The Celtics and their fans woke up Friday morning living a completely different existence.
"I think it was a statement game," said Celtics guard Aaron Nesmith.
While such proclamations eight games into the season would normally seem awfully hyperbolic, Nesmith had a case. Remember the conversation that had dominated this team throughout the past week.
With this one, 95-78 win over the Heat, the most dysfunctional team in the NBA suddenly became functional.
“They’re No. 1 in the East and they’re playing well, they have a really good team," Nesmith went on to add. "So for us to come out and hold them to what we did defensively, we’ll definitely just carry it and move forward.”
Everyone knows when the rubber hits the road, the two players put firmly in the crosshairs by their teammate Marcus Smart - Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum - are going to be front and center. But, as we have discovered, two-player offenses and little else don't really make for a positive identity.
Case in point, Thursday night in Miami.
Tatum scored just 10 points, making only three shots from the field. But he did grab eight rebounds. Brown did lead the team with 17 points, but more importantly also hauled in five boards.
They weren't the story.
The two elements of the Celtics' win that were the most intriguing pieces of what could actually be a somewhat aesthetically-pleasing puzzle were the contributions of two former first-round picks - Romeo Langford and Nesmith - along with a defense that is starting to define itself.
Langford netted 12 points while continuing to show a proclivity to live life as a shut-down defender. Nesmith was perhaps the most eye-opening performance of the night, going 5-for-8 from the field (3-of-5 on three-pointers) while playing more than double the minutes (18) than he had all season.
“They just gotta stay ready and that's what they did,” said Celtics guard Dennis Schroder, who added 14 points and 6 assists. “I see it every day. (They) wake up, put in work, and try to get better at things. It translated today."
But what really might have lasting power for this team is its defense, which has not paved the way for the first time since 2012 the Celtics have held their opponents to under 80 points in back-to-back games. And the fact they did it against the NBA's second highest-scoring team should add to the excitement.
The C's have crept into the Top 10 in terms of defensive rating and defensive rebounding, while leading all the NBA in shots blocked per game.
So many talked about ball distribution and shot selection. That is a work in progress. In the meantime, actually getting legitimate help from the likes of Langford and Nesmith, along with the ability to play lock-down defense, should be fine for the time being.
It's something. And after the last week, something is good enough.