For the third time already this season the Celtics headed into Washington DC to face the Wizards, looking to score their third victory of the year in the capital. Boston’s offensive prowess shone brightly in the early exchanges, scoring 67 points in the first half. Despite a more physical and improved defensive display by the Wizards in the second half they could still not put a stop to the juggernaut that is the 2024 Boston Celtics.

Five days after a disappointing defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Celtics finally hit the court against the Detroit Pistons. The home side were without all-star Jayson Tatum, but that would not alter the outcome of this one. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White caught fire from beyond the arc, combining for seven threes in what would be a resounding victory at the TD Garden, 123-99.

This is something that I wanted to add to the blog this season a more general perspective of the entire NBA and how I feel some of the sides have performed. Each Month I will be ranking the top 10 performing teams and giving my thoughts on their performance.

The top two sides in the Eastern conference came face to face in Cleveland last night with the number one seed in the division up for grabs. Unfortunately for the Celtics they would be without Jaylen Brown and Derrick white as Brown struggled with illness, while White is still struggling with the foot injury he sustained in the NBA Cup game against the Bulls. Nevertheless, Boston battled hard and had a double-digit lead throughout the majority of the second half, but Donavon Mitchell went off in the fourth quarter to end the Celtics’ seven game winning streak.

Before tipoff both teams had learnt that the Atlanta Hawks had beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers therefore - unless Chicago beat Boston – the Hawks would top group C in the NBA Cup standings. To qualify for the next phase of the tournament Boston would have to beat the Bulls by as much as possible and hope that their points differential would exceed that of the other second placed sides in the Eastern Conference. With both teams knowing they needed to win to advance and Boston needing to put points on the board to increase their chances of qualifying, the game quickly became an offensive free-for-all. Jayson Tatum was sensational through the opening three quarters, but when Boston needed it most Payton Pritchard went absolutely berserk in the fourth quarter to give Boston hope of reaching the quarter finals.

This was probably the most highly anticipated matchup of the new NBA season, as the 15-0 Cleveland Cavaliers headed into the Garden for an important Emirates NBA Cup game. The Cavaliers are no stranger to the Boston Celtics as Boston sent them out of the playoffs just this summer in five games. But since then, the Cavs have bounced back impressively, without any major additions to their roster they have tremendously improved under the leadership of their new head coach Kenny Atkinson. However, the champions stood in the way of their hope for a 16-0 start to the season and they had a point to prove. The Celtics led by as much as 21 points, but credit to Cleveland, they drove themselves back into the game, But Boston held on to win a thriller 120-117.  

After a successful trip to Brooklyn, the Celtics returned to Boston to face the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden. It would be the first meeting of these two Atlantic Division rivals this season and it would go right down to the wire. Boston has a growing issue, in their inability to protect the rim, as both Jakob Poetl and RJ Barrett dominated the paint. However, the shot making of Derrick White and Jaylen Brown kept Boston afloat and they managed to send the game into Overtime. Jayson Tatum showed he was the man of the hour once again as after missing a mid-range to win the game in regulation, he took a step-back three from way downtown to win it for Boston.

These two sides have a rich history against each other, even in the NBA finals in 2022. However this Warriors team is very different to those of seasons past, Klay Thompson had departed for Dallas, and they had signed former 76ers and Kings guard Buddy Hield to replace him. Since then, GSW have started the season brilliantly and they bolster a 6-1 record, on the other hand the returning champs Boston Celtics are 7-1 and looking to continue their impressive start. The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown, and it showed as despite having a lead in the fourth Golden State came away with a huge win.

Boston had picked up their first loss of the season against the Pacers in Indiana last time out and were looking to get back to winning ways. They faced a Charlotte team which looked a lot more promising than seasons gone by, LaMelo Ball was healthy, and Tre Mann had started the season on an absolute tear. It would not matter here as the Celtics dominated from opening tip, the Hornets did put up a fight though and former Celtics coach Charles Lee can certainly be proud of his new teams’ efforts.

The Celtics’ last trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse saw then advance to the NBA finals in a sweep over the Pacers. This time they entered as champions to face an Indiana team which had struggled through the early stages of the season. Nevertheless, they are a formidable opponent, and they caused a variety of issues for Boston, so much so that they even had a 24-point lead with less than seven minutes to play. Typically, teams clear the bench at this point, but not the Celtics, they raced back into the game and managed to send the game to OT. Unfortunately, Boston fell just short, and Indiana claimed a famous win.

After a successful road trip, the Celtics returned to Boston to face a familiar foe – the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee has had a disastrous start to the new season, with a 1-2 record, despite the superb play of both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. However, they would not get their season back on track in Boston, Payton Pritchard absolutely lit it up from beyond the arc and Jaylen Brown dominated in the paint. In the end it resulted in yet another comfortable win for the Eastern Conference’s number one seed.

Boston started the season with back-to-back blow outs, and mid-way through the first half it looked likely to be the same in this one. The Celtics were red hot from beyond the arc and Jayson Tatum continued to impress. However, some stagnant offense and subpar defence led to a huge Pistons comeback, and they led with under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Thankfully a couple of huge plays down the stretch by Jrue Holiday meant that Boston held on, and they claimed the win 124-118.