The Boston Celtics Midseason Review

We have reached the NBA All-Star Break, and the Boston Celtics currently hold the best record in the NBA at 43-12. They are six games above the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, The Cleveland Cavaliers, and four and a half games above the second-best team in the league, the Minnesota Timberwolves. This Celtics team is probably one of the top two Celtics teams in my lifetime, up there with the 2008 team that won the NBA Finals. They have the potential to get Boston to that eighteenth banner that they have been cherishing for so long, which would push them to the top of the NBA. Such high hopes for a team, how will they get there, and how have they gotten to the best record in the NBA thus far? Well, there is one simple stat to look at: the Celtics' starting lineup of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis average a combined 98 points a game, with Superstar forward Jayson Tatum leading the way with 27.1 a game. Although he is fourth in points per game on this team, Derrick White has been the unsung hero for this team. His defensive prowess is huge for this team and has helped lead them to the best Net rating in the league. Net rating is a team’s point differential per 100 possessions; The Celtics sit at a rating of 10.2, with the next closest team at 7.2. An offensive rating of 121.7 makes the Celtics the best offensive team in the league. If the season ends right now, the offensive rating of 121.7 would make the 2023-24 Boston Celtics the best offensive team of all time. The new additions of Jrue Holiday were key for this team. It was tough to see fan favorites Marcus Smart and Rob Williams III depart, but there was a need for some new faces in the Celtics rotation, and they needed more scoring for when the Jays get cold. And Kristaps and Jrue have totally filled that role. Throughout his career, Jrue Holiday has always been known to make the right plays and win plays for his team. That has been evident in his short tenure in Boston. 

The stats back up the fact the Celtics are the best team in the league at this moment, but there is still more for them to prove. This is superstar Jayson Tatum’s seventh year in the league. He has led the Celtics to the conference finals or further in five of those seven, but the Celtics have yet to raise the 18th banner to the rafters. If the Celtics do not win the finals year, I think Brad Stevens has to think about breaking up the Jays. They have been together for seven years and have nothing to show for it. The championship window has been open for years and as of right now, there are excuses for the lack of rings in Boston. The Celtics have the team to do it this year and have the motivation, they just need to finally get over that hump.