By Ryan Chan
Led by MVP candidate Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics are 21-6. Their only six losses came from the Chicago Bulls (twice), the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors. Despite having the newest and youngest head coach in the league in Joe Mazzulla, as well as missing Robert Williams III, who was named to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team last year, the Celtics manage to have the best record in the league.
The Celtics have some great things going for them. Their star duo, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are playing great both offensively and defensively. Tatum is averaging 31 points 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game and Brown is averaging 26 points 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game. In addition, Joe Mazzulla is teaching players to “figure things out”, which will be beneficial come playoff time. Mazzulla has an interesting philosophy to not call timeout after the opposing team starts to gain momentum. He argues that sometimes calling timeout won’t even make a difference and that players need to build an awareness to execute through another team’s run. His philosophy clearly works because they’ve been able to win games.
Recent reports indicate that Robert Williams is making his way back into the lineup. With Williams being day to day on the injury report, he most likely makes his return next week. Williams will bring elite shot blocking and offensive rebounding – two major things that the Celtics have lacked in their first 27 games. With his inevitable return, the Celtics will gain another weapon which makes them a greater threat to win it all.
Inside Sports Journal 