BOSTON — Now may be the time for the Celtics to start separating themselves from the pack in the Eastern Conference.
Boston entered Monday night’s contest against Chicago as the top seed in the East, a spot they’ve held on to since leapfrogging Milwaukee two days before Christmas. Now sitting as the No. 3 seed, those Bucks have been struggling in going just 5-5 over their last 10 games, including an inexplicable blowout loss to lowly Charlotte. They’re still without injured three-time all-star guard Khris Middleton, too, and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to return.
Meanwhile, the league’s hottest team over the past month, the Brooklyn Nets (currently at No. 2), recently saw their 12-game win streak come to a close and will be forced to plug away without superstar Kevin Durant, who is expected to miss at least a month with a knee sprain.
Fourth-seed Cleveland and fifth-seeded Philadelphia are both very good, perhaps even serious title contenders, but neither have been able to climb to the top of the standings yet and remain three and four games back of Boston, respectively.
The Celtics wildly impressive start to the season — they won 20 of their first 25 games — was unsustainable, especially when looking at their ridiculous shooting numbers and otherworldly offensive efficiency. But even with the inevitable regression, they still boast the association’s top rated offense and its seventh best defense as we near the midway point in the season.
Realistically, securing the top seed in the conference by the end of the regular season is likely the last thing on Boston’s mind. But it can also prove to be a significant advantage in terms of home court throughout the playoffs, and if the Celtics can continue to play their brand of basketball, the rest will take care of itself.
Monday’s 107-99 win over Chicago to begin a mini-home stand — they host New Orleans Wednesday, head to Brooklyn Thursday, then come back to Causeway Street to face Charlotte Saturday — was a good start.
“I think this was one of our better wins,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla. “I thought we had the right mindset and the right toughness throughout the entire game; regardless of how the game was going, we showed great body language and just commitment to details and execution.”
Boston built as big as a 16-point lead against the Billy Donovan-led Bulls, ultimately holding on down the stretch to improve to 29-12 overall. It was a game that probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was late, but Al Horford (8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) bailed his team out by canning a timely triple with 24 ticks remaining in regulation.
Doubled on the right wing, Tatum wrapped a pass around the defenders to an open Horford in the corner, who set his feet and rattled home the 3-ball in front of the Celtics’ bench.
In closing things out, Boston withstood a fourth quarter onslaught from Zach Lavine, who scored 15 of his team-high 27 points in the final frame.
Tatum (32 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) was as good as expected in the win, too. At one point in the third quarter he dropped in nine points (two 3’s and an and-1 jumper) in 67 seconds, increasing Boston’s lead to 13 at the time.
It was little spurts like that that ultimately allowed the Celtics to prevail. Grant Williams (season-high 20 points) was nails off the bench, and having Rob Williams back in the starting lineup for the first time this season was nice to see, too. The latter played a season-high 23 minutes and appears to be inching closer and closer to his usual workload.
“I think so,” Mazzulla said when asked by Abby Chin if we could expect to see more of Rob Williams in the starting lineup moving forward. “I think one of the things about our team that’s been great this year is our versatility. We’ve had multiple guys start and they’ve given us great looks. Rob fits into that category, and we’ll look to see how it goes.”
The Cs were the first team to reach 10 wins, the first to reach 20 wins, and will likely become the first to reach 30 victories later this week. Securing the top spot after 82 games would be hugely beneficial in the long run —now is the time to gain some separation.