On February 16, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Celtics won 135-87 away to Philadelphia, winning 48 points, which is also the second largest net win point difference in the history of the Celtics. After this campaign, the Celtics extended their winning streak to nine, and in those nine games, the Celtics averaged 20.8 points per game.
If you expand the game by three more games, the Celtics have a record of 11 wins and 1 loss in the past 12 games, totaling 253 points against opponents, and in NBA history, only the Bucks in the 1970-71 season can win higher points in 12 games, and the Bucks, which have Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, also won the championship.
The rise of the Celtics can be said to be very sudden, you know, half a month ago, their record was still 25 wins and 25 losses, and they could only hover near the threshold of the playoffs. And this wave of 9 consecutive wins, the opponent's color is also very sufficient, in addition to the Pistons, Magic, the remaining teams are teams within the play-off threshold line. So why did the Celtics, who had stumbled all the way before, suddenly rise?
A key statistic that reveals the answer behind the scenes is defensive efficiency values. According to statistics, since Christmas, the Celtics' defensive efficiency in the same period has ranked first in the league, and the Celtics have also rushed to the second place in the league in the current list of defensive efficiency values throughout the season. In this nine-game winning streak, the Celtics have only been able to score hundreds of points against the Hornets and Nuggets.
It should be noted that after the introduction of White and Theis at the trade deadline, the Celtics' defensive intensity will continue to increase. In particular, the addition of White has allowed Uduka to create a set of 5 small lineups with strong oppressive ability. White and Smart played in the backcourt, Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the front, and Lowe played as a center. The mobility and ability of this lineup is extremely strong, and it is not surprising that it will be the main lineup of the Celtics at key moments in the future. Although Theis has not yet played after his return, he is a player cultivated under the Green Army system, and his return can also enhance the depth of the Green Army's interior line.
As the saying goes, defense wins the championship. When the Celtics' defensive system gradually takes shape, and after the introduction of puzzles suitable for the system, their future will naturally be optimistic. Now, the Green Army has achieved a late strike and rushed out of the popular candidate team in the East, and I am afraid that they will have to add one.