The Boston Celtics look a lot more like the team they were supposed to be last season than the chaotic mess that was the 2018-19 version of the franchise, and their opponents are starting to take note.
The improved chemistry has been driven by roster shake-ups from the team’s biggest stars to incoming rookies are a seamless fit.
At the same time, Boston’s twin third-overall picks (in consecutive years) Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are beginning to his their stride with new point guard Kemba Walker.
Gordon Hayward’s return to form before breaking his hand in early November sparked a ten-game winning streak, and the team’s depth and cohesion has kept them mostly in the win column during his extended absence since.
Currently owning the league’s third-best record at 16-5 (longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers and nascent East power Milwaukee Bucks are currently tied for first place with 20-3 records each), Boston is in sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Driven by their connected, high-motor style of play, the Celtics have transitioned from a presumptive afterthought in the NBA postseason picture to a fringe title threat.
What’s more, they have done this despite unanswered questions about their frontcourt rotations, and opposing teams are starting to pay attention as a result.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown, for example, finds his team well behind in the standings the franchise they bullied with their size on opening night.
“I’m surprised by the success,” Brown said of Atlantic division foes Boston and the Toronto Raptors, also ahead of Philly despite the loss of star Kawhi Leonard (courtesy of Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin).
“I think that Boston’s done great stuff and really, I’m not here to judge strength of schedule, I don’t really pay attention to it so I couldn’t say if it was easy or hard. The base of win column that Toronto and Boston has had, I give them credit.”
“It is a little bit better start than personally, I might have guessed,” added the Maine native, carefully hedging his praise for rivals while his own team underperforms compared to lofty expectations akin to those plaguing Boston last season.
Advance scouts have been doing their homework on the Celtics as well.
Looking for clues on how to best the unexpectedly dangerous New England outfit as much as whether there might be prospects on its roster worth trying to pry lose before the trade deadline, advance scouts have been looking with renewed interest towards Boston, reports the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett.
One such scout anonymously shared their thoughts on the Celtics’ excellent start to the season, and while they still see some lingering concerns, also see growth.
“They [Boston] still have some ball movement issues at times, especially with [Gordon] Hayward out, but you’re seeing a lot less pounding the ball with guys like [Jayson] Tatum this year. He’ll still over-dribble sometimes, but it’s not like it was last year after he spent time with Kobe.”
The Bryant reference referred to a narrative suggesting the third-year Duke product altered his game considerably after spending a weekend with the Hall of Fame Laker the summer before last, taking more long twos.
While the Missouri native has indeed had some bumps in his growth as a player, the “de-Kobe-fication” narrative is almost certainly grossly exaggerated at best, and something the third-year swingman vigorously denies.
Another anonymous advance scout made a point of bringing up the Celtics’ prodigious ability to stop opponents from scoring despite not having a defensive anchor in the paint. “I really like the way they play defense,” they began.
“They know they have some problems guarding inside, but they compensate pretty well by putting more pressure on the ball,” they added, taking note of how the team’s defensive specialist has been allowing the team to defy traditional defensive approaches with their limited roster.
“Everyone knows how [Marcus] Smart defends, but Tatum is rangy, and Jaylen Brown can be really good. ”
“Kemba isn’t really going to shut down a top point guard or anything, but he’s working out there. Then they come in with people like [Semi] Ojeleye and their other guys, [like Brad] Wanamaker, and you can see why their bench gets them going in some of these games.”
This sentiment, particularly the Texan guard’s ability to guard up to even fairly massive, skilled 7-foot centers for stretches, was recognized by a third advance scout as well.
“I supposed it shouldn’t surprise me when you see what they can put out there and how hard those guys play — Marcus Smart, damn,” he began.
“But they’ve had some very nice wins, and the fact they have stayed up with Hayward out is big. You really didn’t know what to expect from Hayward this year, but with the way he was playing, you figured they’d miss him a lot when he went out.”
Not one to discount just how electric the Butler product was playing before the early-November hand injury waylaid him, the scout elaborated. “If you look closely at their games, they actually have missed him, but they’ve still found a way to grind out wins.”
While opposing teams’ advance scouts are mostly looking for minor adjustments they can make to cover Boston’s strengths throughout the season, even this exceptional play won’t cause them to change their entire approach to their own offense and defense in the regular season.
Such a method would disrupt the long-term arc of a team’s own development for a limited return given no team in the league plays another more than four times per season, and sometimes as few as just two.
But teams keep tabs on their opponents for the postseason, where you will play at minimum four games against a team in short succession, with a season’s worth of effort depending on the result.
In the playoffs, explained one such scout, “[y]ou’re definitely more tuned in to who you’re going against. Whoever Boston plays will be more ready for what they do.”
Even given there’s still roughly three-fourths of a season ahead for things to change for the Celtics, that scout was careful to couch his assessment with a caveat about how Boston might fare.
“[I]f they keep playing like this, you know for sure they’re at least going to be a very tough out.”
While the team still has work to do against certain types of rosters and offenses, it’s clear the 2019-20 Celtics are no flash in the pan, and almost certain to make noise in the postseason, likely for multiple rounds.
Whatever the future may hold, one thing is certain; opposing teams are taking note of the Celtics as a serious threat, and at least for the present, will likely continue to do so for some time.
