There are win streaks in the NBA and there is what the Boston Celtics are doing to the rest of the league over the past three weeks. Officially, the Green tied the season-high for longest win streak in the NBA with their eighth-straight victory over a hapless Hawks team on Friday night at the TD Garden, but they’ve really done much more than win games in this stretch.
Beatdowns are a better descriptor for these matchups.
The degree of difficulty for this contest was not high and that’s been the case for the majority of victories during this eight-game run. However, do not let that take away from the fact that has been an unprecedented run of domination by the C’s over the past eight games. A closer look at the damage that Boston has done puts in perspective the potential that this team is capable of.
- They have averaged 125.4 points per game during the streak.
- Seven of their eight wins have come by nine points or more.
- They have scored 120 points or more six times during the streak itself. They did that just five times during the entire 82-game regular season last year.
- Their net rating during the streak is 21.9, which is twice as much as the second-ranked team in the league (the Utah Jazz) during that stretch.
- No. 1 in the NBA on offense and No. 3 on defense during the past eight games.
So how exactly are the Celtics putting together this kind of a run?
“We’re connected,” Gordon Hayward explained. “We’re really playing together, and we’re connected on both ends, especially when we’re communicating defensively. Then we don’t have to walk the ball up the court and can get some easy stuff in transition. That makes us even better, to be connected like this.”
This is the vision that most observers had for this team coming out of the gate this year and perhaps the most encouraging part of this run is the fact that it has come while this group has been shorthanded. Al Horford has played for just three games during the streak, Jaylen Brown for just four and Hayward for six. Those absences have not stopped Boston from reaching a contender-level of play, leaving the opening for far more growth over the remaining 54 games of the regular season.
“You’re always going to run into stretches of the season where it doesn’t feel as good, or you may not – but we’re certainly capable -- we feel a lot more comfortable where our spots are,” Brad Stevens said. “You know, you can tell ... they’ve got a good feel for playing together. And yet, there are still some groups that I think could play even better. So that’s encouraging.”
The Celtics know they have to make up for lost time after a 10-10 start. They dug themselves an early hole in the standings and still stand four games back of the Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the East. That is making them just as hungry on every night now whether they are facing the Hawks or a contender.
“We’re definitely not satisfied at all,” Kyrie Irving said. “We don’t want to be mediocre at all. So I think (we need to) keep pushing every single game and showing why we want to be the best team.”
“I don’t think we ever were on track,” Irving added when reflecting on the team’s early-season woes. “I think we were still trying to figure out what that track looked like for us. It’s an everyday thing though and how gradual it is to be a great team. One misstep, one injury, one thing here and you just live in the moment and you take advantage to have that opportunity to play with everyone every single night. You go out and beat teams, having fun doing so.”
The Celtics have found themselves now and are putting the rest of the league on notice. They won’t get tested until next Friday against the Bucks (although a back-to-back against the Pistons in Detroit won’t be easy) but the longer they put together this type of consistency, the more realistic a trip to the NBA Finals in June becomes despite the struggles over the first quarter of the season.
“We all have our own individual goals, but all that matters is getting up on that stage,” Irving explained. “I want to be on that stage again, whatever it takes, every single day.”