The Boston Celtics started this season 0-3, and at one point, they were just 6-7. That seemed to confirm the notion that did the rounds during last offseason that they’d no longer occupy their perennial spot near the top of the East. However, since that point, they’ve been one of the NBA’s very best teams.
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The Celtics blew out the Bucks on Monday night by a score of 108-81. Given the disparity in records between the two teams, that result shouldn’t have been a surprise, though. But considering the factors that were at play, the win is significant.
The game was in Milwaukee and featured the return of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from injury. Meanwhile, sleeper MVP candidate Jaylen Brown was absent for Boston. That makes the win and the margin as impressive as just about anything else the Celtics have done lately.
This was the seventh win in the last eight games for the Celtics, and the 12th in their last 14. It kept them two games ahead of the Knicks for second spot in the East. The win was so impressive that it even caused Lakers superfan Shannon Sharpe to praise them effusively on his Nightcap podcast. “This is when you know a team is really, really good and really, really deep,” he said.
“You look at OKC, the way they played without Shai. You look at the way Boston played when they were without JB. That’s when you know. They don’t play like, ‘Oh man, JB’s not in there, we can’t win this ’cause Giannis is coming back.’ They blew ’em out by 27,” added Sharpe.
Giannis’ return and Brown’s absence garnered all the headlines before the game. But the Celtics’ depth was the real star of the show. Six different players scored in double figures, and they were led by Payton Pritchard, who scored a game-high 25 points from off the bench.
Pritchard and Derrick White also had nine assists each, while new arrival Nikola Vucevic dished seven of his own. The Celtics basically did everything better than the Bucks.
They outshot them from 3-point range. They out-rebounded them by 13. They forced six more turnovers. In short, they showed why they’re a complete team. The Bucks, meanwhile, seemed to have had no plan other than shining the Bat signal and hoping Giannis caped up.
Joe Johnson credited the coaching for making the Celtics such a well-oiled machine. “I’m giving Joe Mazzulla … a lot of credit,” he said.
“Although the players gotta go out there and compete and play in between the lines, but man, he has a mean scheme, bro, for them to be successful, night in and night out. No matter who suits up, Boston’s always gonna be in it,” added Johnson.
It wasn’t so long ago that Mazzulla was thought to be in over his head as a young head coach. However, like his team, he has developed rapidly. Now he has them rolling, and it looks like he’ll get to add Jayson Tatum to the mix before the season is done.
Sharpe’s comparison between the Celtics and Thunder could be a poignant one, because if things keep going this way, that could be our Finals matchup. If Pritchard is the best player on the floor and Huge Gonzalez is chipping in 18 and 16, just imagine what this team will do when Tatum and Brown are both healthy.
