Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from dominant Game 1 win vs. Bucks

3. Winning on the road won’t be a problem anymore

The Celtics struggled on the road in the regular season, putting together a 21-20 record when they left the comforts of Boston’s West End. The record wasn’t great, certainly, but the stats showed a different team on the road as well.

Boston’s net rating when playing in the friendly confines of TD Garden was +6.4, while on the road it fell to just +2.1. The team’s poor play on the road felt like it bled over as a residual from last season’s playoffs, where the Celtics won just one of their seven road opportunities; a Game 3 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in which the Sixers infamously dropped confetti after forcing overtime (sorry, Philly fans).

These playoffs have been an entirely different story, emphasizing just how far this Celtics team has come. Boston is undefeated on the road in playoff games this season, posting a +11.6 net rating in its three opportunities away from home this postseason.

Most impressive, the Celtics have played a suffocating brand of defense in their road playoff games, posting the second-best road defensive rating among second round teams at 99.7. Only the Toronto Raptors have fared better defensively on the road in their two games against the Orlando Magic.

Boston has also shot at an impressive clip in their road games. In fact, the Cs have shot more efficiently on the road than they have at home through the playoffs so far. Even more surprisingly, it’s not even close how much better they’ve been on the road, posting a 59.5 percent true shooting percentage on the road compared to just 52.4 percent at home.

While the Cs played the Indiana Pacers tightly in two first round road games, only pulling away at the end of those games, their undressing of the Bucks in Milwaukee was even more impressive. Boston’s consistently strong play on the road is extremely inspiring moving forward.