Any apprehension about the Celtics moving forward is more about their past than what they’ve done this season. And that doubt is totally fair. But, anyone who wants to cite Boston’s early-season struggles at this stage is ignoring what the Celtics have done over the past month.
That said, Boston’s pre-All-Star break winning streak and strong start after the pause in action wouldn’t carry the same weight without these last two wins — especially Sunday’s.
Sure, the Nets may be in a downward spiral. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s talent-over-continuity experiment may be failing. But any time you’re dealing with a team that features two players who’ve reached superstar status, their talent isn’t the only problem you’re likely to run into. They’re likely to get some calls. Their opponents aren’t likely to get the same treatment. On top of impacting the scoreboard directly, that can force players into changing their game, which creates more problems. As much as the Grizzlies are the better team and that win was impressive in its own right, Sunday’s game against Brooklyn was a different test for Boston.
"As a competitor night in, night out, but especially games like this — those matchups when you're on one of the better teams in the league with two of the best guys — just as a competitor, these are the kinds of moments that as a kid, you dreamed about and looked forward to," Jayson Tatum said.
Surviving a Durant-Irving-led Nets team is important on its own, but Boston’s All-Star showing up like he did is yet another reason why it’s safe to buy into this team if you haven’t already. Tatum led the Celtics against the Grizzlies without Jaylen Brown, then he did even more with Brown back on the floor Sunday. On top of all that, who was covering Durant in the fourth quarter? Yep — the same guy leading Boston on the offensive end.
Simply put: Tatum has shown in these last two games he’s becoming the guy Boston expects him to be.
"He stopped trying to force it and (is) making the right read, making the game easy for himself," Marcus Smart said. "Saving that energy and not trying to beat every double-team that comes his way, and that's allowing him to do what he does at the end of games. He has the legs late in those fourth quarters to take over the games, and that's what it's all about.
"When you are a great player, that's what it's about, having those legs in crunch time to be able to do that. The way you do that is getting everyone else involved, picking your spots wisely. He's doing a great job of that, him and Jaylen (Brown). They both are, and that's the reason why we are doing what we are doing. That's good players that get us going on the offensive end, making sure we get great shots either for themselves or for their teammates."
But Tatum’s play is only an example of Boston’s development under Ime Udoka.
Robert Williams’ impact on the offensive end has been a huge lift for the Celtics. He may not deviate much from his 10 points per game average, but his presence at the rim has a greater impact than his own scoring output; he opens things up for Tatum, Brown and Smart on the drive almost every possession.
Boston’s defense may have given up 120 points on Sunday, but they forced 10 turnovers between Durant (seven) and Irving (three). The Celtics also limited the Nets to 27 3-point attempts — a few below Brooklyn’s season average (31.8) — which wound up making a big difference down the stretch given the final 126-120 score and the Nets finishing with a solid 44.4% success rate from behind the arc by the end of the game.
The Celtics still have a few tests left ahead of them before the postseason, but they’re starting to show they haven’t simply found a rhythm. Boston is making adjustments that last.