Basketball is not a sport, it's a way of life.
#1 in the LBB team rankings
We made it!
I don’t think much explanation needs to go into why the Celtics are the number one overall team. When you’re the reigning title holders, you bring your entire team back, and you have great players still possibly trending upward, the honor as number one is yours... for now.
#1 Boston Celtics
Record: 64-18 (1st); 1st in East; 97.98 Pace (19th); 122.2 Offensive Rating (1st); 110.6 Defensive Rating (2nd); 11.7 Net Rating (1st)
Total Salary Cap Allocations: $-62,024,294 (27th)
Cap Space: $202,612,294 (4th)
Current Roster: Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Luke Kornet, Kristaps Porziņģis, Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Jaden springer, Jayson Tatum, Xavier Tillman Sr., Jordan Walsh, Derrick White
Single Word Description: Arrived
Biggest Positive: Continuity
I have talked about it ad nauseum (so let me do it some more), but I believe wholeheartedly that organizational continuity is perhaps the single most undervalued element of success in professional sports. With the intense demands that are part and parcel of professional sports, in an environment inherently hyperbolic, the rapidity with which organizations are willing to till their proverbial soil to the point of infertility is insane. We see team after team cycle through decision-makers at such a fast pace that it often doesn't allow them to establish a cogent scheme and direction before they're already deemed unworthy of the task. In reality, the distinction between the best and worst coaches is far more often a matter of circumstances and fortune than tactical skill or player management. Of course, I’m painting in broad strokes here and do not intend to imply that the game’s best front office or sideline operators aren't distinguished by their own merit, but I am saying that, with more patience and better circumstances, several of the league's former coaches would likely surprise you with how capable they could look. With that general sentiment in mind, the ways in which the Celtics have maintained continuity of voice, vision, and execution are the very staples by which dynasties are built.
Over the last few years, the Celtics have had to contend with the departures of several key assistants, as well as the ignominious exit of Ime Udoka. But generally speaking, this ship has maintained a steady course for several seasons now. Brad Stevens transitioned from head coach to President of Basketball Operations, carrying his deeply ingrained sense of organizational need and direction from one office to another. Head Coach, Joe Mazzulla, has been a member of the Celtics' coaching staff since the 2020 season, and Tatum, Brown, and Horford have all played six or more seasons for Boston. Of the Celtics' top nine rotation players (when at full health), only Jrue Holiday—who is one of the most adaptable players we may have ever seen in the league—and Kristaps Porziņģis have played fewer than three years with the team.
With only four other teammates to rely upon during action, basketball, perhaps more than any team sport, is extremely dependent on a player’s ability to anticipate and trust their teammates to be in the right position. Yes, individual greatness can lift a team in the NBA, but only the most cohesive units are capable of winning a title. That type of synergy only comes from repetitions and muscle memory. Boston has the benefit of being a franchise that knows each other as comprehensively from top to bottom as any team since the Golden State Warriors. And much like the Warriors, who built a dynasty based on continuity, this Celtics team is positioned to be in the running for the title for as long as they can keep this group together.
Biggest Negative: Yeah, About That…
As the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, Brad Stevens deserved every bit of that honor for the cap wizardry he pulled in not only assembling this team but managing to creatively work extensions that give them a three-year runway to stay together. But with the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement's onerous second apron, and with a team slated to be one of the four most expensive in the league for the next four years, the Celtics have a relatively brief window to work with before the cost of the team becomes an extremely difficult burden to manage. With Boston coming off a championship run and in the process of being for sale—meaning the value of the team is tethered to the assets it currently holds—it made sense for Stevens to spend as much as he did. Still, if this doesn’t prove to be a title team again this season, Stevens will have to begin considering what parts of the roster can be moved for value.
Let me editorialize for a moment: The Celtics situation is an unfortunate reality of the league’s choice to constrict spending and try to force parity, but it’s also a very silly byproduct of the draconian new apron rules. A team like Boston, whose two best players were homegrown talents, should be afforded some type of tax exemption considering they are doing the right thing by Brown and Tatum in signing them to massive extensions, and by their fan base and the league in trying to keep together a championship product.
However, no matter how I feel, Boston’s cap comes with a rapidly burning wick that Brad Stevens will have to stay ahead of in the next two summers.
What’s Next: Another Title
Far too many people tried to work themselves into fits finding ways to devalue just how good this Celtics team was last season. So, let’s outline just a few absurd stats:
- 5th-best scoring margin ever (11.3)
- 64 wins, 22nd most in NBA history
- Won Eastern Conference by 14 games—biggest disparity from 1 to 2 since 1976
- League-record 25-point wins (17)
- League-record 30-point wins (10)
- Opponents shot just 1,182 free throws—lowest in league history
- Only second team this century to have three players average 20 or more (Tatum – 26.9, Brown – 23.0, Porziņģis – 20.1)
- First team ever to win three games by 50 or more points
The Celtics weren’t just winning last season, they were dominating. Until we see evidence to the contrary, Boston has to be the favorite to win another title. They have a coach who improved game by game, ultimately managing to win a championship in just his second year as a head coach, so it’s fair to expect that he should be even better this season. Their entire roster returns, and their two best players are just beginning the primes of their careers. We tend to overthink these things far too often for the sake of earning our contrarian badge, but Boston deserves to be considered the most likely team to take home the championship again this year.
What They Shouldn’t Do: Fixate So Much On The Three
Last season, Boston led the NBA in threes attempted per game, outpacing the second-place Mavericks by a margin of three—42.5% to 39.5%. While the Celtics were the second-best from distance, their obsession with jacking up threes felt like their most glaring issue. Far too often, we saw players like Tatum turn the corner, and rather than finishing with what appeared to be a relatively easy shot, they would kick out to a shooter instead. Yes, I get that’s Mazzulla’s brand of basketball, and it’s hard to argue with the process considering the team just won a title using that very system. So, I’m not advocating for a complete reformation—just less of a hyper-fixation on long-range bombing. With a player like Tatum, it seems wasteful to watch him get all the way to the rim only to kick out. The ebbs and flows of shooting were also a significant factor in the offensive swoons Boston often experienced during games. Incorporating just a few more easy looks into their shot chart would greatly benefit the team when the long-range shots aren’t falling.
Is There Hope?: Yes, But It’s Right Now
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. While we know Tatum and Brown were a bit frustrated during the year’s hottest month, I hope that some of the other Celtics at least enjoyed their summers. When the Denver Nuggets won their title, the prevailing feeling was that this was the first of many. There was a resolute calm about no longer having to worry about the lack of a title being weaponized against Jokić in the discussion of legacies, and in general, the league felt like a collective sigh of relief as everyone prepared for the era of the Joker. Oh, how Boston would kill for those types of post-championship vibes. While Tatum thankfully got his own monkey off his back, the issues with the Olympics really mired what should have been a more celebratory summer. Tatum’s running mate, Brown, had his own irritations with the Olympics and feeling snubbed, and in general, the offseason felt less chill than you would typically expect for a team after winning the title. Well, with the season already literally upon us and Boston having championship expectations and a target on their back, along with the aforementioned need for immediacy, that sense of intensity will be carried into the season, where I fully expect Brown and Tatum to weaponize their perceived disrespect.
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