Just How Good Are the Celtics? A Game-by-Game Breakdown Reveals the Truth

[Pistons < Spurs]

i hate to attack another fellow new englander, but theres nothing wrong with their arguments. its true the celtics have played a cheesecake schedule. so its also true that we dont know exactly how good the celtics truly are. these upcoming games (Det on Wed, Orl on Sun, @Utah next Sat) will determine whether we're a serious le contender or just a quality team

Good for you Tippecanoe!

And good luck Wednesday!...well not really!

[Capt Bringdown]

The Celtics are exceeding regular season expectations so far - only 2 losses at this point is impressive, even after you take into account the level of compe ion. I don't think anyone expected them to have only 2 losses at this point, so I think they deserve some respect and credit. All they can do is play the schedule. I'll bet they're eager to play tougher compe ion.

Comparisons to teams such as Dallas are a bit off IMO, as the Celtics have a different mix of player types, and are stressing defense. And just because one team with a great regular season record has a playoff disaster, I don't think you can say it's a trend.

In fact, it's just the opposite right? The team with the most regular season wins isn't a lock for the le, but generally speaking, regular season success translates into more playoff wins, correct? I don't have the stats on hand, I'm just thinking off the top of my head of all those great Bulls and Laker championship teams that had stellar regular season records. And of course our own Spurs do pretty well in the regular season.

[Tippecanoe]

^^^^
yeah, what he said!!!

[ludda]

I don't think comparisons to Dallas and Phoenix last season are far off. If I recall, around this time last season and into March or so, everyone was calling the Mavs and Suns THE best teams, in a class of their own..and we were the old Spurs who didn't have a chance. It's a looooong season and that's why many people are skeptical of great regular season records. A mavs flameout may not happen, but the Suns have never gotten far for being a Western elite. At the same time, Celtics are in the East so barring any injuries or anything, making it to the finals for them is quite likely, but regular season records don't always translate to postseason success unless the team is truly dominate.

[bdubya]

18-2 doesn't impress me much. The crew they put together over the summer should be winning a lot; anything under about .700 would be an embarrassment.

The defensive stats, OTOH, are very impressive - those have "for real" written all over them. Can't wait to see if the Pistons can still run an efficient offense on Wednesday. It's just a December game, but this is still the biggest game the East has seen this season.

[m33p0]

there are such things as "only December games" and then there are "statement games". given that the Celtics are the new kid on the block that's making all this noise, every team they face are trying to prove that this new boston squad isn't all that is hyped up to be. so you can safely that every team that they've faced so far have been giving them all they can.

on the flip side of this is that you have to imagine that garnett, pierce and allen are pretty much pumped up finally being able to play for a team with a chance to win it all. how long will it last? a month? 2 months? all the way? only time will tell. the rotation players have been playing quite well themselves and could even be seen as overachieving. we don't know that for sure, too. after all, this is their first year together.

so in conclusion, i believe that boston is for real. they are good. really good. maybe even freakishly good. but how good are they? we can only say for sure once the playoffs comes around. statement games are made during the regular season, but its still only a december game.

[SequSpur]

Celtics are going to win at least 70 games.

[Supergirl]

I will reserve judgment about how good the C's are until I see them play some Western teams (SA, Phoenix, Dallas, and Utah in particular). The only impressive thing about them so far is how well they've matched up against Orlando and Toronto, who are the only teams in the East with any interior defense.

All we know for sure is this:
1. The C's are a LOT better than they were last year. KG gives them an interior presence they haven't had for decades.

2. The C's are good enough to get a high playoff seed, and should be good enough to get to the East Finals. Depending on who else gets there with them, they could be good enough to win the East Finals.


But since I'm pretty sure SA will be there to meet them if they do, I don't think they'll win them all. Our big 3 is better than theirs, and our team is much, much deeper. And on the off-chance that the Spurs don't make it back to the Finals, I don't think the C's would beat Phoenix, Utah, or the Mavs in a 7 game series. I'm also not sure they'd beat Orlando or Detroit in a 7 game series.

[ArgSpursFan.]

I can see the Celtics taking the best reg season record.
But for some reazon I can't think of KG,Allen and Pierce (coached by Doc Rivers) winning an NBA ring. We´ll see what happens,at the end of the day,a team with Chimestry and a good coaching staff will win it all,and I just don't think it´s Boston case this season.

[m33p0]

I can see the Celtics taking the best reg season record.
But for some reazon I can't think of KG,Allen and Pierce (coached by Doc Rivers) winning an NBA ring. We´ll see what happens,at the end of the day,a team with Chimestry and a good coaching staff will win it all,and I just don't think it´s Boston case this season.

could it be that he is the reason?

[ArgSpursFan.]

could it be that he is the reason?

yeap.the biggest one. but not the only one.

[m33p0]

yeap.the biggest one. but not the only one.

my thoughts exactly.

[ArgSpursFan.]

^^^

[ambchang]

The thing about the Celtics that really caught me by surprise is how good their defense is. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were not known for defense, and there is only so much one man can do (KG).
I also thought their lack of depth and PG would spell disaster for them, but RR has played decent and smart, and their bench has been contributing. That said, they still had a moronically soft schedule up to this point, and I am expecting them to lose a few games between now and the end of the season.
I still say Pistons in the finals.

[Supergirl]

The thing about the Celtics that really caught me by surprise is how good their defense is. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were not known for defense, and there is only so much one man can do (KG).
I also thought their lack of depth and PG would spell disaster for them, but RR has played decent and smart, and their bench has been contributing. That said, they still had a moronically soft schedule up to this point, and I am expecting them to lose a few games between now and the end of the season.
I still say Pistons in the finals.

I've been saying for years (and so has he) that Paul Pierce is a very underrated defender. He's actually a pretty good defender, though not a consistent one, and he's never had a big man like KG to play with, and that makes his defense much, much better.

Ray is the opposite of defense. But they also have a couple guys like House coming off the bench who play decent D.

The big ? in my mind is the long term - can they keep it up over 82 games? Can they stay healthy? Can they grind it out in a 7 game series? They haven't really been tested yet. But they will. And we'll see how they handle it.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

The East is weak. Cleveland wouldn't have made it past the second round (perhaps not the first) in the West last year. None of the Eastern teams, save Miami, have proven winners as head coaches. Doc's as proven as anyone in the East not named Riley.

The way Boston has played to this point I'd say they've got a better than 50% chance of making it out of the East. Detroit is a somewhat close second with Orlando and Cleveland on the outside looking in. But we'll see. There's a lot of season to go.

[nkdlunch]

Detroit is gonna crush Boston this week.

[The_Game]

Detroit is gonna crush Boston this week.

are you high? you must be

no one is going to crush Boston in Boston...just not possible.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

don't look now, but they're finally going to play a West team worth a damn next week.

[Obstructed_View]

The Celtics are the best team in the NBA right now. Since "right now" is December, which means regular season, we know what that's worth. Who was the last team with the best record in the NBA to win the le?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

The Celtics are the best team in the NBA right now. Since "right now" is December, which means regular season, we know what that's worth. Who was the last team with the best record in the NBA to win the le?

wasn't that the '96 Bulls?

[JamStone]

What a shocker. Spurs fans getting on their knees and blowing the Pistons again. Despite the Pistons playing their new role in the NBA as the ECF runner ups, spurs fans still blow them as if this was 2005. If the Pistons had this kind of start, Spurs fans would be saying "This is the Spurs of the east, they are great and proven and I love circle jerking with their fans".

Pistons suck. Celtics by 43.

[TampaDude]

Bookmark this post, because I'm calling it right now. The Celtics will NOT win the East. BOOK IT!!!

[Obstructed_View]

wasn't that the '96 Bulls?

It hasn't been that long. I'm pretty sure the Spurs did it once.

[bostonguy]

Pistons suck. Celtics by 43.

Just make the ECF to face the Celts. I want the Pistons to be the team to wish us luck in the finals. This is a great new role for this team and it seems like they enjoy seeing these new teams head to the finals. Keep the tradition going because I want to be the next team the Pistons wish the best of luck to in the finals.