The Celtics matchup with the Raptors on Sunday was expected to cap their toughest schedule stretch of the season. With six games in nine nights, five of which were coming against elite playoff teams, a stretch of .500 basketball over those six games for the Celtics would have been considered a moral victory by most fans. Instead, Boston ended their weekend by putting the finishing touches on a five-game winning streak with an impressive 121-113 victory over the Raptors in Toronto.
The win puts Boston in sole possession of the third seed in the East after going 10-2 in their last 12 games. The Celtics sat in the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference as recently as two weeks ago before starting on their speedy rise towards the top of the Eastern Conference. Through two months, the team has beaten all the other playoff teams surrounding them in the top six of the East in head-to-head matchups, and now sits with the fifth-best net rating in the NBA. That type of progress is surprising even players on the roster.
“I didn’t expect us to see this amount of growth this soon,” Brown told reporters in Toronto via the Boston Globe. “I knew it would happen as we continued to go about the journey, but to see it blossom 24, 25 games in is a great sign for us.”
Brown has been a central figure in Boston’s success, scoring 30 points in six of his last seven games including a team-high 30 on Sunday afternoon. However, it’s evident he’s trying to keep the team grounded amid the rapid rise of several new contributors across the roster. Jordan Walsh was one focus on that front for Brown after Friday’s win over the Lakers.
“Honestly, it’s been great,” Brown said. “I don’t want to boost his head up too much. I don’t want him to start getting cute. He’s gotta still take care of the details, but he’s been doing a good job, but we’re going to need him to maintain that, so y’all don’t boost his head up too much.”
The steady play of Walsh in the starting five combined with consistent contributors up and down Joe Mazzulla’s rotation has the 15-9 Celtics sitting in a pretty position after a 0-3 start to the year. The future remains bright with Jayson Tatum’s return looming sometime in 2026 but the present stretch makes this Celtics roster look like it’s ahead of schedule.
