Celtics
The Celtics can continue to make history in several other areas this season.
Even without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are continuing to make history.
The Celtics took care of business against the Pistons on Friday night, dispatching them 129-102 despite playing shorthanded. It marked another 25-point victory for the Celtics this season, giving them their 15th such victory of the year.
That tied an NBA record for the most 25-point wins in a season, according to NBC Sports Boston researcher Dick Lipe. Of course, the Celtics still have 12 games to go, so they still have some time to pass the 1970-71 and 1971-72 Bucks along with the 2015-16 Spurs (who they’re tied with for the record) as they’ve averaged a 25-point win roughly every five games. They’ve also had seven 25-point wins in their last 21 games, a stretch in which the Celtics have gone 19-2.
The 12-game cushion also gives the Celtics to accomplish something more important: clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. With Friday’s win, the Celtics’ magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East moved down to two. That means the Celtics just need two more wins, two more Bucks losses, or one of each in order to clinch that No. 1 seed, which could happen as soon as Sunday night.
As the Celtics might not have anything to play for in the final few weeks of the regular season, they could still achieve some historical marks before the year ends. They moved into fourth place for the best scoring differential in NBA history (+11.74), which is the best mark since the 1995-96 Bulls. All of the teams in the top five went on to win the title that year.
After starting the year with 20 straight home wins, the Celtics’ dominance hasn’t been exclusive to just the TD Garden, either. Following Friday’s win in Detroit, the Celtics hold the third-best road scoring differential in a season in NBA history (8.20). They surpassed the 2007-08 Celtics as they still trail the 1971-72 Lakers by a few points.
The Celtics still hold the best offensive rating in the league, a position they’ve held for the majority of the season as they could make history there. If their 123.4 offensive rating holds, the Celtics would have the best offensive rating in a single season in NBA history.
Boston’s play in recent weeks suggests that it’s more likely to improve its offensive rating. It has a 127.3 offensive rating since Feb. 4, which is nearly eight points better than the team with the second-best offensive rating during that stretch (Lakers; 7.9).
The Celtics are also in a historic stratosphere with their net rating. As their 12.0 net rating is by far the best in the league, they’re tied for the second-best net rating in a season in NBA history, trailing only the aforementioned Bulls team that won 72 games and a title.
Of course, none of this will mean anything to the Celtics if they don’t come away with a title. But they could be making a case for one of the strongest seasons in NBA history if they wind up securing Banner 18.
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