By Andrew Hoenig | Assistant Editor
Boston, Mass – TD Garden has been hopping lately. And with good reason, as the Boston Celtics are molding into a true contender for the NBA playoffs this year. 55 games into their 82-game season, the team has 32 wins and 23 losses (32-23).
The Celtics last win before the NBA’s All-Star break in February was a thrilling offensive showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Celtics came out on top in overtime 139-134. Point guard Isaiah Thomas was the team’s leading scorer in the game with 36. Thomas is leading the way for the Celtics this season having scored a team leading 1,185 points with a field goal percentage of 42.3%. After Thomas, the next closest points scored by a single player on the team is 773 by forward Jae Crowder. Not far behind him is guard Avery Bradley with 756 who’s been “money” from behind the three point line as of late, highlighted most recently in a game against the number one team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. Bradley aired out the game winning three-pointer with seconds to spare on Friday, February 5 to lift the Celtics to a 104-103 victory.
This team has become an exciting group offensively led by the afore-mentioned Thomas who is 12th in the league this season in points per game. The team as a whole is fourth in the NBA offensively with 105.7 points per game. That trails only the likes of Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder with stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and the Sacramento Kings. That’s a pretty impressive feat considering the lack of big name stars on this team. Third-year head coach Brad Stevens has done a fantastic job so far of developing home grown talent.
In the team’s last ten games they’ve gone 8-2, with wins over the previously mentioned Kings, Cavaliers, and Clippers who all have great offenses themselves and two of which (the Cavs and the Clippers) are in a current playoff seed in their respective conferences. That leaves something to be said for the Celtics defense. The defense has come up big in certain spots this year and so far has been even better than last year. This comes from the improvement of the team all around this year; Guys like Thomas, Crowder, Bradley, center Kelly Olynyk, and guard Marcus Smart, who is a rising star on this year’s Celtics team, having seen his playing time and production increase and should be a key figure should Boston retain a playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Currently the Celtics sit at the third spot in the conference behind only the Cavs and the Toronto Raptors.
One major theme for the Celtics down the stretch will have to be finishing games. They’ve let several games this season slip by after having a lead late in the 4th quarter. Brad Stevens has continued to preach consistency in this area since their troubles started but considering how long a basketball season is, fans probably will let it slide considering the prospects of this Celtics team to finish the season strong. The offense is clicking at the right time and as long as Stevens keeps this group energized and having fun, Celtics fans should be in for an exciting ride this postseason. It’s looking like a good time again in Boston as the team chases its first title since 2008, when veterans like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen still played for the team, and were coached by former head coach Doc Rivers. Brad Stevens has taken this team through a rebuilding stage and it looks like this team could be a big star or two, if that, away from contending for a title once again.
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