It’s appropriate that this Celtics season is going this way during an abnormally mild winter.
We know how things are supposed to go between November and March. Boston is used to getting a foot of snow every other week, not a foot combined over five months.
Nah, we’ve been lulled to sleep before only to get walloped in April. We’re not gonna fall for the banana in the tailpipe. No one’s putting their shovels away just yet.
The same applies for the Celtics, who appear to be coming out of their March funk, giving credence to the thought that their post-All-Star play was more an aberration than a return to old habits.
We’re too smart for that, right?
“I think that's just the way things are nowadays. Both ways, honestly,” Derrick White said after the Celtics pasted the Pacers Friday night. “We're playing great, we're amazing. Struggle a little bit, then the sky is falling. I think that's just the way it is. We just gotta stay consistent and just do what we need to do to win games."
It’s hard to tell if the last few weeks were the one bad storm for the season, or if another nor’easter will bury Boston’s title hopes. But just like the temperature getting into the 50s and 60s around here this week, everything is feeling warm and fuzzy in the Celtics locker room.
“I think over the last two games, we were very, very detailed in our gameplan and execution, very detailed in our spacing, very detailed in our offensive attack,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I think we're a much different team when we are committed to that. That's hard to do over a long period of time. … I think they're in a good place right now.”
For two straight games, we’ve seen an all-around effort from the Celtics that's been missing since you still had Thanksgiving leftovers in your fridge. They are playing with good pace, starting with Marcus Smart actually playing point guard and pushing the ball up the floor.
“Smart is always trying to find guys, find his teammates, get guys open, get 'em going,” Jayson Tatum said. “So if you're looking or not, if you're going to be there or not, he's going to throw it. We all know when Smart has the ball, keep your head on a swivel, run, and he’s going to find you. He’s trying to pass first, and when he’s pushing the ball, we’ve all got to follow suit."
Tatum, especially, has done so. Over his past two games, he’s 20-27 in the restricted area, or 74.1%. That's Joel Embiid/Giannis Antetokounmpo territory. Not only is that about 5% better than he normally shoots in that area, The 13 and 14 shots he’s gotten at the rim in the past two games are about twice his season average.
It’s no surprise that when Smart gets to dictate the tempo instead of waiting around to shoot and Tatum is catching the ball on the move, good things happen. We all know that's the formula, even when the Celtics get away from it. The Celtics finally got themselves back to doing it, and the results speak for themselves.
“We’re sharing the ball, we’re getting shots, getting stops,” Tatum said. “It builds confidence, I guess. We’ve had a lot of overtime games, so I guess we’re due for some blowouts where we can get some rest.”
I don’t know if being due has anything to do with it, but I’m not going to nitpick here. The most important thing is that the Celtics understand, after two very well played games, that this is the way to get where they need to go. The Celtics had a built-in excuse to not play well Friday night and they passed on it.
“Just mindset. We definitely wanted to come out and match their energy,” Jaylen Brown said. “Indiana is a tough team, they put a lot of pressure on you by the way they play, fast playing style, get up and down, they switch a lot. I think it was a mindset game today, just come and match their energy, and we did that tonight, and we got the win.”
It was a good win, and an important win at that. In an organization that preaches process over results, they have gotten back to focusing on the process of playing good basketball. They are active defensively, and they are getting away from over-helping or doubling for no reason. They are getting stops, running, and putting pressure on other teams to keep up. They are working the ball around offensively, generating good shots instead of taking the first decent shot they see.
And basketball is fun again in Boston. Let’s hope they keep it that way.
“Winter is over, spring is here,” Brown said when asked about seemingly having more fun on the court in this game. “So definitely being in better spirits, trying to be I guess smiling a little bit, just to come out and just share your enthusiasm and your love for the game. I get that a lot. Probably don’t smile enough, but it’s a lot of work that we’ve got in front of us. And ain’t nothing funny.”
