Fleeting Thoughts On The Celtics Hot Streak
It's been fun to watch
**The Taylor household has been riddled with the flu these past few days. I’ve spent most of my time sleeping or wrapped up in the duvet, eagerly waiting for the day I start to feel better. I’m the first one in the house to start resembling anything close to healthy. That’s why there’s been some radio silence. So, please allow some fleeting thoughts on the Celtics’ recent hot form to get my writing muscles working again :)***
When the Boston Celtics’ schedule dropped before the new season, I pinpointed the current stretch of games as a potential fork in the road. Matchups against the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks (Thursday) and New York Knicks were always going to be a tough test.
Boston has emerged from that potentially treacherous run of games with a 7-1 record, dating back to the win over the Orlando Magic on Nov. 23.
Interestingly, the first win on this run of games was the same night Joe Mazzulla stumbled onto his small-ball rotation following Neemias Queta’s in-game injury.
Since then, Mazzulla has leaned on that smaller lineup in each of the following games. Luka Garza has been the makeweight in that move. He’s joined Chris Boucher as a superglue guy: holding the bench together.
Pairing The Young Forwards Together
A staple of Mazzulla’s smaller rotation is pairing two of the Celtics’ young forwards together.
Here’s some data on those combinations (excluding garbage time).
There have been 158 total possessions with lineups that include both Josh Minott and Jordan Walsh. Boston is +10.9 points per 100 possessions when those two forwards share the floor.
There have been 71 possessions in which Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez have shared the court, with Boston outscoring opponents by +26.8 points per 100 (extrapolated).
And, there have been 106 possessions pairing Minott and Gonzalez together, with the Celtics losing those possessions by -3.3 per 100.
In terms of putting the trio on the court at the same time, that has happened for 19 possessions with a brutal -39 points per 100 (extrapolated).
The Derrick White Of It All
Going small is only part of the reason why the Celtics have found their rhythm of late. Another key aspect has been the slump-snapping play of Derrick White. We all know that he struggled with a newly-defined role to begin the season, and the numbers back that up…
Over his first 13 games of the season, White averaged 15.5 points, 5.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.8 steals per game. His shooting splits were 43% from two-point range and 29.2% from the perimeter.
Then, something clicked.
Over his last 10 games, his numbers have jumped to 20 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1 steal per game. His shooting splits look better, too, with 53.3% from two-point range and 39.2% from deep.
Outside of his pilfers, White has upped his production in every statistical aspect of his game. He’s knocking down his shots, finding the right passes, making the right cuts and offering spacing off the catch.
If White didn’t break out of his slump, the Celtics might not have the record they currently do.
It’s not all on him.
Not by any stretch.
Still, there’s no denying how important he is to the Celtics, especially at the moment, as the team continues to navigate developing younger guys while also competing to be among the best teams in the East.
You Can Throw Payton Pritchard In There Too
Pritchard spent the early part of the season navigating his own slump.
Like White, his production can be broken down into two clear sections.
Over his first 12 games of the season, Pritchard averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds. He shot 62.3% from two-point range, but hit just 25.6% of his perimeter attempts.
In the following 12 things flipped.
Pritchard is averaging 19.6 points, 5 assists, and 4.7 boards. He’s shooting 56.5% from two-point range but has seen his perimeter conversion rate skyrocket to 41% on 8.8 3-point attempts per night.
When two of your best offensive ball-handlers both break out of their slumps at the same time, and their perimeter shots start to fall, the math begins working in your favor.
Jaylen Brown Has Been EXCEPTIONAL
If you’ve been scrolling on Twitter the last few days — I know I have while lying in bed with nothing much going on — you’ve probably seen the Tatum vs. Brown debates raging once again.
I don’t get it.
I do, however, often feed into it, which is a mistake.
Nevertheless, to say anything other than how well Brown has been playing would be a disservice to the season he’s currently building. We’re talking about his scoring specifically.
Brown has mastered his skill set. His comfort on the ball, both when looking to score or finding the right pass, has been impressive. Defensively, he’s finding the right balance and, despite an increased role on offense, is performing at a league-average level for his position.
Brown is the tip of the spear and is thriving as the lead offensive option and primary leader, both in the locker room and on the court.
There Have Been Some Curveballs, Though
From Chris Boucher’s limited playing time — he’s stacked up 16 DNP-CD’s, with 7 straight games being glued to the bench. To Luka Garza’s exclusion in recent games, despite showing flashes of some upside on the offensive end.
Joe Mazzulla has been relentless in his search for winning combinations on the court and hasn’t held back when making changes to playing time or roles, with Boucher being the most impacted.
Nevertheless, the Celtics have found a system that works for them, and in turn, they’re performing well above expectations. If they can keep this up moving forward, there can be no more talk of tanking…What there can be, though, is talk of Mazzulla in the Coach of the Year race. I mean, he’s doing one hell of a job — regardless of how you feel about his affinity for the three-point line.