The Hospital Celtics Continue To Show Why They Remain One Of The Most Unstoppable Basketball Forces On Earth

Rio Giancarlo. Getty Images.

The NBA's trade deadline was February 6th, 2025. It's after this date that people say the NBA season officially "starts", and that the basketball you see coming out of the deadline is the "true barometer" since teams will, finally be giving a shit.

I don't fully agree with that as someone who believes every dribble matters from July to June, but for the sake of the argument, I'll go along with that line of thinking.

Since that date, below are the three best records in the NBA (tie for 3rd)

1. OKC: 19-3

2. BOS: 16-3

3. GS: 16-4

3. CLE: 16-4

Even dating back to the week before the trade deadline, the Boston Celtics have been playing some of the best basketball of their entire season. The whole goal of this point of the season is to stay healthy and stack as many Ws as you can, and the last time I looked, there was a whole lot of green in this picture

Now let's be fair, there aren't a ton of world beaters in that picture, but here's where you've made a mistake. You've assumed I'm supposed to give a shit about that. Surely, I do not. What I care about is health and wins, and that's exactly what the Celts have given us for nearly 2 months now.

It should also be mentioned that the majority of these wins are coming in games where the Celts are missing 2 sometimes 3 different starters. To me, that's what makes this sustained level of success even more impressive.

Take last night for example. The Blazers were playing well, winners of 4 straight, and are definitely a pesky team post-trade deadline. The Celts were on the second game of their 6 game West Coast trip, playing on the front end of a B2B with no Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, or Jrue Holiday. 

Did it matter? Of course not. Because this is what wagons do. They find ways to win on the road (more than any other team in the NBA btw) by putting up 129 points with the Hospital Celtics version. 

In the spirit of surviving and advancing, that's really the only mentality to have during this trip. Do what you have to do, get the win, and it's on to the next challenge. The next wave of opponents on this trip are going to be a different challenge (SAC/PHX/SA/MEM) but before we start worrying about what may be ahead, let's first talk about what we saw last night.

The Good

- I know the numbers say 30/9/9 and a team best +16 in his 36 minutes, but that doesn't even really tell the whole story of just how dominant Jayson Tatum was in this win. He was a maestro. Even early when his shot wasn't falling, Tatum completely dictated everything about the game when he was on the floor. Given who was out, it was the exact performance you need from your best player

Here's the thing about that 30/9/9. This was Tatum's 4th game of the year reaching those numbers, which just so happens to be the most by a Celtic in any season since Toine did it 5 times in 2001-02. We're all aware it's 2025 correct? Some of you reading this blog have gone your entire lives without seeing a Celtic put up 30/9/9 at least 4 times in a season.

So when we say appreciate the generational Celtic that is Jayson Tatum, it is not hyperbole. He is truly generational.

This win was a pick your poison of Tatum dominance. You want elite passing? He gave it to you. The chemistry with Kornet, the ability to bend and manipulate a defense with his gravity all so he can easily create for others, this was how Tatum was able to dominate early all without scoring. He was in complete control.

Did you want some P&R dominance? No problem. How many times did we see Tatum get a slow footed center in space only to blow right by them and finish at the rim? He has mastered this move this season, and if you are an NBA team and you find yourself playing a slow footed center on the floor with Jayson Tatum, thank you for the free points. 

Did you want some pull up 3s? We got em. How about some midrange fadeaways when a team decides to send more help? We got that shit too, including the "goodnight" elbow jumper with around a minute left to completely shut the door on any potential Blazers comeback. 

Then you add in the fact that Jayson Tatum once again locked down everything he faced, positions 1-5, and I could make the case this was one of Jayson Tatum's better all around performances of the entire season

Outside of his few late game turnovers that mostly came out of frustration for a lack of a whistle (shoutout Natalie Sago), there really isn't anything to complain about when it comes to Tatum's night. I don't even give a shit about the 11-24 (1-7), because it felt like they were all solid looks. The process was great, Tatum was a perfect 7-7 from the FT line, he also had 1 steal and 2 blocks, it was every bit the superstar performance you need in this spot from your superstar.

All I know is that when Jayson Tatum is playing like this on both ends, the Celtics are nearly impossible to beat. The defense, the scoring, the passing, the rebounding, all big time stuff.

- In these Hospital Celtics games, outside of the main guys making sure to carry their load, it's also on the "others" to step up and go up a level. For this team, that means guys like Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard have to hit their open looks. When we see the Celts go to their Hospital Celts version, that's a group that really leans into Mazzulla Ball, and this was a case of what things look like when that plan works to perfection

Remember, the last time Payton Pritchard faced the Blazers he went off for like 43 points, so there's always something about facing his hometown team that gets him going. And while the refs tried to bone Pritchard early by giving him 3 fouls in about 3 minutes, he ultimately responded by taking the game over in the 3rd quarter and the rest was history.

I do want to take a minute to acknowledge what we're seeing from Hauser during this stretch though. Since that 2/6 date, Hauser has played 18 games (15-3). In those 18 games, he's shooting 44.9% from three on 5.9 3PA a night. If you look at his last 5 games, that number skyrockets to 54% on nearly 7 3PA a night. He's as locked in as he's been all year long and it's coming at the perfect time.

A big part of the Celts success is their shooters making those "deflating" 3s. You know the ones I'm talking about. Where a team thinks they've done a great job defensively only for one of the shooters to bury a last second open 3PA. For Hauser, he gets so many wide open looks, those are shots that when he's making turn the Celts offense into something many teams cannot match. The way he's not even hitting the rim on these wide open looks is what we're all used to seeing, and we all know how important their open C&S production is going to be in the postseason. Having Hauser be back to automatic is such a bonus considering how much attention the Jays are going to have, and if you can't send help off the Celts shooter then what the hell do you do? No matter what you choose it's death.

Pritchard/Hauser combined for 40 points on 14-25 (12-19) shooting, which means they were responsible for over half of the Celts' 3PM in this win. I don't really care who is missing, when you have this version of Tatum and that kind of three point production from your "others", the Celts aren't losing.

- I'd guess that in most cases if you put up 116 points and make 19 3PM while shooting 40% as a team, that ends up in a win. That's a great night for about 99% of the NBA.

The Blazers had just one problem though. They faced a team that could take a punch like that on the chin, not flinch, and then deliver a haymaker of their own.

129 points. 54/46% splits. 23 3PM. 31 AST. Only 9 TOs.

That has to be so annoying for the Blazers and their fans who were watching this game. You make 19 3s on 40%, that should be a win. Few teams have the firepower to match that level of offensive production.

The Celtics not only matched it, they outproduced it. All while missing 3 starters. Just let that sink in for a second.

- New Celtics owner Bill Chisholm has a few immediate decisions to make that are pretty vital to this team. The first, is his understanding that as long as Al Horford tells you he wants to keep playing, he gets whatever contract he wants. For life. So when he's up this summer, Billy Boy needs to just hand him the check.

His next decision is what to be OK with when it comes to paying Luke Kornet. Allow me to make this easy for him as well. The answer, is whatever it takes to keep him. Who gives a shit what type of luxury tax bill it creates, you have his Bird rights, you can sign him to whatever works. The overall point is he is not allowed to leave either. 

13/5/3 on 6-6 shooting in his 18 minutes, I cannot remember the last time Luke Kornet ever let me down on a basketball court. The consistency is incredible, his chemistry with Tatum is undeniable, his offensive rebounding is a legit weapon, and I'm not sure you will find a more impactful 3rd center in the entire NBA. I know that sounds crazy because we're talking about Luke Kornet, but it's also the truth. He's been that good and that consistent.

Heading into a game I never have to worry about which version of Kornet we're going to get. Nobody has embraced and thrived in his role better than Luke, and I have no idea what type of raise it has earned him this summer but I sure as shit know the Celtics are required by law to pay it. 

It might sound insane, but imagine what this team looks like this year without Kornet? With KP's injury/illness issues and Al's load management plan, I mean is Luke somehow the most important role player on the roster? I won't fight you if you say yes.

- Speaking of role players, I continue to really enjoy the Baylor Scheierman minutes. There's just something about how he plays and his feel for the game that intrigues me. We're seeing his confidence grow with each appearance he makes, and watching his chemistry while sharing the floor with the starters is what has my antenna up. He looks like he belongs. The constant motion, his ability to create for others, the magnet ball from deep, it all continues to trend upwards.

Considering it wasn't too long ago that he felt like a guy who was not an NBA caliber player, this recent development is pretty important. Maybe it turns out to be nothing, but maybe there's something there! That's the whole point of this part of the season for Baylor. Just keep showing us flashes. It feels like he's gone from a guy who just ran to the corner and hoped nobody would pass him the ball so he wouldn't screw up, to a guy who is being aggressive with the ball and actually making plays.

- Given he's also been in a bit of a shooting rut as of late, it was nice to see Derrick White snap out of it and finally see the ball go in It took a little while for him to get going, but I'll take 50/40% splits with 4 3PM every day of the week and twice on Sundays (which this was)

Considering he'd been living in the low 20s from deep ever since he exploded against the Blazers a few weeks ago, perhaps he just needed to see that defense one more time to remind his brain that he can in fact shoot at a high level. Add in his 8 assists and +11 in his minutes and I thought DWhite filled his role perfectly.

- Keeping the opponent in mind, I feel like we have to acknowledge that the Celts once again did not shit themselves in a 4th quarter. In fact, they won it by 1 point! I know to most this probably sounds like no big deal, but for anyone who has watched the Celts this season and understands they arguably have been one of the worst 4th quarter teams on the planet, I'll take any positive final 12 minutes I can get, regardless of the opponent. 

Granted it may not have looked all that pretty with the starters going a combined 5-17 (3-9) but whatever. They did enough.

- Celts are now 28-7 on the road this season, tying OKC for the best road record in the NBA. We have basically a 3 year sample of this team being the best road team on earth, no matter what time of year. Regular season, playoffs, Finals, it doesn't matter. This wagon travels.

The Bad

- You can tell why so many NBA players have willingly paid the fine all so they can voice their opinion about how terrible Natalie Sago is as an official. After watching that performance, I get it. Will Adam Silver and the NBA do anything about their horrendous officiating problem? Of course not. 

This isn't just a Celtics thing either. You see players all around the league all say the same thing after playing a game she refs in. It's a disaster.

- On that same note, with Tatum getting a rather bullshit tech at the end of the game, he does have to start being careful. He's now up to 12 on the season, and as we know once you get 16 you get suspended for a game. Even on a night like last night where it's warranted given how bad his whistle is, this is now something he has to be aware of moving forward. 

It makes no sense how some players are able to berate refs and get nothing, yet Tatum says even the slightest thing and it ends up in a tech, but that's just how it goes for him.

- Not the best perimeter/three point defense we've ever seen, and thank god the Celts had a magnet ball of their own because allowing 19 3PM on 40% shooting is how you get your ass beat. It wasn't even a case of a random Blazers player going nuclear like we saw in the first meeting where a guy who doesn't shoot 3s ended up making 6 3PM. This was all the normal Blazers shooters just being productive, and I guess maybe the plan was to live or die with their efficiency, but the Celts did catch a prayer in that regard.

I'm all for letting bad shooters shoot, but that's not really what the deal was yesterday. It just didn't feel like the perimeter pressure was where it needed to be for long stretches.

- A Jordan Walsh DNP-CD? What is going on? Aren't these the exact games he should be getting run in? Especially since he showed some OK flashes in his limited minutes? What's going on there?

I get Baylor has earned his run, and Torrey Craig did have a few good possessions in this win, but a DNP-CD with 3 guys not playing? That's not great.

- I know it's March, I know the lineup has main guys out all the time, but the facts remain that overall, the Celts team defense has kind of stunk since the trade deadline. Barely inside the top 10 in terms of DRTG since 2/6, the Celts have been hovering around 18th over their last 10 games which no matter how you slice it, is terrible.

Sure the context around that number matters, but there are enough plus defenders available every night to where the Celts shouldn't be this poor defensively giving up this many points on a nightly basis. That has to tighten up because there will be shooting regression. Your defense has to travel, especially with the games that are coming up against teams fighting for Play In spots.

The Ugly

- You know the rules by now, Celts win 5 in a row and we skip this section, as a treat.

The Celts are back in action tonight against SAC, so that means we know Jaylen/Al will be missing but we should also be getting KP/Jrue back in the mix. That's a building where historically weird shit happens during these late night West Coast games, just ask the Cavs. The good news is the Celts are pretty damn good on the second night of a B2B, and as long as they play focused and handle their shit, the good times should keep on rolling.