In early January, the Boston Celtics were a mess. The Celtics were 18-21 through the first 39 games of the season, and tensions were seemingly running high within Boston’s infrastructure. Since that point, however, Boston has played at an elite level, reeling off five wins in six games to set the tone and putting together a 15-4 overall mark since Jan. 8.
That 15-4 mark includes an active eight-game winning streak for Boston, a streak that is the longest in the NBA as of Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t a murderer’s row from a scheduling perspective, but the Celtics did knock off the Hawks, Nuggets, Heat and Nets, and Boston’s numbers over the last 19 games paint an appealing picture.
The Celtics have the best net rating (+13.3) and the best defensive rating (99.4) in the NBA, pushing the team’s overall net rating to +4.8 points per 100 possessions for the season. The wins helped to thrust Boston into the top six of the East, but the Celtics are beginning to look the part of a real contender, headlined by the NBA’s No. 2 defense. The Celtics made a shrewd investment in Derrick White at the trade deadline, fortifying the backcourt and providing much-needed support in shot creation. White isn’t the perfect player in that he is an inconsistent shooter, but his defensive chops are unquestioned, and Boston is truly terrifying on that end of the floor.
Furthermore, the Celtics have been very good when their key pieces are available on the floor. Boston’s top four players — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams — each sport a net rating of +8.0 or better when on the floor this season. Things are even scarier for the opposition when that quartet is deployed together, with Boston posting an obscene +20.2 net rating in 558 minutes. That kind of success likely isn’t sustainable, but with those four players paired with either White, Al Horford or Grant Williams, the defensive versatility speaks for itself and the Celtics project to be effective in a playoff setting.
It must be noted that nothing is assured for Boston at this stage, with only a slim margin between the Celtics and the play-in race in the East. Still, a lot has changed for the Celtics in about six weeks, and optimism now reigns in Boston.
Where do the Celtics stack up in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let’s dive in.
1. Phoenix Suns (46-10, Last week — 1st)
There is some real separation between Phoenix and everyone else. The Suns have a five-game lead on the field in the standings, and Phoenix’s statistical profile indicates that isn’t a fluke. They made minor moves at the deadline to improve depth and, barring something unforeseen, Phoenix is a true force.
2. Golden State Warriors (42-16, Last week — 2nd)
Golden State’s 1-3 week was nearly enough to drop them out of this spot. The Warriors still have the second-best overall profile, but Golden State got blasted in Utah last week and then dropped a game to the Clippers by double-digits on Monday. Let’s just say they’re going to need Draymond Green to be healthy.
3. Memphis Grizzlies (40-18, Last week — 3rd)
The Grizz could be No. 2 in this week without issue. Memphis is 8-1 in the last nine games, and the Grizzlies are 5-0 in February. Memphis has been making waves with athleticism and physicality all season, but the Grizzlies are scoring well over 1.2 points per possession during this winning streak. If they can even pretend to maintain that offensive pace, the Grizzlies are terrifying.
4. Boston Celtics (33-25, Last week — 9th)
Boston has a showcase road game in Philadelphia on Tuesday, and the 76ers won’t have James Harden. If they can steal that game, only a home date with Detroit stands in the way of a 10-game winning streak before the All-Star break.
5. Miami Heat (37-20, Last week — 7th)
The schedule wasn’t difficult at all, but Miami is on a five-game winning spree. That makes up for a three-game hiccup at the end of January and the start of February, and the Heat lead the East by a half-game.
6. Utah Jazz (36-21, Last week — 14th)
All is well in Salt Lake City again. After a disastrous stretch that tanked Utah’s place in the standings, the Jazz have won six in a row. Beyond that, Rudy Gobert returned from a three-week absence on Monday, and the Jazz have outscored opponents by 18.5 points per 100 possessions in those six games.
7. Chicago Bulls (37-21, Last week — 12th)
DeMar DeRozan has scored 30 points or more in seven straight games, becoming the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to accomplish that feat. From there, DeRozan has at least 35 points in six straight, all on over 50 percent shooting from the field matching a record only Wilt has accomplished, and he was masterful in leading Chicago to a win over San Antonio on Monday without Zach LaVine.
8. Philadelphia 76ers (34-22, Last week — 6th)
Philadelphia has a pair of TNT games before the break, and they are both real tests against Boston and Milwaukee. The Sixers won’t have James Harden just yet, but Joel Embiid put up a 40-14-10 in a win over Cleveland on Saturday that sent quite a message.
9. Milwaukee Bucks (35-23, Last week — 5th)
There is no shame in getting smoked in Phoenix, because that seems to happen to everyone, and Milwaukee lost on Monday without Giannis to a depleted but scrappy Blazers team. Still, those are double-digit losses in succession, and there is a power rankings penalty to that kind of hiccup. Alas, no one should be worried about Milwaukee.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers (35-22, Last week — 4th)
The Cavs lost by double digits in Philly on Saturday, but that result shouldn’t overshadow a tremendous run, their drop here is more about leaps taken by those ahead of them. Cleveland is still 13-4 in the last 17 games, and the Cavs now have two All-Stars with Jarrett Allen getting the call. A road test in Atlanta on Tuesday will be quite interesting as a measuring stick.
11. Denver Nuggets (32-25, Last week — 11th)
Nikola Jokic is from another planet. The Nuggets have a +10.2 (!!) net rating when he’s on the floor this season, even with the absences of Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray. When he heads to the bench, Denver plays at a rock-bottom level, posting a -10.4 net rating. That pretty much tells the story.
12. Dallas Mavericks (33-24, Last week — 10th)
Dallas was two points shy of a five-game winning streak to close the week, and Luka Doncic has 96 points in the last two games. That doesn’t paper over the bizarre nature of the Kristaps Porzingis trade and the fact that Dallas doesn’t have a clear path to a long-term No. 2, but they are still pretty good.
13. Toronto Raptors (31-25, Last week — 8th)
The Raptors weren’t going to win every game the rest of the way, but they did win eight in a row. The streak was snapped with a one-point loss to Denver, which is a perfectly acceptable result, but the Raptors then got blitzed by 30 in New Orleans on Monday. That wasn’t great.
14. L.A. Clippers (29-30, Last week — 17th)
This isn’t “the year” for the Clippers, simply due to the injuries for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. It is worth nothing that the Clippers are basically playing .500 ball without two superstars, though, and that is pretty impressive. A win over the Warriors on Monday also helps to justify this boost in the rankings.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves (30-27, Last week — 13th)
Minnesota dips a bit this week, but it wasn’t a disaster by any means. The Wolves went 2-2, but both losses came by double figures. Quietly, Minnesota’s offense has unsurprisingly improved from the beginning of the season, but the defense has also unsurprisingly regressed. Finding the water level will be interesting here.
16. Brooklyn Nets (30-27, Last week — 15th)
The long national nightmare is over, with the Nets finally winning a game on Monday. That snapped a comical 11-game losing streak for Brooklyn, but the Nets are still in the play-in mix. Ben Simmons might play pretty soon, which would help in theory, but Kevin Durant is who the Nets really need.
17. Atlanta Hawks (26-30, Last week — 16th)
Atlanta still has the feel of a team that is better than its record, but the results just aren’t consistently matching up. The Hawks won seven games in a row in late January, but Atlanta gave most of that back with five losses in seven games. There’s a chance this is just what this team is, which would be an enormous disappointment following a conference finals appearance.
18. Charlotte Hornets (29-29, Last week — 20th)
For the first time since early January, the Hornets are back to .500. Charlotte is 1-7 in the last eight games and, in a shocking twist, it is the offense letting the Hornets down. They have scored only 1.04 points per possession during that stretch, and that won’t be enough to sustain prosperity alongside a spotty defense.
19. San Antonio Spurs (22-36, Last week — 21st)
San Antonio likely got worse with the Derrick White trade, but they stocked the cupboard for the future with an unexpected flurry of pre-deadline activity. The Spurs’ long-term goals remain at least slightly unclear, but they followed up the deadline with nice road wins over Atlanta and New Orleans before competing valiantly in Chicago on Monday.
20. New Orleans Pelicans (23-34, Last week — 19th)
The Pelicans are behind the Spurs due to a home loss to San Antonio this week. Other than that, it’s been really positive for New Orleans with five wins in the last seven games. The Pels are a half-game out of the play-in, and New Orleans is exactly .500 since the hideous 1-12 start. CJ McCollum’s addition gives them some more scoring juice next to Brandon Ingram and there’s reason for optimism in the Big Easy.
21. Portland Trail Blazers (24-34, Last week — 25th)
The Blazers are riding a three-game winning streak, including a very positive road win in Milwaukee on Monday. Granted, Giannis Antetokounmpo was unavailable in that spot, but Portland was still a significant betting underdog and played quite well. The Anfernee Simons breakout continues and, for now, they still cling to the last play-in spot out West.
22. Los Angeles Lakers (26-31, Last week — 18th)
Los Angeles is 5-12 in the last 17 games. It’s really ugly, especially when remembering the Lakers didn’t do anything at the trade deadline and will seemingly rely on the buyout market for an infusion of talent. Los Angeles also has one of the more difficult schedules remaining in the NBA, in part due to the backloaded nature of the league’s national television contract.
23. Sacramento Kings (22-37, Last week — 24th)
The Kings were nearly in line for a big rise in this space. Then, Sacramento got walloped by the Nets on Monday to take some of the fuel out of the plane. Still, the Domantas Sabonis era seems to be reinvigorating De’Aaron Fox, and that is a positive takeaway in the early going.
24. Washington Wizards (26-30, Last week — 23rd)
It was actually a winning week for the Wizards at 2-1. Those victories came at home against the shorthanded Nets and Pistons, though, and the loss came by 13 points to the Kings. That’s not exactly fantastic.
25. Oklahoma City Thunder (18-39, Last week — 27th)
From a full-season perspective, there is no argument for the Thunder over the Knicks. Oklahoma City upset New York on the road on Monday, though, so they get a bump here. Also, the Thunder currently have a top-10 defense in the NBA. That is fairly wild.
26. New York Knicks (25-33, Last week — 22nd)
A month ago, the Knicks were 22-21 and coming off a three-game winning streak. New York is 3-12 since then, including six losses in the last seven games. Monday night was particularly brutal, with the Knicks giving one away (at home) against the Thunder in memorable fashion.
27. Orlando Magic (13-45, Last week — 28th)
A road win in Portland this week helps the Magic to climb a spot. The rest of the week didn’t go well with three double-digit road losses, but Orlando will take progress as it comes. One example is the recent play of Wendell Carter Jr., who has scored in double figures in 17 of his last 18 games.
28. Indiana Pacers (19-39, Last week — 26th)
The early returns on Tyrese Haliburton in a Pacers uniform are strong. That’s the positive takeaway. On the floor, Indiana is clearly scuffling with six straight losses and, for the first time in a very long time, the Pacers are likely to pick in the top half of the lottery.
29. Houston Rockets (15-41, Last week — 29th)
Houston is on a five-game losing skid with nine losses in the last ten games. The Rockets’ last eight losses have been by double digits, and there isn’t a lot of competitiveness happening right now, as evidenced by a bloodbath in Utah on Monday. It’s also a bit weird to hang on to both Eric Gordon and Dennis Schroder, but Houston also isn’t winning games to provide any urgency to clear the decks.
30. Detroit Pistons (12-45, Last week — 30th)
With the Nets finally winning a basketball game on Monday, the Pistons now hold the NBA’s longest active losing streak at eight games. Detroit also has the worst record in the league and the worst net rating in the league. The Pistons ended up holding on to Jerami Grant, which is a curious decision, but losses aren’t so bad for Detroit with the team’s current incentives.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/nba-power-rankings-february-2021-22-boston-celtics/