Coming into the season, the general consensus was that the 22-23 regular season was a mere formality and that the Celtics would win 50+ games simply by showing up. Moreover, the goal of the regular season wasn’t to be the #1 seed in the East or to have the best record in the NBA. The goal was to be playing their best basketball when the postseason starts in April and be healthy above everything else.
When the Ime Udoka suspension was announced, there was a corresponding ripple of uncertainty that, well, rippled throughout Boston. It was just a short 12 months ago that this team, with basically the same core, struggled out of the gate and was a middle-of-the-pack, .500 team entering the new year. Ime was basically credited with getting everyone, especially the Jay’s and Marcus, to buy in on his scheme and thus turning the season around, so the news of his suspension had fans suddenly remembering what it all looked like before he put his mark on the team.
Through 13 games, the Boston Celtis are 10-3 (10-1 against all non-Cleveland-based teams) and are just a half-game behind the Bucs (10-2) for the best record in the NBA. They lead the league in PPG (11.9.5), are third in the NBA in differential at +6, and basically, all of the off-season moves have come up smelling like roses.
Malcolm Brogdon has been a godsend for the second unit. He’s playing 23 minutes per game and is averaging 13.7 points, although those numbers are misleading. He’s scored 23 and 25 points in a game this season, and in some of his lower-scoring games, he’s had 4, 4, and 5 assists. He’s simply doing what’s needed night in and night out. Also, he’s been on the floor at the end of the game WITH Marcus Smart, allowing Smart to play off the ball and help spread things out for Tatum and Brown. I think I speak for most Celtics fans when I say I feel a lot better with Brogdon running the point in the 4th quarter than I do with Smart.
The Big Men have been serviceable. Al Horford is 36 and doesn’t play on the second night of back-to-backs but is still averaging over 31 minutes per night when he does play, kicking in 11.1 PPG and 2.2 3PM for good measure. Noah Vonleh is not great but can spell Al as a serviceable second-unit big man. Blake Griffin has come exactly as advertised. Old and slow, but perfect for his 12-minutes-per-game role on this team. Ultimately the reserve bigs are just keeping the seat warm for Robert Williams who should be back with the Celtis by February.
Jayson Tatum has arrived. I like to think the front office told him to put on some muscle over the summer so he could finish at the rim as opposed to driving to the basket looking for a foul. Through 13 games, it looks like Tatum listened. He’s averaging 32.3 PPG, second only to Luca and Steph, and has scored 40+ twice with a 39-point effort mixed in. He’s elevated his game to the point where it just looks easy. Mike Gorman will casually mention that “Tatum now has 26 points with 8 minutes left in the third quarter” and I can’t remember one memorable play. This is what frustrates me when the Celtis play Kevin Durant or the Cleveland-era Lebron James. They can score at will and it looks like they haven’t even broken a sweat. It’s nice to have a guy like that on our team for the first time in my lifetime. And save me the Paul Pierce talk. Pierce is my favorite Celtic of my lifetime, but he made tying his shoes look difficult.
Lastly, it sure seems like this locker room likes Joe Mazzulla. Yes, it’s been smooth sailing for the first chunk of the season, but any talk of Interm Joe being overmatched and not respected by his players can be put to bed. His rotations are logical (something that was not the case with Brad) and there hasn’t even been a peep of drama leaked out by the players or “unnamed sources.”
The Celtis have the Thunder, Hawks, and Pelicans this week with a realistic chance to get to 13-3 if they win all three. Much like I said early in the season when the Celtics hit the road for 3 games, 2-1 is all we need to keep this rolling.