A switch seems to have been flicked within the Boston Celtics after they experienced the most heartbreaking defeat a team could ever experience – an NBA Finals loss. Jayson Tatum and the Celtics are laying waste to the NBA to begin the 2022-23 campaign, clearly motivated to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. And their latest victory, a 126-101 drubbing of the Atlanta Hawks, should scare the rest of the league even more, including the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Celtics moved to 12-3 after their most recent victory, but the underlying circumstances of their latest win should be an extremely encouraging sign for the team's chances of making a deep playoff run. Despite missing the services of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams III, the Celtics still managed to stamp their class on the Hawks, who have lofty playoff ambitions of their own.
In addition, Jayson Tatum, who is one of the early front-runners for the MVP award, shot uncharacteristically poor from the field (6-19), but the Celtics' role players managed to step up, as the team combined to shoot 55 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep on Wednesday night.
And it's not as if the Celtics are beating up on some low-level competition. En route to posting the league's best record in the early goings, Boston has managed to go 7-2 against teams with a .500 record or better, per StatMuse, with two of those losses coming in nail-biters against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Boston's turnaround since the middle of last season has simply been remarkable, as the team managed to transform themselves into one of the most stifling defensive outfits the league has ever seen. Last season, they led the league in defensive rating, allowing only 106.2 points per 100 possessions, but that number has “slipped” to 111.5 this year, good for 16th in the league.
However, their offense has improved exponentially, going from ninth last season to first with an insane 119.2 points scored per 100 possessions. In fact, the gap between their absurd offensive rating and that of the second-ranked Sacramento Kings (116.5), is bigger than the gap between second and 11th, per StatMuse.
It's all looking up for the Boston Celtics, and they appear to be the early favorites for the 2023 NBA championship, barring any unforeseen major injuries.
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