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The Celtics Returned From The All Star Break And Got Right Back To Kicking The Shit Out Of Teams

Nathaniel S. Butler. Getty Images.

After a long 8 days, I think you'll agree with me that it was clearly worth the wait. The Celts came back from the All Star Break and continued to do what we saw before the pause and that is kick the ever living shit out of whoever they play. Looks like that Pistons loss was more the exception not the rule, because it's back to blowing teams out. That's not hyperbole either, this is just what is happening right now. They are making NBA history

Since this insane run started on 12/31, they have wins of 29, 53, 30, 33, 35, 48, and now 23 last night. Had the end of bench guys not collapsed against DET(the first time)/PHX, those would have been 20+ point wins as well. They are 19-7 over this timeframe, which is the second most wins in the NBA, trailing only the 22-3 Suns. I'm sorry if this upsets you, but these are not the December Celtics as much as some may want to try and believe. They've turned the corner and should be talked about in the same breath as any potential Eastern Conference contender. They are the only team in the East that is at least .500 against good teams, and they sit at 15-12. They have the best point differential in the conference. They have the NBA's 2nd best defense to go along with the NBA's 4th best net rating. Their starters are 18-6 when they play together. They have beaten the Heat, Sixers, Bucks, Cavs, and Raptors at least 2x. They have two stars at the age of 25 or under who are playing at an All NBA level. If any other current playoff team in the league was putting together this body of work and had this type of high end talent, they would be talked about as a contender. Fact. Shit, some are even talked about that way and aren't even doing this type of thing. 

Now, what do I always say. Even in the good times, perspective is important. We all know this was not the normal Nets. We have eyes that work. If you want to care about playing the Nets, the 3/6 date is the one that probably matters more. In that one, they will most likely have KD/Kyrie active. We'll re-evaluate once we get there. But all you can do is beat the teams that are on your schedule. You can't control who does or doesn't play. I also don't remember the Celts getting let off the hook for their losses with guys out either, so go cry about it. 

We all wanted to see how this team came out of the break given what happened the game before. Dropping that game by 1 point to the Pistons still annoys me, although a little less so this morning since they went out and beat the Cavs last night at home. That basically made up for it. What we got was a team that looked just as dominant as we remembered. The defense was insane, the ball movement was erotic, and this team just keeps on rolling. It's a fantastic way to live, to be honest. I much prefer this way of life compared to what we saw earlier in the year.

There's potential to keep building this momentum with a DET/IND back to back this weekend, but you know the drill. Before we look ahead, we first must relive what was another ass kicking. Boy was it fun.

The Good

- I suppose we can start with Jayson Tatum. He had himself a decent night I guess if you're into 30/7/4 on 50/44% with 4 3PM type of performances

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We've reached the part of Tatum's season arc where he enters the unguardable phase. If you are unaware of what this is, it looks like this

He's been pretty much right on schedule all year. The best part is this is the time in the NBA calendar when you want your best players playing their best basketball. That is what we're getting with Tatum. It's not just the poster, it's not just the threes or the passing or the defense. It's all of it. He has been a complete two way monster during this entire turnaround. We as fans challenged Tatum and Brown to carry this team out of their early season mess and that's exactly what they've done. If the best players buy in, the rest of the roster will follow. Once again, we saw Tatum play with pretty much the ideal approach we want to see offensively. he attacked the rim, which then set up his threes

When Tatum is aggressive and plays north/south and attacks the rim, he's unstoppable. It's when he settles for the lazy east/west bullshit that he tends to have those 3-18 nights. It's not like the Nets had anyone on their roster that could legitimately guard this man for 48 minutes. Bruce Brown did all he could early, and Tatum still had 7 points on 50% shooting in the first quarter. 

Wild what can happen when Tatum stops inexplicably missing every shot he takes like he did to start the year. Guy gets back to his career averages and boom, the Celts are a fucking wagon.

- I could go with a player here, but instead, I'm going with the collective defensive effort. It was nails. Any sort of worry that things would maybe take a step back due to the break was answered literally on their opening possession. 

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Look at the way they all switch on a string. It's as if they all share one brain. The switches are aggressive too. What I mean by that is this team isn't just going through the motions on switches, they are attacking them. They are making life hell for whoever has the ball, regardless of who now guards them. That's the sign of a good defense and a roster that has fully bought into this system. Their chemistry is so good on that end that they can trust one another to be in the right spot every single time. The timing is flawless. Honestly watching this team play defense is one of the best parts of this entire season. 

I know people harp on offense, but for me, it will always come back to this end. You don't defend, you die. You defend like the best team in the NBA, you'll win pretty much every time you play. Shooting is streaky, good defense is reliable and consistent and most importantly, it travels. Frankly, it saved the Celts season.

- For some reason, there are people out there that refuse to accept the reality that Marcus Smart isn't just a point guard, he's the perfect point guard for this group. I can concede, a game in which he goes 5-6 from three is a prayer. I know this because it's never happened before in his life

But the more and more I hear people try to deny the impact of Marcus Smart, the worse it looks for them. All you have to do is look at this

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I'll remind you, that in that loss against the Hawks, there was not a single player that scored on Marcus Smart in that game, so that's not really on him either. Seems pretty impactful if the result you want is wins! Again, this isn't me being a homer or a green teamer or whatever. This is me simply looking at what is actually happening in real life on the basketball court. If you're still denying this, all you're doing is embarrassing yourself. 

- The beauty of this roster is we don't just have one Marcus Smart. We sneaky have two? I mean, I watch Derrick White play and I see a 1-2 combo guard punch that is working to perfection

In now 5 games as a Celtic, we're seeing White not just fit seamlessly, but also be productive. A nice 12.4/4.4/3.6 in 28 minutes a night with plus defense is exactly what they need out of that role. I think we could all use some better shooting splits since 38/24% isn't all that great, but like Smart we're seeing White find a way to be impactful regardless of those numbers. It's still early, but this trad is looking better and better with each White performance.

- Ball movement. I'm not sure there isn't anything it can't solve. We know the magic number for the Celts is 20 assists. When they hit that number, they are now 31-19. That would make them 4-7 when they don't, which is bad. Last night, they had 28, and 3 players with at least 4. Even Jaylen was getting into the mix with 6. It's no surprise that with the improved ball movement comes an improvement in overall shooting splits. The Celts shot 54/40% and made 17 goddamn 3PM. That's related. What do we always say, the Basketball Gods reward good ball movement.

Not only that, but every single starter shot at least 50% from the floor. That's fairly insane and not something that happens all that often. When this team plays like assholes and doesn't move the ball and just iso's, what happens? They always miss. They don't make those huge momentum buckets. But when the ball moves? It's bucket after bucket after bucket.

- The cool part about having Tatum and Brown on your team is that you have both Tatum AND Brown on your team. Seems like a pretty good duo to me!

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The points are cool, the 6-12 from the floor is great, but the best part of Jaylen's night for me was the 6 assists and just 1 TO. That's what I would like to see more of down the stretch. We know Jaylen can score whenever he wants. I'm not too concerned about his 1-5 from three. But if he's also going to be making plays for others while not turning the ball over simply by dribbling? We may have something here.

- I don't know who Grant has turned himself into but I know I love it. I mean when have we ever seen this?

Another solid 10 points on 4-8 shooting off the bench, and I think we're at the point where Brad is going to have to give his man a rookie extension. His development has been too good to just let that walk out the door. 

- Quick check on Patty Mills. Yup, 0-9 (0-5). It would appear Ime was not lying

- Who doesn't love some good Grande bombs? I love them, especially after a night like we just had. So for this part I thought I'd just compile all the insane tweets I saw postgame. Knowing these are real brings so much joy to my life

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- It was nice to see both Pritchard and Nesmith come in and immediately start to knock down threes. That's all this team needs from them. I thought Pritchard played with some of the most confidence we've seen from him in a while, and I like that Nesmith come in cold and on his first touch doesn't even hesitate and knocks down a three. I wish they could have gotten a little more run since this was a blowout, but I was happy with what I saw from each. 

- How spry does Al look? The break clearly did him some good because oh baby this looks like 29 year old Al to me. The defense was awesome, he had 13 rebounds and time after time we saw it was Al that pushed the pace. If they can keep his minutes down, I'm excited to see his stretch run.

- Yeah, Rob did more cool shit. What else is new? A standard 12/11/2 on 4-5 shooting and a perfect 4-4 from the line. The anchor of the defense, the fighting for extra offensive possessions, it was all great. Also, he only had to play 24 minutes which I don't mind one bit.

The Bad

- Hard to be too picky in a game you win by a billion and never trailed or were tied for even 1 second. But there were things I didn't love despite the score. I thought to start the game the Celts were giving up the rim a little too easy. For as awesome as their defense was, it felt like the Nets were getting to the rim whenever they wanted early. That got addressed, but it's something I didn't love.

Also, while giving up 106 isn't bad, it bothers me they gave up over 100. I just like really being able to talk about how the Celts are keeping everyone under 100. It's a me thing. Again, 106 will win you a lot of ganes, but under 100 just sounds cooler. 

- If you thought I would look past missing 7 FTs, well I'm not sure what blog you've been reading these last 7 seasons. I dunno what's going on here lately, but for one of the best FT shooting teams in the league, the Celts are leaving way too man points at the line recently. I don't particularly care for it.

- Little too careless with the basketball for both Tatum and Smart for my liking. I get turnovers happen, but some of the ones we saw were just flat out bad and can easily be avoided. I care about this because when playing teams with an actual pulse if you turn the ball over like that (they had 7), you are going to get burned. I care about building good habits, and both have been a little turnover happy lately. 

The Ugly

I know Jaylen said he was fine after falling on his wrist, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to sit here and worry about it every second of the day until we see them play tomorrow. Falling on the same wrist he had surgery on and then not letting anyone touch it to pick him up wasn't great. The fact that it came right before the subs came in wasn't all that great either. We've lived through so many brutal injuries, this is just what happens now. We assume the worst. I am really hoping Jaylen was telling the truth but also wouldn't be shocked if he sat against DET. 

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Really wish Tatum didn't turn it over in that instance. Jaylen avoids that play all together if they just don't turn it over.

Now the goal is to keep building. Take care of your business and beat the teams you're supposed to, and you'll kee climbing the standings. Things are as close as ever and look to be that way the rest of the season. Given how the Celts have been playing for the last two months, I'm not sure how you couldn't be excited.