Celtics Hot Takes After 1st Month of 2022-23 NBA Season
The Boston Celtics have 12 wins to show for their first 15 trips to the floor of the 2022-23 NBA season.
This club can still get better.
They haven't gotten a second out of Defensive Player of the Year candidate Robert Williams III yet, as he continues working his way back from knee surgery. On a probably related note, this defense—which was the Association's stingiest last season, per NBA.com—hasn't come close to hitting its stride.
That's a long-winded way of saying this could be a special season for the Shamrocks, and with its first month in the books, let's fire off a few hot takes about this team.
Boston's Bench Is as Good as It Gets
On paper, Boston's bench is not exactly a basketball behemoth.
Sure, having Malcolm Brogdon run the unit helps (a ton), but look at the rest of the unit, and you won't be blown away.
Grant Williams is rock-solid, but he's also made some spot starts as needed. Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet don't have much on their track records. Blake Griffin has too much mileage on the odometer. Payton Pritchard still hasn't found the path to consistent court time. Noah Vonleh spent last season in the Chinese Basketball Association.
And yet, here the Celtics' subs sit with an NBA-best plus-5.3 net rating. This group will only get better once Robert Williams III returns and frees up Grant Williams for a full-time reserve role.
This Is the NBA's Best Team
Boston's path to the top this season has been a simple one: obliterate opponents with offense. Over and over and over again.
The Celtics are averaging a mind-numbing 119.2 points per 100 possessions. That puts them 2.7 points per 100 possessions ahead of the second-ranked Sacramento Kings, a wider gap than what's between the Kings and the eighth-ranked Utah Jazz (2.2).
What's wild about Boston, though, is this team isn't built to win with offense. The Celtics fielded a similar roster last season and finished a good—but not quite great—ninth in offensive efficiency.
If Boston sustains this growth, it might be game over for everyone else. The Celtics are 16th in defensive efficiency. Drop a healthy Robert Williams III on the interior, and the team could be in place for a climb all the way back to No. 1. The two-way potential for this team is as good as (or better than) any other.
Jayson Tatum Is Already the MVP
Look, you're bringing habanero levels of heat if you're crowning anyone MVP in mid-November. That feels especially true this season, given some of the absurd statistics supplied by the likes of Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and other elites.
Yet, why shouldn't this award be Jayson Tatum's to lose?
The best-player-on-the-best-team argument is easily his. Boston not only has the league's best winning percentage (.800), but it's also pacing the field in net rating (plus-7.7). Tatum, meanwhile, is the team leader in points (31.19, rebounds (7.4) and blocks (1.4). His net differential also sits at a healthy plus-6.3 points per 100 possessions, which feels like a massive number given how well Boston's bench has played.
Every year, Tatum finds a way to both sharpen his strengths and shore up his weaknesses. This could be the season when that perpetual improvement gets rewarded with the game's most coveted individual honor.