By It is January 6th 2022 and the Boston Celtics are headed to Madison Square Garden. They are set to face off against the New York Knicks on the front end of a home and home. The Knicks and the Celtics are both fighting for a spot in the Play-In Tournament. The Celtics hold the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference and the Knicks hold the 11th. Boston came out hot in this game, they built a 24 point lead in the second quarter and lead the Knicks 81-61 with 4:11 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Boston Celtics then went on to blow that lead and were down 105-103 with 8 seconds remaining in regulation. Jayson Tatum then hit a fadeaway jumper from the right elbow tying the game with 1.5 seconds left. However Tatum’s clutch shot proved to be inconsequential as on the next possession R.J. Barrett banked in the game winning three over Tatum capping off the comeback and giving the Knicks the 108-105 win.
When the Celtics woke the next morning on January 7th they were at rock bottom. They were 18-21 and sat at the 11th seed in the east behind the Wizards, Hornets and of course the Knicks. Many fans and pundits were calling for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to be broken up before the trade deadline. They were calling for first year head coach Ime Udoka to be fired, and overall the theme surrounding this team was disappointment.
18 Months of Disappointment
At this point in time the Celtics had been a very disappointing team for a year a half. The Boston Celtics had a very successful 2019-2020 season. They made the Eastern Conference Finals and were legit title contenders. They had 4 players averaging 20+ points per game in Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown. Since that year they had been regressing. They lost a key piece in Gordon Hayward in the 2020 offseason and went into the season with Kemba Walker injured.
Despite the injuries to Kemba and the loss of Hayward, the Celtics still had fairly high expectations entering the 2020-2021 season. They still had their 2 stars in Tatum and Brown with a decent supporting cast. But it was clear almost immediately that the 2020-2021 Celtics were destined for nothing but mediocrity. The team had awful chemistry, was riddled with injuries and Brad Stevens, once viewed as arguably the best coach in the league appeared to have no answers. The Celtics were a first round exit that year. And so following a disappointing year, this season felt like Deja Vu for Celtics fans.
Unprecedented Turnaround
Incredibly since that loss to the Knicks in January the Celtics began to improve. Not a slight improvement, not a very good improvement an unbelievable all time unprecedented in season improvement. Since January 7th the Celtics have won 78 percent of their games and are 33-10 since that day. The Celtics now have a record of 51-30 and they hold the number 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics Elite Defense
The Celtics turnaround can be attributed to two things. They have become an elite defensive team and Jayson Tatum has taken his game to the next level. The Celtics defense is spearheaded by Robert Williams and Marcus Smart. To say Robert Williams has exceeded all expectations of himself coming into this year would be an understatement. Williams has been the missing piece the Celtics have been looking for at the center position. A position which has been a void for the Celtics in recent years. The Time Lord has the build of an elite defensive center and rim protector. He is 6 foot 9 with a 40 inch vertical and he has a wingspan of 7 foot 6 inches. For the first 3 seasons of his career Williams was never ready to assume the position as the Celtics starting Center. He was inexperienced and had some injury issues.
Since he has become the starting center for the Celtics it has become clear why they used a first round pick on the big man. He is currently averaging 2 blocks and 1 steal per game. He is also averaging 9.8 rebounds per game which is 14th in the league. Along with having 3.4 defensive win shares which ranks third in the league. But perhaps the most impressive and telling stat from Rob Williams this season is that players guarded by Williams are shooting 6.4% worse than their average field goal percentage.
The Time Lord has been an absolute presence for the Celtics interior defense and to take care of the perimeter they have Marcus Smart. Marcus has long established himself as one of if not the best perimeter and on ball defenders in the NBA. And this year is no different. With Marcus handling the perimeter and The Time Lord manning the middle the Celtics have the best defensive rating in the league at 106.8.
Jayson Tatum’s Leap
The other reason the Boston Celtics have been so dominant is the leap Jayson Tatum has taken in the recent months. For two years now Tatum has been a star in the NBA but he has yet to break into the upper echelon of Superstars. This year he has. He has averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game. And since March 1st he has averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game. While shooting 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from three.
He has two 50 point games this season, the best plus-minus in the NBA at +616 and is currently ranked 6th on the MVP ladder. He has solidified himself as a Superstar and top 10 player in the NBA. With the Celtics having two of the best defensive players in the league and a legit Superstar they are without a doubt a championship contender.
Eastern Conference Landscape
The Eastern Conference playoffs will certainly be a battle and every team will be chasing the defending champion Bucks who are the clear number one team in the East. The Celtics have as good of a chance as anyone to dethrone them. The Heat, Raptors and Cavs do not have the talent to match up with the Celtics. And the Nets are a dysfunctional mess of a franchise who have to make it out of the play-in tournament before they can think of matching up with the Boston.
The 76ers are certainly dangerous. They have the possible MVP in Joel Embiid along with James Harden. They have a very good supporting cast with players like Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. However they have some major question marks when it comes to their coaching, ability to close games and if James Harden can bring his game to the next level in the postseason something that he has struggled to do in recent years.
The Boston Celtics turnaround is a testament to their culture, front office, coaching staff and of course their players. Ime Udoka now looks like a home run hire at the head coach position, Al Horford and Grant Williams have been great role players. And with the stars Tatum and Brown entering their prime, the Celtics are the best they have been since 2010 when they had Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen. They are a team that is built to win now and is ready to win a championship this season.
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