The Best Team In The NBA Simply Cannot Stop Winning, Now Up To 9 In A Row
Before we begin I'd like to have a moment of silence. Did you know there are 29 other fanbases that had to wake up today to the realization that their favorite NBA team has multiple losses? I mean we're 10 games in for the most part and the thought that there are teams out there with more than one loss is heart breaking. Their fans deserve better than that. Imagine you're a fan of a team that was supposed to be a contender and then you look and they're 7-3 or worse? I wouldn't wish that life on my worst enemy. Now personally I can't relate to what that must feel like, and who knows maybe one day myself and Celtics fans everywhere will find out but at the moment, in the midst of the longest active winning streak in the NBA at 9 and the NBA's best record, things are too good to worry about what MIGHT happen. Is 81-1 on the table? Well it's not NOT on the table if you know what I mean.
In all seriousness, the Celtics should beat a rebuilding Wizards team. Just like I have after every one of these wins it's important to enjoy it and talk shit on Twitter and all that, but also understand this means jack shit in the grand scheme of things. What we're seeing will not impact how deep they go in the playoffs, there are 72 games left on the schedule which is a whole lot of basketball to be played so keep it all in perspective. Right now? The Boston Celtics are the best team in basketball. Fact, not opinion. That can change in a heartbeat with one little skid so definitely enjoy what we're seeing but also understand they are going to have to be a whole lot better in a bunch of areas if this team is going to be as good as we all want them to be.
Having said that, it's time to get drunk off the Kool Aid.
The Good
- In a game where the Celts dropped 140 in regulation there are a ton of candidates for this top spot. After reviewing the footage and the overall impact of everyone that played, it's only right we start with Kemba
It was weird to see Kemba go up against Isaiah because they are sneaky the same type of player for this Celtics team. There's a reason this group looks so much like the 2016 team and Kemba has a lot to do with it. Another 6 3PM performance was huge, his 5 assists and 0 turnovers were great, his late game icing three was clutch, but I continue to be impressed with how Kemba Walker defends.
It's for sure one of the weaknesses of his game, teams are 100% going to target him in close games, but look this dude is holding his own and then some. He's owning his space, he's being aggressive on the ball, and the effort has been nothing but consistent.
But we can't not talk about what a monster Kemba has been in the second half of games, and the fourth quarter especially. He dropped 14 in the second half last night on 4-8 shooting from deep, and while it looked like he fucked up his right hand a little bit at some point, his willingness to take the back breaking three was a great sign. What's important is it never seems like Kemba is forcing things offensively, he's letting his young wings flourish and then showing up in big moments when the team needs him. It's perfect.
- If you want to point to an area of why the Celtics look so fucking good, it starts with the leap years we're getting from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The two are so nice we're grouping them together for this part
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For Tatum, it was nice to see the ball go in the hoop for the guy. Coming off that 1-18 you could tell he wanted to get over that right away and he got off to a great start. This version looked much more like what we're used to, and we're starting to see Tatum show a patience when he gets into the paint that I'm not sure we saw last year. There are moments in this game where he busts out some Kevin McHale-esq post moves going into his unblockable jumper and I would be lying if I said it didn't make it move a little bit. Then late we're seeing him use his athleticism to get to the rim and hopefully one day the FT line. There's no doubt about the fact that his missed layups are a big time problem, but everything we're seeing about the approach is exactly what this team needs. Combine that with his improved playmaking (4 assists) and it's no surprise he was a +14.
Then there's Jaylen. Oh my how I am falling more and more in love with this version of Jaylen Brown. Sure it was a little mean how he picked on his friend Isaiah to start that third quarter, but it was his offense that really opened this game up in the second half. What we're seeing isn't just a more aggressive Jaylen, but a version that night in and night out is making an impact everywhere. His defense has gotten better, his handles WAY better, and last night for example he had 5 rebounds and 4 assists to go alone with his 22 points on 9-19. Not only that, he was a perfect 4-4 from the FT line. All of the sudden his extension looks like a steal now doesn't it?
- The Celts won the rebounding and 2nd chance points battle because of course they did. I suppose we can thank Enes Kanter for a lot of that considering he had 13/9 and 4 OREB all by himself
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but on a night where two rotation bigs were out I can't exactly say I expected this team to own those two categories, which as we know is pretty crucial to their success.
- 32 assists on 49 baskets. No player with more than 20 FGA. They were unselfish, there was offensive balance, there was 5 players with at least 4 assists. If that isn't Celtics porn I don't know what is.
- There are really people out there that still call Marcus Smart an offensive zero. They say it with a straight face. They'll tell you he can't shoot as if we're still living in 2016 or something. I don't know what Marcus Smart they are watching, but it's not this one
17/4/5 on 6-12 shooting, 4-8 from three and a team best +15. Not only that but he had multiple defensive plays that point guards just shouldn't make which is basically the norm for him, and it's no accident that his improvement on offense is a big reason why this team has the #1 offense in the league. We're getting 30+ minutes of Smart and he's a positive on that end, something that has been trending in that direction for the last two seasons. He's made all the improvements we wanted from him early in his career, his shot selection is getting so much better, and yet people still think this is the same old Smart. Wake up.
- Considering the Celts hadn't had an offensive performance like this in about 27 years, I almost can't believe they put up 140 on 51/44% splits with 16 3PM. I don't care if the Wizards are pathetic defensively, the Celtics I know don't put up 4 straight quarters of at least 34 points. Who saw that shit coming.
- It seems fitting that on a night where Isaiah is in town, the new Isaiah, the man wearing his same number has the best offensive night of his young career
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God damn do I love watching Carsen play. I love how he's going full speed at all times, I love how he has the greenest light this city has ever seen and is not shy about taking it, and I LOVE how he is stone faced the entire time. We all know this second unit needs an offensive spark, and I think we all hoped it would be Carsen so to see him snapping out of his early funk is so exciting. He can be the super sub this second unit needs especially because he is holding his own defensively.
- Finally, it was awesome to see Isaiah healthy and playing well again. 18/7 for him, some classic Isaiah threes, it was much weirder than I thought it would be. My brain initially cheered every time he made one of his threes which didn't exactly help the Celts but it was just muscle memory. Nobody is more Team Isaiah than me, so it was great to see him back to being the player we all remember.
- For those wondering, this is now the 7th longest winning streak in the last 30 years. Is that good? That feels good
The Bad
- OK so what the fuck was that defense. In fact you can't even use the word defense because that would imply that at some point of the game you actually stopped the opponent from scoring. As happy as I am for the win I do not appreciate the fact that it took a bullet out of my gun to chirp about how Brad has a top 10 offense and top 10 defense because the Celts dropped from 7th to 12th after this debacle. Would they please think of the bloggers at least a little bit?
Honestly though, just burn the defensive tape. There is absolutely nothing positive to take away from that effort and I think it goes without saying they do this shit against a team with a pulse and the winning streak is over. Shit they even do this at any point of this West Coast trip and it's not going to be pretty. Gotta clean that up immediately.
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- Only the Celtics would have a comfortable 16 point lead with like 5 minutes to go and the next thing you know we're forced to clench our sphincters because things got to 4 with 1 minute left. Can you please just give me an easy win? It's game 10 and I am already losing years off my life.
- Overall he played OK, but the 4 TOs from Wanamaker made me want to vomit and honestly the passing from everyone in the first half was mostly pathetic. Nothing but lifeless, careless, lazy passes to the point where it seemed like the Celts were just giving the Wizards the ball every trip down. Surprisingly they only finished with 11 TOs which is a great number, but 8 of them came in the first half and that's how WSH was able to stay in the game.
- The downside of playing zero defense was it cost us a chance to see Romeo. I really want to see what he looks like at the NBA level so hopefully we get that on this trip. People forget Brad has a lottery pick just waiting for his opportunity, what a luxury.
The Ugly
- You now the rules. Nothing to see here until this team loses again which could be years if we're being conservative.
So here we go. Things are great and the team looks awesome, but this is their first true test. We've seen every other Eastern Conference contender go out West and weird shit happens. Chances are the same shit will happen for the Celts on this 5 game trip. Ending with PHX/DEN/LAC is no joke, and I'm not even looking past SAC who has won like 4 of their last 5 or some shit. We'll know a lot more about what this team could be after this trip, and lord help me if they go 4-1 or better yet 5-0. It's unlikely, but then again so was a 9-1 start and here we are. This team's early returns are better than any of us could have expected, but then again that's what happens when you're the best team in the NBA.