The Boston Celtics are destined to enter the NBA All-Star break among the contenders.
The Celtics improved their positions in NBA.com’s and ESPN’s latest NBA power rankings, having extended their winning streak from three to seven games between Feb. 3 and this past Sunday. Boston defeated the Atlanta Hawks twice and also earned wins over the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder to tighten their grip on third place in the Eastern Conference standings and remain in within striking distance of the second-place Toronto Raptors.
Thus, the Celtics’ winning run has taken them from fourth to second place in NBA.com’s power rankings. Although the streak is the result of a team effort, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann reserved special praise for Jayson Tatum, the newly minted Eastern Conference Player of the Week, for his improved shooting from deep.
“The Raptors have won 14 straight games and are still just one game in the loss column ahead of the Celtics, who have won 10 of their last 11 to keep pace,” Schumann wrote. “Five of the 10 wins have come over teams that are currently over .500 and the only Celtics who have played in all 11 games are Brad Wanamaker and Grant Williams.
“Jayson Tatum (26.8 points per game) has led seven Celtics averaging double-figures over the 10-1 stretch and has shot 24-for-45 from 3-point range over the last five. He already has a new career high for 3-pointers in a season (126), a result of him trading mid-range shots for 3-pointer and improving his shooting off the dribble. After shooting 32.0 percent on off-the-dribble 3-pointers over his first two seasons, Tatum has shot 39.2 percent this season, a mark that ranks sixth among 45 players who have attempted at least 100 pull-up 3-pointers.
“The Celtics have beat some good teams over these last few weeks, but their win in Oklahoma City on Sunday (sealed by Marcus Smart’s strip of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the closing seconds) was the start of a stretch where they’re playing 10 of 14 games against teams with winning records.”
ESPN continues to peg Boston behind the NBA Finals favorites, but the Celtics’ streak has prompted the Worldwide Leader to boost them from sixth to fifth in its latest NBA power rankings. ESPN’s Bobby Marks credits Boston’s surprisingly good defense and rebounding for their recent success.
“The pair of three-game losing streaks in January is a good example that the NBA regular season is a marathon and not a sprint,” Marks wrote. “Since falling to Phoenix on Jan. 18, Boston has gone 11-1 and won seven straight. Despite some concern about the Celtics’ lack of frontcourt size, Boston ranks 12th in rebounding and had a 53-44 advantage in the win at Oklahoma City. The Celtics also have the third-best defensive rating, behind only Milwaukee and Toronto.”
The Celtics will visit the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night and host the Los Angeles Clippers two days later. Boston then will enjoy eight days without a game due to the NBA All-Star break.
