The Boston Celtics rose from No. 8 to No. 5 in the newest NBA Power Rankings published by The Athletic’s Law Murray on Monday.
The Celts went 3-1 last week with victories over the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and Miami Heat, before falling to the New York Knicks at home on Super Bowl Sunday. Boston is now 34-19 on the season. They have the second-best offensive rating in the NBA (120.0) and the ninth-best defensive rating (112.7).
“The Celtics won 10 of 13 before losing at home against the Knicks,” Murray wrote.
“Boston traded Anfernee Simons, Xavier Tillman, Josh Minott and Chris Boucher and now has (Nikola) Vučević, who has some adjusting to do. Vučević had a double-double in a 22-point comeback win against the Miami Heat, but Boston was outscored by 24 points in Vučević’s 24 minutes Sunday against the Knicks. Payton Pritchard is also coming off the bench now to essentially replace Simons in the sixth-man role.”
The Celtics will host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday before the arrival of the NBA All-Star break. Boston’s superstar Jaylen Brown will be playing in the All-Star Game as a starter for the first time in his career.
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After the break, Boston will begin a west coast road trip with games against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets.
Featured image via Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images
