Are Defensive-Minded Celtics Really Poised To Contend In Eastern Conference?

It has been a very weird season for the Boston Celtics. That’s pretty much par for the course, though, in what’s been a relatively odd few years now for the Green.

The Celtics have won three in a row and seven of their last 10 games entering Friday night’s tilt with the lowly Detroit Pistons. The Celtics have more than worked their way back into legitimate playoff contention, and if the postseason started today, they’d be an unenviable first-round matchup.

That this has all happened in a strange season where ups and downs have been matched only by twists and turns seems fitting. At times, Boston has looked primed for a complete blow-up. At others, it felt like head coach Ime Udoka was in over his head. And then there’s the lingering question of just how much anyone wearing that jersey actually likes the other guys wearing the same laundry.

Yet, as NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry pointed out Friday morning, the Celtics have been arguably the best team in the NBA over their last 15 games, perhaps on account of being the league’s most efficient teams. That standing, Goldsberry’s metrics show, is mostly because of an elite defensive showing of late.

Boston has the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating behind three teams who all have more wins than it does, with the Celtics being especially stingy at the rim. Only Miami and New York have allowed fewer points in the paint than the Celtics.

What all of this means for the rest of the season is hard to say. It stands to reason, however, the Celtics should be able to bank some wins before the All-Star break. Friday’s game in Detroit begins a three-game road trip against the Pistons (awful), Orlando (just as bad) and Brooklyn (losers of six straight). A pair of games with Philadelphia and Denver are the toughest contests they have left before a week off.

The continued soft spot of the schedule underscores another point that should give Celtics fans eager for a playoff push confidence: The league just isn’t very good.

How this affects Brad Stevens’ thinking in the next week ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline is a fascinating unknown. It seemed clearing salary was a priority, and Dennis Schroder’s name has been in trade talks for just about the entirety of his first season in Boston.

But with a relatively open East, a strong tailwind pushing them up the standings and obvious star power atop the roster, does Stevens instead look to make a notable addition to the roster for the stretch run? Eh, maybe not.

“Every decision we make has to be focused on (the question) ‘Does that decision give us a chance, the best chance that at the next banner?’, right?” Stevens said this week on 98.5 The Sports Hub, per celtics Wire. “And so that ultimately is the call. It’s not as focused on how your team is necessarily playing in the moment.”

That might be the toughest sell for a fanbase eager to see the team get through its Great Fledgling, a frustrating stretch that’s going on two years. The reality, though, is there’s probably nothing Stevens can do in the next week that will put the club in legitimate title contention.

That also means the most-difficult decisions are still to come if Boston really wants to regain its standing as a legitimate title contender — despite this impressive run.