Boston Celtics Have Been the Biggest Surprise This Season

At the end of each regular season, an award is given out to the NBA's Most Improved Player. If there were a team award similar to that, the Boston Celtics would win it hands down, as they have drastically improved and are the most surprising team in the league this season.   

The Boston Celtics own a 12-9 record coming into Wednesday night's game against the Chicago Bulls, but that win-loss record doesn't do this team justice.  

The Celtics currently rank sixth in the league in points per game on offense, according to ESPN. They ranked 13th in the league last season in scoring and 26th the year before that.

With the likes of Isaiah Thomas averaging 21 points per game alongside Avery Bradley, who is averaging 16.2 points per game while shooting a scorching 45 percent from three-point range, the Celtics have a backcourt that can create shots for themselves.  

And that's not even including Evan Turner (9.1 PPG) and Marcus Smart (9.8 PPG), who is still recovering from a lower leg injury.  

Everyone loves a team who can score a lot of points and entertain the crowd, i.e. the Golden State Warriors. But unlike the Warriors, who are still undefeated at 23-0, the Celtics are statistically better on defense than their Western Conference counterparts. 

Boston is tied for sixth in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons on defense, allowing their opponents an average of 97.8 points per game—just .1 point per game from the Cleveland Cavaliers in fifth place—while the Warriors are in 16th.  

This isn't to say that the Celtics are by any means better than the Warriors, but it doesn't mean that they can't compete against the hierarchy of the NBA.  

The Celtics are 8-6 this season against teams that made the playoffs last season and have looked competitive in each of those games, the lone exception being an embarrassing 121-97 loss to the Atlanta Hawks last month.  

Currently in second place in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat are back and healthy and are looking to make a deep run in the playoffs in the coming months. But their voyage back to the Eastern Conference Finals looked to have hit a roadblock when they faced off against the Celtics last week Monday, Nov. 30 when they hosted Boston in South Beach. 

The Celtics came out on top 105-95, but what was more impressive than the win itself was the defensive intensity that Boston showed on the road against on the best teams in the league. At the 24-second mark in the video above, you can see how Boston turns its defense into instant offense and then later close out the game in front of a hostile crowd.  

It's too small of a sample size to say that the Celtics can compete for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference this season, but the arrow is pointing up for a young Celtics team that has multiple players who can take over a game when their teammate is having an off game.  

One of those players who can take over a basketball game for his team just so happens to be the smallest player on the court. A lot has been said about Isaiah Thomas throughout his career: He's too short, his defense is subpar and he takes too many bad shots. But the reality is, Thomas is one of the best scorers in the NBA and the best player on Boston's roster.  

The game against the New Orleans Pelicans showed Thomas' versatility on offense and his strength to battle inside for a layup against the likes of Anthony Davis.  

"I should have shot more," Thomas said after the Pelicans game to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), when he was asked about his 8-of-9 shooting performance. "No, it's just the ball was going in the basket. I was in the right position in the offense. Teammates found me." 

Like their point guard, the Celtics are also in the right place. Sure, they are currently ninth in their conference and second in the Atlantic Division, but this team has shown more than most of the teams in front of them in the standings that they can play and defeat the best teams in the league.  

The best to place to show how good they are? TD Garden on Friday, Dec. 11, when Boston plays host to the Warriors. Win or lose, the Celtics will show the league that they are getting back to their winning ways of the past.