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Boston Celtics Playing Best Basketball of the Year

By Joshua Bateman

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 4: Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics reacts to a call during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden on January 5, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics defeat the Timberwolves 91-84. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 4: Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics reacts to a call during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden on January 5, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics defeat the Timberwolves 91-84. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics have won five straight and have not looked better at any point this season

The Boston Celtics really showed the rest of the NBA how bad they can get on the court during that brutal stretch in December. The schedule absolutely tore them apart and wore them down. they had no practice time to make any adjustments, and they kept expecting their individual talent to take over and win them games.

It looked like that stretch was going to cost them the number one seed, and the product they were putting on the court was the worst part. They were not intimidating to even the worst teams in the league, and they needed massive comebacks to get any wins. The Celtics clearly hit their low point, and it was hard to tell when they would actually snap out of it.

Turns out that never getting more than one day of rest and absolutely no practice times has an actual impact on a team. The moment the Celtics got back to practice, got some rest and made some adjustments, everything has turned around. They are dominating games when Kyrie Irving barely has to carry a scoring load, they are back to rebounding well and their defense is approaching what we saw during the 16 game winning streak.

The Celtics are playing balanced and deep, and they are getting as many advantages as possible. The Celtics are playing with phenomenal ball movement, getting as many players as possible involved. When they play like that, and Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart are shooting the way they have lately, this team looks borderline unstoppable.

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The Celtics are back to winning games, and this is the most important thing. The most exciting part, however, is what they are looking like on the court. The Celtics are playing some of the best teams in the league, and have not been fazed by anything. When the Celtics pay with this kind of balance and control, they know that they can find a good enough edge in some facet of the game to take over.

During this five game winning streak, the Celtics had the comeback of the year against the Rockets, their most dominant wire to wire victory against the Cavaliers, and they were able to handle all the star power of a hot Timberwolves team. In those three wins, the Celtics only had the leading scorer once, and it was Rozier’s 20 points against Cleveland.

Everyone has already seen and known what the top starting talent of this team is capable of. There are no questions about what Irving and Al Horford are able to do on the court, but the less they have to do the better off they are.

Teams have no hope of accounting for the kind of depth the Celtics have put on display during this stretch, because it is impossible to have any hope of stopping that, on top of the immense talent they have in their stars.

The Celtics are still figuring things out, and getting all the players comfortable. During this stretch, however, the Celtics have been at their most cohesive of the season. Even during that 16 game winning streak, the Celtics had a lot of ugly wins and crazy comebacks. During this stretch, the Celtics are actually playing consistently on the court for entire games, and this might be the first time you can say that this entire season.

The Celtics are in the best position they have been all season long, and part of that is knowing how bad it got during that stretch in December,. The Celtics have a much better idea of how they need to play, and what they need to accomplish to be at their best.

Brad Stevens has always done a great job of improving his team as the season goes on. When you think about that crazy roster turnover, and having a 19 and 21 year old playing two massive roles on the starting unit, and they could still be the most improved team from this point on.

The Celtics will not keep this up for the rest of the season. There will always be the ups and downs, and the Celtics have already seen some incredible highs and some miserable lows. This Celtics team knew they had a lot to learn, and still have to be making sure they are getting better.

Next: Celtics get back to rebounding well

The Celtics are playing their best basketball of the season right now, and the only danger is if that hurts their focus. After going through that bad of a stretch and briefly losing the top seed, I would be surprised to see the Celtics descend back into the depths of that December stretch.

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