I’m not going to say the Boston Celtics were down and out when Gordon Hayward’s ankle snapped in half in the opening minutes of Boston’s opener with Cleveland four weeks ago.
But it didn’t look good.
Four weeks later, the Celtics are the best team in the NBA, with a record of 13-2 going into Thursday night’s pivotal matchup with the defending champion Golden State Warriors. After starting 0-2, the Celtics have won thirteen in a row. It’s the best response to an 0-2 start in NBA history, and they’ve been playing for 71 years.
It feels like we’ve seen this three years in a row now. The Celtics are blindsided with some sort of adversity, then promptly rally together and prove the NBA wrong. Now, the NBA’s fastest rebuild seems to be nearing completion, and most of the success can be attributed to a key offseason acquisition that is paying dividends for the Celtics.
Guard Kyrie Irving, fresh off a blockbuster trade from the Cavaliers in return for Celtics fan-favorite Isaiah Thomas, is playing out of his mind. His numbers aren’t necessarily eye-popping, but take a moment to watch how Irving plays the game the next time the C’s are on the floor. He’s added a whole new arsenal to his game: defensive tenacity. Here’s a guy who will dive for a loose ball, pick at a swingman, and draw a key charge when the Celtics are losing momentum. It becomes abundantly clear, after just a few minutes of watching, that Kyrie is the floor general of this team. And why shouldn’t he? He’s the most talented guy on the roster.
He’s not doing it by himself. Aron Baynes has been a huge addition, in both productivity and size. If Baynes takes a jump shot from between ten and fifteen feet, it’s probably going in. He’ll also bully his way to ten rebounds or more, on any given night.
Daniel Theis’ play has also been extremely gratifying. Figuring to be a rarely used bench piece before the season, coach Brad Stevens thrust Theis into a more prominent role after Hayward’s injury. The results: very good. Theis has morphed into a key rotation piece that can hit a shot anywhere on the floor.
Semi Ojoleye has also been fantastic, joining Kyrie as another reliable three-point guy. Finally, I’ve been loving the play of Terry Rozier, one of the few returning guys from a season ago. Rosier erupted for 17 fourth-quarter points against the Sacramento Kings in a blowout win two weeks ago, with most coming via the three-ball.
Danny Ainge, for all his curious offseason behavior, went out and created serious depth. The Celtics returned just four players from last year’s team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, and they still appear to be just as tight-knit as before.
So what does all this mean? The way I see it is this: the Celtics came into the season knowing they had to be more efficient from a scoring standpoint. Boston ranked in the lower depths of the Eastern Conference in overall scoring last season, though they often had a good enough defense to counter any dismal scoring nights. Flash forward to this season: Boston is shooting the lights out from deep, AND they’ve got the best defense at the NBA. Through 15 games, Boston is giving up less points a game than any team in the league. Put improved offensive efficiency together with defensive shutdown ability, and you’ve got yourself a championship contender.
I will always appreciate Isaiah Thomas and everything he did for the Celtics and Greater Boston. The dude was, and still is, a straight-up baller. However, three months after this monster trade went down, I’m starting to understand Ainge’s thinking behind it. Isaiah was an incredible scorer given his 5’9” frame, but he couldn’t muster up enough defense to stop fellow guards like Bradley Beal or Kyrie Irving (who are both guys Thomas defended in the playoffs a year ago. Now, if anyone has the work ethic to improve his defensive game, it’s Thomas, and I have little doubt that he will do just that. However, at this point in time, Kyrie was the better guy to turn this Celtics team from “very good” to “dominant,” both on the offensive and defensive side of the basketball.
Kyrie Irving was destined to be a star even when he was at Duke. All he required was a chance to shine on his own, away from the shadow that comes with being LeBron James’ sidekick. In Boston, the earth is flat, Kyrie runs the show, and just four years after losing 57 games, the Celtics have Bostonians dreaming about another Duck Boat parade.
