The Celtics could have treated Wednesday night’s game against the Spurs like the last day of school before vacation. They could have come out unfocused and lackadaisical, as they’ve done far too often at home this season.
The excuses were there: down two starters in Jaylen Brown (knee) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder), coming off a three-game road trip, and wrapping up a stretch of 16 games in 28 days—with no more than one day off between—10 of those on the road in the final game before the much-anticipated All-Star break.
They could’ve mailed it in, boarded their flights to a warm beach, content with their 38 wins and planning to ramp things up once they returned, refreshed and focused.
However, it was clear early on that wouldn’t be the case when the Celtics jumped out to an 18-point first quarter lead, a lead that would only drop below double-digits for 36 seconds the remainder of the game.
“The last game before All-Star break is always mentally, I think, one of the toughest games of the year,” Jayson Tatum said after the game. “It’s a long season. Been traveling a lot, guys have plans for vacation with their families and things like that. In recent years, we’ve dropped this game a few times, so I thought it was really important the way that we started and made sure that we were just locked in throughout the game. For one, because it was before All-Star break and then because it was at home, and we need to do a better job of protecting home court.”
Joe Mazzulla acknowledged the temptation to overlook this game during his pregame press conference. His team was well aware of it. But the Celtics had a goal, and they weren’t about to let up. After being criticized for inconsistency over the past two months, they were determined to hit the All-Star break on a high note, closing out this stretch strong—and they did just that, picking up their third straight double-digit win.
“You know the break is coming, and you want to go in the break feeling well and playing some good basketball,” said Tatum. “And I would say over the last 10 games or so, we’ve done that.”
The team that went missing for over eight weeks is finding its form again. Everyone on the roster is contributing, the ball is moving, shots are falling, they are controlling the margins, and most importantly, they’ve brought a consistent defensive focus—holding opponents under 25 points in seven of their last 12 quarters, one of Mazzulla’s favorite benchmarks.
“That number is a process of limiting teams to one shot, getting back in transition, keeping guys off the free throw line, taking away tendencies,” Mazzulla said on the 25-point quarters. “What that shows is a disciplined approach towards the margins, the things that go into winning, and the details. We have to continue to do that.”
This Celtics team knows what goes into winning—but at times, they’ve neglected those details. Yet, they have shown time and time again that when they lock in on those details, they’re extremely hard to beat. And as they hit the All-Star break with a recommitment to that process and prepare for the final 27 games of the season, they’re starting to resemble that dominant team many have been waiting to see.
“Much better,” Kristaps Porzingis said on the recent play. “We finished heading into the break really well. I think we’re still experiencing a little bit, but not as much anymore that people are going off against us having career-highs in threes or whatever. I think the luck is starting to turn our way, and that’s it. We’ve just got to stay with it. I want to speak it into existence that we are going to peak at the right moment and hit our stride and just look like a team that’s going to win it all again.”
The Celtics hit the All-Star break winners of 10 of their last 13 and seven of their last eight, with a 39-16 record, just four games off their record from a season ago. They are on pace for 58 wins, which would have won the Eastern Conference by eight games a season ago.
They have been coasting for 50% of the season and are the only team in the NBA ranked in the top five in offensive, defensive, and net rating, which most certainly isn't a bad place to be.
“I think the biggest thing is just we continue to look at the wins and losses and find ways to get better regardless and stick to the process of what goes in the winning on a nightly basis and continue to chip away at that,” Mazzulla said. “We’ve gotta keep that going.”
The Celtics are regaining their identity, and if they pick up where they left off after the break—staying disciplined, focused, and locked into the details—that dominant stretch they’ve been waiting for could arrive at the perfect time.
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