There’s Clear Change In Celtics, And It’s Led To (& Followed) Winning

Say it with us: The Boston Celtics are fun again.

Whether it be budding superstar Jayson Tatum playing at an All-NBA level and blowing kisses into the crowd, talkative third-year forward Grant Williams comparing the entire team to Marvel characters, the star of the show Deuce Tatum slapping Marcus Smart on the rear end during an in-game sequence or anything in between — and there is a ton in between — the 2022 Celtics (not to be confused with the 2021-22 Celtics) are inarguably the most fun team in years.

They’ve not only turned into a team that Boston fans are proud to support — have you heard about Tatum receiving ‘MVP!’ chants inside the house that Nikola Jokic built? — they’ve become a team they’re proud of, too.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround these last 10 or so weeks.

“It’s a lot of fun winning,” Jaylen Brown said on a postgame video conference after Boston’s most recent route of the Utah Jazz, a 28-point thrashing of the West’s No. 4 seed. “We’re having a lot of fun. We’re just taking it one game at a time. It feels great. So it’s fun coming in to work every day. It’s fun talking, building with your teammates. We just got to continue to get better. And that’s it, man. That’s all we can ask for is just come out, give a great effort, play together and see what happens from there.”

The Celtics have won 23 of their last 27 games. Their 46-28 record, which has them now tied for No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, is jaw-dropping when you consider the Celtics were 23-24 on Jan. 21. That immediately followed the team’s most recent two-game losing streak.

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Is it having fun that has led to winning? Or is it the having fun that has followed winning? Simply, who cares.

“Having a blast,” Marcus Smart said after recording a career-best 13 assists against the Jazz. “I think, like you said, we’re obviously not satisfied. But you have to enjoy those times because, man, we’ve been through the other ways. We’ve been on the other end of those and it’s not pretty so, you know, you definitely got to take advantage of the good times and enjoy those. Manifest that type of energy from here on out and continue to try to enjoy those times.”

Brown shared a similar sentiment.

Given the way the season has played out for the Celtics — they were staring at the NBA’s Play-In Tournament not too long ago — it’s helped the group maintain focus. They don’t get too high because they know they’re not far removed from being too low.

“Well, I mean, wasn’t too long ago we were at the bottom of the East. So we can’t forget about that,” Brown said. “Just come out with the right mentality and put our best foot forward can’t get caught up into the hype or we can’t get caught up in the lows. We just got to come out and play good basketball.”

The Celtics will enjoy their next three days off, certainly well-earned, and return to the floor Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves as they look to extend their five-game win streak.