The Fact That The Boston Celtics Are Now Currently Sitting In The 2 Seed In The East Is Borderline Insane

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

I've never really been a huge math guy, so I'm going to list off some statistics for you al,l and I would like you to do me a favor and tell me if they're good or not. I think I took a statistics class at ASU once, but that was ASU math so really this might be a level above my pay grade. I dunno, you tell me.

After this latest win, that now makes it 4 in a row, 7 of their last 9, 14 of their last 17, 18 of their last 23, and 19 of their last 25.

That's good right? Because I have to tell you, it feels pretty fucking good.

Over their last 25 games, the Celtics (19-6), own the 2nd best winning percentage IN THE ENTIRE NBA, trailing only OKC, who is 21-6 over that same timeframe. They own the #1 offense and #2 net rating in the NBA during this time. They have the 4th best TS%, and 2nd best eFG% while also being 3rd in TOV%.

And where does this now have them in terms of standings in the league? How about alone in the 2nd seed in the East with not only the best point differential in the East, but the 3rd best point differential in the entire fucking league

This isn't a case where we're in the first week of the season, you win a few games early and you find yourself with a top 2 seed. We're 35ish games in. That's nearly 42% of the way through the season, so we're not exactly dealing with a small sample at this point. Teams are starting to settle into who they really are, and this is our reality.

This also feels like a great opportunity to remind you, the Boston Celtics have had a total of 0 seconds played by their best player. They are adding a top 5, perennial All NBA talent to what we currently have going on. No other team in the NBA can say that. 

Frankly, this is completely batshit insane. What we're seeing from the 2025-26 Celtics simply doesn't happen. No team loses their best scorer, rebounder and passer, and then also loses an additional 4 key starters/rotation players, replaces them all with unproven young players with virtually zero NBA experience and not only win, but dominate. Because make no mistake, that is what the Celtics are doing. They are dominating. This shouldn't be possible, yet here we are.

And for all the "well the East sucks" people out there. OK. The Celtics are playing at a 52 win pace against the West. They own the best 2nd best offense in NBA history, and are 3rd in the NBA in net rating for the season. Even if you want to compare them to the big bad West, they're just as good if not better……without their best player.

How do they look against good teams? The most wins in the NBA. How do they look on the road? The 2nd most road wins in the East. How do they look on B2Bs? They're 5-1. 

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Are we witnessing the greatest "gap year" in NBA history? Certainly feels like it.

Alright, let's dive in.

The Good

- It's taken a while for the Blazers DNA to be removed and replaced with the championship Celtics DNA, but I think we're starting to see that happen with Anfernee Simons. He's a bit of a polarizing player, someone who was definitely traded for as a salary mechanism back over the summer, but here we are in January and you know what? I'm intrigued. When Simons became a Celtic, I think we all could see the world in which he fit, but it would require him to change how he's played his entire career. On this team, and for this franchise, you have to play winning basketball. That means effort, defense, accepting and thriving in your role, being committed to the standard of winning every second of every day. 

Over the last month or so, that's kind of exactly what Anfernee Simons has done

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So what the hell has changed over the last month? I think getting comfortable on a new team can always take time, especially this team. The role Simons is playing is completely different than anything he's ever had during his NBA career, and I think it took time for both sides to figure out what works best. Simons to figure out how to play Celtics basketball, and the Celtics to figure out how to get the most out of Simons as a player. 

We're starting to now see what that looks like.

Last night was a perfect example of the difference. Early in the season there was a lot of iso, some P&R here and there, basically just giving the ball to Simons and telling him to go get a bucket. The results were…..inconsistent at best.

In this win? Look at how differently he's being used. The one thing that thrived early was his off ball C&S numbers, so what does Joe do? He completely changes Simons' offensive approach, now running him off screens, using multiple flare screens to get him space, and boom. He explodes. Way less dribbling down the shot clock, way fewer tough contested jumpers, and more sets that get him into his strengths. Then once he sees the ball go in and he heats up, it's Baby Dame Time. 

It now forces an interesting question. Does this development of Simons change any plans for the deadline? I feel like it might. For starters, it's not like the Celts have a ton of guard depth on the roster at the moment. Should Derrick or Payton turn an ankle, there isn't really a ball handler on the roster outside of Simons available. I don't think that should be overlooked.

They also have a big man need, but in my opinion you don't need a high priced big. You just need a serviceable big for depth. You can find that without unloading Simons' money. Go trade for Day'Ron Sharpe who makes like $6M a year or something. There are guys out there, look at what Joe is currently doing with Queta and Garza. That might be your best bet.

At the same time, I do believe that what Brad Stevens does ultimately comes down to one thing. Is he interested in a potential extension, and is Simons interested at a lower price, maybe like MLE money? If not, then you have to trade him simply to protect the asset. It's poor roster management to let assets leave for nothing, so if there's no future here, then you have to flip him.

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But if there is? Then Simons' skillset is very, very intriguing for when Jayson Tatum returns. You can't ignore the scoring ability and the shooting ability, something you will need in the playoffs, especially as Tatum ramps back up. If you're telling me the defense is now passable too? Then there is absolutely a spot on this team for Simons moving forward. It all just comes down to the price. 

I would argue that the Simons development we were all hopeful for when this trade first happened…is happening. At the very least, I'm intrigued.

- When you're in a tough spot in your schedule and your two stars are laying eggs while playing a bad team, who do you call? You call 1-800-PAYTON. Nobody, and I mean nobody carves up bad teams like Payton Pritchard. It rules

21/6/5 with 0 TOs on 8-17 (4-7) in his 31 minutes, Pritchard continues to thrive as the starting point guard of this team. He did lay a bit of an egg in their last game, so him immediately bouncing back and playing well shouldn't be a surprise. It's what he does. Payton Pritchard almost never has 2 poor games in a row, and it's not as if anyone on the Bulls could lock him down defensively, so this was what I expected to see from Payton.

The way he's become Steve Nash 2.0 with his paint jumper might be my favorite development of Pritchard's season. He's able to get so low with his dribble that even against bigger defenders he's still getting to his spot, and once he enters the paint, it's over for you. He's not missing. The fact that the thing Pritchard is best at (3pt shooting) has been the worst part of his season so far is very funny, because as last night showed once the 3 ball is also dropping, there's really nothing you can do. Add in the fact that he never turns it over?

Giphy Images.

By pretty much every metric, Pritchard has thrived in his role as the starting point guard for this team, and on a night when they needed him to step up and carry, he was right there with Simons to shoulder the load. 

- Of all the pleasant surprises that this season has given us, I'm not sure too many rank higher than the development of Neemias Queta. Firmly in the MIP race, the jump Queta has made this season has been tremendous to watch. From the 4th big on the roster to someone who I am becoming more and more comfortable being the starting center moving forward. He was great again in this win

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and watching him become a P&R monster has been such a huge development

His screening is getting better, the defensive rebounding is great (outside of late in the 4th quarter, that's the final infinity stone), the way he's reading defenses is getting better, and I am so excited to see this version of Queta be paired with Tatum. We all know that Tatum elevates every big he plays with, so imagine there's another level left to unlock with Queta?!? That's on the table as far as I'm concerned.

It won't always be perfect, but that's fine. As long as we continue on this upward trend of development, that's all I care about. Queta isn't just a serviceable depth big anymore. He's a legit starting caliber center in the NBA. And Brad got him for like $2M a year. I'm not sure it gets better than that. 

- There's just something about Hugo Gonzalez man. The second he enters a game, his impact is undeniable. Even in a game where he couldn't really make a shot, there was still a winning impact. Whether it was his defense, his 7 rebounds (4 offensive), he just finds a way to impact a game whenever he steps foot on the floor. For that to be happening at 19 is pretty rare.

Then you have Jordan Walsh, who is doing shit like this

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while also knocking down his 3s

I'm serious, tell me who that looks like to you? Actually you don't need to say it out loud, we all see it.

Add in another solid Luka Garza showing as well (8/4) and the bench as a unit was awesome in this win. Sure it helps you're playing a dogshit team, but whatever. Not my problem.

What I care about is that on a night where the big guns didn't have it, the bench came in and stepped up. That's what good teams do. This would have been a pretty embarrassing loss even with the context around it, but shoutout to the 2nd unit for preventing that disaster. 

- I know it was a bit of a one off, but it was refreshing to finally see some defense from the Celtics to open this game. Allowing just 33 points in a half is absurd, and while part of that was the Bulls inability to make a shot, the Celts defense has been so poor lately that I'll never complain about them finally locking in, even if it was only for the first 24 minutes (allowed 64 in the 2nd half).

To win a game in which your opponent shot better than you from the floor is pretty hilarious, but that's why you should always listen to Joe Mazzulla. What does he always preach? The margins. So how did the Celtics win this game? The margins.

They were +18 in FGA, +4 in 3PM, +9 in rebounds, and +4 in TOs. They finished with 20 OREB which led to 26 2nd chance points. The way they crashed the glass and earned extra possessions is how they built their lead during a time when nobody on the roster could hit a jump shot. That was all effort. Garza and Hugo crashing every possession, hell even Simons got a couple of OREBs himself. 

That is how you overcome a trap game. How many times have we seen the Celts lay an egg shooting coming off a long trip and lose? All the fucking time. This version of the Celts? They've found a way to combat those struggles by being relentless on the offensive glass, and it's winning them games. It's such a joy to watch.

The Bad

- When I say the Celts struggled to shoot the ball, I'm not kidding. Just 35/28% splits to start this game, which should have you down 20+ if you're playing anyone with a pulse. It was the type of performance we all knew was coming given the schedule and the tired legs, so I can't say it was all that surprising. Guys smoking wide open looks, paint shots rolling out, it was just one of those nights.

Luckily, the Bulls only put up 31/17% themselves in that first half, which was a more than welcome prayer. It wasn't even like the Celts shot profile was that bad, of their first 56 FGA, only 21 were 3PA. Hopefully that shit it out of their system and now that they're home for a bit things can go back to normal, but the shooting to start this game? Big time yikes.

- While it's surprising that Minott has been completely removed from the rotation, I do think it's important to remember that these things are fluid. Whether it's Hauser, Walsh, Garza, or Minott, minutes and roles are ever changing. If one guy is playing well, they ride that wave until he isn't, then it's next man up. Early in the season when Garza was struggling, we saw Minott get his chance and thrive. Then he regressed and Garza has started playing great, so it's time to ride that wave.

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Same thing with Hauser/Walsh. When Hauser was struggling was when we saw Walsh slide into the starting 4 spot and thrive. Then he dipped, and it went back to Hauser starting. 

I will say it was a tad disappointing that we didn't get to see Minott get some run just for the sake of his fresh legs, but my guess is his time will be coming shortly. It's a long season, but the issue is all the bench guys are playing well in their opportunity, so it's hard to remove one of them from the floor at the moment. 

- While there wasn't much to complain about in this win, I can't help but mention this was once again another game where we saw the opponent make way too many 3PM. The Bulls finished with 16, which is where the Celts have been living for quite some time now. No matter who they play, whether it's an elite shooting team or the worst shooting team in the league, they are giving up 15-18 3PM a night.

Sorry, that's too many. Even when it doesn't bite them in the ass, we should not pretend like that's acceptable. You have to defend the 3pt line better than what we've seen over the last month or so. Good teams will bury you if you let them.

The 4th quarter is a great example of what I'm talking about. Queta repeatedly leaving way too much space for Vuc to get clean looks (which he made). Poor defense in transition leading to corner 3s (which they made). It may seem insignificant to some, but not me. If you don't defend, you die. And in 2026, that means defending the 3P.

The Ugly

- I mean, where else would you put a 6-24 (1-6) performance from Jaylen and a 3-15 (1-10) performance from Derrick White? They were both pretty brutal in terms of their shooting, and hey, shit happens. Jaylen coming off his 50 ball, he clearly used all his buckets for that win, which is fine by me. If anyone deserved a mulligan, it's Jaylen Brown. 

With Derrick, while he couldn't make shit for 99% of the game, he still came up big in the final 4 minutes with a huge 3 and steal to close things out, so how mad at him can I be? His looks were great, it was just one of those nights. I will say you won't win too many games with your #1 and #2 options shooting the ball like that, but it was pretty obvious their legs were shot.

- Slightly annoying the Celts fumbled what was setting up to be another point differential boost. Up 23 early, I was hoping for another 30+ win to get them to over a +8 and closer to the 2nd best differential in the NBA. Instead we had to semi-sweat out the 4th quarter which was classic them (got down to 11), but I suppose you should never complain about winning a clear trap game.

Here's where things now get a little crazy. The Celts have 3 games left on this homestand (DEN/TOR/SA). Should they win those games, they'd officially be back on pace for 40/20, which is arguably the most important box to check for any title contender. If the plan is for Tatum to come back and for this team to take a real swing, hitting 40/20 is non-negotiable. The fact that I even typed this paragraph to begin with is insane, but that's just the type of season we're watching. What a team.