Nine observations from the Celtics' nine-game winning streak

With the Celtics putting together their best start to a season since the 2007-08 championship season (over the first 10 games), I dove into the numbers to find what's real, areas of improvement and what to expect as the C's embark on their west coast swing. 

1. Kemba Walker may have been better than we all thought: The numbers are staggering in the early going. He’s posting career-highs in 3-point percentage (44.4 percent), free throw attempts (5.9 per game) and rebounds (5.1 per game). His turnovers are down, his defense has been impressive and he’s on pace to have the best 3-point shooting season in Celtics history through ten games, after averaging an absurd 4.4 makes per game. His defense has fit in very well as someone who is a regular contributor to Boston’s consistent play on that end despite his size.

It’s easy to forget how much was put on him in Charlotte over the past eight years and the fact that he may have the three best teammates of his career playing next to him right now in Boston with Hayward, Tatum and Brown. It’s hard to measure those variables properly when you compare him to a guy like Kyrie Irving, who has played with top tier talent for the majority of his career. Ten games are too small of a sample size to make any grand proclamations, but it’s fair to say that the integration of Walker has come quicker than anyone could have hoped. Short of opening night, he’s risen to the occasion in every situation that this team has needed him and that’s been paramount to the team’s nine-game winning streak.

2. Jayson Tatum is shooting better from 3-point range than 2-point range: Amid a strong offensive start, Tatum is taking and making more 3s (6.2 per game) than ever while knocking down a superb 40.3 percent on that high volume. The encouraging news? His 2-point game has a lot of room for improvement. He’s shooting just 39.3 percent from the field overall, a number that has undoubtedly been pulled down by his 1-of-18 dud on Monday night. The early woes for Tatum have come predominantly at the rim (46.3 percent inside three feet), a number that is nearly 20 percent below his career average. Once those numbers return to the mean, Tatum’s will have the numbers of an All-Star when it comes to his offense.

3. Tatum remains a plus/minus monster: One thing that has been consistent about Tatum during his Boston career? Positive things happen when he’s on the floor the vast majority of the time. That trend is continuing this year, as Tatum not only leads the team in plus/minus (+128), he is the far and away NBA leader at that mark, besting the likes of LeBron James (+96) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (+92) for the top spot by a considerable margin. Small sample size warnings aside, Tatum’s value on both ends has been critical all year long despite his off shooting nights. He’s been top-25 in this category for the past two seasons and he’s well on his way in the start of year three.

4. Jaylen Brown improving pretty much everywhere: It’s been a struggle to pinpoint one area of progress for the 23-year-old when there is so much ground to cover through 10 games. Outside of a subpar 3-point shooting start from downtown (28 percent), Brown has been an absolute monster on both ends of the floor. He’s rebounding better than ever (6.9 per game), averaging a career-high 5.0 free throws and 2.7 assists per game, while also turning the ball over less than ever. On top of all of that, the most impressive part of his game has to be the efficiency. He’s shooting an absurd 60.5 percent from 2-point range despite taking 12 attempts per game from that range. Whether it’s been the rim or midrange, Brown has been lights out thus far, getting to his spots on the floor better than ever. Defenses don’t know how to contain him and they still respect his 3-point shot. The leap many were expecting last year has arrived.

5. Rob Williams and Enes Kanter aren’t shooting much, but they are hitting plenty: Both big men are making over 70 percent of their field goals through the first few weeks, although Kanter has played just three games. His 3-point shooting chatter has pretty much dissipated (just one attempt so far) but the true bigs are eating up easy opportunities down low created by lobs and offensive rebounds. There was no easy source of these finishes last year with a lack of athleticism/size at times with Baynes/Horford, so this is a welcome development in Boston’s improved offense thus far.

6. Semi Ojeleye just isn’t shooting anymore: That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the third-year forward who has been in and out of the rotation. After an ugly preseason, he’s down to 4.6 shot attempts per 36 minutes, easily the lowest number on the team. For now, the C’s have been able to get away with that with other pieces of the offense running on all cylinders but this will be the continual drawback with Ojeleye all year long — who is now solely in games for his defense.

7. After a rough start to the year, Brad Wanamaker has settled in: The month of November has been kind to the backup point guard who is now a full member of the rotation in the wake of Hayward’s injury. Any calls for Tremont Waters have faded as Wanamaker has scored 7.7 points and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 61 percent from the field in the month of November over six games. His play along with the emergence of Javonte Green have turned Boston’s bench into a net positive over the last two weeks for this team, a critical shift as the injuries have piled up for Brad Stevens.

8. The Celtics rank 24th in strength of schedule so far: There have been some impressive wins so far (Toronto, Milwaukee, Dallas) but the gimmes have piled up in recent weeks for Boston. The Knicks look like the worst team in the league. The Hornets are falling back to earth. Even the win over the Spurs’ looks less impressive after they dropped one to the Grizzlies in San Antonio the other night. With three opponents upcoming on the west coast trip with top-10 net ratings (Phoenix, LA Clippers, Denver), the C’s will have to earn their stripes while playing shorthanded.

9. Tacko Fall is still leading the team in points (36) and rebounds (27) per 36 minutes: Since he’s only played four minutes and will be up in Maine for the foreseeable future, this is a throne that he may end up holding for awhile. Look for more on Fall, Tremont Waters and Romeo Langford here at BSJ next week from their time in Maine.