Friday marks the beginning of March, signaling that the NBA playoffs are just 50 days away – hard to believe, isn’t it?
Speaking of March, there’s that old saying, “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” typically about the weather, but it oddly seems to mirror the Celtics’ schedule, too.
Boston opens up the month facing off against five teams currently in the playoff or play-in picture – the Dallas Mavericks, the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Phoenix Suns. After that, just three of their 11 opponents are above .500, explaining why Boston holds the third easiest remaining schedule in the league, with opponents averaging a combined winning percentage of .453.
Before we flip the calendar to March, let’s look at the month of February that was for the Celtics, and five stats that tell the story.
6,900
Truthfully, this number is a rough estimate, but it signifies the number of overreactions following the Celtics’ loss to the LeBron James and Anthony Davis-less Lakers on February 1.
My math teachers always told me to show my work, so here you go: I multiplied 23 (LeBron’s number) by three (AD’s number) and got 69. That didn’t seem like enough, so I added a few zeros.
Anyways, so much for the doom and gloom after that loss, huh?
The Celtics responded by ripping off nine consecutive wins, outscoring their opponents by +163 points, the most in the NBA over that stretch.
That loss to the Lakers is a perfect reason as to why you can’t live and die by every game across an 82-game NBA slate.
“It just happens. Stretches of bad basketball happen,” Joe Mazzulla said following the loss. “You work your butt off every day to minimize those, but stretches of bad basketball happen. We can’t sit here and act like we’re too entitled for it to happen to us. It happens, and it’s a matter of how we respond to it, and can we work through it?”
It turns out they responded quite admirably, which is exactly what great teams do.
6.7
Now, that’s an actual number representing Jayson Tatum’s assists per game in February.
February may have been the best playmaking stretch we have seen from Tatum in his career, and it doesn’t appear to just be a blip on the radar.
Tatum had at least five assists in nine of Boston’s 10 games in February. He had at least seven in six of those games.
The playmaking leap from Tatum shouldn’t be ignored. It’s a significant development in his already growing game.
To go along with his 6.7 assists per game, the five-time All-Star also averaged 27.0 points on 47.5% shooting, 8.5 rebounds, a steal, and 0.6 blocks. Tatum became the first Celtic to have at least five rebounds and five assists in nine consecutive games since Antoine Walker in March of 2001.
+71
The Celtics outscored their opponents by 71 points in the third quarter in February.
For much of the season, third quarters have been a noticeable weakness for a team that doesn’t have many. For the Celtics, that issue was primarily on the offensive side of the ball but showed significant improvement in February.
Boston averaged 31.2 points in the third quarter in February on 53.4% shooting from the field and 49.5% from deep. Prior to February, they had shot 45.7% from the field and 36.4% from deep in the third frame in 48 games.
“Just understanding what we were struggling with, or [were] not as good at,” Tatum said Tuesday on the improved third quarters. “That being a focus point on our off days, during practice, and watching film. And just understanding that it, in real-time, when we come out of halftime, wanting to get out to a good start and building off that the rest of the game.”
+47
Boston’s bench outscored their opponents by 47 points in February.
I really don’t understand why Boston’s bench is often overlooked. As constructed, the bench has proven time and time again that they are perfectly capable of winning games. Al Horford, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet have each stepped up in their new roles within the rotation, ensuring no drop-off from the second unit.
As mentioned, the playoffs are just 50 days away, and while the desire for another bench scorer is understandable, Boston’s current bench unit should have earned the trust of the fans by now as we inch closer to the postseason.
+154
That’s how much the Celtics outscored their opponents in February.
A nine-game win streak isn’t possible without everybody from top to bottom doing their job, and the Celtics have done just that over this stretch.
Three Celtics starters averaged north of 20 points per game in February – Tatum (27.2), Kristaps Porzingis (23.0), and Jaylen Brown (20.3). Meanwhile, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday each averaged at least five assists and a steal.
Yes, this piece is supposed to be about February, but I couldn’t resist sharing these stats that illustrate just how dominant this team has been.
According to Hoops Empire on X (or Twitter, if that’s what you prefer), the Celtics have only been trailing for 24.03% of this season. On the other hand, they have been winning by double-digits 32.86% of the time. That means the Celtics have been up by double-digits more often than they have trailed this season.
If you need a visual of how to describe the word “dominance,” that tweet would suffice.
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