Boston Celtics: how many convincing teams have they beaten so far?
The Boston Celtics have seized control of the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Better yet, they have defeated every top team in the Eastern Conference–with one notable exception.
16-5. Three 20 point per game scorers. A locker-room of veterans that aren’t hogging the spotlight, and youth rising into the star roles. All in all, things are going pretty darn well for the Boston Celtics so far in the 2019-20 season.
It has been a breath of fresh air to see the team playing the right way, with several players exceeding the four assist per game plateau. While there is no singularly dominant distributor, the offense is proving to benefit from a ball-movement-by-committee approach.
At the quarter-season mark, it’s a legitimate question: can the Boston Celtics actually represent the Eastern Conference in 2020?
That can’t be answered until May and June, but ultimately, the early returns reveal that the team has what it takes to beat the other Eastern Conference contenders.
While the C’s didn’t come away with an opening night victory, they opened up their home slate with a victory over the defending champion Toronto Raptors. I might have doubted the validity of that win in the preseason, but seeing as though Paschal Siakam has transformed into a full-fledged superstar and Fred VanVleet has thrived in the absence of Kyle Lowry, that is one of the season’s early defining victories.
Convincing win total tracker: 1
In their fourth game of the season, the Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks. That victory was symbolic of what the team could achieve this season that they couldn’t last year; the Bucks were the team that put the miserable 2018-19 Celtics out of their misery.
Limiting Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 22 points, the C’s had Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward all score at least 19 points themselves. The 11-point victory stands out as the win of the season so far, giving the team a 3-game win-streak up until that point.
Convincing win total tracker: 2
Following four more wins over teams well below .500 in New York, Charlotte, Cleveland and San Antonio, Boston took down one of the Western Conference’s emerging contenders in the Dallas Mavericks at the TD Garden.
While MVP Candidate and second-year wunderkind Luka Dioncic exploded for 34 points, the Boston Celtics had Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker share the spotlight, scoring 25 and 29 points respectively.
In defeating the Mavericks, the C’s saw their win-streak extend to eight games. Dallas is currently the #2 seed in the Western Conference, owning an identical 16-5 record to Boston.
Convincing win total tracker: 3
After having their win total stopped at 10, the Celtics looked to bounce back from a nail-biting 100-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings. It would be a tall task playing the up-start Phoenix Suns on the second night of a back-to-back.
It’d have been easy for Boston to have been unfocused after seeing Marcus Smart‘s floater fall outside the cylinder the night before. Instead, Tatum went off for 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Limiting a Suns team with Devin Booker and Ricky Rubio running the offense to just 85 points was another legitimately impressive win.
Convincing win total tracker: 4
The Boston Celtics suffered a few losses in their next few contests. Luckily, you couldn’t qualify road losses to the Los Angeles Clippers–who, by the way, had Kawhi Leonard and Paul George playing together for the first time–and the Denver Nuggets in the Mile High City as bad losses.
After nabbing a revenge win against Sacramento, the Celtics won their Thanksgiving Eve contest against the Brooklyn Nets. While the main story for many centered around Kyrie Irving‘s absence, the most encouraging narrative was seeing the team upend a Nets squad that had been buoyed by the accelerated play of Spencer Dinwiddie.
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With Irving on everyone’s mind, it was Kemba Walker who stole the show. The healthy and able point guard scored 39 points in 31 minutes.
Kyrie who?
Convincing win total tracker: 5
The Boston Celtics were unable to sweep the home-and-home series in Brooklyn, dropping a Black Friday afternoon game that was decided in the final minute.
Luckily, the team got a Sunday afternoon reprieve with a matinee with the New York Knicks. Boston didn’t have its best game of the season, but it got to claim its third victory over the Knickerbockers already this season.
Their next win was a deafening statement. While the Miami Heat were on the second night of a back-to-back in this past Wednesday’s match-up, the Celtics obliterated them.
Miami had the superior record at the time, but after a 19-point victory for Boston, it was clear that the C’s were one of the East’s elite. Despite Jimmy Butler‘s 37-point, six rebound and four assist masterpiece, it was another 30 point explosion from Jaylen Brown and a 29-point effort from Kemba Walker that moved Boston closer to the mountaintop.
Convincing win total tracker: 6
Which brings us to this past Friday. Against the Denver Nuggets, who currently occupy the Western Conference’s third seed at 14-6, the Boston Celtics absolutely stifled an offense that ranks 11th in the league.
Only Nikola Jokic–who dominated with a 30-point effort–and Jamal Murray broke double digit scoring. Murray had the bare minimum at 10 points on 5-14 shooting.
In shutting down Denver, the Celtics proved they can beat just about anyone in the NBA. The key teams remaining that they have yet to beat are the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers and the 76ers.
The Lakers–the league’s top team–are still on the schedule twice. Philadelphia will visit the TD Garden twice and host the C’s once more. The Clippers, who defeated the Celtics in perhaps the season’s best game, owe a return trip to Beantown.
Next. Grading the C's rookies at the quarter-season mark. dark
We’ll see if Boston can overcome that trio. If not, their early season win total is legitimate. Almost half of their wins came against legitimate competition.