Even as Brad Stevens and his Boston Celtics find themselves, after nine weeks of play, smack-dab in the middle of the NBA East’s unexpectedly potent playoff pack, a glance at the squad’s statistical “footprint” for the season provides plenty of reason for optimism.
Boston’s defensive effort thus far ranks in the Association’s Top Five in per-game scoring (No. 4), Opponent FG% (No. 3), Opponent 3FG% (No.4), Defensive Rebounding (No.5), and Opponent Turnover Percentage (No. 3).
The C’s are also a Top Five team in protecting the ball, No. 4 in TO%. Consequently, they’ve outscored their opposition in Points Following TO’s 18.