3 positive trends the Boston Celtics must keep improving upon

Boston Celtics positive trend No. 2) Ball movement/ increased assist numbers

Early on in the season, when the Boston Celtics were constantly finding themselves submerged under .500, a major complaint from both fans and media alike was the lack of ball movement seen from the team and, instead, the large emphasis of isolation sets on offense, specifically involving the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Now yes, both of these players are incredibly talented scorers who can excel at finding their own scoring opportunities, but constantly going to these types of plays is not a recipe for overall team success and, in fact, it ended up resulting in public disapproval and claims of displeasure from some players on the roster.

Fast forward a few months later, however, and we now find the shamrocks 12 games over .500 and, while there are many factors as to why they’ve been able to turn things around (defensive intensity, coaching improvements, etc.), one could point to their improved passing as a major reason for finding unbelievable success since the flip of the calendar year to 2022.

Coming into January, Boston ranked just 20th in the league in assists, dishing out 23.1 per night. As a result, their shooting production was incredibly lackluster, as they were boasting an effective field goal percentage of only 51.1 percent, tied for the seventh-worst rank at that time.

Now, during their 30-game stretch, the team has improved upon their passing game considerably, as they have gone on to move their way on up to the 10th best mark when it comes to assists per game (25.6), which seemingly has had a direct impact on their effective field goal percentage, for they now as converting at a 55.1 percent clip in this category, tying them for the sixth-best mark in the association.

Better ball movement has only led to more efficient scoring opportunities for the Boston Celtics which, of course, has only gone on to benefit the team’s scoring production as a whole.

Moving forward, this team must look to continue on with their much-improved passing game.