The Boston Celtics Officially Enter The All Star Break As The #2 Seed In The East And One Of The Best Teams In The Entire NBA

For the most part, we're around 53-54 games into the NBA season. After today's slate of 3 games, we'll officially be in the All Star Break. At this stage, I think it's fair to say we've reached a good "sample size" of basketball. This isn't the first few weeks of the season where things aren't really settled. We're nearly two months past Christmas. At this point in the year, teams have told you who they are. The sample is big enough that you can put stock into what you've been watching for the last 4 months.

The Boston Celtics enter the All Star break with the following resume:

- On a 53 win pace

- Sole owner of the 2 seed in the East

- Own the #2 offense in the NBA

- Own the #3 net rating in the NBA

- Own the #9 defense in the NBA

- Own the 3rd best point differential in the NBA

- Own the 2nd most road wins in the East

- Own the 4th most wins in the entire NBA

- Are 11-6 (53 win pace) against the West

- Allow the 2nd fewest points per game in the NBA, trailing only OKC

- 1st in the NBA in TOs

- 2nd in the NBA in 3PM

- 7th in the NBA in REB%

And if all that wasn't good enough, how about the fact that they've been one of the best teams in the NBA over the last 40+ games??

Oh, AND the fact that there remains a very good chance the Celts are about to add a top 5 player to the mix in NBA Champion Jayson Tatum?!

It all feels like a dream. None of this should have been possible given what the Celtics lost over the summer and who took over those minutes. It simply doesn't happen to this degree in the NBA. Look at that resume again! I can openly admit I was deadass wrong. I thought they'd have around a top 10 offense and bottom 3rd defense, which would have resulted in around a +0.0ish net rating, which history tells us puts you right around high 30s/low 40s in wins. 

In reality, they are among the best in the league in almost all of those areas?!?!?!?!

They have a higher seeding and the same record as the All In Knicks, who were supposed to be running the conference, and the same amount of wins as the Nuggets? They have more wins than the Cavs, Sixers, Magic, Wolves, and Rockets?? 

At this point, a vote for any other coach for COTY should be investigated abnd publicly shamed. What Joe Mazzulla has done this season might be one of the greatest coaching jobs in the history of the sport, and this is coming from a guy who already has the highest winning percentage as a coach in NBA history (while also ya know, winning a ring). 

To put it simply, the Boston Celtics as is have the profile of an NBA title contender. That's not even factoring in the return of Jayson Tatum! I would like you to take a minute and think about that for a second. Think about where we were earlier in the year. Remember the loss to PHI on that putback OREB to drop the Celtics to 5-7 on the year? That was on November 11th.

Since that moment, the Celts have the 2nd most wins (30) and the 2nd best net rating in the entire NBA (+9.1).

This team has 1 All-Star. Key rotation pieces are either minimum-salary players or players who had virtually zero NBA experience prior to this season. Yet despite all that, they're very clearly one of the best teams in the entire NBA….while missing their franchise player. Truly incredible stuff.

What made this season so exciting was that so much of it was based on the unknown. Now that we're 54 games in, I think it's fair to say that we've gotten the best-case scenario of every single player that has touched the floor this season. It's kind of crazy when you think about it. From the top of the roster down, every single player has been good in their role and opportunity. Nobody has fumbled. I can't remember a time when an unproven roster all produced at the high end of their expectations. Especially when a lot of those guys had almost no NBA experience! Guys who were deep roster players who were moved up into starting and rotation roles, and they got…..better? That rarely happens. 

Who knows what happens moving forward, we'll deal with that when we get there. But as we navigate through these next 7 days until basketball returns, spend some time really reflecting and appreciating just how special the first 54 games of this season have been. Even if you thought they'd be good, you did not think they'd have that full resume I listed above. That's what makes it so awesome.

With that said, let's begin.

The Good

- The last game before the All Star break can be a tough one. Guys are ready for vacation, you can sometimes overlook the opponent because you're not mentally locked in, especially when you're playing a bad team. With the Bulls in town and the Celts rested, it was fair to be on high alert.

But when you're as locked in as this group appears to be, it was clear very early on that we didn't have to worry about that. Personally, I was interested in seeing how someone like Vuc might look now that he finally was able to practice, combined with the fact that the Bulls have virtually no size. The result? Pretty fucking good!

We're starting to see a player get more and more comfortable, and I can't help but think about how similar things look compared to the last time the Celts had a 7ft floor spacing Euro big. The difference, is this one is strong as hell. Now, when Vuc screens and dives, it's a weapon. He's not getting pushed off his spot. The passing. Oh my lord, the passing. Is this the best passing big we've seen since prime Rob/Horford? I feel like it is. Having the ability to use Vuc as a passer and run your wings off cuts is such a welcome addition to this offense ,I can't even stand it.

Now, there are always going to be some tough defensive possessions. We saw last night that there were times where Vuc didn't really provide enough rim protection on drives and things of that nature. He'll get in trouble in space against quicker players, etc. But overall? The Celts team defense with him on the floor has been awesome. It hasn't really been an issue, which is encouraging. In the 78 minutes Vuc has been on the floor, the Celts DRTG is 106.5. For context, OKC's defense leads the NBA with a 106.1 DRTG.

This is sort of what I mean about how, for whatever reason, players put on this jersey and go right into being the high end of their expectations. We saw it with Anfernee Simons, and we're already seeing it with Vuc. He's played 3 games as a Celtic, and has a double/double in 2 of the 3. He's making 3s, he's moving the ball, he's scoring around the rim. Now he gets a nice break to study and get himself even more familiar with how the Celts play. 

Oh, and how do we think his life is going to look playing next to Tatum? I'm getting a raging Vucevic in my pants just thinking about it.

- If you're looking for one of the best development stories of the entire season for this team, look no further than Jordan Walsh. It may be Year 3, but this is a player who spent two years getting DNP-CDs. Now with a new opportunity for real minutes, Walsh has thrived. You almost have to continuously remind yourself that this is only a 21 year old player.

To think we went from DNP-CDs to THIS?

The more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if this is actually the starting 3/4 for when Tatum returns. Think about it.

White/Brown/Walsh/Tatum/Queta

That shit intrigues me. Walsh's defense takes the pressure off the Jays on that end, his rebounding helps Tatum not feel like he needs to do it all, and he's someone who doesn't need the ball to be effective because the majority of his production simply comes via effort and energy. I'm just saying I'd like Joe to consider it. Especially if his shooting continues to look real. 

We're at the point now where I need the Celts to turn down his club option and extend him. We've seen enough. You cannot let a 21 year old two way demon like this leave the building. Not after you've spent years developing him and he's starting to show legit flashes. You cannot let another team benefit from what you've built. This is a real NBA rotation-caliber player at 21 years old who plays a position of need. Those are the ones you keep.

This was one of the bigger questions heading into the season. It was our chance to finally see one way or another if Walsh could be a real piece, given we hadn't seen anything in the previous two years. The answer? Absofuckinglutely.

- The ball movement in this game may have been my favorite part. I mean just look at this shit

Feels familiar right? The last time we saw ball movement like this, especially with a stretch 5? 

29 AST on 49 FGM. Derrick White with 9 AST and 0 TOs. Jaylen had 4, Pritchard had 8. As we know, the Basketball Gods reward good ball movement, and it's no surprise that after the worst shooting game of their season against the Knicks, the Celts responded with one of their best shooting nights. Why? Because collectively, they moved the ball and respected the game.

- Speaking of Pritchard, ho hum, just another 20+ performance off the bench

Would have liked a similar showing against the Knicks, but that's life. It doesn't take away from the fact that Pritchard was awesome as a starter, and he's very clearly still awesome as a 6th Man. Perhaps, he's just awesome at basketball? I know, I know, that may be controversial or tough for some members of this fanbase to accept, but it's the truth. You put Payton in any role, and he's going to thrive.

I will say I didn't love his 5 TOs, but he virtually never turns it over, so I suppose I can let it slide. When you lead the NBA in AST:TO ratio, you get a mulligan every once in a while.

- It certainly helps when you're playing one of the worst defenses in the NBA, but even the rest of the "others" were great in their minutes. Hauser returned after missing the Knicks game and made 4 3PMs, Baylor continues to thrive in his opportunity with a solid 10/5 on good splits, Queta got whatever he wanted in his 18 minutes given the Bulls had no size. When the Celts are hitting on all cylinders like this, where every player is producing in their ole and everyone is also locked in defensively, that's how blowouts happen.

- Up by as much as 33, this was never really all that close after about midway through the 1st quarter. Technically not a wire-to-wire win, but pretty damn close. Given how slow the Celts have started games recently, it was refreshing to see them drop 36 points in the first, but then also back that up with another 36 in the 2nd. There was no disaster letdown quarter which has been a problem for a while now.

Crazy what can happen when you don't miss every shot you take, especially the open ones, and only score 15 points in a quarter. Who knew! 

- Despite his big box score numbers recently, I never really felt like Jaylen Brown had been playing all that well. Things felt a little too forced. This win? Much better

24 points in 29 minutes, Jaylen carried much of the scoring load early in the 1st quarter to help set the tone, his TOs were low, he moved the ball well, and while he didn't go for 30, I much prefer this type of performance compared to what we got against the Heat and Knicks. It's not like he shot any less (20 FGA in 29 min), but I thought his overall decision making was better. It certainly helped that the supporting cast finally made some jumpers so he didn't feel as though he needed to do all the scoring, but it also showed that really, Jaylen just gives the game what it needs on any given night.

When the others struggle, he knows he has to carry the shotmaking and scoring load. When it's a game where the others have showed up, he's able to find a way to be productive while not taking things away from the rest of the team. A much more balanced approach last night, and that was great to see.

The Bad

- Overall he was awesome, but I continue to be slightly cautious of Derrick White's shooting. On a night where nobody could really miss, he finished 3-9 (2-5). Not terrible, but also not exactly what I would call "good". Again, he was so great in all the other areas it's not a huge deal, but it's not no deal either…you know?

The guy was a +22 in his minutes so this isn't to say he was bad. Far from it. But at some point I would just love to see him be able to build off his previous strong shooting performances. It feels like he hasn't been able to rip off a stretch of good shooting since December, and we're now in mid February.

- I have to admit, I sort of forgot about Garzilla. That's on me. He's been so good for this team, we shouldn't forget about him just because his minutes are now back to being situational. I did enjoy how he immediately earned an extra possession through sheer effort, but I think the days of the consistent 11/6 in 18-20 minutes are over.

Please allow for a moment of silence as we honor what Garzilla was able to do in his opportunity.

- This is a small thing, but there was about 18% of my brain that was annoyed at the deep bench for fucking around at the end of the game and lowering the point differential/net rating boost. Up 33, that should have at least been at 26+ point win. To only win by 19 was annoying. 

This literally doesn't mean anything and is a non inssue, but I am also deranged. When the Celts go belt to ass, I need the deep bench to make sure that final score looks as bad as the game truly was. This wasn't a 19 point beatdown. This was a 30+ point beatdown. That needs to be better.

- I was sad to see Simons struggle. I know it was to our benefit, but I'm rooting for him. He's been good for the Bulls so far, and I would have been perfectly fine if he hit the Celts with a magnet ball. Instead, he was a non-factor.

The Ugly

- Nothing in the game really feels right for this section, so I'll just put the 7 day break until we see this team play again. Easily one of the worst parts of the season. The 2 day wait after the Knicks game was hard enough, now you have to 3x that. Nobdy gives a shit about All Star, so I wish all of you luck in trying to make it through the next week.

How do I plan on getting thought? Easy. I see a whole lot of Jayson Tatum highlights in my future to prepare myself for what could very well becoming after the break.

So here we sit. At the All Star Break, where the Celtics are legitimately one of the best teams in the entire NBA and a true title contender. In a season that was supposed to be a gap year. Unbelievable.