Broken Record: Celtics Once Again Show The Rest Of The NBA That They Are Contenders
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics are a broken record. The beat the team keeps repeating is one that has the Celtics absolutely decimating any team that stands in their way.
It's a lovely beat, actually, and on Wednesday night at TD Garden, they played it for the Utah Jazz. Boston hit all of its usual beautiful notes from the last three months, playing smothering defense while mixing in some exquisite ball movement on offense. It threw the Jazz -- the NBA's leading offense -- completely out of tune, and led to yet another blowout victory for the Celtics.
The 125-97 win was another statement by the Celtics, another warning to the rest of the NBA. While doubters see Boston as a one-hit wonder that won't go anywhere in the playoffs, the Celtics' recent country-wide tour of beatdowns says otherwise. The Celtics have now won five straight, with four of those coming on the road, by a combined total of 108 points.
But it goes far beyond that small sample size of sheer dominance. The Celtics are 27-7 since their embarrassing loss to the Knicks on Jan. 6. They have won 15 of their last 16 games against teams in the playoffs or play-in tournament, with the lone loss a frustrating home defeat at the hands the Dallas Mavericks. That one slip-up is the only beat that the Celtics have missed in March.
There were no missed notes on Wednesday night though. The Celtics were already up by double digits before the midway point of the first quarter, as Marcus Smart put on a passing clinic. Smart dished out nine of Boston's 13 first-quarter assists in the opening frame, a preview of the magnificent ball movement that the Celtics would display throughout the game. Boston had a season-high 37 helpers on 50 made baskets, and finished with a season-best 59.5 shooting percentage for the game.
It would appear there is no ceiling for this team at the moment. Anytime we think they've hit it, their orchestra blows it into the stratosphere.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have blossomed into the duo we knew they could become, a modern day Miles Davis and John Coltrane on the hardwood. Both poured in 26 points on Wednesday, and had eight assists between them. Robert Williams continued to beat the drum with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Smart took just three shots, and hit two of them, because he was busy handing out a career-high 13 assists.
These guys are having a blast out there, and it's equally as fun to watch. They don't take plays off no matter what the scoreboard says, which was on full display in the closing seconds of the third quarter when Al Horford rejected a Rudy Gay three in the corner, followed by Tatum rejecting a Trent Forrest jumper to end the frame. The Celtics were up by 25 at that point, but the fury of their defense did not wane.
Smart said after the game that the Celtics would not be the team they are right now had they not overcome their early season tumult. Head coach Ime Udoka added that they all believe there is another level they can reach. If that is the case, the rest of the NBA should be very, very concerned.
With Wednesday night's win and a Miami Heat loss to the Warriors (a team the Celtics just beat in Golden State), the Celtics sit just 1.5 games out of first place. They remain in fourth place in the East, mere percentage points behind the Bucks and the 76ers, but have put themselves in a position to compete for the top spot in the conference over the final weeks of the season.
The chatter in the East is that no one will want to play the Nets after they emerge from the play-in tournament, and Brooklyn is certainly a lot more dangerous now that Kyrie Irving will be allowed to play his home games. But with the way that Boston has been playing since early January, the conversation should probably shift to the Celtics being the team no one wants to face.
This is no fluke. The Celtics are for real. It's the same song and dance every night, and it's one that now has the Celtics firmly in the conversation as title contenders.
