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| Brad Stevens has his team on an even keel. |
If one were to ask basketball fans/experts/analysts/gurus before the season to predict the pecking order in the Atlantic Division through the first 22 games, a popular response might be the way the teams are in now...but in the opposite order.
No one saw this coming. This was supposed to be a "rebuilding year" -- whatever that term means nowadays -- not a season with a potential playoff run.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves, Celtics fans.
Yes, they're 6-2 in their last eight games. In that stretch, they've beaten teams that, if the season ended today, would be in the playoffs (the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, and Denver Nuggets). They just beat the reigning Atlantic Division champion New York Knicks in the world's most famous arena by an astounding 41 points. And let's not forget their last-second victory in South Beach over the two-time defending world champion Miami Heat.
On the other hand, things haven't been all sunshine and rainbows. The C's have lost twice to the Milwaukee Bucks, the worst team in the Eastern Conference, and in one of those losses, they blew a 22-point lead. They blew a big lead to the top-seeded Indiana Pacers and were outscored in the third quarter of that game, 35-8. They fell to the Bobcats on their home floor. And while that Knicks win was impressive, let's not forget where the Knicks are right now: they sit dead last in the Atlantic, they're playing without their defensive anchor, Tyson Chandler, and three of their key players (Iman Shumpert, Raymond Felton, and J.R. Smith, last year's Sixth Man of the Year) are underperforming and then some.
Let's also not forget that there are only three teams in the East with winning records.
Throughout the season, head coach Brad Stevens has been praised for his poise and calmness. Stevens stresses patience and is a big believer in not getting carried away during the highs and lows of a season.
"Never as good as you think you are, never as bad as you think you are, and you're never far from either," Stevens said after yesterday's 114-73 win over the Knicks. "It's one of those days in a lot of ways. But, also, we played pretty well. Can we play like that every day? Probably not. But can we bring the same intensity level and be as much of a team as we were today? Hopefully."
Stevens has made his message clear, and his message has stuck with his players.
"We’re not content with where we are at," Jeff Green said. "There’s still some things we can get better at. We’re following [Stevens'] lead. That’s our leader and he knows that there’s still some things we need to work on. He’s not content, and neither are we."
Added Jared Sullinger: "As a coach, you can’t really get too high off of wins like this because we turn around and play another good team in Brooklyn [on Tuesday] and so we’ve just got to be prepared to win. You can’t get complacent. We’re trying to just stay on top of the Atlantic Division."
The Celtics sit atop the division in a weak Eastern Conference. 60 games remain. A lot can happen between now and April, but for now, let's not get too excited.
* Jordan Crawford was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played December 2 through December 8. In three games this past week, Crawford averaged 23.3 points on 61% shooting, 6.7 assists, and 3 rebounds.
* Brad Stevens told reporters after today's practice that Kelly Olynyk went through a full practice and is "at worst very questionable" for tomorrow's game against the Brooklyn Nets. Olynyk has missed the last eight games with a right ankle sprain.
Nice job Jim!
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