After Securing Back-To-Back 60 Win Seasons, Do Not Take This Version Of The Boston Celtics For Granted

Winslow Townson. Getty Images.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm having a hard time processing how we are already at Game 82 of the NBA regular season. Where did all the time go? It feels like just yesterday we all gathered around and watched our beloved Celtics receive their championship rings and raise Banner 18 to the rafters. 

Now, here we are months later on the cusp of defending that title after experiencing what has been objectively one of the best title defense regular seasons in NBA history. I'm sorry if this offends, but it's simply the truth.

The 2024-25 Boston Celtics have just secured their 15th 60 win season. It's the most in the league by FAR, with the Lakers next up with 11. It is the first time since the 2007-08/2008-09 Celtics have put up back to back 60 win seasons, something that is already pretty rare within NBA history. Then you realize this is coming in a title defense season? That makes it even more special.

When I say this has been one of the best title defense seasons in NBA history, I'm not kidding. If you're someone who only wants to keep things to the modern game, OK, that's fine. The Celts currently sit at 60 wins with a +9.2 point differential with one more game against the Hornets to finish off their season. How does this stack up?

There has really only been 1 defending champion in the last 10 years who had a season close to what the Celts just put up, and that was the 2018 Warriors (58 wins, +6.0). You'll remember, that team went on to win the title.

If you want to include ALL of NBA history, teams to win 60 games and a title in back to back years are basically Magic's Lakers and the Jordan Bulls. That's it. The only difference of course, is that the 1988 Lakers only had a +6.9 differential in their title defense season. The 1992 Bulls were +10.4, but the 1993 Bulls were only a +6.2. The 1997 Bulls were a +10.8 and the 1998 Bulls a +7.11. The point is, the only times in all of NBA history we've seen title defense seasons like the 2024-25 Celts are having are teams that included Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

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Think about that for a second.

I say all this to reinforce something that I continue to stress. Do not take what you are watching for granted.

Do not act like this is normal, because it isn't. It's not normal when it comes to the Celtics franchise history, and it's not normal when it comes to all of NBA history. Take a minute, step back, and appreciate what you are experiencing as a Boston Celtics fan right now. I'm old as shit, I've lived through the lowest of low points for this franchise. I was molded by it. I've also experienced the highest of highs, with one of the greatest seasons in franchise history last season. Yet, this is only the 2nd time in my life I've seen the Celts have back to back 60 win seasons, and those 2008-09 Celtics only had a +7.51 differential. I'd say 99.9% of us quite literally have never experienced a title defense season like this at any point in our lives. 

And of course, much like the 2024 season, none of this matters unless you finish the job. Back to back 60 wins is cool and all, but this team has higher goals. And while some fanbases who have dreams of winning the title this season after experiencing historic seasons might not want that pressure, it's nothing new for us. We know that if you don't win the whole thing, none of your season matters. That's the pressure that comes with title contention when you have historic seasons. 

Heading into the season, I wasn't really sure what to expect. We knew the Celts would be a wagon, but title defense seasons are weird. Going from the hunter to the hunted, there's a reason you look at that tweet above and you see teams float around 50 wins with a modest differential. Defending your title in the NBA is one of the hardest things you can do. 

What we got, was one of the best title defense seasons in NBA history. What a team.

The Good

- While the games haven't truly mattered for this team for the last few weeks given their seeding has been locked in for a while, these last two against the Hornets really mean nothing. These are the "just don't get hurt and finish the year" games. You're only playing them because they're on your schedule, and the goal is to get through them clean and rest up for the playoffs.

Coming off the brutal 76 point outing against the Magic the other night, there are few better ways to have a get right game than to go up against a tanking Hornets defense. It took a little while, but that's exactly what we got. So where should we start in a game like this? Probably not where you expect

I'm just going to be blunt. This is the greatest thing I have ever seen. I don't give a single fuck about politics or campaign ads, in fact I cannot stand any of that shit. But this? This is incredible. This is what campaign ads should be. 

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Already the best back up center in the NBA (fact, not opinion), all this did was reinforce how it's pretty much non-negotiable that Brad Stevens find a way to extend Luke Kornet after this season. If the new owner wants to win over the fanbase, fork over the cash. Not only is he extremely valuable for how the Celtics play, not only does Jayson Tatum LOVE playing with him given their incredibly chemistry, not only should it not even really take all that much money, Luke is also a hilarious human being who simply needs to be part of this team for as long as I am alive. 

He also had 8/4/2 and a +19 in his 17 minutes last night was was solid, but the real story was the campaign ad. 10 out of 10, no notes.

- Whenever you're going up against a poor defense like this in a game everyone is mostly just trying to get through, it's hard to really put any stock into the production we saw. Most of the starters all looked fine, because it's virtually impossible to not look fine going up against this poor of a defense.

Derrick White looks locked in and ready for the postseason while doing his best Jayson Tatum impression while rocking his accessories

Al Horford continues to be an ageless wonder with yet another double/double (13/11) while making some NBA history of his own

Jayson Tatum flirted with a triple double (16/8/8) while playing just 31 minutes and was a team best +23, and most importantly nobody got hurt. Sounds like an all around win to me.

- It was also no surprise that in a game against a dogshit opponent, the bench also dominated. While there are still questions as to how Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser might be able to execute while going up against tough playoff defenses with legit perimeter defenders, that is NOT the case with the Hornets. 

As a result, they went nuts

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They combined for 42 points while going 10-14 from deep, Pritchard had his NBA leading 23rd game of at least 20 points off the bench, Sam Hauser finished 6-9 (nice) from deep and barely touched the rim, and these are the exact types of games where you expect those guys to thrive. 

Anything that helps give them confidence and a rhythm entering the playoffs is great, even if we knew already that these two always feast against bad teams. That's what role players are for at the end of the regular season. 

I also enjoyed the Torrey Craig experience, which isn't something that always happens when he sees the floor. Despite not really shooting (1-2), Craig was a maniac everywhere else. He played with great energy, had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and was a +20 in his 12 minutes.

Baylor had moments, Queta had moments, basically things went about as well as they possibly could in a fake game against a terrible opponent.

- When I say to step back and appreciate what we are watching, it's because of shit like this

Pick any team you want, from any year in NBA history that you want, and no one, not a single team ever has had a trio make at least 250 3PM in a season.

Who has?

The Mazzulla Celtics.

Understand how insane this is in the context of history. And even if you want to say this is all due to the era in which they play in, well then why aren't there more teams this season with 3 guys who hit this mark? Why did the Dynasty Warriors never do it?

Because it's not normal. 

It's not just about the volume, it's about the skill. The crazy part is that you know Sam Hauser would be right there on this list had he gotten the attempts/opportunity. What Brad Stevens has built shouldn't be possible, yet here we are. We've never seen anything like this in NBA history, and again that is fact, not opinion.

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- Speaking of Mazzulla Ball, I feel confident in saying the Celtics will not lose many games (if any) when they go out and score 130 points, shoot 51/45% as a team, have 35 AST to only 10 TOs, and make 23 3PM.

We've seen a lot of vintage Mazzulla Ball performances this season, and this one was certainly right up there. This was the 26th time this season the Celts have made at least 20 3PM in a season, further extending their NBA record. 

Again, we've never seen anything like this before.

The Bad

- While 90% of the roster looked great, we also have to mention that KP only finished 2-11 (2-7) and was the only Celtic to be a negative in his minutes (-3). A lot of smoked bunnies, some wide open 3s that wouldn't seem to drop, a missed FT, it certainly was not the most dominant performance we've ever seen KP have which was a bit surprising considering the Hornets stink.

He then gave us all a collective heart attack when he spent the entire second half in the locker room and didn't come out to sit on the bench. Even if his night was over, that was terrifying. Luckily Joe confirmed nothing was wrong, but I mean who the hell knows

Given how close we are to the playoffs, if he is in fact fine, then I don't exactly appreciate the scare. It's all I could think about for the entire second half to the point where I couldn't even enjoy the ass kicking. 

- It also wasn't the best shooting night for Jrue either, with him finishing 1-6 (0-2). He was solid everywhere else, but it's not as if the Hornets have good perimeter defense, so it was a bit of a shock to see him struggle like that. He's been more than solid over the last month, so it's not like there's any reason to be concerned, I'm really just trying to think of what to even put in this section considering the Celts won by a billion and were up by as much as 37 points.

- If there's one thing that was most definitely annoying, it was getting through th early game magnet ball from the Hornets. Maybe I was just experiencing PTSD from the Magic magnet ball the other night despite them being 30th in the NBA in 3P shooting, but the Hornets starting 8-15 or some shit was very annoying.

Most of it was the Celts baiting guys into taking shots, which they buried. I get playing the numbers, but the perimeter defense was nowhere close to good enough. Cassell talked at the break about improving that area, the Celts tightened things up in the second half (6-21) and the next thing you knew, they won that half by 35 points. 

Considering they could be facing that Magic team again in the playoffs, I do wonder how much they'll go with the strategy of baiting their bad shooters to beat them. All it takes is one fluke night to drop a playoff game, so I'd prefer if they just strapped up for all 48 minutes.

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- Jordan Walsh only getting 2:26 of time in a game like this might mean it's over. Those were Xavier Tillman minutes. Maybe it was more that Baylor and Craig were solid in their minutes, but it's still not great for those of us who are still holding onto our Jordan Walsh stock. I'm buying the dip, but there's a chance I'm actually lighting my money on fire. 

Hopefully in the finale we can at least see him get some extended minutes since everyone will be sitting, but if he doesn't? Yeah, it might really be Joever.

The Ugly

- I don't want to pile on, but there is something going on in terms of Derrick White's ball security. I don't even know how to explain what we're seeing right now, but the man cannot stop turning the ball over. In his last 5 games, DWhite has at least 3 TOs in 4 of them. It's as if the calendar turned to April and all of a sudden, you can pencil him in for 3-4 turnovers a game.

Considering what a smart player he is and the fact that he has basically gone all season without making a mistake, I find this extremely weird. It's just not like him to be this careless for such a prolonged stretch. What's crazy is they are all basically live ball turnovers so it's usually a double whammy. I can live with a ball out of bounds or a travel, but it's the poor passes that lead to breaks and transition buckets that seem to be the issue lately, and that HAS to be cleaned up before the playoffs.

- Other than that, nothing else was really all that gross.

So here we go. Game 82. The Hospital Celtics should get their chance at redemption, but this shouldn't even be a game where we see heavy Pritchard/Hauser minutes. Let the Maine Celtics take care of it and be done. Play JD 35+ minutes, let Walsh and Peterson get run, play Baylor 35+ minutes etc. You did the hard part, and you got to the postseason mostly healthy. Close out the season strong and lets get ready to go right back up the mountain.