Celtics are ‘scariest’ team in the East

Boston Celtics

The Celtics, winners of nine of their last 10, are turning heads in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics have won nine of their last 10 games. They are one win away from sweeping their current West Coast road trip, having beaten Golden State, Los Angeles, and Phoenix this past week.

Boston, four-and-a-half games out of first place, remains No. 2 in the Eastern Conference behind Detroit.

Some might say these Jayson Tatum-less Celtics have emerged as a dark horse to win the East. Others, such as TNT’s Reggie Miller say the Celtics are looking downright scary these days.

“With or without Tatum, even if Tatum doesn’t come back, the Celtics are the scariest team in the Eastern Conference,” Miller said during a recent appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. “The reason being is that there are no expectations. People thought this was going to be a gap year without Tatum.”

Jaylen Brown has had a lot to do with the Celtics’ success. He has played his way into being considered as a fringe MVP candidate. He’s fourth in the league in scoring at 29.2 points per game, while grabbing seven rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

“Jaylen Brown, his name certainly belongs in the MVP discussion along with Cade Cunningham,” Miller said. “Those two. I know SGA and I know Jokic, I give both of them all their flowers. But, with what Cade has done in Detroit and especially with what Jaylen Brown has done with the Celtics, with or without Tatum coming back, the Celtics are a real threat to win the Eastern Conference.”

Defensively, the Celtics are holding opponents to a league-best 107.6 points per game. Boston is also seventh in defensive rating.

They’ve dropped to 19th in the league in points per game (115.0), but their mix of defense, hustle, and rebounding appears to be making up for it.

“They’re well coached by coach Mazzulla. They’re deep, they can play a number of ways. They can play big, small, and I think the pickup of [Nikola] Vucevic down low – he can play with his back to the basket, he can knock down threes.

“They play a certain way, they’re going to jack up a lot of threes. Most of their shots come from 16 feet out and further. They get after you defensively. I’m just telling people. I know they’re high on the Knicks, high on Detroit, and rightfully so. Cleveland’s on their way up as well, but people pay attention to Boston.”

Adding Tatum to the mix certainly wouldn’t hurt their chances, Miller said.

“I think it’s going to be a seamless transition because he’s been over there all season long, and he doesn’t want to disrupt anything,” Miller said. “People are like ‘oh he’s going to disrupt rhythm and throw it off’. I would rather have an All-NBA guy play 20 minutes than not at all. So, if he does come back, and this is his decision only, I think it’s only going to help Boston.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.