{"id":461312,"date":"2025-12-08T15:03:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/461312\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T15:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:03:26","slug":"it-doesnt-mean-anything-celtics-staying-level-headed-amid-win-streak-against-easts-best-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/461312\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean anything\u201d: Celtics staying level-headed amid win streak against East\u2019s best"},"content":{"rendered":"

No team in the Eastern Conference has caught fire to the levels the Celtics have, but even their red-hot streak isn\u2019t enough for the team to give itself a well-deserved pat on the back.<\/p>\n

The Celtics packed their passports \u2014 and their four-game winning streak \u2014 en route to Toronto, leaving with a fifth consecutive 121-113 victory<\/a> on Sunday to maintain the longest active win streak in the East. It took surviving a last-minute surge from the Raptors, but defeating the Raptors gave Boston sole possession of the No. 3 seed, marking an extraordinary leap from the team\u2019s previous No. 10-seeded position just two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

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In any other season over the past eight years, this would be considered \u2018business as usual\u2019 for the Celtics. This season, however \u2014 initially viewed as a \u2018gap year\u2019 rather than a true contention push \u2014 a five-game winning streak, leaving them just 1\u00bd games behind the Knicks for the No. 2 seed, is more than impressive; it\u2019s remarkably unusual for a team missing three of last year\u2019s starters, including superstar Jayson Tatum.<\/p>\n

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, meanwhile, isn\u2019t letting the locker room get ahead of itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t mean anything. It doesn\u2019t show you anything,\u201d Mazzulla said at Scotiabank Arena. \u201cThere are ebbs and flows along the way in the league. At the end of the day, we have a clear identity of who we are, and the season presents opportunities and challenges \u2014 and tests of how long you can stay the best version of yourself. And when you don\u2019t, how quickly can you get back? We\u2019ve got a big practice coming up on Wednesday, and that\u2019s the next big test \u2014 how we can approach that day. It\u2019s the only thing that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 7, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks to Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) during a break in the action against the Toronto Raptors in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Regardless of the level-headed focus Mazzulla hopes will spread amongst his team, the basketball they\u2019ve been playing lately<\/a> is worth a closer look.<\/p>\n

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Unprecedented is the only word to describe what the Celtics have become over the past few weeks. They\u2019ve won 10 of their last 12 games, ranking second in the league in scoring (122.8 points) behind the Nuggets, first in field goals made (45.3), first in 3-pointers made (17.4), and first in fewest turnovers (12.1). Boston has dialed in on the finer details to make up for the loss of star power that made them an afterthought on Opening Night.<\/p>\n

From afar, it\u2019s easy to dismiss a five-game winning streak \u2014 or 10 wins in 12 games \u2014 as a fluke. Then again, that would also be a misrepresentation of everything the Celtics have built thus far. Role players, many of whom weren\u2019t considered difference-makers months ago, have suddenly become just as vital as the team\u2019s stars: Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard. Inexperience hasn\u2019t held the team back; it\u2019s motivated everyone to make the most of their opportunities, and it\u2019s starting to give Boston\u2019s unproven roster every reason to be confident moving forward.<\/p>\n

Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonz\u00e1lez, and Josh Minott haven\u2019t been lost among the pine trees of Maine this entire season, and that\u2019s because they\u2019ve been vital in helping the Celtics find their groove.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting contributions from everybody,\u201d White said. \u201cEvery person that checks into the game is really helping us, and we\u2019re all going for the same goal. So we continue to all play the right way, celebrate each other\u2019s successes, and just be there for one another \u2014 we\u2019ll do a lot of special things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Walsh has transformed from a developmental defensive piece into a scoring threat, pouring in a career-high 22 points against the Wizards<\/a>, followed by 17 points versus the Lakers on a combined 18-of-19 shooting over consecutive games. Gonz\u00e1lez, who struggled for playing time last year with Real Madrid in the Liga ACB, has become a defensive menace with a still-evolving ceiling. And Minott, who hadn\u2019t recorded a single career start through three seasons with the Timberwolves before arriving in Boston, has helped fortify the frontcourt with his athleticism, defensive prowess, and a sneaky offensive arsenal.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no telling what this means in the grand scheme for the Celtics, as their overperformance raises the question: Is it time to re-evaluate Boston\u2019s expectations, or is it still too early?<\/p>\n

For the rest of December, Boston is scheduled to face the Bucks, Pistons, Heat, Raptors (again), Trail Blazers, Pacers (twice), and the Jazz \u2014 and among those opponents, only Detroit owns a better record than the Celtics. Four others (Milwaukee, Indiana, Portland, and Utah) are currently seeded No. 10 or lower.<\/p>\n

Favorable? It certainly seems so. However, nothing about this stretch is going to cause the Celtics to ease off the gas or abandon the principles that have been fueling them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJust keep going. Just keep getting better, stay humble,\u201d Brown said. \u201cJust one game at a time. Just keep growing, getting better, and having fun \u2014 and smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown added: \u201cIt\u2019s more fun when you win. I\u2019ll tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No team in the Eastern Conference has caught fire to the levels the Celtics have, but even their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[2888,7,45,75,3798,103,46,1243,296,3528,113,78,77,423,2675,4989,7272,304,300,102,6,302,405,297,687,681,308,680,1617,40491,683],"class_list":{"0":"post-461312","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-arsenal","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston","11":"tag-boston-celtics","12":"tag-bostonceltics","13":"tag-bucks","14":"tag-celtics","15":"tag-derrick-white","16":"tag-detroit","17":"tag-hugo-gonzalez","18":"tag-indiana","19":"tag-jaylen-brown","20":"tag-jayson-tatum","21":"tag-jazz","22":"tag-joe-mazzulla","23":"tag-jordan-walsh","24":"tag-josh-minott","25":"tag-knicks","26":"tag-lakers","27":"tag-milwaukee","28":"tag-nba","29":"tag-nuggets","30":"tag-payton-pritchard","31":"tag-pistons","32":"tag-portland","33":"tag-raptors","34":"tag-timberwolves","35":"tag-toronto","36":"tag-trail-blazers","37":"tag-winning-streak","38":"tag-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115684560771849243","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}