Heading into their current four-game road trip, the Boston Celtics were in a weird spot. On the one hand, they were fresh off a 54-point win over the Toronto Raptors. On the other, they went 8-6 in December. Not exactly the best stretch for a team hoping to win a second straight championship.
Now, they are two games into a four-game Western Conference road trip against some of the best teams in the league. They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in a tight contest and followed it up with a blowout win over the Houston Rockets. They’ve gotten back on track in a big way.
So, what happened?
The Celtics standards are ridiculously high
Well, according to Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics held a team meeting before they embarked on their road trip. They wanted to make sure they were ready to roll when it came time to play the Western Conference.
“We had a good meeting before this trip, just a little bit like looking in the mirror type of meeting and see where we can improve and what we can do better,” Porzingis said via Bobby Krivitsky of Forbes. “Teams are obviously coming for us and some of them are playing their best basketball against us. So some small adjustments we want to make and try to keep improving as a team and keep playing the same way.
“Minnesota was a tough game, but we came out with a win, and tonight I felt like that second half really like, stuff was like clicking for us. So far, from the small sample size we have, we’re looking pretty good.”
Kristaps Porzingis on the Celtics’ 2-0 start to a road trip against some of the top teams in the West:
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) January 4, 2025
“We had a good meeting before this trip. Looking in the mirror type of meeting and see where we can improve and what we can do better because teams are obviously coming for us… pic.twitter.com/szbcPo19GN
First and foremost, it seems like the Celtics’ team meeting worked. They’ve kicked things up a notch on this road trip, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
However, the fact that the Celtics even had a team meeting at this point proves something—they have ridiculously high standards compared to most other teams in the NBA.
So many squads around the league would be fine with an 8-6 month. Even some of the teams in the playoff picture would just move forward and look to be better moving forward. For Boston, it was the worst stretch they’ve had in almost two years.
The Celtics are so focused on being the best team in the NBAa that even the smallest slip-up was enough to make them hold a team meeting to discuss their recent play.
That’s next level ridiculousness.