5 Early Season Observations of the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are off to a 2-3 start in this young NBA season but already they have begun to leave an impression. Head Coach Brad Stevens is looking to build on last year’s surprise playoff run and is beginning to find the pieces that are necessary to compete against more established powers in the Eastern Conference. Here are five early observations of mine that I have taken from the early results.

1. Isaiah Thomas is a legitimate All-Star contender: Thomas came over to the Celtics in a trade deadline deal last year and averaged 19.0 points per game in 21 games. He has kept it up this year averaging 22.0 points and 6.8 assists per game. He is incredibly effective in the paint and at drawing fouls, where he averages seven free throw attempts per game. That is the same number of attempts as Andrew Wiggins and more than Paul George and LeBron James. Effective scorers draw contact and get free points at the line. Thomas will make a legitimate push if he keeps up his scoring.

2. The defense likes to gamble and it’s paying off: The Celtics have 4 of the top 25 players in the NBA in steals per game: Jae Crowder (1^st), Marcus Smart (T-4^th), Isaiah Thomas (T-13^th), and Kelly Olynyk (T-23^rd). That does not even include the well-heralded defense of Avery Bradley and Amir Johnson. This team is embracing an active identity that is helping them remain competitive, while having to face stars night after night.

3. Jared Sullinger may have turned a corner: Sullinger has become a punching bag in the Boston media for his struggles with weight and failure to step up and take the reins as the starting power forward. However, he was inserted into the starting lineup against Washington and looked tremendous scoring 21 points and pulling down eight rebounds. He seems to have found chemistry with Amir Johnson down low and the Celtics may have found the guy they need to re-sign this offseason in Sullinger.

4. Jordan Mickey was a steal and James Young was not: Mickey has not received many minutes in the crowded Celtics front court, but has impressed in the short time he is on the floor and coaches have felt more comfortable keeping him active over Young. Young has not even been active once this year, hasn’t been able to crack the rotation and has been effectively passed by R.J. Hunter. While he is still the youngest on the team, it begs the question if his work ethic is right for the NBA landscape, as there is no question he has talent.

5. Who else will score besides Isaiah Thomas?: Thomas has been a prolific scorer off the bench for this club, but they rely on schemes and their coach, Brad Stevens, to develop a game plan. They do not have many pure scorers on this roster. Evan Turner and Avery Bradley have their moments, but aren’t consistent enough to take this team to the next level. Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger have the upside, but they need to achieve it soon in order to get this club scoring again.