The Boston Celtics, by most measures, did not have the start to their 2021-22 NBA season they’d hoped to under new head coach Ime Udoka. But after some exceptionally turbulent early games and their accompanying growing pains, the team seems to have settled into a defensive identity that matches what you might have expected out of this roster given its personnel of specialists on that side of the court.
But what do the numbers tell us about the team and the players who spend the most time on the floor playing for it early on in the season? And can we take anything from the fact that the team has still only played 11 games, one more than the minimal number usually cited as being even a little meaningful?
Without a definitive answer to the latter question, let’s try and do what we can with the former (all stats gleaned from Basketball-Reference unless otherwise indicated).
Celtics Lab 74: Midrange theories, Celtics slumps, and Jaylen’s value with Seth Partnow https://t.co/smUA1BKn9g
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) November 10, 2021