The Boston Celtics have been so close so many times. They have been to the conference finals, 5 of the last 7 years, and have been one of the most consistent teams of that time span. In 2022, they went to the Finals and probably let one get away. Yet, the 2023-24 version of the team is probably the best version they have had in the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era.
Last season, Boston won 57 games and went back to the Eastern Conference Finals, facing the Miami Heat yet again. After losing each of the first 3 games the Celtics fought back to force a game 7 back in Boston, where Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle and was ineffective so Boston was eliminated. This summer, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens decided that the roster was not good enough so he got to work. First he sent Marcus Smart out the door to the Memphis Grizzlies in a 3 team trade with the Wizards that landed Boston Kristaps Porzingis and 2 first round picks. He then let Grant Williams sign a 4-year deal with the Mavericks, getting 3 second round picks in a sign-and-trade. Finally, in October after he was traded to Portland for Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday became available and Stevens struck, sending Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams and 2 first round picks to the Blazers for Holiday. Boston had remade their roster around their 2 stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and are ready to make their title push.
Boston has been dominant this season, with a record of 43-12 at the All-Star break, they have been as good as many thought they would be. They are currently 1st in offense, 3rd in defense, and 1st in overall net rating. In fact, in net rating, Boston’s gap is so big ahead of number 2 Oklahoma City that the gap between them and the Thunder is as big as the Thunder (number 2) and the Pelicans (number 8). There is the argument that the Celtics are too reliant on the 3 point shot but they are the most efficient post-up team in the league (averaging 1.17 points per post up) and they post up the 2nd most in the league only behind the Denver Nuggets, who have Nikola Jokic on their team. There is the argument that they are bad in clutch moments but that has been very wrong this season as well, even if it does not ‘feel’ like it. They are tied for the most clutch-time wins this season (18), are 2nd in net rating only behind the Dallas Mavericks, and 5th in both offense and defense in clutch time. There is the argument that they don’t take enough shots at the rim and that is one I can get behind. Jayson Tatum is shooting 63% on shots that come less than 10 feet at the rim yet only 39% of his shots come from that area and Porzingis is shooting 68.5% on shots less than 10 feet from the hoop. As a team they are tied for 5th in field goal percentage on shots less than 10 feet, they should absolutely take more shots at the rim. The Celtics are so good, how do they stack up in the Eastern Conference?
According to all of the main sportsbooks, the Celtics are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference and I think they should be. In my opinion, this team is just better than everyone else in the East. Their top 6 is better than anyone else’s in the NBA, their depth behind that has elite shooting and tough defensive players, Porzingis is providing matchup nightmares for everyone else in the sport, and everyone in the East has bigger question marks than the Celtics. The Knicks best player is 6 foot 2, their second best player has come up small in the playoffs before, and their offensive creation beyond those players worries me. The Bucks point of attack defense is really bad and Damian Lillard has not shot the ball well at all this season with shooting splits of .43/.34/.92. I like the Cavs and think they have a really good team but their backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell is asking to get picked on in a playoff series, their bigs were dreadful in the Knicks series last year, and if they do play the Celtics who guard Tatum and Brown? I am not saying the Celtics are a shoe-in to win the Eastern Conference, we have seen them come up small in big moments before but the Celtics are the best team in the Eastern Conference and should represent the East in the NBA Finals.
This is the best Celtics team since 2009 when Kevin Garnett got hurt and missed the entire playoffs. That team was arguably better than the ‘08 team that won the championship. That is how good this Celtics team is, they have won 43 out of 55 games to start the season and as we head into the All-Star break they look like the best team in the sport.
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