Seems like most people have us 5th behind spurs, rockets, warriors, and the cavs. Great improvement from when I did this 2 weeks ago.
NBA-5th
The Celtics are making the most of their home-heavy January schedule. They're 3-0 this month, holding a four-game winning streak and a five-game home winning streak. They've made at least 17 3-pointers in each of their last four games, something they'd done just three times prior in the history of the franchise. And the onslaught really comes in the third and fourth quarters. Over their last 10 games, they've scored 105 points per 100 possessions in the first half and 124 in the second half, never scoring less than 57 points after halftime. At 16.0 points per game, Isaiah Thomas ranks second in second half scoring.
ESPN-5th
Who should be the East's two starting guards in the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Feb. 19? I'm legit asking for suggestions here, because it's getting harder by the day to make this call with Isaiah Thomas forcing his way into a crowded conversation that already features Irving, DeMar DeRozan Kyle Lowry and John Wall. Thomas is up to 10 30-point games this season, tying the career best he established last season, after he rumbled for 38 points in a home win over New Orleans. Thomas' 17 points alone in the fourth quarter marked the league-leading sixth time this season he's crossed the 15-point threshold in the final period.
NBC sports-5th
Winners of four in a row, although Utah was the only team over .500 in that stretch (and the Celtic defense has not impressed in the last 10 games). Isaiah Thomas is in a tough spot with the other top point guards in the East — somebody is going to get left out of the All-Star Game. So Thomas is doing his best to make sure it’s not him: He’s averaged 34.8 points per game on 54.7 percent shooting in his last five, hitting 58.5 percent from three in that stretch.
BleacherReport-6th
Isaiah Thomas just refuses to quit. He totaled 81 points (52 of which came in a 117-114 win over the Miami Heat on Dec. 30) during the Boston Celtics' 2-0 week and is now closing in on Westbrook for the lead in fourth-quarter scoring average. Another couple of late outbursts and Thomas will bump that 9.8 average even closer to Westbrook's 9.9. There's only one guard in the East having a better season, but it's difficult to find anyone generating offense with fewer creators around him. Boston has many quality players with valuable attributes, but it doesn't have anyone known for breaking down the defense or creating clean looks for others. For most of the Celtics' games, and especially in the fourth quarter, that burden falls squarely on Thomas. He's shouldered it spectacularly—finishing with impossible acrobatics inside and devastating defenders with slick hesitation dribbles. It'd be nice to move this team up a spot or two, but the top five remains a separate class—something that becomes obvious when you compare Boston's plus-2.6 net rating to anyone from the group above, all of whose figures are plus-5.5 or better.
CBSsports-5th
The Celtics are rolling right now, with decent-to-good wins over the Grizzlies and Jazz recently. Their Tuesday showdown with Toronto gives them their first chance to beat a top-2 team in either conference. They need to win that game, because right now they're good and opportunistic, but there's a chance to show they're a serious threat in the East.
It took longer than expected, but the Celtics are pulling it together. Of note: since Dec. 1, their six losses have come to the Rockets, Raptors, Thunder (twice), Spurs and Cavs. Those are the kinds of wins the Celtics will need to start collecting to prove they belong in the league’s upper echelon.)
Submitted January 09, 2017 at 08:29PM by kpp34