- Boston Celtics: 56 wins
- Longest Losing Streak: Three Games
- Defensive rebounding Percentage (and rank) by month: November: 67% (26), December: 68.3% (18), January: 71.7% (9), February: 74.2% (2), March 75.7% (2)
- Boston Celtics: Opponent shooting frequency (rank) – Rim: 24.3% (1st), Midrange: 34% (29th), Corner 3: 9.2% (7th), Non-Corner 3: 32.5% (30th)
- Jaylen Brown: 2038 points
- Bonus Jaylen Brown stats: 492 rebounds, 364 assists, 426 free throws made, 536 free throws attempted
- Jayson Tatum: Ten double-doubles
- Derrick White: 98 blocked shots, 88 steals
- Neemias Queta: First four years in the league: 400 rebounds, 32 steals, 73 blocks. This season: 636 rebounds, 60 steals, 100 blocks.
- Boston Celtics: 36 20-point wins, three 20-point losses
The Boston Celtics season has been surprising in so many ways. It has been a lot of fun for fans to watch a scrappy team defy expectations and rise to 56 wins and the second seed. Some great things have happened along the way. Here are ten stats that help define a fun season.
Boston Celtics: 56 wins
Not just 56 wins, they are the fourth team in NBA history to start 0-3 and get to 56 wins. According to NBC stat guru Dick Lipe. But wait, that’s not all.
Not only were they 0-3, they were 6-7, at one point and 10-9. That 10-9 record came on November 29, and then they whipped off a five-game win streak that got them to third on December 7. They’d spend all but six days in third for about a month, and once they climbed into second on January 15, they stayed there the rest of the season.
Longest Losing Streak: Three Games
Not just three games, it was the first three games of the season. They never lost more than two in a row after that.
This is a testament to how quickly they figured things out. Even Jaylen Brown has said on multiple occasions that he didn’t expect things to come together as quickly as they did. He and the rest of the team can express all the confidence they want, but Brown was preaching patience early in the season. Their ability to avoid long losing streaks while figuring themselves out is pretty remarkable, and it’s why they had as many wins as they did.
Defensive rebounding Percentage (and rank) by month: November: 67% (26), December: 68.3% (18), January: 71.7% (9), February: 74.2% (2), March 75.7% (2)
I left partial months of October and April out. The Celtics finished sixth in defensive rebounding percentage for the season.
Remember when Joe Mazzulla pulled anyone who gave up an offensive rebound? Can you remember the last time that happened? It’s been a while. The Celtics shoring up this very glaring weakness from the beginning of the season is a big reason they were able to turn things around. Brown became a big defensive rebounder in January and February. Jayson Tatum returned in March and instantly became a big rebounder.
Once this problem was fixed, the Celtics shaved nearly three points off their defensive rating.
Boston Celtics: Opponent shooting frequency (rank) – Rim: 24.3% (1st), Midrange: 34% (29th), Corner 3: 9.2% (7th), Non-Corner 3: 32.5% (30th)
This stat requires some explanation just so we’re clear.
The Celtics allowed the fewest percentage of attempts at the rim in the league, and the seventh-fewest percentage of corner three-pointers in the league. They forced teams to take most of their shots in the midrange and above-the-break three-pointers.
This was the exact plan by Mazzulla at the start of the season and the Celtics executed it to perfection. They walled off drives, closed out to the corners, and allowed the lowest percentage and lowest efficiency shots. That and the rebounding combined to make them the fourth-rated defense in the league.
Jaylen Brown: 2038 points
He scored 2,000 points in a season for the first time in his career. He’s the eighth Celtics to accomplish the feat, and his 2,038 points is 15th on the list of most points in a season.
Brown accomplished this by leading the league in field goals made and attempted. He finishes the season third in total points.
Bonus Jaylen Brown stats: 492 rebounds, 364 assists, 426 free throws made, 536 free throws attempted
That’s a lot of stats, but they’re all career-highs. They don’t just represent a good season, they represent a healthy season. His previous career-high assists was 286 last season. His previous high for free throws made was 263, and for free throws taken was 344.
All of these Brown stats show just how dominant Brown was this season. This has been a remarkable year for him, and the Celtics wouldn’t have come close to their level of success if Brown didn’t ascend the way he did.
Jayson Tatum: Ten double-doubles
He played 16 games in his return from a torn Achilles and had 10 double-doubles, one of eight players with 10 or more. It was more than notable players like Evan Mobley and Aleperin Sengun (eight each), Paolo Banchero (six), and Luka Doncic (five).
Tatum has always been a really good rebounder, but this is the first time he’s averaged 10 a game, albeit over an obviously small sample size. The fact that Tatum came back and averaged a double-double is beyond amazing. It changes the trajectory of this team by giving them true superstar, not just some percentage of one, alongside Brown.
Derrick White: 98 blocked shots, 88 steals
Only three players 6-4 and under have accomplished at least 88 steals and 98 blocked shots: White, Dwyane Wade, and David Thompson. White is the only one to do it in less than 3,000 minutes.
White is one of the league’s best defenders, but he’s so unique that it’s hard to pin down exactly what he is. He’s a perimeter defender because he’s small and that’s where he starts, but one of his biggest strengths is meeting players at the rim and blocking shots. He’s not always at the point of attack or taking on the one-on-one challenge the way Marcus Smart used to.
Maybe that lack of true definition is why he might still be underappreciated. Either way, he’s an elite defender who should make first-team All-Defensive this season.
Neemias Queta: First four years in the league: 400 rebounds, 32 steals, 73 blocks. This season: 636 rebounds, 60 steals, 100 blocks.
You can do this with all his stats this year. I picked these because he’s been so great defensively and that has made the biggest difference for the Celtics. According to CleaningTheGlass.com, teams are scoring 9.4 fewer points per 100 possessions with Queta off the floor.
Queta has been great on the offensive end, too, but he has had a monster defensive season. Coming into this year, the prevailing thought was that Boston’s offense was going to have to carry the day. And while their offense was their strength, their defense wasn’t far behind. Only the Celtics and Spurs finished the season top-five in both offensive and defensive rating.
Boston Celtics: 36 20-point wins, three 20-point losses
That stat comes courtesy of Celtics radio play-by-play man Sean Grande, and it highlights how infrequent Boston’s stinkers were this season. That’s a testament to the coaching, which consistently has the Celtics prepared.
The proof is in the 56 wins and the second seed. It’s been an incredible season so far, and hopefully there are a couple months left before they have to clean out their lockers, which hopefully includes the disposal of champagne bottles.
