4 awards that the Boston Celtics could take home this season
By Sam LaFrance
It’s been a dream start to the 2022-23 NBA season for the Boston Celtics and their fans. The Cs are a league-best 21-5 and have ripped off three straight wins. Mostly recently, Boston ran the Phoenix Suns, who won 64 games last season, out of their own building on Wednesday. The Celtics dominated the game throughout, even leading by as many as 45 points during the third quarter. Before returning to Boston on Dec. 16, the C’s will pay visits to the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, as well as the the Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston’s blistering start can be attributed to many throughout the organization. From the players, to the coaching staff, even into the front office, it seems like everyone has played a part and is firing on all cylinders. It’s only December, but it’s hard not to muse over the possibility of several members of the franchise taking home accolades at the end of the season.
Last season Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart took home the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was the first guard to do so since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 NBA season. In April Payton, along with Smart’s Celtics teammates, surprised him with the trophy (which was a lame glass globe for the 75th anniversary season instead of the normal looking trophy which rules) after a practice at the Auerbach Center. Smart was ranked second behind Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo on the NBA’s very early Defensive Player of the Year ladder that was published last month.
As far as this season goes, it seems like the possibilities for hardware winding up in Boston are endless.
The first Boston Celtics MVP since Larry Bird?
If you’ve been watching the Boston Celtics at all this season, then you’ve heard the MVP chants ringing around TD Garden, as well as some other arenas, while Jayson Tatum is at the free throw line. The 24-year-old has been lighting the league on fire through the first month and a half of the campaign. He leads the Celtics in scoring with 30.5 points per game, which is good enough for fourth best average in the entire NBA. He’s been efficient in doing so too. Tatum has improved his field goal percentage by about four percent from last season. His 48% make rate is the best of his six-year career. The most impressive improvement from Tatum has been his ability to get himself to the free-throw line. His attempts from the charity stripe have increased by two per game compared to last season. This not only allows for him to get easy chances to see the ball go through the basket, but makes things more difficult on opposing teams when their players wind up in foul trouble.
However, to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award there are more factors than just scoring. Denver’s Nikola Jokic took home the honor in the last two seasons, wowing voters with his tremendous versatility. He showed that on top of scoring the ball, he could set up his teammates and clean the glass. We’re starting to see Tatum impact the game in different ways too. He’s had 10 rebounds or more in 11 games so far this season, providing an important presence on the boards for Boston. The Cs haven’t necessarily needed JT to be the primary distributor throughout the first 26 games because of how well Marcus Smart has taken on that role, but he can still set up his teammates if needed. The Duke alumni has totaled 10 or more assists twice throughout the first quarter of the year.
It’s also important for a player’s team to be amongst the league’s best for him to be considered for the NBA MVP Award. Safe to say Tatum has that aspect covered because the Celtics are a WAGON.
The Boston Celtics have not had an NBA MVP Award winner since Larry Bird. Bird won the award in three straight years from 1984-1986. The wait for another MVP could be for Boston this season if Tatum is able to stay health and keep up the high level of play he’s shown early on.