BOSTON — When the Celtics suffered a tough loss at home to the Utah Jazz on Nov. 3 that dropped their record to 3-5, they did not look like a playoff-caliber team. They weren’t in sync offensively, the defense was not executing at a high level and the offseason additions were still settling into their roles.
Fast forward one month and the Celtics look like a much better team. And not only that, they have the look of a squad that could make a run in the Eastern Conference playoffs if healthy.
Beginning on Nov. 5 with a win against the Washington Wizards and ending Friday with a win over the rival Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden, the C’s have just wrapped up one of the toughest portions of their regular season schedule.
This 15-game stretch, during which the C’s earned an 11-4 record, spanned one month and included matchups versus a lot of quality opponents. Eleven of the 15 games were against teams currently in a playoff spot.
The Celtics beat the No. 1 team in the East (Detroit Pistons), the No. 2 team in the East (New York Knicks), twice beat the No. 4 team in the East (Orlando Magic), and the No. 2 team in the West (Los Angeles Lakers).
Boston has won four straight games — its longest win streak of the season so far — after dispatching the shorthanded Lakers. The C’s are 9-2 in their last 11 games, which has vaulted them up from the play-in tournament spots to fifth place in the East standings. Only four games separate the Celtics from the first-place Pistons.
What’s been going right for the Celtics? Well, quite a bit, actually.
During this 15-game stretch, the Celtics ranked seventh in the league in points per game (120.6), fifth in field goal percentage (49.5), third in 3-point percentage (40.1), 12th in rebounds per game (44.7), eighth in blocks per game (5.4), first in offensive rating (126.0), and third in net rating (10.7).
“We’ve got guys who are finding their stride, feeling confident, and you can see it,” Celtics wing Jaylen Brown said postgame.
Brown has been the leading force for the Celtics. He averaged 30.4 points over this 15-game span — the fifth-highest in the league — while shooting 48.5 percent from the field, along with 7.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He’s literally playing at an MVP level of late, and proving that he absolutely can play like a true No. 1 option in the absence of Jayson Tatum.
Jordan Walsh also is making a strong impact at both ends of the floor, but especially on defense. His perimeter defense, hustle, tenacity and rebounding have made a huge difference in Boston’s recent success, evidenced by the team’s 9-2 record since he was elevated to the starting lineup.
He has shot 18-of-19 from the field (94.7 percent) over his last three games. He’s also averaged 15.3 points per game over his last four contests.
Despite the uptick in performance on a team basis and individually, there are still plenty of areas where Boston can improve.
Even though the Celtics’ defense has been better of late, their defensive rating of 114.7 (17th in the league) is far below where it’s been in previous seasons. The Celtics need to rebound better, too. They rank 17th in rebounds per game. Drawing fouls has been difficult for the C’s, as well. They are the only team in the league averaging fewer than 20 free throw attempts (19.2) per game.
The Celtics also could use another center who can rebound and defend the paint. Neemias Queta is making a strong case to be in the Most Improved Player Award conversation, but the depth behind him isn’t great.
The Celtics have hit their stride over the last 15 games. This is a scrappy team getting contributions from a lot of different guys, headlined by Brown’s heroics.
There’s still a lot of season left to play, but it’s fair to say the Celtics have exceeded expectations to this point. And the scary part for the rest of the league is they can play a lot better.
“I think the expectation level has always been the same in my brain,” Brown said. “Just come out, compete and maximize our potential and kind of go from there. Don’t focus on the end result, focus on what you control and what’s in front of you. And that’s winning each possession, being the harder playing team, all that good stuff.
“It sounds boring, but that’s the type of stuff that leads to building a really good team.”
