4 reasons why the Celtics have put together a four-game winning streak

The Celtics are now a mere half-game behind the Orlando Magic for the top spot in the Eastern Conference after an impressive 96-90 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday night. Brad Stevens has suddenly put things together after an ugly 0-2 start and it's important to know what has led to the quick turnaround. Let's take a closer look at some of the encouraging trends at the heart of the C's four-game winning streak and whether they can be counted on to continue in the weeks to come.

1.  Defensive rebounding: Cleaning up the glass was the Celtics' Achilles' heel for the first four seasons of the Brad Stevens era. Danny Ainge never really gave his head coach the personnel to allow Boston to have a chance on the boards most nights and that led to a bottom-five rebounding team for the past three seasons. Things changed a bit on that front in the summer of 2017. Aron Baynes, a true big man with size that can hold his own on the glass, was signed early in free agency. Players with real length became a priority, as seen with the drafting and signing of guys like Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis and Semi Ojeleye. The team's athletic guard talents (Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown) were also lined up for expanded roles following the trades of Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley. The net result? The Celtics have quietly become one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the league, ranking third in rebounding rate (81.7 percent) through six games. Al Horford and Rozier have posted the highest rebounding rates on the team so far, but the box out work by Baynes against opposing bigs to free both players to corral boards has been pivotal to the turnaround. It's doubtful this sensational team rate is sustainable for the long haul but it's clear already that the Celtics won't be losing the battles on the boards nearly as often this year. 

2. Defending the 3-point line: The Celtics have always been pesky in this department under Stevens, but they've stepped up their defensive game on the perimeter in the last week. Not only are opponents shooting a paltry 29 percent from beyond the arc in the last four games, but they are only attempting 25 shots per game from distance. Both of those marks put the Celtics among the NBA's top-5  teams in those categories over the first two weeks of the regular season. Perimeter defense was assumed to be a big question mark for this team following the departures of Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, but youngsters like Brown, Rozier, Marcus Smart and Tatum have stepped up on closeouts to ensure easy looks are hard to come by for opponents.

3. Getting to the free throw line: The Celtics aren't doing a lot of things well on the offensive end early in the season, but they have remained in attack mode despite their shooting woes. That aggression has paid off at the charity stripe for the green. Boston ranks fourth in the league in free throw rate, thanks to a balanced effort across the roster. Six rotation players (Tatum, Brown, Irving, Horford, Smart, Baynes) are averaging at least 2.5 free throw attempts per game. Last year, the Celtics only had three players clear that 2.5 per game mark for the entire year. The most encouraging part of those numbers? A 19-year-old Tatum currently leads the team with 4.8 free throw attempts per game. He's also shooting 86.2 percent from the charity stripe.

4. A steady rotation: It took Stevens a couple games but he finally figured out which guys on this bench unit he can trust. Abdel Nader and Guerschon Yabusele have been stashed at the end of the bench since the first half of the Sixers game (beyond some garbage time). Shane Larkin and Daniel Theis have been elevated to regular rotation minutes, at least until Marcus Morris returns to the lineup. Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart have combined to lead the second unit, while Semi Ojeleye and Jabari Bird have served as optional defensive weapons for Stevens, as needed. The starting lineup will continue to shift based on the matchups on a nightly basis (Baynes/Theis/Smart), but the minutes are staying consistent during the streak for most guys. Whether or not they are starting, players are beginning to understand their roles and it has helped produce four straight wins for this undermanned Celtics squad.