After a Busy Offseason, What Can We Really Expect from the Celtics?

Celtics GM Danny Ainge has been hoarding assets and promising fireworks for years now. Did he deliver this offseason?

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

One year ago, I wrote about how the Celtics, who had just signed Al Horford, were in talks to bring in either Russell Westbrook or Blake Griffin.

We now know that those acquisitions were long shots, but the Celtics’ transaction buzz remains ongoing.

After signing Gordon Hayward and trading Avery Bradley, the Celtics are rumored to be in the market for three-time All-Star, and 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol.

After a seemingly successful draft and early offseason, the Celtics are Las Vegas’ third-most likely team to win a title, at 15-to-2 odds for the NBA championship.

However, just like 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers lurk at 5-to-1 odds for the title, and LeBron’s squad has overwhelming odds at winning the conference. Can Boston get over that hump in the East?

By The Numbers: Breaking Down the Celtics vs the Bulls

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

When I previewed the first-round Eastern Conference matchups, I picked the Celtics in five games, as if they were “just another No. 1 seed.” However, as Sean Grande points out, the Celtics own the worst scoring margin of any No. 1 seed since the NBA and ABA merged.

Boston climbed to the top spot after the Cleveland Cavaliers faltered in March and April, including four consecutive losses to end the regular season. The race for the top seed could either be described as the ‘tortoise and the hare,’ or simply no one wanting to have homecourt throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Well, either way, here we are in mid-April, and the Celtics are facing the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs for just the second time since 1987. If the 2009 first-round series is any indication, then we are in for a treat when these two teams tip off on Sunday evening at TD Garden.

Jared Sullinger Became a Double-Double Machine for Boston in November

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

At halftime of Friday’s drubbing of the Washington Wizards, the Celtics already had three double-digit scorers and were en route to putting away Randy Wittman’s squad for the second time in November.

Jared Sullinger, who put up a season-high 21 points in November 6’s 118-98 victory over the Wizards, was once again a model of efficiency against Washington.

With 11 points and 12 rebounds at the half, Sullinger already had a double-double. He finished the contest as the only player to grab 10 or more rebounds, and he helped the Celtics to their third-best rebounding differential in a game this season. When outrebounding their opponent in 2015-16, the C’s are 7-1.

The Celtics Quietly Building One of the NBA's Best Defenses

Forward Jared Sullinger has been pivotal for Boston on the defensive end, and on the glass this season.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Wednesday’s 18-point lead against the visiting Dallas Mavericks did not last long. The TD Garden crowd was roaring at referees Tony Brothers, Ben Taylor and Tony Brown for most of the game, but the Celtics have to be faulted for their frustrating shooting in the second, third and fourth quarters.

Boston’s 26th-ranked 3-point shooting started strong. The Celtics made three of their first five shots from downtown, but finished the game 5-for-21, including missing all six of their 3-point attempts in the second quarter.

However, the green bounced back on Friday to win yet another game by double digits. With Boston’s 120-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, the 7-5 Celtics have yet to win a game by fewer than 13 points this season. The seven victories of at least 10 points thus far this season already ties Boston’s total of double-digit victories during the entire 2006-07 season, and surpasses the team’s total in 1996-97.

According to ESPN’s Hollinger team statistics, the Celtics’ defense is tied with the San Antonio Spurs’ defense for the lowest number of points allowed per possession. The main reason for the green’s success is that the team is forcing the highest turnover percentage in the league this season.

Basketball-Reference’s Defensive Box Plus/Minus, which measures a players’ per-possession performance relative to the league average, has three Celtics in the top ten: Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and Jae Crowder.

Celtics Look to Stay Afloat Amid Injuries and Shooting Woes

Jae Crowder has been a bright spot, but the Celtics need to get healthy and find some touch beyond the arc.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Wednesday was not a very strong night for the Avery Bradley-less Celtics, as they fell back to below .500 by losing to Paul George and the Indiana Pacers for already the second time this season.

In his pink sneakers, George extended his career-long streak of scoring at least 25 points to five games in the Pacers’ 102-91 win on Veterans Day, moving Indiana to 5-4 and dropping Boston to 3-4.

On the first night of the back-to-back, the visiting Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in front of a small crowd, in spite of some weak 3-point shooting by the green. However, the C’s needed to sink more shots from downtown to win the next night against the Pacers, who were more effective from 3-point land. Tuesday and Wednesday were two of the Celtics’ three worst 3-point shooting nights of the young season.

Although it is a small sample size, when Boston shoots 20.7 percent or worse from 3-point, they are 0-2. While it's already happened twice this year, the C’s shot that poorly from 3-point only twice in their 82 regular season games last season.

Your Official Milestone Preview of the 2015-16 Boston Celtics

Isaiah Thomas only played a quarter-season for Boston last year, but he could put himself in the franchise record books with a full year of work in 2015-16.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Last year, I wrote about how Jeff Green 16.9 points per game in 2013-14 represented the Celtics’ lowest single-season leading scorer since Dee Brown’s 15.5 two decades prior. Well, among Celtics players who played at least 25 games last season, he again led the team in scoring.

However, Isaiah Thomas averaged more than 19 points in just 26 minutes per contest in his 21 games with the Green during the 2014-15 season. To put his one-fourth of a season in a bit of perspective, do you know how many players accomplished that feat, averaged 26.4 points per 36 minutes, in at least 20 games last season?

The answer is three – James Harden (81 games; 26.8 points per 36 minutes), Russell Westbrook (67; 29.5) and Kevin Durant (27; 27.0).

I understand I'm stretching it a bit, but Thomas’ scoring per minute over his 67 games in 2014-15 was still in the top 10 in the league. With his ability to create his own shot and his propensity to get to the free throw line, he could make his mark in Boston’s single-season record books in terms of points, 3-pointers and free throws.