Celtics Look To Play Spoiler Inside The Orlando Bubble

At +1700 to capture a title, Boston's odds are intriguing

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  • Led by All-Star Kemba Walker and breakout superstar Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics have had a very impressive follow-up season to the Kyrie Irving debacle. This squad has proven that they can compete with the best of the league, and that the question is not if their time will come, but when.

  • Boston finds itself in good company this season. They join the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers as the only squads in the league in the top-five of both offensive and defensive ratings.

  • If Tatum can pick up where he left off, and the Celtics can harness the chemistry they had developed just prior to the COVID suspension, the color of the NBA this season could be green in more ways than one.

  • The Celtics are +700 to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals and are +1700 to win it all, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Thriving Before The Shutdown

Prior to the NBA suspending play due to the pandemic, the Boston Celtics were quietly staging a late-season rally for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They were just starting to get healthy and third-year stud Jayson Tatum was emerging as a potential All-NBA talent.

The Green went 14-3 from January 20th through February 26th with Tatum leading the charge more and more each week. As time passed, he seemed to grow hungrier for the well-deserved All-Star nod and looked more and more like his idol, the late Kobe Bryant, when he took over games against contenders.

Tatum's rise to superstardom and Boston's ability to keep improving on both sides of the floor leaves them as an obvious choice to make some noise inside the Orlando bubble. Let's analyze the main reasons why Boston could get lucky in this otherwise-unlucky year.

A Team With A Great Nucleus

If the past dozen years of NBA play has taught us anything, it's that a strong nucleus is needed to win an NBA Championship. While this Celtics team may not be the deepest in the league, it does have one of the strongest cores. Veteran perennial All-Star Kemba Walker has fit in perfectly in his first year in green, allowing the likes of young players in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart to be themselves and flourish around him.

Walker often lets the offense flow, making the right passes and waiting for things to develop. These concepts were not always attained when Kyrie Irving served as floor general last season. In turn, shots were forced and young players had their growths stunted.

Walker may be the most humble star in the league. He has shown this after years as the main guy for the Charlotte Hornets. He harbors zero jealousy or resentment when a fellow player outshines him. More often than not this season, that player has been Tatum, who has truly distinguished himself as the best player in the 2017 NBA Draft class. Tatum has played remarkably, taking over games against the most elite opponents in the league.

Tatum's 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game all rank as career-highs. He's shooting 39.8 percent from distance, 44.8 percent from the floor, and 80.6 percent from the line. His 117.7 offensive rating in February—and ironically, in Celtics wins this season—is staggering. It's easy now to see what GM Danny Ainge saw in this kid three years ago. He's the real deal.

Just look at what Tatum did during that torrid Celtics run between late-January and late-February. He averaged 29.0 points per game between January 18th and February 29th, while putting up 41 and 27, respectively, in wins against the Los Angeles Lakers. He added 39 in a double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers, and 36 in a win at the Portland Trail Blazers. He was becoming the best player on the floor against perennial All-NBA players, plain and simple.

Of course, Walker can still step up and hit huge, clutch shots when needed. Jaylen Brown has been the perfect Swiss army knife for Coach Brad Stevens, playing great defense on one side and then delivering a powerful combination of inside-outside offensive abilities on the other. And Marcus Smart? He remains the main catalyst of the defense, the floor leader of the second unit, and the true heart and soul of this Celtics team.

If Boston can get more out of its center position once NBA play resumes, and Gordon Hayward can stay healthy and consistent, Boston could be poised for a serious run at an asterisk-marked title.

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Effective On Both Sides Of The Floor

The most impressive advanced stat for this Boston Celtics team is their top-five ranking in both offensive and defensive rating. They sit fourth in the league with a 113.8 offensive rating and fourth in the league with a 107.5 defensive rating, a true mark of consistency, chemistry, and good coaching.

The Celtics join the Lakers and Clippers as the only teams in the top-five in both offensive and defensive ratings. The team with the best record this season, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the defending-champion Toronto Raptors, are the other teams in the top-five defensively. The dazzling offenses of the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are the other teams in the top-five offensively. That’s some great company to be mentioned with.

Boston never seems to let itself out of their game. They stay focused on the game plan, never stop battling defensively, and play as a complete unit offensively. This is a testament to the roster-building of Ainge, as well as the team-building of Stevens.

Championship Pedigree?

The Celtics have the advantage of a young superstar, a veteran All-Star point guard who can score at will, and a strong batch of young talent that plays hard on both sides of the court.

They rally quickly offensively, and then rely on their strong defensive fundamentals to maintain leads or get back in games. They are systematic with their execution, and they have the confidence necessary to dominate games home or away, which will help them inside of the Orlando bubble.

Don't put up too much green against the green this year—if they stay healthy and remain consistent on both ends, they could shock the world even more than the suspension of play did around St. Patrick's Day.

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