It’s been a weird season for the Boston Celtics. Even before the floodgates opened with regard to trade buzz involving Anthony Davis and, by proxy, Kyrie Irving‘s free agency, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Brad Stevens’ team.
Boston entered the 2018-19 campaign with exceptionally lofty aspirations, with Irving and Gordon Hayward back in the fold after season-ending injuries to go along with the presumed development of young guns like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. However, the Celtics opened the season with a 10-10 record and, after bouncing back, slipped to a modest 25-18 mark in mid-January. At that point, Boston trailed Indiana (by four games) and Philadelphia (by three games) in the standings and looked to be potentially heading for a first-round series in which they would not have home-court advantage.
Since then, however, the Celtics are 9-1 with a +10.7 net rating in an impressive run. It is worth noting that the schedule has been quite cooperative for Boston but, in the same breath, the team’s only defeat in the last ten games came (by four points) at the hands of the Warriors and the Celtics do have victories over the Raptors and Thunder along the way. Following that uptick, Boston now sits in a tie for the No. 3 seed in the East with Philadelphia, and there is reason to believe that the team many expected may be arriving at the perfect time.
It seems unlikely, though not impossible, that the Celtics could chase down the Bucks and Raptors for a top-two seed in the East and that might put Boston behind the eight-ball when it comes to the postseason. Still, it helps that Boston is being led by Irving in the midst of a career-best season and, despite the swirling distractions about his future with the organization, the talented point guard gives the Celtics a chance every single night with his ability to explode offensively.
Gone are the days in which 60 wins seemed possible for the Celtics but, as the All-Star break nears, Boston is quietly in great shape and thoroughly dangerous. Where do the Celtics land in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let’s explore the space.
1. Golden State Warriors (37-15, Last week — 1st)
The champs finally lost a basketball game this week and it came at home against Philly. Golden State is still riding a stretch of 13 wins in 14 games, though, and they just have to be in the top spot until we see signs of slippage.
2. Milwaukee Bucks (39-13, Last week — 2nd)
It’s been a theme throughout the season but it’s really unjust that the Bucks are not the No. 1 team in the league. Milwaukee has a resume that is certainly worthy of the top spot and things were strengthened after four straight wins (all on the road) to end the week. Still, the Warriors exist so the Bucks have to “settle” for having the NBA’s best record and best net rating.
3. Boston Celtics (34-19, Last week — 4th)
Don’t look now, but the Celtics are No. 3 overall in net rating (+6.8) and they are only a tick behind the Warriors (+6.9) in that always interesting stat. Boston is very good.
4. Toronto Raptors (38-16, Last week — 3rd)
The Raptors still have a better overall profile than the Celtics but Toronto is quietly in the midst of a stretch in which they’ve lost three out of five games. There is no reason to panic at this juncture but Tuesday’s road game in Philly (on TNT) should be instructive.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-19, Last week — 5th)
It was tempted to flip the Thunder and the Raptors, even with Oklahoma City coming off a loss. Paul George, Russell Westbrook and company won seven games in a row before a narrow road loss to Boston and, as you may expect, that isn’t a loss worth punishing with the way the Celtics are currently playing.
6. Philadelphia 76ers (34-19, Last week — 7th)
Sometimes, life as a playoff contender isn’t fancy. Philadelphia just went 2-2 on a road trip and that doesn’t seem important. The Sixers faced four playoff-caliber teams, though, and beat the Warriors in Oakland. That helps.
7. Denver Nuggets (37-16, Last week — 8th)
Denver just lost by 26 in Detroit and that’s a bad, bad loss. The Nuggets did win six in a row prior to that to save their bacon in this instance.
8. Portland Trail Blazers (32-20, Last week — 9th)
The Blazers just keep floating along and taking care of business. At the moment, Portland has won six of seven and their most recent triumph came in blowout fashion against the Jazz. That is an excellent plot point.
9. Houston Rockets (31-22, Last week — 10th)
Houston gets the benefit of the doubt this week after a throttling of the Jazz on the road. They also held serve in Phoenix after that but, in the grand scheme, that win over Utah carries the water.
10. Indiana Pacers (34-19, Last week — 11th)
I was all set the bury the Pacers… and then they won two in a row. Granted, neither win was impressive (beating Miami and New Orleans by single digits) but “a win is a win” seems to be a prescient phrase in this instance.
11. Utah Jazz (30-24, Last week — 6th)
It was a rough week in Salt Lake City. Utah did beat a better-than-you-think Hawks team by a sound margin but, on either end of that result, trouble arrived. The Jazz lost by 27 in Portland and followed that up with a 27-point home loss to the Rockets. That is grounds for slippage in the pecking order.
12. Sacramento Kings (28-25, Last week — 20th)
Sacramento is the biggest positive mover in this space this week, with four wins in five games. That, on its face, isn’t enough to precipitate a leap of eight spots but the Kings just beat the Sixers and Spurs in back-to-back games and they did so in wildly impressive fashion.
13. San Antonio Spurs (32-23, Last week — 13th)
The Spurs hold significant overall edges over the Kings but a 15-point margin of defeat as the most recent data point has to flip the script. That’s just the reality.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (27-26, Last week — 16th)
It’s hard to evaluate the Lakers right now. Obviously, they are embroiled in everything surrounding the Anthony Davis trade request but, in addition, LeBron James has appeared on the floor exactly once in the recent past. They won that game (which came in handy when compared to the No. 15 team in this space) but anyone that tells you they know what the Lakers are right now is lying.
15. LA Clippers (29-25, Last week — 14th)
The Clippers losing to the Lakers, even in overtime, hurt and they’ve lost three of four. Amusingly, FiveThirtyEight gives the Clippers exactly a 50 percent chance at the playoffs, and that feels incredibly fitting.16. Charlotte Hornets (26-26, Last week — 17th)
The Hornets absolutely needed some victories and they’ve arrived lately. It’s tough to get excited about victories over the Bulls, Grizzlies and Knicks but, well, Charlotte didn’t lose those games.
17. Detroit Pistons (23-29, Last week — 22nd)
This is too high for the Pistons but I have to give them some sort of nod after the annihilation of the Nuggets on Monday evening. For good measure, Detroit beat Dallas in a recent head-to-head and that gives them the edge there as well.
18. Dallas Mavericks (24-28, Last week — 21st)
Dallas is probably worse on paper for the rest of the season after dealing for the injured Kristaps Porzingis. The Mavericks have still won four of six, however, and the future is unquestionably bright if the talented big man can remain healthy in a Dallas uniform.
19. Minnesota Timberwolves (25-27, Last week — 18th)
The bad? Minnesota has lost three of four. The caveat? Those losses came against the Jazz (twice) and Nuggets. That softens the blow.
20. Brooklyn Nets (28-27, Last week — 12th)
Some of Brooklyn’s recent swoon was schedule-related, with road games against the Spurs and Celtics coinciding with a home tilt against the Bucks. With that out of way, the Nets have still lost four of five and the absence of Spencer Dinwiddie stings.
21. Orlando Magic (22-31, Last week — 24th)
Orlando bounced back from a disastrous stretch to grab two home wins over the Pacers and Nets. It’s probably too late for the Magic to make a legitimate playoff run but, at the very least, they are competitive.
22. Miami Heat (24-27, Last week — 15th)
It was a ghastly week for the Heat, with three straight losses in their own building. The first of those defeats, against the rudderless Bulls, was indefensible and Miami has lost 7 of 10 at a bad time.
23. Atlanta Hawks (18-35, Last week — 25th)
We’ll touch on Atlanta’s win over the Wizards on Monday momentarily but the Hawks just did an amazing job a treacherous road trip. With the Super Bowl in Atlanta, Lloyd Pierce’s team was forced to hit the road for two weeks and you would’ve expected disastrous results from a young team with real holes. On cue, the Hawks went 4-3 and finished with back-to-back wins. Even against less than stellar competition, that is huge.
24. Washington Wizards (22-31, Last week — 19th)
It is hard to describe how bad the Wizards were on defense against the Hawks on Monday evening. Atlanta put up 137 points on the road in that contest and the Hawks did it in the seventh game of a seven-game road trip. Did I mention John Collins, the team’s best player, didn’t appear in the second half? Let’s just say that’s a big reason Washington tumbled this week, in addition to the reality of four losses in five games.
25. New Orleans Pelicans (23-31, Last week — 23rd)
Woof. The Pelicans have lost six of seven (and eight of ten) and they are generally aimless without Anthony Davis. That is going to be the reality moving forward but, at some point, they’ll get some assets to fill in the gaps.
26. Memphis Grizzlies (21-33, Last week — 26th)
The Grizzlies won a road game on Sunday! Okay, it is difficult to be excited about a victory over the hapless Knicks but Memphis still needed that one.
27. Cleveland Cavaliers (11-42, Last week — 28th)
It was a two-game week for the Cavs, which is somewhat bizarre given that the All-Star break is also fast approaching. Still, Cleveland technically won back-to-back games in the recent past and their most recent defeat (by 13 against Dallas) wasn’t embarrassing. It’s the little things.
28. Chicago Bulls (12-41, Last week — 29th)
Chicago’s road win in Miami might say more about the Heat than the Bulls but it still happened. Jim Boylen’s team can’t leapfrog Cleveland because of their recent head-to-head defeat but, all things considered, there have been worse weeks for the Bulls.
29. Phoenix Suns (11-44, Last week — 27th)
Phoenix’s losing streak is now at 11 games and, while most of those defeats came at the hands of superior opponents, the Suns also lost a home game to the Hawks on a night when their opponent was playing the second of a back-to-back (and sixth game of a seven game road trip). That (obviously) isn’t great but, thanks to the Knicks, Devin Booker and company avoid the No. 30 slot.
30. New York Knicks (10-42, Last week — 30th)
This may work out for the Knicks if they can land a pair of top-tier free agents in July. For now, though, New York has lost 13 games in a row and they just traded their best player since Carmelo Anthony for salary cap space. That’s enough to land them here.
