Dear NBA, Watch out for the Boston Celtics

The past two seasons have been rough for the Boston Celtics. They have gone 65-99 over the past two seasons since Doc Rivers left for the Los Angeles Clippers. Although, the strides that they have made under Brad Stevens have been remarkable and it’s about time that the ‘Rebuilding’ tab on them be taken off.

At the time Rivers leaving was catastrophic, however, I prefer Brad Stevens over Rivers. In my mind, Rivers is a good coach but often overrated. I think Stevens has a better basketball mind and has gotten more out of his teams than Rivers would have. The emergence of the Celtics, who are fifth in the Eastern Conference and have a 26-21 record, can be credited also to General Manager, Danny Ainge. He has made a lot of great moves and found a lot of solid pieces through the draft.

Yet even with the record they have and how well they have played over the recent weeks the Celtics are flying under the radar. It may be a good thing not to add more pressure to a young team. Their only player over 30 years old is David Lee, who doesn’t see the court anymore. Boston should start getting the recognition that they deserve.

Marcus Smart was named to the Rising Stars Challenge earlier this week. There is also a chance that Isaiah Thomas will be named an All-Star reserve and Kelly Olynyk might make an appearance in the three-point competition. Having three players represent the team on All-Star weekend would be huge for Boston. Not many people realize how good Boston has been this year, partly because of their inconsistent play. Now that the Celtics are fifth in the Eastern Conference and starting to find their identity more people are shocked to see them in the playoff hunt. A lot of people still think of the Celtics as a mess since trading away Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but that could not be farther from the truth.

The Celtics are an interesting team, I mean it’s not very often that your best player is 5’9″ (Isaiah Thomas). Whether you want to believe it or not, the Celtics are for real and will only get better. The great thing about having a young team is that improvement is always happening. They can also gel together this season while the team searches for their franchise player to lead them to the promise land.

The Boston Celtics pride themselves on defense, that’s what you get when your head coach is Brad Stevens. Boston is right outside the top-10 in opponents points per game (11th, 100.4 points allowed per game). The most impressive defensive numbers are their opponents shooting percentages though. Boston ranks fourth in the NBA in opponents field goal percentage (43.1 percent) and third in the NBA in opponents three-point percentage (32.1 percent).

Despite their great defensive stats they are just as productive on offense, which many people don’t realize. The Celtics lead the Eastern Conference, and are sixth in the NBA, in points per game (104.4 points per game). They only shoot 43.5 percent from the field because they attempt a lot of threes. Boston is seventh in the NBA with 27.1 three-point attempts per game.

That doesn’t come as a surprise as a lot of their roster specializes in outside shooting. Avery Bradley is a stereotypical 3 and D-type of player, while Jae Crowder has improved his three-point shooting a lot throughout his career. The Celtics have five players that average more than 3 three-point attempts per game (Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, Olynyk and Smart).

One of the reasons that the Celtics have thrived this season is due to their rebounding, one of the most important and overlooked aspects of the game. If you win the rebounding battle then you will most likely win the game. The Celtics rank eighth in the NBA in rebounds per game (45.0 rebounds). It seems fitting considering how many big men have been in their rotation this season, and they still haven’t settled on who to play every night.

Mar 4, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99), guard Avery Bradley (0) and `Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) celebrate against the Utah Jazz during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /

Rebounding is spread out on this team, seven players average at least four rebounds per game. Point guard, Marcus Smart, and shooting guard, Evan Turner, give the team an unexpected boost in rebounding. Despite not playing a position that asks them to rebound they rebound at an excellent rate. Smart and Turner both average around 4.5 rebounds per game, something not a lot of teams get from backup guards.

The Celtics are still looking for their identity in a way, and that may not come until they get a true franchise player. They do have the Brooklyn Nets‘ pick for the next three seasons so there is a good chance they could hit big and draft one. There is also a possibility of trading for someone like DeMarcus Cousins, if anyone can pull off that trade it would be Ainge. The Celtics also are deep at every position and have a lot of solid pieces teams would want, not to mention that Nets’ pick again. Right now, Boston is in arguably the best position to make a blockbuster trade.

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Boston doesn’t have a lot of well-known players, but maybe that’s why they’re so effective. I have said it a bunch, they need a star to have a chance at a title, but this team right now can win a playoff series. They are an all-around team and the biggest thing is, someone new always seems to step up.

Yes, like every team, they have guys who consistently lead the team. However, it seems like every game there is a new big stat line from someone else. Whether it’s Olynyk going off for 13 straight points or Amir Johnson setting his career high for rebounds, you never know what to expect from these guys. It can be a little concerning for Boston because it makes it harder to set a solid rotation every game, but they seem to be doing fine as of now and Stevens does a great job with playing time.

It’s a different feel than the ‘Big 3’ we were use to the last time the Celtics were in the playoffs. This team doesn’t have three future Hall-of-Famers or one of the most well-known point guards in the league. Although, this team is as deep as almost any team and they have the coach and players to surprise a lot of people in the playoffs.

Next: Marcus Smart Named to Rising Stars Challenge

There is still about half a season left to play, but the NBA better start paying attention to the Boston Celtics now or they’ll be in for a rude awakening when the playoffs come around. This isn’t your typical roster of a team that has a chance to have home court advantage in round one, but these kids are getting the job done.

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