After the game vs GS last night .

[dannyboy35]

  I realize both teams may not be final products but I’m curious what you guys feel. Thanks!

[Phantom255x]

Didn't move the needle much BUT I still think it's encouraging that despite how bad we looked for most of the game, and especially with Jaylen not being so great early on, we still kept it close and then had a great 4th + OT

That certainly made things feel better than the alternative of if we had lost

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

The Celtics are in great shape. Don’t listen to the hate- this team is ready to win a championship if they can properly manage workloads.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Mazzulla should show them the tape of the Warriors all hanging their heads on that final 3 pointer by Tatum...Might help them get over the mental block of playing them.
C's are always in awe of these guys

[SparzWizard]

Last night's 4th quarter reminded me of the 2016 year where we ended the Warriors insane home-winning streak.

They seem to fold under pressure if the game gets tight.

[Vermont Green]

Didn't move my needle.  I think the Celtics showed that they are a better team than the Warriors but I am not sure the Warriors are our biggest threat.

[Neurotic Guy]

My needle’s been moving recently.  I think the Celtics have the best roster in the NBA. Not sure their coach is right.  It’s not timeouts or using challenges, and not really about lineups/rotations/substitutions.  It’s also not a new story — the Cs get shaky when other teams turn up the heat. It happens versus good teams and bad and it results in Cs hanging on for wins or letting teams back in games, more often than stepping on teams’ throats and finishing with a minimal stress ending. 
And… GSW’s defense looked better last night than Celtics’ did. C’s have the roster to dominate defensively and it isn’t happening.  I don’t think they can win a championship without getting their D back to elite and getting their heads (and offense) in the right place when they go up double digits and when they are closing games.  I’m feeling more today like it’s a coaching issue.

[GreenlyGreeny]

My needle’s been moving recently.  I think the Celtics have the best roster in the NBA. Not sure their coach is right.  It’s not timeouts or using challenges, and not really about lineups/rotations/substitutions.  It’s also not a new story — the Cs get shaky when other teams turn up the heat. It happens versus good teams and bad and it results in Cs hanging on for wins or letting teams back in games, more often than stepping on teams’ throats and finishing with a minimal stress ending. 
And… GSW’s defense looked better last night than Celtics’ did. C’s have the roster to dominate defensively and it isn’t happening.  I don’t think they can win a championship without getting their D back to elite and getting their heads (and offense) in the right place when they go up double digits and when they are closing games.  I’m feeling more today like it’s a coaching issue.

I agree with this assessment. We really need to bring back the elite D if we want to win the title. I think if we fall short, we may need to bring back Udoka to get our D back on track.

[tenn_smoothie]

Less confident.

Tatum still has meltdowns under big pressure in statement type games.
Great stats I know, but the late turnovers were almost surreal.
Brown (struggling health-wise) still reverts to his bad habits under pressure.

Mazzulla is in way over his head.
The improved offensive movement from earlier in the season has almost disappeared.
The defense is still not returning to form. His game management is awful.

Still plenty of games left to play and develop. Hope for the best.
This group needs to win some titles !!!!

[ozgod]

  I realize both teams may not be final products but I’m curious what you guys feel. Thanks!

More confident because we have played a total of 46 games for a record of 34-12. In 34 of those games (coincidentally) we shot over 30% from 3 and won 29 of them. In 12 of those games we shot less than or equal to 30% from 3 and won 5 of them, including this one.

This is what we got better at during the course of last season - winning ugly. We have to be able to win ugly because we won't always shoot well from 3. When we do, which we have for 34 of the 46 games, we have an 85% win rate. That's when it looks pretty, and they look unstoppable, and we the fans are comfortable because we've probably blown someone out and there's no stress. But when we don't shoot well we only win 42% of the time. This was an ugly game but we won it, with people making mistakes, turnovers, messing up, but they showed some guts and resilience.

These are the type of wins I love the most, the ugly ones  maybe I'm a masochist  but they tell me a lot about the team and their heart.

As for the Dubs, I think it's clear their issue is not team quality, it's the same issue we've sporadically had - heart and desire and focus. When they're switched on they can beat anyone. The problem for them is they aren't always switched on, especially the younger guys. But if they make it into the playoffs I think they will be a handful for whoever in unfortunate enough to play them.

[A Future of Stevens]

After starting the season with one of the worst Def ratings in the league (bottom 5 if I recall,) the Celtics as of writing this are 7th out of 30 teams. Couple that with the 2nd highest offensive rating and we are the best team in the league in terms of Net rating. We also have the best record.

It passes the eye test too. We have last years final team with no major regression. Both of our best players have taken a step forward, while adding one of the leading candidates for 6th man of year (Brogdon.) This team is humming.

Do I agree with every decision our new HC makes? Of course not. It is nice to see a fully functioning offensive system that doesn't collapse the second the Jays are off the floor.

I'm just guessing here, but when all is said and done I'm guessing we are a top 3 offense and a top 5 defense with the best record in the league. That would be a great place to be heading into the playoffs healthy.

Edit: I edited my sentence structures. Sorry anyone who happened to read my garbage. I'm at the tail end of a 16 hour shift and I wasn't reading what I wrote before posting lol.

[Hoopvortex]

After starting the season with one of the worst Def ratings in the league (bottom 5 if I recall,) the Celtics as of writing this are 7th out of 30 teams. Couple that with the 2nd highest offensive rating and we are the best team in the league in terms of Net rating. We also have the best record.

At one point Boston was 28th.

Notice that they went from 8th to 7th after the GS game.

How is Boston such a good defensive team?

1) The fg defense (eFG%) is excellent, but not tops. Of the four standard factors, it is often argued that this stat is the most important for the overall rating; and if you used your 2023 Celtics' rating as a guide, you'd see a confirmation of that: 7th in eFG%, and also 7th in Def Rtg.

2) As it's been all season, Boston ranks low in causing turnovers - a lowly 26th. This should be surprising, given the team's 11th place showing last season. That is a huge difference, and obviously not the explanation for the recent great defense.

3) Defensive Rebounding is another story entirely, and another story compared to last year: after a few days in 2nd place, Boston has regained the top spot, at .783 - compared to 11th last year.

4) FT makes per FG attempt. This stat is another area of excellence for this year's Celtics; basically Boston does not foul, compared to other teams; the squad ranks third in the league, at .180, compared to ninth last season. If you look at fouls per game, Boston is actually second lowest in the league.

What can we say about the differences between Ime-D and Joe-D? Last season there was more aggression and more gambling, this season more of a priority on discipline and maintaining a perimeter. Keeping everyone on a string supports good defensive rebounding. Cutting down on the gambling, even at the cost of causing fewer turnovers, also cuts down on fouling.

You can be confident that Boston's trajectory for team defense is a positive one, just as their offensive trajectory last season was. There's just no substitute for repetition, and as Rob gradually integrates, and as the whole team gets settled in with him, and as Marcus Smart ups his effort (yes, he started slow on defense, even as he took on a lot more responsibility as the floor general) as the playoffs near, we'll see progressively higher rankings.

I'm just guessing here, but when all is said and done I'm guessing we are a top 3 offense and a top 5 defense with the best record in the league. That would be a great place to be heading into the playoffs healthy.

I share your optimism. The most important thing is health; given good health, this team can get back in the Finals again.

One thing that was predictable: fans are slow to recognize that the Celtics have gone from being a poor defensive team to being very good.

[cman88]

It's concerning to me how golden state is in the Celtics heads.

We nearly threw that game away at the end. 3 careless turnovers by Tatum and not sure why he struggles offensively against this team.

That being said I kinda laugh at the "doom and gloom" posts above. This team is currently 4.5 games ahead of everyone else in the east. Obviously it's still a long season but this is a good team.

[Big333223]

That loss put the Warriors under .500. They're the reigning champs and they wanted that win a lot and the Celtics pulled it out even though they didn't play well.

Them not playing well isn't encouraging but pulling out the win through adversity against a good team is. So I can't say it moved the needle for me much but I do think beating the Warriors in a game the Warriors really wanted is a good sign and was a nice mental hurdle to get over.

[Kernewek]

Imagine looking at a team that's 34-12 (now 35-12) and picking holes in it because we have nothing else to complain about.