The Boston Celtics own the best record in basketball and have a comfortable 2.5-game cushion on the closest challenger. But what has been the key to their success this season?
Yes, it helps having a pair of All-NBA wings like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The addition of 7-foot-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis has made the team better on both ends of the court. But much of Boston’s success seemingly can be traced to the All-Defense backcourt of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
The group, dubbed Stock Exchange by Derrick’s father, Richard, because of their propensity to generate steals and blocks, have become bellwethers for the team’s success.
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Don’t believe us? Just check out these numbers, which we also highlighted Tuesday on Celtics Post Up:
38 percent
That’s the line of demarcation with Derrick White’s shooting this season. When he’s above 38 percent from the floor, the Celtics are a sizzling 25-3 (.888 winning percentage). In his nine games below that mark, the Celtics are a middling 5-4.
White’s impact, of course, extends well beyond his scoring, as highlighted by his league-leading +14.3 net rating. Even as he navigated a recent shooting slump -- looking at you, JJ Redick -- White maintained glossy advanced numbers.
In fact, even during the slump, White created a bit of separation at the top of the NBA’s net rating leaderboard -- and Boston has four players in the top eight:
Even with his recent woes, White is shooting 47 percent overall from the floor, 41.2 percent beyond the 3-point arc, and 90.3 percent from the free-throw line. He’s one hot streak away from flirting with 50/40/90, the same shooting splits he posted throughout the month of December while thrusting himself into the All-Star conversation.
.850
That is Boston’s winning percentage when Holiday records multiple stocks — steals plus blocks — in a game this season.
Boston is 17-3 when Holiday registers multiple stocks, like the three (two blocks, one steal) he produced Monday night against the Raptors. That’s a 70-win pace for a full season.
For the season, Holiday is averaging 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
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Holiday arrived in Boston with five All-Defense nods on his resume and has proven to be a defensive pest. For the season, Holiday is limiting opponents to 46.7 percent shooting, or about one percent below expected output, per NBA tracking.
That’s a solid job considering the level and variety of talent that the Celtics have tasked Holiday with defending this season. Most notably, Holiday is holding opponents to 5.1 percent below expected on all shots inside of 6 feet.
.900
That is Boston’s winning percentage when Holiday scores at least 13 points this season. They are 11-6 when he doesn’t. That’s an absurd 74-win pace when he’s north of 13.
The more games that Holiday plays in Boston, the more comfortable he seems to get. Five of his seven highest scoring games of the season have come since December 20, including a season-high 22 points in Toronto while the Celtics were playing without Jaylen Brown.
Before arriving in Boston, Holiday would often boost his scoring to give the Bucks a lift whenever someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined. The Celtics have enough offensive talent that Holiday has put the bulk of his energy on the defensive end but Monday’s game was a solid reminder that there will be instances where he can turn back that scoring clock.
+7
If White finishes a game at +7 or better in plus/minus this season, the Boston Celtics are undefeated at 22-0. Their average margin of victory in those games is 18.5 points. In fact, there are only five single-digit victories in that entire group.
White owns the NBA’s best plus/minus at +364 in 1,183 minutes of court time this season. There are 10 games this season in which he has been a +20 or better, including a season-best +34 in the November 1 win over the Pacers.
On the flip side, there have only been nine games in which White has finished as a minus, and the Celtics are 4-5 in those games. Incredibly, his two worst games came in the last five days -- he finished at minus-14 in Milwaukee and was a minus-8 in Toronto -- and yet it’s only put a small dent in his glossy net rating.
