“I like math.” – Joe Mazzulla
This is a continuation of my 20-game rule article where I wanted to focus solely on statistics (because there are a lot of them). All stats from the NBA.com stats site.
Starting with the team’s record. 16-4 means they are winning 80% of their games. That puts them on pace for 65.6 wins (feel free to round up) over an 82-game schedule. They are first in the standings for the whole NBA. Not too shabby.
Offense
The Celtics offense is (as the kids say) a wagon.
- 120.4 points per game (1st)
- 119.9 Offensive Rating (1st)
- 62.5 True Shooting % (1st)
- 58.5 Effective FG% (1st)
The Celtics got an absurd 1.383 points per possession in their win Sunday (and did it without Jayson Tatum).
And while these numbers don’t feel sustainable, the Celtics through 20 games are simply lapping the all-time NBA field as the best offense in the history of ever. pic.twitter.com/FCagIIf9Ui
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) November 28, 2022
The Celtics’ 119.9 points scored per 100 possessions are 2.6 more than the highest mark in league history (that of the 2020-21 Nets) and 8.1 more than the league average, what would be the third biggest differential in the 27 seasons of play-by-play data. Though this has been the most efficient season in NBA history league-wide, there are two teams — the Hawks and Bulls — who’ve only once scored at least 119.9 per 100 in a game this season.
Defense
Much has been made (including by myself) about the step back in defensive prowess. What that really means is that the Celtics were historically great last season and …are not this season. Some of that is due to missing Robert Williams III and some of it seems to be the emphasis and effort devoted to offense this year.
- 112.2 Defensive Rating (17th) – note: they are 9th in the league over the last 15 games
- 5.6 Steals (30th)
- 5.4 Blocks (11th)
- 15.7 Opponent points off turnovers (5th)
- 13.2 Opponent second chance points (12th)
- 12.0 Opponent fast break points (7th)
- 48.0 Opponent points in the paint (14th)
Net Rating
- 7.7 Net Rating (1st)
- 7.1 Plus-Minus (1st)
Shooting
- 49.0% FG% (4th)
- 40% 3 pt FG% (1st)
- 47.4% Percent of shots taken from 3 pt (3rd)
- 16.4 3 point makes off of 40.9 attempts (both 2nd in the league behind the Warriors)
- 85.2% FT% (1st)
Ball Movement
- 26.7 Assists (11th)
- 62.9% Assist % (10th)
- 2.03 Assist to Turnover Ratio (2nd)
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