Boston Celtics Are Number One in So Many Ways

I don’t usually do statistic-heavy articles. But once I saw how many categories the Celtics were the league’s best in, I had to share what I found.

The Celtics were so good at so many things, that if you read this list, you would just call in the loss and go home.

Coincidentally, NBA stat master John Hollinger recently did an excellent job of portraying just how incredibly effective the Celtics defense was last season. He showed how it was third best all-time, when comparing it to the league average.

But while hitting on some great all-time comparisons, he didn’t mention all things worth mentioning.

These are some more incredible numbers. Even more so when you see them in laundry-list form.

Boy did they ever take care of the laundry. An offense doesn’t have to be spectacular when the defense is. Their defense was active, persistent, and doubled up on shooters where it mattered.

But the offense wasn’t bad either. It most cases it was very good.

Differential (the spread between what the Celtics did and what their opponent did)

They were number one in the league in the most important stats you would like to have daylight between you and your opponent.

The Number One List

No. 1 - Points per Game spread
Boston 100.6, opponent 90.3

A 10.3 difference was huge.

Detroit was a distant second with a spread of 7.4.

This is more amazing when you realize they pulled key starters for much of the fourth quarter for half of the year.

Further, the 90.3 points allowed was second best in the NBA, beaten by a hair by Detroit’s 90.1.

No. 1 - Field goal percentage spread
FG% (+5.6)
Boston: 47.5%, Opp: 41.9%

The 47.5 percent for the Celtics shooting was fourth best in the league.

The Celtic shooting perecentage actually dropped from the start of the year—they were shooting a league leading 49 percent for a while.

No. 1 - Field goal percentage allowed
41.9 percent for their opponents

The mantra of “Stay with your man, fight through picks, and always help when necessary” made it hard to get an open look from anywhere on the floor for Celtic opponents.

No. 1 - Three-point shooting percentage spread
3-pt FG% (+6.5)
Boston 38.1% Opp. 31.6%

Not only did Boston stop the three pointer, they were in the top five in accuracy when they shot it themselves. Not shabby at all.

No. 1 - Three-point shooting percentage allowed (31.6)

A contrarian stat here is that Boston allowed the third-highest percentage (27%) of outside shots. It appears that a desperation three-pointer would go up when the shot clock ran down.

The perimeter defense was solid. We knew Rondo could do it, Pierce was a pleasant surprise, and even Ray Allen got good at it as the year wore on. Don’t forget Posey. Eddie House too? Oh my goodness.

No. 1 - Two-point jumpshot % allowed (.356%)

The harassing defense continued into two-point range, as the team learned to defend the pick and roll better and better as the year went on.

#1 - NBA starters' plus/minus
Boston Starters +3514
Next best: Phoenix +2313

This comes from 82games, and it is just ridiculous how much better the Celtics starters were. It is an insane number. Even coaches look at this stat for significance. Granted, the Lakers didn't have their starting five together for the whole season. Remember, the Celtics had two guys who didn’t score much in the starting five to boot, but they sure could defend. Uhmm…..Wow.

Other top stats for the NBA Champion Celtics

No. 2 - Opponents rebounds allowed
38.9 total rebounds

The Celtics took care of the defensive boards. While some feel that offensive rebounding is key, it is really controlling the defensive boards that correlates to winning.

No. 2 - Dunks allowed (239)

Only the Spurs were better (237). That is a meaningful number, considering the players’ penchant for dunks and the psychological impact they can have for both teams. It was tough to get inside on the Celtics and they would give the hard foul before they would give you the dunk. Just ask Perkins, Powe, Brown, and Posey.

No. 2 - Assists allowed (18.8)

It falls in line that a disruptive defense like the Celtics will take other teams out of their offense, causing isolation, hero shots, and quick shots once the offensive set has broken down. The Celtics understood passing lanes well.

No. 3 - Inside points allowed (27.6)

As the year went on, Kendrick improved on jumping out to stop a driver from turning the corner, then getting back to the middle. The same goes for cutting off the baseline. A good defense had an active center. Perkins just got that role down pat. He was terrific.

The helper’s help is just as important. The Celtics help defense was as good as I have ever seen. It shows in this stat. Bear in mind that the Celtics often went with a small line-up, too. This stat would have been even better with KP on the floor a bit more.

And we can’t leave out Kevin Garnett, who is as active a defender for a big as I have ever seen. One of the best at defending the pick and roll, he is a big reason that the other team’s offense often had to freelance because their play broke down.

No. 3 - Assists spread
Boston: 22.4, opp: 18.8 (+3.6)

The Celtics' offense was only 9th in the league in assists, which is a bit surprising. They often looked like they were moving the ball around as well as any team in the league.  I do remember times Doc would be frustrated with the quick outside shots. But they were third best in the league in assists versus their opponents overall.

No. 4 - Rebounds spread
Celtics: 42, opp: 38.9 (+3.1)

Jeez. Did this team have a weakness? While they struggled at times, they were fourth best in outrebounding their opponents. Imagine what it would be if Kendrick Perkins stayed out of foul trouble.

No. 5 - Steals (8.5)

That number actually went down as the season went on. For a while they lead the league with 10 a game. But the defense actually got better without having to steal as much.

There are others. But that ought to help you understand just how dominant they were.

Doc Rivers, Tom Thibodeau, ubuntu, and Kevin Garnett brought a team together to do the hard work of defending, and embracing the shared responsibility of team defense.

The offense, which was expected to flow and be hard to stop, actually took a back seat to the effort at the other end of the court. Offensive numbers were still excellent in most cases. But there were times the offense stuttered.

The lesson to be learned is that defense keeps you in the hunt, even when the offense struggles. It did for the Celtics 82 times and got them an NBA Championship. They played the NBA game like few ever have.

Celtic fans? Just “D”-lighted.

(All stats were culled from 82games.com and Yahoosports.com)

Tom's article first appeared on CelticsCentral in the Connecticut Post