The Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets on February 27th, 148-111, in an unprecedented shooting masterclass.
The Celtics blazingly destroyed the Nets, shooting 80.8% effective field goal percentage, the highest in NBA history. This outing highlighted the Celtics’ ability to spread the ball around evenly; the top scorers, Jaylen Brown and Nikola Vucevic, each tallied 28 points. 6 players had 10+ points and exposed holes in a flailing Brooklyn defense. The intensity carried over to the defensive side of the ball, where no Net had more than 20 points. By shooting 22/34 from 3, the Celtics remain a threat in the Eastern Conference while the Nets are still searching for their long-term identity.
This win capped off an incredible February for the team in green, in which they went 9-2. Their two losses came in rough performances versus the Knicks and Nuggets. Derrick White was awarded the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for his efforts. He had an overall defensive field goal percentage of 37.6% and allowed 4.8 field goals.
A Snapshot of a Winning Month
2/4: @ Houston Rockets // W, 114-93
In a game missing Brown, the Celtics dominated the supposed contender, the Houston Rockets, on the 4th. White and Pritchard had half the points on 45 shots. Neemias Queta had 5 blocks and 2 steals to shut down the towering frontcourt of Houston. Queta, Garza, and even Hugo Gonzalez held All-Stars Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant to a combined 9/22 performance.
This was the beginning of the Pritchard-off-the-bench movement, which has been a revelation in hindsight. Ron Harper Jr. started and showed grit, pulling down 9 rebounds and draining 3 for 7 from 3.
2/22: @ Los Angeles Lakers // W, 111-89
On the 22nd, the Celtics took down Luka Doncic and the Lakers. Despite an inefficient outing from Brown, who shot 10-28, he led the scoring, bolstered by 12 free-throw attempts.
An efficient dissection of the Lakers’ pitiful defense by Payton Pritchard, alongside a highlight ankle breaker on Jarred Vanderbilt, led the Celtics to victory.
With his 2 rebounds on both sides of the floor and 8 assists, Pritchard only solidified himself as a vital part of winning if he does not start.
His ability to enter the game after watching from the bench and knowing how to attack a defense is poetry in motion. This is only exacerbated by the Lakers’ rough defense, ranked in the bottom five leaguewide.
2/24: @ Phoenix Suns // W, 97-81
A notable win for the team’s trajectory was the 97-81 beatdown of the Phoenix Suns on the 24th. As mentioned in my prior article, the bench led a 50-11 run headlined by Sam Hauser in the second and third quarters. Hauser outscored the Suns himself and highlighted our bench’s ability to flip the switch in a game. Additionally, Ron Harper Jr. was given another chance to start and delivered.
With 15 minutes, he was a +24 plus minus and went 2/4 shooting. Without Jaylen Brown, the offense did not stagnate and was given a spark that otherwise felt lost at points with the starters in.
Looking Ahead: Who’s Up Next?
On March 6th, the Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks in what will be a homecoming for fledgling star Cooper Flagg. The Maine native will look to take down his hometown team as they await the confirmed return of Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics face a competitive March, playing multiple contenders and a few games against rising squads.
Two matchups against the Thunder and Hornets will test the Celtics’ defensive integrity, especially in the backcourt.
Additionally, the Celtics will go on the road to take on the revitalized Cavaliers and red-hot Spurs next week.
