NEW YORK — The Celtics have been talented before. They’ve been a great team before. But the C’s are currently lapping the field, holding a dominant eight-game lead over the second-place Cavaliers in the East standings. The stats point out a similar picture as their net rating continues to climb with victories.
Part of that has been this loaded roster — arguably the best top-6 rotation in the league. While the C’s have to prove it in the playoffs in two months, for now, they just continue to keep stacking the wins. So after the Celtics won their eighth straight game by beating the Knicks, Jaylen Brown revealed how they’re different compared to past seasons.
“We’re a more organized team this year,” Brown said. “We have actions. We’re thinking the game. We’re trying to be the smarter team every night. We take our time. We identify mismatches and we play the game the right way. I think this is one of the best years that we’ve done that since I’ve been a Celtic.”
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It’s clear the Celtics have oftentimes been surgical with how they attack teams. The personnel has been bolstered by the additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. The C’s struggled against switches in the past, but they now have a cheat code in the form of a Porzingis post-up. Elsewhere, they can find and attack mismatches.
At this point, it’s difficult to find a more-talented roster in the NBA than the Celtics. But that’s not enough for this team, which Brown expanded on, as they look to find that extra inch.
“Reading the game,” Brown said. “Realizing fast but playing slow. Recognizing what they’re in, how they’re guarding you, where the advantages are on the floor and then taking your time. Not getting too sped up. Not allowing teams to try to muck up the game. We’re the more talented team. We gotta be the smarter team, as well. And when we do that, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
At this point in the season, the Celtics have passed just about all of their tests with flying colors. They have a league-best 45-12 record as they also have a comfortable five-game lead over the West-best Timberwolves. They’ve also built up a solid habits in the meantime. It’s also true that the Celtics’ season will be solely judged on how they perform in the playoffs. But at this point, it’s all been positives.
“The guys understand how to positively impact each other,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They understand how going into something at one point in the game is going to open it up for someone else later in the game. And we have different combinations, and the guys trust those combinations, and it puts us in a better position to win. At the end of the day, it’s about winning, and the guys are understanding that. They understand how they affect each other.”
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