Buckle Up Because The Celtics Possibility Of Defending Their Title Just Got A Massive Boost

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

While this matchup certainly doesn't have the juice it once did, it will always feel great kicking the shit out of The Process, especially on their home floor. Think of what Jayson Tatum & Co have done to that fanbase in their last two meetings. The last time these teams played, the Celts came back from 26 as Jayson Tatum once again buried the Sixers in the 4th quarter. Last night, it was an ass whooping right from the jump, another dominant Tatum performance only he did it while barely shooting.

That has to be pretty deflating for a team and a fanbase that by now is probably ready to call it a season. Embiid looks awful, George looks awful, they're too small/slow defensively, at this point it wouldn't shock me if they shut everyone down considering their pick is top 6 protected. 

But this isn't a blog about the Sixers. This is a blog about the Champs, and the fact that I'm not sure enough people understand that after watching arguably a top 5 NBA season of all time in 2024, we are currently watching arguably one of the best title defense seasons in NBA history. This is fact, not opinion.

This entire century, there have only been 4 teams that won 60+ games in a title defense season. The Celts are right outside that number playing at a 58 win pace, but seeing as how they've won 8 of 9 it's not insane to think that win pace improves slightly should this level of play continue.

Say they don't and instead finish with 58-59 wins. That would basically be the 2017-18 Warriors title defense year in terms of win total (58), but here's where the Celts separate from that team and the four 60+ win teams

None of them did it with a +9.2 point differential. Those Warriors? +6.0. The 05-06 Spurs who won 63? A +6.8. The 08-09 Celts that won 62? A +7.5. The LeBron Heat? A +7.9. Only the Warriors were better winning 73 games with a +10.8, and we all know how their season ended.

The point is, despite this weird obsession with trying to force the 

"ehhhhh ya know, the Celtics just aren't as good as last year"

narrative because of a collective shooting slump, in reality, it's essentially impossible to have a better title defense season than what we are witnessing, and the encouraging part is everything we are seeing is sustainable. It's not like they've never had a down month, this entire roster couldn't hit a jump shot for 2 months and STILL look at what they are doing in terms of both the regular season AND in the context of NBA history. This shit is NOT normal.

With that said, let us begin.

The Good

- While I wouldn't call it a perfect performance, what we saw in this win from Jayson Tatum is about as close as you could physically get. To say Tatum dominated this game in all aspects doesn't really do it justice, but there's really no other way to describe it. He was a maestro, completely dictating what happened on either end of the floor. The way he was able to manipulate the Sixers' defense at will all without really shooting the ball was a masterclass in how you dominate a game as an offensive engine.

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Before the break while Jaylen/Jrue were out, Tatum's role needed to be adjusted in a sense that his scoring was very much needed. It's largely why he went into the break with 26, 26, and 25 FGA and was averaging 35 a game. It's what the team needed from their superstar in that specific moment.

Now with everyone back last night, Tatum was able to adjust into an approach that not only was unstoppable, but shows why he is who he is. He took just 13 FGA in this game and it didn't matter one bit. Tatum had the ball the same amount he always does (81 touches). They ran the same sets for him they always do, with the only difference being the decision Tatum made once he had the ball. In the games before the break? He knew he had to shoot and score to carry the offensive load. When this entire team is healthy and on the floor? We get an approach like last night, where despite not shooting the opposing defense is SO WORRIED about Tatum that he's able to create for others and the Celts become an avalanche.

Just listen to Joe

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To me, this is what separates Jayson Tatum from pretty much every superstar not named Nikola Jokic. Not only can he always go off for 30+, but he's also giving you 10+ rebounds with elite passing. If the game calls for him to bury teams with his passing, he can, and few players in the NBA can manipulate a defense like this without shooting. It's what you see with Jokic all the time and why I continue to urge those obsessed with an arbitrary USG% number to realize that's not what it's about. It's about the decisions that Jayson Tatum makes with the basketball that matter. 

This was yet another example of a team simply having a matchup problem when it comes to Tatum. With Embiid on the floor, the Celts were able to get him in space and completely remove him from the equation seeing as how he could barely move. The Sixers had to be so worried about Tatum's pull up, that he was able to repeatedly able to spam P&R and find easy passing lanes for Kornet to finish at the rim. Given there was no perimeter resistance for Tatum because the Sixers don't have the wing defenders to do it, he was able to get into the paint at will and force rotations, which enabled guys to feast off wide open C&S 3s. 

Even when Nick Nurse tried to double Tatum, he never realized that Tatum has been beating doubles since 2020, and simply trapping him at half court with a lazy double where you never adjust your timing is going to be extremely easy for Tatum to solve. He's made that read 1000000000000 times, and was able to bury the Sixers whenever they tried it.

A game like this was a 10 out of 10 showing from your best player to kick the second half off right. A dominant two way performance where there was no doubt who the best and most impactful player was on the floor. Chef's kiss.

- Outside of Tatum's masterclass, the biggest result of this win is, of course, securing 40/20. I've certainly been adamant about how important it is in this title defense season that the Celts win their 40th before losing their 20th, and after their narrow 2pt loss to HOU a few weeks ago, the Celts needed a 8-4 stretch to clinch it.

They went 8-1.

Now it's very important to remember that securing 40/20 does not guarantee you are about to win the title. We all remember 2023 correct? But here's what I do know. When pretty much 90% of the champions in the last 50 years checked off this box, I would much prefer to enter the postseason having done it. While it's possible to win the title without it (4 teams in the last 50 years have done it), I'd rather not need a statistical anomaly to do it.

So far, OKC/CLE/BOS are the only teams to check this off. DEN/NYK/MEM are still alive, but basically can't lose again until they hit it. In total, we'll probably have around 4 teams to do it, and that feels about right in terms of the "real" contenders.

Look, you don't have to put stock into this. Everyone can do whatever they want. I'm just telling you what NBA history says, and if your goal is to win the title, then securing 40/20 is arguably one of if not the most important steps in the climb up the mountain. 

Up next? A Top 3 seed (on pace) and an SRS of 3.0+ (on pace).

These are the regular season benchmarks that matter, and the Celts are looking like they'll be 3 for 3.

- The thing that makes playing the Celts so tough is their entire roster is filled with players who you simply cannot be allowed to see just one shot go in. Once they do, buckle the fuck up. No player is that more true for than someone like Payton Pritchard, and now that he's rested it was no surprise that after he saw his first 3PA drop in the 1st quarter he ended up exploding

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As the lead continued to grow we all knew what that meant. It meant that as some point we were going to get Pro Am Pritchard minutes, and that guy is basically a Top 2 player in NBA history. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY kicks the shit out of scrubs in garbage time like Payton Pritchard. It's incredible. 

So not only were his minutes big in the Celts effort to build a lead and get separation, once they had it Pritchard was unleashed even more and before you knew it he had 28 with 8 3PM. 

This is their 6th man by the way. 

Since around mid-January (last 16 games) Pritchard is back to 42% shooting from deep on 6.7 3PA a night. On the season, he's throwing up 41% on the highest volume of his career (7.8 3PA). How insane is this? Pritchard has basically doubled his volume (4.7 to 7.8) while his efficiency has made a big leap as well (38.5% to 41.5%).

I'm at the point with Pritchard where he has fully moved into the Ray Allen Zone for me. My brain is certain every single 3PA he takes is going in. I'm legit shocked when he misses, especially an open one. When you remember that he's also taking a large portion of these 3PA from 30ft+, it's even more insane. In addition to all that, now Pritchard is WAY better at finishing at the rim/through contact as well as having a playmaking leap, so really we're talking about a complete player here. Shit, he even rebounds!

- A few too many dribbling into traffic TOs for my liking, but overall this was another solid performance from Jaylen Brown. He and Tatum did most of the heavy lifting early, and this was yet another game where we saw Jaylen finish with at least 6 AST

Like Tatum, Jaylen only took 13 FGA, didn't miss at the FT line, was second on the team in rebounds and assists and only played 26 minutes. I dunno about you, but I'll take a mostly efficient 20/6/6 in 26 minutes every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

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But I do really want to focus on the playmaking leap by Jaylen this season. This was now the 23rd game of his season where he's had at least 5 AST, and he's played 47 total. Just last season, that number was 21 games in 70 total appearances. 

His 22.1% AST% is by far the highest of his career, and his 11.3 TOV% is right in line with his career average (11.4%). This idea that Jaylen can't or shouldn't playmake is so bizarre to me, because he's literally been having an awesome playmaking season! Him being a passing threat is just as important as his scoring threat, and being able to impact games without shooting is exactly what I would want the next step in Jaylen's career to look like.

We all just saw Tatum dominate a game with his passing right? Well now imagine if you can have a similar impact with BOTH of your wings? That makes you so much harder to guard consistently, which is the entire point. What makes the Celts tough is they can kill you from a variety of spots with a variety of weapons. Having this level of passing from Jaylen is a good thing, and it's why we see Joe utilize it so much. It will be very important to have in the next few months once teams sell out to take the ball out of Tatum's hands. When they do that, Jaylen's passing leap enables the team to still have that type of threat, even when Tatum doesn't have the ball.

- If we've said it once we've said it a thousand times. As Derrick White goes this team goes.

It sounds a little silly, but I truly think White is the barometer for this team. When he's good, they basically never lose. When he struggles? Everything seems to fall apart. 

During his prolonged slump, it's no surprise the Celts looked like dogshit. White couldn't make a shot and the offense cratered. Then he snapped out of it, started getting back to making his open C&S 3s at his normal clip, and guess what happened? The Celtics essentially haven't lost. 

Nothing crazy, just a nice little 5-11 (3-7) with 10 rebounds, good defense and low TOs. This is all you need from White when everyone is healthy and on the floor, and I liked how in the moments when the Celts needed him to be aggressive with the ball and put pressure on the Sixers defense with self creation, he didn't hesitate. That was a player that has his confidence back, you can feel it through the TV screen. He's not hesitating on his 3s, he's being aggressive and attacking the rim when the possession calls for it, and he continues to win around the margins.

- I'd say the same thing about KP. A guy who has been without a doubt the 2nd most consistent Celtic this entire season, you'll never believe this but he was once again awesome in his minutes, completely outplaying Embiid

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Same thing here, nothing crazy. Just a nice little 5-11 (3-6) with a couple blocks and most importantly, only 25 minutes.

Having to live through Embiid minutes where he's falling all over the place with KP in the vicinity was terrifying, because Embiid is so reckless with his body I think we were all waiting for something to happen. He got pretty close to taking out KPs leg on that trip/flop against Horford, and the fact that KP came out clean is probably my favorite part of his night.

I know he can dominate inside/outside and at protecting the rim. The only thing that matters with KP is praying he gets through this homestretch healthy, because with each passing game he looks more and more in basketball shape, and that guy is a cheat code.

- Speaking of centers who were better than Joel Embiid, on a scale of 1 to 10 how down bad do you think Sixers fans were while they were watching Luke Kornet be the best center on the floor in minutes where Joel Embiid was playing? That had to hit like a ton of bricks

I have no idea how Brad Stevens is going to be able to retain him this summer, but seeing as how they have his Bird Rights I;m going to have to ask new ownership to not be cheap fucks and make sure to pay whatever it takes to keep Kornet around. He's too valuable, too consistent, too perfect of a fit. 

And again, he went into Joel Embiid's house and snatched his chain, repeatedly. That matters to me.

- I also enjoy how much Al Horford loves tormenting this fanbase. Imagine being the only franchise in history that hasn't been able to get good basketball out of Al Horford, and then thinking that's an Al Horford problem? Yikes. 

You just know he enjoys burying this team more than any other team in the league, especially doing it in Philly. 

And you know what? Al deserves it. 

- Isn't it interesting that the Celts went back to their normal approach, got back to taking the proper amount of 3PA which were generated by drive and kick/good ball movement, and suddenly they are kicking the shit out of everyone.

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I'm sorry if this offends, but Muzzall Ball works. Not only does it work, it dominates

If you can't limit the Celts 3PA you're cooked. If you have small defenders on the court at any time, you're cooked. It's really that simple.

During this last stretch of 15 games, the Celts have the 2nd best record in the NBA at 11-4. They are in the top 3 in terms of 3P% (38%) on high volume. As it turns out, things are pretty difficult when the Celts aren't missing every 3 they take. Imagine that! 

This is also why you do not let a shooting slump change your approach. You trust the work, you trust the system, you trust Mazzulla Ball. 

- Not to be dramatic, but we're arguably watching the greatest road team not only on Earth, but in NBA history

23-6 on the road (7 straight) is legitimately insane. Definitely makes me pretty annoyed at the 17-10 home record, but whatever. If those two things were flipped I think we'd all be happy so it is what it is. 

In the playoffs, you have to win on the road. It's non-negotiable. I'll remind you, since the Bubble the Celts have nearly 2x the playoff road wins than the next closest team (MIA). Just last playoffs they won at least 2 road games in 3 of their 4 series, and that's only because the Mavs only played 2 at home. 

Champions win on the road and they win on the road in dominant fashion. That list in Grande's tweet? 9 of those teams won the title.

- As far as I'm concerned, Torrey Craig's Celtics career is off to a great start. This is now the second straight showing where he's done exactly what the game has needed and all I am really asking from him. Rebounds, play defense, make your open corner 3s. That's it.

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The Bad

- Look, the Celts larger lead was 29, there was only 1 tie and 2 lead changes in this win, there's not much to complain about. This was an ass kicking like you read about.

Having said that, things could definitely been cleaner. Turnovers like these need to be cleaned up

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Why I care about this is I'm just thinking ahead to the playoffs. Tatum and Brown are going to have the ball more than anyone else, and we all know how teams are going to try and defend them. Be physical, get into their airspace, and reach. How they protect the ball with their handle while attacking in isolation is crucial, because more often than not those turnovers are live ball turnovers that lead to easy fastbreak points.

In a playoff game/series, limiting your live ball turnovers/opponent's points off TOs is everything. The Celts defense is so good in the halfcourt that if you instead make someone beat you with offensive execution, they're going to struggle. But when you're careless with the ball and turn it over like those plays above, you're letting your opponent off the hook and the next thing you know they're feeling good and we experience an aberration 3PM showing a la the Heat series' of old.

- Yabu deserves better than this. The sad news is he's probably going to extend in Philly so this may just be his life now. Happy that he's back in the NBA, but feel bad that he's now subjected to the Sixers stink. 

The Ugly

- I had forgotten how pathetic it is that NBA officials continue to bail Joel Embiid out regardless of what he does. Every single thing is a foul if Embiid has the ball, yet the same exact contact on the other end is a no call. They continuously fall for his baiting once he goes into a shot with no plan other than he knows he's going to get the whistle. It's gross and frankly, it's insulting. I can't imagine watching/rooting for that shit. 

Between his whistle and the generous whistle Maxey gets, all I ask is for consistency. If you're going to call everything a foul, then call everything a foul. That seems like the normal thing to do and yet……

Alright so here we go. If this is the part of the NBA season where everyone takes things seriously, then the Celts are off to a great start. Winners of 8 of their last 9, it certainly does feel like they are starting to play with more consistency and a greater level of focus. You may call that flipping a switch, I just call it not playing like assholes and playing to their standard.

When they do that, we know what happens. Now just keep it going.