Before the Boston Celtics welcomed in the new year on Dec. 31, they were an underwhelming 17-19 overall, and owners of the third play-in tournament seed in the East. But when the calendar flipped to January, a light switch turned on. And for the past three months, Boston has resembled a title contender, rather than a playoff pretender.
In 2022, the Celtics have posted the NBA's second-best record, with 28 wins across 37 games. And during this dominant stretch, they've climbed the East standings, shooting all the way up to fourth place. Among the league's ranks, Boston is first in defensive rating (104.0), sixth in offensive rating (116.2), and first in net rating (12.2) since Jan. 1. The top seed in the East is still well within reach -- they're only 2.5 games back.
"The Boston Celtics are good. They will go to the playoffs. I remember when the season started, we could take a look at Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Marcus Smart, of all people, was arguing over touches and how the offense ran," JR said during the JR SportBrief show on Tuesday. "Well, they certainly improved the way the offense is run, satisfactory, and defense is lights-out...
"I'm not sold on the Celtics' offense. I can look at Tatum -- this man absolutely has the potential to be one of the greatest players to grace an NBA court. But it's still early... Defense can push you to win a championship. But I don't think the Celtics have got enough guys to go blow-for-blow with some of the best scoring teams or combos in the NBA. They're going to make noise. Are they overlooked? Yes. But am I putting them in title contention? No, I'm not."
The Celtics, which are led by first-year head coach Ime Udoka, currently have a league-high 28-percent chance to win the Finals, according to projections from FiveThirtyEight. During the first week of January, the mark was only at 3-percent. Boston's upswing wouldn't have been possible without Tatum, who's averaging a career-high 27.0 points, 8.2 boards, and 4.3 assists (69 games).
JR's complete thoughts on the Celtics' turnaround can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.