Can anyone in the East actually stop the Celtics?
I'm becoming skeptical.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
The Golden Bough, J.M.W. Turner, 1834
Here are the Boston Celtics’ losses over the past nine weeks (which encompasses 28 games, or an entire third of a season): a beatdown in Atlanta on Jan. 28, a 1-point loss to the Pistons on Feb. 16, a beatdown in Indiana on Feb. 27, and a close loss to the Mavericks on national TV on March 13. It’s April later this week, and that’s three losses since the calendar flipped to February. The Celtics are 24-4 in their past 28 games. Oh, and they are now tied for first place in the East.
You’ll notice zero losses to teams the Celtics will have to play in the Eastern Conference playoffs, with the potential exception of the Hawks, should the Hawks be able to win two single elimination play-in games. Boston has beaten Atlanta twice since that January loss, by the way.
Here’s what the Celtics have done against Eastern Conference playoff teams in the past nine weeks:
Beat the Heat by 30 on Jan. 31
Beat the Sixers by 48 in front of a national TV audience and the Basketball Gods
Beat the Nets three times by an average of 21 points
Beat the Hornets twice
And here’s what they’ve done against the best West teams since late January:
Beat Denver twice (once by 20)
Beat Memphis by 13
Beat the Warriors by 22
Beat the Jazz by 28
On Sunday, beat the Timberwolves by 22
Boston has lost to one good team in the past two months. Add in the other play-in teams most people would not consider “good” — the Hawks and Pelicans in this case — and the Celtics are 16-2 against possible playoff teams over the last two months and change. And many of these victories, like Sunday’s breezy triumph over the hot Wolves, are emphatic. Since the Dallas loss, Boston is 6-0 with an average margin of +22. And that’s four road games and two home games against good Western teams.
Toward the start of this run — circa mid-Feburary — it became clear this wasn’t just a fluke, that the Celtics were putting together the platonic ideal of what this team could be: a brilliant, impossible defense with a top-tier scorer, a second-level two-way star fitting nicely beside him and a rotation full of quality. I wrote on February 16 that Boston had the recipe and should be included in the list of East contender. Even that looks quaint now: Boston should be the favorite to come out of the East, and it’s looking more likely every day that the Celtics could legitimately steamroll the East en route to the NBA Finals.
The Suns are the overwhelming NBA title favorites. I won’t hear any arguments to the contrary. But the Celtics might have climbed to No. 2 in that ranking. It’s really hard to beat a team you can’t score on, and no one can score on the Celtics right now.
Scores
FRIDAY
Jazz 101, Hornets 107 — Utah’s struggling.
Wizards 100, Pistons 97 — You know what, Rui Hachimura? Well-earned tech.
Mavericks 95, Timberwolves 116 — Karl-Anthony Towns is feisty as all get out, the Mavericks not named Luka shot 5/32 from three and Minnesota is rolling. But still, this assist from Luka is the biggest highlight. Who does this?
Sixers 122, Clippers 97 — Losing to a full-strength Philly is understandable for anyone, but L.A. has been in a funk. Also understandable! But worth noting considering they will have 1-2 high-profile play-in games.
SATURDAY
Spurs 107, Pelicans 103 — Huge win for San Antonio to stay in touch of the No. 10 seed.
Kings 114, Magic 110 (OT) — I’m very into Davion Mitchell’s game. Backcourt steal and lay-up to force overtime.
Pacers 91, Raptors 131 — Toronto was literally on fire. Well, there was a small fire in the arena with the Raptors up 66-38 just 16 minutes into the game. The building was evacuated and completed without fans. The Raptors did not cool off. Now in the No. 6 seed.
Bulls 98, Cavaliers 94 — Cleveland showed hella fight at the end but Chicago closed it out to stay secure at No. 5. Big win.
Nets 110, Heat 95 — Tough times in Miami as they fall out of first place for the first time in a while. Good vibes for Brooklyn … but they didn’t last.
Bucks 102, Grizzlies 127 — Memphis is out here trucking title contenders without Ja Morant. What a team.
SUNDAY
Timberwolves 112, Celtics 134 — Steamrollers.
Sixers 104, Suns 114 — Philadelphia pulled to within 101-100 with just under five minutes remaining. What do the Suns do the last five minutes of games? Oh right. Thirteen points in nine possessions for Phoenix the rest of the way, limited Philly to four points in nine possessions on the other side. And Joel Embiid was a beast all game, but the Suns are just that good.
Lakers 108, Pelicans 116 — L.A. led by 23. The Pelicans did not — DID NOT — quit. Incredible turn of events. New Orleans takes the lead for No. 9 (and the tiebreaker) and the Spurs are within one game of the Lakers for No. 10. LeBron James was limping in the postgame.
Hornets 119, Nets 110 — Kyrie Irving makes him home debut for the season, talks about being a beacon of freedom or whatever, shoots 6/22 from the field. The Hornets have the tiebreaker and the No. 8 seed, love. Reminder that if the Nets finish No. 9, where they now sit, they have to win two straight to claim the last playoff spot. LaMelo Ball put 33-9-7 on Kyrie.
Jazz 100, Mavericks 114 — Dallas grabs sole possession of No. 4 over Utah with the convincing win (no Rudy Gobert or Bojan Bogdanovic). We’re still on track for these teams to meet in the first round but Dallas is just two games behind the flailing Warriors for No. 3 and the flailing Jazz are just one game ahead of the Nuggets for No. 5. Things can still shift.
Schedule
All times Eastern. Asterisks are for intrigue, almost exclusively of the MUTUAL PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS variety now.
Nuggets at Hornets, 7*
Magic at Cavaliers, 7
Hawks at Pacers, 7
Kings at Heat, 7:30
Bulls at Knicks, 7:30
Celtics at Raptors, 7:30***
Spurs at Rockets, 8
Warriors at Grizzlies, 8, NBA TV**
Thunder at Blazers, 10
Alright, be excellent to each other.
I didn't even know that JM J. Bullock was a painter.
Robert Williams injury can certainly stop them...