Can the Celtics continue clicking on all levels?
No more excuses.
The Boston Celtics’ run of running teams out of the gym lately, hasn’t been because they are playing a bunch of bad teams.
It isn’t because they are facing foes that are consistently short-handed.
And having home-court advantage, while enjoyed by most teams, doesn’t explain their strong play, either.
They are good; damn good.
And that more than anything else, is why they are one of the few teams that’s trending in the right direction at the right time.
Boston’s best player, Jayson Tatum, has been on a torrid tear of late that landed him a pair of Player of the Week Honors in the East. In the month of March, he has averaged 33.6 points on 53.6 percent shooting from the field, 46.7 percent from 3-point range, while grabbing 6.9 rebounds and dishing out 4.7 assists.
The Celtics’ defense has been the league’s best all season, evident by the overwhelming data and the fact that they have a pair of players - Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III - being strong contenders for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
The league hasn’t had two players finish in the top-five for Defensive Player of the Year since Memphis' Marc Gasol won the award in 2013 and his teammate, former Celtic Tony Allen, finished fifth in the voting
Indeed, the Celtics are setting themselves apart from the pack as one of the league’s best teams.
Here’s a look at this week’s Super Seven.
1. Phoenix (60-14)
The magic number is one for Phoenix to wrap up the league’s top overall seed. And with Friday’s win over …, the Suns have now won 60 games for the first time in more than a decade (2006-2007 season).
2. Boston (46-28)
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka deserves a lot of credit for this team’s turnaround by simply sticking to his plan and eventually, getting his best players to buy into it and execute it on a day-in, day-out basis.
3. Memphis (51-23)
Lots of big wins for this team, but few were more important than beating the Brooklyn Nets with a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and the Grizzlies being without their star, Ja Morant. It’s the kind of victory that gives a young team that has won more than many expected, even more confidence that they can beat any team, anywhere, regardless of who is or is not available to play.
4. Milwaukee (46-27)
Miami’s recent slide has opened the door for the Bucks to slide in and capture the top overall seed as they now trail the Heat by just a single game.
5. Miami (47-27)
The well-publicized kerfuffle involving head coach Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem was a bad look for the Heat, obviously. Turning around right after that to lose at home to the New York Knicks after leading by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter? A bad look, you can deal with. Bad play, this time of year in a close battle for home-court advantage? This loss was one of the Heat’s worst this season.
6. Dallas (45-29)
Finishing the season with enough wins to avoid the dreaded play-in game should not be an issue for Dallas when you consider their strength of schedule ranks 25th the remainder of this season.
7. Golden State (48-26)
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have played a total of 11 minutes in three games this season which makes what to expect from Golden State’s Big Three a Big Mystery come playoff time.