Through the first two weeks of the NBA season, things could not have gone much better for the new-look Celtics. Boston is a perfect 5-0, the only remaining undefeated team in the league, and has posted an NBA-best +92 point differential. On average, the Celtics are beating opponents by a ridiculous 18.4 points per game.
Brad Stevens went all in this season, and so far, the results have paid off. Yes, championships and awards aren’t handed out in early November, but it’s hard not to get excited about the early results.
Again, it’s only been two weeks, but the Celtics have three players on the Pro Basketball Reference MVP Award Tracker – Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday.
Seeing the newcomers, Porzingis and Holiday on that list serves as an indicator of just how well things have gone for them early on in Boston.
The new tagline, “Different here,” adopted by the Celtics this season could not be more fitting based on the early results.
Continued growth in crunch time
The most encouraging development from the new-look Celtics is they are showing us they can close out games, playing some of their best basketball down the stretch, which is something they struggled to do in years past.
The Celtics have found themselves in two games this season that were within one possession entering the fourth quarter (Heat and Nets). In those games, the Celtics outscored their opponents 65-49 in the final frame, shooting 48.9% and turning the ball over just three times.
In Boston’s win over the Knicks, the C’s trailed by six with 4:10 remaining and closed out the game on a 15-5 run, fueled by the newcomer Porzingis, who finished with nine of the 15 points over that stretch.
Boston has had three chances to close out a game this season and has answered the call on all three, an intriguing development early in the season.
The Jrue Holiday trade is paying off
Shortly after the Milwaukee Bucks shipped Jrue Holiday to Portland to acquire Damian Lillard, the Celtics swooped in, sending a massive package that included Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round picks to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Holiday.
“You have to pay a good price for things, that’s the way it goes,” Stevens said when discussing the Holiday trade on media day. “We’re trying to win a championship. We’re trying to be as good as we can be.”
So far, the trade has paid off big time for Stevens and the Celtics.
Holiday’s do-it-all ability was on full display Saturday night, as he poured in 18 points on 6-of-15 (40%) shooting from the field and 4-of-9 (44.4%) from deep, dished out a team-high 10 assists, grabbed nine boards (four offensive), and had a block.
The 14-year vet has been phenomenal for the Celtics early on, averaging 14 points per game on 50% shooting (40% from deep), 5.2 assists, and 7.0 rebounds, posting a +69 plus-minus, which is good for ninth-best in the league.
The 33-year-old has been especially impressive on the defensive end, totaling eight blocks (most among guards), as the pairing of him and Derrick White has emerged as the NBA's best backcourt pairing and is a driving factor behind the Celtics’ 106.5 defensive rating (seventh in the league).
While Holiday thrives in Boston, Milwaukee is missing him. The Bucks are surrendering 118.6 points per game to opponents (fifth most in the league) while posting a defensive rating of 116.0 (25th in the league). Though a small sample size, it’s a significant drop off from their 110.9 rating a season ago (fourth in the league).
In Portland, Williams suffered a right knee injury in Sunday night’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Health has been a concern for the 6-foot-9 center throughout his career. In five seasons, Williams has crossed the 50-game threshold just twice.
Jayson Tatum named player of the week
After leading his team to a 3-0 record, averaging 31.7 points on 58.9% shooting (54.2% from deep), 9.7 boards, and 2.7 assists between October 30 and November 5, Tatum has been named the Eastern Conference Player of The Week for Week 2 of the NBA season.
Tatum takes home the award just two days after becoming the youngest Celtic to reach 10,000 career points.
The 25-year-old has had an incredible start to the season. Through five games, Tatum is averaging 30.2 per game (fourth most in the league), a career-high 9.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.
Tatum is using his whole repertoire this season, utilizing all three levels to score as he continues to show tremendous growth as a scorer.
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