Biggest surprise so far

[Fafnir]

5th: Hayward's recent decline in getting to the foul line.  I am a little worried, especially since he started out so promising this season.

My current thought is that whatever management they're doing for his sore foot has sapped the explosion he had early in the year.

Which isn't great, though he's still being effective its not as good as it was early in the year.

[Phantom255x]

Jaylen.

In his 4th year, he already looks better than what Jimmy Butler looked like, and frankly Butler was my ceiling for him. And that's not a bad thing either, as Jimmy Buckets is an amazing player himself. Jaylen also has more room to grow. He probably won't be Kawhi, but I think he could come close. His elite 2-way potential talent is what also really separates him from someone like a Brandon Ingram currently (who is also balling btw). It just feels like Jaylen is consistently putting up 21/7-type numbers, and it's not even just here or there, it's consistent now (game to game).

[apc]

Tremont!!
Might end up our best pick from last year.

[jambr380]

TP to the OP for taking suggestions and adding them to the poll. There is an argument for all of them - it is hard to choose! 

[bdm860]

I went with team jelling, because I felt it was the closest answer to what I'm most surprised by.

I'm most surprised with by how well the team has played without Horford/Baynes.  The way the team has jelled, really only notice their absence when playing Philly.

I guess I could have also gone with Theis comeback for this, but for me it's less Theis (though am pleasantly surprised by him) and more how effective the Celtics have been with their center-by-committee of Theis/Kanter/Time Lord/Grant Williams.

But it's the way the team has jelled that helps the center-by-committee work.  Just hoping it still works in the playoffs.

[Somebody]

I went with the resurgence of Daniel Theis. I don't think people really understood how bad he was last year - the meniscus tear really took away his lift last season and made him a slow and undersized centre, which is a recipe for disaster. His bounce back year so far has been nothing but amazing to me, he went from a bad rotation player into a viable starting calibre centre - a massive improvement.

[droopdog7]

Picked Other.  I think the biggest surprise is how solid Enis Kanter has been.  Dude has the ability to do real damage out there.

[Who]

It is amazing to see how many different answers there are.

Just goes to show all of us how wonderful a season it has been. To have so many positive surprises.

[seancally]

Other: We're No. 2 in the east with a real path to finishing that way (insert obligatory reverse-jinx voodoo dance). We've been in and out of the top 5 in both offense and defense. We're a legitimately good team with as good a shot as anyone outside MIL at getting to the ECF, maybe a little behind PHI but they got problems of their own. IDK, I didn't get quite as high expectations for this team's performance. Thought I'd be happy just to see the team gel and watch the young guys improve; now I'm forced to dream about a Finals berth.

[Spicoli]

Kanter. He's as advertised on offense and in the post and although his defense is bad it's not nearly as bad as i thought it would be. He should be a starter.

[Fafnir]

It is amazing to see how many different answers there are.

Just goes to show all of us how wonderful a season it has been. To have so many positive surprises.

Truly the opposite of last season, where the only pleasant surprise was Marcus Smart's stellar play and shooting. Every other single notable event was otherwise was just disappointing and frustrating.

[Sophomore]

Other: Kemba is better than I thought he would be, and even though he's a notch down in pure one-on-one bucket getting from Kyrie he's clearly better for this team. It's been instructive to see what a difference play style can make .

[jambr380]

Other: We're No. 2 in the east with a real path to finishing that way (insert obligatory reverse-jinx voodoo dance). We've been in and out of the top 5 in both offense and defense. We're a legitimately good team with as good a shot as anyone outside MIL at getting to the ECF, maybe a little behind PHI but they got problems of their own. IDK, I didn't get quite as high expectations for this team's performance. Thought I'd be happy just to see the team gel and watch the young guys improve; now I'm forced to dream about a Finals berth.

Our best path to the Finals is clearly in that #2 spot so I really hope we keep it. I fully expect PHI to at least move into the 4-5 spot so that would be ultra-beneficial with them playing MIL in the ECSF. If for some reason they continue to struggle, though, then I would much prefer to play them at home in the ECSF rather than the first round (which the #3 team would currently have to do).

The team has been a revelation, but it's all about the playoffs and we need to do better than the ECSF (same as last year) for this season to be considered a success. Actually, at the very least, it's been a much more enjoyable season, thus far, and that does count for something.

[Emmette Bryant]

I expected Jaylen to be better but not all star game better.

[bdm860]

Other: We're No. 2 in the east with a real path to finishing that way (insert obligatory reverse-jinx voodoo dance). We've been in and out of the top 5 in both offense and defense. We're a legitimately good team with as good a shot as anyone outside MIL at getting to the ECF, maybe a little behind PHI but they got problems of their own. IDK, I didn't get quite as high expectations for this team's performance. Thought I'd be happy just to see the team gel and watch the young guys improve; now I'm forced to dream about a Finals berth.

Personally, I'm less surprised by the C's being #2 (58 win pace) than I am with the Sixers being #6 (50 win pace).  That's not to say I'm not pleasantly surprised by the C's record.

Before the season everyone thought the Bucks/Sixers would be a cut above the rest and the clear cut 1/2, and that there would be a several team race for #3 through whatever.

If before the season you told me the C's would finish with 50-55 wins, I think that'd would be optimistically fair, and their current 58 win pace is only slightly ahead of that And with the 8th hardest schedule the rest of the way, and the only team in the top 6 in the East with a top 15 remaining SOS, there's a real chance they perform a little worse the back half of the year.

If the Sixers were on a 60+ win pace, (so 30-11 or better), I think most people would think the East is shaking out just like they thought, and would be less surprised by the C's being #3 in the East, even if they had the same record they do now at 27-11. 

Same thing with LAC out West.  It's LAC and Philly under-performing that makes C's having the 2nd best record in the East and 3rd best record in the league look a lot more impressive.