The end of the Boston Celtics’ roll doesn’t mean they’re no longer among the elite.
The Celtics on Monday ranked second in the ESPN’s and NBA.com’s weekly NBA power rankings. Victories over the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors extended Boston’s winning streak to 10 games, but the Sacramento Kings snapped it Sunday. Nevertheless, the Celtics still sit just behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the latest editions of ESPN’s and NBA.com’s weekly rankings.
ESPN ranked the Celtics No. 4 last week. Here’s why they climbed two spots in the Worldwide Leader’s pecking order.
“The loss of Gordon Hayward to a broken hand did little to cool off the hottest team in the NBA,” Bobby Marks writes. “Despite a one-point loss at Sacramento, Boston still had wins this week over Dallas, Washington and Golden State.
“The Celtics have an Eastern Conference-best 10-2 record and rank third overall in point differential. In the three wins this week, Jaylen Brown had his best stretch of basketball, averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and pulling off a rare 50/50 — 51.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep.”
Although Brown’s resurgence seemingly surprised Marks, The Athletic’s Zach Harper probably saw it coming after calling on the swingman to become more of a scorer and playmaker in Hayward’s absence.
The Celtics fell from No. 1 to No. 2 of NBA.com’s power rankings, despite convincing John Schuhmann their offensive transformation isn’t a fleeting fad.
“The Celtics’ 10-game winning streak ended rather dramatically, with Marcus Smart’s runner rolling off the rim after the buzzer sounded in Sacramento on Sunday,” Schuhmann writes. “Maybe it was also symbolic, as the first two games of the Celtics’ five-game trip have been their two worst offensive games since their opening-night clunker in Philadelphia. How efficiently they were scoring (more than 128 points per 100 possessions over the previous three games) obviously wasn’t sustainable, but their offensive improvement hasn’t been about just makes and misses. They’ve seen the league’s biggest improvement in the percentage of their shots that have come from the restricted area, its biggest improvement in free throw rate, and its biggest improvement in turnover percentage.
“Of course, the next three defenses they’re set to face all rank higher than any that they’ve faced in their last eight games.”
Looming tilts with the Phoenix Suns on Monday, the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and the Denver Nuggets on Friday will test the Celtics’ current mettle and offer ESPN and NBA.com better opportunities to assess where Boston stands relative to other tops teams.
