to once again step up offensively with an efficient 23 paired with insane defense, it was a perfect performance from a perfect player.

- I can't help but notice that as the players who were weirdly slumping start to get back to their normal standard, the team as a whole starts to look a whole lot better. Wild how that works. We're seeing it with the defense, we're seeing it with Derrick White, and we are seeing it with Payton Pritchard

That little 3 game stretch to end December where Pritchard couldn't make a shot? Those days are long gone too. Does it surprise anyone that the Celts have now won 4 of 5 which just so happens to coincide with Payton Pritchard getting back to playing like Payton Pritchard?

The return of the outside shooting has been nice, but when I watch Pritchard's 2024-25 season what stands out most to me is how much better he's become at finishing at the rim. His patience in those situations has vastly improved, and the production is getting rather insane.

So far this season, Pritchard is shooting 70% in the restricted area. To put that into perspective, Derrick White shoots 68%, Luke Kornet shoots 68% and Jaylen Brown shoots 68%. At the rim, Pritchard is shooting 75% In the paint, Pritchard is shooting 60%. His efficiency from 3-10ft has jumped from 49% to 53%. This is a long way of saying Pritchard in the paint and at the rim is now a weapon. What used to be a weakness is now a strength. That's what hard work will do for you and nobody works harder than Payton Pritchard. It's why he's running away with 6MOY.

- It took him a little while to get going, but having KP back in the mix remains such an advantage. I forgot how much I missed the "just give it to the 7'3 guy" offense, his rim protection is unmatched and he really helped survive the non-Tatum minutes which was a big reason why the Celts were able to pull away.

Given who was out, you never know how those minutes are going to go. The large sample says whenever the Celts have stretch where both Tatum and Brown are off the court, things are a disaster. Last night, the Celts found a way not to just survive the non-Tatum minutes, but to extend the lead. I'm not kidding, that almost never happens

The White/Pritchard/Hauser/Kornet/KP lineup had a 122 ORTG in their minutes together (25 DRTG which is hilarious). The play in the second quarter is what helped set the tone, and things took off from there.

Closing the gap in the non-Tatum minutes was one of the most important ingredients to last year's title, and why someone like KP is so important. He makes those minutes so much more tolerable simply due to the fact that he's two way cheat code. Then once Tatum comes back, it's a wrap.

- Speaking of Tatum, the man is on an absolute heater right now (this was all in 3 quarters)

With the weight of the world on his shoulders to carry the load while guys are out on this tough West Coast trip, Tatum is responding as well as any player possibly could. This is why I never really understand how people still struggle with the fact that Tatum carries one of the largest loads of any MVP candidate. He is the system. It's on him to do everything offensively, his rebounding is arguably the most important need given KPs health and Al's rest. He has to rebound like a center every single night. He takes on whatever defensive assignment the team needs, 1-5. He's their primary initiator on offense in addition to being their most versatile defender. 

Look at what he just did to two top 5 defenses in back to back games with zero rest and without the 2nd best player on the team. He dominated. When Tatum enters this level of unguardability, it's like watching a master at work. Of all the versions of Jayson Tatum we've ever seen, there's no doubt that NBA Champion Jayson Tatum is the best one.

It's on the leader to set the tone for this trip. He's going to get all the blame if they lose, and he should deserve all the praise when he puts the team on his back and plays fantastic basketball while leading them to wins. He's been doing it for so long by now, it's honestly just a normal day at the office.

If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. Appreciate what we are witnessing when it comes to Jayson Tatum.

- Outside of one or two bonehead turnovers when the entire team suffered from collective CTE, I've continued to love how Jrue Holiday is playing. It's been a nice reminder of just how devastating this team becomes when he's in the mix

As impactful as his defense has been, what I've really appreciated from Jrue since his return is what he's done to help with the offense. He's been aggressive as well as efficient, and at a time when the entire roster was a collective brick, there's something to be said about Jrue coming back, his 3 ball immediately showing up, and then his paint production following suit. It's almost like that's what broke the dam and the rest of the shooters snapped out of their funk.

Now Hauser is making his 3s. Pritchard is back, White can't miss. It all coincides with Jrue's return and impact offensively. We're going to need him tomorrow against SGA & Co, so this is a great time for him to be playing some of his best basketball.

- Shoutout to the deep bench for once again extending the score in the 4th quarter to help with the additional point differential boost. This is I think the 3rd straight time they've done that? What a change of pace compared to earlier in the year where they were wasting all these 25+ point leads and would end the night with a 15 point win or some shit. 

Drew Peterson has also locked up the 15th roster spot for me. Barring some sort of magic by Brad Stevens that we can't see coming, I think that makes the most sense. Every time he plays in these garbage moments he's solid, and he proved to be playable for the short stints he's had in real minutes. May as well reward the guy like you did for Queta last year. 

- What definitely sets the Celts apart from others is how dominant they are on the road. Their ability to go into someone else's arena and run them out of the gym is not something you see all that often. In fact, we've never seen a team so good at any point in NBA history

This is why I'll always have supreme trust in this group. Any time, any place, they come to play and when they come to play, they win. 

The Bad

- When you play the Rockets, you have to know that they are going to crash the offensive glass like hell. They're the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA, and they also can't shoot for shit so the opportunities are going to be there. You have to handle your shit on the defensive glass and end possessions cleanly. If you allow OREBs and 2nd chance points, that's how you let a team hang around.

So what did the Celts do to start this game? They couldn't stop giving up offensive rebounds and 2nd chance points. In the first quarter alone, they allowed 6 OREB and 11 2nd chance points. The result? The Rockets hung around 37-31. Sorry, if the Celts have a quarter in which they score 37 points, shoot 62/58% with 7 3PM, that should be much higher than a 6 point lead.

The Rockets missed 14 shots in the opening quarter, which means they recovered nearly half of those misses! That's beyond awful and something that should never happen in a game where KP and Tatum are on the floor.

In the end, the Celts allowed 14 OREB for 19 2nd chance points. Both bad. Why do I care about this? Because guess who the Celts are playing tomorrow? Isaiah Hartenstein. Guess what he's awesome at? Offensive rebounding. Do you think it's a good idea to give OKC multiple possessions and chances to score? Maybe hit a dagger 3 to get the crowd going? 

Exactly. So the execution on the defensive glass is going to need to be MUCH better.

- Yesterday was more about shot making than ball movement. The 50/48% splits are awesome, as are the 19 3PM. The not so great number is only having 20 assists. My only concern here is that going up against elite defenses, I don't want to become over reliant on isolation shot making. It's important and you need to be able to do it to keep a defense honest, but the ball also needs to continue to move.

Part of that I think is that guys were just on a heater, but playing the right way will never go out of style. Take what the game is giving you sure, but remember that this team is at it's best when the defense is forced to make a decision in rotation.

- What the fuck is going on at the FT line. This isn't even a joke at this point, it's a legitimate concern. Another game missing 6 FTs for a brutal 66%. Everyone is missing. Luke Kornet has gone from a 90% FT shooter to a 57% shooter. Derrick missed one, KP missed one, what the hell is going on?

Meanwhile, game after game the opponent is shooting 100% from the line, with the Rockets going 12-12.

How is it possible that every other team in the NBA can make all their FTs, but one of the best FT shooting teams in the league can't shoot 70%? This is the most bizarre stretch of FT shooting I think we've ever seen from this team. They simply cannot stop missing. 

- Why is this the worst fastbreak team we've ever seen? How hard is it to score on a 3 on 1? Very strange that one of the best transition teams in the league suddenly has no idea how to run a break. Overpassing, bad spacing, panic, it's all been weird recently.

The Ugly

- OREBs, 2nd chance points, those are the margins that allow teams to hang around. You know what else helps? Careless turnovers. Let me ask you something. How does this look to you?

Because to me, it looks like some of the worst basketball a team could possible play. 5 FGM and 8 TOs in a single quarter? Travel after travel? Lazy pass after lazy pass? That is the very definition of ugly. And sure, the Rockets were no better (16 points) but that is not how things normally go and it surely isn't how things are going to go if you turn the ball over like this against the Thunder. That is how they win. 

- I'll never understand why TV producers think viewers want to see alternate camera angles. That shit was beyond annoying and was one of the worst viewing experiences you could possibly have watching a basketball game. What is this shit?

Apparently it was the HOU feed that was in charge of that, and all I have to say to those bozos is thanks for ruining a great game. Some of us wait all day for these games and just want things to be close and normal. This is the angle everyone immediately changes when they play 2K, so why is it on my television time and time again during a real game? Awful decision.

And now comes the game of the year. OKC vs BOS is about as good as it gets. The Thunder on a 14 game winning streak, the Celts playing well, it should be an absolute war. The takes from both sides are going to be electric depending on what happens, and just like they did against the Cavs and their 15 game winning streak, the Celts might just have to be the team to do what nobody else seems to be able to do right now when it comes to beating the Thunder.