Good morning, CelticsBlog community!
It’s time for the second installment of CelticsBlog’s Monday Mailbag, a new weekly Q&A segment here on CelticsBlog where I (CelticsBlog beat writer Noa Dalzell) will answer all your questions.
First, let’s reflect.
The Celtics’ regular season has officially come to a close — and it was another historic year. The Celtics set a new record for most threes in a single season in NBA history (1,457), and recorded the second-most road wins, finishing with a 33-8 away record. Remarkably, hey limited opponents to 1,451 free throws, the fewest in NBA history.
They also recorded 61 wins, the most wins a team has had in a title defense season since the 2015-2016 Warriors won 73 games after winning the 2015 title.
They weren’t the most dominant team in the NBA — the Oklahoma City Thunder secured that honor — but they nonetheless dominated opponents. Per 98.5 Sports Hubs’ Sean Grande, the Celtics held more 30-point leads than 15-point deficits and more 20-point leads than 8-point deficits. Their 9.11 scoring margin this season was the fifth-best in franchise history.
And, none of this is new; it’s been two years since the Celtics have lost more than two consecutive games.
Still, none of that will matter if the Celtics don’t win the championship, as they’ve reminded us time and again this year.
The journey to a 19th banner begins on Sunday, when the Celtics will host either the Orlando Magic or Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs. The official first-round opponents will be determined on Tuesday, when the two teams square off in the No.7 / No. 8 Play-In Tournament. The winner will earn the right to travel to Boston.
The last week in Celtics basketball
A week ago today, the Celtics still had four regular season games left and an open 15th roster spot.
Since then, they beat the Knicks in an overtime thriller, thanks to some clutch-time heroics from Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, and dropped a Stay Ready game to the Magic. Then, they beat the Hornets in back-to-back games at home to close the season; the first victory was spearheaded by the Celtics starters, and the season finale was secured by Payton Pritchard and the bench.
They signed JD Davison to the team’s final roster spot after his three-year tenure as a two-way player, a moment that brought his mother to tears.
Jaylen Brown got some knee injections, as we expected. Oh, and Joe Mazzulla urged Al Horford to go watch his Florida Gators win an NCAA title, Torrey Craig showed out in front of his son,
For now, as we await a first-round opponent, drop your Monday Mailbag questions in the comment section below.
Let’s look at some questions and answers from last week
Q: I want to expand on my earlier query about JD Davison to specifically ask your opinion/evaluation. Based on what you have seen of him in Maine, do you think he belongs on Boston’s roster? Most of what I know about G League is second hand (often from your articles), so it’s hard to judge if his game will translate. Thanks again for your exceptional work.
A: I don’t know if Boston is a great fit for JD — I’d rather see him on a team that has less guard talent (Payton Pritchard coming off your bench is a massive luxury) where he can get some actual run. I wouldn’t be shocked if he signed to the 15th roster spot for this season, but I’d be pretty surprised if he was back next season. I’ve heard there is some interest in him across the league so I think someone will at least take a flyer on JD next season. Jrue Holiday getting traded this summer could create some space for another backup guard, but right now, I’d be surprised if he was a Celtic next season.
Q: Speaking of HBO shows, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Celtics City. As a 90’s kid, it’s good to learn and look back on the legacy of the team in relation to the city of Boston itself (an interesting, new thesis for a doc among many docs). Have any of y’all seen the show? And if so, was there anything that stuck out to you, moved you, or learned from it that you didn’t know before?
A: I’ve loved this documentary. I’m obviously familiar with basic Celtics history, but could definitely be more informed. So I’ve been enjoying re-living it all through this show. I honestly didn’t know how much more credit Bob Cousy got than Bill Russell when the two played together, growing up (I was born in ‘98), Russell was such a bigger name and the fact that at the time, he was kind of in Cousy’s shadows was pretty stunning to watch. From a basketball standpoint, I definitely enjoyed that Cousy/Russel episode most, as I really hadn’t seen much film from that era either.
Drop comments below!
Feel free to send in questions you’d like to see asked of the players/coaches themselves, questions directed toward me about covering the team, or just questions you’d like to get my perspective on.
If I missed your question last week, feel free to repost it today, and I’ll make sure to get to it. I’ll see you all in the comment section!
Noa Dalzell
P.S. One of you asked me to write a story about the Stay Ready Celtics and what it’s like to actually in that position. I interviewed a bunch of them about uneven playing time and staying engaged through DNPs, and wrote about it here.
