Boston Celtics: C’s Are Becoming Road Warriors

The Boston Celtics are fast becoming a great road team.

The Boston Celtics have just ended a five game road trip, and they posted a 3-2 record. On the season, the Celtics are 12-9, and they are 6-5 on the road, which might not seem great, but it is actually very impressive. In Brad Stevens’ first year as a head coach, the team went 9-32 on the road, and last season Boston went 19-22 on the road. The Celtics have improved in every season so far under Brad Stevens, and this season they could possibly post a winning record on the road.

The Celtics have beaten some pretty good teams on the road this season like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, and they have shown that they are not afraid to play at any arena. In their recent five-game road trip that ended in a convincing win against the New Orleans Pelicans, the team averaged 105.2 PPG and only allowed 100.6 PPG.

The Celtics also played two of the league’s best defenses over this stretch. The San Antonio Spurs only allow 88.3 PPG on the season as the league’s No. 1 defense, but Boston made their defense look average by shooting 45.3 percent from the field. The Spurs also made the Celtics’ defense look bad by shooting 53 percent from the field, but Boston lost in a tight game by only three points; they were an Avery Bradley corner three away from having a real chance to win this game.

The second ranked defense in the NBA is the Miami Heat, and they only allow 93.3 PPG, but the Celtics came to play by posting 105 points. The Celtics played really well over this five game road stretch, and they did this without Marcus Smart, David Lee (missed two games), and R.J. Hunter (missed one game). Since some players have been missing, other players have had to step up in these road games.

Avery Bradley

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Avery Bradley has been terrific ever since he came back from his injury, and he kept it up over this road trip. He averaged 18.2 PPG, and he shot 51.6 percent from deep. Bradley is becoming one of the more reliable shooters on the Celtics, and he shot 49.3 percent from the field during the past five games.

Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Olynyk has been hot and cold all season. During these five games, Olynyk had three games were he did not put up more than six points, but he had two games where he put up more than 20 points. In those two games when Olynyk put up more than 20 points, the Celtics won easily. So far this season, every time Olynyk puts up more than 12 points, the Celtics have won, which is a good sign.

Jae Crowder

Jae Crowder has been great this season, and he has been particularly good over the road trip. He averaged 15.4 PPG over this stretch, and he shot 40 percent from beyond the arc. He also shot 52.2 percent from the field, and 95 percent from the free-throw line, which is rather impressive.

Overall

Boston’s 3-2 record in their recent road trip might not seem too impressive on paper, but the team played extremely well and played hard in each of these games (except the Orlando Magic game). The Celtics’ players are all starting to buy in, and this road trip should show them that they can compete with anyone in the NBA, especially in the Eastern Conference.

General Manager Danny Ainge also seems to be pleased with the Celtics, which is certainly not a bad thing.