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Mid-Season Review: How the Boston Celtics have fared in their first half

By Denholm Harold

The Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving questions a call during action against at Orlando Magic at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019. The Magic won, 105-103. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving questions a call during action against at Orlando Magic at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019. The Magic won, 105-103. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 07: Marcus Smart #36 high fives Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden on January 7, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 07: Marcus Smart #36 high fives Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden on January 7, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

What have the Boston Celtics done well?

Offense:

The Boston Celtics on paper look like a championship contender; they are stacked with talent at every position, go ten deep in their rotation, have a presumptive top 5 coach in the NBA and are in the top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive rating. Catch the team on the wrong night, and you wouldn’t believe that any of these things are true, catch them on the right night and they look like they would give any team in the league a hell of a 7-game series.

But you don’t make it to the top 10 in wins in the NBA without actually doing something right, and there is still hope for these Boston Celtics. Hope resides in the fact that the Celtics are playing like a very modern team, they are shooting the second most 3-pointers in the NBA at 13.2 and are making them at an incredible clip, making them the 3rd most accurate team from behind the arc at 36.1%.

Brad Stevens has his troops emphasising the pass whenever possible, as the C’s rank 6th in the league in total assists; but Stevens’ units have always shared the ball, it has only been recently that he has had the requisite shooting ability to log the stat.

The Celts also strive to take care of the ball as much as possible, ranking 2nd in turnovers, this is indicative of a team that tries to make the right decisions and avoids making unnecessary risks. It is also an example of a team that isn’t trying to push the pace at every available opportunity, the C’s rank 19th in pace and are 7th in fewest opponent field goal attempts; and are content with winning by making fewer errors than their opponents.

Defense:

The Celtics have long had a reputation as a defense-first club. They finished atop the league last season in defensive rating and had a habit of restricting the league’s premier offenses from achieving their three-figure norms.

Presently, the Celts rank 5th in defensive rating after slipping a little; this can be explained by the absence of Aron Baynes, a defensive analytics darling who excels in all facets of the game that this particular advanced stat values. Defensive rating is a stat that very much favors the big man in a rotation, which makes it ever more impressive that the Celtics have managed to maintain a top 5 defensive ranking whilst suffering a dearth of injuries to their crop of big men.

Characteristically, the Shamrocks are exceptional at defending the 3-point line. This has been consistent throughout Brad Stevens’ tenure as coach and is magnified now that he has the switchy, athletic personnel patrolling the wings required to suffocate enemy shooters and run them off the line. In an increasingly 3-point driven league, the ability to stop your opponent from shooting those looks cleanly is extremely valuable.

The Celtics currently rank 3rd in both opponent field goal percentage in general (.332) and 3-point percentage (.442) which is testamentary to both the personnel and the defensive system that the Celtics’ brains-trust has installed.

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