How the Boston Celtics have turned things around in April

April has been a great month for the Boston Celtics. After getting off to a rough start to the season, the Celtics have finally found a rhythm. The Boston Celtics are 12-10 since the All-Star Break in March. They finished the month of March going only 1-4 but, losing starting Center Daniel Thies to the trade with the Chicago Bulls and acquiring G Eric Fournier from Orlando, the Celtics were bound to go through an adjustment period. Luckily that adjustment period was pretty quick, as the Celtics have one of the best records in the league in the month of April. The Celtics have gone 11-7 over the course of the month and have a winning streak as long as 7 games. The Celtics’ success can be attributed to many key factors but the most compelling piece has to be the play of their star Jayson Tatum. Tatum is averaging about 28 points per game in the month of April. On top of that, the 23-year-old star recorded his first triple-double on Tuesday night at home against the Chicago Bulls. Tatum finished with 14pts, 13rebs, and 10ast, and if his first triple-double even though his team ended up falling short of a victory.

The triple-double wasn’t even Tatums most impressive performance of the month either, as he also outdueled 2 time MVP Stephen Curry in overtime this past Saturday. Steph put on an absolutely ridiculous performance hitting 11 three-pointers and finishing the game with 47 points. However, the seemingly unfazed Tatum finished the game with 44points and 10 rebounds and scoring the go-ahead layup with .49 seconds left in OT that ultimately gave the Celtics the win.

Tatum has shown tremendous poise and ability to be a clutch player over the course of this season and it has only been amplified as of late. The emergence of first-year all-star Jaylen Brown, specifically on the offensive end, has really opened up even more for Tatum. He doesn’t have to force much anymore and it is evident, he’s been very decisive about when and how he attacks the basket and has come a long way with his playmaking ability once he gets into the paint. Tatum is really solidifying himself as one of the primer players in the league and a lot of it has to do with his play late in games. Jayson Tatum is the best player in the clutch in the whole NBA this season. He averages a league-best 2.8 points when the game is on the line while shooting 43%. To put this into context for those who are not familiar with advanced NBA stats this stat is highlighting the fact that when the game is on the line Jayson Tatum has about a 43% chance of scoring 3 points which is even more impressive considering he’s taken the second most amount of game-tying or go-ahead shots in the whole league. His ability to get to his spots is unmatched and it’s evident when watching him play as of late. He has done an excellent job this season of not settling as much and attacking the basket especially when teams don’t have an adequate rim protector. He’s done a great job of balancing when to attack in transition and when to get a post touch every so often. He looks a lot more comfortable getting to his elbow jump shots and using his body around the basket to finish plays, particularly around the basket.

In addition to the impressive play from Tatum, the Celtics have also gotten improved play from key players like Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. Both Walker and Smart have been pretty inconsistent for the C’s this year mainly having to do with injuries that kept them out for periods of time. Neither player had really been able to find their groove until recently but that could just be due to the fact that neither was 100% until now.

Whatever the case may have been they picked a good time to get back to themselves because they need every bit of Kembas shot-making ability and Marcus Smart’s tenacity on both ends of the court if they hope to win AT LEAST their first playoff matchup. Smart and Walker who both hit HUGE shots in the Win against Golden State are going to really need to maintain their level of play for the end of the season for the Celtics to improve their standing to have a more favorable first-round matchup. With the play of Jayson Tatum only improving by the day it seems the supporting cast is going to have to be at their best as teams to relieve some of the offensive pressure off Tatum.

The late addition of Jabari Parker for the Celtics is also something worth keeping an eye on. The former #2 overall pick has had his shares of up and downs since entering the League in 2014 but Boston could end up being the perfect fit for Parker. He reached the point in his career that no one is expecting him to perform like a top pick anymore so whatever positive contributions he can make at his position will help. When you think about what Jabari Parker does best it’s obviously his scoring ability. Just some of the moves he can make at his size are impressive and it actually might end up being just what the Celtics needed. The Celtics’ biggest problem this year has been bench scoring, and whether that has been mainly to do with injuries doesn’t even matter at this point they just needed to fix that somehow. Jabari Parker does that and might just find his niche with the Celtics because of it. The pressure is off for Parker which sounds odd to say about a player that is only signing a two-year deal but it’s the expectation. Up until this point, the teams Parker had been with were expecting him to at least show flashes of why he was the #2 pick and show that he could be a piece to build around. The expectation with Boston is a lot different, the core group is solidified but the problem has always been what surrounds that. Jabari Parker seems to be exactly what the Celtics need in just a solid piece that can positively contribute offensively and in his first two games has even shown impressive rebounding and defensive ability which is an added bonus. It will be fun to see how he plays as he gets even more integrated into the lineup but just a great underrated pickup for the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics currently sit at 6th Place in the Eastern Conference. The team is 5 games above .500 with a 31-27 overall record. They actually only 4 games behind the 3rd seed Milwaukee Bucks and 1 game behind the 4th seed New York Knicks. The Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games and seem to be hitting their stride at the right time. With only 14 games left in the regular season, they are going to have to keep up their play as of late to keep from potentially matching up with the 76ers or Brooklyn Nets in the first round. If the season ended today the Celtics would be in a first-round matchup with the Bucks and that is not a fun first-round matchup for anybody. The Celtics’ focus has to be on trying to pass the Atlanta Hawks and NY Knicks in these last 14 games to have a much more favorable first-round matchup to at least give this team the confidence of getting past the first round for the playoffs. The best case for these Celtics is that this play they were able to display in the month of April propels them into the playoffs and they can enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the NBA posied to make a run in the playoffs regardless of how the season went before the All-Star Break. Much like the Miami Heat of last year, the Celtics are just going to have to rely on getting hot at the right time, chemistry and connectivity.