The 2023/24 Boston Celtics have been one of the best sides in NBA history so far into the season, their newly comprised roster – with the addition of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday – has combined excellent offense with incredible defence. They currently sit atop the NBA standings with a 42-12 record and are six games clear off all their Eastern Conference rivals. Boston’s starting 5 were all rightly in the running to become All-stars but in the end just Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown made the team. There are plenty more challenges the squad will face as they make their post-season push but so far, they have met everything thrown at them.
Current MVP
Although Tatum has undoubtedly been the best player on the Celtics’ roster thus far, Porzingis is my mid-season MVP. He has become such a vital piece for the Celtics, mainly due to his highly efficient post-up scoring as well as his ability to stretch the floor on offense. Porzingis is currently averaging 1.40 points per possession on post-ups (best in the NBA), he is also shooting 67.5% in the post which is also the best in the league. To put it simply Porzingis has been the best post player in the league so f ar this season and his health and efficiency will be a big factor in the Celtics quest for their 18th title.
Most Improved Player
Multiple players have made impactful improvements to their game so far this season, Tatum has continued to improve his playmaking and Brown is playing his best defence of his career, but undeniably Sam Hauser has made the biggest leap this season. He has continued his elite 3-point shooting from last year – currently shooting 41.6% from behind the arc – but massively improved his defence. Last season he struggled to get many minutes, especially in the playoffs, due to his poor defence, however this season he will get regular minutes throughout the entire season as he has become an extremely effective NBA player.
Most Impressive Victory of the season
Over recent years the Miami Heat have been some what of a bogey team for the Celtics. However, on January 25th Boston stroud into the Kaseya Center to face Heat. They blew Miami completely away, winning 143-110. We all know you can’t read too much in to one regular season victory, but it did appear to be a significant win for Boston, the Heat’s usual zones – which have thrown Boston’s offense in recent years – seemed not to affect the Celtics. Porzingis in particular exploited the zones well and was able to score freely against weaker defenders.
Lowest Point of the Season
There haven’t been many low points in this Celtics season, but perhaps the lowest was their horrible defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks in mid-January. They slumped to a 135-102 loss after a terrific loss the night before in overtime against the Timberwolves. Boston lost within a half and were forced to empty the bench at halftime, after they only managed to score 38 points in the first half. The Celtics will hope they perform better against the Bucks come playoff time as they will likely be an opponent.
To explain just how brilliant the Celtics have been so far this season, they are currently on pace to complete the regular season with the best offensive rating off all-time (122.5). They are 7 games ahead of the entirety of the Eastern Conference and are finding themselves way ahead of the rest of the pack. In the end though it will all come down to Boston’s post season performance, however it is important to note that the 23/24 Celtics currently hold the exact same record (43-12) as the ’08 Celtics and we all know how that went. But as of now everything is looking good in Boston.
By Will C
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