The NBA resumed its activity and began the route to the Playoffs, which will begin in less than two months. for now, the league leader is Boston Celticswho sends with his 43-17 recordwon eight of his last 10 games and, after reaching the Finals last year, he is a candidate to return to being a protagonist.
The Celtics are a franchise that is synonymous with success and in 19 seasons they have already achieved 70% win or more: in 11 of those campaigns they were champions, in two others they reached the finals and in 17 of them they reached at least the Eastern finals. The other two are the current one and 2008-2009, in which they were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the seventh game of the second round of the Playoffs.
Whether the Celtics will repeat that event in 2023 cannot be predicted, but They have good arguments to do so.
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Three highlights from the Boston Celtics’ great campaign
defensive scaffolding
The Celtics have, as of February 24, 2023, the 4th best defense in the NBA according to defensive rating. has a number of 111 points allowed per 100 possessionsonly surpassed by the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The difference between the Celtics and them is that Boston is much better in attack, since the other three franchises do not enter the top 8 in offensive rating, and it has a net rating of 6.2 which is one point better than the second-best value in the NBA on this, Cleveland’s 5.2.
Last season the Celtics had already had the best defense in the NBA, having allowed 110 points or less in 27 of their 60 games. The scoring average in the NBA is currently 114.6 points per team.
The beginning was not the best on this side, but growth came.
Boston leads the league in defensive rebounding by obtaining 75.1% of them, it is the fifth team with the fewest second chance points allows every 100 possessions, the sixth with the fewest points receives in the painted area every 100 possessions (47.8) and the tenth fewest fast attack points allowed every 100 possessions (13.1). It is also who allows less free throws to rivals: 20.8 per game.
Marcus Smart y Al Horford They are among the candidates to integrate the best defensive quintets of the NBA at the end of the season, but this is a team effort.
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Jayson Tatum at MVP level
after being MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals y All-NBA First Team in 2022, Jayson Tatum could have reached his ceiling. But to the 24 years, the logical thing is that it continues to evolve. And the Boston Celtics star continues to grow.
The middle ground 30.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, with 46.2% in field goals and 35.5% in triples. In points, rebounds and assists, they are the best numbers of his career. In blocks and field percentage, the seconds.
Right now, Nikola Jokic seems to be growing as a candidate to win his third MVP award, but Tatum is making a point of joining that conversation and being the leader any would-be champion needs to have.
The fortress away from home
The Celtics turned heads on their way to the 2022 NBA Finals for the great job they did on the road: they won seven of eight away games against the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. In the definition they started winning at the Chase Center of the Golden State Warriors and then lost games 2 and 5 in San Francisco, but they still left a very positive 8-3.
Those 2022 Celtics were just one win away from matching the record for most road wins in the Playoffs in one year (Houston Rockets’ 9-3 record 1995). And those Celtics promise to repeat that path.
Boston is being the best visiting team in the Regular Season, with a 19-10 record for a 65% win rate. Nobody lost less and nobody won more as a visitor. And facing the Playoffs, being able to succeed in any scenario is very important.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
