Are the Celtics better than what Boston fans hold them to?
The Boston Celtics finished the regular season with 53 wins and the top seed in the eastern conference. Still a number of predictions have them losing in the second round. Many prognosticators rank them as the third best team in the conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors. There are some legitimate reasons for this opinion.
This season the Raptors finished ahead of the Celtics in defensive efficiency. The Raptors also finished slightly ahead in offensive efficiency and Cleveland finished higher up than the Raptors. Statistically this ranking of the Celtics as the third best team in the east could be considered accurate. The Cavaliers and Raptors are even or better in almost all statistical categories. As an aside, the one area where the Celtics stand out is assists and assist turnover ratio, 3rd in the league in both categories.
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Okay so if statistically the Cavs and Raptors are superior to the Celtics, why did the Celtics win the conference? Perhaps this is where intangibles play a role in sports. This is effort, focus and determination. This is Isaiah Thomas constantly showing people he belongs, Avery Bradley constantly trying to show he is the best on the ball defender in the league and Jae Crowder trying to show why the Celtics don’t need a Jimmy Butler or Gordon Hayward. It’s Marcus Smart every game and it’s Brad Stevens not giving away any minutes to any player that aren’t earned. These are some of the reasons why the Celtics won the conference.
It is still to be determined if these intangibles can carry the Celtics through the playoffs. Every team will have heightened urgency. Intangibles will be on full display for every minute of every game and for every player. Intangibles might win you a season but will they win the Celtics a short series. Can this Celtics team up its intangibles another notch. That might be their only hope because with all intangible things being equal, superior talent should win out.
All this plays directly into the knock on the Celtics that been with them since the start of the season. Not enough talent. With the way the pairing have lined up this year the Celtics won’t face either the Raptors or the Cavaliers until the conference finals. This slightly increases their odds of reaching the finals and if they do we will see if talent or intangibles will carry the day.
Lastly one important issue for the Celtics will be to re-establish their defensive identity. A year ago this was the one real area of excellence the Celtics could depend on. This year not so much which is odd because defense is a result of those intangibles. Still this is the one area where the Celtics have the ability to improve on the regular season. Consistency of effort on the defensive end is what it will take to get to the conference finals and beyond.
Next: Boston Celtics Regular Season Awards
So to answer the question at the top of the page. Are the Celtics better than we think they are? No they’re not. But they try to be.