The Boston Celtics are bored. That was the conclusion I came to this weekend after watching them build 20-point leads in consecutive games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets only to find themselves in fourth quarter nail-biters and ultimately going 1-1 in those games.At their best, the defending champs are still the best team in the NBA. They just seem to have a hard time maintaining that peak performance.As damning as that sounds, it’s resulted in a ho-hum pace of about 57 wins. Not exactly the 64 of last season’s magical run, but it would match the second-most wins of the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown era. As someone who roots for the Washington Wizards and hasn’t seen more than 49 wins my entire life, I would gladly sign up for that “problem.”This isn’t exactly a team waiting until the playoffs to flip the switch. The Celtics are still extremely dominant. They own the NBA’s third-best net rating and join the Oklahoma City Thunder as the only two teams to rank top-five in both offense and defense. In fact, Boston’s defensive rating is better than it was last season. They’ve done this all while their starting center, Kristaps Porzingis, has missed 29 games. Jrue Holiday has been out 14.The Celtics are merely the case of a championship-or-bust team having a hard time staying locked in for 48 minutes of 82 games knowing another ring can’t be won until June. Whether they even realize it or not, sometimes they’re simply going through the motions.Juxtaposed with the ascension of the Cavs, who play like a team with something to prove every night (because they are), Boston’s regular season might feel somewhat underwhelming. Especially after Cleveland just overcame a 22-point deficit to beat the Celtics Friday and tie the season series 2-2. But to me, it’s much more concerning that the Cavs allowed the Celtics to build leads of at least 14 points in all four matchups, including leads of at least 20 points in three of those games.Cavs-Celtics is the most likely Eastern Conference Finals matchup, and on that stage, I don’t see Boston losing to a team it can regularly build 20-point leads against. Neither do oddsmakers. At BetMGM, the Celtics are still tied with the Thunder as +225 favorites to win he NBA Finals, well ahead of the Cavs at +600. They’re -125 to win the Eastern Conference.So, then, the only question of the Celtics may be whether they can beat whichever team comes out the West. They’re 0-1 against the Thunder, who would be my bet to give Boston the hardest time. But the Thunder aren’t the same locks to make it out of their conference at -115 as the Celtics are in the East. Especially not with how fast the Luka Doncic-led Lakers are rising.For as wide open as things seem today, the NBA title might still be a question of whether you’re taking Boston or the field. After watching the Celtics toy with some of the league’s best teams over the weekend, albeit in short spurts, I’m not so sure the answer isn’t still Boston.
Celtics are bored but still NBA’s team to beat over Thunder, Cavaliers
The Boston Celtics are bored. That was the conclusion I came to this weekend after watching them build 20-point leads in consecutive games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets only to find themselves in fourth quarter nail-biters and ultimately going 1-1 in those games.At their best, the defending champs are still the best team in the NBA. They just seem to have a hard time maintaining that peak performance.As damning as that sounds, it’s resulted in a ho-hum pace of about 57 wins. Not exactly the 64 of last season’s magical run, but it would match the second-most wins of the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown era. As someone who roots for the Washington Wizards and hasn’t seen more than 49 wins my entire life, I would gladly sign up for that “problem.”This isn’t exactly a team waiting until the playoffs to flip the switch. The Celtics are still extremely dominant. They own the NBA’s third-best net rating and join the Oklahoma City Thunder as the only two teams to rank top-five in both offense and defense. In fact, Boston’s defensive rating is better than it was last season. They’ve done this all while their starting center, Kristaps Porzingis, has missed 29 games. Jrue Holiday has been out 14.The Celtics are merely the case of a championship-or-bust team having a hard time staying locked in for 48 minutes of 82 games knowing another ring can’t be won until June. Whether they even realize it or not, sometimes they’re simply going through the motions.Juxtaposed with the ascension of the Cavs, who play like a team with something to prove every night (because they are), Boston’s regular season might feel somewhat underwhelming. Especially after Cleveland just overcame a 22-point deficit to beat the Celtics Friday and tie the season series 2-2. But to me, it’s much more concerning that the Cavs allowed the Celtics to build leads of at least 14 points in all four matchups, including leads of at least 20 points in three of those games.Cavs-Celtics is the most likely Eastern Conference Finals matchup, and on that stage, I don’t see Boston losing to a team it can regularly build 20-point leads against. Neither do oddsmakers. At BetMGM, the Celtics are still tied with the Thunder as +225 favorites to win he NBA Finals, well ahead of the Cavs at +600. They’re -125 to win the Eastern Conference.So, then, the only question of the Celtics may be whether they can beat whichever team comes out the West. They’re 0-1 against the Thunder, who would be my bet to give Boston the hardest time. But the Thunder aren’t the same locks to make it out of their conference at -115 as the Celtics are in the East. Especially not with how fast the Luka Doncic-led Lakers are rising.For as wide open as things seem today, the NBA title might still be a question of whether you’re taking Boston or the field. After watching the Celtics toy with some of the league’s best teams over the weekend, albeit in short spurts, I’m not so sure the answer isn’t still Boston.