Through the first half of the season, you could have placed the Boston Celtics alongside the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks as one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA. Despite a new head coach and some significant roster turnover, it was the same old song and dance. The Celtics were the NBA's version of Jekyll and Hyde.
On some nights, the Celtics looked like the team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals two seasons ago, firing on all cylinders offensively behind their two young superstars while playing pesky defense. On other nights, they looked uninvested and lackadaisical, just going through the motions in hopes that their talent could make up for their lack of effort and carry them to a victory.
There were even some games where you'd see both of the team's personalities in one night, building a double-digit lead and looking like they would cruise to a win, only to get lethargic and not flip the switch in time to avoid a collapse.
Boston's inconsistency led it to a 25-25 record through 50 games. In a rare year where the Eastern Conference has more true title contenders than the West, the Celtics were not one of them.
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Was it Ime Udoka's fault? The new head coach was experimental with his rotations early on — the player combinations didn't make any sense at times and too many guys were seeing the floor in sparing minutes where it would be tough to get into any sort of a rhythm.
Was it Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's fault? The blame typically falls on a team's best players, and the public was calling for the Celtics to split up their young star tandem, suggesting the two offensive-minded scorers couldn't co-exist.
Was it new president Brad Stevens' fault? Maybe he didn't put the right pieces around Tatum and Brown to maximize their potential.
When everyone else was pointing fingers, the Celtics got their core healthy, made a key trade at the deadline to acquire a two-way playmaker in Derrick White to help shape the roster and then went to work with what they had in place.
The result? A team that has the East on notice.
Since the calendar flipped to 2022, there has not been a better team in the NBA than the Celtics. Their defensive rating (102.7) is the best in the league since Jan. 1 by a mile, and their net rating (11.7) is more than five points per 100 possessions better than any other team in the East.
The Celtics are 16-4 in their last 20 games. They went on a streak of 10 consecutive wins against teams currently in the playoff picture until they dropped Sunday's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. According to StatMuse, they're the only team in the conference with a winning record against teams over .500.
So what has changed? There's a laundry list of things that have resulted in this midseason makeover.
Let's start with Udoka, who has trimmed the rotation to a sharp eight players when everyone is healthy, creating continuity between lineups, particularly on the defensive end.
The new head coach's switch-heavy defensive scheme is perfect for this versatile Celtics roster, as all five players on the floor look like they're moving on a string, communicating at a high level to suffocate opposing offenses.
As The Sporting News' Stephen Noh detailed in his Hidden Gems column, Robert Williams III has evolved the definition of a rim protector in Udoka's scheme, oftentimes assigned to the least-impactful offensive player so he can roam around as a free safety and serve as the last line of defense.
Add to it that White and Marcus Smart make up one of the scrappiest defensive backcourts in the league and Tatum, Brown, Grant Williams and Al Horford can all hold their own on inside and out, and you have a core that can contain even the highest-powered offenses in the NBA.
Another major difference in the Celtics' turnaround is something that Smart called for earlier in the season: more ball movement.
Smart has set the tone in this aspect by taking over as the team's primary playmaker since returning from calf strain on Jan. 23. Smart is averaging 6.2 assists per game since then and has tallied a remarkable 130 assists to just 48 turnovers, allowing Tatum and Brown to operate off the ball more often.
We just recently saw the peak of Smart's powers as a passer, dishing out a career-high-tying 12 assists in Boston's statement win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
One of those assists might have even gotten Jason Williams out of his seat.
check out these angles of the Marcus Smart pass 👀 pic.twitter.com/siCvMESo1U
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) March 4, 2022
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The acquisition of White was huge to add a much-needed playmaker, but don't sleep on Robert Williams' growth as a passer to help patch that issue.
And then there is Grant Williams, who has developed into one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in the NBA. Williams' 42.3 percent clip from 3-point range is the fifth-best mark in the league. Don't look now, but Williams is flirting with the elite 50-40-90 club with splits of .481/.423/.924.
All of this has led to Tatum and Brown scoring much more easily than they were earlier on in the season.
Tatum is averaging 33.3 points per game since the All-Star break and has the fourth-most points in the league in that span. As a result, Brown has settled into a secondary scoring role but the two are co-existing better than ever before and the rumblings that the two can't win together have all but evaporated.
The Celtics will go as far as Tatum and Brown will take them, and the star duo is thriving next to each other during this hot stretch.
Boston has all of the makings of a championship-caliber team – star power, tenacious defense, multiple scoring outlets and most of all, experience. It's easy to forget that the Celtics have been to three Conference Finals in the last five seasons, tied with the Golden State Warriors for the most in the NBA in that span.
They'll have to navigate the strongest Eastern Conference the league has seen in decades, but all the pieces are falling into place at the right time.
This stretch from the Celtics isn't just lightning in a bottle – they're a legitimate contender to represent the East in the NBA Finals.
