Like most seasons, the NBA has had plenty of surprises this year, both good and bad, but it’s hard to deny that the Celtics are near the top of the list. Despite losing Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to trades, Al Horford and Luke Kornet to free agency, and Jayson Tatum to a torn achilles, Boston is sitting in second place in the East with a 47-24 record, looking primed to make a serious run at winning the conference for the third time in five years.
And it’s not just Celtics fans who are appreciating what the team is doing. On a recent episode of the Game Theory podcast, Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon were drafting their biggest surprises of the season. After Simon took the first pick, The Athletic’s Vecenie chose the Celtics as his biggest surprise of the season.
While most people have focused the praise on Jaylen Brown, and deservedly so, in this breakdown, Vecenie and Simon agreed they are more surprised by everything else around JB. Sure, Jaylen’s season has been outstanding, and he has exceeded expectations, but he was already a former All-NBA player with a Finals MVP trophy.
It may be surprising to see him raise his game to a near-MVP level this consistently, but it’s hard to say it’s truly shocking based on how good he has already been in the league.
Celtics’ surprising success goes way beyond Jaylen Brown
What’s really shocking is everything else that’s happening up and down the roster, and really, the structure of the organization. How Brad Stevens and company have carefully and shrewdly crafted this roster, and Joe Mazzulla and his staff have gotten the most out of every player, has been unbelievable.
The commitment to consistency and discipline is evident when watching the team play, and the way they win on every margin and grab every piece of low-hanging fruit has been what’s so impressive and amazing, and what’s truly allowing this team to succeed beyond the play of Brown and his co-stars.
The fact that the Celtics have been able to just plug guys like Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Ron Harper Jr., and others into the lineup without missing a beat has been a revelation. It’s as if the Celtics are a well-oiled machine that can’t be slowed down, regardless of the personnel.
It wasn’t long ago that people were wondering if Mazzulla was long for this job, but now he’s lapping the field and earning unanimous praise from the brightest basketball minds around the league. What a great time to be a Celtics fan.