Kristaps Porzingis: Celtics are still going to get ‘much better’
Over a year ago, amid an abrupt, unforeseen coaching change mere days ahead of the season’s start from Ime Udoka to then-assistant Joe Mazzulla, the Boston Celtics won 13 of their first 16 and looked like one of the best teams in basketball. Through that stretch, they were outsourcing opponents by 7.7 points per 100 possessions–1.7 points better than the next-best team–with the league’s best offense and the 14th-best defense.
Fast forward to the beginning of October: Boston acquired star guard Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers roughly three weeks ahead of the season, a small amount of time to acclimate a top-3/4 player to the team.
Yet, it has not phased them to begin the new season. Through a microscopic five-game sample, Holiday looks like he’s played together with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and newly acquired Kristaps Porzingis for over three years, not three weeks.
It’s reflected in their performance. Through a week-and-a-half, Boston sports an NBA-best 18.1 NET Rating–6.3 points better than the next-best team (76ers — 11.8), almost as great of a gap as it is from the No. 2 and 8 teams in NET Rating–placing in the top-7 in both offense and defense.
Despite their scorching hot start, Porzingis, who was acquired by Boston in a three-team trade in late June, still believes the Celtics are scratching the surface with their collective comradery.
“We’re still building chemistry,” Porzingis said last week, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “Even though we have some glimpses of really good plays and passes, we’re still building chemistry. I’m still catching up on the little nuances and little things that JT likes to do, that JB likes to do, and just still, like, figuring each other out, you know?”
The Celtics’ closest margin-of-victory came on opening night–108-104 win over the New York Knicks. Since then, they’ve rattled off wins over the reigning East Champion Miami Heat (119-111), Washington Wizards (126-107), Indiana Pacers (155-104!!) and the Brooklyn Nets (124-114).
According to Dunks and Threes, Boston’s strength of schedule has been the second-easiest leaguewide, though its adjusted NET Rating–factoring in its SOS–is still atop the NBA at a plus-7.9.
“It might look like it’s already really good because we’re just beating these teams easily,” Porzingis said. “But it’s going to get much, much better.”
Porzingis has followed up his career season with a productive campaign to begin 2023-24. He’s averaging 19.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game. He’s shooting 60.4 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from 3-point range (4.4 3PA) and 82.1 percent from the free-throw line, equaling a 69.8 effective field goal percentage and a 74.2 true-shooting percentage.
The Celtics’ starting lineup of Holiday-White-Brown-Tatum-Porzingis is outscoring opponents by 38.3 points per 100 possessions in non garbage time situations (96th percentile), second to only the Clippers’ Russell Westbrook–Paul George–Kawhi Leonard–Robert Covington–Ivica Zubac quintet (+39.3), per Cleaning The Glass.
(Note: Covington got traded to Philadelphia in the James Harden deal).
It goes without mentioning that it’s going to be hard to considerably improve relative to what Boston’s already done, no matter who they face. Their monstrous numbers are bound to regress over an increased sample.
That said, the best teams don’t play their best basketball within the first five games of the season, and Boston’s overall chemistry will improve with the insertion of new blood as the postseason approaches, even if the numbers don’t reflect that.
How much, you ask? That remains to be seen, but what we do know right now is what the Boston Celtics are capable of in a regular season setting, which could put them over the top if they’re able to maintain and build on their early season habits throughout the next several months.
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