The Celtics have spent this season putting Joe Mazzulla’s possession-maxing idea into overdrive, and the early returns are loud. Boston is 10-2, and the formula has been pretty clear: win the three-point battle, win the glass, win the turnover game.
That’s the heart of Mazzulla Ball. It’s not just about launching threes and hoping for the best.
It’s about stacking the margins on both ends - making more threes than the other team, grabbing more offensive rebounds while giving up fewer, and forcing more turnovers while keeping your own mistakes down. Even when the shot isn’t falling, those are the built-in escape hatches.
And right now, the Celtics are doing something no one else in the league has managed. According to Hoopology’s Justin Pinnix, 13 NBA teams have hit at least one of those statistical marks to start the season, four have reached two of them, and Boston is the only team to check all three boxes: a rebound percentage of 50% or more, an opponent turnover percentage of 17% or more, and a three-point percentage of 38% or more.
That’s the kind of profile that explains how Boston has already won in different ways. There have been blowouts against tough competition like Philadelphia, and there have also been nail-biting overtime wins against weaker competition like Brooklyn. The schedule has been manageable so far, but the results still show a team that can bend games to its will.
The encouraging part for Boston is that this version of the Celtics still looks like it has another gear.
Mitchell Robinson has taken some time to settle in, though the last few games have shown more life. If he gets back to his old level as an elite offensive rebounder, Boston’s edge on the boards could climb even higher.
Jayson Tatum has been excellent overall, but the numbers from deep tell a different story: he’s shooting 41.3% from the field and 30.6% from three. If that climbs, the Celtics’ team-wide shooting should get even better. The same goes for Derrick White, who is at 33.3% from three, and Payton Pritchard, who is at 36.5%.
Boston has also been good at creating turnovers, but it hasn’t been clean enough with the ball itself. The Celtics are tied for 10th in turnovers committed per game at 14.7. Cutting that down would only sharpen the whole possession-maxing machine.
So yes, this start has been excellent. The bigger warning sign for the rest of the league is that Boston still hasn’t hit its ceiling while already rolling.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irving Rumors Could Create A New Celtics Playoff Threat
Kyrie Irving is back on the floor for Dallas after last seasons knee injury, and that alone changes the conversation around a Mavericks team that still wants to keep him in place. Even with the injury behind him, the rumor mill is already turning again, because multiple NBA teams are expected to take a look if Dallas ever opens the door.
For Celtics fans, the more immediate wrinkle is the playoff landscape, where any Irving movement could ripple beyond the West and into the East. Miami has been floated as a possible landing spot despite its current struggles, which is the kind of detail that keeps this from being just another trade-season whisper and makes it one worth watching as the postseason picture comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Face A Risky Dejounte Murray Decision They Can't Ignore
Dejounte Murrays trade request out of New Orleans has put another familiar name into the Celtics orbit, and it is the kind of possibility that naturally gets attention in Boston. He has long been viewed as a talented guard who can change the shape of a backcourt, and with the Celtics always weighing ways to stay ahead of the league, his availability is at least worth discussing as the offseason picture shifts.
The problem is that the fit is not clean, and the price would not be small. Boston would have to think hard about what it would mean to move Derrick White in any deal that made the money work, while also sorting through the broader questions that have followed Murray for years, from injuries to the uneven team situations he has been part of. For a Celtics team built on continuity and two-way reliability, that makes this one of those ideas that sounds intriguing until the details start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Scheierman Just Made Bostons Lineup Decision Much Harder
Bostons comeback win over Toronto did more than erase a 22-point hole, it also gave the Celtics another look at a lineup wrinkle that may be harder to unwind than expected. Baylor Scheierman got the start and made a real impact on both ends, helping steady a group that needed energy, activity and a little bit of everything to claw back into the game.
Scheiermans November has been building toward this kind of conversation anyway. Over seven games this month, he has averaged 8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and the combination of improved shooting and willingness to mix it up on the glass has put Boston in a spot where a rotation decision no longer feels automatic. [Read more 🡒]