The Boston Celtics, defying preseason predictions, are excelling this season, prompting praise from rivals and highlighting the team's strong coaching, player development, and motivation. Key figures like Steve Kerr and Kristaps Porzingis have offered insights into the Celtics' success, pointing to factors like overcoming low expectations and the growth of younger players.
have exceeded everyone’s expectations this season. At this point, with 14 games left in the season, the surprise should be giving way to the simple understanding that this Celtics team But there's a lingering aftertaste to the sweetness of blowing past the expectations by this much.
For Celtics fans, listening to the competition gush about just how good the team is will never get old. “When we played them a month ago, I was just blown away by how good they were, the spacing, the execution,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said before taking on the Celtics Wednesday night. “They played so well together and that was without Jayson even.” Kerr says the situation presented a silver lining to a tough situation for Boston, which played a big role in how good they are. “I think that time without the expectations really gave them a chance to play some of their younger guys, to kind of lay in the weeds a little bit,” Kerr said. “Nobody was really talking a whole lot about them and that's kind of a nice position to be in if you're used to being a favorite year after year. It feels to me like they really took advantage of it, developed some of the young guys, really hammered home their expectations for those guys and roles.” One opponent who has a good feel for how things work in Boston is Kristaps Porzingis, who finally makes his return to the city tonight. At the team’s shoot-around earlier today, he told reporters that the coaching, along with the situation, helped push Boston to this next level. “I think it was a good situation for them to be in,” Porzingis said. “One, it was extra motivation, like a chip on your shoulder. And two, you had no expectations at the same time, so it was a perfect situation, and they're kind of using that to the maximum. I think Joe has turned up a few more levels of the craziness, probably, with the young guys and he’s squeezing everything he can out of them. And look at that group. They're playing super-well.” What’s really incredible is how Boston has a chance to win 50 games this season. The Celtics and Knicks both have 45 wins, but Boston has a two-game edge in the loss column. That sets up a dogfight between the two teams for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They still have one more matchup on April 9 which might be the game that determines the final seeding.John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball . John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.Suns vs. Celtics Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Monday, March 16
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