The Wagon Known As The Boston Celtics Continues To Absolutely ROLL Through The NBA
Brian Sevald. Getty Images.Not 1. Not 2. Not 3. Not 4. Not 5…..
But 6…yes, 6 straight wins for our beloved Boston Celtics.
That's good for the longest in the league by a wide margin, with the Wizards coming in at #2 with a nice little 3 game win streak of their own. Now tied with the Bucks for the most wins in the East (10), the Celts are now 1 of 3 teams currently in the NBA with double digit wins, and when it comes to their standing in the Eastern Conference, well, there's a reason I called them a wagon in the headline of this blog. They're
- Own the most wins on the road
- Own the most wins vs teams .500 or better
- Own the most wins vs Eastern Conference teams
- Own the best offensive rating
- Own the highest scoring average
- Own the 3rd highest point differential (trail #2 by 0.1)
So add it all up. They're winning at an elite rate, they're winning in whatever building they happen to be playing in, they're beating good teams and bad teams, their defense is still not great but getting better, they are getting MVP level play from their best player not to mention how the depth is also thriving. That's how you continue to build your case as a legitimate contender.
You have to remember, every year is a different beast. Just because you proved to be a contender last season does not mean you are automatically going to become a contender this season. You have to earn that, and the only way you do is through winning. There are no skipping steps to being a true title contender. I'm not talking about what you'll see during the year where there might be a 4 or 5 seed team that's playing well and gets title hype.
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I'm talking about the real contenders. The big boys of the league. The ones who have done it and know what it takes to get there.
We all saw what that type of team looked like over the last 6 months of the 2022 season. Why I've been stressing this so much is because for the first time this Celts core figured out the formula to win at a big level and be a true title contender. Everything sort of fell into place. Roster construction, lineup rotations and playstyle are no longer really questions. We know what works, the players know what works, and we've seen the actual results, so all you have to do is just go out and play that way.
I thought of this once I heard Tatum talk at the podium after another MVP caliber performance
He basically called his start to this season a continuation of what we saw last year, aka when this team figured out the formula. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with Tatum here. What we are seeing is not what he did last season. It's better. It's way better. It's last year's skill level mixed with the pain of an NBA Finals loss.
So this idea of things being a continuation of when we saw the Celts at their best stuck in my mind all night. If you remember, those games were very fun. The Celts played free, they played for each nother, they played the right way. With that came the success, which is also fun.
Listen again to how Tatum ends that clip. It's fun to play on this team right now, and how does that become possible? When everyone buys in and excels in their role. So when you have a game like last night where you have 50 points of offense sitting out and you're down basically 3 starters (with Rob) and your best player off the bench, it requires guys to step up and thrive in their role.
Interesting what happened huh..
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So how rare is what we're currently watching when it comes to this 6 game winning streak?
Last season, we saw only two streaks like this during the entire year. There was a 6 game streak from March 16th to March 28th 2022 and then there was the big 9 game streak from January 29th to February 16th. That huge run before the deadline is what you should remember as the start of their historic turnaround.
Only 3 teams last year in the entire NBA broke the 9 game win streak ceiling and got to double digits. The Suns and Grizzlies had 11 game streaks and then the Suns also had an 18 game win that lasted from October 30th to December 3rd. Jesus. Those Suns teams also had a separate 9 game, and 8 game streak. The point is, usually once you start to see streaks like this, they are usually from true contending teams. Shit, the Warriors also had a 9 game streak last season too.
So while the Celts are only at 6 with OKC coming up tomorrow, the larger point is what you should take away from this blog. They are well on their way to building a profile of a true contender. Given how consistent they are able to play and how good they can look despite who is in or out of the lineup should give you confidence that what you are watching is real. Before you know it, Rob is going to be inserted back into things and we know how he impacts both ends.
I think most would agree that coming off their run, the expectation of this team was to get off to a great start. We had no idea if there would be a Finals hangover, and so far what we've seen is the exact opposite. This team looks hungry and focused. They look like a collective group that is on a mission. One singular focus from October until however long they are fortunate enough to play.