Ramp to Camp: How can Celtics be even higher than final season?

Ramp to Camp: How can Celtics be even higher than final season? initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Boston

The Boston Celtics posted some of the dominant campaigns in NBA historical past final season. They set an NBA file for offensive ranking, completed tied for the third-best web ranking of all time and completed top-five all time in scoring differential.

However let’s get grasping. How can the Celtics take one other step ahead in the course of the 2024-25 season? For the twelfth installment of our Ramp to Camp sequence, that’s the query we posed to our NBC Sports activities Boston panel: What’s a method this crew can get even higher?

(Try our full Ramp to Camp sequence right here.)

Right here’s possibly a greater query: The place do you even start to nitpick?

The Celtics posted 17 wins of 25 factors or extra, which means 20 % of their video games had been full blowouts. They completed 14 video games forward of their closest rival within the East. They steamrolled by way of the playoffs, by no means even seeing a Sport 6 alongside the best way.

The Celtics sometimes misplaced their method towards an inferior opponent (that loss to the shorthanded Lakers on February 1 nonetheless nags us) and but they by no means misplaced greater than two video games in a row, and even that solely occurred 4 occasions all season.

Our panel leaned closely into Boston’s late-game shot choice, and we’d like to stomp our toes about settling for poor photographs. However Boston posted an absurd +46.9 web ranking in 24 minutes of postseason clutch time and was an ideal 6-0 in these video games. This crew seemingly discovered from its regular-season missteps and had a knack for big-time performs in big-time moments (proper, Pacers?)

So right here’s the most effective we will provide you with: There’s one other stage these math-loving Celtics can go to with their late-quarter execution. The Celtics did a superb job in producing 3-for-2 and 2-for-1 possessions over the ultimate minute of quarters, however it looks like shot high quality was not absolutely maximized.

Perhaps that doesn’t matter. The analytics counsel that simply creating these alternatives is most vital. However having everybody on the identical web page realizing precisely the form of photographs the crew will wish to create over the ultimate 65 seconds of 1 / 4 may go an extended solution to making the Celtics offense much more environment friendly.

(That sounds insane contemplating they simply posted probably the most environment friendly season in NBA historical past, however we mentioned the aim right here was to be grasping.)

This is what our panel yearns to see:

I’ve a concept and it is that Jaylen Brown’s tying 3-pointer in Sport 1 towards Indy flipped the change. The Celtics often look discombobulated in shut and late conditions, however now they’re the champs. There’s nothing they have not seen, so play prefer it with the sport on the road.

Tom Giles, Multi-platform host

Arduous to complain about a lot, however possibly complacency? There have been occasions the place we noticed the Celtics let their foot off the fuel — and what crew doesn’t? — but when they’ll restrict these moments, they will be an absolute machine.

Higher crunch-time offense. Sure, the Celtics had been 21-12 in “clutch” video games final season (rating inside 5 inside the ultimate 5 minutes) and 6-0 within the playoffs. But when we now have to nitpick, we wish to see higher ball motion throughout late-game possessions and fewer contested fadeaways from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Bench scoring. In equity, the Celtics do not want their bench to be prolific offensively as a result of they’ve arguably the most effective beginning 5 within the league. That mentioned, the C’s ranked twenty sixth in bench scoring final season.

Payton Pritchard is able to taking one other step (or two) ahead in his growth. Lonnie Walker IV can get sizzling offensively, assuming he is wholesome and makes the crew. Rookie Baylor Scheierman is an excellent outdoors shooter. There are causes to imagine the second unit may give Boston slightly extra scoring this season, which might be useful as a result of the starters should not be taking part in too many minutes.

Much less ISO ball in clutch time. Choose up the tempo and transfer the ball. The Celtics had been excellent in just about each statistical class final season, however their slower tempo late within the fourth quarter and extra time was usually mind-boggling.